Press Release: "The Struggle"

Utah sent more than 70,000 troops to fight in the Second World War; to the jungles of Asia, the mountains of France, the air over Berlin and the waters of the Pacific to battle the forces of tyranny and reclaim freedom.  That victory was purchased at a very high price.  More than 3,600 never returned to tell their stories.  Many more were wounded, returning to live entire lives with their injuries.   As age overtakes them, more and more World War II veterans are passing away each day.

Before the generation that fought WWII is gone, KUED is telling their stories in Utah World War II Stories, a stirring, landmark series in four-parts, which will be broadcast over the next year. The men and women of "the Greatest Generation" recollect the pivotal events of World War II in segments titled  “The Struggle,” “Europe,” “The Pacific” and “The Home Front.”  Utahns were called up and went willingly to make great sacrifices in order to achieve victory in the war.  Sacrifice was also the watchword on the home front, with its scrap metal drives, bonds and victory gardens.  The greatest sacrifice came for families who lost loved ones in distant combat.

“As the daughter of a World War II vet, I heard the stories and lessons of World War II from my father my entire life,” says producer Elizabeth Searles.  “Since my father’s death, the importance of getting and preserving these stories has really hit home.  This series of programs has become a duty and labor of love for me.”

“The Struggle,” produced by Searles and hosted by Utahn Rick Randle, who has made a lifelong study of World War II, airs December 7 at 8:00 p.m. to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day.  The program features interviews with 32 Utah veterans, who recount their experiences from Pearl Harbor to the Bataan Death March and the Doolittle Raid.

Three thousand Americans died in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, but the American public at the time had no idea of the enormous struggle to come. The attack galvanized the country and changed the lives of millions.

At the program's start, Art Buell of Salt Lake City recalls being stationed at Pearl Harbor, and hearing explosions from his cot below deck on the USS Medusa the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. Orem’s Ken Potts was on the USS Arizona and remembers hearing the strafing on the deck of the doomed battleship.

As young recruits became battle-tested, they suffered experiences they would carry their entire lives. Gene Jacobsen of St. George, and Thomas Harrison of Salt Lake City were serving in the Philippines, where they experienced a similar Japanese air attack to the one that Pearl Harbor had suffered only hours earlier.  Both Jacobsen and Harrison detail the resulting lack of food and military resources during those early months of 1942, as well as the atrocities they survived on the Bataan Death March.  

In telling their stories, the veterans often well up with emotion. Events from more than a half-century ago remain fresh in their minds. For many, the memories were too painful to recount even with family members.  “It took a good 50 years before I could talk to my kids or to anyone about my experience in the war and there are many I’m still not talking about,” declares Holladay’s Doug Howard in the film.  “My kids would look at the pictures and ask what happened here and we’d briefly talk about it, but that’s it.”
Louis Slama of Salt Lake City told his stories at the urging of his children who wanted him to leave a legacy for his grandchildren. “When I started actually talking about my experience, my load started to drop.”

“I do anything I can now to get the word out, and I wish others would do the same,” says Bear River City’s Richard Burt of telling his story. “Let’s face it.  Basically, we’re dying at a thousand men a day now. We’re just not going to be here very long.”

“KUED is proud to bring these powerful battle front and home front stories to light for future generations, so the sacrifices will not be forgotten,” says General Manager Larry Smith.

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