The value of recording life stories

Gene Edminster is a WWII veteran and a member of my Rotary club. I recently interviewed Gene for the Catalina Rotary Veterans Project, an initiative designed to preserve the military and Rotary service stories of veterans who are club members. At the end of our session, I impulsively asked Gene if he saw value in preserving his stories on video. He responded by talking about the war stories he heard from his father, a veteran of WWI, stories that are now thankfully preserved on audio cassettes. But then Gene turned his attention to his wife, recently lost to Alzheimer's Disease, and how he wished he'd recorded her stories. His answer is poignant, heartfelt and direct, so much so that I've included an excerpt in the Family Legacy Video Theatre.

To view the clip, visit the theatre and click on the first item in the playlist, entitled, "Why record personal history?" I don't think you'll ever hear a better answer to the question.