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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Saratoga's Don Irving, 83, has shared his personal story of service in World War II for a documentary to be presented by the Digital Clubhouse Network. The short videos will be shown Nov. 11 in the San Jose City Council chambers.

Chronicling the tales of the 'Greatest Generation'

By Michele Tjin

Hollywood has just released on the big screen Flags of our Fathers, a movie about young Americans who fought at Iwo Jima. Meanwhile, local veterans have been telling their own war experiences and putting their stories on their own small screen.

Digital Clubhouse Network, a nonprofit organization, has teamed high school students with veterans to make short documentaries about one specific incident the local vets faced while in combat. These movies are set to period music and have unassuming titles, such as A Soldier's Story. The stories run the gamut, from World War II to the war in Iraq. The public is invited to a "Tribute of Service" presentation of these short videos on Nov. 11, 3 p.m., in the San Jose City Council chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara St.

"This is intergenerational digital storytelling," said Warren Hegg, founder and president of Digital Clubhouse. "The kids get to spend time with elders who are not tech-savvy but are life-savvy."

The idea is that teens, with their deftness in using technology, can help make the veterans' stories live in perpetuity. At the same time, the young people are exposed to lessons of commitment, sacrifice and service, Hegg said.

Chris Shelton, a Los Gatos High School junior, said his love of history led to his involvement with Digital Clubhouse. He completed his first digital story last year, and through the process he said he's gained an appreciation for what veterans, especially those of World War II, have done.

"Veterans from World War II are nice people and really want their story to be done," Chris said. "These people are the bravest people I've ever met. I should really thank them. Why aren't more people doing this?"

Chris, along with Yeun Byun, a sophomore from Saratoga High School, will be among the 16 teenagers who will receive the Community History Award given by the History Channel, the Frank and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and Youth Serve America for the hours they have given to the project.

It was Chris' neighbor, Lavada Begley Peterson, who introduced him to the Digital Clubhouse. Peterson was first compelled to chronicle her brother's story so her family would have a permanent record of his contributions.

Tommy Begley was 18 when he was killed by a kamikaze attack during the battle for Iwo Jima in 1945. Sixty years later, Peterson still misses her older brother deeply and longs to be able to feel the touch of his arm on her shoulder. But out of his death came the opportunity for her to do something for her country, beginning with Tommy's Story, she said.

"There's no better way to teach history than to get personal testimony about what life was really like," Peterson said.

She said because the number of World War II veterans left is dwindling by the day, she feels an urgency to get their stories out. About 2,000 vets die each day, she said, and in the six years she's been volunteering, she's made six movies. One of them is a documentary about the 25 young men who died in World War II from her hometown of Chowchilla.

"I wanted those boys remembered," she said.

Don Irving of Saratoga also had his story chronicled by Digital Clubhouse. He was 21 when he was drafted into the army. He was a paratrooper who jumped into Germany over the Rhine River after the invasion of Normandy.

"Some things are easy to talk about, some things are not," said the 83-year-old.

Peter Radonich, 81, of Los Gatos dedicated his story, Ordinary Heroes, to his 42 comrades who died in the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. His three years of service were filled with confusion and fear, he said.

"It's an experience that no one can describe to you," he said. "You just manage to survive it."

Radonich was drafted after he graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1943. Despite the difficult 82 days in Okinawa, where he said he was surrounded by countless dead bodies and harsh weather conditions, good has come of his experience and his subsequent movie. He recalled how, last week, he got a call from a young man in Iowa who came across his story by surfing the Internet. The man was looking for information on his grandfather, who was killed in Okinawa.

"I knew his grandfather," Radonich said. "The family was pleased and excited that they finally found someone who knew how he died."

For Marsha Parham of Los Gatos, the Digital Clubhouse project has been a family affair. Six years ago, her father, Gary Hugh Pare, was interested in sharing his story with the world because he was running out of time. He survived his service in World War II, but had pancreatic cancer.

"He was in the European theater, and he was highly decorated. But having had to take the lives of 35 people personally, he never talked about it," Parham said.

Her father never got a chance to see his documentary, A Soldier's Story, as he died of cancer in 2000. But since then, Parham has been committed to supporting the Digital Clubhouse project by making more movies and acting as a mentor. She and her family make up a 10-member gospel choir that spans four generations, and they will sing at the "Tribute of Service" presentation.

"It teaches younger generations what freedom is about," Parham said. "They're not getting taught as much as they need to be taught. They'll get an education they would never get from anybody else."

For more information on Digital Clubhouse or to view the movies online, visit www.digiclub.org or www.stories-of-service.org.