Alvin P. Carey was born in Lycippus, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 1916, and graduated from Ligonier Valley High School in 1935. Carey enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 24, 1941, and landed in France with the 2nd Infantry Division on June 7, 1944. He sustained combat injuries the following month and was awarded the Purple Heart. Staff Sergeant Carey returned to the front and was killed in action on August 23, 1944, near Plougastel, Brittany, France, while single handedly destroying a German pillbox and its machine gun allowing his unit to capture an enemy stronghold. President Harry Truman posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Carey and the Medal of Honor was presented to Anna Mae Carey, the widow of Staff Sergeant Carey, on May 21, 1945. Carey was initially buried at a military cemetery in France but his body was returned to the United States in 1945 and was subsequently reinterred and buried at Ligonier Valley Cemetery in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

John C. Ewing was born near Donegal, Pennsylvania on March 4, 1843, and he and his family later moved to a farm just south of Ligonier. Ewing enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 12, 1864, and served in the Civil War. On April 2, 1865, while fighting for Company E of the 211th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Battle of Five Forks, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, he charged enemy lines and successfully captured several Confederate soldiers and the 61st Alabama battle flag. For his valor, Private Ewing was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 20, 1865. Ewing died on May 23, 1918, and was buried at Ligonier Valley Cemetery in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

Lieutenant Colonel Craig Minnick, U.S. Army (Retired), a graduate of Ligonier Valley High School, and his wife Rebecca founded the Staff Sergeant Alvin P. Carey Memorial Scholarship in October 2022 for graduating seniors from Ligonier Valley High School. After discussion with family members of Staff Sergeant Carey and Private Ewing, the scholarship was renamed the Staff Sergeant Alvin P. Carey and Private John C. Ewing Medal of Honor Scholarship in June 2023. In addition, eligibility was expanded to include graduating seniors from Ligonier Valley and Greater Latrobe High Schools.