Archie Washak Memorial Oral History Collection
Arthur J. “Archie” Washak
Archie Washak, passed away unexpectedly on October 15, 2023. Born September 3, 1947, Archie went on to graduate from Medina High School in the Class of 1965. He then proudly served his country in the United States Army in the Vietnam War. Archie was awarded the Bronze Star for his courage and sacrifice during battle. He was a proud advocate for all veterans and was involved in many fundraising events throughout the veteran community. Archie was one of Operation Honor's biggest supporters. He assisted with joint ventures with the Knights of Columbus and always offered a helping hand at our functions. He continued his generous legacy by requesting donations for Operation Honor in lieu of flowers at his passing. Even though he left us suddenly, he still raised over $3500 to continue Operation Honor's mission.
Archie's generosity and advocacy for veteran related causes, along with his good natured gift of gab, made him the prime candidate for us to launch our oral history initiative. It was so easy to converse with Archie about almost any topic, it made him a perfect match to interview and document his personal experiences as he served our country. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to conduct that first interview with Archie before he passed suddenly. Instead, he is now the namesake for a project that we hope will serve our community through the gift of remembrance.
Moving forward, we are looking for veterans who are willing to share their personal stories of service to our great country. We hope to document as much as possible about their thoughts, feelings, experiences and wisdom, in order to create a collection of stories for generations to learn from for years to come. We would like to document the experiences of our elderly veterans in order to conserve those experiences before they are lost. We also hope to document the more modern experiences of our younger veteran generations, with the hopes they may find the sharing to be a therapeutic process for further healing.
Volunteer With Us
Join our team of dedicated volunteers and make a difference in your community. Whether it's interviewing veterans, transcribing the completed interviews or just spreading the word about the project, we need your help.
Become a Veteran Contributor
We are actively seeking veterans to sit down and share their stories with us. Please take a moment to complete our Veteran Questionnaire to get started!