Tips for Interviewing a Veteran

“MY HERO IS...” TIPS FOR INTERVIEWING A VETERAN

The American Heroes Channel is asking students to celebrate a military hero in their lives by featuring him or her in a short video. Making a video is a great way to show how a special veteran (living or deceased) has served our country and become a hero to you.

Before making the video, you may want to interview a person who is currently serving or has served in the military (or a friend or relative of a veteran). This will help you gather facts, stories, quotes and ideas for telling the story of your hero in a video format. (Here are some tips on video storytelling.)

Interviews are one of the best ways to gather historical information from primary sources. But they also help create an understanding about the unique lives and experiences of military veterans.

Following are some tips for conducting your own interview.

Before the interview:

➢ Research the war during which the veteran served. Have a basic understanding of the chronology, geography, and main events of the conflict.

➢ Ask the veteran (or friend/relative of the veteran) to bring photos, medals, or other objects to share with you. These things will help remind them of people and events. They also will add interest to your video.

➢ Prepare your questions ahead of time. The Library of Congress Veterans History Project provides a good list of sample interview questions. Review the questions (also included below) and highlight or circle the ones you would like to ask. Note: These questions are primarily written to ask after military service. If your interview subject is still serving in the military, you will want to adjust the questions to reflect that.

➢ You may choose to use a high-­‐quality audio or video recorder. Using a video recorder will allow you to use selected images from your interview when you create your video. Test your equipment before the interview.

➢ Record or write down “pre-­‐interview” information about your veteran, such as name, birthdate, war and branch of service, location of service, and whether he or she volunteered or was drafted. Include the date of the interview.

During the interview:

➢ Ask short questions, but avoid questions that can be answered with “Yes” or “No.” Instead, begin questions with, “Can you tell me...?” or “Can you describe...?” These types of questions will encourage descriptive answers.

➢ Ask your subject to explain if you do not understand something. Write down any important spelling. This will help you get the details right for your video.

➢ Be patient. Allow your subject time to tell his or her own story, without interrupting.

➢ Understand that some topics might be painful to discuss. Let your subject experience emotions, but don’t push him or her to talk about things that are clearly uncomfortable.

➢ Encourage your subject to share details about his or her post-­‐military life, including education, career, and the effect of military experience.

After the interview:

➢ Thank your subject for sharing his or her time and experiences.

➢ Create a list of potential topics and images you will want to use in your video.

Jogging Memory:

➢ Were you drafted or did you enlist? ➢ Where were you living at the time? ➢ Why did you join? ➢ Why did you pick the service branch you joined? ➢ Do you recall your first days in service? ➢ What did it feel like? ➢ Tell me about your boot camp/training experience(s). ➢ Do you remember your instructors? ➢ How did you get through it?

Experiences:

➢ Which war(s) did you serve in (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf)? ➢ Where exactly did you go? ➢ Do you remember arriving and what it was like? ➢ What was your job/assignment? ➢ Did you see combat? ➢ Were there many casualties in your unit? ➢ Tell me about a couple of your most memorable experiences.

➢ Were you a prisoner of war? ➢ Tell me about your experiences in captivity and when freed. ➢ Were you awarded any medals or citations? ➢ How did you get them? ➢ Higher ranks may be asked about battle planning. Those who sustained injuries may be asked about the circumstances.

Life:

➢ Ask questions about life in the service and/or at the front or under fire. ➢ How did you stay in touch with your family? ➢ What was the food like? ➢ Did you have plenty of supplies? ➢ Did you feel pressure or stress? ➢ Was there something special you did for "good luck"? ➢ How did people entertain themselves? ➢ Were there entertainers? ➢ What did you do when on leave? ➢ Where did you travel while in the service? ➢ Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual event? ➢ What were some of the pranks that you or others would pull? ➢ Do you have photographs? ➢ Who are the people in the photographs? ➢ What did you think of officers or fellow soldiers? ➢ Did you keep a personal diary?

After Service:

➢ Appropriateness of questions will vary if the veteran had a military career. ➢ Do you recall the day your service ended? ➢ Where were you? ➢ What did you do in the days and weeks afterward? ➢ Did you work or go back to school? ➢ Was your education supported by the G.I. Bill? ➢ Did you make any close friendships while in the service? ➢ Did you continue any of those relationships? ➢ For how long? ➢ Did you join a veterans' organization?

Later Years and Closing:

➢ What did you go on to do as a career after the war? ➢ Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general? ➢ If in a veterans' organization, what kinds of activities does your post or association have? ➢ Do you attend reunions? ➢ How did your service and experiences affect your life? ➢ Is there anything you would like to add that we have not covered in this interview?