Veterans History Project

Notes:: Handwritten V-Mail letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated November 28, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated December 11, 1943. In the V-Mail letter, Joe writes to Agnes with boosted morale after receiving two of her letters and offers to sweep her off of her feet when he sees her once again.
Date Created:: 1943-11-28T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated February 16, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated February 18, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes from England inquiring about the new photograph he sent and notifying her of the package of souvenirs he sent back home to Michigan.
Date Created:: 1944-02-16T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Carol Sutton of Muskegon was born in Davis, West Virginia on February 23, 1940. She went to Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as West Virginia University after high school. After graduating in 1963, Sutton went on an extended international trip before joining the Air Force. In May of 1965, she underwent Basic Training in Montgomery, Alabama, and graduated as a Second Lieutenant since she was a nurse. She was then stationed at Wilford Hall in Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, where she met her husband in the labor and delivery unit of the hospital. They got married in July of 1966 before her husband was deployed to Vietnam. After his return in 1968, the couple moved to Austin, Texas and they both left the service. Sutton then worked as a nurse at the health center at the University of Texas before retiring in 2000.
Date Created:: 2019-06-07T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Michael Alioto was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Despite having a college deferment, he received a draft notice in 1969, and rather than argue the issue, he decided to go into the Army anyway. Despite his high test scores, he was trained as an infantryman, and was deployed to Vietnam in April, 1970. Assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, he spent most of his year in Vietnam on patrol in the northern part of South Vietnam, usually in or near the A Shau Valley. His platoon took heavy casualties in a number of firefights, and participated in the Ripcord campaign in the summer of 1970, reopening Firebase Gladiator to support Ripcord while it was under siege. When he tour of Vietnam was up, he was sent to Germany briefly, and then completed his enlistment in the United States.
Date Created:: 2013-03-05T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Eric Beard is from Lansing, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army after college and trained in Ft. Drum and Ft. Polk, and spent time in Ft. Drum before going overseas. He served as an E4 in Afghanistan for 10 months. He and his unit patrolled villages and made sure the Taliban and Al Qaeda did not interfere with the Afghanis setting up their own government.
Date Created:: 2011-05-20T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: James Cooley joined the Army National Guard in 2003 at age 17, and served in the Iraq War. He worked in transportation while he was there, specifically he operated the .50 caliber machine gun on a truck that guarded convoys. He served a yearlong deployment, and at the time of the interview is scheduled for another year tour of duty.
Date Created:: 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Martin Goldrick was a Marine Officer who served during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1971 as a Platoon Commander, then as a Civic Action Officer working with Vietnamese civilians. He discusses combat operations in detail, as well as some of the issues confronting him as a Civic Action Officer. He also discusses morale and race issues within his units.
Date Created:: 2009-12-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Rodney Kenyon enlisted in the US Navy in 1952 to avoid being drafted into the army and sent to Korea. He was assigned to the commodore's staff in a destroyer flotilla based in Newport, Rhode Island. He followed his commander from ship to ship, and eventually served on 21 different vessels before being assigned to duty on the base at Newport. He made regular trips across the Atlantic, but never served in a combat zone.
Date Created:: 2008-05-25T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Joy Lillie, born in Coopersville Michigan, served in the 51st Field Hospital in the Army Nurse Corps from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War. During her service she spent 9 months in Oran, Algeria, and went to Normandy shortly after D-Day and worked in France, Belgium and Germany.
Date Created:: 2011-09-20T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Sherwin Nagelkirk was born in Zeeland, Michigan and lived with his grandparents growing up during the Depression while his father worked on their farm. Sherwin was drafted into the Army shortly after graduating from high school in 1951. He went through basic training at Fort Riley in Kansas and then received orders to go to Korea. Once in Korea Sherwin was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division of the 35th Regiment, Fox Company. He was wounded in the Heartbreak Ridge sector, where he won a Silver Star. He later worked on guarding prisoners on Kojido island.
Date Created:: 2009-04-16T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Veterans History Project 1714 items