Image by: Julie Jorgenson

Willard Alternative High School student, Keifer Clark, interviews 93-year-old Bataan Death March survivor, Ben Steele.

Students and Soldiers: Captivating Stories from Montana Veterans

From: Beth Anne Austein
Length: 59:00

"Students and Soldiers" weaves together wartime stories from twelve Montana veterans of various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Interviewed by teams of high school students, the veterans - male and female, early twenties to mid-nineties - reflect more than seventy years of service history, from WWII to the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. Producers: Susan Jamerson; Amanda Opitz; Clark Grant; Montana Public Radio. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Students and Soldiers: Captivating Stories from ...
From: Beth Anne Austein

Img_6463_crop_small Although this collection of veterans' experiences comes from Montana, the recalled experiences of conflict and military service are universal. Through days and weeks of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror, through camaraderie and loyalty, exhaustion and fear, military service changes anyone who serves. During a tour of duty in a foreign country, the patriotism carried into basic training by a new inductee becomes more nuanced, as surprising and sobering impressions of day-to-day life outside the first world sink into the soldier's consciousness.

With recollections of the Bataan Death March and the Doolittle Raids of WWII, of the Navy base romance that led to a decades-long marriage, of guerrilla-style mortar attacks in the highlands of Vietnam and roadside IEDs in the deserts of Iraq, these twelve veterans share some of the most influential experiences of their lives with their teen-aged interviewers.

"Students and Soldiers" is a collaboration between Montana Public Radio, Willard Alternative High School in Missoula, Montana, the Veterans History Project, and the AmeriCorps Vista program.

Piece Description

Although this collection of veterans' experiences comes from Montana, the recalled experiences of conflict and military service are universal. Through days and weeks of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror, through camaraderie and loyalty, exhaustion and fear, military service changes anyone who serves. During a tour of duty in a foreign country, the patriotism carried into basic training by a new inductee becomes more nuanced, as surprising and sobering impressions of day-to-day life outside the first world sink into the soldier's consciousness.

With recollections of the Bataan Death March and the Doolittle Raids of WWII, of the Navy base romance that led to a decades-long marriage, of guerrilla-style mortar attacks in the highlands of Vietnam and roadside IEDs in the deserts of Iraq, these twelve veterans share some of the most influential experiences of their lives with their teen-aged interviewers.

"Students and Soldiers" is a collaboration between Montana Public Radio, Willard Alternative High School in Missoula, Montana, the Veterans History Project, and the AmeriCorps Vista program.

Broadcast History

Debut: November 11th, 2011, Montana Public Radio.

Timing and Cues

Intro: "The following program..."
Break: (1:00)music bed between (23:20) and (24:21).
Outro: "www.studentsandsoldiers.org" & (:09) music out.
Length: (59:00)

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

"The following program..."

OUTRO:

"...www.studentsandsoldiers.org" & (:09) music out.

Musical Works

Title	Artist	Album	Label	Year	Length
unnamed	Matthew Nord Hagen	recorded for this project.	self-issued	2011	00:00

Images

Willard Alternative High School student, Keifer Clark, interviews 93-year-old Bataan Death March survivor, Ben Steele.
Credit: Julie Jorgenson

Additional Credits

Nicki Frank narration; Beth Anne Austein, audio recording; the student producers and teachers of Willard Alternative School, Missoula, Montana; The Corporation for National and Community Service; The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.