Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

“Mortality,” Leo McCracken (WWII-070) By Austyn Szempruch, Intern Listen: Oral history interview clip at UFDC with Leo McCracken 00:37 A reality that many people fear to acknowledge today, mortality was all too real for veterans of World War II. Leo McCracken, now a United States Army veteran, was assigned to the 128th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Armored […]

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“Nursing,” Pauline Pepper (WWII-077) By Brittney Mejia, Intern Listen: Oral history interview clip at UFDC with Pauline Pepper 02:17 Pauline Pepper is a Gem. She served as a nurse in the war on the European front, mostly going back in forth the Atlantic to the English Channel on boat. She moved to Lake City Florida after completing her […]

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“Fighting an Enemy,” Bill Cross (WWII-021) By Maria Fuentes, Intern Listen: Oral history interview clip at UFDC with Bill Cross 02:35 Bill Cross was born in Missouri during 1925 but raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He lived during the Depression and enlisted in the Marine Corps in April of 1943. He, along with his fellow male classmates, enlisted […]

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“Prisoners of War,” Herbert Pepper (WWII-030) By Steven Houston Listen: Oral history interview clip at UFDC with Herbert Pepper 07:57 Herbert Pepper was an Air Force sergeant who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. Pepper underwent severe trauma as he survived the brutal prisoner of war experience in the Philippines and Japan; a determined and ardent survivor, […]

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Occupations, Howard Lamar Long (WWII-200) By Bruce Hunt, Intern Howard Lamar Long, a veteran of the Second World War, was interviewed on the 2nd of April, 2012 and it was in that interview that he discussed, among other details of his service, his own account of living it Japan during the post-war occupation by America. […]

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The Soldier Artist: Representations of a Soldier’s Role in the European Front, Frank Blair Reeves (UF-340) By Annemarie Nichols, Intern While at the University of Texas in 1943, an aspiring architect named Frank Blair Reeves enlisted in the United States Army to fight in World War II. After basic training, he was sent by boat […]

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