Everyday, a memory of World War II vanishes forever. Many of the veterans from the war are now in their 80s and 90s and they are dying at a rate of 550 per day.
For the last 20 years, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison has been collecting oral histories from veterans as part of their Oral History Program. So far, nearly 2,000 veterans have told their stories so they can be preserved for future generations.
Ellen Brooks, the museum's oral historian a graduate of the oral history program at Columbia University, said she travels all over the state collecting veterans' account of the war years. The museum is still looking for veterans to collect their perspectives.
Brooks said she believes this is important because “oral history is important in general in order to get a diverse perspective on anything, especially when it comes to military history. I think a lot of people think they know a lot about wars or they do know a lot about the military, but it’s really important to put a face to the veteran issue and the people who are serving our country.”
The oral histories are so intense at times that they have the potential to take on a life of their own, according to Brooks.
“There’s something about hearing the human voice and interacting with that audio that can be very moving. What happens between an experienced interviewer and narrator can be really amazing. It can bring up a lot of moving things, it can bring up a lot of emotions, it’s an experience like no other,” she said.
