How to interview a veteran and record their story

A veteran interview works best as a long, unhurried conversation that starts before they joined up and ends well after they came home. Do a little homework, ask simple questions in order, let them steer around anything they don't want to discuss, and record it on a phone.

The steps are written for a son, daughter or grandchild doing the asking, and they work just as well for a veteran recording their own story.

Learn the basics before you sit down

Find out the branch, unit, rank, job, dates and places of service before the interview. If you already know your grandfather was a radio operator in Korea in 1951, you can ask about the radio, the hills and the cold instead of spending the first half hour on basics.

Ask other relatives what they know, and look for:

• Discharge papers. From 1950 on, this is usually the DD Form 214, which lists dates and places of service, last unit, job and awards. Before 1950 the services used similar forms.
• Photos, letters, postcards and diaries, especially anything with names or dates written on it.
• Medals, ribbons, patches, dog tags and orders.

Put a few of these on the table during the interview and ask about each one.

Tell them what you'd like to ask, and that they can skip anything

Ask a few days ahead, say what you'd like to cover, and make it clear they can pass on any question.

Dad, I'd like to record you talking about your Navy years, from signing up to coming home. Mostly everyday things: the ship, the food, the men you served with. If there's anything you don't want to talk about, just say "pass" and we'll move on. Could we try an hour on Sunday afternoon?

The Library of Congress suggests a short pre-interview by phone or in person to go over the basics, which also gives the veteran time to think about what they want to tell.

Questions to ask a veteran, from before service to after

Go roughly in order, starting with the easy questions. You won't get through all of these in one sitting, and you don't need to.

Before service

• Where did you grow up, and what did your parents do for work?
• What were you doing the year before you went in?
• Did anyone else in the family serve? What did they tell you about it?

Joining up

• Were you drafted, or did you volunteer? Why that branch?
• Where were you when you found out you were going, and who did you tell first?
• What did you leave behind: a girlfriend, a job, a car, a dog?

Training

• Where was basic training, and what do you remember about the first day?
• Who was your drill instructor, and what do you remember them saying?
• What job did they train you for, and how was that decided?

Where they served and what they did

• Where were you stationed, and how did you get there?
• What did an ordinary workday look like?
• What did the place look, sound and smell like?

Daily life

• What did you eat? What was the best meal you had, and the worst?
• Where did you sleep, and who was in the next bunk?
• What did you do on a day off?

The people they served with

• Who was your closest friend there? What were they like?
• Who was the funniest person in your unit?
• Did you have a nickname? How did you get it?

Letters and news from home

• Who wrote to you, and how often?
• What did you ask for in packages from home?
• Is there a letter you still remember?

Coming home

• How did you find out you were going home?
• Who met you, and what was the first thing you did?
• What felt strange about being back?

Life after

• What did you do next: work, school, marriage? Did you use the G.I. Bill?
• What from your service showed up in the rest of your life?
• Did you stay in touch with anyone you served with?

What they want people to understand

• What do you wish people knew about your service?
• What did your family never quite understand about that time?
• Is there anything you've always wanted to say about it that nobody has asked?

For the rest of their life, use these questions to ask your parents and grandparents.

How to handle hard memories

Let the veteran lead. Ask about friends, food, places and letters, and leave it to them whether to talk about combat, loss or injury. Some will get there on their own once they trust that you'll listen and won't push.

Leave these questions alone unless they raise the subject first:

• Did you ever kill anyone?
• Do you have PTSD?
• What was the worst thing you saw?
• Do you regret serving?

When a memory gets hard, wait. Don't rush to fill the silence or change the subject for them. Then offer a way out: "We can skip that," or "Do you want a break?" If they ask you to turn the recorder off, turn it off, and keep what they say afterward private unless they tell you otherwise.

Take a break every half hour or so, and stop when they want to stop, even in the middle of a story.

The Library of Congress tells its own volunteer interviewers the same: watch the veteran's emotional state, pause or end the interview if they're no longer comfortable, and keep water and tissues within reach.

If a conversation stirs up distress that doesn't pass, the Veterans Crisis Line is free, confidential and open around the clock to veterans and their families. Dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

How to record the interview

A phone is enough. Use its voice memo app for audio, or its camera for video if the veteran is comfortable being filmed. Sit close together in a quiet room, record a 30-second test, and play it back before you start.

• Turn off the TV, radio and fans, and put your phone on Do Not Disturb.
• Set the phone on a folded towel between you, a little closer to the veteran.
• Start by saying who is talking, the date and where you are. Don't say home addresses, service numbers or Social Security numbers on the recording.
• Write down names and places as they come up, so you can check spellings later.
• Hold up each photo and describe it out loud: "This is you and Eddie in front of the barracks, summer of 1968."
• Keep each session to about an hour.
• Copy the file to a computer or online storage the same day, and give the veteran a copy.

If the recording is going to the Library of Congress, check its media and format standards first. It wants unedited recordings in their original format, one interview per disc or drive, and on an iPhone it recommends the Voice Memos app with audio quality set to Lossless.

If you're a veteran recording your own story

Take the questions above one section at a time, and talk into your phone or write a page whenever you have half an hour. Start with an easy part, like basic training or the food, and leave the harder parts for later, or out altogether.

If you'd rather talk than write, Biographer is a personal biographer you talk with by typing or speaking, in the web browser on a phone, tablet or computer. It asks follow-up questions about what you just said, you can skip anything, and you can talk whenever it suits you. When you're ready, it writes the conversation up as a story. Your stories stay private unless you share them, and you should read each one first, since it can get a date or a unit wrong.

Family members can also give Biographer as a gift, with a personal note and up to three stories they hope to hear.

Give the interview to the Library of Congress

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect first-hand accounts from U.S. veterans and keep them at the Library of Congress. It takes interviews with veterans of every branch who served from World War I through recent conflicts, and anyone 15 or older can do the interviewing, including family members.

1. Download the Field Kit, which has the forms, and print the Library's sample questions.
2. Record at least 30 minutes, unedited. Without an interview, a collection can instead be 20 or more pages of the veteran's memoir, diary or journal, or 10 or more original photos or letters. The Library calls this the 30-20-10 rule.
3. Fill out the four forms the kit marks as required: the Biographical Data Form, the Veteran's Release Form, the Interviewer's Release Form, and the Audio and Video Recording Log, a list of the topics you covered with rough times.
4. Make two copies, one for you and one for the veteran or family.
5. Send the original by a commercial carrier such as FedEx or UPS. The Library asks you not to use the U.S. Postal Service, because its security screening can damage materials. You can also email vohp@loc.gov to ask about sending an interview through its Digital Submission Portal.

The Library accepts only original materials and takes ownership of the physical items, so scan photos and letters for the family before you send them. The veteran keeps the copyright. The recording will be made available to the public, so make sure the veteran knows that before you start.

Expect a postcard confirming receipt within 10 weeks. It can take 12 months or more for the veteran's record to appear online, and not every collection is digitized. Questions go to vohp@loc.gov or (202) 707-4916.