The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center (commonly known as the Veterans History Project) was created by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 2000 to collect and preserve the firsthand remembrances of U.S. wartime

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s. Its mandate ensures future generations may hear directly from those who served to better understand the realities of war. It is a special project of the

American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife". The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the library in 1928 as a repo ...

, a research center of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. The program is conducted through Congressional offices and relies on a national network of veteran service organizations, universities, secondary schools, community groups and the general public to record interviews according to program guidelines. These and original letters, diaries, photos, memoirs and historic documents related to a veteran's wartime service are then preserved at the

. Through 2010 the project held more than 65,000 collections and was considered the largest oral history program of its kind in the nation. It serves as an important resource for scholars, historians, students and the general public. The Veterans History Project authorizing legislation ( Public Law 106-380) was sponsored by Representatives

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is in the western part of the state and is anchored by La Cros ...

, Amo Houghton, and Steny Hoyer in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators

Max Cleland Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a disabled U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star ...

and

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. It received unanimous support and was signed into law by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

on October 27, 2000.

Directors

* 2000-2006: Ellen McCulloch Lovell * 2006-2016: Robert Patrick * 2016- : Karen Lloyd

Associated media projects

Notable media projects associated with the Veterans History Project include: * A March 2007 screening of a series of films, shorts, and television episodes during

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...

titled "Women at War" highlighting American servicewomen participation in the major wars of the 20th century. ** March 2: '' Mad Parade'' (1931) and '' 100% American'' (1918) ** March 9: ''

Ladies Courageous ''Ladies Courageous'' (also called ''Fury in the Sky'' in a 1950 Realart re-release) is a 1944 war film based on the novel ''Looking For Trouble'' (1941) by Virginia Spencer Cowles. Directed by John Rawlins, the film stars Loretta Young and Gera ...

'' (1944) and ''

Women in Defense ''Women in Defense'' is a 1941 short film produced by the Office of Emergency Management shortly before the United States entered the Second World War. It was directed by John Ford. The Academy Film Archive preserved ''Women in Defense'' in 2008 ...

'' (1942) ** March 16: ''

Flight Nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacuat ...

'' (1953) and ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' episode season 7, episode 16: "Inga" (1979) ** March 23: An episode from the acclaimed TV series ''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

'' and a television report titled "Woman Doctor in Vietnam" (1966), which aired on the CBS news program ''The 20th Century'' ** March 30: ''

Courage Under Fire ''Courage Under Fire'' is a 1996 American war film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. It is the second collaboration between Washington and director Zwick. The film was released in the United States on July ...

'' (1996) * A joint community engagement during 2007 between the Veterans History Project and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

resulted in the September 7 airing of the seven-part Ken Burns PBS documentary '' The War''. The television miniseries underscores the VHP's objective of building the historic record by collecting first-hand recollections of wartime veterans. It also profiles civilians who work in support of war efforts, such as

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...

s and

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

volunteers. * The VHP launched a companion website on October 1, 2007, to "guide viewers through each episode, detail related historic events through the perspectives of hundreds of World War II veterans who contributed their recollections to the project archives, and showcase the wide variety of media contributed to the archives. * The VHP commemorated

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than d ...

on November 11, 2008, with a special online presentation featuring firsthand recollections of African American soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division of World War II. *The Veterans History Project commemorated its 10th anniversary through a host of various events and initiatives, including a commemorative anniversary event. The featured speaker for this event was

James H. Billington James Hadley Billington (June 1, 1929 – November 20, 2018) was an American academic and author who taught history at Harvard and Princeton before serving for 42 years as CEO of four federal cultural institutions. He served as the 13th Librarian ...

, the 13th Librarian of Congress, who called upon Americans to collect the stories of veterans on September 29th, 2010. *The VHP commemorated its 15th anniversary with a new web presentation titled "VHP at 15: Collections Over the Years," to memorialize fifteen collections through their existing online series, "Experiencing War." *The Veterans History Project celebrated its 20th anniversary with online concerts and panels, November 6–14, 2020 **November 6: Barbara Martin **November 7: "In Love and War" -

Roxanne Seeman Roxanne Joy Seeman is an American songwriter and lyricist. She is best known for her songs by Billie Hughes, Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, The Sisters of Mercy, The Jacksons, Jacky Cheung, and in ...

, songwriter with Elise Solberg, pianist and Hannah Goldblatt, singer **November 8: "Still Over There" - Franklin Tootle, Operation Song **November 9: Conversation on conversing: Veterans discuss VHP participation **November 10: "Old Glory" - Kimberley Mitchell, Operation Song **November 12: Organizational benefits to collaborating with VHP, panel discussion **November 13: "Precious Pearl" - Kimberley Mitchell, Operation Song **November 14: Volunteering to make history, panel discussion

References

External links

*
American Folklife Center
at the

* Veterans' Oral History Project Act () {{Authority control Veterans' affairs in the United States Military history of the United States Library of Congress 2000 establishments in the United States Works about military history of the United States Oral history