Voices of America

Discover the first-hand accounts and stories of Italian World War II Veterans who answered the call to serve their country, despite being deemed Enemy Aliens by their own government.

At the beginning of World War II, Italian citizens living in the United States were referred to as ""Enemy Aliens."" Yet hundreds of young Italian Americans flocked to recruiting stations, and over 500,000-perhaps as many as 1.5 million-served in the military during the war. Despite the difficulties they faced, including the possibility of having to fight against Italians, countless Italian Americans received decorations for bravery, fourteen of whom received the Medal of Honor.

Italian Americans in World War II offers their stories, which, for the most part, have yet to be told. Belmonte interviewed almost 50 Italian-American veterans of World War II, from all branches and types of service. Stories of daily life, food, equipment, and training from soldiers, sailors, and airmen are captured. You'll read personal tales about how survivors of D-Day, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Okinawa, and The Battle of the Bulge felt about entering combat. This fitting tribute also includes photographs from this period in history, bringing the men's stories to life.

Author and history professor Dominic Candeloro presents an intriguing narrative record of the earliest beginning of the Italian communities in Chicago.

The stories of Chicago's Italian communities are an important part of the rich and diverse mosaic of the city's history. As a rail center, an industrial center and America's fastest growing major city, Chicago offered opportunities for immigrants from all nations.Italians in Chicagoexplores the lives of 10 significant members of the Chicago Italian-American community going back to the 1850s.

This book is a collaborative and cumulative effort, and gives glimpses and echoes of what occurred in the Italian-American past in Chicago. Including vintage images and tales of such individuals as Father Armando Pierini, Anthony Scariano, and Joe Bruno, and groups such as the Aragona Club and the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society, this collection uncovers the challenges and triumphs of these Italian immigrants.

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., an educational and cultural institution serving the residents of metropolitan Washington, presents Growing Up in Washington, D.C.: An Oral History, a book of memories excerpted from dozens of oral history interviews about childhood in Washington during the twentieth century. Telling stories of the past-from playing soccer on the National Mall to visiting the Zoo, from marching in inaugural parades to riding the roller coasters at Suburban Gardens-residents from all four quadrants of the city, from different racial and religious backgrounds, have documented the vital history of our nation's capital in their hearts and minds. In this collection, they share their personal experiences of attending school, celebrating holidays, playing games with friends, riding the streetcars and metro, and growing up in families and neighborhoods that, early on, shaped the course of their lives. Their fascinating tales and anecdotes provide a window into the city's development as seen through the innocent, yet discerning, eyes of its children. Illustrated with historic images of city life, such as eating at the Hot Shoppes and ice skating on the mall, and of recognizable local landmarks, such as Hains Point, the fun house at Glen Echo, and Rock Creek Park, Growing Up in Washington, D.C. brings to life the people and places that have helped to create the city's singular character. A one-of-a-kind testament to the variety of life in the great capital of the United States, this collection of personal childhood stories and vintage photographs offers a wealth of perspectives on growing up in Washington during the twentieth century.

The honesty of the voices within this illuminating oral history will draw you into the Grant County of yesteryear, and leave you feeling as if you were really there.

""There's a story that goes like this . . ."" So begins Delores Betts, one of the dozens of people whose memories and recollections of African-American life in Grant County over the past century and a half are preserved within what may well be the most intriguing and inspiring history you will ever read. We invite you to join Barbara Stevenson and the dozens of others in this delightful journey back in time. It is an experience that we promise you will never forget.

In this valuable volume of oral history, the recorded childhood memories of African Americans--from family rituals to first jobs, neighborhood games to school--are illustrated with vintage photographs culled from family albums and archives.

Chronicling the period from 1900 to the 1950s, Growing Up Black in New Castle County, Delaware brings together the touching stories of African Americans in northern Delaware who grew up during an era of both hardship and happiness. In a time when racial segregation was law and the nation faced such challenges as war and economic depression, African-American children in New Castle County and around the country were busy exploring the world around them-playing with friends, celebrating holidays, attending school, and learning the important life lessons that would carry them through the rest of the twentieth century.

In compiling these stories of local San Juan Basin residents, Fred Wildfang has recreated life during turn-of-the-century Southwestern Colorado. These individual recollections detail the hardships and triumphs of early pioneer families from the San Juan Basin, including tales of the Old West movie sets, arranged marriages, rash elopements, runaway horses, and ancient native rituals. The voices captured here epitomize the spirit of "nan¡-ma"-as the Utes say-"together," a word meant to stand for a spirit of cooperation among all the peoples in this land.

As a newspaperman, with a love for telling a story, his letters are an incredible documentation of life on the Oklahoma frontier, as well as his love story by mail with Margaret Scow, the bride he brought to Oklahoma after "proving up" on his homestead and obtaining his own newspaper.

These pages bring to life the people, events, neighborhoods, and institutions that helped shape and transform today's Jewish community. These photographs, derived from the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society and the Ramsey County Historical Society, paint a poignant and vivid picture of Jewish life in St. Paul. In addition to recalling the establishment of Mt. Zion and Sons of Jacob, the first two major synagogues in St. Paul, this book displays the distinct impact that prominent Jews of the community, such as Abram Elfelt, Judge Isaac N. Cardozo, and Isador Rose, had on the shaping of St. Paul.

With family stories and photographs passed down from generation to generation, Ozark Pioneers shares the experiences of the first residents of the area. Family names such as Allen, Coggburn, Smith, Whorton, Layton, Bollinger, Brittain, and Rittenhouse appear throughout the history of Taney County, demonstrating the roots and growth of the wild Ozark territory. From the bloody days of battle in the Civil War, to the continuous fight against the outlaws in the Bald Knobber era, these pages detail the courage, hardships, and strength of theses founding families in an untamed land.

Using first-hand personal accounts and public documents, German Settlers of South Bend illustrates the lives of these pioneer immigrants and their growing city. The material has been collected from a large number of sources on both sides of the Atlantic, including more than 200 German letters from the 1840s to the 1870s that provide glimpses into the day-to-day lives of these early settlers and their families back in Germany. Descendants of immigrants from all over the United States and Germany have come forward with genealogies, stories, and pictures, providing a far-reaching portrait of the times.

The book also utilizes more than 80 photographs from the narrators and the collections of local libraries, museums, and historical societies to complement the poignant, humorous, and revealing portraits of the people and places of the San Francisco Bay Area.

This is history as it was lived, in the words of the woman who experienced it. The neighborhood's famous market, travails of work, and the bonds of friendship encompass these pages filled with memories of a century in Soulard, St. Louis's historic neighborhood. Betty Pavlige has combined images from family albums with a tremendous number of her own personal tales to document the changing times in Soulard. Her vivid and poignant voice weaves together a tapestry of everyday life, and chronicles what is was like to grow up in Soulard.

Brattleboro Remembers emerged as a result of writing workshops sponsored by the Brattleboro Historical Society and made possible by a grant from the Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont. The workshops, facilitated by poet and writing partner Verandah Porche, took place on winter Sunday afternoons. The walls of the room in which the group met were covered with copies of historical photographs. The workshop participants, most of whom still live in Brattleboro, selected photographs that brought back strong recollections. After studying an image, they wrote autobiographical pieces based on what came to mind. For those shy about putting pen to paper, volunteer scribes were on hand to listen to the stories and help the participants get their reminiscences down on paper.