StoryCorps, the organization that has been documenting the lives of people for nearly 20 years, is coming to Hawaii to record military-related stories to share with the nation.
The organization facilitates discussions of about 40 minutes between two people, usually family members or close friends, in which one person interviews the other about significant events in their lives. The recordings are stored at the Library of Congress and are also made available to the local public broadcasting station for broadcast.
“It’s kind of like an oral-history project,” said Liberty Peralta, director of marketing for Hawai‘i Public Radio, which is letting StoryCorps record at its Kaheka Street studios. “These are eventually going to make the air at some point, probably in the fall.”
While the stories are required to be related to the military in some way, the subject matter can be diverse. HPR’s website said it is hoping for stories “of service … stories of being marginalized … or stories that fall somewhere in between,” adding that “we expect your stories to be as nuanced and diverse as our island communities.”
Service members, veterans, their families and residents who have been affected by the military presence in Hawaii were invited to sign up. Active-duty personnel can participate with permission from the military, Peralta said.
StoryCorps began in 2003 with a recording booth in Grand Central Station in New York City. In a video on the StoryCorps website, founder Dave Isay recalls recording conversations with his great-grandparents, but later losing the tapes. Those tapes were the inspiration behind StoryCorps.
StoryCorps has since expanded to include mobile recording booths and recording sessions around the country. The stories air regularly on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and have won several Peabody Awards in broadcasting, launching initiatives to record stories about motherhood, the lives of African Americans and the LGBTQ community. Its Military Voices Initiative began in 2018.
Beginning Monday, StoryCorps plans to record about 50 sessions in Hawaii, but as of this writing, there was only one slot on Oahu and two on Hawaii island available. Some will take place in person, and others will be done virtually. Peralta said so far no one from Kauai has signed up, possibly because HPR’s transmitter on Kauai is down and the word hasn’t gotten out to Kauai’s veterans community.
Hawaii Public Radio is keeping a wait-list in case people drop out. It also might add some sessions if there is enough demand.
Visit hawaiipublicradio.org/storycorps for information or to get on the wait-list.
