The West Point Center for Oral History is a one of the United States Military Academy's

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 Centers for Excellence. This Center is devoted to capturing the story of the American soldier in both war and peace. Unlike other oral history archives, the West Point Center for Oral History is a video archive that records interviews using state-of-the-art video technology and produces documentary films using their footage.

History

The Center for Oral History was started in 2008 by Colonel Lance Betros, the head of West Point's history department. It is currently headed by its Director, Todd Brewster

Todd Brewster

-Biography:Brewster served as Senior Editorial Producer for ABC News and co-authored three books with the late Peter Jennings: The Century, The Century for Young People, and In Search of America...

, and has an advisory board that includes Ken Burns

Ken Burns

Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...

, Sebastian Junger

Sebastian Junger

Sebastian Junger is an American author, journalist and documentarian, most famous for the best-selling book The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, his award-winning chronicle of the war in Afghanistan in the 2010 movie Restrepo, and his 2010 book War.-Background:Junger was born...

, Martha Raddatz

Martha Raddatz

Martha Raddatz is an American reporter with ABC News . She currently serves as the network's Chief Foreign Correspondent. She reports for ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer, Nightline, and other network broadcasts. In addition to her work for ABC News, Raddatz has written for The New Republic and...

, Brent Scowcroft

Brent Scowcroft

Brent Scowcroft, KBE was the United States National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National...

, and Jack Jacobs

Jack Jacobs

"Indian" Jack Jacobs was an American and Canadian football player in the National Football League and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963....

. The Center officially launched in October 2011 with its website and its first documentary film, "Into Harm's Way." This film was produced by The Documentary Group, a New York City based film production company founded by Tom Yellin and Kayce Freed Jennings, with Brewster serving as Executive Producer of the project.

The Collection

The Center contains hundreds of interviews from soldiers, policy makers, politicians, and others whose lives have touch the profession of arms. Its interview subjects currently include veterans of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Korea

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, Vietnam

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, Desert Storm, Bosnia

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

, and the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

.