Murkowski Unveils “Veteran Spotlight” to Honor Alaskan Heroes
Senator Asks Alaskans to Volunteer the Veterans They Respect
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Lisa Murkowski today announced she is beginning a “Veteran Spotlight” project – a monthly focus on an Alaska veteran of our conflicts worldwide – to honor and draw the well-deserved attention to Alaska’s men and women who served. Every month, the Senator will post a biography and an interview with an Alaskan who served our country abroad, in conjunction with the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project.
“We can learn a lot about our country, our state, and ourselves from the men and women who have fought for us,” said Murkowski. “We owe it to them to honor them through sharing their stories, and we owe it to the rest of us to learn from the high levels of patriotism, commitment and service they demonstrated for us.
“On this Veterans Day, I’m asking Alaskans who have their own veteran to spotlight – whether it’s your father, mother, son, daughter, sister or brother, or just a hero in their community – to send me a suggestion in the mail or at Spotlight@Murkowski.Senate.Gov.”
“The "Veteran Spotlight" project is an ideal way to capture the one-of-a-kind stories of Alaska's veterans, and the Veterans History Project is eager to accept them, place them in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, and make them available to researchers and the general public for posterity," said Veterans History Project Director Bob Patrick.
Patrick continued, "Those who served our nation are diverse in race and ethnicity, gender, age, experience, and geography. I encourage volunteers in the great state of Alaska to ensure the diversity within their state is captured and well represented in the Veterans History Project collection."
Congress created the Veterans History Project (VHP), in 2000. Representatives Ron Kind, Amo Houghton, and Steny Hoyer in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Max Cleland and Chuck Hagel in the U.S. Senate, sponsored the project under unanimous support. The law was signed by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 2000.
###
