National Initiative
The National Legacy Journey
A cross-country educational and public-awareness campaign carrying veteran stories, music, poetry, and living history into communities across America.
Purpose
The National Legacy Journey is being developed to connect local veteran histories with a national audience. The campaign will use community programs, recorded testimony, music, spoken word, educational exhibits, media, and livestreaming to demonstrate why veteran creative and historical works must be preserved before they are lost.
The Flagship Journey
Nelden J. Herron’s Vietnam combat poetry, photographs, oral history, spoken word, and Vietnam Combat Music will anchor the first journey. His project provides a human-scale example of how one veteran’s personal archive can become an educational resource with national relevance.
Across America to Washington, D.C.
- Community programs and veteran-story collection opportunities
- Partnerships with schools, libraries, museums, veteran organizations, and cultural institutions
- Performances and listening experiences centered on historically grounded music and spoken word
- Livestreamed conversations and educational programming
- Recognition of additional veteran legacy projects along the route
- A culminating public-awareness and institutional-outreach program in Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Goal
The initiative will pursue the appropriate process for presenting selected Nelden J. Herron materials for consideration by the Library of Congress. Any donation, acquisition, cataloging, preservation, or inclusion is entirely subject to the Library’s collection-development policies, legal requirements, professional review, and available resources. Veteran Voices Collective does not claim or guarantee acceptance.
Partners Needed
We welcome mission-aligned transportation, technology, archival, hospitality, media, venue, accessibility, education, and philanthropic partners.
Veteran Voices Collective 