Wisconsin veterans remember

Adam Holton's memories of Iraq are still fresh, even though it's been nine years since he served as commander of a Marine Reserves company.  He vividly remembers the days during Golf Company's 2004-'05 Iraq deployment when five of his Marines were mortally wounded, and he recalls the tedium and excitement of living in a war zone. Holton wanted his memories, and those of his men, preserved for posterity.  Because as long as he remembers his five fallen comrades, others will, too.  "Keeping their memories alive is really important to us," Holton said.  That's why Holton participated in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum's oral history project. More than 1,800 oral histories of Wisconsin veterans, dating back to the program's start in 1994, are on cassette tapes, CDs and now digital recordings. For full story click here.

Veterans OH Project – Uni. of Oregon

Every year, hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans die without having fully told their stories, taking with them rich experiences of military service that haven’t been formally preserved. For Sgt. Josh Yates, that’s a tragedy.  Yates, 27, who served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and Japan, has a deep respect for history. He’s majoring in this field as an undergraduate at the UO, and it’s possible he’ll someday be at the head of a classroom himself, teaching history at a university.  For full story click here.

Iraq War

As the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war’s start approaches, Lens highlights Photojournalists on War, an oral history of the conflict as recounted by those who documented it from the front lines. The book, published this month by the University of Texas Press, was written by Michael Kamber,  who covered the war for eight years for The New York Times.  For full story with many photographs and related interviews click here.