Preserving Arkansas Veterans' Stories: Pryor Center Launches New Iraq & Afghanistan Project

For many families, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of their own history. A new project from the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is working to preserve those personal stories through interviews with the men and women who served. The project is led by award-winning former Arkansas journalist Amy Schlesing. The Pryor Center is housed within the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Thousands of Arkansans served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001-2021, and every major military unit in the state played a role in both theaters of war. By the time both wars ended, more than 100 Arkansans had died, and hundreds more were injured. Now, as the wars slide into history, the stories of the men and women who served—and the units they served with—are being collected and preserved for generations to come.

This project is open to all Arkansans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether they were with Arkansas units or other units across the nation. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans live in every county in Arkansas.

If you are a veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan and would like to be a part of this project, please email the Arkansans at War Oral History Project at mystorymywar@gmail.com.

This unique 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. Together, these interviews will document the histories of these individuals and the collective combat experience of the Arkansas units in which they served, including the Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas-based Reserve units and active duty units at Little Rock Air Force Base.

"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."

The Pryor Center has partnered with former war correspondent Schlesing to lead this oral history project. 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 combat troops.

"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."

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

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.

The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is an oral history program with the mission to document the history of Arkansas through the collection of spoken memories and visual records, preserve the collection in perpetuity and connect Arkansans and the world to the collection. The Pryor Center records audio and video interviews about Arkansas history and culture, collects other organizations' recordings, organizes these recordings into an archive and provides public access to the archive, primarily through the website at pryorcenter.uark.edu. The Pryor Center is the state's only oral and visual history program with a statewide, 75-county mission to collect, preserve and share audio and moving image recordings of Arkansas history.

The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the academic heart and soul of the U of A — where discovery, creativity and curiosity meet to create transformational educational experiences. Encompassing three schools, 16 departments and numerous programs and research centers, Fulbright College connects the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences to advance knowledge, discovery, and serve Arkansas and the world. Discover more at fulbright.uark.edu.