SAVING AMERICA'S HISTORY Steve Johnson reports, 9/13/02. America is losing its World War Two veterans at a rate of 15 hundred a day. With each loss, there is the loss of a story and a loss of a piece of American History. For the past two years, the Library of Congress has been recording interviews with veterans for a permanent record. Now, the Huntsville-Madison County Library is going to be part of that effort. The library has plans to interview all 30,000 Madison County veterans and send their stories to Washington, according to the library's Bonnie Hallman. "I want them to tell me what they're comfortable telling me. If they want to talk about funny experiences they had, the food or how cold it was, or if they want to talk about battle--anything they want to tell me--I would love for them to tell me." One problem the library faces is the reluctance of many veterans to discuss their intense war experiences. However, 81-year-old Jimmy Taylor of Huntsville, a veteran with the 17th Airborne in Europe, says the vets have a responsibility to talk. "Hey, you know, in 20 years from now, we'll all be gone. People are going to be asking questions, and you're gone, and you're not here to answer the questions. World War Two veterans have got to talk about it for future generations." The interviews will begin soon. For interested volunteers, who want to help with the process, or for veterans, who want to give an interview, call 532-5954. For more information about the interview project and another project for veterans, called the "Celebration of Heroes," go to the library's web site at www.hpl.lib.al.us. The "Celebration of Heroes" will be a series of Panel Discussions, including veterans and talks by historians. The first event is Tuesday night, the 17th of September. "The Mighty Eighth" will be a panel discussion of the Eighth Air Force, and its battles over Germany. The "Celebration of Heroes" will run through December 7, Pearl Harbor Day. <a href="http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?S=934869">Click Here</a> or http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?S=934869 Jerry W. Murphy [email protected] Jerry's Homepage: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jwmurphy/ Rootsweb List Administrator: ALFRANKL-L, TNHARDIN-L, TNWASHIN-L, TNWAYNE-L, BRATTON-L, COCHRAN-L, HAFLEY-L, PATTERSON-L, SOWERBY-L Wayne County, Tennessee Web Page: http://www.netease.net/wayne Wayne County Computer Club: http://www.netease.net/waccc