Del. Backstory: Preserving stories of WWII veterans
The News Journal
Originally published on June 11, 2014
DOVER – Paul Kambies choked up with emotion as he thought of his World War II story becoming part of Delaware's permanent history.
As a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, he had survived some of the war's bloodiest fighting at Iwo Jima – but he didn't want to talk about that.
His account of the war, along with that of nearly 100 other Delawareans, became part of the Delaware Public Archives' permanent collection last week as filmmaker T.J. Healy II donated his film, "Voices of War: The William J. Kitchell Collection, World War II – Delaware," along with transcripts of his interviews statewide.
Kambies, who joined a handful of other WWII vets for the donation ceremony, which also marked the opening of the archives' "Delaware in World War II exhibit," said that he is glad to have been part of the project because "it's good to get some of the kids to know what we went through."
Gov. Jack Markell, Secretary of State Jeffrey W. Bullock, Archives Director Steven Marz and a crowd of about 100 honored WWII veterans Kambies, Jerry Unruh of Odessa, Jack Houck of Wilmington and George Hebbel of Wilmington, along with others who lived to come home and all Delawareans who lost their lives in that war.
"It is thanks to their triumphs and tragedies that we enjoy the freedoms that we have," Markell told the crowd. He also told the vets, "Your passion for service continues to serve as an inspiration to all of us."
Bullock, noting 800 Delawareans were killed in that war, spoke of the state's "great honor" to have the oral histories Healey gathered in the project, which he began in 2001 with encouragement from Rep. John Carney.
The film, to become part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, is to be followed by similar oral history documentations of Delawareans who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Healy said he hopes to complete both projects this year and plans similar donations to the archives.
Bullock said the World War II collection is "incredibly valuable" because the aging veterans' wartime memories soon could be lost.
In addition to honoring the veterans and Healy, state officials also honored the family of the project's namesake, William J. Kitchell, without whose support the effort would not have been completed, Healy said.
Kitchell was a lieutenant commander in the war, serving as flag lieutenant and is shown in one of the most famous photos marking the end of World War II.
Kitchell led Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, and Adm. William F. Halsey to a table aboard the USS Missouri where the Japanese formally surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945.
That photo and others, including displays highlighting the wartime service of women and African-Americans, show "this was everyone's war," Marz said.
Of special note is a case with a book listing all state residents who gave their lives. The case also includes portraits of two Medal of Honor recipients from Delaware.
• Sgt. William Lloyd Nelson, of the Middletown area, honored posthumously, served in the 60th Infantry Regiment mortar group as a forward observer and was honored for halting a Nazi drive in Tunisia in 1945. A wounded Nelson continued to advance and direct fire until he died.
• Sgt. James P. Connor, a Wilmingtonian who died in 1994, served in the 7th Infantry and was honored for taking command as officers died in battle in France in 1944. An injured Connor led troops over a mined beach and attacked a sniper nest under heavy fire.
The 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion at Normandy has brought added attention to the sacrifice of those who served in the war, Marz said, but people nowadays have little knowledge of the scale.
"You have to understand that Delaware's population at the time of World War II was only about 225,000," Marz said, "and there were 33,000 in the service."
And, he said, "everyone on the homefront did their part." That included collecting metal, rubber and other goods to be recycled for the war effort, he said as he pointed to a period photo of children with a cart full of recyclables.
The exhibit developed by archives staff shows not only the work of those in uniform, but those who filled in at jobs for those at the war, he said.
"The homefront was instrumental in the military effort," he said, also citing vital support from Delaware such as explosives from the Du Pont Co. and broiler chickens that fed the Army.
The exhibit shows a sampling of the archives' more than 3,000 photographs and uncounted documents from the war, with a "virtual exhibit" at the archives' website.
Healy said veterans' sharing their stories with him "was my honor."
The state archives is where the film and supporting materials belong, Healy said, "so their stories can be shared with future generations."
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