Programs

Oral History at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor

Every Purple Heart has a story connected with it. The Oral History Program at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is guided by the belief that each one of these stories is valuable and historically significant. They are valuable because they depict events and memories that are often very important to the recipient, and or, his or her family. They are historically significant because they provide a unique perspective on an event or a period of time that was an important part of the history of our nation. If you are a Purple Heart Recipient, or if you have been deeply affected by the loss of a service member who was killed in action, then we would like you to consider sharing your story with us.

We conduct interviews in a video recording studio here at the Hall of Honor. Interviewees will receive one DVD copy of their recorded interview. Footage from the interview may be edited and excerpted for future use by the Hall of Honor. We may include excerpts from your interview in video programs created for the galleries or for special audiences such as schools, veteran’s organizations, etc.

Interviews are conducted by advance appointment. If you are interested in scheduling an interview, or if you have any questions please contact Tom Lange at the Hall of Honor toll free at 1-877-28HONOR.

Contributing Your Story to the Veterans History Project

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Oral History program is a contributing partner to the Veterans History Project.

The Veterans History Project was created by the United States Congress in 2000 as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The mission of the Veterans History project is to collect and archive the personal recollections of US wartime veterans to honor their service and share their stories with current and future generations.

When you share your story with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor you can choose to have a copy of your interview sent to the Veterans History Project to be preserved by the Library of Congress. All interviews conducted at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor are archived here at the Hall of Honor. Those interviewees who are interested in contributing to the Veterans History Project will have their interview preserved in the archives of both the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the Veterans History Project.

Once an interview has been archived and processed by the Veterans History Project a record of the interview is made available to the public in an online database and the interview is made accessible to researchers at the Library of Congress.

If you have any questions about the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor’s partnership with the Veterans History Project please email Tom Lange

If you have any questions please visit Veterans History Project.