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Rendezvous with Destiny: The World War II Oral History Project collection

 Collection
Collection number: MSS-008

Rendezvous with Destiny Audiovisual Recordings

Scope and Contents

In 2013, the Heritage Room received a Historic Preservation grant from the Watson-Brown Foundation Junior Board allowing for the digitization of the 57 video cassettes on which the interviews were documented. These digital copies are held on 84 D. V. D.s, both access and preservation copies, for a total of 168 discs. In 2015, the files were made available for online streaming, available at the following address: youtube.com/channel/UCCYit5z750f7et3XhZ3T2WQ.

The text portion of the collection, found in Box 1, for the most part documents the organization of the project, but does include materials of interest to researchers, specifically summaries of the interviews and additional biographical material on some of the interviewees.

Dates

  • 1994-2016

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

This collection has no restrictions. This collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required. Apply in the Heritage Room for access.

Biographical / Historical

The 84 interviews were conducted by Brent Tozzer and Bob Pope, June-October, 1994, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day. Laura Carter and Prudence Taylor, who both worked in the Heritage Room at the time, contributed to the planning of the project. Many interviewees were found through the Military Order of the Purple Heart directory. Promotional flyers were also made. Kathryn Ames, then director of the library system, also contacted veterans in the hopes of recruiting them. The interviews took place at the libraries of the Athens Regional Library System, the residencies of the veterans, or panels held by the Athens Historical Society and the Athens Community Council on Aging.

Among the topics discussed are the Battle of Anzio, the Battle of the Ardennes, the Bataan Death March, the Battle of Iwo Jima, Kamikaze airplanes, the Palawan Massacre, prisoners of war, the Battle of the Northern Marina Islands, as well as several other battles and campaigns in Africa, Belgium, Italy, East Europe, Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. The interviewees discuss their personal achievements, providing a revealing glimpse of the experiences of soldiers during U. S. involvement in the war. Some also discuss their lives after the war. The interviewees and the dates of the interviews are as follows.

George Aaron, 1994-07-29 Hubert Aaron, 1994-07-29 Anders K. Arnball, 1994-09-07 John M. Atherton, 1994-08-01 Jere Ayers, 1994-08-12 William Henry and Caroline Bennett Bonner, 1994-09-08 Hugh Brown, 1994-08-03 Robert Henry Brown, 1994-07-29 John Bondurant, 1994-08-04 Ellen Wright Bryan, 1994 Tyus Butler, 1994-08-15 Frank Bundy, 1994-19-1994 Rex E. Childs, 1994-08-15 Louie Clark, 1994-08-10 Robert Eugene Clute, 1994-09-29 Susan Colegrove, 1994-09-12 Gene and Mozzelle Cook, 1994-08-25 James T. Corrigan, 1994-08-22 Athens Community Council on Aging panel, 1994-09-15 Harold Murphy Crow, 1994-09-14 William David, 1994-08-17 Theodore DeVore, 1994-09-13 Edward and Mila Downs, 1994-08-27 Bob Dunning, 1994-08-01 LaGrange DuPree, 1994-09-02 Fred Edinger, 1994-08-01 Edna William Ellis, 1994-08-09 Goodloe Ewin and John Stegeman, 1994-08-29 Richard Nathanial Fickett, 1994-09-15 David Firor, 1994-08-24 Dot Firor, 1994-08-25 William H. Fletcher, 1994-08-15 Mr. and Mrs. Max Flynt, Jr., 1994-09-29 Henry Lester Fuller, 1994-08-24 Roy Gatschell, 1994-09-16 William Thomas Harris, 1994-09-01 James Hartfod, 1994-09-06 Athens Historical Society panel, 1994-10-16 Edwin Hoopes, Jr., 1994-08-11 Howard Randolph Holder, 1994-08-03 Al Johnson, 1994-07-29 James W. Kelley, 1994-09-02 Steve Kershaw, 1994-10-06 Mollie and William King, 1994-08-05 Harold Dickson Loden, 1994-08-27 Dwight Massey, 1994-08-01 Archie Thomas Mauldin, 1994-08-01 Bob Maxwell, 1994-07-29 James McEntire, 1994-09-09 John McPherson, 1994-08-09 Joseph Thomas Meyer, Jr., 1994-09-14 Mr. and Mrs. Marion Montgomery, 1994-08-23 Sheldon Moore, 1994-09-06 Robert Rice Nickels, 1994-09-16 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Owensby, 1994-09-14 Hugh Peeler, 1994-09-06 Gayther Plummer, 1994-09-07 Philip H. Pollock, 1994-08-16 Hal Potts, 1994-08-10 Milton Priest, 1994-08-01 Joe Rakestraw, 1994-08-08 Alberta Rakestraw, 1994-08-08 John Ray, 1994-08-01 Paul Edward Redden, 1994-08-01 Morgan Redwine and Jack Thornton, 1994-08-24 George W. Reynard, 1994-07-29 Ruth Ryder, 1994-08-10 Rolf Roley, 1994-08-22 Irenus Sanders, 1994-08-01 James Carlton Shadden, 1994-08-29 Dot Shull, 1994-07-28 John Edwin Smith, 1994-07-29 Charles Hugh Stammer, 1994-08-25 Mr. and Mrs. Bob Stevens, 1994-08-29 Sam Talmadge, 1994-08-05 Ramon Thompson, 1994-09-29 Margaret Gary Timm, 1994-08-09 J. H. Tutt, 1994-08-23 Walter Thomas Walls, 1994-08-10 Virgil H. Wellborn, 1994-08-10 Imelda H. Whitney, 1994-09-13 Joel Alexander Weir, Jr., 1994-09-13 Aubrey Williams, 1994-08-21 Lenore Willis, 1994-08-02

In 2000, Laura Carter contacted University of Georgia professor James C. Cobb about having students volunteer to help complete the project. These students transcribed portions of the interviews, as some content may have been missing from the audiovideo recordings.

Extent

3.79 Linear Feet (One half legal document box, two boxes measuring 12 by 6 by 5, and two boxes measuring 15.5 by 15.5 by 5.)

Additional Description

Overview

Audiovisual recordings of interviews with Second World War veterans living in the Athens area.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series: I. Print materials II. Access copies III. Original V. H. S. recordings IV. Preservation copies.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Heritage Room

Related Materials

Mary Anne Ponds Braswell Cushman photograph collection, MSS 003, Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library.

John C. Braswell collection, MSS 059, Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library.

H. Randolph Holder collection, MSS 011, Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library.

Materials Specific Details

V. H. S. cassettes, D. V. D.s, and digital audiovideo files.

Physical Description

Good

Subjects

Digital Material

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Rendezvous with Destiny: The World War II Oral History Project collection
Status
Completed
Author
Jessica Edwards, Justin Kau
Date
June 2016, revised February 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library Repository

Contact:
2025 Baxter Street
Athens GA 30606

Related Unprocessed Material