Local NPR Affiliates Air UK Student Veterans Stories
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 10, 2011) − This Veterans Day, Kentucky radio audiences will have the opportunity to hear veterans stories collected from University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University students by the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at UK Libraries.
Nine interviews with student veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, collected as part of UK's "From Combat to Kentucky" collection, will be featured on " "11-11-11, A Veterans Day Special" set to air at 11 a.m. EST Friday, Nov. 11, on WEKU-FM (88.9) and Morehead State Public Radio (90.3). It will also air at 9 a.m. CST Sunday, Nov. 13, on WKMS Radio (91.3).
In "11-11-11, A Veterans Day Special," veterans share their thoughts on a myriad of topics including, the horror of killing another human, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the loss of a limb, the death of comrades, and culture shock. The program and interviews are part of series of news coverage from WEKU titled "Kentuckians at War."
"From Combat to Kentucky" is an ongoing oral history project at the Nunn Center that documents Kentucky's student veterans and their individual experiences during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Interviews focus on each veteran’s military experience as well as their transition back into civilian life, particularly into higher education.
"This oral history project really emphasizes the importance of paying attention and appreciating the sacrifice and commitments made by our veterans," says Doug Boyd, director of the Nunn Center. "I am so glad to see that interviews from this project are continuing to be utilized in creative and informative ways that really make a difference."
The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, at UK Libraries, is internationally recognized for its outstanding collection of nearly 8,000 oral history interviews. Among these historical interviews, the center has a collection of nearly 3,500 hours of interviews with veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Since January 2010, the Nunn Center has been working on an oral history project specifically documenting individual experiences of UK student veterans during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. To read more about the veterans' interviews and other projects at the center, visit their blog "Saving Stories" at www.nunncenter.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754 ext. 229, Whitney.Hale@uky.edu