On Veterans Day, the American Red Cross South Central and Southeast Kansas chapter and Fidelity Bank hosted a day of recording interviews for the Veterans History Project, to be placed in the Library of Congress.

While the Red Cross has long supported the Veterans History Project, the Wichita office collected their first testimonies at an event last April. With Fidelity Bank, another opportunity for veterans to tell their stories in their own words could be held in the area.

The Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. Veterans are free to speak about whatever they choose, as long as it includes personal accounts of their military service. These interviews are unedited and uncensored, so their words go into the historical record exactly as they said them.

Charles Tucker, a retired staff sergeant who served in the Kansas Army National Guard, felt it was important to preserve the sacrifice of veterans for the future.

“History is sliding away. We have people that served in Vietnam, World War II, Korea and all… People are forgetting that. Hopefully the next generation will know that – that everything we do we earned, and we need to respect it,” said Tucker.

Shannon Taylor, audit manager at Fidelity Bank, volunteered to help with the Veterans History Project in honor of her father, Gary Job, who served in the Air Force and was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

“My dad was a veteran and he loved his country and he loved his fellow vets, so I had the privilege of growing up with that. As an adult, I think its important to support our veterans, to get their stories told so that we can fully understand the sacrifices and the dedication it would take to tell these stories, and to live them.”

The American Red Cross serves our nation’s military personnel and their families, including active duty, National Guard and Reserve, as well as our veterans. For over 135 years, the American Red Cross has provided critical assistance to military families – beginning with our founder, Clara Barton, on Civil War battlefields. Our employees along with thousands of volunteers help deliver services at Red Cross offices across the country and in more than one hundred military installations around the world—including Djibouti, Iraq and Kuwait. As a result, more than 1 million military families have been served since 9/11. To become a Red Cross volunteer, visit www.redcross.org/volunteer.