What does it all mean??

I am really inspired by something Ken said during the interview: he wants/plans to write a book about his experiences in WWII. I think he has a great voice and story that it is feasible to write a great book concerning his experiences! He wants to focus on the positive aspects of war. I know this sounds a little strange- it’s war, people are killing others, it’s terrible!! But there are positive aspects, especially concerning the camaraderie among the men and women serving their countries. It is truly amazing that Ken is able to sit around and talk about his experiences in a positive way, laughing and chuckling about certain men he met and the different debacles they go into.
By looking at the pictures I posted, it is clear to see the men working with Ken did in fact have some fun while they were deployed in the South Pacific. There are images of the men lounging around under palm trees, presumably on a beach, laughing and smiling with each other. Granted the exact things making these men laugh may not be remembered, but it is recall some memories that make veterans laugh now when looking at these photos.
The language Ken uses when he recalls his friends, he did not say one thing negative about them. He seems to put a positive spin on events, even when his friends were being shot down right next to him. He spoke about visiting his friend after being shot down, and laughed about being thanked- it was not necessary for his friend to thank him for saving his life. Ken solely had a job to do: to protect his fellow Marines, a job which seems to have left a very good impression and recollection of World War Two.
This "book" or analysis of the positive aspects of the war would be an excellent “public history” resource. I think if a mixture of photographs and writing would provide people in the general public with a great and diverse view of WWII. Of course, the story would need a great writer in order to really illustrate the story to its fullest potential.
I think it would be amazing to be able to survey other WWII veterans for their opinions on these matters. This would be incredibly helpful in determining the social impacts of the war on the military and the individuals that participated in the War on a very active basis. I’m not very well-versed in WWII social research, but I find this topic very interesting. I would not have guessed that veterans had “good times” while they were fighting in a heated war.
In another way, Ken’s interpretation of the War could also make a great museum exhibit (or even exhibition?). He has these amazing photographs and the recorded oral history that relay his opinion. These primary sources can be easily turned into a diorama, but it can be taken even further. Creating a video (or a few videos) combining these times would be incredibly helpful to a museum and/or its website. I would love to work on these videos, perhaps I’ll spend my summer trying to figure out the techniques of this type of project. The written transcript is taking up more of my energy for the time being.
The transcript itself is even part of the public history realm- alloying individuals to access this interview without sitting through 2.5 hours of talking. The online version of the transcript can easily be linked/transferred to an online database for use by the Hayward Area Historical Society (and other institutions), greatly adding to the ease of research in this particular topic by scholars and anyone else that interested in WWII.

Transcript

I've updated about 15 more minutes of the transcript. It's taking soo much time!! Transcription is not hard work, just time-consuming.
Check the link on the right side of the blog.


I'm still developing my ideas about "possible paper topics" or arguments from this interview. There are some really good topics that Ken presents that are not "typical" to the mainstream history we are taught.
+ WWII did bring on good memories for military men while they were risking their lives overseas.
+ The Cold War was not necessarily affecting everyone in negative ways. ken was rather optimistic about the 1960's through the 1980's. He was "realistic," as he states, about the possible coming on nuclear attack. Quite contradictory to the scares and hysteria that history "usually" tells us about the Cold War.

Photos Uploaded

I was finally able to upload the photos Ken lent me. They are fairly good quality (the originals area in AMAZING shape!!). it was very time-consuming. I had to re-size and reshape everything, my scanner captured more than just the image. That was a little annoying, but I'm very happy I was able to sit down today for a few hours and really work on the photos. Some of them came out crooked, but I think it's okay and you get the gist of the images. Everything is labeled (usually what was found on the back of the photos) and I will be updating some of the information that Ken told me during the interview.
Photos from WWII

I think it's interesting to note that there are no pictures of Ken from his time in the Pacific. I'm really curious about this; there are a few pictures of him before, and many after the War, but he did not show me any photos of him during the actual war.

It seems like it would be a good idea to add a photo into the written transcript when Ken is talking about a certain photo. It seems less interesting to read the transcript without knowing a the reference. I will have to talk to Diane about this dilemma. Perhaps 2 files would be easier to create, one a little more comprehensive than the other.

Assignment 6

Blog 6.


Ken grew up in Hayward, Ca with a family that was well-rooted in the Hayward Hills. Aside from the 6 years he spent in the military, he has lived in the Hayward area his whole life. After being sent to a hospital in Oakland after serving on Iwo Jima, Ken went back home and married one of his (many) girlfriends from before the War.
Ken attended Hayward High and graduation in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. One of his bosses was a Marine in WWI, a nice motivating factor for Ken. In regards to his reason for choosing to enlist as a Marine, Ken stated, “well it was either that or being drafted into the Army and I didn’t want to go into the Army or the Navy. And I had seen Marines at Alameda Naval Air Base when I was driving trucks, hauling top soil over there and I noticed how great they looked. So I said I was going to join the Marine Corps and I did.”
It would seem that he was inspired to be like the men he seen on a base; they were, it is safe to say, his heroes. Ken thought it would benefit him most to devote his life, literally, to a cause that had inspired him, the protection of the US through his service in the Marine Corp. He did not speak with any sort of remorse or regret. He seemed, in fact, very proud and pleased that he was a Marine and went on the different campaigns around the Pacific.
Ken was in the 9th Regiment, which opened Camp Pendleton, in San Diego, CA. He left the US for the South Pacific in February 1943. He embarked and lived through 4 campaigns : Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima. Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima are vary infamous battles in WWII, major campaigns that changed the War of the US against the Japanese. Guadalcanal is considered the first offense of US forces from August 1942 until February 1943.
Guadalcanal Map

Iwo Jima Map

Transcript Page

I've created a separate website to post the transcript of the Oral History. Hopefully it is easy to read. I will be working for a couple hours tomorrow morning on the transcript.
It's still in the very rough phases.

Link to the Oral History Transcript. http://amandashistory.weebly.com/

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Transcription, take one

Yesterday I worked on typing up the transcription for the oral history and it took a lot more effort than I thought it would. Diane told me the general rule of transcription is it takes 4 hours to type up 1 hour of the interview. So it will take about 10 hours to type of the interview with Ken. That does not seem like a lot of time, 10 hours, but it takes much more brain power. I was able to type up a little over 17 minutes, but I still have 2+ hours. IT WILL NEVER END!!!

I do like to rehear his stories, he’s got a great energy and spirit about him. Even thought the War was a terrible thing full of death, he has happy memories from those times. Even these events that sound so scary to me, like boats capsizing and all the men leaving him trapped on the Higgins Boat, he does not show all the fear. Granted he must have been more focused on making it out alive and seeking cover from the enemy, he does not talk about the even with fear. He talks about the event with courage that he knew he had to get out and help his crew mates find safety.
I had to do some research to find out how to spell one of the campaigns, Bougainville. I had no idea where this was located, so I searched through Google a little bit. According to several sites (lightly browsed), Bougainville is located in the Solomon Islands.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/pers/sal/img/SalBougainville.gif



I found an online journal of a man that served in the US Army in the Pacific during WWII. It’s titled “A Medic’s Journal.” I briefly skimmed the journal, and it seems like a great way to backup the stories Ken told me. Of course, the journal is from a different branch of the military, but undoubtedly, experiences must have been similar enough to reinforce Ken’s experiences on Bougainville. Comparing the two primary sources, the Oral History and the Journal, gives me a better sense of what was happening in the War at that time on the island. Since everyone remembers things differently, it’s always interesting to find out what someone else thought of the same events.
Journal

Since the oral history was recalling memories from over 50 years ago, I wanted to make sure Ken was remembering things correctly. The Journal, written at the time of the campaign, gave me some insight and helped me fully believe Ken’s recollections. It’s not that I distrust his memories, but it has been many many years and sometimes people get their own memories mixed up with others’ memories.

I’m still trying to figure out an online place to upload the recordings. I can’t even email them because the files are too large. I think I might make a little movie with some clips and photos to upload on you tube. I don’t know really what to do yet. It seems like I have so much more work to do.

Pictures Up, but more to come soon.

I posted pictures of Ken and some of his photographs. I'm still int he process of figuring out my scanner so I can get up more pictures from his campaigns in the Pacific from 1943-1945.

Photos

I did some basic labeling, hopefully it is helpful enough to give you a bare glimpse into the depth of this man's journey in the Pacific and his brave experiences in WWII.


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Assignment 5. Part I

The interview with Ken went very smoothly. He immediately wanted to start talking and share his life story with me. He is a very nice man with a clear voice and incredibly easy to understand. I'm in the process of uploading pictures and voice recordings. I was not able to get him on video because he was so eager to begin, but the voice recording is pretty good quality. He spoke with me fore over 2 hours.
Overall, he talked mostly about his experiences as a Marine in the Pacific ocean during WWII. He has some really great stories, to be updated about at a different time. He has a great memory of the events and people from over 60 years ago- it's quite amazing. I was fortunate enough to get some pictures from him, also to be uploaded at a later time.
I must admit I was stressed out and worried last night. I didn't know what to really expect or how he would act- would he get upset if I asked the wrong question? How would I handle that? Am I suppose to console him? It's very confusing! Luckily, he was in great spirits and had positive memories. He even mentioned when he gets together his old Marine friends, they usually only talk about "the good times" and good memories, as opposed to the horrors of the war. Even when he spoke about his comrades dying in combat, he had great respect for the fallen men and seemed to want to remember the men in a positive light.
I feel very fortunate to have met this man and hear some of his most memorable experiences. He is, without a doubt, an American hero that fought in a world-changing war that helped shape the 20th and 21st centuries. He has a pleasant outlook on life, making my experience even more memorable.

Pictures will be uploaded in the next couple days. Maybe even the voice recording? I don't know yet where I upload them.

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Interviewing Today

I'm really excited and nervous to interview Ken today!!! I'll definitely be posting more this afternoon.

Assignment 4

I had a very helpful trip the HAHS Archive last week. I found some great materials, even though they did not necessarily go along with the Cold War preparation I was aiming for. I was able to look through the Hayward Journal for 1948, right at the beginning of the Cold War. What I found the most interesting was the lack of real concern about the Soviet Union, communism, and the other stuff related to the Cold War. The bound journal was, however, from the year right before the Soviet Union successfully detonated their atom bomb, so I guess it would make sense that Hayward as community was not very concerned about the Soviet Union.

I found several advertisements that encouraged citizens to support the troops and remain in positive spirits for the boys still returning home. There were numerous ads and articles about memorial services for local men that fell victims from WWII.

Shockingly, there were articles about the Draft. I had no idea there was another draft happening after WWII, starting in 1948. I had no idea!! That is definitely something that I was not taught in any of my many US history classes. I knew males had to sign up for the Selective Service, just like they need to do today, but apparently they were being chosen to enlist- Drafted.

Overall, the research I was able to do in 2 hours, I found some very interesting stuff.

1. Hayward, in 1948, was more concerned with local events, like church meetings, than about the US global affairs.

2. The community was aware of the need for troops so they did have drives to register men for Selective Service.

3. (women’s clothing sizes ranged from 32-40”…standards seen today as on the “heavier” side) *Unrelated to my topic, but very cool to know.

4. Dogs attacking children and traffic accidents were of top priority in the Hayward Journal.

The Cold War Pamphlets I was able to look through gave some great insight into the Cold War Era. Individuals were expected to understand how to protect themselves and their families if a nuclear bomb was dropped in the area. Community members were organized into group that would further disseminate information to their family and friends, helping to encourage people to be independent and not depend so much on the government for assistance.

Men and women must be able to protect their homes and families in any case of emergency. (picture link below)

Firefighting for Householders

Citizens must be aware of the Evacuation route to get out of Hayward, proceeding south until they reach Monterey Area. (picture link below)

Evacuation Route

There were cards that informed people how to learn about “emergencies” by listening to the radio. A long buzz on the radio meant ”Alert”, while short beeping meant “Take Cover.”. One card instructed the family to post a large sign in their home, and carry around the attached cards on their person. (picture link below)

Air Defense Raid Photo

What’s next?

+ I would like to look at some materials from the 1950s and early 1960’s from newspapers (located in CSUEB’s Library). I need to see how much the newspapers informed people about the Cold War. Were people freaking out? Was the threat of nuclear war really scary to people here?

+ Wednesday I have the interview with Ken. That should be very exciting. I’ve only conducted a short, very informal interview, so this is a new experience for me. I’m going to work with the recording equipment today, testing out the memory and stuff to make sure I know what I am doing. I need to figure out how long my camera can record videos (how long the battery lasts and how long of a video I can make). I borrowed a digital voice recorder from HAHS for the project, which I need to play with and figure out. The last thing I need is to record only 2 minutes of the whole interview and be left with close to nothing to work with. That would be horrible. I figure the more recording I can do, the more realistic the transcription and story will be.

+ I’m still fine-tuning the questions, so I won’t be able to send them to Ken before the interview. I think it will be okay. I think he will be okay to just talk and go with the flow of things. After speaking with Diane last week, I think I need to be more prepared with listening to what he is saying and asking questions, rather than preparing a list of questions now. What he has to say will open the door to more questions.

+ I will be updating the labeling of the photos from the HAHS Archive this week.