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- Notes:
- Randolph Phillips served in the US Navy as a communication technician from 1963-68 during the Vietnam War, training reservists for service in Vietnam. He joined the Navy because his grades were too poor to keep him in college. For part of his service he was in Hawaii, and for a longer period he was in Jersey City at the US Naval Reserve Training Center. He talks about what he learned by being in the military and how it applied to life after service. He talks about the Vietnam memorial and its affect on him and other veterans of Vietnam. He also talks about how the Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home, and how it differs from how veterans are treated today.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Stephen Rowe is a Vietnam veteran who served in the United States Air Force for 20 years in the field of intelligence. As a member of the 7602 Air Force Intelligence Group, Rowe went to Vietnam, the Philippines, and various bases throughout the United States. In this interview, Rowe gives an overview of his 20 years spent in the service and answers questions about food, free time, holidays, fear, and combat. One of his most memorable moments occurred just after Vietnam, when Rowe was assigned to the debriefing of one of the Vietnam POWs. Rowe spent 2-4 weeks in a hospital near Riverside, CA listening to the POWs story.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mr. Vermerris is from Michigan and was born on February 22nd, 1931. In 1951, he and some friends decided to join the Air Force instead of waiting to get drafted for Korea. He received his training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and then to Biloxi, Mississippi to learn how to use a radio. He chose to be in the Airborne. His job in the service consisted of supplying troops in Japan, Korea, and he even traveled to Greenland and Iceland. He was in the Air Force for three years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-02-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Melvin Bowser served in the US Air Force from 1962 to 1966. He trained at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and was then stationed at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan. There he worked as a furnace tender and maintenance man on the base, and later switched to electrical work after being injured.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gordon Van Wylen left his job as an engineer for Dupont in 1943 and joined the US Navy. He entered an officer training program, but then transferred into submarine school. He served on the submarine USS Hardhead in 1944-45 and went on six patrols in the Pacific. His boat sank several Japanese warships, including an aircraft carrier, and after the war he contacted and befriended some of the Japanese sailors who survived the sinking of this ship.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jerry Von Holt served in the US Navy from 1947 to 1956. He served on ships and at bases across the Pacific, including Korea and Japan. He served on destroyers that patrolled Korean waters, but did not see combat. He also received firefighting and rescue training.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Weaver Sr. was born in 1964 in Madrid, Spain, where his father was in the Air Force, and grew up in Michigan. He joined the Air Force in 1982 trained at Lackland and later Lowry Air Force Bases and became a procurement specialist. He served at George Air Force base working in the procurement department and serving on the base's drill team. Conflicts with some of his superiors led to a situation in which he was mistreated badly enough to lead to PTSD, and while he worked through those problems, he chose to leave the Air Force when his enlistment ended in 1986.
- Date Created:
- 2014-09-04T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Shaun Davis served in the U.S. Air Force.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- 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.)
- Notes:
- Born in Charlevoix, Michigan in 1922, Jim Ochs grew up through the Depression. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended college for a couple of years before receiving his draft notice in late 1942. He received training as a photographer, but was shuttled around between different training programs and eventually wound up with a signal company attached to the 26th Division as a message center runner. His division went to France in the fall of 1944, and was in action around Metz, in the Bulge counterattack, and Patton's advance into Germany. Ochs managed to acquire a camera and improvised a darkroom to develop his pictures while on campaign. After the war, he was able to develop his pictures properly. Ochs donated his photographs and personal papers to GVSU.
- Date Created:
- 2010-12-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frederick Rock was born on November 11, 1919 in Detroit, Michigan. He went to the University of Detroit for a few semesters and then joined the Army Air Corps. He was a staff sergeant and assigned to be a flight engineer on a B-17 Bomber. Frederick went to North Africa and then to Italy. He was a turret gunner and a flight engineer on a crew of 10 people in the 348th squadron of the 99th bomb group. He went on 35 missions but they counted some of the rough ones as double so he had a total of 50 missions.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Warren Wandrey, born in 1924 in Chicago, served in the U.S. Navy from July 1943 to March 1946. After receiving his draft notice in 1942, he was allowed to finish high school before starting training in 1943. He trained as a radioman, and was sent to the Pacific in 1944. He started at a PT boat base in New Guinea, and was soon assigned to a series of PT boat tenders, which he accompanied to the Philippines and back to the East Indies, where he was stationed when the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Wyma was born in 1963 in South Korea. After high school, David enlisted in the US Navy. He served 3 years in Norfolk, Virginia and 2 years in Iceland.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Carr grew up in Chicago and joined the Navy in 1945 at age 17 as a first class seaman. He received raining at Great Lakes Naval Station, and worked there as a dispersing clerk handling payroll for sailors being discharged after World War II. He then went to college and served in the reserves. He was called up when the Korean War started and was sent to Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands to work on a secret project for Atomic Energy Commission.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Baas, Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1920, enlisted in the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor. Initially, he was initially allowed to return to college to finish his senior year, but before the term ended, he was sent to Mississippi to begin training. He qualified as a Navy pilot and was given his choice of naval aircraft (other than fighters), and trained on the TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber. He did carrier training and flew patrols off the Massachusetts coast in 1944 and operated off of an escort carrier with an Atlantic convoy, and then was sent to the Pacific early in 1945. Assigned to Carrier Group 83, he flew missions over Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan, and participated in the attack on the Japanese battleship Yamato as it attempted to reach Okinawa.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wade Cratsenberg is a Vietnam veteran who served in the United States Navy from November 1964 to November 1970 in California. In this interview, Cratsenberg discusses the behind-the-scene work done by the Navy during Vietnam. As part of the VR7 and VR8 squadrons, Cratsenberg was responsible for the aircraft carriers, carrying out both plane maintenance and pilot maintenance training. He provides detailed accounts of the work he did on planes as well as the usefulness of the Navy uniform, and the lifestyle and dangers of working on an aircraft carrier.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Hill joined the Michigan National Guard before World War II and served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division, throughout the war. He fought in every major action that his unit was involved in on New Guinea, Morotai and Leyte, and provides detailed descriptions of combat and army life at the time.
- Date Created:
- 2007-08-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1947, William Jones divided his younger years growing up between Ionia, Michigan and Manchester, New Hampshire. After graduating from high school in Manchester, Jones followed family tradition and enlisted in the military, specifically the Marine Corps. After completing basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jones went to the Marine Corps' base at Quantico, Virginia for training in supply and logistics. When he finished training at Quantico, Jones deployed to Vietnam, where he served with the 1st Marine Division in Da Nang as part of a supply and logistics unit. Following a yearlong tour in Vietnam, Jones returned to the United States before deploying overseas again, this time to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Once his tour at Guantánamo Bay was complete, Jones returned to Camp Lejeune, where he finished the remainder of his enlistment.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edmond Kaminski served with the 760th Tank Battalion in Italy during World War II. His account includes discussions of armored training and combat in a series of battles in Italy, including Cassino.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Leibecke was born into a military family and attended VMI, graduating in 1969. Commissioned in the Army, he attended Infantry Basic School at Ft. Benning, went to Jump School, put in a few months with a transportation unit at the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation for some leadership experience, and then went to Ranger School, and then to Jungle Training in Panama before going to Vietnam. In May, 1970, he was given command of the 1st Platoon in C Company, 2/506, in the 101st Airborne Division. His company participated in the campaign around Firebase Ripcord. They suffered badly in an attack on their position on Hill 902 on July 2, and later helped to rescue another company, D/1/506, on July 23. In August, he was reassigned to be his brigade's liaison officer to the division headquarters, and also served as a liaison with the ARVN 1st Division during their invasion of Laos in early 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Stephen Nyenhuis was born in 1949 in Princeton, Minnesota. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and was eventually drafted into the Army in 1969. Stephen was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for eight weeks of basic training and was then sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia for AIT training. He then transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana where he learned to be a truck driver. After his training at Fort Polk, he received his orders for Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Stephen worked in convoys transporting supplies and near the end of his service he fixed flat tires. Because of his duties he never saw combat.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cornelius Potts is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945. While still in training, he was assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division's band. His unit was based near Seattle for some time, but eventually went to the Philippines and served on Luzon. Potts experienced combat, but primarily served with the band, entertaining dignitaries including Gen. MacArthur and President Quezon
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leonard Straayer was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 30, 1918. He was drafted in 1941, shortly after graduating from high school. Leonard was assigned to a service company in the 126th infantry and drove trucks. He was first sent to South Australia and then to New Guinea. In New Guinea he helped haul the E company up the Owen Stanley Range and loaded k rations on to planes to be air dropped. Then he was moved up to a mechanics company and went to places such as Milne Bay, Morotai and Saidor. Leo was then sent to the Philippines, but only spent 25 days there and was sent home because he had enough points. He spent the rest of his time helping out with German POWs at Fort Custer, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alford Walker, of Pontiac, Michigan, was drafted into the Army in 1967. Before being drafted, he remembers business greatly slowing down and much protesting and civil unrest. Al went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training, and then to New Jersey, Washington, and then Alaska before going overseas. While in Vietnam, Al went on many reconnaissance missions at night and also worked with the underground tunnel network built by the Vietnamese. After his time in the service, Al worked for the Pontiac Police Force.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clyde Westra was born in Grand Haven, MI in 1948. He dropped out of high school to join the Marine Corps at the age of 17. Clyde was initially trained and worked in Vietnam as a Combat Engineer, but was shipped to Danang and trained to be a radio operator. He served in Vietnam for 26 months, including at Khe Sanh and in the A Shau Valley. For his service in Vietnam, he recieved a Purple Heart, and Bronze Star. After Clyde came home, he was diagnosed with PTSD and other illnesses as a result of exposure to Agent Orange.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Craig Van Hout was born in 1949 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After graduating from high school, he went to college for three semesters before dropping out, and received his draft notice soon afterward in January 1969. After finishing his basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Van Hout went through advanced training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Once he finished at Fort Polk, Van Hout deployed to Vietnam and joined B Company, 2nd of the 506th, 101st Airborne Division in January, 1970. While serving with the 101st Airborne, His unit took part in the campaign around Firebase Ripcord from April through July, 1970, and was wounded during the evacuation of the base. He eventually returned to his company, which saw relatively little combat during his final months in the field. He spent the last few months of his enlistment at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as a clerk.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Keith was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1926. He grew up in Grand Rapids and in August 1944 he enlisted in the Army Air Force, almost a month before his eighteenth birthday. He reported for duty on March 1, 1945 and was processed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was sent to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi for basic training and then a technical school where he learned how to be an aircraft mechanic. His time there ended in September 1945 and he was sent to Langley Field, Virginia for two months. In November 1945 he was sent over to Germany where he was stationed at Landsberg Air Base near Munich doing engine changes on a variety of aircraft, but the major focus was on the C-47 transport plane. His time in Germany ended in September 1946. He returned to the United States and was discharged in October 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Stout was born in Muskegon, Michigan on July 20, 1923. He grew up in Muskegon and enlisted in the Michigan National Guard on June 30, 1939. In October 1940 his unit, G Company of the 126th Infantry of the 32nd Division was mobilized and sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana and later to Camp Livingston, Louisiana to train to prepare for an American involvement in the war in Europe. After Pearl Harbor the unit was sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts for further training until it was decided that they were needed more in the Pacific Theatre. They were sent first to Australia and later to New Guinea in September 1942 where his unit crossed the Owen Stanley Mountain Range leading to them being nicknamed the "Ghost Mountain Boys." He participated in the Buna-Gona Campaign in New Guinea and was wounded there. After healing and rejoining his unit they went back to New Guinea. After New Guinea was liberated his unit was sent up to participate in the invasion of the Philippines at Luzon and Leyte. In July 1945 he had enough points to go home and returned to the United States and was discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He worked briefly for Continental Motors until the end of the war and from there joined the police force. After the 126th Infantry Regiment was reorganized he decided to reenlist in the Michigan National Guard. During that time he was sent to Detroit to be a part of the military presence in the city helping to restore order during the race riots. He retired from the National Guard in 1968 with the rank of major.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jacob Rozema was born in the Netherlands and moved with his family to Michigan in 1930. He enlisted in the medical corps and served in the 148th station hospital in New Guinea before transferring to an evacuation hospital in Manila. In the Philippines, he served with front line combat units at times as well. He served in Japan after the war and contrasts what he observed of Japanese brutality in the Philippines with their treatment of the soldiers in the occupation forces. Extensive personal narrative written prior to this interview concerning New Guinea, the Liberation Campaign, Occupation Forces in Japan, return to the US and separation from active duty is appended to this interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Woods grew up in a poor neighborhood in New Orleans and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1960 at the age of 17. He was based on Okinawa in the early 1060s, and was sent to Vietnam with one of the first Marine units assigned there, and participated in a number of combat actions of varying size. After his tour in Vietnam was over, he stayed in the Marines until 1979, but did not return to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Tibbe was born in Grant, Michigan on March 10, 1921. He went to school through the 8th grade and then began working on his family's farm until he was drafted into the Army in the fall of 1942. John went through basic training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi and then later went through Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Pickett in Virginia where he trained to be an anti-tank gunner. After training John was stationed in New Guinea and also the island of Morotai.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Bocian was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 and enlisted in the Navy in 1943 when he was only 17 years old. He went through training in Chicago and then chose to continue his training with submarines. After going through submarine school Gerald was stationed at Pearl Harbor where he worked on refitting submarines while the crew had time off on R & R. Gerald worked in Hawaii for 3 years before he went on a war patrol on the submarine USS Silversides in the Pacific.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Eckman, of Lake Odessa, Michigan enlisted in the Army in March, 1944. He was in basic training in Florida at the time of D-Day, and shipped to Europe in the fall of 1944. He was assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division, at Nancy, France, and participated in fighting at Strasbourg and other places in Alsace, regularly walking point for his platoon. He was wounded twice in the space of several months, and was already on a ship heading for home when the Germans surrendered in May, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lawrence L. Dean served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1957 to 1959 in the U.S. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S., and his service. Dean concludes by discussing his life after the war and mentioning that he also served briefly for 3 months in 1968.
- Date Created:
- 2007-03-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Kramer served in the 42nd Infantry Division in the US Army during World War II. His unit was shipped to France late in 1944, and joined the 7th Army in Alsace. Kramer's unit fought near Strasbourg during the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind, and participated in the counterattacks that followed and in the campaign into Germany. Kramer was wounded in March 1945, and out of action for the rest of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sid Linger was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1918. After graduation from high school, Lenger went into business with his father, who ran several stores in the Grand Rapids. He was drafted into the Navy in 1944, and was assigned as a quartermaster on a new LST that was being built at Seneca, Illinois. He sailed on the LST down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf and Mexico and the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean. Lenger's LST transported Marines as part of the massive invasion of Okinawa, where they witnessed many kamikaze attacks. Following the battle, the LST transported the supplies needed for P-38 fighter escorts and supplies to Japan before Lenger left the service. Included with the interview is a video Lenger made himself, combining official Navy training films and video he filmed himself while aboard the LST (see 2 of 2).
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Siegel grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, in a Russian-Jewish family. He attended college and veterinary school at Michigan State University and enlisted in the Army Reserve as a 1st Lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps. After receiving his draft papers in 1941, he went to Chicago and stayed there for a year at the Quartermaster Depot. He then went to England to inspect a packing company. He spent time in New Guinea and the Philippines and inspected various things working in a laboratory. After coming back to the US in 1945, he had a successful life as a veterinarian.
- Date Created:
- 2005-07-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Gless is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from approximately 1945 to December 1946. In this account, Gless discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. He mentions his brief postings at various POW camps in Northern Italy and describes a prison break by German POWs.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Graham is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Anti-Aircraft Corps from September 1944 to an undisclosed date. In this account, Graham discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. While not going into much depth about his active duty he does mention where he trained in the U.S. Graham concludes by reflecting on his time in the service
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Grant, born in Cincinnati Ohio in 1923, served in the U.S. Marines Corps from 1940 to 1945 in the Pacific during World War II. When the war began, he was with the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, and deployed with the division to Hawaii and landed in Guadalcanal in September, 1942 He initially fought as a rifleman, but wound up as a signalman on Henderson Field. When the division was relieved, he was sent to radio school and then assigned to a Marine bomber squadron that flew night missions in B-25s. His squadron trained in Hawaii and then flew out of several different islands, including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was shot down off Iwo Jima, but the crew was rescued by a seaplane after about twelve hours and put back to work.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Kandra, born in Beaverdale Pennsylvania in February of 1925, served as a radio operator in the 164th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1943 to 1945 in France and central Europe during the Second World War. He did most of his training at Camp Van Dorn however received specialized training in Morse code at Oxford University while stationed in England. During his service, Kandra spent most of his time relating messages between commanders, checking roads for mines, repairing roads, and repairing bridges. Thought he was never on the front lines his company did come under artillery and aircraft fire. Later in his life he used his training to work in television in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2012-01-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Pylman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan November 29, 1924. After attending Calvin College for one year, he decided to enlist into the Air Force in June of 1943. John was sent to Miami Beach where he spent six weeks in basic training. After the six weeks of basic training, he was sent to Wittenberg University in Ohio where he received college training detachment. John chose to become a navigator and was assigned to England with a crew of nine members. While serving in Europe, John went on twenty-two missions across the continent. He finished out his service by delivering salvaged materials from North Africa.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Zysk served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Infantry Division on New Guinea and in the Philippines during WW II fighter. In the Philippines, he was on board a ship that was hit by a kamikaze. He speaks critically of Gen. MacArthur but highly of the men he served with.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)