# How to record a veteran's story

Service stories are the most asked-for and least-told stories in a family. Families make two mistakes: asking for the worst day first, or never asking at all.

## Start with the ordinary

The food. The bunk. The sergeant's name. The first morning. The thing everyone complained about. Veterans are comfortable there, and the big stories live next door.

## Follow, don't lead

When they go somewhere hard, stay quiet and let them. When they come back from it, do not push them in again. One telling is enough for the record.

## Keep the record straight

Units, dates, places, as they give them. Mark what they are sure of and what they are not. A clean service record is a gift to the next generation of the family and to historians.