REGIONAL- The United Way of Northeastern Minnesota offers the Iron Range and Koochiching and Lake of the Woods counties something no other United Way in the state does – programs and support for military veterans.
Last spring UWNEMN launched a new initiative as part of its United for Veterans program, an oral history project to preserve the stories of veterans for families and communities called “Operation: Solider Story.” The name has since been changed to “Operation: Service Story” to be more inclusive of all facets of service represented by military veterans.
The Timberjay spoke with Community Impact Coordinator Michelle Lampton on Monday to find out how the project has been coming along over the past year, and while Lampton reported that the number of veterans sharing their stories is lower than they had hoped so far, the experiences of all those who’ve participated have been extremely rewarding.
“We’ve had a few Vietnam veterans, and we’ve had a few Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, so we’ve had a couple different generations and that has been amazing,” Lampton said. “We’ve had one from Embarrass, from Virginia, one from the Cook area, and we have a gentleman who is from the Iron Range who currently resides in the cities who we’ve helped record his story. And those stories have been, have been really, really great.”
Lampton emphasized that any veteran with a connection to the Iron Range and UWNEMN’s service area is eligible for the free oral history project.
“If they grew up here, or maybe they deployed out of here or have or have family that you know is connected here, we are interested in helping them,” Lampton said. “There’s no cost to anyone to record their oral history and we can meet them wherever they’re at or do it over the phone.”
Lampton said they’ve been gratified to see the reactions of interviewees thus far.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve seen with recording those veterans is a sense of, one, pride in their service, and then two, that they are able to share their story for their children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren down the line, to be able to preserve that their story for them,” she said.
Lampton talked about why she believes more veterans haven’t signed up for the program yet.
“We are actually having a hard time finding veterans who are willing to have their oral histories recorded,” she said. “One of the biggest things is that a lot of veterans don’t think that their stories are important enough. I hear a lot that – I was only a cook, or I was only a mechanic, or I didn’t deploy – what I did wasn’t really that significant. My answer to that is that everybody’s story is important, and they all had a piece in our military history, and their family and generations to come would want to know their story, what they did in their service and why they are the way that they are. That’s been a really big obstacle for us, to get veterans to share their stories and to understand that their service was important. Another one is trying to get stories recorded from those who are older, running into barriers with the ability to reach them.”
But the slower than hoped for start hasn’t at all dimmed Lampton’s enthusiasm or dedication to the project, and UWNEMN continues to work hard getting the word out.
“Right now we’re making a push to meet with all of the service clubs, the VFWs, the DAVs, the American Legions groups,” she said. “I’ve also been in contact with assisted living facilities and senior apartments to try to reach those that maybe don’t get out as often but have a lot of history to preserve their stories. We do have some publications out, some ads trying to reach people through our online newsletter and Facebook, and I advertise it through all of our Veterans Connections and all of our programming.”
And some of the best recruiters may turn out to be family members.
“We’ve heard from quite a few who say my dad or my brother or my sister should do that, or my mom or grandma was in the service – I will try to help get them to record their stories,” Lampton said. “Often, they’ve been able to talk them into it. And I like them to know that it’s their story, whatever they’re comfortable sharing. We’re not trying to write a history book or anything about specific battles and things, it’s whatever they’re comfortable sharing and want recorded.”
And to ensure that the sharing is indeed comfortable, the project has an empathetic trained group of interviewers.
“A group of local veterans have stepped forward that is helping us interview,” Lampton said. “Katie Lofquist and I in our office have been trained as well as Steve Potts, a historian and professor at the Hibbing Minnesota North college campus, who teaches a Vietnam-era class. We have found that veterans really open up when they’re having a conversation with another veteran. There’s that mutual understanding of service and combat, they understand the language, and they understand a lot of that service. So that has been a really big asset. We always allow any veteran who is going to record their own history to select their interviewer, whoever is most comfortable for them. If they are a female veteran, we have female veterans that are available to interview them. If somebody would like to have an interviewer who’s from a similar branch or a similar time of service, they have that option as well. Whatever helps them be the most comfortable is really important to us.”
As noted earlier, “Operation: Service Story” is just the newest addition to an extensive array of programs and services United for Veterans offers. From an online directory to military services to access to a veteran services officer and resource center in Hibbing at the college to a crisis fund that provides financial assistance for basic living expenses, and a transitional home for homeless veterans, UWNEMN connects veterans to basic services to improve their lives. Annual local-area retreats foster social connections between veterans, and the program supports veterans service organizations with grants. Complete information about United for Veterans can be found online at https://www.unitedwaynemn.org/united-veterans.