World War 2 Archives - World War 2 History

Memories on Video of Life During World War 2 (WW2)

April 6, 2016 by Vickie Maris Leave a Comment

Learn about World War 2 and life in the 1940s from the perspective of a B-24 pilot, Jim Maris, and his wife, Lucille, who tell the stories.

Below are links (to be updated soon; Katch is no longer providing service) to archived, live streaming Periscope broadcasts during which Vickie Maris tells stories of her parents’ lives during WW2. In some of the archived videos, she is interviewing her mom, Lucille Maris, who answers questions that students have asked in the online course on the same subject or that they are asking live during the chat.

July 2015 Sunroom Conversation – Topics: Living in a house in Galesburg, Illinois after Jim Maris was out of the US Air Force and attended school at Curry’s School of Aeronautics for A and P; litter of Cocker Spaniel puppies from Blondie (photos shared); kittens rescued from airplane tire at Curry’s School; friends visiting from Chicago; friends, Grover and Faye Doyle visiting in Galesburg; question about how to keep relationship strong while husband on a 9-month deployment; looking at photo of Jim Maris in his officer’s uniform; what it was like to live in one room of a house while Jim was in school before they moved to little farm house in Galesburg. Approximately 20 minutes. https://ktch.tv/20NV

October 2015 – Topics of broadcast: Photos of Jim Maris with B-24 and the officers in his crew; this is plane that they flew overseas in the fuel consumption test, Straight Flush. You’ll also see a photo of Jim Maris in a plane he flew at the tow target base in England. Approximately 7:30 minutes. https://ktch.tv/3mq1

November 2015 – Topics of this Periscope broadcast: Recap of Jim Maris buzzing the top of the Hotel Jayhawk in Topeka, Kansas as he departed for England and the war in a B-24 bomber with the 9 other crew members. It was his way of waving goodbye to my mom, Lucille, who was on the top of the hotel; See telegram that my dad sent to my mom upon his return from England. See telegram that my dad sent to my mom upon his return from England. Approximately 3 minutes. https://ktch.tv/4VM9

November 2015 – Treasuring Memories: Periscope broadcast in which Vickie Maris participated in the pass-the-cast, Treasuring Memories, hosted by @npbradshaw. She goes through several of the slides that are used in the online course in Udemy and talks about the history behind the pictures and memorabilia. Approximately 19 minutes. https://ktch.tv/3F7Q?s=02m28s

November 2015 – Honoring Jim Maris on Veteran’s Day. https://ktch.tv/3-KL

December 2015 – Topic of Periscope broadcast: Vickie Maris being grateful for the way Jim and Lucille Maris raised her to be an independent woman. See photos of Vickie with her dad, Jim, and several of their pets. https://ktch.tv/6Sx2

Watch Video of Lucille Maris Being Interviewed About World War 2 | Delphi Opera House

January 18, 2016 by Vickie Maris Leave a Comment

Photo of Lucille and Vickie Maris on stage at Delphi Opera House

Lucille and Vickie Maris on stage at Delphi Opera House, Nov. 8, 2015

I am excited to let you know that I’ve uploaded a new video to the online course, Pilot’s Wife Tells of Life During World War 2. The new video is in the “bonus” section at the end of the course. As a special bonus for you here in the blog, I’ve embedded Part 1 of the program below in this post.

The videos (Part 1 and Part 2) were recorded by our friend, Jeannie, when Mom and I were on stage in the historic, Delphi Opera House doing a program as a tribute to US veterans. The Opera House is in Delphi, Indiana.

If you are enrolled in the online course, which is a documentary, I’m guessing you have enjoyed Lucille’s stories about her first flight in the Stinson Reliant and her travel to Montgomery, Alabama on a train to get married to my dad, Jim Maris, while he was on base and in flight training. In the program recorded in this new video, you’ll see that we delve a little deeper into those two stories.

In an earlier part of the program, when I was speaking prior to Mom joining me on stage (this part of presentation not recorded), we were all silenced when an aircraft buzzed the little town of Delphi and rattled the building. It was so well timed, and so unplanned. The plane flew over just as I was talking about the story (the one included in the online course) about my dad buzzing the top of the Hotel Jayhawk in Topeka, Kansas, in his B-24 in 1944 to say goodbye to Mom and two of the other brides who were standing on the rooftop. The men were heading overseas into combat.

If you haven’t yet enrolled in the course, I hope you’ll join us. The content is so interesting. You can watch from your computer or you can download the Udemy app to your smartphone and watch it that way.
Here is a link to a discounted enrollment coupon code for Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/ww2-home-front/?couponCode=W EBSITE

Below is Part 1 of the video from the program at Delphi Opera House. If you’d also like to catch Part 2, in which my mom and I address audience questions and a question from one of the students in the online course, please enter your email address in the form on the right side of the page. That will lead you to a link for the Part 2 video. Plus I’ll keep you updated approximately monthly as I add new content to this site, or to the podcast or course. Thanks for you interest in this part of our history. Vickie

Note: If the embedded video below doesn’t play for you, then please click this link: Part 1 video – Program at Delphi Opera House

Event at Delphi Opera House | Aviator’s Wife Tells of Home Front Life During World War 2

July 3, 2015 by Vickie Maris Leave a Comment

Vickie Maris with her mom, Lucille Maris, after an afternoon of shooting videos for the online course, Aviator’s Wife Tells of Home Front Life During World War 2.

Announcement about upcoming speaking engagement:

Lucille Maris and Vickie Maris on Stage at Delphi Opera House, Nov. 8, 2015, 3 p.m.

In a rare opportunity to listen to someone who lived in the US during days of World War 2, make plans to attend “Aviator’s Wife Tells of Home Front Life During World War 2.”

Online course designer, musician, and instructor, Vickie Maris Greeson interviews her mom, Lucille Maris. Audience guests can ask questions and get first-hand insight about life on the home front while the world was at war, items for everyday life were scarce, and loved ones were deployed.

Lucille’s husband, Jim Maris (Vickie’s dad), was the pilot of a B-24 bomber in World War 2. He flew 30 missions, his second being D-Day. He served in the US Army Air Corps, and later the US Air Force, for 23 years before coming to Purdue to establish what is now the School of Aviation Technology.

Lucille and Vickie unfold an interesting story about life during the war from Lucille’s perspective, about Jim’s experiences on base in Wendling, England, and about how a young couple kept their love alive with an ocean and a war in between them – a love that sustained a marriage of 65 years.

(Everyone in attendance will get a coupon code for a discounted price to enroll in the course [documentary-style videos] in Udemy, Life of a Pilot’s Wife During World War 2.)

Taking Online Courses is a Way to Keep Learning Without Leaving Home!

June 4, 2015 by Vickie Maris Leave a Comment

Check out the link to the course on World War 2 History, which features an aviator’s wife telling of life on the home front in the USA. I’ve included it here to demonstrate that taking online courses can be as easy as clicking “play” on your DVD player.

A few of you have had reservations about taking a course in an online format, so I am hoping that I calm any concern that you have about the process. The platform (place on the Internet) where the course resides is user friendly and enables you to view the video lessons and look at the supplemental files from your computer, tablet or smart phone.

There are many formats for online courses – from instructor-led courses hosted by academic institutions to hybrid courses that also include an in-the-classroom learning component, to self-study courses where you read or watch the content at your own pace and not for a grade.

What is in the World War 2 Home Front Course?

The lectures labeled as presentations are supplemental pdf files that include many photos and artifacts from the scrapbook that Jim and Lucille Maris kept during WWII. I know you’re going to find these items very interesting. They are designed to enhance your learning experience.

Photo of military flight training class 1943 G

This photo is an example of the many images and documents included in the supplemental workbooks (pdf files) in the online course, Life of a Pilot’s Wife During World War 2.

No Test to Take!

You won’t have to take a quiz or report in to an instructor. You certainly are welcome to post in the discussion threads included in the course, but it isn’t a requirement. The discussion threads are there for you to ask questions about the content and interact with me and your fellow students. My mom, Lucille Maris, who is the content expert I interviewed about home front history for this course, is serving as an assistant in the online environment. What a treat that is! That creates opportunity for you to hear from her directly when you ask a question!

Take me to the course registration page in Udemy

Women’s History Month | Lucille Maris Interviewed for World War 2 History Online Course

March 24, 2015 by Vickie Maris 20 Comments

In honor of Women’s History Month and also “the greatest generation” as penned by Tom Brokaw in his 1998 book of the same name, I have released a course about life on the home front in the USA during World War 2. The stories are told from a stateside bride’s perspective of the USA home front during the war.

Lucille Maris, my mom, has been my guest content expert as we recorded videos for this project. Please join the list by entering your email address to get notified about new blog posts or dates when we’ll be sharing on Periscope.

You’ll also get a coupon code for a discounted enrollment in the course in Udemy when you add your email to the list.

To check out the course and preview a few of the videos, simply visit this link: WW2 Home Front History Course.)

I can’t wait for you to see and hear the interesting details my mom shares about young love, enlistment in the military, moving from base to base during flight training, saying goodbye, and communicating via letters with her deployed husband, Jim Maris (my dad), who wrote to her every single day that he wasn’t on a combat mission.

Photo of scrapbook intro page of World War 2 history

An example of a scrapbook page from the WW2 scrapbook that Lucille and Jim compiled in the 1940s. Several of the elements from the scrapbook are included in the online course.

You will be amazed to see the electronic files of photos, documents and letters that I’ve scanned from our 1940s collection of memorabilia from the War. I’ve included those to help you gain an even better understanding of what life was like in the 1940s during the time of war and during a blossoming love story that lasted 65 years.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would share this post with your friends or family members who would benefit from knowing about this new online course and opportunity to view living history.

PS – Mom positioned a photo of my dad on the mantle behind us as we recorded the video and had his military uniform hat next to the photo. After we were done and had loaded up the gear, I turned to say goodbye and there she stood wearing Dad’s hat and smiling. She said, “I think your dad would have approved of me helping teach a course about the war.” Yes mom, he most certainly would have approved!

Photo of Lucille Maris in US Air Force military hat

Lucille Maris in Jim Maris’ US Air Force hat. This was taken on the day we did the video recordings for the online course.

Learn About World War 2 | USA Life in the 1940s | Stories of a Stateside Bride

January 25, 2015 by Vickie Maris Leave a Comment

Stories of a Stateside Bride – 2-Disc Audio program that captures podcast interviews of Lucille Maris telling her daughter and podcast host, Vickie Maris, about life during the war. You’ll also hear the voice of the late James R. Maris, telling of life as a bomber pilot.

Real interviews about real stories from World War II and the 1940s USA … told by the couple who lived through the events.

I’m so excited to provide you with this opportunity to learn about life in the 1940s United States from my mom, Lucille Maris, now 92, who tells about life as a stateside bride while her then new husband, Lt. Col. James R. Maris, was in training with the US Army Air Corps. Her stories later cover the time when he was overseas flying combat out of a base in England during World War 2. (WWII) His second mission was D-Day. Dad was a veteran of the US Air Force with over 20 years of service.

I had interviewed my dad, Jim, on several occasions back in the 1990s and we were able to include his voice on this audio program. He tells a couple of the stories to complement my mom’s memories of this important event in world history. You might enjoy this episode of my podcast in which my husband, Scott Greeson, and I explain how the project came together across decades: http://heartsongfit.com/13

One very exciting story is about Jim in a flying match with fighter pilots while he was flying an A-20 plane pulling a target for the fighters to practice their shooting.

One of Lucille’s stories includes a Christmas day story. During flight training, everyone was quickly loaded on a troop train to move from Casper, Wyoming to Colorado Springs, Colorado, so the men could switch to piloting B-24s rather than fly B-17s.

Photo of wedding couple Jim and Lucille Maris in 1943

My folks, James and Lucille Maris, in Montgomery, Alabama where they were married in 1943 while World War 2 was underway.

The instrumental music (guitar) on the discs is The Witness Tree, written by Scott Greeson, along with Malachi Jaggers. I contributed the accordion part to the song. It’s written about the centuries-old trees standing on the battle field in Battle Ground, Indiana, where the Battle of Tippecanoe took place in 1811.

World War 2 History
If you’re interested in World War 2 history or the history of 1940s USA, this audio program has something for you.

Capturing Your Own Family History
If you are thinking of telling your family’s history via audio or video, this cd-set can give you ideas.

Learn About Life in the 1940s
If you just enjoy learning about life – how it was back in the day – you’ll enjoy this project. It would be a wonderful gift.

It is available on iTunes, Amazon, and through cdBaby. The link is: www.cdbaby.com/artist/vickiemaris

You can also hear several of these stories for free on my podcast, Heartsong Fit With Vickie Maris. My podcast is located here: www.heartsongfit.com or you can subscribe to the show for free in iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

The future posts will include photos of the cast of characters my mom mentions in the stories as well as notes about my journey in interviewing her and creating this project along with adding her story to my dad’s memoirs. I would be so delighted for you to join me along this road!