Veterans History Project
1714 items
- Notes:
- Lloyd and Grace Smock were both born in Wyandot, Michigan. Lloyd served in the Army during World War II. He served in the 56th Signal Repair Battalion. His unit was initially sent to France and Belgium, however after VE day they were sent to the Philippines. Generally, they spent their time destroying enemy electronics stockpiles and equipment. When Lloyd returned, he met and married Grace. Lloyd worked at a bank and Grace worked in the legal business.
- Date Created:
- 2005-12-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Allen Vande Vusse was born and raised in Holland, Michigan, and graduated from high school there in 1962. He married and got a job shortly afterward, and his marriage gave him a draft deferment, which he lost after getting divorced in 1968. Upon receiving his draft notice, he enlisted in the Marine Corps so as to stay out of the Army, joining in early 1969. He scored well on the aptitude tests and took specialized training in communications and took a four-year enlistment, which meant that he stayed in the US until January, 1971, when he was sent to Vietnam so serve as a radio operator for the 1st Marine Medical Battalion at Da Nang, where he communicated with helicopters bringing in wounded soldiers and the teams that met them upon landing. He served there for the better part of a year, but his tour was cut short by a serious intestinal problems which required hospitalization. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval hospital, and from there to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He extended his enlistment, and was able to move to California, where he trained as a drill instructor and eventually wound up as a recruiter in Buffalo, New York.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Vanderstow was born in 1926 and served in World War II. Vanderstow was drafted into the Army in 1944. He served in France, Germany, and Austria as a regular in the Infantry. He also worked at a desk job at a camp in Arkansas after the war was over
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Kloc served in the Air Force during World War II. He joined the Air Force prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and was called up for active duty on December 10, 1941. He worked as a bombardier on a B-24 aircraft in the Pacific Theatre. Some of the locations of his bombing runs included Borneo, New Guinea, and Indochina. He flew 45 missions before he was sent home, and he worked as an engineer after the War.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Claude Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan. After Pearl Harbor he voluntarily enlisted in the military in 1943 and was sent to Jefferson Barracks Missouri for basic training. In Yuma Arizona he was assigned to fly patrols using the B-25, the squadron involved with bombing Japan. Later he would be re-assigned to fly on the B-29. When the War ended he was discharged from the Air Force on December 1st 1945 and put into the reserves. He was considered to join the Korean War in 1950 however his job as an engineer was considered too crucial to be sent overseas.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-24T00:00:00Z
- 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 August 20, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated August 24, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes from an almond orchard in Sicily and hopes to hear more from his family regarding his two sisters who are in the hospital.
- Date Created:
- 1943-08-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roger Faber was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 5, 1945 where he graduated high school in 1964. He studies architecture at Ferris State College and went to work in Wisconsin before he was drafted into the Army. Faber attended Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He was then deployed to An Khê with Bravo Company, 1st Cavalry Division. His platoon guarded bridges and conducted Ambush duties in the Highlands. For the remainder of his tour in Vietnam, Faber served as an S1 Clerk for the Headquarters Battalion in An Khê, Utah Beach, and LZ Jane. Afterwards, he was sent back to the U.S. to serve out the rest of his service at Fort Polk as a Headquarters Company clerk. When he finally left the service, Faber and his wife moved back to Grand Rapids where he resumed his architectual work.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Tamburini was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1948. He graduated high school in 1966 and entered a two-year program at a technical institute before recieving his draft notice in 1969. Tamburini underwent Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then reported to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for advanced training where he opted to join the Noncommissioned Officers program. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1970 where he served in the 2nd of the 319th Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne and was stationed at firebases Jack, Gladiator, Ripcord, and Bastogne. His unit participated in the siege of Firebase Ripcord during which he recieved the Purple Heart for continuing to fight even after being hit during a gunfight. After only a year in Vietnam, Tamburini recieved an early-out and returned to the U.S. He then began part-time work at an engineering firm and later switched to carpentry, which he continued to work for the rest of his career.
- Date Created:
- 2018-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Baker-Clark, born in St. Lois Missouri in 1948, served in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1970 as a Naval Corpsman during the Vietnam Era. After completing his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, Charles was given medical training at the same base. After this was completed he was then sent to Naples Italy where he served in a naval hospital. In December of 1968 Charles had to be moved after he was involved as an informant used to bust a group selling drugs on the base. Charles was then moved to Maine where he served in another naval hospital. Soon after, he was sent to Iceland and then Sicily Italy where he served with a Unit of PT Orion pilots.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Greg Melonas was born in Chicago in 1920. He joined the National Guard in 1936, and was called into the Army after Pearl Harbor. He was deployed to France after D-Day, and served mostly in Czechoslovakia. He was trained as a medic in the National Guard, and served as a medic after being a drill instructor early on. After WWII he was called back into the service to go to Korea, also as a medic.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
