The Veteran’s History Project was created in 2000 to preserve the stories of our men and women in the armed forces. This ongoing effort collects not only service history but interviews, recordings, photographs, and more. The project is available through the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
The Veteran’s History Project was created in 2000 to preserve the stories of our men and women in the armed forces. This ongoing effort collects not only service history but interviews, recordings, photographs, and more. The project is available through the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
The records included in the project are submitted from volunteers across the country; veterans, their families, friends, and community members. It will give you a snapshot of the time spent in military service and is an excellent starting point, especially for those with more recent activity.
The amount of information listed varies, but the records usually include the following information about your ancestor:
Name
Gender
War or conflict
Entrance into service
Dates of service
Birth state
Residence state
Race
Branch of service
Military status
Highest rank
Location of service
Unit of service
Source collection
Contributor name
Contributor affiliate organization
Interviewer
Type of resource
Citation
Things that could be mentioned in this section include the following (however, some you may choose to mention in the prior section. You may even wish to include them in both sections, as only the first section is automatically 'open' on the landing page):
The project continues to grow and updates are made occasionally to the American Folklife Center website. It is a good idea to check back for additional information or new entries.
The material provided to the Library of Congress can take the form of video or audio recordings, documentation - including personal letters, written memoirs and so on. Locating an individual in the index should be a first step; the second step would be to access the physical materials held as part of the collection (by appointment).
More information about the project – including how you can contribute – is available through the American Folklife Center website (https://www.loc.gov/vets/about.html).