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Rutgers Oral History Archives

  • Links to Oral History Sessions: Heilman, Donald (January 31, 2013)
  • Conflict(s): World War II
  • Military Branch & Unit: Navy
  • Theater(s): European; Pacific
  • Navy Ship: SS Hindo; USS Wacke
  • Navy Other: Radioman

Description:
Donald B. Heilman was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1924.  During World War II, Heilman served in the United States Navy.  He did his basic training in Sampson, New York.  Then Donald trained to be a radioman in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania.  He later served on a desteroyer and participated in the D-Day Invasion.  From 1944 until the end of the War, Donald was stationed in Okinawa.  He was awarded five Battle Stars for his duty.  After World War II, Heilman attended West Chester State University, graduating in 1950 with a degree in Education.

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.)

 

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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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