Happy Birthday, Navy! The United States Navy turned a whopping 239 years old on October 13th. On this day in 1775, the Continental Congress created the Continental Navy, thus establishing what would eventually become the United States Navy. To commemorate the occasion, I wanted to explore an intriguing and historic Navy tradition that is frequently …
Though it sounds a bit illogical, I consider myself lucky to have a job in which I am moved to tears on a regular basis. Working with Veterans History Project collections–whether they are made up of oral histories, manuscripts, or photographs–and the life stories they contain can sometimes elicit a strong visceral reaction. Granted, it …
The following is a guest blog post by Andrew Cassidy-Amstutz, VHP Archivist. One of the most common questions that the Veterans History Project (VHP) receives relating to our collections is “Why can’t I view my collection online yet?” While the answer to this question varies by individual collection, there are several cross-cutting issues that …
One of the standard questions that we suggest Veterans History Project interviewers ask veterans is, “How was the food?” This simple question can yield surprising answers, and uncover fascinating elements of the military experience. After seeing my blog post about holiday menus in the military, VHP director Bob Patrick mentioned a specific food memory to …
Seventy years after D-Day, it may feel like the events of June 6, 1944, are well-covered territory. That’s how it has felt at times to me, at least. Between depictions of the Normandy invasion in movies and miniseries such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, and popular histories such as those written …
On a hot, humid day in late May almost 10 years ago, I was on the National Mall in Washington, DC, surrounded by tens of thousands of World War II veterans and their families as part of the National World War II Reunion. The Reunion was organized around the official dedication of the National World …
The following is a guest post by Rachel Telford, Program Specialist at the Veterans History Project. When Veterans History Project staff members are called upon to identify particularly interesting, poignant, or visually appealing collections in our archive, one name that comes up again and again is Kenje Ogata. A Japanese-American who fought for more than …
The following is a guest post by Lisa A. Taylor, liaison specialist with the Veterans History Project. A version of this blog post ran on the Library of Congress Blog on March 13th. Disabled combat hero, veterans’ advocate, politician, woman. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is many things, most strikingly, a person who has not …
As I write this blog post on March 13, it is 29 degrees here in Washington, DC, and it seems impossible to believe that spring will arrive in just over a week. Emerging from one of the snowiest and coldest winters that many regions of the country have seen in decades, in which the phrase …
