Senator George McGovern: A Man Remembered

Born in Avon, SD, Senator McGovern was raised in Mitchel, SD, and always remained close to his South Dakota community. In his presidential run in 1972 he proved himself an important voice to the anti-war movement during Vietnam, his words echoing through the decades as they were then used to describe the fighting in Iraq in the 2000s. Though he turned 90 this past July, McGovern remained a staunch advocate for peace and ending hunger in the United States and all over the world. In her remarks about the Senator's passing Susan Milligan of U.S. News said, "McGovern was a decent, gentle soul. He was a humble man who never bragged about the dozens of combat missions he flew in World War II. He didn't want to talk about his heroism in war; he was more interested in talking about the fight against hunger. He got into politics because he wanted to help people and to spread peace. And he accomplished that as much when he was out of office as when he was serving in the U.S. Senate." 

While many words will continue to be written about Senator George McGovern, his passing, at 5:15 a.m. on Sunday and the impact he left, the South Dakota Oral History Center wishes to leave you with his voice. The following interview clips, from SDOHP3179, were recorded by Donald C Simmons, Jr, on November 9th 2004, in Mitchell, SD, at Dakota Wesleyan University, following the 2004 McGovern Conference. This interview details different experiences from Senator McGovern's life such at the importance of the Missouri and James Rivers, being a student pilot at Dakota Wesleyan University, contemporary politics from 2004, his values and politics, the media, Vietnam, Native Politics from 2004, his first awareness of Native Americans, Harrington Family, and the Lake/Moody County Democratic Party.

 "[...] To Change your mind is to say, I'm wiser today than I was yesterday [...]."

George McGovern 

(SDOHP3179 00:06:09)

- Jennifer E. McIntyre, Digitizer/Curator

Thank you for your continued interest in the South Dakota Oral History Center.

If you have any questions about the information contained in this blog, please contact sdohc@usd.edu.

Please contact us at sdohc@usd.edu or 605-677-6386 for additional information about our collections and how you can become more involved!

Sources:

Eaton, Kristi. Associated Press. 10/2012. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iKS5bX7SCM61oUCXew0uRFkY9KIQ?docId=0400f6f2b9d649ad87a62c690386d0dd