Preserving our Heritage... again - War Era Story Project

L

lildog

501 Club
Some of you may remember that a few years ago, my agency conducted a project to collect stories about the Great Depression from those who lived through it.

I'm pleased to say we're finally doing a follow-up to that project, this time seeking stories from the World War II era through the 1940s. We're hoping for stories from veterans and non-veterans about life during that decade and the events and people that influenced them. While we're based in Ohio, we don't limit submissions to Ohio, so if you have a story or know someone who does, please consider sending it in. Thanks.

Departments of Aging and Veterans Services announce War Era Story Project
http://www.aging.ohio.gov/news/pressrel ... 120612.htm
 
John, When I was driving to the Bash across Kansas on Memorial Day, I found a radio station that was interviewing WWII vets. Their stories were fascinating. One was at Pearl, one went right from the docks in France to the Battle of the Bulge, and the third was captured and spent 6 months as a POW. I hope you're able to get lots of stories, as those vets will soon be gone.

Bob
 
Very good project John, I enjoy spending time with my 88 year old next door neighbor who's seen it all being a sharp shooter among other things.
Some times I stop him while talking telling him if it bothers him to say no more. He usually laughs telling me it's been so long ago it seems like a dream now.
It's a shame he has 3 grandchildren who live 30 miles away who've visited him twice in the past 13 years. They'll never know the stories we've shared together as we've walked through many battles.
 
Great project John, guess I'm too young to contribute though, but if they do a project regarding '84-'05 covering the Libyan air strikes and forward I'll jump in.

Sure wish I would have known about the previous story though. We look after my wife's Great-Uncle who turned 99 on April 1st. His mind is still intact and such, confined to a wheel-chair now and in a nursing home as well now, but has pretty much lost all of his sight, but can still tell the stoires.

Had many great times over the years taking him to tractor show's as he grew up farming using horse & plow, then moving onto the big steam tractors. He has many stories to tell about the days before folks had it so good.
 
My mother was in the first and second grade during the last two years of the Nazi occupation of France. I've been contemplating
putting pen to paper and get some of the stories down before they fade.
 
GReat stuff. I love oral histories, and I am glad you are doing what you are doing to preserve some of these things. The older generation has experienced so much, and so often the things they did, which my generation sees as great and heroic, they just sort of shrug it off because they just had a job to do.

Recently, my wife's uncle passed away. His funeral was the day before Memorial Day. We would see him 2-3 times a year, so didn't get to talk to him much. I knew he was in the Air Force, but I had never really heard him say anything about it. When we arrived that day for his funeral, at the altar the family had displayed a portrait of him in uniform, his Air Force cap, and at the base of the altar, a framed pen and ink drawing of a B-52. Well my ears perked up. I am a bit of a history buff, especially when the subject is World War II. In reading about Eisenhower, Truman, etc. I have also become very interested in the cold war period--Curtis LeMay, Strategic Air Command, and so forth. Come to find out, he had been a B-52 navigator and besides being in SAC, had flown bombing missions in Vietnam.

My point is, I wish I could have know this when he was alive. It would have been a fantasic thing to hear of some of his experiences serving our country while flying on the BUFF!

Al
 
I well remember men, including my Father, who was not a youngster by any means, being drafted in WWII. My uncle was in the Marines, served in the Pacific. Drafted at almost 30 years of age. Participated in the Pacific islands invasions. He talked about being in China after the surrender of Japan. I was never sure why he was in China. Yesterday, the probable answer came my way from another WWII Marine veteran. He said that my uncle was probably in the 1st Marine division and the 1st were sent to China to remove any remaining Japanese troops. That possibly was a big and dangerous job. He died 1987.
 
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