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On Saturday, representatives from the Frederick County Veterans History Project will hold a luncheon honoring veterans who have shared their stories with the program during the last year, at the AMVETS post in Middletown.

The program records the stories of local veterans of wars since World War I, archiving videos in conjunction with the Library of Congress program. According to Beth Valdez, the program's director, the project began in Frederick County in 2003, three years after the U.S. Congress created the national initiative to collect audio and video recordings and other artifacts to preserve the memories of veterans and others who participated in World War II and other military conflicts. She said about 215 interviews have been recorded here since.

"We just let them talk about their stories," Valdez said. "They can be funny stories; they can be sad stories. They don't have to have been in an actual war. They could have been in Korea; they could have been stateside – any stories of any veteran from any of the conflicts."

Local interviews are stored in the Maryland Room of the C. Burr Artz Public Library in Frederick and documented by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., as part of the national Veterans History Project.

One of the veterans who recently added his story to the group's files was Norman "Norm" Birzer, 68, of Frederick. He said he had heard about similar programs when he was involved in veterans groups, but the emphasis had always been on older veterans.

"I used to be involved in the Commemorative Air Force, and we did some things like that," he said. "The emphasis was on the World War II veterans who were quickly passing from the scene – there's not a lot of them left, most of them are in their 80s and 90s. I always thought of myself as one of the younger veterans, but now it's 40 years [since Vietnam], so I'm not so young anymore."

Originally from Ellinwood, Kan., Birzer joined the Navy in 1967, and enrolled in the Aviation Officer Candidate program. He said his two older brothers had joined the Air Force, and he chose the Navy to "do something different." His time serving in Vietnam in the Navy allowed him to experience life in a very different way than many people.

"I enjoyed the Navy because we had good equipment to work with, it was an exciting, adventurous thing," he said. "We went lots of places and we did some very, very dynamic things. It was an experience that very few people get to participate in."

While in the Navy, Birzer was stationed on two aircraft carriers, the USS America and the USS Constellation, and flew A-7 Corsair II light attack aircrafts, which were launched from the carriers.

Upon leaving Vietnam, he received his MBA from California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 1977, after taking evening classes. He retired from the Navy in 1987, and came to Frederick with his wife, Carol, and their now-grown children Jason and Tracy, in 1988, he said.

The move to Frederick came because Birzer got a job at American Airlines, flying commercial airplanes, and living in Frederick allowed him to access several area airports. He flew for the company for 15 years before retiring.

"I never though I'd ever have the opportunity to be an airline pilot, particularly after my Navy career," he said. "That was an opportunity that came up when the airlines were expanding rapidly in the mid-80s, and they finally decided that retired military pilots could be useful in the airlines."

Now that he's retired, Birzer is involved with several local veterans organizations. He's also written a book, "US Navy A-7 Corsair II Units of the Vietnam War," which was co-authored by Peter Mersky, who specializes in military history.

tlaino@gazette.net

For more information on the local Veterans History Project, contact the Maryland Room at C. Burr Artz Library at 301-694-1368, call Beth Valdez at 301-682-7747, or e-mail FCVHPMR28@gmail.com. To volunteer to record veterans' stories or recommend a veteran, contact. For more on the national program, go to www.loc.gov/vets/.