HOW IT WORKS

1. The Interview 

The process starts with a scheduled interview. The veteran will be interviewed on campus at the Undergraduate Library in the Media Commons. We will give you directions on where to park and how to get to the Media Commons. The interview usually lasts about 1-2 hours. We will ask about the veteran's adolescence, their military experience, and their life after the military. A family member is more than welcome to sit-in on the interview. The interview is videotaped. We will never push a veteran to answer questions they do not want to answer. If a veteran wants us to stop taping, we will stop taping. This raw interview will be submitted to the Library of Congress for the Veteran's History Project so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. You can read more about this project here.

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2. Research and Editing

After the interview, a student will start working on turning the raw interview into a documentary. The student will do research on what branch of military the veteran was in, what time period the veteran served, and other topics the veteran mentioned in their interview. Every documentary is tailored to the veteran. The student will find historical images, videos, and documents that can be used for the veteran's documentary. Each documentary will usually be 30 minutes to an hour. Because the work is being done by college students usually during the school year, there is no definite timeline for when the documentary will be finished. It will usually take about a year from the initial interview for the documentary to be finished. There will be scheduled events for students and veterans to stay in touch while the documentary is being created. The events are in no way mandatory. 

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3. Completed Documentary 

After many months of hard work, the student will be ready to give their completed documentary to the veteran. This documentary can be given on a DVD or USB, depending on what the veteran prefers. There may be an event to celebrate the completion of the documentary and to honor the veteran, but the veteran can choose to receive their documentary privately if desired. In the sad case that the veteran has passed away before their documentary is finished, the completed documentary will be given to the immediate family. 

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Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns you might have.

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