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Aaron's Blog
Nov. 27, 2008 -- A couple of entries ago, I wrote about Jess Gonzalez of Vancouver, B.C., who contacted me and told me he was going to New Orleans to meet the Marine whose life he saved some 65 years ago.
I contacted the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and thankfully -- this is Thanksgiving, after all -- they not only followed through on the story, but did a deeply moving job of it.
Here's a link to the story: WWII veteran reunited with man who aided his escape from Japanese prison.
Be sure to read the readers' comments. Some people think the newspaper business is dying, but television would have slashed it to a 60-second spot. In August I attended the 8th Air Force Historical Society reunion where I met John Ray Lemons, a survivor of the Kassel Mission. Ray, as he's known, and his pilot, Jim Baynham, had just been interviewed by a TV station in Dallas, where they both live. The TV crew set up in one of their homes and the interview lasted more than an hour. Ray asked if he could get a copy of the interview to bring to the reunion, where there would be several other Kassel Mission survivors. The TV station obliged him, giving him a DVD with the edited interview -- all 75 seconds or so of it!
To read more about the Kassel Mission, one of World War II's most spectacular air battles, visit kasselmission.com or watch this site for the re-release of the Kassel Cassettes.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, as oral historians go, I don't approach the interviews I do with a prepared list of questions. Sometimes I regret not having asked every veteran I spoke with, "How did you spend Christmas." Fortunately, Christmas, and other holidays, managed to come up by themselves in the course of several interviews. The result is "The Audiomurphy Christmas CD," which will be available soon, with a series of holiday-themed excerpts from audiobooks in the World War II Oral History series.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your turkey!
-- Aaron Elson
Comments? email me, put "your blog" in the subject line, and I'll post all appropriate comments at the end of the entries.
