“In Their Words,” the interactive World War II exhibit now on display at AETN’s headquarters on the UCA campus, is just one facet of a comprehensive oral history project directed by UCA graduate Gabe Gentry.
Gentry and his team have conducted nearly 400 hours of oral archival interviews with World War II veterans in Arkansas. UCA history professor Dr. Roger Pauley has worked as a project historian for “In Their Words” and the current exhibit.
Gentry also directed and co-produced “Their Journey,” a documentary that accompanies the “In Their Words” project. “Their Journey” follows 47 Arkansas World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorial built in their honor, and its premiere coincided with the premiere of the Ken Burns’ epic “The War” on PBS.
The exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in AETN’s atrium at Donaghey and Beatrice Powell Street. You can also experience the oral history archive being showcased and expanded by AETN at www.intheirwords.org.
AETN, a statewide public television network with five analog and six digital transmitters located throughout the state, has been located on the UCA campus since 1966. While the two entities are not officially affiliated, UCA President Lu Hardin and AETN Executive Director Allen Weatherly have expanded the long-term partnership. Weatherly was recently elected in a nationwide vote to the PBS Board of Directors.