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Rutgers Oral History Archives

  • College/Year: RC '52; NJC '53
  • Links to Oral History Sessions: Ostroff, Bernard and Doris (December 18, 2006)
  • Conflict(s): Cold War
  • Military Branch & Unit: Army
  • Women in the Service: Other: Stars and Stripes

Description:
This interview was conducted with both Bernard and Doris Ostroff.  Bernard Ostroff was born in 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Doris Ostroff was born in 1931 in Newark, New Jersey.  Bernard attended schools in Philadelphia before attending Rutgers College from 1948-1952, where he obtained a B.A., and would later obtain his M.A. in 1954.  Doris grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and attended Douglass College from 1949 to 1953.  Bernard and Doris met while both were attending the university.  Bernard enlisted in the US Army at the age of 24 and was trained as a radio operator.  On the troop ship to Korea, he was selected to be an honor guard in Tokyo, Japan, serving as an honor guardsman at the United Nations Headquarters from 1954-1956.  Doris joined Bernard in Tokyo in 1955 and was employed at Pacific Stars and Stripes.  After his time in the military, Bernard would work in various occupations, including in the furniture industry and as a realtor.  Upon her return to the United States, Doris would work at Rutgers University in various administrative capacities, including as Dean of Students and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Mason Gross School of the Arts.

 

The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2014-2015 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.

Targum Cover 11 22 1963a

 

"HERE IS A BULLETIN...": Memories of the Day Camelot Died

 

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

Images from that day and the events that followed remain etched in our collective consciousness—the open-top Presidential limo traveling down the people-lined streets of Dallas; President Lyndon Baines Johnson taking the oath of office on Air Force One beside a shaken First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; John, Jr. saluting his father's passing casket at the funeral in DC.

Those who lived through that traumatic period can recall both their initial shock and the nuances of their reactions.

In "HERE IS A BULLETIN...": Memories of the Day Camelot Died, ROHA presents a sampling of stories related to the Kennedy tragedy, a touchstone event for multiple generations.

The Rutgers Targum (campus newspaper) cover from its November 22, 1963 issue. (Image courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.)

 

Voices of Veterans Banner 1

Voices of Veterans

 

Voices of Veterans is an online exhibit showcasing passages from oral history interviews of veterans who served in the Second World War and in wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. ROHA created this exhibit in commemoration of Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MORE ONLINE EXHIBITS 

 

 

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