Veterans History Project

Notes:: Handwritten V-Mail letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated September 15, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated October 4, 1943. In the V-Mail letter, Joe is happy to hear Agnes' family made it safely to Michigan and he shares news of the packages he sent back home to Agnes, his mother, and sister Helen.
Date Created:: 1943-09-15T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Nelson Birman, born June 19th 1936 in Battle Creek Michigan, served in the U.S. Marines Corps. from 1954-1957. Nelson spent his military career as an instructor, instructing soldiers on rifles, hand grenades, flamethrowers, and bayonets. He also was a gifted rifleman who served on a Marine Corps. shooting team.
Date Created:: 2012-01-25T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Dean Chapman was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1922, and served in the Army in World War II. He was in the ROTC in college at Michigan State, and joined the Army shortly after graduating. He worked as a forward observer for the 123rd Battalion of the 10th Armored Division. He was involved in several different campaigns in Europe, serving in the Battle of the Bulge, and in Germany and Austria.
Date Created:: 2008-04-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Ray Fischer was born on November 27, 1924 and grew up on a farm in Greenville, Michigan. After high school he was drafted and trained in Oklahoma as an infantryman. He served in the 79th Division and fought in Normandy, France, Belgium and Germany. He was captured in Germany and spent a month in a prison camp before being liberated by the Russians.
Date Created:: 2003-08-21T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Mark Graham was born in 1971 in Douglas, Michigan. At 18, Mark joined the Air Force right out of high school. He went to Lackland Air Force Base in September 1989. After basic training, Mark went to Chanute Air Force Base to work on cruise missiles. His first station was Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. He worked there for four years and was transferred to Pope Air Force Base in 1994 and served there for seven years.
Date Created:: 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Chris Leaver is a US Navy veteran that was on active duty in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and later in the early to mid-2000s (post 9/11). He was born in Toledo, Ohio and his family eventually moved to Madison, Indiana. After high school he enlisted in the Navy to get money for college. He went to Orlando, Florida for boot camp in October 1989 spent a year at Millington, Tennessee, training in aviation electronics. He was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, later accepted to the Naval Academy where he attended for two years, and was then sent to Andrews Air Force Base. He left the Navy in 1994, but joined the Michigan Naval Reserves in 2002, and went on active duty until 2006.
Date Created:: 2014-02-06T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Gordon Ludema served as a staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After high school in August of 1948, he enlisted in the Air Force in order to avoid being drafted into the army. After spending 13 weeks in Texas for basic training, he learned to fly DC-3 planes before his outfit went overseas. He served as a radio operator and at night, his outfit was responsible for dropping flares so that U.S. fighters and bombers could attack enemy convoys. While in Korea and Japan, he flew a total of 104 combat missions.
Date Created:: 2005-06-07T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Jay Lutke, born in Michigan in May of 1918, served in the U.S. Army from approximately May 1943-Novmeber 1945 in Europe during World War II. After completing his basic training at Fort Knox Kentucky, Jay was assigned to the 702nd Tank Battalion attached to the 8th Infantry Division in the 3rd Army. Jay spent his service traveling through France and Austria clearing pockets of resistance, and remained in Austria and Germany for about six months after the German surrender.
Date Created:: 2010-11-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Notes:: Thomas Murphy is a Vietnam War veteran who volunteered for the draft after he graduated from Rockford High School in 1967. He served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, Company D and was awarded three Purple Heart Awards, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Cross of Gallantry with Palm. In this interview, Thomas shares many stories about his experience with booby traps, dangerous living conditions and being a ‘tunnel rat.'
Date Created:: 2009-05-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Veterans History Project 1714 items