Veteran’s History Project
On November 12, 2011, several court reporters took down the oral histories of veterans at Anoka Technical College as part of the Veteran’s History Project, collaboration between the National Court Reporters Foundation and the Library of Congress. Anoka Tech has hosted this event for several years. It usually occurs on the Saturday closest to Veteran’s Day. The interviews were conducted by court reporting students from Anoka Tech.
The Minnesota project entails capturing the stories of veterans from Minnesota in all branches of the Armed Forces and in all eras of our country’s military history. There were veterans that served in World War II and also Vietnam era vets. Some had seen combat and some stayed stateside, but all veterans’ service is important and should be preserved. This is an important project for our country’s history because there are so few WWII era vets still alive and many of their stories haven’t been told to many people. Preserving the stories will allow future generations to hear/read firsthand how individual veterans have contributed to the freedom we, as a country, enjoy today.
Reporters are able to receive CEU units by transcribing veterans’ stories. If you’d like more information on this project – transcribing a previously recorded story or setting up a forum to interview veterans live – please contact Tracy Bennett @ tracy.bennett@courts.state.mn.us.