OHD-007. A Conversation with Pete Wheeler is a discussion, with Dr. William Stueck and Dr. James Cobb, of Wheeler's long career as Georgia's Commissioner of Veterans Services. Wheeler discusses his early life, attending Emory at Oxford and the University of Georgia, and his work with the Office of Price Administration after getting out of the service after World War II. 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 also 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.

This video is from the Oral History Documentary Collection at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries.