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.