He earned two bronze stars, two air medals, and a South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm Leaf among other awards and medals. Richard Garcia is a retired Sergeant of the United States Army who served in the Vietnam War. She also reveals how she met her husband while he was training to become a medic, and she was training to become a nurse. In her interview she talks about the difficulties of being a wife of a citizen soldier. Rhonda Watt has been married to MSG Kevin Runyon since April 1995.
program at Morgan State College in Maryland from 1957-1959 and was Director of Education for the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene for the State of Ohio until his retirement in 1981. Major Norman taught Science in the R.O.T.C. Major Norman graduated from Wilberforce College with a Bachelor's degree in History and received a Master's degree and Doctorate from the Ohio State University. Major Norman was award a number of service medals, including a medal and letter of commendation from the Queen of the Netherlands for his service in evacuating civilians during a flood in Holland in 1950. His final military duty was Commanding Officer of Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. He served as part of the Army of Occupation as a pilot in Germany until 1953 as well as during the Korean Conflict. He was deployed to the Italian Front, served as an artillery spotter until the end of World War II. Major Norman (born, died 2002) entered the service in the Army Artillery in 1939, trained as a pilot at the Tuskegee Institute and was one of the first African American pilots in the US Armed Forces. Norman, who served in the United States Air Corps from 1940-1965. Mari Sunami is the daughter of Major Henry A. You can also browse the entire collection on Ohio Memory. Whether you are an academic historian, family history researcher or military buff, this repository will help you learn more about the individuals that make up the Ohio experience.īelow is a searchable table with links to all of our currently available oral histories. This repository provides access to our collections of video, audio and interactive oral histories and will continue to grow as we continue collecting interviews across the state. Oral histories are a key part of the Ohio History Connection’s mission to preserve and present the history of Ohio and Ohioans. The Ohio History Connection is dedicated to preserving the memories of Ohioans from all walks of life.
Oral history allows us to preserve the past in the words and voice of those that lived through it, but it also helps us connect with history that’s happening now by working with communities to document their lives as they unfold around us. An individual describing his or her own experiences is a primary source in its purest form, and using digital technology we can share those stories for generations to come. Oral history is unparalleled in its ability to connect.