Upton highlights the holidays as time for veterans, families to share history

Published 11:39 pm Wednesday, December 24, 2003

By Staff
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, the son of a World War II veteran, highlighted the holidays as an ideal time for veterans and their families to participate in the "Veterans History Project."
The Library of Congress and its American Folklife Center are asking all Americans to join in the creation of a national collection by interviewing war veterans using sound or video recording equipment, by asking them to write their memoirs or by collecting wartime letters, diaries and photographs.
Motivated by a desire to honor our nation's war veterans for their service and to collect their stories and experiences while they are still among us, Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000.
The collection will capture the experience of all participants -- men and women, civilian and military -- who participated in World War I, World War II and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf conflicts.
Interviewers might be veterans comparing their experiences with fellow veterans who fought in previous wars. They may be students, talking with veterans and home front supporters within their local communities as part of school projects. Or they may be grandsons and granddaughters coaxing grandparents to share their memories of America at war.
Instructions and guidelines to participate in the Veterans History Project are available at the Library of Congress' Web site, www.loc.gov./folklife/vets, or by calling the project message line at 1/888-371-5848.
Upton's Web site, www.house.gov/upton, also links directly to the Veterans History Project.