Iron Mountain to fund digitization of Road to Tokyo Oral
Histories, expand public access to Museum’s extensive collections
NEW ORLEANS & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Iron
Mountain Incorporated ® (NYSE: IRM), the storage and
information management company, has entered into a charitable
partnership with The National WWII Museum to help digitally publish WWII
veterans’ oral histories from the Pacific Theater of the war. Through a
combination of financial support and in-kind services, Iron Mountain
will assist with publishing nearly 100 veteran stories to the Museum’s
online digital collection – a process that includes editing, annotating
and safely storing recordings so that they’re easily attainable to the
user.
As the Museum prepares to launch its newest permanent exhibit hall, Road
to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries, this impactful digitization
project will help provide extensive public access to the institution’s
diverse collections. Placing these oral histories on the Museum’s online
collection will allow people across the nation and throughout the world
to learn and benefit from them, providing audiences with a better
understanding of the personal war experiences of everyone from
servicemen and nurses to airmen and code-breakers.
In the oral history of Roy Boreen, a US Navy veteran who served on the
USS Oklahoma, Boreen recalls the infamous attack at Pearl Harbor:
“When I looked out I saw the Rising Sun on this Kate bomber that had
just released its first torpedo for our ship. When I saw the Rising Sun
I yelled out, ‘The Japs are here!’ A torpedo hit in the next
compartment, hit a fuel tank, sprung the door and I was completely
covered with oil. That morning the sun was out, it was a beautiful day,
and then after the first attack and especially when the Arizona
went up in the air, everything turned black. That day was really dark
and everything after.”
“Every time we lose a veteran, it’s like losing a library – all of those
memories and firsthand experiences are gone,” says Dr. Gordon H. “Nick”
Mueller, president and CEO of The National WWII Museum. “Digitization
efforts preserve a significant piece of our nation’s cultural heritage
for future generations, and Iron Mountain is helping us ensure that the
stories of our World War II veterans are not lost with their passing.
Through archiving and sharing firsthand accounts like Roy’s, we’re able
to present deep and meaningful content to the public and students and
scholars of all ages, living all over the world.”
The Museum launched its new and improved digital collections website in
December 2013 (ww2online.org). The site currently contains segmented and
annotated videos of oral histories from all military service branches,
which are easily searchable by theater, branch of service or keywords.
Website visitors can also create personal accounts to which they can
save photos and oral history clips – free of charge – allowing them to
manage the resources to better aid their own research projects or
personal interests.
In addition to assisting with digitization efforts of these remarkable
oral histories, Iron Mountain will provide the Museum with in-kind
storage space for its ever-expanding archive of historical records,
including original research tapes recorded by Museum founder and
historian Stephen E. Ambrose.
“Iron Mountain’s philanthropic focus on cultural and historical
preservation underscores our belief in the importance of our shared
heritage,” says Ty Ondatje, senior vice president for Corporate
Responsibility and chief diversity officer, Iron Mountain. “Our Living
Legacy Initiative gives us the opportunity to extend that focus to
non-profit organizations like the World War II Museum that share our
vision for cultural and historical preservation. We’re thrilled to
partner with The National WWII Museum to lend our expertise and help
them preserve priceless narratives so that they can be extended to
people everywhere.”
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a leading provider of
storage and information management services. The company’s real estate
network of over 67 million square feet across more than 1,000 facilities
in 36 countries allows it to serve customers with speed and accuracy.
And its solutions for records
management, data
management, document
management, and secure
shredding help organizations to lower storage costs, comply with
regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information for
business advantage. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects
billions of information assets, including business documents, backup
tapes, electronic files and medical data. Visit www.ironmountain.com
for more information.
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American
experience in the war that changed the world – why it was fought,
how it was won, and what it means today. Dedicated in 2000 as The
National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America’s
National WWII Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork,
optimism, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who fought on the
battlefront and served on the Home Front. For more information, call
877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit nationalww2museum.org.
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Source: Iron Mountain