Veterans History Project collection (Library of Congress)
Contributors: American Folklife Center
Published: 1914
Language: eng
Number of pages: 35526
Subjects: Prisoners of war; World War, 1914-1918; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Biography; Veterans; Persian Gulf War, 1991; American Personal narratives; Oral history; World War, 1939-1945; Cold War; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Afghan War, 2001-; Iraq War, 2003-; Korean War, 1950-1953
Other titles: VHP collection; Veterans' Oral History Project; Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Description: The Veterans History Project Collection consists of first-hand accounts of U.S. war veterans who served in twentieth and twenty-first century wars and military conflicts including World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and Iraq and Afghan Wars. U.S. citizen civilians who actively supported war efforts (war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also represented in the collection. Emphasis is on the personal, social, and emotional aspects of wartime military and civilian service instead of technical accounts of battles, logistics, and military operations. Subjects include personal military experience (being drafted or enlisting), education (military training, GI Bill, life lessons), prisoner of war experiences, the Cold War, food, communication, humor, friendships, travel, relationships, medicine and hospitals, women's changing roles, veterans' activities, and effects of military/civilian service on later life. Collection materials include audio and video oral history interviews, written memoirs, correspondence, diaries/journals, photographs, military documents (orders, DD-214 forms, etc.) maps, and other supporting documentation. Most materials are unpublished. The collection also includes a small number of published items. Interviews and documentation are collected by volunteer participants, so each veteran's/civilian's collection differs in scope, length, and breadth.
Notes: Some materials are in process and may be unavailable for research use. Approximately 5% of the collections include transcriptions. Approximately 12% of the total collection is retained by other repositories in the United States.

Duplication of the collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Multiple donors; 2001-present.

Authorized by legislation passed by Congress in 2000, P.L. 106-380, the Veterans' Oral History Project Act is "an Act to direct the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish a program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans...." The legislation was initially sponsored by Rep. Ron Kind, Rep. Amo Houghton, Rep. Steny Hoyer, Sen. Max Cleland, and Sen. Chuck Hagel.

A portion of the collection may be searched through the online database. Approximately 12% of the collections are fully digitized and accessible online.

Open collection, approximately 125 new submissions are received each week.