Veterans Interviewed

[ww2vault]

Hi,

 

I was curious as to how many members here go out and contact veterans to see if they are interested in being interviewed and how many different veterans you might have interviewed so far? For myself, I have interviewed 15 veterans so far, all of which served during WWII with some serving on into Vietnam.

 

All of my recordings are done in video which after I get it all edited, I put onto DVD's which I then give a copy to the veteran to have himself and maybe pass it on down to his children and grand children.

 

So far I have only interviewed WWII veterans, but I have played around with the idea of interviewing veterans from post-WWII such as Vietnam and even Operation Iraqi Freedom. I put a larger priority on interviewing WWII veterans though for the up front reason that they will be the first ones to be buried!

 

As some of you may already know, the Library of Congress has a large project that they have started called the, "Veterans History Project", which is a large compilation of interviews from veterans spanning WWII to Operation Iraqi Freedom. I highly recommend a visit to their website listed below!

 

http://www.loc.gov/vets/

 

- Jeff

[rrobertscv]

I helped a friend of mine do a WWII display, dinner and honoring of our vets here in town. Over the previous 2 years he had interviewed and recorded to DVD all 57 of our vets that were still living. By the time he finished, 4 of them had passed away and never got to see the completed project. We had one Army Ranger, 2 82nd Airborne Vets, 3 POW's (ETO), and one man who had helped guard the Enola Gay two nights before it dropped the bomb and didn't know what was on board until after it had been dropped.

You want to start drooling, one of the 82nd men, still has most of his gear, from helmet to jump boots.

[jpgrl]

Hi,

 

I was curious as to how many members here go out and contact veterans to see if they are interested in being interviewed and how many different veterans you might have interviewed so far? For myself, I have interviewed 15 veterans so far, all of which served during WWII with some serving on into Vietnam.

 

All of my recordings are done in video which after I get it all edited, I put onto DVD's which I then give a copy to the veteran to have himself and maybe pass it on down to his children and grand children.

 

So far I have only interviewed WWII veterans, but I have played around with the idea of interviewing veterans from post-WWII such as Vietnam and even Operation Iraqi Freedom. I put a larger priority on interviewing WWII veterans though for the up front reason that they will be the first ones to be buried!

 

As some of you may already know, the Library of Congress has a large project that they have started called the, "Veterans History Project", which is a large compilation of interviews from veterans spanning WWII to Operation Iraqi Freedom. I highly recommend a visit to their website listed below!

 

http://www.loc.gov/vets/

 

 

 

- Jeff

 

 

Something to please consider is the storage media. This is of great concern now among archivists, librarians, and museums. Get your interview transcribed whenever possible because theoretically paper will last. There won't be a problem reading a piece of paper like a DVD, or a flash drive, or a on old floppy disk one day. The DVD for the participant and his or her family is certainly a treasure but historically will be worthless one day when new technology surpasses it! Kudos to anyone who interviews even one veteran! I agree, the LOC is an excellent tool, designed so that Junior can interview Grandpa or Grandma, and it emphasizes that anyone who lived through an event like WWII is a veteran, even if they were a civilian the entire time.

 

Steph

[Jeeper704]

Over the years (from 1985 till now), I have had contact with about 76 US Veterans, 12 German Veterans, 7 British Veterans, 1 French Resistance Fighter - all WWII - and one VN Veteran.

Mainly through writing letters which I keep in binders here.

Some only wrote a few letters, other Veterans kept in touch for several years.

Unfortunately, about 95% of my contacts have passed away over the years.

But I am happy to say that the result of this all is that I have very good memories and even friendships that still last.

I had the opportunity to meet a few of these men which - in my eyes - is an honor.

 

Erwin

[ww2vault]

Over the years (from 1985 till now), I have had contact with about 76 US Veterans, 12 German Veterans, 7 British Veterans, 1 French Resistance Fighter - all WWII - and one VN Veteran.

Mainly through writing letters which I keep in binders here.

Some only wrote a few letters, other Veterans kept in touch for several years.

Unfortunately, about 95% of my contacts have passed away over the years.

But I am happy to say that the result of this all is that I have very good memories and even friendships that still last.

I had the opportunity to meet a few of these men which - in my eyes - is an honor.

 

Erwin

 

Believe me when I say I totally agree with you. Every WWII veteran I have interviewed so far has been extremely appreciative of what I am doing for them. After I go back and give them their copy of the interview on DVD, I be sure to shake their hand and thank THEM for allowing me the chance to talk with them and be able to step back into the past 60 years.

 

One thing I have been very surprised at is how open they all are. I figured some of them would not like to bring up old memories, some pretty gruesome. However, they certainly do talk about their bad parts of the service. I guess they are nearing the end of their life and they don't worry about it as much as they use to.

 

- Jeff

[Jeeper704]

Jeff, it is thanks to guys like you that memories of those war years will not be lost.

 

Erwin

[disneydave]

Around 4 dozen.

[ww2vault]

Wow, you have been pretty busy Dave! What type of veterans did you interview? I was also wondering what the average length of time that each of your interviews lasted for? I usually do each of mine in four hours. A long interview I know.

 

- Jeff

[Got da Penny]

I cant agree more, Anyone who has the chance should send away for a "guide" from the Library of Congress on conducting ORAL HISTORY interviews for WW2 Veterans and other Wars/Conflicts.

 

I have been doing WW2 interviews since 1995 and have over 140 interviews on micro cassette so far.

 

You hear stories that you would never see in print, afterwords, when i head home. I have time to "reflect" on the nites interview, This leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment and also sadness.

 

I have spoken with the states VA administrator in person and now i have "access" to more interviews this year at our local VA hospitals.

 

 

Believe me, once you do one. You will see and feel compelled to do many more.

 

Carey

[ww2vault]

I cant agree more, Anyone who has the chance should send away for a "guide" from the Library of Congress on conducting ORAL HISTORY interviews for WW2 Veterans and other Wars/Conflicts.

 

I have been doing WW2 interviews since 1995 and have over 140 interviews on micro cassette so far.

 

You hear stories that you would never see in print, afterwords, when i head home. I have time to "reflect" on the nites interview, This leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment and also sadness.

 

I have spoken with the states VA administrator in person and now i have "access" to more interviews this year at our local VA hospitals.

 

Believe me, once you do one. You will see and feel compelled to do many more.

 

Carey

 

Amen to that dear friend. Veterans are like potato chips, "I dare you to try just one!"

 

- Jeff

[willysmb44]

Don't limit yourself to only the older vets! If you're going to do this, get veteran recollections of the recent war vets while they can still recall specific details. Think of how you wish someone would have interviewed all these guys in the late 40s. Apparently this is something that schools are pushing because my niece interviewed me for a school project last year and recently, I was interviewed on tape by a college student wanting to document how the "Striker" Brigades got formed as I was in the first one of those during the transition from a armor unit to Strykers. He wanted me to tell him how we all felt about it and the things that had been planned but never came to pass (which there was a lot of). I thought he was nuts asking for that stuff, but I guess someone in the future will be grateful he did it as I can't imagine there will be much written on the subject.

I've never done anything other than writing down notes but I have talked to hundreds of vets over the years, most of them from WW2. Some have the recollections of "Grandpa Simpson" (if you catch what I mean by that), but you hear a lot of neat stuff if you'll listen to them.

[disneydave]

Wow, you have been pretty busy Dave! What type of veterans did you interview? I was also wondering what the average length of time that each of your interviews lasted for? I usually do each of mine in four hours. A long interview I know.

 

- Jeff

 

A lot of PT boat veterans because I was going to write a book titled, "Stingers of the Mosquito Fleet." I interviewed PT boat vets who served in the Aleutians, the Channel, the Mediterranean and quite a few who served in the South Pacific. I started a thread on one of the vets, Walter Kundis, in the vet recollections section.

 

I interviewed a number of Rangers who landed at Omaha on D-Day, for the article I wrote on Pointe du Hoc and the assault on the Maisy gun battery at Grandcamp.

 

I have interviewed several ex-POWs who were incarcerated at the infamous Stalag Luft III, home to the so-called "Great Escape."

 

Others I have interviewed have included Lester Leggett, who helped arrest Hermann Goering, Robert Rivers, an American Spitfire pilot captured in North Africa, Donald Stratton, who was aboard the USS Arizona when it blew-up, Parker Miller, who operated a crash rescue boat during Iwo Jima and pulled dozens of bodies out of the water, Virgil Grier, who served aboard the USS Escambia , a fleet refueler in the South Pacific, and Harry Hardy, an RCAF Typhoon pilot who flew 96 ops.

 

The one that got away was a fellow I bumped into at a local grocery store. He was wearing a Canadian Legion crest on his sweater. I asked if he served in WW II. He proudly replied yes. He briefly told me he was in the first group of British airborne graduates and jumped on D-Day and Market Garden. I asked if he had ever been interviewed about his experiences and he said no. I asked him if he would like to, and he started to cry, saying the memories were too vivid and that he had lost many, many fine friends and even now it was too painful to talk about. I thanked him for his time, shook his hand and wished him the best.

 

The shortest interview was around 15 minutes as the vet had Alzheimer's, while the longest was probably over two days and took around 10 - 12 hours in total. I have had many vets cry on the phone and admit to also crying on a couple of occasions. I'd say most of my interviews run anywhere from 4 to 6 hours...all depends where they fought and what they can recollect.

 

I don't only talk about their war experiences, but also ask them about their family, what it was like to grow-up during the Great Depression and what they did post war.

[kiaiokalewa]

Aloha,

 

My interviews with veteran turned into articles for ASMIC's quarterly publications the "Trading Post" as follows:

 

Jan-Mar 2004 "USAFIK" (United States Army Forces In Korea, Occupation of Korea) veteran interviewed Lt. George A. Rasula (1948-49).

 

Jul-Sept 2005 "Pagan Raiders" (179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry, Raiding, Probing and Patroling Group) veteran interviewed PFC Clyde Antrim (1951-52).

 

Oct-Dec 2007 "630th Ordnance Ammunition Company" (All colored organization even after WWII) veteran interviewed Pvt.

Raymond Peters (1950-51).

 

Jan-Mar 2008 "42nd Engineer Construction Battalion veteran (Occupation of Korea) veteran interviewed T4 James A. Walters (1946-

47).

 

Jan-Mar 2009 " AFRS Station #1 Seoul" (Armed Forces Radio Station during the Occupation of Korea) veteran interviewed Pvt. Jack Broitman (1946-47).

 

HQ Company, Pacific Sector, Fort Amardor, Canal Zone (1939-1940) & USAFSA (692nd Signal Company Air-Warning 1944-45) veteran interviewed Lt. Tom Ferguson. Both of these articles will be featured in upcoming "Trading Post" issues.

 

Others surely to follow!

 

Mahalo,

 

kiaiokalewa

[STALAGLUFT1]

So far I have interviewed.....

PT boat veteran

3 Iwo Jima vets, one flew PBY's, one recieved the silver star

B29 Flight engineer

5 B-24 veterans two of which were POW's

One 44th division veteran

Two WWII USMC vets on was on Guam the other was on Okinawa

One Tarawa veteran (Navy)

One WWII 101st airborne veteran

Two 82nd airborne WWII vets

One 1st army veteran who was at the Nuremburg Trials

One D-Day Navy vet who was a gunner on an LST and was wounded during the first wave at Omaha beach.

One 10th armored vet who liberated Dachau

One 28th infantry vet who survived the Hurtgen

One B-17 vet POW

One Navy aircraft carrier mechanic (my grandfather)

One USS Hornet veteran who was also did fire control for a ship on D-Day

Two Pearl Harbor survivors

Regards,

Brian

[STALAGLUFT1]

So far I have interviewed.....

PT boat veteran

3 Iwo Jima vets, one flew PBY's, one recieved the silver star

B29 Flight engineer

5 B-24 veterans two of which were POW's

One 44th division veteran

Two WWII USMC vets on was on Guam the other was on Okinawa

One Tarawa veteran (Navy)

One WWII 101st airborne veteran

Two 82nd airborne WWII vets

One 1st army veteran who was at the Nuremburg Trials

One D-Day Navy vet who was a gunner on an LST and was wounded during the first wave at Omaha beach.

One 10th armored vet who liberated Dachau

One 28th infantry vet who survived the Hurtgen

One B-17 vet POW

One Navy aircraft carrier mechanic (my grandfather)

One USS Hornet veteran who was also did fire control for a ship on D-Day

Two Pearl Harbor survivors

Regards,

Brian

To add to the list yesterday I interviewed a 2nd marine vet who was on Saipan and Okinawa. Great guy!!

[ww2vault]

To add to the list yesterday I interviewed a 2nd marine vet who was on Saipan and Okinawa. Great guy!!

 

Wow, thats awesome! :w00t: I would have enjoyed that interview!

 

- Jeff

[Coffeecup]

I was curious as to how many members here go out and contact veterans to see if they are interested in being interviewed and how many different veterans you might have interviewed so far?

 

I've no idea how many I've interviewed; I started as a kid in the mid-1970s, lugging around a reel-to-reel recorder that was nearly as big as I was. Offhand, I recall 2 vets of the Spanish-American war era (neither were in combat), a couple dozen from WWI (including one German), one from the campaign in Siberia, one marine who fought in the banana wars, a few from the peacetime army between the wars, dozens from WWII (including at least 9 or 10 from Germany, several Poles and Czechs, and one Russian), a couple dozen from Korean war, maybe 2-3 dozen from the Viet Nam conflict (US military, Lao army, and one NVA).

 

Unfortunately, I've little organization, and need to do something about that one of these days.

[Bones]

I have interviewed a few.

9th AF crewchief for a B-26, won the BSM for 100 missions without an abort.

B-17 Pilot who flew lead a few times, pre WW2 Nebraska National Guard

5th Marine Division 26th Marines Iwo Jima landing 2 years training 2 weeks combat 2 years in the hospital PH

100th ID veteran battle of the bulge replacement CIB and BSM.

40th ID Officer won the Air Medal for spotter missions on the Phillipines.