World War II veterans are dying at a pace which will soon leave very few first person portrayals of those experiences. The Veterans History Project is preserving many of their memories along with those of veterans of other conflicts.
My father served in the Navy during WWII as a Lieutenant on convoy duty. His destroyers escorted the merchant marine and troop ships to Europe and back against the German U boat subs. It was stressful duty and I recall his stories about it growing up. I remember one family story about a time toward the end of the war after VE Day when he was home from the Pacific theater. He didn't know if he could return and face the enormous stress of battle again and my grandfather, my Mom's father, took him aside and explained the war was soon going to be over. That's all he could tell him but it was enough to reassure him.
Soon enough two Japanese cities were bombed with a new weapon and the war ended. My grandfather was involved with The Manhattan Project you see. He worked for DuPont which built all the facilities and labs and he coordinated everything between the company and the government. That's our family WW II story.
Every veteran has stories and memories and they're all important. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is holding workshops to help preserve these.
Help Preserve the Stories of
Pennsylvania’s Veterans:
News on Upcoming Veterans History Project Training Workshops
Washington, D.C. – With over one million veterans, Pennsylvania is home to one of the nation’s largest populations of Americans who have served in the armed forces. To ensure that the stories of bravery and sacrifice of these men and women who have defended our nation are not forgotten, U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz has partnered with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project to offer winter training workshops on February 19 and 20 in Philadelphia and Jenkintown.
The goal of the Veterans History Project is to establish a permanent national collection that preserves the experiences of war veterans by creating videotaped or recorded interviews and gathering written memoirs, as well as wartime letters, diaries and photographs. This collection captures the experiences of war veterans from all service branches, as well as the civilians who supported them on the home front.
During the February workshops, experts from the Library of Congress will present on how citizens and organizations can become involved with the Veterans History Project. Topics to be covered include oral history interviewing, audio and video documentation, and Veterans History Project guidelines.
To RSVP to the workshops, or for questions, please contact Karen Gurmankin, field representative at 215-335-3355.
Veterans History Project Training Workshop
Philadelphia
Tuesday, February 19, 2008, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Klein Branch Jewish Community Center
10100 Jamison Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19116
Jenkintown
Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Jenkintown Library
460 York Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046
This is Schwartz’s second year partnering with the Veterans History Project. In addition to offering training workshops in 2007, on Veterans Day 2007 Schwartz hosted a tribute event honoring hundreds of veterans, volunteers and organizations for their participation in the Veterans History Project.
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