Pryor Center project to preserve veterans’ stories of Iraq, Afghanistan wars

The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History at the University of Arkansas has launched a project to preserve the personal stories of Arkansas military veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from 2001-2021.

The project is led by award-winning former Arkansas journalist Amy Schlesing. The Pryor Center is housed in the UA’s Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and is the state’s only oral and visual history program with a statewide mission to collect, preserve, and share audio and video of Arkansas history.

Those who’d like to participate can email the Arkansans at War Oral History Project at [email protected]. The project is open to all Arkansans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether with Arkansas units or with other units across the nation.

The project will feature interviews with veterans from all branches of service in the oral history tradition to capture their backgrounds and experiences in war and the years that followed.

“The Pryor Center is honored to assist in the collection of these important oral histories of Arkansas service members,” said John C. Davis, executive director of the Pryor Center. “The oral histories collected for this project will serve as testaments to the selfless service of these Arkansans and remind the rest of us of their sacrifice.”

As a journalist, Schlesing covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette from 2003-2013, deploying seven times and spending several years embedded with U.S. troops.

After leaving journalism in 2013, she served as military policy aide and deputy communications director for U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. She joined the UA as executive director of strategic communications before moving to Southwest Electric Power Co., where she works in Fayetteville as region communications and external affairs manager.

“Arkansas is a small state, but a significant number of Arkansans served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Schlesing said. “This speaks to what makes our state special, where people put service before self. I’m honored to be a part of this project that will gather and preserve these stories of honor, service and sacrifice for generations to come.”

Thousands of Arkansans served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001-2021, and every major military unit in the state took part in both wars. More than 100 Arkansans died, and hundreds were injured in the wars.

The oral histories will be gathered in phases, starting with soldiers with the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade, which deployed to Iraq in 2004 and 2008.