Oral History Interviews – Making History Project

 

Making History Project

Oral History Interviews

As our logo reflects, the Making History Project involves four disciplines: (1) audio; (2) video; (3) scholarship; and (4) travel.  Audio and video recording preserves the oral history interviews of Veterans. Scholarship includes historical research, writing and conferences.  Travel entails trips to historic battlefields, locations, museums, and Veteran events.

Our Mission

The mission for the Making History Project is to make history one day at a time for future generations through digital preservation.  To this end, we conduct oral history interviews of Veterans and collect documents, photographs and artifacts to supplement that record and preserve them digitally.  Our oral history interviews are being shared with three world recognized archives: U.S. Library of Congress – Veterans History Project; the National World War II Museum; and the University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Project.  Depositing our oral history interviews with these leading archives ensures the continued preservation of these interviews as well as increased access for students, researchers and the public at large.

What We Do

We video record oral history interviews of Veterans to capture the image and emotions of our Veterans while telling their story.  With our advanced equipment setup, we are able to hand the Veteran and his family a copy of the interview on a DVD within minutes of completing the interview.  In this way, the Veteran and the Veteran’s family are able to immediately have a cherished memento and family record.  After the interview, we begin the long process of indexing, transcribing, and editing the interview before it is shared with the archives.

Who We Interview

The present emphasis for the Making History Project is the World War II Veteran.  Given the advanced age of the “Greatest Generation”, it is our highest priority to meet and interview as many World War II Veterans as possible.  As  the project proceeds, the goal is to expand the interviews to other notable conflicts including Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan.  If you are a Veteran or know of a Veteran who would like to give an oral history interview, please reach out to us as we would love to hear from you.

Meanwhile, please pardon our dust as we work to add and organize our content on this new site.  You can also keep up with us on our Facebook Page or via Twitter at @MakingHistoryPR.

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About Patrick Russell

Director and oral historian for the Making History Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Veteran stories for future generations. Resides in Miami, Florida, where he is a full-time mediator and has been a practicing lawyer since 1994. Proudly serves as a staff member for the University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, in addition to being a member of the Oral History Association, American Historical Association; Friends and Family of the 508 P.I.R.; and the Battle of the Bulge Association. Graduated from Marquette University with a B.A. in Political Science, and a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. Additional courses and workshops for oral history and museum studies have been taken at Baylor University and Harvard University, Harvard Extension School. Contact info: (305) 608-2977 or patrick@making-history-project.com

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