During World War II, the average age of the U.S. serviceman was 26. A few men falsified their birth certificates to join the military as young as 16 years of age. But there were many older men who served.

In 2004, Voces took part in a commemoration of the WWII Memorial and a World War II Reunion in Washington, D.C., on the Main Mall. Voces' contribution: making sure Latinos were added to four panel discussions and distributing project newspapers about our interviewees.

World War II affected more than 100 million people across the globe.

This New Mexico unit 200th Coast Artillery and the 515th Coast Artillery were charged with defending the Philippines against the Japanese during WWII. Many became POWs and would be part of the famed Bataan Death March.

The interview costs around $500 to produce: travel, set up, interviewing; scanning photos, writing and editing a story from the interview, fact-checking. No quick way to do it. But our interviews deserve our best effort. A bargain at $500.

Mil Voces! Our 1000th interview. An exciting milestone for the Voces Oral History Project that will be officially celebrated in fall 2017.

$1999 - The Voces Oral History Project was started in 1999 by Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, originally called the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project. Now, 18 years, four collections, and nearly 1000 interviews later, the project continues to fulfill its mission of weaving the Latino story into the tapestry of American history.

Voces has a treasure trove of high-resolution photographs that are part of each interview file. These are favorites of documentarians, journalists and others. A new website will help display the photos.

Between 1942 and 1945, more than 10,000 women enlisted in the newly created United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, known as the SPARs after the Coast Guard's motto "Semper Paratus, Always Ready.