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AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn High School history students are looking beyond the textbooks to learn about the Vietnam War firsthand.
"As we begin the 50th anniversary commemoration of the war, it is our mission that through this project we can provide a rich history of how our community was involved in the Vietnam War as well as honor the legacy of our local veterans through helping preserve their contributions and reflections," said Dr. W. Blake Busbin, AP history teacher at AHS.
Students in six AP U.S. History classes are seeking 40 to 50 Vietnam War veterans living in Lee County to interview about their experiences in the war. The in-person interviews will be recorded, and copies of the recordings will be provided to the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project and will become part of the library's permanent collection.
Copies will also be uploaded to the classes' Auburn Veterans Project website and will be provided to the veterans' families.
"By creating a permanent record of the oral history through its inclusion in the Library of Congress, our goal is to ensure that future generations can gain an appreciation and knowledge of the contributions of our local military veterans while better understanding the realities of war through the voices of the veterans themselves," Busbin said.
Last year, the first time Busbin assigned the project, students interviewed 47 veterans, including 12 World War II veterans. Veterans interviewed ranged from World War I to modern-era veterans. A donation provided via donorschoose.org and the Auburn Aviation Education and Enhancement Program helped purchase digital recorders for the project.
"Many students felt that the interviews they conducted were one of the highlights of their year as they were able to learn so much from speaking on such a close level with the veterans," Busbin said. "To them, the ability to hear from the veterans themselves provided a needed depth to understanding the realities of war that textbooks cannot communicate."
Busbin added that some students were able to interview family members and in turn hear facts from their family's histories that they had no knowledge of before. This year, spouses of veterans will be invited to attend the interviews and participate.
"We received some great feedback from our participating veterans who were both appreciative of the opportunity to create a lasting record of their contributions as well as appreciative of the professionalism displayed by the students and the maturity by which the students handled the emotional topics," Busbin said.
Leading up to the interviews, which will be done on April 30 and May 1 at Auburn High School, students will be involved in an in-depth study of the Vietnam War and will work with volunteers from Auburn University to learn how to conduct oral history interviews.
According to Busbin, there are more than 133,000 Vietnam-era veterans living in the state, and approximately 11,000 veterans overall living in Lee County.
"For our participating veterans, my goal is that we are able to provide them a knowledge of our appreciation for their sacrifices and contributions by creating the oral history so that their story can be heard by future generations, including their family," he said.
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Information from: Opelika-Auburn News, http://www.oanow.com/
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