Wednesday, August 6, 2003
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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 |
Sandy Creek cadets join veterans history projectCadets in the Sandy Creek High School Air Force Junior ROTC Program were the first to get involved in a unique project documenting the wartime experiences of U.S. veterans. In March 2003, the ROTC program became an official partner in the Veterans History Project. The project is a national level program funded by Congress and includes over 650 official partners. It is tied to the Library of Congress through its American Folklife Center and was created by Congress in 2000. The goals of the program are to stimulate public learning through participation by interviewing veterans, preserving stories/documents using the Library of Congress's resources, expanding the national archives of veterans history and creating a national catalog of oral histories to include documents collected as a result of this project. Col. Doug Pearson, the senior aerospace science instructor at Sandy Creek, says the Veterans History Project will remain an active and ongoing program as part of the high school's Air Force Junior ROTC. "This is a great opportunity for our youth to link up with a local veteran, or a veteran in the family, and talk about their experiences. It's an excellent way for these high school students to learn some history, for the veterans to know their efforts are appreciated, and to archive these individual stories in the Library of Congress," he said. The cadets who participated conducted taped (audio or video) interviews using questions provided by the Veterans History Project. These taped interviews, along with any documents, were sent to the Library of Congress. This program is available to war veterans and those who served to support them in World War I, World War II, the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. Anyone who would like to participate and have their oral histories/documents archived can contact Pearson at the Sandy Creek High School Air Force Junior ROTC program (770-969-2840, ext. 278).
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