In this time of national crisis, the staff of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) wants our readers and participants to know that our thoughts are with you. We recognize, now more than ever, there is a collective need to look at and remember individual experiences, so that we never forget what sacrifice […]
Flashbulb memories are those vivid, autobiographical memories that form when we learn of a particularly surprising, traumatic or impactful event. These kinds of memories burrow themselves deep into our memory banks, and often remain dormant until triggered to resurface. An image. A sound. A scent. Anything, really, can be the catalyst that sets the wheels […]
She had already made it five years past the century mark when she finally sat down to share her story for the Veterans History Project (VHP) in 2002. Less than six weeks later, she was gone. Alice Leona Mikel Duffield was a beater of odds. A trailblazer. A go-getter. A caring soul. I’d say that […]
During this global pandemic, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) continues to meet its mission of collecting, preserving and making accessible the wartime remembrances of U.S. military veterans. While we recognize during normal circumstances what we do is incredibly important, currently we have taken steps to modify the way we work because the […]
Whether crafting, performing, cooking, writing, or painting, art has the dynamic power to alleviate stress, build connections, and even stimulate recovery. For veterans and active duty service-members, art affords an outlet through which they can articulate – and process – what they experienced during their service. From November 5-9th, the Library of Congress Veterans History […]
Just days shy of the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Cole, the sole surviving Doolittle Raider, flew west this morning. He was 103 years old. I had the great privilege of working with Cole at airshows and through veteran services. We laughed over him telling my father he was getting […]
The following is a guest blog post by Anne Dowling, the daughter of World War II “Code Girl” Kathleen Bradley Delaney, and a guest at the “Code Girls” Reunion held at the Library of Congress on March 22, 2019. Click here to watch a recording of this historic event. The Reunion I attended the “Code […]
Awesome friends. Good sports. Team players. Caring constituents. I could think of tons more ways to describe our faithful readers. But I will stop here and just say THANK YOU to everyone who answered our call to participate in the Veterans History Project’s bookmark image selection process. We have tallied all of the input that […]
The following is a guest blog post by Sally Sims Stokes, the daughter of World War II “Code Girl” Jean Ashby Sims. “Dear Library,” my mother begins the World War II memoir she completed in 2008 for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. This salutation was her way of responding, as if in a […]
The following is a guest post by Monica Mohindra, Head of Program Communication and Coordination, Veterans History Project. “A Kiss is Just a Kiss.” Or is it, “As Time Goes By?” When the publishers staged a reunion in 1980, they used another crooners’ standard, “It Had to be You” on a placard in the background. But was […]