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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 12/06/2002 12:33:24 PM PST by Jen
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| 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.
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Veterans History Project 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.
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Help with the acronym, please. Is that Partly Mission Capable - Supply? Huh?
Oh I am, MistyCA, truly.
Over the years, I've gotten my parents to relate their "war stories" to me. All I can tell you is, neither of them has yet related the truly "intimate" story of their experience in this most worthy public project. For various reasons, Mom and Dad saved that for their kids.
Dad doesn't want to elaborate on his personal experiences in wartime. He'd give you the facts and figures anytime. But there is a personal reaction/experience involved here that we must not question too closely. Having spoken with him on this subject over a couple of decades by now (at least), I gather he never got over the death of beloved comrades in arms. To this day, he continues to hold God "personally" responsible for this terrible loss....
My mother, on the other hand, is not an "intellectual." Instead (IMHO), she has a great gift of intuition, married to common sense. If you were to ask my Mom about the "war stories" she didn't tell in the Veterans History Project, it would have to do with certain Hollywood celebrities. (This kind of stuff rarely gets into the "official" record.....)
Anyhoot, Mom wasn't with a "MASH"-type hospital. She was affiliated with an advanced surgical facility fairly well removed from the front lines. The "MASH" types sent their survivors to her. And she gave them (I am absolutely convinced) superlative care. Some of her patients were Japanese POWs. I gather she didn't have a different standard of professional (humanitarian) care for them -- even though a lot of her "Jap" patients initially thought they were about to be killed by "the enemy," at her hands, no less....)
But being removed from the "front line" was not a survival guarantee, not even for female Navy nurses, who were only there to give care. Mom tells the story of a lieutenant of nurses killed by a Japanese sniper late at night, while on a routine latrine call....
Anyhoot, the best stuff (from the prurient POV maybe!) Mom ever reported was in relation to various Hollywood celebrities that -- to their eternal credit -- stood up and allowed themselves to be counted during WWII. (I wonder if we could muster such a fine contingent of patriots out of present-day Hollywood...).
A lot of the celebrity types were flyers, joined to the various services. Where Mom was, the accent was on Naval flyers. Mom met a whole lot of Hollywood types there -- who were there simply to serve their country, not for purposes of "self-glorification" or self-agrandisement at all.
Of these men, there was one in particular whose company my Mom enjoyed on a fairly regular basis, for as long as these sorts of things last in wartime.
Lest you suppose the worst about my Mom, please let me elaborate. The local nurses were so hot for this guy (MEGA Hollywood star) that the poor man -- being homosexual -- just wanted to spend a peaceful evening with an understanding female -- so as to have a pretext to ditch the ravenous females that were gathering all about him, for assuredly nefarious purposes....
We should listen to our parents. They have such interesting tales to tell.... IMHO, FWIW :^)
Amen to that.
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