Over the past year, my staff in Hanford has been working with local Valley Veterans to capture and preserve their stories as part of the Veterans History Project, a project led by the Library of Congress. The goal is to collect firsthand accounts from veterans who served in conflicts throughout history and to preserve these records for future generations to see. To date, my staff has interviewed ten veterans from our community with the goal of interviewing many more.
Among those interviewed include Dale Cheeseman and Arlene Aninion. Mr. Cheeseman is a World War II veteran who was drafted in 1942. After completing basic training, Mr. Cheeseman was sent to the South Pacific where he served in the Navy. Ms. Aninion comes from a line of veterans, her grandfather and father served in World War I and II respectively. She enlisted in the Army at age 18 and went on to serve in several parts of Europe. Thank you to Ms. Aninion and Mr. Cheeseman for your service to our country!
If you are a Central Valley veteran and would like to be interviewed for the Veterans History Project, you can contact my Hanford office at (559) 460-6070.