The Veterans History Project
Congresswoman Bono and the Library of Congress, through its American Folklife Center, invites veterans organizations, community groups and schools to participate in the new Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project will collect and preserve audio and video recorded oral histories from America's war veterans and those who served in support of them, along with other documentary materials such as photographs, diaries, and letters.
The project is targeted to veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. According to figures provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are nearly 19 million war veterans living in the United States today, but 1,500 die everyday.
Congress wants the public to be involved. Grandchildren may interview their grandparents; students interview community members; and veterans interview each other.
The Veterans History Project is asking libraries, veterans service organizations, museums, oral history programs, colleges and universities, and civic organizations to become Partners by endorsing the project; promoting it through newsletters, listservs and web sites; distributing project information, undertaking interviews; and collecting documentary materials.
The Veterans History Project is calling on veterans, their families and friends, historians, teachers, and students, senior care workers, members of civic groups, and others to join the Volunteer Corps to identify war veterans and those who served in support of them, to conduct interviews, and to inform the public about the project.
The Project will provide guidelines, instructional materials, and forms, and frequently updated project information on its web site.
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