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Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
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- Notes:
- James Wykstra was born in 1947 in the town of Cutlerville, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Wykstra felt it was his duty to serve in the military. In August 1966, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Following completion of basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago, Wykstra returned to Cutlerville and regularly attended the reserve meetings until going on active duty in the summer, 1967. Assigned the to destroyer escort U.S.S. Davidson, Wykstra patrolled along the Vietnamese coast and sailed to numerous locales in the Southwest Pacific, including Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Ramon was born in 1942 in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated high school in May of 1960. Ramon received a scholarship to play football at Texarkana Junior College, but decided to join the Army in 1961. He completed his Advanced Individual Training at Fort Ord, California, and his Finance Training at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, before he trained as a medic at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Ramon was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis response in the early '60s and trained as a helicopter pilot after reenlistment. He was deployed to Vietnam in January, 1966, with the 1st Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne and the 82nd Airborne Divisions. While he primarily flew gunships, he also participated in various rescue missions in Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Freddie Gilbert is a Vietnam War veteran born in1949 in Vermont and was raised in Prairieville, Maryland. In 1969 he was drafted for the Vietnam War and was attached to D Company in 2nd and 506th of the 101st Airborne. His unit was heavily engaged in the fighting around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. After the war he enlisted in the Army and served as a trainer and made that his career until he retired from service on June 1st 1989. Afterwards he took a job in the civilian security sector with the Pinkerton Guard Business and is still serving with them.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Anthony Critchlow was born in Boise, Idaho in 1948. When he was nineteen years old he decided to enlist in November of 1967 as a cook in the military. He went to basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington for eight weeks before going to Fort Lee, Virginia for another eight weeks of Advanced Individual Training. Anthony was then assigned to Frankfurt, Germany but was eventually sent to Verona, Italy where he remained for one year. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam and, after addition training at Fort Lewis, he was sent to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Anthony was sent to Fort Evans until he volunteered to serve as a replacement for Firebases. He initially served at Firebase Blaze until he was sent through Firebase Bastogne and Firebase Birmingham. His final Firebase came in May of 1970 when he was sent to Firebase Ripcord. He worked in a small field Kitchen at Firebase Ripcord until he was sent home. He re-enlisted three years later and stayed in the Army until 1990, serving in Germany, Denmark and Korea, as well as at Fort Hood, Texas.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marcia Van Ess was born in 1949 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school she went on to attend the nursing program at Mercy Central School of Nursing in Grand Rapids at St. Mary's Hospital and during that time enlisted in the Army as a nurse. After graduating from nursing school in December 1969 and passing the nursing test in February 1969 she attended basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. In April 1969 she was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky and remained there until she received orders for Vietnam in late summer of 1970. She was deployed to Vietnam in October 1970 and was assigned to the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh. During her time there she was stationed in the pre-operation and recovery ward, had experience with severe burns, amputations, traumatic head injuries and treating the wounds of both U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese prisoners of war. She stayed in Vietnam until November 1971 when she returned home and was discharged from the Army. She is now an active member in a Vietnam War historical group and speaks about her experiences in Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bert Jones II was a combat soldier in the Vietnam War for the U.S. Army. He mainly fought in the Tan Yen Province, but was in Cambodia for 45 days, as well. He does not discuss in specific detail what he did during the War, but he does describe the emotional impact it caused.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carolyn Greene was born in Jackson, Mississippi on June 23, 1948. Her father was in the US Air Force and she grew up where he was stationed at Kessler Air Force Base in Mississippi. When Carolyn was a teenager she was active in the Civil Rights Movement, working with the Freedom Riders, NAACP, and even got to meet Martin Luther King. She enlisted in the Army in 1972 after graduating from college, and went through basic training in Fort Jackson in South Carolina. She then went to Fort Rucker in Alabama where she took AIT classes and spent the rest of her service working in an office. In the interview, she notes continuing problems with racism in Alabama and some of the problems that returning veterans from Vietnam brought with them
- Date Created:
- 2006-08-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don was born in South Amboy, New Jersey on April 6, 1949. He graduated from high school in 1967 and worked for two years as a machinist before being drafted into the United States Army in 1969. He attended basic training at Fort Dix and AIT at Fort Lewis. Don was sent to Vietnam in 1969 and was assigned to Charlie Company, 101st Airborne. He was in the battle of Hill 902 and Hill 1000 and operated around Firebase Ripcord. Don spent a total of 50 weeks in Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Tauer was born in Minnesota and graduated from high school in 1969. Dale tried to devise a plan to avoid being drafted but ultimately was issued as a "run risk." He started basic training in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and went to the 101st infantry regiment. After receiving orders to work as a clerical typist in Washington D.C., Dale was sent to Vietnam in 1970 and was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He spent several months in the field patrolling with his unit until he was badly injured near Firebase Ripcord on July 20th, 1970. The enemy left him for dead, but he was found by other American soldiers and evacuated.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chet Teater was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1946 and was drafted into the Army in 1969. He served with an armored cavalry unit in Vietnam in 1970 and participated in an assortment of combat missions and security assignments. He discusses combat conditions in Vietnam, the Agent Orange issue, and relations with Vietnamese civilians.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Salistian Jr. was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He had a passion for playing his saxophone before the war and during the war. He enlisted to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and wound up being sent there anyway. He has never married and doesn't have the fondest memories of serving in the war. His reception on returning to college was also not a good one.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glenn Dells served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War from 1966 to1970. His military occupational service (MOS) during Vietnam was munitions specialist; which meant that he built, delivered, blew up, and disarmed bombs. He was stationed in Phan Rang when he served his time in Vietnam. He talks about his experiences with the Vietnamese population, and how it was difficult for him to distinguish friend from foe. He discusses some of the regrets he had about serving in Vietnam; like missing a year of his son's life. He talks about what he and others would do when they had some free time, and how they got to see the Bob Hope show at their base. He tells about how they would normally communicate with those back home, and how they were allowed to make a 3 minute phone call via HAM operators on Christmas. He talks about what he had learned from serving in the military during Vietnam. Some of what he learned was how to take orders, how take pride in doing your job, and how to take pride in yourself. He also talks about how he feels on the subject of serving in the military today.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Flory served in the Army during Vietnam from 1968-70. A gunner in the 4th Infantry Division, he was trained to use a 105mm howitzer, and in this interview there is a lot that deals with the tactics and experience involved in transporting and operating that kind of artillery. He tells about being wounded in combat and the various locations he was sent due to his wound. We hear about his service after recovery. He discusses the difficulty in making friends in Vietnam, and how he and those he served with had to learn to improvise. There is some discussion in relation to his feelings about those who serve currently in the military, and we get some description of his involvement in veteran organizations. The interview ends with him showing some pictures of his howitzer, of a Chinook helicopter, and the shelters they constructed.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Herman Keizer was born in Chicago on May 21, 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1962 and served as a Chaplain's Assistant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia until 1964. He studied at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and also attended the Calvin Theological Seminary in 1968. He was commissioned as a chaplain in the Army and was deployed to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division and operated out of Lai Khe. He went into Cambodia in the spring of 1970, and due to actions there received a Bronze Star for valor. He joined the 4th Infantry Division in An Khe where he developed an amnesty program for soldiers suffering from drug addictions. While at An Khe, he broke both of his arms in a helicopter crash. He recovered at Camp Zama, Japan, and at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago. He served as the hospital chaplain at Fort Carson, Colorado, from 1971 to 1972 where he wrote an essay on Selective Conscientious Objection and wrote the basis for the Army's drug and alcohol program. He also worked on a case dealing with sexual harassment in the Army. He served at the State Department and helped with evacuation of personnel during the September 11th Attacks. After he retired from the Army he has stayed active with support groups for veterans, and helped with the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, and has also written on Moral Injury in War.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dennis Bassett was born in 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Bassett decided he wanted a different direction for his life, so he enlisted in the Army. After completing both his basic and advanced training at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Bassett deployed to Korea, where he worked at a medical depot. Once he finished his tour in Korea, Bassett returned to the United States and worked with a Ranger training company in Georgia before receiving his discharge. Following his discharge, Bassett went through four years of college, with the final two years in ROTC and as a result of his time in the ROTC, after his graduation, received a Regular Army commission. After receiving the commission, Bassett went back through Ranger school and deployed to Vietnam, where he served with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region as part of the Riverine Force, and served as a platoon leader in the 3/60 Infantry for the first half of his tour. (see Part 2 for the rest of the story)
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Larry Van Singel grew up in Byron Center, MI, and volunteered for the Army in early 1967 since he expected to be drafted and wanted to have some choice in his training and assignment. He initially served as a clerk at the 9th Division headquarters outside of Saigon, and traveled into Saigon several times during the Tet Offensive. Next he served as a radioman at a small base in the Mekong Delta. He was brought home early because of a death in the family and served the rest of his tour in the United States. He discusses his own feelings about the war and the difficulties of adjusting to civilian life, as well as a visit to the Vietnam memorial in Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Merle Delagrange was born in 1950 in Grantwood, Indiana. He was newly married and living in Ohio when he was drafted in 1969. After training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado until he received his orders to be deployed to Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam on April 28, 1970 and was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion. 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division stationed at Camp Evans. He was wounded in a friendly fire incident in early May, but soon rejoined the unit and was with them when they were heavily engaged Firebase Ripcord in July and had to be rescued by another unit. Throughout the rest of his tour he led a platoon on patrols until he left Vietnam and returned home on March 28, 1971. He joined the National Guard in 1976 where he stayed with the 193rd Infantry Company for eighteen years and retired as a sergeant first class.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peter was born August 27, 1948 in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from high school in 1967 and after trying a couple of colleges he eventually went to the United States Army recruiting station and enlisted. He signed up for intelligence and after basic training he went to intelligence school where he learned how to become a combat order battle intelligence analyst. Peter was sent to Vietnam in 1970 and was assigned to S-2, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He spent time on Firebase Ripcord and made it home in May 1971. After returning from Vietnam, Peter became a special agent with the United States Army Intelligence before being discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Timothy Castora was born on July 3rd, 1949 in Highland Park, Michigan. He was drafted into the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He served as a radio operator to the 1st Shore Party Battalion 5th Marines. He directed helicopters on supply drops, ammo drops and medevac services. Timothy came back to the United States wondering why they went to war in the first place and ultimately learned to love those who love you the most from his time in the service.
- Date Created:
- 2014-05-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Phil Davis served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force because of his low draft number, and he was sent to Vietnam and served in the I Corps sector as a pilot.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Metevier enlisted in the Air Force in January, 1966. After basic training in San Antonia, he spent over a year at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida before being sent to Vietnam. He served his tour at Cam Ranh Bay, where he was assigned to the 412th Munitions Maintenance Squadron. He worked in the ammo dump and the flight line, and supervised the shipment of munitions to different bases. Most of his duties were relatively safe, but he did make a couple of deliveries of ammunition to Khe Sanh while it was under siege in 1968. He extended his tour in exchange for an early out, and served in Vietnam from February, 1968 to August, 1969.
- Date Created:
- 2011-12-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William "Bill" Hand was born in 1946 in Dallas, Texas. He took ROTC training while at the University of Houston, and did well enough to receive a regular army commission upon completion of the program in 1969. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division for several months, and then went to vietnam, where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and took part in the final stages of the fighting at Firebase Ripcord in June-July 1970. After Vietnam, he remained in the Army until retiring in 1992.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Daniel Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949, and grew up there and in Holland, Michigan. He went to work after high school, and was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1969. He did well enough in rifle training at Camp Pendleton to be put into scout/sniper training, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. Assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, he spent most of his tour on patrols in the northern part of South Vietnam, with occasional forays into Laos. The patrols were intended to find the enemy without being seen, and for the most part they avoided firefights, and took no casualties while Broe was in the field, despite a number of scares. While trained as a sniper, he never had occasion to carry out a sniper assignment, and instead operated his squad's radio. Toward the end of his tour, his unit shifted its area of operations away from the Laotion border and closer to Da Nang, and he was eventually assigned to a radio relay station, where he communicated between the units in the field and the rear area headquarters.
- Date Created:
- 2012-01-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Perso was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and later moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he grew up. After graduating from high school he took classes at the University of Minnesota in mechanical engineering and also went through an ROTC program. After graduating from college he was commissioned and sent to Quantico, Virginia for training in the Marine Corps. James continued after basic training with pre-flight, primary, and advanced flight training before he was stationed in Da Nang, Vietnam. While in Vietnam James flew a total of 203 missions with the 242nd Attack Squadron and was in country for 13 months.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Ward enlisted in the US Army in 1968. He trained as a helicopter mechanic and was sent to Vietnam in 1969. He was stationed at Camp Holloway, outside of Pleiku. He spent most of his time on the base because of his assignment, but endured regular mortar and rocket attacks, and took turns manning the perimeter, where the Viet Cong would often make trouble at night.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William VanderWoude is a Vietnam Era veteran, who served in the U.S. Army from November, 1971 to August, 1973. In this account, VanderWoude discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. VanderWoude briefly describes what his active duty experience was like as a nuclear missiles' tester in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. VanderWoude concludes by sharing his thoughts about his time in the service.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Smoker was born in 1949 in York, Pennsylvania. He grew up there and graduated from high school there in 1967. He attended college briefly, and then took a job, which cost him his deferment. In April 1969 he received his draft notice and shortly thereafter began basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. After Fort Dix he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington for Advanced Infantry Training and upon completing that he was deployed to Vietnam in October 1969. He arrived in Bien Hoa and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. After completing Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School at Camp Ray (near Saigon) he was sent up to Camp Evans and was assigned to Charlie Company,2nd of the 506th Regiment 101st Airborne Division. During his time in Vietnam he participated in patrols of the Lowlands, in Operation Texas Star (the establishment of Firebase Ripcord in the spring of 1970) and the subsequent Battle of Firebase Ripcord during July 1970. After leaving Vietnam he finished his service at Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia and was discharged from the Army on May 12, 1971. After a professional career, he became a minister and got involved with a group of American missionaries that work in Vietnam to help teach the rural Vietnamese English and to help American Vietnam War veterans find peace with their memories.
- Date Created:
- 2014-07-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Campbell was born in 1946 in Santa Barbara, California, and grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 1968, and then enlisted in the Army. He did his basic training and advanced infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then went on to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia and graduated from the program on April 24, 1969. He served as an instructor at Fort Lewis, Washington until he was deployed to Vietnam in November 1969. He was assigned to the 2nd of the 506th of 101st Airborne Division as a platoon leader in C Company. He and his unit would go on to establish Firebase Ripcord and later participate in the infamous battle in the summer of 1970. After Vietnam he was stationed at Fort Polk until his service ended in March 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Heflin was born in Bellevue, Michigan and after high school enlisted in the Air Force. He was assigned to be a mechanic and trained in Columbus, Ohio. John was deployed in January 1968 to the Philippines during the Tet Offensive. After the Tet Offensive he was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Vietnam. It was his job as crew chief to make sure that the planes were ready to go at all times. He discusses soldiers' attitudes toward the war, racial tensions and drug use. After leaving Vietnam in 1969, he worked in Detroit and joined the Black Panther Party.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Andrew Knott was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 5th, 1940. In July of 1961 he was drafted in the period just before the Vietnam War. Entering the Army, he was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and Fort Carson, Colorado for artillery training. In the 5th Infantry Division he was a cook. In his time in the military he went on several maneuvers and experienced the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In July 1963 he was discharged and left the military.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ted Tees was raised in Buchanan, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1965. He then went through 2 years at Lake Michigan College before he was drafted into the Army. Ted went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for 8 weeks and then through 12 weeks of advanced infantry training at Fort Polk in Louisiana. He then went through Officer Candidate School, Jump School, and continued volunteering for other programs, hoping that the war in Vietnam would be over before he finished training. Ted was eventually sent to Vietnam where was assigned to a line unit of the 101st Airborne Division, and went on many search and destroy missions in the aftermath of the Hamburger Hill battle. He was in Vietnam for a total of 11 months before he was discharged and able to go back to college.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Ceton was born in 1946 in Muskegon, Michigan, and was drafted in 1966. Following a year of training at Fort Hood in Texas, Ceton deployed to Vietnam as part of the 198th Infantry Brigade of the Americal Division. Ceton fought in Vietnam for three months and while stationed on the Van Truong Peninsula, he received head wounds during a firefight and lost his right eye. After spending time in hospitals in Japan and Illinois, Ceton spent a brief period at Fort Sheridan before receiving his discharge in July 1968, after which he moved back to Michigan. In the 1990s, he made two return trips to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Kranenberg, born on January 6th 1944 in Grand Rapids Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy as a supply man between 1962 and 1966. Richard served in ROTC in high school which prepared him for service. Throughout the course of his service, Richard served aboard the USS Midway as well as the USS Enterprise.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Morrin was born in East Boston, Massachusetts on June 21st, 1926. At the outbreak of World War II, Morrin attempted to enlist but the Army denied him because he was only seventeen and needed permission from his parents, although both his parents were dead; however, the Army eventually accepted him. Once finished with training at Fort Wheeler, Georgia, Morrin deployed to the European theater, remaining until after the end of the war, including helping with security during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. After returning home, Morrin initially got out of active duty but re-enlisted after the Korean War began and made his way to Korea, where he served as an MP. Following the tour Korea, Morrin returned to the United States and served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. as an MP and ambulance driver. After Walter Reed, Morrin had another tour in Korea before returning to the medical center. Eventually, Morrin received orders for Germany and deployed to Berlin, where he was stationed while the Soviet Union and East Germany built the Berlin Wall. When he returned from Germany, Morrin received orders for Vietnam and deployed to the country for a year. Finally, after his tour in Vietnam was complete, Morrin returned to the United States and received an assignment to work with the Reserve forces in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where one of his assignments was delivering news of a soldier's death to his family. However, the job took a toll on Morrin and after two years, he asked for his discharge, which he received.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Roach, born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1947, served in the U.S. Army starting in 1966 and ended his first tour in Vietnam in December of 1968. After completing basic training at Fort Polk Louisiana, Jim was then sent to Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) at Fort Polk Louisiana as well as OCS school at Fort Benning Georgia. In December of 1967, Jim was sent to Vietnam, where he served as a platoon leader in several different companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division. His unit was based initially at Phuoc Vinh, went to Bien Hoa after the start of the Tet Offensive, and then later moved north to Cu Chi. Unlike most officers, he spent his whole first tour in the field.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Bond was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1950 and grew up there and attended high school there. After graduating from high school in 1969 he enlisted in the Army. He trained at Fort Gordon, Georgia, as an infantryman, but when he went to Vietnam he trained as a scout dog handler and was assigned to the 58th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog), which was part of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. He and his scout dog, Jim Dandy, served on patrols with different units of the brigade, and took part in the actions around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. Bruce was wounded on June 30, 1970, and was sent to the US for treatment. He requested reassignment to Vietnam, but wound up as a scout dog instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia, for the remainder of his enlistment.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Hines was born on April 6, 1944 in Wellford, South Carolina, and graduated high school in 1962. Hines received his draft notice in 1965 and chose to enlist in the Army. He completed Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where he became a Morse Intercept Operator. He also trained in Artillery OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before transferring to Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the Air Defense for only two months before being transferred to Wurzburg Germany. From Germany, Hines was deployed to Vietnam with the 2nd of the 319th as a Fire Direction Officer and proceeded to report to the Bravo Battery at Firebase Bastogne. He saw heavy combat with this unit. While in Vietnam, Hines also worked as an assistant S-3 fireman, and a Liaison Officer for the 2nd of the 506 at Fire Base Ripcord. After taking some additional advanced artillery courses, he deployed to Nuremberg Germany with the 3rd of the 70th House Artillery before transferring to the 7th Corps Artillery as a Nuclear Release Authentication System Officer. He would later return to Europe after recieveing his veterinarian degree in the United States to care for military service animals.
- Date Created:
- 2019-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas Buikema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946 and grew up in the area. After working for a year and going to college, he volunteered for the draft in 1967. In basic training at Ft. Knox, he became a squad leader and went to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for AIT. He also went to NCO School at Ft. Benning, where he gained more leadership skills. In Vietnam, he was a squad leader and was based out of Quan Loi. He was in A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry in the 1st Division. Mr. Buikema was wounded twice; once in the ankle, and the other time in the back of his knee. He received a Silver Star. After being wounded the second time, he left Vietnam and was discharged shortly after.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Coan was in the Navy during the war in Vietnam from 1970- 1974. He traveled to Greece, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Italy, Cuba, St. Croix, and St. Thomas. He mentions that he may have received a better education and pay in the Air Force.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Dykstra was born in Grand Rapids in 1947 and was attending Grand Rapids Junior College when he was drafted for military service in 1967. Jim was sent to Military Police School where he guarded a proving ground in New Mexico. Jim was then sent to Vietnam where he served as a guard at the military prison in Long Binh where convicted U.S. service men were kept. Because he had a little more education than the other guards, he was put in charge of the maximum security section of the prison, but he eventually changed jobs and took over the road patrol outside of the prison
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in Houston, Texas in 1951, Jim Hodges worked on ranches as a teen before enlisting in the Army in 1970. During his training, the Army selected him to cross-train for special operations missions and following the completion of his training, the Army shipped him to Vietnam. After several months, he began to perform the missions. He performed several special-ops missions in Laos and when his last mission went wrong, Hodges spent seventy-two days alone working his way back to a friendly location. He spent a further couple of months in Vietnam, serving with one of the last infantry units in the field, before returning to the United States and eventually receiving his discharge.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim was born in Santee, California on August 29, 1951. After Jim graduated from high school in 1969, he decided to beat the draft and enlist in the United States Army. He was sent to Vietnam in May 1970 and worked as a base guard at Bien Hoa. After some time, he was reassigned to 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne out of Camp Evans. Jim took part in the attack at Firebase Ripcord. After getting out of the army, Jim joined the California Highway Patrol and served for twenty eight years. After retirement from the CHP, Jim went to Iraq and Afghanistan and worked as a police advisor to local police departments.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Whipple was born in Lansing, Michigan, and was drafted into the Army two years after high school. He trained as an infantryman at Fort Bragg and Fort Dix, and went to Vietnam in July, 1969. He was assigned to mortar platoon Echo Company, 2/506 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. His unit fought in the A Shau Valley, then near the coast around Camp Evans, then in the Ripcord campaign. He spent nearly all of his tour in the field, much of it attached to line companies rather than staying on firebases.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Luc Nguyen's father escaped from North Vietnam when he was a young man and following his service in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN), became a farmer. Nguyen himself grew up on the farms where his father worked before attending the University of Saigon. Having witnessed things during the 1968 Tet Offensive, Nguyen decided to enlist and spent several years at the National Military Academy. Once he completed his time at the academy, Nguyen became a platoon leader in a scout company before taking command of his own infantry company. Eventually, during the North Vietnamese Army's final offensive, Nguyen received wounds from a rocket explosion and while he was in the hospital, the war ended. After the war, Nguyen spent several years in re-education camps before his release. Following his release, Nguyen and his family spent several years in Vietnam before immigrating to the United States in 1993.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on artillery. In early 1970, Ron was sent to Vietnam where he served in A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division. His battery was based at Camp Evans, and moved around the northern part of South Vietnam, spending time at Firebases Rakkasan, Gladiator, Kathryn and Ripcord and at Camp Carroll. His battery was on Ripcord while it was under siege and evacuated in July, 1970.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Romig was born and raised in Ohio, attended Ohio State University and completed the ROTC program there, receiving his commission in the Army in 1967. He was allowed to attend graduate school for a year, and then took infantry officer training and went to jump school, then jungle training in Panama and supply officer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the fall of 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam and was sent to Camp Evans and was assigned to 1st Platoon of Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. From the time he arrived until May 1970 he patrolled with Delta Company in the Flatlands and in the area around what would become Firebase Ripcord. In May 1970 he was reassigned to a reconnaissance platoon of Echo Company which was based on Firebase Ripcord. After the fall of Firebase Ripcord on July 23, 1970 he and Echo Company were sent to Camp Evans to serve as a rear unit there providing security and still going out on recon patrols. In the fall of 1970 he returned home and completed his service in the Army as a supply officer at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Drury was born in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He received his draft notice shortly after finishing high school in 1969. He did his Army basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then advanced training for airborne at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. He was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd of the 506th, 101st Airborne Division, which was based at Camp Evans in the far north of South Vietnam. His company conducted a series of combat patrols of varying lengths in the spring and summer of 1970, and was involved in heavy fighting near Firebase Maureen in May and Firebase Ripcord in July. After being wounded in the Ripcord fight, he returned to his unit, but the company did not see much further action. He spent much of his time in Vietnam as a radio operator, eventually becoming his company's RTO, and finally being assigned to the battalion headquarters at Camp Evans for the last part of his tour. He returned to the US early in 1971 and finished his enlistment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe Lange was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 9th, 1947. After graduating high school, Lange married and briefly attended college before getting a full-time job and receiving his draft notice. After receiving his draft noticed, Lange went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and advanced training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia to be a generator mechanic. Once he completed the training at Fort Belvoir, Lange returned home before deploying to Vietnam to serve for a year in the 124th Signal Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Mangold was born on June 9, 1952 in Saginaw, Michigan. Charles enlisted in the Navy in December of 1970 and went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through Basic Propulsion Engineering School and Machinist Aid School. Charles trained for submarine service for one year and then boarded his first submarine in 1971. Charles traveled to Hawaii, Japan, and Korea while on active duty and worked as a machinist's mate.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mark Thiel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1950 and served in the Navy/Marines and Army during the Vietnam War Era. He worked for the Navy and Marines as a lab assistant in a number of different locations, including South Carolina and Camp Pendleton in California. After his stint in the Navy, he joined the Army and worked as a truck and forklift driver in Germany and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After the Army, he worked as a truck driver in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Kramer was born in Gary, Indiana on April 3, 1943. Don got his GED when he was 17, got married, and also joined the Navy. Don worked in the Caribbean, Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. Don was involved in many fire fights while in Vietnam and was often under heavy attack. After being badly wounded in a mortar attack in 1972, Don was discharged from the Navy 6 months short of retirement and spent 2 years in military hospitals receiving physical therapy. He retired from his job in 2005 and now spends most of his time at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
- Date Created:
- 2006-12-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Cox was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 31st, 1949. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and AIT at Ft. Polk, Lousiana. He also went to NCO school in Ft. Benning Georgia. He was assigned to Delta Company, 1st of the 506. He became squad leader after being in the field a while. In the battle around Firebase Ripcord in July, 1970, his company got into trouble in an area southeast of Hill 805. It was a very hot LZ and there were many casualties and many wounded. Mr. Cox went back to the bush after being treated for a gunshot wound, transferred to the 3rd platoon as a squad leader for the rest of his tour.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- In July 1969, Ron Kloet returned to Vietnam for a third tour of duty. During this tour, he served as part of the intelligence section for the 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Phuoc Long Province. While with the 1st Air Cav., Kloet took part in operations within neighboring Cambodia. Once his tour with the Air Cav. ended, Kloet's original orders called for him to go to a career course at Fort Bragg. However, recalling previous time spent at Fort Bragg, Kloet instead requested going back to Vietnam for a fourth tour, which he received. Therefore, after receiving training in another career course and in a MASA (Military Assistance Security Advisory) course, Kloet deployed to Vietnam for a fourth time. During the fourth tour, Kloet served as part of the Phoenix program, a joint Vietnamese-American effort to neutralize the Viet Cong and communists at a local level. Also during his time with the Phoenix program, Kloet took part in the NVA's 1972 Easter Offensive, which occurred in a neighboring province.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lyn Lee served in the US Navy from 1972 to 1974. He was a crewman on the USS Navasota (A0-106), a large tanker. His ship served in the South China Sea, and supported ships cruising off the coast of Vietnam in the later stages of the war there.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Luznicky was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He joined the Marines in October of 1964 and took his Basic Training in San Diego and infantry training Camp Pendleton, California. He then went to Memphis, Tennessee, for aviation mechanic training, and was assigned to Cherry Point, North Carolina where he worked on Phantom F4B. In January of 1966, Wayne volunteered to go to Vietnam. He was stationed at the Air Base at Chu Lai. After his first tour of Vietnam, and spending some time at Cherry Point, North Carolina, he volunteered for a second tour, and was again at Chu Lai from April to October of 1968.
- Date Created:
- 2012-11-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Van Dreumel was born in 1943 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and lived there until he graduated from high school in 1961. He then went to California to train as a aircraft mechanic, after which he worked at several commercial airlines before receiving his draft notice in 1964. Once he received his draft notice, Van Dreumel went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky before joining an aviation section at Fort Benning, Georgia outfitted with six OV-1 Mohawks. When Van Dreumel first joined the section, it belonged to the 11th Air Assault Division but only a couple of weeks after his arrival, the section switched to the 1st Air Cavalry Division, which was then deployed to Vietnam. He spent his tour at An Khe working on Mohawks and other observation aircraft. Once Van Dreumel's tour came to an end, he rotated back to the United States and finished his enlistment as part of the 5th Mechanized Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Mihalko was born in a patriotic town called Whippany in New Jersey. After graduating high school he worked in warehousing for three years before getting drafted. He got his training at Fort Dix. In Fort Lewis, he got his jungle training. Sent to Vietnam in January, 1970, he was assigned to the reconnaissance platoon of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, in the 101st Airborne Division. He survived his year in the field, and went on twenty-five or more patrols. His unit was involved in the fighting around Firebase Ripcord between March and July, 1970. Mihalko later helped found the Ripcord Association and organize the first reunion of veterans of that campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mr. Dahlke served in the US Army as an engineer during the Vietnam War. He received his basic training at Fort Knox, and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood. This is where he learned to be an equipment operator. Much of his job included operating heavy equipment, like bulldozers. He cleared lanes, built bunkers, repaired roads, and did mine sweeps. In Vietnam, he served with the 588th Engineer Battalion, attached to the 25th Division.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glenn Sheathelm was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1946. Enlisting in the Army in 1965, he joins the Army Artillery and undergoes Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before being deployed to Nuremberg, Germany. He is then redeployed to Vietnam where he served with the Fire Direction Control and S2 Military Intelligence sections of the First Cavalry Division until after the Tet Offensive in January of 1968. He sees combat while on patrol, during rescue missions, during Air Assaults, and during the Second Battle of Tampon when he receives several minor wounds and is sent to the rear for treatment in the final days of his deployment. He then returns to the United States in February of 1968 where he attends the Western Michigan and Grand Valley State Universities for masters' degrees in library sciences, literary media, and history.
- Date Created:
- 2018-08-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Murphy was born and grew up in a small town in Illinois. After finishing high school and junior college, he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He did his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, and was then sent for artillery training to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here he trained as a gunner, and was then sent to Vietnam. He joined a battery of the 7th Artillery which was attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta, and served with them until the unit rotated home three months later. He and several other men from his battery were reassigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans, and he served the rest of his tour with them. He continued to work as a gunner, and his battery regularly moved from one firebase to another. They provided fire support for Firebase Ripcord when it was under siege in July, and Murphy was sent to Ripcord to inspect artillery positions there when it was thought that his battery would move there. Instead, the base was abandoned, and he went back to his regular duties. Later on, he was stationed at Firebase Kathryn when it was attacked by sappers.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Prins was born in Holland, Michigan on April 10, 1948. He reported for his draft physical in March 1968 and went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He completed Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He deployed to South Vietnam in late summer 1968 and arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in August or September 1968. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon of Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion of the 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. During his time in Vietnam he carried an M60 machine gun and went on patrols in the jungle, searched villages, and guarded bridges on Highway 1 near Hue and Phu Bai. At the end of his 12 month tour in Vietnam he returned to the United States and spent his last five months in the Army at Fort Lewis, Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dave Snyder was born in 1949 in Painesville, Ohio. After graduating from high school in 1967, Snyder held a series of jobs before receiving his draft notice in 1969. After processing into the military in nearby Cleveland, Snyder went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for his basic training. From Fort Campbell, Snyder moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for advanced training in field artillery then attended Non-Commissioned Officer School, also at Fort Sill. Once he finished NCO school, Snyder spent a few months in a training battalion stationed at Fort Sill before deploying to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Snyder received an assignment to Alpha Battery of the 2nd of the 11th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division. The main weapon of the 2nd of the 11th was the 155mm artillery gun and once in his gun section, Snyder received the position of gunner. After Snyder arrived, his battery moved to several different hilltop firebases before finally arriving at Firebase Ripcord. While stationed on Ripcord, the battery participated in the weeks-long siege of the firebase by enemy forces. Once the siege ended, the battery moved to another firebase, where it was when Snyder's tour ended and he rotated back to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Price was drafted into the Army in 1965. He trained as a vehicle mechanic at Fort Knox, and expected to go directly to Vietnam. Instead, he and several other men from his training company were sent to Korea to replace men who had been killed or wounded in an enemy raid. The men were assigned to a maintenance company, and were kept busy repairing vehicles both at their camp and up near the DMZ. Price eventually was assigned to serve as battalion courier, and made regular trips between company and battalion headquarters and the front lines.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Amos Sterzick Jr. grew up in western Michigan with his sister and two brothers. On a whim, he decided to leave for Grand Rapids, MI with his friend to enlist in the Air Force in order to avoid being drafted into the army. Most of his service was spent in Japan, but he also went to Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, and Guam.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in White Cloud, Michigan in 1953, Gary Boucher just missed the draft for the Vietnam War. However, based on input from several of his friends and his own investigation, Boucher joined the Michigan National Guard in 1978. Following training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he served in an engineer unit whose main mission was the construction of bridges. Boucher served in the Guard for fourteen years and left in 1992.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Kloosterman served in the US Navy in 1965 and 1966. He served as a radioman on the carrier USS Independence, spending much of his time decrypting Soviet radio traffic. During his tour, his ship saw action off the coast of Vietnam, and then served in the Mediterranean.
- Date Created:
- 2005-02-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clarence Szejbach was born in Traverse City, Michigan on September 19, 1948. When he was 19 years old he was drafted into the Army. He was deployed to Vietnam and served in the 2nd Battalion of the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. He spent his first month as a rifleman, but served as a radio operator for the platoon sergeant, the platoon leader, and the company commander. He served in Tay Ninh Province. His unit served at Fire Support Base Crook on the Cambodian border, and on June 5, 1969 the Viet Cong launched a massive attack on the base. The next day a Viet Cong militant tried to ambush the patrol with grenades. Clarence threw a grenade back saving his unit, but cost him his right hand. For his heroic action he was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He returned to the United States and recovered at home and at Valley Forge Hospital, Pennsylvania before being discharged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sidney Cavanaugh was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1942 and later moved down to Jacksonville, Florida. After graduating from high school in 1961, he tried going to college several times. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1964. He trained as a radio operator for the 2/17th Artillery 155 Howitzer out of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He also was trained as a crew chief on a Mojave Helicopter. When he was sent to Vietnam, he was made a door gunner on a Huey Hog Ship with the 2/20th artillery, 1st Air Cavalry Division, and participated in the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965.
- Date Created:
- 2013-08-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roger Williams is a Native American who served in the United State Air Force as a medical Administrator in two separate tours between 1957 and 1967. He was stationed in Texas, Florida and Germany, and was at the Homestead , Florida, air base at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Philip Palmer was born on May 23, 1933 in Lansing, Michigan. After high school he joined the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps and studied at the University of Wisconsin, receiving training aboard the USS Roanoke, USS William R Rush, and at Little Creek, Virginia and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. He graduated and was commissioned in 1955 with a degree in chemical engineering and a degree in naval science. He served aboard the USS Strickland and the USS Hissem and served as a Navy ROTC instructor at the University of Michigan. He served aboard the USS Meadowlark during the Bay of Pigs invasion. He studied at the US Naval Postgraduate School and at Ohio State University and received nuclear reactor training in Bainbridge, Maryland and Idaho Falls, Idaho. He served aboard the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam War from 1966-1968, afterwards being assigned to the Office of Naval Research. In 1971 he reported for duty at Naval Magazine Subic in Subic Bay, Philippines and served there until 1974 when he was reassigned to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Potomac, Maryland. He then served at Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington D.C. and then at Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey. His final assignment was at the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University and he retired from that in 1984.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Doctor is from Muskegon, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army in 1969 to avoid being drafted. He received his basic training at Ft. Knox, and AIT at Ft. Lee; where he was assigned to be a small arms repair specialist. Here, he graduated with Honors. Once he got to Vietnam he was assigned to B Battery, 1/30 Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division, and became its supply sergeant. He was based in his battery's rear area, but made regular flights out to the battery's forward positions, including one in Cambodia, as well as to the Saigon area to get supplies. Once he returned home, he worked at Ft. Sheridan as an NCO at a transit holding detachment until he was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Dorman was born in Manistique, Michigan, in 1930. He grew up in Manistique and enlisted in the Air Force in 1948. Over the course of twenty years he was deployed to Guam, the Panama Canal Zone, Texas, French Morocco, Michigan, New York, Greenland, Montana, Spain, and Washington, and then volunteered for Vietnam. He was attached to the 7th Air Force Headquarters in Tan Son Nhut and was a part of an operation that was helping to turn American airbases in Vietnam into South Vietnamese airbases. He served a year in Vietnam and returned to Michigan for his final deployment to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Marquette, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2013-03-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Herrick volunteered for the Army in 1967. He trained as an electronics technician and spent much of his time away from combat, on the base at Cu Chi. He was there through most of 1968, including during the Tet Offensive, but his base received mostly harassment fire, and he did not see combat.
- Date Created:
- 2010-04-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Mackey was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1948. Mackey graduated high school in 1966 and began working for a sign company when he recieved his draft notice. Taking his father's advice, he visited an Army recruiter and agreed to a delayed entry into the Army's flight school. He attended Basic Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, before reporting to Fort Wolters, Texas, for primary flight school and training as a Warrant Officer as well as Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, where he learned to fly Huey helicopters. Mackey was then deployed to Würzburg, Germany, before volunteering to be sent to Vietnam in 1969 where he was attached to Charlie Company, 159th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, 101st Airborne. His unit participated in the siege on Firebase Ripcord before ending his tour in Vietnam and attending a Basic Armor course in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Afterwards, he became an S1 of the Student Aviation Battalion and then acquired a job as an Army Emergency Relief officer for Army Community Services. Mackey also saw service in Korea as an Operations Officer, Germany as a member of a tank company, and at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, as part of a medevac company. After nine years in the service, Mackey was finally discharged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2018-11-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Stuart Jennings was born during the beginning of the Depression in Michigan. He said that growing up through that taught him to share, to do things on his own and to treat people well. After graduation Stuart became a cadet in the Army Air Corps in Texas and eventually a Barracks Corporal in the Air Corps. Stuart never experienced combat or went overseas. His job was to fly wounded men back and forth from hospitals in the United States. After his time in the service, Stuart got involved in the post-war house building boom after the war. The business allowed him to make a good living and travel.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Naughton was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 29, 1931. He moved to Michigan when he was five years old and graduated from high school in 1950. Gerald joined the Navy reserve in 1955 and was later in the Navy full time. He was in the Navy for 17 years during the Korean War and Vietnam. Gerald now resides in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Oderkirk grew up in upstate New York and attended college at Central Michigan University in the early 60s. He then went to Michigan State University for grad school until he received his draft notice. Rather than being drafted into the Army, Donald enlisted in the Navy and passed the exam for Officer Candidate School. He was sent to Newport, Rhode Island for 90 days of officer training before he was assigned to go overseas. Donald had requested to work in Southeast Asia and he worked back and forth between Japan and Vietnam for about 2 years before being sent back to the United States. His duties in Vietnam included working on a rocket-launching landing craft and serving as an interpreter with Korean forces.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dennis Churchill was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1946. He enlisted in the Air Force in late September, or early October 1965 after graduating from high school in that same year. He received basic training in November 1965 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and mechanical training at the Technical School at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. He was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas and did temporary duty assignments at San Isidro Air Base, Dominican Republic and at RAF Mildenhall, England. He was reassigned to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base near Taichung, Taiwan and while there served multiple temporary duties in Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was stationed at Tuy Hoa Air Base and Cam Ranh Bay and made supply runs to the major American bases in the country. After his time in Vietnam and being stationed in Taiwan he received an early discharge from the Air Force, and was discharged at McChord Air Force Base, Washington in 1969.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Cooper, born in 1948 in Southern Illinois, served in the U.S. Army from late 1968 through early 1971. After completing basic at Fort Leonard Wood and AIT at Fort Ord, Dale was sent to Vietnam. Here he was assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He went on patrols both in the lowlands near Camp Evans, and in the hills and jungles of the interior. He eventually became a radio operator, working his way up from platoon to company level, and then to the battalion. During the Ripcord campaign in 1970, he was serving in the battalion headquarters until he rotated home on July. He spent the last part of his enlistment as a tank commander at Fort Carson, Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bradford Sutherland is an Air Force veteran who entered the military after completing two years at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI as an art student. His introduction to the military was through an officer's training course that was required by the university, causing him to take an interest in having a career with the Air Force. He spent his time in the US Air Force at bases in Texas, Washington, and in England. In this interview, Sutherland describes his experiences in the service, including the time that he spent traveling throughout Europe. Sutherland also describes many of the hardships that veterans endure once their time in the service has expired.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Womer, born in 1941 in Niles Michigan, served in the U.S. Army for 26.5 years. During his service, William was stationed in both Germany as well as in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968 where he organized ambushes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. William had the honor of being selected as the 4th Army NCO of the year and spent the later part of his service stateside training solders.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Cole was born on August 23, 1948. He joined the Army as a light vehicle driver and drove trucks in a convoy that traveled and brought supplies to the battle at Dac Tho. Jack occasionally drove the gun trucks while traveling in the convoy. While in Viet Nam, Jack was injured.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mitch Amlotte volunteered for the Army in 1968 to escape a bad home life. He was sent to postal school and then to Germany. He volunteered to travel with the children of military men on field trips and spent much of his time seeing different countries. He was released from the military after 3 years would have re-enlisted except that he did not want to go to Vietnam. He encountered an assortment of personal and medical problems after his discharge, which he discusses at some length.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Turner was born on March 8, 1940 in Guntown, Mississippi. When he was five years old his family moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan. In 1960 (approximately) he enlisted in the Air Force. He received basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. After that he served as chaplain's assistant both in the United States and in Turkey where he conducted tours of the Holy Land and holy sites in the area. He went on to receive Officer Training and training from the Police Academy and got into the Military Police of the Air Force. He served in Spain as part of the Military Police and at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany where he dealt with the Baader Meinhof Gang and Red Brigades (terrorist groups). He also served at Stewart Air Force Base, New York and at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana (now Grissom Air Force Base). During his 20 year career in the Air Force he also helped establish human relations courses and race relations courses, specifically with the Department of Defense and President Nixon's Secretary of Defense. He concluded his Air Force career at the University of Michigan where he worked in aerospace studies and recruited minority students.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Christian was born in 1946 in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. After completing high school there in 194, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. After training in California, David was sent to Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. David's first tour was spent at Chu Lai and fixing aircraft at Marble Mountain Air Facility. After returning home and marrying his wife, David reenlisted for a second tour. David was promoted to sergeant and repaired aircraft at Chu Lai until 1970. David also worked at Iwakuni Marine Corps Base for the remaining 6 months of his second tour. David returned to the United States in 1970 where he worked at Camp Lejeune and as a Drill Instructor on Parris Island.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Greg Kiekintveld was born in Holland, Michigan in May 1949. After graduating from high school in 1968, he worked in construction until he was drafted into the Army in March, 1969. Following basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the Army sent Kiekintveld to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for advanced training to be a combat engineer. Once Kiekintveld completed the training at Fort Leonard Wood, Kiekintveld deployed to Vietnam and joined B Company, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. While with the 326th Engineers, Kiekintveld had two primary assignments. First, he oversaw a small team tasked with creating landing zones in advance of an assault by infantry from other units in the 101st Airborne. Second, as part of a larger unit, either platoon- or company-sized he helped with construction and demolition of hilltop firebases for the division. His unit was based at Camp Evans, and operated in the hills and valleys of the northern part of South Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Al Lust was born in Ohio in 1950 and enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1971. Al served in Germany, Thailand, and Korea. While in Thailand, Al worked on flight missions against the Viet Cong. Al stated that he was mortared and shot at many times but never experienced any heavy combat. After his time in the Air Force, Al worked on a mission dealing with the homeless for 16 years. He also was a rescue mission chaplain and a substance abuse counselor.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Baltazar Martinez was born in Plainview, Texas, in 1952. He was one of the last people to be drafted into the Army in 1972. He trained as an armored cavalryman and was deployed to Vietnam toward the end of the year, but stayed only a few days before being sent home. He re-enlisted twice, and served in Korea and in different bases in the US until 1981. He subsequently served in the Marine Corps for three years, and then later joined the Army National Guard, and deployed to Kuwait, and Iraq in 2010. He currently serves with the 507th Engineer Battalion, but did not deploy with them to Afghanistan in 2011 due to his age.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Guevara was born in Martin, Michigan on October 19th 1947. He grew up moving around a lot because his parents were migrant workers. He went to school when he could and worked in a factory. In 1968, he was drafted into the Army, but enlisted in the Marine Corps before he had to report. He trained in California and became a wireman for a communications unit. He was assigned to the Marine air base at Marble Mountain, near Da Nang. He mostly worked on the base laying communications lines, but also did some radio work, at times communicating with other Hispanic soldiers in Spanish, which the Vietnamese could not understand.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Martin was born and raised in western Pennsylvania. He grew up in a family of farmers. He was drafted into the Army in January, 1969, not long after finishing high school. He completed Basic Training, Artillery School and NCO school before departing for Vietnam in January, 1970. He was assigned to 2/11 Field Artillery, a 155mm howitzer unit attached to the 101st Airborne Division. He served on several different firebases, notably Ripcord, where there was heavy fighting in June and July. He was wounded on Ripcord, and after he came back he continued to serve with his battery until he was sent home in late November.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ted McCormick was born in Standish, Michigan and grew up in Flint, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1968 and received his draft notice in 1969. He took basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Sent to Vietnam, he was assigned to an infantry company in the 101st Airborne Division. His unit went on patrols in the jungles of northern South Vietnam and encountered its share of firefights, ambushes and booby traps. In the last few months of his tour, which ended in October, 1970, he observed the effects of readily available heroin in the rear areas, and an escalation of racial tensions.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Pete Rowe, born in Abilene Texas in 1942, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1964-1986 as an intelligence officer. Pete began his service in the ROTC program. After being commissioned, Pete was sent to the Philippines where he served over an intelligence team that intercepted signals from South and Southwest China. In 1968, Pete was sent to Vietnam where he worked interrogating captured North Vietnamese's soldiers during the Vietnam War. After leaving the country in 1969, Pete began working in the Domestic Contact Position (DCP) where he interviewed individuals who commonly interacted with and traveled outside of the country in order to gain intelligence. In 1974, he began working as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at California State University Fresno in the ROTC program.
- Date Created:
- 2012-09-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tim was born in Buffalo, New York in 1948, and was drafted in the United States Army in 1969. After becoming an infantryman, Tim was sent to Vietnam and was assigned to the 101st Airborne, 2/506th, A Company. He served with his company through the Ripcord campaign during the spring of 1970 and was one of the handful of men in his company to survive it unscathed. He spent most of his tour in the field, but served the final weeks as a jeep driver at Camp Evans.
- Date Created:
- 2012-11-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Allen Vande Vusse was born and raised in Holland, Michigan, and graduated from high school there in 1962. He married and got a job shortly afterward, and his marriage gave him a draft deferment, which he lost after getting divorced in 1968. Upon receiving his draft notice, he enlisted in the Marine Corps so as to stay out of the Army, joining in early 1969. He scored well on the aptitude tests and took specialized training in communications and took a four-year enlistment, which meant that he stayed in the US until January, 1971, when he was sent to Vietnam so serve as a radio operator for the 1st Marine Medical Battalion at Da Nang, where he communicated with helicopters bringing in wounded soldiers and the teams that met them upon landing. He served there for the better part of a year, but his tour was cut short by a serious intestinal problems which required hospitalization. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval hospital, and from there to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He extended his enlistment, and was able to move to California, where he trained as a drill instructor and eventually wound up as a recruiter in Buffalo, New York.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roger Faber was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 5, 1945 where he graduated high school in 1964. He studies architecture at Ferris State College and went to work in Wisconsin before he was drafted into the Army. Faber attended Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He was then deployed to An Khê with Bravo Company, 1st Cavalry Division. His platoon guarded bridges and conducted Ambush duties in the Highlands. For the remainder of his tour in Vietnam, Faber served as an S1 Clerk for the Headquarters Battalion in An Khê, Utah Beach, and LZ Jane. Afterwards, he was sent back to the U.S. to serve out the rest of his service at Fort Polk as a Headquarters Company clerk. When he finally left the service, Faber and his wife moved back to Grand Rapids where he resumed his architectual work.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Tamburini was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1948. He graduated high school in 1966 and entered a two-year program at a technical institute before recieving his draft notice in 1969. Tamburini underwent Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then reported to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for advanced training where he opted to join the Noncommissioned Officers program. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1970 where he served in the 2nd of the 319th Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne and was stationed at firebases Jack, Gladiator, Ripcord, and Bastogne. His unit participated in the siege of Firebase Ripcord during which he recieved the Purple Heart for continuing to fight even after being hit during a gunfight. After only a year in Vietnam, Tamburini recieved an early-out and returned to the U.S. He then began part-time work at an engineering firm and later switched to carpentry, which he continued to work for the rest of his career.
- Date Created:
- 2018-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Tarbuck was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, in 1949 and was working there when he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He trained at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and at Fort Dix, New Jersey, before being sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division, which was operating in the A Shau valley. Toward the end of the year, they moved to Camp Evans and operated in that area until April, when they went into the hills north of the A Shau Valley and set up Fire Support Base Ripcord. He patrolled the Ripcord area for the next two months, and survived the enemy attack on their position on Hill 902 in early July. Not long afterward, he was sent to the rear with bronchitis, and then rotated back home. He served the remainder of his enlistment in Germany and left the service in 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- After completing his tour in Vietnam with the Air Cavalry, Alan Toms returned to the United States, where he completed drill sergeant training before going to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. From Fort Campbell, Toms deployed for a second time to Germany, where he met a girl from Hamburg who he eventually married. Toms returned to the United States in 1970 with his wife and her son and went to Fort Knox, Kentucky to give more basic training. Eventually, the Army sent Toms back to Western Michigan University, where he finished his degree before deploying for a third time to Germany, to join the Berlin Brigade. Finally, when Toms returned to the United States, he went to the Virginia Military Institute's ROTC program before finally retiring from the military.
- Date Created:
- 2011-03-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Tibbe enlisted in the Army in 1966. He trained as a combat engineer, and served in Vietnam 1967-68. He was given clerical jobs with engineer units based in Long Binh and Bien Hoa, outside of Saigon, and did not spend time in the field. The one time when he experienced and attack was at the start of the Tet Offensive, when he was at Bien Hoa.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alan Toms was born in Toronto, Canada in 1939. Because of his father's occupation, Toms' and his family moved several times while Toms was a child, eventually ending up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Toms attended junior college in Grand Rapids before enrolling at Western Michigan University, although he eventually left the university. After leaving Western Michigan, Toms joined the Army and went through his basic training and armored AIT at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From Fort Knox, Toms deployed to Germany for a three-year tour as part of an armored unit. After his tour in Germany, Toms went to the artillery OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma but did not do well and eventually transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. While at Fort Benning, Toms went through Airborne training before transferring to the 1st Cavalry Division and was with the division when it deployed to Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Toms served as a door gunner aboard a helicopter.
- Date Created:
- 2011-03-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
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