This Veterans Day, we’re partnering with Google and YouTube to share the voices of our country’s veterans and to make a commitment to preserving more #VeteransVoices so we can honor their service. The stories that veterans tell are powerful reflections of the experiences they carry, and it’s important they not be forgotten.

Today, you can discover five extraordinary real stories told in an interactive and animated Google Doodle. These all-new animations feature accounts from service members from all five branches of the military, and touch on a spectrum of veteran experiences and emotions such as friendship, loss, hardship, hope, and love. All five of these interviews were recorded by StoryCorps. We are so grateful to the participants who shared their stories with us.

We also thank our partners at Google and YouTube for reminding the country that listening to each other’s stories can promote healing and helps create a more compassionate world.  A more timely reminder of our shared humanity is hard to imagine.

There is a lot to explore and we invite you to experience it all:

View the Google Doodle.

Listen to the five original audio stories here on our website.

Go behind the scenes on this project by visiting the Official Google Doodle Blog.

Visit our dedicated #VeteransVoices page for more StoryCorps stories recorded through our Military Voices Initiative and to learn how you can get involved.

Use your Smartphone to Record with a Veteran

Once you’ve listened to #VeteransVoices, we want you to make time to interview a veteran in your life. Anyone with a smartphone can record an interview with the StoryCorps App. The app is available on iOSAndroid devices and for Kindle.

To help get you started, we’re providing resources to support educators, students, or anyone else who wants to take part in recording:

Download (PDF): #VeteransVoices Resources Guide for Recording with Veterans

Over the past several years, StoryCorps has recorded thousands of intimate interviews with post-9/11 veterans, service members, and military families to preserve their voices for posterity and share their stories with the nation. In doing so we honor their service and amplify their experiences. Join us in this effort.