"I think much more about the value of service ... and not just military service ... service is a tremendously important thing ... in people's lives."
--Phil Klay, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and award winning author of Redeployment, during my interview with him to beta test the new VHP smartphone app
Mr. Klay's full interview may be accessed by clicking on his picture to the right
"If you go into the service...it gives you a better idea of the country you have and what people do to keep everything the way you want to have it."
--Richard A., U.S. Army veteran, reflecting on what he learned during his time in the service
"I'm happy to see how veterans are treated today...it's a much, much different world."
-- Nelson DeMille, U.S. Army veteran and best-selling author, reflecting on how veterans are viewed in society today compared to when he was serving in Vietnam
"I truly fell in love with being of service to other people, being a part of something bigger than myself."
--J.R. Martinez, U.S. Army veteran, actor, motivational speaker and recent Dancing with the Stars champion, on why he decided to dedicate his life to working with various veterans organizations and nonprofits
"I learned very fast to be a man ...."
-- David B., U.S. Air Force veteran, describing one of his main take-aways from his service in England and California during the Korean War
"[The U.S. Marine Corps] wants people who are considered to be the top, ... the elite, ... the best, ... first to fight, ... right in freedom, ... do what is right .... I'm proud to have been a part of that."
--Andrew F., U.S. Marine Corps veteran, reflecting on his service as a Marine Judge Advocate General
An Eagle Scout's Tribute to Veterans
"...that was probably the first military use of penicillin."
--Great Uncle George, U.S. Army veteran, witnessing a new "wonder drug" cure a severely infected patient in a few days in a military hospital
Uncle George's VHP file can be accessed by clicking on his picture to the left
"Every veteran has a story to tell, and every
one of those stories deserves to be told."
-- Bill Stone, Stone & Stone Second World War Books
* * * * *
To access these and other veterans' stories, you may visit the
Veterans History Project (VHP) at the American Folklife Center,
101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540,
or search the VHP website at
(type "Jason Cuomo" in the search bar to find my project's interviews)
It takes the VHP 6 months to process an interview so some may not yet be available