Veterans Day is right around the corner, and in honor of the heroes that have served our country, Google has launched an interactive Google Doodle highlighting the story of five veterans in partnership with StoryCorps.
The Doodle features one story from each branch of the U.S. military, and a range of different themes are presented, including stories of friendship, hope, loss, and hardship. Each Doodle features the voice of a veteran telling the story about their experience, along with an animation offering visual details about that experience.
Google is also encouraging the public to get to know the veterans in their life. In particular, YouTube is suggesting that the public interview veterans that they know, and then upload a video of the interview through the StoryCorps app or straight to YouTube with the hashtag #VeteransVoice. The stories that are uploaded to the StoryCorps app will be submitted for inclusion in the Library of Congress.
Of course, Google has launched initiatives for veterans before. In celebration of National Veterans Small Business Week, Google began supporting veteran-owned and led businesses by connecting them with Google Maps Promoted Pins. What that means is that when users search for a business on Google Maps, they can see a pin telling them if a business is owned or managed by a veteran.
On top of that, Google is making it easier for veterans to find jobs. Members of the military can enter that military occupational specialty code into Google Search to find jobs that require similar skills to those that they used while in the military. Last but not least, Google gave a $2.5 million grant to the United Service Organizations to provide training and career guidance for those transitioning out of the military, spouses of those people, and veterans. Those two features can be very helpful — it’s known to be difficult for veterans to find jobs and integrate back into society after serving their country, so being able to more easily find a job could potentially be life-changing.
Head to Google’s home page for yourself to check out the new Google Doodle and hear stories from some of the people that have put their lives in danger.
