BALTIMORE, Md. -- Veterans and their families who've got stories to tell are taking to the stage in the greater Baltimore area this week and next, to share their experiences with their communities.

"The Telling Project" is a production that takes specific impactful stories from a local veteran's life, drafts them into a stage play, and casts the veterans themselves into the role of their own lives.

The stories are as varied and different as each of the veterans are, and can only be told by those closest to the story.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- It’s Wednesday morning around 10:30 when the Oak Hill finally comes into view, its steel-gray bow peeking out from behind a grove of green trees at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.

It’s been three months since the dock landing ship left home for Central America, and all of the usual fanfare is waiting to greet its crew: Crowds of cheering families, toddlers dressed in sailor suits, and the lucky, excited woman who’s been chosen to take part in a time-honored Navy tradition, the first homecoming kiss.