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Stories: Phout Chamleunsouk
Within the Connecticut Veterans History Project, Vietnam Veterans are the most numerous oral histories present. The men and women served in all branches from marching through the jungles in the army to flying jets and bombers over North Vietnam to aiding and comforting the wounded in the rear hospitals. Americans of all creeds participated, over the course of the Vietnam War, approximately 2,700,000 Americans served in South East Asia; Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Most of the veterans in the archives were born and raised in America. While America sent millions of soldiers, there were also those native to South East Asia who fought alongside the Americans or with American support.…
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Stories: Germany During the Cold War
When the Second World War ended in 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, the world did not experience long-lasting peace as the Western Allies and the Soviet Union prepared for yet another war, this time against each other. The end of the war resulted in Europe being divided into two, the West and the East. Both countries formed alliances to bolster their armies, as a result, the largest militaries ever formed posed to fight each other. There were two major alliances during the Cold War. In 1949, the Western nations in Europe signed a cooperative, defense treaty called NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In response to…
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The Veterans History Project on the Connecticut Digital Archive
In addition to oral history interviews, the Veterans History Project also collects military documents, diaries, memorabilia, newspapers, and photographs that our interviewed veterans have shared with us. We scan or photograph these historic artifacts, return the originals to the veteran, and preserve the scans both at the Library of Congress and on our own website. When you search our collections, you can find links to these photographs and documents alongside the biographical information about the veteran and the link to their interview: Like the interviews themselves, these photographs and documents serve as a rich treasure trove of historical information that offer a detailed view of life as an American soldier.…
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Stories: Lawrence Davino
Millions of men and women served in the United States military throughout the 20th century. Connecticut is home to veterans from the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the fall of the Societ Union in 1991, millions of men and women served during what is known as the Cold War. The Cold war was fought through the proxy wars such as Korea and Vietnam but no official declaration of war was declared between the Soviet Union and America. While the men and women who joined the American military during the Cold War…
