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- Notes:
- Phil Brockschmidt knew that he wanted to join the armed service after Pearl Harbor was attacked and joined the Navy when he was only 15 years old. He took many long trips traveling in a convoy to Russia to deliver oil. Phil was eventually transferred into the Navy Air Corps and was disappointed with the transfer. In the Navy Air Corps Phil traveled to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Africa, Miami, Cuba, and Puerto Rico working as an ordinance man.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Hemphill was born in Michigan in 1942 and later moved to Indiana with his mother when he was 10 years old. In 1960 he enlisted in the Navy for 3 years of active duty and 3 years in the Reserves. Dale went through boot camp in San Diego, California and was then stationed in California and later Alaska. After his time in the service he began working on a project called Flags Across America n 1979. He also started a non-profit organization called Spirit of America and he often travels around the country working on his project and organization.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jay Lindquist was born in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from high school there in 1952. He attended the Naval Academy and served on several ships before transferring to the Air Force in 1957. He trained as a fighter pilot served as a flight instructor, and then trained to work with rocket systems before volunteering for duty in Vietnam. He served there between 1965 and 1966 training Vietnamese pilots and flying observation aircraft out of Da Nang with the 110th Vietnamese Liaison Squadron, and won the Distinguished Flying Cross on one of his missions.. He returned home in 1966 and worked at the Air Defense Weapons Center in Florida until he resigned from the Air Force to pursue a business degree at the University of Michigan during which time he served with the Michigan Air National Guard until he resigned from there as a lieutenant colonel and took a job at Western Michigan University as a marketing professor.
- Date Created:
- 2014-02-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Stafford was born in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan in 1937. He enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to a mine sweep boat, but later moved down to the Panama Canal Zone to be on the security force. After that he went on the SS Iowa, the SS Galveston and the USS Sierra battleships and trained on the east coast. While he was on the USS Sierra he took part in the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1968 Raymond was sent to Columbus, Ohio and made chief petty officer. He went through the survival, evasion, resistance, and escape program and was sent to Vietnam to be in charge of a patrol boat river unit. Raymond spent 2 years in Vietnam and was sent back to the US.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Art Lucas was born in a small farm town in Michigan in 1922. There he acquired farming skills that would help him to avoid being drafted into the war at the very beginning. Lucas became eligible for the draft and decided to enlist in the Navy serving on an LST as a signalman and then as a quartermaster between 1944 and 1946. He has photographs taken in Japan after Nagasaki had been bombed. After serving, he continued farming and in Michigan was voted supervisor of his township for 25 consecutive years. Personal narrative, "My Two Years Before the Mast" is appended to the interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-09-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gene Welch was born near Midland, Pennsylvania in 1942. After graduating high school in 1960, he decided to join the Navy. Mr. Welch received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, and then went to a training school in San Diego to specialize in welding and metal working. He worked on the repair ship USS Klondike and the oiler USS Chemung. He made cruises to Japan, The Philippines, and Hong Kong on both of them. After returning to the United States in 1963, he was stationed at Long Beach for another year while the Chemung was being overhauled.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James VandenBosch, born in Ada, Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1966 and trained as a medical corpsman. After a cruise aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri La in the Mediterranean, he trained for combat duty with the Marines at Camp Lejeune and was sent to Vietnam in 1968. After a short stint with a Civil Action Patrol working in the villages near Da Nang, he became the senior corpsman for a rifle company of the 26th Marines, and participated with them in a series of combat operations. He spent the last part of his tour at a hospital in Da Nang. After his discharge, he eventually decided to go to nursing school and re-enlist in the Navy, this time as a nurse and officer. He did so, and retired from the Navy in 1989.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steve Byers had been in the Navy for 20 years when he retired in 2000. He discusses the benefits of military life and some of the differences between military and civilian experiences and attitudes.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James O'Malley was born in Chicago in October 1932. In April 1951, he enlisted in the Navy. He received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, then went to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, for Pre-Flight School. He then went to Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee, for Aviation Electronics School. James was sent to Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, Hawaii, and joined Squadron VP-22, an antisubmarine patrol squadron. He served aboard a P2V-5 Neptune and conducted antisubmarine patrols around Hawaii. In spring 1952, Squadron VP-22 was sent to Okinawa to fly reconnaissance missions along the Chinese coast as part of the Korean War. His plane took antiaircraft fire on multiple occasions and they encountered Chinese fighter planes. After the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, he returned to Hawaii and was then reassigned to Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois. His final duty station was at Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia, and he was discharged from there.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clarence Hunter was born in London, Arkansas in 1935. He enlisted into the military and served in the Army and Navy. During his time with the Navy, Clarence spent a lot of time traveling up and down the coast of Korea during the Korean War.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Newton was born in Grand Rapids, MI and graduated from high school at age 16. When he was eligible, he joined the Navy and did basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station. He then moved to submarine training at New London, CT. He was then assigned to the USS Icefish and patrolled the Pacific Ocean, making attacks on various different Japanese vessels.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Windisch grew up in Holland, Michigan during the depression. Although times were rough, his parents were both able to hold on to their jobs during the depression. Charles went to school through the sixth grade and joined the National Guard when he was only sixteen. He eventually enlisted in the Navy and traveled through the Pacific to islands such as Hawaii, Guam, and Okinawa. He served between 1941 and 1946 primarily on the USS Nashville, but also did a stint as a demolitions frogman.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Eitel, born in Nebraska in 1926, served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 in the Pacific theater during World War II. Albert enlisted at the age of 17. He did basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, and then trained on LSTs at Camp Bradford, Virginia. He then joined the crew of a new LST at its shipyard in southern Indiana and sailed with her to the Pacific, where he participated in the campaign in the Philippines. Albert started out as a deck hand, but soon became a storekeeper. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the ship spent several months ferrying Japanese and Chinese soldiers from Korea, China and Indochina back to their home countries.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Mulvey joined the Navy in 1937 and served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. William joined the Navy in 1937, and was trained in Rhode Island before he was placed on the USS Texas. He was then transferred to the USS Boise where he remained until part way through World War II. He participated in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal on the Boise, and was then transferred to the USS Indianapolis, and served on that ship until a Japanese submarine sank it. He survived the aftermath, and joined the Naval Reserves upon his return to the United States. He was reactivated for the Korean War, and served in several capacities including on the USS Ticonderoga. He also served in the Vietnam War on a ship used for beach landings. He eventually retired from the Navy in the 1960s.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Veenstra was drafted into the US Navy in 1943. He trained as a Seabee in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was stationed in California before being sent to Samar in the Philippines. After the war he was stationed in Shanghai.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mort Hoffman was born in Rochester, New York in 1926. He grew up in Rochester and graduated in June 1944. From 1942-1944 he was in the New York National Guard and after graduating from high school decided to enlist in the Navy. He trained at Naval Training Station Sampson, New York and was deployed out of Camp Parks, California. He was sent up to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and served on the island of Adak with the 114th Naval Construction Battalion, helping to maintain vehicles and equipment as well as take part in construction projects. He stayed on the Aleutian Islands from December 1944 to July 1946, and was discharged shortly after his return.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Brady took ROTC training while in college and joined the US Navy in 1956. He served for three years in various capacities, including duty on an LST in the Mediterranean during the Lebanon Crisis.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Bos was born in Cascade, Michigan on December 18, 1922 and went to school there through 8th grade. He had to quit school early to work on his father's farm when his father got sick and later received deferments from serving in WWII because he was a farmer. Bill grew anxious while his friends were being drafted and enlisted and decided to enlist in the Navy in June of 1944. After basic training, he was sent to the Pacific and endured a very long and difficult voyage to the New Hebrides, where he worked for several months on a Marine base and helped set up farms there. Late in the year, he was assigned as an anti-aircraft gunner on an escort ship and sailed to Guadalcanal, the Philippines and Okinawa, where he witnessed many kamikaze attacks.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Hawkins, Sr. served in the Navy during the end of the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy with hopes of traveling and avoiding being drafted into the Army. Raymond went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through radio school and security training in California before he was stationed in Alaska. Raymond served as a radio technician in Alaska and Puerto Rico and was in the Navy for a total of 4 years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Kutten was born in St. Louis in 1924 to Russian immigrant parents, and enlisted in the Navy while still in high school after he heard of the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. He felt obligated to join the armed forces after this incident, and cited the growing influence of Hitler and the threat to democracy as his motivation. Harry completed basic training at the Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho. After training he joined a merchant ship that sailed to New Caledonia and assigned as a signalman aboard the light cruiser USS Montpelier. He served aboard the ship in the Solomon Islands, and later on as part of the flotilla that went to the Marianas and provided support for troops on Saipan. From there, he went on to the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Mc Caulley was born in Woodland, Michigan in 1927 and enlisted in the Navy in 1944 when he was only 16 years old. Jack went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then shipped out with the 59th Seabees. Jack worked as a truck driver delivering supplies on Pacific islands such as the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Saipan. Jack and Norma met after the war in a roller rink and have since been married for more than 56 years.
- Date Created:
- 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Thomet became a member of the United States Navy at 17 years old. He served in the Pacific theatre, specifically on Okinawa, in 1945. He worked as a truck driver in a supply route for the Navy. He returned to Lowell, Michigan after his service where he married and had a successful automotive career.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Scott Barber is a Veteran who served in the United States Navy for five years from the late 1970s until the early 1980s in California, Iran, Thailand, and Panama. Because of skill and good military record, Barber's unit was assigned to the first rescue attempt of the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1980. In this interview, Barber discusses the training involved in preparing for this mission as well as the equipment failures and combat that took place that night. Barber also shares stories of his time in Panama, where his unit was responsible for destroying boats and planes used to transport illegal drugs, and his time in Thailand, where he spent over six days living in a dumpster.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ward Haner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1946. He enlisted in the Navy after high school. He received his training at Great Lakes Naval Base. Ward Haner was assigned to the 3rd division on the USS Forrestal. On the ship, he had many duties that included cleaning the quarters, air defense, and loading magazines. His team also drove the ship. There were many times on the Forrestal when Mr. Haner had to put out fires. He went on cruises through the Caribbean, Virgin Islands, up the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, going to Lebanon during the crisis in 1967, but narrowly missed being sent to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Zandstra was born in Grand Rapids. He served in the US Navy from July 14, 1959 to Sept. 28, 1962. He served in Sicily, and in the San Diego Helicopter Squadron One. Most of his duties revolved around helicopter maintenance and repair. He was trained in air-sea rescue in Imperial Beach. He also relates the story of a one-week survival training course he took, during which he was placed in a mock prison for twenty four hours.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Bennett was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1925. He attended Albion College for one semester, then enlisted in the Navy, and became a submariner. He served on five patrols, one in the Kurile Islands, three near the Yellow Sea, and a final one north of Tokyo. During this time they sunk forty-two enemy ships. He was discharged on December 18th, 1945. After the war, he finished school at Albion College.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Hotchkiss, born in Muskegon, Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy from approx. 1961-1967. During his service, Arthur served in both the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as President Kennedy's flight to Europe. Arthur served as a radio operator on 3 ships while in the Navy, and went on cruises in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Mediterranean.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Morell was born in Ludington, MI in 1926 and joined the Navy in 1944 when he was only 17 years old. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, IL for basic training for about six weeks. Dan only received basic training and was then sent to Pearl Harbor. He was then chosen for submarine service, where he worked on submarines through the transitions of crews and locations. Dan worked in Midway and Australia during the war in the Pacific, went on several submarine patrols and was discharged in May of 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold LeFurge served in the US Navy in both WWII and the Korean War. On an LST ship during WWII, he sailed to the Marshall Islands, the Carolinas', the Northern Mariana Islands, and to Okinawa. The main battles were over by the time LeFurge got there, but his ship carried supplies to the islands, and transported Japanese military families living on the islands back to Japan. Late in the Korean War, his ship transported American relief troops, army and marines, to Korea from Pearl Harbor and other Pacific islands
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dr. Gordon Balyeat was born in Michigan in 1911 and grew up in the small town of Sparta. He graduated from high school in 1928 and went to Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan. Gordon attended college during the prohibition and the depression. After receiving his medical degree, Gordon worked in various hospitals from Seattle to New York. He joined the Navy in 1942 and worked with the Northwestern Medical Unit. Gordon was sent to the Russell Islands in the Pacific in 1943 to set up a hospital, where he tended many Marines wounded in battle.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Hammond was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 18, 1923. Robert enlisted in the Navy about one year after Pearl Harbor was attacked and went through basic training in Chicago. After basic training, Robert went to radio, gunnery and flight schools. He went on 39 flight missions as a radioman/gunner on TBF fighter bombers, seeing action at Palau, Saipan, Guam, the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa. Eventually Robert and the others in his crew were in such bad shape, they could no longer pass their physicals. They had been pulled from their flight missions shortly before the bombs were dropped on Japan. Military records are appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- 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:
- Art Jacobs joined the Naval Air Corps in the 1930s. He was one of only 32 men that graduated with wings out of the original 435 men. He stayed in the Navy for a long time and eventually taught other young men advanced air fighting tactics. While he was called out to fight in World War twice, in both times his orders eventually were cancelled before he was actually shipped out. Art Had a rough childhood because his father died when he was only six and then he and his siblings had to help support their mother. Art enjoyed being in the Navy and believes that every male should serve at one point in their life. After life in the Navy, Art also became part of the Masons, the Red Cross, and the Eastern Star.
- Date Created:
- 2005-11-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Keith Blough was born on August 28th, 1925 in Freeport, Michigan. He was drafted in to the US Navy in November of 1943. After attending boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, he became a signalman on a ship. After the war, he was discharged at Great Lakes in Chicago, Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth Kelly was born on a farm in Coopersville, MI in 1925. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served in a construction battalion (Seabees) in the Pacific theater, primarily in the Admiralties and on Okinawa. He relates several of his experiences while working on war construction projects, and focuses mostly on camp life. He also served in the Reserves for thirty years. The interview includes a description of his experience of the 1995 reunion at Okinawa.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Canepa was born in Massachusetts in 1930. He attended Harvard University and enlisted in the Navy near graduation and just barely missed the Korean War. He attended officer school in Rhode Island and was later assigned to work in the Naval Amphibious Force. John traveled to Japan, Korea, and Cuba while in the Navy. After he was discharged he remained in the reserve for three years.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Van Strien was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Byron Center High School in 1945. After high school he and three of his friends joined the Navy. After basic training he was assigned to be a typist for a Commander aboard the USS Columbus. He served after the war during the Occupation of Japan and typed part of the ships newsletter. After his discharge in 1946 he used his GI bill money to learn how to fly and has owned three planes.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Frederick served in the U.S. Navy between 1944 and 1946 in the Armed Guard. He worked with the Merchant Marines in the transport of supplies throughout the Pacific Theater. He discusses what he was doing before the war, his experiences in working with the Merchant Marines, the various places he visited in the Navy and what happened after the war. He also expresses his views on Middle-Eastern culture, both from his exploits to Iran and in the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Larry Terborg was born in 1953 in DeMotte, Indiana. He graduated from high school in 1971 and attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan graduating from there in 1975 with a degree in psychology. After a short time of working for the FBI in Washington DC he decided to enlist in the Navy with the intention of becoming a pilot. He attended Navy Officers' Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida and after graduating from that went on to train at Whiting Field, Florida; Meridian, Mississippi; and Whidbey Island, Washington. After completing his training he was stationed at Whidbey Island to be an A6 Intruder pilot with the Replacement Air Group V8128. He served aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Ranger where they operated in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific during the time of the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Iran-Iraq War. In the mid-1980s he voluntarily left the Navy and became a commercial airline pilot.
- Date Created:
- 2014-04-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Chamberlain enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and trained at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago. James spent almost a year in the Philippines helping to build naval bases along the coasts of different islands. On his trip home in 1946, he traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Gibraltar, Naples, and Casablanca.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Loyd Winer served as a Naval Officer in the Atlantic from 1952-1955. He was assigned first to an escort carrier, and later to the fleet carrier Ticonderoga. He cruised in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and also had to supervise shore patrol in New York City.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tom Cannan was born in Eldorado, Illinois, in 1922. Prior to military service, he went to the Citizens' Military Training Camp at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, for a month of training with field artillery in 1940. In 1942, he joined the Naval Aviation Cadet School after receiving three months of preliminary flight training at St. Ambrose College, Iowa. He went to the University of Iowa for Navy Pre-Flight Training, then on to Naval Air Station Hutchinson, Kansas, for Primary Flight Training. Tom then went to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, for Advanced Flight Training, but was discharged from the Naval Aviation Cadet program due to not having two years of college. He enlisted in the Army Air Force and became an instructor at Parks Air College in St. Louis, training Army pilot cadets. He served as an instructor there for a year-and-a half then went to Keesler Field, Mississippi, for three months of Army Cadet Training. After that training he did Army flight training at Army airfields around San Antonio, Texas, and at Lancaster, California. He was selected to be an instructor at Marana Army Air Field, Arizona, and for the last couple months of his enlistment was at Williams Field, Arizona. He was discharged in late 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank O'Boyle joined the US Navy after enrolling at Harvard University in 1942. He served as a communications officer on board his ship during the war and returned to Harvard in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2005-08-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Sheridan enlisted into the Navy in 1943 after graduating from Coopersville High School. He eventually trained in becoming a signalman and served as part of the Naval Guard on a Merchant Marine cargo ship. His first voyage went to the Persian Gulf via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. His ship then went to the Pacific, taking a load of lumber to the Philippines and bringing soldiers home at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Forrest Winchester was born in Kent County in 1925 and was drafted into World War II from high school. Forrest joined the Navy because his cousin enjoyed it, and left basic training as a radio repairman. He served on several ships in the Pacific, and during and after the war sailed to Borneo, Okinawa, China and Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-03-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sid Lenger was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1918. After graduation from high school, Lenger went into business with his father, who ran several stores in the Grand Rapids. After several years, Lenger received his draft notice and following training in Chicago and Virginia, Lenger sailed on an LST down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf and Mexico and the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean. Lenger's LST transported Marines as part of the massive invasion of Okinawa. Following the battle, the LST transported the supplies needed for P-38 fighter escorts and supplies to Japan before Lenger left the service. Included with the interview is a video Lenger made himself, combining official Navy training films and video he filmed himself while aboard the LST.
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Burney Huizenga served in the Navy during the Korean War. His main job on the U.S.S. Missouri, the battleship he served on, was in the Main Propulsion Division where he dealt with running the engines of the ship. He served in the Navy for three years and was discharged before the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joyce Washburn was born in October 1949 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She enlisted in the Navy Reserves in May 1968 and received basic training at U.S. Naval Training Center at Bainbridge, Maryland in August 1968. She returned to college then went to Naval Hospital Corps School at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois where she learned how to be a corpsman. She stayed in the Navy Reserves for twenty six years working at the hospitals at Great Lakes Naval Station, San Diego, and Pensacola. She also got to work at Bethesda Naval Hospital and U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington D.C. During her time in the Navy Reserves she helped with domestic abuse programs, drug abuse programs, and psychological trauma programs. After her service she helped a fellow veteran, Dr. Edward Byrd, with the creation of a memorial for her fiance, Dennis Lobbezoo, who was killed in Vietnam in June 1968.
- Date Created:
- 2015-02-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania on April 28, 1927. After he graduated high school, he attended Allegheny College and later joined the United States Navy in April 1945. He was sent to Bainbridge, Maryland for basic training. Hank was stationed on the USS Pavlik in the Pacific and Japan and served as a supply and disbursing clerk.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Dorgan enlisted into the Navy in 1942 at the age of 17 during the Second World War. He served a majority of his time in the Armed Naval Guard. on merchant ships in convoys in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-30T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Maurice Buskers enlisted into the Navy after graduating from Ottawa Hills High School in 1943. He was originally a part of the V-12 Program that would have made him an Officer of the Navy, but he decided to transfer into the Navy Air Corps instead. He was to become a pilot but was sent to Great Lakes for Navy training because there were too many pilots at the time. Buskers never saw battle because World War II had ended before he finished training.
- Date Created:
- 2009-03-24T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- William Lysdahl entered the Navy at age 17 during World War II. He served in the Pacific Ocean on ships conducting antisubmarine patrols. He was discharged on December 1st, 1945, at the end of the war. He was 20 years old.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Witzig was born on August 22, 1924, in Grant County, Wisconsin. He enlisted in the Navy in early 1943 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Naval Station Treasure Island, California, and was selected to go aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and served in the ship's fire control division (firing the ship's gun). He participated in the ship's major operations in the Pacific Theater in 1944 and 1945, including the invasion of Okinawa. After the ship's repairs in California, he participated in the delivery of the atomic bomb components to the island of Tinian. On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and sank. Robert abandoned ship and was one of the 317 men to survive the sinking. After five days he was rescued, and recovered in the Philippines and at Guam. He returned to the United States and was discharged at Great Lakes Naval Station in late 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2016-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Leistra served in the US Navy during the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy because he knew he had a very good chance of being drafted. During his time in the service, Ronald served at Barbers Point in Hawaii, and at Whidbey Island in Washington. His units handled maps and made sure they were secure.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Porter served in the US Navy during the final year of WWII, and then spent forty-one years working for Commonwealth Edison, in Illinois. While still in high school, he worked at the University of Chicago, cutting graphite used in the Manhattan Project.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steve Hickel was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956. He attended several colleges and then enlisted in the Navy on June 6, 1975. He started out as a Sonar Technician on a nuclear fast attack submarine. Their mission was to find enemy subs, monitor and record them and if necessary destroy them during the Cold War. He was first sent to the Mediterranean Sea where he became an officer and then traveled around on the Pacific Ocean. Steve was called back as a Commander in 1995 and went to Europe to install computer systems.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-29T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Jerome Warren was born in Byron Center, Michigan, on November 11, 1926. He enlisted in the Navy on November 11, 1944 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He was selected for signal training, and received that training at Sampson Naval Training Center, New York. In late spring 1945, he went to Camp Shoemaker, California, and eventually boarded a Dutch merchant ship bound for the Philippines. After stopping in Hawaii and Samar, he arrived in Manila in August 1945. He was assigned to USS APL-19, a ship used to house personnel in transit. Aboard the USS APL-19, he served as a guard and as a signalman. In 1947, USS APL-19 was towed back to the United States, and was decommissioned at Jacksonville, Florida. He spent the final month of his service at Watervliet Arsenal, New York and was discharged at Great Lakes Naval Station.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-10T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- 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:
- Lyle Perschke was born in Wisconsin in 1922 and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925 when his father's job was transferred. Lyle played the trumpet and drums in high school and so he became a bugler when he joined the Navy. During a fight he got his four front teeth knocked out and was no longer to serve in the position of bugler. He became second class quartermaster on his ship. Lyle traveled to many different islands throughout the Pacific, as well as Korea and Manchuria, serving first on the USS Honolulu and later on the USS Colbert. Lyle has many experiences where his ship was attacked by Japanese kamikazes and also problems with running into floating mines in the ocean. Photographs of the USS Honolulu and a clipping are appended to this interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fay Johnson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Lowell High School. After high school he joined the Navy and first trained as a radio tech and then a fire controller. He was assigned to the USS Terry and boarded it in November 1944. They went to Iwo Jima and their mission was to fire at targets on the island given to them by the marines. They were at Iwo Jima for 3-4 weeks and then went on picket duty between Japan and Iwo Jima. On their way back to Iwo Jima they were hit three times and had to go to San Francisco to get repaired. After they were repaired they were getting ready for the Japanese invasion, but the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morgan Singer was born in Pinckney, MI and served in the Navy during World War II. Singer was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago, IL and then to Fort Bradford, VA and Ft. Pierce, FL for training on LST landing craft. After training, he was shipped to Guam, where he was preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. He was then sent to the Philippines, where he worked clearing vehicles.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Robinson was born on July 3, 1954 in Billings, Montana. Shortly before graduating from high school in 1973 he enlisted in the Navy. He received basic training in San Diego, California and went to Aviation Structure Mechanic School at Naval Air Technical Training Center Memphis, Tennessee. He was assigned to Naval Air Station Miramar, California and worked in VFP-63 (a photo reconnaisance squadron). He also did work aboard the USS Enterprise and USS Ranger on two week training exercises near Alameda, California. He stayed with VFP-63 at NAS Miramar until he left active duty in August 1977.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Duane Endres was born on a farm in Michigan in 1924. He was drafted into the Navy 1945. Prior to this he received a deferment due to his work at Michigan State University. He remained on the home front during his service and was stationed in Norman, Oklahoma, and Livermore, California. He was a seaman 2nd class, worked in the mess hall in Oklahoma, and was assigned to refrigeration in California. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chester Dykema joined the Navy during WW II in July 1945 and served until 1946. Dykema tells of life in Hawaii after the war during which the military was demobilizing, and about his life upon returning home.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-02T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Gary Doublestein was born on November 15, 1952, in Plainwell, Michigan. In early 1970 he enlisted in the Navy, and in June reported for basic training at Naval Training Center San Diego, California. He went to Hospital Corps School at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, and was then stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Gary stayed at Camp Pendleton for a year and was then assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk. His first cruise on the Kitty Hawk lasted from April 1972 to November 1972. In that first cruise, he witnessed combat flights into Vietnam as well as a mutiny on the ship. He returned to the United States and was stationed at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, until he rejoined the Kitty Hawk. His second cruise lasted from November 1973 to June 1974 and he was aboard ship when one of the engine rooms exploded. He left the Navy in June 1974, and enlisted in the Air Force in the late 1970s (c. 1978) to pay for medical school. He was stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, for three years and resigned his commission in 1991. In 2003, he enlisted in the Army Reserve. He served at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in 2005, at Camp Bucca, Iraq, in 2006, at Tikrit, Iraq, in 2008, and and his final deployment was in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He retired from the Army Reserve on November 15, 2012.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Livo, born in Detroit Michigan, serve in the U.S. Naval reserves from 1953-approximately 1954 to 1955. During his service, Robert went thought most of his training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. The men were put to work often cleaning and repairing ships that had come into port. Robert worked in the electronics department. He was also sent on a small cruise assigned to refill line layers in the South Atlantic. During this cruise Robert was given 18 days in Brazil.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Prosch was born in 1921 in Indiana and graduated from high school in 1939. He attended college in Ohio and signed up for the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked. His appointment was deferred until his graduation in 1943. Richard trained as a naval liaison to work with army units in invasions. While training in England, he witnessed the Slapton Sands disaster. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day with the 1st Division, and then worked with the 2nd Division as it landed the next day. He was subsequently transferred to the Pacific, and served in the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Milo "Mike" Houghton was born in Sand Lake, Michigan in 1924. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Navy in December of 1941. At Great Lakes Illinois he received his brief basic training. He was bound for the USS Sperry departing out of San Diego, California where they headed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place so recently that ships were still smoking. There he was relieved to encounter his brother who was injured in the attack, but survived. Next the Sperry took him to Brisbane, Australia where they remained for some time. Eventually the Sperry returned to San Diego and Houghton would next be departing on the USS Kittson. In 1944 the Kittson traveled the South Pacific and on then to Okinawa. It was at the battle of Okinawa in 1945 where Houghton worked to ferry members of the Army to and from the ships. Although on board the Kittson and prepared to invade Japan, the end of the War made this unnecessary and he was soon honorably discharged thereafter.
- Date Created:
- 2015-11-18T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- John Damon was, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1919. When Pearl Harbor happened, he was a cadet at The Citadel, and immediately enlisted in the Navy. However, he was given the opportunity to complete his degree first, so he went on active duty only in 1943. He went through his officer's basic course at Columbia University, and while there drilled recruits who were having trouble with their training. He was assigned to the USS Alaska, a battle cruiser still under construction, in 1944. He sailed with the Alaska on a shakedown cruise to Guantanamo, and then into the Pacific in early 1945. The ship escorted carriers off of Iwo Jima and Japan, and also did shore bombardments and a sweep of the Chinese coast. After the surrender, they sailed to Japan, and then spent three months in Tsingtao, China, while the Japanese troops there were evacuated.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Norman Beachum was born in Union City, Tennessee on March 7, 1927. After moving around the country his family settled in Muskegon, Michigan and on his 17th birthday he enlisted in the Navy (March 7, 1944). He took basic training at Farragut Naval Training Station, Idaho and after 14 weeks went to Tacoma, Washington where he joined the USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17), a seaplane tender. They went to sea on October 28, 1944 and sailed to Pearl Harbor where he received antiaircraft training. The ship sailed to Eniwetok, then Kwajalein, then Saipan, then Guam before reaching Ulithi on January 12, 1945. He was stationed at Ulithi until the ship returned to Eniwetok on June 24, 1945. After the war he was aboard the Cumberland Sound during occupation duty in Japan then joined the USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39), a small seaplane tender. He sailed around Japan and China for the remainder of 1945 and into 1946. In early spring 1946 he boarded a troopship in Hong Kong and returned to the United States. He was discharged from the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois on May 23, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Matthew Urbancik joined the military because he wanted to work with electronics. He initially sought out the Navy but was declined, and later enlisted into the Air Force to become a jet mechanic. Matthew saw the benefits of retiring from the military and re-enlisted after seven years. He served during Desert Storm and retired as a Chief Petty Officer. When 9/11 happened, his unit became a defensive unit on a domestic military base.
- Date Created:
- 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Spud Ensing was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan late in 1926. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and trained as an aircraft mechanic, but the war ended before he got in it. After contracting malaria while on assignment in Florida, he was given a medical discharge, but soon reenlisted and trained on jet aircraft, and eventually served in Korea after the end of the fighting there. In 1957, he transferred to the Air Force, and did a tour in the Philippines in 1965-66, where he serviced C-130 transport aircraft and made regular trips to Vietnam, and retired in 1968 rather than return to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Vern Pouch, born in Fruitport Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1944 at the age of seventeen. After training at Great Lakes and in Virginia, he joined the crew of a new LST and sailed with her from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and then across the Pacific, where he participated in the invasion of the Philippines. Off Mindoro in December, 1944, his ship was badly damaged and abandoned, and the crew were rescued by a destroyer and taken to Australia. He served out the remainder of his enlistment as a cook on Treasure Island in California.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jerry Everitt was born in Big Rapids, Michigan on April 5, 1927. He enlisted in the Navy on March 20, 1945 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He served aboard the USS LST-457 in the Philippines, Japan and the Admiralty Islands then transferred to the USS San Clemente (AG-79) around the Philippines and in Shanghai, China. They returned to the U.S. on the San Clemente and was discharged in Chicago on June 5, 1946. He reenlisted in the Navy on August 22, 1947 and went to Electrician School in San Diego. He served on the USS Molala (ATF-106) in the Philippines and in Hong Kong. After towing a dry dock back to the United States from Guam he was discharged from the Navy for his second, and final time on March 23, 1950 at Long Beach, California.
- Date Created:
- 2016-03-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eric J. DyKgraaf is a recent Iraqi War veteran who served in the U.S. Navy as an E-5 from May 2000 to May 2005. In this account, DyKgraaf discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training, and active duty abroad. Among the interesting things DyKgraaf highlights is his naval experiences and expertise while stationed in and around the Persian Gulf, aboard ship, or stops along the way.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joshua Karr served in the US Navy from 2002-2006, during the war with Iraq. The first half of his enlistment would be spent in the Pacific on the USS Constellation, which was sent to the Persian Gulf when the Iraq War started. He worked primarily in the engine room. When the Constellation was decommissioned, he transferred to the Enterprise, which was based at Norfolk and cruised in the Atlantic.
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Brummel served in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. He trained as a truck and ambulance driver and served as an ambulance driver on Okinawa, transporting Marines and Seabees wounded in action.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, and served in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to a destroyer which was used to guard convoys from submarines. He served initially in the Atlantic, but moved to the Pacific after VE day. He sailed to many places, including Brazil, North Africa, France, England, and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2005-08-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard VanAllsburg, born on February 17th 1921 in Grand Rapids Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy from approximately 1943-1945 as a pilot during World War II. Richard spent his first year of service in various training locations and active duty on bases. He soon volunteered to be sent to the Pacific in order to fly more. Richard was sent to Hawaii where he pulled targets for shooting practice. After being discharged in 1945 Richard joined the Naval Reserve. He was called back into duty in 1962 to carry out reconnaissance missions in the Caribbean for approximately 1 year.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Kayo Erwin Sr. was born in Dayton, Tennessee, on March 1, 1925. He grew up in Dayton then on a farm in Big Spring, Tennessee. When he was 16 he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old. He enlisted on December 20, 1942, and on December 26 he shipped out for basic training in San Diego. Louis initially received orders for the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill. He stayed on the Bunker Hill until summer 1943 when he joined the USS Indianapolis. He saw action at Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, and Iwo Jima. In March 1945 the Indianapolis was struck by a kamikaze forcing them to return to the US for repairs. In July 1945 they received orders for a secret mission. On July 16, 1945, the atomic bomb components were loaded onto the USS Indianapolis at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and they delivered the components on July 26, 1945 at Tinian. On July 30, the I-58 torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis. Louis and the other survivors had to endure exposure, shark attacks, and saltwater poisoning. On August 2 a seaplane spotted the survivors and they were rescued. Louis and only 316 other crewmen survived. After recovering on Peleliu and Guam he returned to the United States. He briefly served at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado before being discharged in late 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Baker-Clark, born in St. Lois Missouri in 1948, served in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1970 as a Naval Corpsman during the Vietnam Era. After completing his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, Charles was given medical training at the same base. After this was completed he was then sent to Naples Italy where he served in a naval hospital. In December of 1968 Charles had to be moved after he was involved as an informant used to bust a group selling drugs on the base. Charles was then moved to Maine where he served in another naval hospital. Soon after, he was sent to Iceland and then Sicily Italy where he served with a Unit of PT Orion pilots.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Pacino served in the U.S. Navy as a medical corpsman assigned to the Marine Corps from approximately 1992-1994. During his service, Tony served in Somalia in the early 1990s at the Port of Mogadishu. After his service, Tony was able to use his military training in his career as a nurse.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gaetan Gerville-Reache was born on October 8, 1976 and served in the United States Navy from 1998-2002. He was deployed to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Southern Watch and served as the main propulsion officer on the USS Benfold. The objective of the operation was to enforce a no-fly zone and embargo on Iraq. He visited the ports of Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Kuwait. In addition to his experiences in the Persian Gulf, Gaetan recounts September 11, 2001 and how the navy responded to the attacks thereafter.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Zandbergen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 26th, 1942. He joined the Navy in January of 1961. At Great Lakes, Wisconsin he endured basic training and became assigned to communications as a radioman. In Bainbridge, Maryland he was trained in Morse Code and radio specialization. Then he spent a year in Keflavik, Iceland where the US was wary of ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Next he was sent to Littlecreek, Virginia to the Tactical Air Control Squadron 21. During his time in the Navy Ronald travelled on the USS Boxer, and visited European ports in the Mediterranean area on the USS Francis Marion.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kevin Heine was born in Flint, Michigan on October 1, 1964. About 25% of his graduating class joined some form of the service in Osceota because it was an Air Force town and the economy was terrible in Michigan during the 80s. Kevin joined the Navy after high school and was able to take many classes in many areas during his 20 year career. Kevin took engineering classes, cryogenics, business administration, computer science, and many others.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steven Hillock initially joined the US Navy in 1963 to get out of farming. After his duty was up with the Navy, he joined the Army to fight in Vietnam. Initially trained as an airborne trooper, he joined the Tracers Recon unit. They fought in minor skirmishes, and took part in some battles. While he initially left the military very angry, he does not regret his time in the military.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dwight Stevens spent time in the Navy in the Pacific during WW II working on decoding Japanese messages. He served in the Philippines and witnessed Kamikaze attacks on Allied ships.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Wessels, born and in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1924, served in the U.S. Navy from January 1941 to November 1945 during World War II. After having completed his basic training, John was assigned to be an aviation radioman. His first deployment was to BOB 208, a unit of PBY seaplanes, in Florida and the Caribbean. Here, John looked for submarines. John was then transferred to the 208th of the 26th and flew in the Pacific, mainly performing reconnaissance. His unit started in Hawaii, served in several areas, including off Okinawa, and flew into Tokyo Bay at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Allen Weaver is a veteran and former E-6 who served in the U.S. Navy from 1976 to 1990. In this account, Weaver briefly discusses his pre-enlistment years, his basic training and other training in the U.S. Navy. Additionally, he discusses his service assignments around the U.S. and briefly discusses his secret missions as a Navey Seal in Panama, Beirut, and Lebanon. Finally, he discusses his athletic years with the Para-Olympics following his navy service.
- Date Created:
- 2007-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Aldrich was born in 1925 in Hastings, Michigan, and enlisted in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor at the age of 17. He trained for 5 weeks at Great Lakes, and then went to gunnery school in Little Creek, Virginia to train as an Armed Guard for merchant ships. On his first voyage, he was on the Murmansk run with convoy PQ 18. He shot down a German bomber, but his ship was sunk by a torpedo, and he was rescued by a British destroyer. He then spent time on a US Marine base in Scotland, Oran, Algeria, on an oil tanker In the Caribbean and Atlantic, a tugboat in the Caribbean, and finally on a cargo ship in the Pacific after the end of the war, visiting Okinawa and Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marv Kuzawa enlisted in the Navy in 1942 at the age of 21. For basic training he was sent to Camp Perry, Virginia. Eventually he was placed in the Seabees and sent to Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to construct infrastructure for the War. After being transferred to the 14th Construction Battalion, Marv was sent to Honolulu Hawaii to build Quonset huts where the effects from the Pearl Harbor attack were still evident. In May of 1945 Marv arrived in Okinawa Japan to construct infrastructure for the ongoing invasion, and he was present in Okinawa during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In November 1945 he left Japan on the USS Topeka and coincidently met up with his brother as they were both discharged at Great Lakes military base in Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Harrison served in the US Navy from 1950 to June of 1954. During his time in the Navy, he served on the Light Cruiser, the USS Worcester, in the North Atlantic. He was a machinist on the ship, and distilled sea water for use aboard the ship.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)