Veteran's History Project

I've been given the opportunity to participate in the Veteran's History Project. It's a huge and sweeping effort by the Library of Congress to collect information about those who have served in the American military, and will ultimately be an invaluable resource for future generations. It's very cool, and is online at www.loc.gov/vets.

I'll be working with a group of folks who are recording video of veterans telling their own personal stories about their experiences in the service. My job will be to point a camera at these folks and prompt them to share their thoughts about their time as soldiers.

I am very excited about this, for several reasons. For one, it lets me shoot video that may end up being used in some PBS documentary some day, which may give me a completely anonymous 15 minutes of fame. (But I can point at the screen and say "Hey, I shot that!") But the far more important thing is that in some small way, I'll be helping the Nation remember and honor the people who guard our freedom, and who were willing to risk everything they had to defend the principles of liberty and justice that America stands for.

There are countless stories to be told, I'm sure. The main focus right now is on WWII Vets, as their numbers (and frankly, storytelling ability) decline, but eventually the project will encompass recent Veterans as well. There will be stories of chaos and heroism, adrenaline-fueled combat, and escapes from behind enemy lines. But there will also be stories of battles with egregious government paperwork, fights against unending utter boredom, and surely a few tales of lifelong bonds of friendship forged among these comrades in arms.

I will try to talk my brother into participating. When we were kids, he was mostly an annoyance -- eating cookies that should have been mine, attempting to hang out with me and my friends when we were obviously much too mature for him, and most aggravating of all, being better than me at sports and music. But I cannot adequately describe the pride I felt when he became an officer in the Marine Corps. We don't talk about it much, and I never tell him how much I appreciate his service, but that pride is always there, and always will be.

With his high IQ and good grades in college, he ended up involved in Intelligence. I'm not sure exactly what he did (and I'm not sure he could talk about it anyway), but I do know that he got to travel the world. He visited Iceland, Japan, Hawaii...and spent a lot of time on a ship somewhere out in the middle of the ocean. He flew on helicopters, learned a lot about military history and survival skills, and commanded a group of fine young men. He got bigger and stronger, became an even faster runner, and somehow picked up impressive public speaking skills. Surely some of those experiences would be of interest to the general public, don't you think?

But whether or not my brother ends up with an interview in the Library of Congress, I am really looking forward to meeting these other Veterans and recording their stories. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, remember that Veteran's Day is approaching -- November 11th. It's a good time to remind ourselves to be sure to thank those who serve now and who have served in the past, and to let them know we appreciate what they've done on our behalf. Let's do what we can to see that our best and bravest will have a great day on the 11th, and on every other day. Thanks!