The Veteran's History Project captures memories of war, stories of valor, struggle and survival.
Mandated by Congress in 2000, the mission is to capture the stories nationwide of veterans, nurses and civilians on the home front who were impacted by World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The videotaped interviews of veterans as well as any photos or memorabilia they donate become part of the Library of Congress collection.
A program Sunday afternoon at the Dennos Museum highlighted the stories of Vietnam veterans that have been taped in the region.
Jim Press, a history teacher at Northwestern Michigan College and a champion of the project, described his work and the Vietnam War to an audience of 35 people. Ninety people total visited the Janis Room throughout the afternoon Sunday to view his materials. They could also watch portions of the 60 oral histories of veterans made by Press and his history students during the past two years.
"The emphasis is on combat veterans but we do interview other veterans and the Library of Congress is very eager to get interviews with woman on the home front during World War II," said Press, a retired Army
lieutenant colonel. "The Library of Congress is putting an emphasis on the World War II generation because out of 12 million who served, that generation is beginning to slip away; 1,500 a day are dying."
"It's very important that we record these — for the veterans and for history," added Press of veteran's stories from all American wars.
The inaugural Off the Wall: Sundays at the Dennos program conducted by Press launches a new feature that will bring interdisciplinary programs to the museum to accompany a major exhibit. The Blast From the Past: Art of the 1960s exhibit, which will be at the museum through November 26, dovetailed neatly with the Veterans History Project.
Not just the Vietnam War but World War II impacted the art of the 1960s, noted Diana Bolander, curator of education and interpretation at the Dennos Museum.
"Vietnam definitely had an impact on these artists and there's specifically a couple of pieces in the gallery of pop art that are very connected to politics and war," she said. "Also, World War II affected the abstract expressionism movement that continued on through the 1960s and there's many examples of this through the galleries. A lot of those artists were in the war and they came back and abstract expressionism is all about raw emotion and getting it out through color and form."
The oral histories captured in the Veteran's History Project plumb emotions that may be anywhere from decades to months old. Press prepares his students, who work in teams of three from a list of questions provided by the Veteran's History Project, for the powerful emotions that sharing these stories — sometimes for the first time — can evoke in the veteran they are interviewing.
"In many cases, these memories have not been talked about in 50-60 years," said Press. "In many cases, they will break down and weep."
Press assigns interviewing veterans for the project as a way to make the history they only read about or see in movies come alive. He prepares his students, who are a great source of recommendations for interviews, by teaching them the basics of military life in all five service branches, chain of command, ranking, tactics, weaponry, basic training, branches and common acronyms.
"As far as student impact, it's very important to them — I'll never give it up," said Press, who worries about running out of veterans to interview as well as the scarcity of Vietnam Veterans participating. "It's the best assignment I've ever had for my students."
For more information on the Veteran's History Project, contact Press at 995-1327.