What is an oral history?

Many of the narratives in the Veterans History Project collection take the form of an oral history interview.

The Oral History Association offers this definition:

“Oral history refers both to a method of recording and preserving oral testimony and to the product of that process. It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an interviewer with an interviewee (also referred to as narrator), both of whom have the conscious intention of creating a permanent record to contribute to an understanding of the past. A verbal document, the oral history, results from this process and is preserved and made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and the public.” 

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Last Updated: Nov 30, 2024
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We cannot provide service records for veterans (contact the National Archives); advice on veteran benefits (contact the Department of Veterans Affairs).

For general information on military history, contact our general reference librarians.

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Send written correspondence to:

Veterans History Project
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540