Veterans History Preserved through Partnership with Library of Congress

Before he started talking, Benton Bastian didn’t even know how much he wanted to share his stories.

A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Bastian resisted at first when his kids suggested he write down his Army memories.

“Of course, I’m not a writer,” he said.

But then his cousin told him about a program at  in Darien. Bastian wouldn’t have to write anything down—he’d just have to speak.

And speak he did, with enough stories to fill dozens of transcribed pages.

“All these years I probably wanted to tell my story and get it off my shoulders,” Bastian said.

Bastian is one of about 90 veterans to have participated in Indian Prairie’s Veterans History Project over the past nine years. Through the project, veterans from all branches of the military have shared their stories, with transcriptions from the interviews finding a home not just at Indian Prairie, but also in the Library of Congress.

Reference librarian Joe Popowitch, who coordinates the project on Indian Prairie’s end, said former area resident Marty Thomas approached him in 2002 shortly after the Library of Congress started the project.

Indian Prairie’s participation started as a two-man operation, with Popowitch coordinating resources on the library end and Thomas conducting the interviews, transcribing the tapes and filling out the accompanying paperwork.

Several years ago, Thomas moved to Wisconsin, Popowitch said. But rather than dissolve, the project has grown into an assembly line-like operation, with eight volunteers overseeing the various aspects of the process. One person cleans up the audio while another scans photos and yet another posts the packages to the Indian Prairie website.

Deb Barrett, a technical writer who lives in Darien, conducts the interviews. Barrett interviewed her first veteran—a friend who served in Vietnam—before joining the project. Not long after, her husband saw the notice at Indian Prairie.

Fascinated by stories of life on the frontlines, Barrett initially created indices of Indian Prairie’s interviews before starting to conduct them herself about five years ago.

“I love history,” Barrett said. “This is living history.”

Although the stories cover some of the most dramatic moments of war, they also highlight the details that comprise day-to-day life in the military.

Both Barrett and Popowitch recalled Juliette’s Stege’s stories of life as a female pilot during World War II.

Before enlisting with the Army Air Corps, Stege performed as a chorus girl, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ed Sullivan. Barrett said Stege’s walls are lined on one side with pictures of her dressed as a showgirl—and on the other in uniform.

Most of Stege’s job involved ferrying planes to Europe, Barrett said. But one element was particularly dangerous.

Stege and other female pilots would tow flags behind their planes—as target practice for the men.

“Since this was practice, not all the men were really good,” Barrett said. And sometimes, Stege told Barrett, the women were killed.

Often the interviews become emotional as the vets recall long-buried memories, Barrett said. Popowitch remembered one veteran who was startled by a jackhammer that began pounding just as he started talking about machine gun fire.

Bastian said he hadn’t cried since he was child but not long into his interview, as the memories began to flow, so too did his tears.

“I never thought I’d do that,” he said.

Since Bastian recorded his interview in January, he said he’s been inspired to add dozens more anecdotes. Neatly bound, the stories fill nearly 100 pages.

“I think I had these stories on my mind all these years,” Bastian said. “It’s almost a relief [to tell them].”

He’s now starting to write a collection of tales about his childhood.

It’s preserving these irreplaceable stories that makes the project so important, Popowitch said.

“History books have been written about how the battles were won,” he said. “We find out how did it feel, how did it smell, how did it taste—the little details that make it real.”

To learn more about sharing your story through the Veterans History Project, contact Joe Popowitch at 630-887-8760, ext. 240.