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.
Setting the Record Straight about the USS Indianapolis Disaster
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis has been called the worst single at-sea loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy. It was attacked by a Japanese submarine in July of 1945, resulting the deaths of nearly 900 men who either perished in the sinking or died in the shark-infested waters in the days that followed. Yet only in recent years have there been efforts to accurately describe the tragedy and the ordeal its 317 survivors went through. The 81 remaining survivors want to set the record straight. WILL-AM’s Jeff Bossert visits places and people who are part of the effort, including a new exhibit at the Indiana War Memorial, and a naval aviator who, as a boy, researched the sinking of the ship.
Audio archives:
Play Now:RealAudio archive | downloadable MP3
Story extras:
Jeff Bossert interviews Hunter Scott, whose research on the USS Indianapolis has cleared misconceptions about the tragedy: RealAudio archive| MP3 archive