Library of Congress Seeks LA-Area Veterans to Share Their Stories at Santa Monica Public Library
April 18, 2023 12:15 PM
This information prepared and distributed by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress.
Santa Monica Public Library, Chinese Family History Group, Rep. Ted Lieu, UCLA Student Veterans partner with Library of Congress to preserve veterans’ stories on May 19 and 20, 2023.
In honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, in collaboration with local partners invites LA-area veterans to share their stories of service on from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, 2023 at the Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch at 601 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA. While the event focuses on honoring and preserving the stories of AAPI vets, any US veteran is welcome to participate regardless of race, ethnicity, where they served, or whether they saw combat. Veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Desert Storm/Shield, and the Global War on Terror are all invited and eligible to participate. Volunteers are also needed to interview and assist veterans at the event. Media is invited and encouraged to attend.
The Veterans History Project is an archive at the Library of Congress that preserves narratives of veterans’ service through oral history interviews and documents such as photographs, letters, journals, and diaries created while in the military so that researchers and future generations can access these firsthand accounts and better understand the realities of war. These stories are accessed by over 3,000,000 patrons per year and have been used to write books and make films and documentaries such as Ken Burns’ “The War.”
Veterans attending the event can sign up for a recorded oral history interview that will last from 30-90 minutes, or can bring original primary source documents to donate. Veterans will receive a free copy of their interview to take home. Online registration for veterans can be found at www.tinyurl.com/SMvets, or by emailing or calling Andrew Huber at ahub@loc.gov, (202) 707-1819. Volunteers should call or email Andrew Huber (Ahub@loc.gov, (202) 707-1819) to sign up. Walk-in interview requests will be accepted, but due to anticipated demand cannot be guaranteed. These documents and interviews will become part of the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and will be made available to researchers and the general public via the American Folklife Center Reading Room and the Veterans History Project website at www.loc.gov/vets.
Media Contact
Rachel Foyt
Senior Administrative Analyst
Rachel.Foyt@santamonica.gov