Seniors have important stories to preserve
History books do not even begin to tell the history of the many wars the United States has been involved or the stories of the men and women who served in these wars.
The stories from these servicemen and women, the ones who walked the roads, fought the battles from land, air and sea, worked behind the scenes as technicians, nurses, etc. and lived to tell about it, are the history we would never have heard if it was not for the Veterans History Project.
The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress was created by the United States Congress in 2000, and collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
“There are over 20,000 veterans just in Texas, so interviewers are needed. Interviewing these veterans is very interesting, and I am very glad I started doing this; it is important, and rewarding. Also, there is an urgency to interview and record the stories of those who fought in World War II, as they are a vanishing breed,” said Arnold Van Ek, a Red Cross volunteer interviewer for the Veterans History Project.
Watching the videos of these veterans telling their stories can be emotional, extremely interesting, sad, heroic, gruesome, funny and entertaining. These veterans tell stories that have never been in books, and once you log on to the website and start watching the videos, it is hard to stop, especially for history enthusiasts.
For example, one Navy man said he was in Pearl Harbor on his ship on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941.
“It was Sunday and we were in the harbor, so most of the men went into the island and some went to church. But on this one Sunday morning, Dec. 7, the Japanese attacked, and the captain was yelling to get the ammunition that was locked in the boxes and load the guns. But the officer that had the keys to the ammunition box was in church on the island, so there was nothing we could do. But we were lucky because our ship did not receive much damage,” said Van Ek as told to him in an interview.
One man who had been in the Navy, also during World War II, said he came close to losing his life five times. One time he was saved by his captain’s decision.
“When we were in a harbor and there was another Navy ship there, we were able to change ships, if we could find someone in our same position that was willing to change. I found a man on this other boat and he asked his captain about changing ships and he said yes. But when I asked my captain about changing ships, he said no because he said he liked me, I was a good man. When the other ship left the harbor, it was hit by a torpedo and everyone on it was killed.”
One of the questions the interviewers ask is why they joined the military, and the answers greatly differ.
“I was in college, at Arkansas Tech, and WWII started in my first year. When I went back the second year, I was studying engineering, and all of the engineering teachers had left to go to work for the defense industry. The substitute teachers were not teaching us anything, so come mid-term, I dropped out and joined the Marines.”
When Virginia Claudon’s fiance, flying a military mission in Africa, went down with his plane, she decided to volunteer for overseas duty. An illness prevented her from shipping out to Europe, and the next available assignment was in India, where she made moraleboosting radio broadcasts to offset the Japanese propaganda.
There are many videos from veterans who landed in Normandy, and watching their stories can be difficult. However, doctor Hubert Amstutz has many interesting stories about the paratroopers that cleaned out different areas prior to soldiers landing.
At 41, Amstutz was older than your average enlistee in 1942, but as a practicing physician he had a lot to offer the U.S. Army. Amstutz became an important member of the medical team that worked in the days after the Normandy invasion to treat soldiers. Interviewed at the age of 101, he displayed a remarkable memory for the details of those perilous times.
“Interviewers follow set questions provided, and the interview has to be at least 30 minutes. Most of the interviews I do are about an hour to 1½. These videos are not edited, because they are meant to be raw and authentic. After the interview I add photos and maps from the veteran’s military service. I make a copy for the veteran and send the other to the Library of Congress,” Van Ek said.
Also, Van Ek makes presentations at different places around Houston, such as the YMCA, senior centers and senior living communities, such as Parkway Place and Eagle’s Trace, to encourage veterans to tell their stories.
“I have completed 20 interviews at Parkway Place, 10 at the Forum, a handful at the Buckingham, and other senior living communities,” Van Ek said.
The project collects firsthand account of US veterans from World War I, World War II, Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Grenada/American Invasion, Panama/American Invasion, Operation Restore Hope, Persian Gulf War, United Nations Operation in Somalia; Haiti-American intervention, Operation Allied Force, Peacekeeping forces — Bosnia and Herzegovina; Operation Joint Guardian, War on Terrorism, Afghan War, and the Iraq War.
The Red Cross has been instrumental in helping to record these histories by recruiting interviewers.
AARP is the founding corporate sponsor of the Veterans History Project. In addition to providing initial major funding for the Project, AARP also spread the word to its legion of volunteers and almost 37 million members, encouraging them to get involved. Numerous state chapters have also been involved in the Project.
Stories can be told through personal narratives — audio/visual, correspondence and visual materials such as photos.
Van Ek was born and raised in the Netherlands. After he completed his study in polymer chemistry, he was drafted for the Dutch Army. He became first lieutenant of an antiaircraft unit dedicated to NATO operations. His unit was on standby to be employed toward Russia during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Fortunately, intensive negotiations between Russia, Cuba and the USA resulted in the avoidance of a war by removal of Soviet ballistic missiles from Cuba.
In his job as technology license manager for a large oil company, he travelled to 95 countries and found his home in Houston in 1989. Arnold speaks Dutch, German, English and French fluently.
About five years ago he followed a course at the Houston Red Cross for interviewing veterans for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress. As of today, he has completed more than 180 interviews.
If you are a veteran and would consider sharing your military story, call Van Ek at 713-880-1701 or email him at a2vanek@gmail.com.
To visit the Veterans History Project website, and watch or read these veterans stories, visit www.loc.gov/ vets, and in the search box at the top, type in van ek (lower case letters) and click go. Then when a list of three items comes up, click on the middle listing, where you will find thousands of veterans’ stories.