Join us at the Carnegie Library to see interviews with WWII veterans presented by local historian Larry Martin.
September 10: Charles McClelland was aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific and was involved in naval battles around the Guadalcanal area. The Helena was escorting the USS Juneau away from a battle when the Juneau was hit by a Japanese Torpedo, which sunk the ship in 12 seconds. The Helena was later sunk on July 5, 1943, with Charles spending four days in the water before being washed onto a Japanese-held island.
October 1: Bob Liberty served in the US Navy, and was aboard the naval destroyer USS Tingey. He was in many battles including the Battle of the Philippine Sea (the Marianas Turkey Shoot) as well as the naval battle of Okinawa. The Tingey was also was in what was called “Halsey’s Typhon” which sank four destroyers with the loss of about 750 men with winds at 140 mph and waves 70 feet high.
Join us at the Carnegie Library to see interviews with WWII veterans presented by local historian Larry Martin.
September 10: Charles McClelland was aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific and was involved in naval battles around the Guadalcanal area. The Helena was escorting the USS Juneau away from a battle when the Juneau was hit by a Japanese Torpedo, which sunk the ship in 12 seconds. The Helena was later sunk on July 5, 1943, with Charles spending four days in the water before being washed onto a Japanese-held island.
October 1: Bob Liberty served in the US Navy, and was aboard the naval destroyer USS Tingey. He was in many battles including the Battle of the Philippine Sea (the Marianas Turkey Shoot) as well as the naval battle of Okinawa. The Tingey was also was in what was called “Halsey’s Typhon” which sank four destroyers with the loss of about 750 men with winds at 140 mph and waves 70 feet high.
Join us for a virtual presentation by Laura Tohe Ph.D., the daughter of a Navajo Code Talker. This event will take place on Zoom.
The recording of this program will be available for viewing until August 15. Watch the recording here.
Take-and-make craft kits for making a Navajo style bracelet using colors and symbols that are significant to Navajo culture will be available at all JDL branches starting August 8.
Who are the Navajo Code Talkers? The Navajo Code Talkers are often-forgotten heroes of World War II. The Navajo created an unbreakable code, using their indigenous language to transmit sensitive information during the war. The code helped win the war in the Pacific and, undoubtedly, saved thousands of lives.
Learn about the experiences of those who lived through WWII in an interview presented by local historian Larry Martin at the Carnegie Library.
August 6: Bud Abbott Lt. USN. Bud was a PT boat skipper (the same thing that President Kennedy did during the war). Bud was in the South Pacific at New Guinea and saw a Japanese Kamikaze plane hit a ammunition ship that blew up so violently that it sunk two other ships.
September 10: Charles McClulland was aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific and was involved in naval battles around the Guadalcanal area. The Helena was escorting the USS Juneau away from a battle when the Juneau was hit by a Japanese Torpedo, which sunk the ship in 12 seconds. The Helena was later sunk on July 5, 1943, with Charles spending four days in the water before being washed onto a Japanese-held island.
October 1: Bob Liberty served in the US Navy, and was aboard the naval destroyer USS Tingey. He was in many battles including the Battle of the Philippine Sea (the Marianas Turkey Shoot) as well as the naval battle of Okinawa. The Tingey was also was in what was called “Halsey’s Typhon” which sank four destroyers with the loss of about 750 men with winds at 140 mph and waves 70 feet high.
Larry has interviewed everyone from U.S. veterans, to Hungarian underground fighters, to European citizens. “WWII In Their Own Words” has been presented at JDL for almost 15 years, and we are always proud to partner with Larry on this wonderful program.
Decorate a jar, collect your pennies, and learn about some of Jackson’s WWII veterans!
This program was inspired by the children’s book Pennies in a Jar by Dori Chaconas. The boy in the story is waiting for his father to come home from WWII. While the boy waits, he saves up his pennies to buy his father a gift when comes home.
Stop by any JDL branch starting November 1 to pick up a kit to decorate your own jar to save up your pennies for a person or place that you love.
Join us for a presentation and Q&A with author Tim Brady on his new WWII-inspired novel Three Ordinary Girls in honor of V/E Day.
This program will take place on Zoom. To join, click here.
Tim Brady is an award-winning author, whose books, His Father’s Son: The Life of General Ted Roosevelt, Jr., Twelve Desperate Miles, A Death in San Pietro, and now Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins—And World War II Heroes have received critical acclaim. He has contributed to PBS history documentaries and has written for a wide array of magazines. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin (B.A. 1979) and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (M.F.A.1983).
Join us to see Larry Martin’s interview with Hubert Linz who was a teenager in Cologne, Germany during the war.
This program will be available on our Facebook page and on Zoom. Click here to register for Zoom.
Larry will be available to answer questions about this interview or WWII after the viewing. For more information on Larry’s programs, visit lmww2.com.
Join us to see Larry Martin’s interview with Adolf Lohner who was stationed in Budapest, Hungary on the Eastern front. Lohner began as a tank crewman and when his tank was destroyed, he fought as an infantryman until he was captured and sent to Russia as a prisoner of war.
This program will be available on our Facebook page and on Zoom. Stay tuned for the link.
Larry will be available to answer questions about this interview or WWII after the viewing. For more information on Larry’s programs, visit lmww2.com.
Join us to see Larry Martin’s interview with Ernst Floeter. Floeter was a German soldier captured in Normandy about June 20, 1944 after about two weeks of combat during the D-Day invasion of Europe
To register for the event, click here.
Larry will be available to answer questions about this interview of WWII after the viewing. For more information on Larry’s programs, visit lmww2.com.
Join JDL and the First United Methodist Church of Jackson for another installment of Larry Martin’s In Their Own Words!
Lee Zimmerman was a bombardier aboard a B-17 in the Mighty 8th Air Force. His B-17 was shot down on his 22nd mission over Germany on November 30, 1944, resulting in Lee becoming a POW in Barth, Germany at the Stalag Luft #1. Lee’s internment lasted until the May of 1945.
Listen as Mr. Zimmerman tells what it is like facing flak as well as German fighter planes. Despite receiving no parachute training, Lee always wondered what it would take him to put on a parachute and bail out of his B-17, and eventually, Lee was forced to do just that. Zimmerman also tells of being threatened with death by the Hitler Youth.
Intended for adults.
