Stories by Media
Stories by Location
The War, Ken Burns’ seven-part documentary series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, was the most-watched PBS series of the past 10 years. It explored the history and horror of the Second World War from an American perspective by following the fortunes of so-called ordinary men and women who become caught up in one of the greatest cataclysms in human history.
WILL-TV’s Central Illinois World War II Stories was developed in conjunction with the Ken Burns’ series.
Visit The War web site on PBS.org
Share Your Story
PBS is gathering WWII stories from viewers across the United States. Upload your story to PBS for sharing with all other viewers. If you need assistance, contact Mary Barrineau or Jack Brighton at 217-333-1070.
This project supported in part by:
Clark Lindsey Village
Ecowater Systems
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers #601
Strawberry Fields
Steamatic
WETA
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
WILL Stories
In stories on WILL radio, television and the Web, WILL looks at the war from many perspectives: men in battle on land and at sea, Japanese-American families in internment camps, conscientious objectors, women in the service, African-Americans at Chanute Air Force Base, German POWs in Hoopeston.
Television Stories
Much of the history of World War II resides in the memories people who experienced it. WILL-TV has unearthed some of those memories, men who survived attacks on their ships and prisoner of war camps, and women who taught pilots and volunteered on the front lines for the Red Cross.
On Sept. 26, Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, and WILL-TV aired local stories of men and women who participated in the defining event of a generation. Video archives of these stories are published below. More Central Illinois World War II Stories will air on WILL-TV in early 2008.
Trumpet Player John O'Connor Recalls World War II
Aired on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17
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John O’Connor of Champaign served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. He was chosen as lead pilot with the first experimental flying unit aboard the B-24 Liberator. He flew 50 missions and also used his skills as a trumpeter and band director. Flying back from a mission, John and his crew would often pull out their instruments and play. O’Connor later became a member of the Medicare 7, 8 or 9 Jazz Band, performing around the country.
RealVideo archive:
Wartime Decatur
Aird on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" on April 10, 2008
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In World War II, soldiers from Decatur, Ill., served in North Africa, Italy, the Philippines and Germany. Local volunteers rolled bandages, collected food, and recycled bales of paper and heaps of scrap metal. Citizens planted victory gardens and bought war bonds and savings stamps. Dan Guillory’s book, “Wartime Decatur: 1832 & 1945” documents the vigorous wartime culture based on community involvement and a strong sense of patriotism. Prairie Fire talks to Guillory about his stories of service both on and off the battlefield. Then producer Denise La Grassa recounts the experiences of Decatur’s Carl Mocabee, who was a master sergeant in the Army stationed in the Philippines and New Guinea. He received a Purple Heart and Silver Star during his service.
RealVideo archive:
Friendship in Combat
Aired on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3
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A friendship during World War II helped George Kitterman of Bloomington survive fierce conditions during the Battle of the Bulge. In this Prairie Fire story, Kitterman describes being pinned down in a foxhole with his friend Joe Spencer, covered with snow with only a bazooka and one shell between them. They wondered what they would do if a German tank came over the ridge.
Producer Denise La Grassa begins with Kitterman learning about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when he and his pals were finishing a game of touch football and turned on a car radio to hear the Chicago Bears score. “We follow him through much of his war experience, but the centerpiece is this friendship that was so important to him,” La Grassa said.
RealVideo archive:
Tuskegee Airman Elmer Jones
Aired on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21
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Producer Denise La Grassa talks with Tuskegee Airman Col. Elmer Jones, one of six original aviation cadets for the Tuskegee Airmen trained at Chanute Field in Rantoul. Jones, who became ground crew commander, was proud to serve his country in aircraft engineering during World War II, even though he served in an all-black unit. He maintains that being in a segregated unit provided an unexpected opportunity for the Tuskegee Airmen. They were able to prove their abilities at a time when people questioned whether African Americans should be allowed to fly and maintain planes. “They proved they were as good as white fighter pilots,” said LaGrassa. “World War II was really the beginning of the civil rights movement.”
RealVideo archive:
Audio archives:
Play Now:RealAudio archive | downloadable MP3
Love and War
Aired on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14
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The story of Jerry and Wilma Ashenbremer of Oakwood is one of love amid the ruins of war. They met in Vienna at the conclusion of World War II. Wilma was a young Austrian, Jerry a GI patrolling the city. They began a silent relationship.
Bob and Hattie Marion of Urbana sustained their love throughout the war when he was overseas. Letters kept the spark alive. But every time the letters temporarily stopped, Hattie worried.
Producer Denise La Grassa looks at the lives of these two couples in “Love and War.” “The couples are similar in that they’ve been together so long that there’s a great friendship and a close bond,” says Denise. “I found the way they interacted to be very fresh and youthful, yet both couples are older. I wonder if it’s because they came through so much in their years having to go through the war and its aftermath together.”
RealVideo archive:
Audio archives:
Play Now:RealAudio archive | downloadable MP3
Iris Lundin, Champaign
Aired on WILL-TV's "Prairie Fire" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7
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When World War II broke out, Iris Nigg Lundin of Champaign left her small town in Minnesota and joined hundreds of other women in the newly formed Marine Corps women’s Reserve. She became one of the first four female navigation instructors.
Producer Denise La Grassa said that in her conversations with Lundin, she was impressed by the strength of this woman who left a secure life in Minnesota to join the ranks of the Marines, the toughest of the tough. “This was the first time many of these men who were her students had encountered a female instructor and she really held her own,” said La Grassa. “When I listened to her stories, I was moved by her description of how she went to bat for African-Americans on the military bases where she worked. She was brave enough to tell a higher-ranking officer that he shouldn’t be treating a steward in a demeaning manner. Later in her life, equality was very important to her.”
RealVideo archive:
Audio archives:
Play Now:RealAudio archive | downloadable MP3