Appropriations question?  Visit the Committee website.

E-mail
Senator Byrd

Leadership.      Character.      Commitment.

West Virginians have never flinched when called to military service, always answering the call of their nation to duty.  The experiences of these veterans are shared through tales of sacrifice and courage, of hardship and danger, of loss and survival.  Their stories are the stories of veterans across the country.

The Library of Congress has undertaken the mission of preserving those stories for generations to come.  Through its Veterans History Project, the Library is collecting the memories, accounts, and documents of war veterans and of those who served in support of them during World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf conflicts.  This national collection of artifacts will be available for use by all Americans, including students, teachers, researchers, and other veterans.

The Veterans History Project is only possible with the help of others.  Various organizations in West Virginia have agreed to partner with the Library of Congress to record veterans' stories.  West Virginia University, the West Virginia National Guard, and Marshall University are among the organizations which are gathering veterans' histories in the Mountain State.  A full list of partners is available on my Internet site or on the Library of Congress site.  As more organizations join in this effort, those lists will be updated.

Across the country, there are more than 19 million veterans, including approximately 202,000 in West Virginia.  Each has a unique story to tell of service to country.  In just the short time since its creation, the Veterans History Project has started to amass a remarkable collection of interviews and documentary materials that spans much of the 20th century.  The collection includes compelling accounts of wartime service from men and women representing many ranks, jobs, branches of service, and theaters of war.  I encourage West Virginia veterans to contact one of the partner organizations and ensure that their stories and recollections are saved for posterity.

The nation's veterans have repeatedly risked life and limb to defend the values that Americans hold dear.  Veterans can pass on the lessons that they have learned to a younger generation, thereby ensuring that their experiences will extend long into the future.  The men and women who serve in the Armed Forces are nothing short of heroes who have helped to shape history.  The fabric of our nation is made richer when the embodiment of history, our nation's veterans, share their knowledge.