Interviews

Black History

African-Americans have played an important role throughout America’s history. The first blacks arrived during the 1600’s. For the next two centuries, it is estimated that 645,000 slaves were bought and sold, before and after the founding of the United States. The number of Africans living in America grew to millions, many being held in slavery, particularly in the agrarian South. By the end of the American Civil War, blacks were finally emancipated after centuries of servitude, to enjoy a brief period of freedom. It wasn’t destined to last long, however. With doctrines and laws, such as the “Jim Crow laws” and the “Separate but equal” doctrine, Blacks had limited rights and little could be done to change it. African-Americans were, for the most part, unable to vote because of intimidation and the inability to pass the literacy test, rendering them unable to participate in politics. Segregation of schools, buses, libraries, other public places, as well as restaurants and stores, kept the races apart. It even extended to the military.

After the Civil War, black regiments were reorganized, and the soldiers earned the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers.” These regiments saw much action in the Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Mexican Expedition. During World War I, racial discrimination and segregation was still too prevalent to allow the Buffalo Soldiers to participate in the American Expeditionary Forces, although some regiments were able to fight in France. By the time World War II began, Buffalo Soldiers were allowed to join the war, but they were normally segregated from the whites. Despite these obstacles, they demonstrated great skill, as is evident in the famous Tuskegee Airmen.

In America, the situation did not improve. The Civil Rights Movement grew, as more and more African-Americans decided that they would fight for the rights to live a normal life. Boycotts, marches, peaceful protests, and sit-ins were only some of the tactics used by many activists including celebrated heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. Laws were slow to change, as were the people who did not approve. The controversy often became violent. But finally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination and guaranteed the rights of all, regardless of race. With the restoration of rights, de-segregation followed, finally achieving equality for all citizens.

The Korean War saw some of the last segregated regiments, as the Buffalo Soldiers began to fight in integrated units. The last of the segregated divisions were finally disbanded near the end of the Korean War. At last, all Americans could fight united, regardless of race.

Historical Truth 101 hopes to preserve these inspiring stories for future generations. Upcoming plans include black family histories and war veteran interviews, which will be used to record their history and heritage. We invite you to come and learn more about these brave men and woman who appeared at this critical chapter of history. People who persevered and fought on, despite the obstacles and barriers they faced, for the rights of their people and defense of their nation.

Civil War

The Civil War was a bloody, four-year conflict that led to more American deaths than any other war. It was a struggle that is still debated over, celebrated, and re-enacted today. It created great heroes, even greater tragedies, stories that reach to us from across time and events that would change the course of history. After the 1860 presidential election, many southern states opposed the new administration on many issues, including slavery, and felt that it undermined state’s rights. Before the new president, Abraham Lincoln, could take office in March of 1861, seven southern states voted to secede from the Union. Four more followed. Together they formed the Confederate States of America.

When the Confederacy demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter from federal troops in South Carolina, Lincoln refused. On April 12, 1861, the Confederates heavily bombarded the fort until it was forced to surrender. Soon after, Lincoln called for volunteers. People from all states reacted and joined sides, beginning the bloodshed that would last for years. Under the leadership of their new president, Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy was determined to fight for their independence from the United States.

The war was primarily fought in the South, although northern states saw action as well. As the bloody struggle dragged on, the South’s disadvantages became evident; mainly that they did not have factories to produce the supplies they needed, and they were less populated and therefore had fewer soldiers. Even so, it was difficult for the Union army to crush the rebels in their own homeland.

After Union General Grant’s siege of Vicksburg, and General William Tecumseh Sherman made his famous “March to the Sea,” they split and crippled the already-dying Confederacy. After four long, bloody years, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses Grant on April 9, 1865.

Five days after the surrender, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The years that followed were harder for the South than the war itself, as the U.S. Army now occupied their cities as rulers. It was an era known as “Reconstruction.” But for some, it was a time for rejoicing, because the Union victory brought freedom for many thousands of African-Americans who had been held in slavery for nearly two centuries.

Historical Truth 101 invites you to hear interviews with expert researchers such as Leeland Free, Tim Kent, and Lee Freeman, finding out rare details from the pre-war era, the war itself, and through Reconstruction. Walk in the Confederate capital in Richmond, the fields of famous battles, and the forts where heroes made their last stand. Please join us as we step back in time and learn what has captured the imagination of generations.

Community Roots

History isn’t just about famous leaders; it is about everyday people who build the fabric of our nation. Our community roots are an important area to explore, as they tell us more about ourselves and our family and friends. From the front porch to the courthouse, we will be exploring everyday people in our communities, while finding out so much fascinating information about our ancestors and the way they lived.

Just like the roots of your family tree have shaped who you are, the roots of our communities have helped to shape our towns and people today. Perhaps these people are not famous heroes, but they are builders of our country, who all worked, lived, and dreamed together, to create communities in which they could be proud to reside in. From the front porches of the men and women of another generation, we bring you the lives and stories of those that have contributed to who we are.

See interviews from people in all areas and situations of life. See what it was like for a man working for the railroad or wives and children of soldiers, who strove to maintain their homes and towns while so many men left to fight in the wars. Hear interviews of men and women whose heroism at home built, strengthened, and unified our communities through wars, depressions, hardships, failures, successes, and triumphs. These fascinating stories from people in many different and unique situations are also a wonderful resource for understanding a time gone by.

These men and women, who have helped to shape history by surviving through hard and good times, have so much to share and give us insight into our own ancestry and the towns we live in. So much went into the creation of homes, towns, and lives, and this is an important link in our history that shouldn’t be lost or forgotten. Historical Truth 101 has made an effort to preserve these wonderful memories and stories as a historical resource and treasured heritage.

Early American History

Gulf War

Historical Homes and Museums
Historical homes, as silent witnesses to history, can teach us so much about our past. We have traveled to many historical houses in an effort to capture and preserve their fascinating stories. The homes vary in time periods and situations, from plantation life in the 1700’s to the World War I era farm. Learn the history and experience the beautiful southern charm of these wonderful historical homes. Take a look at the very heart of those people who shaped our history by touring the places where they lived and died. See the home of the famous American hero, Sergeant Alvin C. York. Sergeant York was a man from the mountains of Tennessee, who would become one of the most celebrated soldiers of World War I, and whose legendary feats of heroism won him the Medal of Honor. See the farm where this incredible man worked and lived during the first half of the 20th century.

Take a glimpse of plantation life in early America by viewing the Shirley Plantation. Take a tour of the inside of this historical home, as well as the smoke house, guest house, store house, ice house, kitchen, slave quarters, and more, to learn about the daily life of the people who lived there. Hear the stories of other estates, such as the Berkeley Plantation and the Westover Plantation.

Witness history as you see the homes of famous men who shaped the future of our nation. See Sherwood Forest, “home of President John Tyler,” and learn more about this great man and the house he lived in. Visit the home of President Andrew Jackson, “The Hermitage,” and walk the grounds of this famous war hero and statesman.

Nowhere can true southern charm be felt more than in the beautiful antebellum homes that grace the land of Dixie. See historical homes like the “Conde Charlotte house” and the “Richards DAR house,” beautiful structures both located in Mobile, Alabama.

These homes can show us so much about the people who inhabited them and the times they lived in. It is like walking back to an era that can never be recaptured and experiencing their everyday lives, from the catastrophe of war, down to Christmas on the plantation. This is a department that will always be growing and expanding as we add new interviews and videos from various families and homes across the country.

Please join Historical Truth 101 as we uncover this fascinating and often neglected view of history. Come along, as we travel through historical homes to unlock the secrets of the past in hopes of preserving them for the future.

Korean War
he 38th Parallel, the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon, Kimpo Airport, the Chosin Reservoir; to most Americans today these are unknown places. To some, however, these places stir memories of defeat, triumph, heartache, and an intense drive to survive. The Korean War is called “The Forgotten War,” but it will never be forgotten by those that sacrificed to prevent the spread of communism.

Post World War II, , Korea was divided at the 38th Parallel into North Korea, under communist rule led by Kim Il-Sung, and South Korea, under democratic rule led by Syngman Rhee. Both governments hoped to reunite their country.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th Parallel, advancing into South Korea with the mission of doing just that. This was the start of the Korean Conflict. On June 27th, the United Nations declared this act a “breech of peace.” Two days later, President Truman committed American Troops to the United Nation police action. General MacArthur was appointed commander of the U.N. forces. On June 30th, American soldiers were ordered to South Korea. The war lasted until July 27, 1953.

The Korean War included some of the most intense fighting in some of the worst conditions ever faced by American soldiers. Watch as our Korean veterans recount the events of the Inchon Invasion, the capturing of Kimpo Airport, the liberation of Seoul, and surviving the Chosin Reservoir.

Let us honor the Korean veterans by learning about the Korean War and remembering.

Native American History
Long before this land became the United States of America, native people on the North American continent survived in harmony with their natural surroundings. Even though the Native American Indian people shared a love of all things that provided for their existence, many times they fell into conflicts with other people who were sharing their homelands; thus, various tribal groups evolved with unique histories. Different Native American lifestyles developed through many generations as these Indian families diversified in order to live in complex and contrasting environmental conditions found across America. Over thousands of years, hundreds of different Indian tribes throughout this country established diverse cultural adaptations very specific to each individual ethnic group within the Native American Indian population. All these cultural changes and adaptations led to exclusive tribal and family histories of American Indian people found in each of the different tribes.

Historical Truth 101 is dedicated to recording information from each American Indian tribe, as well as their special characteristics, lifestyles, cultural adaptations, family genealogy, and tribal histories. Historical Truth 101 has only begun to scratch the surface of the thousands of years of prehistory and of the some 500 years of historical data archived in the lost recesses of museums, libraries, and repositories scattered across the United States. Join us as we interview the descendants of Pocahontas’s family. This brave young woman played such an important role in American history, by her courageous efforts on behalf of the famous John Smith and the early settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. Find out more about this important tribe and how their contact with these early pioneers changed the course of history.

Discover historical and cultural information from many tribes across the country, from the Cherokee and Creek to the Navajo. Hear all this and much more from experts, such as John Franklin Phillips, Butch Walker, Lamar Marshall, Harrison Tyler, and more.

The truth about Native American tribes will be documented through the gathering of information from across this nation in the form of historical documents that have been hidden away for many years; the publishing of books about American Indians; interviews with American Indian elders, tribal leaders, and historians; and other multimedia technologies. This vast array of specific historical information concerning the varied and unique American Indian tribes will be preserved so that their fascinating history will not be forgotten. Learn more about this amazing aspect of history as we record Native Americans from all regions, to preserve their past for ourselves and the future, so that none of their stories will be lost.

Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was fought between the communist government of North Vietnam and the anti-communist government of South Vietnam, lasting from 1955 to 1975. Though fought completely on foreign soil, it was the longest war America had fought at that time. From communist guerillas, jungles, and mines on the battlefield, to the draft and protest of the anti war movement at home, the war became a quagmire of issues, which were difficult to get out of or escape. Hostilities mainly began when a communist group known as the Viet Cong began waging guerrilla warfare on the anti-communist government of South Vietnam. Incapable of fighting the communist on their own, the United States supplied their ally with weapons, money, and air power. At first, America believed that their air superiority and bombs would be enough to drive out the communist, but it eventually became clear that this was not sufficient.

With the Chinese and other communist countries aiding North Vietnam, the country soon turned their poorly-trained soldiers into a real army. The Vietnam People’s Army (or the North Vietnamese Army) began conducting conventional warfare and engaging in battles. In 1965, U.S. combat units were deployed to fight this new threat. This was a difficult war to fight, because many of the soldiers were not used to the heat, the jungles, and monsoons, and were unprepared to be in surroundings they had never experienced before. Besides their environment being untenable, mines were everywhere, making every move dangerous. These men bravely went forward, despite the mental agony of never knowing which step would be their last. Conflict was occurring in America as well, as the anti-war movement grew, especially among college students during the ’60s and ’70s. The huge loss of lives and the unlikelihood of victory caused many protests against the war and a demand for peace.

After the Tet Offensive in 1968, U.S. ground forces were withdrawn. The fighting carried on though, mostly from the air and with bombs, until the war ended in 1975, with the capture of Saigon, and victory for North Vietnam and the communist.

Join Historical Truth 101 as we explore more of the amazing history of this war. Find out more about “Grunts,” soldiers called so because they would involuntarily grunt when they sat down from the heavy packs they wore. Hear veterans recount what it was like to fight in such an environment and in a place where soldiers had difficulty distinguishing friends from foes. Seeing how long these men fought will give you an idea of how the Vietnam timeline made this war different from any that preceded it.

These courageous men were not honored when they returned, as had been the case previously, due to the anti-war sentiments that many possessed and the fact that they had not come back victorious. These brave men had given up years of their lives, put forth extraordinary effort, and so much more, but received so little respect from their country on their homecoming. Historical Truth 101 seeks to honor these valiant veterans by preserving and sharing their Vietnam War stories.

World War II
World War II has been described as the mightiest battle humankind has ever known. An estimated 1.9 billion people participated in combat, and 55 million people were killed, wounded, or lost in the war, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Sadly, the number of living brave men and women who fought in this war, and can also recount the events, is quickly diminishing. Join these warriors as they share with us the causes of World War II, the attack on Pearl Harbor, D day, and what post World War II was like. From Africa to Alaska, follow these incredible men as they fight in Germany, battle in the Pacific islands, invade Japan, storm the beaches of Normandy, and fight for the air and sea, along with the heroic efforts of those at home.

This project intends to give these courageous, surviving souls a platform on which to share their personal recollections of events, so that not one precious story will be lost — not one precious soul forgotten. This is our way of honoring those who so gallantly answered the call to defend our country and the world from the conquest of tyrannical leaders.

Those who survived to come home have incredible stories to tell of their firsthand experiences, their lives, and the lives of unsung heroes.

Experience World War II firsthand, from exclusive interviews with veterans from all branches of service. Hear about battles and heroic events, or the things you’ve only read about in history books, from the people who were there.

* Learn about the exploits of Easy Company directly from one of the Band of Brothers.

* Hear the moving recollections of a holocaust survivor, as well as the stories of men who liberated concentration camps.

* Listen as bombardier pilots recount their missions.

* Find out what it was like to fly the “Hump” with NO radar to guide them.

* What happened when they returned from war? Have you ever wondered what it was like for men to be gone for four years with little to NO contact with their families? What was it like to return to a normal life after serving on the battlefield for so long?

* Have you ever heard the incredible story of how so many illiterate men were prepared to read the necessary manuals? We have the story, and it will shock you. The measures taken to prepare these dedicated soldiers were amazing.

“The Victorious Write the History Books” -We strive to change this statement, one interview at a time.