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Heroes among us
Twelve World War II veterans' stories will be told in an original play by ISU
Theatre's Jane Cox and Patrick Gouran.
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Iowa's "Greatest Generation" and their heroic efforts during World
War II will be chronicled in a new and original play written and conceived
by two Iowa State University Theatre faculty members.
"Heroes Among Us" is a play about 11 men and one woman who defended
their country in World War II. The script is based on interviews with Iowa
veterans who served in the Army Infantry, Army Artillery, 101st Airborne,
Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Army Air Corps and the Army Medical Corps.
The new play was written by Jane Cox, associate professor of theatre. Cox
and Patrick Gouran, associate professor of theatre, interviewed the 12 Central
Iowa veterans over the past several months. Gouran is serving as the director
of "Heroes Among Us."
"These 12 represent a generation that probably did more than any other
in history to spread democracy around the world," Cox said.
"Heroes Among Us" will premiere on the 60th anniversary of Pearl
Harbor on Friday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fisher Theater. Other performances
are slated at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8, 14 and 15, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday,
Dec. 9 and 16. Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $4.50 for
students and are available through TicketMaster at (515) 233-1888 or at
the C.Y. Stephens Box Office.
The title of the play comes from the modesty of the 12 veterans.
"You could pass these people on the street and they're not strutting
around," Cox said. "You perhaps wouldn't even notice them. They're
just like everyone else. But it's really amazing to realize to what heights
these normal men and women rose to."
Virtually every theatre of war and branch of service has been covered with
these 12 individuals. One or more was present at Pearl Harbor, the battle
for Wake Island, D-Day, Bastogne, the Battle of the Bugle, and the liberation
of the Dachau concentration camp. One was a Marine who was a Japanese POW
for 44 months. Another an Army nurse. Yet another a Tuskegee Airman.
Iowa State students will portray these veterans as they move from civilian
life through their war experiences. Their stories have been interwoven with
ballads from the '40s and media from the period to create this original
work. During rehearsal for the play, the students and veterans met to discuss
the impact of World War II and its implications on future generations.
"We couldn't tell you how many times we heard (from the veterans) 'I
didn't do anything extraordinary' or 'you should talk to someone else' and
even 'there's nothing heroic about being a prisoner of war,'" Cox said.
"They are all so modest about what they and their generation accomplished."
The 12 veterans chronicled in “Heroes Among Us” include:
James Bowman – Attending Iowa State University when he
heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps
and went on to become a Tuskegee Airman (African American fighter pilots).
After the war Bowman completed his education at Drake University and later
become the assistant superintendent of the Des Moines School District.
He will be portrayed by Langley Neely, a junior community and regional planning
and performing arts double major from Chicago, Ill.
Gene Fleener – After growing up on an Iowa farm, Fleener
altered his birth certificate so he could join the Marines. He was stationed
on Wake Island in the Pacific when it was attacked on the same day as Pearl
Harbor was. When the undermanned Marines were finally overrun by the Japanese,
Fleener spent 44 months in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and was liberated
at the end of the war. He currently lives in Des Moines.
Jon Travis, a senior advertising major from Denison, will play Fleener.
Bud Gormally – Gormally was working in the Stop and Shop
Grocery in Fort Dodge when he heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
He joined the Navy and eventually took part in nine invasions in the Atlantic
and Pacific. After the war he returned to Fort Dodge and the Stop and Shop
Grocery. Gormally died in January 2001.
John Woods, a senior broadcast journalism major from Philadelphia, Penn.,
will be featured as Gormally.
Robert Houser – Working in the mailroom of Principal Financial
Group in Des Moines when the war began, Houser became a navigator in the
Eighth Air Force. He flew 35 missions and was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross. After the war, Houser completed his education, returned to
Principal and eventually became that firm's CEO.
Houser will be played by Jeffrey Hansen, a senior marketing, Spanish and
international business major from Urbandale.
Dean Lettington – A Runnells, Iowa, native, Lettington
was involved in all five of the major campaigns of the European Theatre.
He was part of the Liberation Force at Dachau concentration camp. He was
an original member of the committee that instigated and then built a World
War II Memorial in Des Moines.
The Des Moines resident will be portrayed by Zac Barclay, a senior performing
arts major from Waterloo.
Bruce Longstreet – A college engineering student when
the war broke out, Longstreet served in the infantry. He was awarded two
Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He was captured during the Battle of
the Bulge and spent several months in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Many
decades later he was instrumental in the completion of the World War II
Memorial in Des Moines.
Longstreet will be played by Jeffrey Snyder, a freshman pre-business major
from Wheaton, Ill.
Ruth Miller – When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Miller was
in nurse’s training. After she finished the training, she joined the Army,
eventually becoming a second lieutenant. Throughout the last year of the
war in Europe, Miller and her unit were just behind the front lines in France
and Germany. After the war she married and later resumed her nursing career.
She currently resides in Conrad, Iowa.
Miller will be played by Kristin Wolff, a sophomore performing arts and
pre-vet major from Akron, Iowa.
Harold Norris – A member of the famous 101st Airborne
Division, Norris was dropped behind enemy lines in Holland and was later
in the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. After the
war, Norris returned to Indianola where he is the owner of Norris Automotive
Service.
He will be played by Scott Morehead, a sophomore performing arts major from
Clinton.
Robert Reiber – Reiber was in Hawaii and at Pearl Harbor
when it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. After the war, he graduated from Bucknell
University in Lewisburg, Penn. He currently lives in West Des Moines and
was chairman of the committee that erected a Pearl Harbor Monument on the
Iowa Capitol grounds in Des Moines.
Reiber will be played by Grant Henderson, a senior visual studies major
from Minneapolis, Minn.
Ray Schleihs – After first being denied an opportunity
to train as an Army Air Force pilot, Schleihs later became a B-17 pilot
and completed 35 missions for the Eighth Air Force. He was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross for his actions. The Johnston native's work after the war took
him to many countries and in many states, but he currently resides in his
hometown.
Trevor Helmers, a sophomore from Sibley, Iowa, will portray Schleihs.
William Underhill – A shoe salesman when World War II
broke out, Underhill became a bombardier and a member of the 15th Army Air
Corps in southern Italy. He flew 50 missions and was on his last mission
when his crew was shot down behind enemy lines. With the help of the Polish
Underground, he avoided capture and eventually returned to the United States.
After the war, he earned a Ph.D., becoming chair of the Department of Speech
Communication at Iowa State.
Underhill will be played by Kevin Geiken, a sophomore performing arts and
English education major from Hampton, Iowa.
Joe Viola – A second generation Italian American, Viola
and members of his family were subjected to discrimination when the war
started. He left high school to enlist in the Coast Guard and took part
in eight landings in the Pacific. During the Korean War he was a member
of the Air Force. Viola was born and currently resides in Des Moines.
Nathan Zobel, a sophomore performing arts major from Tama, Iowa, will play
Viola.
Around LAS
December 3-9, 2001
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