Vietnam Veterans Invited to Preserve Their Story - Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center
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Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center

 

Vietnam Veterans Invited to Preserve Their Story

Green wreath with flowers and a ribbon draped across the center displaying the word

This wreath, which was part of a display at a recent ceremony of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute of the Vietnam Wall, reminds us all of the sacrifices Vietnam Veterans made serving this country.

By Linda Wondra, Public Affairs Officer
Friday, October 28, 2016

Vietnam Veterans, would you like to preserve your story for all time? The Walla Walla VA Medical Center is doing just that by collaborating with a group of College Place High School students on a history project about the Vietnam War. 

The students have recently read the book “The Things They Carried” written by Tim O’Brien, who tells his story as a member of Alpha Company while serving in Vietnam. The culmination of this project is for the students to interview willing Vietnam Veterans to capture their story using the national program called Veterans History Project (VHP) resources (http://www.loc.gov/vets/). 

The VHP’s mission is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. A group of students will interview Veterans, collect copies any historical documents provided, and submit all material, including the DVD, to the National Archives for preservation. The Veteran/family will get a copy of the final interview/DVD.

At College Place High School, the curriculum is centered on project based learning, and the goal of this project is to help them master speaking and listening skills. “This project give the students an opportunity to not only learn a very valuable piece of American history through a primary source – a Veteran who was there – but also gives students a chance to give back to their community,” states Paul Carlin, English teacher leading this project at College Place High School.

Vietnam Veterans living in the Walla Walla vicinity who would like to help these high school students with their project can contact Linda Wondra, Public Affairs Officer at 509.525.5200, ext. 26520 or email her at linda.wondra@va.gov. This is a great way to pass on first-hand, vital historical information to the younger generation.



"For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the projected will never know."   ~ Unknown

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