Our second installment of Archival Encounters is a three-part episode on World War II, in which we’re chronicling the American experience of the war through the oral histories of six veterans from Northwest Ohio, including John Andryc of Rossford, John Damman of Napoleon, Gordon Domeck of Wauseon, Allie Schrader of Belle Center, Pete Simon of Custar, and Jim Spencer of Bowling Green. These oral histories are part of the CAC’s larger collection of over one hundred World War II veteran oral histories that were collected by BGSU students in the early 2000s for History 303, a course on World War II taught at the time by Assistant Professor Walter Grunden and doctoral candidate Kathren Brown in the BGSU Department of History.

In this three-part episode, Dr. Grunden, now a full Professor in the BGSU Department of History, serves as our expert historical guide as we follow our six Northwest Ohio veterans’ firsthand accounts of their World War II service. Along the way, we’ll situate our veterans’ narratives within the larger context of the war, and we’ll learn how our veterans’ wartime contributions are both unique and also reflective of the experiences of millions of ordinary Americans who served in the global fight against fascism that would define the twentieth century.

Episode transcript available on the CAC's Archival Encounters webpage.

Episode Credits