The purpose of the Library of Congresss Veterans History Project is to get every veterans story from the humorous and the heroic to the harrowing.

For years, the Library has collected the stories of the men and women who served from World War I to the nations most recent conflicts. Its personal for project director Karen Lloyd.

Not only is she the child and spouse of a veteran, shes a veteran herself.

I would suspect that you have veterans in your communities and you have no idea of their service, she said. And that's why it's so important that we seek them out and then listen really listen so that they'll tell you their story. And you'd be amazed what you hear from them and, and sometimes it just gives you goosebumps and sometimes you just laugh out loud.

After she accepted the job in 2016, she sat down and shared her story with the project. She wasnt prepared and thought it would only take a few minutes. She spoke and recalled her experiences for more than two hours.

The project is dependent on volunteers who go out and record veterans stories and share them with the library. This past year alone, Lloyd said the Library of Congress received 3,400 veterans accounts of their experiences. Approximately 3,200 came from volunteers.

One volunteer made it his purpose to go to every state and collect a story from Gold Star families to make sure that their loved ones stories werent lost. Lloyd said the project is also trying to focus on Gold Star families, as well as the perspective of the spouse, child or parent of a veteran.

She sees Colorado as a target rich environment, with an estimated 400,000 veterans here. The project only has about 2,300 interviews from the Centennial State.

Link:
The Library Of Congress Wants To Hear Every Veteran's Story. That Includes Those In Colorado - Colorado Public Radio