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.
Oral History Interview: Malcolm Davis of Urbana
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Malcolm Davis served in the U.S. Army infantry in the battles of Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe and the Battle of the Bulge. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In his pocket, he carried a small Bible with a metal cover. The Bible saved his life, he said, when a bullet hit the Bible instead of him.
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Oral History Interview: Olive Clark of Urbana
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Olive Cocker Clark relates stories from the home front, based on her experiences as a World War II-era bride. She and George Cocker settled in Childers, Texas, while George was assigned to the base nearby. When George was later transferred to Langley Field, Va., their cross-country journey by car to their new home was an adventure of late-night car repairs, a blinding snow storm, and finally a collision with the back of a slow-moving truck. With the assistance of the Red Cross, however, they were finally able to complete their journey.
To the interview, Olive brought a World War II-era photograph of her late husband George standing next to Lord Louis Mountbatten, the uncle of Charles, Prince of Wales. George had helped to build and inspect engines during the Lend-Lease program with Britain, and Lord Mountbatten had stopped by to visit with the workers and to express to them his appreciation for what the workers in the Lend-Lease program had meant to England’s efforts in the War.
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Oral History Interview: Earl Swanson of Urbana
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Earl R. Swanson was a farm boy from East Lynn, Ill., when he enrolled in Advanced ROTC as a freshman at the University of Illinois in 1939. Upon graduation in 1943, he trained with the 592nd Field Artillery Battalion attached to the 106th Infantry in Camp Atterbury, Ind. When the 106th was being deployed to Europe, they had a surplus of F.A. officers, so Swanson was sent to infantry school in Camp Blanding, Fla. In July of 1945, he became a replacement officer in Cannon Company of the 161st Regiment of the 25th Division, the “Tropic Lightning” Division, in the Philippines. Their mission was to “clean up” in the Philippines and prepare for the invasion of Japan. After Japan’s surrender, Capt. Swanson served in the occupation of Japan until returning to the States in May 1946. He remained in the reserves, and served his country again in Washington, D.C., during the Korean War, 1952-53.
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Oral History Interview: Ralph Langenheim of Urbana
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Ralph Langenheim served in the U.S. Navy in World War II from May 1943 to May 1946. He participated in the Normandy invasion and Operation Anvil on the French Riviera. He is a professor emeritus of geology at the University of Illinois.
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Oral History Interview: Ralph Langenheim of Urbana, Part Two
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This is the second part of Ralph Langenheim’s oral history interview, and was recorded on August 31st, 2007.
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Oral History Interview: Robert Hamm of Urbana
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From 1942 to 1945, Robert Hamm served in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, where he worked nine stories below deck as a boiler room engineer. During his interview, he provides rich insight into day-to-day life on an aircraft carrier and describes the terrible experience of being trapped in the bottom of the ship on March 19, 1945, when Japanese kamikaze pilots attacked the Franklin, which, fully loaded with bombs and fuel, sustained heavy damage and almost 1,000 casualties.
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