The Central California War Veterans Oral History Project for the spring semester will be presented at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, in a ceremony with about 50 veterans – including many former prisoners of war — at California State University, Fresno.
The event is scheduled 5-6:30 p.m. at the Henry Madden Library, Room 2206 (south wing). Twenty-eight students from the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism and Smittcamp Family Honors College will introduce the veterans they interviewed and talk about what they learned from the experience.
The histories, ranging from 25 to 75 pages and including audio recordings, will be archived in the library’s Special Collections. Researchers, historians, students, veterans and the rest of the public will have access to the oral histories.
This is the third semester of the project that started in 2010. More than 150 oral histories have been completed, said Dr. Gary Rice, an associate professor of mass communication and journalism, who heads the project.
“We’re real excited about the oral histories done this semester,” Rice said. “The veterans include many from the Vietnam War, as well as World War II. And this semester, we had a significant number of former prisoners of war interviewed.”
Rice said the project brings learning alive for students, giving them a chance to hear history from the people who made it. Veterans have an opportunity to tell their stories, many for the first time, and have them preserved..
“The ceremony is real timely as we approach Memorial Day,” Rice said. “All the veterans have significant stories to tell, and our students are happy to help them do it.”
For more information, contact Rice at 559.278.2026 or grice@csufresno.edu.
