On this Memorial Day, we look back at episode #615 from May 2019. Jim Swager of Brookhaven joined the US Army shortly after his 18th birthday, three months before D-day. In this episode, he shares his memories of the journey from Mississippi to the battlefields of France as part of the 103rd Infantry, Cactus Division. Although he weighed a mere 130 lbs. his captain made him a machine gunner and assigned him a BAR. The Browning Automatic Rifle was a 30-caliber light machine gun used...

Today we look back at a classic MSMO from April of 2016. Carl Walters of Laurel landed his first newspaper job in the 1920s working as a printer’s assistant. In this episode, he recalls how his love of sports led him to become a sports writer. Later, Walters began working for the Meridian Star. He discusses how the Meridian paper broke new ground by being the first to segregate the sports news into its own section. Walters became the first sports editor for the Jackson Daily News in 1946.  ...

This week we look back at the storied career of USM football coach, P. W. Underwood in this MSMO classic from March of 2016. After playing football for Southern Miss, P.W. Underwood returned to Hattiesburg as an assistant coach in 1963. In this episode, he remembers the team ranked number 1 in defense, three years out of four. When Underwood was named head football coach for Southern Miss six years later, he knew some changes needed to be made. At that time USM was known as The Generals and...

Bernard Tessman and Karl Heimburg worked for Dr. Werhner von Braun in Nazi Germany on the V-2 rocket program. After WWII, 118 rocket scientists were brought over from Germany to work for the US Army. In this episode, Tessman and Heimburg remember those early days launching V-2 rockets in White Sands, New Mexico and the decision to locate the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. After President Kennedy announced the goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade, the decision...

In this MSMO Classic episode from January 2016, we look back at the inspiring life and career of Coach David Dunaway. Coach Dunaway grew up in Tylertown during the Great Depression. In this episode, he recalls how the town became his substitute family after his parents split up. Dunaway worked all through school to support himself and still found time to participate in sports. He credits the guidance he received from his coach and teachers for his decision to pursue a career in...

Today's MSMO classic discusses efforts by outside business interests to turn Noxubee County into a toxic dumping ground. In 1983, a hazardous-waste disposal company attempted to build a toxic waste dump in the town of Shuqualak in Noxubee County, Mississippi. In this episode, Martha Blackwell describes how local citizens organized to fight back and were able to have a five year moratorium placed on chemical disposal sites in Mississippi.  In 1991, after the moratorium expired, plans were...

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and American entered the war, young men joined the military in droves leaving big holes in the work force. Women stepped up to fill those jobs traditionally held by men, helping out on the home front and showing what they were capable of in the process. For Women's History Month, We look back at this classic MSMO episode from February 1, 2016, featuring the story of Bonnie Stedman of McComb who went to work for Illinois Central right out of high...

Today, we are look back at Episode #485, which features James Jones of Laurel discussing his time with the 761st Tank Battalion during WWII. The 761st Tank Battalion was the first armored combat group made up of African American soldiers. Prior to this time, black men rarely served in combat roles in the U.S. Military and were generally relegated to menial labor jobs like stevedores. After being given the opportunity to serve under General George S. Patton in the European Theater, the 761st...

Today, we look back at Episode #475, featuring an interview with Roscoe Jones Vol. 740, conducted on May 9, 1997 and first aired in February 2016. Jones's memories of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner are riveting because according to Jones, he had planned on going to Neshoba County that fateful day. For anyone not familiar with the story: Civil Rights Activists James Chaney from Meridian, MS, along with Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner from New York City were abducted and murdered on...

February is Black History Month and today we are looking back at Episode number 471, featuring an interview of Hattiesburg native and Civil Rights activist, Doug Smith. Smith was present for several key events in the Movement including the March on Washington in August of 1963, and Hattiesburg Freedom Day in January of 1964 which kicked off Freedom Summer that year.  Doug Smith was also active in a series of voter registration drives which led to greater participation in voting by black...

This is our first Redux of 2023 and because Monday the 16th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are looking back at a favorite past Mississippi Moments episode: MSM 601 Father Peter Quinn - Dr. King Comes to Hattiesburg, which aired originally on January 28, 2019. For the interview, we are joined by Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, an associate professor of history at the USM with expertise in Civil Rights, African American, and Women’s and Gender history. She is co-director for the Center for the Study...

Because our classic Mississippi Moments episode this week is about Greek cooking and holiday traditions, we thought we'd ask USM Historian Andrew Haley to discuss his field of study and give an opinion as to how Mediterranean culture and cuisine has influenced our food ways.  Dr. Haley studies class, culture and cuisine in the United States from the Gilded Age through the 1950s. His first book, Turning the Tables: American Restaurant Culture and the Rise of the Middle Class, 1880-1920, is...

'Tis the season for home cooking and today's episode provides a heaping plateful! Jennifer Brannock, Professor and Curator of Rare Books and Mississippiana here at USM takes us on a tour of their massive community cookbook collection. It is a fun and informative discussion on how the project came into being and why the history of food is so important to understanding our culture. Delve into our online collection of rare community cookbooks by following this link: ...

Today is Veterans Day and in today's episode, we remember the sacrifices of all of our service men and women by focusing on the experiences of American prisoners of war in Vietnam. We are joined by noted Vietnam War scholar Dr. Andrew Wiest for a discussion of the infamous Hanoi Hilton and the POW experience in general. Afterwards, we hear from Hattiesburg native, George R. Hall about his seven years as a POW and readjusting to civilian life upon returning home in this classic MS MO episode...

On November 3rd, America lost one of the greatest all-around athletes of this or any age. Ray Guy was the first punter to ever be drafted in the first round into the NFL. During his career with the Oakland Raiders, he led the team to three Super Bowl victories. He was the first pure-punter to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he remains the standard by which all other kickers are judged. But Ray was so much more.   During his years with the University of Southern...

Welcome to the MS MO Redux Podcast! We will be rolling out format changes in the coming days, but here's the gist: Although Mississippi Moments is not currently in production, we have amassed a huge number of episodes, most of which have never been rebroadcast. So we intend to use this podcast to revisit each episode as its daily spots are being aired statewide on MPB. Many episodes will also contain additional information about the speaker, as well as, interviews with Mississippians involved...

Native Americans first used fire to manage the forests of South Mississippi. After decades of discouraging the practice, forestry experts have shifted their thinking about prescribed burning. Ecologist, Tate Thriffiley explains why this practice is good for the longleaf pines and the entire ecosystem. By 1930, virtually all of the longleaf pines in Mississippi had been harvested. Thriffiley describes the mistakes made in replanting the DeSoto National Forest and explains why a host of State...

We’re taking a break from production this summer, but don’t worry, the Mississippi Moments podcast will return this fall with new and classic episodes, along with exciting announcements about upcoming shows! Since 2009, our little podcast has developed a loyal following and we’re looking to build on that success by expanding the Miss Mo brand. Soon, we will be offering additional podcast programming, as well as student projects and oral history-based documentaries. We at the Center for Oral...

On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces launched the largest amphibious assault in history against Nazi-occupied Europe. In this episode, Rip Bounds of Hattiesburg describes piloting a Utility Landing Ship to the beaches of Normandy. As Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, they faced devastating fire-power from the Germans. Bounds recalls how the eighty-eight millimeter artillery shells decimated both men and equipment. Thousands of American soldiers were wounded or killed as they...

After serving in the South Pacific for eighteen months during WWII, Rip Bounds became a naval officer. In this episode, he recalls being sworn-in and attending officer indoctrination schools in Arizona and New York. While at officer training school, Bounds was made platoon leader of a group of former Seabees. He explains why his men resented being treated as new recruits and how an act of insubordination led to a policy change. As Allied Forces prepared for the invasion of Europe, Bounds was...

The United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, were formed during WWII to build airstrips and other installations vital to the war effort.  In this episode, the first of two parts, Rip Bounds of Hattiesburg remembers his decision to join the Seabees in 1942. After the United States declared war on Japan, the Seabees rushed to build airfields on small islands in the Pacific. Bounds recalls how they built a landing strip in the jungles of Espiritu Santo in...

Scott Cooper of Saltillo joined the army when he was twenty-four years old. In this episode, he remembers flying to Kuwait for additional training before being deployed in Iraq. While serving in Afghanistan, American soldiers were routinely targeted by snipers and improvised explosive devices.  Cooper recalls how they would alter their route each day to avoid the IEDs. Many soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Scott Cooper...

Butch Brown was working at a Hattiesburg jewelry store in 1968 as the war in Vietnam raged on. In this episode, he recalls the day his mother met him at the front door with a draft notice and an airline ticket to Canada. As a communications man in Vietnam, Brown was responsible for repairing field radios in the jungle.  He discusses being the company “scrounger” and how he earned the call sign “Soda Six.” Brown would occasionally go out on patrol with his infantry company as the radio man....

For thousands of years, Choctaw Indians hunted, farmed and fished the land that would become Mississippi. In this episode, Tribal Historian Kenneth York discusses their way of life and how European settlers took their homes. In 1830, the Federal government attempted to remove the Choctaw Indians from Mississippi. York describes their connection to the land and sacred burial mounds. The Choctaw lands of Mississippi are divided into three districts and nine communities. York lists these areas...