Oral history interview with Christina Gruber conducted by Barbara Tabach on March 2, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Gruber shares her experience living in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1997 and as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), mother of two, and physical fitness enthusiast. She recalls being shot during the Route 91 Harvest Festival and being rescued by strangers. She recalls the chaos of the evening, but also how strangers worked together to comfort each other amidst the terror. She discusses dedicated her athletic races to those who were murdered that evening, and how it has helped her recovery.
Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.
Sgt. Steve Riback is a Detective Sergeant for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He has been with the police force for nearly twenty years. On the night of the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, he had just returned home shortly after 10pm. He had been on an overtime assignment at the Golden Knights hockey game at the T-Mobile prior to the shooting. When he was abruptly awaken by a call from his lieutenant, he was oblivious to the time and immediately rushed into action—contacted his squad members and sped to his station in northwest part of the city. He reflects on his overwhelming pride of the police that day, recalling what he heard on his police radio, seeing the rush of police cars being dispatched, and watching a body camera video later. Sgt. Riback’s squad was assigned to Spring Valley Hospital where they worked tirelessly to identify victims, both injured and deceased. His reflections stir the image of medical professionals and police officers urgently fusing together to handle the situation at hand. Riback shares a myriad of emotions, talks about the options available for officers to deal with their personal trauma, and how he explained to his eight-year-old why Daddy was crying. Riback is also known as the Kosher Cop and has authored a book, My Journey Home, about becoming an observant Orthodox Jewish officer and his struggle for the right to wear his beard and a yarmulke while on duty.
"Don Ashbaugh served in both World War I and World War II as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes and as editor of an airbase newspaper. And in between he graduated from the University of Southern California in 1927 and worked on newspapers from Manila to Paris, including nine years in Los Angeles, first with the Los Angeles County News and then with the Los Angeles Times.
In 1934 he joined the publicity department of Paramount Pictures. When World War II broke out in 1941, he joined the army.
Mary Kozlowski Pichot was born on October 23, 1939 in Town of Lake, Wisconsin to parents George and Mary Kupec. She was an American environmentalist and activist and she worked to preserve various areas such as Red Rock Canyon and Tule Springs.
For Kelly Benavidez (b. 1976), life began in the northern California community of Daly City in a Spanish-speaking household. Her parents, Amelia and Genaro Benavidez, were among the few Latinos in their area at the time. Her parents felt strongly about immersing Kelly and her older brother in their Mexican culture. They made the important decision to return to Jalisco, Mexico with their young children.