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- Notes:
- Merton Powell was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1924. He grew up in Topeka and enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He received basic training in Chadron, Nebraska then went to Iowa for College Training before going to California for Flight Training. He was accepted into the Naval Aviation Program and was able receive flight training in the N2S Stearman. After the Second World War ended in September 1945 he was discharged from active duty. He remained in the Naval Reserve until 1947. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1949 and served briefly with them.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Todd McCrumb was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1965 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1984 shortly after graduating from high school. He had been unsure of what he wanted to do in his life, not ready for college, and unemployment in the area was at 16%. Todd spent time working with the security police near the DMZ in South Korea. He was later stationed in Montana. Todd did not re-enlist because he was told he would have to spend another 6 years in Montana. He later graduated from Grand Valley State University and is now a teacher.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Reeves was a B-24 pilot in World War II where he flew 45 missions in the Pacific. He provides a detailed account of training and of missions over New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa and the Netherlands East Indies.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Fleischmann, born November 17th 1950 in Grand Rapids Michigan, served in U. S. Air Force from October 1972-August 1976 after the Vietnam War as an educational consultant. After completing his basic at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Fred began working at the education department at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC. Here he assisted men with pursuing secondary education and college courses. He also served on security details at major events, including two presidential inaugurations.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Paul Lugtigheid was born in Grand Rapids, MI and served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force at age 17, and became an autopilot and flight controls mechanic. He was based in California and spent some tours of duty in Spain. He also spent a tour of duty in Da Nang, Vietnam on a base working support for aircraft.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harris Van Singel was born in Byron Center, and has lived there his entire life. He went to school, and graduated from Byron Center School in 1940. He avoided the draft for four years because his two brothers had both enlisted, and because he was doing farm work. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1944, and was trained as a remote control gunner on the B-29. He initially wanted to be a pilot, but they had too many applicants. He served in the Pacific theatre, and flew on 14 combat missions over Japan from a base on Saipan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Berra was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942. He attended the University of Detroit and was part of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) there. He received his Officer Candidate School training at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio and received his commission as a 2nd lieutenant in August 1965. In June 1966 he received orders for Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming where he served as a staff officer and the chief of operations until 1969. He was transferred to Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay in Canada where he helped with base operations until 1970. From 1971 to 1995 he served in the Air Force Reserve at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, various bases all over the continental United States, and and at NATO bases in Europe. From 1990 to 1995 he served in the Office of Civil Engineers in the Pentagon and reached the rank of colonel.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Breuninger was born on April 22, 1922 and enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. He had gone to Castle Lake Military Academy, and was put into a HQ company. Fred was sent to England with the 8th Air Force in the 446th bomb group that used B-24 planes. He was part of operations in the HQ Company. They would work 14 hour shifts and alternate from days one week to nights the next. After VE day Fred went back to the US and thought he was going to be sent to Japan, but was discharged and returned home to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mildred Doyle was born in 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and served in the Womens Airforce Service Pilots Corp. She became a pilot during college, and then was requested to serve in the WASP corp. She worked, after training, on Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana as a test pilot and ferrying people around the area. She went home when the WASPs were disbanded, and served as a homemaker in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Becker, born in Illinois in 1944, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 during the Vietnam War. While training at Lackland Air Force Base, Bob was recruited on to the base softball team. He traveled often with the team playing in tournaments against both military and civilian teams. He was then transferred to the Air Force Academy softball team and reassigned to the base newspaper. Here he covered sports stories including Air Force football games and the training of the 1968 Olympic team. After being discharged Bob continued his career in journalism working in sport in Grand Rapids Michigan and became very involved with veterans organization.
- Date Created:
- 2012-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Scalabrino served in the United States Air Force during WWII from 1941 to 1945. He served in the 301st Bomber Group as an aerial engineer on a B-17 Bomber. He was stationed in Lucera, Italy where he was able to communicate with the locals because he knew Italian, and even acted as a translator sometimes for the military. He talks about the responsibilities he had as an aerial engineer, and gives some detail about the equipment in the B-17. He talks about his experience in the German prison camps in eastern Prussia. He also mentions his free time in Italy, censored letters sent home, and his life in Ionia before and after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Knight was born in Decatur, Michigan on March 28, 1933. He enlisted in the Air Force on March 3, 1953 and received his basic training at Sampson Air Force Base, New York. He received property accounting and material services training at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming and then went on to Patrick Air Force Base, Florida where he was assigned to the 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron. The squadron was attached to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing and was deployed to Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, in March 1954. He worked in the supply section at the base, went on maneuvers, and went to Wheelus Air Base, Libya for missile testing in the Sahara Desert. He left Bitburg Air Base in December 1956 and was discharged in New York in that same month.
- Date Created:
- 2016-03-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kim Tuck was born in 1946 in Battle Creek, Michigan. After graduating from Michigan State University, he enlisted in the Air Force and completed officer training as a munitions officer. Following training, he served as a munitions officer at several bases around the country and the world, including a year's tour at bases in Thailand from 1972 to 1973.
- Date Created:
- 2009-08-05T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Thomas Swanson served in the U.S. Air Force between 1976 and 1980. He trained in Denver, Colorado, as an instrumentation mechanic, and worked on the testing grounds at Yuma, Arizona.
- Date Created:
- 2007-04-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Goedert was born on January 23, 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois. He became an ordained Dominican Priest in 1951 and served in New Orleans from 1952-1960. In 1960 he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as a Catholic Chaplain. Father Goedert served in the Air Force until 1988, when he retired at the age of 65.
- Date Created:
- 2013-04-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Patrick was born in Maywood, California on April 9, 1931. William enlisted in the Air Force in August 1950 and went through basic training in Texas. He then went through preliminary air training school as well as advanced computer training in Texas. William then spent the rest of his 3.5 years stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas where he inspected B-29s before they took off for Korea. He discusses several air crashes that he witnessed, along with more routine duties.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carol Sutton of Muskegon was born in Davis, West Virginia on February 23, 1940. She went to Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as West Virginia University after high school. After graduating in 1963, Sutton went on an extended international trip before joining the Air Force. In May of 1965, she underwent Basic Training in Montgomery, Alabama, and graduated as a Second Lieutenant since she was a nurse. She was then stationed at Wilford Hall in Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, where she met her husband in the labor and delivery unit of the hospital. They got married in July of 1966 before her husband was deployed to Vietnam. After his return in 1968, the couple moved to Austin, Texas and they both left the service. Sutton then worked as a nurse at the health center at the University of Texas before retiring in 2000.
- Date Created:
- 2019-06-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- LeRoy Van Vleet was born in Michigan in 1931. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1931, and received training as a specialist in fuels and lubricants. He was assigned to a refueling base in the Aleutian Islands for thirteen months, and then spent the rest of his time in the service at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
- Date Created:
- 2010-12-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kathryn Bulkley was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1919. During World War II she worked in the Continental Motors factory in Muskegon for a few years building aircraft for the war effort. In 1948 she enlisted in the Air Force. She received her basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, then went to Chanute Field, Illinois, to wait for her assignment. She was assigned to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, to work as a mechanic on flight simulators for pilots to learn how to fly by instruments. She stayed at Langley for the duration of her enlistment and was discharged in 1950.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- 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.)
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Notes:
- Melvin Bowser served in the US Air Force from 1962 to 1966. He trained at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and was then stationed at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan. There he worked as a furnace tender and maintenance man on the base, and later switched to electrical work after being injured.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sherman Reed was born in Jasonville, Indiana, on June 24, 1941. He originally served in the Air Force before becoming an Army chaplain. He received his interceptor weapons control training at Keesler Air Force Base, Missouri, then was assigned to the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Norton Air Force Base, California. During his time with the 848th, he was deployed to a base north of Clark Field in the Philippines to assist with the buildup in Vietnam. He decided to become a minister, and he attended the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from there in May 1971. While at seminary he was part of the reserve at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base. He resigned his commission with the Air Force and began the process of becoming a chaplain in the Army in 1977 He served at Fort Carson, Colorado, and worked with the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade in West Germany. Sherman retired from the Army in 2000, and as of 2016 is national chaplain for the Reserve Officers Association.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Schaper was born in Wright City, Missouri on August 2, 1921. Prior to enlisting in the Army Air Force he worked for Curtiss-Wright on the AT-6, even after enlisting he was granted a twelve month deferrment due to his work on the AT-6. He was eventually called up for service and was sent to Texas for basic training and gunnery training. He was assigned to a B-24 Liberator bomber crew in Lincoln, Nebraska. They trained together before being deployed to the European Theatre. They were Crew #54 of the 766th Bombardment Squadron of the 461st Bombardment Group stationed at Torretto Air Field, Italy. They flew bombing missions into Austria, as well as supply missions into the Po Valley. In the summer of 1945 he was sent back to the United States and began training with the B-29 Superfortress at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas in July. After Japan surrendered he was sent to Sioux City Army Air Bse, Iowa where he was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2005-10-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Weaver Sr. was born in 1964 in Madrid, Spain, where his father was in the Air Force, and grew up in Michigan. He joined the Air Force in 1982 trained at Lackland and later Lowry Air Force Bases and became a procurement specialist. He served at George Air Force base working in the procurement department and serving on the base's drill team. Conflicts with some of his superiors led to a situation in which he was mistreated badly enough to lead to PTSD, and while he worked through those problems, he chose to leave the Air Force when his enlistment ended in 1986.
- Date Created:
- 2014-09-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Shaun Davis served in the U.S. Air Force.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mark Graham was born in 1971 in Douglas, Michigan. At 18, Mark joined the Air Force right out of high school. He went to Lackland Air Force Base in September 1989. After basic training, Mark went to Chanute Air Force Base to work on cruise missiles. His first station was Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. He worked there for four years and was transferred to Pope Air Force Base in 1994 and served there for seven years.
- Date Created:
- 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gordon Ludema served as a staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After high school in August of 1948, he enlisted in the Air Force in order to avoid being drafted into the army. After spending 13 weeks in Texas for basic training, he learned to fly DC-3 planes before his outfit went overseas. He served as a radio operator and at night, his outfit was responsible for dropping flares so that U.S. fighters and bombers could attack enemy convoys. While in Korea and Japan, he flew a total of 104 combat missions.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Autumn DeRoo made the choice to join the Air Force at the age of 17 early in her high school career. Going into a technological field, dealing mainly with computers, Deroo was able to work at Cheyenne Mountain with NORAD and the U.S. Base Command in the States, and was there at the time of the 9/11 attacks. She later served on a NATO base in Portugal, where she was when the Iraq War started in 2003. She eventually left the military as a Technical Sergeant and now works at Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kendrick Coryell was born in Kansas, but grew up on a farm in rural Oklahoma. He joined the Air Force upon graduation from college in 1956, and started as a flight instructor. He worked most of his career in reconnaissance, including flying from a base in Thailand to fly reconnaissance over Cambodia and Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He also worked in the Minuteman Missile program in Montana, and had multiple assignments in Europe over the course of a 30-year career.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Gary is a Korean War era veteran who served with the U.S. Air Force from December 1950 to December 1954. In this account, Gary discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He worked in the accounting department and kept Air Force inventories. He discusses his activities in Germany and the U.S. during his active duty in serving with the U.S. Air Force.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chester Novak is a WW II and Korean War veteran who served in the United States Air Force from February 1944 to 1952 in the Aleutian Islands and Korea respectively. In this interview, Novak talks about growing up on a farm and joining the Army at 15 years old. Because he was underage, the Army sent him home. In 1944 he was drafted by the Air Force as a gunner. During the Korean War, Novak's plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war for 17 months. After being released from prison camp, Novak left the Air Force, got married and moved to Mississippi where he was a shrimper for 22 years.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Blackwell served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber with the 8th Air Force in Europe. His account covers his training, experiences in England, and flying missions over northern Europe. During the Battle of the Bulge, his plane was shot down, and he had a narrow escape from the Germans when he landed in a river near the front lines and was rescued by Belgian civilians.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Frederick is a Vietnam War veteran who served initially in the ROTC and then the U.S. Air Force from 1965 to 1993. In this account, Frederick discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, and basic training in the U.S. Serving his active duty in Vietnam, Frederick gives one a brief but detailed perspective of what fighting in Vietnam, specifically during the Tet Offensive, was like and his part in it.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ernie Kaufman grew up in Lowell, Michigan, and was drafted into the army in 1946. He trained in Texas and Mississippi, and was then shipped to Guam. He did construction work on bases there, and then transferred to Air/Sea Rescue, where he worked in the message headquarters section. He was discharged in 1948.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Elaine Kines was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1954. She graduated from high school in 1972, and continued on to become a college student and full time employee at the local Meijer warehouse. Unable to maintain her employment and schooling, she decided to join the Air Force. After passing her testing and physical examinations in Detroit, she was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training. She received her orders after the six-week basic training, and reported to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois where she worked in maintenance for weather equipment repair and weather observation. She was able to evade her first assignment to Minot, North Dakota by gaining a join spouse agreement. This agreement allowed her to be re-assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina where she worked for over three years. She remembers both the hardships and benefits of being a woman in the service and left the Air Force once her husband was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mel Bajema was born in England in 1946. His father was in the Army Air Corps (later the Air Force once it became its own branch) and his mother was an English "war-bride." His family soon moved to the US and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After high school, Mel enlisted in the Air Force, and served between 1964 and 1968. He trained in supply, and served between 1965 and 1967 at Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, and then requested assignment to Southeast Asia. He went to South Vietnam and was based at Da Nang, where he eventually switched from supply to ground control work. While there, he witnessed the attack on the base during the Tet Offensive.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roosevelt Burch was born on July 24, 1937 in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He went to school in Mississippi until he was 9 years old and then moved to Chicago to live with his father for a while. Roosevelt later moved to his mothers' new house in Detroit and graduated from Central high school. After high school Roosevelt attended classes at Michigan State University for about 6 months where he studied Spanish. Roosevelt enlisted in the Air Force in 1960 and went through training in Texas. He was only in the Air Force for 8 months before being discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2007-03-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arnold De Loof grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. After training, he was sent to Alaska and Korea, where he did supply work and eventually became a fireman.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Keberle was born in Ohio during the beginning of the Depression. His family did not have very much money and he joined the National Guard in eleventh grade. After graduating from high school, Richard spent more of his time in the Air National Guard, which eventually became part of the Air Force, serving between 1949 and 1954. Richard remembers the changes that took place while the Air Force was being created. Keberle served as a clerk and did not fight in the Korean War.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Butkus served in the Air Force as a meteorologist during the Korean War. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, and his father was an electrician. He completed high school and some college before he joined the Air Force due to his low draft number. He specialized as a meteorologist, and served in the South Pacific during the atomic testing program and in Hawaii taking readings from weather balloons.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peter McMillan is a WW II veteran who served in the United States Air Force from approximately 1945 to 1947? in Guam with a six-week stint in Hawaii. Although a majority of his time in the service occurred after WWII had ended, McMillan's story still provides a unique perspective on post-WW II conflict in the Pacific Theater. This account details how tension and confusion continued well into the post-WWII years. He talks briefly about the role of the United Service Organization and his correspondence home. Finally, McMillan discusses life after war - the role of the G.I. Bill and his generation's commitment to WW II - and what impact the anti-war protests of the 1960s had on his generation.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Scott Pellerito served in the US Air Force between 1995 and 1999. Scott was trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base to become an imagery interpreter. Upon his graduation, Scott was placed in the 13th Intelligent Squadron where he worked on images relating to the Bosnian Conflict. In approx. 1996 Scott began his work in Florida. Here he assisted in Operation Desert Fox in 1998. After his discharge he began IT work in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Yocum was born in Seattle and grew up in the Mount St. Helens area of Washington. He enlisted in the Air Force in the early 1960's and after serving at several bases around the world as an aircraft mechanic, he did a tour in Vietnam at Phan Rang Air Force Base from 1967 to 1968. He remained in the Air Force until 1980, serving on bases in the US and Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bill Schaefer was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1943. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University in 1965. He enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to San Antonio, Texas for basic training. He was selected for top secret code work and was trained at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. With that training complete he was assigned to the 410th Bomb Wing stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan and got picked to serve aboard the airborne command post, flying missions out of Guam and directing B-52 bombing raids over North Vietnam. In May 1966 he was sent to Lindsey Air Station, West Germany and was assigned to Central European Operations, part of the Defense Intelligence Agency. During his time with them he worked to stop the desertion of soldiers, tracked uranium shipments in the Eastern Bloc, and oversaw the retrieval of codes from the U.S. embassy in Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring), Wheelus Air Force (Gaddafi seizure of Libya), and the U.S. embassy in Jordan (Jordanian Civil War). In the early 1980s he was assigned to the Pentagon to work with Tactical Air Control Party units and retired from that in 2003. He is now an active member of the Kent County Honor Guard aiding veterans and veterans' families.
- Date Created:
- 2014-08-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Linda Crumback was one of the first women to go through the Air Force ROTC School. She would serve her country for 22 years, initially monitoring missile launches, and later working with computers and computer software. She served on bases in Florida, Colorado, Alaska and California, and worked with officers from other branches, especially while serving as an instructor at the Naval Post Graduate School.
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jay Lindquist was born in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from high school there in 1952. He attended the Naval Academy and served on several ships before transferring to the Air Force in 1957. He trained as a fighter pilot served as a flight instructor, and then trained to work with rocket systems before volunteering for duty in Vietnam. He served there between 1965 and 1966 training Vietnamese pilots and flying observation aircraft out of Da Nang with the 110th Vietnamese Liaison Squadron, and won the Distinguished Flying Cross on one of his missions.. He returned home in 1966 and worked at the Air Defense Weapons Center in Florida until he resigned from the Air Force to pursue a business degree at the University of Michigan during which time he served with the Michigan Air National Guard until he resigned from there as a lieutenant colonel and took a job at Western Michigan University as a marketing professor.
- Date Created:
- 2014-02-13T00:00:00Z
- 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.)