Dear Interested Persons:

       Matthew Brady was a photographer and historian of the American Civil War.    His work was vital in preserving the faces and memories of the men who fought the Civil War.    But imagine if there were not one, but thousands, maybe tens of thousands of  Matthew Bradys who will undertake the mission of preserving the faces, stories and memories of the men and women who fought and won World War II, history's greatest conflict.

       This web site will serve as a free clearinghouse for digitized information about the war.    Veterans or their families can send in paper documents which the project staff will scan and store on CDs.     The paper documentation will then be sent back to the families.    This will provide secure long-term storage of fragile documents which can be damaged by the weather or even thrown away by un-interested parties after the veteran dies.

       The newspaper U.S.A. Today has reported that World War II veterans are dying at the rate of some 1,100 men and women per day.    That's true.   What people may not focus on, though, is that some 5 million veterans are still alive!    If a single person were to do a video-taped interview with one veteran per week it would take that person 1 year to do 50 interviews and some 100,000 years to see everyone.    However, if we reverse those figures, and we have 100,000 volunteers interviewing veterans around the country at the rate of one per week, it would take only a single year to accomplish this enormous task.

       When Matthew Brady did his work he used photography, cutting edge technology at that time.   With the imaging technology available today, including memory prices that keep coming down, we can record truly vast amounts of data that can be indexed and  be made searchable.     Stephen E. Ambrose is a wonderful historian and writer who has interviewed and written about hundreds of veterans.    But what about a historian who hasn't been born yet?   What if  some future historian, living say, 75 years from now, when everyone visiting this site in the year 2002 is long gone, would like the same opportunity that Stephen Ambrose has today,  to go out and interview veterans.     Our volunteers can provide the future historians with a veritable gold mine of history.

       That's the crux of the Matthew Brady project.    We have the opportunity to do video-taped  interviews with veterans and say thank you to them today.     A vast data-bank of veterans' memories would be a more fitting memorial, in my opinion, than any structure built of brick and steel.    And, as the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists demonstrated conclusively on 9-11-01,  ANY structure, no matter how massive, can be destroyed.    Computerized data-banks, at multiple locations, however, are invulnerable.    Our World War II  veterans faced down and destroyed a  cruel, racist and venomous enemy which aimed at nothing less than domination of the entire planet.    As we, today, in the year 2002 face a new enemy, we can be inspired by their example of selflessness.   

       Please consider volunteering to be a part of the Matthew Brady project.    That way, you can have the opportunity to not just record history, but to actually be a part of it yourself.    You should put your name with any paper documents or video-tapes that you submit so that future generations can see your name associated with the material and recognize your contribution.     

      The World War II veterans that I have interviewed, have, in my opinion, an amazingly modest view of their contributions.    It's practically guaranteed that they will NEVER step forward and volunteer their stories.    But, if you ask them in a polite manner to put some of their memories on videotape, it's likely that they will agree.    If they would like to put a hold on the tapes, for example, the proviso that the interviews won't be made public until, say,  five years after their death,  the World War II Preservation Society will sign a contract to that effect.   

       I have some basic hints about lighting, background and sound pick-up that may be helpful for interviewers.    Of course, some knowledge on the part of the interviewers about the war in general, and about the specific theatre of operations, is very necessary.     It would be insulting for an interviewer to ask a general question, like, "Tell me something about World War II."      Questions should be more specific, like, "where did you do your basic training?"     "did you serve over-seas?"     "how long were you in the service?"    "were you in combat?"    "what did you eat for breakfast?"   "how often did you get to go home?"   "did you get to see movies?"    "what did you do after the war?"    "did you get mail?"    "how did you wash your uniforms?"   "how often did you get new shoes or boots?"   "looking back, what do you think of your time in the service?  (there’s no politically correct answer required – if the veteran hated the army now is the time to say it)”    "do you think that the American people are grateful for your service and sacrifices?"   "if you were in combat, how did you deal with the fear that all people feel in combat?"    "was patriotism your primary motivation in serving?"   “are there any special memories of  the war that you have, anything that particularly sticks in your mind?”     “what was the name of your direct superior officer?”   “did he do a good job, i.e. did you respect him because that was required under military law or because he earned your respect?”    “did you receive medical care while you were in the service and what was your opinion of that care?” 

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