Rep. Mike Thompson Encourages Local Veterans, Schools to Participate in Veterans History Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) is coordinating participation in the Veterans History Project with Laytonville High School as well as other high school and college students in Mendocino County.

The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center was created by the U.S. Congress in 2000 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.

Thirty students from Richard Kale's English and History classes at Laytonville High are participating. The students will interview local veterans and their video recordings will be submitted to the Library of Congress, where they will be archived for posterity.

“This project is a valuable history lesson for young people to hear firsthand what serving our nation during war time means and to record the memories of family and community members for posterity,” says Congressman Thompson.

To date, the program comprises more than 68,000 individual collections, which include audio- and video-recorded interviews, original photographs, letters and other historical documents from veterans of every war and conflict since World War I.

The focus for the spring 2011 semester is World War II and Korean War veterans. Partners in the project include the Mendocino College Foundation, Anderson Valley High School, and the Mendocino County Veterans Services. Veterans are being sought to be coach mentors and work with students and veterans throughout the project. Interested students, teachers and veterans may call Congressman Thompson's district office in Fort Bragg at 962-0933.