Living history project preserves black veterans’ stories
They feel a common bond that reaches deeper than their shared experience serving their country in the military.
The veterans are African Americans, some of whom served in a segregated military. They want their stories to be remembered. Some feel that they've never really been told.
"One day a guy asked me - 'Did you see the movie 'The Battle of The Bulge'?" said Elmer Carter, 95, who served in the Army in World War II.
"I said, 'Yeah, I did and it wasn't true! They didn't show any blacks at all, but we were in the tanks. I know. I was there,' " Carter said.
Leonard Hinson's war was Vietnam. He believes the story of the black soldier in that war hasn't been fully told, either.
"You very seldom see published in the news what a lot of blacks did over there," Hinson said.
Local historian Lisa Daniels is hoping to change that. Daniels founded The Unsung Heroes Living History Project a few years ago to gather and preserve the stories of African American veterans.
Daniels, who is working on her master's degree in social history at California State University, Sacramento, wants to gather stories, letters and other memorabilia of black veterans before it is lost and forgotten. She is collecting stories of African American veterans – both men and women – from throughout the country.
"For so many years, you wouldn't hear about African Americans and their service to country," Daniels said. "I thought it was important to get the stories straight from the people who served."
Marvin Blackwell, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War, believes telling the soldiers' stories will be healing for veterans.
"Myself, as a Vietnam vet, I never really talk about my experiences in Vietnam, not even to my children," Blackwell said.
Daniels and others familiar with her project have asked Book of Dreams readers to help buy needed supplies such as computers, printers and microcassette recorders.