Escondido LibraryYOU

Eighteen year old Watson landed with the first wave of the U.S. forces to hit Omaha Beach in Normandy, France at 7:27 am on June 6, 1944. He survived being blown up and wounded when his landing craft was destroyed by a mine that killed 50 of the 75 men on board. In spite of his wounds, he served for 28 days as a U.S. Navy Beach Master. Now 87 years old, Watson says that as long as he is able, he will continue to tell the story of the men who didn’t make it back. "What keeps me going are the 9,336 fine young American boys buried in that cemetery over there. The story of Omaha Beach needs to be told to honor all of the men who did not survive the invasion or the war." http://libraryyou.escondido.org/robert-watson.aspx Music excerpts from Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 in C minor. Podcast recorded and edited by Viktor Sjöberg.

Laura Johnston Kohl joined the Peoples Temple in 1970 and was an active and enthusiastic member until the day it ended. On November 18, 1978, 914 members of Peoples Temple died in Jonestown, Guyana. Laura was one of 87 survivors. This is her story of survival. http://libraryyou.escondido.org/jonestown-survivor.aspx Music from the Peoples Temple Choir album "He's Able", released in 1973 by Brotherhood Records. Podcast recorded and edited by Viktor Sjöberg.

Doris Martin, author of the book Kiss Every Step, recounts her miraculous survival and that of her family in Nazi Germany. Born in Poland, she survived Auschwitz and spent three-and-a-half years in a labor camp handling and measuring explosive powder to build mines for the Nazi war effort. http://libraryyou.escondido.org/doris-martin-holocaust-survivor.aspx Music by V. Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble.