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Applications are now being accepted for the first annual Hop Bailey Jr. Essay Prize.

UT undergraduate students are invited to submit an essay addressing the three most important features in the experience of Americans who served in World War II as a global conflict and how they were changed as a result.

The deadline to submit a completed essay is March 15. The competition is open to all UT undergraduates in any major. It is administered by UT’s Center for the Study of War and Society.
The award honors Hop Bailey Jr., a distinguished World War II pilot of who took part in the invasion of Normandy. The first place winner will receive s $1,200 and a second prize $750 will be awarded.

To submit an essay, send an e-mail noting interest to Vejas Liulevicius, director of the Center for the Study of War and Society, at vliulevi@utk.edu.

Essays must be five pages, a maximum of 1,500 words, and accompanied by proof of enrollment at UT for the spring semester. As evidence, the essay must use two of the oral histories posted on the new World War II Oral Histories project from two different service branches.

No outside sources are required, but if used or quoted, they must be cited with full publication information in footnote form. Essays will be judged on their historical insight, the quality of the prose, and the integration of documentary evidence from the two oral histories consulted. Quotes from the oral histories should be followed by the time in the online interview.

Essays and any questions may be sent to Liulevicius via e-mail at vliulevi@utk.edu.

The prizes will be awarded during a celebration on April 4. Attendance by the prize winner is required at this event.