A Brooklyn infantrymen posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Brooklyn Marine recruits in training at Parris Island, S.C.

A Brooklyn soldier in Korea.

12 female reservists from Brooklyn at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For more images from BPL's historic photograph collections click here.

Introduction

The mission of the Veterans History Project is to collect and archive the personal recollections of U.S. wartime veterans to honor their service and share their stories with current and future generations. The project also collects stories from homefront civilians who worked in support of our armed forces.

Brooklyn Public Library hosts the Veterans History Project to honor and give voice to Brooklyn's brave women and men who fought in World War I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

By participating, you will personalize an experience that many have only read about or heard about from the news. Your perspective will educate and inspire for years to come.

You are eligible to participate in the Veterans History Project if you a veteran of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, or the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such a war industry workers, USO workers, and medical volunteers) are also invited to share their stories.

Remember

Explore your memories by looking through personal photographs, letters or diaries (which can be submitted to the project if you'd like). Or, sort through old pictures and newspaper articles at Central Library's Brooklyn Collection.

Record

Until Memorial Day 2008, you can come in for an audio-recorded interview at Central Library, a neighborhood near you, or your VFW lodge. Click here to find all library locations.

A library staff member will conduct the interview. Or, if you'd prefer, a family member or friend can do it with the guidance of a staff member. Interviews run for at least a half an hour and begin with basic questions about your experience, from dates of service to rank.

If you have questions or would like to set up an interview, please call Holly Morganelli of Central Library's Brooklyn Collection at 718.230.2448 or e-mail .

Remain

Your story will be stored in the permanent collections of the Library Of Congress and the Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn Collection, and will be available to anyone that is interested. Please allow six months for your submission to be processed; you will be contacted when it is made available to the public.

Submissions will also be featured in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Collection. In May, look for details about a special public panel discussion that will be conducted by some veterans, as well as other events.

For forms and more information, please click on the Veterans History Project field kit (PDF, 2.5MB).

Acknowledgments

Veterans History Project is a project of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000. The authorizing legislation (Public Law 106-380) sponsored by Representatives Ron Kind, Amo Houghton, and Steny Hoyer in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Max Cleland and Chuck Hagel in the U.S. Senate, received unanimous support and was signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton on October 27, 2000.

Special thanks to Brooklyn Public Library's Service to the Aging and Brooklyn Collection divisions for their assistance with this project.