Oral History Project
THE PROJECT   Origin Purpose Future Plans     COORDINATORS   PARTICIPANTS	By chance, Paul Goodyear returned to Pearl Harbor just days after the USS Oklahoma was raised. He boarded the empty ship with a flashlight to retrieve a ring he had been saving for a future fiance'. As he crossed the bulwark into his old compartment, his light fell on scattered heaps of bones.. The USS Oklahoma sank later while in tow to the west coast. As far as he knows, the ring is still there. Charlie Moore served in the Marines in supply. When the war ended, all of the munitions in his supply area had to be dumped methodically. Trucks were loaded, driven onto barges, unloaded into the ocean and returned to shore for another round. To this day, Charlie believes he got home a month early because someone set the munitions (covering a square mile) afire to save time. The explosions continued for weeks. Joe Romero served on a mortar squad during the battle for Iwo Jima. One night he began to hear an unfamiliar clink of metal on metal. It was shortly followed by close explosions. Looking out of his foxhole he could make out Japanese soldiers activating mortar rounds by banging them on their helmeted heads. They could then lob them like grenades. In “Private Ryan” mortar rounds were used similarly in a last-ditch-effort. Apparently, there is historical precedent. Dr. Miller served in the 2nd Rangers and hit Omaha Beach at H-hour plus 1. His company’s mission was to take the guns at Pont du Hoc if they had not been neutralized already or, if they had, to move in and take alternate objectives. The reality on the beach prohibited both plans. What the troops still needed was a beachhead. That’s when someone said, “Rangers lead the way!” Hap Brotherton joined the Navy to fly. One of the planes he flew in combat would please any video gaming addict. The Lockheed PV-1 Ventura was essentially a weapon with wings. There were eight or nine machine guns (30 and 50 caliber), six 500 lb bombs or depth charges, two under-wing 1000 lb bombs or napalm canisters, and eight under-wing rockets. Kermit Ellis served in the 96th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theatre. While trying to locate a machine gun emplacement on Okinawa, he was shot through the throat. Somehow he managed to recover quickly enough to return for the mop-up operations. In 1940, Marvel Bennett joined the Arizona National Guard. Later, as the 158th Regimental Combat Team, this group of whites, Mexican Americans and members of 21 Indian Nations was dubbed "the butchers of the Pacific" by their adversaries. After Pearl Harbor, Mr. Stewart's destroyer accompanied the aircraft carrier, Hornet, on the Doolittle mission to bomb Japan in April of 1942. He watched as the B-25s took off - a gratifying feeling. The successful mission was a psychological victory for America. Howard Blagg comes from a small town in Texas. He entered the war in October of 1944 in Europe where he saw intensive action for about three weeks until he was taken prisoner on Thankgiving day. Despite what he's been through he has no complaints. Vince Jennemann flew a B-29 on many missions over Japan. In fact, his plane was one of many in a photograph of a bombing mission featured in Time Magazine in June 1945. He was also present at the formal surrender ceremony - flying over the U.S.S. Missouri in a show of strength.
	G. Hocutt
	The Oral History Project was originally inspired by a desire to preserve some of the wisdom and experience of the World War II generation for the benefit of my son, Ian.  Thus this site frequently displays Ian with some of the gentlemen who have participated for his personal benefit.  Shortly after I began this project, it occurred to me that there are lots of little boys and girls like Ian who will one day appreciate what these men (and the citizens of America) risked and sacrificed for our benefit.  Unfortunately, like Ian, most of these children will be unable to show that appreciation.  As a result, I have set a goal of collecting oral histories of both war veterans and the citizens who supported them for use as an educational resource for future generations.  As I write (May 2003), the project is being coordinated by me, Greg Hocutt, through the Educational Archive Resource, Inc., an Arizona non-profit corporation.  If you are interested in the project, or know anyone who might like to contribute their oral history, funds, talents, or enthusiasm, feel free to contact me by e-mail:   gdhocutt@cox.net OR hocutt@mail.mc.maricopa.edu.

Educational Archive Resource

Oral History Project

Origin

In March, 2000, my son Ian was almost one year old.  Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation informed us that the World War II generation was rapidly and regrettably disappearing from our communities and that every day some 1000 members of this generation leave us.  The depth of my melancholy at this realization surprised me.  I began to wonder why this fact affected me so.  I have relatives who fought in the war – a cousin who disintegrated when his B-17 returned to earth on take-off; and several grand uncles in the infantry – but no direct lineage.  My father and his father were too young to fight in one war and too old for the next.  My maternal grandfather served in World War I, but died long before I was born.  So what significance did these other relatives hold?  

I soon realized how pervasive the history and mythology of the Second World War had been in my youth. As a boy, I built model Messerschmitts and Mustangs (my dad would explain how these fighters would crash to the earth if different parts were blown off them).  I remember reading books on D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge in grade school.  My parents decided to let us watch The Longest Day after some debate.  To a school boy then, these men were titans.  Their legacy filled my childhood and did much to develop my values and beliefs.  Now my son shared the earth with these same men and women.  Would he ever appreciate this fact?  I decided to document Ian's coexistence with the “greatest generation” in the hope that its legacy could continue to influence his generation as it had mine.

I bought a video camera, called a VFW post, and arranged to have Ian meet a WWII veteran.  I was interested in the war stories, of course, the hooks that grab a boy’s fancy, the grainy snapshots of what so many had been asked to do, or what Ian might be asked to do.  I also wanted to document their values.  How did they feel about marriage?  children?  work?  responsibility?  Has the society they fought to protect become what they expected?  I began to record their stories and take photos of Ian with as many vets as I could.  I hoped their words might hold more weight if Ian met them face to face. 

Over time, my equipment and technique improved my goals expanded.  These veterans’ oral histories deserve preservation not only for their own descendants but also for all who have inherited the society they protected.  From an initially modest task inspired by my son, my project – the Educational Archive Resource – developed into an effort to collect, preserve, and eventually distribute these oral histories to benefit of  the millions Ians, present and future.

Purpose

The Educational Archive Resource is a nonprofit corporation that collects oral histories and related materials for educational purposes.  The specific aims of its Oral History Project (OHP) include:   (1) to preserve oral history and memorabilia of individuals who participated in events of historical and cultural interest, (2) to organize and archive these materials for future dissemination as educational tools, and (3) to produce and distribute educational materials regarding events of historical and cultural interest.  While the OHP currently focuses on veterans of the Second World War and citizens who supported the war effort, the project intends to collect oral histories of participants in other significant historical events.  However, for the World War II generation time is of the essence.  Soon there will be no more such oral histories to be had.  Meanwhile, time marches on:  Time marches on.  The OHP is now welcoming Korean War vets as well.

Future Plans

The OHP is collecting and archiving digitally video-taped oral histories and providing a raw copy of the tape to each participant.  The OHP plans to make transcripts and video of oral histories available to the public for research and educational purposes.  Eventually, the project will develop various histories into educational products for use in major public media.  Because most (if not all) public and private media organizations will not air material without permission of participants, each is requested to sign a release form authorizing use of their contribution by the OHP.  The goal is to provide a resource to future generations while protecting the dignity and integrity of those who have served so nobly in America's defense.