OUR MISSION

Wars can end, but the memories linger. For each of the men and women who gave their lives, and for those, too, who eventually returned home to loved ones, there are stories of grief, pain, resilience, and courage. Many of these real life accounts are found in letters written from behind the lines of battle. They are time capsules often preserved in neatly tied piles in the recesses of desk drawers or perhaps gathering dust in an attic or basement. Some have been saved in forgotten scrapbooks and audiotapes. Wherever they have survived, they hold precious personal memories of the wars our country has fought over more than two centuries.

Our Behind The Lines Campaign was launched with a dual mission: to conserve these testaments to our country’s enduring pledge to preserve freedom and to honor those who have bravely served. Over 175,000 personal correspondences are now part of the collection you can hear read on our Podcast. You can actually see and read them for yourself when you visit our VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN WAR LETTERS.

The BEHIND THE LINES PODCAST, the VIRTUAL MUSEUM and our EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS are designed  to  share the real history of Americans who lived and sacrificed so much, both on the fields of battle and on the home front.

Your donations go to fulfilling our overriding objective of putting a human face on war by sharing the stories of individuals who experienced it, and thus preserving the history of our nation.