Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:12 | Peter Ruplenas remembers beginning his service at basic training and learning how to be a good soldier in preparation for World War II.
Keywords : Training World War II Boston MA basic Air Force airplane soldier teamwork Camaraderie
Growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, Peter Ruplenas always had a sense of family and community with the people he grew up with. Joining the military around the same time as his brother John turned out to be a defining moment in his life.
Peter Ruplenas remembers being trained as a photographer to capture the events of the war. Fortunately, operating the camera came easily to him and so he began to excel at it.
After re-enlisting in the service, Peter Ruplenas served as a photographer during the Korean War. He remembers being well-received whenever he had his camera because people always appreciated having the moment captured.
While stationed in Vietnam, Peter Ruplenas had a number of enemy interactions that turned out to be extremely close calls and left him with a few injuries. Being a photographer, capturing these moments was still very important to him despite the difficulties.
The 35mm camera was Peter Ruplenas' favorite piece of equipment to use while out on project capturing moments in the service. The challenges of keeping film safe before it was developed became easier over time.
