“I want to get started in the video biography business, but I need experience. Where do I get it?” It’s a common refrain and one I hear often from Family Legacy Video readers and customers. I usually suggest starting out by practicing on family and friends. But here’s another option, one that will help preserve the stories of U.S. veterans and give you valuable interviewing experience.

It’s the Veterans History Project. Its mission is to locate and interview veterans to record their stories. Whether you plan to create video biographies as a hobby or as a business, one of the most important things you need to do is to learn your craft. And volunteer opportunities like the Veterans History Project are a great way to learn by doing. The Veterans History Project is sponsored by the U.S. Congress and the interviews are housed in the Library of Congress. The main goal of the project is to collect first-hand accounts from U.S. veterans of the following wars: World War I (1914-1920); World War II (1939-1946); Korean War (1950-1955); Vietnam War (1961-1975); Persian Gulf War (1990-1995); and the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present).

You’ll find complete information at this Web site: http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Taking part in the project is a great way to “learn on the job” and add to the historical archives of the United States.