United States, 39.76, -98.5United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018Wheeler, Peter, 1922-Cobb, James C.Stueck, William Whitney, 1945-2006-06-14Interviewed by William Stueck and James C. Cobb.Related collections held by this repository: Reflections on Georgia Politics Oral History Collection, ROGP 000-06 Pete Wheeler.Peter Wheeler was born in Crawford, Georgia on October 19, 1922. He attended the University of Georgia, where he majored in education, and was called to active duty in the army upon his graduation in 1943. He was discharged from the army in 1946, and attended the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta at night, while working for the Federal Office of Price Administration. In 1949 he was named Commissioner of Veterans Services in the Herman Talmadge administration, an office he has held for 14 terms under eleven governors. Mr. Wheeler was president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs in 1964 to 1965, has served on the National Veterans Day Committee, and was Chairman of the National World War II Memorial Advisory Board from 1994 to 2004.Finding aid available in repository.Bill Stueck and Jim Cobb interview Georgia Commissioner of Veterans Services Pete Wheeler about his long career, his development of the "Supermarket of Veterans Services," and his involvement with the National World War II Memorial Committee. Wheeler recalls growing up in Crawford, Georgia, and attending Crawford High School. He discusses attending Emory at Oxford before attending the University of Georgia. Wheeler discusses working in the Office of Price Administration after getting out of the service after World War II. He recalls working in the office of rent control as rent director for Northwest Georgia in Rome. Wheeler discusses the importance of the Department of Veterans Services and explains the duties of the Commissioner of Veteran Affairs. He mentions a specific project he undertook to identify all the Veterans in the former state mental hospital, Central State Hospital, in Milledgeville and to provide the services these veterans are entitled to. Wheeler discusses his work with veterans from other wars such as the Spanish-American War and the widows of soldiers who had faught in the American Civil War. He explains his wife's experience during World War II and the employment of the rest of his family during the war. Wheeler recalls the desegregation of the veteran's home in Milledgeville and the importance of the Veteran's Administration. Wheeler comments on his relationships with Senator Russell, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Zell Miller, and Joe Frank Harris. He describes an annual golf tournament that raises money for homeless veterans.video/mp4enghttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Richard B. Russell Library Oral History Documentary collection, 1986-2006http://russelldoc.galib.uga.edu/russell/view?docId=ead/RBRL175OHD-ead.xmlVeteransUnited StatesUniversities and colleges--Alumni and alumnaeGeorgia. State Department of Veterans ServiceUnited States. Veterans AdministrationGeorgiaVeterans--United StatesVeterans--GeorgiaUniversity of GeorgiaWorld War, 1939-1945Pete Wheeler interviewed by William Stueck and James C. Cobb, 14 June 2006.MovingImage