Oral Histories 1857 items

Wide-ranging oral histories from Grand Valley, Capital Area District Library, and Michigan State that capture the perspective of citizens and veterans across the state.

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1341. Jennings, Stuart (Interview outline and video), 2007

Notes:: Stuart Jennings was born during the beginning of the Depression in Michigan. He said that growing up through that taught him to share, to do things on his own and to treat people well. After graduation Stuart became a cadet in the Army Air Corps in Texas and eventually a Barracks Corporal in the Air Corps. Stuart never experienced combat or went overseas. His job was to fly wounded men back and forth from hospitals in the United States. After his time in the service, Stuart got involved in the post-war house building boom after the war. The business allowed him to make a good living and travel.
Date Created:: 2007-05-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1342. Naughton, Gerald (Interview outline and video), 2008

Notes:: Gerald Naughton was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 29, 1931. He moved to Michigan when he was five years old and graduated from high school in 1950. Gerald joined the Navy reserve in 1955 and was later in the Navy full time. He was in the Navy for 17 years during the Korean War and Vietnam. Gerald now resides in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Date Created:: 2008-09-11T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1343. Oderkirk, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2009

Notes:: Donald Oderkirk grew up in upstate New York and attended college at Central Michigan University in the early 60s. He then went to Michigan State University for grad school until he received his draft notice. Rather than being drafted into the Army, Donald enlisted in the Navy and passed the exam for Officer Candidate School. He was sent to Newport, Rhode Island for 90 days of officer training before he was assigned to go overseas. Donald had requested to work in Southeast Asia and he worked back and forth between Japan and Vietnam for about 2 years before being sent back to the United States. His duties in Vietnam included working on a rocket-launching landing craft and serving as an interpreter with Korean forces.
Date Created:: 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1344. Reeg, Dave (Interview outline and video), 2012

Notes:: Dave Reeg served in the army as an artillery sergeant during the Korean War. He was trained on 105 Howitzers in Atterbury, Indiana. At one point in his service in Korea, the unit he was in was discontinued and he was sent to different artillery locations. Mr. Reeg was in Korea for about 17 months when the war ended.
Date Created:: 2012-05-24T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1345. TenBrink, Glenn (Interview outline and video), 2004

Notes:: Glenn TenBrink served in the 70th Infantry Division during World War II. He joined his unit as a replacement in a rifle company in January, 1945 and participated in battles in northeastern France and in Germany before being wounded in action. He provides detailed descriptions of training, combat and occupation duty in Germany.
Date Created:: 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1346. Strom, Carl J. (Interview transcript and video), 2004

Notes:: Carl J. Strom is a WWII Veteran who served in the United States Army in France and Italy from July 1942 to May 1945. Strom was a platoon leader in ompany B, 141st Regiment, 36th Infantry Division and fought at the Rapido River crossing, Monte Cassino, the landing in southern France, and the campaign into northeastern France and Germany.
Date Created:: 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1347. Churchill, Dennis Ray (Interview outline and video), 2015

Notes:: Dennis Churchill was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1946. He enlisted in the Air Force in late September, or early October 1965 after graduating from high school in that same year. He received basic training in November 1965 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and mechanical training at the Technical School at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. He was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas and did temporary duty assignments at San Isidro Air Base, Dominican Republic and at RAF Mildenhall, England. He was reassigned to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base near Taichung, Taiwan and while there served multiple temporary duties in Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was stationed at Tuy Hoa Air Base and Cam Ranh Bay and made supply runs to the major American bases in the country. After his time in Vietnam and being stationed in Taiwan he received an early discharge from the Air Force, and was discharged at McChord Air Force Base, Washington in 1969.
Date Created:: 2015-12-08T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1348. Brigalia, Dianne (Interview transcript and video), 2009

Notes:: Diane Brigalia enlisted in the Army after high school because she had always been interested in becoming a doctor, but was not yet ready for college. She went through 9 weeks of basic training and then was sent to Fort San Houston in Texas for EMT training. They mostly focused on field simulations and learned how to put together make shift medical centers and basically work with very few materials. Diane was stationed in Korea after she finished training and worked at the field station with the Second Engineer Battalion. She met her husband in Korea and they later got married when they were both stationed at Fort Riley in Texas.
Date Created:: 2009-05-29T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1349. Cooper, Dale (Interview outline and video), 2012

Notes:: Dale Cooper, born in 1948 in Southern Illinois, served in the U.S. Army from late 1968 through early 1971. After completing basic at Fort Leonard Wood and AIT at Fort Ord, Dale was sent to Vietnam. Here he was assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He went on patrols both in the lowlands near Camp Evans, and in the hills and jungles of the interior. He eventually became a radio operator, working his way up from platoon to company level, and then to the battalion. During the Ripcord campaign in 1970, he was serving in the battalion headquarters until he rotated home on July. He spent the last part of his enlistment as a tank commander at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Date Created:: 2012-10-04T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1350. Croft, James (Interview outline and video), 2012

Notes:: James Croft was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1977 and enlisted in the Navy after high school in 1996. He was assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Cole and sailed with her to the Mediterranean. The ship then went on to Yemen, and was attacked by Al Qaeda bombers there. He remained assigned to the ship while it was under repair, and completed his enlistment at Norfolk, Virginia.
Date Created:: 2012-04-11T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

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