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“It was a long war”
September 21st
Growing up in Idabel, Zee Howell thought it would be fun to be in the Navy. It might have been the book, Treasure Island, or the fact he had an uncle who was a Navy guy that inspired him, but mostly he wanted to help his mother and four sisters. Jobs for high schoolers were nil, so he decided to enlist in the Navy in 1940 and get positioned, rather than wait to be drafted. He also wanted to see the world.
That, he did. Howell went through training in San Diego, then was off aboard the tanker ship USS Neches to haul oil to places like Panama, Alaska and Hawaii. Howell figured the U.S. would get drawn into war, but he really wasn’t expecting the kind of sneak attack the Japanese launched at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Howell admitted the United States had to go to war after that attack – there wasn’t any time to think about it. He viewed the Japanese as the enemy, obviously, but didn’t have ill feelings toward the Japanese people, they were just “the enemy.” He saw the war from beginning to end, and later served in Korea. As a sailor, he went all over the South Pacific, and was comforted by the knowledge that land was always just 2 miles away. “Unfortunately,” he said, “that land was two miles straight down.”
“I was at Pearl Harbor when it started and I was in the Phillipines when it ended, so it was very educational,” Howell said. “I learned a lot.”
Howell now lives southwest of Norman. He’s retired, but at the age of 85 is quite active. He’s a big Sooner sports fan, and a frequent participant in the public discourse of his hometown. He hopes future generations and leaders will learn from the experiences of his generation.
“Our generation was pretty tough,” Howell said. “Whatever happened, you just took it, did the best you could, and survived…and went on. That generation that grew up then, they just learned to do and make do and do without. We worked hard. We learned to do a lot of things, of necessity, we had to. Tom Brokaw may have left that out. We didn’t do it particularly by choice, but because we had to do it, and we’re better for it, too. We can withstand hardships better than anybody else. We know about it, we understand it, we’ve seen it, we’ve had it, and we just need to pass some of that along to our kids.”
(above) Zee Howell points out his position in a picture of the survivors of the USS Neches, taken the morning the ship was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Howell and his shipmates waited in their life rafts for several hours before they were rescued by the USS Jarvis.
(below) Howell and other survivors of the USS Neches at a reunion in San Diego in 1996.
Zee Howell’s story is the first of our Oklahoma World War II Stories, airing on OETA’s Oklahoma News Report preceding each episode of “The War.”
Until next time, Dick Pryor
(Zee Howell was profiled on the Oklahoma News Report on September 21, 2007. To see the story, click on “Videos” on this website and go to “OETA’s Dick Pryor interviews Oklahoma WWII veterans.)
Recording History
September 12th
What should future generations know about war and what your generation did in World War II? That’s a question photojournalist Boots Kennedye and I have asked each of our veterans in interviews for the Oklahoma World War II Stories series. The answers have varied, but a common thread is clear – they saw America attacked and the world threatened, and did what had to be done.
Interviewing these everyday heroes has been an enriching experience for Boots and me. Meeting them, and producing their stories, is a real privilege. Some WWII veterans have a difficult time discussing their experiences of more than half a century ago, but the ones we talked to were eager to give their thoughts about war, World War II, and their participation in it. To be sure, it was a defining time in the history of our nation, and for many veterans, it was a defining moment in their lives.
Each interview lasted more than an hour. In that amount of time you can learn a lot about someone and make a personal connection. They are grandparents and great-grandparents now, yet for most the images and details are as fresh as they were more than 60 years ago. Looking into their eyes was like looking into a window to the past – to a time that seems so far away, yet is still important and relevant. We were struck by their sincerity, willingness to share (and sacrifice), and their perspective on our world. As much as anything, I think they want the lessons they learned to endure for the benefit of future generations.
Our pieces will run less than five minutes, but we are providing the entire interviews to the Oklahoma Historical Society, for archiving at the Oklahoma History Center. Some of the interviews may also wind up at the Library of Congress. We are grateful to have the chance to honor our veterans this way – it’s the least we can do for what they have done for the rest of us.
I encourage you to watch our Oklahoma World War II stories on the Oklahoma News Report beginning on Friday, September 21st at 6:30 p.m. I also encourage you to get involved in our story collection project and see for yourself how meaningful a discussion with a veteran can be. Each one has a story; each one should be remembered.
Until next time, Dick Pryor
(above: Dick Pryor with Ned Hockman, Lt. Colonel, Air Force Reserves)
(below: Boots Kennedye with Sergeant Alexander Mathews)
Oklahoma Veterans Tell About WWII
September 12th
Beginning on Friday, September 21st, be sure to watch OETA’s Oklahoma News Report as we begin a 14-part series – Oklahoma World War II Stories. This is one of the most ambitious efforts ever for OETA News – an effort worthy of its inspiration, Ken Burns’ documentary, The War.
Although he admits he got started about ten years too late, America’s pre-eminent documentary filmmaker decided he needed to tell the story of World War II, much as he had done in his ground-breaking documentary, The Civil War. OETA, The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma History Center, the 45th Infantry Division Museum, and our other partners recognized the importance of the project and launched a statewide story collection project, inviting participation from members of the public. We also decided that OETA should produce a series of first-hand accounts for distribution over-the-air and on-line.
Our “War Team” started spreading the word about our story collection project. We made phone calls, sent e-mails, networked with friends, and used on-air and on-line promotion to collect the names of veterans and volunteers willing to tell their stories. Photojournalist Charles “Boots” Kennedye and I hit the road on August 3rd, taping interviews with veterans in High Definition. We’ve also been furiously gathering video, music and still photos to bring the stories to life.
We completed our first round of fifteen interviews on August 24th and began logging tape, researching and writing. Charles is currently in the editing phase – working his magic in our new state-of-the-art High Definition edit suite. I’ll tell you more about our travels, the people we’ve met and the production process later. But right now, I’ve go to get back to viewing videotape.
Be sure to mark your calendar for September 21st, when the first of our Oklahoma World War II stories airs statewide at 6:30 p.m. on the Oklahoma News Report.
Until next time, Dick Pryor