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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1681. Smith, John (Interview outline and video), 2014

Notes:: John Smith was born in 1946 in Fredericktown Missouri, he later moved to Tennessee. He joined the ROTC in college, then joined the Army in 1969. He trained at the IOBC at Fort Benning, then at Fort Reilly. He served with the D Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, as platoon leader of 2nd platoon, and was involved in the fighting in early July 1970 around Firebase Ripcord. After he was wounded he served as the properties officer, later air coordinator. After returning to the US he was involved in the training base at Fort Campbell, before leaving the Army in June of 1972.
Date Created:: 2014-10-10T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1682. Duane Newmeyer (Audio interview and transcript), 2018

Notes:: Duane Newmeyer describes his young adulthood in Saugatuck and Chicago as he met his husband Erwin. Considerable discussion of time in the dunes and at the Blue Tempo.
Date Created:: 2018-10-10T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)

1683. Bernhardt, Fred (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2007

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.)

1684. Naperola, Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2013

Notes:: Joe was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1923. He joined the National Guard when he was fourteen years old and served until his unit was federalized in 1940. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was sent to be an MP at Fort Custer, Michigan. Joe was sent to England where he patrolled four small towns about thirty miles outside of London. While in country, he also was part of the honor guard and was a staff driver for officers. Joe was sent back to the United States in 1946 after the war had ended.
Date Created:: 2013-05-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1685. Oppenhuizen, Roger (Interview outline and video), 2011

Notes:: Roger Oppenhuizen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946. After completing college in 1968, he enlisted in the Army to stay ahead of the draft, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. He did his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and then trained as a combat engineer at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The Army assigned him to Infantry OCS instead of Finance, so he decided not to enter the program, so he was sent directly to Vietnam as a combat engineer in May, 1969. In Vietnam, he served with D Company, 35th Engineer Battalion, which was based at Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta and working on constructing a two-lane highway connecting the Delta to Saigon. For the first three months, Oppenhuizen worked on constructing the highway. However, because he knew how to type, Oppenhuizen eventually moved up to the company headquarters first to replace the operations sergeant while he was on leave, and then to replace the departing company clerk.
Date Created:: 2011-10-25T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1686. Stecker, Walter (Interview outline and video), 2007

Notes:: Walter Stecker was able to avoid being drafted into the services during the beginning of World War II because of his work for the aircraft industry in industrial design. He was eventually drafted into the Navy and worked on illustrations for the assembly of aircraft, blue-prints, and maps. He worked on top-secret projects and even presented some of his findings to the US Senate.
Date Created:: 2007-07-02T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1687. Bakker, Lee Richard (Interview outline and video), 2015

Notes:: Lee Bakker was born in Wellsburg, Iowa on October 14, 1924. After graduating from high school in 1943 he was drafted in fall 1943. He was inducted in Des Moines, Iowa and received basic training at Camp Roberts, California. After basic training he tried to be a paratrooper and received the training at Fort Benning, Georgia, but broke his leg. He was then sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where he trained with 81mm mortars and was assigned to the 70th Infantry Division. He left the U.S. in November 1944 and arrived in Marseille, France in December 1944. He was assigned to H Company of the 275th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division and fought in France, and Germany (liberating the city of Saarbrucken) and crossing the Saar River. He was stationed in Germany for occupation duty until he threw out his back and returned to the United States. He received treatment at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri and got medically discharged in September 1945.
Date Created:: 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1688. Robert T. Smith interview (video and transcript, 7 of 8), 1991

Notes:: Interview of Robert T. Smith by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. R. T. Smith joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941, after resiging his commission as a U.S. Army Air Corps basic flight instructor. He served in the AVG as Flight Leader for the 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." In the AVG he was credited with shooting down 8 Japanese planes and was awarded the Nine Star Medal and Order of Cloud Banner by the Chinese government. He returned to the US in 1942 and was drafted into the US Army, but was quickly re-commissioned as a US Air Corps Second Lieutenant. Over the course of the war, Smith returned to the Pacific Theater and flew 55 combat missions over Burma. He was awarded the Air Medal, Distinguisghed Flying Cross, and Silver Star. In this tape, Smith discusses the morale missions that his squadron was a part of in Loiwing, in addition to his impressions of Harvey and Olga Greenlaw, Greg Boyington, Bert Christman, and General Bissell.
Date Created:: 1991-04-23T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries

1689. Buckingham, Richard (Interview transcript and video), 2017

Notes:: Richard "Buck" Buckingham was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1929. Buckingham grew up in Detroit and graduated from Redford High School in 1947. He then attended Hillsdale College for two years before transferring to Michigan State University where he stayed for one year. In 1951, Buckingham considered joining the Air Force, but this ended up not happening because the program he was interested in was cut off. However, in December 1951, Buckingham was drafted into the Marine Corps. Buckingham first reported to Detroit and was then sent to Parris Island, South Carolina where he went through a twelve-week training program. Once Buckingham completed his training, he joined the 8th Engineer Battalion at Camp Geiger in North Carolina and began working in personnel at an engineering headquarters and service company there. In November 1952, Buckingham moved to Arlington, Virginia and started working at the Headquarters Marine Corps. During his time in Arlington, Buckingham drove a Jeep in Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade, met his future wife who worked for the Air Force, and eventually became a corporal. In December 1953, Buckingham's enlistment ended, and he returned to Michigan State University where he earned a degree in business administration. After graduating, Buckingham sold insurance for a year before landing a longlasting job at Sears, Roebuck, and Company.
Date Created:: 2017-12-05T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

1690. Anderson, Doug (Interview outline and video), 2004

Notes:: Doug Anderson was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Union High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and began training one month after graduation. Doug went through accelerated college courses at Oakland College in Ohio and was then sent to mid-shipman school in New York. After going through training, the war was already over and Doug was sent to work in salvage and preservation in Guam. Doug spent the extent of his service in Guam and eventually became an Executive Officer when he was only 19 years old.
Date Created:: 2004-05-03T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

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