Interview with Bryan Ray, “Impacts of The 1960s and 1970s”, Hist 150 Spring 2023, Conducted by Peyton Ray, March 14 2023.
Overview:
The 1960’s and 70’s were full of many historical events that changed the lives of many Americans. May 4th, 1970 is an example of one of these life changing events. The Kent State Massacre is a significant event that changed the nations ideals on the Vietnam War. Students were protesting the war outside their school (Kent State) when the national guard came and began open firing, killing four and injuring nine students. This moment in history sent a domino affect across the nation prompting many protests and rallies across the nation to take form. Another significant event that was taking place that caused national outcry was the Cold War. The Cold War was the United States’ fight against the spread of communism. The nation was put into a mode of lockdown with fear of nuclear attacks, threats of invasion, and news of spies infiltrating everyday life. The Cold War was a catalyst into a reason on why the United States may have entered the Vietnam War.
A detrimental piece of the Cold War was Russia. Russia were the enemy to the U.S. during the Cold War because they were communist. Besides fighting communism the United States refused to let Russia win the space race. The space race started in the 50s and ended after the United States launched 14 Apollo missions that resulted in a man on the moon. The space race was only one of the many things that Russia and America fought over. Nuclear power was another big fight during this time. The U.S. wanted to remain a super power when it came to nuclear energy, but Russia would not be behind the United States. This resulted in nuclear threats and a competition to build the best nuclear bomb. Over the 1960’s and 70’s the United States dealt with many problems such as communism, war, segregation, and rights of women. In the end all these events changed history and made people realize what a significant time that it had been.
Biography:
Bryan Ray was born in Buffalo, NY in the mid 1950s. Currently he is in his 70s and retired, living in Florida with his wife. He graduated grammar school in 1962 and then high school in 1966, both attended in Buffalo. In Buffalo his household included 12 people: he had 8 siblings, 2 parents, and one great aunt all living in the house when he grew up. He attended Walsh College in Canton, OH. After graduating college, he went onto try and get his masters at Niagara University but ultimately never finished it.
He joined the Military after college entering the Army. As for work, he hopped around a bit after college, but he found his way after a few jobs. He started off, after graduating, as an elementary school teacher for 4 years and then for 2 years after that he was a special education teacher in the school system. He then found his real passion in the nuclear energy field. For two years he worked as a researcher in the nuclear industry, and then for 32 years he was a nuclear power operator and worked on producing electricity.
Research:
This interview talks about multiple different social change themes that occurred during the 60s and 70s. One of the first topics that is mentioned is the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The interview talks about propaganda that was made to make Russia look like a threat to the U.S. My grandfather mentions just how the, “Communist Party was almost universally deemed by the mainstream media a dire threat to all the free peoples of the world and consistently portrayed as an un-American totalitarian movement bent on world domination.” (Dunne 53). He mentions how afraid the people of our country were because of how the U.S. portrayed Russia. People had a pre-conceived notion and it spread fear across the nation, as can be seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis and other events that took place.
The Cold War and topics in that time were a central feature of my interview. I made sure to ask about certain topics such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Nuclear Bomb Drills, and other things pertaining to that overall theme. My grandfather talks a lot about how the Cold War affected other people in this interview. People were on high alert at all times because of it. They built bomb shelters and even had drills happen once a week. This time in American history was a detrimental time of unnecessary horror and a power hungry fight that caused many problems.
Another theme this interview mentions is the Space Race and how my grandfather went to Florida to see a rocket get launched. His whole life he had been extremely interested in rockets and space, so as the Space Race went on he mentions how exciting it was. The Space Race was another detrimental part of the Cold War that is not as talked about as other topics, but from, “USSR’s first spacecraft launch in 1957 and ending with the launch of Apollo 11 by the U.S. in 1969″ (Davis), the two countries were deadlocked in a battle that resulted in the winner being the first one to the moon. This information is relevant because of my grandfathers brief conversation in the interview that talks about the rocket launch of Apollo 13 he went to in Cocoa Beach, FL. Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed space mission of the Apollo program organized during the Space Race and my grandfather prides his chance to see that in person.
Transcript:
PR (0:01) –
Okay, it should be recording. So my first question I have is, the 60s and 70s were an exciting time of change and uniformity among different people. Can you give any examples of a change you might remember happening specifically, maybe like a rally or a march, anything of that type?
Bryan Ray (0:26) –
What stands out in my mind is I went to school that Walsh University, which was 20 minutes from Kent State University, and in 1970, there was a lot of protests going on about the Vietnam War, okay. And it hit college campuses, and the college campuses. They would do sit ins in the administration buildings to make their point. They were nonviolent, and they were very good, okay. But at the Kent State rally, the governor of Ohio didn’t take to the protest too, too much. So he decided to send the National Guard out now I’m I’m about 20 minute ride from Kent State. So I’m very aware of what’s going on at Kent State, even though it wasn’t my school. So he called out the National Guard. And when, when the National Guard came, they lined up and everything, it prompt the students to go from, let’s say, sit ins, to go out and, you know, talk to the National Guard, and there was some people might sit call it a imitation, okay? Imitate that imitate it. To, you know, say things that weren’t exactly nice to the National Guard, okay. You know, and to try and swayed the National Guard to come over to their thinking, which was against war, while here it is, these people are in the army or in the National Guard. So they obviously, would be looked upon by the students as favoring the war. So it got a little aggressive. And I’m going to say, I, the National Guard, did get a patient, and, and then the governor gave strict orders to get it for the National Guard to get aggressive. And then eventually, it got confrontational to the point of the National Guard open fired on the students, okay. And several students were killed, some were injured to the tune of they were paralyzed from the waist down for life.
Bryan Ray (3:03) –
I know one person had that happen. So I’m gonna say that, then hit an impact, mount me, okay, I really sympathize with both sides. They’re both Americans. And they’re both doing what they believed in. But they’ve not had that go piece way that really impact me. So I did it influence me on my thinking of the war. In the beginning, I can see where the cold war was going on and the Russians and at this time, also, Chinese were trying to take over developing countries and persuade that dictator to not deal with us meaning with trade or economics exchange. And so they stopped pretty strongly about that to the tune of we went to war in Vietnam, over that, and United chased state supported the the dictator in the southern half of the country that favored us and, and the Chinese. And the Russians probably also favored the northern dictator and and it collided, and we actually sent troops there, as you probably know. And in the beginning, I can see the need for that, during the mentality of the Cold War probably persuade me to think that way. But as the war went on, and I lost some friends to the war, and brother did was injured very severely. From the war, my thinking of the war changed, and I probably became my favorite with the students that were against a war and eventually our country finally did decide wasn’t worth our effort to lose that many troops and we did. About. Okay, so I’m going to say yes, that was, that’s probably the biggest influence of 60 years seven day event it persuaded me and crossed my mind.
PR (5:19) –
Okay, keeping with the theme of like the Cold War, specifically, and another, how was your life affected by specifically the Cold War events such as like the Cuban Missile Crisis? Was there an obvious effect seen around the country at this time? Because I know students would have to do like the bomb tests and sitting on their their desks. Were there any other specific backlash as you could see from the cold war in general?
Bryan Ray (5:54) –
I’m going to say yes, my everyday life was affected. Okay. They installed because the fear of atomic war because we hit the atomic bomb, and eventually, Russia got that, I think in 1949. So we hit the fear of atomic bombs. And we lived under that fear to the tune of that there was people that created like a bomb shelter in their basements are in their backyard, under the ground, and they stored food in there. So that after the bomb went off, there was still going to be Fallout, so they could live in that area. So I do know people that did that. Okay. So the sirens were installed to warn us about a thing attack. And there was one right by our house and who was that file. And they tested it every Wednesday at 12 o’clock. And if you weren’t watching your watch, or knowing what was going on, you got you got a little scared when that went off that ball up there. So that was another impact to schools. We didn’t go under our desk at our school, we went in the hallway, because they feared that the blast would hit the windows and the window would spray in the classroom, even though we’d be under desk. We went into a hot when we got down on our hands and knees against the wall, wind up in the hallway and covered our eyes, that blast had the effect. Also, if you saw the blast to Cosby or whatever, then that was going to impact your vision. So that yes, and we practice though I’m sure everybody remembers fire drills from their school days while we had air raid drills, to ensure that we were in a state of readiness in its in the event that the if there was an atomic war, so we and then the other thing I mentioned, I said is fear.
Bryan Ray (8:07) –
So that fear was there. Okay, especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that became a lot anxiety out there with people. While that was going on. And I have to say, I hit a lot of confidence in our president that time, President Kennedy, and I’m glad that did work out. And so I gotta say, yeah. Now, the other thing that impacted me from the Cold War personally, is I worked in nuclear power and nuclear power generating station, and Russia had an accident and there’s a bubble plant. So several years after that, the Cold War started to dampen down a little bit. And we started to exchange like technology ideas, health ideas, you know, who could help weak how could we they help us maybe with health issues or, and vice versa. So the Russians sent over four engineers to see how we designed and operated our nuclear power plants in America. And I was chosen to to show the Russians and talk to them and I was going to spend a whole day with them, to show them our design and our safety features. And also to point out how possibly their ascent could have been avoided.
Bryan Ray (9;34) –
It was some of our safety procedures and also the way we operated a plant and they could take that home and maybe implemented in home and my bike better for people that live there near their nuclear power plants. By but here’s the cold war issue comes in. When I was saying that task management The State Department where they’re people bringing them over to for engineers, and the State Department wanted me to spend a day with them before the tour, and they told me, they were going to tell me what I could say and what I couldn’t say and what to avoid and what was okay to say. So I spent the day with the State Department diplomat. And he wanted me not to tell some of the things in our design, that would show like it was a criticism of their design. So I had to be very, very careful. And the way I presented some of the safety issues to them, that sort of would have suggested if you had guys have done it, if your operators had done it this way, you could have avoided the accident. Or if he hid this design, there wouldn’t have been a release of radiation, okay, which we hid designs to prevent both. You know, they minimize operators errors, and also to minimize the we resort of radiation in our design. And so you he wore me or not wore me, but totally don’t do not criticize them, don’t criticize their design, don’t criticize the way they operated during the accident, just matter of factly tell our design and don’t compare it to theirs or anything else. And he actually eliminated I hit due to walk the presentation with him throughout the whole day. And he eliminated two or three topics that were I thought were extremely important for the Russians to year. Okay, and if they heard those that they would help them resolve safety issues that their plans? And he said to me, no, Bryan, we’re not going to do those because we feel that you would intimidate or, you know, create an ill feeling with the Russians.
Bryan Ray (12:08) –
So that was towards near the end of the Cold War when we started to try and become friends. Okay, and so, the other thing I’m going to mention with the Cold War that probably affect me every day was propaganda. We were always told that the Russians were didn’t treat their people very well. And that their way of doing the communist status of a planned economy, meaning they tell how many shoes are going to be paid for the year, okay. And our economy is an open market, the demand for shoes decides how money are made by the people. The capitalists, so I always had this impression of the Russians because it propaganda was so flagrant during the Cold War. But you know, when those four engineers came, they were very nice people. And it certainly changed my impression of the Russian people. And I’m happy I went, I did because even now with our problems with Russia, I look back and think and say, You know what, those people are nice people out there might have some leadership problems. But there’s, they’re very nice people. And I’m glad so I’d met those four Russians during the Cold War and found that that was the case already. Okay.
PR (13:36) –
Yeah, that’s really interesting. Okay. Um, I know you had an interest in the space race and rockets. And if I remember correctly, you may have watched one get shot off or something, you can correct me if I’m wrong, if you did. Can you describe that feeling or describe the space race in general and how that also was a big event that went on during the 70s? In that whole timeframe?
Bryan Ray (14:09) –
You’re right, I did see a moon watch. I think it was Apollo 13 Or I think it was 13. One and he had a problem. Okay, but the launch went beautiful. And, you know, can I just tie into the cohort for a sec with the question? That was a positive thing for the Cold War. Because Russia, whatever Russia did, we hid out to them. And whenever we did, the Russians hid out to us. So the Russians went in the space. And hopefully slowly, we were shocked. Oh, they’re gonna beat us. They’re betterness their technologies better. Again, the propaganda in the Cold War. So one of the positive things was we reacted to that the United States did, and that was promised by President Kennedy to put them a man in the moon within nine years of his speech that he made. And it happened. And I thought that was wonderful because Oh, as you mentioned, he loved astronomy and I loved the space and so, so anyways, yeah, I went to the turtle watching and it was amazing. I watched it on the beach, Coco Beach. And it the satellite is 35 storeys. So you can just imagine a 35 storey building going blasting off the thing going in the space. And it was amazing. I just couldn’t get over it. And the control the hit of it and everything. And so then I got to see it and the exhaust from the from the from the rocket, the Saturn rocket, a huge wrapped up the largest rocket ever made. Actually, the exhaust just covered a rise in like, one half of the sky going it flew off the coast away from Florida, over the ocean.
Bryan Ray (16:12)-
That whole sign of this guy was all exhaust. I couldn’t get that Oh, my goodness. So and then you would see the first stage break away and there be a little explosion, I thought would it look like a big disclosure, but it was a small one relatively speaking. And that was just a burst of the rock of being pushed away from the rest of the you know, the second and third stages and also the command module. So that was interesting to see. And then finally, it looks like a little pencil up there. And then it goes away. But you know it was by the exhaust. So after that, we were going to my friends and I were going to rush back to the to the my friend’s house and watch it on TV then. Okay, so we’re going back and all of a sudden, oh my goodness. There’s this thundering noise. Oh, wow. Yeah, you don’t like one of these great big Caterpillar bulldozers that would like if I drove by your house, you would know it. Your house was shaking everything and, and that’s what that’s what that noise was confortable. It was just amazing. And I looked I got scared for a minute. And I looked at them. And the people from Coco Beach that were there to vocal people. They were laughing. And I said, What do you guys have? nieces? Don’t you know what they did? I said no. I said that’s the rocket. I says no, the rockets gone. They said no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no speed, or noise travels or sound travels at a certain at whatever, I’m 100 feet per second or something like that. And they said, so the sound is just getting to us now because we were away from it, you can’t get close to the rocket launch. So we were quite aways from being on the beach. So that was another overpowering moment to hear that noise and the power of that rocket. Just amazing. Okay.
PR (18:17) –
yeah, that’s pretty cool. I remember you describing that to me one other time. Okay, but switching gears a little bit to like a different topic on like segregation, and just the different integration policies that went on. And just a personal experience for you as a white man who grew up in a city where there was like a high population and lots of people. Did you ever or have any experience with anything such as the integration of colored people or have any memories that you can think of, of stuff like that happening?
Bryan Ray (19:00) –
I’m going to share with you one story, okay. The to tell that situation, and I’m going to say I was I was happy that we stop integrating or you know, segregating, and we came together as a people and I hope that we continue to improve on and it’s extremely important, okay. And I sympathize with people that are a minority and I and I can relate to that. But, you know, from my experience of seeing what they’ve done, what people have gone through and everything. So my story is, I was in the army, and I was stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia. And I went home for the weekend and I was coming back. And I got to the airport, took a bus out to Fort Stewart, okay. And I fall asleep on the bus. And I was in the front seat and I thought and I was in my uniform. I thought the bus driver would have woke me up when we got to the Ford steward stop, but he didn’t. So I’m not wearing him. I’m blaming myself, I should have spent vigilant and stayed awake. So I miss my stop. So I went by and this is a 19. This is a 1970. Okay, just to show you. And, and so then I had to get off at the next stop. Okay. So when I get off, I’ve looked for a place to go to ask somebody, you know, if there’s a bus going back, or is there a Can I get transportation back to the post? Okay. So I found this, this tavern, okay. And so I walked into the tavern, okay.
Bryan Ray (20:59) –
It was all black people. It was just table chairs, no decorations. Nothing aesthetic about it just very plain. And there was no bar, no bartender, but everybody had drinks. And then I noticed a little box with a hole in the wall. It was like 12 by 12. And that, I noticed that that’s where they went over and got their drinks. So I said, I was getting ready to ask, Hey, do you know how I can get back to Fort Stewart? And they looked at me and they said, You’re on the wrong side. I said, why? You’re on the wrong side, white people go on the other side. I thought, oh my god, here’s reality. Now I was in Buffalo, New York. And it wasn’t it. A dominant thing for segregation, okay, we accepted the people on the buses and all the public buildings and everything and restaurants. There wasn’t I wasn’t aware of any of that going on in my you know, my upbringing. Okay, I didn’t see that. Going to a ballgame. And he sat next to, you know, person of color or whatever. So, I had heard stories about things like this. And now I, it became a reality told me. So anyways, I went on the other side, and the bar was decorated, they had a bar, they had a bartender, it was a lot nicer.
Bryan Ray (22:30)-
And I just thought, Okay, now I see what segregation is really like. So I was happy to see that and and see the federal law that was made in the 60s to make that type of discriminations. Okay. And so I’m going to say that, I think the the the other thing is, which I think helped with people accepting each other is when they decided to integrate the schools. Okay, they had separate schools for black secretary, and President Kennedy got involved with this, okay. And there was a black lady that went black girl that went to the white school, okay. And it was national news, okay, big deal on national news and everything. And I was happy to see that the reason why because, you know, and I wish, every area that has discrimination, like the Palestinians, and the Jews, they hate each other, you know, from what, you know, in most cases, God, if you bring the children together, and discrimination is taught prejudice is taught. It’s not inane, is not, you know, we learn that. And we learn it typically from our parents, if that is the case, that people that usually are prejudiced, have learned from their parents. But if you put those children together in a school, they find out, wait a minute, they look different from me. But then again, they’re the same as me. And they become friends. And all of a sudden, you know, if they were taught, oh, no, no, black people or minority people were not, you know, as good as us, we’re better than them. And they should be, you know, shouldn’t be part of everything. All of a sudden, they think, Well, that isn’t the case. They’re very nice people. Okay, so I think integration helped that. And then a generation later, here we are, we had a black president united states. So I was happy to see that there’s still work the room, still improvements need to be made. Yes, there is. So that’s my own personal story about integration during the 60s and 70s.
PR (24:52) –
All right. So keeping on with the theme of kind of segregation, almost but with a different group of people and a woman’s rights were a big topic throughout the 1900s. Is there any example? Or can you talk about maybe, if you saw anything, or any examples of women being treated differently than men in any place or anything like that?
Bryan Ray (25:25) –
I’m gonna say yes. Now growing up, it didn’t, it didn’t come apparent to me. But what brought it to everybody’s attention was the movement. Okay, there was a movement, national movement by women to try and improve their well being and their and give them more rights and everything. Okay. Now, when I worked in nuclear power, there was very few women. And after this movement started, I saw that and I thought, Oh, really smoothly, okay, that they got, they got a point there. Okay. The most of the people that worked in nuclear power came out in a nuclear Navy program. And I think the Navy had a little problem with accepting woman on their submarines or their ships or whatever, okay. And they had a come over that. Okay. So then I didn’t notice that, okay. And then when we did get a woman, I was trying to be very conscientious to help. At the time I did, I was leading the training department to help, you know, the woman that did come in so that they would have skills and ability and give them those skills and ability to advance in their careers.
Bryan Ray (26:45) –
Okay. But I never gonna say in the nuclear business, I can’t remember having a woman in a management position to oversee me. Okay. Is that right? No, it isn’t. And I think things have changed since I left the business probably 15 years ago, okay. And I’m happy to hear that. So I gotta say, I was guilty of it not being prevalent until the movement started. And then once the movement started, you could see that and it was so apparent. Okay. Now, the salary injustice, was there a salary injustice? Again, because I didn’t work with that many woman. I wasn’t aware of that. But I guess I believe it. I think it’s true that the woman probably suffered, you know, you know, when there pays in the favor of men, okay, because I’ve heard statistics of that. So I’m gonna say I believe that, yes. So. Yeah. So anyways, it did affect me. And I was happy to see that movement started, and I was happy. Hopefully, it’s gonna continue to have some success. And we’ve had, you know, you can see it a little bit with our vice president. We’ve had vice presidents, and heads of states and other countries. So it’s, it’s getting there still needs improvement, though.
PR (28:19) –
Yeah. All right. So now piggybacking off of something else, you talked about your military background? I wasn’t told much of it. I never heard really any specifics about it. So like, how did that all get started? did you enlist? Were you drafted and what was it like during that specific kind of tumultuous time in history just being in the military of the United States?
Bryan Ray (28:51) –
Okay. I am listed, but if you went to college at the time, you were deferred from have thing that they had to draft in place during Vietnam, okay. And if you hit a physical every year by the army to make sure I was physically fit to be drafted, okay. But because I was taking full time college course, every semester, then I was exempt, okay. However, my last year, they decided to eliminate that. Okay, and you weren’t going to be deferred. And I goodness, they came out with it in mind last semester, and I thought, oh, no, no, correct me now let me finish. So they hit a lottery system, okay. And my number came up as 208. So they’re gonna have to go through one through 207 before they got to me, okay, and what they anticipated from what I gathered from the press and the media is a we’re going to hit 208 in September. So I was going to make it and I didn’t make it. I graduated. Okay. Now, did I want to go in the military? No, I, I wanted to at the time, I wanted to be a teacher. Okay. So I would prefer being a teacher overcall the military, do I have a commitment to satisfy my loyalty to a company or to the country? And do I need to satisfy it? Yes, I can see that. So I had a recruiter come to my house and say to me, Brian, you’re getting drafted, why don’t you sign up? Instead of get drafted?
Bryan Ray (30:39) –
If you get drafted, you probably going to infantry and go right to Vietnam. And so he offered me to become an officer. And he said, I would be an intelligence. And watch for people that would be deserting. Enamel would be my job. So I thought, and all about that. Okay. So then my brother, my two brothers were in the military. One was a paratrooper. That was Dick. And my my brother Bill, my younger brother, Bill, he was in the inventory inventory in Vietnam, and he became a disabled vet, he was shot. One boat went through his wife going in, and the other he was shot in his back, and he was shot in the face, and the boy was telling his brain. So my father said to me, I don’t know if you should be going to Vietnam after we saw what happened to him. Okay, so he was he there was an impact and sort of shook us up quite a bit. Because so anyways, what my brother in law called me and says, Brian, you know, what, they’re open up the reserve unit. At that time, the army was not calling up their reserve units, they do that now. Okay, but at the time, they were drafting people instead of calling up the reserves. So I thought, you know, I don’t want to be a chicken or, you know, not pay my dues. And but I would prefer not going into the war zone. Okay. So I joined the Reserves. And I enjoyed it. I was a teacher in the reserves, because I was going to be a teacher on the outside, which made it even better. So I enjoyed, I wanted to be a teacher and everything. So that worked out the army use me as a teacher. And, and the other thing is, I did six years, and I join it, and I also made some good friends from the military. So it was a winning situation for me. And and so I, I gotta say, I had no problems with of course, being with the army. So. Alrighty.
PR (33:00) –
All right. So last question. And it’s more on now and not back then. How was your life today been impacted by all the significant social events that happened during your earlier years in life?
Bryan Ray (33:29) –
I think first off while we’re just touched on the the war situation in Vietnam, I losing friends in that war, and now I lost I know people that would lost in the, in the Iraqi war. Okay. And so, I guess I’d become very concerned for our leadership, not for sowing alternatives to war, okay, which in, you know, which in cases they do like, and we’re starting to do that, where we do the instead of having a military conflict, where we’re, we’re doing sanctions, we’re hitting people back to concept in countries that are giving us a tough time. So I’m going to say, from my experience, from earlier in life, I’m happy to see that our government is using that approach, and using every disposal for it to create a situation with a happy ending without using the military force. And they found ways of doing it like the sanctions. And you know, in any Kennedy’s case, the blockade, for example, so, so I mean, Everything about that.
Bryan Ray (35:05)-
The other thing that my youth has taught me Yeah, it is my, you mentioned the, the integration issue and the racial issue.
Bryan Ray (35:29) –
I was always taught to, and this is part of my religion too is to treat people. Right. Okay. And not and not judge them or discriminate against them. So I guess I’m, I’m happy I experienced it as a youth and his grant me great pleasure because I got some very good friends but like, my neighbor is a person of color, and he’s the best neighbor you’ve ever want to have in the world. So I’m glad I’m not the one sitting there thinking about discrimination all the time. And so that that’s good. The other thing is, my father was a lawyer. And he was very conscientious about education. Okay, and what an education to do for you. So I guess that influenced me. And I’m glad he did, because I was glad. And I still to this day, love to learn I took two college courses just two years ago. Just, you know, the satisfying interest in retirement, and so that, that love to learn, mentality has stayed with me throughout my wife, and I’m happy I got there, because a great speech gives me great joy to, to learn, and to learn new things. Let me see what else I guess the the other thing is parenting, my I have four boys and 13 grandchildren. And I, you know, I never knew my grandchildren, my grandparents.
Bryan Ray (37:22) –
So I never had that experience. So it wasn’t important to me. I did have parents that were great parents. So parenting was very important to me. And that stayed with me my whole life again, and I’m glad my parents were good and taught me good, because I trust that I became a good parent. But the grandchildren I didn’t know. And then when one of my grandchildren was born, I was at work. And one of the ladies said to me, Bryan, why aren’t you so excited? I says, Why am I really excited? And she said to me, why didn’t you have a good relationship with your grandparents? I just know. I never know. She says, I did. I had the best relationship, my wife with my grandparents. So she says you’re gonna you missed out on it, but don’t let your grandchildren miss on and so I tried to be a good grandparent. Okay. And I learned that from that way, he actually pointed out to me, so. So there yeah, there’s been a lot of influences in my life that I have enjoyed and what I experienced and so so that’s, that’s that that’s a story on that. Oh.
PR (38:35) –
Yeah. Well, that’s all the questions I have. So, thanks for answering them. I’m gonna stop recording now.
Bryan Ray (38:43) –
Okay. All right. Happy to participate. Thanks.
Follow Up To the Interview:
After interviewing my grandfather I spent a good time after having a conversation with him, while I was not recording, about the experiences he went through. He was very animate about the fact that all these events he talked about shaped him and his mindset in life. Another big thing he talked about was the fact that he loves talking about his experiences. He enjoys letting people know about his life, and he expressed his joy in being able to take part in this interview. He is a fascinating man with lots of complex encounters throughout his life. This interview was a chance for him to relive and help me to understand his life even more through media that now can be shared with the public.
Bibliography:
Dunne, Matthew W. A Cold War State of Mind: Brainwashing and Postwar American Society. University of Massachusetts Press, 2013. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vkbcz. Accessed 8 Mar. 2023.
Davis, Maddie, et al. “The Space Race.” Miller Center, 28 Jan. 2021, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/space-race.