McCrabb: Valley View senior honored for dedication to veterans

But he’s more about history than hulk.

Woodward, a senior at Valley View High School, recently was named recipient of the LaSertoma International Progressive Youth Program 2026 God and Country Scholarship.

The Youth Service Award was originally envisioned by a member of the Dayton LaSertoma Club in 1960, when the award was presented to 14 students from Dayton area high schools.

It has grown to include all 33 public and private high schools in Montgomery and Preble counties.

The scholarship was presented to Woodward during halftime of a recent University of Dayton men’s basketball game.

Woodward will use the scholarship to help pay his college tuition at Sinclair Community College in Dayton where he plans to earn his associate’s degree in history, then his bachelor’s degree in history from Gettysburg University, University of Cincinnati or the University of Kentucky.

Woodward, who was introduced to his family’s military history by his grandfather in the fourth grade, has volunteered more than 2,000 hours at the Veterans Memorial Museum Foundation in Germantown.

David Shortt, curator of the museum that opened in 2009, called Woodward “a great resource and asset” because of his extensive knowledge of history and dedication to the museum.

“He’s always there when we need him,” said Shortt, 64, who retired from the Middletown Division of Police in 2012.

Having young volunteers like Woodward work alongside older veterans is “a win/win,” Shortt said. The teens can teach the veterans technology and the veterans can talk about their military experiences, he said.

Woodward said in the fourth grade he was shown Civil War relics that once belonged to his great-great-great-great grandfather, James Brown Woodward.

From that planted seed, Woodward has grown into a person dedicated to honoring veterans for their service and sacrifice.

His volunteering is “a way to give back to those willing to die or have died for us,” he said. “I want to thank them for their service.”

So whenever Woodward has free time, he prefers to spend it at the museum or on trips to Gettysburg when other teens would rather be at an amusement park or beach.

“Some kids don’t have any interest in history,” said Woodward, the 18-year-old son of Tim and Angie Woodward. “They think it’s old and boring so they don’t have an appreciation for it.”

Seth Turner Woodward isn’t one of those kids.