In these troubled times it is important for all us to remember and honor those who served their country in the armed forces, and to reflect on how that service impacts their lives, and ours.
Are you are a veteran? We urge you to tell your story. If you know a veteran, we urge you to encourage and assist them in making sure that their story is preserved.
Over the past several years there has been an increase in awareness of the importance of creating records of the experiences of our military veterans. There are several nationwide efforts underway to collect these stories. The most ambitious is probably the Veterans History Project being conducted by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
The Project, “…collects, preserves and makes available the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.”
Veterans’ stories can be told through:
- Personal Narratives – audio and video taped interviews and written memoirs (our favorite)
- Correspondence – letters, postcards, v-mail, and personal diaries
- Visual Materials – photographs, drawings, and scrapbooks
The Project collects first-hand accounts of U.S. Veterans from the following wars:
- World War I (1914-1920)
- World War II (1939-1946)
- Korean War (1950-1955)
- Vietnam War (1961-1975)
- Persian Gulf War (1990-1995)
- Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts (2001-Present)
In addition, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories.
The Veterans’ History Project provides anyone interested in participating with a Field Kit and Individual Forms. These can be downloaded from the Project’s website http://www.loc.gov/vets/kitmenu.html.
Similar efforts by the American Veterans Center and the National Veterans History Archival Institute are also underway. Individual military services have their own veterans’ story initiatives too.
Many veterans need the support of family or friends. If you are helping a veteran to tell his or her story, conduct an oral history interview. Sit down with the veteran in a private setting with an audio or video recorder. Run through the list of questions you developed, but be ready to pursue interesting tangents to get more detail. The more you let people talk about what they remember, the more stories you will get.
At Stories To Tell, we are participating through the Association of Personal Historians, which is a partner in the Veterans History Project. If you, or your veteran, needs help getting his or her story told, get in touch and we’ll help you to gather those invaluable stories.
