StoryQuest World War II Summer 2016

Martha Holland told stories of her family moving around the East Coast of the U.S and also into places such as Panama. Martha would also tell stories of when she is growing up in this area, and also being a kid during the war, the children were doing as much as they could to help the effort. From rationing to even making bullets out of the toothpaste containers.

Genevieve live in a small village in the North of France, where she sought refuge during bombings. She evacuated from her village in France to Normandy once the Germans arrived. The German soldiers who were stationed in her village were allowed to stay in her home whenever they pleased. When she would work on the farm, her and other girls would stop to watch the planes fight above them. She would meet up with other people on her street to listen to the radio announcements coming in from London. As a teenager, there was an empty section in the field. In the section, she and another girl placed flowers on the grave of a German Soldier. Some young French boys were walking and mistakenly took German Soldiers as Americans. Those boys were all killed.

William White discussed his time in the Philippines and New Guinea after the battles as an automobile mechanic for the Army. He also discusses Chestertown, Maryland before, during ,and after the war.

The important talking points from Patricia's interview were her parent's divorcing during the war. Another story that Patricia talked about was how her friend had been in an internment camp during the war.

Nancy Morris had some very interesting talking points and a great story about how she was on a boat hear Baltimore and they had to shut down due to fear of a German submarine attack. However, she also talked about race relations and growing up as a child in Chestertown during the war.

Nancy Dick talks about her father's job as a surgeon during the war and talks about Chestertown during the war. She talks extensively about race relations, including the experiences of African Americans and Latinos, and talks about the numerous factories near Chestertown during and after the war.

He is a Veteran who fought in Italy, Sicily, and Africa. He remembers capturing German soldiers, and is pictured next to a cannon.

While George Seymour was oversees in Okinawa, he never really came close to military action, just the events that would happen at the bases. He was added to flying status, and on one mission he was sent to fly over a previous atomic bomb explosion to see if there was an radioactivity. In the Air Force, there was a minimum weight and George had to eat bananas to make sure he could maintain weight. While in the military, they wasted many things, like cameras.

Fred had many compelling stories of his time in the war in the Navy as well as being a citizen. His tales of the Battles of Coral Sea and also at the Battle of Midway were the most interesting stories to hear. It was also interesting to hear him talk about being one of the only males on campus because the others were overseas.

Douglas Gates tells stories of neighbors hording supplies, improvised electricity, taking in female defense workers, rationing, and what children were doing during WWII.

Anna talks about her experiences as a school teacher in Kent Island during the war and talks about her husband's experience fighting in the Pacific theatre. She talks about her family and the family farm, and talks about Sudlersville, Maryland during the war.

Philip Norman discusses David A. Stearn's headphones that he used in the airplane, his backpack, his pins/metals, his patches, his newspaper clippings, his Army Air Force hats, and the varying pictures that he carried with him during the war.

Page Barroll discusses her childhood growing up surrounded by war. She talks about how the War effected her church and school. She is able to descriptively recall what it was like to ration food and clothes, to have air raids and blackouts, to hear the news from the radio and newspapers, and what it was like to have family in England. She also discusses how she would be able to go to Ocean City, Maryland for vacation every summer and how the beaches became polluted when the War started.

Millicent Wagner discusses her service at naval hospitals in Philadelphia and Georgia during the war effort and recalls treating soldiers with numerous types of wounds. She also discusses numerous aspects of the American homefront during the war, including patriotism and rationing.

Mary Jane Rambo speaks extensively about women's experiences on the homefront through both working and recreation. She also discusses the effect WWII had on the small town of Elkton, Maryland such as the population growth with the increase of factory jobs for women.

Les Palmer discusses his high school, paper route, rationing, leisure activities, and life as a young adult on the home front of WWII in Athens Pennsylvania.

Joe Gulik's experiences as in the Cost Guard took him to the Pacific Front in the Philippines, Bora Bora, New Guina, Lyte, and Hawaii.

Jim Murphy talks about his role as an armorer in Iwo Jima and talks about what Iwo Jima was like after the allies took the island. He talks about repairing B-29 Bombers and numerous other planes and tells about his basic training and his career after leaving the service. He also shows numerous artifacts pertaining to his service in Iwo Jima.

Jim Murphy talks about his role as an armorer in Iwo Jima and talks about what Iwo Jima was like after the allies took the island. He talks about repairing B-29 Bombers and numerous other planes and tells about his basic training and his career after leaving the service. He also shows numerous artifacts pertaining to his service in Iwo Jima.

Jane Martin talked about her experiences as a child with rationing at home and in school. She talked about her feelings and her parents feelings about FDR, and the images of war that made to the movies. She talked about propaganda on the radio and through Hollywood stars.

Jane Hukill discusses her father's and brother's service in the Pacific front. She also discusses her life as a child during the war. She talks about movies, newsreels, and propaganda from Hollywood. She talks throughout the interview about her fear of the war and talks about the nightmares of the Germans that she had when she was a child.

Haim Loran is a Jewish Hungarian man who lived in Budapest during World War II. He talks about how survived the German occupation and how his brother was deported for forced labor. He remembers the Seige of Budapest, living with his family in his father's office and his life under Soviet occupation until 1949. Haim also discusses War, and his desire for people to learn about the events of the War to ensure that they are not repeated.

Grove Miller was a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy. One day he was given two Marines, he had to look after them while they were on liberty. The men took him on a night he would never forget, taking him to strip clubs and cleaning up entire bars. That wasn't the only high jinx he got into. One night, he was at a bar with a friend and two girls. The men realized they had no money and had to call Grove's father at three o'clock in the morning to help them out. He also used his uniform to get out of things, like speeding tickets.

Ginny Parker's father passed before she was born. She was raised by her mother in England. She's spent many years trying to piece together information about her father's service. Her father was involved with another woman when he met Ginny's mother. He wrote a letter to his family telling them about his new love. Ginny's sister-in-law was in Germany throughout World War II. She now has alzheimer's and is reverting back to teenage self, speaking in German and talking about her support towards Hitler.

Fenton Martin spent his time in Portsmouth, Virginia during WWII working on the stage crew for his high school and as an electrical graftsman in the Portsmouth Navy Yard. He discusses the effects of rationing and the population growth in Portsmouth.

Faith Seltzer's Father in the Navy, placed upon the U.S.S. Princeton - he saw many men drown at D-Day because they couldn't swim; he made sure to teach his daughters the importance of swimming.

Ellicot McConnell shares his experiences during his induction and life on an army base; he also mentions the segregation he witnessed in New Orleans.

Carol offered her own memories of the war. With things like rationing and also with the memory of the pearl harbor attack, she offered many interesting stories about the home front.

Betty Tait discusses her life as an army wife and life on the homefront, including pregnancy, death of family members, rationing, victory gardens, and postwar celebrations.

Robert Carter describes his experiences working on The Manhattan Project -- Los Alamos; he shares his everyday duties along with his personal emotions in regard to the project.

In this interview Paul Hendrix talks about father's memories serving in the Navy, mother's memories working in the factories, and his parent's love during the War. He talks about his families photos during the War and his father's uniforms.

Martha Wright grew up near Rock Hall, Maryland and was 16 when the war started in 1941. She moved to different places for work and lived in Chester, Pennsylvania during the war - working at a shipyard. She gives insight into daily life during the war by discussing her education, family, and the places where she lived.

Madelyn Hollis gave us a unique perspective of the experience of African Americans during the war. Living in a segregated town in Virginia, her brother was drafted into an all-black unit. While she was keeping in contact with her brother overseas, Madelyn describes the racial tensions in her town and what life was like in the one room school house she taught in.

Kay Starkey was a native World War II era Chestertown. Ms. Starkey is the daughter of a former Sheriff of Chestertown, who occupied that position during the war. In this interview, Ms. Starkey describes what it was like to be a child living in the Eastern Shore during the Second World War.

Joe Szwajkowski was born in 1936 in Bridgesburg Philiadelphia. He was a young child during the war and describes coming of age during and after the War. He describes how much he enjoyed his childhood and the parades and parties thrown during holidays, and when the soldiers returned.

James Block talked about his father's and grandfather's lives and how it was effected by war and the Navy. Block discusses and even reads out load his favorite letters that his father wrote to his grandmother during the war. His favorite letters include descriptions of George Block's feelings about war right after Pearl Harbor and the story about his Naval ship almost colliding with a Battleship. James Block also explains the Naval Slang that was used in his house.

Bill Nuttle is a veteran from WWII that has fought in three of the most documented battles of the War: Iwo Jima, Tinian, and Saipan. Bill discusses his time in the war and discusses what he and the rest of the troops in the Marines had to face, and the survival strategies they employed. He gives us insight on what his life was like after the War and the struggles that he faced to make a living.

Barbara Finneson remembers having many Japanese Americans in her class and being confused, when the war started, if they were now friend or foe. She has the most memories about rationing certain materials/foods, the different efforts done to aid the war on the Homefront, and the movies, the stars, and the newsreels that she would see often on the weekends.

Arthur Wright talked about his life on the Wye Plantation in Queenstown; he talks about his family's house and living conditions, his workload, and his ways of entertainment on the farm. He discusses rationing during the war and discusses the planes that flew over the farm. He also talks about the importance of his church to his family and talks about the one-room schoolhouse that he attended during segregation.

Linda Hall was a six-year-old living in southern Ohio at the start of the war. She witnessed the effect of a distant war on her small town and watched as it changed the American way of life. Her stories include memories of Roosevelt, rationing and men going to war and not returning.

David Shearer talks about his childhood living in New Brighton, PA. He talks about rationing, cigarettes, and the town of New Brighton during the war. He talks about how the war changed the town and talks about the coal mining strikes that affected Western Pennsylvania during wartime.

Barbara shares the stories of her childhood growing up on the farm, from the house in which she lived, to what she and her ten siblings used to do for fun.

Darla Downer, born in 1938, lived in New Jersey during the war. Darla discussed her father’s work as a welder, her family’s victory garden, her experience on V-J Day, and technological advancement. She also discusses her thoughts on war.