In 2005, in an effort to preserve the memories of our local World War II veterans so future generations can hear first hand the sacrifices made by the “Greatest Generation,” the Collier County Communication and Customer Relations Department developed an aggressive plan to identify and coordinate interviews with Collier County World War II veterans to record their war experiences on audiotape.

The goal of this oral history project was to capture the memories of these veterans and share with the community personal stories that reflect the tremendous sacrifices this generation made so that we could continue to live in a free nation.

All interviews were conducted by volunteers and county staff, while the shooting, editing and production of the audio clips was completed by county employees thereby eliminating studio costs and editing fees.