Photo by Chris Wieland.

The Veterans History Project wants to ensure that stories of D.C. area veterans aren’t lost. With over 98,000 veterans’ stories in it’s archive, the project says that vets from the D.C. area, particularly African Americans, are underrepresented.

Until the end of the year, the project is launching a campaign to archive the experiences of D.C. area veterans at the Library of Congress. Veterans will have free access to recording equipment and interview space, with a minimum of 30 minutes to share personal accounts.

All participating veterans are eligible for this documentary project, whether they served in combat or not.

Last year, Wallet Hub ranked D.C. among the best cities for veterans for its number of military skill-related jobs, rate of job growth for veterans, “emotional health” among veterans, and rate of veteran wage growth.

D.C. is also home to several veteran memorials. Earlier this year, the nonprofit Honor Flight Network, which works to honor veterans by bringing them to D.C. to visit their memorials, flew the first all-female honor flight to D.C. from Cincinnati. Half of the women served in the post-9/11 era, while the other half are World War II veterans.

The Veterans History Project comes out of the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center. It works to collect, preserve, and share the personal accounts of American war vets “so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.”

To learn more, go here or contact ahub@loc.gov.