The Pomona College and the WWII Years Collection contains video recordings of oral history interviews with Pomona College alumni and panel discussions related to topics on World War II. The Pomona College Alumni Association chose “Focus on a Generation: Pomona College and the WWII Years” as the subject of its 12th annual Symposium, which was held during Alumni Weekend on April 27th and 28th, 2001. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, alumni from the Classes of 1935 to 1951 participated as panelists, moderators, and speakers, sharing experiences on the home front as well as abroad in Europe and the Pacific.

The oral history project was developed as part of the WWII Symposium with a view to reach wider future audiences. Nearly 100 alumni volunteered to record highlights of civilian life, including life on the Pomona College campus, as well as military and other experiences during the war years. Individually and collectively, these videotapes provide a collection that serves to document the recollections of the World War II generation.

Panel and roundtable discussions featured during the event, included “The Home Front: Pomona During the War Years and Civilian Efforts;” “WWII Land and Air Battles: Europe and the Pacific;” “Pomona’s Women in Uniform: WAC, WAVES, and Red Cross;” “Pacific Naval Battles, the Sea War for Europe, and the Occupation of Japan and Germany;” and “History of Hollywood: Did the Movies Ever Get It Right?” A keynote address, “The Time of One’s Life: Perspectives on the War” was given by Gaines Post, Jr., emeritus professor of history at Claremont McKenna College. The event’s closing session, “Reflections on the WWII Generation,” was led by Verne Orr ’37, former Secretary of the Air Force.