Humanities Kansas recently awarded $ 2,821 to the Tonganoxie Historical Society to support “Kansas Stories of the Vietnam War,” a new oral history initiative from Humanities Kansas to collect and preserve the stories of Vietnam War veterans in their communities.

Donna Higbee serves as project director.

Eleven Kansas organizations will participate in “Kansas Stories of the Vietnam War,” the second phase of

Humanities Kansas’s oral history initiative focused on veterans. In 2018, twelve different communities participated in a similar project and recorded 74 oral histories from Kansas veterans from the Vietnam War. These stories have been archived locally, as well as at the Kansas Historical Society and the Library of Congress Veterans Oral History collection.

“Every community knows their own community’s history best,” shared Julie Mulvihill, executive director of Humanities Kansas. “We look forward to working with these organizations who are committed to preserving the stories of the Vietnam War era. Humanities Kansas will provide resources and training and participating organizations will spend the next year engaging with veterans’ stories.”

Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit leading a movement of ideas. Since 1972, HK’s programming, grants and partnerships have documented and shared stories to spark conversations and invite new insights.

Together with statewide partners and supporters, HK encourages Kansans to draw on diverse histories, literatures and cultures to strengthen our democracy, communities, and connections to one another.

Visit humanitieskansas.org.Kansas News Service.