Local Veterans War Stories to be Recorded
Washington,
Nov 8 -
In commemoration of Veteran’s Day, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-North Coast) launched the first meeting of the Mendocino County Veterans History Project Steering Committee. The committee’s purpose is to assist in coordinating students from local schools as well as from the Scouts and other youth groups to interview veterans. Recordings of the written, oral or video interviews will be submitted to the Library of Congress to make personal accounts of war veterans accessible to future generations.
“This project is a valuable history lesson for young people to hear firsthand what serving our nation during war time means and to record the memories of family and community members for posterity,” said Congressman Thompson.
The VHP steering committee is contacting teachers and youth organization leaders as well as veterans who would like to participate. The focus for this project for the spring 2011 semester is World War II and Korean War veterans. The steering committee is also looking for veterans who would like to be coach mentors and work with a student and veteran throughout the project.
The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center was created by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
To date, the program comprises more than 68,000 individual collections, which include audio- and video-recorded interviews, original photographs, letters and other historical documents from veterans of every war and conflict since World War I.
Interested students, teachers and veterans, and anyone who would like to serve may Congressman Thompson’s district office at 707-962-0933.