After our last stop in Chicago, StoryCorps’ East MobileBooth arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We set up shop right next to the Allen County Public Library in downtown Fort Wayne, where we will record nearly one hundred stories. We have been fortunate to work with our host Northeast Indiana Public Radio and with over ten local organizations to bring in participants from all over Northeast Indiana. As always, the stories recorded have been incredibly diverse, from giving birth to twins in a field to finding love at an old age, and to leaving and returning to the Midwest.
Fort Wayne residents visit the MobileBooth on Opening Day
One of the stories that I have personally had the pleasure of facilitating is that of Don Derrow, who came in with his son Stuart to share his experience in the military. Mr. Derrow served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1954. Unlike many of his peers, Mr. Derrow was not deployed to Korea. Instead, Mr. Derrow was sent to Europe, and after a three-month stay there, he was given a far more unique assignment: he was among the Marines who participated in Operation Tumbler-Snapper, an atomic bomb test that took place in the Nevada Proving Grounds in the Spring of 1952.
