1
100
7
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/b057fe292defbe97a2993b9d596a426c.pdf
9fe0ac8f2e902ab217ce3d41f09a42b1
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
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection
Alternative Title
Gay Chorus Collection
Is Part Of
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection, RICHES Program
Type
Collection
Digital Collection
<div class="element-text"><a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/">RICHES MI</a></div>
<div class="element-text"> </div>
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
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
Director's Choice, March 24 & 25, 2001
Alternative Title
Director's Choice, Darden Theater at the Orlando Science Center
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "Director's Choice", on March 24 &
25, 2001, at the Darden Theater at the Orlando Science Center in Orlando, Florida. The program includes short biographies on the Director Terry Thomas and the Accompanists Genoa Minga and Tim Hanes, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, a list of chorus members and contributors, and a history of GALA Choruses. It also includes two ticket stubs.<br /><br />
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Type
Text
Source
Original 20-page program, and 2 ticket stubs, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus Collection</a>, LGBTQ+ Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
Darden Theater at The Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Florida
Creator
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Publisher
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Date Created
ca. 2001-03-24
Date Issued
2001-03-24
Date Copyrighted
2001-03-24
Format
application/pdf
Extent
59.8 MB
Medium
20-page program
2 ticket stubs
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Dance Teacher
Music Teacher
Art Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Rodriguez, Sharon
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
University of Central Florida Special Collections
External Reference
Ahlquist, Karen. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62281651" target="_blank"><em>Chorus and Community</em></a>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Boedeker, Hal. "<a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus marks 25 years</a>." <em>Orlando Sentinel</em>, October 18, 2016. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html.
<a target="_blank">About OGC: History</a>." Orlando Gay Chorus. 2018. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://orlandogaychorus.org/history/.
A Commentary on the Baritones/ Basses
A Lot of Livin' To Do
A Quiet Thing
All the Things You Are
Children Will Listen
Darden Theater
Director's Choice
diversity
Drama Queen
Everytime I Feel the Spirit
GALA Choruses
Genoa Minga
GLBT
How High the Moon
Judy, Judy, Judy
LGBT
LGBTQ+
Maybe This Time
Never Ever
OGC
On My Own
Orlando Gay Chorus
Orlando Science Center
Paul R. Ericson Memorial Fund
Sunday
Terry Thomas
Tim Hanes
When I Fall In Love
You Are My Star
Your Man
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/4130128106dacdc6ef2a321dbb13d04a.pdf
90e1538b2f6b51b72ead8d46fe8fd239
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
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection
Alternative Title
Gay Chorus Collection
Is Part Of
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection, RICHES Program
Type
Collection
Digital Collection
<div class="element-text"><a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/">RICHES MI</a></div>
<div class="element-text"> </div>
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
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
…By Request, March 21 & 22, 1998
Alternative Title
OGC… By Request, The Club at Firestone
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "Orlando Gay Chorus... By Request", on March 21 &
22, 1998, at the Club At Firestone in Orlando, Florida. The program includes short biographies on the Music Director Aubrey Connelly and the Accompanist Kathy Slage, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, a list of chorus members and contributors, and a brief history of GALA Choruses. It also features a message from the President of the Orlando Gay Chorus, Tommy Robinson.<br /><br />
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Type
Text
Source
Original 16-page black and white program and 2 ticket stubs, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus Collection</a>, LGBTQ+ Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
The Club at Firestone, Orlando, Florida
Creator
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Publisher
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Date Created
ca. 1998-03-21
Date Issued
1998-03-21
Date Copyrighted
1998-03-21
Format
application/pdf
Extent
49.1 MB
Medium
16-page black and white program
2 ticket stubs
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Dance Teacher
Music Teacher
Art Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Rodriguez, Sharon
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
University of Central Florida Special Collections
External Reference
Ahlquist, Karen. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62281651" target="_blank"><em>Chorus and Community</em></a>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Boedeker, Hal. "<a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-year"></a>
Aubrey Connelly
Bethlehem
diversity
Finlandia
Gershwin Medley
GLBT
God Help the Outcast
Hanky Panky
Hit Me with a Hot Note
I Have a Love
I Shall Miss Loving You
I'm Going to Go Back There Someday
Kathy Slage
LGBT
LGBTQ+
Love Don't Need a Reason
Marry Us
OGC... By Request
One Hand, One Heart
Paul R. Ericson Memorial Fund
Sing Out Loud
Some of My Best Friends Are Straight
That's My Life
The Condom Song
The Way We Were
Tommy Robinson
You Are My Star
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/834f20827fb6b1410cbb2aeb51eae943.pdf
bfef9645d308a171c9a0af56e6ec80f9
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
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection
Alternative Title
Gay Chorus Collection
Is Part Of
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection, RICHES Program
Type
Collection
Digital Collection
<div class="element-text"><a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/">RICHES MI</a></div>
<div class="element-text"> </div>
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
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
Pride 5, June 11 & 12, 1994
Alternative Title
Pride 5, Anne Giles Densch- Civic Theater Complex
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "Pride 5", on June 11 &
12, 1994, at the Anne Giles Densch-Civic Theater Complex in Orlando, Florida. The program includes short biographies on Music Director Dr. Charles Callahan and Accompanist Ken Thompson, II, a brief history of the GALA Choruses, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, a list of chorus members and how to become a contributor. It also contains an advertisement for the Parliament House Orlando, a contribution form, and a calendar for the Second Stage 1994-1995 season.<br /><br />
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Type
Text
Source
Original 16-page black and white program, a 1-page contribution form, and 4-page season calendar, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus Collection</a>, LGBTQ+ Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
Anne Giles Densch-Civic Theater Complex, Orlando, Florida
Creator
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Publisher
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Date Created
ca. 1994-06-11
Date Issued
1994-06-11
Date Copyrighted
1994-06-11
Format
application/pdf
Extent
84.2 MB
Medium
16-page black and white program
a 1-page contribution form
and 4-page season calendar
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Dance Teacher
Music Teacher
Art Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Rodriguez, Sharon
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
University of Central Florida Special Collections
External Reference
Ahlquist, Karen. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62281651" target="_blank"><em>Chorus and Community</em></a>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Boedeker, Hal. "<a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-year"></a>
All the Things You Are
Anne Giles Densch
Brothers and Sisters
Charles Callahan
Civic Theater Complex
diversity
GALA Choruses
Hit Me with a Hot Note
How Can I Keep from Singing
Imagining You
Kenion A. "Ken" Thompson, II
OGC
Orlando Gay Chorus
Our Time
Paul R. Ericson Memorial Fund
Pride 5
Showboat
Stouthearted Men
The King and I
Two Patriotic Airs
What'll I Do?
You Are My Star
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/3fdb8e4d118194124b1a90279b123e41.pdf
7a4f6932929d1be963122c863e20ccf9
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
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection
Alternative Title
Gay Chorus Collection
Is Part Of
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection, RICHES Program
Type
Collection
Digital Collection
<div class="element-text"><a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/">RICHES MI</a></div>
<div class="element-text"> </div>
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
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
The Fight for the Right 2B Tour, April 9, 1994
Alternative Title
The Fight for the Right 2B Tour, University of West Florida
Subject
Pensacola (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "The Fight for the Right 2B Tour", on April 9, 1994, at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida. The program includes program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary and a list of chorus members.<br /><br />
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Type
Text
Source
Original 6-page black and white program, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus Collection</a>, LGBTQ+ Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida
Creator
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Publisher
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Date Created
ca. 1994-04-09
Date Issued
1994-04-09
Date Copyrighted
1994-04-09
Format
application/pdf
Extent
24.8 MB
Medium
6-page black and white program
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Dance Teacher
Music Teacher
Art Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Rodriguez, Sharon
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
University of Central Florida Special Collections
External Reference
Ahlquist, Karen. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62281651" target="_blank"><em>Chorus and Community</em></a>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Boedeker, Hal. "<a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus marks 25 years</a>." <em>Orlando Sentinel</em>, October 18, 2016. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html.
<a target="_blank">About OGC: History</a>." Orlando Gay Chorus. 2018. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://orlandogaychorus.org/history/.
diversity
family
GALA Choruses
Great Peace March
Hush! Somebody's Calling My Name
It Don't Mean a Thing
Love Don't Need a Reason
OGC
Old Friend
Orlando Gay Chorus
The Fight for the Right 2B
To Love and Be Loved
University of West Florida
We Start Today
We the People
What More Can I Say?
You Are My Star
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/771c36637ff6f634670588aa4e69e506.pdf
74412aeafcc761ccc8ebaa51efd579b9
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
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection
Alternative Title
Gay Chorus Collection
Is Part Of
Orlando Gay Chorus Collection, RICHES Program
Type
Collection
Digital Collection
<div class="element-text"><a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/">RICHES MI</a></div>
<div class="element-text"> </div>
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
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
United In Pride, June 15, 1991
Alternative Title
United In Pride: Orlando Gay Chorus and Tampa Bay Gay Men's Chorus Together In Concert, Beacham Theater
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Dance--United States
Gay culture--United States
Description
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' collaboration concert with the Tampa Bay Gay Men's Chorus, "United in Pride", on June 15, 1991, at the Beacham Theatre. The program includes brief biographies of Music Directors Dr. Charles Callahan and Kenneth D. Williams, and Accompanist Terry E. Thomas, a brief history of the Orlando Gay Chorus and the Tampa Bay Gay Men's Chorus, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, how to join the chorus, a description of GALA choruses, an events calendar, a list of the chorus members, how to become a contributor, and a checklist of concert etiquette. It also contains a "weekly specials" menu from the Parliament House Orlando. This was the first program to include advertisements and a donors' list.<br /><br />
The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Type
Text
Source
Original 20-page program, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/206" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus Collection</a>, LGBTQ+ Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
Beacham Theatre, Orlando, Florida
Creator
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Publisher
<a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>
Date Created
ca. 1991-06-15
Date Issued
1991-06-15
Date Copyrighted
1991-06-15
Format
application/pdf
Extent
42.6 MB
Medium
20-page program
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Dance Teacher
Music Teacher
Art Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="https://orlandogaychorus.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Rodriguez, Sharon
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
University of Central Florida Special Collections
External Reference
Ahlquist, Karen. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62281651" target="_blank"><em>Chorus and Community</em></a>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Boedeker, Hal. "<a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html" target="_blank">Orlando Gay Chorus marks 25 years</a>." <em>Orlando Sentinel</em>, October 18, 2016. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-orlando-gay-chorus-25-years-20150611-story.html.
<a target="_blank">About OGC: History</a>." Orlando Gay Chorus. 2018. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://orlandogaychorus.org/history/.
A Catch
AIDS Outreach
Beacham Theatre
Cantique de Jean Racine
Charles Callahan
Deep River
Der Herr Segne Euch
Die Nacht
diversity
Duetto buffo de per due gatti
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Everybody Says Don't
GALA Choruses
Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses
GLBT
Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho
Keep It Gay
Kenion A. "Ken" Thompson, II
Kenneth D. Williams
LGBT
LGBTQ+
Love Don't Need a Reason
Michael David
Morning Glow
OGC
Open Wide Your Eyes
Orlando Gay Chorus
Ron W. Smith
Schlummerlied
Set Down Servant!
Stouthearted Men
Suddenly, Seymour
Tampa Bay Gay Men's Chorus
Tentin' Tonight
The Rainbow Connection
The Rose
The Sailor of My Dreams
Together in Concert
Two Brothers
We Kiss in a Shadow
What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor
-
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 Historical Quarterly Podcasts Collection
Alternative Title
FHQ Podcast Collection
Description
The <em>Florida Historical Quarterly </em>is the academic journal published four times per year by the Florida Historical Society in cooperation with the Department of History at the University of Central Florida. Each issue features peer-reviewed articles focusing on a wide variety of topics related to Florida history.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Curator
Burke, Mike
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
External Reference
"<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank">Florida Historical Quarterly</a>." Florida Historical Society. https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly.
"<a href="http://fhq.cah.ucf.edu" target="_blank">The Florida Historical Quarterly</a>." College of Arts and Humanities, University of Central Florida. http://fhq.cah.ucf.edu.
Sound/Podcast
A resource whose content is primarily intended to be rendered as audio.
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 Historical Quarterly, Episode 8: Vol. 89, No. 3, Winter 2011
Alternative Title
Florida Historical Quarterly, Ep. 8
Subject
Gainesville (Fla.)
Colleges
Universities
Education--Florida
Race relations--United States
Civil rights movements--Florida
Description
This podcast features an interview with Jessica Clawson, a graduate student at the University of Florida, about her article "Administrative Recalcitrance and Government Intervention: Desegregation at the University of Florida, 1962-1972," which appeared in this issue of <em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em>. The article concerns the racial integration of UF in the 1960s and 1970s.
Type
Sound
Source
Original 20-minute and 8-second audio podcast by Connie Lester and Robert Cassanello, 2011: <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>, Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>, Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/184" target="_blank">Florida Historical Quarterly Podcast Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Creator
Lester, Connie L.
Cassanello, Robert
Publisher
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Contributor
Clawson, Jessica
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
<a href="http://history.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">University of Central Florida, Department of History</a>
Date Created
2011
Date Issued
2011
Date Copyrighted
2011
Format
audio/mp3
Extent
18.4 MB
Medium
20-minute and 8-second audio podcast
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Connie Lester and Robert Cassanello and published by the <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</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
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Curator
Burke, Mike
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
External Reference
Clawson, Jessica. "<a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035878" target="_blank">Administrative Recalcitrance and Government Intervention: Desegregation at the University of Florida, 1962-1972</a>." <em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em> 89, no. 3 (2011): 347-74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035878.
De La Cova, Antonio Rafael. "<a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035876" target="_blank">Cuban Exiles in Key West during the Ten Years' War, 1868-1878</a>." <em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em> 89, no. 3 (2011): 287-319. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035876.
Jarvis, Eric. "<a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035877" target="_blank">'Secrecy Has No Excuse': The Florida Land Boom, Tourism, and the 1926 Smallpox Epidemic in Tampa and Miami</a>." <em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em> 89, no. 3 (2011): 320-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23035877.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://youtu.be/PcpiNuCW3FY" target="_blank">Episode 8: Vol. 89, No. 3, Winter 2011</a>
activism
African Americans
anti-war movement
Antonio Rafael de la Cova
Black Freedom Movement
Black Student Union
C. Farris Bryant
Cecil Farris Bryant
civil rights
Civil Rights Movement
colleges
Connie Lester
Cuban Americans
Cubans
desegregation
diversity
Eric Jarvis
evolution
exiles
FHQ
Florida Historical Quarterly
Florida land boom
Florida Legislative Investigation Committee
Florida Legislature
Florida Supreme court
Gainesville
gay
gay liberation movement
GLBT
Great War
Hamilton Holt
higher education
homosexuality
homosexuals
integration
J. Wayne Reitz
Jessica Clawson
Johns Committee
Joseph Crespino
Julius Wayne Reitz
Kent State shootings
Key West
land-grant universities
land-grant university
LeRoy Collins
LGBT
Miami
peace movement
pox
private education
private university
public education
public university
race relations
red plague
Robert Cassanello
Rollins College
segregation
smallpox
Stephen C. O'Connell
Stephen Cornelius O'Connell
Stephen O'Connell
student movement
student protests
Supreme Court of Florida
Tampa
Ten Years' War
Thomas LeRoy Collins
tourism
UF
University of Florida
Variola vera
Virgil D. Hawkins
War of '68
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/96ef7c2cbd663cfba7044fdc015e951d.pdf
3ce052d3842e4f16e2ff28def70d7638
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
Vietnam War Collection
Alternative Title
Vietnam Collection
Subject
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Veterans--Florida
Description
The Vietnam War was a Cold War Era "military conflict." The war was originally waged between Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The United States became involved as a preventive measure to combat communism. The date of the war has been disputed, but a study in 1998 by the Department of Defense definitively put the start of the Vietnam War as November 1, 1955.
The first combat military troops 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade didn't arrive until 1965. With the arrival of the combat troops came the first traditional battles of combat fighting in the war. During the Vietnam War, not only did American military go into battle with and for South Vietnam, the military also trained members of South Vietnam to fight alongside during the war. Peace talks were attempted, with France moderating, beginning on May 10, 1968. These talks were unsuccessful and lasted over three years.
The longest battle of the Vietnam War began on January 21, 1968 and didn't end until the U.S. reclaimed Route 9 on April 8, 1968, 77 days later. While the military conflict ended in April of 1975, it was a long process towards reunification and redevelopment as a country. The conflict left Vietnam in both political and economical ruins.
Contributor
<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
Vietnam
Contributing Project
<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="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a><span>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida</span>
<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><span>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida</span>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a><span>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.</span>
Herring, George C. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5126110" target="_blank"><em>America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975</em></a>. New York: Wiley, 1979.
"<a title="American Experience" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html" target="_blank">American Experience</a>." Public Broadcasting Company. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
Hanke, Gabrielle
Interviewee
Blank, William "Bill"
Location
Orlando, Florida
Original Format
Digital (DAT)
Duration
45 minutes and 8 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
157kbps
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 Dr. William "Bill" Blank
Alternative Title
Oral History, Blank
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Army
Persian Gulf War, 1991
Cold War
Global War on Terror, 2001-2009
Yom Kippur War, 1973
Iraq War, 2003-2011
World War II--United States
Description
An oral history of Dr. William Blank, who served in the U.S. Army (USA) from 1971 until 1974. Dr. Blank ultimately reached the rank of Specialist 4 and was stationed in Mannheim, Germany. Now the Director of Career Development at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Dr. Blank discusses his experiences during and after his military service. Some of the topics include the Yom Kippur War and the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, benefits of being in the military, personal experiences in Europe, the evolution of the military and public opinion of veterans, working with international students, and opinions of the military today and modern conflicts.
Table Of Contents
0:00:01 Introduction
0:00:32 Entering the Military
0:03:32 Training and assignment
0:04:59 Feelings on the Vietnam War
0:07:17 First experience in Germany
0:08:41 1972 Summer Olympics
0:10:28 The Yom Kippur War
0:12:42 Personal benefits of being in the military
0:14:06 Post-military experiences
0:17:13 Preparation and thought process in the Army
0:18:52 Personal time in Germany
0:20:58 Destruction of the Berlin Wall
0:22:17 Evolution of the military and public opinion of veterans
0:26:09 Issues with government
0:27:43 Homecoming
0:28:22 Family feelings on enlistment and war
0:29:07 Feelings on assignment
0:29:47 Relationships in the Army
0:31:39 Fun in the Army
0:33:00 Travel experiences and relationship with host family
0:34:43 Working with international students
0:35:12 Summary of international experience
0:35:32 Stand-out memories
0:37:13 Opinion of entering military today
0:41:16 Opinion of recent wars
0:43:37 Admiration for evolution of military and public opinion
Abstract
Oral history interview of Dr. William Blank. Interview conducted by Gabrielle Hanke.
Type
Moving Image
Source
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>. Interviewed by Gabrielle Hank. 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/92" target="_blank">Vietnam War Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Has Format
Digital transcript of original 45-minute and 8-second oral history: <a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>. Interviewed by Gabrielle Hanke. 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
Mannheim, Germany
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Munich, Germany
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Marine Corps Base Quantico, Triangle, Virginia
Vietnam
Watergate Office Complex, Washington, D.C.
Bad Tölz, Germany
Bastogne, Belgium
Kehlsteinhaus, Germany
Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
Creator
Hanke, Gabrielle
Blank, William
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-11-21
Date Copyrighted
2014-11-21
Format
video/mp4
application/pdf
Medium
45-minute and 8-second oral history
21-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Gabrielle Hanke and William Blank 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
"<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html" target="_blank">American Experience</a>." Public Broadcasting Company. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html.
Herring, George C. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5126110" target="_blank"><em>America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975</em></a>. New York: Wiley, 1979.
Rottman, Gordon L., and Duncan Anderson. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/190967872" target="_blank"><em>The US Army in the Vietnam War 1965-73</em></a>. Oxford: Osprey, 2008.
Rabinovich, Abraham. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52464595" target="_blank"><em>The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East</em></a>. New York: Schocken Books, 2004.
<span>Herzog, Chaim. </span><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1500167" target="_blank"><em>The War of Atonement: October, 1973</em></a><span>. Boston: Little, Brown, 1975.</span>
Transcript
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Okay. Today is the 21<sup>st</sup> of November, 2014. My name is Gabrielle Hanke and I am here interviewing Dr. William "Bill" Blank. He served in the Army from 1971 until 1974. He ultimately reached the rank of Specialist 4 and was stationed in Mannheim, [Baden-Württemberg,] Germany. I am interviewing him as part of the University of Central Florida’s [Community] Veterans History Project and this interview is being conducted in Orlando, Florida. Alright, so let’s start off with your early years.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Okay. Um, well as with most military vets, I would guess they would say a couple of words that might define their experience would be “conflict” and “adventure.” I think, you know, traditionally, that the military definitely offered both of those, and when I think of the conflict, I actually think of conflict here at home rather than abroad. Um, that was a—a pretty tumultuous time, um, in our society regarding world events, world affairs, and the military’s involvement in those events, um, specifically looking at the Vietnam War. And uh—it—it really began after I had already begun college.</p>
<p>I was a—a college student. I’d been going to school for several months and, uh, back in 1971. In the fall of 1971, they had the lottery, and it’s not like you think of the lottery today where you can win a million dollars, but rather, the lottery was determining who was going to be getting a draft notice. And, uh, my number happened to be 31. And up until about 100, those individuals could be expecting to get a draft notice. And so, uh, we—we had a—an opportunity—I guess I’m going to call it, uh—if you knew you that you were going to be getting a draft notice, you had several months typically to enlist as a—a prelude to getting that draft notice or—or in lieu of getting that draft notice. What were the advantages of that? One was that we—we had—we were actually kind of transitioning into what they called the “all-volunteer Army,” which began a year later. So this was really a year to sort of field test some of the constructs of that all-volunteer Army. And by enlisting prior to getting the draft notice, we were able to go in under something they called the “buddy system.”</p>
<p>And so my best friend from high school—who was coincidentally my college roommate—who also had a very low number for that lottery, we decided together to go ahead and enlist in the Army and that would give us the opportunity of going in under the buddy system. And what that really meant is that we were able to go through basic training together. And if you can imagine a couple of kids from a small industrial town, uh, in North Central Wisconsin, who had not previously ventured far from their backyard, were going to be going somewhere around the world, um, experiencing this major adventure. And so by at least starting off by having that kind of security blanket, that—that familiar face going through basic was really important and, um—and it actually meant a lot, I think, to many people, um, who had that opportunity.</p>
<p> So we went in, we volunteered, uh—enlisted. Uh, we—we went to basic training together. And then the second benefit of enlisting rather than actually getting the draft notice was we had the ability to have input in terms of what we would be doing in the military. And since I had taken electronics classes in high school, uh, they had determined to send me to a—a communications technician program—electronics training basically—which worked well for me.</p>
<p>And then the third benefit of enlisting was that—although it was not a guarantee—it—it really came down to the demand of the military at that time, but, um, you could at least give preferences for where you wanted to be stationed. um, and one of mine was to—to be able to go to Germany and, uh—actually, when we finished our training, I—I started off with orders for Vietnam, but because they were starting to pull back on the numbers of people they were sending to Vietnam, uh—they backed down on the Vietnam, uh, orders and transitioned them to Germany, and so I did get to go to Germany for three years. So I thought that was going to be a pretty positive experience for me.</p>
<p>And—and, um, to—to maybe give just a little bit more background, it was—it was a really difficult time actually, um, for young men primarily—although there were some women that were also going in—but men were the ones that were getting drafted, because of the societal views on the Vietnam War.</p>
<p>It was not a righteous war. Um, America had not been threatened. Our interests abroad had not been threatened. And so for many people in the country, um, there was resistance to the war and—and that was especially evident, um, on college campuses. Uh, having been a college student, you know, we all—we all had kind of a common perception of the war and, um, and that probably peaked in 1970, when at Kent State [University], the [Ohio] National Guard killed—I believe it was four or five students and then many others were injured as well, when the Ohio National Guard opened up on—on a group of protesters at that institution.</p>
<p>Um, and so, going into the military, going from student to—to soldier literally in a couple of short months created, I guess, a great deal of, um, cognitive dissonance, or at least it made me really question my values and philosophies about living and learning versus, um, you know, doing my duty and, um, you know, agreeing to uh, protect, and pr—um, protect society, uh, which—which was something that, um—in my family, you know—it was pretty conservative. That was kind of a—a passed down value, um, or—or philosophy, I guess, on life.</p>
<p>You do what you’re told to do by the authorities and—and you do it gladly. And uh, my grandfather had been in World War I and I—I remembered talking to him frequently and seeing all of his photographs. And so there was kind of that sense that, um, I need to pick up the torch in my family system and—and do my job for the military. So, two—two conflicting, um, life views really. Um—and—and I was not alone. That was pretty common I think for many young people at that time.</p>
<p>But nevertheless, I ended up going to Germany. And, um, one of my very first experiences in Germany, ironically, was being the point person, um, in a riot squad. When you think of a riot squad as a “V” and—and they ask for somebody, or they told somebody, “You’re going to be the point person.” And that was developed because of some of the international protests to the Vietnam War. Uh, [President Richard Milhous] Nixon had been doing quite a lot of carpet-bombing, where he would just saturate the country with explosives and—and so European students were protesting, as well. So I’m a student one day and a few months later, I’m actually wearing a uniform with an M-16, with a bayonet on it, and I’m the point person with students from Germany, um, attempting to infiltrate our base or—or surge our fences—and—and that put me in a really awkward position as well. Fortunately, um, nothing happened to the extent that we had to make contact with them, um, but—but nevertheless, it—it really made me question what I was doing and—and whether or not it was a valid, um, experience. Uh, so—so that was my introduction to Germany.</p>
<p>And then, um, just about a year later, I was actually going to teletype school, which was just outside of Munich[, Bavaria, Germany] in a small town called Bad Tölz [, Bavaria, Germany]. Teletype was sort of the prelude or the precursor to, um, e-mail. And, uh, just a—a few weeks into that training, uh, there was an attack at Olympic Village.<a title="">[1]</a> the—the 1972 Summer Olympics were going in Munich, by, um, a group of, um—uh, I guess for a lack of a better word, I would call them “terrorists”—the Black September [Organization] group—the—they were known as, attacked Israeli athletes and ended up—they kidnapped them initially in exchange for, um, over 200 prisoners that were in Israeli jails, uh—Arab prisoners. And, um, when Israel did not negotiate with them, they—they actually ended up killing all of the athletes, along with a German police officer. And, being in Munich at that time, all of the American soldiers were put on alert and, um, it was a pretty tense few days not knowing if that terror would—would, um, transition into some of the American facilities. Um, Mark Spitz was a—a—like a five—I think he won five golds that year for swimming. Uh, they—they rushed him out of Germany and—and flew him back to the United States being a—a Jewish athlete. So again, political, um, unrest and violence across the world, um, was starting to really boil. I think that was probably a, uh, maybe a—an omen of what was to come for America up the road, um, with the Middle East.</p>
<p>And—and we got through it and things seemed to settle down a bit and then, literally a year later, um, my armor unit, we had about 30 to 40 tanks in—in the unit that I was stationed with in Germany, um—80-ton tanks—60-ton tanks, I guess they were. And each year, we would go up to Northern Germany to qualify those tank crews on the firing ranges. And in 1973—in the fall of ‘73—we were up there doing just that, when, um, a number of Arab countries, um, attacked Israel, um, and—and that that was led, um, primarily by, um, let me see. I need to—to—to kind of just refresh my memory. The coalition of Arab states<a title="">[2]</a> was led by Syria. Egypt and Syria were the two countries that were really kind of spearheading that attack. Um, they were trying to win back, uh, land that was lost years earlier in the Three Day War. This was called the Yom Kippur Wer[sic]—Wer[sic]—War, because it was occurring during that holiday—that Jewish holiday<a title="">[3]</a>—um, and also the Arab<a title="">[4]</a> holiday of Ramadan. And so, um, it was kind of ironic that we’re celebrating these two religious holidays, and in the midst of them, they—they create another war.</p>
<p>At any rate, um, literally overnight, all of our tanks were, um, repainted in desert camouflage to—to make us ready to, um, be transported to the Middle East to intervene. Both Russia and the U.S., uh, really mustered their forces in terms of supplies and armament to their respective allies in the Middle East. And—and—and we came this close to, um, a world war with Russia at this point—the two superpowers colliding. Um, fortunately after three weeks, a—a ceasefire though occurred and, uh, that was, uh, the beginning of, um, a series of peace talks that helped to create a little bit more harmony in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Uh, so at any rate, I—I had a number of conflicts that were right on the edge of reality, in terms of drawing my unit into all of them. And so, probably not unlike with most soldiers, there’s always that, um, impeding war or that impending, um, “police action”—as Vietnam and Korea were called—uh, on the cusp of—of every morning.</p>
<p>Um, but—but in spite of all of that, I would say that I—I got a great deal out of the experience that I had in the military. I think when—when I look at, um, what that did for me, in terms of just the confidence and the self-responsibility, um, just the—the, um, I—I think ability to—to live my life more independently and autonomously. Um, the military was truly responsible for that. I think, in addition to that, there were relationships that were forged while in the military that were like no other relationships since, in terms of being very authentic and—and really, um, having that sense of cohesion that common bond or shared reality with other soldiers. Um, those relationships really truly turned out to be lifelong relationships.</p>
<p>And then, in addition to, um, being able to benefit from the GI Bill [Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944], as a first generation college student, I was able to—to get my education—undergraduate and graduate education—um, at least partially funded by the military. um, gave me the opportunity to really get back to the, uh, goal of—of living and learning life, helping other people, uh, develop academically as a—an educational counselor and—and educational teacher. I think ultimately, all of that cumulatively allowed me to give back to the military in that, after getting my—my graduate degree in counseling, I was able to, um, develop a course for chronically unemployed Vietnam vet[eran]s, and—and, um, administer that six-week course throughout the state of Wisconsin, resulting in a national award with an over 80 percent placement rate at the end of that year for—for these, uh, participants.</p>
<p>And then, beyond that at other institutions, um, at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne[, Wyoming], I—I taught ongoing workshops for military, who are retiring after 20 or 30 years, to help them more easily transition into civilian life and the civilian workforce. And then even here at—at UCF [University of Central Florida], I have the opportunity to work closely with veterans.</p>
<p>When we had the war with Iraq, and many of our UCF students were called out who were National Guard or Reservists, I actually created a—a long distance career counseling service for those veterans and extended it to all of their cohorts. um, and—and helped them to really, um, evaluate their life experiences in—in the face of being a warrior and how that was influencing changing career goals and helping them to adjust their academic programs, and then also to help assist them with the transition once they came back to college. Um, so, and—and then more recently, with the—the veterans academic resource grant that we got, I’m one of the committee members for that grant, and I’ve been able to really help infuse some professional development programing for veterans with job fairs and things of that nature.</p>
<p>So ultimately, you know, I—I can go back 40 years and I can see how the military really shaped me and—and how that military thread has consistently woven through my life, um, to, you know, my—my early 60s, where I am now, and—and how that’s been such a—a, I guess a pivotal experience in my life. It shaped me truly more than any other experience I’ve had thus far. So, that’s—that’s the summary of my story and, um, I stand by it.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Well, that was very good. Um, if we could go into some more details such as, uh, how were you trained during this time of there was conflict, but then there wasn’t almost. Like, it was a very iffy time. Could you tell me a little more about that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, I—I think with—with anyone in the military at any time, you’re—you’re on constant alert and you’re involved in continuous training and we were always prepared for the worst. Um, we were ready to be mobilized as with, uh, the war, uh, in the Middle East. Literally in a few days, our entire, uh, battalion would be ready to transition over to the Middle East from Germany. Um, constant training. And I think, uh, there was also, um, quite a lot of educational programming, um, helping us to—I—I think, understand where we fit with all of the world events that were going on. Um, I don’t think we were discouraged from challenging ideas and beliefs, but I think because we were the military, there was always that, um, underlying focus on it’s our job to—to go in the event that we’re called out and do what we’ve been trained to do. It was our duty—our responsibility. So no matter where one might have been, um, in terms of their political ideologies, they were ready to do their job. And I am absolutely confident that—that we all would have done what we would have been asked to do as—as were soldiers in every war before ours.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke</strong>Okay. And then, um, I know there was, um, the issue of the Warsaw Pact<a title="">[5]</a> coming around. Um, what was it like uh—I mean like the air? The aura almost of being in Germany—being so close?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well I—I did, because I was in Germany and—and because I so much enjoy and appreciate history, I did spend a—a great deal of my personal time while there learning about the history of, um, all of the events of World War II and how Europe had transformed as a result of the war.</p>
<p>And then with the Berlin Wall going up around, um, the time of my birth, uh, it was interesting to learn more about that and—and experience what it was like behind the Curtain—the Iron Curtain. And while I was there, I spent all of my—my vacation time, uh, travelling throughout Europe, um, going actually to Southern Europe to, um, the—the Third Reich headquarters, um, and Bavaria[, Germany], and seeing some of the—the facilities—the Eagle’s Nest<a title="">[6]</a> that [Martin] Bormann had built for [Adolf] Hitler.</p>
<p>And, um, and then also going to some of the countries that had been, um, uh, freed as a result of American intervention in the war. Um, France, and going up to Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, seeing where the Battle of the Bulge occurred in Bastogne[, Belgium]. Um, and talking to people up there and actually living with a German family for the three years. I was there and hearing their stories. They were terrified of the Nazis,<a title="">[7]</a> I think, as any European may have been at that time. Um, it—it was really interesting to get that personal perspective from people and—and talk to people who had actually been there during those wars—during that war—and, uh, hearing their, um, personal life histories.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Yeah. That’s very interesting. And then, um, let’s see. How did you feel—I know you weren’t there at the time—but when the Berlin Wall finally came down?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Um, it—it was amazing to me. and—and I—I guess what—what I guess the personal connection for me—it went up the year I was born and it was torn down the year my sons were born.<a title="">[8]</a> And—and so I look at, within that lifetime, what a dramatic change. And that was certainly an indication of, uh, what was to come with some of the, um, eastern countries, and now the Middle Eastern countries as well, um, as far as that goes—in terms of democracy and in terms of people having freedom of choice.</p>
<p>So when I thought about that, it helped to legitimize my involvement during the Vietnam period, again which was pretty tumultuous, um, politically- and society-wise, um, especially as a—an 18 year old not very knowledgeable about much in life at that point. Um, every experience I had, uh, was sort of a first time exposure for me. I didn’t have the—I guess the cognitive ability to—to maybe put it all in perspective early on, it really evolved over time.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um—how do you feel? Has the military changed in its attitudes? As you were saying, um, your generation—you did your duty. Do you feel that that has carried over to this generation?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /> </strong>It—it—it has, um, to my amazement and to my pleasure. I have seen amazing, amazing, changes. Colonel [Richard] Toliver talked about that even from, uh, pre-Vietnam era and World War II era—how things have changed. And I think for veterans, in particular—during the Vietnam era, we were either openly discriminated against, um, chastised, or we were politely tolerated at best, but we were never, never celebrated. I can honestly say that in 40 years, not one person ever even acknowledged my time in the service, much less thank me for it, until a couple years ago, um, here at UCF when—when the veterans’ memorial was—was opened up, about two years ago, I guess it was.</p>
<p>And now, it’s totally amazing, is that anytime people realize that—that I had been a veteran, if I have my—my flag on or if I go to a—a veteran program here, um, they all say “Bill, thank you for your service.” I came into work on Veterans’ Day and—and there was a—a card taped to my door and all my staff had signed it, uh, thanking me for my service. And that’s like something I never ever would have expected to happen. I mean, you can’t imagine, unless you lived through it, um, you know, returning war veterans being spit upon and—and criticized and—and yelled at—to—to being thanked. I mean, that is a true, positive transition. I think it speaks volumes about how the American military is viewed in this country, at least today. Um, I had an opportunity to go to the, um, the Marine officer training school in [Marine Corps Base] Quantico[, Triangle, Virginia], and, uh, it was amazing how—how they were so excited about the opportunity to—to put themselves in harm’s way to protect their country. Um, a real different attitude, not just by society, but by soldiers as well.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Do you have an opinion on what caused this?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, you know the concept of nationalism. During World War II, there was this wave of nationalism. We were attacked and we were going to defend our country. We were going to do what we needed to—to protect our families and our way of life. And, um, now again, with the attack on the World Trade Centers[sic] and—and the terrorist attacks coming from the Middle East, we have been threatened. And, um, our—our interests abroad have been threatened. Um, our—our homeland has been threatened and, indeed, attacked. And so, that’s what it requires, I think, for that wave of nationalism to occur.</p>
<p>During Vietnam, again as—as I said earlier, none of that was threatened, and there were so many questions about why are we there, what we were doing. Um, are we causing more harm than good? And so, when—when the war’s not a righteous war, you’re not going to get that support. When the war is righteous, that support with be there. Hopefully, um, our s—our government, our politicians, you know, learn something from that and they—they won’t be too eager to go to war un—unless there’s just cause.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Yeah, and, um, speaking of politicians, I know it was around the Vietnam War where things were really—people were starting to question it and especially with Watergate [Scandal] —what do you remember of that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Yeah. Watergate actually happened when I was still in Germany, but I remember coming back and, um, you know—how that—that was the—I guess you could call it the—the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak for Nixon. Um, as early as the—the late 60s, he was—Nixon was—was being viewed as the person who was escalating the Vietnam War. Um, I think already there was a—a tide of resistance about him and then Watergate pretty much cinched it for him.</p>
<p>Um, but it—it—it didn’t help to sort of regain confidence in government. I think it helped to further, um, support the concept that the government doesn’t always make good decisions and—and they’re not always, um, principled and ethical people who are running government. And so I think for—for Vietnam era veterans, you know, it—it sort of justified the views that they may have held about government. And—and we were separating military from government. A lot of people in the military didn’t necessarily support what heads of government—heads of state were—were doing and—and the kinds of decisions that they were making.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um, what was your homecoming like? Did people distinguish between you were in Vietnam or you were in Germany? Or did they…</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>No. If you had a uniform on, you weren’t seen in in a positive light. And so veterans quickly learned to not present themselves as returning veterans. Um, as soon as we got back, um, I can vividly recall my duffel bag with all my uniforms and gear went into a Goodwill bin. Um, the first thing I did was grow my hair out so I wouldn’t look like a veteran. Um, I didn’t want to be, um, targeted and—and truly they—they were. We were.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And, um, how did your family feel about you going into the military at this time and…</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>They didn’t really want me to, quite honestly. But again with—with the draft, there wasn’t really an option. I—I think they were probably ambivalent about the war as well. and when literally every single night for a—at least a full hour on the national news, we were seeing clips of Vietnam with—with people’s sons and husbands and fathers being killed left and right and in large numbers. Um, there—there wasn’t a lot of support from family members for their sons to go into that situation.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>So, now you said you were initially, um, listed as going to Vietnam, correct? How did…</p>
<p><strong>Blank</strong>Right. Right.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>How did you feel about that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>I—I was concerned about it, but, you know, if—if that’s where they needed me to be, uh—just like every other individual who went through basic training or advanced individual training, you went where they told you to go. The military was very effective at, um, kind of creating that—that cohesion and that common bond where you go and support your fellow veteran—your fellow, um, soldiers, rather.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um, you said uh, it was thr—through the military you made these very unique relationships. Do you still keep in contact with people?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Um, not—not so much anymore at this point in in my life, um, but for the first decade or so after getting out, um, there—there was ongoing contact. Unfortunately, um, probably of the—the two or three people that I really bonded tightly with in my unit, uh, one of them was killed, um, in Germany, um, through—through an accident. And, uh, the other one relocated back to Pennsylvania, which was on the other side of the country as me. I was, um, in Wisconsin and then ultimately Colorado. So we—we sort of lost touch as well.</p>
<p>But, um, one of my coworkers picked up grandparents the other day from the airport, and took them to Lakeland, where her grandfather was reconnecting with a—a military cohort from his time during World War II. And she was sharing with me how rewarding it was when she saw them, um, connect, um, for the first time. and—and they embraced each other and literally, uh, began crying because, I—I think when—when you see those people after so many years, it’s that whole flood of emotions that that come to the surface. Colonel [Richard] Toliver talked about that when he wrote his book,<a title="">[9]</a> um—how it’s a bit difficult, because so many of the emotions from wartime resurface. But—but I think they can be positive emotions too. It’s not just all negative memory. It’s—it’s the relationships that were so crucial, I think, to that lifelong, I guess, association with the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And, um, I know it was a very serious time, but what did you guys do for fun?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, that’s the, uh, the other side I talked about, you know, for everybody going in the military. It’s conflict and adventure. And—and it’s kind of a strange combination, because sometimes they may be one and the same. But, um, being in an armored unit, um, as an 18 year old kid and we have these 60-ton tanks, uh, it was pretty amazing to be able to play with them. We—we had some areas where we would practice, um, driving them. And—and Americans would discard cars in that area that they couldn’t take back to the States, because they didn’t have seatbelts, safety glass, all of that. So imagine a Volkswagen with—with 60-ton tanks driving over it, one after another. Um, those—that was the kind of activity that made it pretty exciting.</p>
<p>But then beyond what we did in the military, um, uh, you know, beyond when—when we’d go on maneuvers, I would be driving our operations major, scouting a place to camp out with—with you know 30 tanks and all the crews and support peoples. So I had a four-wheel drive Jeep and we’d—we would be going through the hillsides and having quite an adventure of it.</p>
<p>But, in addition to all of that, when I wasn’t working, um, I traveled a lot. I got my international driver’s license as soon as I could, bought a car, and every single weekend I was gone. I was visiting all parts of Western Europe. In a weekend, you could go just about anywhere, because Europe is such a small landmass. Took all my vacations over there. Um, my parents came over, um, for a couple weeks to—to visit, and we traveled all over Western Europe to—to help them experience it, as well.</p>
<p>Um, and then the German family I lived with, they—they sort of adopted me as a—a[sic] international, um, son—I guess for lack of a better term. And they—they took me everywhere with them when they would go off on weekends. They helped me to really experience the culture and the diversity of Germany and really learn to appreciate what Germany is today. And I think as a result of that, um, you know, knowing what it felt like to be a stranger in a foreign land and then to have people befriend me and kind of help me. Whether it was, you know, teaching me how to, um—say “vergaser,” which is German for carburetor, which I needed to know when I went to the auto-mechanic to tell him I needed a—a “neu vergaser.” Um, to—to, you know, teaching me how they celebrated, um, the holidays and—and what Christmas meant to them, taking me to church with them on Christmas Eve. Uh, all of that was really eye opening.</p>
<p>As a result of that, I became an international student mentor here, um, for our international students, where each year I take one on and, um, have that mentor-mentee relationship to help them adapt and adjust to the United States and to UCF, and just guide them through the everyday issues that—that one faces when—when one is in a foreign land.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>That’s very good.</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>So a lot of adventure, um, and—and again, I think it’s that combination of coming into adulthood and experiencing, um, all of those new challenges and—and adventures that, um, people in the military never ever, ever forget.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Is there, uh, any specific moments that stand out to you? That you can still see?</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>Um, well, one time, when—when we were on a maneuver—in terms of a memorable experience—the German forests are pretty dense and—and pretty rugged still. They have wild boars which—which have large, razor-like teeth, and—and—and, um, horns, and they can be literally deadly, if you’re caught out in the open with them—if they do attack you. And I recall one night—this may seem a bit bizarre—but having to relieve myself, I left the safety of the 60-ton tank and walked out into the woods, and I heard something snorting. And it didn’t take me but about two and a half seconds to get back on top of that tank. And sure enough, a herd of razorback came running by me, and, um, I felt fortunate I wasn’t out there.</p>
<p>Um, and—and then—and then maybe, um, another time I—I guess I remember well—was actually a trip to Paris[, France] to do some sight-seeing. And—and I was able to really experience Paris and [the Palace of] Versailles and all the history, and—and I didn’t fully appreciate what I was witness to until I got back to the States and began college. And I was in a world history class where the professor was talking about the French Revolution, and, um, Queen [Marie] Antoinette, and—and the guil—guillotines, and Versailles and—and all the other students had kind of a blank look on their face. And I’m thinking <em>Oh, yeah, I—I know that, I was actually there.</em> When he talked about the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, I was there.</p>
<p>Um, when they got into the World War II history and—and talked about some of the early meetings between, um, the different diplomats at, uh, the Eagle’s Nest, or Hitler’s tea house, I was there. Um, everything that was being discussed, I had actually been there in person and had experienced personally. Um, and so, it, I think it made me fully, at that point, understand what a treasure that was for me to have had that opportunity for travel and just seeing parts of the world unknown that I never would have been able to experience had I not been in the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>So, what would you say to someone who is considering enlisting in the military today?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>It—it’s a—it’s a dangerous time to go in the military right now, uh, but I would never discourage it. Um, I actually teach a course—a graduate career counseling course—for, uh, graduate students who are preparing to go into school counseling. And every semester, I bring in, uh, representatives from the military to teach them about opportunities in the military, so that they at least are aware of them when they work with their high school students up the road. And—and I share with them, you know—it’s a personal decision for individuals, but we need to be letting young people know this is an opportunity.</p>
<p>Um, war—war can certainly be dangerous, but there are so many benefits in the military and—and especially in terms of helping to, um, complete one’s education. The military is so supportive of that financially and otherwise. Um, and so, I wouldn’t discourage anyone. um, it—it’s awkward though, because I—I know there’s a good chance today that people could absolutely be, um, in a combat situation and, um, knowing what can happen in combat it—it creates a bit of dissonance with me. But I—I regret that young people today don’t have the same opportunity I did. They—they—young men, in particular—we—we needed that kind of safe haven to—to mature and develop.</p>
<p> At 18, most young men are not ready for college and they’re not ready for life. And so to have that three year period where they—they have the protection of the military. Someone to feed and clothe and house you, but yet challenge you to mature and become responsible. I—I regret that young men don’t have that today. I regret that my own sons, who are 25, have never had that experience.</p>
<p>Ironically, I’ve got a 29 year old, young man who works for me now—a new staff member—and, um, he’s never ironed his shirt. And in the military, we learn to press and starch all of our uniforms to great precision. And, um, this is probably my experience of the year—for me this year. He brought his ironing board, his iron, and a can of starch along with a shirt and a pair of pants and he asked me to teach him how to iron based on my knowledge of how to do that from the military. We—we took pride in our appearance and we were called on it if we weren’t attentive to it. And I—I try to encourage young men today to do the same. One—one of many, many, um, benefits or—or attributes to being in the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke </strong>Yeah. Um, uh, speaking of the recent conflicts in the Middle East, you said the conflicts that you experienced personally—you feel they were ominous almost?</p>
<p><strong>Blank </strong>Absolutely.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke </strong>So, um, how did you feel about first [Operation] Desert Storm<a title="">[10]</a> and then the recent [Iraq] War?<a title="">[11]</a></p>
<p><strong>Blank </strong>Supportive of it, because their sovereign country had been attacked—Kuwait had been attacked. And—and, uh, I—I—I think, as—as, I believe, every past veteran would have seen, that was a—a just action.</p>
<p>And, um, I think the difference though there versus in Vietnam, um—they put the full military behind it. In Vietnam, uh, there—there were so many restrictions about how that war was approached. And—and as a result of that, it went on. It actually started in in 1954 with [President Dwight David] Eisenhower, when—when he showed political and financial support for South Vietnam.<a title="">[12]</a> Um, but then, as it continued, uh, into the 60s—with the advisors and over war, and then escalated numbers of U.S. soldiers going there, um, it was never looked at as, “Here’s a war. Let’s put the full force of the military behind it.” But it was rather a trickle of U.S. soldiers going, um, for an extended period of time, not getting the kind of support that that they needed to—to do it right. And—and I was proud—proud of—of the military for the way they handled the first Iraq War.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Now with, um, these most recent wars, they’ve been going on for quite a while.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Yeah, the—the face of war has really changed. Starting with Vietnam, you didn’t know who your enemy was and—and same today with terrorism. But, because terrorism directly threatens the United States and all of us who live here, um, it has to be addressed. You know, I—I don’t see other options than to continue to be involved in in what we’re doing.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke <br /></strong>And then, um—I think you’ve answered almost everything. Um, so, is there anything else you’d like to talk about?</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>Um, I—I think just my—my delight at how things have changed with the military. Um, when we—we saw, um—we hosted the film <em>Red Tails</em> in our office. The Tuskegee Airmen, and—and it was during [National] Veterans [Awareness] Week. Um, it was really amazing to see the pioneers for, um, bringing equality into the military, which, in my era, then continued with women coming into the military.</p>
<p>And then I think the second major thing that I’m really pleased to see is that not only has the military, um, really come to a point where they honor diversity and recruit for diversity, but I think they—they also now are being valued more. All—all veterans of every war are being so much more highly valued than was ever the case, from my perspective. And that brings me great joy to—to just know, even after having waited four decades to—to see that, finally, you know, people are supportive. The—the general public is supportive of what the military is doing and—and honoring those past veterans as well.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>We’re good? Time is good? Okay. Alright. Well, that concludes the interview, and I would like to personally thank you for both your time and your service.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>You’re welcome.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke <br /></strong>Thank you very much.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
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<p><a title="">[1]</a> Munich Massacre.</p>
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<p><a title="">[2]</a> The coalition also included Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as Cuba.</p>
</div>
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<p><a title="">[3]</a> Yom Kippur.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[4]</a> Correction: Muslim holiday.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[5]</a> Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[6]</a> Kehlsteinhaus.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[7]</a> National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[8]</a> 1961.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[9]</a> <em>An Uncaged Eagle: True Freedom</em>.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[10]</a> There is only one Operation Desert Storm.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[11]</a> Operation Iraqi Freedom.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[12]</a> Republic of Vietnam.</p>
</div>
</div>
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>
Date Issued
2015-01
Extent
387 MB
203 KB
1972 Summer Olympics
9/11 Attacks
Adolf Hitler
all-volunteer military
An Uncaged Eagle: True Freedom
anti-war protest
anti-war protests
Arab-Israeli War of 1973
Bad Tölz, Germany
basic training
Bastogne, Belgium
Battle of the Bulge
Bavaria, Germany
Berlin Wall
Bill Blank
Black September Organization
BSO
buddy system
carpet bombing
carpet bombs
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Christmas
civilian
civilians
cognitive dissonance
cold war
college
colleges
conscription
Desert Shield
Desert Storm
diversity
draft lotteries
draft lottery
draft notices
drafting
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower
Eagle's Nest
educator
educators
Egypt
enlistment
Europe
Francis E. Warren AFB
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base
French Revolution
Gabrielle Hanke
Games of the XX Olympiad
gender segregation
Germans
Germany
GI Bill
Global War on Terror
guidance counseling
GWOT
Hall of Mirrors
Halloween Massacre
homecoming
Ike Eisenhower
international students
Iraq
Iraq War
Iron Curtain
Israel
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Kehlsteinhaus
Kent State Massacre
Kent State Shooting
Kent State University
KSU
Kuwait
Mannheim, Germany
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen
Marie Antoinette
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Mark Spitz
Martin Bormann
May 4 Massacre
MCB Quantico
mentors
Middle East
military
military assignments
military drafts
military training
Munich Massacre
Munich, Germany
National Guard
National Socialist German Workers' Party
National Veterans Awareness Week
nationalism
Nazi Germany
Nazi Party
Nazis
Nixon, Richard, Milhous
North Central Wisconsin
NSDAP
October War
Ohio National Guard
Olympic Village
Olympics
Operation Desert Shield
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Wrath of God
Palestine
Persian Gulf War
police actions
protesters
Ramadan
Ramadan War
razorbacks
Red Tails
Republic of Vietnam
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Toliver
riot squads
riots
Russia
segregation
September 11 Attacks
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
South Vietnam
student protests
Summer Olympics
Syria
tanks
teachers
terrorism
terrorists
Third Reich
Three Day War
Treaty of Friendship, co-operation, and Mutual Assistance
Tuskegee Airmen
U.S. Army
UCF
universities
university
University of Central Florida
veterans
Veterans' Day
Vietnam
Vietnam War
volunteer military
volunteers
war protests
WarPac
Warren AFB
Warren Air Force Base
Warsaw Pact
Watergate
Watergate Scandal
wild boars
William Blank
Wisconsin
woman
women
World Trade Center
World War II
WWII
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur War