History Lessons, Familial Perspectives

Next weekend (the weekend before Heather’s parents arrive from Indiana), I am hoping to visit with my uncle to do an informal interview of his World War 2 experiences. The last time I visited, I looked over the items he brought back from the war, including many Nazi pins and medals and other historical items. I brought back some information I need to look over and preserve, including about 100-150 letters that my uncles and my dad wrote about their experiences while they were in the service. The letters date from the 1940s, though there are more letters I still need to look over that may date from the 1950s as well. My long-term plan is to share the scanned letters and/or transcripts of the letters with anyone in the family who is interested in reading and seeing things from the perspectives of my uncles and my dad. I don’t know if there will be a lot of interest, but I bet if anyone is interested, it will be my nephew, Marty, who I think is quite a history buff. The important thing for me is that these recollections and experiences are preserved for the future generations of our family. There is so much that I do not know about my own uncles, and I don’t want that information to be lost. This is an ongoing project that will probably take me many months, if not several years, to finish.