Playing William Gearhart: Ball Turret Gunner

Mr. Cornell recounts the time before WWII when he played music at Buckeye Lake, Ohio. He then enlisted in the Navy, and served aboard the U.S.S. Lexington.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Mr. Mischer shows off his impressive display of souvenirs, shells, propaganda, flags, and photos collected during WWII. He personally photographed a concentration camp, though he is loath to talk much about it. This is part 2 of 2.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Bill served in the infantry, and stayed overseas after the war long enough to get to sit in at the War crimes trials in Nuremberg.

Bill Ruth worked as a radio operator in WWII, and kept a journal. Little did he expect when he came upon the newly-liberated Nordhausen what he would find. The memories still burn.

Bob talks about the book The Columbus Avenue Miracle, a recounting of how Bellefontaine, Ohio served as a canteen during WW2. The book is by Scott Trostel.

WGTE Preview: This Veteran/Homefront World War II Oral History video is part of WGTE, the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Educational Television Stations' effort to preserve WWII stories.

Buddy was from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and was studying at OSU when WWII broke out. He became a bombardier, and was stationed in New Guinea. In 1943, on his second mission, his B-24 Liberator was shot down in deep forest, and the plane wasn't recovered.

In 2003, a hunter in New Guinea found the wreckage of his Liberator. Buddy and his crew's remains were finally recovered, and brought back home.

His sister, Mary Alice Foster, recounts this story.

Charles' wife, Mary, talks about her late husband's time in WWII. He spent time in england where he frequented the owners of a pub called The Fox and Hounds, where the grateful owners supplied food and drink to the American GIs.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Connor (the grandson) and Michael (the son) talk about WWII, with a uniform that Conner's grandfather passed down.

Dave was in the Air Force, and spent time in the Philippines and Australia. He kept samples of Japanese invasion money, photos of downed Japanese fighters, and an insignia. While in Australia, he became part of a group known as Ringo's Dingos.

Dawn shares mementos from grandfathers, both of whom served in WW2. Included is a Japanese flag and medic's gear.

Del talks about her high school experiences during World War II. Though just a teenager at the time, she became active in the war effort through Victory Gardens, War Stamps, V-mail, scrap drives, and airplane spotting.

Don Jakeway was a paratrooper with the Army, and survived against long odds. His company started with 130 men, and by the end of the Normandy invasion it was 39.

Dottie (and her husband George) talks about her father Chauncey Cooper Linard, who served in the Signal Corps and kept all of his V-Mail.

Edward was first assigned to the infantry, but, dreading walking that much, plead his case and eventually was transferred to the Army Air Corps. The record shows that he was the youngest commissioned Air Corps pilot.

Carolyn Thompson talks about her late father, Elmer Ball, and his WWII experiences. He was part of the Normandy invasion, and spent a lot of time freezing in foxholes while part of Battle of the Bulge. He also unwillingly shared a foxhole with a porcupine.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Mr. Wiiliams served in the Second World War, and tells a story about Tokyo Rose, the legendary propagandist. Tokyo Rose began to tell tales about Japan's new secret weapon, "Divine Wind," which later began to be known as kamikaze. These suicide pilots exacted a terrible toll on Allied ships.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Gary talks about his father who served during WWII. In particular, his father was at the Battle of the Bulge, a conflict so awful that he never talked about it after he returned home safely.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

WGTE Preview: This Veteran/Homefront World War II Oral History video is part of WGTE, the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Educational Television Stations' effort to preserve WWII stories.

Mr. Sims and his daughter share memories from WWII. George was in the infantry assigned to the 10th Armor Division, and had to go house-to-house in Germany after the surrender to root out any remaining resistance.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Honor Flight is a non profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We fly our heroes to Washington, DC to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – WW II survivors along with those other veterans that may be terminally ill. Honor Flight first flew in May 2005 with six small planes flying 12 WW II veterans, departing out of Springfield, Ohio.

In August 2007, a video crew from WOSU accompanied central Ohio veterans as they flew from Columbus to Washington D.C. This video shows the highlights of that trip.

Ohioan Howard Arthur Tibbs was a distinguished member of the Tuskegee Airman, and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

His wife, Betty, and son, Philip, talk about Mr. Tibbs in this clip, which is part 2 of 2.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

WGTE Preview: This Veteran/Homefront World War II Oral History video is part of WGTE, the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Educational Television Stations' effort to preserve WWII stories.

Jack is an artist, and found an outlet during the war painting "Nose Art," insignias that were on the noses of B-24s. His first effort, "Black Magic," was on the nose of a radar aircraft, and was done in part to impress his future wife, who modeled for the piece. Jack explains that most nose art was of naked women, but, because he was doing it based on his girlfriend, he painted her wearing a dress.

James talks about his father, John Kelly Griffith, a marine who served in WWII in the Pacific. John, a terrified soldier who joined the services "to see China," was baptized by a priest in Saipan, and then had to get confirmation from that priest after the war when he wanted to marry his future wife.

WGTE Preview: Follow the surprising story of the Jeep's original design, born out of competition for a lucrative government contract as WWII loomed on the horizon. See the assembly lines at the Jeep's home in Toledo, Ohio, and hear the compelling eyewitness accounts from soldiers, Jeep plant auto workers and female test-drivers as they tell the true story of the vehicle that helped win the war.

For more information, visit www.wgte.org or call 419-380-4600

Joel talks about his father, a medic in WWII, who taught English to soldiers. This educational aspect is a strong thread in Joel's life.

John talks about his father, John Crecca Sr., who was in the Navy during WWII. He was a Naval Constructor, responsible in part for the building of the USS Lexington.

John also recounts the era just before December 7, 1941, when the nation was ambivalent about war and Edward R. Murrow was broadcasting from war-torn London.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

John was part of the Normandy invasion, and had talked about his terrible war experiences in a previous segment. In the video, he further describes how he suffered for a long time from combat fatigue - later to be known as PTSD.

Mr. Mitchel talks about his experiences with a machine gun unit in the Navy. he was one of four brothers who all served at the same time, and fought at Bogenville.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

John talks his brother Earl Victor Schaeffer, a member of the Army Signal Corps. Earl kept a thorough visual record record of his four years in the service, including photographs, travel orders, seashells, and poems that he wrote whenever he had time.

John, a Columbus, Ohio native, served in WWII as part of the Black Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier. He was part of D-Day 2, an alternate invasion of Southern France that didn't come to pass.

He and his outfit were the last of the Buffalo Soldiers

Though Johnny was in the field artillery, he never made it overseas. His sister, Bertie, did however. As part of the Red Cross, she spent the war years in Europe, and earned such a great reputation that she had at least one plane named after her, including a B-24 named "Dugan," which now resides in the American Air Museum in Duxford, England.

Mr. Schweitzer served in the Marines during WWII, and put his jungle training to good use in Guadalcanal, Bogenville and other Pacific islands. In this clip, he talks about his experiences, bouts with malaria, and shows off some photos he saved.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Kenneth, an Army veteran, wound up with a unique souvenir, a Nazi flag that belonged to a late-war infantry division known as the Volksgrenadier.

Kyle is from Ostrander, Ohio, and became fascinated by stories of WWII. Since then, the teenager seeks out WWII veterans for autographs (he's up over 1600) and has even landed the signature of the famous soldier kissing the nurse on VJ-Day.

Mr. Bott served as a medic with the 3rd Infantry during WWII, and talks about his experiences in this clip. He was part of the D-day invasion, and made his way into Germany before being captured. Audie Murphy's regiment bailed about Mr. Bott when they captured a small German town.

This is part one of two.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Lenora explains that a gold star in someone's window back home meant that the family had received word of a soldier's demise.

American workers saw many changes during WWII. The nature of the workforce was altered forever, and companies began producing products needed for the war effort, rather than those they were accustomed to creating. Here is the story of one of those local companies: Lima Locomotive Works, in Lima, Ohio.

This video was produced by WBGU

Linus served in WWII with the 386th infantry, and was part of the group that saw the recently-liberated concentration camp Flossenburg.

Mr. Philipps was with the 7th Army during WWII, and was awarded a Bronze Star (among other medals) for his service during the Siegfried Lone, the Battle of Southwinds, the Battle of Shafenburg, and the Battle of Munich.

In this clip, Mr. Philipps talks about his service, and shows off a great piece of propaganda and some vintage Newark Advocate newspapers.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio

Lucille talks about her WWII experiences when she was in the U.S. Embassy in England. She is only one of five women in the world who can make this claim, and she kept correspondences from Winston Churchill.

Still to this day, she does not reveal what where coded into the telegrams...

Mr. Nobilucci shares his WWII experiences while he served in the Navy. The ships he was on had an unfortunate history of being sunk by torpedoes, including the USS Houston.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

World War 2 Oral History

When Mary Ann was a little girl, she hoped to grow up to be a boy so that she could join the Navy. When WWII began, she enlisted and was assigned as an aircraft machinist, and had to fight perceptions about how well a woman could do the job.

American workers saw many changes during WWII. The nature of the workforce was altered forever, and companies began producing products needed for the war effort, rather than those they were accustomed to creating. Here is the story of one of those local companies: Master Tire (which became Cooper Tire).

This video was produced by WBGU

Mildred attended Hunter College, became part of the WAVES, and then was stationed at Sugar Camp in Dayton, Ohio.

Milo (on the right) and Jim Foster talk about their WWII experiences. Milo was four years younger than Jim; when Jim finally returned home after serving in the Army infantry, Milo enlisted the next day.

This is part 2 of 2

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio

Molly's father was a metallurgist in Columbus, Ohio during the WWII, making tail hooks, linkage, and bayonets. He also had the task of meetly regularly with his friends wives - all of whom were understandably lonely - and dancing with them at parties as the sole adult male.

Olaf was just a boy living in Denmark when the Germans invaded as part of their Blitzkrieg in 1940. The country fell in mere days, meaning that Olaf (and his large family) and the country were occupied for years.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Carol is a Lutheran minister in Springfield, Ohio, and talks about a chalice that her father, Fred, made in WWII out of two downed airplanes, including a Luftwaffe. The chalice still fulfills its purpose, and helps the daughter reconnect with her father.

Paul's color made feel feel as though he were not really a full citizen of the U.S., but the service gave him the chance to work alongside whites, and to show them that blacks could keep up in the factories and elsewhere.

Pauline was one of the very first members of the Women's Air Corps, (WAC). She enlisted in 1944 when she was 20, and was assigned to Motor Transport School. In this clip, she shows off her photographs of that era.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Mr. Fry is a WWII veteran who talks about his experiences in this clip. He was a mechanic who also served as a driving instructor for the younger troops. He recalls when the A-Bomb was dropped, and expresses admiration for Paul Tibbets.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Mr. Clark was a "kicker" (supply staff who kicked supplies out of airplanes) in WWII, who was part of the China Hump. He flew next to and above Mt. Everest several times. He talks about his experiences and shows off his medal-laden jacket in this clip.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Robert served in WWII as a machine gunner with the infantry, and was part of Battle of the Bulge.

Mr. Engle was a machinist during WWII. he shows off some newspaper articles about a fellow, Zanesville, OH native who served in the war, and talks about how US families were shipped to the Pacific Theater to spend tie with their families during the war.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Roger Rutledge's daughter, Elaine, talks about her father's service in WWII. Roger served in the Army in Europe, but refused to share stories about his service or his late friends, who served alongside him. Like many veterans, Roger saw too many bad things to talk about them.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

Ruth played string bass, and her husband, Gene, played jazz bass during the war. Gene was a radio operator, but his claim to fame was that he was part of a music trio named Jeep Shows that played for the troops. Numerous Jeep Shows groups got together and did a show called OK-USA, which included Hollywood stars such as Mickey Rooney.

Two of the late Samuel Rowland's daughters, Linda and Carolyn, talk about his service in WWII as an Army cook. He started at Ft. Hayes, Columbus and wound up in England, Ireland, France and other areas in Europe.

Mike served in the Navy, and remembers VJ-Day well, the day when Japan finally surrendered. Two million people took to the streets of Times Square.

Susan talks about her late father, Clem Szafranski, who served in the Navy Medical Corps in World War II. Clem was in the pacific, and kept photographs of post-war Japan. Like many soldiers, who shared his war experiences only reluctantly with his family, because the memories were too painful to discuss.

Rodger Hamilton was celebrating his 20th birthday when Pearl harbor was attacked. He joined the Army, and became part of the Signal Corps where he served as a photographer.

His unit was attached to the 8th Army; Rodger was action and took photos at Normandy, St Lo, Cherbourg, and other French towns while the army worked their way into German territory.

Rodger's photos are amazing. That he was able to take them in the midst of chaos is unreal.

He survived the war and became photo chief for the Columbus Dispatch. he died much too young, at the age of 49.

Thomas talks about his days as a waist-gunner aboard a B-25 over Italy.

Tom (the son) and Patrick (the grandson) talk about Joe Kennedy, who operated the USS LST289 during Operation Tiger, an exercise leading up to D-Day.

Operation Tiger was a catastrophe, made worse by the fact that the Army needed to keep details about it from the public eye because of the secrecy of the upcoming invasion.

An oral history of the USS Half Moon. In October 1944 Half Moon departed Morotai for the Philippines, where she established a seaplane base on the eastern coast of Leyte Island in support of invasion operations there. She witnessed the Battle of Surigao Strait, and continued to support seaplane operations in the Philippines through August 1945. She survived a typhoon while in transit to Okinawa in early September, returned to the Philippines in October, and departed for Seattle and deactivation in November.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

World War 2 Oral History - Estonian Civilian

On September 8, 1994, Mr. Poland was flying in a B-24 over France when his plane was hit by shrapnel. The plane tried to dump its payload of incendiary bombs over the English Channel, but ran into a snowstorm and crashed. Most of the crew was lost, but Mr. Poland somehow survived eight hours in the water before being rescued.

This video was produced by WOSU Public Media as part of ohiowarstories.org. It was created with the generous assistance of the Longaberger Foundation, and videotaped by students from Newark High School in Ohio.

William was enrolled in Stanford in 1943, taking up to six major courses at once. He explains that the brass began to realize that they had lots of enlistees, but not enough men were attending school.