Established in 2000 by Congressional legislation, the Veterans History Project (VHP) has its roots in a simple family gathering. While at a Father’s Day picnic, Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) overheard his father and uncle swapping stories from their service in World War II and the Korean War. Realizing the fleeting nature of these reminiscences, he grabbed a video camera to record his relatives’ accounts for posterity. This brief experience was the impetus for Congress to create a national, grassroots oral history initiative, which would allow participants to interview veterans in their lives and communities, with the resulting recordings archived as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

VHP’s collecting scope quickly grew to include other types of original source materials, such as letters, diaries, and photographs; in 2016, new legislation expanded the scope to include oral histories from “family members of the Armed Forces who died as a result of their service during a period of war.” For over 20 years, the Veterans History Project has collected, preserved and made accessible the firsthand narratives of U.S. military veterans.

The year of celebration for America’s semiquincentennial is the perfect time to honor veterans, and the Mississippi Library Commission is seeking to increase the number of Mississippi veterans’ stories included in the national collection. If you, or someone you know would be a good candidate for this initiative, please complete our brief recommendation form!

Submission criteria for the project will include one or more of the following:

• a 30-minute audio or video interview
• a 20-page written manuscript (diary, journal, memoir)
• a collection of 10 original photographs or letters