May 25, 2011 Veterans History Project Launches 34th Website Feature in Observance of Memorial Day

World War II Army Air Corpsman Thomas Carson Griffin was part of the 17th Bomb Group and on the team that flew combat missions with Jimmy Doolittle, United States Air Force aviation pioneer. Vietnam veteran Marvin Pixton III served two tours of duty, one in helicopters and the other in jets, and was a member of the last unit to leave Vietnam. Against all odds, Phyllis Marie Aloisio Capelle joined the Marines during World War II at the age of 21 and became a machinist’s mate. Capelle aspired to become a pilot following her military service, but unfair hiring practices, common at the time, presented barriers to women. Instead, she pursued a career as a commercial flight attendant.

The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) features their stories and more in “Wings of War,” the 34th website feature in the Experiencing War series. “Wings of War” marks Memorial Day 2011 and highlights military aviation with the digitized, first-hand accounts of 24 military aviators. These stories are among the 10,000 digitized collections found at www.loc.gov/vets/.

“Military aviation plays a critical role, not only during combat missions, but also during often-overlooked operations such as food and supply deliveries, search and rescue missions, and securely transporting the President of the United States,” said Veterans History Project Director Bob Patrick. “The Veterans History Project is honored to present this latest web feature to show the many faces of military aviation with the hope that people will get a better understanding of and appreciation for this type of service.”

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds nearly 147 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 as a national documentation program of the American Folklife Center (www.loc.gov/folklife/) to collect, preserve and make accessible the first-hand remembrances of American wartime veterans from World War I through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. The project relies on volunteers to record veterans’ remembrances using guidelines accessible at www.loc.gov/vets/. Volunteers may request more information at vohp@loc.gov or the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to VHP’s RSS feed on the VHP home page.