Message from Senator Lugar

Dear Friends:

As we begin the 2005-2006 school year, I am looking forward to continuing my partnerships with several Indiana schools on the Veterans History Project. I am hopeful that we will continue working together to document the histories of Indiana veterans for this important national project.

I would also like to urge every high school in Indiana to participate in the Veterans History Project. The VHP can be incorporated into many different areas of study and has been effectively used as a learning tool by many others.

If you would like more information about partnering with me on the Veterans History Project, please contact Emmy Huffman of my staff. You may reach Emmy at (317) 226-5555 or via email at emmy_huffman@lugar.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Honoring Those Who Served

Staff Sergeant Jeremy Doyle, 24, died on August 18,
2005 in Samarra, Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to initial reports, SSG Doyle died when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.

SSG Doyle was assigned to HHC, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Divsion, Fort Stewart Georgia.

He is a former resident of Indianapolis, with relatives still residing in Martinsville.

Please keep the members of our nation’s military currently serving in harm’s way in your thoughts and prayers. Please also remember those members of the Indiana National Guard currently deployed to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

[back]

Progress Report

As of August 31, 2005, I have collected 5,593 completed interviews to be submitted to the Veterans History Project. These interviews account for nearly 20% of the entire collection at the Library of Congress.

I have notified 10,236 friends and family members that these interviews have been submitted and will be publicly available as part of a national collection at the Library of Congress.

I welcome the following addition to my Veterans History Project team:

* The International School of Indianapolis

I look forward to working with the International School this year!

[back]

Top Interview Tips from Library of Congress

Last month I reported the participation of several Hoosiers in a VHP forum at the Library of Congress. The Library released a list of the top ten interview tips compiled from the July sessions. I am sharing them with each of you in hopes that you will find them helpful.

1. Establish a comfort zone: Help the veteran feel relaxed and as comfortable as possible. If you can, conduct the interview in surroundings familiar to him or her.

2. Stress the purpose of the Veterans History Project: Remember that the Veterans History Project was created for historical purposes. We are building a national research collection and we are honored to hear their stories. Share that with the veteran.

3. Get down to business: Be careful not to do too much pre-interview. If you can, get the biographical information by having them fill out the form. That way they will not run out of things to say during the actual interview.

4. Practice good listening skills: Let the interview be guided by the veteran. The only way to know what question to ask next is if you know what the veteran just said. Follow-up questions are necessary to enrich the story, e.g. how? Why? What was that like?

5. Be patient: Never put the veteran on the spot about dates and places. Many times particular battles were not given names until long after the events occurred. It may help to do a little research before or after the interview so that you have some background information and can fill in the missing information.

6. Know how and when to close: When the interview is winding down, ask for a few words of wisdom from the veteran. You will often find that they have thought about it and have prepared some remarks. This gives them the opportunity to share something they think is important.

7. Time is of the essence: Our nation is losing veterans at a fast rate, particularly World War II veterans. Ask the veteran you are interviewing to participate by interviewing their friends. They can be the best spokepersons for the Project, as they have just told you their stories.

8. The Veterans History Project is about veterans: Consider each story to be the most important story. One veteran at a time, and one family at a time.

9. Less is more: It does not take much to participate in the Veterans History Project. With merely some time to listen and a cassette recorder, you, the veteran and his/her family can become part of history.

10. How to recognize success: A good interview is when the interviewer says the least and the interview subject says the most.

[back]

Lugar and AARP Host VHP Day at Indiana
State Fair

As part of the Senior Day festivities at this year’s Indiana State Fair, members of my staff and volunteers from AARP recorded the stories of veterans in attendance. Once again, with AARP’s valuable assistance, a successful day was reported by all.

Emmy Huffman interviewing AARP volunteer Jim Rodeheffer at the Indiana State Fair. (Photo provided by AARP Indiana.)

Highlights

Eastern Elementary, in Greentown, recently submitted interviews to be included in the Veterans History Project. I appreciate their continued support of the Veterans History Project.

The Monroe County Historical Society once again submitted materials to be sent to the Library of Congress.

The Peabody Public Library in Whitley County completed additional interviews for the Veterans History Project.

Pam Roller, a teacher at Galveston Elementary, spent the summer interviewing veterans for the Veterans History Project. In her own words, Pam wanted to “do something for her country so she volunteered to interview veterans so their stories would be placed in the Library of Congress.” She was inspired to participate by her step-father, Arlis Sizemore, who served in the Army during World War II.

Several volunteers from Terre Haute recently donated interviews to be included in the Veterans History Project. I appreciate the continued work of Bill Sanquenetti and Jane Creedon from the Native American Museum on this important project.

Greensburg High School students under the instruction of Kim Hayden recently submitted interviews collected during the spring semester to be sent to the Library of Congress.

[back]

Patrick Fletcher, of Lafayette, completed additional interviews as part of the Veterans History Project. I was pleased to meet Patrick in May when we celebrated the completion of over 5,000 interviews in Indiana.

Ronald Hobbs recently completed several Veterans History Project interviews as his Eagle Scout Project. I congratulate Ronald on this important achievement.

Joy Etcheson, from Owen County, submitted additional materials to be included in the Veterans History Project

The North Manchester Center For History, with the assistance of summer intern Hilary Andersen, completed interviews for the Veterans History Project.

Pat Maharg, an AARP volunteer that assisted with our Evansville VHP day, completed additional interviews to be sent to the Library of Congress.

Paul Glasser, from Greensburg, recently submitted interviews to be part of the Veterans History Project.

Louis Abbott, from Monticello, once again completed interviews for the Veterans History Project.

Dates to Remember

Friday, September 16 is National POW-MIA Recognition Day. The Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting a Recognition ceremony at 12:00 noon at the Indiana War Memorial, located at 431 North Meridian in Indianapolis.

I appreciate the vigilance of Hoosiers in their efforts to demand a full accounting of those still missing from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In Indiana alone, over 250 servicemen are still unaccounted for from the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The 23rd Annual Vietnam Veterans Reunion will be held September 15-18 in Kokomo. This reunion is hosted by the Howard County Vietnam Veterans Organization. More information is available on their website, hcvvo.org.

The 2005 Indiana Women Veterans Expo will be held Saturday, October 22 at the Clarion Waterfront Plaza in Indianapolis. For more information, contact the Indiana Women Veterans Council, Inc. at 1-800-879-2707 or via email at indianawomenvets@sbcglobal.net.

If you have an event that you would like to share with my Veterans History Project team, please share the details with Emmy Huffman at (317) 226-5555 or via email at emmy_huffman@lugar.senate.gov.