Buckingham Announces Partnership Between Texas State Veterans Cemeteries and Texas State University to Collect Veterans’ Stories

Sept. 17—AUSTIN — Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chair Dr. Dawn Buckingham announced Tuesday that Texas State University, in partnership with Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, has been awarded a $344,015 grant through the Veterans Legacy Program (VLP), a project honoring America’s veterans and service members by sharing their stories to help preserve their legacies.

“As a land commissioner and president of the VLB, I am thrilled that Texas State University has received this grant from the Veterans Legacy Program,” Buckingham said in a press release. “Telling the stories of those who have served our country is important work. By telling the stories of those buried in our Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, we continue the legacy of sacrifice and service of these brave men and women.”

Established in 2016, the VLP honors veterans by helping communities preserve and share the stories of veterans buried in National Cemetery Administration (NCA) cemeteries and state cemeteries funded by VA grants. It does this through educational outreach by encouraging students, educators and citizens to connect with veterans’ cemeteries and the veterans who rest there, the release said.

TXST’s project is called “Texas Veterans Legacy for Tomorrow” and will focus on veterans buried in the four Texas Veterans Cemeteries. The project will create publicly accessible educational resources that can be used by high school teachers, college professors and community members.

The grant awarded is one of nine awarded to educational organizations by the NCA and will provide funding for research on U.S. veterans and to learn more about their service and accomplishments.

TXST student veterans will be trained in best practices for interviewing veterans’ families. They will also collect photos, videos, audio and significant artifacts that will help tell the veterans’ stories. The stories will be uploaded to the Veteran Affairs Veteran Legacy Memorial and presented at TXST.

Individuals interested in participating in an interview or recommending a buried veteran can contact Texas State University at (512) 766-4020 or email (email protected). These interviews can be conducted by phone, video call or in person.