Veterans History Project 1714 items

Notes:: Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated July 24, 1944. The envelope is sent from Det. of Patients, 4167 U.S. Hospital Plant, Co. "K,"A.P.O.-162, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated July 24, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while on the road to recovery in the hospital, using American Red Cross stationary and letting her know he is now located at another hospital where he will spend four additional weeks before returning to his outfit.
Date Created:: 1944-07-24T00:00:00Z
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 December 30, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated January 2, 1945. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes during the holiday season, sharing the news of his slow recovery in France and how much he misses receiving her letters while in the hospital.
Date Created:: 1944-12-30T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Daniel Donnelly was a student in high school before he decided to enlist into the Navy under the Navy Enlistment Buddy Program. After taking his oath at a Detroit Tigers game, Daniel was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for basic training. He departed for his deployment three days before Operation Desert Storm began and returned five days after it had ended. Daniel never saw active combat but served as an electrician and worked with nuclear propulsion operations aboard a Ballistic Missile Submarine. After the service, Daniel received his Associate's Degree from Grand Rapids Community College and a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. After school he began working at Amway Corporation where he remains an employee. Daniel believes his experience helped motivate him and get him on the right track in life.
Date Created:: 2011-11-09T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Robert Hood was born in Detroit, MI and moved to Grand Rapids, MI where he attended high school. After high school Robert joined the Marines shortly after World War II ended. He was sent to China, where he helped to repatriate Japanese soldiers. He continued to serve until 1951, and spent six months on the front lines in Korea before being wounded.
Date Created:: 2004-12-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Donald Jandernoa served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. He trained as a B-24 pilot and flew missions for the 15th Air Force, based in Italy, in the later stages of the war. He describes the training process and his combat experiences in detail, including a mission on which he and his crew had to bail out along the Yugoslav coast and were rescued by local villagers. He also discusses the role of the Tuskegee airmen in protecting his unit.
Date Created:: 2006-03-08T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: John Janssen was born on April 30, 1922 in Wisconsin and moved to Michigan in 1928. He graduated from high school in 1940 and joined the Marine Corps on October 29, 1941. John went through basic training in South Carolina, where they spent a lot of time marching through swamps. John then began working on an aircraft carrier as an anti-aircraft gunner and served in a series of battles in the Pacific, concluding with Okinawa. After Japan was bombed, John worked there breaking down an arsenal and taking weapons away from Japanese soldiers.
Date Created:: 2008-08-05T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942, John Sampson joined the ROTC while at Western Michigan University. Following graduation from Western Michigan and graduate school at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Sampson went through signal corps training at Fort Gordon, Georgia and Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After completing his training, he shipped out to Korea, where he served in the G4 for Eighth Army, working with both the Korean and US military. Following his tour in Korea, Sampson returned to Fort Monmouth and served until March 1970.
Date Created:: 2010-10-28T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Hung M Vu was born in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1952. His father worked in the National Government of Vietnam, managed by the French. After the Geneva Peace Accord in 1954, Vu's family moved to Saigon, Vietnam and settled there. He lived in Saigon when the Tet Offensive took place but it did not affect him. He joined the Navy in 1970 and received electronic and electrician military training. He initially worked on rivers on a reinforced fishing boat, stopping any potential threats. Vu eventually moved closer to home and worked in a shipyard fixing and working on boats. Because his sister was a stewardess, Vu was able to get a flight out of Vietnam in 1975.
Date Created:: 2010-04-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Ben VanSlooten served in the United States Army during WW II from May 13, 1943 to October 30, 1946 in the European Theater. VanSlooten discusses life on the home front, his time in basic training, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, Operation "Market Basket" (Market Garden), interactions with soldiers from other countries, and his first air raid. He talks about the chow lines in Belgium, a restaurant in France, acts of kindness in England, and the Red Ball Express in Belgium.
Date Created:: 2006-05-31T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Gerald Frazine was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1925. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and went to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, for his boot camp and Radio School. Upon completing training, he boarded a Landing Ship Transport (LST) and sailed to San Diego (via the Mississippi River and the Panama Canal) before going to the Pacific Theater. He served as the radio operator on the flotilla flagship, but also handled supplies and knew how to operate a 20mm antiaircraft gun. Gerald participated in the invasion of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan during the Mariana Islands Campaign; the invasion of Leyte during the Philippines Campaign; and the final battle of the Pacific Theater, Okinawa. After the war, he sailed back to San Diego then returned to Great Lakes Naval Station to be discharged from the Navy in late 1945.
Date Created:: 2016-10-18T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)