We're not letting the pandemic get the best of our annual Veterans Day celebration, it's just going to look a little different this year. Instead of an in-person event, we're premiering a special video.
“In Their Own Words,” honors veterans through the power of storytelling. The video highlights the library’s extensive Veterans History Project archive on YouTube that features hundreds of hours of interviews with veterans.
“As sad as we are not to be honoring all our veterans in person with our annual program, we are thrilled to be able to share their stories with the community,” said Paula Brehm-Heeger, the Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director of the Library. “We hope everyone takes the time Nov. 11 to safely thank and recognize the veterans in their own communities.”
The video program presents poignant moments from these interviews and share more information about the project, as well as information about how viewers at home can support local veterans in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. The series airs tomorrow morning on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2020, but can viewed at any time afterwards.
The playlist includes:
- Introductory words from Brehm-Heeger about Veterans Day 2020
- A Veterans History Project montage
- Video of Reference Librarian Brian Powers interviewing Ray Hughes who was an airman second class in the Air Force. He grew up in Over-the-Rhine, and both his father and grandfather served in World War II. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956 and served until 1960. Hughes has been a volunteer for the Genealogy & Local History Department at the Downtown Main Library as a consultant for military history since 2014.
Our librarians also curated a special list of materials in honor of Veterans Day. You can check out the adult list below or check out the kids list and teen list!
Commemorate Veterans Day with a patriotic read to honor our courageous veterans.
To learn more about the Veterans History Project at chpl.org/genealogy-history/veterans/.
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