Interviewee: John Radosin
Date of birth/age at interview: Unknown/83 (estimated)
Interviewer: Sally Jagoe
Interview date: August 19, 2004
Interview location: Radison residence
Interview length: 61 minutes
Time span discussed: 1935 to 2000
Summary: John reviews his life in Solebury, including the marriage to his 17-year-old wife just before he was drafted for World War II. Much of the interview covers his Army experiences, all of which were in the Pacific campaign, and the horrors of war events. His last work was driving a horse and carriage for West End Farm in locations like Princeton, Newtown, Doylestown, and New Hope.
Time markers:
00:26 – bank loan to pay for house
01:43 – house with no utilities initially, all outdoor plumbing
02:15 – first saw son after he returned from World War II; 7 children, he was midwife for some of his children
04:35 – local doctor
05:47 – 15-month-old daughter passes away
06:43 – life is struggle; jobs starting around 1950
09:23 – married 1942, wife 17 years old, $3 wedding dress; drafted 1942
11:31 – Camp Lee training; wife joins him at $7 per month apartment
14:12 – war experiences discussed
15:02 – Pacific Theatre ‘travels’
16:30 – his 39-year-old father-in-law drafted, had 5 children
19:24 – General Mac Arthur
21:00 – capture, POW experience
25:30 – General Whitehead
27:00 – home; President Franklin Roosevelt
31:03 – Japanese internment camps
33:40 – father captain in the German Army in World War I; before that father bought home in Solebury Township
36:33 – began school at 9 years old, no shoes before that
41:00 – World War II discussion begins again
46:50 – dropping the bomb in Japan
47:30 – “really young guys fighting the war”
50:15 – more Solebury: driving a horse and carriage for final job; Princeton, Lambertville, Doylestown, West End Farm
56:00 – work horse breeds
58:00 – retires to South Carolina
