Interview with David "Dave" Smilon, February 3, 2020

Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project

  • Description
  • Play Interview
  • Rights & Request
  • Citation

Interview Summary

David Smilon served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from 1962-1964 as an English as a second language (ESL) teacher. His assignment was remote: he had to travel by boat from Manilla to Cebu, then another 6 hours from Cebu City to the village. He was inspired by his admiration for Kennedy and by his idealism. He taught elementary students, mostly working with other teachers, and lived in a hut that had no electricity or running water with another Peace Corps volunteer. A villager helped them navigate the ins and outs of village life and cooked for them. He had one significant illness, amoebic dysentery. He remembers the warmth of the people most of all. He returned home appreciating and loving the U.S. even more despite its flaws and realizing that in the end, it is family that matters most. He continued teaching all over the world after leaving the Peace Corps.

Interview Accession

2021oh0148_pcrv0132

Interviewee Name

David "Dave" Smilon

Interviewer Name

Candice D. Wiggum

Interview Date

2020-02-03

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Restriction

No Restrictions


access interview in full screen  

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s). 


Smilon, David Interview by Candice D. Wiggum. 03 Feb. 2020. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Smilon, D. (2020, February 03). Interview by C. D. Wiggum. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Smilon, David, interview by Candice D. Wiggum. February 03, 2020, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.

Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7tfxrg49wr4