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Students in an LSU Ogden Honors College seminar capture the first-person accounts of Louisiana residents who have served in the military.
In addition to being added to the T. Harry Williams Oral History Center, part of the LSU Libraries, the oral histories students collect will be stored in the Library of Congress’ national database as part of the Library of Congress’ Veterans Partnership Historical project.
Students in Honors 2020: Oral History and the Louisiana Veterans Experience learn how to preserve valuable historical information by collecting personal memories through recorded interviews. These interviews have become essential sources that are accessible to anyone interested in understanding the impact of Louisiana veterans who served in the US military in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In August, Monica Mohindra, director of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, flew to Baton Rouge to meet with Honors 2020 students and discuss the collaboration between LSU and the Library of Congress. Mohindra spoke about the importance of preserving these stories locally and nationally. During the talk, she emphasized how these students are “creating a living memorial to the stories of veterans … not only about their service, but how that service has impacted their lives and communities.”
The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs played an important role in the Honors 2020 course. The department provided assistance in identifying Louisiana veterans to interview and coordinated opportunities for students to interview residents of the Louisiana Veterans Home in Jackson and the Veterans Home in Southeast Louisiana on the reservation.
The oral history process is more intensive than simply recording someone talking about their life. First, students choose their interview topics. Once the subject agrees, they fill out a biographical data form with information such as when and where they were born; when and where they served; medals they have received; major operations in which they participated; and when they left the service. From there, students conduct 10 hours of background research for every hour they intend to interview their subject. They become familiar with the historical context in which their subject served and develop thoughtful in-depth questions.
Students are taught how to compassionately deal with any trauma that may arise during the interview. They then work in teams, with one serving as the interviewer and the other as the audio engineer in charge of the video and audio equipment and any photography. They then transcribe the interview, making it searchable by keywords for researchers looking for information.
While World War II has been extensively documented through the lens of oral history, the purpose of the class was to compensate for the lack of stories of veterans who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, and Gulf Wars.
To learn more about the oral histories of Louisiana veterans housed in the T. Harry Williams Oral History Center, visit the Louisiana Digital Library website at louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/lsu-thwcoh-military:collection.
Also, part of the Williams Center’s mission is to assist members of the public with their own oral history projects. The Center offers workshops to the community on best practices, including interviewing techniques, how to conduct basic research, and how to navigate the documentation needed to preserve their oral histories at the Williams Center or the Library of Congress. For information, email Jen Cramer at jabrah1@lsu.edu.
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