===================================================================== "HONORING OUR ANCESTORS: SEEKING FOREIGN WAR LETTERS," by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak ===================================================================== He's at it again. Andrew Carroll, best-selling author of "Letters of a Nation" and "War Letters," and founder of the Legacy Project, which collects and preserves wartime correspondence, is launching another initiative. (See previous articles at: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=A511901 and http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=A578201 ) And this project is one that's especially appropriate to discuss as we approach Memorial Day. AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHT MONTHS Starting in August, he's beginning an eight-month, 25-nation trip to seek out war letters written by and to foreign troops. What prompted this? Andy explains: "The Legacy Project (LP) focuses on American war letters. Since 1998, people have sent me an estimated 75,000 pieces of war correspondence from every conflict in U.S. history, ranging from (photocopies of) handwritten missives from the American Revolution to emails from Iraq. "As I have traveled around the U.S. speaking with veterans and active duty personnel, they have repeatedly asked me if I would ever consider seeking out letters by troops from other nations. Service members emphasize that they, personally, would be interested to learn how major wars have been perceived through the eyes of both allies (for example, Russians in WWII, South Koreans in the Korean War, Australians serving in Iraq, etc.) and our former enemies (the Germans in the two World Wars, the North Vietnamese, etc.). The veterans I talked with made a special point of saying that they recognized many of their 'enemies' were young kids like themselves who simply wanted to get home alive. "The Legacy Project has already received a handful of incredible foreign war letters, which were shared with us by the American-born children of veterans from other countries. I thought it would be great to expand on what we have by putting the word out in the States and, most important, traveling the world to search for more letters. On the trip, I also intend to set up efforts similar to the Legacy Project in other countries. They, like the U.S., are losing their veterans--and an important part of their history--on a daily basis." "As with the 75,000 letters the LP has already received, the international war correspondence will be donated to a respected museum or archive. Some of the most moving, thought-provoking, dramatic, unexpected, amusing, or otherwise exceptional ones may also be featured in another book and possibly a documentary (although nothing is used without permission from the contributor)." A CHANCE TO HONOR THE VETERANS IN YOUR FAMILY Although Andy will be taking this extended trip to gather such letters, it's not necessary to wait until August to submit copies or transcriptions of any you might have in your personal collection. This is a unique opportunity to humanize warfare through the words of those who have endured it firsthand, as well as a fitting way to pay tribute to the veterans and active duty personnel in your family by ensuring that their words and experiences will be captured for posterity. And we, as genealogists, know how important this is. In fact, previous articles about the LP in "Ancestry Daily News" generated more responses from readers than stories in national newspapers and magazines. Let's keep our reputation intact and our loved ones' memories preserved by supporting the Legacy Project's latest initiative! BUT DOES IT APPLY TO ME? You may be thinking, "But they're looking for war letters by foreigners and my grandfather was American." I know from the emails I receive that many readers are from around the globe, so this project may be of particular interest to you and I especially hope you will participate. But while it's true that emphasis is being placed on letters from the international community, the LP is continuing to accept American letters too (and is especially interested in letters and emails from Iraq). And if you think about it, many who have served for the U.S. were born elsewhere. All war-related letters pertaining to a conflict in which the U.S. was involved in some significant way qualify. These include the American Revolution, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Spanish- American War, the Philippines, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, etc. I know that those in my own family who served in the Civil War were all born in Ireland. Michael Strank, one of those commemorated in the famous Iwo Jima Memorial, emigrated to the U.S. from what is now Slovakia. These are just a couple of examples. I suspect that with a little consideration, we would discover that a surprising number of Americans' military heroes were foreign-born. And the letters don't have to be from actual combatants. Just to be clear, here are some additional details to give you an idea of what the Legacy Project is seeking: --- Letters and emails written by soldiers, as well as those written to them by their loved ones at home --- Letters from civilians (e.g., the British in London during the Blitz, Germans in Dresden, Kuwaitis during the 1990 invasion, New Yorkers during 9/11, etc.) --- Letters from other non-combatants such as nurses and members of peacekeeping forces --- Letters from foreign-born war brides of American service personnel --- Letters between veterans from different countries who have corresponded after they returned home are especially appreciated. (There are many moving stories of former enemies who wrote to one another and ultimately became friends.) In short, the odds are very good that this project applies to your family regardless of where you may be reading these words. HOW DO I PARTICIPATE? If you have some letters you'd like to submit, please copy the original and/or make a typed transcript. If a letter is in a language other than English, the LP would appreciate it if you could send a translation, but it's not a requirement. And if you're certain you don't have letters to share, you can help the LP with this historic initiative by simply spreading the word in your community or online. You can email submissions to mailto:[email protected] or mail them to, The Legacy Project, P.O. Box 53250, Washington, D.C. 20009. For more information about the history of the LP, go to: http://www.warletters.com. Everything goes directly to Andy, and again, nothing is used without permission. If you're American, why not steal a few quiet moments this Memorial Day to make a copy of that letter written by your German-born great- great-great-great-grandfather during the Revolutionary War or your Mexican-born uncle in Korea? And if you're the proud citizen of any other country, I ask you even more fervently to consider sending a copy of that letter about your grandfather's service in Gallipoli or your son's involvement in Bosnia. Andy would also welcome ideas on military museums, archives, memorials, and other important places he should visit as he travels the globe. A few minutes' effort by many of us can go a long way to ensuring that the contributions of our loved ones will become a part of our all of our nations' recorded history. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright 1998-2003, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries Reprinted by permission from the "Ancestry Daily News"