The University of South Carolina and StoryCorps, a non-profit agency specializing in oral history, are calling on veterans to share their stories March 6-8.
StoryCorps is a public company that records stories from everyday people and stores the recordings in the Library of Congress for historical documentation of all angles.
Too many times history is written from "the top down, but we want to show it from the bottom up," said Sylvie Lubow, program manager with StoryCorps Military Voice Initiative.
"The reasons why Service members enlisted are different," she added. "We must understand the context (of each person's experiences) that makes each story unique."
One of the reasons the project is reaching out to veterans is the how the media perceives veterans.
The media tends define veterans as either "victims, villains or heroes," Lubow said. The company has seen veterans' stories are "a lot more complicated than that and have many twists and turns. We want them to tell their story in their own words."
StoryCorps is hoping to attract female vets because they "haven't recorded a great number of female veterans over the years."
"We hope to engage female veterans, but we broadened our scope to include everyone," Lubow said.
Each Service member who volunteers, whether active duty, reserve, Guard or a retiree, will sit for a 40-minute interview session with a friend or family member of their choice just talking about their experiences.
It may seem a long time, but we "need to take that long to give them time to settle in and relax before getting to tougher questions," said Cathy Brookshire, director of USC's American Female Veterans Archives. "Some memories can be quite difficult to talk about."
Even though the questions asked are innocuous they can illicit deep-seeded emotional responses.
Some of the questions are: Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What are you proud of? What are some of the most enduring memories from your time in the service? How has your military experience shaped who you are today?
"Just being able to talk to someone makes a huge difference in a positive way," Brookshire added.
The university is sponsoring the event in part because Brookshire has recorded nearly 50 interviews with female veterans. These videotaped interviews were put together into short film called, "Soldier Girl."
Unlike Brookshire's videotaped interviews StoryCorps' sessions are audio recordings only. The recordings will take place in one of the university's buildings during spring break because it was the only time they could use the facilities for an extended length of time.
All recordings will be stored at USC, Library of Congress while a copy is given to each veteran.
Anyone wishing to set up an interview can make a reservation by contact Sylvie Lubow at slubow@storycorps.org or by calling 646-723-7020 ext. 63.
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