Spend any time with Veterans History Project (VHP) collections, and it becomes clear that mail frequently played a central role in the military experiences of many veterans, particularly those who served in the days before electronic communications. Often, letters served as the sole, fragile link between servicemen and women and their families and friends. Written …
Researcher Susan Carruthers is professor of history at the University of Warwick and author of several books including the newly published Dear John: Love and Loyalty in Wartime America (Cambridge University Press, 2022). As Susan discussed in a previous guest blog post, and in this video, Veterans History Project (VHP) collections served as a key …
This is a guest blog post by Michael Chamberlain, whose family recently donated his father’s large WWII photograph collection to the Veterans History Project (VHP). As the executor for my father’s estate, I know how difficult it can be for families to consider handing over what is sometimes the only tangible legacy of a family …
Calling all researchers! The Veterans History Project (VHP) is excited to announce a new resource that will help you find what you’re looking for within our archive—which currently includes over 111,000 individual veterans’ materials. That’s a LOT of oral histories, letters, photos, diaries, and other primary source material, so we created this new guide to …
Today, the Veterans History Project launches a new online exhibit to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a piece of legislation that forever altered the American veteran experience: the GI Bill. In June 1944, Army Corporal John Kuhlman was in training at Fort Crook, Nebraska, and focusing on his eventual transfer overseas. While he anxiously considered …
The following is a guest post by Rachel Telford, Archivist for the Veterans History Project. While I often think of men of the greatest generation as more stoic than emotive, collections made up of wartime letters and diaries can tell a very different story. These collections are often filled not with the drama of combat, …
The following is the second of a two-part guest post by Joseph Patton, a Library of Congress Junior Fellow working with the Veterans History Project this summer. Last week, I shared with you three stories from the Veterans History Project (VHP) collections of World War II Navy veterans who served in the Pacific theater of …
The following is a guest post by Rachel Telford, Program Specialist for the Veterans History Project. Founded 73 years ago this month, the United Service Organizations (USO) was created at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide entertainment and recreation to members of the military. Six civilian service organizations – the Salvation Army, …
