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Herschel Woodrow “Woody” Williams was the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient when he died in 2022. Two years later, a virtual version of the U.S. Marine sits tall in a chair at the National World War II Museum, his medal dangling from it. From his neck to the military finery adorning his hat and blazer. Museum visitors ask him questions about his experiences during the war, and he answers in his own words and voice.
The Iwo Jima veteran is among the World War II heroes and witnesses featured in a new interactive oral history project called “Voices From the Front.” Utilizing technology, including AI, visitors can speak with veterans, home front workers, Holocaust survivors, and other Americans who lived through a war that changed the world in life-altering ways . This is another example of how technology can animate historical figures to make their stories more immediate, engaging, and memorable. For example, with the help of interactive AI, Vincent his fan Van Gogh recently discussed his life and art with visitors to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
The New Orleans exhibit features video conversations of 18 Americans, created in collaboration with the National World War II Museum’s oral history staff. Visitors standing in front of a console can choose which virtual she-human they want to talk to and ask them anything via a life-sized display placed at eye level, making interactions feel more authentic and human. You can
“We are proud to present the personal records of those who served and sacrificed to protect our freedoms during World War II,” Stephen Watson, the museum’s president and CEO, said in a statement. Preservation is fundamental to our mission.”
Among those telling stories at the Louisiana Museum is Grace (Janota) Brown, a factory worker at Consolidated Aircraft, which manufactured parts for the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber. Torrey W. Fletcher served in the U.S. Navy during the Normandy Landings and later pursued German U-boats in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Born in Poland, Ben Lesser survived four Nazi concentration camps before being liberated from Dachau. Margaret Kelly entertained American soldiers at USO shows across the country.
On the exhibit’s opening day in March, Kelly, like other subjects featured in “Voices From the Front,” had the opportunity to speak to her virtual self.
LA-based StoryFile creates interactive conversational videos, powered by the Conversa AI tool. This AI tool focuses on understanding context to make conversations as natural as possible. StoryFile CEO James Fong clarified in an email interview that he does not use AI to generate answers for Voices From the Front. Rather, it helps you craft interview questions and recognize their context. The company also uses his AI for video morphing, including transitions between poses that make interviewees’ movements look authentic.
The National World War II Museum was built in 2000 as the National D-Day Museum to tell the story of America’s war experience. “Voices From the Front” is on display in the museum’s Forbes Gallery of rare and iconic artifacts, formerly known as the Forbes Theater. The Forbes family donated funds to the museum as well as artifacts related to the exploits of Malcolm S. Forbes, an entrepreneur and politician who served as a machine gunner in the U.S. Army during World War II. (Disclosure: Malcolm Forbes, son of Forbes founder Bertie Charles Forbes, was also the magazine’s publisher.)
StoryFile’s Fung vividly remembers sitting on her grandmother’s lap as a child, looking up at her as she told stories of air raids in China and the loss of loved ones.
“As I got older, history became more distant and abstract, something I experienced on TV, in the theater, and in museums,” Fong said. “Voices From the Front,” he added, “seeks to restore the sense of personal wonder, connection, and empathy that visitors have as they converse with the heroes of the greatest generation.”
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