Gold Star Families
If you are a Gold Star Family member, defined by legislation as a parent, spouse, sibling or child of a service member who “became missing in action or died as a result of their service during a period of war,” and over the age of 18, the Veterans History Project (VHP) invites you to participate. You* may contribute an audio- or video-recording of yourself, or a written account, sharing reminiscences about your loved one, and how their service and sacrifice affected you and your family.
* Multiple family members are invited to share their memories of their loved one; however, recordings must be conducted individually. The more family members who participate, the more accurate the representation of your loved one will be.
VHP strongly encourages you to anchor the recording with original photographs, diaries, journals and correspondence that belonged to your veteran, so the researchers of today and future generations will have access to a fuller story of your veteran’s service, and the ultimate sacrifice they made for our nation.
Grieving is both a universal emotion and a unique journey for each individual experiencing it. Sharing the story of a veteran who died as a result of their service is a rewarding way to preserve their legacy, but may also result in emotions that have been unstirred for years. To better prepare you for your interview, read the guidelines for Gold Star Families (PDF, 171 KB) and carefully follow them. For a list of resources for Gold Star Families, please contact us at vohp@loc.gov.
If you are planning to interview a Gold Star parent, child (over the age of 18), spouse or sibling, use the list of sample interview questions designed for Gold Star Families (PDF, 156 KB) and the VHP Gold Star Field Kit (PDF, 1.1 MB).
For Gold Star related research inquiries, contact us at vohp@loc.gov.