Making History Project – Veteran Oral History Preserving Veterans’ Stories
I am writing this brief update from the road while in Kansas City, Missouri. I do this while at a picnic table outside the fantastic National World War I Museum in downtown Kansas City. What an amazing tribute to those that served and sacrificed during the Great War.
The American Heartland Tour is in its final stages. There still remains a number of Veteran oral history interviews to complete here in Missouri and in Illinois. The trip has been a fabulous success. Here are some interesting numbers so far:
- 33 days on the road
- 14 States visited
- Over 6,000 miles driven
- 90+ has been the average day temperature
- 36 Veteran oral history interviews and an equal number of new friends
- 5 conflicts covered (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan)
- 3 new Veteran Advocate relationships made
- 25 cities visited
- 6 military museums visited
- 19 National and State parks visited
- 9 Cultural musesums visited
- 8 major waterfalls seen
- 7 times camped in a tent
- 4 States fished
- 264 pounds of ice purchased
- 0 Traffic tickets
I am on schedule to complete the tour on time on August 19th. Looking forward to being able to process all of these new interviews and to have them edited and archived with the U.S. Library of Congress and the University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.
A full debrief will be provided next month when I return and have more time and better facilities to write. Until then, stay frosty and cool during this hot summer.
