WASHINGTON, D.C. - Third District Congressman Jon Porter issued the following Veterans Day statement:

“Our great nation’s history is defined by the actions of members of our Armed Forces, who have served their country with honor and dignity.  They have liberated continents, rid the world of dangerous tyrants, and contributed to the spread of democracy, earning the admiration of all Americans along the way.  For our veterans’ service, and for the continued sacrifices our brave men and women in uniform make every day across the globe in the name of freedom, we are forever grateful.”

Porter is using Veterans Day as an opportunity to promote participation in the Veterans History Project, which is administered through the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center.  The aim of the Project, which was created in 2000, is to preserve stories of wartime service by collecting personal narratives from individuals involved in World War I, World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars, and the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.  Through these audio and video taped interviews, the unique stories and sacrifices of thousands of Americans are stored in a central database accessible to the public.

“We need to make every effort possible to increase Veterans History Project awareness in Southern Nevada,” said Porter.  “In the past month, my office has conducted 15 new interviews, which I recently delivered to the Library of Congress.  However, tens of thousands of Nevada veterans’ stories still have yet to be collected.  I strongly encourage veterans to come forward and share their experiences, and urge the public to get involved in the collection process as well.”

Veterans History Project interviews are conducted with the military men and women who participated in the aforementioned wars, as well as with the civilian volunteers, support staff, and war industry workers whose contributions were vital to the war efforts.  Wartime correspondence and visual materials, including letters, postcards, photographs and scrapbooks, are also being collected and added to the database.

Additional Veterans History Project information, such as how to share or collect stories and materials, can be found on Congressman Porter’s website at www.house.gov/porter/vhp.html.

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