A notable soldier who wore the patch was Arthur Joseph Holmes (1923-1942). Born in New York on December 11, 1923, Holmes enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on January 26, 1942, not two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By April of 1942, Holmes joined Company C, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which was an infantry division stationed in New River, North Carolina. In October of 1942, the company performed duties in the Guadalcanal war zone and engaged in the Battle of Tenaru. Holmes transferred to Company E, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, in July of 1943. He was stationed at Camp Rowville in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia. His unit participated in the push for Huon Peninsula, Operation Cartwheel at Rabaul, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, as well as the battles for the Solomon and Palau Islands. Private First Class Holmes lost his life while participating in the Battle of Peleliu on September 14, 1944. He was buried at sea and is memorialized in the Manila American Cemetery in Taguig, Philippines. Holmes is also memorialized at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
Veterans Legacy Program Collection ]]> ]]>
• reproduce the work in print or digital form
• create derivative works
• perform the work publicly
• display the work
• distribute copies or digitally transfer the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.

This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.]]>