Unlike the information about wars and conflicts conveyed in history textbooks at public schools, live interviews with veterans capture the stories with much more detail, emotion and hidden information that the textbooks do not always cover. For this reason, a national project was initiated by the United States Congress in hopes of preserving the living history of the people who were actually part of historical events. When veterans at Parkway Place heard of the Veterans’ History Project, they were eager to share their experiences and have them preserved in oral format in the Library of Congress. Arnold van Ek, a Red Cross volunteer who has been actively involved with the project, reached out to Parkway Place to start interviewing veterans. The veterans hope that their contribution will be beneficial to researchers and historians and are happy that it will give their families something to remember them by.
“Collecting stories in the form of an oral interview from veterans who are a part of this country’s history is a phenomenal idea, and I only wish they had come up with the idea sooner,” expressed Les Faulkner, a World War II veteran and resident at Parkway Place. “I was drafted into the Army in 1943 when the war was going hot and heavy. I want my first-hand experiences recorded, since I witnessed many events. One of those events was D-Day on June 6, 1944, when the United States invaded Normandy beaches to help liberate its allies from Nazi occupation. Not all of my experiences were so serious though. I recall a time when German soldiers were about the length of three football fields away from the Belgium border and headed our way. When we noticed them advancing, we jumped out in front of the border and mooned them! It was such a site, a bunch of 18-year-olds mooning the Germans. These are the types of stories you miss out on if you just read the textbooks.”
The United States Congress created the Veterans’ History Project in 2000 and the bill establishing the project was signed by President William Jefferson Clinton on October 27, 2000. The main purpose is to collect personal accounts from veterans so that future generations can better understand the realities of war.
“I’ve been an active volunteer for the American Red Cross for several years, and when I saw the bulletin requesting volunteers for the Veterans History Project, I signed up right away,” said Arnold. “I have conducted about 75 interviews so far and was looking for a new resource of veterans when I heard that Parkway Place was home to many veterans. I’ve met with a few residents so far and am in the process of scheduling others. I have heard so many fascinating stories since beginning work on the project. I have interviewed generals, soldiers who fought in combat, soldiers who did not fight in combat but had other vital roles, someone who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, someone who escaped death six times during World War II, and many others. This project is important because it gives recognition to the thousands of veterans who were willing to sacrifice their lives for this country. It is also imperative for research. There is a lot of information that would be lost and completely disappear if we did not record it.”
Arnold uses a video camera to record the interviews. After the interview is complete, he provides copies to the veterans, keeps a copy for his own records, and submits the interview along with all required forms to the Library of Congress. It typically takes about four to six months for the interview to be fully integrated into the Library of Congress.
“The personal accounts educate people on what we did and how we sacrificed our lives,” said John Carey, a World War II veteran and resident of Parkway Place. “During the war, I served in the Air Force as a gunner and a radio operator on the B-24 bomber planes. A typical day consisted of flying to our target, dropping our bombs and then returning home. One day, we noticed that a couple of bombs had not dropped, so the tail gunner and I went to the walkway to get the bombs released safely. Had we not released them, we could have risked exploding the entire plane and crew, as the jarring from the landing may have set the bombs off! I received a Distinguished Flying Cross for my service that day. Over the course of my service, I participated in 35 missions in Italy and these accounts would be lost if Arnold had not come to Parkway Place to record our tales. I am honored to have my historical memoirs shared in the Library of Congress.”
“This project is a lasting keepsake for the families of veterans,” said Michael Chaison, state manager, service to the armed forces of the American Red Cross. “We are losing over 1,000 veterans each day, so it is imperative to gather as many interviews as we can. We are one of many organizations that participates, and it is a completely volunteer effort. The American Red Cross has collected over 600 interviews so far. This project gives many veterans a place in the historical records and preserves information that would otherwise be lost.”
“We are thrilled that Arnold has come to us and requested to record the interviews of the veterans at Parkway Place,” said Jimmy Johnson, executive director of Parkway Place. “The families of the veterans are really excited about this opportunity as well. Many of the veterans at Parkway Place have fascinating stories to tell and I think it is wonderful that Arnold is taking the time to preserve them and share them with the rest of the country.”
Please visit www.loc.gov/vets to learn more about the Veterans’ History Project, find out how to participate and search the database to experience almost 13,000 of the 89,000 collections of veterans’ historical accounts that have been digitized.
“Collecting stories in the form of an oral interview from veterans who are a part of this country’s history is a phenomenal idea, and I only wish they had come up with the idea sooner,” expressed Les Faulkner, a World War II veteran and resident at Parkway Place. “I was drafted into the Army in 1943 when the war was going hot and heavy. I want my first-hand experiences recorded, since I witnessed many events. One of those events was D-Day on June 6, 1944, when the United States invaded Normandy beaches to help liberate its allies from Nazi occupation. Not all of my experiences were so serious though. I recall a time when German soldiers were about the length of three football fields away from the Belgium border and headed our way. When we noticed them advancing, we jumped out in front of the border and mooned them! It was such a site, a bunch of 18-year-olds mooning the Germans. These are the types of stories you miss out on if you just read the textbooks.”
The United States Congress created the Veterans’ History Project in 2000 and the bill establishing the project was signed by President William Jefferson Clinton on October 27, 2000. The main purpose is to collect personal accounts from veterans so that future generations can better understand the realities of war.
“I’ve been an active volunteer for the American Red Cross for several years, and when I saw the bulletin requesting volunteers for the Veterans History Project, I signed up right away,” said Arnold. “I have conducted about 75 interviews so far and was looking for a new resource of veterans when I heard that Parkway Place was home to many veterans. I’ve met with a few residents so far and am in the process of scheduling others. I have heard so many fascinating stories since beginning work on the project. I have interviewed generals, soldiers who fought in combat, soldiers who did not fight in combat but had other vital roles, someone who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, someone who escaped death six times during World War II, and many others. This project is important because it gives recognition to the thousands of veterans who were willing to sacrifice their lives for this country. It is also imperative for research. There is a lot of information that would be lost and completely disappear if we did not record it.”
Arnold uses a video camera to record the interviews. After the interview is complete, he provides copies to the veterans, keeps a copy for his own records, and submits the interview along with all required forms to the Library of Congress. It typically takes about four to six months for the interview to be fully integrated into the Library of Congress.
“The personal accounts educate people on what we did and how we sacrificed our lives,” said John Carey, a World War II veteran and resident of Parkway Place. “During the war, I served in the Air Force as a gunner and a radio operator on the B-24 bomber planes. A typical day consisted of flying to our target, dropping our bombs and then returning home. One day, we noticed that a couple of bombs had not dropped, so the tail gunner and I went to the walkway to get the bombs released safely. Had we not released them, we could have risked exploding the entire plane and crew, as the jarring from the landing may have set the bombs off! I received a Distinguished Flying Cross for my service that day. Over the course of my service, I participated in 35 missions in Italy and these accounts would be lost if Arnold had not come to Parkway Place to record our tales. I am honored to have my historical memoirs shared in the Library of Congress.”
“This project is a lasting keepsake for the families of veterans,” said Michael Chaison, state manager, service to the armed forces of the American Red Cross. “We are losing over 1,000 veterans each day, so it is imperative to gather as many interviews as we can. We are one of many organizations that participates, and it is a completely volunteer effort. The American Red Cross has collected over 600 interviews so far. This project gives many veterans a place in the historical records and preserves information that would otherwise be lost.”
“We are thrilled that Arnold has come to us and requested to record the interviews of the veterans at Parkway Place,” said Jimmy Johnson, executive director of Parkway Place. “The families of the veterans are really excited about this opportunity as well. Many of the veterans at Parkway Place have fascinating stories to tell and I think it is wonderful that Arnold is taking the time to preserve them and share them with the rest of the country.”
Please visit www.loc.gov/vets to learn more about the Veterans’ History Project, find out how to participate and search the database to experience almost 13,000 of the 89,000 collections of veterans’ historical accounts that have been digitized.