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Veterans History Project (U.S.)
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World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
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United States. Army
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- Notes:
- Andrew M. Olah was born on March 4, 1924 and grew up in Muskegon, MI. After being drafted, Andrew served as a sergeant for the U.S. Army. He served in England, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. During his service, Andrew was selected by the government for special duty to help plan for the Invasion of Normandy.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Duane Harvey was born in Smelter City, Oklahoma in 1924. He grew up there and finished high school there in 1943. He was drafted in 1942, but allowed to complete high school and was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in July 1943. He was sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland for basic training and for ordnance training. In the spring of 1944 he was sent over to England and arrived just prior to the D-Day Invasion. He was stationed at the Litchfield Barracks part of the 10th Replacement Depot until he volunteered to join the 501st Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and become a paratrooper. After completing paratrooper and “jump” (parachuting) training in England he was sent over to Mourmelon, France where he was first assigned to B Company and later joined an S2 Squad in Headquarters Company dealing primarily with observation posts and processing German prisoners of war. He saw action at Bastogne and in Alsace-Lorraine during the Battle of the Bulge and after the war ended was part of the American occupying force in Germany, and returned home in January 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Litty is a Korean War veteran that also was a civilian living in Germany during World War II. He was born a U.S. citizen in Yonkers, New York in 1930, but at the age of five his family moved back to Germany and lived in a Berlin suburb. He describes his experiences before and during the war, discussing the Hitler Youth program, his father's military service on the Eastern Front, surviving bombing raids, multiple moves, and finally the atrocities committed by the Red Army in 1945. As a US citizen, he was allowed to move to the American sector of West Berlin, and he and his family returned to New York. In October 1951 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was deployed to fight in the Korean War. He was assigned to a mortar platoon of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. He served on the front line for six weeks until he was reassigned to a position in the rear in record keeping, and returned home and was discharged in 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mike Stolk was born in 1920, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1942, and trained at Fort Sill as an artillerist. His main job was to site guns and check their ranges. His unit went to England in 1942 and served in France, Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia. He discusses his experiences in the Hurtgen Forest, and occupation duty in Germany and Czechoslovakia.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ray Gill is a World War II veteran who served with the U.S. Army from 1941 to May 1946. In this account, Gill discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He also discusses his active duty and how difficult the fighting was in France, Luxembourg, and Germany. He talks about soldiers living conditions, and the occupation of Germany. Gill also toured with a dance band throughout Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William A. Sikkel joined the Michigan National Guard before World War II and served in the army on active duty between 1940 and 1945 in the 126th Regiment, 32nd "Red Arrow" Division. He attended Officer Candidate School before the division shipped out to the Pacific and served in Australia and New Guinea as a platoon and company commander and as a staff officer. He remained in the National Guard after the war, and also served as mayor of Holland, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Groggel was born on July 22, 1924 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In March 1943 he was drafted into the Army. He received basic training and anti-aircraft training at Camp Hulen, Texas before being reassigned to the infantry. He received infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia before receiving officer training at Fort Davis, North Carolina. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and trained soldiers in California before being assigned to an infantry unit. They deployed out of Fort Meade, Maryland in fall 1944 bound for the European Theatre. They moved from England to France and took up positions on the German frontier. During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 Richard and his platoon were captured by Germans. He was moved to prisoner of war camps across Germany and Poland, he marched 350 miles across Poland and witnessed the failed Task Force Baum raid on Hammelburg prisoner of war camp. He was liberated from Stalag VII-A on April 29, 1945, and after recovery at Camp Lucky Strike, France he returned to the United States. He was discharged in August 1945 shortly after Japan's surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Hopkins was born in Blanchester, Ohio in 1927. He was drafted on June 19, 1945 and was processed in Ohio and Indiana before going to Camp Walters, Texas for basic training to prepare for the invasion of Japan. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and Japan surrendered the invasion plans changed and he was assigned to occupation duty in Germany. He was deployed to Germany in December 1945 and arrived in Le Havre, France. He was stationed in Marburg, Germany for a month working as a special orders clerk (processing soldiers being sent home) before applying for the 3rd Special Services as a performer. He traveled around Germany with the GI song and dance troupe "Script and Score" performing in German cities all around West Germany. In November 1946 he took a ship back to the United States and was discharged in New Jersey in December 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Johnson was born in Greenville, Michigan in 1919, and was drafted into the Army in 1941. After training to be a mechanic at Camp Boyd, Texas, Johnson joined Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He went to England with this unit in 1942, and stayed with it through campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge and the invasion of Germany, ending up in Czechoslovakia when the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Schrader was born in Alpena, Michigan on October 19, 1929. He entered the Army on July 31, 1948, and served in Germany near the end of World War II. After WWII, Schrader went to Korea and served in the Korean War. After Korea, Schrader switched from Infantry to Airborne. After joining the Airborne, Schrader married and he and his wife went back to Germany. Schrader spent 113 days in Lebanon during the Lebanese Crisis, and afterwards, went back to the United States and joined the Special Forces, eventually becoming a Green Beret. In 1962, Schrader left and trained guerillas in both Laos and Iran before going to Vietnam in 1965. Schrader left Vietnam and served in the United States for several years before returning to Vietnam in 1969, where he again trained Vietnamese forces.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eugene Smith was drafted to the United States Army in the 1940's. He was stationed in Calcutta, India for a total of 28 months. Although the American troops deployed to India at this time were intended to attack Axis supply lines coming from the country of Burma, Smith was not actively involved in this mission and served as a military policeman. His duties consisted of primarily base patrol with occasional prisoner safeguarding. The base which Smith was stationed was highly underdeveloped and demanded fast adaptation by new recruits who had been thrust into highly dangerous positions from a previous life of suburban factory work. The 44-day voyage to India presented Smith and the other young American men with unfamiliar situations including attacks by Japanese submarines, hurricanes, and extended sea travel. Smith was discharged on January 1st 1946 and returned to his home in Wisconsin to attend Marquette University funded by the GI Bill of 1944.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jan Viveen, born in 1918 in a small village in North Brabant in the Netherlands. After completing high school in 1936, he was drafted into the Dutch Army in 1936. At the time of the German invasion in 1940, he was manning an antitank gun on the banks of the Erft River, and stayed there until his unit was ordered to surrender. He spent about four months in a POW camp before being allowed to return home. After that, he worked in a rail yard and aided downed Allied airmen. In the spring of 1945, he was sent to a labor camp in Germany, and remained there until the liberation.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Woodrow J. Tromp is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 32nd (Red Arrow) Division Company I, 126th Infantry Regiment from 1940 to 1945. In this account he discuses his time with the National Guard before and after it was federalized as part of the U.S. Army. In addition, he discusses his training in the U.S. and Australia, combat experiences in New Guinea and the Philippines, along with problems caused by terrain and disease.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Meyers was born in Coloma, Michigan on August 6, 1926. George spent his early years on his parent's farm, but they had lost it during the Depression. Both of George's older brothers were already in the service and fighting when he received his draft papers in 1944. George went through basic training for the Army at Camp Hood in Texas and then went through extended training before being sent to Luzon. George served as a replacement in the 32nd Infantry Division and was later sent home after being injured by a grenade.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Ohanesian was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. He wanted to enlist in the Army immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was too young, and was drafted late in 1942. He tried to get into the Army Air Corps, and tested well enough while in basic training at Camp Grant, Illinois, to qualify, and was put into a program to give some college training for flight school candidates and sent to Butler University. He did well there, but his program was shut down and he wound up at Camp Polk, Louisiana, assigned to the 58th Armored Infantry Battalion in the 8th Armored Division. He sailed for England at the end of 1944, then shipped over to France in early 1945. His division passed through Belgium and joined the 9th Army in the Netherlands before crossing the Rhine and proceeding across Germany and into Czechoslovakia.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Demo Christopoulos is a World War II veteran who served in the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Division. He enlisted in the Army late in 1943, but did not go to Europe with his original training company because he was too young. He eventually sailed with the 65th Division, which joined the 3rd Army in time to participate in the spring offensive in 1945. His unit pushed through the Saar, crossed the Rhine, and then fought their way across the Danube, and ended the war in Austria. Christopoulos remained in Europe until the spring of 1946, with his last assignment involving screening SS prisoners held at Dachau.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Earl Mather served during World War II for the 1256th Combat Engineers Battalion. He served in Europe, France, Belgium, and Germany building bridges and repairing bombed bridges. He served during the Battle of the Bulge as a MP Officer and was involved in the freeing of Buchenwald concentration camp. His memories of the war are still vivid in his mind and his interview is remarkable. Earl and his wife still reside in Ohio where they originally built their home before the war. His file includes numerous photographs from the war and afterward.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arden Pridgeon was born on April 5, 1924, in Isabella County, Michigan. In April 1943 he was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program and in the summer he was drafted. He received an advanced form of basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and in December 1943 he went to University of Wisconsin for the Army Specialized Training Program. In March 1944 he completed his term there and the ASTP was shut down. Arden then received orders to join the 96th Infantry Division and was assigned to G Company, 381st Infantry Regiment. He trained in Oregon and California before deploying to the Pacific Theater on July 15, 1944. He participated in the invasion of Leyte, Philippines, on October 20, 1944, and the subsequent Battle of Leyte which ended on December 25, 1944. In April 1945 he participated in the invasion and the Battle of Okinawa. Upon being wounded on April 15 he was evacuated to Guam for treatment and Saipan for retraining. He returned to Okinawa on June 1, 1945, and continued to fight. In mid-July 1945 he and the rest of the unit moved to Mindoro to train for the invasion of Japan. With the war over, he opted to return to the United States and landed at San Francisco on January 4, 1946, and was discharged on January 11, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2016-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Benjamin Taylor was born in Allegan County, Michigan in 1921 and went to school through the eighth grade. After serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps for about a year, he joined the National Guard in June 1940; the National Guard was federalized in October 1940. He shipped out to Australia with the 32nd (Red Arrow) Division in the spring of 1942, and eventually went to New Guinea, where he was badly wounded near Buna.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Hoyt Christensen was born in 1926 in Greenville, Michigan. Prior to his service he left school after the seventh grade and worked on a farm and later at the age of fifteen managed a dairy farm until he was drafted at the age of eighteen in the summer of 1944. In November 1944 he attended basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. On April 13, 1945 he was sent to New Guinea and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division. He aided with clearing out the remaining Japanese forces on the islands of Halmahera and Morotai. After that operation his unit was sent to aid in the liberation of the Philippines. His unit landed at Davao on the island of Mindanao where they encountered fierce Japanese resistance. He was stationed on Mindanao until the end of the war and afterwards he was reassigned to an ordinance unit and then on to the island of Leyte where he joined an engineering unit where he drove a fuel truck. On October 17, 1946 he was sent home and was discharged from the Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cornelius "Bob" Warners served in World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and Normandy in the 3rd armored division service company that assisted the men in battle. He served time in battle that at one point extended 147 straight days of combat duty. He discusses training in Louisiana and in the Mohave Desert and his experiences in France, Belgium and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Felver was born in Littleton, Colorado on September 4, 1927, but his family moved to Phillipsburg, New Jersey when he was five years old. He grew up during the Second World War and lost a brother to that conflict. After graduating from high school in June 1945 he signed up for the draft and in August he received his draft notice. He reported for duty on January 6, 1946, and after a short stay at Fort Hancock, New Jersey he was sent by train to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and armored (tank) training. When his two months of training were complete he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington where he stayed for a year and a half, going on maneuvers, keeping a record of where the small arms were and who had them, and acting as the Venereal Diseases Noncommissioned Officer. He was discharged in September 1947.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Boyer was born in Conway, Arkansas, in 1918. He moved around with his parents growing up before settling in Saginaw, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1936 he attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a master's degree in history in 1941. He taught in Clyde, Ohio for a year before getting drafted in June 1942. He received basic training and medical training at Fort Totten, New York City, New York and was assigned to the 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. He was sent to the European Theatre on August 30, 1942 and would not see home for three years. During his time in the service he was stationed in England, Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, mainland Italy, Marseilles, France and Heidelberg, Germany until the end of the war. He witnessed the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, and southern France, as well as the final Allied push into Germany. After the war ended he returned to the United States and was discharged from the Army in Evanston, Illinois in 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Soper was born on April 16, 1920 in Indianapolis, Indiana and settled into Grand Rapids in 1929. Soper was drafted into the Army before finishing college and went on to supervise the American Oil Dump being shipped through Iran and Iraq to the Soviet Union. After being turned away from the Army Corps of Engineering and officers' training, he was relocated to Chicago and Indianapolis to close domestic military contracts. After leaving the service, Soper finished his schooling and earned a master's degree in accounting.
- Date Created:
- 2017-04-25T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- 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:
- Harry Kamer was born in Hudsonville, Michigan, and during the depression. He left school after 8th grade to help on the farm, and was drafted in 1943. He was shipped to North Africa and trained there before joining the 34th Division for the campaigns at Cassino, Anzio and Northern Italy.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morris Hinken served as a communications technician during World War II. He trained at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and deployed to England with the 32nd Signal Battalion at the end of 1943. He was based near Coventry, and went to Normandy shortly after D-Day. His unit laid and repaired telephone cables across northern Europe. He worked in Bastogne shortly before the Battle of the Bulge, and followed the army into Germany. Shortly after the German surrender, he was sent to Okinawa, arriving just after the Japanese surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thadius Burzynski was born in Michigan on April 18, 1916. Ted was married in 1940 and expected to be drafted after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ted was deferred from service many times because of his work in a factory. Ted was drafted in 1943 and then traveled to France for his time in the service. He was in Germany on VE Day.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Ten Harmsel was born in Iowa in 1919 and grew up in Michigan. He was working at General Motors when Pearl Harbor happened, and was drafted into the Army in 1942. Having grown up on a farm and being experienced with trucks, he was pulled out of basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to drive a truck for a general on the base, and stayed at Fort Sill until the spring of 1944, when he was shipped to England and assigned to a battalion of the 18th Artillery. His unit landed on Utah Beach on or shortly after D-Day, and went into action right away. His unit fought in Normandy, in northern France, in the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the invasion of Germany. They went through a concentration camp and ferried Russian POWs back to the Soviet lines at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dwight Becker was born in Grandville, Michigan on March 25, 1924. He received his draft notice in January 1943 and reported for service in March 1943. He went to Camp Grant, Illinois and was assigned to Camp Butner, North Carolina for basic training and medical training. He was assigned to the Medical Corps in the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division. He trained at Camp Butner until October 1944 when the 78th went to Camp Pickett, Virginia then Camp Kilmer, New Jersey where they boarded the USAT George Washington and sailed for the European Theatre. They arrived in England on October 26, 1944 and trained there until they went to France on November 22, 1944. He was attached to D Company and they took up positions on the Siegfried Line in early December 1944. He treated wounded soldiers and wounded prisoners of war during the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine River, and the advance into Germany. On April 11, 1945 he was wounded and after being stabilized in Europe he returned to the United States in June 1945. He recovered at Percy Jones Hospital in Fort Custer, Michigan and was discharged from the Army at Fort Custer on September 26, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Anthony Kuna was born in 1923 in Shepherd, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army when he was 18 years old and was sent to Camp Carson, Colorado, where he trained as an artillerist. After maneuvers in California and further training at Fort Benning, Georgia, his unit, the 71st Division, was shipped to France. He served as a machine gunner assigned to a battery of 155 mm guns. His unit fought through the Siegfried Line in January, 1945, and moved across southern Germany, ending the war in Austria, where his unit liberated a concentration camp.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Breen was born on February 4, 1925 in Zeeland, Michigan. When he was eighteen he registered for the draft, and six weeks after registering he was drafted in March 1943 and went to Camp Butner, North Carolina for basic training. He participated in maneuvers in Tennessee and was eventually promoted to the rank of staff sergeant and placed in charge of a mortar squad of eight men. In fall 1944 he left the United States with the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and arrived in England on October 26, 1944. He stayed in England for further training before sailing to France, arriving at Le Havre on November 22, 1944. He fought in the Hurtgen Forest, crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, and helped clear the Ruhr Pocket. Near the end of the war he helped save four wounded Americans and was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. After Germany's surrender in May 1945 he was part of the occupation force in the Ruhr Pocket and stayed in Europe until January 1946 when he was sent home and dishcarged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Dudas was born in Sawyer, MI, just outside of Benton Harbor, in 1924. Dudas enlisted in the Army on July 29, 1943, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was selected for scout training and trained at Camp Walters in Texas. Dudas spent six months training in Cardiff, Wales, preparing for the D-Day invasion and landed on Omaha beach a day or two after the first wave, joining his unit on its way to Trevieres, France. Dudas' unit participated in the Battle at Hill 192 and advanced in a rapid push to Brest where he injured his leg during the advance and was sidelined for four weeks before rejoining his unit in Paris. His unit also participated in combat in the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, acrossing the Rhine River, and advancing into Czechoslovakia. After the war, he left the service and attended Western Michigan University to became a high school teacher.
- Date Created:
- 2015-11-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Darwin "Gabby" Stafford served in the United States Army during WW II in the Mechanized Calvary from January 1945 to June 1946 in Kansas and California. In this interview, Gabby discusses life on a farm during the Depression and the first time Social Security was introduced. He shares stories of his time in the Army including one about being treated to dinner at a chicken farm as a reward for returning a wallet, and being "volunteered" for kitchen duty while on the train to Fort Riles, Kansas. Gabby was a Mason for over 50 years.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Timmerman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1943 he got drafted at 29 years old. Robert was assigned to the 78th Division and was a Squad Leader. Robert landed in England and made his way through France and Belgium into Germany. He fought at the Hurtgen Forest and in some small towns in Germany, where he received a Purple Heart. His unit was one of the first across the Remagen Bridge.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Milton was born in Wyoming, Michigan and worked at General Motors until he was drafted. Albert was from Caledonia, Michigan and he worked on a farm. Andrew grew up in Kellogsville and he too was a farm hand for many years. Like Milton and Albert, he was drafted on April 16, 1941. All three men served with the 32nd Division and were sent to New Guinea and participated in the Buna campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donnally Palmer was born in 1918 in South Dakota. Growing up he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1936 and was drafted into the Army in mid-1941. He received basic training and intelligence gathering training at Camp Roberts, California. At the end of his training Pearl Harbor was bombed and he was sent to Camp Haan, California and was transferred to the Army Signal Corps. He was placed in the unit that would eventually become the 582nd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion. His initial duty was to oversee supplies, but that duty was changed overseas to guide ships and aircraft that were damaged, as well as keep track of Allied and enemy aircraft, and targets. He sailed overseas aboard the Queen Mary and saw the sinking of the HMS Curacao. He took part in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France. In fall 1944 he was sent back to the United States for Stateside duty and was discharged from the Army in September 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-03-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Will Holton was born in Crockett County, Tennessee, on January 19, 1919, and was likely drafted in either late 1942 or early 1943. After Basic Training and advanced training, Holton was then sent to Camp Barkeley, Texas, for trucker training, and was then sent to Louisiana for 155mm artillery training before winding up at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, with the 1010th Engineer Company. Holton was then assigned to the 2nd Platoon, A Company, 1697th Engineer Combat Battalion and was deployed to Europe, supporting the ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944-45. He guarded the other engineers while they cleared mines, opened supply routes, and built temporary bridges, continuing this construction work in France after the war. Holton later returned home and was discharged in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2017-02-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Johnson served in a regimental communications center in the 79th Division in Europe during World War II. He landed on Utah Beach with an advance party shortly after D-Day, and participated in the campaigns in Normandy, France and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2005-02-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jake Werner was born on November 29, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and enlisted in the Army on May 1, 1938. After training Jake was sent to Panama and was not at all enjoying himself because of the drug problem in the area and decided to buy is way out of the service. He returned back the US and remained in a reserve unit until he was called to active duty in February of 1941. Jake went through Officer Candidate School and then helped form one of the first armored divisions, which were relatively new at the time. They were later sent to Britain for more training and then traveled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany throughout the remainder of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth McCloud was born on May 5, 1920 in Tennessee. On February 10, 1942 he enlisted in the Army and was placed in the Signal Corps. He was processed and inducted at Fort Oglethorpe then went to Joplin, Missouri (most likely Camp Crowder) for basic training and signal training. He was deployed to the Pacific Theatre in either late 1943, or early 1944, and was sent to Finschaefen, New Guinea. He stayed at Finschafen until spring 1944 following the invasion of Hollandia. During his time in the Pacific he was part of the 553rd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion and later the 559th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion and his duty was to maintain the generators used for radar installations. In November 1944 he was sent to the Philippines and was stationed on the island of Leyte until the end of the war. Following Japan's surrender in August 1945 he was sent to Osaka, Japan for occupation duty (most likely in late September/October 1945). He stayed in Japan for five weeks then returned to the United States. He was sent to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and was discharged on December 15, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Urbon was born in Michigan in 1917 and drafted into the army in April 1941. He was sent to train with the 32nd Division, which included the National Guard regiment from his area. He was a musician and served with the division's band. His division went to Australia in 1942, and then to New Guinea. During the Buna campaign, the band members worked on transport aircraft delivering supplies to the combat units and ferrying back dead and wounded soldiers. After Buna, they returned to Australia, and then went back to New Guinea and to the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morris Kleiman was drafted into the Army for WW II and started his training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan. He had closely followed the events in Europe prior to being drafted and was also attending college at the University of Michigan. Morris had fought on the front lines against the Germans in Belgium and had done some reconnaissance work. He eventually got very sick and was sent back to the United States. After his time in the service, Morris finished his degree in accounting and took over his family business.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Hallberg of Muskegon, Michigan, was drafted into the army in October of 1941 and assigned to the 34th Division as an infantryman. He was part of the group sent directly into the harbor at Algiers to seize the port in November, 1943, and was captured by the French, who then changed sides and joined the Allies. He went on to fight at Kasserine Pass, where he was wounded. Because of his injury, he was switched to the division headquarters and stayed with them through Salerno, Cassino, Anzio and northern Italy.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Kuizema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925. After high school, he had tried to join the Air Corps, but was unable to because the testing determined that he was colorblind. In November of 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Corps during World War II. He trained with the 106th Division, which went to Europe in the fall of 1944. His specialty was primarily communications and he was responsible for operating the telephones and laying wires from the guns to the observation points. His artillery unit had just taken up positions on the Ardennes front when they were attacked at the start of the Battle of the Bulge. He managed to stay a step ahead of the Germans, and was fighting at a roadblock when he was wounded and evacuated to England.
- Date Created:
- 2005-03-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Walbridge graduated from Caledonia High School in Michigan and in 1942 and then began taking courses at Grand Rapids Community College and also joined the Army Specialized Training Program. He was called up for service in May of 1943 and found basic training to be boring, so he volunteered to be a paratrooper. Jack went through paratrooper training at Fort Benning in Georgia and then later traveled in a very large convoy to Northern Africa. They made their way though Italy and France and Jack often worked as a scout. Jack was discharged shortly after the Battle of the Bulge and began working for his father's meat market in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- 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.)