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- Notes:
- Troy Girke was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1963 and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1983. Troy remained with the Navy for 20 years and traveled to Africa, Australia, Spain, France, Bahrain, UAE, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The most memorable moment for Troy was when he heard the news of 9/11. Troy was in the Navy for a significant amount of time and explains the changes that took place within the institution over time.
- Date Created:
- 2006-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lloyd Powell was born on February 22, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy in summer 1944 and was called to active duty in fall 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois then went to Camp Little Creek, Virginia and on to Norfolk, Virginia where he boarded the USS LST-509. He worked as a regular sailor, oversaw a work detail of sailors and marines, and pulled shifts on the ship's helm. They sailed up and down the East Coast moving personnel and supplies from New England to Key West, Miami, and Wainwright Shipyard in Florida. Near the end of the war the ship was outfitted for the invasion of Japan, and when Japan surrendered they were in Camp Little Creek, Virginia. Lloyd stayed with the ship until he was discharged in Norfolk in April 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roy Eugene Blanchard was a WWI veteran who served in the Michigan National Guard – 126th Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border and in Europe. Roy's son, Clark, is conducting this interview in memory of his father. At 15 years old, Roy managed to join the Michigan National Guard despite the fact he was underage. Soon after joining, Roy was sent to the Mexican border to stop the raiding of Texas towns by Mexican gangs. While in Mexico, WWI broke out and Roy's division was immediately shipped over to France. In this interview, Clark shares many detailed stories about his father's time on the front, including unique stories of mustard gas and barbed wire. Clark also discusses the time his father saw a fellow solider get hit by shrapnel and also the time Roy was blinded by mustard gas. Because Roy kept diaries of his time on the front, the stories Clark tells are very clear and truly give one a sense of the front lines. During WWII, Roy was an auxiliary policeman for Grand Rapids who policed many of the women's baseball games.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Clark was born in September 1920 in a farmhouse in Wayne County, Michigan. Growing up, Clark had a difficult childhood, including a diagnosis of tuberculosis, moving to Arizona for treatment and back to Michigan, and his family losing their property during the Great Depression. After high school, Clark attended both Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University before receiving his draft card in 1942. After the Army drafted Clark, he spent two years in different programs before deploying with the 106th Infantry division to Belgium. During the Battle of the Bulge, Clark was wounded and evacuated back from the line for nearly a month before returning to his unit, where he served for the rest of the war. Following the war, Clark attended a school the Army had set up in southern France.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Breidenfield was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 23, 1921. She joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (which would later become the Women's Army Corps) in 1943 and was trained at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Jane spent her term of service in Orlando, Florida where she plotted bombing missions, sold war bonds, and worked as a teletype operator. Selling war bonds allowed Jane to participate in many theater related activities which she enjoyed and often continued in her free time. After the war ended and she was released from her duties in Orlando, Jane returned to Grand Rapids where she joined the Army Reserve.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Keegstra was born on April 20, 1919 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy on August 7, 1941 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Yeoman School and after 16 weeks graduated as a yeoman in the Navy. He was stationed at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois when the war began. In the summer of 1942 he went to U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen School at Abbott Hall at Northwestern University and graduated from that training on October 30, 1942 with the rank of ensign. He stayed there and worked as an instructor for a little over a year, then was transferred in January 1944 to Hollywood, Florida where he worked as a navigation instructor. In March 1945 he joined the crew of the USS Savannah (CL-42) and trained in the Gulf of Mexico through the summer and early fall of 1945. On October 22, 1945 he left the ship in New Orleans and shortly thereafter was discharged from the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willard Veenstra was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1944 and reported after graduating from high school that June. He trained at Camp Blanding, Florida, and Fort Meade, Maryland. He was sent to Europe in January, 1945, and was sent to the 2nd Armored Division as a replacement during the final days of the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the Netherlands with them for training and was assigned to the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division. In March 1945 they marched into Germany and fought across northern Germany, known as the Rhine Campaign, until they reached Magdeburg. He was wounded in Magdeburg on April 12, 1945 and was eventually evacuated to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doré Westra was born on February 22, 1925 in Byron Center, Michigan. He grew up in the Grosse Point area of Detroit, Michigan and lived there until he was drafted after his eighteenth birthday on February 22, 1943. He received basic training and engineer training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and was assigned to B Company of the 1302nd Engineer General Service Regiment. In late 1943 his unit was sent up to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and by January 1944 they were in England. He was stationed in England for over half of 1944 until he volunteered to join a combat engineer unit in the 5th Armored Division. He joined that unit in fall 1944 and was in the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine River. After Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 he was reassigned to the 2nd Armored Division and was stationed in Berlin until he was sent home in late fall 1945. He was discharged from Camp Atterbury, Indiana in winter 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Barker was born in 1925 in Stanton, Michigan. Albert grew up on a farm and was doing farm work when he was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and was then sent to Great Lakes, Illinois where he spent eight weeks in basic training. After his training, Albert was sent to the South Pacific where he met up with his PT squadron in New Caledonia. After being in New Caledonia, he was sent to Rendova Island where he patrolled waters against the Japanese. After Rendova, he was sent through the Solomon Islands until he was eventually sent to the Philippines. Albert was sent home from the Philippines and was discharged in Bainbridge, Maryland in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Becker, born in Illinois in 1944, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 during the Vietnam War. While training at Lackland Air Force Base, Bob was recruited on to the base softball team. He traveled often with the team playing in tournaments against both military and civilian teams. He was then transferred to the Air Force Academy softball team and reassigned to the base newspaper. Here he covered sports stories including Air Force football games and the training of the 1968 Olympic team. After being discharged Bob continued his career in journalism working in sport in Grand Rapids Michigan and became very involved with veterans organization.
- Date Created:
- 2012-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
