Veterans Day – Another Way to Say Thank You

My grandfather was born in 1921 in Elk Grove, CA. Like many young American men after December 7, 1941, he enlisted in the United State Military. He was anxious to fulfill his duty overseas, but because of his prior knowledge of airplane engine mechanics, the U.S. Army Air Corps decided his duty was to teach young pilots and mechanics how to fly and maintain B-17 and B-25 aircrafts at Mather Air Field in Sacramento, CA. He was proud of his service and so was I. When I was a freshman in high school, I was asked to write an essay about who I thought should be on the next U.S. postage stamp. I chose Grandpa. I wrote about how without his instruction, many of those young men wouldn’t have been able to safely fly their missions and how Grandpa’s job played a vital role in bringing those boys home. After I received an A for the assignment, I framed the essay and gave it to Grandpa. He wiped a tear, gave me a hug, and hung it in his office next to his commendation medals so he could read it every day.

Honoring stories, it is the least we can do for the men and women who sacrifice so much for our freedom. Whether they were in the thick of the fight or supporting the effort from home base, every veteran has a story that deserves to be honored. As we prepare to say thank you this Veterans Day, we might ask ourselves: how can we honor the stories of service members in our lives? Oral history is a fantastic way to honor one’s story. Just the act of showing someone that you want to listen to them is a great comfort. But, what if we took it a step further? What if there was a way we could honor their story through preservation? The Library of Congress has the answer.

The Veterans History Project (VHP) is a project that collects, archives, and digitally displays oral and written histories of any service member in the United States Armed Forces who served during the 20th and 21st centuries. The project is a part of the American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress and it is a free service to all veterans and their families. Any veteran, no matter what branch of service or tenure of service can submit their story to be preserved at the Library of Congress as an artifact of American military history.

The VHP relies mainly on public submissions and they have published their own oral history Field Kit to educate families on how to interview their loved ones and submit their stories to the VHP archive. The Field Kit is free and available for download on their website: https://www.loc.gov/vets/. With the veteran’s permission, once the submission is received and processed it will be displayed among thousands of oral histories from veterans as part of the VHP’s digital archive on their website. These oral histories can be searched by conflict, location of service, or military branch and is a great resource for veterans to hear the stories of their brothers and sisters in arms.

Let’s honor their voices by respectfully preserving them. At the VHP, veteran stories are proudly maintained by world-class digital archivists who serve to protect the stories of those who served to protect us.

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Remember to enjoy the journey and thank you to our military heroes! As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions at www.sarajaneruggles.com.