Veterans Programs

Maryland Humanities is proud to present a series of programs that explore the military experience and what it means to serve.

As home to eleven military installations, a distinguished military academy, and an estimated 400,000 veterans, the state of Maryland shares a long and important history with America’s armed forces. Veterans and active duty military personnel are our neighbors, co-workers, and our family members. Maryland Humanities, in partnership with veterans’ service organizations across the state, has developed a series of programs for veterans and active duty military, their families, and the public at large that use the humanities to explore the history, experience, and meaning of war and military service.

Veterans’ Programs

 

Veterans Oral History Project

Since 2015, students at Southern High School in Anne Arundel County have conducted oral history interviews with Vietnam War veterans and Vietnamese immigrants who experienced the war. These students first receive training in oral history techniques in classroom sessions with oral historian Dr. Barry Lanman of the Martha Ross Center at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Transcripts and video of the interviews are housed at the Maryland State Archives and can be accessed online here. The project is showcased at annual community events.

Learn More About the Veterans Oral History Project

Veterans Book Groups

Maryland Humanities works with local veterans to plan and facilitate small-group reading and discussion programs at the Baltimore County, Towson Library, the Harford County, Bel Air Library, Howard County, Central Branch, Prince George’s County, Montpelier Arts Center, or the St. Mary’s County, Lexington Park library. Created by the Maine Humanities Council, Veterans Book Groups aim to bring veterans of all eras and active military together to talk about military experiences and returning to civilian life while providing an informal yet supportive environment for discussion.

Learn More About Veterans Book Groups

Veterans programs at Maryland Humanities are sponsored in part by Lockheed Martin and The Wawa Foundation, with support of Veterans Book Group statewide by David Bruce Smith and in Baltimore County by The Citizens of Baltimore County via the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts & Sciences.

image depicting Lockheed Martin logo
Logo of The Wawa Foundation
Baltimore County Commission on the Arts & Sciences logo

  • “[In Veterans Book Group,] I made connections with other vets.”

    Veterans Book Group participant

  • I didn’t know that with history came such unique stories and experience.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “Again it was a wonderful experience with your students and a great project for them. To see and talk to real Vietnam vets is important to get real stories. You have a lot of work to do but it is a really worthwhile experience for the students “as well” as us Vietnam vets.”

    ​Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, veteran participant

  • “I feel more connected to history.”

    ​Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • We were really moved by the testimony of the veterans and impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the students.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, parent

  • Thank you once again for the opportunity for me to share with your students a little about my Vietnam experiences. What you are doing is very special and I hope you will be able to continue this fine effort.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, veteran participant

  • I’m so glad I did the interview and would do it again. Now I realize just how much history affects people.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “Talking with students also helps those of us who have said little about our combat experiences because, in a sense, we feel guilty about why others died and not us/me? So, to be able to talk about it helps the veterans. The opportunity you provided to both students and veterans is wonderful and I do hope that our messages are meaningful to students.”

    ​Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, veteran participant

  • Good way to make learning real world. I learned first-hand what it was like in Vietnam, I learned a lot from this and enjoyed the experience.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “Being a part of the group provided me with a safe area to revisit my thoughts and feelings on my experience during the war.”

    Veterans Book Group participant

  • We were enabled to go into the community and get information from real people. Also, the assignment was pretty subjective so we were able to take it in any way we liked. We led the projects and each one is so different from the next.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “I met some great people, read books I might never have otherwise, [and] had great discussion.”

    Veterans Book Group participant

  • I thought it was a very good learning experience. We actually got to talk to someone who took place in the Vietnam War.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “[In Veterans Book Group,] I learned a different way to explain combat experience to one who has never been in the service.”

    Veterans Book Group participant

  • “This was the first time I felt comfortable admitting that I was a female Viet Nam vet!”

    Veterans Book Group participant
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