State agency collects stories of military veterans

The Texas Veterans Land Board is looking to record the stories of military veterans to preserve history.

George P. Bush is the chairman of the Texas Veterans Land Board.

‘Voices of Veterans’ allows all vets, whether they served overseas or never left the country to share their stories of their time in the military.

Major James Crabtree, the historian and coordinator of Voices of Veterans has interviewed hundreds of veterans.

“It’s a unique program our Veterans land board runs to honor our veterans and save their stories for posterity.” said Maj. Crabtree.

Crabtree interviewed El Pasoan Corporal Manny Rivas, a World War II veteran who enlisted after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Rivas joined the military alongside his twin brother and both served in the same company.

His story can be found on the Voices of Veterans website.

Rivas talks about the Battle of Peleliu, a conflict in the Pacific where U.S. troops fought Japanese troops for an airstrip located on the island now known as Palau.

Rivas said they were told the battle would only last three days, instead they spent 83 days without a hot meal or a shower.

“There was no way you could take a shower or go into the ocean…the Japanese were only a about half a mile away, or maybe closer all the time. Anybody who went to take a bath in the ocean would get killed,” said Rivas.

Veterans can log on to the Voices of Veterans website, www.voicesofveterans.org, to contact a member of the organization, or call 1-800-252-VETS (8387) to set up an interview date.

The Veterans Land Board also manages eight existing Texas State Veterans Homes.

The homes currently provide long-term care for about 900 senior veterans.