Oral history interview with Charlotte Pittman conducted by Vanessa Concepcion, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Charlotte discuses her heritage and family's histories as well as her childhood growing up in Manila, Philippines with her cousins and Lola (paternal grandmother). She talks about immigrating to the United States and growing up in Pueblo, Colorado before attending the Air Force Academy to become a pilot and moving to Las Vegas with her husband. Charlotte also shares memories from her time serving in the Air Force, her plans to retire in the near future, and her current activities with her family.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jean Munson conducted by Vanessa Concepcion, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on November 30, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Jean discusses her childhood growing up in Guam, the nursing career path of her parents, and her decision to pursue an "unconventional path" as a comic book artist. She talks about her education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, her passion for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community within Las Vegas, and her roles in community activism and leadership. Jean also shares her current pursuits as a podcaster of Bruha Baddies, co-owner and printer of Plot Twist Publishing, and co-founder of the Comic and Zines Festival.
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Oral history interview with Ropchai, Somphool, Sakulrat, Puonyarat, and Rutt Premsrirut conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on November 23, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. The Premsrirut family takes turns sharing their personal and professional histories and what brought them to Las Vegas, Nevada. Father Ropchai discusses his educational background and how he came to be an Economics Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas after growing up in Nong Khai, Thailand. Mother Somphool, born in the same town in Thailand, shares her path in pursuing medicine and becoming a pediatrician. Siblings Sakulrat, Puonyarat, and Rutt talk about their childhoods growing up in the United States and their current professional pursuits.
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Oral history interview with Charmaine Lai conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on November 24, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Charmaine recounts her childhood growing up Hakka Chinese in South Africa. She discusses both the positives of growing up in South Africa, including the beautiful scenery and her family's cooking and traditions, and the negatives including the discrimination she faced in school and in her work. Charmaine also talks about her immigration to the United States, raising her three children, and her work as a real estate agent.
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Oral history interview with Chuck Johnson conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 17, 2021, December 15, 2021, and January 14, 2022 for the Veterans Oral History Project of Southern Nevada.
Chuck discusses his enlistment in the Army at the age of 16 and his tours of duty during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He shares stories from his 21 year military career and talks about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), his injuries, and how the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill) helped him to settle in Nevada.
During his second interview session, Chuck reflects on his time spent in Korea and how he came to establish the Korean War Memorial in Boulder City, Nevada. He shares more stories from his service in Vietnam and Germany. Chuck also talks about his family's history and his mother's family tree.
During his third interview session, Chuck shares more memories of serving in Korea and Vietnam, especially the Tet Offensive attacks during the Vietnam War. He recalls stories from his childhood, including leading his high school's ROTC Color Guard for President John F. Kennedy hours before the President's assassination.
Subjects discussed include: MASH; Agent Orange
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Oral history interview with Kim You Taing conducted by Vanessa Concepcion, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on November 15, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Kim discusses his upbringing in Cambodia during the Cambodian Civil War, the death of his siblings from tragedy and his father from racially-motivated war crimes, and his immigration to the United States as a refugee. He shares how he and his mother lived and worked in the United States, first in Seattle, Washington and then in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kim talks about his work in the hospitality industry in various Vegas hotels and casinos and his membership with the Culinary Workers Union advocating for Asian workers. He also discusses family life with his wife and daughter and his plans to retire.
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Oral history interview with Jose Alvarez conducted by Kendall Worthington, Chava Haron, Dr. Norma Lisa Flores, and Claytee D. White on November 28, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Jose Alvarez talks about his early life in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sharing what it was like growing up there. He shares his family history as well as his immigration to the United States. He first moved to New York City, New York, working as a dishwasher and/or busboy in New York City restaurants and resorts in the Catskills. In 1968, Alvarez moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when he got a job at the Landmark Hotel. He shares his experiences working in the hospitality industry for 22 years. Alvarez also discusses playing and watching soccer.
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Oral history interview with Arturo Amaya conducted by Laurents Banuleos-Benitez, Barbara Tabach and Genoveva Yuli Amaya on December 05, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Arturo Amaya discusses his early life in Peru, sharing stories of his family history and early life. He recalls his education and law school in Peru, as well as his legal career. Amaya was elected into to district attorney, and he discusses his experiences working in the criminal justice field in Peru. After visiting his brother in Las Vegas, Nevada, Amaya decided to immigrate with his family to Las Vegas in 2003. In Las Vegas, Amaya is a painter by trade, but was instrumental in establishing the Peruvian Association in Las Vegas. Genoveva Yuli Amaya also participates in the interview. Genoveva shares more of the Amaya family history from her point of view. She also shares her knowledge of Peruvian cultural traditions.
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Oral history interview with Adela Montes De Oca conducted by Laurents Banuelos-Benitez on December 06, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Adela Montes De Oca discusses her early life in Mexico and describes her childhood as a happy and festive one. As an adult, Montes De Oca aspired to be a teacher, but could not due to financial hardship. She shares how this affected her life and influenced her career choice, instead becoming a social worker. Montes De Oca recalls what she learned after spending twenty years working with children in Mexican orphanages. In 2003, Montes De Oca decided to move to Las Vegas, Nevada to join her family who had immigrated years prior. She discusses her immigration and her new career in Las Vegas. She shares her views on the importance of unions and her experiences working with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 as an event organizer and union manager.
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Oral history interview with Stephen Round conducted by Claytee D. White on October 25, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Stephen A. Round, a career military contractor, describes his experiences during the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Round mentions moving to Las Vegas in 2013 and in later years staying at the Aria on the evening of October 1. He describes the chaos of the shooting and the 12-hour-plus lockdown at the Aria hotel and casino. The day after the shooting, Round built a memorial around the shooting site and protected it. Once the memorabilia of that first site was taken to the Clark County Museum, he moved to protect the second memorial at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign where crosses devoted to the victims had been placed. Along with his preservation of the memorials, Round describes his preparation of a book that was signed by many who visited the sites. Round explains that he was able to see some of the best and worst of humanity during those days of watching and caring for the memorial sites as well as helping any victims, families of the victims, and sympathizers of the Las Vegas 2017 shooting.
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