My Will and My Helmet

"But in war, the desire to move in the direction of fact as we want it to be and to move quickly is overwhelming.  Nothing will ever appease this desire except a consciousness of fact as everyone is at least satisfied to have it be." -Wallace Stevens

After reading Locke Carter's argument for writing hypertext in a non-sequential world, I have decided to build my website as a hypertext archive of Captain W.F. Overhulser's war correspondence and photography for the Veteran's History Project based on my technical literacy autobiography.  My Grandfather's historical archive of hundreds of letters and pictures from WWII taken as part of the 2rd Armored Division's push through Europe presents a non-glorified portrait of war.

Beyond his dedication to service at a time of need, his fascination with communication technology is a part of his story.  I have deep affection for my grandparents and their profound impact on both my traditional and technical literacies. The Veteran's History Project is a project of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress where written and oral histories of  American War Veterans are preserved to better understand the realities of war.

This is a project I have wanted to attend to for some time.  In addition to letters and photographs, I have a number of artifacts from the period such as war ration books, Stars and Stripes Newspapers, and postcards.

I also volunteered out at the Livermore Veteran's Hospital before returning to school, and I understand the need to archive stories before they are gone. My family will appreciate that William means "Will" and "Helmet," both literally and figuratively, and also understand the irony of Grandpa Bill serving the "Hell on Wheels Division" as a peaceful "Man of Cloth."