07 · A repository of facts
For Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Jackie Robinson Day and the five birthdays: the observance calendar, the primary sources behind every date on this site, the downloads and how to cite us. Anything not yet confirmed against a primary source is marked [verify].
Observance calendar
ACADEMIC RESEARCH ↗- 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
Downloads
- Dakar Foundation — Strategic Partnership Proposal (PDF, Nov 2024)
The H.E.R.O. Project programs, the Buffalo Soldier feature concept and the StoryFile collaboration.
- Victory by Valor key art card (JPG)
For school newsletters and assembly slides. Key art © 2010 Dakar Interactive.
How to cite this site
Clark, Kevin, and the Dakar Foundation. Victory by Valor — The H.E.R.O. Project. Los Angeles: Dakar Foundation, 2026. https://victory-by-valor.vercel.app/ (accessed October 7, 2026).
For a hero dossier, cite the page URL (for example https://victory-by-valor.vercel.app/heroes/jackie-robinson/) and then the primary source listed at the foot of that dossier — this site is a guide to the record, not a substitute for it.
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)
What [verify] means
A date or rank we could not read in a primary or institutional source during the build. It stays on the page because it is the standard published account, but it is flagged so a researcher checks it before citing. The open items: Sugar Ray Robinson’s rank at discharge and title record; Arthur Ashe’s 1968 promotion date; David Robinson’s Kings Bay posting; Willie Mays’s rank (Pvt. or PFC).