Each year, on the last Monday of May, we rightly pause to recognize the sacrifices made by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. This Memorial Day, I encourage the citizens of Wisconsin to take an active role in honoring the veterans of this country.

One way that we can honor the legacies of our country's veterans and pass on their stories for future generations is through the Veterans History Project. The Library of Congress has organized the Veterans History Project in order to collect oral histories and first-hand documents from World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars, as well as from those who served as civilians in support of those wars.

The Veterans History Project builds on our nation's collective memory, which is a key component of Americans' shared identity. The Project is gathering interviews with veterans and those who supported them, and is seeking documents such as letters and photographs for a national collection. The material will be preserved so that veterans, researchers, teachers, and students can learn the lessons contained in them.

Interviewing a veteran or war worker, as part of the Veterans History Project, honors those who served our nation during critical and dangerous periods in American history. This is a national project initiated by Congress to promote public learning and to encourage discussion across the generations about our nation's veterans' efforts to preserve democracy and freedom.

I supported the law to implement the Project, and I am sure that this will continue to be a uniquely positive and interactive program. Interviewers might be veterans comparing their experiences with fellow veterans, students talking with veterans and supporters within their local communities, or grandchildren coaxing their grandparents to share memories of their past.

To learn how to participate and to receive a project kit, go to the Project's web site at www.loc.gov/vets.

This Memorial Day, it is my hope that the Veterans History Project will be an outlet for the sons, daughters, and grandchildren of our brave veterans, many of whom have long been curious about their parent's and grandparent's wartime experience, but never knew how to ask.

Since 1868, the United States has recognized Memorial Day as a time to honor those who died serving the nation during war. I can think of no better way to honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces than to ensure that their deeds and experiences are preserved and venerated.