As we celebrate Veterans’ Day on November 11, take a look at the Library of Congress’s Veterans’ History Project, a collection of audio- and video-taped interviews, written memoirs, correspondence, photographs, drawings and scrapbooks of American war veterans and civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, and medical volunteers. The collections cover the following wars:

• World War I (1914-1920)
• World War II (1939-1946)
• Korean War (1950-1955)
• Vietnam War (1961-1975)
• Persian Gulf War (1990-1995)
• Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present).

Created in 2000 by Public Law 106-380 with unanimous support in Congress, the Project contains an individual web page for each veteran who has contributed. The significance of these collected materials is expressed by Teresa Fazio, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran:

It’s important to get every veteran’s story, so future generations can learn about military life from firsthand accounts. Our individual experiences may have been different, but when compiled they form a powerful snapshot of history.