Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
publicinfo@selu.edu
SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
Date: 3/11/99
Contact: Christina Chapple 18
Editors: Photos accompany release
SLU PROJECT SPOTLIGHTS WORLD WAR II AND FLORIDA PARISHES
HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Center for Regional Studies is
looking for World War II veterans who are willing to share combat artifacts and memories for a
special project, "From Piney Woods to Killing Fields: Louisiana's Florida Parishes and the
Challenge of World War II."
Center director Samuel Hyde said the project will give "a more human face" to the war
that Americans have rediscovered through the release of films such as Saving Private Ryan and
The Thin Red Line. He said the two-part project will include an exhibit highlighting American
and Axis fighting power and an oral history project to preserve veterans memories on tape in the
center's archives.
The exhibit is scheduled to open April 19 in the Center for Regional Studies, located on
the second floor of Sims Memorial Library. "The oral interview project will continue as long as
interested participants are available," Hyde said. "Interviews will be transcribed and stored in the
center to be preserved indefinitely for the benefit of families and historical researchers."
"The ultimate purpose of the project, Hyde said, "is to educate the public on the
circumstances the men of our area enjoyed prior to leaving for war and what confronted them
when they arrived in the theater of combat."
"Unlike those of us who know the war only by what has been reported in the media, many
who fought the fight know that their enemy remained a dangerous one and there was no certainty
of victory until the last gun had fired," Hyde said.
Hyde said "From Piney Woods to Killing Fields" will "emphasize the contribution of
surviving combat veterans who reside in the Florida Parishes while presenting to the public a
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PINEY WOODS TO KILLING FIELDS Add One
graphic illustration of the power of the enemies they faced."
"Unlike the American Civil War, which treated southerners to the despair of defeat," he
said,"or the Vietnam conflict that caused many Americans to question the very purpose of our
policy, World War II is typically regarded as the unquestioned triumph of righteousness over
evil. Although an Allied victory over the Axis powers seemed a certainty to many on the home
front, the outcome remained in doubt to many Americans who actually experienced combat."
Hyde said that while the media often addresses World War II "from the hindsight of
victory," American combat troops, who were well aware of their enemies' strength, "enjoyed no
such certainty of success."
"Far from simply enjoying the benefits of fighting on the side of righteousness secure in
the certainty of ultimate victory, those who encountered the enemy realized that our foes
remained formidable," Hyde said. "Indeed, for many Americans the struggle became one of
personal survival as they engaged a discipline and determined enemy convinced of their own
combat superiority."
The "From Piney Woods to Killing Fields" exhibit will use audio-visual exhibits,
photographs and statistics to help viewers understand "just how challenging the conflict actually
was," Hyde said. He said the exhibit will highlight six key battles, but will also outline the entire
course of the war. "Artifacts from any theater of operations will be considered," he said.
Those who have artifacts that they may be willing to loan for the exhibit, or who are
interested in having their recollections recorded by the center's interviewers can contact Hyde at
504-549-2151 or SLU 10730, Hammond, LA 70402.
- SLU -
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