Veterans History Project
1714 items
- Notes:
- Karol Darling was born Michigan in 1921 and joined the Navy in 1931 and trained in the Wave Program. She worked in Georgia and Florida training pilots in the Navy to take off from air craft carriers. Karol was discharged after working in Jacksonville for one year due to an illness.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Jager grew up in Michigan and was drafted in 1943 and trained in Florida to be a replacement infantryman. In April of 1944 he went to England on a converted troop ship. George received chemical warfare training and then landed on Omaha Beach 10 days after D-day. He was a machine gunner and fought in battles at Normandy, Mortain, and the Hurtgen Forest. George was injured once at Mortain by a bullet and again at the Hurtganen Forest by a bomb. He was sent to a field hospital and then a back the US because of his swamp foot. He served for a short time after arriving home and then was discharged. After he was discharged he went to college and became a teacher. A map and magazine article are appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2009-01-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morris Vander Veen is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Marines from 1944 to 1946. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. and the Pacific. Serving his active duty in the Pacific Theater, Vander Veen gives one a brief but detailed perspective of what island-hopping fighting was like specifically focusing on the fighting on Okinawa. He then discusses in some detail what his occupational duties and responsibilities were while stationed in northern China.
- Date Created:
- 2005-01-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Handwritten V-Mail letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated January 14, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated January 25, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes to Agnes as he enjoys a beautiful sunny day overseas and discusses the song "You'll Never Know" as a means to keep him in her thoughts.
- Date Created:
- 1944-01-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Drury was born in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He received his draft notice shortly after finishing high school in 1969. He did his Army basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then advanced training for airborne at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. He was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd of the 506th, 101st Airborne Division, which was based at Camp Evans in the far north of South Vietnam. His company conducted a series of combat patrols of varying lengths in the spring and summer of 1970, and was involved in heavy fighting near Firebase Maureen in May and Firebase Ripcord in July. After being wounded in the Ripcord fight, he returned to his unit, but the company did not see much further action. He spent much of his time in Vietnam as a radio operator, eventually becoming his company's RTO, and finally being assigned to the battalion headquarters at Camp Evans for the last part of his tour. He returned to the US early in 1971 and finished his enlistment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steve Hickel was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956. He attended several colleges and then enlisted in the Navy on June 6, 1975. He started out as a Sonar Technician on a nuclear fast attack submarine. Their mission was to find enemy subs, monitor and record them and if necessary destroy them during the Cold War. He was first sent to the Mediterranean Sea where he became an officer and then traveled around on the Pacific Ocean. Steve was called back as a Commander in 1995 and went to Europe to install computer systems.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Armond Hillock is a World War II veteran who served with the Sigma Corps within the U.S. Army from January 1943 to an undisclosed date. Hillock discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. He briefly discusses where his active duty took him; among many places he served were France, Luxembourg, and Germany. In addition, he briefly describes his battle experience along the Rhine. Hillock concludes by sharing some final thoughts about his time in the service and what his time after the service involved.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Kissinger was born in Gary, IN in 1948 and served in the Air Force between 1972 and 2002. He decided to join the Air Force upon completion of high school and attended training to become a helicopter pilot, and later trained in fixed wing aircraft as well. He worked in Nevada, Panama, Texas, South Carolina, New Mexico, Iceland, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He did a number of different jobs, including pilot, flight instructor, and management. He retired from the Air Force in 2002, and works for a website which helps military families during their transitions from base to base.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe Lange was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 9th, 1947. After graduating high school, Lange married and briefly attended college before getting a full-time job and receiving his draft notice. After receiving his draft noticed, Lange went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and advanced training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia to be a generator mechanic. Once he completed the training at Fort Belvoir, Lange returned home before deploying to Vietnam to serve for a year in the 124th Signal Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Mangold was born on June 9, 1952 in Saginaw, Michigan. Charles enlisted in the Navy in December of 1970 and went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through Basic Propulsion Engineering School and Machinist Aid School. Charles trained for submarine service for one year and then boarded his first submarine in 1971. Charles traveled to Hawaii, Japan, and Korea while on active duty and worked as a machinist's mate.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)