May 24, 2006 Library of Congress Veterans History Project Features More Stories Online

“Military Intel: The Inside Story,” a selection of 22 digitized collections of materials submitted by war veterans who served in military intelligence will be highlighted on the Veterans History Project Web site beginning May 25.

“Military Intel will be added to the “Experiencing War” stories from the Veterans History Project at www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-intel.html. This is the 12th set of individual stories—comprising interviews, letters, photographs and written memoirs—to be featured on the site. Past themes have included D-Day, prisoners of war and military medicine.

Visitors to the “Experiencing War” site can gain insights to military intelligence through personal accounts of 22 veterans. The presentation is divided into three types of experiences: “In Harm’s Way,” “In the Field” and “Behind the Scenes.”

“Very often I actually knew what a German division was going to do before the German commander of that division knew it,” recalls Alexander Standish, a U.S. Army colonel who was 42 years old when the United States entered World War II. Standish entered the Army in 1942 and worked with Generals Eisenhower and Bradley in planning the D-Day invasion and subsequent strategy to regain Europe from Nazi control. Standish’s online collection consists of 117 minutes of oral history, 10 photographs, 12 letters, a personal memoir and 41 supporting documents, such as “secret” memorandums.

Flying reconnaissance missions in a Mohawk aircraft over North Vietnam and Laos in 1967, George Davis was well aware of the plane's nickname, “The Widowmaker.” Working at night without air support or weapons, Davis photographed evidence of enemy troop movements and construction for use on future bombing runs. His expertise served him well in directing reconnaissance missions over the DMZ in Korea and at the Pentagon, where he coordinated photo analysis for Special Forces operations around the world.

Louis L. Weinstein, a 29-year-old lawyer when he entered the Army in 1942, found his niche working as a plainclothes investigator. His first assignments were in Chicago, where recruiting was taking place for the Manhattan Project, and his native Detroit. By the end of World War II, he was in San Francisco, interviewing released prisoners of the Japanese in preparation for war crimes trials.

Veterans from World War I through the current conflict, and the civilians who supported them, are coming forward to record their personal stories and contribute personal documents for a growing archives at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Veterans History Project site has 2,797 stories, many of which were collected as audio and video interviews, photographs, diaries, letters and other materials now totaling more than 200,000 items. The goal is to collect, preserve and share with future generations the stories of all American war veterans. To date, more than 40,000 individuals have submitted stories to the Veterans History Project.

Those who are interested in participating are encouraged to e-mail the Veterans History Project at vohp@loc.gov or to call toll-free (888) 371-5848 to request a free project kit. For more information about the Veterans History Project, and to see and hear veterans’ stories, visit www.loc.gov/vets.