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PRESERVING HISTORY, ONE STORY AT A TIME -- "We
really
hope grandparents and great-grandparents who
experienced the years during World War II can
pass along something of the way life was
lived."
Story here...
http://www.southernillinoisan.
com/articles/2007/05/31/top/20434093.txt
Story below:
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Preserving history, one story at a time
by ashley wiehle, the southern
CARBONDALE - Although World War II was fought on foreign soil, it left
deep imprints in Southern Illinois.
WSIU Public Broadcasting is hoping to capture the stories of those who
were embroiled in the conflict, whether through combat or spending days
tending to a victory garden hoping to share that bounty with a returning
soldier.
WSIU outreach coordinators are asking the community, including civic and
service organizations, to help collect the stories of area veterans who
served in World War II.
The project is being conducted in conjunction with "The War," a Ken
Burns documentary set to air in September. WSIU InFocus will feature
four vignettes from Southern Illinoisans affected by World War II in its
own documentary.
Vickie Devenport and Beth Spezia, outreach coordinators in charge of the
project, say the war stories are a national PBS project that coincides
with the Veterans History Project ongoing at the U.S. Library of
Congress.
The local component to the project will be essential to lending
perspective to a story that's been told a thousand times over.
"This topic has been covered," Devenport said. "It's been covered very
well and very thoroughly, but the significance here is that one of the
statements Ken Burns makes in the documentary is 'In extraordinary
times, there are no ordinary lives.'
"That sort of sums up the realization that this war was conducted
nowhere near the United States' borders, but it affected people
throughout the nation very significantly."
Knowing what people endured both in battle and on the home front
throughout the war is a crucial aspect to cultivating a broad
sociological understanding.
"The stories of individuals are very critical to understanding us as
Americans," Devenport said. "Emphasis is not on the politics of war or
military campaigns of the war in terms of that kind of perspective. It's
the people that participated at all levels from ration stamps to victory
gardens to women working in many factories where they were employed."
The outreach coordinators are going to be hosting workshops to help
organizations learn how to preserve the history of veterans. Means of
preservation can include video, audio and manuscripts.
Spezia and Devenport will also be available to talk to civic groups
about the project and public participation.
The project will provide more than a piece of history for the community,
Spezia said. It will provide context for families to have a greater
understanding of one another.
"It's a way for families and friends to connect with each other and to
get some intergenerational dialogue going," Spezia said. "We really hope
grandparents and great-grandparents who experienced the years during
World War II can pass along some of those ideas and the way that life
was lived at that time to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren
and open up dialogue in an area that remains largely unexplored."
WSIU is also collecting war letters and posting them on its Web site.
Statistics show that World War II veterans are dying at a rate of more
than 1,000 per day.
"The realization of the stories that people have to share shows us how
essential it is to get those stories while we still have that
opportunity," Devenport said. "There's a real urgency here with that
generation."
ashley.wiehle@thesouthern.com
529-5454 ext. 5807
Learn more about WSIU's initiative to preserve veterans' history and
read actual World War II letters at
www.wsiu.org .
To participate in the veterans history project, contact Beth Spezia at
453-5595 or Vickie Devenport at 453-2808.
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Larry Scott --
