Documentary allows vets to tell war stories ‘In Their Own Words’

The Dallas Post // News

November 1, 2009

Documentary allows vets to tell war stories ‘In Their Own Words’

By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com

The Invasion of Normandy was 65 years ago.

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Jacks Evans, of Trucksville, holds up a photo of himself from when he was in the U.S. Army Paratroopers 502nd Parachute Infantry of the 101st Airborne. Evans is a World War II veteran.

AIMEE DILGER/TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO

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John Peruso, left, and Mike Terlesky work on editing a video of area veterans with the help of visiting professor Dan Kimbrough. The project at Misericordia University will be included as an oral history project of the Back Mountain area.

CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST

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But to Jack Evans, it was just yesterday.

Evans, 88, of Trucksville, is a veteran of the U.S. Army Paratroopers 502nd Parachute Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. He parachuted into France in the late afternoon of June 5, 1944, the day before the invasion, or D-Day.

“To some people and to newspapers, D-Day was 65 years ago but to some of us, it was just yesterday,” Evans said. “And sometimes it was just an hour ago.”

Evans is one of 10 Back Mountain veterans featured in a short film titled “In Their Own Words.” The video will be shown at Rep. Karen Boback (R-Harveys Lake) and Misericordia University’s Annual Veterans’ Appreciation Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the Lemmond Theater at Misericordia University.

The ceremony will also feature remarks from Major General Jessica Wright, Pennsylvania’s Adjutant General, and a performance by the 28th Infantry Division Keystone Brass.

The Veteran’s Appreciation Ceremony is free and open to all veterans. Pre-registration for the ceremony is requested because certificates and commemorative pins will be given to participants from the 117th legislative district.

“The ceremony is a celebration of America’s veterans and is open to everyone in the community who wants to show their support for our hometown heroes,” Boback said. “This will also be a great opportunity for young people to learn about the men and women who have contributed to America’s liberties and freedoms.”

The video for the ceremony was produced by Misericordia University senior communication majors Mike Terlesky, 21, of Shavertown, and John Peruso, 21, of Warwick, N.Y. Their work was overseen by Dan Kimbrough, assistant professor of communications at Misericordia.

Back Mountain veterans featured in the 13-minute film include Clarence Michael, Fred Searles, Jack Evans, Jack Cleary, whose son, Michael, died in the line of duty in Iraq; Richard “Buddy” Costigan, Gerald Price, Susan Allen, John “Jack” Sidorek, Ed Shilanski and Neil Morrison.

Terlesky and Peruso said they were taken aback that a few of the veterans broke down during the interviews, despite it being many years since some of them have served.

“I just loved to hear them tell their stories,” Terlesky said. “It was mostly how they dealt with (serving) personally. I’m absolutely proud of this piece.”

The video will also become part of “An Oral History of the Back Mountain,” an ongoing video compilation of oral histories from older Back Mountain citizens. The oral histories are the project of Misericordia University and Generation to Generation and will be put on file at Misericordia’s Mary Kintz Bevevino Library.

Clarence Michael, 73, of Dallas, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1962 during the Cold War. He was stationed in Germany for 18 months where he gave lectures on the Soviet Army and often talked about the Berlin Wall.

“In 1989 went that wall came down, it was just a spectacle that I would love to have seen but I never expected it…that was probably the most exciting and the one thing I really concentrated on (in the video),” Michael said.

John “Jack” Sidorek, 69, of Dallas, served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1959 to 1963 and in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves from 1963 to 1965. He says, during his interview, he mainly talked about his duties on an 83-foot patrol boat in the San Francisco Bay.

“I don’t think the young people of today understand what we went through for our country,” Sidorek said. “If these stories aren’t told or people aren’t aware of what happened, these stories will be lost.”

Evans agrees that the video is a good idea because he also feels there is not enough discussion today on World War II and other historical events.

“There are a lot of students today in school that have no idea what took place…for 65 years I’ve just kept it all to myself and it’s just here in the last year or so that people started interviewing me about it,” Evans said.