West Point site to tell firsthand story of war

[unhappycamper]

West Point site to tell firsthand story of war
By Michael Hill - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 18, 2009 11:38:25 EST

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Lt. Col. Paul Owen, West Point Class of ’90, came back to the academy to tell his story about Iraq. Sitting before a video camera in his dress uniform, Owen described the oppressive heat, the “moon dust” sand and a string of some 300 night raids in search of insurgents.

“We were quick,” he said. “If they heard us coming, they’d flee.”

Owen’s recorded recollections will be transcribed and posted on the Web as part of an ambitious oral history project under way at the U.S. Military Academy’s new Center for Oral History. He is among some 150 soldiers — most West Point graduates — who have so far taped interviews destined for the Web before year’s end.

Stories are being solicited from old soldiers and those just back from deployments. They are being asked about not only what happened on the battlefield, but what was going on under their helmet, too.

“What we’re talking about is the humanity of war and fighting,” said Patrick Jennings, the center’s deputy director. “I know it sounds like an odd term, but that’s what it is.”


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_west_point_history_011809/%2e