Veterans History Project
1714 items
- Notes:
- Chester Bovee was born in Michigan on June 10, 1923 and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps when he was 19 years old. He went through basic training at Contra Field in Texas where he also worked as an electrician. Chester later got a high enough test score to move on to be a pilot and was sent to the University of Montana to take academic courses. He then went to pre-flight school in Santa Ana, California before he was sent to Thunderbird Field in Arizona for primary flight school. After training he had met his new crew in Roswell, New Mexico and they were getting ready to go to the Pacific before they heard that the war was over.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Krzeminski was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1919. His family suffered during the Depression, and he left high school and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936, serving two stints, and then joined the Army in 1940. After training at Fort Ord, California, he joined the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Division, at Camp Clatsop, Oregon. His battalion was sent to the Aleutian Islands in April, 1941, and stayed for three years. He witnessed the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor in 1942 and helped with preparations for later American landings on Attu and Kiska, and then went to Camp Robinson, Arkansas, to serve as a trainer until he was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Rich Natte was born in 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was forced to quit his schooling at the age of sixteen so that he could provide for his family. Rich found a job at a local furniture store until being drafted in 1943. He spent six weeks at basic training in Gulf Port, Mississippi and spent an additional six weeks at a carpentry school in Virginia. Rich was then sent from Rhode Island to Norwich, England where he served with the 491st Engineer Battalion doing airbase maintenance. After the war was over he spent one more month in France before being sent home and discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dave Snyder was born in 1949 in Painesville, Ohio. After graduating from high school in 1967, Snyder held a series of jobs before receiving his draft notice in 1969. After processing into the military in nearby Cleveland, Snyder went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for his basic training. From Fort Campbell, Snyder moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for advanced training in field artillery then attended Non-Commissioned Officer School, also at Fort Sill. Once he finished NCO school, Snyder spent a few months in a training battalion stationed at Fort Sill before deploying to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Snyder received an assignment to Alpha Battery of the 2nd of the 11th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division. The main weapon of the 2nd of the 11th was the 155mm artillery gun and once in his gun section, Snyder received the position of gunner. After Snyder arrived, his battery moved to several different hilltop firebases before finally arriving at Firebase Ripcord. While stationed on Ripcord, the battery participated in the weeks-long siege of the firebase by enemy forces. Once the siege ended, the battery moved to another firebase, where it was when Snyder's tour ended and he rotated back to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mary Moore was born in 1932 and grew up outside of Detroit, Michigan. She played ball with the boys in vacant lots in her neighborhood growing up, and met some of the Detroit Tiger players who lived in the area. She was recruited into the AAGPBL in 1950, and played second base that season for the Springfield Sallies barnstorming team. Their season included games played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., and at Yankee Stadium. She was drafted by the Battle Creek Belles for the 1951 season, but an offseason injury kept her from playing that year. She returned to the league in 1952, only to have another injury cut short her playing career. After baseball, she worked for Michigan Bell for 35 years and continued to play and coach softball. When the league began holding reunions, she recorded short video interviews with 184 former players, coaches and chaperones, which are now archived with the league's collection in South Bend, Indiana.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth Vander Molen is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army, first as an infantry replacement and then later in the regular army from August 1945 to December 1946. In this account, Vander Molen discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. and active duty in the Philippines and Japan. Among the interesting things Vander Molen discusses is the fighting on Cebu and his time in Japan during its occupation.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Frederiksen was born on October 29, 1925 in West Point, New York but grew up in Newaygo, Michigan. On February 3, 1944 he enlisted in the Army Air Force with the intention of becoming a pilot. He received basic training at Miami Beach, Florida and after the Aviation Cadets program ended he selected Radio School. He received radio training in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and then went to Yuma, Arizona for Gunnery School. He joined a bomber crew in Lincoln, Nebraska and did Overseas Training with them before deploying to the South Pacific. He and his crew were assigned to a B-24 Liberator bomber in the 372nd Bombardment Squadron of the 307th Bombardment Group of the 13th Air Force based on the island of Biak. He flew on bombing missions hitting targets on islands in the South Pacific. Over the course of 1944 and 1945 they moved to Morotai, then to Leyte, and were at Clark Field in the Philippines after Japan's formal surrender on September 2, 1945. He stayed in the Reserves for four years after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Kennedy was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 17, 1924. He grew up there and in the summer of 1942 was drafted into the Army Air Force. He received basic training at Bowman Field, Kentucky and was then sent to Salt Lake City, Utah for medic training. He was eventually transferred to a regular medical battalion in the Army and was stationed in Indiana. In early 1945 he shipped out of the United States and arrived in France. His unit followed Patton's Third Army across northern France and over the Rhine River into Germany. After the war ended his unit established a field hospital and stayed for the rest of 1945. In 1946 he was shipped back to the United States and was discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 3, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 7, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes after being pleased to receive her latest letter and writing her a long letter the day before. He continues to describe his appreciation for her lipstick imprints and his happiness as they make plans for the future.
- Date Created:
- 1944-04-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Duane Endres was born on a farm in Michigan in 1924. He was drafted into the Navy 1945. Prior to this he received a deferment due to his work at Michigan State University. He remained on the home front during his service and was stationed in Norman, Oklahoma, and Livermore, California. He was a seaman 2nd class, worked in the mess hall in Oklahoma, and was assigned to refrigeration in California. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)