By MIKE JAMES - The Independent
GREENUP — It’s been more than 60 years since Carl Cooke landed on the beachhead at Anzio and the memories are getting hazy.
Germans lobbed shells from big guns miles away. He and his comrades in the 3rd Infantry Division waited weeks before they could move inland.
Once they broke through they moved on to Rome and then to France. At one point he eluded capture by the Germans. “I hid,” he explained simply.
Cooke earned a Bronze Star but he doesn’t like to talk much about it. “I don’t think he likes to be a hero,” said his wife Ruth.
Luckily, Cooke shared his World War II experiences with an interviewer for a state oral history project and his recorded reminiscences are now archived for posterity.
He and other veterans gathered at the Greenup County Library Thursday for a formal ceremony thanking them and presenting the histories to the library for its collection.
Greenup and Jefferson counties were recommended by the Kentucky Historical Society as pilot locations for the project, which is an offshoot of the Veterans History Project, a national initiative by the Library of Congress to preserve the memories of America’s fighting men and women.
The histories will be archived at the society and the Library of Congress as well as the Greenup library. Each participating veteran receives a copy too.
The state project is modeled after a grass-roots effort in Garrard County that collected 50 histories, said Lisa Aug, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Veterans Affairs. The state Department of Libraries recommended Greenup County for its strong library and community, Aug said.
Library volunteers, mostly people who are active in genealogical studies, conducted the interviews for the histories.
After collecting basic biographical information, they asked a few open-ended questions and allowed the veterans to talk.
“They told us these interesting stories. We didn’t go for high-profile veterans. We interviewed the unknowns,” said Kathleen Kenney, one of the volunteers.
Their emphasis was on World War II veterans but they included those from other conflicts.
The project will continue, said Veterans Affairs Department commissioner Ken Lucas, who came to Greenup for the presentation. “These are some precious memories. Though some are sad and painful, they need to be preserved,” he said.
Veterans often are shy about sharing their past and it may be up to family members to urge them to open up, said state Rep. Tanya Pullin, who also attended the ceremony. “One of the many things we admire is the great humility with which they wear their hero status,” she said.
The histories will be available to the public but will be of particular value to researchers, said Sarah Milligan of the historical society. The recollections of rank-and-file soldiers and sailors will flesh out more traditional historical sources. “Oral histories are the tool that lets us level the playing field,” she said. “For us, it adds another primary document.”
Other veterans who were interviewed in Greenup County include:
Elmer Braden, army sergeant, World War II.
Gerald Bryant, army E-4, Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Charles Coffee, army E-5, Vietnam.
Gilbert Anthony Dillow, army E-6, Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Dr. Michael Dowdy, marine captain, special operations.
Clarence Eastham, navy seaman first class, World War II.
Gallihue “Buck” Hannah, army, World War II.
Hershell Miller, army corporal, Korean war.
Tom Poplin, navy E-8, Vietnam.
Stanley Ramey, army staff sergeant, World War II.
Randy Reinhardt, army E-5, Vietnam.
The society plans to put the histories on line at its Web site but that will take a few months. The society also will interview men and women with military backgrounds. For more information, call 502-564-1792.
