Our Mission

As the 75th anniversary of World War II unfolds, the veterans’ ranks are dwindling, their heroism honored, their stories cherished. But largely overshadowed have been the millions of other Americans who helped defeat fascism—and whose stories are perhaps in greater danger of being lost. By one measure, there have been more books published just on the battle of Iwo Jima than on the entire American home front experience of World War II.

The National Home Front Project, an innovative oral history initiative at Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, is capturing the memories of those civilians: men, women, and children whose lives were changed by the greatest global conflict in human history. Our team of students is recording hundreds of interviews with “The Greatest Generation” in which veterans’ tales of combat at the front lines intertwine with far less familiar, but equally vivid, recollections of the home front. We are also partnering with communities across the country to help record and preserve their local stories of World War II. To learn more about how to participate in the National Home Front Project, please visit our Submit an Interview or contact our program staff.

In addition to audio recordings, our archive collects digital images of wartime letters, photographs, and other artifacts that help tell our interviewees’ stories. A sampling of stories, audio clips, and documents—selected from over 300 interviews from contributors nationwide—is available on this website. Our archive keeps growing as our team continues interviewing, digitizing, indexing, transcribing, teaching, and collaborating. With your help, we can to collect and preserve these important stories of World War II on the American home front before time runs out.

Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. Founded in 1782, Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, was the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was a principal donor to the college and a member of its original board of trustees. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789.

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 220,000 organizations around the world, Iron Mountain’s real estate network comprises more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in 45 countries dedicated to protecting and preserving what matters most for its customers. Iron Mountain’s solutions portfolio includes records management, data management, document management, data centers, art storage and logistics, and secure shredding, helping organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets, including critical business documents, electronic information, medical data and cultural and historical artifacts. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.