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Warrior to Citizen Oral History Project and Exhibit
This spring, communities and college campuses across the state will host "Warrior to Citizen: Stories of Minnesota's Most Recent Veterans," a multimedia exhibit featuring personal stories and artifacts gathered from 30 service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The exhibit captures an important piece of Minnesota history and offers a public space for thinking and talking about the ways military service impacts individuals and communities, and what veterans have to contribute.
The veterans oral history project, which culminated in the exhibit, grew out of a desire to provide a voice for Minnesota veterans about their contributions and their experiences returning to home, work and community life after deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was made possible through the contributions of many volunteers who were connected through the Warrior to Citizen Campaign. 
"Warrior to Citizen: Stories of Minnesota's Most Recent Veterans"
The exhibit features four thematic listening/viewing stations as well as personal artifacts. "This exhibit is designed to move beyond the sound bite, the splashy image, and attention only on the heroes and the dead. Thousands of Minnesotans have quietly been creating contemporary history, engaging in acts of personal courage and selflessness. Yet we don't know this, and we certainly don't know them," says Tim Kamenar, a member of the Minnesota National Guard and an instrumental organizer of the oral history project.
Viewing the exhibit
"Warrior to Citizen: Stories of Minnesota's Most Recent Veterans" debuted at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in January 2009 before traveling to Augsburg College, Farmington City Hall, In Their Own Words...A Veterans Museum in Perham, the Veterans Resource Center at Minnesota State University Mankato, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud. Other campuses and communities around the state plan to host the exhibit. Dates and times will be posted here as they are confirmed.
JULY 2009
North Heights Lutheran Church
1700 West Highway 96, Arden Hills
Saturday, July 4
Sunday, July 5
Lakeville City Hall
20195 Holyoke Ave.
Saturday, July 11
Hastings V.F.W. Post #1210
320 2nd St. E., Hastings
Friday, July 17, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 18, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, July 19, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(veterans will serve as grand marshals in Rivertown Days parade at noon)
Ramsey County Library - Maplewood
3025 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood
Wednesday, July 22, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday, July 23, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday, July 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, July 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, July 26, noon to 5 p.m.
Monday, July 27, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, July 28, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
If you are not able to see the exhibit in person, you can download audio excerpts from the interviews. (At left is Karly Vogel, one of the participants in the oral history project. Vogel joined the Minnesota Air National Guard in 2002 and in 2004—at the age of 20—began serving as a chaplain assistant at Landstuhl Army Base in Germany, where she ministered to service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
Hosting the exhibit
If your community or organization would like information on hosting the exhibit, please contact the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at tveit@augsburg.edu.
More about the oral history project
Volunteer interviewers and interviewees were recruited through the Warrior to Citizen Campaign. Interviewers participated in a three-hour training offered through a collaboration of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota State University-Moorhead, and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship. The Center for Democracy and Citizenship provided digital recording equipment and assistance setting up interviews with veterans. Between March and November 2008, 30 recent veterans from different branches of the military were interviewed. View a list of interviewers, interviewees, and other contributors, and read reflections from the project coordinator and exhibit curators.
Digital recordings of the oral history interviews will be archived by the Minnesota Historical Society. Also, the Library of Congress has a veterans history project and will accept and archive materials from this project.
Partners
Center for Democracy and Citizenship
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota National Guard
Minnesota Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Minnesota State University-Moorhead
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