Toledo project tells veterans’ stories

Toledo Free Press

Written by Julie Ryan | | news@toledofreepress.com

Toledo-area war veterans no longer need to let textbooks tell their stories. Instead, residents and students can hear and see their narratives and learn from their experiences.

Late in 2007, Toledo natives Chris Wulf and Rick Neeley discovered their shared passion for history and began asking area war veterans to convey their stories. They founded History Documented, and gave local veterans the opportunity to document their war experiences.

Rick Neeley

Wulf said he began networking and setting up interviews in the Toledo area with the help of his father and grandfather. They take video clips from interviews and create short documentaries.

Once the veterans understand what they are doing, Neeley said, they open up to them.

Wulf said his family history inspired him to begin interviewing veterans.

“My grandfather, all my uncles and father included, were veterans of war and volunteered at VFW when I was little,” Wulf said. “I didn’t think much of it, but as I got older I realized, ‘Hey, these dads are dying off.’ ”

Neeley said there is immediacy to the project as the World War II veterans are aging, and their stories will be lost if they are not collected.

“We have a lot to learn from guys their age: their sacrifice, their dedication, their humility,” Neeley said.

Neeley said he recently interviewed a World War II veteran who had received five purple hearts. Until he spoke with Neeley, his story had gone untold, and Neeley said children need to hear it.

“We are not trying to glorify war but to show kids the sacrifice of their grandfathers and great grandfathers,” Neeley said.

Wulf said the veterans carry themselves with class and are an example of how Americans can react to today’s economy.

“They all talk about things — like the war and Depression — like, ‘Oh, it’s just a job, it’s not a big deal, it’s what we had to do.’ Compared to today, how they react to events and how we react to events: Everyone’s freaking about the deficit. But the veterans have character,” he said.

Funding for the project comes from Neeley and Wulf, which allows them to hold two interviews a week. Neeley said they would like to do more, but the cost of video recording, processing and editing, restrict them. Wulf is working to make History Documented an incorporated nonprofit.

“I hope future generations and children today would be most affected,” Wulf said. “That was our goal. I know growing up, history class was memorizing dates. I hope they can see the Vietnam War was more than two pages in a history book. I hope children and teachers can use it as an educational tool.”

Neeley said they want the project to be used in schools and they are making it visual to attract children. They are willing to do presentations in schools and at history events, he said.

“We’re looking for vets and we’re willing to travel across Northwest Ohio. We want to get the stories recorded,” Neeley said.

Wulf said they receive positive feedback. The families are thrilled, he said, because they are receiving a documentation of their history.

The documentary is available at the Ward M. Canaday Center in the William S. Carlson Library on UT’s main campus. Videos and project updates can be viewed online at historydocumented.com.