At Missouri Western State University, in St. Joseph, I am scheduled for the fall semester to teach three sections of College Writing and Research. I plan to have students conduct research regarding veterans.

I would like students to divide their research into two primary areas: groups (using library sources) and individuals (getting stories from veterans). I want students to concentrate on issues pertaining to experiences of coming home. They will be able to choose areas of concentration, such as: benfits, health services, social and political activism, friendships, family life, race, gender, notions of heroism, mementos and souveniers, cultural insights, and so on.

For the first area, they can look at American veterans from any conflict. For the second area, they can interview any surviving vets they know or meet. To that end, I am making contact with local veteran organizations to develop lists of vets who would be willing to meet with students, answer questions, and tell their stories. It occurs to me, however, that students need not be limited to face-to-face meetings.

Therefore, I wonder if anyone out there would be willing to correspond via e-mail with students.

Your response and feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Meredith Katchen
mkatchen@missouriwestern.edu