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The Marshfield Veterans' Services Office is pleased to announce that Project "Dog Tags", a collaboration between the Ventress Library and the Office of Marshfield Veterans' Services will be in a "Start Up" mode between now and Memorial Day. The idea behind "Dog Tags" is to encourage teachers and students to teach and learn the History of WWII.
The value of this project is around $5000. Part of this expense will be offset by donations, loan of materials, and volunteers providing data processing services. This Program is supported in part by a grant from the Marshfield Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The amount of the grant is $1200 and will offset the cost of two professional storytellers obtaining the Oral History of twenty Marshfield Veterans during WWII.
In addition to this oral history, there will be pictures, letters, medals, as well as, audio tapes of Winston Churchill and FDR's famous speeches. These tapes, hard copy, pictures, memorabilia, etc. will be housed at the Ventress Library in the History Room. All of this memorabilia, reference books, etc. make up a project named, "Dog Tags" and at some point can be accessed on the Veterans' Services portion of Marshfield Web site. A computer station, with a printer, will be part of the project and be available just outside the History Room. Paper will not be furnished.
Picture this: You walk into the History Room at the library and see uniformed manikins, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force standing beside three, floor to ceiling bookcases of WWII memorabilia. The bookcases and manikins are surrounded by the American Flag standing in a pedestal on the right and the Commonwealth Flag in a pedestal on the left. On the desk that goes the length of the History room, will be tape recorders with earplugs to listen to Winston Churchill's "Finest Hour" speech or Marshfield Veteran's telling of their experiences in WWII. Hard copies of much of the memorabilia will be available for use in teaching or for term papers.
We Need Your Help
After all this information, are you wondering why we are publicizing this project? We need your help, of course. If the WWII veterans and those who have been gifted by them want this project to be successful, you must either donate your gifts of WWII memorabilia or your loan of such items. Additionally, we need your computer literacy to help us to put as much of this project, as possible, on computer disks. Thus, we can make this material available on our home page for anyone to access.
With your involvement, common ownership for eternity, and support, the library will host a "Dog Tags" Dedication party for the town on the Friday prior to Memorial Day. We may not be completely finished, but we will open with a substantive display. Our hope is that Marshfield Students will know the WWII experience of at least one Marshfield Veteran, which countries won the war and the price of freedom.
If you are a WWII Veteran, living in Marshfield, and would be willing to tell your story to a professional storyteller, or have WWII memorabilia to give or loan, please call me, at 781-834-5576.
Dick Martin
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