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- 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:
- Christal Stanton served in the U.S. Army from approximately 1974-1976 as a typist. She attended basic training in Alabama and served most of her time in the army as a typist on a base in Colorado.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe Brinn was born in 1950 in Virginia and eventually moved with his family to Michigan, where he grew up. He got married at age 16 and dropped out of high school, and a year later decided to join the military. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, and then Ft. Rucker to train as a Helicopter Crew Chief. He landed in Pleiku, Vietnam, in 1968 and was assigned to the 77th Air Cavalry which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and worked as a crew chief. His unit did "hunt/kill" missions and he did maintenance on the aircraft as well. During his time in Vietnam, he flew many combat missions, notably over Dak To, but he was never wounded; although there were many close calls. Mr. Brinn was awarded a Bronze Star after for repelling down from a helicopter to recover a lost aircraft, which he found out crashed; and even though there were no survivors he secured the bodies. After Vietnam, he continued his military career, eventually becoming a warrant officer and helicopter pilot, and retired after twenty years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Kloet was born on August 8th, 1936 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school and briefly attending Davenport University, Kloet enlisted in the Air Force in 1955. After completing his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Kloet transferred to nearby Kelly Air Force Base for "radio intercept traffic analyst" training. Once he completed the training at Kelly, Kloet deployed to Shiroi Air Force Base in Japan. Because advancement in his branch was difficult, once his two-year deployment was complete, Kloet chose to get out of the Air Force and enrolled at Michigan State University to study for a Russian degree. After completing his Bachelor's Degree, Kloet briefly thought about continuing for a Master's Degree but instead decided to take a job working for the CIA. However, the job was not what Kloet had expected, so he eventually re-enlisted in the Army and after leaving the CIA and receiving additional training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Kloet deployed to Germany. Kloet moved around several units in Germany, eventually ending up as the de facto leader of a detachment in a town outside of Frankfurt. However, that was not the work Kloet expected to do, so he put in a transfer request to Vietnam and after training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deployed to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Kloet stayed in Saigon working as part of the intelligence services, creating reports about enemy infiltration rates and troop strengths. After his tour, Kloet returned to Fort Bragg in March 1968, missing the Tet Offensive before deploying for a second tour as an intelligence advisor at a province capital. (see parts 2 and 3 for rest of career)
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Isabelino Vazquez was born and grew up in Puerto Rico and was drafted into the Army in 1951 at the age of nineteen years old. Once drafted, Vazquez went through training in Puerto Rico before deploying to Korea and fighting in the Korean War. He served as an infantryman in the 7th Infantry for twelve months, and then as a platoon leader in the all-Puerto Rican 65th Regiment for two months. After Korea, Vazquez briefly left the military before re-enlisting and completing jump school, after which he served in both the 82nd and 11th Airborne Divisions, with the latter division while the division was in Germany. When he returned to the United States, Vazquez completed the training for the Army Special Forces and traveled between the different special forces groups, including the 8th Special Forces Group in the Panama Canal Zone and the 1st Special Forces Group stationed on Okinawa, Japan. While with the 1st Special Forces, Vazquez did a short tour in Vietnam helping train South Vietnamese Special Forces and nurses. After completing the short tour with the 1st Special Forces, Vasquez briefly returned to the States to join the 5th Special Forces Group before the group deployed to the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. During his second deployment, the enemy wounded Vasquez, forcing his evacuation, first to Japan then to the States. Once out of the hospital, Vasquez served a short period with the 75th Ranger before joining the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as a company commander. While with the 506th Infantry, Vasquez helped set of the defenses for Firebase Ripcord, site of one of the last major battles involving American forces in Vietnam. When Vasquez left his company command, he served as a battalion S-4 before returning to the States and eventually retiring in 1980.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- This interview replaces the missing portion from his original interview in 2004, and primarily covers the period between the end of his first tour in Vietnam in late 1966 to the end of his second tour in 1968. During this period, Gillem was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a rifle company commander. He and his brigade were sent to Detroit in the summer of 1967 in response to the race riots there, and soon afterward received orders for Vietnam. They arrived late in the year and were initially based at Cu Chi, but went up to the area north of Hue just before the Tet Offensive started in 1968, and participated in the American counterattacks and recapture of Hue, and in followup campaigns in the I Corps sector. Gillem was reassigned to division headquarters after about four months in Vietnam, and spent the rest of his tour with the division's operations (G-3) section.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Prior to beginning his fourth tour in Vietnam, Ron Kloet initially went through officers training with the Army intending to give him an assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Kloet, wanting something else, instead volunteered to serve in the Phoenix program, a specialized program in Vietnam. After finished the fourth tour, Kloet transferred from Vietnam to Germany to work as an intelligence officer. Following his tour in Germany, Kloet's military service ended and he attended Michigan State University, attaining master degrees in Russian history and Russian literature. However, Kloet found his work at graduation unsatisfying, so he began working to complete enough active-duty service time to retire with a pension. Eventually, Kloet began working for the U.S. Army Foreign Intelligence Activity (FIA) as a civilian employee. In 1995, the FIA and other intelligence agencies reorganized and Kloet, not liking his new roll, eventually retired. Then, in Sept. 2001, he received a phone call from a former colleague asking Kloet to return to work. Kloet did return for six months before retiring for good.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- In the second part of his interview Jim Roach covers his second tour in Vietnam (1969-1970), where he initially commanded D Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in the A Shau Valley and other parts of I Corps. After six months, he rotated to a rear area assignment, but was then sent to command a company in the 3rd Battalion, 187th Regiment and get it into shape. His second tour ended in June 1970, after which he served with the U.S. Army Rangers, attend college at St. Martin's College, went to Special Forces School, and also worked in Latin America aiding several Latin American countries in improving their militaries. He also served in South Korea and in Germany and was also selected to serve in the elite Secret Army of Northern Virginia. Towards the end of his career he was selected to be the Special Forces Group Commander of Group 7 stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Date Created:
- 2013-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- This interview session recaps the first part of Bassett's tour in Vietnam, and then covers the second half, when he was a brigade-level staff officer in the 9th Division. Bassett supervised long range reconnaissance patrols, organized and ran a provisional company working with experimental ground radar, and dealt with an unstable commander. He would remain the Army until 1997, working both with the Rangers and in intelligence work. He spent a total of eight years in Germany, including the period immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and also went to Saudi Arabia and Iraq at the time of the Gulf War, and also worked at the Pentagon. After retiring for medical reasons, he continued to work as a civilian contractor for the military, helping the Colombian army and national police with counterinsurgency training and later working with civilian contractors sent to the Middle East at the time of the invasion of Iraq.
- Date Created:
- 2011-04-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Freddie Gilbert is a Vietnam War veteran born in1949 in Vermont and was raised in Prairieville, Maryland. In 1969 he was drafted for the Vietnam War and was attached to D Company in 2nd and 506th of the 101st Airborne. His unit was heavily engaged in the fighting around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. After the war he enlisted in the Army and served as a trainer and made that his career until he retired from service on June 1st 1989. Afterwards he took a job in the civilian security sector with the Pinkerton Guard Business and is still serving with them.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
