1
100
6
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/5322372982e5ff8e69599c29c71ad20d.jpg
58ebf15a0ce3949d2db8e5c0b9d7914c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project Collection
Alternative Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Subject
Cemeteries--Europe
Veterans--Florida
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES</a>.
<a href="https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/fl-francesoldierstories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida-France Soldier Stories Project</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Dinozé, France
Contributing Project
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epinal Project- by Students of History 357: The Second World War</a>." University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm (accessed January 3, 2015).
Description
<p><span>The </span>Florida-France Soldier Stories<span>project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.</span></p>
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
5 Local Servicemen Are Reported Dead
Description
An article published in <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em> announcing the death of five servicemen, the missing reports of two servicemen, and the wounded status of three servicemen during World War II. One notable servicemen cited in the article is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1941, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Date Created
ca. 1944-09-21
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051" target="_blank">Libération de Thiant</a>." La Voix Du Nord. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051.
"<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930&" target="_blank">Maj Jack C Heist</a>." Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930& .
"<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/" target="_blank">Local Men in Armed Forces</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, December 24, 1942, page 6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/.
Alternative Title
Local Servicemen Reported Dead
Subject
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Veterans--Florida
Source
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441055/the_wilkesbarre_record/" target="_blank">5 Local Servicemen Are Reported Dead</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, September 21, 1944, page 8. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441055/the_wilkesbarre_record/.
Publisher
<a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>
Date Copyrighted
1944-09-21
Date Issued
1944-09-21
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/172" target="_blank">Epinal American Cemetery Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
141 KB
Medium
1 newspaper article
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Thiant, France
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>.
Contributing Project
Epinal Cemetery Project
Curator
Almanza, Esteban
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/" target="_blank">Newspapers.com</a>
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Albert F. Salansky
Alfred Cherondullo
C. E. German
casualties
casualty
Claire McDermott
Delbert Massaker
Elizabeth Murray
Eustis
Forrest A. German
Forrest Charles German
Frances German
Harold C. Snowdon
Herbert S. Walton
Jack Cameron Heist
Jacksonville
James Harrison
Jerry Rogel
John Masker
Joseph J. Rogel
Joseph McDermott
Joseph P. Jones
Lawrence Monroe
Lewis Wilcox
Margaret Ann Gallagher Heist
marines
Martha Dawes
Pensacola
Phoebe Snow
Robert James Boyer
Rose Murray
sailors
Saint Petersburg
serviceman
servicemen
soldiers
St. Petersburg
The Wilkes-Barre Record
Thomas Jones
Thomas Jones, Jr.
Thomas Murray, Sr.
U.S. Army
U.S. Department of War
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy Air Reserve
Veronica Dziadosz
veterans
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
William F. Heist
William J. Dziadosz
William McKinley Masker
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/94403033adedc3bc201753c6ffa68fc4.pdf
6eade58083dcbbf5a1668b7ffed04813
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project Collection
Alternative Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Subject
Cemeteries--Europe
Veterans--Florida
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES</a>.
<a href="https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/fl-francesoldierstories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida-France Soldier Stories Project</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Dinozé, France
Contributing Project
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epinal Project- by Students of History 357: The Second World War</a>." University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm (accessed January 3, 2015).
Description
<p><span>The </span>Florida-France Soldier Stories<span>project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A Pocket Reference Guide: Army, Navy, Marine Corps Insignia
Alternative Title
Army, Navy, Marine Corps Insignia
Subject
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Navy
Marine Corps
Description
A pocket reference guide for insignias of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. This reference guide was owned by Sergeant John B. Hancock (1913-1944). Sgt. Hancock was born in Thomasville, Georgia, in 1913, but later migrated to Auburndale, Florida. Hancock managed a Great Atlantic &
Pacific Tea Company (A&
P) store in Haines City until he enlisted in the 45th Infantry Division's 179th Infantry Regiment. Sgt. Hancock served initially in Africa in 1943, until the 45th Infantry Division's participation in the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. The division then went on to participate in the Allied invasion of Italy, where Sgt. Hancock was injured. He was returned to duty in February of 1944in southern France. On November 1, 1944, Sgt. Hancock went Missing in Action (MIA) after serving in the Allied invasion of Southern France, codenamed Operation Dragoon. He was eventually buried at Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France.
Type
Text
Source
Photocopy of original 6-page guide: Private Collection of Linda Hughes.
Requires
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/172" target="_blank">Epinal American Cemetery Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of photocopied 6-page guide.
Coverage
Auburndale, Florida
Contributor
Hughes, Linda
Date Created
ca. 1943-03
Date Issued
ca. 1943-03
Date Copyrighted
ca. 1943-03
Format
application/pdf
Extent
Medium
6-page guide
Language
eng
Audience
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/" target="_blank"><em>Newsweek</em></a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/" target="_blank"><em>Newsweek</em></a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial Project
Curator
Bates, Chris
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
Private Collection of Linda Hughes
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&
GRid=56372799" target="_blank">Sgt John B Hancock</a>." Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&
GRid=56372799.
"Killed in Action." RICHES of Central Florida.
"Letter from John R. Hull to Edna P. Hancock (April 23, 1945)." RICHES of Central Florida.
insignias
Newsweek
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
USA
USMC
USN
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/99eff77796a2f91e66da0285df0093db.pdf
0385c0863af79dd1bad2c827d1d62e16
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project Collection
Alternative Title
Lone Sailor Collection
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Orlando (Fla.)
United States. Navy
Navy
Sailors--United States
Description
Collection of digital images and oral histories related to the former Recruit Training Center Orlando (RTC Orlando) for the United States Navy. The training center transformed raw recruits into highly effective sailors. This process took place over an intensive eight-week training period, commonly referred to as "boot camp." RTC Orlando occupied roughly one half of the former Naval Training Center Orlando (NTC Orlando), which was located at present day Baldwin Park, Orlando, Florida. Between 1968 and 1994, over 650,000 men and women graduated from RTC Orlando.
Contributor
<a href="http://www.lonesailorfl.com/" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project</a>
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/24" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Naval Training Center, Orlando, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://www.lonesailorfl.com/" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project</a>
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.
"<a href="http://cfnavyleague.org/lone-sailor/" target="_blank">The History</a>." Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project. http://cfnavyleague.org/lone-sailor/
"<a href="http://rtcorlando.homestead.com/" target="_blank">The History</a>." RTC Orlando. http://rtcorlando.homestead.com/.
<a href="http://www.lonesailorfl.com/" target="_blank"><em>A Guide to Historic Orlando</em></a>. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
Hazen, Kendra
Interviewee
Clark, Jeffrey Edward
Location
Central Florida Research Par, Orlando, Florida
Original Format
1 digital audio/video recording
Duration
50 minutes and 25 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
4661kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Henry Carl Okraski
Alternative Title
Oral History, Okraski
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Link Aviation Devices, Inc.
Simulation
Description
An oral history of Henry Carl Okraski, former Deputy Director of the Naval Air Warfare Training Systems (NAWCTSD) in Orlando, Florida. The interview was conducted by Kendra Hazen at Research Park in Orlando, Florida. This oral history was produced as part of the Community Veterans History Project (CVHP) and the Lone Sailor Memorial Committee for the purpose conducting background research for a memorial honoring the former Naval Training Center Orlando (NTC Orlando).<br /><br />Okraski was involved with the defense simulation industry from 1962 to 1994, which included stints as the director of Research and Engineering and the Deputy Technical Director for NAWCTSD. He obtained a Master's Degree in Engineering from the University of Florida.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:01:13 Biographical information<br />0:04:13 LINK Aviation<br />0:08:55 Naval Training Device Center in Long Island, New York<br />0:12:15 Migrating to Central Florida<br />0:13:35 How Naval Training Device Center came to Orlando<br />0:16:06 Admiral Luiz De Florez<br />0:17:50 Maintenance Engineering Division<br />0:27:45 Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD)<br />0:29:14 Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) project<br />0:30:32 Various simulation projects conducted by NAWCTSD<br />0:35:59 Teaching deaf and hearing-impaired children<br />0:39:27 Challenges faced by simulation projects<br />0:42:47 Future of the simulation industry in Central Florida<br />0:46:25 How NAWCTSD has changed Orlando<br />0:49:09 Closing remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Henry Carl Okraski. Interview conducted by Kendra Hazen at Research Park in Orlando, Florida.
Type
Moving Image
Source
Okraski, Henry "Hank" Carl. Interviewed by Kendra Hazen. UCF Community Veterans History Project. March 7, 2014. Audio/video record available. <a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank">Adobe Flash Player</a>
<a href="http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp" target="_blank">Java</a>
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/109" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Conforms To
Standards established by the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/" target="_blank">Community Veterans History Project (CVHP),</a> Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/vets/.
Coverage
Utica Free Academy, Utica, New York
Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York
Thule Air Base, Qaasuitsup, Greenland
Port Washington, Long Island, New York
Naval Training Center Orlando, Orlando, Florida
Maitland, Florida
Lake Nona Medical City, Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida
Creator
Hazen, Kendra
Okraski, Henry "Hank" Carl
Publisher
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/UniversityArchives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>, University of Central Florida Libraries
Contributor
Hill, Amanda
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-03-07
Date Copyrighted
2014-03-07
Format
video/mp4
application/pdf
Extent
1.68 GB
203 KB
Medium
50-minute and 25-second digital audio/video recording
21-page typed transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Kendra Hazen and Henry "Hank" Carl Okraski, and published by the University of Central Florida Libraries <a href="http://library.ucf.edu/UniversityArchives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>.
Rights Holder
All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact <a href="http://library.ucf.edu/UniversityArchives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalCollections/" target="_blank">UCF Digital Collections</a>
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/" target="_blank">University of Central Florida, Special Collections and University Archives</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawctsd/AboutUs/MissionHistoryFuture.cfm" target="_blank">History</a>." Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division.. http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawctsd/AboutUs/MissionHistoryFuture.cfm.
"<a href="http://www.lonesailorfl.com/" target="_blank">The History</a>." Navy Memorial of Central Florida. http://www.lonesailorfl.com/.
"<a href="http://rtcorlando.homestead.com/" target="_blank">The History</a>." RTC Orlando. http://rtcorlando.homestead.com/.
Okraski, Henry Carl, and William F. Parrish. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2386511" target="_blank"><em>Acquisition Cost Estimating Using Simulation</em></a>. Orlando, Fla: Naval Training Equipment Center, Training Analysis and Evaluation Group, 1975.
Okraski, Henry Carl, and William F. Parrish. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2386511" target="_blank"><em>Acquisition Cost Estimating Using Simulation</em></a>. Orlando, Fla: Naval Training Equipment Center, Training Analysis and Evaluation Group, 1975.
Okraski, Henry Carl. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13983261" target="_blank">Economic Analysis of Training Media</a>. Thesis (M. Eng.)--University of Florida, 1972.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://youtu.be/UieZoSoHiCE" target="_blank">Oral History of Henry Carl Okraski</a>
Transcript
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Today is March 7<sup>th</sup>, 2014. I am interviewing Mr. Henry "”Hank” [Carl] Okraski, who spent 32 years in government service, 10 of which were working in the Senior Executive Service. He was the Director of Research and Engineering and the Deputy Technical Director for Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division, or NAWCTSD.</p>
<p>My name is Kendra Hazen and with me is Amanda Hill. We are interviewing Mr. Okraski as a part of the [UCF Community] Veterans History Project, and as research for the Lone Sailor Memorial Project. We are recording the interview at the National Center for Simulation Offices, located in the Partnership III building, um, in UCF’s [University of Central Florida] Research Parkway in Orlando, Florida.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Mr. Okraski, will you start us off by telling us when and where you were born?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yes. First off, Kendra, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you today. You’re really representing a worthwhile cause, and I appreciate the opportunity. I was born in Utica, New York, in 1936—January 22<sup>nd</sup>, actually.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen</strong>Thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about what your parents did while you were growing up?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yes. Uh, they both worked actually. I was a latchkey child. I think one of the first. And they worked in a florist—a wholesale florist enterprise. My mother cut flowers. My father hauled coal and, uh, manure and all sorts of things like that to keep the, uh, flowers growing.</p>
<p>So I was pretty much on my own. I had, um, the run of the neighborhood, if you will. Actually, I wasn’t born on the “other” side of the tracks. I was born on the tracks, because the railroad cars went right down the street where I lived, right next to my bedroom.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>I’ll bet that was a little loud.</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>It was. At like two in the morning, they would be bumping the cars back and forth and, uh—and it was, uh—I got used to it after a while.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Did you grow up with brothers and sisters?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski <br /></strong>No. I was the only child.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Can you tell us a little about your early education?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yes. I was, uh, trained by nuns. I attended the St. Patrick’s Grammar School for eight years, um, where I learned the value of discipline and, uh, how to pay attention in class. And I really experienced the nuns, um, caring for us. They wanted us to get ahead. I was really appreciative for that. So I went to St. Patrick’s School for eight years, and then I went to Utica Free Academy, which is the local high school in Utica, for four years. Graduated from there in 1953. I worked a year thereafter and then when on to Clarkson University which is in Upstate New York—in Potsdam, New York.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Um, and during that time, did you have any members of your family who were in any of the [U.S.] Armed Services?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>I had uncles. Several of my uncles were in, uh, in the service. Um, one of my uncles, uh, John—he was at Guadalcanal[, Solomon Islands]. He was in the 1<sup>st</sup> Marine Corps Division. earned three Purple Hearts while he was there. He’s still alive. I communicate with him just about every week.</p>
<p class="Default">And I had other uncles that were there in the South Pacific and in Europe. Um, some—one was in Normandy[, France]—[the] Normandy invasion. So yes. I’ve come from a family—now, my father was not in the Armed Services. He was working on a farm under the agriculture deferment in those days.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Um, what branches were they in? or were they all in the same branch?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>No. I had one in the [U.S.] Army, one in the [U.S.] Navy and one in the [U.S.] Marine Corps. And I also had another one in the Navy too, who was a deep sea diver. Yeah. with the original bubble heads where they wore the large thing. And, uh, he would repair ships, uh, in Newfoundland[, Canada]. Rather cold, you might say.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Um, whatever you were going through Clarkson University, what was your specialty? What was your area of specialty?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>I majored in Electrical Engineering and I graduated with a Bachelor’s [Degree] in Electrical Engineering.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And then from there, what was your first professional experience?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski <br /></strong>Yes. Uh, I was recruited from college to LINK Aviation [Devices, Inc.]. LINK Aviation was located in Binghamton, New York, and they were manufacturers of simulators—primarily flight simulators, at the time. and I always had somewhat of an interest in flight simulators. I might relate to you the first simulator that I ever had?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Okay. Um, I was 11 years old and I would spend summers on a farm. and all we had was radio for entertainment. There was no television, or we didn’t have any movies or anything close by. So radio was the big thing. Every day, I would listen to <em>Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy</em>. And they had one offering there that if you send, uh—I think it was 15 cents and a box top from Wheaties—they would send you a simulator. So I got the money. I got the Wheaties and I put it together and send it off. And I waited and waited. Every time the rural post delivery man would come by he’d say, “No, sonny. not today.” And nuts. I’d go back. Every day I’d wait for him. Finally, it came and I opened it up and it was a cardboard instrument panel that replicated an aircraft cockpit. It had a control stick. It had a throttle and it had two rudder pedals simulating the aircraft.</p>
<p class="Default">So what we did—all of us youngsters, you know, part of the, uh, Jack Armstrong squadron—we would sit on our chairs and set up our cockpits and then listen to the radio. And he would say, “Today we’re going to be flying over the jungles of South America. Look down. You can see the river.” I would look down and I could see that river. You know, because in those days, we said radio was the theatre of the mind. And it really was. We used our imaginations and we could visualize things that weren’t even there. So that was my first simulator. That wetted my appetite. So, then when LINK Aviation recruited me, I was very happy, because I would be working with simulators again.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>What exactly were your responsibilities when you were at LINK Aviator?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yes. Uh, with LINK, they started us out in, uh, Field Service Organization. So I attended a short course learning how to maintain and operate one of their flight simulators. They called it a “C11” or “Device 2F-2”3 in those days. And it was a basic one seater flight instrument trainer that was used in primary, uh, flight training for the Air Force in my case. And where pilots would learn how to fly instruments. how to do instrument landing. Uh, also how to react to various failures that might occur in the aircraft. So I would help the pilots learn how to go through emergency procedures to save themselves and to save the aircraft. So that was my first job. It entailed traveling throughout the, uh, Southwest, and that was in Oklahoma and Texas—uh, in that area where there are several Air Force bases. And I had an opportunity to visit and work with the various pilots or wannabe pilots in those days. So, that was my first job, Kendra.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>How long were you there? How long were you with LINK Aviation?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, I was with LINK Aviation for about four and a half years. Um, what happened was I did a short stint in the Army. I had to go through basic training, um, but I essentially went back to the inactive reserves.<a title="">[1]</a></p>
<p class="Default">And then LINK transferred me to a number of places, but the most memorable one, I guess, was to Thule [Air Base], Greenland where I spent six months one night. It was dark for the entire period and I was working then on the F-102 aircraft simulator. And so I would help train a pilot, set up all the simulations and train the pilots, um, to do air to air combat maneuvering and air to air intercepts. And it was very, very important, because it was co-located with the ballistic missile early warning site located there at Thule, Greenland, whose antenna was essentially affixed at the Soviet Union at that time, ‘cause we were under, you know, Cold War conditions. So having our pilots trained was very important in the event that anything should happen and they had to scramble. They were in a position to, uh, perform as they were trained.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Do you remember what year that was, when you..?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Around 1960.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Um, and then after your four and a half years with LINK, where did you go next?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah. I—I traveled a little bit more with LINK, and I took a job with the Naval Training Device Center, which was located in Port Washington, Long Island[, New York]. And that’s where I took a position as, um, a GS-11 electrical engineer working in the field support of Naval Aviation simulators. It was in a facility that was called a [Gould-]Guggenheim Estate at one time. It was a castle. Actually, it was a castle that was created that was by the Guggenheims and the Gould family years before. So it was quite a thrill to come to work and go into the castle. And, um, it was on an estate that overlooked Long Island Sound and several, several acres. It was beautiful. And our next door neighbor, who—Kendra, you may not recall—was somebody called Perry Como, the singer. So he lived next door—very casual individual and, uh, we would wave as we went on to work in our castle.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>A castle. Um, what kinds of things were the projects that were being worked on? In addition to what you did, what are some of the different projects that were being worked on there?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>It was an interesting time, because originally the Naval Training Device Center, which began as the Special Devices Task by Admiral [Luiz] de Florez in 1941, um, expanded its mission to include more than just aviation training. In the beginning, he focused on flight simulators—in the LINK trainer actually grew out of some of the initiatives that were going on there and, uh, Luiz de Florez took the LINK trainer and, uh, modified it for gunnery training. Uh, and other applications that went beyond aviation. They began to get into surface Navy, land warfare, undersea warfare, simulators for all those kinds of things. But the primary thrust was in aviation. So aircrafts such as the P2V [Physical-to Virtual] —oh gosh—the F-3, the A-7, the A-3 intruder. Um, all those aircraft had simulators that were built and being delivered and used by the pilots’ aircrew, uh, to train out in the field.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>How long were you there in Long Island with them?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah. I was there until 1965. 1965. Well, let me back up about six months from there. Earlier, I had bought a house. My wife and I had bought a house out in North Port[, New York], and it was a really, really nice house. It was about all we could afford too. But it was near the water. It was a beautiful place.</p>
<p class="Default">Six months later the commanding officer gets on the loud speaker and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, you’re next home will be in Orlando, Florida.” I said, “What? Next home? I already have a home.” But nevertheless, uh, we did move to Orlando, Florida. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to us at the time. We were—it was the beginning of a tremendous growth of simulation and a wonderful career opportunity for me and my friends and co-workers that moved here. And also a wonderful environment for my family to live and grow.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen <br /></strong>Did you know anything about the area before you got down here?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>No, but they allowed us two visits and at that time in 1965. In 1965, uh, Orlando was a sleepy little town in the orange groves. Uh, we had Gatorland, I think, and, uh, Cypress Gardens.</p>
<p class="Default">There was no [Walt] Disney [World]. There was no SeaWorld, Universal [Orlando Resort], etc., etc. It was a sleepy little town. And it was very enjoyable to go out on Sundays and look at homes for sale and, um, take in some of the natural beauties. Some of the—like the Wekiva Springs, uh, which was—was open—open to the public. And there were other springs. Silver Springs [State Park], etc., etc. And the beaches were so close, so it was very, very nice. Very, uh, unspoiled you might say.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And when you moved down, um, was it called? It was called the National Center for Simulation yet?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>No. That’s a whole other outgrowth. Yeah. The Naval Training Device Center changed its name about two or three times.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>To where it is today—Naval Air Warfare System—Naval Air Warfare Systems Training System Division. Uh, so we went through an evolution.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>So when you moved down, what was it?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski <br /></strong>It was still the Naval Training Device Center.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski <br /></strong>At that time.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And what resources was here for them?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Nothing.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Nothing?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, the only thing that was here—and this is kind of amusing. You wonder how these things happen. These relocations cause we’re always faced with things like BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure] and justifying movements and what have you. But the truth to be known, a lot of these decisions are totally politically based and what happened was an Air Force activity moved out of the Air Force base here in Orlando. Not McCoy [Air Force Base], but where Baldwin Park is today. Okay. there was an Air Force Reconnaissance Squadron located there. They were relocated and I think part of it was even disestablished. So there was a need to fill the vacuum.</p>
<p>Well, the powers to be—the political powers to be—got together and decided that this little activity up in Port Washington, Long Island, would feel much better if they were located in Florida. So they moved us to Orlando beginning in, uh, 1965. The, uh—many of the buildings were old barracks. Um, they were not air-conditioned. Um, we lived in that kind of a situation where—this was before computers, where you did your own memos and that. So we would draft memos in pen and ink and your sweat would drip on the paper and run as you’re trying to write the memos to, ah, your—your—for business purposes. So it was rather a primitive existence. Although once the Navy got there, they began to refurbish the buildings and we got air conditioning, which worked most of the time. So that made us a lot more comfortable.</p>
<p>But an interesting thing about Orlando too, uh, from a historical stand point, um, when the, um, Normandy invasion was being planned, General [Dwight D.] Eisenhower came to Orlando and actually mocked up the Normandy Beach in one of the orange groves. In other words, he created an—an, uh—an emulation, if you will, of the Normandy Beach head, and he would position ships and whatever on this false floor that essentially was cement looking like the Normandy Beach head. and he would, with his generals, plan their attack moving objects around and developing strategies that they would follow. So that was in Orlando long before the Navy or anybody else got down here to talk about simulation. Can I give you one more historical event?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Certainly, yeah.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>I think it was—the year was 1935 or so. I’d have to verify that, but Luiz De Florez, for whom the building is named out here—the Navy building is the De Florez complex—the Luiz De Florez building. Okay. And as I mentioned earlier, he got simulation off the ground particularly for the Navy beginning in Washington, D.C., but before that, uh, he was involved in the in oil—in oil production. the crack and process and all that. Well, he was honored for his accomplishments—he was a civilian though at that time—uh, by a number of people. one of which was Rollins College here in Winter Park. So he was given an honorary Doctorate degree from Rollins College the same year that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who as you well know, is the author of <em>The Yearling</em>, and <em>Cross Creek</em>, and a few other wonderful novels. So that brought simulation down here again back in the [19]30s. If you believe in pre-destiny or something, you begin to wonder if there isn’t some connection. So, those are a couple other historical points relating to the Orlando area having to do with simulation.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And kind of the birth of the idea of it being here.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yes. Yeah.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Um, you talked a little bit about what was here when you got here, and the buildings. Can you tell us a little bit about those early days? What were kind of your primary responsibilities when you first got down here? What were some of the main projects that were being worked on?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Sure. Um, I, uh—when I came down, I was assigned to the Maintenance Engineering Division. It doesn’t have to do with changing light bulbs or anything like that. What we actually had to do was plan for the logistic support of the simulators, because it was very critical to keep the simulators operating when they’re being used by our pilots, aircrew, and other ships crew, etc. So we had to make sure that they were reliable, maintainable, and we provided an adequate logistic support package to go with each and every simulator that went out the door. And our industry was pretty much, uh, on board when they came to designing in reliability, maintainability, and providing a good logistic support package.</p>
<p>So one of my jobs was to develop the criteria for logistic support and I wrote a document called “Bulletin 40-1,” which identified all the logistic support requirements for simulators that stayed in use for probably 20 years or so that people may even use parts of it today. It was important to do that.</p>
<p>Now, in the process of moving down here, a number of people didn’t want to leave Long Island. They were particularly—they were really happy just to stay there. And I, in turn—I was offered a job at the Space program at the time too. But I elected to come to Florida and stay with our parent organization anyway. So when a number of people didn’t come, it left some room at the top. So that gave me some nice promotion opportunities that I took advantage of and so going, you know, then from a division head to a department head to associate director, etc. I think the move down here kind of enabled that progression quite nicely.</p>
<p>So what I did is—I had a division and we worked very closely with the engineers in designing our systems such that they were maintainable and supportable. And we—the program began to grow quite a bit. Word got around that, “Hey, this simulation stuff must be pretty good. It must be saving a lot of lives and it’s not costing as much as putting airplanes in the air or ships at sea or submarines under the sea.” So the Army—well, they had joined us earlier with what was called the “Army Participation Group,” and, uh, the simulation caught on with them and they began to grow very large. Then the Marine Corps—they came on board. Then the Air Force came on board. So what was just a single entity down here in the Navy became pretty much a joint operation. Joint with a small “j” not a large “J,” ‘cause we’re not really a “joint” organization. We’re, uh—we operate jointly though. And it was amazing of the synergy that was achieved by working together. You know, an engineer working on a tank simulator working alongside an engineer working on an air craft simulator could share technology and experiences and know-how, such that the customers were getting more for their money essentially than if an individual service were doing a procurement of a simulator. And that continues today. Maybe even more so today, because of the large number, the large acquisition program we have here, um, at the, uh, what we call now “Team Orlando.”</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>After it was called the Naval Training Device Center here? What was then the next step?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, it was renamed Naval Training Systems Center, Naval Training Materials Center, uh, and Naval Training Systems Center, and then it went to, um, Naval Air Warfare Center. The reason for that is that, uh, we changed responsibilities on—we changed, uh, the organization that we reported to over the years. In the beginning, you know, it was like the Bureau of Aeronautics, and then it was Chief [of] Naval Research, and then it went to Chief [of] Naval Materials ,and then to the Naval Air Systems Command—so away and back again. So every time it moved, people felt, “Well, we gotta change the name of that.” So that happened, you know, over several years. so the stationary was taking a hitting. You know, in changing our names and who we reported to over the years, but it appears now that we have a very stable organization under the Naval Air Systems Command and our organization continues to grow down here and they’re doing wonderful things. Saving time, lives, and money every day. See, that’s the beauty of really working with an organization like this, because when you go home at night you realize that you touched the lives of every solider, sailor, Marine, and Coast Guard. You know, and through the efforts of what you’re doing here. You can’t beat that for job satisfaction.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Can you give us some specific examples of simulations that happen? Like what does it look like? How does that work? What kinds of things do you have to do on the front end to make it possible?</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Uh, yes. Um, you know [<em>laughs</em>], I’m not gonna do this. You know, it’s all in here. That was commercial.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>]</p>
<p><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>No. I actually—kidding aside—it all begins with the requirements. It all begins with the requirements from the, um, the parent system. Like if it’s an aircraft that you want to build a simulator for, uh, you examine the aircraft. you examine the tasks that have to be conducted by the air crew. And given those tasks, then you can select the media—what media is best to teach. Train those particular tasks. There are some that deal with, like, decision making. Others are procedural and each and every media kinda has their own strength, you know, with which each of the tasks that have been identified.</p>
<p>So normally it goes through some form of task analysis of the operational system and then from there you come up with the media. Uh, you identify the behavioral objectives, come up with the media, and then go about writing the specifications and statements of work for the training system that you intend to have procured or built. So our engineers spend a lot of time writing specification statements of work delineating exactly what the simulator has to look like.</p>
<p>Let’s take for example: what would a flight simulator consist of? Okay. First of all, you’ve got the—the enclosure where the pilot would sit. So you’ve got to make sure all the instruments—all the nobs, and controls, whatever—operate just like the real airplane. So you have to make some decisions how you gonna design that and becomes a systems engineering process to do that. So you design that enclosure with the proper configurations. Then you decide, <em>Well, am I gonna have a visual display?</em> So that the pilot can look out the windscreen and see the real world. If so, there are several choices you have as to what kind of visual system you would put on this. So let’s say you narrow it down to the visual system—maybe it’s a widescreen. The pilot looks out, can look 180 degrees perhaps, and see even through the periphery what’s happening in the real world. And this—the intent is to have it move and behave just like it would if you were flying the aircraft.</p>
<p>Okay. what else do we need? Well, we need some computers to make this thing work. So you get a computing system. You go through that whole exercise again. What’s the proper size, speed, etc. for the computer? Then you say, “Well, should we have motion or not? Should we tilt and move this pilot?” We go through that same process to come up with the motion system. Then you have things we call like “control loading,” and then like when the pilot moves the control stick. Does it feel right? Does it feel like the airplane? Is it, uh, hydraulic, or is it force-fed or whatever—make these kinds of decisions depending on what your requirements are.</p>
<p>So what you do is you take all these components and you integrate them together and you come up with a training system that replicates the function, um—the functions and usually the configuration of the system that you’re trying to simulate. I mean, a true testimony to how well we’ve done our job is when a pilot comes out of a simulator and he or she is draped with sweat and they say, “That was god-awful.” And then you know you’ve achieved some realness, because what we’re looking for here. And, uh, I think the amusement people say it very nicely—is we’re suspending disbelief for a little while. Because you know you’re in a simulator, but if you get all engrossed in the task at hand. You can forget that it’s a simulator—you begin to think that it’s real. And that’s what we want, because then you can train people effectively. You can make decisions under stress even though you’ve created the stress artificially. So that’s kinda how you put it—that’s what a flight simulator would look like. Then you have all sorts of other simulators, uh, besides just aviation, submarines, you might want to teach people how to control a submarine. You know, the driving aspects of it or the weapons system piece, fire control, etc., all those have to be integrated into the overall system. There are full-up systems, there are part-task trainers, entire families of training devices. I’m giving you a crash course here in a very short period of time.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>That’s perfect.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Um, I think you touched a little bit on this next question just through some of those examples that you said but what is the mission—the mission statement of NAWCTSD?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, see, I’ve been out of there now for a while, because I retired in 1994. Um, but the mission is—and I can just sort of paraphrase—I believe it is to be the principle agent for the acquisition research and logistic support of—of training simulators for the, uh—the Navy and the other services as a side. Something to that effect. But it is—they are the principle activity within the Navy for procuring simulators.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And, um, can you tell me a little bit about your time at NAWCTSD? What were some of, uh, your major projects?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Sure.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And what happened on your watch when you were here?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah., I’d love to, ‘cause we, uh, you know—we have a road of accomplishment, I think, over those years while I was here that I’m quite proud of the people that were able to make some real breakthroughs in technology and satisfy the war fighter and the warrior in a way, in a manner, that hadn’t been done before.</p>
<p class="Default">I’ll give ya one example: Um, the MILES system, which is the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System, was essentially developed in our laboratory at NAWCTSD by a team. The team was headed by a gentleman by the name of Al Marshall. Al Marshall had a better idea on how to teach weapon—team—weapons team engagement and that was the use of lasers. Um, eye safe and totally safe lasers, as opposed to using live ammunition out in the field. So he came up with the whole concept of outfitting soldiers with the laser detectors and this was really the first laser tag, if you will, but it was for the military. He was a Navy engineer doing some work for the Army and the Marine Corps went and bought the MILES system also. So it was a tri-service initiative kicked off by one little team, if you will, working in the, uh, in our laboratory under the Office of Naval Research, uh, task.</p>
<p class="Default">Some other things that we did, uh, other than the just the technology growth and the improvement in the fidelity of simulation. You know, visual systems have gotten to be really, really good when it comes to realism, uh, as is motion for that matter. Now, while I was there too, we toyed with the idea of developing deployable trainers. You know, we felt, “Gee, why do we always have to bring people into the school house, put them in a simulator, and then they get deployed out to sea?” And by the time they come back, some of the skills have already perished. I mean, they’re perishable skills to some degree. Why not put the trainers out there where they are?</p>
<p class="Default">So along came the whole idea of deployable simulators and mission rehearsal simulators that could be deployed, put on board aircraft carriers and other installations that are closer to the squadrons and the people that actually use them. So, uh, the deployable simulators, I thought, was a really neat technology that was like the next—next energy level above what we had been doing in the past. And—and the same is true in so many other areas too, where a level of realism has increased, uh, tremendously too.</p>
<p class="Default">For example—his happened after my watch—so the, um, battle stations 21—the simulator up at Great Lakes where they brought together the entertainment world along with the simulation—military simulation world—and they built a training device for recruits—Navy recruits— that essentially forms the part of their graduation. Their last day. It’s sort of like a hell week, but only compressed into one day, where they’re able to simulate fires on board ship, casualties, injured people, leaks in the bulkhead—all simulated—but like with real water and what looks to be like flames. Again, borrowing on the Disney magic and any other theme parks that are here. And it became so—it’s so realistic, in fact, that it’s hard to replicate what they’ve done up there.</p>
<p class="Default">Another, uh, thing that we did, way back when—or “back in the day,” as they say today—was pier-side training along the same notion of, you know, why bring people in to a classroom, or why go to sea and train all the time, uh, because that that can be expensive. We came up with the pier-side trainers which essentially are, um—well, they’re trailer-based simulations. More like stimulators than simulators. But anyway, we take these trailers, and we plug them into a ship that’s tied up pier-side, and through cables and running alongside and into the ship. we’re able to generate signals, put them into the ship, so that the people that are at their operating stations see everything as though they’re out at sea. We can create targets in that trailer. You know, create targets and threats and then the people in their battle station. or in their normal working stations, they can look at their radars, their sonars, their fire control, and they see targets like they’re at sea and they give commands and they run through the exercise as though they are out at sea. So that was a family of pier-side trainers that started to be quite successful.</p>
<p class="Default">And then the next step was imbedded training where we were able to imbed some training features into the actual parent system, whether it be an aircraft or a ship. I know one particular radar, for example, that when they go out at sea they can generate targets and practice radar movements simulating those targets that are out there. There are no targets in the water, but they—the ship’s crew—think that there is, because we can generate those and they look at their scopes, the water, and they see actual targets that aren’t real. So, you know, tech, and…</p>
<p class="Default">This this happened outside of my experience at NAWCTSD, but it began at NAWCTSD, and that’s the whole notion of using virtual reality for training. Um, one of the things that Dr. Hayes—Dr. Bob Hayes—had a project with his team called “V Sub,” to where they simulated the gentlemen in the submarine at the conning tower that was steering a submarine through a canal or channel, say. And they did that through virtual reality. They would put the head-mounted display on the individual and that individual would see the banks of the canal, would see other ships, beacons, markers. and then through a headset communicate with what would’ve been the people steering the submarine when in actuality it was a voice recognition system that was taking action based on the commands being given by the individual. So—and that was a very, very neat, neat program.</p>
<p class="Default">And later on, after I retired and I—I worked, uh, with a company General Dynamics—actually Veridian, at the time. Um, I was like a support contractor to them—came up with this notion of maybe we can do something for deaf and hearing-impaired kids using that same technology. At that time Congressman [Ira William “Bill”] McCollum[, Jr.] was very active and interested in what we’re doing, and he was able to get some support money for us to build a virtual reality system for Lake Sybelia Elementary School up in Maitland. There they have a high percentage of deaf and hearing-impaired children, and what initiated this was the principal coming to one of our NCS [National Center for Simulation] meetings.</p>
<p class="Default">At the time, I believe I was chairman of the board at NCS and we got all through with our meeting and it was an open meeting. He said, “Yes, sir. I’m, um, a principal of Lake Sybelia Elementary School. What can you do to help us?” “What’s your problem, sir?” He says, “Here’s my problem. We have a large group of deaf and hearing-impaired kids and our teachers spend most of their time with living skills—teaching them how to do very simple things. They don’t have time to get into reading and arithmetic and things they’re supposed to be learning. What can you do to help us?”</p>
<p class="Default">So we moved out and we got all the support we could. We put together a team. We got some money and we did build a virtual reality system. and the kids loved it, because they would get immersed in the system. And we simulated, for example, the question of how to cross the street safely. So we would simulate trucks going by, so they could see them and we even had the odor of diesel so they knew it was a truck and a little bit of rumble, because we fixed the seat so it would vibrate. And, uh, so they learned to go to the cross-walk and go through the green light and whatever. We had stranger danger, danger stranger with an intruder coming in the classroom—in the classroom—on the school grounds. and, uh, we taught them what to do if they saw a stranger that didn’t look good. We taught them how to, uh, go to and order in a fast food restaurant.</p>
<p class="Default">Many times these kids—they’re not looking for recognition. They’re not looking for attention. so if they order the wrong thing usually they’ll just take it and eat it—whatever it is—or if they get the wrong change back, they’re not gonna make a thing out of it. They just by and large don’t want to be recognized like that. So we taught them how to go to a fast food restaurant and order. We gave them the menu. We told them how to order. They made change and we gave it back to them and whatever. We did that. We did fire in the home. How to get out of the building if it’s on fire, etc. So we taught them all those things using that technology of virtual reality and, to me, that one probably one of the most rewarding projects that I ever got involved with.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>That’s really cool.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah. Yeah. Fun too. Like I tell people, I never worked a day in my life. And that’s true. if you enjoy what you’re doing, you never will work a day in your life.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>One of my questions is about challenges. In creating the different simulations for—I guess it’s kind of a broad question—what are some kind of reoccurring challenges that you come into when you go to put together one of these simulations?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, of course, it’s—we always think in terms of cost and schedule and performance, and cost is always an issue. Particularly, if you’re dealing in an area where you cannot define precisely, exactly what you want, and so there’s opportunities there for some, some, uh, you know, movement within that—you know, feasible window of opportunity. So many times cost-growth is an issue—trying to keep the cost within the budget.</p>
<p class="Default">And the same is true with time. Technology changes so rapidly, and usually you want the most current technology in your system. So there might be some delays attributed to that and then when you get to new technology, then there’s a learning curve or whatever. So time can be a problem.</p>
<p class="Default">And performance, uh, can be an issue too, because you really have to understand what the user wants. And it can be sometimes vaguely stated and our engineers and others—our education specialists and psychologists—will write a specification and it may not be exactly what the, uh, expectations of the eventual user. And then you have turn over personnel. you know, the user has different people coming on board, because of rotation. The new person might say, “That’s nice, but here’s what I really want.” So that can drive cost and schedule a little wacko too.</p>
<p class="Default">So those are some challenges and, and the technology itself. You do want to have everything that’s as current as can be, because you’ve got that whole issue of user acceptance to deal with.</p>
<p class="Default">Kids today have the latest bells and whistles, and it’s true in the service too. I mean, all the younger people coming in the service usually are familiar with and have used the latest technology. So, if you come along and give them something that’s lesser than that, they’re not going to be happy and chances are they may not even use it. So you’ve got to be very accommodating to the, uh, you know—the generations as they’re coming along to what you deliver.</p>
<p class="Default">Um, I can give you a good example of that. Today, gaming—you know, we’re using gaming technology in some of the simulator developments, like in decision making and some of those, uh, training devices. They’re actually using off-the-shelf games, um, or it can be just the gaming engines that are being used in the simulations. S, we have a whole new generation now that are familiar with gaming, but we have others that are not familiar with gaming. So we’ve got to bring the new people in as quickly as we can to make sure that we’re satisfying the generational needs of our—our service people. So keeping up with the technology and incorporating that in our latest devices is going to be a challenge. So, um, there are a few challenges. There are other challenges—I’m sure—but, uh, those are a few.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Thank you. Um, and even in that you talked a little bit about this next question—can you tell me about what you think the future looks like for simulation? Specifically here at NAWCTSD. what’s the future look like with what kinds of things they might get into? [00:42:47.25]</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah. these are exciting times, because every time I think that we’re here now—it just goes off onto another curve. I—I liken this to, um, a growth curves that I—I—I’ve been developed for other things, like tennis rackets. Tennis rackets, you know, started out as wood rackets, and then they went to aluminum rackets. Then they went to composite rackets. And every time they go from one technology to another, you get off a growth curve that looks like it’s saturated onto a new growth curve that begins to get saturated and you continue to do that. And that’s where we are right now in simulation and training.</p>
<p class="Default">With—as I mentioned, gaming, for example—it’s opening up a whole new area for us to investigate. An area too that I think is gonna get some attention and that is the fidelity of simulation is determined by brain activity. To be able to measure brain activity in an individual while varying fidelity might give us some indication as to how well we are conveying information to the trainee based on their mental arousal or other, uh, symptoms that would be evident through brain wave measurement. For example, we might take a look at a low fidelity simulator—as opposed to a high fidelity simulator, as opposed to an aircraft and do the same measurement on individuals—and just take a look at what kind of distraction or what kind of concentration takes place in each of those situations.</p>
<p class="Default">So I think there’s, you’re gonna see more activity in the brain—brain measurement area. I’m not up to the point yet where they’re gonna put probes into the head and with one throw of the switch you’ve got it. That—that’s maybe for my son or somebody else to pick up on that, but, um, yeah. I think that’s a very, very good area to and people are doing that now to some degree. Not full-scale yet, but they are looking at it.</p>
<p class="Default">Um, other areas—I mentioned gaming. Again, I think being able to tell a story better. Being able to tell a story of how a simulator is included in the overall scenario or experience that you’re trying to create. The attractions do that really well. They prepare you for it, you know, on The [Twilight Zone] Tower of Terror. you’re terrorized before anything happens for that matter. Or if you go to the Cape [Canaveral], over here where they have the new [NASA Space Shuttle] Atlantis [Exhibit] and you go through the space mission. they get you all prepped for the mission that you’re going to be involved with. They know how to tell a story, and I think we need to do that too with our training for our military personnel. To be able to integrate what we’re doing more into the overall scenario that we’re trying to establish. Yeah.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>And one of my last questions is about the changes that have happened in Orlando because of NAWCTSD’s presence. You kind of described for us what it was a little bit like when simulation kind of got started here. Can you tell us a little bit about how it’s changed? How Orlando has changed because of NAWCTSD’s presence here?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Yeah. I—I think we need to look at it from a little larger picture first. And that is, when we first came down here, there were no companies that—except for Lockheed Martin—that had anything to do with simulation. But then, as simulation began to grow, all these other companies began to come down and wanted to be close to the acquisition agencies—the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, to some degree too. They want to be close to it, so they begin to orbit essentially the Team Orlando organization that we’ve been talking about to where Team Orlando now accounts for billions of dollars of acquisition of simulators and this accounts for some 27,000 direct employees working with the [U.S.] Defense Department in modeling and simulation.</p>
<p class="Default">Now it’s spread. We’re no longer just defense. We’re into entertainment, homeland security, transportation, medical—all using simulation. And we don’t know how large that piece is, but if the other piece is 27,000, it’s equal to or greater than probably. So what went from a handful of people moving down here in 1965—yeah. We might have 50,000 people now involved in simulation, one way or another.</p>
<p class="Default">Tremendous impact on the tax base in Central Florida., the average salary is about 70,000 dollars a year. people working in the simulation industry and the educational system has been totally responsive. The University of Central Florida, what were our community colleges now are four year colleges that have been set up. We can get a Master’s or Doctorate degree in simulation through UCF. Our high schools now—we have a curriculum in modeling and simulation that NCS put together. It’s on our website. It just seems to be no end to this and that’s good. You know where the long pole in the tent is to all this? Teachers. We don’t have teachers than can teach at the K[indergarten] through 12 level modeling and simulation and let the kids know about the careers that are available and why they need to study STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics]. you know, cause that’s the basis for our business in modeling and simulation is STEM. But it has—it has grown almost exponentially, and I expect it to continue to grow too. In spite of cut backs or other barriers we might see, we’re in a growth, uh—we’re in a growth community right now.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Thank you. Um, do you have any other thoughts? Kind of wrapping up our interview. Any final thoughts about simulation and, um, its benefits? How it benefits us?</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>Well, we know about the military. We also know that it’s being infused now into the medical world. Our Lake Nona [Medical City] complex down here—Medical City—has a number of simulations for like endoscopic, other forms of surgery, the Da Vinci simulations, and all. Um, the VA hospital. They all have some form of simulation. so, um, the spectrum has opened up as to the application of simulations. It provides for a wonderful career for individuals that want to get in to a well-paying, yet very, very satisfying career. and we need to really get that information out—get that out to the youngsters so they do they do begin to think of it as a viable career and they can stay in Florida and enjoy what we have here in doing so.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p class="Default"><strong>Okraski<br /></strong>My pleasure, Kendra. Thank you for taking the time.</p>
<p><strong>Hazen<br /></strong>Thanks.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).</p>
</div>
</div>
1st Marine Corps Division
2F-23
A-3 intruders
A-7
Air Force Reconnaissance Squadron
aircraft simulators
Armstrong, Jack
Army Participation Group
Baldwin Park
ballistic missile early warning sites
Base Realignment and Closure
Battle of Guadalcanal
Bauer
Bill McCollum
BRAC
Bulletin 40-1
Bureau of Aeronautics
C11
Cape Canaveral
Chief of Naval Materials
Chief of Naval Research
Clarkson University
CNR
cold war
Community Veterans History Project
Como, Perry
Cross Creek
CVHP
De Florez, Luis
deaf
deep sea divers
defense industry
defense simulation
defense simulation industry
Deputy Technical Director
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
electrical engineering
electrical engineers
F-102
F-3
Field Service Organization
flight simulation
General Dynamics
Gould-Guggenhiem Estate
Greenland
GS-11
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal Campaign
Guggenheim
Hayes, Bob
Hazen, Kendra
hearing impaired
Hill, Amanda
Invasion of Normandy
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
Lake Nona Medical City
Lake Sybelia Elementary School
Link Aviation Devices, Inc.
Lockheed Martin
Lone Sailor Memorial Committee
Lone Sailor Memorial Project
Long Island
Long Island, New York
Luis De Florez Building
Maintenance Engineering Division
Maitland
Marshall, Al
McCollum, Ira William, Jr.
McCoy AFB
McCoy Air Force Base
MILES
Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System
NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit
National Center for Simulation Offices
Naval Air Systems Command
Naval Air Warfare Center
Naval Air Warfare System
Naval Air Warfare Systems Training System Division
Naval Air Warfare Training Systems
Naval Training Center Orlando
Naval Training Device Center
Naval Training Materials Center
Naval Training Systems Center
Navy Memorial of Central Florida
NAWCTSD
NCS
Newfoundland, Canada
Normandy, France
Northport
NTC Orlando
Office of Naval Materials
Office of Naval Research
Okraski, Henry Carl
P2V
Partnership III Building
Physical to Virtual
Port Washington
Potsdam, Germany
radio programs
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan
Research and Engineering
Research Parkway
Rollins College
Senior Executive Service
simulation
Special Devices Task
St. Patrick's Grammar School
STEM
stranger danger
tank simulators
Team Orlando
The Wonderful World of Simulation a Brief History of Modeling and Simulation and Its Impact on Our Lives
The Yearling
Thule Air Base
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
U. S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
UC
UCF
UF
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
USS Shenandoah
Utica Free Academy
Utica, New York
V Sub
Veridian
virtual reality
Wheaties
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/99f982aa4276b0be0b4f9b69c9e7085a.pdf
3533161dc69dab00593f352cd8d77806
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection
Description
As part of RICHES of Central Florida, UCF intends to record, archive, and make accessible oral history interviews of Central Florida veterans. Diversity is a main focus for this project since there are many different subgroups under the group veterans, all with important stories. While the histories will be largely archived and made available through the UCF library, a portion will be contributed to the ongoing Veterans History Project based out of the Library of Congress.
Contributor
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>, University of Central Florida Libraries, University of Central Florida
Alternative Title
CVHP Collection
Subject
Veterans--Florida
United States. Army
Army
United States. Navy
Navy
United States. Air Force
Air Force
United States. Marine Corps
Marine Corps
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Jacksonville, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Great Lakes, Illinois
Long Island, New York
Newport, Rhode Island
Norfolk, Virginia
Germany
Qaasuitsup, Greenland
Keflavik, Southern Peninsula, Iceland
Azores Islands, Portugal
Mediterranean Sea
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/109" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
McKinney, Roy
Interviewee
Ekern, Sharon
Location
Orlando, Florida
Original Format
1 Digital (DAT) audio/video recording
Duration
20 minutes and 14 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
64kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Sharon L. Ekern
Alternative Title
Oral History, Ekern
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Marine Corps
Description
An oral history interview of Sharon Ekern, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) from 1981 to1990 and now works at the University of Central Florida (UCF) with the Student Development and Enrollment Service. This interview was conducted by Roy McKinney at UCF on November 13, 2014. Interview topics include Ekern's family life, her education, enlistment in the Marines, boot camp, advanced training, her first duty station, the San Diego Recruit Depot, Parris Island, the Cold War, being assigned to Orlando, serving as a female Marine, the Tailhook Scandal, Camp Smith, her awards and medals, life after service, her employment at UCF, and being an expert markswoman.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:00:40 Family life<br />0:01:05 Family in the Military<br />0:01:19 Education before joining the Marine Corps<br />0:01:45 Reason for enlistment in the Marines <br />0:02:30 Family reaction to enlistment<br />0:02:49 Boot camp<br />0:03:42 View of instructors - then and now<br />0:04:26 Most memorable experience in boot camp<br />0:04:59 Being a woman in boot camp<br />0:05:20 Advanced training<br />0:06:01 First duty station<br />0:06:24 Role at first duty station<br />0:06:37 Typical day at first duty station<br />0:07:20 Life at San Diego Recruit Depot<br />0:08:00 How Parris Island compared to San Diego<br />0:08:20 Cold War's effect on Military life<br />0:08:59 Entertainment in the Military<br />0:09:55 Assignment in Orlando<br />0:11:10 Being a woman in the Marine Corps/ "Tailhook"<br />0:12:55 Memorable moments at Camp Smith<br />0:14:07 Leaving the Military<br />0:14:58 Reason for leaving the Marines rather than applying to Officer Program<br />0:15:31 Highest rank in the Marines<br />0:15:51 Awards and medals<br />0:16:33 Life after the Marines<br />0:17:04 Joining UCF<br />0:17:04 Contracting and purchasing<br />0:17:50 Contact with Marines<br />0:18:06 Military influence on life<br />0:18:37 Utilizing military experience with UCF<br />0:19:15 Expert marksmanship
Abstract
Oral history interview of Sharon Ekern. Interview conducted by Roy McKinney in Orlando, Florida.
Type
Moving Image
Source
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/324/" target="_blank">Ekern, Sharon L.</a> Interviewed by Roy McKinney. Audio/video record available. <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/24" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Has Format
Digital transcript of original 20-minute and 14-second oral history: <a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/324/" target="_blank">Ekern, Sharon L.</a> Interviewed by Roy McKinney. Audio/video record available. <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Conforms To
Standards established by the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/" target="_blank">Veterans History Projects</a>, Library of Congress.
Coverage
Albany, Georgia
Camp H. M. Smith, Aiea, Hawaii
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, San Diego, California
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Port Royal, South Carolina
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Creator
Ekern, Sharon L.
McKinney, Roy
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-11-13
Date Copyrighted
2014-11-13
Format
application/pdf
Extent
599 MB
164 KB
Medium
20-minute and 14-second Digital (DAT) audio/video recording
13-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Roy McKinney and Sharon L. Ekern and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cravero, Geoffrey
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
Pawelczyk, J. 2014. "<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5611524379" target="_blank">Constructing American Female War Veterans' Military Identity in the Context of Interviews</a>." <em>Women and Language</em>: WL. 37, no. 1: 87-112.
Chema, J. Richard. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227212744" target="_blank"><em>Arresting Tailhook The Prosecution of Sexual Harassment in the Military</em></a><em>. Thesis (LL. M.)--Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, 1993, 1993.</em>
Browne, Kingsley R. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/795374552" target="_blank"><em>Military Sex Scandals from Tailhook to the Present: The Cure Can Be Worse than the Disease</em></a>. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy. Duke University School of Law, 2007.
Biank, Tanya. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/795168521" target="_blank"><em>Undaunted: The Real Story of America's Servicewomen in Today's Military</em></a>. New York, N.Y.: NAL Caliber, 2013.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/324/" target="_blank">Ekern, Sharon L.</a>
Transcript
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Today is the 13<sup>th</sup> of November, 2014. My name is Roy McKinney and we are interviewing Dr. Sharon [L.] Ekern. She served in the United States Marine Corps from 1981 to1990 and now works at the University of Central Florida with the Student Development and Enrollment Service. I am interviewing Dr. Sharon Ekern as part of the University of Central Florida’s Community Veterans History Project. This interview is being conducted in Orlando, Florida.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney</strong> <br />Where and when were you born?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Union, South Carolina. September 18<sup>th,</sup> 1962.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What did you parents do for a living?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>My dad retired from AT&T, and my mom, um, who has been passed away for—gosh—uh, 28 years today, as a matter of fact. She worked for the attorney general of South Carolina.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How big was your family growing up?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>It was my parents and two sisters.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Were any of your family members in the Military?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yes. Um, my stepfather was full time National Guard. My uncle is a retired Navy captain, and I have a couple other uncles who served in the Air Force and Navy.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What type of education did you have before entering the Marine Corps?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Uh, I went to a small, um, junior college, right out of high school, and was there for two semesters. So I had basically one year of college.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Was there any focus of your studies while there?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>No, not really.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Uh, why did you decide to enlist in the Marines?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Uh, I had decided during that second semester that I wasn’t ready for college at that time, and I had moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where my grandparents had retired, and there was an Air Force Base there. Uh, so I had met some Air Force friends and decided at that point that I would join the Air Force. And then when I went to MEPs [United States Military Entrance Processing Command] to do my processing, they couldn’t take me until like maybe the following year. It was maybe nine months, and I wanted to leave in the fall when my friends would be going back to school. So, um, I basically—when I got—when I was there at MEPs, I told them to take me to see the Marines. That—I didn’t want to go in the Army. I didn’t like the uniform that the Navy wore. So...</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did your family relac—react to you enlisting?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Eh, well, they had just got used to the idea of me joining the Air Force, so when I came home and told them I was going in to the Marines, Um, it took a little while, especially for my mother and grandmother to get used to that idea.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>And where did you go to boot camp?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Parris Island, South Carolina.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did you feel when you entered boot camp and the whole process of going through—just getting there and your first reactions?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>I was scared to death. Um, my processing station MEPs was in Colombia, South Carolina. And it wasn’t that—maybe two hours or so. We shipped out on a bus to Parris Island, and I was the only female on the bus. and, um, the person at MEPs had, um, gi—given my package to somebody, uh—to one of the guys that was also, uh, sh—shipping out that day, and he got off the bus with my information with this drill instructor just, you know—he came on the bus and was yelling at them get on the yellow footprints. And then I had to get off the bus and go—and go tell him, you know, that somebody had my package. So I was scared to death.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did you feel about you instructors?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern</strong> <br />Um, how I felt about them now and how I felt about them then is probably different. Um…</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How about both?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. I was—they kind of played different roles. There was one who was more like the motherly type, and one who was just downright mean, and the other one, who was kind of in between. Um, I was really scared of the one that was just mean, you know? I—I’ve actually been in contact recently with our senior drill instructor on Facebook, so it has been kind of nice, um, you know, touching base with her again. She retired—gosh—after—I don’t know—maybe 25 years in the Marine Corps, there at Parris Island. So…</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>So what was your most memorable experience at boot camp?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>At boot camp? Gosh. Um, probably the physical training. I, you know—I’ve always been, um—well, probably, more so since. I’ve gotten out. I’ve been athletic, but I don’t know that I was totally prepared when I went in, so that was difficult—the ph—the physical training. So that was probably one of my more memorable.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did being a woman affect you in boot camp?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern</strong> <br />Well, in the Marines, we’re totally separate. I know in some of the, um—maybe all of the other branches—they train together, but we don’t. We’re a separate battalion and, uh, we have no contact with the men. So we were all just together.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Did you receive any advanced training?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. I went to several schools. Um, I went to a school right out of boot camp in Albany, Georgia. Um, then I went to my first duty station in San Diego. And, I believe, it was after—yeah. It was—it was after I—no. Maybe it wasn’t San Diego—where I went to another, um, supply school at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. And then after I came to Orlando, I went into the contracting and purchasing field and went to several schools. They were at Lowry Air Force Base, because, at the time, the Marines didn’t have a contracting school so we went to the Air—Air Force schools.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>So where were you stationed after you were done with training?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>My first duty station was the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. And then, from there I came here to Orlando to the, uh, recruiting headquarters. I was not a recruiter. I did supply, but I—I was at headquarters. And then from there, I went to Camp [H. M.] Smith in [Aiea,] Hawaii.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What was your assignment or job while you were there?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Uh, I started out in supply and, like I said at some point, uh, in my career, I changed to contracts and purchasing.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney</strong> <br />And, uh, what was a typical day like for you?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>We usually got—usually PT [physical training] was, you know, the first thing we did at least three days a week, if not more. Um, you know, we’d have—PT was around six A.M. and then have to be at work at 7:30. Most days were like typical work day. You know, you went to work, you had your lunch—you know, you got off at a certain time. There were other days when there might be inspections or parades or, you know, other things that might be going on. But ordinarily it was like a typical work day.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Can you describe what it was like working at the Marine—Marine Corps Recruitment Depot at Parris Island?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Well, I didn’t work there. That’s where—that’s where I received recruit training.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Okay. Can you describe what it was like working at San Dieg—the depot in San Diego?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. It was—I mean—San Diego, of course, is beautiful. And, um, it was good. Um, out there they only trained male Marines. They don’t—they don’t train any women Marines out there, but, um, it was, uh—I think it was a—you know, it was a good first duty station, uh, working with all of the recruits and, um, doing the different, you know, jobs that were assigned to me at the time. And then I worked for a colonel, just in his office, for a good bit of my time there.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did the environments of Parris Island and San Diego compare?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Um, well, I mean—it was two totally different experiences. At Parris Island, I was a recruit, you know. I was going through recruit training and at MCRD [Marine Corps Recruit Depot]. I was—I was basically working there. I was a Marine at that point. So totally different experiences.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did the Cold War affect everyday life in the Military?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Um, hmm. I would say, at least for me and my job, um, you know, it di—didn’t have a big effect. We basically did what we were, you know, assigned to do at, um—at the recruit depot. It was training Marines at the, uh, MCRD—I mean, at, um, the recruiting headquarters here, it was enlisting Marines. So, um, in my everyday job, I wouldn’t say it had a big effect.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How would you entertain yourselves, uh, during your service?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Well, um, hmm. Let me think back on that. Uh, like I said, it was—since I wasn’t a—a grunt, per se, you know, um, I left and I went home most days, unless there was something special going on, or we were out in the field, or had some special training. So, you know, I think we did pretty much what everybody would do. When I was in, um—here at the recruit station, I had a child. So, you know, I had a family just like most people and I did live in base housing. So it was—it’s a different community, Um—a different culture. But I would say we did what most people would do.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Why were you assigned to the recruitment headquarters in Orlando?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>I’m not exactly sure. Uh—we have what’s called a “monitor” in the Marines, and they decide where you’re going to be—be stationed. And, um, they just decide based on when it’s time for you to depart a duty station and what the needs are. Um, you can put in for several different things, um—several different duty stations. And this was just one that I had, you know, put in for that needed a supply person at the time. So I was fortunate enough to, you know, be stationed here.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Where else did you, um, apply for a duty station at?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Gosh, you know, I really don’t remember. Um, I know one of them was in Georgia, because I’m in South Carolina. And I can’t recall now where—oh, Macon, Georgia, I believe it was, because it had a recruiting headquarters there. Um, I thought it’d be nice to be somewhat close to home. Um, but besides that, I really don’t recall.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Were you excited when you were assigned to Orlando? Or how did—how did you feel about the…</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. I was excited. Um, I was excited about the job. I mean it is a bit different being in a recruiting headquarters with maybe 15 Marines ver—versus being on a base full of Marines. Uh, so it was going to be something different. And yeah. I was excited about coming to Florida.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What was it like being a woman in the Marine Corps?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Um, hmm [<em>laughs</em>]. It could be different at times. Um, the period that I was in was before Tailhook [Scandal]—if you’ve ever even heard of “Tailhook.” No?</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>No.</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>It was a big sexual harassment scandal, uh, that occurred soon after I got out of the Marine Corps. But when I was in, um, basically, sexual harassment—it was—it wasn’t something that you heard about. So—and women at that time, um, depending on where you were and who you worked with—most men—I won’t say most. Some men made it very clear that didn’t think women should be in their Marine Corps. And so it was—it could be difficult at times. I feel like you always had to, um, you know—you had to be the one to give 110 percent, you know, if you were out on runs or just in your everyday job just to prove yourself.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney</strong> <br />Was there any time that you felt that you had to prove yourself to someone that was—that looked down on you as a woman in the Marine Corps?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern</strong> <br />Oh, yeah. Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Is there any—any example that you can—you can tell us?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Um, hmm. I don’t know that I can think of just something—like a particular example. It was more the comments—the everyday comments. Um, it was the things—when we did have to go out on marches or runs, and there were women who couldn’t keep up and, you know, there were women who made up excuses<strong>. </strong>And, you know, that—I think that made it harder for the rest of us, but…</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Are there any specific events during your service that stand out in your memory?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern</strong> Events such as?</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Um, anything. Um, s—something that you enjoyed, or something that you didn’t enjoy, or just something that sticks out in your memory?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. At Camp Smith—Camp Smith is built on like the side of a big—I guess you’d call it a mountain. Um, so everything we did was either going up or going down. So anytime we PT’d, we were either running up or we were running down. And we would go on like these marches with, you know, the packs and the Kevlar helmets. And along the side of this mountain—and you’d look down and there wouldn’t be much over there. So that has always stuck out in my mind a lot.</p>
<p>But it was also beautiful there, which, um—I mean, I will definitely have to say I really enjoyed probably being in Hawaii the most, where we were at Camp Smith. Um, with it being on the side of a mountain, you know, we’d look out one side of where we worked and you’d see, um, Diamond Head and look out the other side and there was Pearl Harbor. I mean, it was—it was just a beautiful place to be.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>And when did you leave the Military?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>1990.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What was your last day like in the Marine Corps?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Sad. Yeah. Really sad. Um, you know, it—even though it was my choice to leave, uh, I had just kind of come to a point where I had to decide. I had finished my bachelor degree and I had to decide if I wanted to, um, try to get into an officer program or, you know, or to get out. And I had made that decision at that point to get out. And, uh, even though I had, you know—it was still difficult to do. You know, I had done this for nine years, and I really, um—I really liked what I did. I felt proud of what I did and I still do. So it was hard going from that to the unknown, you know.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What motivated you to decide to leave the Marines and not go into an officer program?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Well, an officer program isn’t a guarantee. So if I had signed another enlistment, you know, for three to four years, there’s no guarantee that I would have gotten an officer program. And at the time, I had a three year old son, um, and was a single parent. So that had a lot to do with it.</p>
<p>Um, [Operation] Desert Storm<a title="">[1]</a> was right on the horizon. That started like three months after I got out. So at that point, I did feel like I had, you know, made the right decision. But…<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What was the—your highest rank, uh, at the time you left the Marines?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>I was an E[nlisted Rank]-5 Sergeant, but I was a Staff Sergeant Selectee. Meaning: I had been selected for the next rank. Um, but you just have to wait for a certain date. Um, so I was a Staff Sergeant Selectee.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Were you awarded any, uh—any awards or medals or citations?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. There were several things, like good conduct medals, national, uh—no. meritorious, um—oh gosh. I had it on my, um, commendation medals, meritorious. Uh, can I look at my DD [Form] 214 [Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty]? I’ve got it with me.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>‘Cause I thought I might not remember something [<em>laughs</em>]. Let’s see. Meritorious unit commendations, um, certificate of commendations, good conduct medals, meritorious mast, certificate of appreciations, letter of commendations and recognition. So those kinds of things.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>What did you do after you left the Marines?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Uh, I decided to come back here to Orlando. Um, I didn’t have a job, at the time, lined up, but, um, I had real—I liked Orlando when I was here, uh—when I had been stationed here. And Orlando was sort of close enough to home, but not, you know, too close. So, uh—and I still had some friends here. So I decided to come back to Orlando. I had a job. I had a civilian job, um, for about six months before I started work here at UCF [University of Central Florida].</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How did you come—how did you come—become involved with UCF?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Well, when I—I—like I had said, I was a contract—I did contracts and purchasing when I was in the Marines. And, um, the job opening here was for the assistant director of purchasing. So I had applied for that and got that job. So that was my—my first position here. So my training in the Marine Corps had, you know, a direct effect on what I do now.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>I know this is kind of late but what does contracting and purchasing entail?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Um, basically we purchased anything that, you know, was needed there on the base. So, it’s—yeah.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Is there anyone you still keep in contact with from the Marines?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Mmhmm. Mostly on Facebook. So that’s been a—yeah—a good way to connect with people. And then, um, I went to my first Marine Corps ball in like 25 years this past weekend. So that was—that was really nice. Brought back a lot of good memories.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Do you feel your Military experience changed you?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Oh, yes. Definitely. Yeah. Um, like I—like I said, it’s—it’s such a different culture. It’s—it’s even hard to explain, you know? It’s—it’s like I had a 100,000 big brothers and they could pick on me, but nobody else could. And, you know, the—the skills and the leadership, and the, um—they’re just all things that I don’t think I could have learned anywhere else.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Did you find it easy incorporating that into—your Military experience into your career here at UCF?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong> I think it was difficult in the beginning, because the Military is very, you know, black and white. Um, and coming here wasn’t exactly that way. So, even in purchasing, now there are a lot of rules and regulations, uh, in the field of purchasing with the State [of Florida]. It’s still very different than, um, being in the Military. But I think my work ethic, my discipline, um, you know, leadership—I think all of those skills were definitely transferable to what I do here.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Is there anything else you would like to talk about with us today?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Hmm. I can’t really think of anything at this time.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>I noticed that you had, uh—you were an expert marks[wo]man in the M16-A1…</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>How was, uh—do you still shoot?</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>No. I don’t. I did it with my son a couple of times, but it’s been awhile. Um, as a matter of fact, when I first went into the Marine Corps, women did not even qualify with the rifle, which they all do now. But, um—so, in San Diego, that was the first time I’d had to do rifle qualifications, and I was actually second on the—on the, uh—uh, at the range that week. So…</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>Yeah. I noticed it said you were “expert marksman.” That’s very impressive.</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>Yeah. Yeah. Expert with the rifle. Only a marksmen with the, uh, pistol. But yeah, I was a good shot [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>McKinney<br /></strong>I’d like to thank you for joining us here today, for helping us out with the Community, uh, Veterans [History] Project and thank you for your service.</p>
<p><strong>Ekern<br /></strong>You’re welcome.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> First Persian Gulf War.</p>
</div>
</div>
A1
advanced training
Albany, Georgia
assistant director of purchasing
basic training
boot campRemoves
Camp H. M. Smith
Camp Lejeune
cold war
Columbia, South Carolina
Community Veterans History Project
contracting and purchasing
CVHP
Denver, Colorado
Desert Storm
E-5
Ekern, Sharon L.
Enlisted Rank 5
expert marksman
expert marksmen
First Persian Gulf War
Hawaii
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Lowry AFB
Lowry Air Force Base
M16
Marine Corps Ball
Marine Corps Recruit Depot
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
marines
McKinney, Roy
MCRD
MCRD Parris Island
MCRD San Diego
MEPs
Military Entrance Processing Command
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Operation Desert Storm
orlando
Parris Island, South Carolina
physical training
PT
Roy McKinney
San Diego, California
Seargant
servicewoman
sexual harassment
sexual misconduct
Sharon L. Ekern
Staff Sergeant Selectee
Student Development and Enrollment Service
Tailhook Scandal
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Marine Corps
UCF
University of Central Florida
USAF
USMC
veteran
veterans
woman
women
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/8e62b25edd5bf9141dacfe66118cbd37.jpg
ab00ef5f43c0d0f6359a415d809ed4a2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project Collection
Alternative Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Subject
Cemeteries--Europe
Veterans--Florida
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES</a>.
<a href="https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/fl-francesoldierstories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida-France Soldier Stories Project</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Dinozé, France
Contributing Project
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epinal Project- by Students of History 357: The Second World War</a>." University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm (accessed January 3, 2015).
Description
<p><span>The </span>Florida-France Soldier Stories<span>project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.</span></p>
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Three Killed on Local List of Casualties
Description
An article published in <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em> announcing the death of three servicemen during World War II. One notable servicemen cited in the article is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1941, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Date Created
ca. 1944-09-20
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051" target="_blank">Libération de Thiant</a>." La Voix Du Nord. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051.
"<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930&" target="_blank">Maj Jack C Heist</a>." Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930& .
"<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/" target="_blank">Local Men in Armed Forces</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, December 24, 1942, page 6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/.
Alternative Title
Local List of Casualties
Subject
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Veterans--Florida
Source
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/" target="_blank">Three Killed on Local List of Casualties</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, September 20, 1944, page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/.
Publisher
<a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>
Date Copyrighted
1944-09-20
Date Issued
1944-09-20
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/172" target="_blank">Epinal American Cemetery Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
68.6 KB
Medium
1 newspaper article
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Thiant, France
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>.
Contributing Project
Epinal Cemetery Project
Curator
Almanza, Esteban
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/" target="_blank">Newspapers.com</a>
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Alfred Cherondullo
casualties
casualty
Charles Dawes
Christina Heist
Edward Masker
Edward Zultevicz
Eleanor Wilch
George Dawes
George J. Dziadosz
Henry J. Zultevicz
Henry S. Heist
Jack Cameron Heist
James Harrison
John Masker
Josephine Zultevicz
KIA
killed in action
Lawrence Monroe
Leonard Zultevicz
majors
Margaret Ann Gallagher Heist
marines
Martha Dawes
Martha Masker
Raymond Zultevicz
serviceman
servicemen
The Wilkes-Barre Record
U.S. Army
U.S. Department of War
U.S. Marine Corps
Veronica Dziadosz
veterans
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
William F. Heist
William McKinley Masker
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/beee74d546aa4674a4330433414dede3.jpg
b01b701a3af28c61db5ab41bf7bbc074
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/99fccf7540780122ed680ef62dcb988f.jpg
e0a5fbe6b781dbfb961c3e6a982f296d
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/04487d0c3d122e8bb33e788dc7a3d437.jpg
4f4738322322d7beb764b1a0df3e0fb4
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/407ffa0158565a9917e2c545c8e36017.jpg
7c0bb7cbbeb9af7d51d45aa37f7c66e2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Dr. Calvin Fowler Collection
Alternative Title
Fowler Collection
Subject
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Fla.)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
Description
Collection of images, documents, and other archival items donated by Dr. Calvin "Cal" D. Fowler, who was the manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 during the final three launches of Project Mercury.
Contributor
Fowler, Calvin "Cal" D.
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/148" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
General Dynamics/Astronautics, Cocoa Beach, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Covair/Astronautics, Mission Training Center, Port Canaveral, Florida
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum, Titusville, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, Hunstville, Alabama
Space Systems Division Headquarters, Air Force Systems Command, United States Air Force, El Segundo, California
General Dynamics/Astronautics Factory, San Diego, California
Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas
Space Center Houston, Houston, Texas
Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm">Project Mercury Overview</a>." John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Time Capsule Placed at Mercury 7 Monument
Alternative Title
Mercury 7Time Capsule
Subject
Cape Canaveral (Fla.)
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Fla.)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Project Mercury (U.S.)
Marine Corps
Monuments--United States
Description
The time capsule is located at the Mercury 7 Monument, which was placed at the entrance to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14). Contents of the time capsule are said to include John Glenn's (b. 1921) Marine Corps pilot wings, capsule blueprints, and photographic film documentation. Standing to the head of the site is a sculpture of the emblem of Project Mercury. The "7" signifies the original 7 Mercury astronauts, known as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. The astronauts were Alan Shepard (1923-1998), Gus Grissom (1926-1967), John Glenn, Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), Wally Schirra (1923-2007), Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), and Deke Slayton.<br /><br />The marker, which was not in place when the photograph was taken, quotes President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963): "One of the most complex tasks ever presented to man in this country...the achievement of manned flight in orbit around the Earth." President Kennedy requested that the time capsule be opened 500 years, hence in 2464.
Type
Still Image
Source
Original black and white photographic print: Private Collection of Dr. Calvin D. Fowler.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/149" target="_blank">Dr. Calvin Fowler Collection</a>, Florida Space Coast History Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original black and white photographic print.
Coverage
Mercury 7 Monument, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Contributor
Fowler, Calvin D.
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Date Created
ca. 1964
Format
image/jpg
Extent
140 KB
187 KB
189 KB
190 KB
Medium
4 black and white photographic prints
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally owned by Dr. Calvin D. Fowler.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Dr. Calvin D. Fowler and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMH6RN_Mercury_7_Monument_Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Florida">Mercury 7 Monument - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida</a>." Waymarking. http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMH6RN_Mercury_7_Monument_Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Florida.
"<a href="http://www.robsv.com/cape/c14m.html">The Mercury Monument outside of Complex 14</a>." The Rob Zone. http://www.robsv.com/cape/c14m.html.
Transcript
7
[illegible]
Astronaut Group 1
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral AFS
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
CCAFS
Jack Kennedy
JFK
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Launch Complex 14
LC-14
Marine Corps
Mercury
Mercury 7
Mercury 7 Monument
Mercury Monument
Mercury Seven
monument
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Original Seven
outer space
president
Project Mercury
space
space exploration
space program
space programs
time capsule
U.S. Marine Corps