Berke, George Berse

College/Year: RC '51
Links to Oral History Sessions: Berke, George Berse Part 1 (September 23, 2010)
Berke, George Berse Part 2 (September 24, 2010)
Berke, George Berse Part 3 (September 27, 2010)
Conflict(s): World War II; Korean War
Military Branch & Unit: Air Force
Theater(s): American; Korean
US Air Force: 3rd Air Force
Air Force Group: 81st Fighter Wing
Air Force Squadron: 92nd Fighter Squadron
Air Force Other: RAF Station Beutwatevs, UK
Army Air Force Other: Medical Laboratory Technician

Description:
George Berse Berke was born in 1927 in Plainfield, New Jersey. He attended grammar and high school in Westfield, New Jersey. Berke enlisted in the United States Air Force when he was seventeen years old. He served as a Medical Labaoratory Technician during World War II. After the war, George Berke attended Rutgers College and graduated in 1951 with a degree in English. George Berke went on to serve as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. Later, he earned his Master's Degree in English from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to earn his PhD in Educational Technology from Catholic University of America. Berke served in the Air Force until 1970. During his early career, George worked as program director for Federal City College and the American Red Cross. From 1978 until he retired in 2003, he worked for Berke Associates.

"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

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