NEWARK — Like many of his fellow soldiers, Arthur Seltzer spent decades not talking about his years in the Army during World War II. But today, Seltzer settled into a chair in front of a video camera at Rutgers University and told the whole story — from hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio, to getting...
NEWARK — Like many of his fellow soldiers, Arthur Seltzer spent decades not talking about his years in the Army during World War II.
But today, Seltzer settled into a chair in front of a video camera at Rutgers University and told the whole story — from hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio, to getting drafted, to landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, to helping liberate a Nazi concentration camp.
At 87, Seltzer said it was time to document his personal role in history.
"It’s so important. World War II veterans are dying," he said. "If you don’t tell your story, it will all go away."
Seltzer, of Cherry Hill, was one of five veterans who recorded their war experiences yesterday to kick off an effort to get more New Jerseyans to contribute to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. The program, created by Congress in 2000, records first-hand accounts of men and women who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts.
So far, more than 70,000 oral histories have been collected but only 1,200 are from New Jersey.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) helped organized yesterday’s event on Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus to train interviewers to record oral histories and urge other New Jersey veterans to contribute their wartime experiences.
"I personally encourage my fellow veterans to share their stories. Tell your story," said Lautenberg, 87.
The senator, a World War II veteran, enlisted in the Army Signal Corps in 1942 and spent his war years climbing poles and splicing cables in Belgium to help troops communicate. He recorded his personal war story for the Library of Congress project in 2007.
"It was an honor to do so," Lautenberg said.
The Library of Congress’ veterans project is modeled on a similar program started at Rutgers in 1994. The Rutgers Oral History Archives includes more than 1,000 interviews with veterans and those on the home front. Nearly 580 of the interviews are available on the archive’s web site for students and scholars to study.
The Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project trains volunteers to collect veterans’ interviews. Families are also invited to tell the stories of deceased veterans by submitting original photographs, letters, diaries and memoirs to the Library of Congress.
The veterans sharing stories yesterday included Tom Mahoney, a Pearl Harbor survivor from Union Township; Danielle Peloquin, a Vietnam veteran from South Brunswick; and Joe Nyzio, an Iraq veteran from Bordentown.
Justin Sasso said he was surprised anyone would be interested in his story for a history project considering he ended his second tour of duty as a helicopter pilot in Iraq just four years ago.
"It’s kind of hard to look at the present and call it history," said Sasso, 32.
But Sasso said he was excited to participate. He is working as a private helicopter pilot and going to Rutgers part-time to earn a political science degree. When he was asked to give his oral history for the Library of Congress project, Sasso realized he had never sat down and told his war story from start to finish.
"I’ve never had an opportunity," said Sasso, of Holmdel.
New Jersey veterans interested in contributing their oral histories to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project can get more information at the program’s website (loc.gov/vets) or by contacting contact Lautenberg’s office at (973) 639-8700 in North Jersey or (856) 338-8922 in South Jersey. Those interested in participating in the Rutgers Oral History Archives can get more information at the program’s website (oralhistory.rutgers.edu).