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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371. Mann, Randy (Interview transcript and video), 2011

Notes:: Randy Mann was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in July 1949. Although he received his draft notice following his high school graduation, Mann did not enter the service until eighteen months later. After completing basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Mann went through advanced training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. While at Fort Polk, Mann had the option to go to NCO school, which was located at Fort Benning, Georgia and Mann took the option. Then, while at Fort Benning, Mann had the option of attending Ranger school, which he took as well. Once deployed to Vietnam, Mann received an assignment to a Ranger unit although after one mission, he decided it was not for him and transferred to a regular infantry unit that operated around the village of Tam Ky. After operating with the unit around Tam Ky and at a firebase called Camp Duck and being wounded several times, Mann's commanders pulled him back and placed him in-charge of the re-supply and mail room, which involved flying daily on helicopters to the DMZ to deliver mail and supplies, a job Mann kept until his tour ended.
Date Created:: 2011-05-12T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

372. Walbridge, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2004

Notes:: Jack Walbridge graduated from Caledonia High School in Michigan and in 1942 and then began taking courses at Grand Rapids Community College and also joined the Army Specialized Training Program. He was called up for service in May of 1943 and found basic training to be boring, so he volunteered to be a paratrooper. Jack went through paratrooper training at Fort Benning in Georgia and then later traveled in a very large convoy to Northern Africa. They made their way though Italy and France and Jack often worked as a scout. Jack was discharged shortly after the Battle of the Bulge and began working for his father's meat market in Michigan.
Date Created:: 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

373. Vande Kerk, Christine and Henry (Interview outline and video), 2008

Notes:: Christine and Henry Vande Kerk are both World War II veterans who served their country in different capacities during the course of World War II. Christine Vande Kerk briefly discusses her pre-enlistment, enlistment as a nurse into the armed services, and her nursing experience while serving in England until 1944. She then discusses her missionary work in Iraq and Jordan in some detail. Henry Vande Kerk briefly discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training in the U.S. and then his goes into some detail about his days as a U.S. Navy Air Force civilian flight instructor working in the training of pilots in the basic procedures of aviation mechanics before they went on to pursue advanced training in bomber, fighter, and transport plane dynamics. Henry then briefly describes his thoughts on his wartime and what he learned from it. They both wrap up their interviews by showing some pictures and documents from Christine's Army and Missionary Books.
Date Created:: 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

374. Le, Lan Chi (Interview outline and video), 2010

Notes:: Ms. Le was born in Saigon in 1970 to an American father and Vietnamese mother. Her father had to leave, and her mother struggled to make a living, especially when the communists took over. A program called ODC allowed them to leave Vietnam, go to the Philippines for orientation for 6 months and then move to America. Mastering the English language was a struggle at first, but Ms. Le worked hard and became very successful. She said she is grateful to the ODC program.
Date Created:: 2010-01-07T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

375. Bledsoe, Henry (Interview outline and video), 2005

Notes:: Henry Bledsoe was born in 1951, in an Illinois farming community. He served in the Vietnam War in the Air Force as a medic. He spent several months in Vietnam, where he tested blood cultures and worked with a unit whose job it was to keep patients stable prior to shipment to hospitals.
Date Created:: 2005-05-11T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

376. Lake, Danny (Interview outline and video), 2009

Notes:: Danny Lake is from Caledonia, Michigan. He served as a U.S. Army sergeant in the Vietnam War. Many of his missions were on helicopters, and he was a door gunner. After finishing his first tour in Vietnam, Mr. Lake reenlisted. He also had a mission in Cambodia. Mr. Lake was awarded three Purple Hearts.
Date Created:: 2009-05-31T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

377. Luckett, John (Interview outline and video), 2009

Notes:: John Luckett entered the United States Navy in 1991, following the Persian Gulf War. He was sent to a naval training base in Chicago where he spent eight weeks after expressing an interest in joining the navy to a local recruiter. During his service time he was stationed at several locations around the world including France, Spain, and Italy. Luckett was a Gunner's Mate, which meant he was in charge of small weapons management on aircraft carriers. This job involved the repair and relocation of single-man weapons onboard the ship. Luckett was not involved in any active combat during his service. He returned to the Virginia coast to serve on the U.S.S. Yorktown just before he was sent home in 1998.
Date Created:: 2009-11-14T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

378. Phillips, Randolph Elbert (Interview outline and video), 2007

Notes:: Randolph Phillips served in the US Navy as a communication technician from 1963-68 during the Vietnam War, training reservists for service in Vietnam. He joined the Navy because his grades were too poor to keep him in college. For part of his service he was in Hawaii, and for a longer period he was in Jersey City at the US Naval Reserve Training Center. He talks about what he learned by being in the military and how it applied to life after service. He talks about the Vietnam memorial and its affect on him and other veterans of Vietnam. He also talks about how the Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home, and how it differs from how veterans are treated today.
Date Created:: 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

379. Rowe, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2006

Notes:: Stephen Rowe is a Vietnam veteran who served in the United States Air Force for 20 years in the field of intelligence. As a member of the 7602 Air Force Intelligence Group, Rowe went to Vietnam, the Philippines, and various bases throughout the United States. In this interview, Rowe gives an overview of his 20 years spent in the service and answers questions about food, free time, holidays, fear, and combat. One of his most memorable moments occurred just after Vietnam, when Rowe was assigned to the debriefing of one of the Vietnam POWs. Rowe spent 2-4 weeks in a hospital near Riverside, CA listening to the POWs story.
Date Created:: 2006-06-04T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

380. Vermerris, Norman (Interview outline and video), 2010

Notes:: Mr. Vermerris is from Michigan and was born on February 22nd, 1931. In 1951, he and some friends decided to join the Air Force instead of waiting to get drafted for Korea. He received his training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and then to Biloxi, Mississippi to learn how to use a radio. He chose to be in the Airborne. His job in the service consisted of supplying troops in Japan, Korea, and he even traveled to Greenland and Iceland. He was in the Air Force for three years.
Date Created:: 2010-02-17T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Collection:: Veterans History Project (U.S.)

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