Veterans Oral History Project

In 2009, students from Glenbrook South assisted Glenview Library staff by interviewing twenty-one veterans who served in conflicts ranging from WWII to the Vietnam War. These oral histories are available for viewing on our YouTube page.

As we stay in to celebrate this Memorial Day, take a moment to honor some of the men and women who have served our country.

Glenview Veterans' Oral History Project

The Glenview Veterans Oral History Project was a collaboration between the library and Glenbrook South High School. Glenbrook students interviewed local veterans at the library between 2009 and 2010. These oral histories are now available for you to watch on YouTube.

Happy Veteran's Day.!

Veteran's Day

During 2009 and 2010, the Glenview Public Library and Glenbrook South High School students interviewed local veterans as part of an oral history project.

In honor of Veteran's Day here are a couple of those interviews.

George Klein interviewed by Matt Moore on October 28, 2009. Mr. Klein served in the army during WWII and was involved in the campaigns at D-Day, Normandy, Lorraine, and Central Europe. 

Dorothy Murphy interviewed by Carrie Hanson on January 6, 2010. Ms. Murphy participated in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during WWII.

Glenview's Gold Star Heroes

The Library was grateful to receive a copy of  the DVD They Have Gone Forth...Glenview's Gold Star Heroes, Nov. 11, 2010 from Beverly Dawson and the Glenview History Center.

The DVD is in the Genealogy & Local History Room in the Glenview Collection at call number RRA 305.90697 THE DVD.

This is a 60 minute recording of a televised presentation from GVTV by Beverly Dawson and Nancy Spears about the lives and military service of the 21 Glenview residents whose names are inscribed on Glenview's Veteran's Memorial.

The veterans are:  Joseph M. Sesterhenn. -- Howard S. Henderson. -- Oswald L. Asplundh, Jr. -- Reinhard H. Sternberg. -- Robert C. Ostdick. -- Frederick C. Gordon. -- Leo J. Herriges. -- Richard J. Barber. -- Horace R. Brown. -- Edmund L. Leach. -- Alfred F. Schneider. -- Michael J. Dermody. -- Truman E. Rose. -- Charles A. Newman. -- John T. Filpi. -- Stephen H. De Merjan. -- Patrick J. Connor. -- Marcus E. Ameson. -- Kennetgh T. Keller, Jr. -- Brian M. Kennedy. -- Christopher E. Zimny.

Attention: Liberator Veterans!

There is a post on Dick Eastman's Genealogy Blog this morning that might appeal to WW2 Liberator Veterans.

The Collings Foundation is producing The Last Liberator for a TV series in June.  They would like to interview B-24 or B-17 crewmembers.  If you are interested in participating, please send a short biography and picture to Hunter Chaney at hchaney@collingsfoundation.org .

The Collings Foundation publishes a newsletter called the Mission Briefing.

Illinois State Library: Veterans History Project Update

The Illinois State Library encourages Illinois war veterans of any conflict to join Secretary of State Jesse White’s Illinois Veterans History Project.

The project is designed to create a permanent record of the names and remembrances of war veterans and civilians who served. More than a decade ago, the federal government passed a law authorizing the Library of Congress to collect and preserve the war histories of American veterans and civilians. Secretary White remains strongly committed to furthering the effort to ensure that the contributions of Illinois veterans will not be forgotten.

To participate, veterans or their family members can complete and return the Illinois Patriot Information Form.

Remembrances can be shared either on the back of the form or on a separate sheet of paper.

In addition, any veteran who would like to have an in-person, recorded interview conducted should contact either Suzanne Schriar at 217-785-1533, sschriar@ilsos.net; or Lynda Maddox at 217-524-0044, lmaddox@ilsos.net.

Glenview Veterans Oral History Project

A reception in the Maynard Room, 2-4 PM on March 14, will honor the veterans who participated in the Glenview Veterans Oral History (GVOH) Project, as well as the students and teachers who worked with the Library on it.

The following Animoto slide-show includes selected photos from some of the interviews. Historic pictures are seen along with pictures taken on the day of their interview, in which the veterans are seen with the students.

We thank the American Legion's Joseph M. Sesterhenn Post #166, the Glenview History Center, and Glenview South High School for partnering with the Library on this project.

Click on the white arrow to view the slideshow:

Illinois Veterans History Project

The purpose of the Illinois Veterans' History Project is to create a permanent record of the names and stories of Illinois war veterans and civilians who served our state and country during war, so that their contributions will not be forgotten.

To participate in the Illinois Veterans' History Project, veterans or their family members can complete the Illinois Patriots Information Form.



You can view the 3569 forms that have been collected, telling the remarkable stories of some of our brave men and women, at the Illinois Veterans History Project section of the Illinois Digital Archives .


Don't miss the interesting material that accompanies many of the forms. When you click on the veteran's name, you will see a page that shows what there is about that veteran. In the border at the left, you might see only the word Form...but you might alse see Form Page 2 or Newspaper Article or something else. Click on each term to learn more about that particular veteran.


Have a wonderful Memorial Day!