World War II Interviews

Hawarden's Heroes: An Oral History of World War II Veterans

This oral history of Hawarden's World War II veterans was an honors thesis authored by Adam Gregg his senior year at Central College. The oral history interviews were completed in 2005, and the overall thesis was completed in 2006. Recordings and written transcripts of the individual interviews are available through the Hawarden Public Library, as is the final thesis paper. 

Ten veterans of World War II, then living in Hawarden, were interviewed as part of this project. In the final thesis, their stories are woven together and told as one. Although the veterans had markedly different pre-war, wartime, and post-war experiences, Hawarden's World War II veterans felt their service had a positive effect on their life. They were generally fond of their fellow soldiers, their political leaders, and the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Yet these positive remembrances of World War II did not necessarily lead to their approval of subsequent wars.