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.
Web Stories
These stories and features are produced for the web only. Diary entries, oral histories, and other extended content too lengthy for broadcast will be published here.
Oral History Interview: Paul Hackett of Urbana
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Paul Hackett was a Storekeeper 2nd class on board the USS Mindanao when the ammunition ship the USS Mount Hood exploded on Nov. 10, 1944, at Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island, northeast of New Guinea. The Mindanao, 350 yards away, suffered extensive damage particularly to her superstructure, and aft. Of her crew, 180 were killed or wounded.
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Oral History Interview: Gerald Yaxley of Champaign
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Gerald Yaxley served in the Army in Europe with the 4th Mechanized Reconnaissance Regiment and the 104th Infantry Division.
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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: Clarence Berbaum of Champaign
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Clarence Berbaum was drafted into the U.S. Army in February of 1942. He served in Europe with the 100th infantry, famous for being the only fighting unit ever to capture the Voges Mountains in France. Berbaum served as a radio repairman, usually a few miles behind the front lines. His prior experience in radio repair, he explains, saved him from having to fight in the front lines and probably saved his life. He also took video footage of day-to-day life in the Army. Berbaum talks about the overwhelming feeling of depression that affected him and many others throughout the war. He also talks about the dehumanizing effect that war has on soldiers.
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Oral History Interview: John Frothingham of Savoy
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John Frothingham served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He was commissioned in December 1940 and participated in the battles of Guadalcanal, New Georgia and Iwo Jima.
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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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