The Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project works in partnership with the Library of Congress’s national project to record and archive oral history interviews with American veterans. In partnership with WGVU and the LZ Michigan program, we are conducting interviews directly at 5/3 Ballpark on the day of the LZ Michigan event between 8 AM and 4 PM. Since the interview slots on that date are limited, we are also scheduling interviews both before and after the date of the event, either in a studio setting in the Grand Rapids area or at a venue of the individual veteran’s choosing within a two hour drive of Grand Rapids. All interviews are recorded on video. Each veteran will receive a free DVD copy of his or her interview. All interviews will be archived at GVSU and with the Library of Congress, and will be posted on the Project Archive web page of the GVSU Veterans History Project (www.gvsu.edu/vethistory). Interviews shot at the ballpark on July 3 and other studio-shot interviews may be used in a documentary to be produced by WGVU.

How to register: Fill out the LZ Michigan Interview Registration Form and send it to Dr. James Smither, the project director. You may either send it by email to smitherj@gvsu.edu, or by regular mail to: Dr. James Smither, GVSU Veterans History Project, Mackinac Hall D-1-160, Allendale, MI 49401. For further information, you may contact Dr. Smither by email or by phone at 616-331-3422.

Preparing for your interview: Once you have signed up for an interview session, there are a couple of things that you can do in advance that will be helpful to the interview process. One is to go to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project website, www.loc.gov/vets and print off and fill out the biographical information form from the Field Kit page on the website. If you bring the completed form with you to the interview, this will save some time in the interview session and also help you to remember some of the specifics relating to your service. The other thing to do is to put together as best you can a time line of where you were when during your time in the service. This will both help you to remember details of your service experience and give the interviewer a guide to work from when conducting the interview.