Honoring those who Served: Veteran's Voices 2024

AUSTIN (KXAN) - From recording the voices of those who defended the United States to teaching the next generation through mini-golf, KXAN's Veteran's Voices special is telling the stories of those who served and the people who helped them when they came home. The special presentation includes a look at several stories focused on veterans.

The Texas General Land Office has been recording the voices and stories of hundreds of veterans for decades. With recordings from veterans who fought for our country in every way from World War 2 to Afghanistan, you can find all of their stories and what being a veteran meant to them here.

A Lockhart program that some say has saved their lives after they put up their uniform, and picked up an instrument. We sat down with Dustin Welch, the founder of Soldiers Songs and Voices, a non-profit that teaches veterans how to play guitar and write songs. The efforts have been so successful that there are now 17 chapters across the United States.

A new exhibit at a presidential library in Austin is shedding light on how the folks at home caught their first glimpses of the fighting in Vietnam, and how it changed the tide of the war. With oral histories from veterans, footage featuring the likes of Walter Cronkite, and photos and uniforms from the era, the "Ain't No Daylight" exhibit at the LBJ Presidential Library near downtown Austin captures a specific moment in time: March 1968.

Planes, parachutes, plaques and... mini-golf? A local mini-golf course is taking the time to educate the next generation as they putt across World War 2. Inspired by the owner's grandfather, each hole honors someone who served, and the means a lot to one of central Texas' last remaining World War 2 veterans.

Starting a business is hard for anyone, but especially for veterans. An entrepreneur - and veteran - teamed up with partners in Nevada to create the Veterans Entrepreneurial Library. It's meant as a co-working and networking area for veterans hoping to break into business.

It was an army made up of plastic, paper, and phantoms, and it possibly saved thousands of lives. The Ghost Army, a massive deception operation in France during the Second World War, was a collection of fake trucks, tanks, buildings, and even soldiers meant to draw attention away from real Allied forces. More than 1,100 men served in a unit that sounds more Hollywood than history, but the cost was very real.