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Ellie Coggins
22 November 2015
Professor Leech
ENGL2089-032
Wisdom from the Past for Todays Student: An Interview with Charlie Carraher
With their entire life ahead of them, few eighteen year olds look to the past. Rather, they
look towards the future, which for many consists of going to college, and within the bubble that
is college from parties to classes the focus of these newly emerging adults remains on the
present and the future. More often than not, college is looked at as the final four years of fun and
a means to land a job. Charlie Carraher, aged 93 and native of West End Cincinnati, though,
believes that receiving a college education is a gift and that one cannot look to the future without
possessing a good understanding of the past. Through Charlies experiences fighting in World
War II and paving his own career path, he shows the importance of knowing our history,
treasuring education, and studying humanities for todays college student.
While most of todays young adult population is attending college or preparing to enter
the workforce, nineteen-year old Charlie was preparing to head to World War II. He grew up in a
pivotal time for the nation; most of his youth was spent amidst the Great Depression, and by age
18, America was once again on the brink of entering into a world war. As a graduate of Norwood
High School, Charlies original plan was to attend DePauw University on a baseball scholarship,
pledge the DU fraternity there, and study journalism. When America entered WWII, though,
Charlie chose to enlist, which he did while attending a dance with five of his friends in
Lexington when he saw a recruiter in their hotel lobby. You were asked to do a job and you did
it, he says. Pearl Harbor triggered great patriotism, and at the time, I was there to serve my

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country. He ultimately was accepted into the Army Air Corp where he was, by age 21, a pilot
overseas in England, France, and Germany. His squadrons job was to drop parachutists, combat
gliders, and supplies and evacuate the wounded and prisoners of war.
At age twenty, he too admits that he was not looking towards the future. For him and the
other young men that fought alongside him, combat was mere survival. In retrospect, Charlie
fully believes that the generations following his owe much to the Allied Powers victory versus
Germany and the Axis Powers. He says, You have to go back to this fact: what wouldve
happened if we had lost the war? If the Germans had conquered the UK, and ultimately the
USA? They suppressed education, freedom of speech, literature. Because we won the war, young
people today have the freedom of choice. In a nation that is guided by the Constitution and Bill
of Rights that grants personal freedom to all, it is difficult to imagine a world without our
personal liberties. Charlie argues that knowing our history is vital to appreciating who we are as
a nation because we owe so much our freedom to those of the past.
This revelation becomes even more applicable for todays generation of college students
when it comes to the ability to receive a college education. After returning from the War in 1946,
Charlie met his future wife, Joyce, and married her the next year, which was why he neither went
back into the service nor attended college and instead went directly into the workforce. He
observes that a lot of young people today do not realize how fortunate they are to be able to go to
school. As someone who never had the college opportunity, Charlie genuinely advises all youth
to remember that being able to get an education is a treasure. I would have liked to have had a
college education, he says, though I do not regret a lot.
He goes on to connect the importance of knowing and appreciating our history with the
belief that education is a gift. By looking back on our national history, Charlie shares that while

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the Revolutionary War was fought to gain our freedom, World War II was fought to preserve
and retain that freedom. The Germans sought to suppress education, which Charlie equates with
freedom, and at the cost of nearly 400,000 lives and abundant sacrifices from all Americans,
personal liberty remained intact. Ultimately, though, Charlie believes that while college is a true
blessing, it should not simply be a means to an end. He argues, Applying education is
something important. We need education to better our civilization and that is the true American
ideal. In the end, college should not be wasted as either just an outlet for a social life or as a
means to land a job, but rather, it should be used as an opportunity to discover ones passions and
learn how to make a difference.
After returning from the War, Charlie worked hard to build his diverse career since he did
not go back to school. Before the War, he worked as a paper boy with the Cincinnati Enquirer,
the company he returned to upon coming home. He had a range of positions, from Circulation
Director to Community Relations Director, and upon retirement, he was Assistant to the
Publisher. While at the Enquirer, he discovered a passion for motivational speaking, which he
later turned into a full time career and was able to speak to people all over the country, including
various businesses, colleges, and sports teams. He also spent two years working with the WCET
television station. These varied experiences throughout his working career instilled in Charlie a
great respect for the humanities.
Although he never went to college and was not trained in the liberal arts, Charlie believes
in the importance of incorporating humanities into education to create well rounded individuals.
Overall, studies in the humanities help develop a good understanding of people, thus the root
human in the word humanity. By far, Charlie believes that the greatest thing that humanities
teach is how to have a good relationship with others, which he summarizes by saying, It helps

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you empathize with others and accept them in the direction they are coming from without being
offended. In his own experience working with labor unions as Community Relations Director at
the Enquirer, Charlie found that it was easier to get results when he tried to understand where
they were coming from by simply listening. For todays college student, there is nothing wrong
with searching for knowledge, Charlie insists, and it is amazing where you can find it, even by
simply talking with someone outside of your circle or engaging in volunteer work. Humanities
constantly encourage engaging with different ideas on a regular basis, helping grow this pool of
personal knowledge.
Although Charlie has been long retired, he continues to live by his ideals. His form of
humanities studies comes through daily reading of the newspaper, which he reads from cover to
cover. Despite the disappearance of printed newspapers and the popularity of online articles,
Charlie believes that nothing takes the place of sitting down and reading the newspaper. I can
peruse a paper as long as I want to, go back again and again, with no rush, so I get more out of it.
I never want to stop being educated. This keeps me from going stale and keeps my mind alert.
Since he could not go to college, he is incredibly grateful for those who mentored him. When he
became established in his career, he tried to return that gift by mentoring other young people, and
he fully believes that education and mentoring together is the key for young people to succeed
and help society grow.
Overall, Charlies life reflects the importance of knowing our history, valuing college
education, and keeping humanities an important part of life for todays college students. He has
truly lived a full life, which is visible through the wisdom he imparts on those who take time to
know him. To sum up his ideas, he concluded with three pieces of advice he wished to give to
young people: One value the education that youre getting. It is a privilege. Dont take it for

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granted. Two prepare yourself to really believe that you can make a difference in this world,
and three prepare so you can give back to society through volunteering or special services.
These three pieces of wisdom truly reflect a life well lived, and for those who know Charlie well,
they reflect the legacy he leaves for generations to come.