Collections represent chance to safeguard veterans' history, future

University of Texas-Mercury Online-Editorial Board

After the declassification of thousands of intelligence documents revealed a handful of Air America pilots had been omitted from a memorial plaque, veteran’s groups and historians were brought to UTD June 5 to rededicate the memorial. This attention to detail toward veterans is excellent paradigm as UTD looks back and moves forward.

Looking back: UTD’s Aviation collections house huge amounts of information about World War I and World War II, but more can be done to make these available to students and protect them for future generations.

For example, some 8mm and 16mm film from the early 20th century is now showing considerable age. It is also more difficult to view and index information in original formats including reels and slides.

Special collection coordinator Paul Oelkrug said accessibility is the key priority and conversion to DVD is underway.

Oelkrug said students can help make resources more accessible by volunteering to work on evaluating collection management systems, scanning images and organizing digitized files.

Looking forward: More than 1 million Americans have served overseas since 2001. As troop levels in Iraq are reduced, many veterans will return to the United States, begin to use the GI Bill and raise the veteran population at universities.

The University of Colorado, the University of Iowa and dozens of other universities have spaces dedicated to the convenience and memory of Armed Service members. Just this month, the University of Maine at Augusta received a grant to establish and sustain a veteran community within the university and on June 15 opened a Veteran’s Lounge on their campus.

We believe the completion of the Student Services building in 2010, which will allow the library to expand into areas currently occupied by offices, presents a great opportunity to serve the memory of past veterans and the aspirations of those to come.

In or near the Aviation Special Collections, which are located on the third floor of the McDermott Library, World War II veterans volunteer to help process the vast archives given to the university. Oelkrug himself is a Vietnam veteran and said current space constraints are the primary obstacle to such a proposal.

The creation of a veteran’s lounge in or near the collection would encourage communication between younger and older servicemen and women. The collection itself – which includes a set of U.S. General George Patton’s General’s stars, James Doolittle’s desk and spectacular amount of knowledge about the U.S. military’s past – seems a perfect neighbor for a space where veterans can use a computer, have meetings or simply seek a moment of refuge between classes. The library is quieter and experiences less foot traffic than the Student Union and other likely sites for such a lounge, which could be of benefit to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder patients. The National Center for PTSD estimates up to 20 percent of combat troops will be affected by the syndrome.

The campus would need to unite in responsibility for creating the lounge and making students aware it existed. The Office of Student Volunteerism could play a great role, alongside students service groups and Greek organizations.

In return, student groups who provided ongoing support for the project would benefit from friendly access to recruitment of students who’ve already proved they’re capable of leadership and dedication.

While volunteering in the library in 2008, WWII Berlin Airlift Veteran William Jones said he worried that young people did not know or care about the country’s military history, and said, "you can’t know who you are if you don’t know where you come from."

Assuaging that concern would be an honorable investment in UTD’s future as a source of military history and a venue for incoming veterans’ accomplishments.