Class of 2005

beginning questions

Nephew of Two War Vets

Ernie, Army Veteran

......Studs Terkel, one of the greatest oral historians of this century, wrote over ten books comprising nine thousand interviews - all attempts to capture the voice of the common man's perspective on such fundamental subjects as work, age, and war. His Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Good War, chronicles the experiences of many who experienced war - not from the perspective of military strategists, economists, or politicians, but from the point of view of nurses, men on the front line, and parents whose sons fought in World War II.

...The Junior class of San Mateo Middle College had a unique opportunity to follow in Terkel's footsteps. The parents and close relatives of these students are now of an age to take a retrospective look at a very different war, a war that few would deem "good": the Vietnam War. These students found interviewees, prepared interview questions, researched the major campaigns of the war, then interviewed their subjects. Some interviewed conscientious objectors, some draft counselors, others interviewed men who fought the major battles. These interviews are the subject of the first section of this page.