Join National Vice Chair Haley Lancaster as we spotlight inspiring DAR chapter projects across Indiana, North Carolina, and Montana. Discover how Daughters are honoring World War II heroes, celebrating the Statue of Liberty, preserving Revolutionary War Patriot stories, and engaging their communities through service, education, and historic preservation. Featured Projects: - Indiana: Enduring Promise — Honoring more than 1,500 World War II service members missing in action. - North Carolina: Celebrating Lady Liberty and Wilmington's historic Statue of Liberty replica. - Montana: From Patriots to Pioneers — Honoring Revolutionary War Patriots and their descendants through an America 250 initiative. Contact: DARPodcast@NSDAR.org
From honoring our nation's heroes to celebrating America's 250th anniversary, DAR chapters across the country are illuminating legacies through meaningful service, historical preservation, and community engagement.
In this episode, National Vice Chair Haley Lancaster takes us on a journey through three inspiring chapter projects.
In Indiana, Daughters celebrate the completion of Enduring Promise, a remarkable State Regent's Project honoring more than 1,500 World War II service members who remain missing in action. Through genealogical research, family connections, and personalized memorial bricks, their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
In North Carolina, the Stamp Defiance and Wilmington Ladies' Tea Walk Chapters commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty and the history of Wilmington's own Lady Liberty replica.
And in Montana, the Julia Hancock Chapter brings Revolutionary War history to life through From Patriots to Pioneers, an America 250 project honoring 70 Patriots with descendants in central Montana.
Three states, three remarkable stories, and one shared commitment to preserving history, honoring service, and inspiring future generations.
What is your chapter doing to illuminate our legacy? We'd love to hear from you!
Today, we are taking a moment to look at a truly remarkable milestone and celebrate the successful completion of the Indiana State Regent's project, Enduring Promise.
Led by Indiana State Regent Elaine Schulte, this ambitious initiative stands as a deeply moving tribute to Hoosier history, honor, and remembrance. More than 1,500 Indiana service members went missing in action during World War II and remain unaccounted for.
To ensure their sacrifices are never forgotten, the Indiana DAR set out to dedicate personalized bricks honoring each and every one of these 1,500 World War II Hoosiers. This project marked the final chapter in a meaningful trilogy of Bricks of Honor.
Designed for maximum visibility, these personalized bricks are set at the base of the iconic Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Monument Circle, right in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.
Many DAR members assisted with the installation of bricks for previous projects recognizing POW/MIAs from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Each brick bears essential details honoring a lost service member: their name, branch of service, rank, and date of loss.
And in case you didn't know, Indianapolis ranks first in the United States for total public acreage dedicated to honoring veterans and second only to Washington, D.C., in the number of its monuments.
What was unique about this project was not just raising money for the bricks themselves, but also contacting the descendants of those soldiers to come to the dedication event on September 2, 2026.
This audacious project brought together DAR's love of genealogical research and service to veterans.
Carrying out an undertaking of this scale was no small feat. Projected at a cost of $150,000, Enduring Promise involved extensive research to locate and connect with the families of these military service members, alongside a dedicated promotional campaign to share their stories with the public.
Behind the scenes, the research coordination was organized in part by State Corresponding Secretary Rhonda Beck. She helped organize the massive effort of dividing the 1,507 initial MIA records by county and town, assigning them to local chapters so researchers wouldn't be overburdened and could work close to home.
As Rhonda noted, researching records going back more than 80 years presented real genealogical brick walls, especially when young servicemen died unmarried and without children, leaving researchers searching for nieces, nephews, and surviving extended family.
We also heard from some of those dedicated field researchers who poured their hearts into making these connections.
Diane Morgan from the Ann Rogers Clark Chapter thought this humble research project wouldn't be much, but she said it truly took over her life.
Working through 15 servicemen, she collaborated with community groups like the local World War II Roundtable, whose members assisted her with research. She has since joined their group.
She uncovered deeply touching stories, including a family where a nephew had provided DNA testing in hopes of matching with remains in a mass grave in Normandy to fulfill a dying promise to his grandmother.
For Diane, reading wartime letters made these men truly come alive, and the outpouring of community support left her in tears. Her own chapter worked to raise $1,000 for the project.
Similarly, Charlotte Perez of the Piankeshaw Chapter researched 20 MIAs across Floyd, Washington, and Orange counties.
Relying on records, obituaries, and phone directories, she braved cold-calling family members across the country.
Through her outreach, she was able to connect with relatives of MIAs from Pennsylvania to Arizona, even locating the surviving daughter of an MIA who was just a baby when her father went missing.
In one conversation with an MIA descendant in Arizona, originally from Orange County, Charlotte and the gentleman found they knew some of the same people, proving the world can offer just one more small-town connection.
My own chapter, the Francis Vigo Chapter in Vincennes, Indiana, took a great interest in this project.
Following the 2024 Indiana DAR Fall Forum, Deborah Burns was appointed Southern District Vice Chair for the Descendants Research Team, which was dedicated to this project.
She recruited two of Francis Vigo's top researchers, Cindy Frederick and Diana Gratzik, to serve as co-chairs for the local Enduring Promise Committee.
Together, this three-person team took on a staggering portfolio of 77 World War II Indiana MIAs.
Thirty local cases included 21 service members from Knox County and nine from our neighbors in Sullivan County.
They also took on 47 unassigned cases, additional Indiana service members who had no known county or town affiliation recorded, only that they had enlisted in the state.
The team divided the 77 cases among themselves and created an action plan that combined genealogical research, family outreach, and chapter fundraising.
Among the 77 cases investigated by the team, there were two specific stories that stood out as powerful examples of bravery and history uncovered.
The first was for Henry Mullinnix.
The initial file for Henry contained minimal details. His Navy branch rank was listed simply as "Rad," and he was missing in the Pacific Ocean as of November 1943.
Upon further research, the team discovered that "Rad" actually stood for Rear Admiral.
Admiral Mullinnix was a native of Spencer in Owen County, Indiana, who graduated first in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1916.
He was one of only five U.S. Navy admirals killed in action during World War II, losing his life aboard the aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay.
Another moving discovery involved Tommy Lee Moss, who was killed on December 7, 1941, aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As a young African American man from Christian County, Kentucky, Tommy enlisted in Indiana. Due to the segregated Navy of that era, the only position open to him was mess attendant.
When the research team discovered that no living family members could be located for Tommy, his story touched Deborah so deeply that she personally purchased a memorial brick in his honor to ensure his legacy endured.
"Serving on this committee was some of the most meaningful service I've done as a member," said Deborah Burns.
"I did not know it would have such an impact on me as I researched each service member and read accounts of their life and final acts. It left me with an even greater appreciation of this Greatest Generation."
The entire vision, dedicating all of these bricks, culminated in a powerful public dedication ceremony held on September 2, 2026.
This date was rich in significance, marking the 81st anniversary of the signing of the Japanese surrender that ended World War II, celebrated during America's Semiquincentennial year.
An estimated 600 to 650 descendants traveled to Indianapolis to attend the ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, with one single MIA having 26 family members present.
Thanks to the vision of State Regent Elaine Schulte and the dedication and work of the Indiana Daughters, the Enduring Promise project successfully fulfilled its mission at the start of Mrs. Schulte's third year in office.
Today, those 1,500 brave Hoosiers have a permanent, visible place of honor in the center of our state, ensuring their legacy lives on for generations to come.
Next up in our Chapter Spotlight, we head to Wilmington, North Carolina, where the Stamp Defiance and Wilmington Ladies' Tea Walk Chapters hosted a wonderful commemoration honoring two major milestones in American history.
On September 26, the chapters brought the community together to celebrate both the 75th anniversary of Wilmington's Statue of Liberty replica and the 140th anniversary of Lady Liberty herself standing tall in New York Harbor.
For a bit of background, back in 1949, the Boy Scouts of America, now known as Scouting America, launched a nationwide program called Strengthen the Arm of Liberty.
They purchased and placed around 200 scaled replicas of the Statue of Liberty in cities across the country.
The Wilmington replica holds a special place in history as the only such statue placed in North Carolina, and today, only around 100 of the original statues still exist.
To mark the occasion, Stamp Defiance Chapter Committee Chair Michelle Russell led a special program featuring speakers from the local community, including two naturalized citizens and a speaker whose father was a naturalized citizen.
They shared their personal experiences in the United States and reflected on what Lady Liberty means to them.
The chapter secured official proclamations for the event from both the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County.
The day was a true collaborative effort, supported by the Wilmington Ladies' Tea Walk Chapter, which hosted the reception, alongside the Lower Cape Fear SAR and two local Eagle Scouts serving as the Color Guard.
The UNCW Seabelles, a female a cappella group, provided music, performing the national anthem and "America the Beautiful."
It was a beautiful tribute to national pride, civic history, and community spirit.
Excellent work, North Carolina Daughters!
Lastly, we are going westward to see what the chapters are doing.
Vicky Asno, Regent of the Julia Hancock Chapter in Lewistown, Montana, wrote to us about an incredible America 250 project currently underway.
This energetic chapter of just 28 members secured a $9,750 State of Montana Semiquincentennial grant for its project titled From Patriots to Pioneers: Celebrating Liberty in the Heart of Montana.
Their vision started with custom street banners along Main Street in Lewistown, honoring 70 proven Revolutionary War Patriots with central Montana descendants.
But they didn't stop there.
To preserve these stories for the community, the chapter decided to publish a companion booklet.
What began as a simple brochure at the local Chamber of Commerce quickly grew into a major publication documenting each Patriot's lineage and story.
Central Montana covers a vast geographic area, stretching from Billings to Great Falls, north to south and east to west, and Lewistown is in the center of it all, truly the heart of Montana.
Regent Asno noted that the project aims to show how the spirit of 1776 lives on in rural Montana, highlighting the generation-by-generation march of freedom westward.
"Our desire was to generate interest and passion in the stories of our ancestors that directly influence our Montana society today," she said.
"From wagon trails to Native American tribes present in our area, there is a moving story to be told," she told me.
The community impact is already visible.
Local teachers are leading students on walking tours of the banners, and homeschool groups have requested copies of the Patriot Biographies book for their history curricula.
The chapter is committed to donating copies of the book to local schools and offering programs about these Patriots to fulfill DAR's mission of promoting education.
Spanning eight city blocks with 10 banners per block, plus displays at the courthouse, Veterans Memorial Park, and the Central Montana Museum, this tribute makes a bold statement.
Featuring Patriots from 11 of the original 13 colonies, this is a brilliant celebration of America's 250th anniversary and a fitting preview for the Julia Hancock Chapter's own upcoming centennial in 2027.
I hope wherever you are, the fall season is treating you well.
In Indiana, we are celebrating fall colors and covered bridges, and in Montana, the folks are dealing with snow.
Wherever you are, I hope that you and your chapters are finding new ways to serve the DAR mission and finding ways to tell us about it.
Make sure that you drop us a line at DARPodcast@NSDAR.com.
This is National Vice Chair Haley Lancaster!
Thank you so much for listening, and keep illuminating legacies, Daughters!