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- Notes:
- Sid Linger was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1918. After graduation from high school, Lenger went into business with his father, who ran several stores in the Grand Rapids. He was drafted into the Navy in 1944, and was assigned as a quartermaster on a new LST that was being built at Seneca, Illinois. He sailed on the LST down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf and Mexico and the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean. Lenger's LST transported Marines as part of the massive invasion of Okinawa, where they witnessed many kamikaze attacks. Following the battle, the LST transported the supplies needed for P-38 fighter escorts and supplies to Japan before Lenger left the service. Included with the interview is a video Lenger made himself, combining official Navy training films and video he filmed himself while aboard the LST (see 2 of 2).
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Siegel grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, in a Russian-Jewish family. He attended college and veterinary school at Michigan State University and enlisted in the Army Reserve as a 1st Lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps. After receiving his draft papers in 1941, he went to Chicago and stayed there for a year at the Quartermaster Depot. He then went to England to inspect a packing company. He spent time in New Guinea and the Philippines and inspected various things working in a laboratory. After coming back to the US in 1945, he had a successful life as a veterinarian.
- Date Created:
- 2005-07-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Hoogland was born in Decatur, Michigan, on April 20, 1934. During his first year in seminary he attended the Chaplain School and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant - staff specialist, then returned to Calvin Seminary to complete his seminary work. His first assignment was at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he held regular services and worked with the men on the base. He received orders for West Germany and was placed on active duty as a reserve officer. During his first tour in West Germany, he was stationed at Kitzingen with the 3rd Infantry Division from 1960 through 1963. After his first tour in Germany he applied for, and was granted a regular commission as an officer in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, from 1963 to 1966 and received orders to deploy to Vietnam in 1966. John worked with American special forces advisors in the southernmost part of South Vietnam and operated out of My Tho. After his tour in Vietnam he went to Fort Hood, Texas, and served as a brigade chaplain in the 1st Armored Division for three years.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Gless is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from approximately 1945 to December 1946. In this account, Gless discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. He mentions his brief postings at various POW camps in Northern Italy and describes a prison break by German POWs.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Graham is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Anti-Aircraft Corps from September 1944 to an undisclosed date. In this account, Graham discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. While not going into much depth about his active duty he does mention where he trained in the U.S. Graham concludes by reflecting on his time in the service
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Maybelle Blair was born in 1927 in Longvale, California. Before joining the All American Girl's Baseball League she played baseball with her brothers at the age of nine and then later in 1942 at age twelve began playing organized softball. At about this time she played for a semi-pro league out of Burbank, California and then with the Pasadena Ramblers from 1943 to 1946 who she toured with playing games at army bases for servicemen. Her semi-pro career ended in 1947 when the Chicago Cardinals scouted her and signed her to be a pitcher. In 1948, Max Carey signed her to play on the Peoria Redwings as a pitcher. Due to an injured leg, her career was cut short and she only played a month with the Peoria Redwings. Later, she went on to play 2nd base for the New Orleans Jacks for a month in 1951. Her career ended with them ended when she was forced to choose between playing softball and giving up her job driving VIPs for Northrop Airport; she chose to quit softball. Blair wraps by mentioning how the All American Girls Professional Baseball League changed her perspective on the course of her life.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Keatley was born in Bremerton, Washington, in 1945. In the summer of 1966 he received his draft notice and received his basic training at Fort Ord, California. Upon completion of basic training he was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for Advanced Infantry Training and completed that after eight weeks. After a month of leave he was deployed to Vietnam, arriving at Cam Ranh Bay. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Cavalry Division in An Khe. He was assigned to Headquarters Company and worked in Battalion Supply insuring the men in the battalion received enough supplies. For six months he worked in An Khe and Landing Zone English. The 12th Cavalry Regiment relieved the 4th Infantry Division at Dak To, and he stayed there for three or four weeks. From Dak To the unit moved to Quang Tri and he spent the remaining five months of his tour at that base. Upon returning to the United States he received a month of leave and spent the last six months of his enlistment at Fort Carson, Colorado, working in battalion supply. He was discharged at Fort Carson (most likely in late 1968) with a Bronze Star and the rank of sergeant.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Timothy Hanna was born on November 20, 1965 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1984, he joined the United States Army and was sent to Germany as a welder in a motor pool. While in Germany, Timothy visited iconic locations from the Second World War. He recounts various events throughout his life such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bruce Grant, born in Cincinnati Ohio in 1923, served in the U.S. Marines Corps from 1940 to 1945 in the Pacific during World War II. When the war began, he was with the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, and deployed with the division to Hawaii and landed in Guadalcanal in September, 1942 He initially fought as a rifleman, but wound up as a signalman on Henderson Field. When the division was relieved, he was sent to radio school and then assigned to a Marine bomber squadron that flew night missions in B-25s. His squadron trained in Hawaii and then flew out of several different islands, including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was shot down off Iwo Jima, but the crew was rescued by a seaplane after about twelve hours and put back to work.
- Date Created:
- 2011-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Kandra, born in Beaverdale Pennsylvania in February of 1925, served as a radio operator in the 164th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1943 to 1945 in France and central Europe during the Second World War. He did most of his training at Camp Van Dorn however received specialized training in Morse code at Oxford University while stationed in England. During his service, Kandra spent most of his time relating messages between commanders, checking roads for mines, repairing roads, and repairing bridges. Thought he was never on the front lines his company did come under artillery and aircraft fire. Later in his life he used his training to work in television in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2012-01-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Pylman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan November 29, 1924. After attending Calvin College for one year, he decided to enlist into the Air Force in June of 1943. John was sent to Miami Beach where he spent six weeks in basic training. After the six weeks of basic training, he was sent to Wittenberg University in Ohio where he received college training detachment. John chose to become a navigator and was assigned to England with a crew of nine members. While serving in Europe, John went on twenty-two missions across the continent. He finished out his service by delivering salvaged materials from North Africa.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Zysk served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Infantry Division on New Guinea and in the Philippines during WW II fighter. In the Philippines, he was on board a ship that was hit by a kamikaze. He speaks critically of Gen. MacArthur but highly of the men he served with.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Henry Vandermeer was born in the Netherlands in 1931 and lived there during the Nazi occupation. His family emigrated to the United States in 1952, and he served in the US Army. He was sent to La Rochelle, France, where he worked in an army hospital.
- Date Created:
- 2010-02-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Earl Lee joined the Navy in 1943 and trained for only six weeks before shipping out to London. Earl made three trips across the Atlantic while he was in the service, also traveling to Cuba, Panama, the Philippines, and Japan. He said that he had more problems aboard the ship then he did fighting the enemies. He had been surprised when they went ashore in Japan becuase he had thought the people there would be more hostile towards Americans. Earl said that overall he had a very positive experience in the Navy and it dramatically affected his life in a positive way.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Katie Horstman was born on April 14, 1935 in Minster, Ohio. Before joining the All American Girls Professional Baseball League she played baseball with her brother John. She started playing softball with the Catholic Youth Organization (CYI). At 15, Horstman started her professional career when Max Carey signed her to play for the Fort Wayne Daisies. In her first season of 1951 she played for the Kenosha Comets and the Fort Wayne Daisies as a pitcher and outfielder. Under Coach Jimmy Foxx in 1952, During her second season, in 1952 she played under Jimmy Foxx who switched her to play as a utility infielder. In 1953, she played for the Fort Wayne Daisies and the All Star Team as a third baseman and pitched part of an all-star game. Her biggest highlight was finishing her final season with a batting average of three twenty eight just as the All American Girls Professional League was ending. Afterwards, Horstman went on to become a Physical Education teacher.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Boisvenue was born in Trenton, Michigan on December 3, 1945. He was drafted in 1968 and received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and advanced infantry training in Louisiana (most likely at Fort Polk). He was deployed to Vietnam in late 1968 where he served at the 9th Infantry Division headquarters at Dong Tam processing paperwork for the division. He was transferred to a base south of Saigon and completed his tour there. Due to extending his tour by two months he was able to be discharged as soon as he landed in San Francisco.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Billy Hayes deployed to Vietnam with the 27th Surgical Hospital on March 5, 1968, and departed by ship out of San Diego. He arrived at Da Nang on March 26, 1968, then sailed down the coast to Chu Lai. He served at the hospital there until late-November 1968 and was reassigned to Phu Bai. Upon completion of his tour in Vietnam he returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, for 2 1/2 years. Over the course of his career he studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, worked at Fort Lewis, Washington, in the religious education program, attended the Chaplain Advanced Career Course at Fort Wadsworth, New York, and served in West Germany with the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. He returned to the United States and served at the Army Chaplain's School as part of the faculty, and completed his 20-year career at Fort Ord, California.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Barrowcliff was born in Silverton, Oregon, in 1947. He grew up in Oregon, finished high school, and then got an electrical engineering degree from a two-year school and learned took flying lessons. Once he was out of school, he was drafted into the Army and trained as a helicopter pilot. He went to Vietnam in early 1970 and was assigned to A Company, 159 Assault Helicopter Support Battalion, based at Phu Bai. From there, he flew Chinook helicopters that transported men and supplies across the northern part of South Vietnam. He flew many missions in support of the 101st Airborne Division, notably to Fire Support Base Ripcord, where his Chinook crashed on July 18, 1970, setting off a series of explosions that ultimately led to the evacuation of the base. After this incident, he continued to fly helicopters during his year in Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, he had thirty days to report to Fort Rucker with his wife, where he served as a flight instructor. He was then transferred to Karen's Army Air Base, where he was a test pilot for new engines. He left the military in March of 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2017-10-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Wall was born in Hope, Michigan, in 1924, and later moved with his family to nearby Midland. He was drafted into the Navy shortly after he finished high school.in 1943. He trained at Great Lakes, Illinois, and was assigned to San Clemente Island, off the coast near San Diego, and worked as a carpenter. The island had a rifle range and some other training facilities, and housed a few seaplanes and a radar station, but was mostly out of the way of the war. With little war work to do, Mr. Wall built things such as picture frames, suitcases, and lobster traps. He also ran a small bowling alley on the base, played a lot of poker, helped tend the lobster traps, and took trips to the mainland when he could. He enjoyed his life there, and turned down opportunities to transfer elsewhere, and stayed at San Clemente until his discharge in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2017-11-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Terry Hodges was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1948. He graduated high school in 1966 and attended Southeastern Louisiana University for three years before he recieved his draft notice. Hodges attended both basic and advanced infantry training in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and rejected then opportunity to attend Noncommissioned Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then sent to Vietnam in 1970 where he was stationed at Camp Evans and then Firebase Kathryn with Delta Company, 1st Battalion of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne. He remembered his unit coming under fire during the siege on Firebase Ripcord after which his unit suffered heavy losses. He also had to accompany his friend's body back to the U.S. for the funeral in Georgia. Having served eleven months and sixteen days in Vietnam, Hodges was eventually given an early-out in April of 1971 and returned to his home in Baton Rouge.
- Date Created:
- 2016-11-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Layton was born in Madison, Indiana on August 24th, 1946 and graduated high school in 1964. He briefly attendd the Univeristy of Arizona before transferring to to Ohio University where he participated in the ROTC program in 1966. Layton underwent Basic Training at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, in 1967, and graduated college in 1969. He then attended his infantry officer's traiing course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and completed both jump school and ranger training. His first assignment as an officer was to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1969 before he was deployed to Vietnam with the B Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. His unit articipated in combat at Firebase Ripcord as well as Hill 1000 before Layton was reassigned as an S-2 Intelligence Officer. After two years of deployment, he left the service and completed his Master's degree in Urban Planning and, later, in Economics.
- Date Created:
- 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Randy Curry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1962 when he was 17 years old. He served on a destroyer as a torpedo man. His ship sailed to the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Norway. He spent an extra 4 months in the service due to Vietnam and signed out after that.
- Date Created:
- 2007-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Herman Keizer was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1938 and grew up in the suburb of Cicero. He attended Calvin College in Michigan and was drafted in 1962. He trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training, and on to Fort Dix, New Jersey for clerical training, and was deployed to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he served as a chaplain's assistant. He was on standby during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After completing seminary at Calvin College he became an Army chaplain and served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division at the time of the Cambodian incursion in 1970. After the war he served as a high ranking chaplain in Europe, the United States, the State Department, and the Pentagon until his retirement.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Trinh Nguyen was born in a rural village in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. After attending a school at a French military outpost, Nguyen went traveled to Saigon to go to college. After a single year of dentistry schooling, Nguyen joined the South Vietnamese police force, where he worked through the entirety of the Vietnam War. Following the Northern victory, the communists gathered all former employees of the South Vietnamese government, including Nguyen, and placed them in re-education camps. In reality, the camps were nothing more than prisons. Nguyen stayed in the camp until 1982 before his release and he and his family stayed in Vietnam until 1992, when they immigrated to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Rasmussen, born in 1913, grew up on a farm outside of Greenville, Michigan. After finishing high school, he attended Olivet College and the University of Chicago Medical School on scholarships. After receiving his medical degree, he was accepted into the Navy in 1938, but wound up going back to Chicago to train as a thoracic surgeon. He was still in training when Pearl Harbor happened, and in 1942 he entered the Navy. He was assigned to a Seabee battalion that trained in Rhode Island and was sent to Adak Island in the Aleutians, where he served over two years. Once back in the states, he began practicing in Grand Rapids and became part of the research group that developed the first heart/lung machine and became an early anti-smoking activist.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Matt Reusch was born in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1985. He joined the Army during his senior year of high school and served briefly with the National Guard until his deployment to Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum in January, 2006. He served two consecutive tours there as part of a heavy weapons company and a scouting company specifically in the Khost Province, Kunar Province, and at Barge Matal. In March, 2010 his enlistment was complete and he returned to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Bleecher enlisted in the Merchant Marine in 1944 and trained as a radio officer. He sailed to Asia and Europe in 1945 and 1946 and then returned to civilian life, only to be drafted for the Korean War. This time he served in the army, attended Officer Candidate School and trained as an anti-aircraft officer. He shipped out to Korea in 1952 and spent several months there on active duty.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Frens is a World War II veteran who served out of the 792nd Bomb Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps from December, 1942 to 1945, and remained in the reserves until 1958. He served in the Army Air Corps as a B-29 navigator. His unit was based first in India, then later in China and in the Marianas. He participated in bombing missions against Japanese positions in Southeast Asia and China, and later in the strategic bombing of Japan in 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2003-06-25T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Steven Faine, born in Detroit in 1947, enlisted in the Army in 1967 to avoid being drafted and choose his specialization. He took basic training at Fort Knox and then went to Fort Sam Houston to train as a medic. From there, he got into a new program run at Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, where army medics received the equivalent of nursing school. After completing this program, he worked at the base hospital at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, and was sent to Vietnam in early 1970. Once there, he went to Camp Evans to join the 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He worked at the battalion aid station, but also went out to several firebases at different times. During the first half of his tour, he had to deal with a fair number of casualties, especially toward the end of the Ripcord operation in July, when one of the companies in the battalion took heavy losses. He also observed the drug and racial problems in the rear areas.
- Date Created:
- 2012-09-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred was born in Wyoming Park, Michigan in 1920. Most of his family was also born and raised in the Wyoming area. He was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. He served overseas in the Philippines as a truck driver. Fred delivered needed supplies to the troops such as food, water and other essentials.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Carrie Roy was born in Montana in 1975. She joined the Army in 1998, looking to open up new opportunities for herself. She selected light vehicle maintenance as her specialization, and was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for training. She did very well in basic training and in her advanced training, and was offered a chance to go to jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. While there, she broke her leg, but the injury was not diagnosed or treated very well, and was still causing problems for her when she was sent to her active duty assignment at Fort Hood, Texas, and she eventually left the service because of the injury. She then got married, moved to Michigan, and completed a degree in psychology, and quickly began working with veterans, and is currently Director of Veterans Affairs in Kent County, Michigan.
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Rod Chapman was drafted into the US Army in 1951. After training as an engineer at bases in the US and as a cook in Japan, he was assigned to the 7th Division as a rifleman, where he was stationed first in the Heartbreak Ridge sector and then in the Triangle Hill sector. In the fighting at Triangle Hill, his unit suffered heavy casualties and was eventually rotated out of the line, and he was sent home shortly afterward in 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bill Hardiman was born in 1947 in Pontiac, Michigan, and grew up in Grand Rapids. After graduating from high school, Hardiman briefly attended Grand Rapids Junior College, then left school and received his draft notice in 1966. Through efforts made by his church, Hardiman received the label of "conscientious objector", so when he reported in 1966, the Army sent Hardiman to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for both his basic training and advanced training to be a medic. Once Hardiman finished at Fort Sam Houston, he deployed to Vietnam, where he received an assignment to an artillery section stationed on a hilltop firebase near the city of Chu Lai. While on the firebase, Hardiman not only treated the wounded in his artillery section, but also wounded soldiers in the infantry unit also stationed on the firebase, as well as Vietnamese civilians living in a village at the base of the hill the firebase was on. Once his tour in Vietnam ended, Hardiman returned to the United States and finished his enlistment, finally leaving the military in 1968. He eventually returned to college and went on to an extended career in public service.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward McLogan entered the ROTC at the University of Michigan in 1938, and joined the US Army in 1942. He served as an officer with an army unit in the Solomons, participating in a landing on Vella Lavella, and subsequently volunteered to join a specialized unit that turned out to be Merrill's Marauders. He served as an officer on the unit's mission behind Japanese lines in Burma, and despite being wounded remained with it until the end of its mission. He served for the rest of the war at Fort Benning and in Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Philip Shook was drafted into the Army in 1964. He spent six months in Vietnam in a small base camp at Phuoc Vinh north of Saigon. His main duty as a soldier was to go out on search and destroy missions on helicopters. He was responsible for calling in airstrikes and artillery fire.
- Date Created:
- 2010-02-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thornell Billingslea was born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 29, 1947. In 1966 he was drafted and received his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He volunteered to be a paratrooper and received his Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and his Airborne Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He went home on a short leave before being deployed to Vietnam. Thornell landed at Tan Son Nhut Airbase and was assigned to Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He joined his unit at Bien Hoa and was assigned to 1st platoon. He went on patrols out of Bien Hoa, Pleiku, and Dak To. While at Dak To he fought in the Battle of the Slopes (Hill 1338) and after getting separated from his unit walked for three days to get back to Dak To. Thornell was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions at Hill 1338. He was wounded on a patrol on July 9, 1967, and after recovering was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky until he was discharged in August 1968.
- Date Created:
- 2016-03-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Diekevers was born in 1937 in McBain, Michigan. He decided to enlist into the Army at 17. At Fort Knox, Kentucky he received basic training, while further training took place at Fort Carson, Colorado, and later at Fort Bliss, Texas. Their training involved the use of 90mm artillery and lengthy 70 mile marches. Eventually he would be stationed in Washington D.C. for the last part of his service. In 1954/55 he met his wife and they finally married after being discharged from the military in 1958.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chet Trybus was born on March 16, 1945 in Highland Park, Michigan. Trybus was attending Henry Ford Community College in 1965 when he received a draft notice. Wanting to continue his education, he opted to join the Navy Reserves and was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, for Boot Camp. While in the Naval Reserves, Trybus was able to continue his education at Western Michigan University since there was a Reserve station in Kalamazoo. After completing his degree, he was stationed at Great Lakes processing recruitment orders as part of his active duty. Since he was stationed in the U.S, Trybus was able to pursue his master's degree while on active duty. He eventually left the service in 1972 and took up work for the Xerox Corporation in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2013-01-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harrison Goodspeed was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. Harrison thought that he would soon be drafted, so he enlisted in the Army after high school in order to have a choice in the position that he would hold. Harrison served as a platoon leader in the 80th Infantry Division in France, Germany, and Luxemburg and provides some detailed combat stories, as well as observations on conditions in Europe after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Russel Prince enlisted in the Michigan National Guard in 1940 and served in the anti-tank company of the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division until 1944, when he was sent back to the US to help train new recruits in Alabama, finally mustering out in January 1945. He provides a clear and detailed account of his unit's transfers first to the East Coast and then back across the country to ship out to Australia and New Guinea. His company was shipped to Port Moresby, New Guinea, in November, 1942, and spent nearly two months crossing the Owen Stanley Mountains to join in the attack on Buna. His company broke through Japanese lines early on, and then was isolated for three weeks before it was finally relieved. He discusses the difficulties of fighting in a jungle and of the action at Buna. This interview is featured in the documentary "Nightmare in New Guinea" produced by Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willard Van Essen was born in Nobles County, Minnesota, in 1927. He was drafted in 1951 and received his basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. At the end of basic training, he was selected to become the new sergeant in charge of the records department at Fort Gordon. During his time at Fort Gordon he processed incoming recruits, sorted recruits into training companies, sorted them into specialized training (radio, military police, or infantry) and ultimately decided where men were sent for their deployments. Many of the men had to be sent to fight in Korea. He was discharged from the Army in 1954, but served in the Army Reserve for an additional eight years going to drill at Battle Creek and Houghton, Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eldon Hunsberger was born on a farm in Plainfield, Michigan. He went to college for 2 years and then joined the Army Air Corps and trained as a pilot. He flew B-26 bombers on 65 missions over Italy from bases in Tunisia, Sardinia and Italy. When he got back to the US he was in the Army Reserve and then got called back in April of 1952 for the Korean War. Eldon flew a KB-29 and refueled planes on their way to Hawaii.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Sally Robson was born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1937. She graduated from high school in 1955 and began studying to become a teacher at Albion College and taught second grade in Walled Lake, Michigan, after graduating. In 1969, her husband, Larry, enlisted into the Navy and moved his their family down to Texas during his Basic Training. When he was sent to Vietnam to work as a doctor at a base in Quang Tri, Robson and her children moved back to Muskegon and lived with her parents. After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Robson's reunited family moved to Chicago where Larry worked at the Great Lakes Naval Station before moving to Detroit where Larry started his vascular surgery residency. A year later, the family settled into Grand Rapids where Larry worked at both Blodgett Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital.
- Date Created:
- 2019-02-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Schrouder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 26, 1925. He joined the Navy on September 1, 1943 and was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for basic training. Upon completion of basic training he was sent to Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois for Diesel School and after graduating from that he was sent to New London, Connecticut to train with submarines. After deciding to get out of the submarine program he was reassigned to LST 618 and deployed to the Pacific Theatre in late summer 1944. He participated in three major campaigns: the invasion of Leyte (in the Philippines), the invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf (in the Philippines), and the invasion of Mindanao (in the Philippines). After the war, LST 618 ferried Nationalist Chinese troops to various Chinese ports until sailing back to the United States. He was sent back to Chicago and was discharged on February 28, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Van Luyn was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925, and was drafted into the Army in 1943. He wanted to go, and was disappointed when he was rejected due to an eye problem, but later talked his way past the recruiter and sent to Camp Ellis, Illinois, to train as an engineer. He joined the 1303rd Engineer General Service Regiment and was assigned to B Company, which specialized in bridge construction. He shipped out to England with his unit in the spring of 1944, and deployed to Normandy shortly after D-Day. After the Normandy breakout, his regiment followed Patton's 3rd Army across France, building and rebuilding bridges all along the way, sometimes under fire from enemy artillery or aircraft. His unit got caught up in the Battle of the Bulge, and then participated in the invasion of Germany, building their longest bridge across the Rhine near Remagen. Shortly after the Germans surrendered, the unit was deployed to the Philippines in preparation for the invasion of Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Theresa Robinson was born on September 20, 1955 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She enlisted in the Navy in February 1974 and began basic training at Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida in March 1974. She received personnelman training at Naval Training Center Orlando and upon completion of that was assigned to Naval Air Station Miramar, California. She worked in the Personnel Office and the Student Personnel Office for VF-121 (an F-14 fighter squadron). She completed her active duty at NAS Miramar and voluntarily left the active reserves in either late 1976, or early 1977. Theresa was the commander of American Legion Post 258 and is still a member of American Legion Post 459. She is also the commander of the United Veterans Council of Kent County, Michigan and works in the Veterans' Services Office.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Kerkstra was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. In March 1943 he was drafted into the Army and was sent to Camp Butner, North Carolina for basic training. He received rifle training and later mortar training. He was stationed at Camp Butner for a year with the 78th Infantry Division before shipping out in spring 1944. En route to England he was treated for appendictis and was forced to stay behind while the rest of his division went ahead. He reached France a week after D-Day and joined the 4th Infantry Division. He fought in St. Lo, in the hedgerows, took part in the liberation of Paris in August 1944, and fought in Belgium and the Hurtgen Forest. He was wounded in late November 1944 and was eventually evacuated to the United States. He received treatment in Battle Creek, Michigan and was discharged at Fort Custer, Michigan in April 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tom Friar was born in December of 1948 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Friar attended Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then AIT at Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he learned to become a truck driver. Friar was then deployed to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, in November of 1967 with the S4 Supply Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, First Cavalry Division at An Khê. He participated in the First Cavalry Air Assaults as well as Operation Pegasus. Returning to the United States in 1969-70, he noticed the increased general hostility towards the Armed Forces in Vietnam. He briefly served as a CBR NCO training recruits at Fort Eustis, Virginia, before leaving the service in May of 1970 and eventually became a tool and die maker.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Hines was born on April 6, 1944 in Wellford, South Carolina, and graduated high school in 1962. Hines received his draft notice in 1965 and chose to enlist in the Army. He completed Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where he became a Morse Intercept Operator. He also trained in Artillery OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before transferring to Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the Air Defense for only two months before being transferred to Wurzburg Germany. From Germany, Hines was deployed to Vietnam with the 2nd of the 319th as a Fire Direction Officer and proceeded to report to the Bravo Battery at Firebase Bastogne. He saw heavy combat with this unit. While in Vietnam, Hines also worked as an assistant S-3 fireman, and a Liaison Officer for the 2nd of the 506 at Fire Base Ripcord. After taking some additional advanced artillery courses, he deployed to Nuremberg Germany with the 3rd of the 70th House Artillery before transferring to the 7th Corps Artillery as a Nuclear Release Authentication System Officer. He would later return to Europe after recieveing his veterinarian degree in the United States to care for military service animals.
- Date Created:
- 2019-07-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Douglas Anderson, born near Grand Rapids, Michigan. in 1926, was drafted into the Army in 1945 after the war had already ended. After training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and Fort Meade, Maryland, he was sent to Yokohama, Japan to identify and sort war materiel.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gloria Jackson was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from high school in 1942, just before being accepted into the Cadet Nursing Corps. She trained at Butterworth Hospital, Wayne University, and Percy Jones Hospital (Battle Creek Sanitarium). She also worked for some time in Des Moines, Iowa after getting married. She remembers seeing German POW's in the hospitals. Gloria was in Grand Rapids, Michigan when World War II ended.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Al Orr was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 5, 1935. He enlisted in the Marines Corps in November 1952 when he was only 17 years old. Al was sent to the Pacific in March 1966 and first arrived in Okinawa where he was assigned to a unit. He was then sent into Da Nang where he worked as an assistant operations officer of his battalion. Al was in Vietnam for a little over a year and was engaged in a campaign against the Viet Cong in his sector.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Shannon was born in Galveston, Texas in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines while in his first year of college. He had boot camp in Catalina, California and went to radio school on Hoffman Island in the New York Harbor. He completed his training just as the war ended, and served on merchant ships carrying relief supplies and other cargoes to Europe, Africa, and Asia, alternating voyages with terms in college. During the Korean War, he served on a troop transport ship. He eventually completed his degree in electrical engineering, stopped sailing and worked as an engineer designing anti-submarine warfare systems.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marilyn Jenkins was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1934. She grew up in Grand Rapids and played baseball with family and friends, and played softball with the neighborhood kids. When the Grand Rapids Chicks arrived in 1945, she talked her way into a job with the team and quickly became their batgirl, a job she held through the 1951 season. She played as a batgirl from 1945 thru 1951. Upon graduating high school in 1952, she became eligible to play in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and went on to play with the Grand Rapids Chicks from 1952 to 1954 as a catcher.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ross Vincent was drafted into the Army during World War II. Initially assigned as an MP, Ross took the Air Corps exam, and was sent to Army Air Corps training, eventually becoming a navigator in the Pacific, specifically based off the island of Morotai. After several months, his crew was assigned to Clark Field, in the Philippines, where he became an Information and Education officer. Ross was discharged in 1946, but stayed in the Active Reserves.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doug Hoekzema served in the US Navy between 1953 and 1955. He served on a destroyer in the Pacific, and his ship patrolled the Korean coastline shortly after the armistice there. The ship then toured the world, and Hoekzema got reassigned to shore duty after that, possibly due to the intervention of his congressman, Gerald Ford.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Huizenga was born in Portland, Michigan in 1948 and grew up on a farmhouse near the town until he was fourteen, when his family moved to Hudsonville, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1966, Huizenga enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following boot camp in San Diego, California and infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California, Huizenga received orders for motor transport school at Montford Point, North Carolina. Once he completed the school, Huizenga briefly served in the motor pool at nearby Camp Lejeune before deploying to Vietnam. When Huizenga arrived in Vietnam, he received an assignment to the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion. However, only a few months after Huizenga arrived, the battalion contracted to a company-sized unit and Huizenga transferred to the former battalion's sister unit, the 1st Motor Battalion. While with the 1st Motor, Huizenga worked in the battalion's shop repairing vehicles and rode in convoys, first as a machine gunner then as an assistant driver. While Huizenga was with the battalion, it transferred to base at Gia Le outside of Hue just prior to the start of the Tet Offensive in 1968. During the offensive, the battalion helped transport men and supplies into the forces stationed inside Hue. He chose to extend his tour by a total of nine months rather than be posted back at Camp Lejeune, preferring to stay with his unit, which eventually moved to the Da Nang area, where it remained for the rest of his tour.
- Date Created:
- 2012-01-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Jakubczak is from Grand Rapids Michigan and was born in May of 1946. After high school he worked at Lowell Engineering and as a farmer. He briefly attended Kendall School of Design, but dropped out in 1966 and he and his brother joined the Navy and volunteered for training as medical corpsmen. He completed his basic training and medical training at Great Lakes, Illinois, and then went to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, for field training. He then worked at Great Lakes Naval Hospital for ten months, and went to Vietnam in February, 1968. He was assigned to the First Shore Party, which provided logistical support to Marine combat units in the field, and was regularly attached to combat units when on operations. He was based near Da Nang, and supported Marine units involved in Operations Allen Brook and Mameluke Thrust. He left Vietnam in February, 1969, and completed his enlistment at Great Lakes.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Pond was born in Santa Ana, California in 1925. He became very bored with school during the war and dropped out when he was 17 to enlist in the Navy. James went through boot camp in Idaho and then went to signal school in Chicago. After signaling on destroyers in the Arctic, James retinas became burned and he could no longer work as a signal man. He went back to school to become a hospital corps man and was sent to work in a hospital in Okinawa after the invasion. James also worked as a doctor aboard a ship stationed outside of Sasebo and Nagasaki, Japan
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ray Richardson, born November 13th 1920 in Winterfield Township Michigan, served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942-1943 and then in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1946 as a flight instructor during World War II. As a flight instructor, Ray trained cadets on the PBY Catalina in Pensacola Florida. After completing his service, Ray served as an agent in the FBI from 1947-1973.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Delores White (nee Brumfield) was born was born in Pritchard, Alabama on May 26, 1932. Growing up, she got her start playing baseball with the school and neighborhood kids. Following tryouts in 1946 she was told by Mr. Carey that she was yet too young. Apparently, after her tryouts Mr. Carey had misplaced her name and sought her out until he found her one day in a store. In 1946, she made the trip to Havana, Cuba. That same year she was placed with the Fort Wayne Daisies during her spring training period. At the end of spring training, she was chosen to play for the South Bend Blue Sox in 1947. She played with the Kenosha Comets from 1948 to 1951. She then played the 1951 and 1952 seasons with the Fort Wayne Daisies. During her league career she played first, second, and third base. Her career highlight was on August 26, 1952 when she hit a home run and it was signed by her teammates and Jimmy Foxx. One other highlight she had during her league career was her spring training in Havana.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Bailey was born in Prescott, Arizona, in 1922. He enlisted in the Navy in early 1941. He received his basic training and attended Metalsmith School at San Diego, and was assigned to the USS Whitney (AD-4). He survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and shortly thereafter was assigned to the USS Thomas Jefferson (APA-30). After an abortive attempt to bring supplies to American forces on the Philippines, he was transferred to the USS Annoy (AM-84) and participated in the liberation of the Aleutian Islands and subsequent patrols around those islands. He was then reassigned to the USS Impeccable (AM-320) and witnessed the liberation of the Marianas Islands, the invasion of Iwo Jima, and the invasion of Okinawa. His active duty ended in 1947 and he was placed in the inactive reserve. He was called up for duty in September 1950 due to the Korean War and was assigned to the USS Moctobi (ATF-105). He was then transferred to an oiler. For six months they refueled ships at Kwajalein before sailing to Sasebo, Japan, to continue refueling operations. He was discharged in 1952.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kevin Yeomans was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1986. He enlisted immediately after high school in 2004, trained as an infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and served in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His unit was scheduled for deployment to Iraq in 2005, but first took a detour to New Orleans to help with relief work after Hurricane Katrina, where they spent several weeks patrolling flooded areas and then providing security in the city. Not long after returning from that assignment, the unit deployed to Iraq and were based at COB Speicher near Tikrit, where they conducted patrols and searched houses for al Qaeda supporter. They took some casualties from IEDs and snipers, but saw no major firefights. The unit returned home in 2007 after 15 months in the field. Yeomans was eventually reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and was discharged in 2009.
- Date Created:
- 2017-11-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Michael Eames was born in 1959 in Buffalo, New York. He decided to enlist into the Army so that he could utilize the G.I. Bill and eventually become a chef. Michael spent time in basic training learning how to use machine guns and grenades while also receiving anti-nuclear and anti-terrorist training. He was then sent to Landstuhl, Germany where he served in the Second General Hospital.
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Fink was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1945 to 1946. In this account Fink discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training, and his active duty while stationed out in the Pacific. Fink was stationed on Guam and describes living conditions there after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mike was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1949. He graduated from the Benedictine Military School in 1967 and started college at the University of Georgia. Eventually Mike tired of school and enlisted in the United States Army in 1968. He started OCS but later dropped out. He went to Vietnam in May 1970 and was assigned to Delta Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne. Mike operated around Camp Evans and Firebase Ripcord. He left Vietnam in 1971 after spending a year in country. After he got out of the regular army, Mike joined the National Guard as an officer. After resigning his commission, he retired from the Georgia National Guard as an enlisted man in January 1994.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Hoerner was drafted in the US Army in 1942, received financial training, and then attended officer candidate school. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the 90th Division as a platoon leader. He landed on Utah Beach on D-Day and fought in Normandy, across France, through the Bulge and into Germany, although the interview mostly focuses on his experiences through the Normandy campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2004-09-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ron Joyner was drafted into the Army in 1970 as part of the first group to be drafted through the lottery system. He volunteered for helicopter pilot training, which he took at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and was then sent to Germany. From there, he was sent to Vietnam toward the end of American involvement there. Most of his missions in Vietnam involved ferrying troops into the field and bringing them back again, and he does not recall being involved in any large battles.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wilbert Koetje was born in Marion, Michigan in 1922. After failing in his first attempt to enlist, he was drafted in 1943 and served in the Navy. Even after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Koetje waited a year before enlisting. After the military denied his enlistment, Koetje waited for the draft; once drafted, he served in the Navy. He initially served on a destroyer, the USS Davison, on convoy duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He then switched to another destroyer, the USS McDermott, which patrolled out of Hawaii. After several months, he was sent back to California on a transport ship, the SS Henry Byrd, which had to be abandoned off San Francisco. After that, he was assigned as a gun captain aboard a transport ship, the SS Leo, and participated in the campaigns at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, took a load of troops to Japan for the occupation, and helped repatriate Chinese soldiers.
- Date Created:
- 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Christopher Notestine was born in Charlevoix County, Michigan, in 1980. He joined the Army at the age of 19 and did his basic training at Ft. Benning in Georgia. He became part of the 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry which used Strykers. Christopher and his unit went to Iraq in October of 2003 and mostly stayed in Mosul, Iraq. He was injured by an IED in Iraq and could no longer serve as part of the infantry so he enlisted with the National Guard in the 1434th Engineer Battalion based out of Grayling, Michigan. He went back to Iraq in 2009-2010 as part of a construction unit. He continued to work for the National Guard after he got home from Iraq in 2010.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David Bluem was born in Saginaw, Michigan on December 13, 1944. He was drafted into the Vietnam War while attending grad school at Central Michigan University. In basic training he was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for the US Army. Thereafter he was flown to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He was then sent to Long Binh he was assigned to the Aviation Brigade to take care of the helicopters. At his highest ranking he achieved the rank of E5.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Keith Davis is a Veteran who served in the United States Army during peacetime from the late 1970s to the late 1980s in Germany and in the United States. Born in 1957, Davis talks about his childhood growing up in Benton Harbor and his summers spent in Alabama visiting his grandparents. In Alabama, Davis remembers facing segregation and also selling peanuts at his grandpa's barber shop. Upon enlisting, Davis went to Supply School in Virginia and then was flown to Germany where he became a member of the 42nd Medical Company. After spending his four year term in Germany, Davis returned to the United States and served in the Reserve for another six years as a member of the military police.
- Date Created:
- 2007-03-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leonard Galloway was born on August 3, 1925 in Huron, South Dakota. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he was 17 years old because he did not want to be drafted and because he had always wanted to fly. Leonard went through basic training in Texas and then was sent to the University of Mississippi for training classes. The war ended just as he was getting into advanced flight courses and he was disappointed because he had really wanted to fly in Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Valeria Dellinger was a veteran of WWII in the United States Army in 1945 and 1946. She served in Los Alamos, New Mexico as a switchboard operator for the military at the time of the development of the atomic bomb. She married her husband after she was discharged in 1946. He remained a MP for the military and transferred to the Pacific when they were testing the atomic bomb, while she stayed on at Los Alamos in the civil service for a while before moving to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2006-10-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leonard Feerick, Jr. served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He trained in Miami, Florida, and Gulfport, Mississippi, and was eventually stationed in England where he worked in ground support on an airbase. Toward the end of the war, he was transferred to the infantry, and eventually served with the Army of Occupation in Berlin.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Kriegbaum is a veteran of the army who served during WW II. He was a forward artillery observer with the 34th Infantry Division. He spent much of his service in North Africa and Italy fighting on the front lines with many battalions. In all he served over 400 days on the front line and his unit spent over 600 days fighting. His record going thru Italy was thoroughly understand and remembered details of civilian and German POW's. Robert's unit was in Italy when the war ended and directed all surrendering German soldiers to camps. His service was impeccable and his memory of events vivid. He was also one of the men who fought near Monte Cassino Abbey against the Germans.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eddie MacDonald enlisted in the US Army in 1957. He trained as an infantryman at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. After six months, he was sent home in reserve status and then called up in 1961. He served two years, much of his time spent at Fort Lewis in Washington, and was not sent overseas.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Morley Wilson joined the Michigan National Guard in 1937, resigned briefly in 1940, and rejoined to serve in World War II in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. He served most of the war as a supply officer, but also worked with engineers and had other administrative duties. On one occasion he served as host to Eleanor Roosevelt when she visited his unit in Australia. Poems and personal narrative appended to outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mike Corona was born in Racine, Wisconsin on November 9, 1928. He grew up in the Racine area playing baseball with his friends. At the age of ten, because of his friendship with the caretaker of the Horlick Athletic Field, he started playing as a batboy for men's semi-pro teams. When the All American Girls League came to Racine, he became a batboy working under Racine manager, Johnny Gottselig and his team. Corona worked as batboy only in 1943 and then went off to college and pursued other career endeavors.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Norris Einertson was born on August 6, 1930, near Westbrook, Minnesota. He studied at the Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and became a chaplain in the Army in 1961. His first assignment was at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he served with the division artillery for 20 months. Norris was reassigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment and served at Wildflecken, Germany, for seven months. He returned to Fort Riley and was assigned to support command. His next duty was a year-long tour in Vietnam with the 34th Engineer Group based out of Can Tho in the Mekong River Delta. He returned to the United States and attended the Chaplain's Advanced Course then served at Fort Ord, California. He went on to serve at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and eventually became the post chaplain then went to Washington D.C. to serve as the executive officer in the chief of chaplains' office. Norris was promoted to brigadier general on December 1, 1985, then became the chief of chaplains on July 1, 1986. He served for four years as the chief of chaplains, then retired from the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lin Bashford was born in Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska, on August 20, 1946. He was drafted in April 1969 and went to Fort Ord, California, for basic training and later advanced infantry training. He was selected for Non-Commissioned Officer School and went to Fort Benning, Georgia, to receive that training. He was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, in early 1970 before deploying to Vietnam in early spring of that year. He joined D Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in April 1970. He went on patrols around Firebase Ripcord and was in the area when the Battle of Firebase Ripcord began on July 1, 1970. Shortly before the fall of the firebase he was reassigned to Camp Evans to serve as company clerk. In early spring 1971 he returned to the United States and was discharged at Fort Lewis, Washington.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- David C. Bloye was born on September 2, 1940, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In September 1957 he enlisted in the Navy Reserve and began his active reserve duty while still in high school. After graduating from high school he received two weeks of basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. In early 1959 he applied for his two years of active duty and on March 17, 1959, he reported for active duty. He served aboard the USS Norfolk (DL-1) and went on anti-submarine exercises on the Pacific Coast, the Caribbean Sea, and in the North Atlantic. His active duty ended on January 19, 1961, and his inactive reserve duty ended two years after that. In March 1974 he reenlisted in the Navy Reserve, and after applying for a direct commission became a lieutenant junior grade. He served at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, for 20 years with a Navy Intelligence unit. In August 1994 he became the commanding officer of an intelligence unit and did that until his retirement on July 1, 1996.
- Date Created:
- 2016-08-18T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Melvin Hospital enlisted in the US Navy in 1939, and was captured by the Germans during the initial allied naval attack on Algiers in 1942. He spent the rest of the war in different German prison camps in Russia, Poland and Germany before being liberated by British forces. After the war, he helped build the Mackinac bridge.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Herm Jongsma was born in 1931, during the Depression. As a result he moved around a lot as a child, but ended up going to Calvin College for a brief time. He was drafted to the Army in 1952 to serve in the Korean War. He was a light mechanic, but served as a liaison with the Greek battalion on the front line north of Seoul.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Win Mueller was drafted into the Army in 1942 and went through basic training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also trained there to be in the Military Police and was at Fort Custer for about 6 months all together. After training Win worked at Fort Swift in Texas, where he guarded POWs for another six months. Win later helped form the 106th Division and was sent to Europe where they eventually replaced the 101st Division in the Netherlands right before the Battle of the Bulge. Win fought in the Battle for about a month in freezing cold weather with not much food to eat. After making it through the battle and traveling to other parts of Europe, win had enough points to go home right around the time of the Japanese surrender.
- Date Created:
- 2003-08-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cecilia Schlepers is the daughter of two Dutch immigrants who lived under German occupation during the Second World War. She talks about what life was like for each of her parents during the war. Her father's family worked on a farm and her mother's family lost their farm during German occupation.
- Date Created:
- 2011-02-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edmund Szudzik was a draftee who joined the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division while it was training at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, in 1941. His unit was sent first to the East Coast, and then recrossed the country bound for Australia and New Guinea. His account includes colorful stories of training camp and of conditions in Australia and New Guinea, including vivid discriptions of jungle combat. His interview is featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea produced by Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2005-11-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ed Wikander joined the Navy in 1934 and served as a seaman on board the battleship USS Tennessee until leaving the Navy in the middle of 1941. After Pearl Harbor, he was drafted back into the Navy, and spent about two years working at a Marine base in California before being sent to Tinian to help build a hospital. He was called up again for Korea, and served on a destroyer based in Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Abrams was born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1923, and eventually grew up in Montana. After moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, he joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor. After boot camp in San Diego, he was shipped to the Solomon Islands and joined the Weapons Company of the 1st Marine Regiment on Guadalcanal toward the end of the campaign there. The regiment refitted in Melbourne, Australia, and then went to New Guinea prior to landing on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. After that battle, they went on to the hard fight at Pelelieu, and went on from there to Okinawa. After the Japanese surrender, he spent several months in China escorting Japanese soldiers and civilians who were being sent home.
- Date Created:
- 2011-06-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Denny Gillem was born in Sacramento, California, in 1941. He intended to make the military his career during his high school years, and applied to West Point several times before being accepted. After West Point, he was trained as an Army Ranger, and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. After his tours, he attended the Army Officers Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was the director of the ROTC at Stanford University. He then attended the Army Forces Staff College and became second in command of the 26th Infantry Battalion in Germany. He was then reassigned to Tampa, Florida, and the US Readiness Command. He also worked at the University of Tampa as a Professor of Military Sciences. He was then transferred to Wyoming, Michigan, to be the Army Advisor to the 46th Battalion of the Michigan National Guard.
- Date Created:
- 2004-11-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cornelius Jonker was born in September 1924 in Rusk, Michigan. When he was young his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and he grew up there. After turning eighteen he received his draft notice and was sworn into the Army on March 18, 1943. He was processed at Camp Grant, Illinois and was sent to Camp Butner, North Carolina where he received basic training and driver's training. While at Camp Butner he served as a clerk and then as a truck driver for the 78th Infantry Division. In October 1944 the 78th Infantry Division left for the European Theatre, and by the end of November 1944 he was in Belgium. While in Europe he and his division saw action at Simmerath, the Schwammenauel Dam, and the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. After the war, he was stationed in Bad Wildungen, Germany; Maastricht, Holland; and Berlin, Germany. He was eventually sent home and was discharged from Camp Atterbury, Indiana in January 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Nancy O'Rear was born on January 7, 1938 in Grandville, Michigan. She grew up in Grandville and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in 1951 she started following the Grand Rapids Chicks, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team. From the 1951 season through the 1954 season she practiced with the Chicks, befriended the players, and traveled with the team to away games in Michigan and Indiana. There were plans for Nancy to join the team once she graduated from high school, but with the team's disbanding in 1954 those plans were scrapped.
- Date Created:
- 2016-01-21T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- John Kennaugh was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1923. He became part of the Illinois Reserve Militia, which took the place of the National Guard. John was drafted in February of 1943 and was sent to Camp Grant, Illinois for basic training. He also trained in St. Petersburg, Florida, Utah, Iowa, and Texas. John was then deployed on a transport ship for thirty-three days before landing in Bombay, India. After being stationed at [Ninga] airbase for some time, he was sent to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. In India, John worked with pilots that were recovering body's form the front lines of Burma. He then volunteered himself for similar work in China where he passed through Xi'an and Kunming, China. Upon hearing of a Transport Squadron plane that had crashed, John was sent alongside two others and an interpreter to recover the soldiers. After finishing his work in China, John was sent to California, went to school, and eventually became a City manager.
- Date Created:
- 2012-10-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harvey Lugten was born in Holland, Michigan in 1922 and graduated from Holland High School in 1940. Harvey was drafted into the service and had his choice of the Army of the Navy. He chose the latter and went through training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago. After basic training Harvey went to machinist school and then submarine school for another 6 months. After training he was shipped to Australia where he later boarded the USS 256. Harvey went on three war patrols throughout the Pacific and was later discharged in February of 1946. After his time in the service, he received his masters degree and later became the superintendent for Byron Center schools in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Schmidt served in the Navy during World War II. He was sent to Australia after basic training and trained as an anti-aircraft gunner, but served mostly in support units. He served for about a year in Australia, and then went to Manus Island and to the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Thomas Pacic was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 23, 1927. After graduating from high school in 1945 he enlisted in the Coast Guard in December 1945. He received orders to go to Curtis Bay in Baltimore, Maryland for basic training. He reported for basic training on January 8, 1946 and received rifle training, swimming training, the history of the Coast Guard, the function of the Coast Guard, and how to tie knots. His first assignment in the Coast Guard was aboard a cargo ship looking for mines left over from the war. They sailed down the East Coast, through the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, and up the West Coast. He got to see San Diego and San Francisco before being stationed in Miami, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. He spent the rest of his time at Coast Guard Station Erie, Pennsylvania where he helped rescue boaters and received a medal for saving a pregnant woman and her husband. He left the Coast Guard in May 1947 and then joined the Naval Reserves. He went on cruises aboard the USS Missouri and a minesweeper as well as cargo ships as part of a stevedore unit. During the Korean War he was on active duty helping with supply operations in the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. After getting injured working in Red Bank, New Jersey he was discharged from the Navy in June 1953.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)