Personal Histories

The museum has a growing collection of personal histories about Minnesota veterans and their military service. These histories take different forms:

Veterans Registry

The Minnesota Veterans Registry is being phased out in favor of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. All of the memorials in our Veterans Registry will be migrated to the LoC over the coming months. New memorials should be submitted to the LoC. View their Minnesota Veteran Memorials.

Veterans stories told by their Records and Artifacts

A veteran or family member can also provide the museum with a more comprehensive written account of the veteran’s military service—a summary, a more detailed account of one or more specific incidents, or both. Ideally, they are accompanied by photographs and supporting documents. Here is an example of a material donation with autobiographical information provided by the donor. The Palmer and Elmer Brandanger Collection.

Global War on Terror and 9/11 Stories

Consider submitting your GWOT Veteran or 9/11 story to our Share Your Story collection. You can also submit hard copies to the museum by postal mail or as attachments to an email to us at connect@mnmilitarymuseum.org.

Oral History

In an oral history, an interviewer from the museum meets with the veteran face-to-face and the exchange is recorded in audio or video format. Most such recordings are eventually transcribed (typed word-for-word) and become part of the archives. Click here to learn more about doing a successful oral history interview.

If you are interested in oral history and might like to be interviewed about your military service, or might like to get involved with the project as an interviewer or transcriber, please contact us at connect@mnmilitarymuseum.org or 320-616-6050.

Memoirs

These are autobiographical books, often self-published, that include an extensive re-telling of the veteran’s military experiences. If you have written a memoir, please send a copy to the Minnesota Military Museum Library, where it will be added to our growing collection of similar books.

All the above materials become part of the museum’s permanent library or archive collection, where they can be used for reference and research or possibly excerpted in publications, documentaries, or exhibits. They provide a unique way for the actual voices, images, and memories of Minnesotans to live on, preserved for future generations.