Voluntary Service - Veterans History Project:
Preserving the Stories of Those Who Served.

The Veterans History Project, sponsored by the Library of Congress seeks to capture the personal stories of veterans that history books omit. Veterans are interviewed and video-taped. After editing, these stories are sent to the Library of Congress.

Some veterans participate in the project out of love of country and honor in serving. Others choose to be a voice on behalf of their fellow veterans. For Marilyn Shoemake, a MASH nurse during the Korean War era, becoming part of the Veterans History Project allowed her to play a part in educating a generation of school children whose only contact with war comes from television news.

"It's amazing how many people haven't heard of the Korean War," says Shoemake, a volunteer at PVAMC. "In the beginning it was called a police action, then a conflict, and eventually The Forgotten War. There are still over 8,000 unaccounted and missing veterans that we won't forget."

Shoemake enlisted in the Army in 1950 and was quickly sent to Korea with minimal military training. She remembers being struck by how young the soldiers were in her first ward assignment, especially the 14-year-old boy with frostbitten fingers. She was soon sent to a MASH unit in Eastern Korea about five miles from the front, where she worked in a post-op ward. She worked long hours, helped many soldiers, and made lifelong friends.

Although the Korean War veterans organization commonly visits local schools to talk about the war's history, Shoemake notes, the Veterans History Project is greatly expanding resources for educating today's youth.

The United States Congress created the Project in 2000 because almost 1,500 veterans are dying each day, and today's generation and future Americans have much to learn from those who served. The ambitious project aims to record histories of veterans from all eras, in all branches of the military, as well as civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts. The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., recognizing the urgency of collecting histories and the value of engaging the American public in its own history, has coordinated the effort. Participating centers, including PVAMC, is collecting oral history interviews, memoirs, letters, diaries, photos and various mementos.

In a joint effort with Medical Media and volunteers, PVAMC's Voluntary Service is currently videotaping personal histories with local veterans at the Portland and Vancouver divisions. Ultimately the edited versions of these interviews will be submitted to the Library of Congress and made available to schools across the country.

Please contact Voluntary Service at ext. 55042 with questions or if you are interested in participating. And please spread the word to our patients and your family and friends. For more information on the Veterans History Project, check out the Library of Congress Web site.