Veterans Heritage Project (VHP) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

(

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

) based in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

whose mission is to "Connect Students with Veterans™ in order to Honor Veterans, Preserve America's Heritage and Develop Future Leaders." The program engages middle school, high school, and college students with military veterans who share their personal stories of combat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, and other U.S. conflicts to serve as historical primary sources.

History

VHP was founded in 2004 by Barbara Hatch, a social studies teacher at

Cactus Shadows High School Cactus Shadows High School is a public high school located in Cave Creek, Arizona. It is the only high school in the Cave Creek Unified School District. In 1974 the first committee met in Cave Creek to form a high school. In the fall of 1982, ...

Cave Creek, Arizona Cave Creek is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,892. History Cave Creek w ...

, as an after-school club. In 1998, after her students saw the film ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

'', Hatch reached out to a local

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

Post in search of a Normandy veteran who would be willing to share his story. In 2004, she received a grant from the

Salt River Project The Salt River Project (SRP) encompasses two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the ...

to expand the program. In February 2017, Hatch was honored by Arizona Humanities with the 2017 Friend of the Humanities Award. In March 2018, VHP was selected from among 20 finalists in a nationwide program to receive the Community Service Hero Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. In December 2018, Hatch was awarded the Vietnam Veterans of America Achievement Medal by the American Council of the

Vietnam Veterans of America Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is t ...

Recordings

The oral histories are recorded and then published in numbered hard-cover volumes entitled ''Since You Asked™'' and archived along with videotapes in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as part of the

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

, which was created by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in 2000. The VHP database can be searched online and viewed by appointment in 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 rep ...

Reading Room in the Jefferson Building of the

. Each volume costs approximately $15,000 to publish, the cost of which is offset by donated tax credits. The first edition, ''Since You Asked: Arizona Veterans Share Their Memories'', was published in 2005 and included sixty-five interviews. Annual scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate excellence and exceptional dedication to their project. As of April 2018, 1,779 students had participated in the program, documenting the stories of 1,824 veterans. The program is active in 25 school chapters located in 17 Arizona cities.

References

{{Reflist Veterans' affairs in the United States Military history of the United States