177601 / 14The spirit of '76
The Declaration of Independence. The timeline of American freedom begins — and Black Americans have served in every American war since.
Source · National Archives
01 / 05
Victory by Valor — The H.E.R.O. Project
00 — MARQUEE · VBV TRAILER · 4:46
Victory By Valor
The men and women who fought on the battlefields and won on the playing fields — Victory By Valor.
A Television Documentary Vignette Series · Inspired by
A welcome
Welcome message supplied by Kevin Clark · 2:37
Retired brigadier general, U.S. Army. He led the 82nd Airborne’s Falcon Brigade in Iraq and served as deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command. He leads the speaker’s bureau — and he has something to say before you go any further.
Why he is here
“Reachable role models whose stories are documented in the Library of Congress.”
That is how he describes the men on this site — not distant legends, but people a student can be shown and then be expected to reach. It is the same argument the H.E.R.O. Project takes into classrooms: assembly screenings, JROTC programming and a speaker’s bureau he leads himself.
The H.E.R.O. ProjectInformational links. No affiliation with or endorsement by any armed service or league is claimed.
One site · three doors
The series. The project. The company.
Victory by Valor is the films and the facts; the H.E.R.O.® Project takes them into schools; Victory By Valor LLC is how it scales. Pick your door.
DOOR 01
The series
Victory By Valor
Seven heroes, two uniforms each — the dossiers, the 1776 → today timeline and Kevin Clark's films.
DOOR 02
Schools · JROTC · workshops
The H.E.R.O.® Project
Higher Education Resiliency Operation — screenings, the hero panel, curriculum, the speaker's bureau and the why behind it.
DOOR 03
The company · the IP · how to join
Investors & Partners
Victory By Valor LLC — cinematic storytelling, broadcast engineering and AI-driven training honoring America's heroes in two uniforms.
NEW · CALL FOR ENTRIESDakar Foundation · Welcome to Los Angeles County
LA World Cinema Games
A 2–5 minute short film about the real LA County, told by the people who make it move — apprentices, students, emerging filmmakers. Nine categories, a five-act storyboard framework, and the spotlight title “The Path to Triple Victory.”
MITCHMitch Richmond — NBA Hall of Fame · Olympic gold medalist · World championFeatured · Funding call
A three-year mission to build the workforce behind the Global Games.
Prepare. Practice. Perform.
Museum · archival photographs
VBV Buffalo Soldier Athletes
Five archival photographs from Kevin Clark's collection — Pvt. Willie Mays trading his spikes for Army boots at Camp Kilmer in 1952, infantry track meets, a 25th Infantry team under its pennant, a WWII-era “ANNEX” nine and a 1905 Troop K, 10th Cavalry ball club — shown whole and captioned only with what the prints themselves say.
Enter the museum →19 PHOTOGRAPHS · IMAGES COURTESY ANTHONY POWELL, PORTRAITS IN BLACK
MUSEUMThe flag · red stripes, white bars, blue field
Kevin Clark's thesis for the series: the flag is a ledger. Every stripe and every star was paid for in blood and treasure — and the men on this site paid in both, in two uniforms, for a country that had not yet paid them back.
RED · THE STRIPES
Blood.
Thirteen stripes for the colonies that risked everything. "Hardiness and valor," in the words of the Continental Congress's own secretary when he explained the colors of the Great Seal in 1782.
WHITE · THE BARS
Treasure.
"Purity and innocence" — and the price paid in it. The years of a career. The games never played. The title purses given to Navy Relief and Army Relief. The seat on the bus that was not surrendered.
BLUE · THE FIELD
The Union.
"Vigilance, perseverance and justice." The field these men served under before it fully served them — and imagined, for the generations after them, that it would.
The campaign
Freedom isn’t free.
Service and sacrifice in the past is the spirit that keeps freedom moving forward — for all Americans, past, present and future. That is the through-line from 1776 to today.
96
exhibition bouts Sgt. Joe Louis fought for the troops
266
games Pvt. Willie Mays gave to the Army, 1952–54
180k
Black soldiers in the U.S. Colored Troops, 1861–65
1948
Executive Order 9981 desegregates the armed forces
SOURCES · Charles Thomson on the Great Seal, 1782 · U.S. Army · Baseball Hall of Fame · National Park Service · National Archives
The films · Kevin Clark, producer
Vignettes, the trailer, the pitch and the classroom programming — all from the Victory by Valor channel. Click a poster to play, or open a film for its notes.
ALL 12 FILMS →Marquee · 4:46
Victory by Valor — Trailer
The marquee. From segregation to celebration.
9:00 · YOUTUBE · KEVIN CLARK
Standing On The Shoulder
How the door to Officer Candidate School was opened.
4:58 · YOUTUBE · KEVIN CLARK
For Love of Liberty
Kevin Clark, executive producer · NAACP Image Award 2011, Outstanding Documentary.
15:40 · YOUTUBE · KEVIN CLARK
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
The 1990 TV movie — an excerpt, uploaded by a third party.
Willie Mays · video
Pvt. Willie Mays, U.S. Army
The Army Took 274 Games From Willie Mays | Do The Math
YouTube · Old Ball Game Studios · not affiliated
Willie Mays: Baseball's Patriot, Serving His Country During the Korean War
YouTube · buzzgeek · not affiliated
Tribute · Vimeo
Willie Mays — a Victory by Valor tribute
Kevin’s tribute to the Say Hey Kid, Pvt. Willie Mays, U.S. Army (1931–2024). Hosted on Vimeo; opens in a new tab.
OPEN ON VIMEO ↗Pittsburgh Courier · 7 February 1942
In January 1942 a defense-plant cafeteria worker from Wichita named James G. Thompson wrote to the Pittsburgh Courier and asked: “Should I sacrifice to live half-American?” The paper answered with a campaign.
Victory abroad
Over fascism.
Joe Louis enlisted in January 1942, the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. The 761st Tank Battalion went into the line in October 1944 and fought to the gates of Gunskirchen. Black Americans fought the war — every theater, every branch.
Victory at home
Over racism.
The fight for the right to fight — and the right to sit anywhere on the bus. On 6 July 1944 at Camp Hood, Texas, 2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson refused a driver's order. He was court-martialed on 2 August and acquitted on every charge.
Executive Order 9981 · 26 July 1948
1948SIGNED · PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN
“There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.”
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981 · NATIONAL ARCHIVES · THE ORDER THAT DESEGREGATED THE U.S. ARMED FORCES
The service ribbon · 1776 → today
A timeline for scholars. Every stop is a date, a photograph and a source — from the Declaration to the H.E.R.O. Project.
READ THE FULL TIMELINE →- 177601 / 14
1861–6502 / 14United States Colored Troops
Nearly 180,000 Black soldiers serve the Union in the U.S.C.T. Frederick Douglass argued that a man with an eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder had earned his citizenship.
Source · National Park Service
186603 / 14Buffalo Soldiers
Congress authorizes the first peacetime regiments of Black regulars — the 9th and 10th Cavalry, the 24th and 25th Infantry.
Source · National Park Service
1917–1804 / 14The Western Front
Black regiments such as the 369th Infantry — the "Harlem Hellfighters" — fight under French command in the First World War.
Source · National Archives
7 Feb 194205 / 14The Double V
The Pittsburgh Courier launches the Double Victory campaign — victory over fascism abroad, victory over racism at home — after James G. Thompson asks, "Should I sacrifice to live half-American?"
Source · National Park Service
6 Jul 194406 / 14Lt. Robinson keeps his seat
At Camp Hood, Texas, 2nd Lt. Jackie Robinson refuses a driver's order to move to the back of an Army bus. Court-martialed 2 August; acquitted on every charge.
Source · National WWII Museum
- 4 May 194507 / 14
The 761st reaches Gunskirchen
Robinson's old battalion, the Black Panthers, fighting since October 1944, comes upon the Gunskirchen camp in Austria. Presidential Unit Citation, finally, in 1978.
Source · National WWII Museum · HISTORY
15 Apr 194708 / 14The color line falls
Jackie Robinson takes first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Every 15 April, all of baseball wears 42.
Source · Baseball Hall of Fame
26 Jul 194809 / 14Executive Order 9981
President Truman: "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
Source · National Archives
1952–5410 / 14Pvt. Mays at Fort Eustis
The reigning Rookie of the Year is drafted during the Korean War and serves as a physical-training instructor in Virginia, missing about 266 games.
Source · Baseball Hall of Fame · U.S. Army
28 Apr 196711 / 14Ali refuses induction
Muhammad Ali, world heavyweight champion, refuses induction into the U.S. Army at Houston as a conscientious objector. Stripped of his title the same day; convicted in June and sentenced to five years.
Source · WHSV · This Day in History (28 Apr 2026) · Clay v. United States, 403 U.S. 698 (1971)
Watch · WHSV ↗
1967–6912 / 14Lt. Ashe at West Point
Systems analyst and assistant tennis coach at the Military Academy — and, in 1968, champion of the first US Open while on active duty.
Source · Library of Virginia · Tennis Hall of Fame
198713 / 14Ensign Robinson, Annapolis
David Robinson graduates the Naval Academy and reports to the Civil Engineer Corps before the Spurs — "The Admiral."
Source · Naismith Hall of Fame
- Today14 / 14
The H.E.R.O. Project
Higher Education Resiliency Operation: student assembly screenings, Did-You-Know vignettes, JROTC programming and a speaker's bureau — finding the hero within.
Source · Dakar Foundation
Two uniforms · the dossiers
Seven men who wore the athletic uniform and the uniform of the United States with distinction. Hover or tap a portrait to see the other uniform; open a dossier for the full record.
ALL SEVEN DOSSIERS →TWO UNIFORMS
Stealing home · Brooklyn Dodgers2nd Lt. Robinson · U.S. Army, 1943
2nd Lt.U.S. Army · 761st Tank Battalion
Jackie Robinson
The first Black player in modern Major League Baseball was, three years earlier, a second lieutenant who would not move to the back of an Army bus.
b. 31 JAN 1919OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
The Brown Bomber · in the ringSgt. Louis · U.S. Army
Sgt.U.S. Army · Special Services
Joe Louis
The heavyweight champion of the world enlisted as a private in January 1942 and spent the war boxing for the troops.
b. 13 MAY 1914OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
Pound for pound · in the ringU.S. Army, 1943–44 · HOMAGE card
Sgt.U.S. Army · Joe Louis boxing troupe
Sugar Ray Robinson
Pound for pound the greatest — and, for fifteen months of the war, a soldier boxing exhibitions beside Joe Louis.
b. 3 MAY 1921OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
The Say Hey Kid · sliding inPvt. Mays · U.S. Army, 1952
Pvt.U.S. Army · Fort Eustis, Virginia
Willie Mays
The reigning Rookie of the Year was drafted in 1952 and gave the Army most of two seasons — then came back and won the World Series.
b. 6 MAY 1931OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
Serving · the open eraLt. Ashe · U.S. Army
1st Lt.U.S. Army · U.S. Military Academy, West Point
Arthur Ashe
A lieutenant at West Point won the very first US Open — while on active duty.
b. 10 JUL 1943OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
The Admiral · San Antonio SpursLt. (j.g.) Robinson · U.S. Navy
Lt. (j.g.)U.S. Navy · Civil Engineer Corps
David Robinson
The Naval Academy's best player owed the Navy two years before the NBA — and kept the promise.
b. 6 AUG 1965OPEN DOSSIER →
TWO UNIFORMS
In the USA singlet, bib 295 · Mexico City, 1968Capt. Pender on a field telephone · Vietnam
Capt.U.S. Army · 82nd Airborne · 9th Infantry Division
Mel Pender
Twice the Army pulled him out of a war to run for the United States, and twice it sent him back.
b. 31 OCT 1937OPEN DOSSIER →
Voices · not in uniform on this page
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Historian · author of Brothers in Arms, the story of the 761st Tank Battalion
Speaker in Kevin Clark's Victory by Valor films
Voices · not in uniform on this page
Muhammad Ali
The counterpoint · on 28 April 1967, at the Houston induction center, he refused to step forward for the U.S. Army — the answer Lt. Ashe and Capt. Pender did not give
Stripped of the world heavyweight title the same day · convicted 20 June 1967 · conviction overturned by a unanimous Supreme Court, 28 June 1971 · Photo: Ira Rosenberg, World Journal Tribune, 1967 — Library of Congress, no known copyright restrictions
This Day in History · WHSV, 28 April 2026 ↗
Voices · not in uniform on this page
Brig. Gen. Arnold Gordon-Bray (Ret.)
Speaker's bureau · led the 82nd Airborne's "Falcon Brigade" in Iraq, 2003 · deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Cadet Command
From the Dakar Foundation proposal, November 2024 · Photo: U.S. Army ceremony, supplied by Kevin Clark
Higher Education Resiliency Operation
A case study in how to activate the H.E.R.O. gene in every student: film, a museum-grade mini-exhibit and a speaker's bureau, delivered through military observance days, student assemblies and JROTC.
THE PROGRAMS IN FULL →H · Higher E · Education R · Resiliency O · Operation
The official H.E.R.O.® mark — the phoenix on the chest is the gold of this site.
01
Student assembly screenings
Short stories captured as "Did-You-Know" vignettes, screened for students and shared on social media.
02
The panel: what is a Hero?
A discussion supported by the vignettes that challenges students to define a hero — and to find the hero within.
03
Curriculum for educators
A lesson plan and curriculum that fuels the interactive military timeline with guided resources from the For Love of Liberty curriculum.
04
JROTC programming
Classroom activations for ages 16–24 connecting local outreach programs, instructors and students.
05
Speaker's bureau
Hall of Fame athletes, historians and Brig. Gen. Arnold Gordon-Bray (Ret.) in moderated conversations with a showcase of rare media.
06
Interactive veteran interviews
StoryFile-style conversations with living legends and veterans — such as Romay Davis of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
The proposal · November 2024
Victory by Valor — an integrated strategy of film, museum and speaker bureaus.
Dakar Foundation's strategic-partnership proposal describes the vignette series, the Buffalo Soldier feature concept and the StoryFile collaboration. The language on this page is drawn from it.
Download the proposal (PDF)
Inspired by HOMAGE
Founder Kevin Clark was executive producer on the PBS documentary For Love of Liberty and is the writer of Victory by Valor — a social-media timeline of American heroes who played on the playing fields and fought on the battlefields.
A repository of facts
For Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the birthdays of the heroes — an observance calendar and the primary sources behind every date on this site. Anything we could not confirm against a primary source is marked [verify].
SOURCES, DOWNLOADS, HOW TO CITE →Observance calendar
- JAN 31Jackie Robinson born, 1919
- FEB 7Double V campaign launched, 1942
- APR 15Jackie Robinson Day — the debut, 1947
- MAY 3Sugar Ray Robinson born, 1921
- MAY 6Willie Mays born, 1931
- MAY 13Joe Louis born, 1914
- LAST MON · MAYMemorial Day
- JUL 10Arthur Ashe born, 1943
- JUL 26Executive Order 9981 signed, 1948
- AUG 6David Robinson born, 1965
- NOV 11Veterans Day
Sources
- 01VA · Veteran of the Day: Army Veteran Jackie Robinson
- 02National WWII Museum · United States v. 2LT Jack R. Robinson
- 03National Archives · Executive Order 9981 (milestone document)
- 04Truman Library · Executive Order 9981, full text
- 05National Baseball Hall of Fame · Jackie Robinson
- 06National Baseball Hall of Fame · Willie Mays
- 07VA · Joe Louis: A Champion for His Country
- 08Smithsonian NMAAHC · Joe Louis collection
- 09International Tennis Hall of Fame · Arthur Ashe
- 10Library of Virginia · Dictionary of Virginia Biography: Arthur Ashe
- 11Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame · David Robinson
- 12National Park Service · James Gratz Thompson, originator of the Double V
- 13National Park Service · Buffalo Soldiers
- 14Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Anthony Walton · Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion (book)
- 15Dakar Foundation · Strategic Partnership Proposal, November 2024 (PDF)
The campaign · past, present and future
Freedom
isn’t free.
The men and women who fought on the battlefields and won on the playing fields — Victory By Valor.
