Veteran Storytelling | Operation Allies Refuge Foundation

VETERAN STORY TELLING
AND
HISTORIC PRESERVATION

THE LAST

DEPLOYMENT

The Last Deployment is an Oral History project dedicated to the recording and preservation of veteran, civilian, and other accounts from the 2021 Afghanistan Withdrawal. The goal of the project is to create an archive so that posterity may acknowledge, remember, and understand what this dramatic event looked like from the perspective of those who witnessed and participated in it.

Starting in October 2022, the Last Deployment Project, led by US Marine veteran Christopher Robinson, MA, records and preserves the stories of those involved in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. This oral history project captures ground-level perspectives of the Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) at Hamid Karzai International Airport from August 13-30.

Over 100 hours of audio and video interviews have been recorded, with some available on Spotify and other podcast platforms.

You can listen to the stories on spotify Here

CHRIS ROBINSON
DIRECTOR OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION

With a Master of Arts in History from Southeastern Louisiana University and a deep-seated passion for storytelling, Chris Robinson is an Oral Historian that has dedicated himself to preserving the lived experience of the 2021 Afghan Withdrawal.

If you are an HKIA veteran looking to share your story, please email Chris directly at chris.robinson@oar-operations.org or visit his linkedin here.

WRITING YOUR STORY

Writing out your story is good for the soul. It helps you understand what you've been through, making sense of the chaos. It can heal wounds you didn't know you had and bring clarity to the past. You see your own strength and growth. It gives you power over your own life, a chance to tell it how it was. Your story can touch others, bringing people together. And in the end, it leaves a mark, something for the future to remember you by.