Veterans called on to preserve war history

Veterans, Uncle Sam still wants you.

The Library of Congress invites all veterans to participate in its Veterans History Project. The US Congress established the project to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans their stories and experiences in the service.

The resolution creating the Veteran’s History Project passed unanimously in both the Senate and House of Representatives and is run by volunteers. The project collects the stories of all veterans in all conflicts in addition to WWII veterans.

Veterans or members of their families should go to loc.gov/vets to download a Field Kit that gives important details and guidelines for conducting an interview. You may also call (888) 371-5848 to request a kit. Everything you submit becomes part of the Library of Congress collection.

In April at the Illinois State Library, the Illinois Court Reporters Association interviewed 28 disabled veterans to place their stories into the Library of Congress and the Illinois Digital Archives, said Jason Steinhauer, liaison specialist on the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.

“The Illinois Veterans History Project was launched by Secretary of State Jesse White to create a permanent record of the names and stories of Illinois war veterans and civilians who served during war,” said Steinhauer.

To learn more, go to cyberdriveillinois.com and click on “Illinois State Library.” Then click on “Illinois Veterans’ History Project” for details. As a convenience, the Illinois site has a link to the Library of Congress information at “Library of Congress Veterans History Project.”