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- Notes:
- Calvin Schutte was born in Michigan and served in the Army during the Korean War. He arrived in Korea in December, 1951 after having been drafted into the service. He attained the rank of Sergeant and Squad Leader, and served in several capacities including general infantry duty and guarding prisoners on Koji-do Island. He spent much of his service on Heartbreak Ridge serving with the 25th Infantry Division. He returned to the United States and worked as a farmer and for General Motors.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Story was born in Lowell, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1950. Ron was drafted into the Army in 1952 and feels that he was very fortunate that he was sent to Europe rather than Korea. Ron was stationed in La Rochelle, France on the Atlantic Coast. He noted that they were concerned about possible Soviet attack. He traveled extensively in Europe, returned to the US in 1954, and served for six years in the reserves. Photographs appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry "Bud" Baxter graduated high school near the beginning of WW II. He went to college at the University of Michigan for a year, but feeling that he would soon be drafted, he enlisted in the Army. During WW II he traveled with other men where they built bridges and repaired roads so that the United States Army could move around through the area. Harry continued to remain in the reserves when his time was up and eventually served for a short time in the Korean War.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard McCarty served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (approx. 1951-1953). After completing his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was employed as a truck driver on base. Richard was assigned to be sent to Korea but was discharged before being sent out. He served in the National Guard after completing his military service.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ken Scott was born in Alma, Michigan in 1937. Ken graduated from Central Michigan University in 1960 and then went into the Army. His first duty was in Korea with the 7th infantry 17th transportation battalion as their platoon leader. In 1962 he came back to the US and then was sent to Germany from 1962 to 1964 where he commanded a heavy truck company. After Germany he activated a transportation company and went with them to Vietnam in March of 1967. He did one tour in Vietnam and then after being home for a short while did another. Ken then went to work as a professor of Military science working in Illinois and then Grand Rapids, Michigan until he retired in 1999. Personal account of military service is appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Louis Smith is a WW II and Korean War veteran who served in the United States Army and the National Guard. Smith served in WW II from 1942 until 1945 in the Pacific Theatre and served his time for Korea at Valdosta Base, Georgia. During WW II, Smith was on the same ship that General MacArthur was on when he signed the peace treaty with Japan. In this interview, Smith shares his childhood recollections during WWI that included witnessing the burning of an effigy of the Kaiser in Ste. Saint Marie, his home town. Smith discusses his high school years and his love of sports, which spurred a life long coaching career. Throughout his years in the service, Smith coached the Army and National Guard basketball teams.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James O'Malley was born in Chicago in October 1932. In April 1951, he enlisted in the Navy. He received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, then went to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, for Pre-Flight School. He then went to Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee, for Aviation Electronics School. James was sent to Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, Hawaii, and joined Squadron VP-22, an antisubmarine patrol squadron. He served aboard a P2V-5 Neptune and conducted antisubmarine patrols around Hawaii. In spring 1952, Squadron VP-22 was sent to Okinawa to fly reconnaissance missions along the Chinese coast as part of the Korean War. His plane took antiaircraft fire on multiple occasions and they encountered Chinese fighter planes. After the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, he returned to Hawaii and was then reassigned to Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois. His final duty station was at Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia, and he was discharged from there.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clarence Hunter was born in London, Arkansas in 1935. He enlisted into the military and served in the Army and Navy. During his time with the Navy, Clarence spent a lot of time traveling up and down the coast of Korea during the Korean War.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carl Ballard was born on October 16, 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1951 and then enlisted in the Army. Carl trained in Kentucky and went through leadership school after basic. He was then sent to South Korea where he joined the 2nd Infantry Division and went on patrols at night. Carl was later transferred to the Heavy Weapons company where he worked as a squad leader. Carl had received enough points to return home a few months after the cease fire.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Swanson was born in Lucas County, Iowa, in 1930 and graduated from high school in 1948. He received his draft notice in 1951, just days after he had gotten married. Richard went through training in Arkansas for only 6 weeks and was then sent to Japan to work with the 176th Artillery Unit. Richard spent 16 months fighting on the front line in Korea and worked to support a South Korean unit.
- Date Created:
- 2010-01-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glendle Callahan served in the Korean War in the United States Army from February 1951 to November 1952 in Alabama and Korea. In this interview, Callahan tells of the day he received his draft letter and why he volunteered to go to Korea after being at Camp Rooker, Alabama. Once overseas he attended supply school and became involved in the Field Artillery.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Vander Laan is a Korean War era veteran who served in the 7th Army 966 Field Engineering Battalion. He was sent to Germany during his time in the service, and was never involved in any active combat. However, he witnessed the aftermath of WW II during his travels throughout Europe. He also discusses his reaction upon being taken by the Army to several concentration camps in the Munich are. He also recalls the difficulties of basic training during the summer in Louisiana.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Sabin, Sr. was born in Wyoming, Michigan in 1935 and graduated from high school in 1954. Ronald enlisted in the Army during the Korean War only a few months after he had graduated. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for basic training for 8 weeks and then to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas for guided missile training. After training in Texas, Ronald continued there working as an instructor and was there for a total of about 2 years. He then moved back to Michigan and was on call with the Wisconsin Reserves for another 12 years.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Raymond Hawkins, Sr. served in the Navy during the end of the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy with hopes of traveling and avoiding being drafted into the Army. Raymond went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through radio school and security training in California before he was stationed in Alaska. Raymond served as a radio technician in Alaska and Puerto Rico and was in the Navy for a total of 4 years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Sterzick served in the US Army during the Korean War, but never saw combat. Stationed in Nuremberg, Germany, he met his future wife while working as an orderly in a hospital. He discusses life in Germany at the time and the condition of the city after World War II.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Green served in the military for two years during the Korean War. He was drafted, but served at Fort Carson, Colorado. He was raised in Lowell, Michigan along with his two younger siblings. While in the Army, he was a mechanic on tracked units. He reminisces about some of his camp experiences, and explains some of the training he underwent.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Halle served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. Robert and Bruce both served in Korea. Robert enlisted in the Marine Reserves at the age of seventeen, and was called to active duty during his junior year of high school. He trained in California. He served for seven months, and was wounded twice. One of these wounds was a minor shrapnel wound, the other was a significant wound on the left side of his head. Robert discusses at length his experience at Hill 749, praises his friend and section leader Dick Blassingame, and discusses his lifelong post-war career in education.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Samuels was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1950 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1948. He trained at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he learned water purification processes. When the Korean War started in 1950, he was sent to Korea and served as a BAR gunner with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He served with that unit at Inchon and Seoul, and then in the invasion of North Korea. He fought in the Chosin Reservoir battles until he was airlifted out due to bad frostbite. He was treated in Japan and then sent back to the US, where he served out his enlistment in Philadelphia and finally back at Camp Lejeune.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Sarros served in the Marine Corps from 1946-1951. He fought as a machine-gunner during the Korean War. He did experience combat with Koreans and the Chinese, but did not talk about much of his experience. He does recall being on the front line while he served in Korea. George said that many of his men were hurt and it was an unpleasant experience, so he blocked much of it out.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Floyd "Bud" Hall enlisted in the United States Navy at age 16. After a short time in air-sea rescue, Floyd decided to join the paratroopers. He describes the paratrooper training process and the numerous practice jumps that were required. Floyd was eventually sent to Korea in 1952 and served as a tank commander until the end of the conflict in 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold LeFurge served in the US Navy in both WWII and the Korean War. On an LST ship during WWII, he sailed to the Marshall Islands, the Carolinas', the Northern Mariana Islands, and to Okinawa. The main battles were over by the time LeFurge got there, but his ship carried supplies to the islands, and transported Japanese military families living on the islands back to Japan. Late in the Korean War, his ship transported American relief troops, army and marines, to Korea from Pearl Harbor and other Pacific islands
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Canepa was born in Massachusetts in 1930. He attended Harvard University and enlisted in the Navy near graduation and just barely missed the Korean War. He attended officer school in Rhode Island and was later assigned to work in the Naval Amphibious Force. John traveled to Japan, Korea, and Cuba while in the Navy. After he was discharged he remained in the reserve for three years.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter de Leeuw was born in the Netherlands in 1937 and lived there during the German occupation of the country. He later emigrated to the US, and served in the US Army between 1959 and 1961. He trained at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and served in Germany with armored and artillery units.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Pahl was born in Fennville, Michigan and grew up in Allegan, Michigan. As a teacher during the early parts of World War II, he and his class would follow the war on a map. When the Army drafted him, Pahl received training as a quartermaster. Following graduation, Pahl volunteered for the Air Force, where he received a commission and training as a radar controller. Following his deployment to India, Pahl served as a radar controller for the Tenth Air Force in India and Burma. After the war, Pahl returned to the United States, but the Air Force recalled him during the Korean War. During the Korean War, Pahl trained younger men in how to be radar controllers.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willard Steffens was born in Leland, Michigan in 1935 and enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1954. Willard worked as a switch board operator in French Morocco after the Korean War and stayed there until 1956. He comments on living and working conditions there and on tensions with the local population.
- Date Created:
- 2006-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Gerber was born in 1921 in Menominee, Michigan. He grew up there and attended high school there until he graduated in 1939. In the summer of 1938 he trained with the U.S. Citizens Training Corps in Fort Brady, Michigan for four weeks which would later count towards basic training in the Army. After completing high school he went to Houghton, Michigan as part of the National Youth Administration and received radio training. This led to his getting involved with the National Park Service and his working at Isle Royale National Park starting on December 6, 1941 and being relieved from that duty in May 1942. After Isle Royale he worked briefly as a medical technician and as an ambulance driver for Marinette General Hospital in Marinette, Wisconsin. In July 1942 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and in August 1942 he reported for basic training. He was sent to Fort Story, Virginia and because of his prior military training he was quickly promoted to the rank of corporal. He went on to receive radio training at Fort Story and Fort Monroe in Virginia and he was later attached to the 663rd Field Artillery Battalion as a radio operator. In spring 1944 his unit was deployed to Europe. They would go on to participate in the Battle of the Bulge and supporting Allied infantry in Bastogne, and the 663rd was one of the first units to cross the Rhine River into Germany to begin the Allied invasion of Germany. He was discharged in February 1946, but remained in the reserves and was called up during the Korean War and served in Japan at that time.
- Date Created:
- 2014-07-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Collins was born in Manistee, Michigan on July 4, 1933. After his mother died and his father moved to California he enlisted in the Air Force in 1952. He received basic training and went to Personnel School. During the Korean War he was deployed to Korea and worked in records. He processed North Korean prisoners of war and also spent a month monitoring the train and aircraft movements of the North Koreans. He stayed in the Air Force until 1963 then went on to serve in the Air National Guard.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold was born on February 6, 1927 near Alto, Michigan. He graduated from Caledonia High School and began working at the State Bank of Caledonia in 1946. Harold was drafted into the United States Army in June 1951 and served for two years at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri as the company clerk for the 506th Replacement Company. He was discharged in June 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald was born in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan on December 14, 1933. He was seven years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed and remembers well life around his town during the war. When the Korean War erupted, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego, California and then to Advanced Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California. After his training, Donald was sent to Virginia where he took a course on topographical survey and later tested new construction equipment for Marine Corps use.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Burney Huizenga served in the Navy during the Korean War. His main job on the U.S.S. Missouri, the battleship he served on, was in the Main Propulsion Division where he dealt with running the engines of the ship. He served in the Navy for three years and was discharged before the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- During his military service, Laverne Bivens served in the 4th Regimental Combat team, which the Army had stationed in Alaska as part of the defense against a possible Soviet attack. Although he served during the latter part of the Korean war, Bivens never saw combat. Instead, his job was the defense of Alaska and the Air Force bases in the territory against any aggression.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Morrin was born in East Boston, Massachusetts on June 21st, 1926. At the outbreak of World War II, Morrin attempted to enlist but the Army denied him because he was only seventeen and needed permission from his parents, although both his parents were dead; however, the Army eventually accepted him. Once finished with training at Fort Wheeler, Georgia, Morrin deployed to the European theater, remaining until after the end of the war, including helping with security during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. After returning home, Morrin initially got out of active duty but re-enlisted after the Korean War began and made his way to Korea, where he served as an MP. Following the tour Korea, Morrin returned to the United States and served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. as an MP and ambulance driver. After Walter Reed, Morrin had another tour in Korea before returning to the medical center. Eventually, Morrin received orders for Germany and deployed to Berlin, where he was stationed while the Soviet Union and East Germany built the Berlin Wall. When he returned from Germany, Morrin received orders for Vietnam and deployed to the country for a year. Finally, after his tour in Vietnam was complete, Morrin returned to the United States and received an assignment to work with the Reserve forces in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where one of his assignments was delivering news of a soldier's death to his family. However, the job took a toll on Morrin and after two years, he asked for his discharge, which he received.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Leistra served in the US Navy during the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy because he knew he had a very good chance of being drafted. During his time in the service, Ronald served at Barbers Point in Hawaii, and at Whidbey Island in Washington. His units handled maps and made sure they were secure.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morris Vander Veen is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Marines from 1944 to 1946. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. and the Pacific. Serving his active duty in the Pacific Theater, Vander Veen gives one a brief but detailed perspective of what island-hopping fighting was like specifically focusing on the fighting on Okinawa. He then discusses in some detail what his occupational duties and responsibilities were while stationed in northern China.
- Date Created:
- 2005-01-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Monson entered the US Army in April of 1952. Upon completion of Basic Training at Forts Custer in Michigan and Breckinridge, Kentucky, Walter was stationed at Fort Halliburt in Baltimore, Maryland. After several interviews, he became an intelligence analyst for the Army. Upon completion of his service, Walter moved back to Michigan and taught with Grand Rapids Public Schools.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tanjore Splan was born in St. Ignace, Michigan and grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. He served in the Korean War. He joined the Army at age 17, and decided to specialize in filed artillery. He trained at Fort Bragg, NC where he trained for the airborne and was then shipped to Korea, where he served with the 5th Regimental Combat Team in operations against the Chinese and North Koreans throughout the Korean Peninsula from Pusan into North Korea and back in 1950 and 1951.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Amos Sterzick Jr. grew up in western Michigan with his sister and two brothers. On a whim, he decided to leave for Grand Rapids, MI with his friend to enlist in the Air Force in order to avoid being drafted into the army. Most of his service was spent in Japan, but he also went to Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, and Guam.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ted Brummel was born in Byron Center, Michigan on May 14, 1952. He enlisted in the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. Ted was a 2-year reservist and the Navy told him that they would not spend time training him or with classes if he was only going to be there for 2 years, so he became a cook. He served on active duty between 1971 and 1973, including time spent off the coast of Vietnam on the USS Berkeley where they spent months on raids at night. Military service record appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dwight Jamison was born in Big Rapids, Michigan on February 15, 1928. He served in the Michigan National Guard as a teenager and enlisted in the Army in 1946. He received his basic training at Camp Polk, Louisiana and after that was deployed to Japan. He served at a hospital in Japan during the Korean War, helping with supplies and bringing wounded soldiers from a nearby airstrip to the hospital for treatment. He was also sent to an area near Pusan, Korea to help establish a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. In 1951 he returned to the United States after four and a half years in Japan and served at Camp Stoneman, California.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Livo, born in Detroit Michigan, serve in the U.S. Naval reserves from 1953-approximately 1954 to 1955. During his service, Robert went thought most of his training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. The men were put to work often cleaning and repairing ships that had come into port. Robert worked in the electronics department. He was also sent on a small cruise assigned to refill line layers in the South Atlantic. During this cruise Robert was given 18 days in Brazil.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Notes:
- Spud Ensing was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan late in 1926. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and trained as an aircraft mechanic, but the war ended before he got in it. After contracting malaria while on assignment in Florida, he was given a medical discharge, but soon reenlisted and trained on jet aircraft, and eventually served in Korea after the end of the fighting there. In 1957, he transferred to the Air Force, and did a tour in the Philippines in 1965-66, where he serviced C-130 transport aircraft and made regular trips to Vietnam, and retired in 1968 rather than return to Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Coryell was born on March 19, 1930 in Kansas. He joined the Oklahoma National Guard in 1947 and graduated from high school in 1948. He began going to college shortly after graduation, but was sent to Louisiana for training when the Oklahoma National Guard became federalized. David later was sent to the northern part of Japan for further training, but later found that he had been in service long enough and was not legally required to serve overseas. David returned back to the US and finished college, began working as an electrical engineer, and later as a farmer in Kansas.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roy Shoemaker Jr. was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1930. He grew up there, finished high school in 1949 and got a job at the Whirlpool factory, and was drafted into the army soon afterward, in late 1950. He trained at Fort Hood, Texas, and was assigned to the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, and trained with their Bridge Company. Mr. Shoemaker was close to his family growing up, and had a lot of respect for his community despite multiple nationalities and low-incomes. Not long after starting at Whirlpool in 1950, Mr. Shoemaker received a draft notice. He was processed at Fort Custer and then was transported to Fort Hood, Texas via train. At Fort Hood, Mr. Shoemaker received basic training and was assigned to the 16th Arms Unit, Bridge Company. He stayed with that unit over a year, during which time he met the singer Eddie Fisher and did musical acts with him on the base. In 1952, he received orders for Korea and was assigned to B Company of the 44th Construction Engineer Battalion, where he wound up as the company clerk because he could type. He spent seven months with this unit at Taegu, some distance back from the front lines. He saw no combat, but did get to see something of the country and meet the people. One notable dimension of this interviewer is that he offers commentary on the process of racial integration in the military. As an African American from the North, he had seen little by way of discrimination before going to Texas to train, and offers keen observations on different aspects of racial discrimination in both North and South, and of the Army's efforts to desegregate Fort Hood, which was in process while he was there.
- Date Created:
- 2017-10-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Claude Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan. After Pearl Harbor he voluntarily enlisted in the military in 1943 and was sent to Jefferson Barracks Missouri for basic training. In Yuma Arizona he was assigned to fly patrols using the B-25, the squadron involved with bombing Japan. Later he would be re-assigned to fly on the B-29. When the War ended he was discharged from the Air Force on December 1st 1945 and put into the reserves. He was considered to join the Korean War in 1950 however his job as an engineer was considered too crucial to be sent overseas.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Greg Melonas was born in Chicago in 1920. He joined the National Guard in 1936, and was called into the Army after Pearl Harbor. He was deployed to France after D-Day, and served mostly in Czechoslovakia. He was trained as a medic in the National Guard, and served as a medic after being a drill instructor early on. After WWII he was called back into the service to go to Korea, also as a medic.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Seymour Harkema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1930. In December 1950, he enlisted in the Air Force and received his basic training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Upon completion of basic training he went to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, for electronics training then went to Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. At Lowry, he learned about and became an instructor for radar-guided weapons sights on the F-84 and F-86 fighter jets. Once he left Lowry he joined a mobile training unit based out of Chanute Field, Illinois, and he served as an instructor at various bases in Michigan with the National Guard. He spent a total of nine months in Japan on Kyushu and Okinawa working with fighter pilots flying during the Korean War, and went to South Korea once a month during the war. After Japan, he returned Chanute Field, and for his final assignment he was stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, for three months until his enlistment ended in 1954.
- Date Created:
- 2015-03-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Mulder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School in 1947. He was drafted into the Army in October of 1950 and went through medic training at Camp Adenberry in Indiana. He went through training quickly because the Army had been short on medics. Robert was shipped to Korea and assigned to the 38th Medical Company of the 2nd Division. Robert was eventually wounded and sent to a hospital ship in Seoul to have all the shrapnel removed from his arms and legs. After he healed Robert worked on guard duty at the medic station until he got frost bite and was sent to another hospital. Robert was then sent back to Michigan and discharged in July of 1952.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Glen Bailey was born in 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. Glen left school during his 8th grade year at the age of 15; he went to work as his father had passed away and he wanted to support his family. At the age of 17, Glen got permission from his mother to join the Army. He did his basic training at Ft. Carson in Colorado where he did additional training as a mechanic. He was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division once the Korean War started and was then assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment. He served on the Pusan Perimeter and in the advance into North Korea, and then in the retreat after the Chinese counterattacked. While in Korea, he suffered two separate injuries: a burn to his arm as well as taking shrapnel from a grenade, but each time returned to his unit and rotated home in 1951, and served at Fort Carson, Colorado, until his discharge in 1952.
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)