August 18, 2004
Press Contact:
    Anneliesa Clump Behrend (202) 707-9822
    

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO PARTICIPATE IN FAN APPRECIATION DAY
WITH THE POTOMAC CANNONS

Veterans History Project to throw out first pitch, honor veterans, active military

At 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, September 5, the Potomac Cannons -- the Carolina League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds -- will host their annual Fan Appreciation Day. Diane Kresh, director of the Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress, will throw out the first pitch and VHP representatives will distribute information about the Project at the game. The game will be held at the G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium (7 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, Va.).

As part of the Potomac Cannons’ effort to honor service men and women, the Cannons are partnering to promote the Veterans History Project and are offering Grandstand Tickets for only $5.00 to all veterans and active military and their families for the September 5th game. Tickets can be purchased at the box office the day of the game or in advance over the phone by calling (703) 590-2311 x225. Fan Appreciation Day includes player autographs, free giveaways, kids running the bases after the game and fans participating in several on-field contests.

Veterans from World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War and the civilians who supported them are coming forward to record their personal stories for a growing archive in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The goal of the Veterans History Project is to collect, preserve and share with future generations the stories of all our war veterans, as well as those who supported them at home and in the field. To learn more about the project and the stories it has collected so far, visit the VHP Web site at http://www.loc.gov/vets, where you will find digital interviews, wartime memorabilia and information about how to participate this national volunteer effort.

The project is unusual in that it is one of the few nationwide oral history efforts relying on volunteers rather than professional oral historians to collect stories and artifacts. Recently, at the National World War II Reunion, the Library of Congress, through a corps of approximately 400 volunteers, collected more than 3,000 stories of World War II veterans.

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