Today I had the wonderful opportunity to walk in a local Veteran’s Day parade with the Daughters of the American Revolution. Days like today are wonderful times to reflect and think about the service of our loved ones both today and in previous generations.
Before the parade I spoke with a woman whose husband had served in Germany like my father had during the Vietnam War. During our conversation, it made me realize again how I wish I had recorded more of his experiences before he passed. I recorded interviews with my grandparents, but I didn’t think to interview my own father until it was too late.
Ancestry recently started a new project to record the stories of World War II Veterans. The site is requesting that the public submit videos of either veterans or second-hand witnesses telling about their experiences. The project website has the details: https://www.ancestry.com/cs/veterans. This site also include a list of good interview questions, with details about the service that will help make the interview useful for other researchers.
If you would like to do an audio interview, I really like StoryCorps and their app. The app helps the user record an interview and then upload it to be preserved by the Library of Congress. Details about the app are on their website: https://storycorps.org/participate/storycorps-app/. They also have great suggested interview questions. I have found it particularly enlightening hearing the response to the question “How would you like people to remember you?”
You can also check out my posts How to Interview Your Relatives and The “Veterans History Project” at the Library of Congress, and Great Questions to ask in a Veteran Interview.
Best wishes to you and the veterans in your life this Veteran’s Day.
Liane Jensen Research 