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WUSF Records History With 'Florida Stories'

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 11, 2007

Updated: 11/09/2007 07:33 pm

TAMPA - At age 90, Ed Maguire is the last surviving member of his World War II bomb disposal unit.

"They are all gone now," he says, recalling that some of the men died in the line of duty and time took its toll on the others.

Maguire has stories to tell about those days in the 1940s, when he was a 26-year-old newlywed from Philadelphia who had shipped out for the adventure of his life, leaving wife Betty behind.

Ed and Betty, who now live in Dunedin, recently recorded their memories at the WUSF radio studios on the University of South Florida campus.

For more than an hour, Betty, with the help of WUSF producer Eric Jordan, interviewed her husband as part of the "Florida Stories" project.

Ed told of the things he experienced in Europe - things that were wonderful, such as the night lights of Paris, and horrible, such as recovering body parts of comrades who were blown apart.

He recalled the hazardous Army work that involved removal and detonation of unexploded bombs.

He told of men killed by booby-trapped ammunition left behind by the Germans, of how he wrecked a brand new Jeep when he was run off the road by a truck rushing supplies to the front, of how he gave a poor French farmer a pair of boots and was rewarded with three bottles of cognac, of how he disobeyed orders and slipped into Paris one night and stayed at a hotel on the Champs Elysees.

The Maguires are among more than 50 Tampa Bay area residents who have recorded oral histories at the radio station. Selected excerpts from many of these recordings air at 5:30 p.m. Fridays on WUSF, 89.7 FM.

Longer versions of the stories can be heard on WUSF's Web site, www.wusf.org.

WWII Stories Tie In With 'War'

The stories can be and are about a wide variety of experiences - from the memories of a mandolin player to a woman's account of how she recovered from a brain injury.

But since Memorial Day, WUSF has been collecting memories of World War II. These stories have been airing on the radio in anticipation of the Ken Burns documentary "War," which begins tonight on WUSF, Channel 16.

"We thought it would be a fitting tie-in to feature these stories on the radio and our Web site," says Diane Egner, WUSF content director.

Burns' seven-part series about World War II debuted in September on most PBS outlets, including WEDU, Channel 3.

WUSF is debuting "War" on Veterans Day. Installments will air at 8 p.m. today through Saturday.

Burns' documentary, which has received wide critical acclaim, recalls the war through the eyes of people who experienced it.

2 WUSF Shows Profile Veterans

Using the same format, WUSF has produced two local specials, "Tampa Goes to War," airing at 10 p.m. Thursday, and "Plant City Goes to War," at 10 p.m. Saturday.

These feature Tampa and Plant City residents, such as former Congressman Sam Gibbons, who parachuted with the 101st Airborne Division into France on June 6, 1944, and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Tampa resident George Drew, who served in the Army Air Corps, recalls his nine months as a German prisoner of war.

"It's an experience that you lost your freedom and when you do that, you've lost everything," Drew says.

On the Plant City special, John Germany talks about his service in the Army under Gen. Patton, including his experiences at Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" retreat and at a German internment camp in Czechoslovakia.

"The fires were still hot in the ovens," Germany says. "And immediately when we came in, the members that were to be killed, burned, wanted to turn on the guards and throw them in."

Other Plant City veterans profiled include Lonnie Davidson, who became a career soldier and reached the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army; Philip Patrinostro, an Army Air Corps flight engineer who served on 26 B-17 missions over Europe; and David E. "D.E." Bailey Jr., the first married man in Plant City to be drafted.

Hear More About Their Experiences

On the WUSF Web site, among the "Florida Stories," visitors can listen to numerous longer accounts of World War II experiences. Among them:

•Martha Cameron, who was 23 in 1941 when she enlisted in the Army Nursing corps, is interviewed by her friend Kathleen Flynn about serving in Normandy, where she treated wounded soldiers and civilians.

•Mel Downing, who enlisted in the Navy at 17, tells his son David about serving in the Pacific combat zones and how the impact of the war stays with him today.

•Robert J. Ramer talks with his son Robert Bruce Ramer about his induction into the Air Corps and his early cadet training. Although he was thrilled to be flying a P-52 Mustang, he had to fly it during a war.

•John Moore, 83, talks with his son Gary about serving with the 91st Chemical Mortar battalion in the Army.

"Right now we are featuring World War II interviews on the radio segments, but after next week we will get back to featuring other kinds of stories," Egner says.

Producer Jordan, who records and edits the project, says everyone has a story.

"Some people might say, 'Well, I didn't do anything special in my life,' but when you start talking to them and get them to open up about themselves, they usually will have stories that are interesting," he says.

WUSF started "Florida Stories" nearly two years ago after National Public Radio's StoryCorps program visited Sarasota.

StoryCorps, a national project to collect oral histories of Americans, set up a mobile recording studio on St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota in January 2006.

"It was so successful that we decided to build our own collection of stories," Egner says.

Eye-Opening Memories

Each recording session lasts about an hour, says Jordan. The recordings involve two people; most often a friend or a relative will interview the person who has a memory to share. Jordan serves a coach who helps keep the story on track.

"We've had a wide variety of topics," he says, noting that there have been stories about religion, work, education, race discrimination, marriage and family.

For example, a brother and sister, Paul Wetmore and Patty Shultze, who grew up in New York, recorded accounts of what is was like living with their brother Chris, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 3.

"These are always fascinating for me because I always learn something from the story," Jordan says.

Jordan is the radio station's production manager and has other duties, including overseeing many aspects of audio recording at the station.

He says working on the "Florida Stories" has been rewarding.

"We give everyone a CD copy of the interview that they can take with them, and often I am told that this might be the last recorded memory of a friend or relative," he says.
Ed Maguire says his recording was a hit with his five children, who recently gathered for the Maguires' 64th wedding anniversary.

LISTEN, WATCH

•Excerpts from "Florida Stories" air at 5:30 p.m. Fridays on WUSF radio, 89.7 FM.

•Ken Burns' seven-part documentary series "The War" airs at 8 p.m. today through Saturday on WUSF, Channel 16.

•"Tampa Goes to War," produced by WUSF, airs at 10 p.m. Thursday.

•"Plant City Goes to War," produced by WUSF, airs at 10 p.m. Saturday.

For information on how to contribute to "Florida Stories," go to wusf.org.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

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