We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Neil Gallagher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Neil, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I have always been fascinated by my grandfather’s military service. My maternal grandfather, William Kelly, and my paternal grandfather, Kenneth Gallagher, served in World War Two.

However, my grandfather Kenneth Gallagher passed away before I was born, and my grandfather William Kelly passed when I was three. As such, I was never able to learn of their wartime service.

When I was twelve, as part of Boy Scouts, I attended a volunteer event at my local American Legion. This was the first time I learned of this organization, and I would continue to return on my own, often speaking with the veterans and listening to their stories.

Through their kindness, I gained a better understanding of what my grandfathers experienced during the war. Eventually, these conversations led to full interviews, which is how this project was born.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Eventually, as I grew older and began working, these interviews became more sophisticated and involved better equipment. I first started with just pen and paper, then moved to a tape recorder, later a Go-Pro, and now have a variety of cameras and recording equipment.

Today, Preserving the Stories has expanded to include veterans of the Korean War and Vietnam War, and we have interviewed over 150 veterans nationwide. I’m fortunate to have spoken to these men and women, many of whom are no longer with us.

We were fortunate to attend the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the 79th Iwo Jima reunion in DC, and we hope to attend again this year.

We have recently gained approval to begin posting our interviews on the Library of Congress as part of their Veterans History Project. We are also registered as a nonprofit in Florida and are working to obtain 501(c)3 status from the IRS.

We post our interviews on our website, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube so that the next generation will never forget the sacrifice of these veterans.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had access to better recording equipment early on. In many of my earlier interviews, equipment trouble and failures caused me to lose a portion or even all of the interview.

I feel an immense sense of guilt for the loss of these interviews, as many of these veterans have since passed.

I also wish I had registered the organization as a nonprofit sooner, which would have saved me many expenses associated with operating the project.

How did you build your audience on social media?

For the first few years, I did not post these interviews anywhere (social media was not what it is today). Over time, I began sharing on my personal social media when I would speak to these veterans and noticed people enjoyed the posts/stories. Eventually, I made a separate page, Preserving the Stories, for the project and gained a few followers, but I did not post often.

As the project grew, I began posting more of the interviews on our social media, and I have experienced slow but steady organic growth. I’ve noticed that much of the project’s reach has come from Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. We are still working to grow this, and I wish I knew more about it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.preservingthestories.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preservingthestories
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preservingthestories/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilhgallagher/
• Twitter: https://x.com/RememberThemPTS
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@preservingthestories
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/PreservingtheStories
  https://x.com/NeilHGallagher

Image Credits

Neil Gallagher