Veterans tell their stories of war in 10-part radio series

Veterans tell their stories of war in 10-part radio series
BY HANNAH KOHUT Correspondent
April 20, 2012

Veterans from World War II and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are sharing their war stories as part of a new 10-part radio series at St. Xavier University dubbed “Veteran Matters.”

Producer Peter Kreten said the veterans’ experiences are “very much” a part of our American history.

“You can hear honest experiences,” Kreten said. “You’re going to hear stories about being a sailor on the USS Bunker Hill; about Korea and running away from aircraft fire; and of the experiences from Army nurses.”

One of those nurses, 91-year-old Joan Schechner, of Evergreen Park, said that participating in the radio program was “very exciting.”

“We took care of soldiers in Iwo Jima and Okinawa,” Schechner said. “In Iwo Jima, the hospital was just a tent put together with dirt floors and no cots. We prepared the patients to go in for surgery, and penicillin was only about a year old at the time, and we were able to give penicillin shots.

“I spent my 25th birthday in Okinawa, and my grandson had his 25th birthday in Afghanistan,” Schechner said. “It was wonderful being in the service; I’d do the same thing again today.”

Some of the oral histories are from more recent wars.
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