Veterans History Project
1714 items
- Notes:
- Bill Groom was born on March 10, 1951, in Greenville, Michigan. In 1969 he enlisted in the Air Force and received basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. His first duty station was at Lewistown Air Force Station, Montana, with the 694th Radar Squadron where he maintained and operated vehicles. In 1972 he volunteered for overseas service, and was deployed to Thailand in October 1972. He was stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield where he helped load and unload bombs onto B-52 bombers. He stayed overseas for one year then returned home. He was discharged from active duty in San Francisco in October 1973. In 1975 he joined the Air National Guard at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Michigan. In 1980 he went full-time and served as a technician, working on a variety of vehicles. In the mid-1990s he deployed to Italy during the Kosovo conflict, and later in 2002 he deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to assist with maintenance and supervision of maintenance. He continued to serve in the Air National Guard until he retired in March 2008 with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.
- Date Created:
- 2016-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Novakoski was born on January 25, 1951, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy Reserve in August 1970. In the fall of 1970 he reported to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, for two weeks of basic training then received two weeks of Corpsman Training at Great Lakes Naval Station Hospital. He stayed in Grand Rapids for a year then began his active duty service on August 22, 1971. He attended Corps School in San Diego from September 1971 through January 1972. He was stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida where he worked in the naval hospital and also served as a driver for a captain. His active duty ended on August 21, 1973, and his time in the Navy Reserve ended after two years of active reserve service and one year of inactive reserve service.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harriet Sturim was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York in 1943 to German immigrants that had fled the Nazi persecution of Jewish citizens in the 1930s. She met her husband, Rick Sturim, in a Jewish youth group as teenagers and reconnected while in college. They married on June 12, 1965 and moved to Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois the next day (where Rick was receiving Aircraft Maintenance Training). She moved to Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico with Rick and worked at the Department of Defense school as a speech therapist and was part of the Wives' Club (extension of the Officers' Club). They stayed at Ramey Air Force Base until August 1968 and then moved to Kincheloe Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where she continued to do activities with other officers' wives. Rick was discharged in 1969 and they eventually moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1977. She has been involved with numerous veterans' organizations in the Grand Rapids area including the Cost of Freedom Tribute (Vietnam War memorial movement), the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, the Veterans' Affairs Clinic in Wyoming, Michigan, and the "No Veteran Dies Alone" program at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ralph Hauenstein was working as a newspaper editor in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September 1940 and in the Army Reserved when he was called to active duty was assigned to be the public relations officer for Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In September 1941 he was assigned to an American intelligence task force, along with an American brigade, that was being sent to Iceland to relieve British troops that were stationed there. He worked as an intelligence liaison between Washington D.C. and London and oversaw the recon operations being conducted by Norwegian troops into Norway. After the outbreak of war he was transferred to an intelligence task force that was based in London that was preparing for the invasion of Western Europe through France. In the time leading up to D-Day he was involved in deceiving German forces stationed in Europe namely in the hugely successful Operation Fortitude which drew the bulk of German forces away from Normandy to Pas de Calais. He served as an intelligence officer during D-Day, the liberation of France, and the Battle of the Bulge as well as witnessed the results of the Holocaust. At the end of the war he took part in the interrogation of high ranking German officers and helped build the CIA out of the OSS. After the Second World War his time with the Army ended and he left with the rank of colonel.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-31T00:00:00Z
- 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 July 18, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated July 30, 1943. In the V-Mail letter, Joe informs Agnes that he has been on special duty for two months and that it will be quite a while before he is able to return home to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 1943-07-18T00:00:00Z
- 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 23, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated February 1, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes to Agnes on a rainy Sunday and shares his news for the day including a recent visit to church for their Sunday service and hearing from his sister Helen about her holidays back home. He also inquires about the popular songs from the Hit parade, which he misses hearing without a radio while stationed overseas.
- Date Created:
- 1944-01-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sarah Anderson was born in 1990 in Muskegon, Michigan, and lived in the same house for her entire childhood. Anderson graduated high school in 2009 and immediately joined the Marine Corps since she disliked the mundane environment of the classroom, was energetic, and saw the positive impact the Corps had upon her brother. During the 9/11 attacks, Anderson was in the fifth grade and remembers being sent home early after hearing of the attacks over the radio, later influencing her decision to join the service. She attended Marine Boot Camp in August of 2009 at Parris Island, South Carolina, where male recruits were separated from female recruits, even though training standards were equal between the sexes. In addition to basic training, recruits were instructed on hand-to-hand combat in the Marine Martial Arts Program and Anderson recalled how all training was meant to break down recruits to build them up again as skilled, devoted, proud soldiers. After Boot Camp, Anderson transferred into Marine Combat Training in Fort Johnson, North Carolina, where she chose her career within the Corps, and then to Fort Meade, Maryland, for her Marine Occupational Specialty schooling in public affairs. She then chose her occupation within the Corps as a Combat Correspondent, or Strategic Communications and Mass Communicator, and described her occupational schooling as greatly constructive due to her greater exposure to the experiences of other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Anderson's first base assignment was in Twentynine Palms, California, where she interviewed Marines before they were deployed to Afghanistan, growing attached to her work and to the stories of these men. When her first four years of service ended, Anderson was encouraged to reenlist by her fellow Marines as well as an underlying dread that she had not seen enough of the Corps or the world. Once reenlisted, she opted to be stationed in bases on Oahu Island, Hawaii, where she continued her media work online and through interviews. She became exposed to working with military personnel of all ranks, urging her to quickly develop proper etiquette for addressing high ranking soldiers and commanders. She also acquired opportunities to work with military personnel from other nations from across the globe, allowing her to see into the military cultures of other countries. Anderson concluded that her work on Oahu taught her the values of working individually, thus independently, and problem solving between the needs of various specializations within the military. Later, she transferred to Darwin, Australia, for Marine Rotational Force Darwin, a unit deployment program, and Talus Mu Saber, a two-week training exercise held every other year between the American and Australian militaries. Anderson became more of a 'brand marketer' than a Combat Correspondent, focusing on both media and public relations through working with major media outlets, social media, and other forms of press coverage. With this new focus, she became more integrated with the history of the Corps in the Second World War, Vietnam, as well as current conflicts. After eight years in the service, Anderson made the difficult decision to leave the Corps in 2016 since she never acquired the deployment opportunities she strived for. From there, she attended Grand Valley State University for a degree in PR, advertising, and photography. She commended her recent academic ventures for teaching her the technical skills that the Corps could not provide her while also commending the Corps for teaching her discipline and responsibility. Reflecting upon her service, Anderson believed she grew tremendously as a person through the Corps by doing her best, especially in the face of subtle, underlying sexism or gender stereotypes. Ultimately, these subtle tensions in gender relations remained constant during her service. She also adhered to the moral and ethical teachings of various mentors and instructors who helped her build a stronger character and skills in leadership.
Pre-Enlistment: (00:00:52:00)
Enlistment/Training: (00:06:30:00)
Service: (00:29:48:00)
Post-Service Life: (01:07:17:00)
Reflections: (01:09:43:00)
- Date Created:
- 2019-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Les Dykema was born in 1949 and few up in Hudsonville, Michigan. He tried college, but did not do well in his first year and in 1968 went ahead and enlisted in the Army and get some choice of assignment rather than wait to be drafted. In basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he found that he did not much like the Army, and got into some trouble, but made it through and went on to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for military police training. Despite a few more run-ins with authority, he completed the training and spent several months there working at a recreation area on the base before going to Vietnam in 1969. He was assigned to an MP unit, and soon got into trouble with his sergeant and captain, and was eventually reassigned to a combat engineer unit in the field. He worked with a demolition squad for some time, including the period of the Cambodian incursion in 1970, before being wounded and sent to Japan to recuperate. He agreed to extend his Vietnam tour in exchange for a month at home and
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Harris was born in South Dakota on December 29, 1941, and later moved to Minneapolis. After college, medical school and a year of internship, he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He trained at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, and was then sent to Vietnam. He served initially in a MASH unit with the 1st Division at Lai Khe, and when the division pulled out, he was transferred to Phu Loi, and then to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans. In May, 1970 he voluntarily set up the battalion aid station on Firebase Ripcord, and stayed there until the base was evacuated in July. He remained with the battalion for the rest of his tour, serving on several different firebases, and went home late in the year. He completed his enlistment at Fort Pickett, Virginia.
- Date Created:
- 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- August Katsma was born on November 11, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1937 he joined the National Guard as a medic in the 126th infantry. After the National Guard he got married and then was drafted into the Army. August trained as an MP and was in the Army's band. He was sent to North Carolina to a special service camp as a band member to raise money and play for the servicemen. Next he was sent to Camp Sibert, Alabama to Grey's Registration Unit and then Deployed to Manila in the Philippines. In Manila he worked at the morgue where he documented casualties of the war. August was sent back to the United states in February, 1946 and discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Krueger served in the U.S. Army from 1971-1974 in the Vietnam War. He also served in Iraq at a check point as well as in other countries such as Panama.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Thorsen is a Muskegon, Michigan, native who enlisted in the U.S. Navy before Pearl Harbor in 1941 at the age of seventeen. He worked mostly in the engine rooms of the ships he served on, initially an ammunition ship, and then the light cruiser Philadelphia in the Atlantic in 1942 and 1943 as it escorted convoys and supported the North African landings. He was then assigned to a new destroyer, the Anthony, which was sent to the Pacific in 1944. This ship also served as an escort and engaged in shore bombardments, notably at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and was then based at Sasebo, Japan, after the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Philip Tietz, born June 12th 1942, served in the U.S. Army from 1963-1966 during the Vietnam War. During his first tour of duty, he lived in Saigon and worked as a systems controller. On his second tour, Phillip was flown via helicopter to various locations where radios needed repair. Phillip was discharged in 1966.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peggy Stolk was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up during the Depression. Her family never ran into any major problems during that time, but afterwards her father left her mother with six children to raise on her own. Peggy worked during high school and during the war, while she was waiting for her boyfriend to come home. She said that most of the young men were gone at the time and she spent a lot of time hanging out with girlfriends. She wrote her boyfriend everyday while he was fighting in Europe and they finally got married in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lee Scherwitz was born in 1946 in Teaneck, New Jersey. He entered the service in 1965 and his military career primarily concerns management and maintaining aircraft for the Air Force. At Lackland Air Force Base in Texas he undertook his basic training. Next he worked at Shephard Air Force Base in Texas to maintain aircrafts. By late 1965 he arrived at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan where he worked on the F-106 planes. Eventually in 1967 he transferred to Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in Missouri with the "Flying Fists". After receiving orders for Asia he was flown to Ubon, Thailand with the 555th Tech Fighter Squadron. In 1967 his Squadron was relocated to Udon, Thailand. With the 432nd Tech Recon Control Wing he worked as a maintenance controller and interacted with Air America missions. Re-enlisting in 1968, he went to Homestead, Florida where he worked in the control center once again. Eventually Lee would leave the service in 1991 after the Gulf War.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-12T00:00:00Z
- 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 February 13, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated February 15, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes with great affection for Agnes after receiving all of her most recent letters on one day and shares his pride for her good work ethic back home.
- Date Created:
- 1944-02-13T00:00:00Z
- 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 March 4, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated March 7, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes many pages to Agnes sharing his most recent news including how happy he was to finally receive her letter dated February 14th, in addition to the package of writing supplies she sent to him. He also updates her on the most recent double feature he saw including the films "The Squeaker" and "Sunset Serenade."
- Date Created:
- 1944-03-04T00:00:00Z
- 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 July 23, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated August 1, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes his fifth recent V-Mail to Agnes to ensure she hears from him and to let her know there may be a gap of time before he is able to write again.
- Date Created:
- 1943-07-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Matthew Oudbier was born in Bremerton, Washington and grew up in a Marine Corps family. He entered the Delayed Entry Program in 2004 and went to Twentynine Palms, California, for its field radio operators course. Oudbier was then assigned to 1st Stinger Battery or 1st LAD in Futenma on Okinawa, Japan, before being deployed to Ramadi, Iraq, in 2007 where he was his company's radio operator and participated in heavy training. After reenlistment, Oudbier became first ANGLICO, returned to Iraq in 2008, and joined a support/logistics team. He also reenlisted for tours in the Gulf of Aden in 2009 and Sangin, Afghanistan in 2011 where he was assigned to the Georgian Army. After leaving the service, Oudbier got his Class A license and worked at the VA hospital in San Diego before moving back to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2017-06-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Orville Boerman was born in 1933 in Allegan County, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army in May of 1953. He trained as a mechanic and was sent to Germany where he served in a transportation company supporting an artillery unit, helping them move around and transporting supplies.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mike Borah served as a sergeant in the US Army during the war in Vietnam from 1969 through 1970. He enlisted in the US Army with the hopes of getting a better assignment than he would get if he waited to be drafted, but things did not work out that way, and he spent his year in Vietnam with a weapons company in the First Cavalry Division and spent a lot of time in combat in the jungle. Mike enjoyed working in the US Army, but really hated his time in Vietnam and was even more displeased with the welcome he received from US citizens when he returned from the war.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Interview with Peggy Dorstewitz about her husband Edward Dorstewitz. Edward grew up in Coloma, Michigan and after graduating from high school, attending Ferris State University, going year-round so he could finish his studies early. After completing his degree, Dorstewitz received his draft notification and went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for his training. Once he completed his training, Dorstewitz deployed to Vietnam and joined a unit patrolling along Highway 1, where he stayed for the remainder of his tour. Much later, after Dorstewitz had returned home, he became sick and it was eventually determined that his sickness resulted from contact with the chemical "Agent Orange".
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Dudeck was born in 1943 in Bloomer, Wisconsin, and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1963. He trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, and served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment at Pendleton until he unit was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. His unit did jungle training on Okinawa, and then landed at Da Nang, the first ground combat unit in Vietnam. His battalion initially guarded the Da Nang airport, then went to Chu Lai, and Dudeck was then transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, with whom he participated in Operation Harvest Moon in December, where his company took heavy losses. A few weeks later, while operating in the A Shau Valley, Dudeck was badly wounded and sent first to Japan and then to the US to recuperate, and was discharged for medical reasons in 1966. [Note: the first interview includes most of his combat history, and the second fills in some gaps in the early part of the story and clarifies several aspects of his Vietnam service.]
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Harris was born in 1933 in Lucas, Ohio to a family of farmers. His family later moved to Michigan where he attended high school in the town of Buckley, graduating in 1951. He later attended Michigan State for a time, but left before finishing a degree. In 1953 he was drafted into the Army, where he took basic training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. During his training, the armistice was signed, ending the Korean War. After training, Jack was sent to Frankfurt, Germany where he was assigned to Division Ordinance in the 4th Infantry Division.
- Date Created:
- 2014-12-16T00:00:00Z
- 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 December 29, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated December 29, 1943. In the V-Mail letter, Joe is sill going strong as he writes his third letter to Agnes on the same day and shares his surprise in receiving a letter from her mother in addition to his appreciation of roller skating.
- Date Created:
- 1943-12-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Darwin Cutler enlisted into the Air Force in September 1950 and trained as a Specialized Mechanic and sometimes operated as a Flight Engineer. His job was to work on aircraft engines and transportation during the Korean War. He was based in the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Dorsey was born in 1946 in Gary, Indiana. After graduating from high school and briefly attending college, Dorsey attempted to the join the Air Force, who denied him because of a bad knee, although the Army eventually drafted him. Following basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and advanced training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Dorsey deployed to Vietnam in 1968 and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division near the DMZ. After several months, the division moved south to an area near the Cambodian border and stayed there for the rest of his tour. Dorsey's company saw a lot of combat, and due to combat losses and troop rotation, he became a radio operator, and eventually his company commander's radio operator. After his tour, he served as a drill instructor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Hawkins, Jr. was born on July 7, 1956 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father was in the Navy and stationed in Puerto Rico at the time. Raymond went through ROTC while attending college at Michigan State University and was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant once he graduated. He went through basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas and then through jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. While in the service Raymond was stationed in Louisiana, Bosnia, and Oklahoma before he was discharged. He then worked as a defense contractor during Desert Storm and was serving in active duty in the Reserves during the second Iraq war.
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Jacobs Badini was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 1924. She grew up playing softball, first with her brothers, and later with organized teams. She was a talented pitcher, and one of the players recruited by the AAGPBL when it was formed in 1943. She played in the league for four years, primarily with Racine, before leaving and starting her own business.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Norma Dearfield was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania in 1928. She talked her parents into giving her a baseball glove for Christmas when she was twelve, and played on local girls' teams while in high school. She saw an ad in the newspaper for tryouts for the All Americans in the spring of 1949, and played all that summer for the Chicago Colleens on their barnstorming tour. She played second base, batted second and stole a lot of bases. An eye injury at the end of the season ended her professional career, but she later coached girls' softball teams in her home town.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edwin Baumann was born on June 19, 1923 in Stockton, California. In April 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Force to become a pilot and began training in August 1942. He received training at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas then went on to train at Hicks Field, Texas and Lubbock, Texas, graduating with the ability to fly twin engine aircraft. He was trained with a B-24 crew in Mountain Home Air Base, Idaho and survived a crash there before being assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group at Hammer Field, California. In January 1944 he and his crew were deployed to the European Theatre and were stationed at Toretto Field, Italy. He flew bombing missions over Yugoslavia, Romania, and Hungary and got shot down on a bombing raid on Ploesti in May 1944. He was captured in Yugoslavia and became a prisoner of war for eleven months placing his liberation as sometime in April 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2005-10-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marjorie Matthews was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1922. Shortly after America's entry into the Second World War she joined the Red Cross and served as a driver in the Motor Corps in Muskegon. Her duties ranged from the transportation of servicemen to delivering magazines to the military hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. She also worked for Seal Power in Muskegon (a company that was part of the war effort) as a switchboard operator. Marjorie left the Red Cross after the war's end in 1945, and she worked for Seal Power for a total of 13 years.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Schumacher was born in Blue Island, Illinois on December 14, 1924. He grew up there and was drafted in July 1943. He volunteered for Army Air Force training and was sent to Miami Beach Training Center, Florida for basic training. After getting washed out of pilot training he was sent to Buckley Field, Colorado for armorer/gunnery training, and from there was sent to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He received more training with his crew out west before being sent to Westover Field, Massachusetts. They flew overseas to England as a B-24 bomb crew assigned to the 44th Bombardment Group, later reassigned to the 577th Squadron of the 392nd Bomb Group of the 8th AIr Force at RAF Wendling. He flew thirty combat missions (including one during the Battle of the Bulge, the last bombing run in the European Theatre, and crash landed near the frontline in France). He and his crew returned to the United States in late summer 1945 and he was sent to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he was discharged on October 27, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Smith was born in 1946 in Fredericktown Missouri, he later moved to Tennessee. He joined the ROTC in college, then joined the Army in 1969. He trained at the IOBC at Fort Benning, then at Fort Reilly. He served with the D Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, as platoon leader of 2nd platoon, and was involved in the fighting in early July 1970 around Firebase Ripcord. After he was wounded he served as the properties officer, later air coordinator. After returning to the US he was involved in the training base at Fort Campbell, before leaving the Army in June of 1972.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Bernhardt enlisted in the Marines at the age of 17 in early 1944. He served in the Pacific Theater of WWII as an artillery observer for naval bombardments. He also served as a guard of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki, and was part of the post-war occupation force as an MP in the Nagasaki area.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1923. He joined the National Guard when he was fourteen years old and served until his unit was federalized in 1940. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was sent to be an MP at Fort Custer, Michigan. Joe was sent to England where he patrolled four small towns about thirty miles outside of London. While in country, he also was part of the honor guard and was a staff driver for officers. Joe was sent back to the United States in 1946 after the war had ended.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roger Oppenhuizen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946. After completing college in 1968, he enlisted in the Army to stay ahead of the draft, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. He did his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then trained as a combat engineer at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The Army assigned him to Infantry OCS instead of Finance, so he decided not to enter the program, so he was sent directly to Vietnam as a combat engineer in May, 1969. In Vietnam, he served with D Company, 35th Engineer Battalion, which was based at Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta and working on constructing a two-lane highway connecting the Delta to Saigon. For the first three months, Oppenhuizen worked on constructing the highway. However, because he knew how to type, Oppenhuizen eventually moved up to the company headquarters first to replace the operations sergeant while he was on leave, and then to replace the departing company clerk.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Stecker was able to avoid being drafted into the services during the beginning of World War II because of his work for the aircraft industry in industrial design. He was eventually drafted into the Navy and worked on illustrations for the assembly of aircraft, blue-prints, and maps. He worked on top-secret projects and even presented some of his findings to the US Senate.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lee Bakker was born in Wellsburg, Iowa on October 14, 1924. After graduating from high school in 1943 he was drafted in fall 1943. He was inducted in Des Moines, Iowa and received basic training at Camp Roberts, California. After basic training he tried to be a paratrooper and received the training at Fort Benning, Georgia, but broke his leg. He was then sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where he trained with 81mm mortars and was assigned to the 70th Infantry Division. He left the U.S. in November 1944 and arrived in Marseille, France in December 1944. He was assigned to H Company of the 275th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division and fought in France, and Germany (liberating the city of Saarbrucken) and crossing the Saar River. He was stationed in Germany for occupation duty until he threw out his back and returned to the United States. He received treatment at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri and got medically discharged in September 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard "Buck" Buckingham was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1929. Buckingham grew up in Detroit and graduated from Redford High School in 1947. He then attended Hillsdale College for two years before transferring to Michigan State University where he stayed for one year. In 1951, Buckingham considered joining the Air Force, but this ended up not happening because the program he was interested in was cut off. However, in December 1951, Buckingham was drafted into the Marine Corps. Buckingham first reported to Detroit and was then sent to Parris Island, South Carolina where he went through a twelve-week training program. Once Buckingham completed his training, he joined the 8th Engineer Battalion at Camp Geiger in North Carolina and began working in personnel at an engineering headquarters and service company there. In November 1952, Buckingham moved to Arlington, Virginia and started working at the Headquarters Marine Corps. During his time in Arlington, Buckingham drove a Jeep in Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade, met his future wife who worked for the Air Force, and eventually became a corporal. In December 1953, Buckingham's enlistment ended, and he returned to Michigan State University where he earned a degree in business administration. After graduating, Buckingham sold insurance for a year before landing a longlasting job at Sears, Roebuck, and Company.
- Date Created:
- 2017-12-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doug Anderson was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Union High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and began training one month after graduation. Doug went through accelerated college courses at Oakland College in Ohio and was then sent to mid-shipman school in New York. After going through training, the war was already over and Doug was sent to work in salvage and preservation in Guam. Doug spent the extent of his service in Guam and eventually became an Executive Officer when he was only 19 years old.
- Date Created:
- 2004-05-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Corbett was born in 1938 in Big Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Detroit during WWII, attended high school in Big Rapids and graduated from there in 1956. He attended Ferris State University for two years until he enlisted in the Air Force. Prior to serving in the Air Force he joined the Michigan National Guard during his senior year of high school and served with E Company Light Infantry 126th Regiment 32nd Red Arrow Division from fall of 1955 to April 1958. He was trained at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas and was transferred to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi for advanced electronics training. He served with the 341st Strategic Air Command Bomber Wing at Abilene Air Force Base, Texas; the nuclear strike force at Elmendorf Air Base, Anchorage, Alaska; Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan; Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam (prior to the outbreak of war); Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and saw a myriad of international deployments to France, Libya, Germany, Thailand, and the Panama Canal Zone.
- Date Created:
- 2013-11-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Hawley, born in Michigan in 1932, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1949-1953 in both the U.S. and Korea during the Korean Conflict. During his service in Korea, Richard worked as a welder and maintenance man at the K-2 air base, mainly repairing runways and aircraft. After returning to the U.S. he continued his job as a welder in Selfridge Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Sobotka was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1918. After graduating from high school he joined the National Guard. In October of 1940 Harry got called up for active duty and went to Louisiana for training. He became a sergeant and commanded 4 mortar crews. After training in Louisiana he went to Officer Candidate School. Harry was deployed to England and then landed on Omaha Beach in the fall of 1944. He went towards Alsace-Lorraine and helped capture the town of Metz. He was the executive officer in charge of the HQ and handled 3 Howitzer Platoons. Harry helped out at the Battle of the Bulge after Metz. He was sent home and discharged in December of 1945. Harry accepted a job with the technical program in the National Guard and retired in January of 1975.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joan Holderness was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1933. She learned to play baseball from her father, and after the Kenosha Comets came to town, she started going to their games and became their bat girl, and was recruited to join the team as an outfielder in 1949, even though her mother would not let her travel farther than Racine for road games. The next year, she got to play full time, and was traded to Grand Rapids. She left the league after the 1950 season and took a regular job at the Great Lakes naval base in Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald C. Johnson was born in 1922 in Lindsay, Nebraska. Enlisted in the Army Air Force in summer 1942 and reported for duty on October 1, 1942. Received basic training at Rome Air Depot, New York and was classified as an Army Aircraft Mechanic (flight engineer and gunner) at Syracuse Army Air Base, New York. He received Gunner Training at Tyndall Field, Florida and Flight Engineer Training at Sheppard Field, Texas. Sent to Mountain Home Army Air Base, Idaho where he joined a B-24 crew in the 764th Squadron of the 461st Bombardment Group. He trained there then went to Hammer Field where they received more training. In mid-January 1944 they left the U.S. and arrived at Torretto Field, Italy in February 1944. They began flying missions in April 1944 bombing targets in northern Italy, southern Germany, Austria, southern France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. He was discharged on August 30, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2005-10-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jessica Oudbier was born on April 6, 1989 in Fort Ord, California. Her father was in the Air Force and she grew up in various military communities, even after her parents divorced. After graduating from high school she enlisted in the Navy on August 15, 2007. She received basic training and communications training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. She was assigned to Tactical Air Control Squadron 12 in San Diego, California. During her time there she withstood repeated sexual assaults as well as verbal harassment from fellow sailors. She was assigned to the USS Bonhomme Richard and took part in RIMPAC 2009 as well as a deployment to the Gulf of Aden for air strikes in Yemen. During her time in the Navy she got pregnant and got married and was assigned to FACSFAC in San Diego. She reenlisted in 2012 and was assigned to the USS New Orleans. After a nervous breakdown she was medically discharged from the Navy in February 2014 and moved to Michigan with her husband and children.
- Date Created:
- 2015-02-19T00:00:00Z
- 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 May 22, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed in North Africa and discusses the most recent movies he has seen including "The Amazing Mrs. Holliday" and another starring Don Ameche and Joan Bennett.
- Date Created:
- 1943-05-22T00:00:00Z
- 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 November 18, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated December 4, 1943. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes a brief message to Agnes as he awaits another letter from her and wonders how she is doing at her new job.
- Date Created:
- 1943-11-18T00:00:00Z
- 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 December 16, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated January 4, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes to Agnes while sick with a chest cold and his patience tested after not hearing from her in a while.
- Date Created:
- 1943-12-16T00:00:00Z
- 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 21, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated January 30, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe shares the good news that he passed a swimming instructor course and offers to teach Agnes to swim if only she would visit him overseas. He also writes about the V-mail letters he received from his parents and how much they enjoyed meeting Agnes.
- Date Created:
- 1944-01-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Chenard was born in Chicago Heights Illinois in 1948. He grew up with a barber father, and a stay at home mother, he also had a brother and a sister. He went to Creek Moni High School. He was drafted through the draft lottery in 1967. He was shipped off to Fort Polk, Louisiana. He did 8 weeks of basic infantry training, and then is advanced training there as well. After Basic and Advanced, he went to Fort Benning Georgia for Airborne training. After that, he signed up to be a Ranger, that training consisting of 12 weeks, which was near the Panama Canal. After that, he was hand picked for a small operation, search-and-rescue. He was based in Washington D.C, but would fly into Vietnam and rescue POWs. In 1970, he finished that tour in Vietnam, received surgery for bullet wounds he had acquired throughout his time in Vietnam, and was given an "Infantry/ Honor Guard" status. His return to the states was rocky, a crowd of being throwing things at him and yelling at him. He went to University of Maryland College Park campus for 2 years while extending his military contract for two years as well. For his service as well, he earned a variety of metals, including 4 Purple Hearts. He became a soldier at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Also, he was apart of the Army Drill Team, and would go around to public outings and do shows of gun maneuvers. After that, he retired from the military and did accounting for a year. He was let go from that job, and was a crane operator for 40 years before he retired. He had a wife, who has since passed away, and has three daughters.
- Date Created:
- 2017-03-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Bantjes was born in Illinois in 1929 to Dutch immigrants who decided to move back to the Netherlands during the Depression. John lived through the entirety of World War II in the Netherlands. When the war was over he moved back to the US and was later drafted during the Korean War. John spent his time in the service training for a Russian attack in Alaska.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Gillard served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from June 1942 to September 1945 during World War II. In this account, Gillard discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training and his combat experience abroad in North Africa and Italy. Gillard mentions aspects of war not generally discussed such as bombing missions conducted into Yugoslavia, Romania, and Germany and the maintenance aspects of B-24s. Gillard concludes with his life after the war and his thoughts on service in the army.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Holl was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1927 and served in the Navy during World War II. He worked in Naval Aviation Electronics for the war, and served in the United States for the duration of the war. He did a number of tasks, primarily involving electronics. He attended college after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Spruill was born in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1949. He finished high school, worked for a while and then decided to enlist in the Army, and wanted to be in the infantry. He trained at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and went to Vietnam in 1969. He spent his first six months of his tour with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division, which was operating out of Camp Evans in the northern part of South Vietnam. He then went to sniper school and was reassigned to the sniper unit in E Company of the same battalion, and spent the next several months working as a sniper attached to different companies of the battalion operating around Firebase Ripcord. He was transferred to the rear shortly before the base was abandoned and eventually rotated home and completed his enlistment in Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Sundberg, born April 14th 1926 in Red Wing, Minnesota, served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1950 during the end of World War II and the early part of the Korean War. During this time Harold spent much of his service studying electronics and radar at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, Monterey California, and Patuxent River, Maryland. Though he never saw combat, this training was used to further Harold's career in radio and television.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Barry enlisted in the United States Air Force after spending two years at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He decided to enlist rather than wait to be drafted into the infantry. He went to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and later went to tech school to become a Fire Control Technician on an F-105. He served overseas in Thailand and spent two tours there during the Vietnam era, one for five months and another for seven.
- Date Created:
- 2012-11-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Christopher Wiers enlisted in the Marine Corps before graduating high school. The time he served was from 2002 – 2006. During his second tour in Iraq, he worked in convoy security. They would clear explosives when they were detected. Mr. Wiers was involved in an IED explosion accident and suffered brain damage along with other injuries.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Merrie Fidler was born in Weed, California, on October 31, 1943. She attended community college in the Redding area, then a Bible college in Los Angeles before dropping out of school and working as a secretary in the physical education department at UC – Davis. Merrie completed her bachelor’s degree and got her teaching credentials, then pursued a master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. During her master work, she took a course on American women in sports and discovered the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Over the course of several years she interviewed former players and managers and eventually completed her thesis, The Development & Decline of the All-American Girls Baseball League. She went on to contact more players and became part of the League’s association and attended the reunions. Merrie is now the association’s historian and a contributor to its newsletter.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Agnes Van Der Weide to Joe Olexa, dated August 27, 1944. The envelope is sent from 1913 Berkley Ave. S.W., Grand Rapids, Michigan, dated August 28, 1944. In the letter, Agnes expresses her happiness in knowing Joe received her photographs, her affection for him and an eagerness for their marriage someday. She closes her letter mentioning Paris' liberation from Nazi occupation while inquiring about Joe's thoughts on the major world event.
- Date Created:
- 1944-08-27T00:00:00Z
- 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 6, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 13, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes with excitement after Agnes' letters from March had finally arrived and imagines going on a date to visit the tulips in Holland, Michigan with her one day.
- Date Created:
- 1944-04-06T00:00:00Z
- 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 July 31, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. "K,"Det. of Patients, 4167 U.S. Hospital Plant, A.P.O. 514-A, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated August 2, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes with boosted morale after receiving six of her letters on the same day. He writes with great inspiration, looking forward to the day they are together and wearing civilian clothes once again, in addition to the most recent news regarding his family and their wedding plans.
- Date Created:
- 1944-07-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Vikisu Condon-Sharrock served in the Navy on active duty between 1971 and 1974, and remained in the reserves until 1998. She discusses her experiences in training and on active duty when women were still very new to the regular service, as well as changes that have taken place since then in terms of women's opportunities in the Navy.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George DeBaar was born in Grand Rapids, MI, and was drafted in January of 1943. He served at Fort Brady at Sault St. Marie, as part of the 131st Infantry (later the 156th). His unit served as guards at the base, and near the Soo Locks and the Canadian Locks. Because of this experience as serving as guards, his company was selected to serve as Eisenhower's guards. He served in London, during which time the CIA subjected them to mock break-ins to ensure security. He also served as Eisenhower's personal guard in Reims.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gary Mitchell, of Wolf River Wisconsin, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1951 at the age of 17. Despite his age, he was able to train as a pilot due to a shortage of combat pilots. Sent to Korea in 1952, he flew multiple combat missions over enemy territory before mechanical problems forced him to bail out off the North Korean coast. He and his copilot were picked up by the Chinese, who regularly beat them in an effort to gain information about their aircraft. He was released at Panmunjon at the time of the signing of the armistice, and then underwent several years of medical treatment for injuries suffered in the bailout and while in prison, and then served as an instructor on Marine and Navy bases until he was discharged in 1959.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Perrin was born on September 11, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and drafted into the Army in 1943. He went to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for basic training, which he thought was terrible. Robert then began training for the Military Police and was later stationed in Louisiana to help with flooding. Robert was transferred into the Army Air Force and then became part of the 42nd Rainbow Division. Near the end of his service Robert was instructing the Military Police how to repair radios in Colorado. Robert was discharged on November 26, 1945 and moved back to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2003-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Raudenbush, Born in Harvey, Illinois on August 5th 1944, enlisted in the U.S. military in 1963. After training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was sent to Berlin for 18 months. He went from there to Fort Hood, Texas, and then to Vietnam late in 1966. He served in the 26th Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, as a mortarman. He participated in a series of actions, including Operations Cedar Falls and Junction City. At the Battle of Ap Gu, in the latter operation, he was wounded while rescuing wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Sabin, Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Air National Guard in 1981. Ronald went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for 8 weeks and then went through advanced firefighter training for another 8 weeks. After training Ronald began working as a firefighter in Grand Rapids until he was called up for service in October of 1991. He had though he was going to be sent to Iraq, but was actually sent to and Air Force base in Oscoda, Michigan to serve as a replacement firefighter for others that had been sent to Iraq.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Cooley was born on March 6, 1986 and grew up in Caledonia, Michigan. In 2003 he enlisted in the Army. He received basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and after that Advanced Individual Training. He deployed to Iraq and served with a transportation unit, moving food, ammunition, supplies, and vehicles to bases around the country. He also helped with the distribution of humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians. After nearly a year he returned to the United States and spent two years in the United States. He redeployed to Iraq and worked as a Detainee Payroll Manager. His first tour was in 2004-2005 and his second tour was in 2008-2009. His enlistment ended after his second tour, but as of 2015 he is trying to reenlist as an officer.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bernard DePrimo was born in 1924 in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan and in early 1943 he was drafted. In March 1943 he began training at Camp Davis, North Carolina with the 430th Anti Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He received communication training and artillery training at Camp Davis and Fort Fisher until it was time to go overseas. He left the United States on October 22, 1943 bound for England and stayed there with the 430th until June 8, 1944. Over the course of 1944 and into 1945 he and the 430th advanced across France protecting Allied ground forces from the German Luftwaffe. He was also attached to the 110th Field Artillery Battalion driving trucks as part of the Red Ball Express, transporting supplies and later German and Allied prisoners of war and displaced persons. After the war ended on May 8, 1945 he was reassigned to the 203rd (or 207th) Field Artillery Battalion and stayed with them for the rest of his time in Europe. On October 12, 1945 he left Europe and on October 31, 1945 he was discharged from the Army at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-20T00:00:00Z
- 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 29, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated February 10, 1944. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes to Agnes on a Saturday night while wishing they were together and reminiscing about their previous times going to church together in anticipation for the service in town the following morning.
- Date Created:
- 1944-01-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- August Edema was born in Byron Center, Michigan in 1920. He was drafted after Pearl Harbor was attacked when he was 20. He went to the west coast and trained in the 96th Division. They made him a staff sergeant and he trained new recruits for 2 years. After that he went to Leyte, Philippines and was a platoon sergeant. August fought in the jungle of the Philippines until he was wounded on November 13, 1944. He spent the rest of the war in hospitals in the Pacific and the US, and was discharged when the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glenn Dykstra was born in Oklahoma in 1932. However, because of the effects of the Dust Bowl, his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dykstra joined the Air Force when he was seventeen and finished his school while in the service. After training at Lackland Air Force base, Dykstra taught at several bases around the country. Eventually, he shipped out to Japan and flew both bombing and cargo missions into Korea during the Korean War. He also flew VIPs around, including Eisenhower, Nixon, Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe. Dykstra spent a total of four years deployed overseas, including time after the conflict in Korea had concluded.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Good is a World War II veteran who served with in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. In this account, Good discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He discusses his work as an electronic technician aboard the USS Alaska at sea in the Pacific. He also covers the ship's visit to Tsingtao, China, after the Japanese surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marion Graff, born in Ironwood Michigan in August of 1922, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 in the Pacific during World War II. During his service, Marion was a Medical Corpsman aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia and provided anything from basic medical care to surgeries for the sailors on aboard. During his time spend on the West Virginia, he participated in several major engagements, including the Surigao Straits, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
- Date Created:
- 2012-01-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Francisco Vega was born in San Antonio, Texas. He tried to enlist in the military immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was initially rejected because of his Mexican ancestry. He eventually did enlist in the Army Air Corps, and began a long process in which he used his talents and persuasive skills to find increasingly interesting assignments, eventually training as a teletype operator with a signals unit that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was eventually part of Eisenhower's headquarters.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z
- 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 March 8, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated March 11, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes from England expressing his love for her and his good mood in knowing she is waiting for him back home in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 1944-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Homer Berry was born in Flint, Michigan on February 13, 1925. Homer decided to enlist in the Navy shortly after his brother had been drafted. After training Homer became a motor machinist mate, 2nd class petty officer. Homer was shipped to the Pacific on a LST and they began traveling all over the Pacific dropping off supplies to other troops.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Deary, born in Pontiac, Michigan in July 31st 1925. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943, and was sent first to Miami Beach for basic training, and then to Laredo, Texas, and Boise, Idaho, for training as a gunner. He was sent to Italy in 1944 and joined a B-24 squadron in the 15th Air Force. He flew eight missions late in 1944, and his plane was shot down over Hungary on the final mission. He was captured and moved through an assortment of interrogation centers and camps in Hungary, Austria and Germany before being assigned to a prison camp outside of Berlin. When the Russians who liberated the camp refused to let the men leave, Deary and two other men took off on their own and made their way back to American lines, after which he was sent home.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Octavio Huerta was born in 1931 in Crystal City, Texas. His family eventually moved to Michigan to find work. After graduating from high school early, Mr. Huerta worked for a couple of years before getting drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He received training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and did well enough to stay on for reconnaissance training. He volunteered for duty in Korea, and when he got there, he was assigned as a mechanic for a tank platoon. Despite encountering prejudice that kept him from receiving promotion, he found his military experience to be very enjoyable.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tom Huis was drafted into the United States Army at the age of 21. He had, until this time, been deferred from the draft because he was attending Kellogg Community College as a full time student. After dropping a class, he was no longer eligible for deferment and received a draft notice on December 24th, 1968 to serve in the ongoing Vietnam War. Huis was first sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training, and then Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for specialized medical training. He expected to go to Vietnam, but his orders were changed at the last minute and he went to Europe instead. He was discharged at the end of 1970.
- Date Created:
- 2010-10-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Jeltema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in December 1927. He enlisted in the Navy during high school. Richard chose to go into the submarine service and was stationed in New London, Connecticut. He was assigned to a submarine in Pearl Harbor and went to places like Guam, Okinawa, Australia, China and Russia between 1947and 1948. While working on the sub Richard was a mechanic in the auxiliary systems room. The sub mostly patrolled, but on one occasion searched for mines off the coast of Russia.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Pope was born on October 15, 1956 in the upper peninsula of Michigan. He enlisted in the Army when he was only 17 years and his parents had to sign a waiver because he was so young. Charles went though basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, then radar school in Arizona, and finally mechanic school at Fort Knox in Kentucky. Once he was finished with training Charles was still 17 and too young to go through combat. Instead of going to Vietnam he was sent to a post in Germany where he spent 10 months.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Kowalewski was born on Memorial Day, 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In July 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for basic training. He went into Chicago for Diesel School then on to Little Creek, Virginia to receive amphibious training. In March 1944 he boarded the USS Cheboygan County (LST-533) and sailed to England. En route he witnessed the sinking of multiple ships in their convoy. He trained in England preparing for the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 and on D-Day took part in the invasion. He served aboard a Higgins boat as an engineer and helped land troops at Easy Red Sector at Omaha Beach. He helped with supplies on Omaha Beach after the beachhead was secured and then operated out of England helping transport supplies and troops to mainland Europe and also bringing German prisoners of war, and freed Allied prisoners of war back to England. During the Battle of the Bulge he transported supplies to Allied forces in Belgium. In late May 1945 he returned to the U.S. and prepared for the invasion of Japan. After Japan surrendered in August 1945 he was stationed on the East Coast until he returned to Great Lakes Naval Station in March 1946 and got discharged there.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clare Yenor was born in 1921 and lived on a farm in Michigan. He enlisted in the Army in April of 1942. Clare went through basic training in Oklahoma, and after that began artillery training with the 215th Field Artillery Battalion. The 125th was one of the first groups to begin training with glider planes during WWII. Yenor later trained the officers of the 182nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to work with the gliders. He was then assigned to a heavy artillery battalion attached to the 3rd Army in Europe, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine, and the occupation of Germany and Austria. Photographs, certificates, and medals are addended to the interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Begin Jr. was born to Hungarian immigrants in Pennsylvania. His family then moved to Detroit, MI after his father lost his job. He enlisted in the Coast Guard after the attack at Pearl Harbor. He was then assigned to guard ships going in and out of the Delaware River. His ship was then decommissioned, and he was forced to work as a mechanic on engines in Philadelphia. Then he was transferred to Flint, MI where he was trained to work on diesel engines. A photograph of Begin in uniform is appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Follis is a Korean War veteran who served with the U.S. Army's Security Agency for a period of 11 months. In this account, Day discusses his pre-enlistment years, his enlistment and training in the U.S. During his service in Korea, although close to the fighting he did not take part in the fighting, instead his work as a radio operator and security required him to work with Top-Secret classified documents
- Date Created:
- 2004-04-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Sautter was born near Manistee, MI in 1923, and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He enlisted in the Air Force, and worked as a chauffeur, flying around Air Force personnel that needed to go places. After the war, he continued working as a pilot.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lawrence Scheidel grew up in Michigan and enlisted in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War. He went to basic training in Miami Beach, and then to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for radio school. He was then shifted to different bases in the western United States and became an MP serving on different air bases.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tad Such served in the US Air Force between 1980 and 1983. He was stationed at Holman Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he worked as a heavy equipment operator.
- Date Created:
- 2007-04-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Vandermoere was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted on June 11, 1943 and started training at Great Lakes, Illinois eleven days later. He decided to join the Navy, and decided to become a submariner because it offered better pay and better food. He served in a relief crew on the sub tender U.S.S. Orion for eight months while in Australia. He was assigned to the submarine U.S.S. Blenny on February 5, 1945. He served on patrols near Indonesia and Southeast Asia. He served overseas for twenty-two months.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Dailey served in the US Army between 1949 and 1954. He served in Korea as an infantryman. He describes engaging enemy snipers while guarding a hospital in Seoul, as well as combat on the front lines near the 38th parallel. He spent his last two years in the army working at Fort Riley, Kansas.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Derek Flack is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from July, 1966 to April, 1969. Flack provides detailed discussions of training in California and service in Vietnam during and after the Tet Offensive. Flack was wounded in action and eventually sent back to the US, where he has worked extensively with veterans' organizations.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gregory Glazier was born in Alma, Michigan in 1967. Gregory enlisted in the Army in 1985 and was part of the 1st Armored Division for 10 years. For most of his time in the service, Gregory was stationed in Germany where he guarded American housing areas and kept watch for terrorist activity. Gregory was also a tank crew member and his duties included driver, loading 120mm shells, gunner, and eventually tank commander.
- Date Created:
- 2007-04-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Martin Glennon, born in Hammond, Indiana in 1946, served in the U.S. army as a medic from 1969 to 1971. He went to Vietnam in January, 1970. For the six months of his service in Vietnam, he was a field medic with A Company, 2/506 Infantry, in the 101st Airborne Division. While in this unit, he served in the Ripcord Campaign and survived the most costly firefight of the campaign. He was then stationed at Camp Evans working at a field hospital for the remainder of his time in country. When returning to the U.S. he spent another six months at Fort Knox working as an orderly. He was discharged in 1971 and is now a Chaplain for the Vietnam Veterans of America.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Calvin Owen is an Ohio native. Owen saw action various locations in the Pacific theatre of WW II while serving in the 533rd Engineers Boat and Shore Regiment, an army unit involved in amphibious landings. He describes the occupation of Japan and describes the devastation wrought on Hiroshima. He later catalogs his occupational experiences in various projects across the greater Grand Rapids Area. He discussed his views, personal and political on Roosevelt and current administration.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Wyatt was born in 1936. At the age of 22 he pre-empted an inevitable drafting by enlisting in 1960. During his military career his highest rank achieved was Specialist 4th class. Although his service was during the Vietnam War era, he was located in Mannheim, Germany in the time of the Berlin Wall Crisis. Wyatt was also sent to NATO school where he was able to train troops in the fundamentals. After being discharged he returned to the US and became a police officer.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-23T00:00:00Z
- 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 May 26, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated circa May 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes with excitement after receiving the good news of their wedding rings, wishing he was there to propose to her in person, and holding onto his faith to keep him strong while they are apart.
- Date Created:
- 1944-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Barwacz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1921 and enlisted in the Navy on August 18, 1942. John went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then had advanced engineer training at the University of Kansas. While in the Navy, John worked on the destroyer USS Hull as an engineer in the boiler room, as a lookout, and also handled guns on deck. Later took fire control training and served on an attack transport ship. He traveled all over the Pacific to the Aleutian Islands, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Hawaii, Okinawa, and Japan. John was discharged on December 24, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)