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Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
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United States. Army
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- Notes:
- Don was born in South Amboy, New Jersey on April 6, 1949. He graduated from high school in 1967 and worked for two years as a machinist before being drafted into the United States Army in 1969. He attended basic training at Fort Dix and AIT at Fort Lewis. Don was sent to Vietnam in 1969 and was assigned to Charlie Company, 101st Airborne. He was in the battle of Hill 902 and Hill 1000 and operated around Firebase Ripcord. Don spent a total of 50 weeks in Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steven Gunn was born in Austin, Texas, in 1946, but spent the majority of his childhood/adolescence in Clinton, Mississippi. In the winter of 1968 the draft board contacted him, but he didn’t have to report for service until August 1969. He opposed the war and registered as a conscientious objector. He received basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and stayed at that base for his medic training. He was deployed to Vietnam in January 1970, and he joined the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans. He started with Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, then transferred to Delta Company. For his first six months in Vietnam he went into the field with D Company, and from March through July they operated around Firebase Ripcord. During the Battle of Firebase Ripcord (July 1 – July 23) Steven took part in the Battle of Hill 1000 and Delta’s rescuing of Alpha Company. Steven was reassigned to work out of Camp Evans to go into nearby villages to service the civilians. His tour ended in March 1971 and upon arrival at Fort Lewis, Washington, he was discharged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Tauer was born in Minnesota and graduated from high school in 1969. Dale tried to devise a plan to avoid being drafted but ultimately was issued as a "run risk." He started basic training in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and went to the 101st infantry regiment. After receiving orders to work as a clerical typist in Washington D.C., Dale was sent to Vietnam in 1970 and was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He spent several months in the field patrolling with his unit until he was badly injured near Firebase Ripcord on July 20th, 1970. The enemy left him for dead, but he was found by other American soldiers and evacuated.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chet Teater was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1946 and was drafted into the Army in 1969. He served with an armored cavalry unit in Vietnam in 1970 and participated in an assortment of combat missions and security assignments. He discusses combat conditions in Vietnam, the Agent Orange issue, and relations with Vietnamese civilians.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Salistian Jr. was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He had a passion for playing his saxophone before the war and during the war. He enlisted to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and wound up being sent there anyway. He has never married and doesn't have the fondest memories of serving in the war. His reception on returning to college was also not a good one.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Flory served in the Army during Vietnam from 1968-70. A gunner in the 4th Infantry Division, he was trained to use a 105mm howitzer, and in this interview there is a lot that deals with the tactics and experience involved in transporting and operating that kind of artillery. He tells about being wounded in combat and the various locations he was sent due to his wound. We hear about his service after recovery. He discusses the difficulty in making friends in Vietnam, and how he and those he served with had to learn to improvise. There is some discussion in relation to his feelings about those who serve currently in the military, and we get some description of his involvement in veteran organizations. The interview ends with him showing some pictures of his howitzer, of a Chinook helicopter, and the shelters they constructed.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Herman Keizer was born in Chicago on May 21, 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1962 and served as a Chaplain's Assistant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia until 1964. He studied at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and also attended the Calvin Theological Seminary in 1968. He was commissioned as a chaplain in the Army and was deployed to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division and operated out of Lai Khe. He went into Cambodia in the spring of 1970, and due to actions there received a Bronze Star for valor. He joined the 4th Infantry Division in An Khe where he developed an amnesty program for soldiers suffering from drug addictions. While at An Khe, he broke both of his arms in a helicopter crash. He recovered at Camp Zama, Japan, and at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago. He served as the hospital chaplain at Fort Carson, Colorado, from 1971 to 1972 where he wrote an essay on Selective Conscientious Objection and wrote the basis for the Army's drug and alcohol program. He also worked on a case dealing with sexual harassment in the Army. He served at the State Department and helped with evacuation of personnel during the September 11th Attacks. After he retired from the Army he has stayed active with support groups for veterans, and helped with the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, and has also written on Moral Injury in War.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Acker first served in the Army as a radio operator with the 549th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He attended Philadelphia Bible College, the Reformed Episcopal Seminary, and the Dall Theological Seminary and was commissioned in the Army as a staff specialist. He received his 1st lieutenant chaplain commission at Fort Wadsworth, New York, in 1964. He started serving at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in July 1965 before going to Okinawa in 1966. He deployed to Vietnam in March 1969 and was attached to the 159th Transportation Battalion (Boat) out of Vung Tau. He conducted chaplaincy duties in the Mekong River Delta and aboard the USNS Corpus Christi Bay. After his tour in Vietnam he served at Fort Hood, Texas, with the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dennis Bassett was born in 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Bassett decided he wanted a different direction for his life, so he enlisted in the Army. After completing both his basic and advanced training at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Bassett deployed to Korea, where he worked at a medical depot. Once he finished his tour in Korea, Bassett returned to the United States and worked with a Ranger training company in Georgia before receiving his discharge. Following his discharge, Bassett went through four years of college, with the final two years in ROTC and as a result of his time in the ROTC, after his graduation, received a Regular Army commission. After receiving the commission, Bassett went back through Ranger school and deployed to Vietnam, where he served with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region as part of the Riverine Force, and served as a platoon leader in the 3/60 Infantry for the first half of his tour. (see Part 2 for the rest of the story)
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Diane Aamoth was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 13, 1950. In late fall 1968 she enlisted in the Army and in December 1968 she reported for duty. She was part of the Women's Army Corps and received basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. She received clerk typist training at Fort McClellan and at Fort Lee, Virginia and wound up being assigned to Fort Myer, Virginia and working at the Pentagon. She became a keypunch operator in the Pentagon working for a major, and during her time in the Army worked up to the rank of Specialist 5th Grade (equivalent to the rank of sergeant). During her time in Washington D.C. she saw the social unrest and racism that still plagued the nation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She worked at the Pentagon for a year and completed her service at the Commonwealth Building in Rosslyn, Virginia. She was discharged in April 1972.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Larry Van Singel grew up in Byron Center, MI, and volunteered for the Army in early 1967 since he expected to be drafted and wanted to have some choice in his training and assignment. He initially served as a clerk at the 9th Division headquarters outside of Saigon, and traveled into Saigon several times during the Tet Offensive. Next he served as a radioman at a small base in the Mekong Delta. He was brought home early because of a death in the family and served the rest of his tour in the United States. He discusses his own feelings about the war and the difficulties of adjusting to civilian life, as well as a visit to the Vietnam memorial in Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Merle Delagrange was born in 1950 in Grantwood, Indiana. He was newly married and living in Ohio when he was drafted in 1969. After training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado until he received his orders to be deployed to Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam on April 28, 1970 and was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion. 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division stationed at Camp Evans. He was wounded in a friendly fire incident in early May, but soon rejoined the unit and was with them when they were heavily engaged Firebase Ripcord in July and had to be rescued by another unit. Throughout the rest of his tour he led a platoon on patrols until he left Vietnam and returned home on March 28, 1971. He joined the National Guard in 1976 where he stayed with the 193rd Infantry Company for eighteen years and retired as a sergeant first class.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peter was born August 27, 1948 in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from high school in 1967 and after trying a couple of colleges he eventually went to the United States Army recruiting station and enlisted. He signed up for intelligence and after basic training he went to intelligence school where he learned how to become a combat order battle intelligence analyst. Peter was sent to Vietnam in 1970 and was assigned to S-2, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He spent time on Firebase Ripcord and made it home in May 1971. After returning from Vietnam, Peter became a special agent with the United States Army Intelligence before being discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William "Bill" Hand was born in 1946 in Dallas, Texas. He took ROTC training while at the University of Houston, and did well enough to receive a regular army commission upon completion of the program in 1969. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division for several months, and then went to vietnam, where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and took part in the final stages of the fighting at Firebase Ripcord in June-July 1970. After Vietnam, he remained in the Army until retiring in 1992.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Ward enlisted in the US Army in 1968. He trained as a helicopter mechanic and was sent to Vietnam in 1969. He was stationed at Camp Holloway, outside of Pleiku. He spent most of his time on the base because of his assignment, but endured regular mortar and rocket attacks, and took turns manning the perimeter, where the Viet Cong would often make trouble at night.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William VanderWoude is a Vietnam Era veteran, who served in the U.S. Army from November, 1971 to August, 1973. In this account, VanderWoude discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. VanderWoude briefly describes what his active duty experience was like as a nuclear missiles' tester in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. VanderWoude concludes by sharing his thoughts about his time in the service.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Smoker was born in 1949 in York, Pennsylvania. He grew up there and graduated from high school there in 1967. He attended college briefly, and then took a job, which cost him his deferment. In April 1969 he received his draft notice and shortly thereafter began basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. After Fort Dix he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington for Advanced Infantry Training and upon completing that he was deployed to Vietnam in October 1969. He arrived in Bien Hoa and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. After completing Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School at Camp Ray (near Saigon) he was sent up to Camp Evans and was assigned to Charlie Company,2nd of the 506th Regiment 101st Airborne Division. During his time in Vietnam he participated in patrols of the Lowlands, in Operation Texas Star (the establishment of Firebase Ripcord in the spring of 1970) and the subsequent Battle of Firebase Ripcord during July 1970. After leaving Vietnam he finished his service at Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia and was discharged from the Army on May 12, 1971. After a professional career, he became a minister and got involved with a group of American missionaries that work in Vietnam to help teach the rural Vietnamese English and to help American Vietnam War veterans find peace with their memories.
- Date Created:
- 2014-07-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Campbell was born in 1946 in Santa Barbara, California, and grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 1968, and then enlisted in the Army. He did his basic training and advanced infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then went on to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia and graduated from the program on April 24, 1969. He served as an instructor at Fort Lewis, Washington until he was deployed to Vietnam in November 1969. He was assigned to the 2nd of the 506th of 101st Airborne Division as a platoon leader in C Company. He and his unit would go on to establish Firebase Ripcord and later participate in the infamous battle in the summer of 1970. After Vietnam he was stationed at Fort Polk until his service ended in March 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Andrew Knott was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 5th, 1940. In July of 1961 he was drafted in the period just before the Vietnam War. Entering the Army, he was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and Fort Carson, Colorado for artillery training. In the 5th Infantry Division he was a cook. In his time in the military he went on several maneuvers and experienced the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In July 1963 he was discharged and left the military.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ted Tees was raised in Buchanan, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1965. He then went through 2 years at Lake Michigan College before he was drafted into the Army. Ted went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for 8 weeks and then through 12 weeks of advanced infantry training at Fort Polk in Louisiana. He then went through Officer Candidate School, Jump School, and continued volunteering for other programs, hoping that the war in Vietnam would be over before he finished training. Ted was eventually sent to Vietnam where was assigned to a line unit of the 101st Airborne Division, and went on many search and destroy missions in the aftermath of the Hamburger Hill battle. He was in Vietnam for a total of 11 months before he was discharged and able to go back to college.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Ceton was born in 1946 in Muskegon, Michigan, and was drafted in 1966. Following a year of training at Fort Hood in Texas, Ceton deployed to Vietnam as part of the 198th Infantry Brigade of the Americal Division. Ceton fought in Vietnam for three months and while stationed on the Van Truong Peninsula, he received head wounds during a firefight and lost his right eye. After spending time in hospitals in Japan and Illinois, Ceton spent a brief period at Fort Sheridan before receiving his discharge in July 1968, after which he moved back to Michigan. In the 1990s, he made two return trips to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Morrin was born in East Boston, Massachusetts on June 21st, 1926. At the outbreak of World War II, Morrin attempted to enlist but the Army denied him because he was only seventeen and needed permission from his parents, although both his parents were dead; however, the Army eventually accepted him. Once finished with training at Fort Wheeler, Georgia, Morrin deployed to the European theater, remaining until after the end of the war, including helping with security during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. After returning home, Morrin initially got out of active duty but re-enlisted after the Korean War began and made his way to Korea, where he served as an MP. Following the tour Korea, Morrin returned to the United States and served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. as an MP and ambulance driver. After Walter Reed, Morrin had another tour in Korea before returning to the medical center. Eventually, Morrin received orders for Germany and deployed to Berlin, where he was stationed while the Soviet Union and East Germany built the Berlin Wall. When he returned from Germany, Morrin received orders for Vietnam and deployed to the country for a year. Finally, after his tour in Vietnam was complete, Morrin returned to the United States and received an assignment to work with the Reserve forces in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where one of his assignments was delivering news of a soldier's death to his family. However, the job took a toll on Morrin and after two years, he asked for his discharge, which he received.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Roach, born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1947, served in the U.S. Army starting in 1966 and ended his first tour in Vietnam in December of 1968. After completing basic training at Fort Polk Louisiana, Jim was then sent to Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) at Fort Polk Louisiana as well as OCS school at Fort Benning Georgia. In December of 1967, Jim was sent to Vietnam, where he served as a platoon leader in several different companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division. His unit was based initially at Phuoc Vinh, went to Bien Hoa after the start of the Tet Offensive, and then later moved north to Cu Chi. Unlike most officers, he spent his whole first tour in the field.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Bond was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1950 and grew up there and attended high school there. After graduating from high school in 1969 he enlisted in the Army. He trained at Fort Gordon, Georgia, as an infantryman, but when he went to Vietnam he trained as a scout dog handler and was assigned to the 58th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog), which was part of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. He and his scout dog, Jim Dandy, served on patrols with different units of the brigade, and took part in the actions around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. Bruce was wounded on June 30, 1970, and was sent to the US for treatment. He requested reassignment to Vietnam, but wound up as a scout dog instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia, for the remainder of his enlistment.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Hines was born on April 6, 1944 in Wellford, South Carolina, and graduated high school in 1962. Hines received his draft notice in 1965 and chose to enlist in the Army. He completed Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where he became a Morse Intercept Operator. He also trained in Artillery OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before transferring to Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the Air Defense for only two months before being transferred to Wurzburg Germany. From Germany, Hines was deployed to Vietnam with the 2nd of the 319th as a Fire Direction Officer and proceeded to report to the Bravo Battery at Firebase Bastogne. He saw heavy combat with this unit. While in Vietnam, Hines also worked as an assistant S-3 fireman, and a Liaison Officer for the 2nd of the 506 at Fire Base Ripcord. After taking some additional advanced artillery courses, he deployed to Nuremberg Germany with the 3rd of the 70th House Artillery before transferring to the 7th Corps Artillery as a Nuclear Release Authentication System Officer. He would later return to Europe after recieveing his veterinarian degree in the United States to care for military service animals.
- Date Created:
- 2019-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas Buikema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946 and grew up in the area. After working for a year and going to college, he volunteered for the draft in 1967. In basic training at Ft. Knox, he became a squad leader and went to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for AIT. He also went to NCO School at Ft. Benning, where he gained more leadership skills. In Vietnam, he was a squad leader and was based out of Quan Loi. He was in A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry in the 1st Division. Mr. Buikema was wounded twice; once in the ankle, and the other time in the back of his knee. He received a Silver Star. After being wounded the second time, he left Vietnam and was discharged shortly after.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Dykstra was born in Grand Rapids in 1947 and was attending Grand Rapids Junior College when he was drafted for military service in 1967. Jim was sent to Military Police School where he guarded a proving ground in New Mexico. Jim was then sent to Vietnam where he served as a guard at the military prison in Long Binh where convicted U.S. service men were kept. Because he had a little more education than the other guards, he was put in charge of the maximum security section of the prison, but he eventually changed jobs and took over the road patrol outside of the prison
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in Houston, Texas in 1951, Jim Hodges worked on ranches as a teen before enlisting in the Army in 1970. During his training, the Army selected him to cross-train for special operations missions and following the completion of his training, the Army shipped him to Vietnam. After several months, he began to perform the missions. He performed several special-ops missions in Laos and when his last mission went wrong, Hodges spent seventy-two days alone working his way back to a friendly location. He spent a further couple of months in Vietnam, serving with one of the last infantry units in the field, before returning to the United States and eventually receiving his discharge.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim was born in Santee, California on August 29, 1951. After Jim graduated from high school in 1969, he decided to beat the draft and enlist in the United States Army. He was sent to Vietnam in May 1970 and worked as a base guard at Bien Hoa. After some time, he was reassigned to 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne out of Camp Evans. Jim took part in the attack at Firebase Ripcord. After getting out of the army, Jim joined the California Highway Patrol and served for twenty eight years. After retirement from the CHP, Jim went to Iraq and Afghanistan and worked as a police advisor to local police departments.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Whipple was born in Lansing, Michigan, and was drafted into the Army two years after high school. He trained as an infantryman at Fort Bragg and Fort Dix, and went to Vietnam in July, 1969. He was assigned to mortar platoon Echo Company, 2/506 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. His unit fought in the A Shau Valley, then near the coast around Camp Evans, then in the Ripcord campaign. He spent nearly all of his tour in the field, much of it attached to line companies rather than staying on firebases.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on artillery. In early 1970, Ron was sent to Vietnam where he served in A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division. His battery was based at Camp Evans, and moved around the northern part of South Vietnam, spending time at Firebases Rakkasan, Gladiator, Kathryn and Ripcord and at Camp Carroll. His battery was on Ripcord while it was under siege and evacuated in July, 1970.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Whorton was born on January 2, 1947 in Mobile, Alabama. His family moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan when he was young. In 1966, Charles was drafted into the United States Army and trained as a radio operator. When he arrived in Vietnam in December 1966, Charles was placed in K Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. K Troop traveled through the jungle with tanks and armored transport vehicles. Since they were a search and destroy unit, they frequently came into contact with the enemy. When Charles returned from Vietnam, it was difficult for him to adjust to civilian life.
- Date Created:
- 2015-11-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Romig was born and raised in Ohio, attended Ohio State University and completed the ROTC program there, receiving his commission in the Army in 1967. He was allowed to attend graduate school for a year, and then took infantry officer training and went to jump school, then jungle training in Panama and supply officer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the fall of 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam and was sent to Camp Evans and was assigned to 1st Platoon of Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. From the time he arrived until May 1970 he patrolled with Delta Company in the Flatlands and in the area around what would become Firebase Ripcord. In May 1970 he was reassigned to a reconnaissance platoon of Echo Company which was based on Firebase Ripcord. After the fall of Firebase Ripcord on July 23, 1970 he and Echo Company were sent to Camp Evans to serve as a rear unit there providing security and still going out on recon patrols. In the fall of 1970 he returned home and completed his service in the Army as a supply officer at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Drury was born in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He received his draft notice shortly after finishing high school in 1969. He did his Army basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then advanced training for airborne at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. He was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd of the 506th, 101st Airborne Division, which was based at Camp Evans in the far north of South Vietnam. His company conducted a series of combat patrols of varying lengths in the spring and summer of 1970, and was involved in heavy fighting near Firebase Maureen in May and Firebase Ripcord in July. After being wounded in the Ripcord fight, he returned to his unit, but the company did not see much further action. He spent much of his time in Vietnam as a radio operator, eventually becoming his company's RTO, and finally being assigned to the battalion headquarters at Camp Evans for the last part of his tour. He returned to the US early in 1971 and finished his enlistment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe Lange was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 9th, 1947. After graduating high school, Lange married and briefly attended college before getting a full-time job and receiving his draft notice. After receiving his draft noticed, Lange went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and advanced training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia to be a generator mechanic. Once he completed the training at Fort Belvoir, Lange returned home before deploying to Vietnam to serve for a year in the 124th Signal Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- 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:
- Tony Cox was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 31st, 1949. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and AIT at Ft. Polk, Lousiana. He also went to NCO school in Ft. Benning Georgia. He was assigned to Delta Company, 1st of the 506. He became squad leader after being in the field a while. In the battle around Firebase Ripcord in July, 1970, his company got into trouble in an area southeast of Hill 805. It was a very hot LZ and there were many casualties and many wounded. Mr. Cox went back to the bush after being treated for a gunshot wound, transferred to the 3rd platoon as a squad leader for the rest of his tour.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- In July 1969, Ron Kloet returned to Vietnam for a third tour of duty. During this tour, he served as part of the intelligence section for the 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Phuoc Long Province. While with the 1st Air Cav., Kloet took part in operations within neighboring Cambodia. Once his tour with the Air Cav. ended, Kloet's original orders called for him to go to a career course at Fort Bragg. However, recalling previous time spent at Fort Bragg, Kloet instead requested going back to Vietnam for a fourth tour, which he received. Therefore, after receiving training in another career course and in a MASA (Military Assistance Security Advisory) course, Kloet deployed to Vietnam for a fourth time. During the fourth tour, Kloet served as part of the Phoenix program, a joint Vietnamese-American effort to neutralize the Viet Cong and communists at a local level. Also during his time with the Phoenix program, Kloet took part in the NVA's 1972 Easter Offensive, which occurred in a neighboring province.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Van Dreumel was born in 1943 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and lived there until he graduated from high school in 1961. He then went to California to train as a aircraft mechanic, after which he worked at several commercial airlines before receiving his draft notice in 1964. Once he received his draft notice, Van Dreumel went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky before joining an aviation section at Fort Benning, Georgia outfitted with six OV-1 Mohawks. When Van Dreumel first joined the section, it belonged to the 11th Air Assault Division but only a couple of weeks after his arrival, the section switched to the 1st Air Cavalry Division, which was then deployed to Vietnam. He spent his tour at An Khe working on Mohawks and other observation aircraft. Once Van Dreumel's tour came to an end, he rotated back to the United States and finished his enlistment as part of the 5th Mechanized Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Mihalko was born in a patriotic town called Whippany in New Jersey. After graduating high school he worked in warehousing for three years before getting drafted. He got his training at Fort Dix. In Fort Lewis, he got his jungle training. Sent to Vietnam in January, 1970, he was assigned to the reconnaissance platoon of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, in the 101st Airborne Division. He survived his year in the field, and went on twenty-five or more patrols. His unit was involved in the fighting around Firebase Ripcord between March and July, 1970. Mihalko later helped found the Ripcord Association and organize the first reunion of veterans of that campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mr. Dahlke served in the US Army as an engineer during the Vietnam War. He received his basic training at Fort Knox, and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood. This is where he learned to be an equipment operator. Much of his job included operating heavy equipment, like bulldozers. He cleared lanes, built bunkers, repaired roads, and did mine sweeps. In Vietnam, he served with the 588th Engineer Battalion, attached to the 25th Division.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glenn Sheathelm was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1946. Enlisting in the Army in 1965, he joins the Army Artillery and undergoes Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before being deployed to Nuremberg, Germany. He is then redeployed to Vietnam where he served with the Fire Direction Control and S2 Military Intelligence sections of the First Cavalry Division until after the Tet Offensive in January of 1968. He sees combat while on patrol, during rescue missions, during Air Assaults, and during the Second Battle of Tampon when he receives several minor wounds and is sent to the rear for treatment in the final days of his deployment. He then returns to the United States in February of 1968 where he attends the Western Michigan and Grand Valley State Universities for masters' degrees in library sciences, literary media, and history.
- Date Created:
- 2018-08-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Murphy was born and grew up in a small town in Illinois. After finishing high school and junior college, he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He did his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, and was then sent for artillery training to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here he trained as a gunner, and was then sent to Vietnam. He joined a battery of the 7th Artillery which was attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta, and served with them until the unit rotated home three months later. He and several other men from his battery were reassigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans, and he served the rest of his tour with them. He continued to work as a gunner, and his battery regularly moved from one firebase to another. They provided fire support for Firebase Ripcord when it was under siege in July, and Murphy was sent to Ripcord to inspect artillery positions there when it was thought that his battery would move there. Instead, the base was abandoned, and he went back to his regular duties. Later on, he was stationed at Firebase Kathryn when it was attacked by sappers.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Prins was born in Holland, Michigan on April 10, 1948. He reported for his draft physical in March 1968 and went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He completed Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He deployed to South Vietnam in late summer 1968 and arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in August or September 1968. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon of Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion of the 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. During his time in Vietnam he carried an M60 machine gun and went on patrols in the jungle, searched villages, and guarded bridges on Highway 1 near Hue and Phu Bai. At the end of his 12 month tour in Vietnam he returned to the United States and spent his last five months in the Army at Fort Lewis, Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dave Snyder was born in 1949 in Painesville, Ohio. After graduating from high school in 1967, Snyder held a series of jobs before receiving his draft notice in 1969. After processing into the military in nearby Cleveland, Snyder went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for his basic training. From Fort Campbell, Snyder moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for advanced training in field artillery then attended Non-Commissioned Officer School, also at Fort Sill. Once he finished NCO school, Snyder spent a few months in a training battalion stationed at Fort Sill before deploying to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Snyder received an assignment to Alpha Battery of the 2nd of the 11th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division. The main weapon of the 2nd of the 11th was the 155mm artillery gun and once in his gun section, Snyder received the position of gunner. After Snyder arrived, his battery moved to several different hilltop firebases before finally arriving at Firebase Ripcord. While stationed on Ripcord, the battery participated in the weeks-long siege of the firebase by enemy forces. Once the siege ended, the battery moved to another firebase, where it was when Snyder's tour ended and he rotated back to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Price was drafted into the Army in 1965. He trained as a vehicle mechanic at Fort Knox, and expected to go directly to Vietnam. Instead, he and several other men from his training company were sent to Korea to replace men who had been killed or wounded in an enemy raid. The men were assigned to a maintenance company, and were kept busy repairing vehicles both at their camp and up near the DMZ. Price eventually was assigned to serve as battalion courier, and made regular trips between company and battalion headquarters and the front lines.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Jansen was born in Holland, Michigan, on May 6, 1937. He graduated from Western Theological Seminary in June 1967, was ordained in September, and went on active duty at Fort Hamilton, New York, in October 1967. He was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, to serve as the chaplain for a basic training brigade and did that until he was deployed to Vietnam in the fall of 1968. He served with the 184th Ordnance Battalion and operated out of Qui Nhon. He ministered to soldiers in his unit as well as troops in a maintenance battalion and the 84th Combat Engineers. Despite being a chaplain, he experienced ambushes on convoys, rocket and mortar attacks on the base, and sapper attacks. After Vietnam, he was sent to West Germany for three years, then returned to the United States for service at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He also served at Fort Wadsworth, New York, and in South Korea for two years. Donald served at Brooke Army Medical Center then at the main post chapel in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, before doing a final tour in West Germany with the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade. He retired in 1987.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clarence Szejbach was born in Traverse City, Michigan on September 19, 1948. When he was 19 years old he was drafted into the Army. He was deployed to Vietnam and served in the 2nd Battalion of the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. He spent his first month as a rifleman, but served as a radio operator for the platoon sergeant, the platoon leader, and the company commander. He served in Tay Ninh Province. His unit served at Fire Support Base Crook on the Cambodian border, and on June 5, 1969 the Viet Cong launched a massive attack on the base. The next day a Viet Cong militant tried to ambush the patrol with grenades. Clarence threw a grenade back saving his unit, but cost him his right hand. For his heroic action he was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He returned to the United States and recovered at home and at Valley Forge Hospital, Pennsylvania before being discharged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- 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:
- Sidney Cavanaugh was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1942 and later moved down to Jacksonville, Florida. After graduating from high school in 1961, he tried going to college several times. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1964. He trained as a radio operator for the 2/17th Artillery 155 Howitzer out of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He also was trained as a crew chief on a Mojave Helicopter. When he was sent to Vietnam, he was made a door gunner on a Huey Hog Ship with the 2/20th artillery, 1st Air Cavalry Division, and participated in the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965.
- Date Created:
- 2013-08-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)