War anniversary amplifies value of veterans project at Fresno State

The 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War brings into perspective the value of California State University, Fresno’s Central California Veterans Oral History Project, unveiled May 11.

Dr. Gary Rice and Alice Daniels of the Fresno State Department of Mass Communication and Journalism directed 45 students, who interviewed more than 80 veterans of combat service from World War II to the current war in Iraq. The interviews have been placed in the Henry Madden Library archives on campus.

One of those interviews was conducted by Fresno State senior business major Eunice Kwon with Korean War veteran George Culverwell. Kwon, whose grandparents experienced the war in Korea, wanted to learn more about her family’s stories from a different experience and asked to be assigned to a Korean War veteran.

The story of their interview and its impact on both Kwon and Culverwell is reported in the June 25 issue of The Fresno Bee.

All the interviews from the Veterans Oral History Project are housed in the Henry Madden Library at Fresno State.

For more information, contact Rice at grice@csufresno.edu or 559.278.2026.