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- Notes:
- Len Motyka, born in 1925 in Detroit Michigan, served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946 in Europe during World War II. Len was trained to be a mortarman. When he arrived in Marce France, he was assigned to a Mortar unit within the 63rd Davison in the 7th Army. He then spent most of his tour traveling across France into Germany taking town after town. He was discharged in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Mueller was born in Chicago in 1921, and at the time of Pearl Harbor was attending college in California and taking aviation classes. He enlisted as a Navy cadet and went through pre-flight and advanced flight training before becoming a flight instructor in New Orleans. He then trained to fly fighters off of aircraft carriers and was expecting to participate in the invasion of Japan when the war ended..
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Clare Musgrove served in the Army Air Corps, 1942-1945. He was a B-24 Gunner with the 15th Air Force in Italy, where he flew nine missions. On the last, over Ploesti, his plane was hit and the crew bailed out over Serbia. The rest of the crew were captured, but he was rescued by a local family and smuggled out by the resistance. Upon returning to his base, he was given a training assignment for the rest of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2005-09-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Vern Pouch, born in Fruitport Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1944 at the age of seventeen. After training at Great Lakes and in Virginia, he joined the crew of a new LST and sailed with her from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and then across the Pacific, where he participated in the invasion of the Philippines. Off Mindoro in December, 1944, his ship was badly damaged and abandoned, and the crew were rescued by a destroyer and taken to Australia. He served out the remainder of his enlistment as a cook on Treasure Island in California.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Weingate was born in West Hazelton, Pennsylvania and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan as a child. He was drafted into the Army in 1944 before finishing high school, but was allowed to finish. He became a radio operator in the Signal Corps. His unit's objective was to create a source of sound to deceive the enemy into thinking that there were more Americans present than there were. He landed in Naples and operated throughout the Italian peninsula. He spent some time in Italy working for the Air Force after the war was over. He was sent home in 1946. After the war, he worked several jobs, most of which were in factories.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willie Saddler is an African American veteran who grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II where he helped clean up and retrieve casualties from towns in Germany and Italy that were attacked during the war. He also describes early efforts at racial integration in the Air Corps.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jerry Everitt was born in Big Rapids, Michigan on April 5, 1927. He enlisted in the Navy on March 20, 1945 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He served aboard the USS LST-457 in the Philippines, Japan and the Admiralty Islands then transferred to the USS San Clemente (AG-79) around the Philippines and in Shanghai, China. They returned to the U.S. on the San Clemente and was discharged in Chicago on June 5, 1946. He reenlisted in the Navy on August 22, 1947 and went to Electrician School in San Diego. He served on the USS Molala (ATF-106) in the Philippines and in Hong Kong. After towing a dry dock back to the United States from Guam he was discharged from the Navy for his second, and final time on March 23, 1950 at Long Beach, California.
- Date Created:
- 2016-03-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jerome Gennrich was born in 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to serving in the Army he worked for Chrysler at the Jefferson Plant. He was drafted in early 1942 and trained at Camp Kearns outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Later that year he was sent across the Atlantic and served first in Northern Ireland and then in England, providing security for airbases used by the 8th and 9th Air Forces. After D-Day he was deployed to France and was attached to the 12th of the 62nd Military Police Company. He and his unit moved through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, crossed the Rhine River into Germany. His unit guarded German prisoners of war at a camp near Ansbach until he was sent home in December, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2014-01-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joseph Mitch was born in Pennsylvania in 1919 and drafted into the Army in 1941. He had gone to school only through the third grade, and never learned to read. Because of his illiteracy, he scored poorly on aptitude tests, and the Army almost did not take him because of his low IQ. Before being drafted, Joseph had made money as a loan shark, and he continued to do so through the service and afterwards. Mitch traveled to England, Germany, and France where he served in a Tank Destroyer battalion in the 3rd Armored Division, and was discharged in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2007-10-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ray Zeeff served in the National Guard from 1932-1935 and then reenlisted and served from 1937-1942 during World War II. During his service, Ray served as a radio operator for the Regimental Headquarters Company 126th Infantry. His unit was federalized in October, 1940, and sent to Louisiana to train. He was discharged in 1942 before going overseas due to partial blindness in one eye.
- Date Created:
- 2011-06-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edgar Harrell was born in western Kentucky in 1924. In 1943 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, received basic training in San Diego and was selected for Sea School to serve as a marine aboard a ship. Upon completion of training he was assigned to the USS Indianapolis. Edgar saw combat aboard the Indianapolis at major battles in the Pacific Theater including the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and the bombardment of Okinawa. After delivering the atomic bomb components to Tinian on July 26, 1945, the Indianapolis was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945. Edgar was one of the 317 men to survive the sinking of the Indianapolis and being stranded at sea. He was picked up on August 2, 1945, by the seaplane piloted by Lieutenant Marks and was transferred to the USS Cecil J. Doyle. He recovered at Peleliu, and was brought to Guam on the USS Tranquility. Edgar arrived in the US on October 2, 1945, but due to appendicitis was kept at Balboa Hospital until early November 1945, and was discharged from the Marines after that.
- Date Created:
- 2016-08-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Brummel served in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. He trained as a truck and ambulance driver and served as an ambulance driver on Okinawa, transporting Marines and Seabees wounded in action.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, and served in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to a destroyer which was used to guard convoys from submarines. He served initially in the Atlantic, but moved to the Pacific after VE day. He sailed to many places, including Brazil, North Africa, France, England, and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2005-08-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Erling Smestad enlisted in the Michigan National Guard in 1938 and served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division until June of 1945. His unit trained in Louisiana and was shipped first to the East Coast and then back across the country and across the Pacific to Australia and New Guinea, where it fought in a series of battles before going on to the Philippines. Smestad's account covers all of this, and includes good descriptions of different aspects of training and of trying to fight a war in a jungle without adequate supplies. His interview is featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea produced by Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jacob Werner served in the Army in World War II. He initially joined the Army in 1938 and served in Panama, until he was put on reserve. He was then called up in 1943, and served in Europe. He was a medium tank commander in an infantry battalion in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. Specifically, he served in the Hurtgen Forest and the Falaise Gap. He also served as a Special Services Officer in Germany after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard VanAllsburg, born on February 17th 1921 in Grand Rapids Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy from approximately 1943-1945 as a pilot during World War II. Richard spent his first year of service in various training locations and active duty on bases. He soon volunteered to be sent to the Pacific in order to fly more. Richard was sent to Hawaii where he pulled targets for shooting practice. After being discharged in 1945 Richard joined the Naval Reserve. He was called back into duty in 1962 to carry out reconnaissance missions in the Caribbean for approximately 1 year.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Persico was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from high school and then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He registered for the draft and eventually got drafted and assigned to the Army Air Corps. He was processed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts then received basic training in Florida. He went to Lincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska for Aircraft Mechanic School then to Chanute Army Air Field, Illinois for Engine School. He was assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group in Salt Lake City, Utah and joined the unit at Wendover Field, Utah. He trained with them at Hammer Field, California and deployed to the European Theatre in February 1944. He was stationed in Italy for the duration of the war, and on May 7, 1945 he returned to the United States. He was stationed at Drew Field, Florida until Japan surrendered in August 1945. He was discharged after the war and returned to Boston.
- Date Created:
- 2005-10-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Gallert was born in Winnipeg, Canada on July 17, 1921. When he was two years old his family moved to Saint Joseph, Michigan and he grew up there. After the U.S. was dragged into WWII in 1941 he was drafted into the Army in June 1942 and received basic training at Fort Custer, Michigan. Due to a proficiency in the German language he was selected to work as an interpreter for German prisoners at prisoner of war camps in the United States. He was stationed at the prisoner of war camp at Fort Custer and later at the prisoner of war camp in Santa Anna, California. He was discharged in Santa Anna in November 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Keath Cady served in the medical corps during WW II. Cady was on Guadalcanal and the Philippines and describes conditions there. After the war, he served in the army of occupation in Germany. In this interview Cady talks about treating malaria patients and setting up medical facilities during amphibious invasions.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth Hicks served in the 8th Air Force as a B-17 pilot based in England in 1944-45. He provides extensive descriptions of the training process and his experience with bombing missions in the later stages of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Jefferson was born in New Jersey on July 13, 1924 and grew up in an integrated community. After high school James joined the Merchant Marines and was trained on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He enjoyed the training and did not feel discriminated against there, despite being the only black man in his class. When he signed aboard his first ship, however, he had to deal with a racist chief engineer who tried and failed to keep him off the ship. He describes some of his experiences in sailing around the world during and after World War II.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jeneane Lesko was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1935. She grew up playing sports, practicing with men's baseball and basketball teams. She was playing for a softball team in Lima, Ohio, when she was recruited into the AAGPBL. She was a pitcher for the Grand Rapids Chicks during the last two seasons of the league, 1953-1954. Because of the larger size ball and the shorter distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate in the women's league, she had control problems as a pitcher in her first season, but still went 8-6. During the final season, when the league changed the rules and played the standard men's game, she did even better. After the league folded, she joined a barnstorming team made up of former league players, and stayed with it for three years. After that, she became a teacher and a professional golfer, and has actively supported women's baseball.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Grahl was drafted in 1943 and trained as an artillery gunner. He was shipped to England in 1944 and initially assigned to the 78th Division in Normandy, but before he saw action there, he was reassigned to the 363rd Infantry Regiment north of Florence. He spent several stints in the front lines confronting the German Gothic Line defenses during the winter of 1944-45, but this was interrupted by a bout of hepatitis. He returned to his unit in time to participate in the spring offensive in 1945, and his unit had reached Trieste on the Yugoslavian border by the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Steve Janicki served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. His history includes some colorful accounts of his joining the guard and going through basic training (he was 16 at the time, and not even shaving yet). He covers the trip to Australia by ocean liner, additional training in Australia, and the difficulties of fighting in the jungle. Illness took him out of action at Buna in New Guinea, but he rejoined his unit for some of the later battles, and tells of seeing MacArthur on Leyte in the Philippines. His history was featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea.
- Date Created:
- 2007-08-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gerald Page served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II as a ball turret gunner on a B-17. Page served from 1943 until 1946 and flew a total of 15 missions in the 15th Air Force, mostly over Germany and Austria.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bud Daniels grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, just down the street from his future wife, Audrey Haine. Both were active in sports, and when Audrey played organized softball while they were teenagers, he would attend every game. They stayed in touch after she was recruited into the AAGPBL, and married in 1948. During this time Audrey would play for the Minneapolis Millerettes, Fort Wayne Daisies, Grand Rapids Chicks, Peoria Redwings, and Rockford Peaches. In addition to telling his side of their story, he discusses both the quality of play he saw, and the popularity of the league and their players over the past twenty years.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Louis Kayo Erwin Sr. was born in Dayton, Tennessee, on March 1, 1925. He grew up in Dayton then on a farm in Big Spring, Tennessee. When he was 16 he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old. He enlisted on December 20, 1942, and on December 26 he shipped out for basic training in San Diego. Louis initially received orders for the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill. He stayed on the Bunker Hill until summer 1943 when he joined the USS Indianapolis. He saw action at Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, and Iwo Jima. In March 1945 the Indianapolis was struck by a kamikaze forcing them to return to the US for repairs. In July 1945 they received orders for a secret mission. On July 16, 1945, the atomic bomb components were loaded onto the USS Indianapolis at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and they delivered the components on July 26, 1945 at Tinian. On July 30, the I-58 torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis. Louis and the other survivors had to endure exposure, shark attacks, and saltwater poisoning. On August 2 a seaplane spotted the survivors and they were rescued. Louis and only 316 other crewmen survived. After recovering on Peleliu and Guam he returned to the United States. He briefly served at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado before being discharged in late 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Richmond was born in Indiana in 1924 and graduated from high school in 1942. He began working for a delivery truck company and was drafted into the Army a year later in 1943. Robert went through basic training at Camp Wheeler in Georgia and then went through mechanical training. After 13 weeks of training Robert was sent to North Africa and later traveled through Italy. Robert was wounded in combat and later sent back to the US and signed up for one more year of service.
- Date Created:
- 2007-09-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Rosadell Galmish Wolf, wife of 2nd Lieutenant Elvin Jay Galmish, tells the story of her husband during World War II from her perspective. Elvin Jay Galmish enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 21 and trained to be a pilot. His wife traveled with him during his training until he was sent to Europe in 1944 where died in service of his country. He was a bomber pilot, based first in England and then in France (so presumably with the 9th Air Force).
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Russell Hage is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from early 1940 to October 1945. In this account Hage discusses his pre-enlistment; enlistment and training in the U.S. and abroad in England; and combat experiences throughout, France, Belgium & Germany. Hage served with the 440th Anti-Aircraft battalion, in which he commanded a battery of 40mm guns. His unit was attached to several different divisions, including the 4th Armored Division in Normandy, and later the 106th and 75th Divisions during the Battle of the Bulge, before supporting the British 2nd Army in its attacks across the Rhine and into the Ruhr. Map of Fort Flagler State Park appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lloyd and Grace Smock were both born in Wyandot, Michigan. Lloyd served in the Army during World War II. He served in the 56th Signal Repair Battalion. His unit was initially sent to France and Belgium, however after VE day they were sent to the Philippines. Generally, they spent their time destroying enemy electronics stockpiles and equipment. When Lloyd returned, he met and married Grace. Lloyd worked at a bank and Grace worked in the legal business.
- Date Created:
- 2005-12-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harry Vanderstow was born in 1926 and served in World War II. Vanderstow was drafted into the Army in 1944. He served in France, Germany, and Austria as a regular in the Infantry. He also worked at a desk job at a camp in Arkansas after the war was over
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Kloc served in the Air Force during World War II. He joined the Air Force prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and was called up for active duty on December 10, 1941. He worked as a bombardier on a B-24 aircraft in the Pacific Theatre. Some of the locations of his bombing runs included Borneo, New Guinea, and Indochina. He flew 45 missions before he was sent home, and he worked as an engineer after the War.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Claude Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan. After Pearl Harbor he voluntarily enlisted in the military in 1943 and was sent to Jefferson Barracks Missouri for basic training. In Yuma Arizona he was assigned to fly patrols using the B-25, the squadron involved with bombing Japan. Later he would be re-assigned to fly on the B-29. When the War ended he was discharged from the Air Force on December 1st 1945 and put into the reserves. He was considered to join the Korean War in 1950 however his job as an engineer was considered too crucial to be sent overseas.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Greg Melonas was born in Chicago in 1920. He joined the National Guard in 1936, and was called into the Army after Pearl Harbor. He was deployed to France after D-Day, and served mostly in Czechoslovakia. He was trained as a medic in the National Guard, and served as a medic after being a drill instructor early on. After WWII he was called back into the service to go to Korea, also as a medic.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ed Darling is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from September 1944 to December 1946. In this account, Darling discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S., and his active duty in Japan during the military occupation of their country. Darling takes a depth look of what occupational life in Japan was like for an Army soldier and mentions a number of social encounters with former Japanese soldiers. He briefly describes what his duties consisted of and what the attitude of the Japanese people was like towards the U.S. occupational forces.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Beukema was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15th, 1924. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps during World War II, and was accepted as a pilot. After flight school, he was sent to be an instructor back at Basic flight school in Gardner Field, California for one year. He volunteered to be a B-17 pilot, but the war in Europe ended. He signed up to be a B-29 pilot, but the war in the Pacific ended, as well.
- Date Created:
- 2008-07-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Hartman joined the Michigan National Guard in 1938, and served in Company E, 126th Infantry Regiment during World War II. Originally trained and equipped to fight in Europe, his unit was sent to Australia and New Guinea in 1942, and fought at Buna, Saidor and Aitape. He was wounded at Aitape and shipped home, and was discharged in June, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Hines was born in 1922 in Bradley, Michigan, and served in the Army during World War II. During his time in the service, he worked as a mortar man in the 324th Regiment, 44th Division, eventually commanding a mortar company. He was in Europe, specifically Northern France and Germany. He spent some time in Europe after the War before he was discharged. He worked in the trucking industry.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Roth was born in Ionia County, Michigan. After school, Alfred traveled to many places around the United States doing odd jobs before he was drafted into the Army. Before his time in the service, some of his jobs included mining for gold in Alaska and building B-17 bombers for the government in Washington. Alfred was trained as a radio operator during World War II, working in the Philippines and New Guinea.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Williams was born in Indiana in 1915 and was the wife of a man in the service during World War II. Bob and Jane had been seeing each other for seven years before they got married. Because Bob was in the service, their relationship was not average. They traveled all over the country before they got married and Jean did not have her first child until she was 29 years old.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ernest Homrich was born in Alpine Township, Michigan on April 13, 1925. He was drafted in late 1944 and went to Texarkana/northeast Texas for basic training. After 17 weeks of basic training and a short leave home he went to San Francisco to board a troopship. En route to their destination they experienced boiler trouble and had to stay in Pearl Harbor for a month for repairs. From Pearl Harbor they sailed to Okinawa and were offshore for a week then the atomic bombs were dropped. They went to Inchon, Korea where he helped unload material and discard Japanese weapons. He injured his hand and after recovering in a hospital was assigned to work with an amphibious engineers unit then at a PX where he worked for nearly a year. Upon completion of his time in Korea he returned to the United States and was discharged in Chicago.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Klooster was born and raised in Munster, Indiana. He was drafted into the Army after turning 18 in March 1943. Donald attended basic training at Camp Atterbury Indiana. Afterward he moved onto Fort Benning Georgia for jump school and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. His unit would be sent to the Philippines where they trained in flight jumps on Mindoro Island, and then jumped into combat for the invasion of Corregidor Island. When all was said and done he had encountered General MacArthur, survived Japanese grenade attacks as well as a tunnel cache explosion, and finally became wounded in combat from some explosive round shrapnel. He was awarded a bronze star with the Philippines liberation ribbon and sent home in the summer of 1945 due to his wound. After being discharged in 1946 he graduated from Calvin College and worked at a furniture company.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Willard Bosserman served in World War II as a mechanic in the Army. He was drafted in 1943 and worked in a maintenance company attached to the 87th Division, and then to the 66th Division. His company shipped to Europe in December, 1944, and took part in the final campaign in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2010-09-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kevin Heine was born in Flint, Michigan on October 1, 1964. About 25% of his graduating class joined some form of the service in Osceota because it was an Air Force town and the economy was terrible in Michigan during the 80s. Kevin joined the Navy after high school and was able to take many classes in many areas during his 20 year career. Kevin took engineering classes, cryogenics, business administration, computer science, and many others.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Flate Staples was born on September 4, 1924 in Mississippi and moved to Michigan in 1931 because his mother had found a better job there. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in May of 1943 when he was 18 years old and went through boot camp in North Carolina. Flate trained for only 6 weeks before he was shipped to New Caledonia on an LST. He worked on supplying the front lines in New Caledonia for about a year and was then sent to Guadalcanal to do the same. At the end of the war he was sent to Okinawa and worked with the Army of Occupation for about 3 months before he was sent back to the Unites States.
- Date Created:
- 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dwight Stevens spent time in the Navy in the Pacific during WW II working on decoding Japanese messages. He served in the Philippines and witnessed Kamikaze attacks on Allied ships.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Wessels, born and in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1924, served in the U.S. Navy from January 1941 to November 1945 during World War II. After having completed his basic training, John was assigned to be an aviation radioman. His first deployment was to BOB 208, a unit of PBY seaplanes, in Florida and the Caribbean. Here, John looked for submarines. John was then transferred to the 208th of the 26th and flew in the Pacific, mainly performing reconnaissance. His unit started in Hawaii, served in several areas, including off Okinawa, and flew into Tokyo Bay at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bert Boersma was born in Moline, Michigan in 1925. He graduated from high school in 1942 and was drafted in early 1943. He reported at Fort Custer, Michigan on February 26, 1943 for processing, and was then sent to Camp Roberts, California for basic training. His training lasted ninety days, and after that he went to join the 130th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Infantry Division. He was stationed with that unit in Hawaii for nine months receiving jungle training before moving on to New Guinea in May 1944 where he stayed for six months conducting patrols and handling cargo from ships. He moved on to the island of Morotai in December 1944 where he saw his first action routing the remaining Japanese troops. He moved on to the island of Luzon in February 1945 and saw major action there at Hill 1802 and Mount Bilbil where he received a Bronze Star. After the war ended he was part of the occupation force in Japan in Nagoya and Himeji. He stayed in Japan until November 1945 and was sent home and got discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois in December 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Roblin joined the Army on July 5th, 1944 and was part of the first convoy to go directly to France during World War II. While in the service, John experienced a good deal of combat and eventually injured his leg. He spent a long time in a hospital learning to walk again. After John had recovered he was moved all over Europe within different regiments. After John served his time in Europe, he fought in the Korean War. He received many promotions during his time spent in the service.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Margaret Edema was born in Cicero, Illinois and grew up on a farm, graduating from high school in 1940. She remembered everyone pulling together for the war effort. After school, Margaret began working for Douglas Aircraft where thousands of people were making parts for planes. Margaret joined the Navy in 1944 because the factory had closed and she could not find other work. She went to boot camp in New York and then began working as a secretary for a naval officer in Washington DC.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Elaine Panzone served as an army nurse from 1942 to 1945. She had already trained as nurse in civilian life before enlisting. After training in Illinois, she went to the Pacific and served in hospitals on New Guinea and the Philippines.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Saur served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He was in the 764th Squadron and received an Air Medal and a DFC while he was in the Air Corps. He served in the Air Corps from February 1943 through November of 1945. Charles said that his time in the service did not have much of an impact on his life, but he was able to make some memorable friends while serving. After serving, Charles received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan and then went to work for IBM.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Lantz was born on September 26, 1922 in Washington, Illinois. He was drafted in Grand Rapids, Michigan in November 1942 and went to Camp Grant, Illinois for processing. He was sent to Camp Beale, California for basic training, and then became a cook in B Company, 83rd Medical Battalion, 13th Armored Division. He was stationed at Camp Beale for a year, and then went to Camp Bowie, Texas where he was reassigned to the 54th Evacuation Hospital. He stayed in Texas until late 1944 when the unit was sent up to Seattle to be deployed into the Pacific Theatre. They sailed to Hawaii and he was stationed at Schofield Barracks until late summer 1945. They sailed up to Japan and arrived on September 4, 1945 two days after the formal surrender of the Japanese. He was part of the occupation force in Japan for a few months working as a cook. He returned to the United States in early 1946 and got discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois in February 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Schaffer was born on February 3, 1925 in Flint, Michigan. After graduating from high school in June 1943 he received his draft notice on July 23, 1943 and reported for active duty on August 12, 1943. He was processed at Fort Custer, Michigan and got assigned to the Army Air Force. He was sent to Amarillo Army Air Field, Texas for basic training and got selected for ordnance training. He trained in Augusta, Georgia and was assigned to an ordnance-maintenance company, then trained in Jackson, Mississippi and Aberdeen, Maryland. He deployed out of San Francisco, California on August 1944 and arrived at Biak in September 1944. His ordnance-maintenance company serviced the ground vehicles used by the Army Air Force and endured mosquitos, intense heat, and bombings from the Japanese. After about a year they moved up to the Philippines and got stationed at Clark Field. Near the end of the war they were sent to Nichols Field near Manila and stayed there through the end of the war. In February 1946 he returned to the United States and was discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Aldrich was born in 1925 in Hastings, Michigan, and enlisted in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor at the age of 17. He trained for 5 weeks at Great Lakes, and then went to gunnery school in Little Creek, Virginia to train as an Armed Guard for merchant ships. On his first voyage, he was on the Murmansk run with convoy PQ 18. He shot down a German bomber, but his ship was sunk by a torpedo, and he was rescued by a British destroyer. He then spent time on a US Marine base in Scotland, Oran, Algeria, on an oil tanker In the Caribbean and Atlantic, a tugboat in the Caribbean, and finally on a cargo ship in the Pacific after the end of the war, visiting Okinawa and Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2011-09-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marv Kuzawa enlisted in the Navy in 1942 at the age of 21. For basic training he was sent to Camp Perry, Virginia. Eventually he was placed in the Seabees and sent to Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to construct infrastructure for the War. After being transferred to the 14th Construction Battalion, Marv was sent to Honolulu Hawaii to build Quonset huts where the effects from the Pearl Harbor attack were still evident. In May of 1945 Marv arrived in Okinawa Japan to construct infrastructure for the ongoing invasion, and he was present in Okinawa during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In November 1945 he left Japan on the USS Topeka and coincidently met up with his brother as they were both discharged at Great Lakes military base in Illinois.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Oliver Butler was an aerial photographer for the Marines during World War II and was based on Midway Island. He spent 13 months here taking pictures of terrain and enemy defenses. He remained in the reserves during the Korean War where he was a Training Sergeant. Photographs appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2004-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edson Carpenter is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 767th Tank Battalion 19th Inf. Division from 1941 to 1945. In this account, Carpenter discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S and the Pacific, and his combat experiences across the Pacific. Carpenter also mentions aspects of the war not generally talked about such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the fighting on Leyte, and other island assaults he took part in. Carpenter concludes by discussing his life after the war and what he learned from his military experiences.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George B. Gane is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps with the 92nd Bomber Wing from 1944 to 1945. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S., and bombing missions in Europe.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Darrell Thornley was raised in Duvant, OK and was drafted into the army soon after hearing about Pearl Harbor. His extensive military career in World War II and the Korean War and beyond took him to France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Darrell held a variety of positions throughout his career, such as squad leader, scout, and Cadre leader. During his military career, he received the Combat Infantryman Badge and a Bronze Star Medal.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kolleen Crane is the widow of WW II veteran Richard Crane. In the interview she tells of being a telephone operator when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She met her husband at Midland (TX) Air Force base, where he served as a B-24 crew chief, responsible for maintaining the air craft. He was sent to school at Washtenaw College as part of the Officer Training program. After leaving Washtenaw they went to Massachusetts, then to South Carolina where they spent the rest of his enlistment.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bernice Tipton was born in Utah in 1924, and enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1943. She trained in Des Moines, Iowa, and served on army air bases in Mississippi and Colorado, working primarily in personnel classification, assigning servicemen on the base to specific duties.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dick Bailey was born in Pennsylvania and enlisted in the army at the age of nineteen during World War II. He spent the majority of his time deployed in the Pacific, working as an aircraft mechanic in the 13th Air Force. He went home to Pennsylvania after the war, and became involved in stock car racing, and was one of the first NASCAR drivers.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack Cooley served in the US Army between 1943 and 1946. He initially trained as an engineer, and then went into the ASTP engineer training program, and then was switched to the infantry when the program was shut down. He served as a mortarman with the 44th Infantry Division in France, Germany and Austria in late 1944 and 1945 and recounts several battles with German armor, infantry and artillery in the later stages of the war. Eileen relates her experiences on the home front during the same period.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Tichvon was born in Barry County, Michigan, and served in World War II. Drafted in 1941, Tichvon served in the U.S. Army. He worked in Canada building the Alcan Highway and trails. He was later sent to England and then to the European continent, where he worked for a construction battalion whose job was to clear mines and construct bridges. He served in the Battle of the Bulge. He was discharged in October, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Thomas joined the Army after he graduated from high school, intending to fly airplanes in World War II. Initially, the Army sent him to Engineering school, but after a two week break, he switched into the Air Cadet school. The program ended in 1944, and he was assigned to a turret gun in a B-17 and shipped overseas to Scotland to fly bombing missions into Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Donald Beachum served in the United States Navy during the World War II era. Growing up in Michigan, he graduated from high school in 1945 and joined the Navy right away to avoid being drafted into the Army. Because of a scarlet fever outbreak at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, he was sent to New York for basic training, and remained on Long Island doing clerical work for fourteen months before he was discharged. He did not go overseas or see combat, and was perfectly happy not to be shot at.
- Date Created:
- 2006-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Myers was born in Chicago in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines at the age of 16 and trained as a radio operator on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He sailed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean during the last months of the war and for several years afterward as the US was providing aid to and helping to rebuild countries affected by the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Erwin Veneklase served in the 2nd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division between 1939 and 1945. He enlisted in the National Guard in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and trained with his unit in Louisiana before beign shipped first to the East Coast and then back across country to Australia and New Guinea, where they were the first American troops to reinforce the Australians. His battalion crossed the Owen Stanley mountains on foot without adequate supplies or ligistical support, and then fought at Buna from Novl 1942 to Jan. 1943. He became seriously ill at the end of that campaign and was eventually shipped back to the U.S. His account is one of the interviews featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea produced by Grand Valley State University.
- Date Created:
- 2005-11-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Guild was born on October 2, 1925 in Gratiot County, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army in July 1943 and reported for duty at Fort Custer, Michigan on August 1943. He received basic training and infantry training at Camp Wolters, Texas until December 1943. He volunteered for Airborne Training and received that training and demolition training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to the European Theatre in May 1944 and arrived in England prior to D-Day. He was assigned to a demolition platoon of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He trained in England with the 506th through the summer of 1944. He participated in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. In April 1945 they moved through Germany and captured Berchtesgaden and were in Zell am See, Austria from May 1945 to August 1945. He stayed in Joigny, France until December 1945 then returned to the U.S. from Antwerp, Belgium. He was discharged in January 1946 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He briefly served with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina from April 1946 to October 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2015-07-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wesley Pontier was born on October 4, 1921 in Clifton, New Jersey and served in the United States Navy during World War II. He joined the navy in 1942 and trained in Bainbridge Maryland. He had several jobs while in the Navy and his most accomplished position was that of a signalman. Wesley traveled to many different parts of the world including Canada, Wales, Cuba, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela. During his interview, he recalls seeing men and ships preparing for the invasion of Normandy. After being discharged in December of 1945, Wesley returned to work for Manhattan rubber where he had worked before joining the navy. During his time in the navy, Wesley traveled over 80,000 miles at sea.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Derk Doonbos was born in the Netherlands in 1920 and immigrated to the United States when he was very young. He served in the Army during World War II. He was trained as an Infantryman. He served in North Africa, where he caught malaria. He also served in Italy, fighting in Anzio and taking Rome. He was then sent to Southern France, where he landed at Saint Tropez. He also fought in northern France and into Germany and was part of the group that liberated Dachau.
- Date Created:
- 2008-03-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Milton was born in Wyoming, Michigan and worked at General Motors until he was drafted. Albert was from Caledonia, Michigan and he worked on a farm. Andrew grew up in Kellogsville and he too was a farm hand for many years. Like Milton and Albert, he was drafted on April 16, 1941. All three men served with the 32nd Division and were sent to New Guinea and participated in the Buna campaign.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Rita Glanz was one of the 10,000 Jewish children saved before WWII started as a result of the Kinder Transport. Her father, a successful businessman, was driven out of Austria and into Switzerland by the Nazis. Mrs. Glanz was taken in by a couple from Coventry, in Great Britain, and remained with them for the duration of the war. Afterwards, her father wrote letters to Winston Churchill and George VI, and managed to get his daughter out of there. She spent three years with relatives in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up in New York, graduated from high schoo, and spent two years in college before getting married. Her husband had escaped from Germany to Ireland, eventually coming to the United States.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- William Sleaford, of Saint Clair Shores, Michigan, served with the United States Army Air Corps during WW II. He attended college courses while in the military for flight training. He flew with a bombing group in Europe and participated in dangerous covert air photography missions over the European continent. He also participated in carpet bagging missions, on one such flight, the aircraft faulted and he parachuted to the ground. A Portuguese truck driver found Sleaford and took him back to Portugal picked him up. After his service, he became an engineer with General Electric.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eugene Bleil was born in 1920 and grew up mostly on farms outside of the city. He was accepted to Eastern Michigan University, but dropped out after a semester, traveled with his brother looking for work, and wound up enlisting in the Army Air Corps. The brothers trained as Selfridge Field in Michigan and passed the tests for pilot training, but failed the physical, and trained as mechanics at Scott Field in Illinois. Assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron, Bleil shipped out to the Philippines in 1940. Based at Nichols Field outside of Manila, the squadron trained there until the war with Japan began, and then transferred first to Clark Field, and then to Bataan. When the aircraft were withdrawn, the crews became provisional infantry and fought off Japanese landing attempts along the coast until the surrender in April. Bleil survived the Bataan Death March and three years in labor camps in the Philippines before being sent to Japan to work in foundries. Bleil and some of the other prisoners developed a talent for sabotage, but were never caught by the Japanese. After the war, Bleil was told by Army doctors that he would not live very long or be able to father children. Even so, he went back to college, became a doctor, raised a family and is still around to tell his story. He has also published a memoir, Condemned to Death Six Times.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur DeWitt was born in Lapeer, Michigan in 1921, and grew up in Kalamazoo. While a senior in high school, DeWitt joined the Michigan National Guard, and his unit, Company C of the 126th Infantry Regiment, was called up soon afterward, causing him to miss most of his senior year. His unit was sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana for training, and he became a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner. In the spring of 1942, his division was sent first to Boston, then to San Francisco, and from there to Australia. They were shipped to New Guinea in September, and participating in the fighting around Buna. One of the few men in his company to get through Buna unscathed and healthy, he came down with malaria soon after returning to Australia, and was reassigned to the 41st Division. He served with the 41st on Biak, and then on Mindanao in the Philippines, and was rotated home shortly before the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Allan Ostar was born on September 4, 1924, in East Orange, New Jersey. He went to Pennsylvania State University in fall 1942 and joined the Reserve Officer's Training Corps, then joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps. He volunteered for active duty and was inducted at Fort Meade, Maryland. He received Basic Training, Radio Training, and Signal Corps Training at Camp Crowder, Missouri, then was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program. He received Engineering Training at the University of Denver and Regis College until the ASTP was disbanded. Allan then received orders to go to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, to join the 42nd Infantry Division. He was initially assigned to K Company of the 242nd Infantry Regiment, then transferred to Headquarters Company, before winding up in the Cannon Company. In November 1944 the 42nd went to New York City for deployment to Europe. They arrived at Marseille, France, in late November/early December 1944 then traveled north to help the French defend Strasbourg and the Alsace-Lorraine. During "Operation Nordwind" he received a Bronze Star for staying behind to direct artillery fire and another Bronze Star in Hagenau. In March 1945 he crossed the Rhine River into Germany, and took part in the liberation of Dachau on April 29, 1945. At the end of the war he entered Austria, and served in Austria as part of the occupying force. He left Europe in late 1945 (or early 1946) and was discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tom Jillson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1947 and grew up in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He joined the Air Force upon graduating high school and was initially trained as an electrical specialist, but was then transferred to accounting. He was stationed at Webb AFB in Texas for two years of his service and was then shipped to Vietnam for the remainder of his enlistment period. His job in Vietnam was a clerk, trading American money for Military bills. He remained in Da Nang for the greater part of his time in Vietnam.
- Date Created:
- 2008-12-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Johnson was born in Greenville, Michigan in 1919, and was drafted into the Army in 1941. After training to be a mechanic at Camp Boyd, Texas, Johnson joined Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He went to England with this unit in 1942, and stayed with it through campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge and the invasion of Germany, ending up in Czechoslovakia when the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas Martyn served in the US Army from 1944 to 1946. He initially trained as a medic in Chicago and worked in a dispensary and administered inoculations to new recruits. He eventually transferred to the Army Air Corps and was based first in Louisiana and then in Alaska at a base near Nome that Generals Eisenhower and LeMay visited because of the good fishing there.
- Date Created:
- 2007-12-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bertam Zheutlin served in the medical corps during WW II. Still in medical school when the war broke out, Zheutlin recounts what it was like to be a civilian waiting to go to war, as well as his experiences as a doctor during the war and the training he underwent. Zheutlin also talks about the psychological after effects of war and of a relative who had escaped a concentration camp in Poland and become a guerilla.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Roy Davis was born in Hartford, Michigan in 1924. He grew up in Hartford and after graduating from high school in 1942 enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet. He reported for duty on June 1, 1943 and began training at Sheppard Field, Texas. From there he went to Wittenberg University for College Training then went to San Antonio, Texas for Active Pre-Flight Training. He received flight training in Uvalde, Texas, and after graduating as a pilot and receiving his commission as a 2nd lieutenant he was assigned to Multi-engine Advanced Training. In Reno, Nevada he trained on the C-46 cargo plane. In late summer 1944 he deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater and was stationed at Sookerating Field in the Assam Valley of India, flying supply missions into China over the Himalayas. Three months later, after Christmas 1944, he was transferred to Myitkyina Airfield, Burma where he continued to fly supply missions until the war ended. He contracted a disease (most likely malaria) and stayed in Burma until he was transferred to Calcutta, India in September 1945 for 30 days in a hospital. In October 1945 he returned to the United States and arrived in November. He received 30 days of leave and was discharged in early 1946. Marion Davis grew up in Hartford, Michigan and in September 1943 enrolled as a cadet nurse at St. Jospeh Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. She received hands-on training on how to be a nurse and planned on joining the Navy after she completed her nursing program if the war was still going on. She completed her nursing program at St. Joseph Hospital in September 1946, and married Roy Davis in 1947.
- Date Created:
- 2016-01-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter "Red" Graham was born in January of 1917 in Lowell, Michigan, and lived there until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. He spent a year and a half training on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, Washington, and was then sent to Kodiak, Alaska as part of the 14th Coastal Artillery. In 1944, after spending significant time in Alaska, he was sent to Oklahoma for retraining before being shipped to Italy. Walter traveled through the Po River Valley in Italy until they reached Northern Italy when the war was won. Walter was eventually discharged from Camp Carson, Colorado in 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2006-11-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dr. Robert Browne was born in Coldwater, Michigan on November 12, 1924. He grew up in Coldwater and Lansing, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan prior to enlisting in the Aviation Cadet Program of the Army Air Force in November (or December) 1942. He received training in Miami Beach, Florida, Xavier University, Ohio, San Antonio Aviation Center, Texas, and Cimarron Field, Oklahoma. He completed training in early 1944 and was qualified to fly multi-engine planes. He was sent to Hollandia, New Guinea where he joined the 41st Squadron of the 317th Troop Carrier Group. He flew C-47 transport planes and participated in supply drops, airborne missions (particularly the dropping of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment on Corregidor), and napalm bombing missions in the Philippines. He was stationed in Okinawa after the war ended in 1945 and was eventually sent home and placed in the Reserves in March 1946. In 1953 he retired from the Reserves.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bea Foster Spivey was on the homefront during the Second World War and worked in a Ford factory in Michigan during the war. She was married and had a baby during the war, and her husband, William Hubert Foster served in the Army as a staff sergeant and saw action on New Guinea and on the Philippines and was wounded twice on the Philippines
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Groggel served during World War II in Germany and France as a Replacement Officer for the 90th Division in 1944. Shortly after arriving, he and his severely shorthanded platoon were captured by a German outfit when defending from a pillbox. Groggel was then registered as a POW on December 9, 1944 and was sent to a camp in Poland. A few weeks later, as the Russians approached, the prisoners marched across Poland to Germany, under grueling conditions, and then had to march south from Hannover to Munich as other Allied forces approached. His liberation by General Patton's forces came on April 29, 1945 in Münchberg, Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2009-10-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- August Katsma was born on November 11, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1937 he joined the National Guard as a medic in the 126th infantry. After the National Guard he got married and then was drafted into the Army. August trained as an MP and was in the Army's band. He was sent to North Carolina to a special service camp as a band member to raise money and play for the servicemen. Next he was sent to Camp Sibert, Alabama to Grey's Registration Unit and then Deployed to Manila in the Philippines. In Manila he worked at the morgue where he documented casualties of the war. August was sent back to the United states in February, 1946 and discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2008-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arthur Thorsen is a Muskegon, Michigan, native who enlisted in the U.S. Navy before Pearl Harbor in 1941 at the age of seventeen. He worked mostly in the engine rooms of the ships he served on, initially an ammunition ship, and then the light cruiser Philadelphia in the Atlantic in 1942 and 1943 as it escorted convoys and supported the North African landings. He was then assigned to a new destroyer, the Anthony, which was sent to the Pacific in 1944. This ship also served as an escort and engaged in shore bombardments, notably at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and was then based at Sasebo, Japan, after the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2009-06-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peggy Stolk was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up during the Depression. Her family never ran into any major problems during that time, but afterwards her father left her mother with six children to raise on her own. Peggy worked during high school and during the war, while she was waiting for her boyfriend to come home. She said that most of the young men were gone at the time and she spent a lot of time hanging out with girlfriends. She wrote her boyfriend everyday while he was fighting in Europe and they finally got married in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2008-02-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jane Jacobs Badini was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 1924. She grew up playing softball, first with her brothers, and later with organized teams. She was a talented pitcher, and one of the players recruited by the AAGPBL when it was formed in 1943. She played in the league for four years, primarily with Racine, before leaving and starting her own business.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edwin Baumann was born on June 19, 1923 in Stockton, California. In April 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Force to become a pilot and began training in August 1942. He received training at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas then went on to train at Hicks Field, Texas and Lubbock, Texas, graduating with the ability to fly twin engine aircraft. He was trained with a B-24 crew in Mountain Home Air Base, Idaho and survived a crash there before being assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group at Hammer Field, California. In January 1944 he and his crew were deployed to the European Theatre and were stationed at Toretto Field, Italy. He flew bombing missions over Yugoslavia, Romania, and Hungary and got shot down on a bombing raid on Ploesti in May 1944. He was captured in Yugoslavia and became a prisoner of war for eleven months placing his liberation as sometime in April 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2005-10-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marjorie Matthews was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1922. Shortly after America's entry into the Second World War she joined the Red Cross and served as a driver in the Motor Corps in Muskegon. Her duties ranged from the transportation of servicemen to delivering magazines to the military hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. She also worked for Seal Power in Muskegon (a company that was part of the war effort) as a switchboard operator. Marjorie left the Red Cross after the war's end in 1945, and she worked for Seal Power for a total of 13 years.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alfred Schumacher was born in Blue Island, Illinois on December 14, 1924. He grew up there and was drafted in July 1943. He volunteered for Army Air Force training and was sent to Miami Beach Training Center, Florida for basic training. After getting washed out of pilot training he was sent to Buckley Field, Colorado for armorer/gunnery training, and from there was sent to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. He received more training with his crew out west before being sent to Westover Field, Massachusetts. They flew overseas to England as a B-24 bomb crew assigned to the 44th Bombardment Group, later reassigned to the 577th Squadron of the 392nd Bomb Group of the 8th AIr Force at RAF Wendling. He flew thirty combat missions (including one during the Battle of the Bulge, the last bombing run in the European Theatre, and crash landed near the frontline in France). He and his crew returned to the United States in late summer 1945 and he was sent to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he was discharged on October 27, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Fred Bernhardt enlisted in the Marines at the age of 17 in early 1944. He served in the Pacific Theater of WWII as an artillery observer for naval bombardments. He also served as a guard of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki, and was part of the post-war occupation force as an MP in the Nagasaki area.
- Date Created:
- 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Joe was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1923. He joined the National Guard when he was fourteen years old and served until his unit was federalized in 1940. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was sent to be an MP at Fort Custer, Michigan. Joe was sent to England where he patrolled four small towns about thirty miles outside of London. While in country, he also was part of the honor guard and was a staff driver for officers. Joe was sent back to the United States in 1946 after the war had ended.
- Date Created:
- 2013-05-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Walter Stecker was able to avoid being drafted into the services during the beginning of World War II because of his work for the aircraft industry in industrial design. He was eventually drafted into the Navy and worked on illustrations for the assembly of aircraft, blue-prints, and maps. He worked on top-secret projects and even presented some of his findings to the US Senate.
- Date Created:
- 2007-07-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lee Bakker was born in Wellsburg, Iowa on October 14, 1924. After graduating from high school in 1943 he was drafted in fall 1943. He was inducted in Des Moines, Iowa and received basic training at Camp Roberts, California. After basic training he tried to be a paratrooper and received the training at Fort Benning, Georgia, but broke his leg. He was then sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where he trained with 81mm mortars and was assigned to the 70th Infantry Division. He left the U.S. in November 1944 and arrived in Marseille, France in December 1944. He was assigned to H Company of the 275th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division and fought in France, and Germany (liberating the city of Saarbrucken) and crossing the Saar River. He was stationed in Germany for occupation duty until he threw out his back and returned to the United States. He received treatment at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri and got medically discharged in September 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doug Anderson was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Union High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and began training one month after graduation. Doug went through accelerated college courses at Oakland College in Ohio and was then sent to mid-shipman school in New York. After going through training, the war was already over and Doug was sent to work in salvage and preservation in Guam. Doug spent the extent of his service in Guam and eventually became an Executive Officer when he was only 19 years old.
- Date Created:
- 2004-05-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)