West Texans and the Experience of War: World War I to the Present

FAIN: AC-226771-15

Angelo State University (San Angelo, TX 76909-2601)
Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai (Project Director: June 2014 to May 2019)
Christine Lamberson (Co Project Director: June 2014 to May 2019)

A three-year project at Angelo State University in West Texas to preserve and examine the experiences of America’s military veterans and their families from World War I to the present day.

A Century Apart: West Texans and America's Wars is a three year project at Angelo State University (ASU) designed to compile, preserve, share, and analyze the experiences of America's warriors and their families from World War I to the present day. The project directors and their students will examine the similarities, differences, and challenges faced by American soldiers with a connection to West Texas in those conflicts by focusing on six themes: motivation for service, public support for the conflict, familial support and challenges, experience of wartime service, interaction with and articulation of American national identity to foreigners, and challenges of returning to civilian life.

Media Coverage

Angelo State University "War Stories" History Harvest (Media Coverage)
Date: 4/15/2015
Abstract: A local radio station helped us advertise our "history harvest" event based off of a university press release. We also went on local television programs to promote the event.
URL: http://975kgkl.com/angelo-state-university-war-stories-history-harvest/

Harvest of History (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Candace Cooksey Fulton
Publication: San Angelo Standard Times
Date: 4/19/2015
Abstract: Coverage in the local paper about the first "history harvest" event.
URL: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/history-harvest_57703629

ASU invites public input for war stories project (Media Coverage)
Publication: San Angelo Standard Times
Date: 3/18/2015
Abstract: Local paper advertised the project to the community based on a university press release
URL: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/asu-invites-public-input-for-war-stories-project_04886288

HISTORY HARVEST EVENTS JUNE 11-13 AT PECOS, MARFA, SUL ROSS (Media Coverage)
Publication: Latest News from Sul Ross State University
Date: 6/5/2015
Abstract: Announcement of upcoming History Harvest Events in the area, including one at Sul Ross State University on June 13, 2015.
URL: http://www.sulross.edu/news/3498/latest-news-sul-ross-june-5-2015

War Stories Through the Eyes of West Texans (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Graham Dickie
Publication: Marfa Public Radio (93.5 FM--KRST)
Date: 6/30/2015
Abstract: Project directors visited Marfa, Texas to collect information for the grant project. While there, they sat down for an interview with Marfa Public Radio (KRST, 93.5 FM), the NPR affiliate.
URL: http://marfapublicradio.org/blog/war-stories-through-the-eyes-of-west-texans/

ASU LEARNING: 3-year lecture series will examine WWI (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Laurel Scott
Publication: San Angelo Standard Times
Date: 8/30/2015
Abstract: Report about the upcoming NEH-funded World War I Lecture Series at Angelo State University.
URL: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/my-san-angelo/asu-learning_08487178

Telling War Stories (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Rob Harris
Publication: KIDY (Fox Affiliate)
Date: 11/11/2015
Abstract: Rob Harris, KIDY (Fox affiliate) reporter, visited campus to interview project co-director Prof. Christine Lamberson and several student assistants on Veterans Day 2015.
URL: http://www.myfoxzone.com/story/30497229/telling-war-stories

Angelo State’s ‘War Stories’ History Harvest event comes to Brownwood May 12 (Media Coverage)
Publication: Brownwood Bulletin
Date: 4/10/2017
Abstract: Announces upcoming grant visit to Brownwood, Texas.
URL: http://www.brownwoodtx.com/news/20170410/angelo-states-war-stories-history-harvest--event-comes-to-brownwood-may-12

Local Veterans Encouraged to Participate in Angelo State University Project (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Brownwood News
Publication: BrownwoodNews.com
Date: 4/26/2017
Abstract: Story announcing the project team's upcoming visit to Brownwood, Texas.
URL: http://www.brownwoodnews.com/local-veterans-encouraged-participate-angelo-state-university-project/

West Texas Veterans Sharing War Stories (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Lauren Wolfe
Publication: KXVA (Fox 15), Abilene, Texas
Date: 5/15/2017
Abstract: News article about "harvest" event at the Abilene Public Library on May 15, 2017.
URL: http://www.fox15abilene.com/life/west-texas-veterans-sharing-war-stories/439954286

War Stories Collected, Digitized, Preserved (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Joy Bonala
Publication: KACU 89.5 (NPR, Abilene Public Radio)
Date: 5/16/2017
Abstract: Prof. Lamberson's interview with Abilene's NPR affiliate about the project's "harvest" at the Abilene Public Library.
URL: http://kacu.org/post/war-stories-collected-digitized-preserved#stream/0

History Department Hosts Humanities Month Program (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Sydney Faison
Publication: RamPage (Angelo State University student newspaper)
Date: 10/26/2018
Abstract: The article covers one of the Humanities Month events that the co-directors helped organize and manage. The Humanities Month programs all used War Stories material as the subject of the presentations and discussions.
URL: http://www.asurampage.com/news/view.php/1035422/History-Department-hosts-Humanities-Mont

Associated Products

What’s Missing in Veteran’s Day Salutes to Our Soldiers (Blog Post)
Title: What’s Missing in Veteran’s Day Salutes to Our Soldiers
Author: Christine Lamberson
Abstract: Prof. Lamberson, co-director of the project, discusses her experience of interviewing veterans for the NEH-funded "West Texans and the Experience of War: World War I to the Present." She argues that academics must do a better job of bridging veterans' stories with ones that certain policymakers are telling about the past. She urges academics to participate more in public events.
Date: 11/06/2015
Primary URL: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/161080
Blog Title: History News Network
Website: History News Network

Veterans Project (Article)
Title: Veterans Project
Author: Billie Franklin
Abstract: Local reporter Billie Franklin reported on the project team's visit to Uvalde, Texas.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.hillcountryherald.net
Primary URL Description: Link to the main website for the paper. Link will not take one to the article itself.
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: The Hill Country Herald

Students Key to "War Stories" Project (Article)
Title: Students Key to "War Stories" Project
Author: Laurel Scott
Abstract: Feature story about the project on the university's website.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.angelo.edu/content/news/11066-students-key-to-war-stories-project/Templates/news-feature.php
Primary URL Description: Website of Angelo State University.
Secondary URL: http://www.angelo.edu/content/news/11066-students-key-to-war-stories-project/Templates/news-feature.php
Format: Other
Publisher: Angelo State University

Project Documents W. Texas Veterans' Experiences (Article)
Title: Project Documents W. Texas Veterans' Experiences
Author: Laurel Scott
Abstract: Feature article that discusses the work of student workers and project co-directors in West Texas.
Year: 2016
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: San Angelo Standard Times

War Stories Collected, Digitized, Preserved (Article)
Title: War Stories Collected, Digitized, Preserved
Author: Joy Bonala
Abstract: The local NPR station interviewed project co-director Christine Lamberson during the "History Harvest" event in Abilene.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://kacu.org/post/war-stories-collected-digitized-preserved
Primary URL Description: Link to KACU's website and story about "War Stories."
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other
Publisher: KACU 89.5 (Abilene Public Radio)

"A Rich Harvest in a Parched Land": Travels & Oral History Interviews in West Texas," (Article)
Title: "A Rich Harvest in a Parched Land": Travels & Oral History Interviews in West Texas,"
Author: Christine M. Lamberson
Author: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
Abstract: The project co-directors, Lamberson & Wongsrichanalai, write about their experiences traveling to rural West Texas towns to interview veterans and their loved ones.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/november-2018/parched-land-rich-harvest-travels-and-oral-history-interviews-with-veterans-in-west-texas
Primary URL Description: This is a link to the official site of the American Historical Association.
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Perspectives on History: The Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association
Publisher: Perspectives on History: The Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association

War Stories, History Harvests, and how we learned to adapt on the fly (Blog Post)
Title: War Stories, History Harvests, and how we learned to adapt on the fly
Author: Christine M. Lamberson
Author: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
Abstract: The co-directors, Lamberson & Wongsrichanalai, discuss how they had to adapt the History Harvest model they employed to better suit their limited resources while traveling to rural West Texas towns.
Date: 11/06/2018
Primary URL: https://ncph.org/history-at-work/war-stories-history-harvests/
Blog Title: War Stories, History Harvests, and how we learned to adapt on the fly
Website: History @ Work (National Council on Public History)

Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War I (Book)
Title: Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War I
Author: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
Author: David J. Silbey
Author: Brian Dirck
Author: Debra Sheffer
Author: Dale Smith
Author: Shauna Devine
Author: Kathleen Logothetis Thompson
Author: Brian Allen Drake
Author: Steven Trout
Author: Jennifer D. Keene
Editor: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
Editor: David J. Silbey
Abstract: From the press website: "Although the Civil War and the Great War were fought only fifty years apart, the perceived time between these two cataclysmic events seems far longer in popular American memory: the Civil War was the centerpiece of the nineteenth century and lies deep in America’s past whereas World War I was a modern prelude to World War II, a conflict still in living memory. Wars Civil and Great breaks down these barriers of time and memory and shows how close and how similar these two conflicts really were in the American experience. Setting both wars in the long nineteenth century, the authors of this volume reveal how the Civil War cast its long shadow over the events of World War I. President Wilson looked to Lincoln during the Great War for guidance on national leadership at wartime; General John J. Pershing remembered the Civil War of his childhood and sought to learn lessons from Grant and McClellan; and the doughboys on European battlefields held firm to the culture of honor and duty that had inspired their forefathers to take up arms. In this volume, every author as an expert in their own field addresses four overarching questions: What legacy did the Civil War leave? Did the World War I generation interpret the lessons of the Civil War, and if so, how? How did the Great War change the lessons from the Civil War era? And finally, how did both wars contribute to the modernization of the United States? Wars Civil and Great highlights the striking similarities between the two wars by analyzing how the Civil War affected the American reaction to and experience in the Great War while attending to enlisted men, military officers, and political leaders. Other chapters address the environmental effects of both wars, the wars’ impacts on medicine and mental trauma, and the experiences of black American soldiers in both wars as they fought for a country that treated them so terribly."
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700634736/wars-civil-and-great/
Primary URL Description: This is the press's website.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780700634736
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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