Behind the war stories

Victor Davis Hanson interviews Oliver North about the production of the long running military history series. It is really an interesting interview and a chance to learn some first hand history.

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Victor Davis Hanson: You’ve interviewed hundreds of veterans from World War II, whether American, Japanese, German, or Russian. How many separate interviews of these first-hand witnesses does War Stories now have on file, and are there plans to archive these accounts for future generations of historians?

Oliver North: From World War II alone, we now have more than 300 eyewitness accounts of veterans from every branch of the U.S. Armed forces, allied and enemy combatants, and civilians engaged in that global conflict. Typically, these videotaped interviews run more than two hours each, and we ask our subjects about everything from their childhoods during the Great Depression, to what they have done since the war. Though only a portion of what each subject has to say appears on our broadcasts and DVDs, their recollections, thoughts, and emotions have been preserved on videotape, transcribed and carefully archived by our War Stories production unit.

We have done the same thing for every conflict since WWII – from the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, and now to the War on Terror. When we can, we take the veterans to where they fought — and use historically accurate documentary footage. Our mottos — “We go to where the history is” and “get it right” — have taken us to 16 countries and 48 of the United States to collect what has become an irreplaceable treasure for future historians.

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There is much more. It is a good show I watch from time to time and always enjoy. You can see the dedication to accuracy. The interview is good too.