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GERRY – A new program documenting veteran’s stories from across the area is now live for public viewing.
Heritage President and CEO Lisa Haglund tells WNY News Now her team has been working hard the past few months to record interviews with veterans in an effort to preserve them.
She says as vets pass away, many of their stories become lost. This initiative aims to keep them on record, forever.
“For us locally, there is no one from World War One we can interview, that is a lost moment in time,” said Haglund. “It is irreplaceable, we can replace almost all things except for time, it is so important that we capture the heart of the stories, who these residents are and their impact.”
Haglund says her company has always carried the mindset of honoring veterans within their facilities and the new effort only takes that mission to the next level.
Three years ago, Heritage started recording Veteran testimonials in print, however, they wanted to make a bigger impact by digitizing the stories and posting them online.
So far, nine testimonial videos of Veterans within their facilities have been recorded and posted to the web, with dozens more to follow.
“It will be available for anyone, there will be no timestamp expiration on it,” explained Haglund. “So, as we over the next few years keep adding stories, if your grandmother passes away and she was a nurse in the Vietnam War, that story is going to be there for you.”
Haglund says she hopes one day to take this program beyond the walls of their many care facilities and document stories from all over the community.
To view the interviews recorded so far, visit heritage1886.org/veterans.
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