The FReeper Foxhole -

Dec. 6, 2002

[Jen]

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

Veterans History Project
Keeps War Memories Alive

There are over 19 million veterans living in the U.S. today. With each is a personal story of battles fought, victories and defeats. Each story, though sometimes heartbreaking, is full of love, dedication and patriotism.

---

War correspondent May Craig
interviews a soldier, ca. 1945.

---

That's how Peter Bartis describes his work with the Veterans History Project. The grassroots effort that began two years ago -- and has now caught fire -- is hoping to keep those memories alive.

Bartis, a senior program officer for the project, said that each day some 1,500 U.S. veterans die -- and with them a treasured part of the nation's past. "These are some of the most amazing stories; when you put them all together you get a story of the nation," he said.

Over the past year alone, the project's staff of 16 has already collected more than 14,000 items, such as letters and other memoirs, and video and audiotape interviews.

"We're all just blown away by these stories," he said. "The information has been very rich, it's been emotional, and it's very heartening to listen to the stories, to learn how and why they (veterans) joined, their war-time experience."

With the idea that future generations could learn from the histories of the nation's veterans, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, began the effort to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans -- men, women, civilians who served in World Wars I and II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. The center needs contributions of civilian volunteers, support staff, and war industry workers also.

Bartis said the amount of regular mail and the number of e-mails and phone calls vary from day to day, "but the response to this project has been enormous." "We get to know a lot of these people personally. That's the fun part," he said. Aside from the thousands of items received from everyday Americans each year, Bartis said the project has gained tremendous support from the corporate community as well.

The Veterans History Project's official Web site lists more than 50 national partners and support organizations from every state. The military services contribute through offices such as the Army's U.S. Center of Military History and the Naval and Marine Corps Historical centers, as well as DoD's official committee commemorating the 50th Korean War anniversary. Major national veterans associations are well-represented also.

"This is not our project or the library's project. This is the nation's project," Bartis said. "We want people of all walks of life to feel ownership of this project."

Learn more about the Veterans History Project.

[reformed_democrat]

Thanks for the PING.

My son will love this thread.

[Jen]

Thank you Tonk. You are welcome to post your Post Office links here too.

[Alberta's Child]

Thanks for the ping, Victoria. Great song!

[SAMWolf]

The Canteen is still being posted.

Here's the link to today's thread.

68-69Tonkingulfyatchclub is posting the Canteen now.

He's providing a place for active duty personnel and their families to enjoy. Snow Bunny is no longer at Free Republic, someone at the Canteen can provide you with the details.

[Darksheare]

Air policeman, that like an MP?

He was probably more qualified to organize a defense than the CO. Most MP types are. I still think there must be a way to get rid of that bad idea on wheels known as the Stryker. All the high tech gizmos in th world won't help you survive if the fuel tank's on fire, or you're stuck in sand.

Somehow.

[conservativemusician]

I don't have a functional scanner, but I know there is pictures of his plane, both before and after it blew up, somewhere on the net. I'll ask my mom, she knows where to find them. Ya think at my age I'd be able to handle this stuff...

[glock rocks]

thanks, Misty. the enemies of liberty really tried to make Bushmaster a bad word lately.

hbar vtop. it's a beauty-ful thing.

[MistyCA]

I think I can understand, and I am not a veteran at all. But I do know that even the guys who came back from Vietnam alive often felt guilt about having survived. I have heard guys say that they were not in the heart of the battle so they didn't deserve the honor that some deserved. I think it is the same thing....some sort of guilt for not having faced the things others had to face. You were safe drinking beer in Germany and probably feeling somewhat guilty or inadequate because other guys were out there facing real horrors and trauma. But even the guy who sits holding the dying body of a buddy in his arms might feel that same sort of guilt because they didn't see the very worst of it. I think I understand what you are saying and I am sure it is valid because so many people seem to feel that way. My uncle even said something similar about landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He made it. Others all around him didn't. But he has horrible guilt about having traded duty with a guy who wound up getting blown to bits. He still believes the guy's wife would be really upset with him for having traded duty that day. Survivor's guilt. It's very sad.

[ConservaVet]

That is what it is called (JP-01) - those that experience it call it many other names...

[Darksheare]

"doing" rather than supervising.. did they forget that you lead by example?

The OpFor snipers were always looking for someone "Supervising".
And they were very good at finding them. Our LTC showed up one day during live fire during AT about four years ago. He jumped into the middle of us lowly e-4's and down and decided he was going to do what we were doing. His excuse?
"I don't want to get pegged by the OpFor as an officer."
that, and he said something about back when he was a captain, they didn't let the officers play with the equipment. Or something like that.
Made me think of, "Mommy won't let me out to play today. Not with you green guys."

Would've loved to have had you as an NCO in my old unit. We had too many supervisers and not enough doers.

[LasVegasMac]

I was working for (as a contractor) an Army O-4 - a real, live Ranger - when that beret thing happened. Talk about one pissed off individual.

Sad thing when the top leadership starts playing the PC game. Actually, it's sick.

LVM

[Darksheare]

The new kinder gentler Army.
You say please and thank you t the OpFor and you never ever tell them that thye're the enemy. You tell them that they're are enslaved to a socio-political entity that is odious to the thinking of the minds of the world's leaders.

Oh, and artillery's job isn't to blow things up and kill people. It's to deny, delay, harrass, and destroy equipment. Never people. (I do so hate the PC BS...)

[MistyCA]

I want to hear more. Don't ever apologize here for recounting the memories. We want to hear them all. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are enjoying the music.

[185JHP]

Thanks. Memories flowing now.

[FrogMom]

Thanks, will do.

[Darksheare]

I served here in the states in the Guard and watched the PC BS bring the military to a pitiful point. I'm hoping that maybe someone in a good ranking position with the stripes and bars to do something about it will read some of these and do something. (I guess that's what I want to do with this. Like I said. I have no idea how to try an dmake things better for the next guy.)

Not so much survivor's guilt here.. probably more along the lines of "Hey, this is my country and you just hurt it."
My family calls me the 'super-patriot' of the family. When everyone was calling Clinton a perjuror (which he is) I was calling him a traitor (which he is). Didn't make myself popular, didn't try to. But I did do my best with the guys I was assigned with. On advanced party, I was the senior guy. I had more years doing that than the Gunny did. So I did my best to keep 'my' troops in one piece. More or less I succeeded. One of the guys I trained went on to become gunner for his section. The rest did other things like prime mover driver and ammo team chief. (Nothing funnier than a SPC-4 doing the job of an E-5.)

[BobFromNJ]

Thank you for your message-- A lot of Finance Corps guys never ever got the Thanks you just sent!!

[Vic3O3]

ping--you need to contribute.

[SAMWolf]

Sounds like you got caught up in Operation "Nordwind".

[SAMWolf]

The Stryker has it's place but not as a rplacement for heavy armor. I think the Marines have the right idea with their LAV.