U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) recently hosted a reception at the Manteca VFW Hall to honor the 32 veterans who shared their stories of service as part of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Karen Lloyd, director of the Veterans History Project for the Library of Congress, was present to accept the most recent installment of 21 videos and meet the Central Valley veterans featured in them.

“As a veteran myself, it’s been an honor sitting down to hear these stories from local men and women who have worn the cloth of this nation,” said Rep. Denham. “This event was about saying ‘thank you.’”

The Veterans History Project, created through an act of Congress in 2000, invites veterans from conflicts ranging from World War I to the Iraq war to share their story through audio or visual interviews, memoirs or photographic documentation for archival with the Library of Congress. Denham and his staff have recorded stories from 32 Central Valley veterans, with excerpts from shared on Rep. Denham’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages as part of his Thank-a-Vet Thursday (#TVT) initiative.

Denham’s #TVT social media initiative aims to increase awareness of the sacrifices and good works of veterans in local communities and to thank them for their service. He invites and encourages others at home in California and across the country to join him in using #TVT to thank our nation’s veterans and share the great history of our nation’s armed services and service members.

Denham represents California’s 10th congressional district, which includes Stanislaus County and a portion of San Joaquin County. He is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials and also serves on the House Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources.