The Orland Park Public Library is looking for veterans to participate in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, which collects and preserves firsthand interviews of wartime veterans.
Staff members at Orland Park Library are conducting interviews of area veterans that will be recorded on video.
“They (veterans) can talk about anything they want,” said reference librarian Judy Brannigan. “We don’t pressure anyone to talk about anything they don’t want.”
The interviews last for about 30 minutes, with the veteran taking the lead in the discussion. When completed, the veteran receives a DVD of the interview, and copies are sent to the Illinois State Library and the Library of Congress, she said.
People who do not want to appear on video can participate by submitting a written narrative of their military experiences, submit an audio narration, or share documents, diaries, journals or photographs, according to a project brochure.
“If they are unable to come to the library, we can come to them,” Brannigan said.
Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000, with the AARP as the founding corporate sponsor, according to information posted on the Library of Congress website, http://www.loc.gov.
Veterans who served in any capacity from World War II to the present and are no longer serving are encouraged to participate.
Civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts, such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers and others, also are invited to share their stories.
There is no charge to participate, Brannigan said.
The collection is available to view online at the Library of Congress website, http://www.loc.gov/vets/. There are more than 3,640 veterans who participated from Illinois alone. Searches can be made by branch of service, conflict era, gender, prisoner of war, and type of photograph or materials. There is a option to search by word, rank or service location. There is also a browse option to search by war, branch, state of residence. For example, there are currently 10,288 veterans who served during the Vietnam War in the Army who participated in the project.
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More information on the local effort is with Brannigan at 708-428-5162 or at http://www.orlandparklibrary.org.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.