Existing Oral History Sites

This list is a selective, annotated compilation of the many existing oral history projects, programs and collections dedicated to recording and preserving the experiences of veterans and civilians. Ranging from short-term classroom projects to the long-term institutional commitments of universities and historical societies to the focused collection efforts of the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, these oral history programs have been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration for the Veterans History Project.

The Veterans History Project has compiled a web-based listing of those sites which have preceded or which compliment our own. The main criteria used to choose sites for this list were accessibility and authority.

General Sources

Center for Life Stories Preservation
http://www.storypreservation.com/

Links to individual stories from World War II to the Gulf War.

Floyd County, Indiana Oral History Project
http://homepages.ius.edu/Special/OralHistory/INTERVIEWS.html

Includes interviews and photographs from World War II and the Korean War.

U.S. Coast Guard.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/OralHistoryIndex.html

U.S. Coast Guard website. Includes oral histories from former commandants, general oral histories, and primarily WWII experiences; is expanding and has already added Viet Nam experiences.

U.S. Naval Institute Oral History Program
http://www.usni.org/navalinstitutepress/OralHistory.asp

Comprehensive, tape-recorded interviews with people who have made history in the naval profession; these interviews are then transcribed, annotated, indexed, and bound. Have also included some specialized projects involving early WAVE officers, and Vietnam War prisoners of war.

World War I

WWI: The World War I Document Archive
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/memoir.html

Archive of primary documents from World War I; links to numerous memorials and personal reminiscences, with links to other WWI sites worldwide.

World War II

70 Infantry Division Association.
http://www.trailblazersww2.org/

Includes 3 reels of combat footage, discovered in the National Archives, featuring the 70th Infantry Division.

91^st Bomb Group (H) Memorial Association
http://www.91stbombgroup.com/

Site includes photos, music, memorabilia, and over fifty stories.

384^th Bomber Group
http://www.384thbg.iwarp.com/index.html

A collection of 17 stories about members of the 384^th BG, submitted by veterans and their relatives. Also contains photographs.

392nd Bomb Group
http://www.b24.net/

Includes stories and diaries of those who flew in the B-24, also links to extensive research and documentation on POW Stalag Lufts.

Albert R. Panebianco=s WWII Site
http://www.45thinfantrydivision.com/

Account of his experiences in the 45th Infantry Division, 157th Regiment; includes many links to main infantry division and armored division sites

American Airpower Heritage Museum
http://www.airpowermuseum.org/oralhistory/index.shtml

World War II Veterans Oral History Program; has a significant collection of over 2,000 oral histories from WW II veterans of aviation.

Charlie of 666: A Memoir of World War II
http://www.nathanielblumberg.com/charlie.htm 

Personal memoir of combat by Corporal Nathan Blumberg and Nathaniel Blumberg.

Dover Air Force Base Museum: WWII Oral Histories
http://www.amcmuseum.org/Collections/OralStories/WorldWarII/WorldWarII.htm

Includes histories, as well as numerous links to related websites.

The Oryoku Maru Online
http://www.oryokumaruonline.org/index2.html

On the transport of American POWs aboard the Oryoku Maru, from Dec. 13, 1944 through Jan. 29, 1945; includes links to survivors' stories, the text of a legal deposition, pages dedicated to nonsurvivors, as well as links for further research, such as full text interview with Guy Gabaldon.  

Private Art. A Collection of WWII Letters To and From The Home Front.
http://www.private-art.com/

This site serves as a tribute to the 86^th Chemical Mortar Battalion.

Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II
http://fas-history.rutgers.edu/oralhistory/orlhom.htm

Records the personal experiences of men and women who served on the homefront and overseas; based on in-depth interviews of individuals who lived through World War II, beginning with an initial target group of Rutgers College alumni and Douglass College alumnae (formerly, New Jersey College for Women). Currently features about 238 oral history interviews. Interviews are searchable with Google search engine.

A Scrapbook of Memories from Navy Veterans Aboard LCI(L)489
http://www.jun6dday.com/

Includes memoirs, photos, and links to several other excellent sites.

South Dakota World War II Memorial
http://www.state.sd.us/military/VetAffairs/sdwwiimemorial/

Includes "Stories from the Front" and Testimonies from the Midwest and South Dakota WW II Veterans and the Concentration Camps;

Stalag Luft I
http://www.merkki.com/

Site contains a collection of reminiscences written by the POWs detailing their experiences during World War II, before and after being shot down and imprisoned. Includes photos and poetry as well as links to numerous other ex-POW sites. Also contains watercolor drawings, cartoons, sketches and carvings of the prisoners of war at Stalag Luft I.

TANKBOOKS.com
http://www.Tankbooks.com/

Audio clips from over forty veterans and spouses; requires RealPlayer software. Also includes pages of stories and poems, interviews, and links to approximately 75 other World War II sites, some oral.

The Troubleshooters.com
http://www.thetroubleshooters.com/ww2/pt0001.html

Patton's "Troubleshooters" and the story of the 702nd Tank Battalion; includes links to several sites dealing with personal reminiscences.

The Voices of WWII for Use in the Classrom
http://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/

Includes numerous pages of teacher and student resources, lesson plans and ideas, over 130 interview transcripts, a step by step "How to do Oral History" section, as well as a wealth of information on grants, scholarships, contests, and links to veterans organizations, maps and geographical resources, research sites, photographs and documents, translations, graves registration and oral history sites.

What did you do in the war, Grandma?
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html

An oral history of Rhode Island women during World War II. Twenty-six veterans are interviewed by students in the Honors English Program at South Kingstown High School.

Korean War

Korean War Project.(Recollections from the Front)
http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/frontline.htm

In addition to recollections, includes information for locating KIA-MIA-WIA, unit messages, maps.

Korean War 50^th Anniversary Commemoration site.
http://korea50.army.mil/

Includes interviews and images.

Viet Nam War

Southern Arkansas University- Memories of America's War Oral History Project--Memories of Veterans Coordinated through SAU's History Department
http://peace.saumag.edu/swark/oral_history/veterans.html

Includes interviews with a WWII and a Viet Nam War veteran.

Persian Gulf War

The Gulf War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/

Includes firsthand accounts of soldiers and pilots in the battlefield who were captured by the Iraqis and interrogated; transcripts as well as audio.