UA Wayne College to Host Veterans Day Event on Nov. 8
The University of Akron Wayne College is hosting a Veterans Day presentation on Nov. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by a reception from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. The event will feature first-hand accounts from local World War II veterans Robert Pierson and Walt Featheringham, as well as a presentation by author and radio host Tom Swope. The event will take place in room C222 of the College’s main building, located at 1901 Smucker Rd., Orrville.
Tom Swope, the author of LEGACIES: Stories from the Second World War has almost 40 years of experience in radio, having worked on music, oldies and comedy shows.
Swope's father was a U.S. Army infantryman who served overseas in France during World War II. He was a prisoner of war for five months, including four months in a labor camp in Czechoslovakia. Swope enjoyed hearing his father's World War II stories throughout the years, and in 2001 he convinced his radio station to approve a program based on interviews with veterans. Swope conducted interviews with over 400 veterans for the radio show and those stories were later edited to create Swope’s book, which will be available for purchase at the event.
Robert Pierson enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, one week after Pearl Harbor. He was in the Naval Reserves from 1941 to 1950 and served on active duty from 1943 to 1946. He was an aviation electronics technician and was sent overseas to the islands of Guam and Tinian where he serviced radio, radar, altimeters and long range navigation of naval aircraft.
After the war, Pierson graduated from the College of Wooster on the GI bill where he met his wife, a graduate of Ashland University. They married after graduating from college and went on to have six children, 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Walt Featheringham joined the U.S. Marines in 1946 and was stationed in Guam. Shortly after his arrival, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. Only 28 days afterwards, Featheringham’s unit was tasked with surveying the damage and gathering information.
According to Jackie Ashbaugh, coordinator of student activities for the College, it is a privilege to hear the stories of these veterans.
“It is truly an amazing experience to relive the past through their eyes,” she said. “You learn of experiences that challenged these WWII veterans in ways we can only imagine.”
The Veterans Day presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jackie Ashbaugh at 330-684-8973 or jackie1@uakron.edu.