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- Notes:
- Francisco Vega was born in San Antonio, Texas. He tried to enlist in the military immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was initially rejected because of his Mexican ancestry. He eventually did enlist in the Army Air Corps, and began a long process in which he used his talents and persuasive skills to find increasingly interesting assignments, eventually training as a teletype operator with a signals unit that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was eventually part of Eisenhower's headquarters.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Al Dewitt was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Army Air Corps in 1942. Al was assigned to be a glider pilot and received his glider wings. He then trained as a fighter pilot but remained based in the US. He became a farmer after the war, but was called back into duty for 21 months during the Korean War. He was first a test pilot for the AT-6 and then was put on a B-36 crew. They did training runs and went over Russia at high altitudes, and Al survived a particularly dangerous crash landing.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Phillip Spoelstra was born in Wyoming, Michigan in 1923 and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1939. He graduated high school in 1941 and joined the Air Corps in 1942. Phillip trained mostly in Oklahoma and became part of a bombers unit. He was deployed to Foggia, Italy and assigned to the 5th wing of the 15th Air Force in the 97th bomb group in September of 1944. It was their job to strategically bomb German supplies and transportation. He was in Foggia until the end of the war and then was sent home.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frederick Rock was born on November 11, 1919 in Detroit, Michigan. He went to the University of Detroit for a few semesters and then joined the Army Air Corps. He was a staff sergeant and assigned to be a flight engineer on a B-17 Bomber. Frederick went to North Africa and then to Italy. He was a turret gunner and a flight engineer on a crew of 10 people in the 348th squadron of the 99th bomb group. He went on 35 missions but they counted some of the rough ones as double so he had a total of 50 missions.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eldon Hunsberger was born on a farm in Plainfield, Michigan. He went to college for 2 years and then joined the Army Air Corps and trained as a pilot. He flew B-26 bombers on 65 missions over Italy from bases in Tunisia, Sardinia and Italy. When he got back to the US he was in the Army Reserve and then got called back in April of 1952 for the Korean War. Eldon flew a KB-29 and refueled planes on their way to Hawaii.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marvin Jalving enlisted in the Army Air Corps in July of 1943 and was discharged in October of 1945. He went to England late in 1944 and flew 23 missions in B-17s, most of which were in Germany taking out train yards and gasoline refineries. After flying missions in Europe, George had been sent to California and scheduled to leave for the Pacific. He was relieved when he found that he had enough points to be discharged before he was sent to the Pacific. Personal narrative appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Powers was born in Greenville, Michigan on January 25, 1924. After graduating high school, he attended college at Albion University before enlisting in the Air Force. Robert trained for about 13 months before he was sent to a base in Italy. From there he flew about 25 missions throughout Romania, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, and Poland before his plane was shot down in France. Robert sustained many light injuries, was helped by the French Resistance, but was captured by the Germans. He remained in German prison camp for 11 months until the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Twa was born in Crystal Falls, Michigan in 1922 and served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was trained as a weather forecaster and served in California, Michigan, Greenland, Bermuda, Canada and Georgia. After the war, he worked for the Weather Bureau.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Maleckas, Jr. was born in 1916 in Niagara Falls, New York, and grew up in Michigan. He attended Western Michigan University, and was drafted in 1941. After basic training in the infantry, he switched to the Army Air Corps, serving as a navigator on B-24s. He was the sole survivor of two air crashes, one in training and one in the Solomon Islands. He flew missions from Guadalcanal until the second crash, which he survived by keeping himself afloat for two days, making his way to shore on Choiseul, and being aided by natives and a coastwatcher. After his rescue, he was assigned to training duty. Frank wrote a book on his experiences: One 11 Millionth of a War. Elk Rapids, Mich.: Bookability Inc, 2000.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Hanselman served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He was stationed on Attu Island in the Aleutian chain in the northern Pacific ocean. He was a radio operator in a B-25 bomber that would fly bombing missions in the Kurile Islands north of Japan. He discusses both the living conditions on Attu and the experience of flying missions in that area, where the Soviets and the weather added to the problems caused by the Japanese.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Anderson served as an armorer in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. He was based in England and serviced fighter planes, primarily P-51 Mustangs, that escorted bombing missions. At the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he was assigned to infantry training in France, but was not needed for combat. He served as a prison camp guard before being sent back to the US for his discharge.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leon Marx served in the Army Air Corps during WW II, 1941-1945. He spent most of his time in guard duty and also cooked for high level officials while serving with the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He received top level security Clearance and was able to cook for the King of England, Winston Churchill, and Eisenhower. While in the Air Corps Leon traveled to Iceland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Russia, and Iran. Leon did not experience combat while serving.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dr. Sanders entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the United States entered the war. Due to his previous medical training, the Army sent him through accelerated medical school training. However, he did not graduate from medical school until after the war had ended. He served in medical hospitals after the war had ended.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Boball was born in 1912 and worked in the Aviation Engineers from 1943 through 1946. Joseph was Staff Sergeant in Okinawa and Korea. In Okinawa Joseph spent most of his time building an air strip and other infrastructure. While working in Okinawa, Joseph was threatened by Japanese plains flying over and shooting many times. After his time in the service, Joseph worked with for an oil refinery and as attended a few veterans' reunions.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Duane Neff served in the US Army Air Corps between 1943 and 1946. He served with an air warning unit that worked mostly with fighter squadrons in the Philippines. He discusses encounters with the Japanese and with Filipinos, and incidents that took place on base before and after the war's end. When heading home, the ship he was on caught fire and had to make an emergency stop in Hawaii.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ernest Nunley served in the Army Air Corps during WW II. He worked on an airbase in England with the 5th Service Squadron, 8th Air Force, and was stationed in Germany after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2005-11-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Lalley was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1922. While in college in 1942 he signed up for an Army Air Corps program that was supposed to defer his service until he graduated, but he was pulled out of school early in 1943. He then trained as a B-17 pilot, was sent to England as a replacement, and was shot down on his first mission. With the aid of the Dutch resistance, William was able to evade the Germans for about 4 months before being captured. William was sent to three different prison camps while in Germany before the prisoners were finally liberated and he was sent home.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Francisco Vega was born in San Antonio, Texas. He tried to enlist in the military immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was initially rejected because of his Mexican ancestry. He eventually did enlist in the Army Air Corps, and began a long process in which he used his talents and persuasive skills to find increasingly interesting assignments, eventually training as a teletype operator with a signals unit that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was eventually part of Eisenhower's headquarters.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Mercurio served in the Army Air Corps between 1943 and 1946. He was an aircraft engine technician who repaired and maintained bombers at fields on Biak and Leyte in the Pacific during the war, and provides a vivid description of the difficulties of working on Biak in particular. He also spent time in Japan during the occupation and worked on experimental jets and helicopters at Wright Air Force Base in Ohio.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bill Lamb served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a glider pilot, despite being trained on powered airplanes, in the European theater during the later part of World War II. He participated in the Rhine crossing in 1945, and later on he flew supplies to Patton and transported wounded men and rescued POWs. Flight report appended to outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Warner was born in Michigan in 1918 and attended college at Michigan State University before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942. Frank was sent to a different training base in the United States every 9 weeks before flying to Europe, where he flew combat missions from bases in Italy. Frank trained with B-24s because they could carry quite a few more bombs than the older planes. Frank stated that there was a very high mortality rate for the type of missions he had worked on and that a psychologist had to stay with the men to help their mental health. Frank has many stories from flying over Europe that includes being shot at and planes exploding. Military documents appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clare Musgrove served in the Army Air Corps, 1942-1945. He was a B-24 Gunner with the 15th Air Force in Italy, where he flew nine missions. On the last, over Ploesti, his plane was hit and the crew bailed out over Serbia. The rest of the crew were captured, but he was rescued by a local family and smuggled out by the resistance. Upon returning to his base, he was given a training assignment for the rest of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2005-09-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Beukema was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15th, 1924. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps during World War II, and was accepted as a pilot. After flight school, he was sent to be an instructor back at Basic flight school in Gardner Field, California for one year. He volunteered to be a B-17 pilot, but the war in Europe ended. He signed up to be a B-29 pilot, but the war in the Pacific ended, as well.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Saur served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He was in the 764th Squadron and received an Air Medal and a DFC while he was in the Air Corps. He served in the Air Corps from February 1943 through November of 1945. Charles said that his time in the service did not have much of an impact on his life, but he was able to make some memorable friends while serving. After serving, Charles received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan and then went to work for IBM.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George B. Gane is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps with the 92nd Bomber Wing from 1944 to 1945. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S., and bombing missions in Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Gillard served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from June 1942 to September 1945 during World War II. In this account, Gillard discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training and his combat experience abroad in North Africa and Italy. Gillard mentions aspects of war not generally discussed such as bombing missions conducted into Yugoslavia, Romania, and Germany and the maintenance aspects of B-24s. Gillard concludes with his life after the war and his thoughts on service in the army.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Francisco Vega was born in San Antonio, Texas. He tried to enlist in the military immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was initially rejected because of his Mexican ancestry. He eventually did enlist in the Army Air Corps, and began a long process in which he used his talents and persuasive skills to find increasingly interesting assignments, eventually training as a teletype operator with a signals unit that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was eventually part of Eisenhower's headquarters.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ralph Hawley Safford entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was educated in mechanics and engine work and used this training to work on aircraft from the Army Air Corps. He repaired fighter aircraft in England, and was working during the D-Day attack.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carl Carlson is a veteran of the United States Army Air Corps. He served in the European theatre during World War II. He worked as a radio operator during flight missions, particularly over Italy. He served around 70 missions, the military had to increase the number of missions each man made due to the increasing numbers of casualties. While in Europe, he was able to see Bob Hope perform. After the service, he worked in electronics sales and repairs until he retired. Newpaper clippings and award certificates appended to interview outline. [Image not available].
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Miller Siegel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1917. He received a Masters Degree in Business Administration and was drafted shortly after. Miller was assigned to the Air Corps and became an officer in Florida. He then graduated from Harvard University's new Statistical Officer School. Miller was assigned to heavy bombers and did flight reports at a few air fields before being sent overseas. His job in England was to write a report after each mission regarding injuries, deaths, fuel consumption, how many planes were lost, and then send the reports to HQ. After the war Miller was moved to Eisenhower's HQ and had to figure out dollar amounts for the lend-lease program with France and Britain.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)