Joshua Lawton Mark Mosher has converted a series of audio tracks of oral history that his late father, George Mosher, at right, recorded to describe life as a pilot during World War II.

Entrepreneur uses technology to capture WWII oral history

By Eric Schmidt, Camera Staff Writer
February 1, 2006

LOUISVILLE — Some things are timeless, like the thrill of flying and the appeal of a good story.

But for the generation that fought in World War II, a lot has changed since the era of radio communication and piston-engine airplanes. Now more than 60 years after the Allied victory, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 1,100 of the 16 million Americans who served in the war die every day.

Mark Mosher, who runs Louisville interactive media company Newecho Productions, has launched a series of audiobooks using computer technology to preserve the memories of World War II pilots for future generations.

He has both a professional and personal stake in the project: his father, Capt. George Mosher, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 at age 19 and recorded his experiences on audiocassettes before his death in 2002.

"He really believed in the idea of oral history so that this wouldn't be lost," Mark Mosher said. "He was totally behind the idea of publishing this."

It used to be that releasing a CD was a complex and expensive proposition. But with 16 years in the computer business and a background in music production, Mark Mosher said the project shows that one person with a home studio can now do a commercially viable job.

He began by sorting through 40 90-minute cassette tapes — which his father recorded in the 1980s — converting the sound to a more permanent digital format and editing stories into chronological order. He then used computer software to clean up the recordings and transfer them to CD.

"You can use (audio technology) for more than just making hit records," said Mark Mosher, who played keyboards in the Colorado Springs band Head Full of Zombies before moving to Louisville last year. "You can use it to preserve memories. It really feels like you're sitting there in the living room with him."

AUDIO

Listen to a clip from Louisville resident Mark Mosher's oral history CD "WWII Aviator: Always Fasten Your Seatbelt," in which his father, Capt. George Mosher, recalls experiences as an Army Air Corps pilot. LISTEN >>

MORE INFO

• For more information about the series, visit www.wwiiaviator.com. CDs are available for $16.99.

"And it's not just someone telling a story; he really had a gift for it," Mark Mosher said, adding that the tales check out and don't seem to have been embellished. "It was really important to him to let people know this was real."

In the title track, George Mosher tells of an air show demonstration meant to remind cadets to buckle their seat belts in open-cockpit trainers. After flying his plane into a loop, an unrestrained co-pilot fell hundreds of feet before pulling his parachute and landing safely.

Despite the warning, Mosher's roommate later made the same mistake, and the scare was enough to make him quit the cadets.

"After that, I learned a lesson," George Mosher says in the recording. "I tightened up my parachute — and I always fastened my seat belt."

Mark Mosher said the market for the disc — which he released in December — includes aviation enthusiasts, families of veterans and history buffs. He said he hopes that as more people hear about the series, other World War II veterans will ask him to help tell their stories.

"This could get bigger," he said. "What I'm hoping is that as it gains momentum, it will encourage other people to do oral histories."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Eric Schmidt at (303) 473-1628 or schmidte@dailycamera.com.

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