Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.
"I knew I had to go." These are the words of Frederick Stilson, a veteran of World War I, but they echo the words spoken by thousands of veterans whose stories are gathered in the Veterans History Project. The sense of obligation, honestly and not grudgingly felt, is a thread running through many of the stories in this chapter. Please note: page numbers refer to the pages in "Voices of War" on which the veteran appears.
Born on the Fourth of July, named after an American President, raised by his immigrant parents to believe that he was truly an American, Warren Tsuneishi had so many reasons to answer the call when the United States entered World War II. There was, on the other hand, the matter of where his family would be spending the war: in an internment camp 870 miles away from their home. (featured on pages 54-57)
“You want to be part of American history.”
– Max Cleland
"...We were our own band of brothers... we were alone"
Senator Max Cleland's story
(pages 19-21)
"I didn't want to be in Germany when there was a war going on in Vietnam."
Senator Chuck Hagel's story
(pages 18-19, 39, 52-53)
"I think we had a harder time competing against [the F.B.I.] than we did against the Germans..."
Rafael Hirtz's story
(pages 16, 46-47)
"We ran out of bandages ... and had to use the Stars & Stripes newspaper ..."
Jeanne Urbin Markle's story
(pages 23, 30, 52)
"... the same respect that they would have treated their own soldiers."
Vincent Cornelius Reed's story
(pages 14, 15, 31)
"Sherman was right,
'War is Hell,'..."
Frederick Clarence Stilson's story
(pages 17, 33, 45)
