Content originally published by The Denver Post on May 19th, 2016.

A group of Westminster High School students have had a hand in preserving history after producing a documentary that will be archived in the Library of Congress for generations to come — a feat their teachers strongly suggest they include on their resumes.

The documentary "Medic!" is part of the congressionally chartered Veterans History Project, which seeks to document, preserve and make available to the public the first-hand accounts of American veterans so future generations better understand the realities of war.

"Medic!" tells the stories of five combat medics from wars including Iraq, Vietnam and Kuwait.

Westminster High School video cinema arts teacher Chris Williams said the honor of being chosen left faculty and students riddled with "mild panic and manic joy."

"I knew it was going to be a ridiculous undertaking, but I knew we could do it and do a really good job," he said. "I knew it would be emotionally draining for us and the kids, but we all knew we wouldn't get this chance again, so it wasn't a surprise to see how invested the students were."

The film is the fourth project of its kind to come out of a sponsorship from the office of U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, an Arvada Democrat who represents the 7th Congressional District. It will be stored in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

It was the first time a project of such magnitude was headed primarily by high school students.

"These could be some very heavy and emotional stories, and we've thought, 'Are the kids equipped to handle them?' But the answer is yes," Perlmutter said. "They're sponges and they've been so inspired by learning about what these vets have experienced."

Project responsibilities were divided among three high school classes — Advanced History for research, Cinema Arts for production and Graphic Design for editing and special effects.

Colin Lee, a history teacher and head researcher for "Medic!," said the majority of the learning happened outside the classroom.

"I can talk about history until I'm blue in the face, but this is different," Lee said. "A lot of these kids said this changed their lives. They've even said it's changed the way they watch the news. Now when they hear about troops overseas under attack, they have an intimate connection with it."

Vance Silvia, one of the veterans interviewed for the documentary, said wanting to have that impact on younger generations was what prompted his involvement.

"Right now we're losing so many of the World War II veterans at such a dramatic rate, and their history is disappearing because of it. I wanted to make sure our history got put down somewhere," he said.

Silvia served in the Colorado Army National Guard in Iraq, 2004-05 and 2006-07.

"I wasn't afraid of sharing my experiences in combat, but obviously there's an emotional component to it. Story-telling is always different than actually living it, but you could tell the students were in touch with it and wanted to do it right."

Vanessa Huizar, a senior at Westminster High School, was lead interviewer. Remaining composed during interviews proved more difficult than she anticipated.

"I would forget that people were even in the room with us at times — it felt like a conversation," she said. "There was pressure to not mess it up, but I wasn't crying until one of the veterans, Angela, said her final words. She ... got so emotional her service dog came over. I couldn't help but get emotional, too."

Perlmutter said most rewarding was witnessing the connection between the young people and vets.

"We've seen veterans sharing stories with students that for 50 years or more haven't been shared even with their families," Perlmutter said. "We've had a spouse or a child say that it's the first time they've ever heard that story or they didn't know their mom or dad experienced that. It's pretty incredible."

Natalie Munio: 303-954-1666 or nmunio@denverpost.com

"medic!" premiere

When: 5 p.m. Friday

Where: Joanna Ramsey Theatre, Westminster High School, 6933 Raleigh St.