The Aftermath
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 10: After the surrender of Germany and Japan, people around the world struggled to make sense of the chaos and devastation they had just lived through. Man's inhumanity to Man was on full display as shocked allied forces liberated concentration camps and viewed the unparalleled destruction visited on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. As U. S. Troops struggled to come to grips with the horrors of war they had witnessed, they dealt with a complex mix of emotions that included relief for not having to invade the Japanese mainland and guilt for having survived. Many would...
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Major Battles & Prisoners of War
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 9: With Allied Forces pushing from the west, and the Red Army making huge gains in the east, the Germans grew increasingly desperate to reach a negotiated settlement and keep the front lines out of Germany. As Hitler's hold on power became increasingly tenuous, he looked for new weapons and new tactics to change the trajectory of the war and avoid the total destruction of his country. In today's episode, Dr. Andrew Wiest of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, joins us to discuss the final push to break the Nazis strangle-hold on Europe. He will guide us through...
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D-Day & Beyond 1944 - 1945
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 8: As Allied Forces began planning for an invasion of Europe in 1943, it faced entrenched and highly-fortified German defenses along the French coastline. There would be only one opportunity to gain the element of surprise and somehow skirt the massive army that awaited them onshore. Operation Overload would be a logistical undertaking of a scale never before contemplated, and success would be anything but a certainty. To talk us through the planning and execution of the juggernaut that would simply be known as D-Day, we are joined once again by Dr. Andrew Wiest of the...
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Island Fighting 1944 - 1945
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 7: As Allied Forces worked to retake strategically important islands from the Empire of Japan, Japanese military leaders grew increasingly desperate. With the U. S. Navy steadily inching closer to the Japanese mainland, the Imperial Japanese Navy would begin recruiting pilots for suicide missions to crash their planes into U. S. ships, in a nightmarish program known as Kamikaze, or Divine Wind. Joining us for the discussion today is Dr. Kenneth Swope of the Dale Center. He will take us on a deep dive into the strategy behind the Island Hopping campaign, consider the success...
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Norms Under Fire, Part 2
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 6: As the war progressed, manpower shortages forced Americans to reexamine the role of women in the workplace. But even as increased demand for workers created new opportunities women, in both the civilian job market and the military, many viewed such changes as an affront to the American way of life. Dr. Heather Stur of the Dale Center joins host, Bill Ellison, for a discussion of the new opportunities for women that arose during the war, the challenges they faced, and their impact on traditional gender roles in America. To Dr. Stur's insights, we will add the...
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Norms Under Fire, Part 1
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 5: Perhaps no event changes a society more completely than war. Long-established cultural norms and accepted public policies can buckle under the stress of extended conflict. Indeed, WWII would change several long-held beliefs of the American public. In the next two episodes, we will examine how the war changed our perceptions of what minorities and women were capable of: both on the battlefield and the home front. Through their stories of challenge and triumph, we will see how the marginalized defied expectations, and in doing so, charted a new path forward for the...
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North Africa & Europe 1942 - 1943
Voices of Our People: WWII
Episode 4: By the time America entered the conflict in Europe, it was clear that this war would be waged in radically different ways from the previous war, which had been fought primarily from trenches. The development of heavy, high-altitude bombers meant that devastating destruction could be delivered far behind the front lines to homes and factories alike. Meanwhile, Allied leaders strategized on the best way to liberated Europe from Axis forces, and soon, untested American soldiers would face off with the legendary Desert Fox, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for the...
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The Pacific Theater 1942 - 1943
Voices of Our People: WWII
On Episode 3, we examine the early days of the Pacific war. Following their successful attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces began a campaign to subjugate nearby countries in order to obtain more resources, expand their sphere of influence along the Pacific rim, and construct a defensive perimeter of protection to shield the island nation from an expected counter-attack. Dr. Andrew Wiest of the Dale Center joins host, Bill Ellison, in examining the early military successes of Japan and the strategic failures of the Allies in Burma and the Philippines. And Wiest takes us on a deep...
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Answering the Call to War
Voices of Our People: WWII
Welcome to the second episode of Voices of Our People: WWII. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, young people flood recruitment offices across the nation, ready to join the fight. As the United States begins shifting its massive economy to a wartime footing, our military experiences growing pains from the sudden influx. Host Bill Ellison will be your guide as Dr. Andrew Wiest of the Dale Center details the challenges faced by U. S. Forces in terms of training, equipping, and providing logistics for over eight million men and women. And we hear stories from over a...
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Pearl Harbor and the Sleeping Giant
Voices of Our People: WWII
Welcome to Voices of Our People: WWII. As Hitler's army marches across Europe, Americans are determined to sit out a second world war. However, half a world away, the Empire of Japan plans a preemptive strike on an obscure U. S. Naval base known as Pearl Harbor. Our speakers for Episode One: Bill Ellison, a voice very familiar to fans of Mississippi Moments, will be your guide through this series. With over fifty years in broadcasting, Bill is known for his distinctive voice-over work and as host of Grass Roots, a Bluegrass music program heard weekly on Mississippi Public...
info_outlineOn Episode 3, we examine the early days of the Pacific war. Following their successful attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces began a campaign to subjugate nearby countries in order to obtain more resources, expand their sphere of influence along the Pacific rim, and construct a defensive perimeter of protection to shield the island nation from an expected counter-attack.
Dr. Andrew Wiest of the Dale Center joins host, Bill Ellison, in examining the early military successes of Japan and the strategic failures of the Allies in Burma and the Philippines. And Wiest takes us on a deep dive into the daring Doolittle Raid over Toyko and major battles like Coral Sea, Midway, Savo Islands, and Guadalcanal. And he discusses the importance of the Seabees, Logistics, and Transport Pilots, to the war effort.
To his comments, we add the memories of our veterans who found valiantly on both land and sea, including: Rip Bounds of Hattiesburg, Willie Hammack of Gulfport, Alvy Ray Pittman of Columbia, Albert Russell of Lafayette, Nevin Sledge of Cleveland, and James Smith of Gulfport.
Special thanks to the Mississippi Humanities Council for their unwavering support of the Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage through the years. The Humanities are for Everyone!
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