Everyone has a story to tell and the Smithsonian Institution wants to collect stories from service members, veterans and their families focusing on what they experienced in 2020.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is collecting responses to a single question -- what did 2020 feel like -- in a project called Stories of 2020.
From the pandemic to political and social unrest, 2020 is sure to be a year that will draw the interest of future historians and researchers, said Shannon Perich, curator of the photographic history collection at the museum.
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“It has really been an experience,” said Perich.“What is isolation like, what is all this trauma like and how are we processing it? We’ve not had this experience broadly and globally in a very long time.”
Perich is the daughter and granddaughter of Air Force veterans and lived overseas while attending middle and high school.
“I had a personal sort of wonder and curiosity about what it felt like to be an American overseas during this time period,” she said, “and what was the role of military personnel in this particular environment."
Perich is also interested in what it’s like to be a member of a military family now.
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“Community is so important in the military and I thought the military would have a particular type of narrative to contribute to this story,” she said.
The effort marks the first time the Smithsonian has done a project that asks for public contributions and said it would be archived and brought into its collection.
“That took a lot of bureaucratic work to get that ordered and in place,” added Perich.
Perich and a colleague are reading all the stories that come in.
“Sometimes you just sit at your table and weep because you are just so moved by the intensity of the experience people are having and other times you feel such hope and joy and feel lifted by gratitude by the good things that have happened,” she said.
Many contributors have expressed the roller coaster of emotions they have experienced as a result of the pandemic and explain “I feel awful, I feel horrible, but I know somebody else has it worse,” Perich added.
Stories that come in will be kept in the archive center. Some stories, audio clips and photographs will be posted on the website.
“We know the importance of letters, we know the importance of diaries, so this was a way to harness and gather all of those types of experiences into one location for future historians,” said Perich.
The effort has also collected artwork and poetry.
“Some are deeply personal reflections,” explained Perich.
Stories from health care workers, teachers, refugees and farm workers are also being sought. Perich said she expects contributions to be accepted through the end of April.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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