WW II Stories

America loses hundreds of World War II veterans every day. With them go invaluable eyewitness accounts of a pivotal time in history. The producers of the Ken Burns documentary The War and the Library of Congress have mounted a nationwide search for stories of the WWII years, both from combat and from the homefront.

Ken Burns' THE WAR explores the history and horror of WWII from an American perspective. An important focus of this film is that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives. The film focuses on a handful of men and women from four American towns, but could have aimed its camera at any town in America for deeply personal stories about WWII.

KET has created a place on this web site for you to tell your story about WWII. Your story can reflect on life in the homefront or on the battlefield. Go to this web page to share your memories: http://www.ket.org/thewar/storycode.htm?page=5 . KET will collect your stories until May 31, 2008.

You can also browse or search for other stories about the war from your community and from around the country. Videos, original photos, original letters and more can also be sent to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

How do you want to share your story?
 
WRITE IT - I want to use my computer to write my story 3000 character limit, around 500 words
 
TELL IT - I want to call a toll free telephone number and tell my story 3 minute time limit

You can also upload a photograph to accompany your story.

The Veterans History Project
The Library of Congress set up the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect written stories, photos, audio and video recordings, diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts of wars in which America has been involved. These materials are not shared online. Instead, they become part of the national historical archives in Washington, DC.

You’ll find details about the project and how to participate at the Veterans History Project web site: http://www.loc.gov/vets/ .

Collecting stories by interviewing family members, friends, and neighbors makes a great project for a class or organization. The downloadable Veterans History Project field kit (PDF format) gives step-by-step instructions on conducting interviews and on sending tapes or documents to the LOC: http://www.ket.org/thewar/pdf/fieldkit.pdf.

This page viewed times since July 25, 2007.

Updated 07/24/2007