Preserving the Stories of Vietnam Veterans: How LSU Is Helping Protect a Generation’s Legacy

Across the country, Vietnam-era veterans are aging — and with them, their personal stories and service records are fading fast.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said the nation loses an estimated 131 Vietnam veterans every day. These irreplaceable firsthand accounts, personal photographs, letters home, and service documentation disappear, taking with them vital pieces of American history and family heritage.

Many have incomplete or missing records due to lost documents or damaged files. As a result, these veterans often struggle to access the care and benefits they’ve earned. Their families, too, lose pieces of history that could connect generations.

LSU's Edward Benoit, III, PhD, interim director of the School of Information Studies, and Heather Soyka, PhD, associate professor in the School of Information at Kent State University, were awarded a $91,430 National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to launch the Virtual Footlocker Project 2: Supporting Vietnam-Era Veterans’ Documentation of Their Military Record. The two-year planning project (August 2025–July 2027) will develop an implementable program for librarians, archivists, and Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) to assist Vietnam-era veterans in documenting and preserving their personal and service records. 

“This project builds on years of work connecting veterans with the tools to tell their own stories,” Benoit said. “Our goal is to ensure that the experiences and memories of Vietnam-era veterans are preserved for their families, their communities, and for history.”

LEARN HOW LSU IS HELPING VIETNAM VETERANS PRESERVE THEIR STORIES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

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