>> John Fenn: I just want to welcome everyone here briefly. My name is John Fenn. I'm from the American Folklife Center. I'm going to be serving as kind of the MC and usher for this. I wanted to thank a few people before we get started. First of all, all of the staff at the Folklife Center who helped organize this and arrange it. I want to thank the Library's Events Office for helping out as well. And then finally, our Multimedia Group, who are supporting the AV components and also capturing it on video so it will be available as a webcast at a later date at loc.gov and on the Library's YouTube channel. So without further ado, we'll get started. I'm going to ask our Director at the American Folklife Center, Nicki Saylor, to come up and intro everything. >> Nicole Saylor: Thank you, John. [ Applause ] Thank you. It's great to see everyone here today. As John mentioned, I'm Nicki Saylor. I'm the Director at the Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. And so, on behalf of the Center, I'd like to welcome you to this event. And thank you for attending. As you may know, the American Folklife Center is designated by the US Congress as the National Center for Folklife Documentation and Research. We have -- We're preserving the nation's oldest and largest archive of ethnographic documentation while also presenting living traditions. So throughout the archival collections held by the Center, you'll find many, many recorded interviews across a wide range of media, both audio and visual. While these interviews were gathered as part of an incredibly varied body of projects and fieldwork settings, representing different eras, and geographies, and cultural contexts, there is -- excuse me -- nonetheless, a broadly shared element, a textured voice signaling first-person reflection on lived experience. Whether an interviewee is explaining a favorite song, a recipe, a rich story of a community event, they often do it from their perspective as an individual who is part of a larger whole of some sort. Such reflections take shape as stories or instructions but always represent experience and the learning that comes from being a human. So the AFC, as we call it, is the archival home for both StoryCorps, represented today by the Military Voices Initiative, and the Veterans History Project, which was established by an act of Congress in 2000 and resides within the American Folklife Center. So today, we'll hear from staff of the Military Voices Initiative, the Veterans History Project, but we'll also hear from participants of these vital projects. The participants have shared their perspective through the conversations and interviews that they've offered, giving the general public an opportunity to get a bit of insight into the diverse experience of those who serve in the Armed Forces. At the Center, we're honored to steward these collections by preserving them as part of the national record and offering access to the materials in many ways. This responsibility is no small task, and we draw on many more people than you see on this stage to make this kind of thing happen. But now, let me take an opportunity to introduce who is up here with me. So we have, well, you know John. You've met John. And so we also have Sandy Clark with us. Oh, I'm sorry, Hazel. We'll go in order here. Hazel Diaz, she's from the Military Voices Initiative. And we have Sandy Clark, who you'll hear from in just a minute. She is the CEO of StoryCorps, brand new to the job. And then we have Megan Harris up with us from the Veterans History Project. So with that, I'll turn it over to Sandy. Thank you. [ Applause ] I got it, Sandy. >> Sandra M. Clark: Oh, thank you. Thank you. Well, thank you, Nicki. I really appreciate the introduction. And I'm genuinely in awe of the American Folklife Center. I have never been here before. And to be able to experience this today was incredible. You and your team do just amazing work here. And StoryCorps is so grateful for this longtime partnership we've had with the American Folklife Center and for the opportunity to showcase our Military Voices Initiative today. So I want to thank you all for joining us, to begin with. And you know, as StoryCorps's new CEO, I'm thrilled to be here with our extraordinary team. If you're part of the team, please raise your hand. StoryCorps has brought a little team here, and they do incredible work. But I also want to share that, you know, this is a really personal thing for me to be here. You know, I grew up as a military kid. My dad was a career soldier in the military. And a multiple purple heart recipient, someone who raised a flag in front of our house every single day even when the country didn't love him back, always, right? And so when I think of the sacrifice, when I think of his commitment to the military, and also the life that the military was able to create, not just for him, but for our entire family, there's a lot of mixed emotion in there. There's, you know, incredible gratitude, but also a little sadness that you know, he and my mom did not have the opportunity to share their own stories through something like, you know, our Military Voices Initiative. And so what -- this is -- that's why it's really so important for me. You know, how I wish they could have been here. How I wish I could hear their voices and for them to share the nuance of what life was like for them. I mean, we were kids. You know, we only knew what we knew. And they had an appreciation for what their sacrifice was in a different kind of way. You know, it's so important to have these voices, this rich collection of stories through the eyes of veterans and their families. There's nothing like, you know, people telling their own stories and not someone telling it for them. So what brought me to StoryCorps is its mission to preserve and to share humanity's stories, to create understanding, and to build connection between everyday people. And we hope to create a more compassionate and just world. Anyone who's heard StoryCorps's stories knows that each and every time you hear these stories, they activate something in you. They evoke an emotion. And it's because of that, right, is because we're hearing stories from people who are sharing their wisdom and their generosity with us. And we all want to be connected, whether we know how to say it or not and whether we're able to do it or not. You know, most of these stories, these conversations, which since StoryCorps started almost 20 years ago, we've 600,000 people, actually more than 600,000 people, have shared StoryCorps stories with us. And so you can imagine, you know, the histories and the, you know, passing down these stories through your families through these StoryCorps stories and how important they are. And this archive -- most of these stories are archived here, at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. And this makes these stories the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. So think about that. That's pretty amazing. Interviews with veteran service members and their loved ones are an important part of this collection and this layered and nuanced story of America, of America's promise, and America still in progress, I would say. Our Military Voices Collection currently includes over 2,500 recorded conversations, conversations that paint a picture of complex realities most of us never get to see or hear and even those of us who grew up in military families can't quite appreciate. You know, again, I was growing up as a kid. I only knew what I knew. And hearing these stories just fills out so much more of that picture for me. And these are the stories that we will never see in those Facebook reunion videos that have become what representation of military life seems to be these days, right? So on such a limited way, it makes us all feel good. But there's so much more to that story that we never get to see. Since 2012, StoryCorps has traveled far and wide to capture these interviews with veterans and service members and their families. And I want to thank this year's public media partners, Hawaii Public Radio, Wyoming Public Radio, and your own WAMU, for working with us to collect and broadcast Military Voices stories. We also want to thank the corporation for public broadcasting, whose support and commitment make it possible for us to do this work. And again, I want to express our deep gratitude to Nicki Saylor and her team at the American Folklife Center and to the Library of Congress. And most of all, and most certainly not last but least -- Wait a minute. How did I say that? Most certainly not the least -- I'll just put it that way -- we are grateful to the veterans and the service members and their families who have left all of us and each other with a gift of perspective and history and a real understanding of sacrifice, and duty, and joy, and pride. And now, I'd like to introduce Hazel Diaz, who is our StoryCorps Military Voices Manager and herself a veteran, to share more about our initiative. Thank you for being here today. [ Applause ] >> Hazel Diaz: Thank you, Sandy. And thank you to the Library of Congress for having us today. Special thanks to, of course, WAMU, which had us here in DC in April. We had such a great experience. We collected over 40 stories with them here in Washington, DC. It was a wonderful experience. And we have some of their members here today joining us. So we're excited to have them back. Hello, ladies. As Sandy had mentioned, our mission here at StoryCorps we're just trying to help people connect and really share their experiences in their own words. And that is true with the Military Voices Initiative. Our first listening is going to be Flip and Christine. And they are speaking about their mother, Susan Cuddy, and kind of what a baddy she was back in the day. So they are having this interview to remember her. So this is going to be our first listen. >> Flip Cuddy: Mom basically was a trained killer. She's a much different parent than, you know, someone who owned a bakery. >> Christine Cuddy: As a mother, she was really unusual. She'd been through so much. Teaching guys how to shoot, and it was like, what do you need to teach a kid? You know, go out and play. >> Flip Cuddy: Yeah. She had like her own code. And if somebody was really an idiot, you know, she would say they were limited. >> Christine Cuddy: That was one of her most heavy-duty criticisms. >> Flip Cuddy: Yeah. >> Christine Cuddy: She was tough. >> Flip Cuddy: Tough. As soon as they bombed Pearl Harbor, she signed up to join the Navy. She was qualified to go to Officer Training School. But because she was Asian, they wouldn't accept her. Mom said she didn't care. She enlisted anyway. >> Christine Cuddy: Right. >> Flip Cuddy: And you know, then they accepted her. You know, it was a white world. And if you wanted to do anything, you just had to forge ahead. So she was the very first woman gunnery officer -- >> Christine Cuddy: Uh-huh. >> Flip Cuddy: -- teaching air combat tactics. These ACE pilots would have to come back for refresher courses. >> Christine Cuddy: Mm. Well, she loved to tell the stories about when she would talk to these guys. I mean, she was a five-foot-one little Asian woman. >> Flip Cuddy: There was one incident when this guy comes in, and Mom gives him the training. And, you know, she talks about when you're going to start shooting. So this guy goes, I'm not shooting till I see the whites of those Jap's eyes. She said, "I don't care what you do up there. But when you're down here with me, you do what I tell you to do." >> Christine Cuddy: Yeah. >> Flip Cuddy: How do you want people to remember Mom? >> Christine Cuddy: Obviously, you know, when you're growing up, it's just your mom. But I remember after she died, reading her biography and just thinking, my God. >> Flip Cuddy: I mean, how do you describe a person like that who's a leader and successful at everything she does? >> Christine Cuddy: But I think I also would just say to Mom, what an incredible life you've lived. >> Flip Cuddy: I'm lucky I had a mom like that. >> Christine Cuddy: Yeah, me too. [ Music ] [ Applause ] >> Hazel Diaz: I think one of the most important things to remember about our initiative and the military in general is I think that this story shows twofold. One, that the American military is one of the most diverse workplaces in the entire world. And two, that the military is far more than just the people that are enlisted, more than the officers, and more than the people that are, you know, active members of the military or even veterans. Their families are really serving with them. And sometimes, you know, the weight of the family is heavier and has less support when you're moving every three years with children, and you're switching schools, as Sandy knows as a military kid, and you're moving around, and you're trying to be adaptable in order to support your family members. You know, and I think that the great thing about this initiative is that it includes families. It includes veterans and active service members. And it really shows, you know, we try to wholistically capture the military and what it really means to serve your country in a variety of different ways. And I think that this clip is a good intro because it really shows that the entire family kind of serves and sometimes the entire community, depending on where you are, which I'm sure that DC knows that. The military is a very centric part of this community as well. The Military Voices Initiative provides a platform for veterans, service members, and their families to share their stories. In doing so, we are honoring their voices, amplifying their experiences, and letting them know that we as a nation are listening. So this next clip is going to be an interview between two people about this serendipitous moment, actually, that happened here in DC. Allen Hoe ran into a army trauma nurse right here at the Vietnam Memorial. What's really special about this interview is that Mr. Hoe is actually from Hawaii and his partner, Paula, is here from the DMV. She's from Maryland. So they were very unlikely to meet, but they actually shared something really magical. And this is one of my favorite StoryCorps interviews, certainly my favorite MVI interview. So I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. And you will cry, so emotionally prepare yourself for that next thing, okay? [ Music ] >> Allen Hoe: I thought it would be great to welcome these young trauma nurses with some special Hawaiian lei. And I saw this army nurse come walking up the path. And I said, "Here, this is a special gift from me to you." And she put her head down so I could put the lei over her shoulders. She noticed the button that I was wearing on my chest. Then she just put her finger on it, and she said, "I know him." So I said, "How do you know him? He was my son." And she said, "I was the trauma nurse at the crash unit where he died." And she said, "I will never forget that face." Both of us kind of looked at each other. And we started crying, and I gave her a big hug. But I could sense that something was bothering her. And I thought she may have sensed that my family might have been disappointed to the fact that our son, his life, could not have been saved. And I said, "I want you to know that my son was a warrior. He absolutely recognized all of the risks that were involved." She cried, and she said that as the dead trauma nurse, one of her tasks was to prepare his body for his men to have a last feeling. And she said that she tried to close his eyes, but as she went to press his lids together, they always would come open just a little bit. And she said that had bothered her all this time. And I looked at her, and I laughed. And she kind of gave me this puzzled look. And she was like, "I'm curious now, why are you laughing?' And I said, "My son would sleep with his eyes partially open." His men, when they were in combat, they were never certain what they could do when the Lieutenant was sleeping. Because they never knew if he was sleeping or he was just awake, watching what they were doing. And I said, "The simple fact that you shared that story with me totally convinces me now that you were with my son at the end." Now I never have to wonder about those last final moments. [ Music ] >> Hazel Diaz: One of the very special things about this year was that we recorded in Hawaii and also here in the DMV, and as a result of COVID, our organization launched the virtual platform. And we were able to record with Paula and Allen again. And they kind of reflected a little bit about his son's earlier life because they talked so much about the end of his life in their last interview. And that's available on our archive if you're ever interested in hearing more about that. But it was really magical to bring them back together to do another StoryCorps recording, you know, talking about happier times, and his son's early life, and really him as a kid and always being a leader. It was a really, really magical interview if you'd like to take a listen to that. We're going to talk a little bit about the process of recording with StoryCorps. Most people know us from National Public Radio Morning Edition on Friday mornings. So if you're on your way to work at 8:00 a.m., stuck in traffic, and crying in your car, it's usually because of StoryCorps. We also have a podcast and other platforms. But most people don't really know how the recording process works. So we're going to talk a little bit about that. The first step is usually the most important, choosing your conversation partner. Our staff do fill in if people are not comfortable talking to their friends and family. But we always recommend that you pick someone that you really want to share that with and leave your legacy with. So that's always the most important step, in my opinion, is to choose a good conversation partner. And the next is going to be, make a reservation to record. And that can be done in a lot of different ways. But the most common way, of course, is going to our website because it is 2022. So we also have a phone number and other ways to make a reservation. And now we have our virtual platform, so you can connect with people, even if you can't make it into the booth or a recording space. You can reserve a time. And if you're in California and your partner is in New York or on the East Coast, you can find a time to kind of come together and record. And just like our in-person interviews, it will be archived here at the Library of Congress if that's what you choose to do. Step three is prepare your questions. This is probably the one that people are most nervous about because their interviews are about 40 minutes long. So people get nervous, and they feel like that's a lot of time. It's not. And usually, people are trying to cover their whole lives during this 40 minutes. So it's really a tight timeline. But I always -- my suggestion is always, if you're going to do an interview, talk about what you don't want to talk about. That's usually like a shorter list than what you're open to. And usually, people are nervous about particular topics and conversations. So it's usually easier to start there. Our website also has suggested questions. There's also a questions list, particularly for the Military Voices Initiative if you're doing a military interview. I think the important thing about preparing for your interview is to know that you don't have to talk about anything in particular. The idea for this initiative is to create the space for our military members, their families, and veterans to kind of come together and leave a legacy about whatever they would like. So we have people that come in, and they talk about their service, and other people that come in and don't mention their service at all. They talk about their kids or what they want to leave to future generations. So, you know, the time is yours to decide what you want to do with. So it's a really kind of special project in that way. If you're going to be recording virtually, you need to find a quiet and comfortable space to record. I know that we have all seen the Zoom bloopers at this point. So it's usually a better idea to find a corner in the house where somebody is not going to rush in, you know, waving a diaper or whatever, you know, in their walker, so that they don't have to get hauled out by the nanny or your wife or whoever is after your child at the time. Although, I think it makes for good audio when there is a dog just like having a manic episode when the mailman comes because I think we've all been there, even our neighbor's dog sometimes if we don't have pets. But everyone has had a dog in the background of a meeting at this point, I think. That's a rite of passage. And then, our facilitator will join you. If you're in person, our facilitator is there just to work the equipment and help guide the conversation. With the military in particular, usually, our facilitators are asking like, what's a PFC? what's the DOD? questions that, you know, of that effect. And virtually, they are there to kind of guide you through the technology. It's very similar to a Zoom call if you do it virtually where you kind of just click, and you enter a room, and you can see each other. But just the audio is recorded because this is an audio archiving project. And then lastly, we save your interview, and you decide what to do with it. Most people are nervous about their interview living forever in the Library of Congress, as long as it stands for the next million years. But they usually feel more at ease when we let them know you don't have to share your interview. And they say, oh, good. But they almost always do. But I think people feel better knowing that they don't have to do it. Usually, by the end, they're like, that wasn't so painful, you know. And then they're ready to do it again. This next clip is actually from WAMU. It was produced in 2006. And these two veterans are having a conversation. And it really shows the comradery in the military that even if you served, you know, 20 years or two years apart, there's always some crossover of something. And that's kind of like the way of the military. It's a very small military, even though it's ginormous. So, we'll take a listen here to WAMU's part. [ Music ] >> Garrett Bernsten: Now it's time for StoryCorps local. The US war in Afghanistan is entering its 16th year. And that gives it the sad distinction of being a multi-generational war. Gary Bernsten was sent to Afghanistan shortly after the attacks of September 11th. His son, Garrett, would serve there years later. What year did you enlist? >> Gary Bernsten: I tried to enlist when I was 17 years of age. I was a junior in high school, and I tried to get my parents to sign me into the army. And they refused to do that. And they were worried because the Vietnam war was still on. And they were afraid that I, of course, would join the army, be shipped off to Southeast Asia, and be killed. And I wanted -- despite that, I still wanted to go in the army and wanted to serve. So I had to wait until I was 18. And then on my 18th birthday, I went down and -- >> Garrett Bernsten: Yeah. >> Gary Bernsten: -- I went down alone as you did. >> Garrett Bernsten: Yeah. >> Gary Bernsten: You know, when you were of age. >> Garrett Bernsten: Really, our stories kind of start to intertwine when we talk about Afghanistan. Did you, when you went to Afghanistan in 9/11, did you ever think that I would be there eight years, nine years -- >> Gary Bernsten: I never thought -- >> Garrett Bernsten: -- and then again, 11 years later? >> Gary Bernsten: I never thought that you would wind up fighting on the same battlefields that I was in, you know, a decade later. It was kind of ironic that the two of us would both be out there, you know? >> Garrett Bernsten: It was funny that I could call you after a mission on my cell phone. >> Gary Bernsten: Yeah. >> Garrett Bernsten: And just see how -- >> Gary Bernsten: Most parents, fathers and sons, don't have indoor parents, don't have those relationships where they're sharing battlefields with their children. >> Garrett Bernsten: Yeah. When I did lose my two soldiers in those two weeks, Sergeant Wetton and Sergeant Gillig, I wrote you an email and -- All right, I'm going to get through this, I swear. You wrote me. You wrote me an email back. I don't know if you remember. >> Gary Bernsten: Do you want me to read it? >> Garrett Bernsten: Yeah. Why don't you read it? >> Gary Bernsten: This is after I said -- this is -- >> Garrett Bernsten: Well, you don't have your reading glasses. I'll read it. >> Gary Bernsten: I got glasses here. >> Garrett Bernsten: You said, "I know how heartbreaking it is to lose people. With leadership comes massive responsibility. The more serious you are about being a good leader, the heavier the pack. Good thing you have a strong back. Most people do not normally speak about the emotional needs of their troops. But it's critical to understand and critical that you give as many of them as possible a piece of your time and attention. It is that personal attention that will return the biggest dividend to the unit. The fact that they know that you are invested in personally, changes their lives and provides the only comfort that can be found when things get tough." You know, I think about having a family someday. I think about having sons and daughters and having them -- You're about to buy -- I know what that is. I made that in boy scout camp. >> Gary Bernsten: Yeah, actually, I carry in my wallet a leather piece that my son made. And it's called, "To the best father ever," you know. And it's -- I've carried this with me actually for 20 years. So, you know -- >> Garrett Bernsten: Yeah. >> Gary Bernsten: -- I have great love for you and for your sisters. And I'm grateful and proud of what you -- what you've done. Any part of it that I inspired, you know, I'm grateful for the opportunity for having been able to do that. And I know that you and your siblings will continue to do great things for the country. And I'm, you know, thank you for your service in Afghanistan, too. [ Music ] >> Hazel Diaz: So I am going to talk a little bit about what we do with the content. We usually provide it to our partner stations, like WAMU. And they produce their own segments from that material, just like the one that you just heard. And now we can talk about how you can tell us your story because there's a couple of different ways that we've developed for you to share. There's the more traditional way, the signature interview, which is when you come into the booth, or you come into the recording space. Our facilitator greets you and meets you there. And you sit down with your partner to tell your story. You can do it virtually now. We have virtual appointments where it's the same concept but online. So your facilitator will be there virtually, kind of like a Zoom call, and we'll record the audio. And then there's the StoryCorps app. There's a lot of organizations. And there's StoryCorps in the classroom and all different kinds of ways that people are using the app now to archive their story. And just like our signature interviews and our virtual interviews, you have the option to upload that interview and have it archived here at the Library of Congress. And our last is StoryCorps Connect, which is very similar to the app, but you can see each other. It's more Zoom-ish. So if you want to see each other during the recording, if you're in two different locations, StoryCorps Connect is another option. But all of these give you an option to upload your interview and have it archived here at the Library of Congress. So if your great-great-great- great-grandniece looks you up after they take their Ancestry DNA, they'll be able to find you and listen to your interview about Coachella or whatever it is you crazy kids do. And you can save that and share it with them a hundred years from now or however long the Library stands. If you have a military-related interview, you can certainly use the keyword Military Voices. And that'll help connect it to the Military Voices Initiative. This interview is from an Afghan veteran. Sorry, I'm already getting choked up. And he talks a little bit about the duality of coming to America and going back to Afghanistan then as a Marine. And again, the American military is one of the most diverse workforces in the world. And I think that there's, you know, a lot of complicated things about that, especially in our country today and historically where we had people that were willing, you know, to really fight for their country, even though their country was not as willing to fight for them. But they still made a lot of sacrifices to be part of it and be grateful for the opportunity to be here. So I think that this particular animation really speaks to the duality of having, you know, multiple allegiances and kind of managing those two worlds. [ Music ] >> Ajmal Achekzai: I told myself I was going to go back to Afghanistan but never thought I would go back in the time of war. We were the first 300 boots-on-ground Marines. And when I returned to Kabul, my birth city, I was trying to teach the Marines about the Afghan culture. And then I was teaching the Afghans about the military and what we were about. Being the only one that spoke the language, I became friends with a lot of the locals. And they would bring food. Like my mom made some food for you. They saw me as one of their own. Afghan people are one of the most honorable and hospitable people in the world. I was right there between two cultures that I love. And it was a lot of emotions from both ends. And then the image of leaving Bagram airport. I could see the whole city, desert, huge Afghan flag. Afghanistan, to me, is my motherland, beauty, poetry. And they're survivors. That's what they are. Forty years of war; they wake up every day, dust the dirt off their shoulder and keep going. We told them that we're here for their safety. We're here to make sure that they progress. But I feel like I failed the Afghan people. I had to escape just like them. I joined the service basically to serve the country that allowed me to come. And as I've gotten older, I've realized what my part in this world is. It's to help others. It's the rent we pay to live in this country. And the Afghan people, they're just like us. They want to live free. [ Music ] >> Hazel Diaz: I want to just take a moment to thank the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They actually fund the Military Voices Initiative. And they are the reason that we are able to collect these stories and connect with these veterans across the country. And I would not leave you crying. So lastly, we are going to listen to Garett Reppenhagen. He is the Executive Director of Veterans for Peace. And he is also a prankster. He very much enjoys Halloween. It is his favorite holiday. Only, you know, April Fools is very close behind Halloween. And he kind of talks about dressing up for Halloween and one of the shenanigans while he was deployed in Iraq. So I think that this is going to give you a little bit of relief. I know that you're like gasping for breath at this point. So I just wanted, you know, I wouldn't leave you like that. So, we're going to listen to Garett before I conclude here. >> Garett Reppenhagen: My sniper leader, Sergeant Richardson, he was a character. You know, he's got a shaved head, ears sticking out of the side, mustache. Kind of a surly dude too. So I thought it'd be really funny if I dressed up like Sergeant Rich. And I had to steal his uniform with rank and nameplate on it. The morning of Halloween, I bicked [phonetic] my head. I shaved my mustache down to a perfect square. I had bubblegum in my cheek to make it look like I had chew in my mouth at all times. And to get the ears right, I got some toothpicks, and I popped those suckers out. And I headed to the chow hall for breakfast. You know, folks kind of see me. They're chuckling. And I dig into my omelet. And the doors of the chow hall slam open. And in walks the Sergeant Major. >> Thom Cassidy: Uh-oh. >> Garett Reppenhagen: The Command Sergeant Major, he's the highest-ranking dude on our entire base. He's always kind of pissed. Like he's got this general aura of anger. But he's not extra angry till he gets about like five feet from me. >> Thom Cassidy: Oh, and you pulled the okey-doke on him. >> Garett Reppenhagen: I think he was looking for Sergeant Richardson to talk to him about something. And I knew I was dead. And he says, "Reppenhagen." I popped up into the position of attention. My chair fell over. And he says, "What the hell are you doing?" And I say, "I'm eating breakfast, Sergeant Major." He says, "No, what are you doing with that?" And he's pointing right at Sergeant Rich's uniform and nameplate. And I say, "It's Halloween, Sergeant Major." And he says, "Throw your chow away, go back to your bunk. And you're not going to leave till I come get you." So I haul butt back to my bunk, and I paced. In the United States Army, it is against the law to impersonate a non-commissioned officer. >> Thom Cassidy: That's true. >> Garett Reppenhagen: So I was scared. Hours later, a slamming fist hits my door. So I swallow hard. I swing open the door. And it is the Sergeant Major. And he says, "Reppenhagen, that's the most fine Halloween costume I've ever seen in my life." And he took a couple pictures and walked away. I think, in a lot of ways, we survived that deployment in Iraq by sharing humor with each other. Sergeant Rich never really forgave me. But I hope that he thinks about that and laughs sometimes. We were doing an awful job in an awful time. And if I shed any joy to anybody on that base that day, then I think it was all worth it. [ Music ] >> Hazel Diaz: Okay. That concludes my time. I want to thank the American Folklore Center, and the Library of Congress, and, of course, the Veterans History Project, who I think we're hearing from next. And thank you all for your time and attention. I'm going to pass it back to John now. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> John Fenn: Thank you, Hazel and Sandy. We're now going to invite up Megan Harris, the Veteran Libraries, Veterans History Project. And I'm going to swap out the presentation while you get situated. >> Megan Harris: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for letting me be here today. As John said, I'm Megan Harris. I'm the Reference Specialist for the Veterans History Project. Thanks so much to the StoryCorps team, to Hazel, and to Sandy. I always tell folks that I feel so incredibly lucky to have a job that makes me cry on a daily basis. And today is absolutely no exception. So just wanted to share some of Veterans History Project collections. Possibly might have the same effect as some of these stories on you. So my main goal for the next 30 minutes is to talk about some of the amazing service narratives that are part of the Veterans History Project and to shine a light on the individual experiences that are at the heart of the Veterans History Project. To give you a little context on how these stories come to be here at the Library, the mission of the Veterans History Project is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the stories of US veterans in the form of first-person narratives so that future generations can -- future generations can hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of military service. We were created by Congressional mandate in 2000. So we've been collecting, preserving, and making accessible for over 20 years now. And we have over 113,000 individual veteran's narratives in our collection. So usually, I think of these elements of our mission as sequential. First, we get the stuff, then we preserve it, and then we make it accessible. But lately, I've been seeing how these elements of our mission really overlap in intriguing and interesting ways. So I wanted to talk to you about some of those interesting examples. So before I dive into some of the key studies that I wanted to share, it's important to keep in mind or to answer the question, what do we collect? So the bread and butter of our collection are oral histories, narratives that are at least 30 minutes or more that are collected and donated to us by anyone with a recording device who has a willingness to sit down and capture the story of the veteran in their life. But in addition to oral histories, we also collect other first-person narratives, things like photographs, letters, diaries, memoirs, even artwork, such as sketches or drawings. So the first collection that I wanted to profile is out of Cristina Frisby, who served with the California National Guard and deployed to Camp Speicher, Iraq, in 2005. She was trained to operate recovery vehicles. And her battalion was responsible for running large logistics convoys between bases. Her collection includes an oral history as well as over 300 photographs that she took while she was there, documenting her everyday experiences, as well as some home movie footage that she captured sometimes from her vehicle. And these photos are some of my favorites in our collection. I love how they capture not only the day-to-day of her experience there but also her personality, what I think of her sense of cheerfulness even under incredibly stressful circumstances. So what her photographs don't capture is what happened before she got to Iraq. She actually began her military career in the late 1980s when she attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis. And at the end of her first year, she was confronted by an official inquiry into her sexual orientation. And she was eventually discharged for being gay. It had been her dream to serve in the military. And for over 10 years after, she mourned the loss of this dream. And here's a clip of her explaining this experience. >> Cristina Frisby: Like I said, I wanted to be the honest mid-shipman. I didn't want to lie. They had installed that in us. And here, people were telling me to lie. So I told the truth and got kicked out versus lying and staying in. So that was it. And then it threatened any -- any career for the rest of my life was immediately threatened because of that paperwork, because of that documentation. Even though I had an honorable DD 214, it was still leaving the academy, and it's not good. Some people continue with military careers after leaving the academy. They go on ROTC or maybe OCS, and direct commissions, other kinds of things. So it was possible for me to have continued in the military if I had not admitted that. And I actually tried to get back into ROTC and then got scared that they would find out and that I would get in trouble. So then I bailed out on Army ROT -- >> Megan Harris: So ultimately, after 9/11, she decided to take the risk of enlisting in the California National Guard in the hopes that no one would take a closer look at her discharge and her previous military record. And that she might be able to serve after all. And the gamble that she took paid off. She explains in her oral history, she was deployed overseas 15 years after her original service date. So given the richness of Frisby's photos and the unusual backstory to them, we decided to feature her collection in a research guide that we pulled together that we released last year on post-9/11 photograph collections. For each of the 10 collections that we included in the research guide, we offered users a taste not only of the photographs, as well as the context in which they were created. You can't see it really well here, but the slide indicates it's some screenshots from this research guide and some of the really amazing photographs that are in our collection. So the next collection that I wanted to talk about is that of Melvin Pender, who is a Vietnam veteran who, like Christina Frisby, has an intriguing twist in his service story. He's an Atlanta native. And he joined the army in 1955 at the age of 17. He was a natural athlete. And when he was stationed in Okinawa, he was actually recruited for the 1964 Olympic Track and Field team. And at the 1964 games, he placed sixth in the hundred-meter dash. In 1967, he was pulled out of Vietnam to train for the 1968 Olympics, where he was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that won the gold medal. So, yeah, indeed. So in his oral history, he talks about what it was like to come back home to Georgia after he had been serving abroad. >> Melvin Pender: And I said, "Let me say something to you, General -- I mean, Colonel. If I was not in the military, I would demonstrate because I've been to hell and back in my life as a young man. You don't understand being -- not being a black man. But we had to go through being broke in America. And here it is, 1968, and we're still being treated this way. For example, Sir, when I came back in 1968 -- in 1964, I took my mother to the doctor. They had a little room about as big as that desk over there and two chairs, and up front was the waiting room." And this lady -- I went up front to the front desk. And I says, "Why are we sitting back here?" "That's where you're supposed to sit, where y'all are supposed to sit." And I'm just back from Vietnam. I went back to my mom. I said, "Let's go." She says, "What? What's the problem?" I said, "Mom, we don't sit in the back of the bus anymore. I just got back from fighting for this country. I've seen young men die for this country. I got to sit in the back of a room to wait for this doctor? He's not worth it." So he came up there and called me "boy." >> William Bruckner: The doctor did? >> Melvin Pender: Yeah. "Boy, if you don't like it, you can get the hell out of here." Now I'm a black belt in karate. Okay? And if my mother had not been there, I'd have been probably in jail. I said, "Sir, if you open your mouth to me one more time, you're going to be in trouble. I'm leaving your building. I'm taking my mother out of here. She'll never come back again." He didn't open his mouth. I said, "I just got back from Vietnam. You don't want to talk to me like that." And I told him, I said, "Look, I've seen young white men -- young white men die for this country, for you. And young black men die for you. And you're going to treat me and people the way you treated them -- treat them coming to your office?" So we walked out. I got in the car. My mother was crying. [ Exhales Heavily ] And I hit the steering wheel so hard that bruised my -- in fact, I bruised my hand real bad. In fact, I eventually broke that hand. >> William Bruckner: Uh-huh. >> Melvin Pender: And I said, "Mom," I said, "you don't understand." My mother passed away like five years ago. She was 96. >> William Bruckner: Oh. >> Melvin Pender: And I said, "You don't understand why I get emotional like this." I said, "Young men have died for this country. And because people with crooked minds hating people because the color of their skin. Why? We all Americans?" I said, "Mom, everybody has the same color blood. It runs the same color, red. It don't matter what color we are. >> Megan Harris: So while Pender's story is in some ways quite unique, relatively few soldiers have also competed in the Olympics, or at least while they've been serving, his intensely personal and emotional recounting of his story is actually fairly typical of VHP collections. And as I think you can see, his is a tremendous interview, tremendous collection. And part of my job is to make sure that users can find collections like this amongst the 113,000 in our archive. So to this end, we've created a series of over 70 online presentations that present a curated view, selection of VHP collections relating to a wide variety of different themes. And Melvin Pender's was actually included in two different presentations. One on what we call change makers, veterans who have pushed the boundaries in some way. And also one on veteran athletes. So while we definitely collect oral histories, we also collect narratives from veterans who aren't able to give an oral history. And in these cases, the collection might be comprised entirely of manuscript material or manuscript and photograph material, including original diaries. And speaking personally, I find diaries, service diaries, some of our most fascinating collections. There's something really compelling about the fact that people -- there's this human impulse to write down your experience and your account even under the most harrowing of circumstances. So one of the diaries like this is of Irving Greenwald, who kept a diary while serving in combat in France during World War I. And as you can see, or as I hope you can see from the photo, he wrote his diary in the teeniest, tiniest, most minute of handwriting. It is unreal to see it in person. And actually, the ink has smeared over time. And so a lot of the material, a lot of the entries are actually illegible. But very luckily, the family had transcribed it in the 1930s before it had deteriorated to this point. So we have a sense of the entries. And the entries, the content is really as exceptional as the form of it. He writes these really lyrical, eloquent entries about the nature of war and his experience in combat. And they also include really fantastic details, such as what he had for breakfast every morning. So it's got these amazing historical tidbits in it, as well as these more moving soliloquies about war. So, as I mentioned, the diary was not in great shape when it was donated to us. And the Library of Congress conservators have done an amazing job of literally taking it apart and then putting it back together again so that it will endure for another hundred years. So while we often make collections accessible by featuring them in online research guides and presentations, sometimes we're able to bring collections to life in a much more -- in much more direct ways. Greenwald's diary was part of a Library-wide exhibit called Echoes of the Great War that came out in 2017 to commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of the US entry into World War I. And as part of the programming around that, the Library debuted a one-man show that an actor named Douglas Taurel had created based on Greenwald's diary. And it took place in the Coolidge Auditorium right behind us on Veteran's Day in 2017. It was a really poignant and affecting performance that was made even richer by the fact that Greenwald's family, his descendants, his daughter, and some of his descendants were in the audience. So it was a really wonderful experience. So the final collection that I wanted to spotlight is that of another original diary collection, that of George Washington Pearcy. In 2015, the American Folklife Center put VHP in touch with Glen Pearcy, who's a documentary filmmaker and photographer whose civil rights era photographs are part of the American Folklife Center holdings. Pearcy's family had a huge trove of original material relating to the experiences of Glen Pearcy's uncle, George Pearcy, who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. And while the Pearcy collection includes extensive letters and photographs, the centerpiece of it is a series of original diaries that Pearcy kept as a prisoner of war in the Philippines. Pearcy had been serving on Corregidor prior to the outbreak of war. And he was captured by the Japanese in May of 1942. He spent the next 29 months as a prisoner of war, during which he meticulously documented his experiences on whatever scrap paper he could find, including things like the backs of tin can labels. So this entry right here is on the back of a label from a tin can of mackerel. In October of 1944, Pearcy was forced aboard a Japanese prison ship that was bound for mainland Japan. And before he departed, he was in quite poor health. I think he had a sense that he wasn't going to survive the journey. And he passed off his diary to a friend of his, a fellow POW named Robert Augur, with the request that his diary be given to his family if Pearcy did not survive the war. He did not. The prison ship was sunk by an American submarine en route to mainland Japan. But his buddy, that he gave the diary to, Robert Augur, in fact, did survive the war. He was liberated. And when he got home, he kept his promise and sent the diary to Pearcy's family. So the Pearcy diaries are a really stunning record of one POW's experience. And in preserving him at the Library, we're really carrying out Pearcy's desire for his story to endure. He had made several mentions in previous letters that he wanted his family to keep these letters as a record of his war experiences with the idea in mind that he would someday write a book. So the context of the diary's creation and existence is incredible in and of itself. But there's a twist that makes it even better. Shortly after we got the diaries, we wrote a blog post about them. We were so excited about this acquisition that we wrote a blog post on our shared AFC VHP blog called Folklife Today. The blog is a really fantastic tool that we have to draw attention to VHP collections. And in this case, it did the trick far better than we ever could have imagined. The blog post actually caught the attention of the family of Robert Augur, who, if you'll recall, was the buddy whom Pearcy gave his materials to. And as it happened, Augur also kept a diary while he was a POW. And this diary also found a home at VHP after the Augur family donated it to us in 2016. So I really love the serendipity of all of this, that our efforts to make the Pearcy collection known actually led to the acquisition of a related diary. And it seems really fitting that both of these fellow POWs and friends that their diaries found a home here at VHP 75 years later. Really, that's the thing about all of our collections here at VHP, right? That's the commonality that ties all of these stories together. These are all quite different, Frisby, Pender, Greenwald, and Augur, and Pearcy. They all have quite different backgrounds, served in different conflicts. But the commonality is that they're here. They're preserved at the Library. Because these veterans and their families chose to get involved in VHP, their oral histories, and photographs, and diaries, and stories will survive. Because their materials are preserved here, their stories will persevere. So I know I just threw a ton of information at you. There's Robert Augur's diary. But I just wanted to talk a little bit about how you can get involved. Our website is www.loc.gov/vets. And it has all of the information that you need to participate in VHP. And I hope that you've gotten a sense of VHP's efforts to collect, preserve, and make accessible the stories of US veterans. And hopefully, these stories have inspired you to interview a veteran and donate the oral history or donate other materials to us. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions. Thank you so much. [ Applause ]