"The arts have an important role to play in the healing of physical and emotional wounds of our nation's veterans," said Patrick. "The Veterans History Project is proud to be a collaborator in this effort and to have veterans' stories collected through this unique initiative become part of the Library of Congress' permanent collection."
The closing event caps a six-day collaboration titled, "Arts, Military + Healing," occurring in Washington, D.C., May 13-18. Artists, veterans and cultural institutions will unite to raise awareness of the role of the arts in the healing process for veterans and military families. A full schedule of workshops and events may be found at www.artsandmilitary.org.
The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library's rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library's website, www.loc.gov.
Congress created The Veterans History Project in 2000 as a national documentation program of the American Folklife Center (www.loc.gov/folklife/) to record, preserve and make accessible the first-hand remembrances of American wartime veterans from World War I through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. More than 80,000 individual stories comprise the collection to date. The project relies on volunteers to record veterans' remembrances using guidelines accessible at www.loc.gov/vets. Volunteer interviewers may request information at vohp@loc.gov or the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive periodic updates of VHP news.
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