I'm in the process of editing a series of interviews I did over the last decade. One of those interviewed was Sammy Bernstein, an Iwo Jima veteran. That series of interviews was made into a feature documentary called, "Sammy's Story, in the Shadow of Suribachi." In this episode #,2 Sammy describes his experience as a young Jewish kid who had never left his home in Connecticut, in particular an anti-Semitic incident in Hawaii involving his seabag.

Sammy was born in Connecticut but lived in Randolph, Ma for over sixty years, certainly making him a boy from Boston. Boston/Massachusetts produced an inordinate amount of Marines, this section of Boys from Boston will tell their stories. These stories will not be edited for political correctness, they will not be varnished. It will be the veterans' voices in their own, often brutal, words. The intent is not to glorify war, but to show the utter violence and inhumanity, that, by it's very nature, war produces. It also will show the incredible humanity and bravery displayed in spite of war's horrors. Stay tuned!

Mauro Colangelo was the composer and music supervisor of this film. His talents brought this film to another level and I would be remiss to not thank him for his incredible work.

https://www.maurocolangelo.com

Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies.

When using oral history as a source material, several caveats exist. The person being interviewed may not accurately recall factual information such as names or dates, and they may exaggerate. To avoid this, interviewers can do thorough research prior to the interview and formulate questions for the purpose of clarification. There also exists a pre-conceived notion that oral history is less reliable than written records. Written source materials are different in the execution of information, and that they may have additional sources. Oral sources identify intangibles such as atmosphere, insights into character, and clarifications to points made briefly in print. Oral history can also indicate lifestyle, dialect and terminology, and customs that may no longer be prominent.