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Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
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- Notes:
- Wesley Daniels enlisted in the Marine Corps and served during the Vietnam War. He Served in Helicopter Squadron 647 and worked as a clerk.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- This interview replaces the missing portion from his original interview in 2004, and primarily covers the period between the end of his first tour in Vietnam in late 1966 to the end of his second tour in 1968. During this period, Gillem was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a rifle company commander. He and his brigade were sent to Detroit in the summer of 1967 in response to the race riots there, and soon afterward received orders for Vietnam. They arrived late in the year and were initially based at Cu Chi, but went up to the area north of Hue just before the Tet Offensive started in 1968, and participated in the American counterattacks and recapture of Hue, and in followup campaigns in the I Corps sector. Gillem was reassigned to division headquarters after about four months in Vietnam, and spent the rest of his tour with the division's operations (G-3) section.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leonard Moore was born in North Carolina in 1949. He volunteered for the draft in 1969 and went to basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for infantry training. He was then sent to Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He flew up to Camp Evans and was assigned to a rifle company in the 187th Regiment, but was with them only briefly before accepting assignment to the rapid deployment force, known as the "minicav" that the brigade was organizing. He served as a helicopter gunner with this unit for several months, and when the unit was reorganized and lost its helicopters, he transferred to the brigade's aviation unit and served as a door gunner, mostly on the brigade commander's helicopter, through the Ripcord campaign in 1970, and stayed on for several months before returning home and being discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas Puffer was born in 1948 in Iowa City, Iowa. He grew up on a farm in Iowa, and after high school he attended a drafting and design school in Oklahoma where he met his wife and graduated from that in December 1968, and received his draft notice a few months later. He trained at Fort Polk, Louisiana, with specialized training for armored personnel carriers. When he deployed to Vietnam in October, 1969, he found himself in an airborne unit, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was sent to Camp Evans and he and his unit saw action on and around Firebase Shepard and Firebase Ripcord, and he spent the end of his enlistment in the rear before returning home and being discharged in November 1970.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Yocum was born in Seattle and grew up in the Mount St. Helens area of Washington. He enlisted in the Air Force in the early 1960's and after serving at several bases around the world as an aircraft mechanic, he did a tour in Vietnam at Phan Rang Air Force Base from 1967 to 1968. He remained in the Air Force until 1980, serving on bases in the US and Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Harlan grew up in Mancelona, Michigan, and enlisted in the Army as soon as he finished high school in 1966 in order to stay ahead of the draft and have some say in his assignment. After basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he went to Fort Eustis, Virginia, for training in marine diesel engines. Deploying to Vietnam in May, 1967, he went first to Pleiku in the Central Highlands, but was then assigned to the 1099th Transportation Company based at Cat Lai, east of Saigon, which operated landing craft along the rivers. At first, Harlan worked in the operations center at Cat Lai before become a coxswain aboard an LCM-8. While working as a coxswain, Harlan helped in the movement of supplies up and down the rivers around Saigon and the deployment of infantry from the 9th and 1st Infantry Divisions. Towards the end of Harlan's tour, eleven of the company's LCM-8s moved down to the Mekong Delta, just in time for the start of the enemy's 1968 Tet Offensive. During the offensive, Harlan's LCM-8 continued moving men and supplies, as well as provided support to besieged American units along the shore. Upon his return from Vietnam in 1968, he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he worked first as a radio operator for a unit of the 24th Division, and then with a battalion of the 1st Infantry Division that was testing the airmobile capacity of the new Sheridan tank.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-28T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Butch Romans is a Vietnam War veteran who was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1945. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and in 1966 he volunteered for the draft. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, advanced infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division where he first served with the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Ia Drang Valley and later with Bravo Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment in the area around An Khe. During Operation Pershing in Bong Son he was wounded and was medically evacuated. After recovering he completed his service at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia and was ultimately discharged from the Army at Fort Lee, Virginia in 1969.
- Date Created:
- 2014-12-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe Smith was born on April 17th , 1946 in Topeka, Kansas. After graduating from high school, he attended Virginia Military Institute where he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1968 and joined the Army. He was then sent to Fort Bragg to join the 82nd Airborne Division, with which he became a platoon leader and General's aid. He later requested a transfer to Vietnam, where he was first stationed at Camp Eagle and saw combat at Firebase Ripcord. In 1971, Smith was stationed at Fort Belvior where he served out the rest of his tour and instructed the student brigade at the engineering school. He retired from the military in 1973 before pursuing a law degree at the University of Virginia Law School.
- Date Created:
- 2019-07-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Olson was born in Muskegon, Michigan in September of 1921. In 1940, he decided to join the National Guard, and shortly afterward, his unit was federalized and sent to Louisiana to train. He had wanted to fly, so while in Louisiana, he applied to join the Army Air Corps, and was accepted into bombardier school. He was sent to England at the end of 1943 and flew 32 missions in a B-26 over Europe before returning home to train B-29 crews in 1945. He left the Army briefly, but soon rejoined the Michigan National Guard, and went back on active duty in 1948. He was sent to Japan, and participated in the Inchon landing and the invasion and retreat from North Korea in 1950. He remained in the Army into the 1960s, and served as an adviser in Vietnam in 1963. While working at the MACV Headquarters in Saigon, he wound up having to identify the bodies of the assassinated Vietnamese President Diem and his brother.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Rick Hahn was born in Howell, Michigan, on November 9, 1949. He enlisted in the Army in February 1969, and received his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He went on to receive mortar training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Upon completion of training he was deployed to Vietnam in August 1969. He joined the mortar platoon in Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Infantry Division. For the rest of 1969 and the early part of 1970 he went on patrols around Camp Evans. In June 1970, he and his unit were stationed on Firebase Ripcord, and he participated in the Battle of Firebase Ripcord from July 1, 1970 – July 23, 1970 when the firebase was evacuated. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, until his enlistment ended in February 1971. He reenlisted in the Army in 1975 and served for another 18 years at a variety of bases with a variety of units (Fort Ord, California, with the 7th Infantry Division; three tours in South Korea; a tour in West Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division; and at Fort Riley, Kansas). He also served in the Gulf War with the 1st Infantry Division. Rick retired from the Army in 1993.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Anthony was born in Muskegon, Michigan on February 6th, 1947. He attended college at Ferris State University after graduating from high school in 1965. He joined the military in 1967 and attended basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in May of the same year. He then did advanced infantry training (AIT) at Fort McClellan, Alabama. After completing AIT, he continued on to the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy and became a Warrant Officer. Frank also attended ranger/special forces training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was participating in long-range recon school when his request to go to flight school was accepted. He went to flight school in 1968, which lasted for 9 months. He arrived in Vietnam in the middle of 1969. In Vietnam, he was the Safety Officer for a short period of time before becoming the Executive Officer of the Aviation Company, all the while working as a helicopter pilot. He was a part of the 52nd artillery division located in Pleiku, Vietnam. He flew a variety of helicopters while stationed in Vietnam. Frank was involved in several different skirmishes during his time in Vietnam, including the incursion into Cambodia. Frank also participated in jungle environmental survival training in Subic Bay, Philippines while on R and R. He completed a tour and a half before he left Vietnam on December 23rd, 1970. While in the military, Frank received numerous awards, including the award of the Red Banana. After leaving the service, Frank worked in law enforcement for many years.
- Date Created:
- 2017-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Allen was born in 1926 in South Boston. His father served in World War I for the US Navy. Paul graduated high school at the age of 15 in 1942. Although he wanted to go to Harvard, Paul knew he would end up in the military and he wound up being stationed to the battleship New Jersey as a dispersing officer where he would be the youngest officer on the ship at age 19. After a few years on a few different ships, Paul would arrive to the Eastern theater during the Korean War as he was primarily based out of Yokusuka Japan in late 1950. He later served assignments at the Pentagon and aboard the carrier USS Essex (1954-56), and later had assignments in the Philippines and at the naval base in Da Nang during the Vietnam War.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Anderson was born in August 1948 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While growing up, his father re-enlisted in the military, meaning Anderson and his family moved constantly, although Anderson's father stayed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland long enough for Anderson to attend school and graduate. After graduating, Anderson attended a junior college in Mississippi and went to Michigan State University for a year before the university kicked him out for low grades. Once he left Michigan State, Anderson received his draft notice and following completion of basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and AIT at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Anderson went back to Fort Benning to attend OCS. After completing OCS, Anderson deployed to Vietnam and joined the 1st Air Cavalry Division as a platoon leader. During his tour, Anderson served as a platoon leader, worked as part of base defense for a position and as a company executive officer. Once his tour in Vietnam ended, Anderson returned to the United States and went back to Michigan State.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John 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.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marc Aronson was born in 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended a military academy in Virginia and graduated in 1968. In September 1968 he enlisted in the Army in Pittsburgh and soon after he began basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina where he also completed Army Driver's Training. After the eight weeks of basic training he attended artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma beginning in December 1968 where he received training on the 105mm howitzer and also attended Noncommissioned Officer School there making him a sergeant and also making him the crew chief for a gun. In September 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam where he served with the 1st Infantry Division operating out of Di An. After four months of service he was transferred to B Battery of the 319th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division. During his time with the 101st he was transferred to Firebase Ripcord where he witnessed the battle and eventual fall of Ripcord. After his time with the 101st he was transferred to the 25th Infantry Division where he worked with 8 inch and 175mm self-propelled artillery tanks near the demilitarized zone, and returned home and was discharged in 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2014-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bill Schaefer was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1943. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University in 1965. He enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to San Antonio, Texas for basic training. He was selected for top secret code work and was trained at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. With that training complete he was assigned to the 410th Bomb Wing stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan and got picked to serve aboard the airborne command post, flying missions out of Guam and directing B-52 bombing raids over North Vietnam. In May 1966 he was sent to Lindsey Air Station, West Germany and was assigned to Central European Operations, part of the Defense Intelligence Agency. During his time with them he worked to stop the desertion of soldiers, tracked uranium shipments in the Eastern Bloc, and oversaw the retrieval of codes from the U.S. embassy in Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring), Wheelus Air Force (Gaddafi seizure of Libya), and the U.S. embassy in Jordan (Jordanian Civil War). In the early 1980s he was assigned to the Pentagon to work with Tactical Air Control Party units and retired from that in 2003. He is now an active member of the Kent County Honor Guard aiding veterans and veterans' families.
- Date Created:
- 2014-08-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ken David was born in Girard, Ohio in January of 1950. He graduated from high school in 1968 and was drafted a year later. He took basic training at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and Infantry AIT at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, and was sent to Vietnam in the fall of 1969. He was assigned to the 2nd platoon, D/1/506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. His company patrolled first in the lowlands near the coast south of the DMZ for a month, then spent about six weeks in the A Shau Valley at the end of the year. They then worked in the hill country to the north and west of the A Shau, and in early May the company's perimeter was hit by sappers, who overran the positions of David's platoon. He kept on fighting through the night, and was eventually joined by one of his friends. He was badly wounded in the fight and sent back to the US, and spent the rest of his hitch as a clerk at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in his last battle.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gregory Gilmore volunteered for the draft and served from 1962 to 1968. He was deployed to Miami, Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a part of the Quartermaster Corps. He was based in the United States during his time in the service.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tom Grosser served in the US Army between 1971 and 1973. He served in Vietnam and saw some combat, but is still suffering the effects of PTSD and is reluctant to talk about it.
- Date Created:
- 2007-03-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Hayhurst was born in Wisconsin in 1943. After completing college, he enlisted in the Army in 1966 and trained in military intelligence. He was initially posted to Germany, but requested a transfer to Vietnam in 1967. He was assigned to a military intelligence unit based in Hue. His unit was small and headquartered in the city rather than on a military base, so when the Tet Offensive began in 1968, his unit were besieged in their house and eventually captured by the North Vietnamese and smuggled out of Hue. While being marched overland toward Laos, he and one other prisoner escaped their captors and made it back to American lines. After extensive debriefing, he accepted reassignment to the United States for the last year of his enlistment, and was discharged in 1969.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-17T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Michael Burton was born in Detroit and enlisted in 1966 after finishing one year at Grand Valley State College. He spent 8 months in Hawaii as part of the 127th Marine Infantry Regiment, and for a short while was part of their bases tennis team. He was then sent to Vietnam via Okinawa. He spent time in Dong Ha and Kontum, but eventually found his way to his new location near the DMZ as part of the 3rd Marine Division, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine regiment. He was able to find a friend from college that was with the same unit, and spent his entire time in the field with him. He never saw the enemy, and the engagements he was involved in were from a distance. He talked about the C-rations they got during their time in Vietnam, and how the cigarettes they received were good for bartering. He also talked about the supplemental weapons the soldiers would carry, and what kind of equipment they would bring with them while on duty. He was in the field for two to three weeks before he was wounded by a mortar round. He had several injuries, as did his friend, and he was sent back to the US. Along the way he was treated at a battalion aid station, a hospital boat, and eventually at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital. He spent the rest of his service at the Hospital, and was reunited with his friends from college. He had been a vocal opponent of the war once he was discharged, and has some opinions about the war in Iraq. He also talks about how soldiers who experience war need to seek professional help when they return to civilian life, and that mob mentality needs to be avoided by all soldiers. Personal narrative appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Denton Kime was born on March 11, 1942 in Niles, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Kime attended Albion College, although he did not graduate because he failed to complete some of the graduation requirements. Once out of Albion, Kime received his draft notification and after joining the Marines, went to the Recruit Depot San Diego for training. After completing his basic and advanced training, Kime deployed to Vietnam and spent his entire tour in the area around the city of Da Nang.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-14T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Dave was born on February 20, 1949 in Binghamton, New York. He graduated from high school in 1967 and he received his draft notice in 1968. He was sent to Fort Dix for basic training and Fort Leonard Wood for AIT. Dave served as a combat engineer and was sent to Vietnam in August 1969. He was assigned to the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Division. As an engineer, Dave helped build firebases, including Ripcord. He made it back to the United States in August 1970 and was discharged from the army 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:
- Prior to beginning his fourth tour in Vietnam, Ron Kloet initially went through officers training with the Army intending to give him an assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Kloet, wanting something else, instead volunteered to serve in the Phoenix program, a specialized program in Vietnam. After finished the fourth tour, Kloet transferred from Vietnam to Germany to work as an intelligence officer. Following his tour in Germany, Kloet's military service ended and he attended Michigan State University, attaining master degrees in Russian history and Russian literature. However, Kloet found his work at graduation unsatisfying, so he began working to complete enough active-duty service time to retire with a pension. Eventually, Kloet began working for the U.S. Army Foreign Intelligence Activity (FIA) as a civilian employee. In 1995, the FIA and other intelligence agencies reorganized and Kloet, not liking his new roll, eventually retired. Then, in Sept. 2001, he received a phone call from a former colleague asking Kloet to return to work. Kloet did return for six months before retiring for good.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
- Loren Brand entered the Marine Corps in 1966, and attended college at Michigan State University and North Texas University. He was trained in aviation and served in the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot. After the war he became an FBI agent.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- In the second part of his interview Jim Roach covers his second tour in Vietnam (1969-1970), where he initially commanded D Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in the A Shau Valley and other parts of I Corps. After six months, he rotated to a rear area assignment, but was then sent to command a company in the 3rd Battalion, 187th Regiment and get it into shape. His second tour ended in June 1970, after which he served with the U.S. Army Rangers, attend college at St. Martin's College, went to Special Forces School, and also worked in Latin America aiding several Latin American countries in improving their militaries. He also served in South Korea and in Germany and was also selected to serve in the elite Secret Army of Northern Virginia. Towards the end of his career he was selected to be the Special Forces Group Commander of Group 7 stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2013-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ken Scott was born in Alma, Michigan in 1937. Ken graduated from Central Michigan University in 1960 and then went into the Army. His first duty was in Korea with the 7th infantry 17th transportation battalion as their platoon leader. In 1962 he came back to the US and then was sent to Germany from 1962 to 1964 where he commanded a heavy truck company. After Germany he activated a transportation company and went with them to Vietnam in March of 1967. He did one tour in Vietnam and then after being home for a short while did another. Ken then went to work as a professor of Military science working in Illinois and then Grand Rapids, Michigan until he retired in 1999. Personal account of military service is appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kent Fisher was born on July 1, 1946 in Lansing, Michigan. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in the summer of 1968 and was called up for service in December 1968. He received his basic training at Cape May, New Jersey then received further training at Coast Guard Station Emerald Isle, North Carolina. From Emerald Isle he went to Governors Island, New York, where he attended Yeoman School. He returned to Emerald Isle and worked on the Coast Guard cutter, USCGC Verbena. He was promoted to the rank of petty officer second class and received orders to join the USCGC Munro. He was selected for Officer Candidate School, graduated with the rank of ensign, and was then promoted to lieutenant. He joined the USCGC Tamaroa in January 1974 and served aboard the ship until he was reassigned to the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Rescue Coordination Center, where he helped plan the search and rescue operations for the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. He was then given command of Coast Guard Station Cape May, New Jersey and from there was transferred to the 9th District Commander's Office in Cleveland, Ohio. He also served at Coast Guard Station Muskegon, Michigan, and ended his career at Governors Island, New York, as the Chief of News & Photos. He retired from the Coast Guard on May 1, 1990 after 22 years of service and with the rank of lieutenant commander.
- Date Created:
- 2016-06-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard De Young was born on September 2, 1944 in Petoskey, Michigan. He volunteered for the Air Force because he had a cousin who was a brigadier general and De Young assumed that that fact would somehow benefit him. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, De Young received computer training in Amarillo, Texas. Once his training was complete, he served at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, home of Strategic Air Command. Although he twice requested permission to go to Vietnam, the Air Force denied both requests, partly because De Young had a top-secret clearance.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bill Williams was born in Muscatine, Iowa on December 20, 1941. He attended Colorado State University and was part of the Army ROTC, graduating and receiving his commission in 1963. He went to Fort Benning, Georgia for Infantry Officer Basic Training and Jump School (paratrooper training). He spent a year stationed in South Korea serving as a platoon leader in the 7th Infantry Division. After South Korea he returned to the United States and received Special Forces Training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and in early 1966 he was deployed to Vietnam. He served at a Green Beret outpost in Nha Trang and at another outpost in Pleiku until early 1967. He took the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and was a small arms instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia for eighteen months. He was redeployed to Vietnam in December 1969 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He served as the assistant S3 officer at 3rd Brigade Headquarters for four months until he was assigned to be the company commander of Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He carried out patrols around Firebase Ripcord in spring 1970 and fought at Hill 805 until B Company moved to Firebase Ripcord in July 1970 and experienced the siege of Ripcord. Shortly before the fall of Ripcord he was severely wounded and was medically evacuated. He received treatment in Vietnam, Japan, and California before completing his service at Fort Carson, Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2015-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Dudeck was born in 1943 in Bloomer, Wisconsin, and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1963. He trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, and served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment at Pendleton until he unit was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. His unit did jungle training on Okinawa, and then landed at Da Nang, the first ground combat unit in Vietnam. His battalion initially guarded the Da Nang airport, then went to Chu Lai, and Dudeck was then transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, with whom he participated in Operation Harvest Moon in December, where his company took heavy losses. A few weeks later, while operating in the A Shau Valley, Dudeck was badly wounded and sent first to Japan and then to the US to recuperate, and was discharged for medical reasons in 1966. [Note: the first interview includes most of his combat history, and the second fills in some gaps in the early part of the story and clarifies several aspects of his Vietnam service.]
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Short was born in 1949 in Vandalia, Illinois. He grew up in the small town of Mulberry Grove, Illinois and graduated from high school there in 1967. Upon graduating high school he attended the West Point military academy in New York. He attended there for three academic semesters until he decided that it was time to leave. In February 1969 he formally left West Point. After leaving the academy he volunteered for the draft and was soon thereafter sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was able to skip training because of his West Point experience and by May 26, 1969 he was in Vietnam. He was assigned to Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion of the 46th Infantry part of the Americal (23rd Infantry) Division. His unit operated off of Landing Zone Professional and around the area of Chu Lai. Over the course of a year and a half he would serve in a variety of roles, from walking point to working in the Combat Center at Chu Lai developing a Vietnamese relations course. In November 1970 he left Vietnam and by January 1971 he was attending college at Illinois State. He would go on to get his master's degree in employee health and safety, and working all over America finally settling down in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is now a prominent member of the Buddy to Buddy Volunteer Veteran Program based out of the University of Michigan helping veterans in the post-9/11 era.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Southerland was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946 and graduated high school in 1966. He joined the Army on May 19th, 1965. Southerland completed his Basic Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and then advanced infantry training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. At Fort Benning, Georgia, he also completed jump school. His first deployment was to Germany where he took part in the Nijmegen March in Holland. After reenlisting, Southerland was deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Brigade, 1st Calvary Division as an RTO (radiotelephone operator) for his platoon leader and eventually became a squad leader. He was involved in the Tet Offensive in early 1968 before his last assignment as an MOS personnel specialist in Saigon. Southerland left Vietnam in April, 1969, and left the service in May, 1969, but remained active in the Virginia National Guard.
- Date Created:
- 2017-09-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas Broek grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 to stay ahead of the draft. After completing basic training in San Antonio, he spent about two years working as a clerk for a security unit at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. In June, 1969, he was sent to Vietnam. He served his tour at Binh Thuy in the Mekong Delta, and worked as the R&R clerk for all of the military units based in the area. Things were pretty quiet in his area at the time, and he picked up other odd jobs on the base just to stay busy. After returning to the US in 1970, he completed his enlistment as a clerk with a heavy equipment unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
- Date Created:
- 2011-12-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Norman Curtis served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. During his time in Vietnam, he worked at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base in Saigon. His job was vehicle maintenance and recovery, which kept him for the most part on base but he did spend some time retrieving disabled vehicles. He also worked for a time at a survival training school at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as an instructor.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thomas McIntire enlisted in the US Army three days after his graduation from high school. He was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for boot camp, and later for truck mechanic school. The Army sent Thomas to Germany, where he worked in the motor pool on a base there. Thomas was discharged in June of 1968, and came back to Michigan to become a tool and die maker.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Reilly was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1946, and grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from college in 1968, he decided to enlist in the Army before he was drafted. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Reilly went through the Army Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Although initially slated for officer training, Reilly dropped out and deployed to Vietnam in June 1969. Once in Vietnam, Reilly joined the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Trained in fire direction control, he served at Firebases Airborne and Berchtesgaden in the latter stages of the 1969 campaign in the A Shau Valley, and later served with the battalion headquarters at Camp Eagle, where he was stationed at the start of the Ripcord campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ken Vandenberg of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was drafted into the Army in 1961. After basic training at Fort Knox, he went to Fort Gordon, Georgia for military police training, and was then sent to La Rochelle, France, where he served until 1963.
- Date Created:
- 2010-04-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Allen served in the Air Force from 1970 to 1974. He enlisted in the Air Force to avoid getting drafted into the Army and had a deeper interest in serving with the Air Force and working with aircraft. After travelling from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Indianapolis, Indiana he was inducted into the Air Force and was sent to basic training. He was deployed to Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam in April 1972 where he served with the 37th Air Rescue Recovery Squadron after he trained with the 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing in Ogden, Utah. During his time in Vietnam he was involved in a large number of rescue missions and had multiple incidents involving enemy artillery fire. In December 1972 his unit was deactivated and he was flown out of Da Nang by the Utah National Guard and attached to the 40th Air Rescue Recovery Squadron stationed in Thailand. In February 1972 he returned home and continued to work with the 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing in Ogden, Utah.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James de la Cruz was born in Texas in 1945 and moved to Michigan when he was one year old. James spent 3 years in the ROTC while going to school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. James enlisted in the Air Force in 1965 and was sent to Texas for basic training. He also spent time training in Illinois for mechanics training. His first duty station was in Tampa, Florida where he spent 14 months maintaining aircraft on base. James then left for Ubon, Thailand where he was stationed for a year maintaining aircraft. After Thailand, James was sent to Tinker Base in Oklahoma before being discharged 9 months early.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael McGregor, born in Indiana in 1943, served in the U.S. Army from November of 1966 through late 1968 in the 1st Cavalry Division in the Vietnam War. After receiving his draft notice, Michael trained at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was then sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he began his work in field artillery. In the fall of 1967 Michael was sent to Vietnam and was placed in the 1st Cavalry. He served in the Phan Thiet area at the end of Operation Byrd, and moved up to the Hue area after the start of the Tet Offensive, and later in the Khe Sanh area and the A Shau Valley.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Hung Q Vu was born in Nam Dinh, Vietnam in 1952. In 1954 his family moved to Bien Hoa, Vietnam because they were Catholic and faced oppression from the Communists. He studied at the Saigon University of Law and eventually joined the Vietnamese Air Force in 1972. After passing an English test in Basic Training, Vu was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and Shepherd Air Force Base for further pilot training. Vu trained on the T-41 and T-37. He met back up with his squad at Phan Rang Air Base in Vietnam in late 1974. Vu was captured and sent to a labor camp. Eventually Vu and his wife were able, after many attempts, to escape to the United States under a program started by Ronald Reagan in 1989.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)