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- Notes:
- Steve Pullen was born on Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico, where his father was serving at the time. His family eventually settled in Florida, where he finished high school and started college, but his status changed and he was drafted into the Army in 1968. He opted for officer training, and then trained to fly Cobra attack helicopters. Sent to Vietnam in 1970, he was assigned to lead an aerorifle platoon in the 2/17 Cavalry in the 101st Airborne Division. He did this between May and September, 1970, and participated in the Ripcord campaign. He then became a scout helicopter pilot for another six months, participating in the Lam Son 719 operation in Laos in 1971. He returned fora second tour in 1972, again as a scout helicopter pilot, and was there during the 1972 offensive, and served with F Troop of the 4th Cavalry until he was wounded. He spent another thirty years in the Army, including twenty in the Special Forces, and served in Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Assembly plant for Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel (LCVP) in Cairns, Queensland Australia, 1943.
- Date Created:
- 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Fred Breuninger was born on April 22, 1922 and enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. He had gone to Castle Lake Military Academy, and was put into a HQ company. Fred was sent to England with the 8th Air Force in the 446th bomb group that used B-24 planes. He was part of operations in the HQ Company. They would work 14 hour shifts and alternate from days one week to nights the next. After VE day Fred went back to the US and thought he was going to be sent to Japan, but was discharged and returned home to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Carlson is a U.S. Navy veteran that served before and during the Vietnam War first aboard the USS MacDonough (before Vietnam) and aboard the USS Wainwright during the Vietnam War and saw action in the Gulf of Tonkin during Operation Rolling Thunder. He was born in Holland, Michigan in 1943 and enlisted in the Navy in 1961. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Academy and specialized in electronics. He traveled throughout the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Macdonough and the Tonkin Gulf and South Pacific aboard the USS Wainwright. He then had shore duty in Charleston, South Carolina, and left the Navy in January 1970.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mildred Doyle was born in 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and served in the Womens Airforce Service Pilots Corp. She became a pilot during college, and then was requested to serve in the WASP corp. She worked, after training, on Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana as a test pilot and ferrying people around the area. She went home when the WASPs were disbanded, and served as a homemaker in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Troy Girke was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1963 and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1983. Troy remained with the Navy for 20 years and traveled to Africa, Australia, Spain, France, Bahrain, UAE, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The most memorable moment for Troy was when he heard the news of 9/11. Troy was in the Navy for a significant amount of time and explains the changes that took place within the institution over time.
- Date Created:
- 2006-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roy Eugene Blanchard was a WWI veteran who served in the Michigan National Guard – 126th Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border and in Europe. Roy's son, Clark, is conducting this interview in memory of his father. At 15 years old, Roy managed to join the Michigan National Guard despite the fact he was underage. Soon after joining, Roy was sent to the Mexican border to stop the raiding of Texas towns by Mexican gangs. While in Mexico, WWI broke out and Roy's division was immediately shipped over to France. In this interview, Clark shares many detailed stories about his father's time on the front, including unique stories of mustard gas and barbed wire. Clark also discusses the time his father saw a fellow solider get hit by shrapnel and also the time Roy was blinded by mustard gas. Because Roy kept diaries of his time on the front, the stories Clark tells are very clear and truly give one a sense of the front lines. During WWII, Roy was an auxiliary policeman for Grand Rapids who policed many of the women's baseball games.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Clark was born in September 1920 in a farmhouse in Wayne County, Michigan. Growing up, Clark had a difficult childhood, including a diagnosis of tuberculosis, moving to Arizona for treatment and back to Michigan, and his family losing their property during the Great Depression. After high school, Clark attended both Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University before receiving his draft card in 1942. After the Army drafted Clark, he spent two years in different programs before deploying with the 106th Infantry division to Belgium. During the Battle of the Bulge, Clark was wounded and evacuated back from the line for nearly a month before returning to his unit, where he served for the rest of the war. Following the war, Clark attended a school the Army had set up in southern France.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willard Veenstra was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1944 and reported after graduating from high school that June. He trained at Camp Blanding, Florida, and Fort Meade, Maryland. He was sent to Europe in January, 1945, and was sent to the 2nd Armored Division as a replacement during the final days of the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the Netherlands with them for training and was assigned to the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division. In March 1945 they marched into Germany and fought across northern Germany, known as the Rhine Campaign, until they reached Magdeburg. He was wounded in Magdeburg on April 12, 1945 and was eventually evacuated to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doré Westra was born on February 22, 1925 in Byron Center, Michigan. He grew up in the Grosse Point area of Detroit, Michigan and lived there until he was drafted after his eighteenth birthday on February 22, 1943. He received basic training and engineer training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and was assigned to B Company of the 1302nd Engineer General Service Regiment. In late 1943 his unit was sent up to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and by January 1944 they were in England. He was stationed in England for over half of 1944 until he volunteered to join a combat engineer unit in the 5th Armored Division. He joined that unit in fall 1944 and was in the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine River. After Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 he was reassigned to the 2nd Armored Division and was stationed in Berlin until he was sent home in late fall 1945. He was discharged from Camp Atterbury, Indiana in winter 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Barker was born in 1925 in Stanton, Michigan. Albert grew up on a farm and was doing farm work when he was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and was then sent to Great Lakes, Illinois where he spent eight weeks in basic training. After his training, Albert was sent to the South Pacific where he met up with his PT squadron in New Caledonia. After being in New Caledonia, he was sent to Rendova Island where he patrolled waters against the Japanese. After Rendova, he was sent through the Solomon Islands until he was eventually sent to the Philippines. Albert was sent home from the Philippines and was discharged in Bainbridge, Maryland in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Becker, born in Illinois in 1944, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 during the Vietnam War. While training at Lackland Air Force Base, Bob was recruited on to the base softball team. He traveled often with the team playing in tournaments against both military and civilian teams. He was then transferred to the Air Force Academy softball team and reassigned to the base newspaper. Here he covered sports stories including Air Force football games and the training of the 1968 Olympic team. After being discharged Bob continued his career in journalism working in sport in Grand Rapids Michigan and became very involved with veterans organization.
- Date Created:
- 2012-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lewis McDonald of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a World War II veteran who served as a pilot with the Eighth Air Force. Lewis was drafted in 1943 and went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training. While there, he was recruited into a pilot training program, and was sent to England in late 1944 to be a B-17 pilot. He flew regular missions over Central Europe until the German surrender, at which point he was sent back home to train as a B-29 pilot, but the war ended before he was to deploy to the Pacific. After the war, he remained in the Army Air Corps for a year and a half, mostly flying B-17 on aerial photography missions, and spent the summer of 1946 doing this at Thule, Greenland.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carolyn Burkholder was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1932. Her husband served in World War II, specifically in the Battle of the Bulge, and landing on Omaha Beach. Her father was a grocer, and she moved to Michigan after the war to get a job at Dow Corning.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ray Cebulski served aboard the USS Kittyhawk as an A-6 pilot during the Vietnam War. In this interview Cebulski describes day-to-day life for a bomber pilot aboard a carrier, additional duties he had, night interdiction missions into North Vietnam, and some of the people that he served with.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Kamer was born in Hudsonville, Michigan, and during the depression. He left school after 8th grade to help on the farm, and was drafted in 1943. He was shipped to North Africa and trained there before joining the 34th Division for the campaigns at Cassino, Anzio and Northern Italy.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Elvin W. Keith III was born on April 14, 1933. He went to Westchester State Teachers College and then joined the Marines. He started out in the platoon leader's class and then was promoted from a Field Commander to the Company Commander. Elvin was stationed in Vietnam and was assigned to the Motor Transport Battalion of the Third Marine Division. After Vietnam he was stationed at Camp Lajune, North Carolina where he trained to become a Regimental Motor Transport Officer. After his time in the service, Elvin began working for the FBI in Texas and he now teaches classes in Michigan at Baker College.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dr. Gary Lulenski was an ‘obligatory volunteer' and held the rank of captain for the entirety of his service because of his previous medical schooling. He was stationed in Chu Lai, Vietnam as a Medical Company Commander for the Americal Division. Completed a large-scale drug survey which showed interesting trends. His service was from 1970-1971.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Will Miner was born in Lennon, Michigan in 1973. After graduating from high school, Miner attended Grand Valley State University for a year before deciding to enlist in the Marine Corps. Once he completed his basic training at the Marine Corps Training Depot in San Diego, California and his advanced training at Camp Pendleton, California, Miner joined the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. In January 1994, Miner and the remainder of the 1st Recon deployed to East Africa to take part in the American operations in the region. Apart from operations in Somalia, Miner and the battalion briefly served in Kenya and Rwanda before returning to the United States. After a year, Miner deployed a second time, this time to the Persian Gulf region, where he participated in operations in the U.A.E. and Kuwait, amongst other places.
- Date Created:
- 2012-11-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Scalabrino served in the United States Air Force during WWII from 1941 to 1945. He served in the 301st Bomber Group as an aerial engineer on a B-17 Bomber. He was stationed in Lucera, Italy where he was able to communicate with the locals because he knew Italian, and even acted as a translator sometimes for the military. He talks about the responsibilities he had as an aerial engineer, and gives some detail about the equipment in the B-17. He talks about his experience in the German prison camps in eastern Prussia. He also mentions his free time in Italy, censored letters sent home, and his life in Ionia before and after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Spencer joined the Michigan National Guard in 1940, and served in Company C, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division. His unit was mobilized in October, 1940, and he went with them to train in Louisiana. From there he was shipped to Australia and then to New Guinea in 1942. Fred was wounded by a sniper at Buna, New Guinea, and spent over a year recovering first from the wound and then from malaria. He was finally sent back to the US, where he completed his service guarding German POWs in the southwest.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thomas Ambrose joined the Navy in 1948. He trained for the Medical Corps, and initially did hospital duty, but then transferred to the Marines and was sent to Korea to serve as a corpsman with a line company. His unit fought a series of engagements on the Imjin River and in the Punchbowl. He learned to use field radios and transferred to a signal company, and at the end of his tour he served near Panmunjom.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Buteyn served in the US Army from 1942-1945. He served as an infantryman in the 303rd Regiment, and saw action along the Dutch/Belgian frontier early in 1945 and took part in the crossing of the Rhine at Remagen. He later participated in the closing of the Saar pocket and in the capture of Cologne and Dusseldorf. Before being wounded in April, he participated in the liberation of three concentration camps for political prisoners. His wartime experiences helped him to decide to go into the ministry after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Keith Edmondson was born in 1924 in Wheaton, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Glen Ellyn. After graduating from high school, Edmondson began attending Purdue University the following fall, which was where he heard about the Aviation Cadet Program, which offered a deferment from military service until the end of school; however, in February 1943, the government changed the program and Edmondson enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He trained in Texas, Idaho and Nevada and was sent to the Pacific in 1944 as a bombardier on a B-24. After receiving additional training in Hawaii, Edmondson's crew deployed to the island of Kwajalein, located in the Marshall Island chain. While stationed on Kwajalein, Edmondson's B-24 participated in bombing attacks against the Japanese-held island of Truk. Eventually, Edmondson's squadron moved from Kwajalein to Guam, where they began launched bombing attacks against Japanese-held Iwo Jima. From there, he went on to Okinawa, where he completed his requisite forty missions and rotated home.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marc Skinner was born in 1948 in Richmond, Indiana. He grew up in Richmond and graduated from high school there in 1966, and then went to Ball State University for a year and a half until he dropped out. He was eventually drafted into the Army, and opted for NCO training, which delayed kept him in the US for a full year before he was sent to Vietnam in the spring of 1970. He was assigned to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. His company fought in the battles around Firebase Ripcord, April-July 1970. He later served in the battalion's headquarters company before returning to the US and getting discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Assembly plant for Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel (LCVP) in Cairns, Queensland Australia, 1943.
- Date Created:
- 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Morris Hinken served as a communications technician during World War II. He trained at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and deployed to England with the 32nd Signal Battalion at the end of 1943. He was based near Coventry, and went to Normandy shortly after D-Day. His unit laid and repaired telephone cables across northern Europe. He worked in Bastogne shortly before the Battle of the Bulge, and followed the army into Germany. Shortly after the German surrender, he was sent to Okinawa, arriving just after the Japanese surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Lewis was drafted into the Army at age 26 and served in the Korean War. Upon being drafted, he joined the Army engineers and worked building bridges in Korea near the front lines. He also worked building foxholes and firing positions for the Marines.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thadius Burzynski was born in Michigan on April 18, 1916. Ted was married in 1940 and expected to be drafted after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ted was deferred from service many times because of his work in a factory. Ted was drafted in 1943 and then traveled to France for his time in the service. He was in Germany on VE Day.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Ten Harmsel was born in Iowa in 1919 and grew up in Michigan. He was working at General Motors when Pearl Harbor happened, and was drafted into the Army in 1942. Having grown up on a farm and being experienced with trucks, he was pulled out of basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to drive a truck for a general on the base, and stayed at Fort Sill until the spring of 1944, when he was shipped to England and assigned to a battalion of the 18th Artillery. His unit landed on Utah Beach on or shortly after D-Day, and went into action right away. His unit fought in Normandy, in northern France, in the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the invasion of Germany. They went through a concentration camp and ferried Russian POWs back to the Soviet lines at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Vernon Kayser was born April 23, 1933 in Caledonia, Michigan. He was drafted and served in the 10th Engineering Battalion. He was sent to Fort Pickett, Virginia for sixteen weeks of basic training and then spent eight weeks of leadership training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. His battalion built bridges, pontoon bridges, and went on maneuvers during the Korean War. He served from 1953-1955.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Bush, born January 21st 1931, was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after completing college in 1953. Paul completed his basic at Fort Knox Kentucky. Upon its competition, Paul was then sent to Southern France. Here he was made a chaplain's aide, and served with the chaplain on several bases in France and Germany. Paul returned to the states to receive a teaching degree. When he finished he worked through a military program to return to Europe and teach in schools on military bases in Germany and Italy.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Engel, son of U.S. congressman Albert J. Engel, served in the U.S. Army from February 1943 to April 1946 in the European Theater during World War II. During basic training, Albert applied for OCS school, but due to his young age did poorly, but did receive his commission. Before being sent to England, Albert was assigned as commander of the 80th Bomb Disposal Squad. However, shortly after arriving in France Albert was transferred to the HQ for the 19th tactical air command. Here he was assigned to represent defendants in court martial cases. Albert than applied to be the commander of the 86th Bomb Disposal Squad. He stayed commander of this squad until his discharge in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Anthony Kuna was born in 1923 in Shepherd, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army when he was 18 years old and was sent to Camp Carson, Colorado, where he trained as an artillerist. After maneuvers in California and further training at Fort Benning, Georgia, his unit, the 71st Division, was shipped to France. He served as a machine gunner assigned to a battery of 155 mm guns. His unit fought through the Siegfried Line in January, 1945, and moved across southern Germany, ending the war in Austria, where his unit liberated a concentration camp.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lawrence Merritt was born in Oak Park, Illinois, although when he enlisted, Merritt's family lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attending Purdue University and completing the university's ROTC program, Merritt received a commission in the Army Corps of Engineers and went to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for his training. From Fort Belvoir, Merritt initially received an assignment to Fort Carson, Colorado but soon received assignment to MACV. Once he deployed to Vietnam, Merritt worked as an engineering advisor in a province populated largely by Montagnards. Merritt stayed in the same province his entire tour and returned to the United States once his tour was complete.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ben Peters was born in 1941. He grew up on a farm in Holmes County, Florida and enlisted in the Navy in 1958. He served for four years on the carrier USS Bennington. After leaving the Navy, he enlisted in the Army in 1962. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division, then at the Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia, then as a helicopter mechanic with the 101st Airborne Division. In mid-1966 he was sent to Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and served as a helicopter mechanic for the 166th Transportation Detachment at Bien Hoa Air Base. After six months he returned to the United States to go into Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. After completing Officer Candidate School he was sent to West Germany to serve with the 1st Battalion 36th Infantry Regiment 3rd Armored Division for two years. Returning to the U.S. in 1969, he trained to be an adviser to Vietnamese force, but when he redeployed to Vietnam in January 1970 he was sent to the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division as their public relations officer and worked with civilians in the area around Camp Evans. During the siege of Firebase Ripcord in July, he went to the base to take over the battalion's B Company, and was in charge of security as the base was evacuated on July 23. He continued to command B Company until he left Vietnam in December 1970. After the Vietnam War he served at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Rucker, Alabama as a flight operations officer, in Athens, Greece as noncommissioned officer in charge of a nuclear weapons storage site, and then at Cairns Army Airfield, Alabama as a flight operations chief until he left the Army in 1975.
- Date Created:
- 2014-09-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Assembly plant for Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel (LCVP) in Cairns, Queensland Australia, 1943.
- Date Created:
- 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Joe Brinn was born in 1950 in Virginia and eventually moved with his family to Michigan, where he grew up. He got married at age 16 and dropped out of high school, and a year later decided to join the military. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, and then Ft. Rucker to train as a Helicopter Crew Chief. He landed in Pleiku, Vietnam, in 1968 and was assigned to the 77th Air Cavalry which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and worked as a crew chief. His unit did "hunt/kill" missions and he did maintenance on the aircraft as well. During his time in Vietnam, he flew many combat missions, notably over Dak To, but he was never wounded; although there were many close calls. Mr. Brinn was awarded a Bronze Star after for repelling down from a helicopter to recover a lost aircraft, which he found out crashed; and even though there were no survivors he secured the bodies. After Vietnam, he continued his military career, eventually becoming a warrant officer and helicopter pilot, and retired after twenty years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lyle Gibbs enlisted in the Army in the late 1940s and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan. When the Korean War broke out, his unit joined the fighting early on, was driven back to the Pusan Perimeter, where they held. He then joined the 7th Division and served with it on the drive toward the Yalu and back. He saw a good deal of combat, and spent time leading a mortar section and later serving as a platoon sergeant. After ten months, he rotated home and completed the last few months of his enlistment in the US.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Howell, born in Flint, Michigan in 1948 He enlisted in the Marine Corps and served from 1967 to 1969. Trained at San Diego as a radio operator, he was sent to Vietnam in June, 1968 and assigned to a headquarters unit in Da Nang. He later requested duty in the field, and became a radio operator with the 3rd Shore Party near the DMZ, and went out with different combat units to call in helicopter support.
- Date Created:
- 2012-09-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Katt served with the 66th Infantry Division during WW II. He was drafted in 1943, trained mostly in Alabama, and went to Europe late in 1944. He served in France and Germany. Most of his comments are on training, working with French troops, and serving on occupation duty in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kim Tuck was born in 1946 in Battle Creek, Michigan. After graduating from Michigan State University, he enlisted in the Air Force and completed officer training as a munitions officer. Following training, he served as a munitions officer at several bases around the country and the world, including a year's tour at bases in Thailand from 1972 to 1973.
- Date Created:
- 2009-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Swendsen served on the USS Silversides and the USS Haddock during World War II. In this interview, he gives a guided tour of the Silversides, which serves as a museum in Muskegon, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Wallace was born in Plattsburgh, New York and studied at a Jr. College in the state as well as University of Michigan. Mr. Wallace spent two years in Nigeria through the Peace Corps before finishing his degree. He got drafted in April of 1968. He received basic training and AIT at Ft. Dix, and then went to OCS at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Ft. Polk, Louisiana. He also went to Jungle School in Panama. He was assigned to Charlie Company as 1st platoon leader, 2/506 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Throughout his time in Vietnam, Mr. Wallace collected things such as branches from trees and it made the situation enjoyable. He did not experience many bad fire fights; they sometimes went 2-3 weeks without being shot at. Mr. Wallace's company went to Firebase Ripcord for a month and helped build its defenses. He had a rear job after 7-8 months in the field in which he communicated with every battalion and company regarding supplies.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mary Louise Crowell shares what life was like at home prior to, during, and after WW II. With the US involvement in WW II, Mary explains what it meant to take an active role in the war at home like saving lard, oil, tin cans, and using ration books. During the war, Mary worked for the Civil Service at Fort Custer as a clerk typist and attended many of the USO events. When WW II ended, Mary married her soldier, Jim Crowell, and together they raised two children.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Timothy Heffron was born in Kirkwood, Missouri on November 13, 1957. He was raised in Pennsylvania and then moved to Grand Rapids with his father during high school. After high school he joined the Marines. He went to boot camp and then finished 3rd in his communications school class. He didn't get along with a major and ended up leaving without permission and was court martialed when he returned. He received a 50 dollar fine and was moved from private first class to private. Then they offered him an honorable discharge and he took it.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Kloet was born on August 8th, 1936 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school and briefly attending Davenport University, Kloet enlisted in the Air Force in 1955. After completing his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Kloet transferred to nearby Kelly Air Force Base for "radio intercept traffic analyst" training. Once he completed the training at Kelly, Kloet deployed to Shiroi Air Force Base in Japan. Because advancement in his branch was difficult, once his two-year deployment was complete, Kloet chose to get out of the Air Force and enrolled at Michigan State University to study for a Russian degree. After completing his Bachelor's Degree, Kloet briefly thought about continuing for a Master's Degree but instead decided to take a job working for the CIA. However, the job was not what Kloet had expected, so he eventually re-enlisted in the Army and after leaving the CIA and receiving additional training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Kloet deployed to Germany. Kloet moved around several units in Germany, eventually ending up as the de facto leader of a detachment in a town outside of Frankfurt. However, that was not the work Kloet expected to do, so he put in a transfer request to Vietnam and after training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deployed to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Kloet stayed in Saigon working as part of the intelligence services, creating reports about enemy infiltration rates and troop strengths. After his tour, Kloet returned to Fort Bragg in March 1968, missing the Tet Offensive before deploying for a second tour as an intelligence advisor at a province capital. (see parts 2 and 3 for rest of career)
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Darwin "Gabby" Stafford served in the United States Army during WW II in the Mechanized Calvary from January 1945 to June 1946 in Kansas and California. In this interview, Gabby discusses life on a farm during the Depression and the first time Social Security was introduced. He shares stories of his time in the Army including one about being treated to dinner at a chicken farm as a reward for returning a wallet, and being "volunteered" for kitchen duty while on the train to Fort Riles, Kansas. Gabby was a Mason for over 50 years.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thomas Swanson served in the U.S. Air Force between 1976 and 1980. He trained in Denver, Colorado, as an instrumentation mechanic, and worked on the testing grounds at Yuma, Arizona.
- Date Created:
- 2007-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Goedert was born on January 23, 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois. He became an ordained Dominican Priest in 1951 and served in New Orleans from 1952-1960. In 1960 he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as a Catholic Chaplain. Father Goedert served in the Air Force until 1988, when he retired at the age of 65.
- Date Created:
- 2013-04-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)