World War II veteran Susumu Ito talks about his memories of serving in the all-Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team during the war and the internment of his parents in an American internment camp. The presentation includes film footage, images, and subtitles.
Vietnam War veteran Robert Vinson talks about his experiences in Vietnam and returning home on leave during the war and after his service in the war, including his struggle with PTSD and use of massage and movement therapy.
World War II veteran Mary Ginnerty shares her personal memories of the war.
The audio of this oral history is available independently as a MP3 file.
Once called Armistice Day, Veterans Day has evolved into a day of recognition for all U.S. military veterans, not only those who fought in World War I. This year, the holiday falls on a Friday (November 11), only a week away. How do you celebrate Veterans Day? How do your students celebrate? Do they have veterans in their families? Do they know the history of the holiday? Each student's awareness of Veterans Day and his or her understanding of what it means and how it should be observed will be unique—and ripe for discussion and exploration.
This year, Teachinghistory.org has gathered all of our resources on Veterans Day in one place: our Veterans Day spotlight page. On the page, you can find materials for learning about the history of Veterans Day and the branches of the U.S. military and about the experiences of individual soldiers at war—from the American Revolution to the present day. Get ideas for teaching with monuments and memorials and with oral history, or watch a historian analyze civil war letters. Take quizzes on the 54th Massachusetts (the African American Civil War regiment featured in the film Glory), Operation Desert Storm, and other topics related to veterans and war. (Remember that our previous spotlight pages, on 9/11, Constitution Day, and Columbus Day are still available—and don't forget to visit our new Thanksgiving spotlight.)
If you need more resources, the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project preserves the experiences of thousands of veterans through oral history. The memories of more than 3,000 veterans are featured online, including interview transcripts and audio and video recordings (go to "Search the Veterans Collection" and choose "yes" for "Transcript?" and "Digitized Collection?"). A Library of Congress blog entry gives a quick overview of the Project and ways to use it in the classroom.
At HISTORY.com, you or your students can learn about the Take a Veteran to School program, tweet in honor of veterans (use hashtag #thankavet), or read guidelines for donating photos to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The 21-min. online video "The Story of Veterans Day" gives a quick, accessible introduction to the holiday and its history.
For recent materials on Veterans Day, check out the official White House website. Here, you can read Obama's Veterans Day proclamations and find photos and articles on the celebration of Veterans Day in recent years. The Department of Veterans Affairs lists regional Veterans Day observances—and also features a free downloadable teacher resource guide.
In the words of Abraham Lincoln, the Department of Veteran Affairs exists "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan."
Primarily intended for veterans, the Department of Veteran Affairs does, nonetheless, provide a number of fascinating statistical offerings.
The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics presents demographic data on veteran ethnicity, branch of service, officer or enlisted status, and more within the nation and individual states; veteran data from the 2000 census; Veteran Affairs expenditure data and medical program information; studies on topics such as veteran employability; and special reports covering women, Alaskan, and Native American veterans, among other topics.
Perhaps most immediately relevant to classroom research is a PDF displaying war statistics, from the American Revolution through Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Data includes the total number of servicemembers, battle fatalities, non-mortal wounds, non-battle fatalities, and living veterans per war and in combination. The page also offers a list of the date of death; age; and name of the last remaining veteran, widow, and dependent (if known) of the American Revolution, War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War, Civil War, and Spanish-American War.
The Department of Veteran's Affairs also makes several children's sites available. VA Kids, K-5th provides department information—the motto, history, seal, Veterans Health Administration, technology, research, and Veteran Benefits Administration; veteran facts; the history and display of the U.S. flag; and online games. Games require Flash 6. VA Kids, 6th-12th Grades offers similar materials, designed for a more mature student.
The Teacher's Page (under "Kids' Page") offers a Veterans Day teaching guide, stories of U.S. customs and symbols, and three other suggested resources.
Finally, the site contains a gallery of past Veterans Day posters, useful for examining iconography and changing print design trends and technology.
The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project provides access to a wide variety of sources related to the role of women in the military. These document the female war experience, how male-female integration has changed the armed forces, and more.
Sources available through this collection include diaries, oral histories, uniforms, military patches, scrapbooks, posters, books or pamphlets, photographs, and letters. The oral histories alone number more than 300, and are available as transcripts.
There are three ways to access the site content. You can either run a keyword search; select a military branch or related organization—Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Red Cross, Cadet Nurse Corps, or foreign and/or civilian; or select a conflict—World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Post-Vietnam/1980s, or Gulf War/War on Terrorism. Selecting a branch or conflict will provide a list of the types of sources available, as well as how many of each there are. Select your source type of interest to see the individual items.
The Civil War may have ended in 1865, but vivid memories of the "Lost Cause" lived on for decades at the Confederate Soldiers Home of Missouri. Opened in 1891, the Confederate Home provided refuge to more than 1,600 veterans and their families for nearly 60 years. These veterans hailed from points throughout the South and served in every major battle of the Civil War. Foot soldiers, artillery and cavalrymen, marines, guerilla fighters, and even spies found a place of rest here in their old age. The very last of these former rebel soldiers, John T. Graves, died at the home in 1950 at the age of 108, thus bringing an end to an era in Missouri history. Today, visitors to the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site can venture to the locations of the former home buildings and stroll through the restored 106-year-old chapel and historic cemetery. Three other historic buildings can be viewed from outside. Interpretive exhibits tell the story of the state's Confederate Soldiers Home.
The site offers exhibits and tours.
World War II veteran Gustavus R. Ide, Jr. shares his personal memories of the war.
World War II veteran John Laukkanen shares his personal memories of the war.
World War II veteran Bob Doherty shares his personal memories of the war.