Narrative

While friends Chiara Cox and Elen Callahan did not grow up together, they share a similar journey. They were both born in the Philippines, but eventually moved to the United States. Although they sought to assimilate into their new American culture, they began to long for the people and traditions they had once known in their youth.

When Harriet Hancock's middle child, Greg, came out to her as gay, she instantly accepted and supported him. But she learned that his friends who were gay had not received the same kind of acceptance as she had given her son.

After three months of explosive ordnance and heavy equipment training by the U.S. Army, 18-year-old Roger Thompson arrived for duty in Vietnam in March of 1968. During his service, he witnessed firsthand the terrors of war, which inspired his lifetime mission of helping fellow veterans who struggle with both the physical and mental effects of combat.

In the South Beltline and Gills Creek area of Columbia, many homes were extensively damaged by 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood.” Rachel Larratt, a survivor turned volunteer from that area, reflects on the water rising in her own home, as well as the deflated spirits of other survivors who continued to struggle to recover after the disaster.

In the neighborhoods surrounding Lake Katherine, one of the most heavily flooded areas in Columbia during October 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood,” locals, like Marwan Marzagao, went from house to house on Jon boats and pontoons to rescue neighbors trapped in their flooded homes.

Last week, Narrative focused on South Carolina students who survived 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood.” This week, the focus shifts to the other side of the classroom, through the eyes of two teachers.

This edition of Narrative continues our look back on the 10th anniversary of the historic “thousand-year” flood of October 2015, which devastated several communities across South Carolina.

A year after the 2015 floods, Columbia resident Beki Gettys and her son Eli sat down to talk about the morning they awoke to flood waters overtaking their neighborhood.

This edition of Narrative features an interview from StoryCorps, an oral history project that collects the voice of our time. At the StoryCorps mobile…

This edition of Narrative features an interview with veterans Dan Stover and Sheldon Bullock. Stover served in the Marine Corps during Operation Iraqi…