The history of wars is being lost as hundreds of veterans die every day. But a Web site that launches today is changing that.
By ALEX LEARY
Published May 26, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - The smell of death is still vivid a half century later for William Loncaric. The sight of the prisoners has not faded in his memory, either, their open shirts exposing little more than ribs.
Loncaric was barely a man when he helped liberate the notorious Dachau concentration camp in 1945. Today, at 81, he can still recount the experience with great detail, including how freed captives beat a Nazi commander to death.
"There were a couple of Catholic priests in town who tried to stop them, but the American soldiers grabbed the priests and said: "Let them go, let them do it. Look what they did to these people.' "
Loncaric, a St. Louis native who now resides in New Port Richey, has scores of stories from World War II.
But for years he has not had an audience. Most people, Loncaric said, are not interested in his tales. "They just smile and say, "Yes, yes.' " So he has kept quiet.
Then last Christmas, his nephew showed up with an armful of video equipment. He recorded Loncaric's accounts, which now are part of an ambitious effort to preserve the oral history of America's war veterans.
The nearly one-hour interview, accompanied by an array of black and white photographs, is one of the 21 multimedia features at www.loc.gov/warstories - a Web site launched today by the Veterans History Project.
Overseen by the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center and the AARP, the project is fighting a major battle against time. An estimated 1,600 U.S. military veterans die each day. Of those who served in World War I, only 500 remain.
"In order to preserve and honor their memory, it's urgent to collect these stories," said project director Ellen McCulloch-Lovell.
"The whole idea is to not only share the stories, but to build a rich collection online that can be used by researchers, students, journalists and generations to come."
The project is unique, McCulloch-Lovell said, because it is one of few nationwide oral history efforts that relies on volunteers rather than professional historians. Children are encouraged to interview their parents, grandchildren their grandparents, neighbors their neighbors, and so on.
Nearly 700 national and local groups, including schools, libraries and museums and civic groups are aiding the project, some providing video and audio equipment.
The Web site contains directions on how to best record interviews and provides a list of questions to ask, from routine (Were you drafted or did you enlist?) to introspective (Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general?).
About 7,000 veterans and civilians have contributed since the Veterans History Project was created in 2000, resulting in a cache of 25,000 items.
Of those, 21 collections have been "digitized" for viewing. Many more will be added over time.
"History is not just what you read in the history books. It's a collection of different experiences," McCulloch-Lovell said.
Firsthand accounts of battle provide insight and context that might be missing in history books, she said. The narratives also are a window into a changing nation. There are, for example, accounts of the first black paratrooper unit.
Among those featured on the Web site is Army nurse Rhona Marie Knox Prescott, who served in Vietnam and now lives in Flagler Beach. She described her journey to the war-torn Asian country.
"The flight was long and they kept feeding us; they fed us and fed us and fed us. (laughs) As the hours went by, I started thinking about, "Are they fattening us up for the kill?' "
The interviewer follows with a question: "So you were getting anxious at that point?" Prescott replies, "Yes, the karma, the vibes, there was something just not peaceful about the whole thing."
Accompanying the interview are photographs, a poem written by Prescott and a letter she wrote to a fellow nurse.
There are accounts by U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who served in the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam; and Ben M. Snyder, a bombardier in the Pacific Theater who kept a meticulous journal that covers the rigors of training and anticipating entertainment by Bob Hope.
Loncaric's interview, found under the heading "Courage," is expansive, beginning with his days at the University of Missouri, where he was in ROTC, and leading up to D-Day and finally the liberation of the concentration camp.
With a high speed Internet connection, the video streams uninterrupted, with a bright image and sound.
Loncaric said he was happy to participate and hopes other veterans will, too. "There are so many guys that this is their only thing they can hang their hat on," he said. "It's fantastic for them."
- Alex Leary can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is leary@sptimes.com
