Veterans History Project
1714 items
- Notes:
- Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 2, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 5, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes discussing his family's upcoming Easter and his latest stroll around the countryside where he appreciated the beauty of Mother Nature and imagined being together with Agnes.
- Date Created:
- 1944-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edgar Harrell was born in western Kentucky in 1924. In 1943 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, received basic training in San Diego and was selected for Sea School to serve as a marine aboard a ship. Upon completion of training he was assigned to the USS Indianapolis. Edgar saw combat aboard the Indianapolis at major battles in the Pacific Theater including the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and the bombardment of Okinawa. After delivering the atomic bomb components to Tinian on July 26, 1945, the Indianapolis was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945. Edgar was one of the 317 men to survive the sinking of the Indianapolis and being stranded at sea. He was picked up on August 2, 1945, by the seaplane piloted by Lieutenant Marks and was transferred to the USS Cecil J. Doyle. He recovered at Peleliu, and was brought to Guam on the USS Tranquility. Edgar arrived in the US on October 2, 1945, but due to appendicitis was kept at Balboa Hospital until early November 1945, and was discharged from the Marines after that.
- Date Created:
- 2016-08-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- TJ Johnson was born in Chicago on October 19, 1952. Due to growing up in a challenging and often dangerous environment he decided to enlist in the Army (most likely August 1972). He received basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and field artillery training at Fort Hood, Texas. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 92nd Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas. He served as the acting staff sergeant in his unit and also served as a surveyor (gathering coordinates for artillery batteries) and the race relations non-commissioned officer. He served in West Germany for six months of field maneuvers. TJ completed his enlistment at Fort Hood, but remained in the Army Reserves (most likely until the late 1970s).
- Date Created:
- 2016-03-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roy Shoemaker Jr. was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1930. He grew up there, finished high school in 1949 and got a job at the Whirlpool factory, and was drafted into the army soon afterward, in late 1950. He trained at Fort Hood, Texas, and was assigned to the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, and trained with their Bridge Company. Mr. Shoemaker was close to his family growing up, and had a lot of respect for his community despite multiple nationalities and low-incomes. Not long after starting at Whirlpool in 1950, Mr. Shoemaker received a draft notice. He was processed at Fort Custer and then was transported to Fort Hood, Texas via train. At Fort Hood, Mr. Shoemaker received basic training and was assigned to the 16th Arms Unit, Bridge Company. He stayed with that unit over a year, during which time he met the singer Eddie Fisher and did musical acts with him on the base. In 1952, he received orders for Korea and was assigned to B Company of the 44th Construction Engineer Battalion, where he wound up as the company clerk because he could type. He spent seven months with this unit at Taegu, some distance back from the front lines. He saw no combat, but did get to see something of the country and meet the people. One notable dimension of this interviewer is that he offers commentary on the process of racial integration in the military. As an African American from the North, he had seen little by way of discrimination before going to Texas to train, and offers keen observations on different aspects of racial discrimination in both North and South, and of the Army's efforts to desegregate Fort Hood, which was in process while he was there.
- Date Created:
- 2017-10-18T00:00:00Z
- 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 26, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated February 6, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe describes his appreciation of Agnes' affection and the lipstick imprints he hopes she will include in her letters. He also writes about his eagerness to return home to see her and how he hopes to visit her parents' new home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 1944-01-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Handwritten letter with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated December 16, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while located in Belgium and asks for her forgiveness for not writing as often in recent weeks, sharing the news that he is being treated in the hospital and will be reclassified for "non-combatant duty" upon his return.
- Date Created:
- 1944-12-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Brummel served in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. He trained as a truck and ambulance driver and served as an ambulance driver on Okinawa, transporting Marines and Seabees wounded in action.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, and served in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to a destroyer which was used to guard convoys from submarines. He served initially in the Atlantic, but moved to the Pacific after VE day. He sailed to many places, including Brazil, North Africa, France, England, and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2005-08-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Erling Smestad enlisted in the Michigan National Guard in 1938 and served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division until June of 1945. His unit trained in Louisiana and was shipped first to the East Coast and then back across the country and across the Pacific to Australia and New Guinea, where it fought in a series of battles before going on to the Philippines. Smestad's account covers all of this, and includes good descriptions of different aspects of training and of trying to fight a war in a jungle without adequate supplies. His interview is featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea produced by Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jacob Werner served in the Army in World War II. He initially joined the Army in 1938 and served in Panama, until he was put on reserve. He was then called up in 1943, and served in Europe. He was a medium tank commander in an infantry battalion in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. Specifically, he served in the Hurtgen Forest and the Falaise Gap. He also served as a Special Services Officer in Germany after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)