MS-251

MS-251

 

The Veterans Oral History Project – Dr. Vivian Blevins Collection

 

Introduction

 

The Veterans Oral History Project – Dr. Vivian Blevins Collection was accessioned into the Piqua Public Library Archives and Special Collections on September 16, 2016 as the result of a donation by Dr. Vivian Blevins, Edison State College.  The collection consists of 136 DVD’s and 29 newspaper articles.  The articles were written by Dr. Blevins for Civitas Media and were printed locally in The Piqua Daily Call, The Troy Daily News and The Sidney Daily News.  The collection is in three parts.  The first part is “Library of Congress Veterans History Project” and contains 43 DVD’s [there is a second set of duplicate DVD’s for a total of 86].  The second part is “Veteran Voices”, a series of 25 DVD’s of television programs produced by WOTVC Piqua TV-5 [there is a second set of duplicate DVD’s for a total of 50].  The third part contains copies of newspaper clippings of the 29 articles written by Dr. Blevins for Civitas Media [there is a second set of duplicate copies for a total of 58].

 

The DVD’s and articles are housed in two large three-ring binders and stored in an acid free Gaylord 1215 box.  Each binder contains a complete set of the collection and there are two sets.

 

The DVD’s and articles are available for viewing by researchers and patrons of the Library.  Permission to copy these materials resides with the Library.  This collection was processed by Gary D. Meek in September 2016.

 

Scope and Content

 

The Veterans Oral History Project – Dr. Vivian Blevins Collection is divided into two duplicate sets each having three series:

 

SERIES I:  Library of Congress Veterans History Project – Index and pages 1-11 (page 12 is intentionally left blank for possible inclusion of future materials).

 

SERIES II:  Veteran Voices – Index and pages 13-19 (page 20 is intentionally left blank for possible inclusion of future materials).

 

SERIES III:  Miami Valley Military Veterans Tell Their Stories – Index and pages 21-64

 

Container List

 

BOX 1 – BINDER #1

 

SERIES I:  Library of Congress Veterans History Project

           

Coordinator:  Dr. Vivian Blevins, Faculty Edison State College, Piqua, Ohio

Original recordings were done in 2012 at Edison State College and Garbry Ridge AssistedLiving in Piqua, Ohio.

DVD copies produced in 2015.  43 standard DVD-R’s 16x 4.7 GB 120 min.  Recorded in English, copies with HP MediaSmart Software.

 

Pg. #

DVD Title/

Interviewee

Recording

Date

Run

Time

Brief Content Description

1

Marion Adams

03/24/2012

51:45

WWII D Day Operations, Atomic Bomb

1

Harry Ashburn

02/17/2012

54:00

WWII New Georgia Battle, Luzon Invasion

1

Robin Barrow

03/09/2012

44:08

31+ year career including Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, 7 Day War, Haiti and Japan relief

1

Truman Bashore 1

02/17/2012

49:01

Vietnam Service , U.S. Marine

2

Truman Bashore 2

03/02/2012

42:18

Vietnam Service, U.S. Marine

2

Richard Benkert

03/26/2012

50:10

U.S. Marine WWII South Pacific

2

Wesley Branscum

03/30/2012

50:50

U.S. Marine Kuwait, anti-pirate operations

2

Brandon Brown

03/24/2012

37:02

U.S. Army Iraq Mortuary Affairs

3

Scott Brownlee

03/03/2012

47:00

U.S. Army Vietnam, CIA

3

Daniel Califf

03/03/2012

43:00

U.S. Army Korean Era/state side

3

Jack Cartwright

03/26/2012

35:52

WWII Battle of the Bulge, Normandy Invasion, Purple Heart

3

Jessica Cosentino

03/23/2012

56:33

U.S. Navy Nuclear Power training, women in the Navy

4

Carl DeSantis

02/18/2012

52:35

U.S. Army Vietnam Saigon

4

David Dollan

12/03/2012

32:37

U.S. Marine Iraq, survival equipment tech

4

Nicholas Essinger

03/30/2012

48:54

USAF Vietnam

4

John Flaute

03/24/2012

52:00

Ohio Army National Guard – 4 tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan

5

Ray Fleming

11/02/2012

58:45

Naval Academy, bomber maintenance

5

Charles Garland

03/10/2012

47:37

U.S. Army Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Military intelligence, security agent

5

Mills (Miles) Hamilton

03/30/2012

51:43

Army Air Corps, WWII D Day

5

Hannah Gilmore

03/26/2012

47:00

U.S. Navy WWII Atomic bomb transport

6

Harwood Hegna

03/10/2012

34:29

U.S. Air Force Professor various installations

6

Helen Hegna

03/10/2012

32:28

U.S. Air Force Nurse Wright Patterson Neo Natal

6

Craig Heindenreich

03/05/2012

52:00

U.S. Air Force Gulf War Iraq and Korea

6

Ben Hiser

02/17/2012

40:04

Korean War medic

7

Ahllisha Holloway

03/30/2012

33:36

U.S. Army supply clerk stationed in Hawaii

7

Gary Huff

03/05/2012

33:56

U.S. Army Vietnam Era air defense

7

Jesse Leonard

03/10/2012

43:58

Operation Iraqi Freedom IED injury

7

Andrew Littlejohn

12/03/2012

31:00

U.S. Air Force F-117/A display

8

Philip Lootens

03/02/2012

57:15

Vietnam War “Black Ops”

8

William Marsh

03/30/2012

50:43

Afghanistan combat medic

8

Nickey Mott

03/03/2012

57:45

U.S. Navy Vietnam

8

Rev. Floyd Murray

02/17/2012

52:07

U.S. Army Vietnam

9

Randolph Pritchard

02/17/2012

53:00

U.S. Marine Afghanistan Howitzers

9

David Sands

03/30/2012

41:47

Korea / member of Air Force Band

9

William Shaffer

03/21/2012

47:06

U.S. Air Force Vietnam

9

Tracie Sims

02/18/2012

43:54

U.S. Army Iraq/communications/Red Phone

10

Ray Snedegar

 

 

U.S. Air Force Vietnam, Operation Baby Lift – involved in the crash of a C5A Galaxy cargo plane evacuating babies from Vietnam

10

Michael Taint

03/24/2012

48:29

Cold War, Space and Missile systems

10

Robert Tweed

03/23/2012

43:42

WWII Infantry, Battle of the Bulge

10

Thomas Tyler

03/23/2012

48:16

U.S. Army Animal Care Specialist / research

11

Federico Verceles

12/11/2012

48:36

U.S. Marine Vietnam air defense controller

11

Ed Wentworth

04/10/2012

36:47

U.S. Navy Vietnam Tet Offensive

11

Paul Wick

02/18/2012

42:22

USAF Gulf War operations, Hurricane Katrina relief

            Note:  page 12 was intentionally left blank.

 

SERIES II:  Veteran Voices

 

“Veterans Voices” is a series of 25 television programs produced and aired by the Western Ohio Television Consortium [WOTVC], Piqua TV-5, located at Edison State College, 1973 Edison Drive, Suite 156, Piqua, Ohio 45356.  The producer was Dr. Vivian Blevins.  The series is on 25 videodisc DVD-R’s (16x 4.7GB 120 min).  The videographer was Nicholas Essinger; video editing was done by Ted Jones and video copying and documentation was done by Lisa Mowen.

 

Pg. #

Veteran

Run

Time

Subject

13

Carl DeSantis/Steve Skinner

17:16

365 Days in Vietnam

13

 

32:16

The 50th Anniversary Program “Veterans Voices”

13

Jim Gover

15:54

A Marine’s Story

13

Tony Miltenberger/David Gerber

29:58

A Military Chaplain’s Role

14

Peggy Hanna/Truman Bashore

22:50

Advocates for Peace

14

Chad Christian

36:20

Afghanistan

14

Harry Christy

26:58

Battle of the Bulge

14

Harry Christy

33:29

Battle of the Bulge Widescreen

15

Harry Christy

33:29

Battle of the Bulge 2

15

 

26:58

Battle of the Bulge in Mooseburg POW Camp

15

Robert Tweed

11:58

Battle of the Bulge

15

Bob Jacoby

13:50

Beaches of Normandy

16

 

5:09

Bombing of Japan

16

Guy LaPointe

38:01

When a Soldier Dies in Combat

16

 

26:58

Mooseburg POW Camp and  Dacau Concentration Camp Widescreen

16

Craig McMaken

15:26

Piqua National Guard

17

Lester Edsall

37:51

Prisoner’s Story

17

Fred Shively/Ken Williamson

19:20

Stolen Valor

17

Bill Bowers

54:42

Veterans Voices

17

Nick Essinger

2:05

Veterans Voices

18

Fred Verceles

37:32

Veterans Voices

18

 

19:32

Veterans Voices Montage Video

18

John Looker

31:31

Vietnam

18

Nadine Nagle/Marty Wyall

17:50

Women in the Military

19

Terry Calvert

29:59

Women in the Military 2

            NOTE: page 20 is intentionally left blank

 

SERIES III:  Miami Valley Military Veterans Tell Their Stories – 29 newspaper articles.

 

Dr. Vivian B. Blevins of Piqua, Ohio, is a contributing columnist for Civitas Media, and her stories can be reprinted in any of their 100 plus newspapers.  They are, however, primarily printed in the following six newspapers:  Piqua Daily Call, Troy Daily News, Sidney Daily News (Ohio), Harlan Daily Enterprise, Middlesboro Daily News (Kentucky), and Claiborne Progress (Tennessee).  The dates in the index are approximate since newspapers print on different days.

 

With a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University and a graduated degree from Eastern Kentucky University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo, Blevins has enjoyed an extensive career in higher education and has been CEO of colleges in Kentucky, Texas, California, and Missouri.  She has received dozens of awards and held offices at the state and national levels.

 

Her interest in veterans is long standing and comes from a history of family members who have served back to the Civil War.  As a faculty member at Edison State Community College in Piqua, she has been involved in a host of veterans’ issues and believes that recording their stories is an important part of that mission.

 

The following stories are roughly arranged according to time periods:

 

Pg. #

Title of Article

Subject

Pub.

Date

WAR OF 1812

21

Old Iron Sides gets makeover

War of 1812

11-1-14

WORLD WAR II

22-23

WWII bomber pilots enchant, educate

  • Earl Miller

U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II

  • William Adams

U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Air Force

World War II, Korean War

7-11-15

24

Remembering the USS Salute

  • Tilden Dale Ulrich

U.S. Navy, World War II

7-16-16

25

Veterans tell their stories

  • Robert Tweed, U.S. Army, World War II
  • Harry Christy, U.S. Army, World War II
  • Les Edsall, U.S. Army, World War II
  • Marion Adams, U.S. Navy, World War II
  • Harry Ashburn, U.S. Army, World War II
  • Bill Bowers, U.S. Navy, World War II
  • Nadine Nagel, WASP, World War II

8-15-15

26-27

Surviving and living beyond Iwo Jima

  • Charles Baker

U.S. Marine Corps, World War II

8-26-15

28

Prisoner of War: 0-78284

  • Les Edsall, U.S. Army, World War II

10-21-15

29

Such a small world

  • Robert Tweed, U.S. Army, World War II

1-27-16

30-31

Capt. Tweed Shares his story

  • Robert Tweed

U.S. Army, World War II

6-11-16

32

Reflections from veterans

  • Harry Christy

U.S. Army, World War II

  • Walt Felver

U.S. Army, World War II

  • Ted Jones

U.S. Coast Guard, Vietnam Era

  • Mitchell Fogle

U.S. Navy, Gulf War/Cold War

  • Tristan Weis

U.S. Army, Iraq War

  • Jeffrey Stapleton

U.S. Army, Bosnia, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan

7-4-16

KOREAN WAR

33

Who is responsible?

All of us

  • Ken Williamson

U.S. Army, Korean War, Vietnam War

  • Fred Shively

Ohio National Guard, Korean War

5-2-16

34-35

The Korean War remembered

  • Weldon Oakley

U.S. Army, Korean War

6-4-16

36

The real-life M*A*S*H

  • Ben Hiser, U.S. Army, Korean War

6-_-16

37-38

A sense of family aboard ship

  • Joseph Goetz

U.S. Navy, Korean War Era

7-29-16

VIETNAM WAR

39-40

Brothers proud to serve

  • John H. Swigart

U.S. Air Force, Cold War

  • Paul Swigart

U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam Era

  • Richard Swigart

U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam Era

  • David Swigart

U.S. Army, Vietnam Era

  • Raymond Swigart

U.S. Army, Vietnam Era

3-7-15

41-42

Background, please

  • Jim Gover, U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam

3-21-15

43-44

The realities of Vietnam POWs

  • Guy Gruters

U.S. Air Force, Vietnam

 

 

4-11-15

45-46

Welcome home vets

  • Jim Miller

U.S. Air Force, Vietnam

  • Mel Shane

U.S. Army, Vietnam

4-11-15

45-46

Welcome home vets (Cont.)

  • David Norman

U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam

4-11-15

47-48

Understanding veteran suicide

  • John Looker

U.S. Army, Vietnam War

  • Dan Schultz

U.S. Army, Vietnam War

6-6-15

49-50

Operation Babylift in Vietnam

  • Ray Snedegar

U.S. Air Force, Vietnam War

7-18-15

51

Back from Vietnam

  • Tom Hemmelgarn

U.S. Army, Vietnam

10-3-15

52-53

Twins go through combat, life together

  • Lloyd Perry

U.S. Army, Vietnam War

  • Lowell Perry

U.S. Army, Vietnam War

12-11-15

54

Purple Hearts; Who gets them

  • John Looker

U.S. Army, Vietnam War

8-12-16

IRAQ WAR

55-56

A soldier’s point of view

  • Stephen Hayes

U.S. Army, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, New Orleans

9-15-15

57-58

The Iron Claw: A tight hold

  • Brent Shane

Ohio National Guard, Iraq War

5-21-16

59-60

Service dogs and the VA

  • J.C.

Iraq War

2-20-16

61-62

Bearing the cross every day

  • E.M.

Iraq War

  • J.C.

Iraq War

5-21-16

63

More challenges for veterans

 

6-4-15

UNKNOWN

64

He served, but who is he

  • Unknown

4-24-15

 

 

 

BOX 1 – BINDER #2 – Binder #2 is an exact duplicate of Binder #1