Court reporters put veterans’ stories down on paper
With the help of certified court reporters, the Veterans History Project (VHP), a program that was co-sponsored by Wisconsin democratic Congressman Ron Kind, is now in its 10th year of helping national veterans tell their stories so that they may be recorded for future generations.
Working in conjunction with the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) and the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the VHP focuses on connecting certified court reporters with veterans so as to create a collection of stories of service that will be gathered in the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center.
Kind initially backed the project after witnessing some of the interviews that his wife, Wisconsin court reporter Tawni Kind, had recorded and transcribed. After she found the project so rewarding, Tawni Kind recruited other court reporters to participate in the project while her husband helped push the bill through Congress.
Now, VHP works with organizations such as William Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin's La Crosse communications department to connect court reporters with local veterans.
"I can't tell you how rewarding it's been to me to work with such dedicated professionals at VHP, and with court reporters who unselfishly volunteer their time and talent to ensure that these stories will be preserved so that future generations of Americans will know of the sacrifices made to preserve our freedom," said Beth Kilker, NCRF's Oral Histories Program Coordinator.
Currently, the VHP holds over 65,000 transcribed stories, and is reportedly the largest such collection of oral history in the United States. While the recordings, transcripts and other media in the collections is also donated from veterans' families, much of the existing material stems from volunteer recordings.
When it comes to transcribing any story, life history or court proceeding in Wisconsin, there is no better local solution than a Milwaukee court reporter.
