A Brown County High School teacher will travel to France this summer to give the eulogy for a Brown County solider who died in World War I.

But before that, she needs help gathering information from locals who may have known Pvt. Aaron Ray Griffin so she can tell his story.

Griffin lived in Indiana his entire life. He was born in Washington Township in Brown County and attended the Jackson Creek Schoolhouse from fourth grade to eighth grade before he became a barber, said BCHS history teacher Emily Lewellen.

Lewellen is researching Griffin’s life as part of Memoralizing the Fallen, a teacher professional development program from National History Day. The program takes teachers on “the journey of a lifetime to rediscover the history of World War I and invigorate its teaching in America’s classroom,” a press release from National History Day states.

“By researching the story of a Silent Hero, an American service member who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I, program participants can be the voice of these Americans who died a century ago,” the release states.

Lewellen will deliver Griffin’s eulogy at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France in June.

Griffin enrolled in the U.S. Army soon after the country entered the war. He arrived in Europe in June 1917, Lewellen said. He was a member of the 1st Division’s 16th Infantry Regiment and experienced combat several times before dying at the Battle of Soissons on July 19, 1918.

“While I have a good amount of information regarding the 16th Infantry Regiment in France, I do not have a lot of information about Griffin personally. I am hoping to find anyone who knew Griffin’s family and might have information about his early life or experiences specific to him during the war,” she said.

If anyone has information about Griffin, email Lewellen at [email protected].

At a January Brown County Schools Board of Trustees meeting, Superintendent Laura Hammack announced that Lewellen was one of 18 educators selected to study WWI in Europe. More than 300 teachers had applied to get into the program, Hammack said.

Hammack said that Lewellen will walk in the “footsteps of history” while in France, including visiting many cemeteries and where Griffin is buried. Her final product will be a lesson plan for her history classes and a Silent Hero profile on Griffin.

“We were over the moon about this. It’s a big deal,” Hammack said.

Lewellen also was named the Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the entire state of Indiana this year. She was also named the VFW teacher of the year for the local district.