Saving the stories of WWII Veterans
The memories of our veterans paint a more vivid picture than any history book. But with each year, as veterans pass on, their stories are lost, too.
Together, we can change that. Send us a video, documenting their experiences of the war and preserve this history before it slips away.
Here are a few memories from our collection.
“We had an angel under each wing.”
“We spent the entire night in the airplane, bouncing around in the Bering Sea.”
“It was a total 13 hour flight and we landed back with about 10 minutes worth of fuel left in our tanks.”
“We started out on our morning patrol, one engine caught fire.”
“The two planes got lost from each other.”
“He wrote often to my mother.”
“His submarine was run aground on an atoll in the Pacific… fortunately he survived.”
“He served as a chief motor mechanic aboard a submarine that was ported in Pearl Harbor.”
It can be an interview with a veteran or a secondhand account.
See our to consider asking.
If you’re looking for topics to discuss, here are some suggestions to get the conversation started.
Thank you for your interest in submitting a video. By preserving our veterans’ stories, we hope to honor their legacy and to inspire future generations. It wouldn’t be possible without your help. In order to submit the video, you must agree to the legal terms below:
I represent and warrant that I am at least 18 years of age and I have all authority necessary to agree to and grant the permissions given in this Agreement. I understand that by submitting my video, testimonials, stories, quotes and/or other information through this website (the “Submission”), I grant Ancestry.com Operations Inc. (“Ancestry”) a perpetual license to use, distribute, edit or republish my Submission, in whole or in part, including without limitation my name, likeness, and voice, for advertising, promotion, and any other purpose desired by Ancestry and in all or any media now known or developed in the future, including the Internet, and anywhere throughout the world, without limitation as to duration or frequency of usage, and with or without attribution to me, at Ancestry’s sole discretion. I acknowledge that Ancestry is under no obligation to use my Submission and may decide, at its sole discretion, not to use the Submission. I waive any inspection and/or approval of the use of the Submission and hereby release Ancestry, its agents and assigns, from any obligation to make payment hereunder and from any liability incurred in connection with the use of the Submission. I agree to hold Ancestry, its agents and assigns, who use the Submission harmless against any claims, losses, damages or liability arising from such use.
I represent and warrant that any statements made by me in the Submission are true, accurately reflect my opinion of and experience with Ancestry’s products and services, and are not misleading. The Submission is my own work and I have all necessary consents from any third parties that are included in or referenced to in the Submission. Upon request, I will promptly provide written support for (i) any claims made in the Submission that are or appear to be factual, and (ii) any necessary third party consents.
A fire in the National Personnel Records Center destroyed millions of records for soldiers who fought in WWII.
While some stories may never be recovered, Ancestry is working to save the history that remains.
The records that were destroyed in the fire.
On average, 80-100 pages of information per soldier were lost in the fire.
Here’s just some of the information contained in the records.
If you have a veteran in your family, theirs could be just the first of many stories to discover. Start a family tree at Ancestry and begin building your own history that tells the story of you.