Interview to a Senior Citizen
Running head: INTERVIEW TO A SENIOR CITIZEN
Interview to a Senior Citizen
Mary Gilbert
PSYCH 101
May 14, 2012
Interview to a Senior Citizen Having the opportunity of interviewing a veteran from the World War II and Pearl Harbor has been the most rewarding experience I have had in a long time. He is ninety-two years old and it is amazing to see how good he still looks. I have known him since my family and I moved to Fort Campbell, KY. He has an amazing spirit and everyone in the neighborhood knows him and respects him. He did not hesitate for a moment to agree to this interview. I had the opportunity to see family albums, photos from the World War II and Pearl Harbor, his time in the Navy and all the commemoration letters, achievements, medals that he earned throughout his military career. The interview started with him making jokes about life and politics. The interview lasted almost three hours (see Appendix A & B). I noticed that at times he was vague with his answers or will stay quiet for a while before answering. It was mostly when we talked about his wife and war. I could feel him very sad thinking about the experiences he lived in war and the impact it had on his life. It was noticeable. His memories of his time in the Navy were filled with sadness and joy. He talked about his friends, the few that are still alive, the one’s that passed away and their stories from Hawaii, Europe and many other places they went to. Getting into the experiences he lived during war was the most surprising aspects of the interview for me. My husband is in the Army and just came back from deployment couple months ago. I could relate to the things he said, because is what I am actually going through with my husband now. Living a military life can be stressful and challenging; not only for the service member but for the entire family. The family is greatly affected by war and deployments. Soldiers go through transitions when they come back and the family
Interview to a Senior Citizen
Mary Gilbert
PSYCH 101
May 14, 2012
Interview to a Senior Citizen Having the opportunity of interviewing a veteran from the World War II and Pearl Harbor has been the most rewarding experience I have had in a long time. He is ninety-two years old and it is amazing to see how good he still looks. I have known him since my family and I moved to Fort Campbell, KY. He has an amazing spirit and everyone in the neighborhood knows him and respects him. He did not hesitate for a moment to agree to this interview. I had the opportunity to see family albums, photos from the World War II and Pearl Harbor, his time in the Navy and all the commemoration letters, achievements, medals that he earned throughout his military career. The interview started with him making jokes about life and politics. The interview lasted almost three hours (see Appendix A & B). I noticed that at times he was vague with his answers or will stay quiet for a while before answering. It was mostly when we talked about his wife and war. I could feel him very sad thinking about the experiences he lived in war and the impact it had on his life. It was noticeable. His memories of his time in the Navy were filled with sadness and joy. He talked about his friends, the few that are still alive, the one’s that passed away and their stories from Hawaii, Europe and many other places they went to. Getting into the experiences he lived during war was the most surprising aspects of the interview for me. My husband is in the Army and just came back from deployment couple months ago. I could relate to the things he said, because is what I am actually going through with my husband now. Living a military life can be stressful and challenging; not only for the service member but for the entire family. The family is greatly affected by war and deployments. Soldiers go through transitions when they come back and the family
References: Bowling, A., & Iliffe, S. (2011). Psychological approach to successful ageing predicts future quality of life in older adults. Health & Quality Of Life Outcomes, 9(1), 13-22. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-9-13 Ferri, C., James, I., & Pruchno, R Figley, C. R., & Figley, K. (2009). Stemming the Tide of Trauma Systemically: The Role of Family Therapy. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Family Therapy, 30(3), 173-183. 1. Where were your born? I was born in Austin, TX on February 2nd, 1920.