Veterans' History Project

An op-ed piece in the Washington Post in March 2012 urged citizens to help the shrinking number of World War II veterans still living to record their stories before it's too late. John McNeill, a professor of history at George Washington University wrote movingly of the diminishing opportunities to get veterans' stories down in audio or video.
The article thrilled me, because I had recently finished interviewing and digitizing the story of my Bethesda friend, David Eden, M.D., who served as a young medical officer in England and Europe from June 1944 to May 1946.  Researching his stories gave me a better understanding of what it meant to be a young doctor at the time, and how his experience influenced the rest of his life.  They are available for public viewing (with his permission) on YouTube.  Here's the PlayList for Dave Eden.
The Washington Post article mentioned the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.  That project gives veterans and their families the opportunity to donate materials and interviews.  The requirements are stringent -- for example, no photocopies, only originals.  Our father's letters home from Europe (7th Army, 42nd Rainbow Division, France, Germany and Austria) document the concerns of soldiers on the line before, during and after VE day.  One of his daughters has the originals.  The others of us have carefully made photocopies.  The letters fill three large loose-leaf folders.  But...are we ready to give up the originals to the Library of Congress, where they may molder for future generations?  That will make for good talk at family get-togethers.