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- Notes:
- Andrew M. Olah was born on March 4, 1924 and grew up in Muskegon, MI. After being drafted, Andrew served as a sergeant for the U.S. Army. He served in England, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. During his service, Andrew was selected by the government for special duty to help plan for the Invasion of Normandy.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Merton Powell was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1924. He grew up in Topeka and enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He received basic training in Chadron, Nebraska then went to Iowa for College Training before going to California for Flight Training. He was accepted into the Naval Aviation Program and was able receive flight training in the N2S Stearman. After the Second World War ended in September 1945 he was discharged from active duty. He remained in the Naval Reserve until 1947. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1949 and served briefly with them.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Donald Brazones enlisted into the Army Air Corps at the age of 18 in retaliation to the Japanese's bombing of Pearl Harbor. Brazones trained to be a navigator and was sent to England to fly missions over Europe. On Brazones' 18th mission, he was shot down and captured by German Officers. His interview is a detailed recollection of his time in the service, especially his memories from the day he was shot down, and his subsequent capture, imprisonment and release from captivity.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jacob Lucas is a World War II veteran who served in the Seabees, a construction branch of the Navy, from December 1942 to 1945. In this account, Lucas discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training in the U.S. and his service time abroad in the Pacific. He goes into some depth about his responsibilities as a Seabee in Okinawa, New Caledonia, New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. Lucas concludes his interview by showing pictures and newspaper clippings from that time.
- Date Created:
- 2004-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Alkema was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1926. After graduating high school in 1944 he enlisted to the Navy. For his brief basic training he was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois. In Norfolk, Virginia he was trained to use the anti-aircraft guns to be a guardsman. Thereafter he traveled aboard the Seatrain Texas ship to Falmouth England, Naples Italy, and Marseille France to deliver locomotive engines. The ship next passed through the Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor where Richard boarded LST 801. Their next destination would be Okinawa where they transported Japanese to the mainland in the aftermath of the War. His time in the military lasted two and a half years and he was discharged in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Howard Bennink enlisted in the Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Bennink trained for six months at Camp Lejeune before traveling to New Zealand. He served in fought on Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Iwo Jima during his tour of duty. He earned a Silver Star during fighting in Cape Gloucester, fought off several bouts of malaria, and was wounded two weeks into the fighting on Iwo Jima. Grand Haven Tribune newspaper article and personal narrative appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ollie Dean is a World War II veteran that was born in 1927 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In early 1945 at the age of seventeen he joined the U.S. Navy and after training at Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago was deployed to the Pacific Theatre and Southeast Asia aboard the U.S.S. Cheleb, a Navy cargo ship. He also served on the U.S.S. Mt. McKinley, a communications ship, on a cruise through the Inland Sea of Japan and up to Vladivostok. With the Cheleb, he spent time in Shanghai and Tsingtao while the Japanese were being evacuated from China.
- Date Created:
- 2013-11-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Duane Harvey was born in Smelter City, Oklahoma in 1924. He grew up there and finished high school there in 1943. He was drafted in 1942, but allowed to complete high school and was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in July 1943. He was sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland for basic training and for ordnance training. In the spring of 1944 he was sent over to England and arrived just prior to the D-Day Invasion. He was stationed at the Litchfield Barracks part of the 10th Replacement Depot until he volunteered to join the 501st Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and become a paratrooper. After completing paratrooper and “jump” (parachuting) training in England he was sent over to Mourmelon, France where he was first assigned to B Company and later joined an S2 Squad in Headquarters Company dealing primarily with observation posts and processing German prisoners of war. He saw action at Bastogne and in Alsace-Lorraine during the Battle of the Bulge and after the war ended was part of the American occupying force in Germany, and returned home in January 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerry Bauma lived in the Netherlands during World War II. As a seminary student, he had the opportunity to live in the times without having to go into forced labor as many of his friends did, although he was at one point caught up in a German sweep and sent to a forced labor camp, where he stayed until the seminary arranged for him to be released. He also observed the initial German attempt to capture the Hague by air, and after the surrender took his bike up to Rotterdam to inspect the bomb damage. He got a radio during the war, and passed along things he learned to a friend who ran an underground newspaper. He survived the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-45, and emigrated to Canada shortly after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lewis Kelsey was drafted into the army in 1942. He initially was sent for pilot training, but a problem with one eye made him a gunner and flight engineer instead. He trained in B-17s, and his crew was sent to the 8th Air Force in England in April, 1944. He flew 30 missions between April and August, and was then sent back home to serve as an instructor. Most of his missions were over France, supporting the Normandy invasion, but he also flew missions over Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Reeves was a B-24 pilot in World War II where he flew 45 missions in the Pacific. He provides a detailed account of training and of missions over New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa and the Netherlands East Indies.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Garner was born in West Branch, Michigan, on May 25, 1927. During the Great Depression, his family's jewelry shop was diversified as his father agreed to share the space with an energy company so he could pay the rent. Garner signed onto a radar technician program with the Navy in the closing months of the war and attedned Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Station. He was in Alameda, California, when the war ended and was quickly offered an early-out of the service due to the flood of dischargees returning home. He then went on to attend optometry school in Chicago on the GI Bill.
- Date Created:
- 2017-11-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Barrett was born in Ohio in 1925. In 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Gunnery School in Gulfport, Mississippi and received training with pistols, rifles, and larger ship guns like the 20mm cannon. He was assigned to the SS Alcibiadie, a Merchant Marine vessel, as one of forty five Americans on the gunnery detail. They operated in the Gulf of Mexico transporting fuel and in the Pacific Ocean around Australia and New Guinea refueling ship. In August 1944 the ship was acquired by the U.S. Navy and became the USS Andrew Doria. They continued with refueling operations then took part in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. Refueling operations continued until the end of the war. In early 1946 they returned to the U.S. and the USS Andrew Doria was decommissioned in Mobile, Alabama in late February. Robert was discharged in March 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Monroe served in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. Her served as a crewman on USS Kaskaskia, a large oiler, and saw action at Okinawa, where he witnessed kamikaze attacks. After the war, he sailed to Japan, China and Arabia before returning home to be discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- This interview adds new material to the original interview, specifically focusing on his efforts to help rescue the crew of the downed B-24 crew in the waters off of Borneo.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Bernhardt enlisted in the Marines at the age of 17 in early 1944. He served in the Pacific Theater of WWII as an artillery observer for naval bombardments. He also served as a guard of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki, and was part of the post-war occupation force as an MP in the Nagasaki area.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Samuel Latigo was born in 1927 in San Antonio, Texas. Raised by his grandmother, he worked as a teen before enlisting in the Navy at the age of seventeen. Following training in San Diego, the Navy assigned him to the troop transport U.S.S. Edgecombe. The Edgecombe carried troops to New Guinea and the Philippines and participated in the invasion of Okinawa and the landing of occupation troops in Japan following the end of the war. Following the end of the war, the Edgecombe returned to the United States and the Navy discharged Latigo.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Litty is a Korean War veteran that also was a civilian living in Germany during World War II. He was born a U.S. citizen in Yonkers, New York in 1930, but at the age of five his family moved back to Germany and lived in a Berlin suburb. He describes his experiences before and during the war, discussing the Hitler Youth program, his father's military service on the Eastern Front, surviving bombing raids, multiple moves, and finally the atrocities committed by the Red Army in 1945. As a US citizen, he was allowed to move to the American sector of West Berlin, and he and his family returned to New York. In October 1951 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was deployed to fight in the Korean War. He was assigned to a mortar platoon of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. He served on the front line for six weeks until he was reassigned to a position in the rear in record keeping, and returned home and was discharged in 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mike Stolk was born in 1920, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1942, and trained at Fort Sill as an artillerist. His main job was to site guns and check their ranges. His unit went to England in 1942 and served in France, Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia. He discusses his experiences in the Hurtgen Forest, and occupation duty in Germany and Czechoslovakia.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ray Gill is a World War II veteran who served with the U.S. Army from 1941 to May 1946. In this account, Gill discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He also discusses his active duty and how difficult the fighting was in France, Luxembourg, and Germany. He talks about soldiers living conditions, and the occupation of Germany. Gill also toured with a dance band throughout Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Goins was born in 1921 in Sigma, Michigan, and grew up in Zanesville, Ohio. His family farmed and ran a produce trucking business that made regular trips to the Southern United States to market. Although Goins is African- American, he did not fall victim to the racially charged environment where he did business. He was drafted into the United States Army and entered the service in 1943. Goins completed basic training at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, and then stationed on a series of air bases in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas, and eventually worked as a mechanic repairing B-29 bombers. He recalls having to be careful while traveling through the south due to fear of lynching, but also being offered the opportunity to train as an officer.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William A. Sikkel joined the Michigan National Guard before World War II and served in the army on active duty between 1940 and 1945 in the 126th Regiment, 32nd "Red Arrow" Division. He attended Officer Candidate School before the division shipped out to the Pacific and served in Australia and New Guinea as a platoon and company commander and as a staff officer. He remained in the National Guard after the war, and also served as mayor of Holland, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Groggel was born on July 22, 1924 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In March 1943 he was drafted into the Army. He received basic training and anti-aircraft training at Camp Hulen, Texas before being reassigned to the infantry. He received infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia before receiving officer training at Fort Davis, North Carolina. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and trained soldiers in California before being assigned to an infantry unit. They deployed out of Fort Meade, Maryland in fall 1944 bound for the European Theatre. They moved from England to France and took up positions on the German frontier. During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 Richard and his platoon were captured by Germans. He was moved to prisoner of war camps across Germany and Poland, he marched 350 miles across Poland and witnessed the failed Task Force Baum raid on Hammelburg prisoner of war camp. He was liberated from Stalag VII-A on April 29, 1945, and after recovery at Camp Lucky Strike, France he returned to the United States. He was discharged in August 1945 shortly after Japan's surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Hopkins was born in Blanchester, Ohio in 1927. He was drafted on June 19, 1945 and was processed in Ohio and Indiana before going to Camp Walters, Texas for basic training to prepare for the invasion of Japan. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and Japan surrendered the invasion plans changed and he was assigned to occupation duty in Germany. He was deployed to Germany in December 1945 and arrived in Le Havre, France. He was stationed in Marburg, Germany for a month working as a special orders clerk (processing soldiers being sent home) before applying for the 3rd Special Services as a performer. He traveled around Germany with the GI song and dance troupe "Script and Score" performing in German cities all around West Germany. In November 1946 he took a ship back to the United States and was discharged in New Jersey in December 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Johnson served in the Navy during WW II. He traveled mostly aboard a luxury ship that had been remodeled into a Navy ship. Johnson's crew traveled throughout the Pacific to Australia, Guam, and the Philippines. Johnson experienced combat three times while in the Pacific and also discussed his experience with Japanese Kamikazes.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Johnson was born in Greenville, Michigan in 1919, and was drafted into the Army in 1941. After training to be a mechanic at Camp Boyd, Texas, Johnson joined Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He went to England with this unit in 1942, and stayed with it through campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge and the invasion of Germany, ending up in Czechoslovakia when the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Stuart Padnos was born in Michigan in 1922. He attended the University of Michigan and enlisted in the Army Reserve after Pearl Harbor. He was called to service a few months later where he took part in the Army Specialized Training Program. Padnos began taking engineering classes, but was later called up for infantry training due to a shortage of recruits. Stewart was later assigned to the 78th Division and sent to fight in the Hurtgen Forest, where he was captured and sent to a German prison camp. He remained there until he was liberated by the Russians, and eventually found his way back to the US.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Schrader was born in Alpena, Michigan on October 19, 1929. He entered the Army on July 31, 1948, and served in Germany near the end of World War II. After WWII, Schrader went to Korea and served in the Korean War. After Korea, Schrader switched from Infantry to Airborne. After joining the Airborne, Schrader married and he and his wife went back to Germany. Schrader spent 113 days in Lebanon during the Lebanese Crisis, and afterwards, went back to the United States and joined the Special Forces, eventually becoming a Green Beret. In 1962, Schrader left and trained guerillas in both Laos and Iran before going to Vietnam in 1965. Schrader left Vietnam and served in the United States for several years before returning to Vietnam in 1969, where he again trained Vietnamese forces.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eugene Smith was drafted to the United States Army in the 1940's. He was stationed in Calcutta, India for a total of 28 months. Although the American troops deployed to India at this time were intended to attack Axis supply lines coming from the country of Burma, Smith was not actively involved in this mission and served as a military policeman. His duties consisted of primarily base patrol with occasional prisoner safeguarding. The base which Smith was stationed was highly underdeveloped and demanded fast adaptation by new recruits who had been thrust into highly dangerous positions from a previous life of suburban factory work. The 44-day voyage to India presented Smith and the other young American men with unfamiliar situations including attacks by Japanese submarines, hurricanes, and extended sea travel. Smith was discharged on January 1st 1946 and returned to his home in Wisconsin to attend Marquette University funded by the GI Bill of 1944.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Noella Le Duc was born in Graniteville, Massachusetts in 1933. She grew up playing baseball with the boys, and when she was sixteen, a friend of her mother's introduced her to one of the AAGPBL players, Rita Briggs, who arranged a tryout for her in 1951. She played in the AAGPBL from 1951 through 1954, first with Peoria and later with Muskegon and Fort Wayne. She was primarily an outfielder, but also tried her hand at pitching and catching.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jan Viveen, born in 1918 in a small village in North Brabant in the Netherlands. After completing high school in 1936, he was drafted into the Dutch Army in 1936. At the time of the German invasion in 1940, he was manning an antitank gun on the banks of the Erft River, and stayed there until his unit was ordered to surrender. He spent about four months in a POW camp before being allowed to return home. After that, he worked in a rail yard and aided downed Allied airmen. In the spring of 1945, he was sent to a labor camp in Germany, and remained there until the liberation.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Woodrow J. Tromp is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 32nd (Red Arrow) Division Company I, 126th Infantry Regiment from 1940 to 1945. In this account he discuses his time with the National Guard before and after it was federalized as part of the U.S. Army. In addition, he discusses his training in the U.S. and Australia, combat experiences in New Guinea and the Philippines, along with problems caused by terrain and disease.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Meyers was born in Coloma, Michigan on August 6, 1926. George spent his early years on his parent's farm, but they had lost it during the Depression. Both of George's older brothers were already in the service and fighting when he received his draft papers in 1944. George went through basic training for the Army at Camp Hood in Texas and then went through extended training before being sent to Luzon. George served as a replacement in the 32nd Infantry Division and was later sent home after being injured by a grenade.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Ohanesian was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. He wanted to enlist in the Army immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was too young, and was drafted late in 1942. He tried to get into the Army Air Corps, and tested well enough while in basic training at Camp Grant, Illinois, to qualify, and was put into a program to give some college training for flight school candidates and sent to Butler University. He did well there, but his program was shut down and he wound up at Camp Polk, Louisiana, assigned to the 58th Armored Infantry Battalion in the 8th Armored Division. He sailed for England at the end of 1944, then shipped over to France in early 1945. His division passed through Belgium and joined the 9th Army in the Netherlands before crossing the Rhine and proceeding across Germany and into Czechoslovakia.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fay Orvis was a soldier during World War II in the United States Navy. He worked as a minesweeper during his time in the service and spent time in Okinawa and Saipan. His account describes different duties performed on the minesweeper and onshore in California and on various islands, as well as incidents involving kamikaze attacks and mine explosions.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frederick Rawsthorne was born in St. Helena, England, but migrated to the United States at an early age with his family. He returned to England with his family, then ventured back to the United States, with his family yet again. His family struggled to support itself during the Great Depression. Frederick found work, and then became a machinist's apprentice at Ford. During his apprenticeship, he joined the Marine Corps and was stationed in noncombat zones throughout the Pacific, eventually Japan. After WWII he became a full time machinist. He was laid off in 1949 and went to work at the post office in Trenton, MI. Eventually he rose to high status as postmaster of his town and master of his Masons' lodge.
- Date Created:
- 2006-08-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Steele was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He had previously gone to a technical high school and was able to continue such aviation and mechanical training while in the Navy. George spent most of his service in Guam after the Japanese invasion. He was there for about two years while the Navy was giving technical support to the Marines. After his time in the service George became a draftsman at an architecture firm.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thomas York was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1927. His family moved first to Oklahoma, then to Michigan. York enlisted in the US Air Force at 16, and after graduating at 17, entered active duty on July 1st of 1945. York underwent basic training at the base in Biloxi, Mississippi. York re-enlisted after his 6 months of duty were finished in the US Army Air Force. York was sent to Caserta, Italy, where he served for a year as a medical clerk. While at Caserta, York met British military personnel and German prisoners of war.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Demo Christopoulos is a World War II veteran who served in the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Division. He enlisted in the Army late in 1943, but did not go to Europe with his original training company because he was too young. He eventually sailed with the 65th Division, which joined the 3rd Army in time to participate in the spring offensive in 1945. His unit pushed through the Saar, crossed the Rhine, and then fought their way across the Danube, and ended the war in Austria. Christopoulos remained in Europe until the spring of 1946, with his last assignment involving screening SS prisoners held at Dachau.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Doucette first began his military career in the Civilian Military Training Corps at the age of 15. Leaving after two year to find work in Chicago, Doucette eventually came back to join the Aviation Cadet Program. After making it to his Basic Flight Training, Doucette was washed out after a "check flight"during which the instructor had passed out. This eventually led Doucette to go work at an Instrument Training School, until he volunteered for overseas duty. He served as a driver and mechanic in New Guinea and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bernie Link was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1925. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, his older brother enlisted in the Marine Corps and following his graduation in 1943, Link attempted to follow. Apart gaining an enlistment in the Marines, Link went through basic training in San Diego and advanced training at Camp Pendleton, California. Following his training, the Marines assigned Link to the 5th Marine Division. He took part in the assault on the Japanese held island of Iwo Jima and received a facial wound at the base of Mount Suribachi on the island.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Earl Mather served during World War II for the 1256th Combat Engineers Battalion. He served in Europe, France, Belgium, and Germany building bridges and repairing bombed bridges. He served during the Battle of the Bulge as a MP Officer and was involved in the freeing of Buchenwald concentration camp. His memories of the war are still vivid in his mind and his interview is remarkable. Earl and his wife still reside in Ohio where they originally built their home before the war. His file includes numerous photographs from the war and afterward.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-20T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Arden Pridgeon was born on April 5, 1924, in Isabella County, Michigan. In April 1943 he was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program and in the summer he was drafted. He received an advanced form of basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and in December 1943 he went to University of Wisconsin for the Army Specialized Training Program. In March 1944 he completed his term there and the ASTP was shut down. Arden then received orders to join the 96th Infantry Division and was assigned to G Company, 381st Infantry Regiment. He trained in Oregon and California before deploying to the Pacific Theater on July 15, 1944. He participated in the invasion of Leyte, Philippines, on October 20, 1944, and the subsequent Battle of Leyte which ended on December 25, 1944. In April 1945 he participated in the invasion and the Battle of Okinawa. Upon being wounded on April 15 he was evacuated to Guam for treatment and Saipan for retraining. He returned to Okinawa on June 1, 1945, and continued to fight. In mid-July 1945 he and the rest of the unit moved to Mindoro to train for the invasion of Japan. With the war over, he opted to return to the United States and landed at San Francisco on January 4, 1946, and was discharged on January 11, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2016-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Benjamin Taylor was born in Allegan County, Michigan in 1921 and went to school through the eighth grade. After serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps for about a year, he joined the National Guard in June 1940; the National Guard was federalized in October 1940. He shipped out to Australia with the 32nd (Red Arrow) Division in the spring of 1942, and eventually went to New Guinea, where he was badly wounded near Buna.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Hoyt Christensen was born in 1926 in Greenville, Michigan. Prior to his service he left school after the seventh grade and worked on a farm and later at the age of fifteen managed a dairy farm until he was drafted at the age of eighteen in the summer of 1944. In November 1944 he attended basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. On April 13, 1945 he was sent to New Guinea and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division. He aided with clearing out the remaining Japanese forces on the islands of Halmahera and Morotai. After that operation his unit was sent to aid in the liberation of the Philippines. His unit landed at Davao on the island of Mindanao where they encountered fierce Japanese resistance. He was stationed on Mindanao until the end of the war and afterwards he was reassigned to an ordinance unit and then on to the island of Leyte where he joined an engineering unit where he drove a fuel truck. On October 17, 1946 he was sent home and was discharged from the Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Len Berkenpas was born in 1925 to a farmer in Byron Center, MI. Was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and worked as a cook at Naval Air Base Livermore near San Francisco, CA. He did not spend any time on a ship at sea.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cornelius "Bob" Warners served in World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and Normandy in the 3rd armored division service company that assisted the men in battle. He served time in battle that at one point extended 147 straight days of combat duty. He discusses training in Louisiana and in the Mohave Desert and his experiences in France, Belgium and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Felver was born in Littleton, Colorado on September 4, 1927, but his family moved to Phillipsburg, New Jersey when he was five years old. He grew up during the Second World War and lost a brother to that conflict. After graduating from high school in June 1945 he signed up for the draft and in August he received his draft notice. He reported for duty on January 6, 1946, and after a short stay at Fort Hancock, New Jersey he was sent by train to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and armored (tank) training. When his two months of training were complete he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington where he stayed for a year and a half, going on maneuvers, keeping a record of where the small arms were and who had them, and acting as the Venereal Diseases Noncommissioned Officer. He was discharged in September 1947.
- Date Created:
- 2014-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Evans is the widow of two WW II Veterans. Her first husband, whom she met in school before the War, died in a plane accident during a training mission in Michigan. Her second husband, whom she also met in school, was an engineer during the war. They married after he came home from his service building bridges throughout Europe and staying a year after the war was over, allocating heating fuel to homes in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jake DeWitt served during the Second World War as a Gunner's Mate on the USS Roper, a destroyer from WWI. The Roper patrolled the Virginia coast where it sunk its first German submarine, then travelled to the Straits of Gibraltar for convoy duty. She was eventually struck near Okinawa when a Japanese fighter plane crashed into the side of the ship injuring DeWitt. Dewitt was eventually discharged after recovering from his arm injury.
- Date Created:
- 2010-02-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harris Van Singel was born in Byron Center, and has lived there his entire life. He went to school, and graduated from Byron Center School in 1940. He avoided the draft for four years because his two brothers had both enlisted, and because he was doing farm work. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1944, and was trained as a remote control gunner on the B-29. He initially wanted to be a pilot, but they had too many applicants. He served in the Pacific theatre, and flew on 14 combat missions over Japan from a base on Saipan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Donald Brazones enlisted into the Army Air Corps at the age of 18 in retaliation to the Japanese's bombing of Pearl Harbor. Brazones trained to be a navigator and was sent to England to fly missions over Europe. On Brazones' 18th mission, he was shot down and captured by German Officers. His interview is a detailed recollection of his time in the service, especially his memories from the day he was shot down, and his subsequent capture, imprisonment and release from captivity.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-06T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Thaddeus Kling grew up working on a farm in Muskegon, Michigan. He was drafted and trained in Oklahoma where he made first class sergeant and helped run the C Battery of the 308th Field Artillery. He fought at the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and at Remagen Bridge. At Remagen Bridge they fired constantly for 3 days and 3 nights. The day before the war was over they captured 5,000 Germans.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Soper was born on April 16, 1920 in Indianapolis, Indiana and settled into Grand Rapids in 1929. Soper was drafted into the Army before finishing college and went on to supervise the American Oil Dump being shipped through Iran and Iraq to the Soviet Union. After being turned away from the Army Corps of Engineering and officers' training, he was relocated to Chicago and Indianapolis to close domestic military contracts. After leaving the service, Soper finished his schooling and earned a master's degree in accounting.
- Date Created:
- 2017-04-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Breuninger was born on April 22, 1922 and enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. He had gone to Castle Lake Military Academy, and was put into a HQ company. Fred was sent to England with the 8th Air Force in the 446th bomb group that used B-24 planes. He was part of operations in the HQ Company. They would work 14 hour shifts and alternate from days one week to nights the next. After VE day Fred went back to the US and thought he was going to be sent to Japan, but was discharged and returned home to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mildred Doyle was born in 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and served in the Womens Airforce Service Pilots Corp. She became a pilot during college, and then was requested to serve in the WASP corp. She worked, after training, on Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana as a test pilot and ferrying people around the area. She went home when the WASPs were disbanded, and served as a homemaker in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lloyd Powell was born on February 22, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy in summer 1944 and was called to active duty in fall 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois then went to Camp Little Creek, Virginia and on to Norfolk, Virginia where he boarded the USS LST-509. He worked as a regular sailor, oversaw a work detail of sailors and marines, and pulled shifts on the ship's helm. They sailed up and down the East Coast moving personnel and supplies from New England to Key West, Miami, and Wainwright Shipyard in Florida. Near the end of the war the ship was outfitted for the invasion of Japan, and when Japan surrendered they were in Camp Little Creek, Virginia. Lloyd stayed with the ship until he was discharged in Norfolk in April 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Clark was born in September 1920 in a farmhouse in Wayne County, Michigan. Growing up, Clark had a difficult childhood, including a diagnosis of tuberculosis, moving to Arizona for treatment and back to Michigan, and his family losing their property during the Great Depression. After high school, Clark attended both Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University before receiving his draft card in 1942. After the Army drafted Clark, he spent two years in different programs before deploying with the 106th Infantry division to Belgium. During the Battle of the Bulge, Clark was wounded and evacuated back from the line for nearly a month before returning to his unit, where he served for the rest of the war. Following the war, Clark attended a school the Army had set up in southern France.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Breidenfield was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 23, 1921. She joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (which would later become the Women's Army Corps) in 1943 and was trained at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Jane spent her term of service in Orlando, Florida where she plotted bombing missions, sold war bonds, and worked as a teletype operator. Selling war bonds allowed Jane to participate in many theater related activities which she enjoyed and often continued in her free time. After the war ended and she was released from her duties in Orlando, Jane returned to Grand Rapids where she joined the Army Reserve.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Keegstra was born on April 20, 1919 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy on August 7, 1941 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Yeoman School and after 16 weeks graduated as a yeoman in the Navy. He was stationed at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois when the war began. In the summer of 1942 he went to U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen School at Abbott Hall at Northwestern University and graduated from that training on October 30, 1942 with the rank of ensign. He stayed there and worked as an instructor for a little over a year, then was transferred in January 1944 to Hollywood, Florida where he worked as a navigation instructor. In March 1945 he joined the crew of the USS Savannah (CL-42) and trained in the Gulf of Mexico through the summer and early fall of 1945. On October 22, 1945 he left the ship in New Orleans and shortly thereafter was discharged from the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Barker was born in 1925 in Stanton, Michigan. Albert grew up on a farm and was doing farm work when he was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and was then sent to Great Lakes, Illinois where he spent eight weeks in basic training. After his training, Albert was sent to the South Pacific where he met up with his PT squadron in New Caledonia. After being in New Caledonia, he was sent to Rendova Island where he patrolled waters against the Japanese. After Rendova, he was sent through the Solomon Islands until he was eventually sent to the Philippines. Albert was sent home from the Philippines and was discharged in Bainbridge, Maryland in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lewis McDonald of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a World War II veteran who served as a pilot with the Eighth Air Force. Lewis was drafted in 1943 and went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training. While there, he was recruited into a pilot training program, and was sent to England in late 1944 to be a B-17 pilot. He flew regular missions over Central Europe until the German surrender, at which point he was sent back home to train as a B-29 pilot, but the war ended before he was to deploy to the Pacific. After the war, he remained in the Army Air Corps for a year and a half, mostly flying B-17 on aerial photography missions, and spent the summer of 1946 doing this at Thule, Greenland.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carolyn Burkholder was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1932. Her husband served in World War II, specifically in the Battle of the Bulge, and landing on Omaha Beach. Her father was a grocer, and she moved to Michigan after the war to get a job at Dow Corning.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Kamer was born in Hudsonville, Michigan, and during the depression. He left school after 8th grade to help on the farm, and was drafted in 1943. He was shipped to North Africa and trained there before joining the 34th Division for the campaigns at Cassino, Anzio and Northern Italy.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Scalabrino served in the United States Air Force during WWII from 1941 to 1945. He served in the 301st Bomber Group as an aerial engineer on a B-17 Bomber. He was stationed in Lucera, Italy where he was able to communicate with the locals because he knew Italian, and even acted as a translator sometimes for the military. He talks about the responsibilities he had as an aerial engineer, and gives some detail about the equipment in the B-17. He talks about his experience in the German prison camps in eastern Prussia. He also mentions his free time in Italy, censored letters sent home, and his life in Ionia before and after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Spencer joined the Michigan National Guard in 1940, and served in Company C, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division. His unit was mobilized in October, 1940, and he went with them to train in Louisiana. From there he was shipped to Australia and then to New Guinea in 1942. Fred was wounded by a sniper at Buna, New Guinea, and spent over a year recovering first from the wound and then from malaria. He was finally sent back to the US, where he completed his service guarding German POWs in the southwest.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Burkholder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 21, 1926. He grew up there and on August 24, 1944 he enlisted in the Navy Hospital Corps. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He received further medical training in Sampson, New York and at Balboa Park, San Diego, California. He received X-ray technician training at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland and was stationed there until he requested assignment to a ship. He served aboard the USS Cadmus off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia as an X-ray technician until he was discharged on November 18, 1947. Due to his X-ray technician training in the Navy he worked as an X-ray tech after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Buteyn served in the US Army from 1942-1945. He served as an infantryman in the 303rd Regiment, and saw action along the Dutch/Belgian frontier early in 1945 and took part in the crossing of the Rhine at Remagen. He later participated in the closing of the Saar pocket and in the capture of Cologne and Dusseldorf. Before being wounded in April, he participated in the liberation of three concentration camps for political prisoners. His wartime experiences helped him to decide to go into the ministry after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Keith Edmondson was born in 1924 in Wheaton, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Glen Ellyn. After graduating from high school, Edmondson began attending Purdue University the following fall, which was where he heard about the Aviation Cadet Program, which offered a deferment from military service until the end of school; however, in February 1943, the government changed the program and Edmondson enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He trained in Texas, Idaho and Nevada and was sent to the Pacific in 1944 as a bombardier on a B-24. After receiving additional training in Hawaii, Edmondson's crew deployed to the island of Kwajalein, located in the Marshall Island chain. While stationed on Kwajalein, Edmondson's B-24 participated in bombing attacks against the Japanese-held island of Truk. Eventually, Edmondson's squadron moved from Kwajalein to Guam, where they began launched bombing attacks against Japanese-held Iwo Jima. From there, he went on to Okinawa, where he completed his requisite forty missions and rotated home.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morris Hinken served as a communications technician during World War II. He trained at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and deployed to England with the 32nd Signal Battalion at the end of 1943. He was based near Coventry, and went to Normandy shortly after D-Day. His unit laid and repaired telephone cables across northern Europe. He worked in Bastogne shortly before the Battle of the Bulge, and followed the army into Germany. Shortly after the German surrender, he was sent to Okinawa, arriving just after the Japanese surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Filko was born in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His military career would span 20 years and three separate wars. The financial climate of the Great Depression drove him to enlist in the Marines in 1939 at age 17. He wound up at Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia where the sight of the USS Washington inspired him to join on for sea duty. In 1942 his aircraft carrier was attacked by kamikaze at Guadalcanal. Initially Joseph left the military in 1945 after WWII ended, however working for the State Police offered little pay and so he re-enlisted in 1948. In Korea he was stationed at the 38th parallel and lasted for 14 months. As if that weren't enough he was also sent to Vietnam in 1961. After a period of some time he was sent with a special unit to Okinawa. Finally he was discharged for the last time in 1962. Joseph was decorated with a variety of 16 medals and ribbons for his career. Later in life he worked for the US Post Office for 20 years before retiring.
- Date Created:
- 2015-03-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thadius Burzynski was born in Michigan on April 18, 1916. Ted was married in 1940 and expected to be drafted after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ted was deferred from service many times because of his work in a factory. Ted was drafted in 1943 and then traveled to France for his time in the service. He was in Germany on VE Day.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tony Ten Harmsel was born in Iowa in 1919 and grew up in Michigan. He was working at General Motors when Pearl Harbor happened, and was drafted into the Army in 1942. Having grown up on a farm and being experienced with trucks, he was pulled out of basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to drive a truck for a general on the base, and stayed at Fort Sill until the spring of 1944, when he was shipped to England and assigned to a battalion of the 18th Artillery. His unit landed on Utah Beach on or shortly after D-Day, and went into action right away. His unit fought in Normandy, in northern France, in the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the invasion of Germany. They went through a concentration camp and ferried Russian POWs back to the Soviet lines at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dwight Becker was born in Grandville, Michigan on March 25, 1924. He received his draft notice in January 1943 and reported for service in March 1943. He went to Camp Grant, Illinois and was assigned to Camp Butner, North Carolina for basic training and medical training. He was assigned to the Medical Corps in the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division. He trained at Camp Butner until October 1944 when the 78th went to Camp Pickett, Virginia then Camp Kilmer, New Jersey where they boarded the USAT George Washington and sailed for the European Theatre. They arrived in England on October 26, 1944 and trained there until they went to France on November 22, 1944. He was attached to D Company and they took up positions on the Siegfried Line in early December 1944. He treated wounded soldiers and wounded prisoners of war during the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine River, and the advance into Germany. On April 11, 1945 he was wounded and after being stabilized in Europe he returned to the United States in June 1945. He recovered at Percy Jones Hospital in Fort Custer, Michigan and was discharged from the Army at Fort Custer on September 26, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Engel, son of U.S. congressman Albert J. Engel, served in the U.S. Army from February 1943 to April 1946 in the European Theater during World War II. During basic training, Albert applied for OCS school, but due to his young age did poorly, but did receive his commission. Before being sent to England, Albert was assigned as commander of the 80th Bomb Disposal Squad. However, shortly after arriving in France Albert was transferred to the HQ for the 19th tactical air command. Here he was assigned to represent defendants in court martial cases. Albert than applied to be the commander of the 86th Bomb Disposal Squad. He stayed commander of this squad until his discharge in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Anthony Kuna was born in 1923 in Shepherd, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army when he was 18 years old and was sent to Camp Carson, Colorado, where he trained as an artillerist. After maneuvers in California and further training at Fort Benning, Georgia, his unit, the 71st Division, was shipped to France. He served as a machine gunner assigned to a battery of 155 mm guns. His unit fought through the Siegfried Line in January, 1945, and moved across southern Germany, ending the war in Austria, where his unit liberated a concentration camp.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Corrigan was born in Newaygo, Michigan on June 15, 1924. He enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old (sometime in 1942). He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and was assigned to the USS Cincinnati (CL-6), a light cruiser. During his time aboard the Cincinnati he received training on the ship and stateside on how to aim and operate the ship's guns as well as went on patrols around the Caribbean Sea and near South America. In 1944 they escorted convoys to Belfast, Ireland in preparation for the Normandy Invasion. In late 1944 he was reassigned to a ship in the Pacific Theater, and in January 1945 they set sail. He was aboard that ship and participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of an island and assembled at Okinawa in preparation for the invasion of Japan. After the atomic bombing and subsequent surrender of Japan the ship pulled into Nagasaki where Raymond saw firsthand the destructive capability of the atom bomb. In late September 1945 he returned to Okinawa and by late October 1945 was back at Great Lakes Naval Station where he was discharged from the Navy.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Swendsen served on the USS Silversides and the USS Haddock during World War II. In this interview, he gives a guided tour of the Silversides, which serves as a museum in Muskegon, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Breen was born on February 4, 1925 in Zeeland, Michigan. When he was eighteen he registered for the draft, and six weeks after registering he was drafted in March 1943 and went to Camp Butner, North Carolina for basic training. He participated in maneuvers in Tennessee and was eventually promoted to the rank of staff sergeant and placed in charge of a mortar squad of eight men. In fall 1944 he left the United States with the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and arrived in England on October 26, 1944. He stayed in England for further training before sailing to France, arriving at Le Havre on November 22, 1944. He fought in the Hurtgen Forest, crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, and helped clear the Ruhr Pocket. Near the end of the war he helped save four wounded Americans and was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. After Germany's surrender in May 1945 he was part of the occupation force in the Ruhr Pocket and stayed in Europe until January 1946 when he was sent home and dishcarged from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Dudas was born in Sawyer, MI, just outside of Benton Harbor, in 1924. Dudas enlisted in the Army on July 29, 1943, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was selected for scout training and trained at Camp Walters in Texas. Dudas spent six months training in Cardiff, Wales, preparing for the D-Day invasion and landed on Omaha beach a day or two after the first wave, joining his unit on its way to Trevieres, France. Dudas' unit participated in the Battle at Hill 192 and advanced in a rapid push to Brest where he injured his leg during the advance and was sidelined for four weeks before rejoining his unit in Paris. His unit also participated in combat in the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, acrossing the Rhine River, and advancing into Czechoslovakia. After the war, he left the service and attended Western Michigan University to became a high school teacher.
- Date Created:
- 2015-11-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mary Louise Crowell shares what life was like at home prior to, during, and after WW II. With the US involvement in WW II, Mary explains what it meant to take an active role in the war at home like saving lard, oil, tin cans, and using ration books. During the war, Mary worked for the Civil Service at Fort Custer as a clerk typist and attended many of the USO events. When WW II ended, Mary married her soldier, Jim Crowell, and together they raised two children.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Darwin "Gabby" Stafford served in the United States Army during WW II in the Mechanized Calvary from January 1945 to June 1946 in Kansas and California. In this interview, Gabby discusses life on a farm during the Depression and the first time Social Security was introduced. He shares stories of his time in the Army including one about being treated to dinner at a chicken farm as a reward for returning a wallet, and being "volunteered" for kitchen duty while on the train to Fort Riles, Kansas. Gabby was a Mason for over 50 years.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Theodore Grevers served in the Merchant Marine between World War II and the Korean War. Theodore grew up in the Netherlands, and moved to the United States right before Hitler invaded. He worked on an oil tanker in the Merchant Marines, which made runs between Colombia and Philadelphia. After his service, he founded a detective agency, which assisted in attempts at freeing US POWs during the Vietnam War.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Everett Thompson served in the Army Signal Corps in World War II. He was drafted in March 1943. After doing basic training in Florida, he was sent to the University of Illinois where he took classes to prepare him to take care of large diesel engines. He was shipped out to New Guinea, and operated large diesel engine generators for radio stations until June of 1945. He spent a few weeks in Manila, waiting to be sent into Japan as part of a large convoy. Once there he witnessed the men boarding the USS Missouri to sign the armistice. After a few days he was able to leave the ships and see Japan. He helped build and operate a large radio tower in Tokyo and saw the devastation of the bombing within 100 miles of that city. He came home in January 1946 and entered Michigan State University, becoming a civil engineer. Photographs and correspsondence from Thompson's service are appended to this interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Timmerman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1943 he got drafted at 29 years old. Robert was assigned to the 78th Division and was a Squad Leader. Robert landed in England and made his way through France and Belgium into Germany. He fought at the Hurtgen Forest and in some small towns in Germany, where he received a Purple Heart. His unit was one of the first across the Remagen Bridge.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Milton was born in Wyoming, Michigan and worked at General Motors until he was drafted. Albert was from Caledonia, Michigan and he worked on a farm. Andrew grew up in Kellogsville and he too was a farm hand for many years. Like Milton and Albert, he was drafted on April 16, 1941. All three men served with the 32nd Division and were sent to New Guinea and participated in the Buna campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerard Platte was born on December 30, 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the United States dragged into the Second World War he enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 8, 1942 and was officially sworn in on January 20, 1942 at San Diego. He received basic training in San Diego along with rifle training at Camp San Luis Obispo. He was stationed at Naval Ammunition Depot Bremerton, Washington and Naval Ammunition Depot Indian Island, Washington before being sent to join B Company in the 21st Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California. He was stationed on New Zealand and Guadalcanal before taking part in the invasion of Bougainville (first wave), then Guam (first wave), and finally Iwo Jima where he was wounded while carrying a wounded fellow Marine. He was eventually evacuated back to the United States where he recovered in California and Chicago before being discharged from the Marines on January 20, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joy Lillie, born in Coopersville Michigan, served in the 51st Field Hospital in the Army Nurse Corps from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War. During her service she spent 9 months in Oran, Algeria, and went to Normandy shortly after D-Day and worked in France, Belgium and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cornelius Ringnalda and Richard Herrema were interviewed jointly. Ringnalda was born in Grand Rapids in the early twenties and drafted into the military after high school. He served with the 383rd Infantry Regiment and fought on Okinawa in the early stages of the campaign, and was wounded after about two weeks of combat. Herrema was born in Michigan in the early twenties and was also drafted after high school. He joined the Air Force Cadet program and was assigned to a B-29 crew with the 13th Air Force, and flew 21 missions from bases in New Guinea and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Will Holton was born in Crockett County, Tennessee, on January 19, 1919, and was likely drafted in either late 1942 or early 1943. After Basic Training and advanced training, Holton was then sent to Camp Barkeley, Texas, for trucker training, and was then sent to Louisiana for 155mm artillery training before winding up at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, with the 1010th Engineer Company. Holton was then assigned to the 2nd Platoon, A Company, 1697th Engineer Combat Battalion and was deployed to Europe, supporting the ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944-45. He guarded the other engineers while they cleared mines, opened supply routes, and built temporary bridges, continuing this construction work in France after the war. Holton later returned home and was discharged in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2017-02-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Johnson served in a regimental communications center in the 79th Division in Europe during World War II. He landed on Utah Beach with an advance party shortly after D-Day, and participated in the campaigns in Normandy, France and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2005-02-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Jake Werner was born on November 29, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and enlisted in the Army on May 1, 1938. After training Jake was sent to Panama and was not at all enjoying himself because of the drug problem in the area and decided to buy is way out of the service. He returned back the US and remained in a reserve unit until he was called to active duty in February of 1941. Jake went through Officer Candidate School and then helped form one of the first armored divisions, which were relatively new at the time. They were later sent to Britain for more training and then traveled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany throughout the remainder of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth McCloud was born on May 5, 1920 in Tennessee. On February 10, 1942 he enlisted in the Army and was placed in the Signal Corps. He was processed and inducted at Fort Oglethorpe then went to Joplin, Missouri (most likely Camp Crowder) for basic training and signal training. He was deployed to the Pacific Theatre in either late 1943, or early 1944, and was sent to Finschaefen, New Guinea. He stayed at Finschafen until spring 1944 following the invasion of Hollandia. During his time in the Pacific he was part of the 553rd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion and later the 559th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion and his duty was to maintain the generators used for radar installations. In November 1944 he was sent to the Philippines and was stationed on the island of Leyte until the end of the war. Following Japan's surrender in August 1945 he was sent to Osaka, Japan for occupation duty (most likely in late September/October 1945). He stayed in Japan for five weeks then returned to the United States. He was sent to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and was discharged on December 15, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Rafferty was born on October 31, 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Grand Rapids and in the December 1942 he enlisted in the Navy Reserve as an Aviation Cadet. He was called up for active service in April 1943 and received training at Ohio Wesleyan University, St. Mary's College of California, Whitman College, Max Westheimer Field, and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Richard graduated from training on November 1, 1944 and became a Naval Aviator with the rank of ensign. He received operational training at Naval Air Station Sanford, Florida and qualified for aircraft carrier service aboard the USS Solomons at Port Everglades, Florida. From Florida he went to Seattle to join VC-80 Squadron, a torpedo bomber and fighter squadron. They operated in Coos Bay, Oregon and Holtville, California and when the war ended in August 1945 he helped decommission the squadron. He also served at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan as an operations officer then went to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois to be discharged from active duty in November 1945. After the war he stayed in the Navy Reserve for 25 years serving at Grosse Ile, Battle Creek, and Jackson, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Burgess is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy from June 23, 1944 to May 16, 1946. During the course of the interview he discusses in great detail his pre-enlistment, enlistment/basic training experience, and active duty in the South Pacific fighting against the Japanese. He describes in vivid detail the fighting on New Caledonia, Ulithe, Okinawa, in the Philippines, Saipan, and the suicide bomber attacks on the USS Franklin. He further goes into some detail about what the occupation of Japan was like. Burgess concludes by discussing what he got out of his military service.
- Date Created:
- 2005-03-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Nick Marrone was born in Italy in 1924 and came to the United States in 1929. He was drafted into the army, and was assigned to the Army Air Corps as a mechanic. He served with the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1945. H was a crew chief in the 12th Fighter Squadron, which was based on Guadalcanal and New Guinea.
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Beatrice McLogan was a World War II veteran who served in the Navy WAVES from 1944 to 1945. In this account, McLogan discusses her family life, her enlistment and training, and her work in the code office in Washington D.C.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)