It is important to tell your story!

I have a very passionate project of interviewing and preserving the stories of veterans (www.rememberandhonor.com). I have interviewed approximately 500 veterans to date. I believe we have all the facts and figures collected, but not nearly enough of the personal stories, which add a powerful dimension to those facts and figures. The main objective has always been to make sure the veteran's have their story down on permanent record (DVD) for them and their family to always have. A secondary objective, only done with the veteran’s permission, is to donate a copy to his/her local library/museum, the library at the state university, and national institutions such as the National WWII Museum (if they are WWII vets) and the Library of Congress. By doing this, present and future generations can come to learn about who our veteran's are and what they accomplished.

I have no rules or restrictions on who I interview. I believe any veteran who went out his front door to serve, regardless if he walked out on his own or was pulled out by Uncle Sam, deserves to have his story told. This same rule continues to apply regardless if the veteran stormed a beach or spent the entire time with KP duty. I generally come across two types of veterans. The first are those who experienced things they would just soon forget about. I thank them for their service and respectively back away. The second, and much larger group, are those who say, “I don’t have much of a story” or “I didn’t do anything”. This drives me crazy and I will debate with them until I am blue in the face. One common thread I have found in all the interviews I have done, whether the experience was one of shear hell or was some of the best years of their lives, is that everyone sacrificed something for this country. As well, everyone has a story, a unique one at that, and I have yet to find one I haven’t found interesting.

The purpose of this article is to urge you, if you haven’t already, to sit down and tell your story. Whether it be by finding someone like me who loves doing it, or grabbing a tape recorder or pen and paper. There will be no better gift you can give your family. You may also find it to be therapeutic for you as well. I once got a phone call the next morning from the wife of a WWII veteran I had interviewed the afternoon before. She wanted to thank me for doing it as the family will cherish it. She also wanted to tell me that last night was the first time in 60+ years that her husband slept through the night. On the other end of the spectrum, a wife called to say her husband has been walking around for days with his chest puffed out after watching his interview. After telling me prior to the interview that he didn’t do anything, hopefully watching his interview made him realize that yes indeed he did do something.

Please record your story! Myself and this wonderful country are forever grateful for your service.