Because my elderly relatives are deceased or live abroad, I contacted a long time family friend, James Banister Holloway Junior, or simply “Bud”, to help me understand the effects of certain significant events in American History.

When I first talked to Bud, I was astounded by his readiness and willingness to share his past with me. After this initial conversation, I knew I was to learn more important information in this single interview than in years of reading about history in textbooks. I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing my subject, and now realize that history is a collection of real events that people actually felt the affects of, and not just material I must memorize to get good grades at school.

Mr. Holloway was born on March 17, 1929 in a small town called Itasca Texas. He lived there with his family until he was seven, when they moved to the nearby town of Hillsboro. In 1938, due to his father’s career at Ford Motor Company, Bud and his family moved to Dallas and into their new home at 5255 Goodwin Street. Here, he attended elementary school at James B. Bonham Elementary, secondary school at Spence Junior High, and high school at North Dallas High School. Right before his final year of High School, he and his family packed up their belongings and moved to Lakewood.

At the age of sixteen (he told his employer he was eighteen), Bud took his first job at the Ford Plant at 5200 East Grand Road where he unloaded freight cars at a wage of $1.00 per hour. In 1948, at the age of nineteen, Bud moved north to Boston, Massachusetts to take a job as an office manager at a Ford Plant. A few years later, while Bud was happy at work, he received a draft notice from the United States Army, saying that he was so join the military. Out of fear of being put in a dangerous front line position, Bud went to the Naval office so that he could at least choose which department of the military he would be fighting for. Discovering that the Naval officer in charge of enlistment was not there that day, Bud then went to the Air Force recruiter and enlisted into the United States Air Force.

After 27 months and 1 day of active service, in the air as a reconnaissance officer and on the ground as a cryptologist, Bud was sent home. He remained in the military at Barksdale Air Force Base near Dallas until he decided to drive to Kansas to attend the University of Kansas. While attending college, he met his Austrian wife Elisabeth with whom he still is married to today. After a few years of working for Ford in Detroit, Mr. Holloway moved back to Dallas to work for Gates Rubber Company. He retired from his last job at Allied Automation in 1997 to take car of his sick mother and wife, and still lives in Dallas today.

The memorable events in Mr. Holloway’s life were exactly what I hoped for. All of the topics marked great changes in American government, society, and leadership, and are considered vital pieces of American history. The first events Bud wanted to discuss were occurrences in World War II. The first, Pearl Harbor, which occurred on December 07, 1941, was the attack on a Hawaiian naval base that brought the United States into World War II. The next war event discussed was D-Day. This crucial day of World War II was when the American forces stormed onto Normandy Beach and began the allied forces invasion of France. The final World War II topic discussed was the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was the first military use of a nuclear weapon.

The Korean War was the occurrence that we discussed next, which was the event that Bud was most active in. This major conflict of the 1950’s was began with an invasion by North Korea of South Korea. It eventually turned into a United States battle against the communist countries. The next topic we conversed about was one that was felt all around the world, the Kennedy assassination. This controversial incident was one of the events that made the sixties a significant decade, along with the American moon landing, which was naturally what we discussed next. The 1960’s also were times for new pop culture, such as the introduction of Elvis into America, and the Beatles performing of the Ed Sullivan Show. Both of these new artists helped bring in a new form of pop culture that is still prevalent today. The final event discussed was one of recent times, the 911 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Even though these terrorist acts occurred so recently, they will always be known as a major part of American History.

When World War two spread to the United States in 1941, Bud was only twelve years old. Even though he was barely a teen during the war, Bud still has maintained vivid pictures of where he was when important war news was transmitted over the radio. When Pearl Harbor was struck by the Japanese forces on December 07, 1941, Bud was living with his family in a house at 5255 Goodwin Street in what was North Dallas at the time. He recalls playing a game of sandlot football with some neighborhood children on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when the news reached Dallas. The adults began to switch on all of their radios, and the peace in the neighborhood began to break. The civil defense sirens began to sound as the confusion rose, and the kids scampered back to their houses. Bud remembers the radio personality losing his composure and poise with the news of the attack, and he remembers the look of anger in his father’s eyes.

Looking back, Mr. Holloway relates his feelings of shock he had at Pearl Harbor with those he had when President Kennedy was shot. After the dreaded news had been announced, the city began to prepare themselves for the war to come. Food was rationed, gas was limited, and mail began to arrive in mailboxes with sections cut or blacked out. In his young age, Bud was not yet able to comprehend the significance of the happenings of that Sunday afternoon.

The next events that came to Bud’s mind were similar in that they were both turning points in World War II. The first, D-Day, which occurred on June 06, 1944, was the first conflict of Bud’s life in which he had close family involved in. His two uncles were both part of this invasion, and thankfully both left the beach alive. When the news was announced over the radio (which was the dominant form of communication at the time), Bud was sitting on his couch listening to a boxing match when an announcer interrupted the fight with the breaking news. Mr. Holloway recollects his parents explaining the news to him in detail, and he remembers the relief that he got when his uncles called after the battle was over.

Not very long after D-Day, President Truman gave the orders to drop atomic bombs on the two Japanese locations, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. As he was at the previous event, Bud was listening to a fight over the radio when President Truman interrupted. Due to the limited knowledge of atomic weapons, and Bud’s young age, the news did not seem to be out of the ordinary that bombs had been dropped. It was not until the amounts of death and damage had been reported when Bud was able to comprehend the power of the attack.

The Korean War came to mind next, which was a conflict in which Bud fought in. At the time, Bud was working in Boston at a Ford plant, had a girlfriend, and had just bought a new car. Finally beginning to find a lifestyle he enjoyed, his happiness was brought to a halt when a draft notice arrived in his mail box on January 2nd,1951. Out of fear of being sent in as a front line ground troop, Bud went straight to the Naval recruitment desk only to find that the recruiter was out for the day. With joining the Navy being out of the question, he then went to the Air Force to explore his options there. With the draft notice deadline the next day, Bud had no choice but to join the Air Force so that he had some say in where he would be serving.

Mr. Holloway studied cryptology and the Russian language for a few months, and was then sent off into active service. His journey included stops in San Francisco, Honolulu, Midway, and Japan. Most of his time in the military was spent at an antenna/radio communication base located in Misawa, Japan. He flew as a radio listener in secret reconnaissance flights near the coastlines of Korea and USSR. His days were often filled with gunfire from enemy “MIG” planes, and he recalled times when radio operators alongside him on the planes were shot and killed by stray bullets.

After 27 months and 1 day of flying missions in the reconnaissance plane RB-50, Bud was sent home from the Far East and was no longer in active service. He returned to Barksdale Air Force based where he remained until his time in the armed forces was up, at which time he decided to drive to Kansas. When Bud returned to the U.S, he was upset by the indifferent attitudes of the people towards the war. He remembers today how he was thinking about his friends that were killed, as he heard a negative comments about the war effort. Bud also feels a bit of anger towards the government for not declassifying his missions until the mid 1990’s, and not allowing him the respect one deserves after serving for a worthy cause. Bud keeps newspapers and magazines that highlight his doings in Korean War to remind himself of the worthiness of his service, and of his friends that he watched die next to him.

The event that we discussed next was truly something felt heavily around the world. I have not met an adult yet who does not remember exactly where he or she was on November 22nd, 1963 when President Kennedy was shot, and Bud was no exception. At the time, Bud was working in Industrial Boulevard, but was on lunch break when it occurred. Still not a huge watcher of television, Mr. Holloway heard the announcement over the radio as it was happening. He recalls the announcer repeating over and over “he is dead, President Kennedy is dead.” Bud also remembers hearing screams and cries in the background as the radio personality announced the news. Mr. Holloway felt sick as he witnessed the images on the television on the nightly news.

After the Kennedy assassination, Bud felt that the whole world had a very negative attitude towards Dallas, and many threats on the city followed. The Sunday after the assassination, Bud’s church congregation was rushed out of the chapel by the minister who said their was a bomb threat on the building. Bud claims the world had a negative attitude towards Dallas until the Cowboys started winning a lot. The Kennedy assassination was the most shocking news Mr. Holloway had heard since he was twelve, and Pearl Harbor had been attacked.