February 22, 2016 Veterans History Project Reaches Milestone with 100,000th Collection

The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) today announced it has archived its 100,000th veteran’s collection. This ongoing, congressionally mandated project, now in its 16th year, highlights this milestone to draw attention to the importance of collecting and preserving the stories of America’s veterans and to relaunch the call to action for volunteers.

“Although we pause to celebrate reaching the important milestone of 100,000 collections, the Veterans History Project will not rest on these laurels,” said Veterans History Project Director Robert Patrick. “There are more than 22 million veterans still living in the United States, and it is our hope that even more volunteers will come forward to interview the veterans in their lives and communities and also submit original photographs, letters and other correspondence to be preserved for researchers now and to inspire future generations.”

Individuals, businesses, high schools, colleges and universities, congressional offices, houses of worship and other organizations across the country may participate using the VHP field kit, a how-to booklet accessible on the VHP website, loc.gov/vets. The field kit provides participants with easy-to-follow instructions, a list of interview questions and required forms. The website also features a 15-minute training video, answers to frequently asked questions and a searchable database of the collections, more than 20,000 of which are available online.

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand remembrances of America’s war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from them and better understand the realities of war. These 100,000 collections are of veterans’ first-person narratives from WWI though the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information, visit loc.gov/vets/ or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive periodic updates of VHP news.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to advance the knowledge and creativity of the American people through its collections, programs and services. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at loc.gov.