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Category: Oral History

Soldiers draped in blankets pull a casualty on a sledge through the snow.

VHP’s Newest Online Exhibit: Battle of the Bulge

Posted by: Megan Harris

Today, the Veterans History Project launches a new online exhibit focusing on the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most pivotal and infamous battles of World War II. On December 16, 1944, the German army attacked Allied forces—mostly American units—positioned in the Ardennes Forest, a densely forested area along the borders of Belgium and …

Items left in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: a red rose sits on top of a worn pair of brown boots, with flags and letters positioned on either side.

VHP’s Newest Online Exhibit: In Memoriam

Posted by: Megan Harris

Today, the Veterans History Project (VHP) launches a new online exhibit titled “In Memoriam: Honoring the Fallen,” featuring the stories of 15 servicemembers who died during their time in the military. For many, Memorial Day may feel like nothing more than a day off from work, a holiday that serves to mark the start of …

Bob Patrick, wearing a suit and tie, stands with a group of visiting high school students in a visitor's center. Patrick is on the left, while a retired soldier is on the right, with the student group in between. The room is decorated with photos and other items from VHP collections on the walls.

A Raised Hand

Posted by: Megan Harris

The following is a guest post by Bob Patrick, former director of the Veterans History Project.  As the Director of the Veterans History Project, I had many, many occasions to make presentations about VHP. I spoke at national conferences, on radio and TV, community events and ceremonies, educational institutions, Veterans’ gatherings and at numerous Library …

A group of five male soldiers in uniform (one soldier is shirtless) stands between an ambulance and a bunker covered with sandbags.

VHP’s New Vietnam War Research Tools

Posted by: Megan Harris

This Veterans Day, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is proud to debut a pair of research tools to help users discover and navigate our collections related to the Vietnam War. The newest installment of Serving: Our Voices pulls from VHP’s holdings of over 25,0000 narratives relating to Vietnam veterans. For this presentation, we have focused …

A group of African American nurses in uniform stands in line at attention, wearing WWII-era military uniforms.

“Still Out There Fighting”: VHP’S Newest Online Exhibit

Posted by: Megan Harris

The Veterans History Project (VHP) is proud to offer a new online exhibit, part of our vast array of curated thematic presentations collectively known as Serving: Our Voices. Previously known as Experiencing War, these exhibits are part of VHP’s new website, which debuted Veterans Day 2022. These presentations provide users with a specially selected set of collections centered on a particular theme, offering immediate access to content-rich oral histories and other original primary-source materials. The newest installment of Serving: Our Voices focuses on the experiences of African American women who served during World War II. Titled “Determined to Serve: African American Women in World War II,” the presentation explores the stories of 15 veterans who served stateside and abroad, from the Arizona desert to the boulevards of France.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Telling Dear John Stories: VHP Collections in Action

Posted by: Megan Harris

The following is a guest post by Dr. Susan Carruthers, professor of history at the University of Warwick and author of several books including Dear John: Love and Loyalty in Wartime America (Cambridge University Press, 2022). She used Veterans History Project collections in her research for this volume, and also in research for her previous …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

VHP’s Newest Online Exhibit: Twenty Years of Service: Post 9/11 Veterans

Posted by: Megan Harris

Today the Veterans History Project (VHP) launches a new online exhibit, part of our Experiencing War web feature series. Titled “Twenty Years of Service: Post 9/11 Veterans,” the exhibit explores the stories of 12 veterans who served during and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Selected from VHP’s holdings of over 5,000 recent …