Search Constraints
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- 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.)
- Notes:
- David Zylstra was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. In August 1943 he received his draft notice. He was processed at Fort Custer, Michigan and accepted into the Army Specialized Training Program. He received basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and then went to Brooklyn College, New York for the ASTP engineering course. When the ASTP was cancelled he was sent to join the 75th Infantry Division on their maneuvres in Texas and Louisiana in spring 1944. He was assigned to M Company of the 291st Infantry Regiment and received heavy weapons training. The division left the United States in fall 1944 and arrived at Swansea, Wales on November 2, 1944. In December 1944 the 75th went to France and arrived at Le Havre on December 13, 1944. David saw action in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, in the Netherlands, and in the Ruhr Pocket during the advance into Germany in spring 1945. At the end of the war he was in Westphalia, Germany and Camp New York, France helping with the processing of GIs, German prisoners of war, and the Information and Education Office for the American Universities in England and France. He also attended the American University in Biarritz, France. He returned to the United States after nine months of occupation duty and got discharged on March 10, 1946 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
- Date Created:
- 2015-06-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Kenneth Ball was born in Byron Center, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1952. After high school he spent a year at community college before going to the University of Michigan for architecture. Kenneth was drafted into the Army in 1956 went through basic training in Colorado. He then went through advanced training to be a supply sergeant in Arkansas. After training Kenneth was sent to Korea during the armistice where he helped put up buildings for 16 months.
- Date Created:
- 2008-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jimmie Carol Bush was drafted into the Army in 1967, and served in the Vietnam War. He joined the 82nd Airborne Division, and was involved in heavy jungle fighting. His job in his platoon was to carry the M-60 machine gun. His unit spent most of its time being transported by helicopter.
- Date Created:
- 2005-01-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Fisher served as a 1st scout in the 89th infantry division 353rd regiment of Patton's 3rd Army. During this interview Charles Fisher's recounts action during his service from 1943 to 1946 including one occasion in which he was the first American solider to enter a concentration camp. He also touches briefly on is home life including his employment and management of factories. This interview includes a supplemental video with some home movie footage that he shot in Europe after the war and an earlier interview recorded by his daughters.
- Date Created:
- 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Chester Novak is a WW II and Korean War veteran who served in the United States Air Force from February 1944 to 1952 in the Aleutian Islands and Korea respectively. In this interview, Novak talks about growing up on a farm and joining the Army at 15 years old. Because he was underage, the Army sent him home. In 1944 he was drafted by the Air Force as a gunner. During the Korean War, Novak's plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war for 17 months. After being released from prison camp, Novak left the Air Force, got married and moved to Mississippi where he was a shrimper for 22 years.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Umlor served as a sergeant in an infantry company during the Vietnam War. During his time in Vietnam, Wayne was wounded and spent several months in a military hospital. He was also awarded 2 purple hearts. After being healed he served 2 more months in the field before being discharged in 1970. Note: This interview is incomplete, and starts with him in the hospital.
- Date Created:
- 2005-02-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Serafino was born in Illinois in 1948 and enlisted in the Marines Corps right after graduating from high school. They were sent to San Diego for basic training for 9 weeks, which was very rough on him even though he had played many sports in high school. Edward then trained with amphibious vehicles called Amtraks for another 30 days before being shipped to Vietnam. While in Vietnam Edward worked for a while on supplies, guard duty, and then spent most of his time traveling along water ways in the Amtraks.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edward Stolt was born Jan 13, 1919, in Bayshore, Michigan. His family moved around frequently. He did not finish school, and stopped at the eighth grade. He worked on farms until he joined the Army. He was at Fort Leonard Wood for three years before being deployed to Europe. He served primarily in France and Germany. He served in the 949th Field Artillery Battalion, driving a jeep for the Colonel, assisting with communications, and reconnaissance. He arrived two weeks after D-Day, and was involved the in the campaigns in Normandy, northeastern France and Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jake Grit was drafted into the Army in 1943 and fought in World War II. He served in a rifle company in the 9th Division, which he joined as a replacement in September, 1944. He saw action in the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, at the Remagen Bridge, and in the advance into Germany. Despite the intensity of some of his combat experiences, he did not have enough points to go home right away, and spent several months with the Army of Occupation in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Todd Herrick was born on January 19, 1971 and joined the Army Reserve in 1989. He served in transportation and military police units, and went on active duty and served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War of 1991 and again during the Iraq war in 2003.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Marvin Jalving enlisted in the Army Air Corps in July of 1943 and was discharged in October of 1945. He went to England late in 1944 and flew 23 missions in B-17s, most of which were in Germany taking out train yards and gasoline refineries. After flying missions in Europe, George had been sent to California and scheduled to leave for the Pacific. He was relieved when he found that he had enough points to be discharged before he was sent to the Pacific. Personal narrative appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-04-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Simon Maier served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956. He trained as an electrician and got assigned to the 6th Armored Division on the west coast of the U.S. For most of Simon's service his unit was contracted by the Air Force to build runways. He also assisted in pickup after a large flood in 1956.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Schuster served in the Navy during WW II aboard a Logistics Support Vessel (LSV), of which only 5 were used during the war. During this interview Schuster talks about serving in the engine room of the LSV, and trips between various islands and Pearl Harbor ferrying wounded personnel. Schuster also describes Manila after it's liberation from the Japanese, and about Navy prisoners having their sentences reduced if they went to sea.
- Date Created:
- 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Smith enlisted in the United States Army shortly after he graduated from high school. He served in the motor pool at various bases throughout the United States, including Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and Fort Eustis in Virginia. Upon his release from the Army in 1957, he continued his service by way of the active reserves until he was released from that service.
- Date Created:
- 2005-05-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jean Faut was born in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, in 1925. As a teenager, she shagged flies and pitched batting practice for a men's semipro team, and was spotted by an AAGPBL scout and recruited into the league. She played from 1946 through 1953 for the South Bend Blue Sox. She was initially signed as a third baseman, but had such a good arm that she was converted to a pitcher, and became one of the most dominant pitchers in the league. She threw several no-hitters and two perfect games, and helped her team to win two championships. She was married and had a son while she was in the league, and when he was old enough, he came with her on road trips
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Edwin Heiden was born and raised in St. Joseph, MI in March 1947. He graduated high school in 1965 and joined the Marine Corps shortly thereafter. Edwin adapted to Marine life well and became a mechanic. He was deployed to Vietnam as reinforcement for the 3rd Motor Transport Battalion in Phu Bai, operating mostly as a truck driver. He was soon transferred to the 3rd Medical Battalion, where he served during the Tet Offensive, helping transport and care for the wounded coming from Hue City. His unit then moved north to Quang Tri where he helped construct a new base. Edwin then returned home to finish his enlistment by teaching marines to drive trucks in California. He then left the military for a short time to attend college and get married, before returning to the service through Officer Candidate School. Edwin became an Infantry Platoon Commander and led a unit operating at Guantanamo Bay. Edwin left the service again soon after this and moved back home to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2015-12-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Brooks was born in Canton Township, Michigan. His father died when he was two years old, and his mother later remarried and the family moved to Grand Rapids. He graduated from Central High School in 1933 and joined the Navy in 1940 to become a pilot. Richard went to Pensacola, Florida to conduct flight training and went on to be stationed in Naval Air Station Coco Solo in Panama. While there, he flew future President Gerald Ford across the Panama Canal so he could make it back to his ship. Later in the war, he was sent to the Pacific and stationed in the Philippines where he flew hundreds of hours of missions doing both Black-Cat operations and Air-Sea Rescue.
- Date Created:
- 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Blackwell served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber with the 8th Air Force in Europe. His account covers his training, experiences in England, and flying missions over northern Europe. During the Battle of the Bulge, his plane was shot down, and he had a narrow escape from the Germans when he landed in a river near the front lines and was rescued by Belgian civilians.
- Date Created:
- 2004-10-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jerre Denoble was born in Oakland, California in 1923. She learned to play ball from her father, and while she was a teenager she started playing softball in an industrial league. A friend encouraged her to try out for the AAGPBL, and she joined the league in Cuba for spring training in 1947. She was assigned to Grand Rapids, but after scoring the only run in the season opener, she was sent to Peoria. After playing one season, she went back to her job in California.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Allan Reynolds was born in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1923. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and went to Aviation Radio School in San Diego, California. He was stationed in Alaska when the war began and served at Dutch Harbor during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. He was sent to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington and volunteered for Flight School at that time. He received flight training and operational training in Louisiana, Tennessee, and finally Florida with PBY and PBM seaplanes, promoted to the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class Aviation Pilot. At the end of World War Two he flew patrols over the Pacific Coast. He was part of VH-4 Squadron at Bikini Atoll for atomic testing in summer 1946 and was part of Operation Highjump in Antarctica from December 1946 to April 1947. During the Antarctic expedition he discovered a trough that was named after him, Reynolds Trough. He made a career out of the Navy and was stationed in China, Japan, all over the U.S., and in the United Kingdom. After twenty years of service he completed his career at Great Lakes Naval Station and retired in September 1961.
- Date Created:
- 2015-11-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leigh Freeman was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1950 and was the son of a World War Two veteran. He was drafted in 1969 and trained at Fort Ord, California. When he arrived in Vietnam (April 1970), he was placed in Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Charlie Company was sent to places such as Firebase Ripcord and Gladiator and however, Leigh was in the infirmary when the company was heavily engaged on Hill 902 and Hill 1000 in July 1970, but did see action at Hill 605 at the end of the Ripcord campaign. After suffering a traumatic experience in the field, Leigh was moved to Echo Company for the remainder of his tour. After he returned from Vietnam, Leigh got a master's degree in education and held various teaching jobs.
- Date Created:
- 2015-10-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- John Fowler was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1947. He attended college at the University of Kansas and eventually dropped out. In the fall of 1968 he volunteered for the draft and was sent to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and later AIT at Fort Lewis, Washington. After AIT he signed up for NCO school and in May he was promoted to the level of sergeant. In October he was deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to Charlie Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans. He and his unit participated in the establishment and operations around Firebase Ripcord until he was wounded in June, 1970. He left Vietnam in the second week of August 1970 and was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2013-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Frederick is a Vietnam War veteran who served initially in the ROTC and then the U.S. Air Force from 1965 to 1993. In this account, Frederick discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, and basic training in the U.S. Serving his active duty in Vietnam, Frederick gives one a brief but detailed perspective of what fighting in Vietnam, specifically during the Tet Offensive, was like and his part in it.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Curly Garner enlisted in the Coast Guard shortly after graduating from high school. He trained on Government Island in California and was sent to the Aleutian Islands during WWII. Their job was to try and rescue pilots that went down near the top of Japan. The conditions on the ship were good except the weather. After the war ended he was almost sent to be part of the occupation of Japan, but was discharged instead.
- Date Created:
- 2003-12-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jim Hunter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in July 1946. After briefly trying college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in February, 1966. After training in San Diego, he deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; this unit took many casualties and became known as "The Walking Dead." His unit operated close to the DMZ, around Dong Ha, Cam Lo, and Camp Carroll. He was badly wounded in December, 1966, and upon recovery was sent to the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia until he received a medical discharge in 1968.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Don Kramer was born in Gary, Indiana on April 3, 1943. Don got his GED when he was 17, got married, and also joined the Navy. Don worked in the Caribbean, Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. Don was involved in many fire fights while in Vietnam and was often under heavy attack. After being badly wounded in a mortar attack in 1972, Don was discharged from the Navy 6 months short of retirement and spent 2 years in military hospitals receiving physical therapy. He retired from his job in 2005 and now spends most of his time at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
- Date Created:
- 2006-12-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Johnnie Myles, born in Natchez Mississippi in 1929, enlisted in the Army in 1946 at the age of seventeen. He qualified for training as a medic, and did both basic and medical training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. While he was there, the Army began to desegregate, and the all-black unit that he was initially assigned to was broken up, and he was placed in an integrated unit. After completing his training, he was assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he served in an integrated transportation unit as a medic until his discharge in 1949. After returning to Natchez, attending trade school and getting job in a shoe shop, he decided to reenlist in 1952 in order to see more of the world and make a better life for himself. He was assigned to a base in Arkansas, and was now a sergeant supervising several soldiers in a medical unit. He stayed there for two tours, and was discharged in 1958.
- Date Created:
- 2011-08-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dan Morley was born in 1968 in Youngstown, Ohio. After a year at the University of Michigan, he was accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served in the United States Army from 1987 to 1993, earning the title of 2nd Lieutenant. Morley never saw combat. After the service, he became a teacher. After his time at West Point was over, he received his teaching degree from the University of Puget Sound and teaches in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Irene Paxson, born July 19th 1917 near Mount Vernon, Illinois, was working for the U.S. Treasury when Pearl Harbor happened. Not long afterward, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps and trained as a radio operator and cryptographer. She was assigned to a special base outside of Washington, where she intercepted German radio messages, and also monitored American traffic to watch for security breaches. A little older than most of the other women in her unit, she soon became a leader, but left in 1944 after she became pregnant.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Vincent Sarnicola was born on October 21, 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1941. In January 1942 he received his draft notice for the Army. He was sent to Camp White, Oregon for basic training, and at the end of that training requested a transfer to the Army Air Force. His request was granted and he was sent to Lackland Air Base, Texas for gunnery training. After completing gunnery training he was assigned to a B-24 crew, and after surgery was assigned to a new crew (the crew that he would be with for the rest of the war). He was assigned to crew #854 of the 64th Bombardment Squadron of the 43rd Bomb Group of the 5th Air Force. He was a tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber and flew missions out of Guam and the Philippines, attacking targets in Japan and China. After Japan's surrender he was sent home on October 15, 1945 and was discharged from Fort Sheridan, Illinois later that month.
- Date Created:
- 2015-01-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard was born in Holland, Michigan on August 21, 1917. He was drafted into the Army in 1942. He was sent to aviation mechanics school and specialized in propellers. He was stationed at Love Field in Dallas, Texas as a part of the 5th Ferries Command to the 62nd Ferry Squadron. Shortly after arriving however, he was attached to the guard squadron and eventually was transferred to the 1208th Military Police Company in New Orleans, Louisiana. Richard was sent to Brazil where he worked as base security in Natal. He remained there until his service ended in 1945.
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ernie Kaufman grew up in Lowell, Michigan, and was drafted into the army in 1946. He trained in Texas and Mississippi, and was then shipped to Guam. He did construction work on bases there, and then transferred to Air/Sea Rescue, where he worked in the message headquarters section. He was discharged in 1948.
- Date Created:
- 2004-06-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Elaine Kines was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1954. She graduated from high school in 1972, and continued on to become a college student and full time employee at the local Meijer warehouse. Unable to maintain her employment and schooling, she decided to join the Air Force. After passing her testing and physical examinations in Detroit, she was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training. She received her orders after the six-week basic training, and reported to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois where she worked in maintenance for weather equipment repair and weather observation. She was able to evade her first assignment to Minot, North Dakota by gaining a join spouse agreement. This agreement allowed her to be re-assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina where she worked for over three years. She remembers both the hardships and benefits of being a woman in the service and left the Air Force once her husband was discharged.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Myron Teegardin was born in 1943. He grew up in San Diego, California where he completed high school. Not long after graduation, he enlisted in the Army. He initially trained as an engineer, but then went to Fort Benning, Georgia, for jump school, and stayed on there as an instructor. He was then sent to Korea to join the 7th Infantry Division. His unit was close the DMZ, and there were periodic clashes with small groups of North Korean infiltrators. He returned to the US late in 1963, and completed his enlistment working as a recruiter in Chicago.
- Date Created:
- 2011-05-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Scholz was born in 1918 in Quincy Illinois. Before Pearl Harbor he worked as a civilian for the Navy as an offset printer in Washington D.C. He was drafted after Pearl Harbor happened and did his basic and job training at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. Robert became a combat engineer in the 13th Engineer Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division. Robert and his unit left on a train to Camp Stoneman in California and from there they departed to New Hebrides via ship for refueling. From there they went to New Caledonia and finally arrived at Leyte, Philippines. His unit later took part in the initial landings on Okinawa, and after the war went to Korea before returning home.
- Date Created:
- 2014-03-20T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Vonk of Grand Rapids, Michigan, left college in the late 1980s to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was sent to Okinawa, and was based there at the time of Desert Storm. His company was scheduled to go to Iraq, but the ground war ended so quickly that they did not have to go. Instead, they spent several months at Subic Bay in the Philippines, and then returned to Okinawa.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Doug Voss was born on March 1, 1950, in Buffalo, New York, but he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1963. He was in the High Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and he enlisted in the Army in June 1968. He went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for basic training then went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for mechanic training. In November 1968, he was deployed to South Korea where he served with Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division. They operated on and inside the Demilitarized Zone, carrying out patrols and guarding the DMZ from North Korean intruders. During his time in South Korea he witnessed the release of the USS Pueblo's crew from North Korean custody. He left South Korea in December 1969 and went to West Germany for a tour in Schweinfurt with the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. After his tour in West Germany he was discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2016-09-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Philip Saladin was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1982. He was attending college during the attacks on 9/11 and eventially joined the Army National Guard in 2005. While in Basic Training, he decided that he wanted to go on active duty, and was sent to Baumholder, Germany, where he joined the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division as part of the Battalion Headquarters S3 (Operations) staff. When it was deployed to Iraq, his unit operated out of combat operations post Capper, conducting patrols and raids targeting Al Qaeda leaders. His unit eventually returned to Germany, and Saladin was reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, in the 1st Cavalry Division. In 2011, his new unit was redeployed to Iraq where it conducted armored patrols and worked with Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Kirkuk. Saladin suffered a traumatic brain injury when his truck hit an IED, but was able to remain with his unit and return with them to Fort Hood after the deployment. He was finally discharged in 2014.
- Date Created:
- 2019-02-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Ronald Bergin enlisted into the Navy in the year of 1944. He was to be sent to Japan for the Occupation, but his company was instead sent to Guam. He describes the condition of the camps in Guam and the how their camp was used to test President Truman's idea for integration between blacks and whites.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Meldon Pitt was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1924. He graduated from Kelloggsville High School in 1942 and then went into the Army. Mel went through diesel mechanics school and then was sent to England. In England he taught people how to seal jeeps so they could go into the water when they were sent to France. Mel was transferred to an infantry company when he got to France and he fought at the Battle of the Bulge. After the Bulge he was sent back to the ordinance company and became a welder. Mel received a battle star for fighting at the Bulge and a purple heart.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dick Hollebeek was born Iowa in 1924 but moved to Washington during his youth. He enlisted in the Army in March 1943 and was sent to Camp White Oregon for basic training. Dick became part of the 216th Salvage Repair Company, and his particular focus dealt with patching clothing, tents, and sewing material. When the time came he shipped out from Camp Shanks New York on the Queen Elizabeth. In England he would spend time at Seaforth Barracks near Liverpool, and witnessed a number of air raids. After D-Day his Company traveled to Utah beach in France where he was a rifle grenadier. After a grueling march they spent an extended time in Vivier Belgium, and later Gistoux. Finally their Company made it to Aachen Germany, and all the way to Hersfeld where the European portion of the War was called to a close. This included Buchenwald concentration camp as well. Post-war, Dick was eventually sent to Camp Boston in France where he waited to be sent home. After returning to the US, Dick was discharged from Camp Atturbury and stayed in Grand Rapids as his family had moved there to Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bob Loper was born in 1924 in Central Lake, Michigan. He grew up in various locations in Michigan until his family settled down in Muskegon, Michigan. He was drafted in 1943 and was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for basic training. From there he was sent to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia where he was transferred from the infantry to a glider infantry airborne unit, specifically the 667th Anti-Aircraft Airborne Machine Gun Battery. He was sent overseas and reached Oran, Algeria by December 1943 and received further training there and then sailed for the China-Burma-India Theatre. He received radio training near Calcutta, India and was then sent into Burma. He and his unit traveled from base to base setting up machine gun positions to protect airstrips used by the 10th Air Force from Japanese air and land forces. When the war was over he was sent back to India and then took a ship back to the United States and was discharged in December 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-04-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leonhard Grams was born on May 20, 1920, in Adamow, Poland. After war broke out in 1939, his family moved to German-occupied Poland because they were ethnic Germans. On February 2, 1941, he was drafted into the Luftwaffe and served at Tempelhof-Berlin Field in Berlin. He served as part of an antiaircraft crew and witnessed multiple bombings of Berlin. He was sent to the Russian front in 1942, and was later wounded and sent to a hospital in Austria, went back into the army and was taken prisoner by the French at the end of the war.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Dale Lancaster was born in Wyoming, Michigan on June 6, 1931. After graduating from college with a degree in social studies and getting married in 1954, he was drafted in December of that year. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic training and engineering training. Upon completing those twelve weeks of training he volunteered for a deployment in Europe. He was assigned to a duty station in West Germany, and after reporting for duty in Heidelberg, he was sent to Karlsruhe to work with the U.S. Army Historical Division due to his college education in history. His primary duty there was to work with former German generals to prepare a strategy to deal with the Soviet Union in case it ever attacked Western Europe. In November 1956 he left West Germany and was discharged from the Army at Fort Hamilton, New York.
- Date Created:
- 2015-02-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Arnold De Loof grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. After training, he was sent to Alaska and Korea, where he did supply work and eventually became a fireman.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Keberle was born in Ohio during the beginning of the Depression. His family did not have very much money and he joined the National Guard in eleventh grade. After graduating from high school, Richard spent more of his time in the Air National Guard, which eventually became part of the Air Force, serving between 1949 and 1954. Richard remembers the changes that took place while the Air Force was being created. Keberle served as a clerk and did not fight in the Korean War.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Machiele was drafted into the US Army in 1966 and served with a road construction unit first in Virginia and then in Vietnam. He was in Vietnam in 1967-1968, where he was not involved in combat, but saw a good deal of destruction.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Theobald Metzger was born in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1936. He describes his memories from his childhood in the Netherlands during WW II. His father spent most of the war in hiding and worked with the underground. He discusses food shortages, the conduct of German soldiers, and popular attitudes toward the Germans.
- Date Created:
- 2006-04-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Ron Oakes married, earned a degree in electronics and traveled around the Midwest working. Eventually, he and his family moved back to Michigan, where Oakes joined the National Guard. As part of the Guard, Oakes helped provide security for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia and deployed to Iraq in 2005 for eleven months. While in Iraq, Oakes performed a variety of jobs, including being a property book manager for his entire brigade stationed at FOB "Q-West", a former Iraqi Air Force base between Balad and Mosul. After the eleven-month deployment, Oakes returned to the United States with the rest of his unit and continued serving in the Guard until March 2009, when he retired at the age of sixty.
- Date Created:
- 2010-06-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Justin Pelham was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 23, 1983. After high school he was not really sure as to what he wanted to do with his life, so he decided to join the Army National Guard in February of 2005. Justin was allowed to return home after training, but called up to serve in Iraq in May 2006. In Iraq, Justin drove Heavy Equipment Transporters, but was injured by a road side bomb. After his injury Justin went through a few different hospitals in Iraq and eventually ended up at Walter Reed.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gordon Potter enlisted into the Naval Reserve the summer of 1955. He trained in Great Lakes, Illinois and was assigned to Alameda Naval Air Station afterwards to do clerical work. His main job was managing fuel use for Bravo Allotment until he was transferred to San Diego where he continued doing clerical work.
- Date Created:
- 2008-09-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Eugene Shoemaker was born in Byron Center, Michigan in 1927 and was drafted into the in 1945. He was sent to many different states and took many tests before they could decide what they would be doing with him. In November of 1945, Eugene was flown to Iceland, without having any training at all. He had learned how to type in high school and they needed typists at the base, which was used or refueling aircraft to and from Europe. Eugene worked in Iceland thought August of 1946 and learned a lot from his experience in the service, but would not recommend it to anyone.
- Date Created:
- 2009-11-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Adrian Sytsma grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was drafted into the Army in 1943. Because he already had some technical training and work experience, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps to be a mechanic. After initially training on B-17s, he eventually was retrained for B-29s, and finally sent to Guam in April, 1945. He serviced aircraft conducting missions to Okinawa and Japan in the last months of the war, and remained on Guam until March, 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2010-11-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Betsy Jochum was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1921. She grew up playing ball with neighborhood kids, and was playing in a local women's softball league in 1943 when she was recruited to play in the All American league during its first season. She played until 1948 with the South Bend Blue Sox, and went on the league's spring training trip to Cuba. She later became a physical education teacher, and donated her glove and uniform to the Smithsonian.
- Date Created:
- 2010-08-04T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Maurice Lehmann was born on March 23, 1924 in Chicago. In March 1943 he was drafted and was processed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois then went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He was accepted into the Army Specialized Training Program and went to Ohio State University and Muskingum College for ASTP. After graduating from ASTP he was reassigned to the infantry and received infantry training at Camp Swift, Texas. He was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 405th Infantry Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division to serve as a rifleman and a scout. In September 1944 he sailed out of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and arrived in Cherbourg, France on September 23, 1944. After further training in France they entered combat in early November 1944. He saw fighting during the Battle of the Bulge then advanced into Germany. He crossed the Rhine River in April 1945 and fought with the 102nd Infantry Division up to the Elbe River and made contact with Soviet troops. At the end of the war he was present for the discovery of the atrocity at Gardelegen. After the war he trained for the invasion of Japan in Tangermunde, then with Japan's surrender he was stationed at Camp Chesterfield, France and studied at Shrivenham American University in England. In March 1946 he returned to the U.S. and was discharged at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
- Date Created:
- 2015-08-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wayne Skaggs was born in Stidham, Oklahoma, in 1949. He was drafted in February 1969 and sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for basic training then advanced infantry training. In July 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam and arrived on July 11. He was assigned to Delta Company of 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans. For the duration of his tour he went on patrols around Camp Evans, went on mountain patrols, and in the spring and summer of 1970 patrolled around Firebase Ripcord. On July 1, 1970, the North Vietnamese attacked Ripcord and he was on base when the bombardment began. On July 6th his tour ended, and by July 9th he was out of the country. He did the last six months of his enlistment at Fort Carson, Colorado, which places his discharge date sometime in either January or February 1971.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Albert Engel, son of U.S. congressman Albert J. Engel, served in the U.S. Army from February 1943 to April 1946 in the European Theater during World War II. During basic training, Albert applied for OCS school, but due to his young age did poorly, but did receive his commission. Before being sent to England, Albert was assigned as commander of the 80th Bomb Disposal Squad. However, shortly after arriving in France Albert was transferred to the HQ for the 19th tactical air command. Here he was assigned to represent defendants in court martial cases. Albert than applied to be the commander of the 86th Bomb Disposal Squad. He stayed commander of this squad until his discharge in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Douglas G. Dean who served in the Army from 1966 to 1968. In this account, he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S. and combat experiences abroad in Vietnam and Korea. He served in a grave registration unit and was stationed in Vietnam and Korea, and describes some of his experiences in detail.
- Date Created:
- 2007-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Adolph Kalafut was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 3, 1924. His father had been a Polish immigrant that owned and operated a bar during Prohibition. His parents wanted him to have an excellent education and paid for him to go to school at a military academy that was similar to West Point. Adolph enlisted in the Marines on September 15, 1943. Training was very easy for him and he was well prepared. Adolph was sent to Iwo Jima after training and it was a very difficult experience for him. He was wounded while in Iwo Jima and it took him about a year to recover. Adolph later worked in a VA hospital in Los Angeles and in Battle Creek, Michigan. Accounts of Iwo Jima from a Marine are appended to interview outline.
- Date Created:
- 2008-08-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tim Kidd was born in Michigan on August 20, 1951 and graduated from high school in 1970. Shortly after graduating, Tim was drafted into the Army and went through basic training in Fort Knox, Tennessee. Tim then had supply training in California and was then shipped out to Vietnam. Tim did mostly security work in Vietnam, guarding ships and inspecting convoys. After Tim was discharged from the Army, he felt that he did not enjoy civilian life and joined the Navy. Tim spent time in the Reserves after the Navy, but had to retire in 1991 due to his class 1 diabetes. He now resides in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
- Date Created:
- 2006-12-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bernard B. Maller is a WW II veteran who served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946 in England, Belgium, France, and Germany. Maller grew up in Detroit. In 1941 Maller enlisted in the Army, underwent officer training and was promptly sent overseas to manage supply distribution, a task which once included redistributing all the liquor found in a building one square block long and four stories high. Maller ended his time in the service in Germany as a member of the Army of Occupation. After the war, Maller continued to work with his father in the fur business. He joined the Masons after leaving the service.
- Date Created:
- 2005-09-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Leo Pfaller served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 in the 4th Armored Division. He had several duties in the Army including tank commander, guard and cook. He discusses his training, dealing with the draft, family life in the military, experience with a court-martial, racial tensions in his outfit and stories about his time in the Army.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Mary Sefton is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to April 1972. In her interview transcript she goes into a detailed account of the events surrounding her pre-enlistment, enlistment and training; her tours in Vietnam, and life after the Vietnam War. Besides this, she offers a unique perspective as a nurse of what the fighting meant in the hospitals of Vietnam as well as what the ground fighting was like for U.S. troops. In addition, she shares what U.S. civilians thought of returning veterans and finally her thoughts on her service experience.
- Date Created:
- 2005-02-21T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jacob Westra was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on November 18, 1918. He grew up during the Depression and was not able to find a job once he had graduated from high school. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was sent to Camp Silver Creek where he worked in the ranger station for one year. Jacob really enjoyed working in the CCC and signed up for 2 more years until he enlisted in the Army in 1939. He was not called up to service until 1941 and went through basic training in Fort Sheridan Illinois. Jacob was then sent to England where they took over an old GMC factory and used it as a supply storage facility. He worked there for 2.5 years until right before D Day when Jacob joined the 78th Infantry "Lightning" Division. They traveled through France and Germany taking many small towns and POWs for months until many of the men earned enough points to return to the Unites States.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Stuart Eppinga was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 17, 1925. After graduating from high school in 1943 he was drafted into the Navy. He received basic training at Camp Peary, Virginia and got assigned to Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex, Bermuda where he helped with maintenance, went on anti-submarine patrols in PBY-3s, and witnessed the capture of six Italian submarines and one German submarine. After eighteen months he requested reassignment and was sent to Guam. On Guam he oversaw Japanese prisoners of war being used for work, and was stationed there for six months. At the end of the war he had enough points to go home and returned to the U.S. by way of the USS Enterprise.
- Date Created:
- 2015-09-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Stauffer was born on May 4, 1971 in Lansing, Michigan. After graduating high school in Caledonia, Michigan, he joined the United States Navy. Throughout the majority of his time in the service, he was a payroll clerk on the USS Underwood. He took part in drug operations as well as rescue missions. Robert also discusses the aftermath of the Gulf War, and the various duties he had while at sea.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- George Bekkering was drafted into the Army after graduating high school in 1966. He served in the Vietnam War for one year, 1967-1968, as a light infantry soldier in the 198th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division. His division camp was based in Chu Lai, which is south of Da Nang. He engaged in many fire fights and received the Bronze Star with a "V" device for saving his Lieutenant's life during an ambush.
- Date Created:
- 2005-06-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Cannon was born in Gary, Indiana in 1925. He was drafted after high school in July of 1943 as part of a group of black draftees from his neighborhood. Mr. Cannon was assigned to the Navy. After training at Great Lakes Naval Station, he was sent to Whidbey Island, Washington, where he commanded a small boat used to retrieve torpedoes from training missions. Later on, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and then at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.
- Date Created:
- 2011-11-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Claude Dies was born in 1945 and served in the Vietnam War with the Marine Corps. He was trained in the area of Air Radio Electronics after basic training, and was sent to New River Air Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina where he spent most of his tour of duty working as an electrician on rewiring the base. After his time in the service, he worked in Avionics.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bud Masinick was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Detroit, MI during his childhood. After graduating high school, he was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He attended basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, and attended submarine school in New London, CT. He was then assigned to the USS Icefish, and patrolled the Pacific until the end of the war. After the war, he played professional baseball, making it to the AAA level.
- Date Created:
- 2008-06-30T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Powers was born in Greenville, Michigan on January 25, 1924. After graduating high school, he attended college at Albion University before enlisting in the Air Force. Robert trained for about 13 months before he was sent to a base in Italy. From there he flew about 25 missions throughout Romania, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, and Poland before his plane was shot down in France. Robert sustained many light injuries, was helped by the French Resistance, but was captured by the Germans. He remained in German prison camp for 11 months until the war ended.
- Date Created:
- 2004-12-02T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Frank Sanborn served in the 101st Airborne Division during WW II. He joined the division as a replacement prior to the Battle of the Bulge, and fought in that campaign and in Germany in 1945, staying on for some time in Germany as part of the occupation forces.
- Date Created:
- 2004-02-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wesley Strehlau was born on December 14, 1926 in Detroit, MI. He served in World War II in the U.S. Navy as a second class water tender. During his three years of service, his responsibilities included operating and repairing machinery. He traveled from port to port to Australia where he participated in atomic bomb tests. He was discharged in 1947 and returned to work as an apprentice draftsman.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Virgil Westdale was born Virgil Nishimura in Millersburg, Indiana and served in World War II. He was trained as a pilot but because his father was Japanese he was demoted to an infantryman and placed in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which consisted primarily of Japanese-Americans. He worked in the Fire Direction Center for his unit, and spent time in combat in Europe. His unit also worked in occupied Germany after combat.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Tim Lamphere was born on February 14, 1967 and grew up in Muir, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army after graduating from the high school (c. 1985). He went through basic training, advanced infantry training, Airborne School, and Ranger School. He served in Panama during Operation Just Cause, in Iraq during the Gulf War, and did three tours in Iraq during the Iraq War. On his first tour he served at Camp Anaconda, on his second tour he served at Al-Mahmoudiyah and was wounded, and his third tour was at Camp Liberty. For 11 years he served as a Ranger attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. After 26 years he retired from the Army (c. 2011).
- Date Created:
- 2014-11-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Alexander Gorashko was drafted in 1942 was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He began training as a radio operator, but then switched to gunnery school, and was assigned to a B-24 crew as a tail gunner. He and his crew were sent to the 15th Air Force in Italy, and flew 14 missions before being shot down over Hungary, including raids over Romania and Auschwitz, and a mission in support of the landings in southern France. After being shot down, he was captured and sent to a POW camp in Pomerania, and was eventually forced by the Germans to march eastward to escape the advancing Russians. The Germans continued to move prisoners around as Allied forces approached from east and west, and Gorashko was eventually liberated by American and British soldiers
- Date Created:
- 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lillian Hansen grew up on a farm in Michigan during the Depression and graduated from high school in 1936. She then worked in her parent's restaurant for a few years before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps (WACs) on February 23, 1943. She trained at a hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida and cooked for the troops. After training Lillian returned home to help her parents run their business. She began writing to Raymond Remus, an old friend from high school, who was fighting in Italy. They got married when he returned 2 years later.
- Date Created:
- 2009-08-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Grace Piscula was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 26, 1926. Growing up she played softball with the neighborhood boys and in school. She played all positions but mainly stuck to playing shortstop, first and third base and left field. Eventually, her coach, Buddy Greif, approached her one day and informed her she would be playing for the Rockford Peaches. Soon thereafter while she was up at college, she received a call from Mr. Wrigley, owner for the Chicago Chicks to come play for them. She played one year for the Rockford Peaches and then the next for the Chicago Chicks. Her career highlights include hitting a triple for Chicago and then catching a fly ball while with Rockford. Following her two years in the league she quit and went back to college. She discusses her post-baseball career in some detail.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Charles Butkus served in the Air Force as a meteorologist during the Korean War. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, and his father was an electrician. He completed high school and some college before he joined the Air Force due to his low draft number. He specialized as a meteorologist, and served in the South Pacific during the atomic testing program and in Hawaii taking readings from weather balloons.
- Date Created:
- 2009-02-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- James Crowell is a WW II veteran who served in the United States Navy from November 1942 to February 1946 in the South Pacific. In this interview, Crowell shares with great detail his time in combat, including the Battle of Leyte Gulf, dogfights over Manila, suicide attacks, a massive air attack on November 25, 1944, and a landing accident that threw Crowell 150 feet from his plane. This accident, which both Crowell and his pilot survived, was made part of a motion picture.
- Date Created:
- 2007-05-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Harold Harig served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946. He trained as an anti-aircraft gunner and served aboard the escort carrier USS Shamrock Bay. He sailed on convoy escort duty to North Africa, and later served in the Pacific in the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns, and was later based in Japan.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jack McKindley was born in 1925 in Kalamazoo Michigan. He graduated from Mendon High School in 1943 and was drafted to the United States Army. After doing his basic training at Keesler Air-force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, he was sent to Arkansas to be part of the military band. He played trumpet for the 469th Air-force band with 27 other members. They were stationed outside of Newport News at Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia during the end of the war. He was discharged in March of 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2014-04-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Meyer was born in Patterson, New Jersey in 1922 and graduated from high school in 1940. After high school Richard worked in the metal trade until he was drafted in 1942. He started training in December 1942 in Colorado Springs with the 49th Engineers. Richard also trained in North Carolina and Tennessee before being sent to Europe. While in Europe Richard worked with the 35th Infantry Division, working on communications and operating switchboards. He traveled through Britain, Holland, Luxemburg, Germany, and France. Richard left Germany in 1945 and later started his own machine company.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Robert Twa was born in Crystal Falls, Michigan in 1922 and served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was trained as a weather forecaster and served in California, Michigan, Greenland, Bermuda, Canada and Georgia. After the war, he worked for the Weather Bureau.
- Date Created:
- 2009-04-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Bernie Windmiller was born in Gary, Indiana, on July 3, 1932. The Army drafted him in 1954 and he received basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then field radio training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was deployed to South Korea where he served on the demilitarized zone and at Daegu. He decided to become a chaplain, and upon completion of seminary, he reentered the Army as a chaplain. His first assignment was at Fort Riley, Kansas, with 3rd Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. He was deployed to Vietnam in January 1967 and was originally stationed at Bearcat Base. Shortly after arriving, he was reassigned to 4th Battalion. During his time in Vietnam, he operated in the Mekong River Delta and went on combat missions with the troops. He returned to the United States in January 1968, and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He then served in West Germany for three years with the 5th Missile Battalion of the 6th Air Defense Artillery (Nike nuclear missiles). He returned to the United States in 1973 and took the advanced course of chaplains, then got his master's degree at Long Island University. He served at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, with the 212th Artillery Brigade then went to Duke University.
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Russell Buys enlisted in the Michigan National Guard shortly after graduating from high school in 1940. A few months later, his unit was activated and sent to Louisiana to train. He initially served as a cook with the 2nd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division. He sailed with them to Australia, and was then shipped to New Guinea, where he and his battalion marched over the Owen Stanley Mountains toward Buna. Toward the end of the Buna campaign, he decided that he wanted to do more than cook, and became a rifleman and got himself wounded in the shoulder. He recovered and stayed with the unit through further fighting in New Guinea and the Philippines before rotating home in 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2010-05-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Richard Beimers was born in 1920 in Lowell, Michigan and spent his early life in the Grand Rapids, Michigan. After injuring his eye as a young person, Richard received a surgery that caused him to lose sight in his right eye. He was eventually drafted into the service and sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan where he learned that he would serve as a non-combatant service man. After receiving basic training, he was sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where he served as an MP Escort Guard, guarding illegal German aliens. He was then transferred to Station Hospital at Fort McCoy where he served as a guard in the contagious and woman's wards. Richard was eventually sent to Hereford, England where he served in a hospital for one year. The hospital where he worked received two trains of patients every week but he only remembers losing seven patients during his entire service. He was eventually sent back to the United States and discharged in Indiana on November 17, 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2004-11-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Peter McMillan is a WW II veteran who served in the United States Air Force from approximately 1945 to 1947? in Guam with a six-week stint in Hawaii. Although a majority of his time in the service occurred after WWII had ended, McMillan's story still provides a unique perspective on post-WW II conflict in the Pacific Theater. This account details how tension and confusion continued well into the post-WWII years. He talks briefly about the role of the United Service Organization and his correspondence home. Finally, McMillan discusses life after war - the role of the G.I. Bill and his generation's commitment to WW II - and what impact the anti-war protests of the 1960s had on his generation.
- Date Created:
- 2006-06-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Jeanette Rearick is World War II wife whose husband served in the U.S. Army. She re-accounts his pre-enlistment, training and enlistment, and service experience. She retells briefly what John Rearick, her husband's service experience, was like in the Pacific. What is memorable about him is his experience fighting the Japanese in the jungles on Guam. After his service experience, John went to law school and traveled with his wife a little bit. She concludes by mentioning how her husband's war experience made them closer.
- Date Created:
- 2009-05-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gib Thomas, born in South Dakota in September of 1920, served in the U.S. Marines from July of 1943-1946 in the Pacific during World War II. While in college in the early 1940s at South Dakota University, Gib was a member of the ROTC. After reporting for active duty, Gib was made the Property and Police Sergeant of the 29th Marine Regiment, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion. He also served on Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Guam and China during and after the war.
- Date Created:
- 2012-04-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Cathy Seifert was born in Grand Rapids, MI in 1952. After graduating from Hope College, she entered the civil service in 1976, and then went to the Naval War College for officer training in 1978. She then served as a naval officer in various capacities until retiring in 1999. She served in Hawaii, Guam, Japan, Portugal, Norfolk, and finally at the Pentagon, serving with the Defense Intelligence Agency. She describes her different assignments in detail, and also says a good deal about life in the Navy and issues confronted by women officers during the period in which she served.
- Date Created:
- 2008-05-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Julius Van Oss was drafted into the US Army in 1943 and initially assigned to the Army Air Corps. In training, he qualified for the ASTP program, which sent men to college to prepare them to become engineers, but the program was cancelled after he had been in it for seven months, and he was returned to the Air Corps. After failing to qualify as a radio operator, he was assigned to the infantry and was slated to go to Europe. The Germans surrendered before he could leave, however, and he wound up being sent to the Philippines as a replacement for the 6th Division. He fought briefly prior to the Japanese surrender, after which he was assigned to work with communications for his regiment, first in the Philippines and then in Korea before he returned home in 1946.
- Date Created:
- 2011-10-17T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Lloyd Blough was born in Michigan on August 25, 1915 and drafted into the Army in 1941 when he was 26 years old. He went through training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan and was transferred to Virginia two weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked. In Virginia, Lloyd went through advanced training to become an airplane mechanic, working with P-39s. Once he was finished training, Lloyd was sent to Africa where he worked on different planes in Algeria and Tunisia. He spent a total of two years overseas and also worked in France, Italy, and Ireland before he was sent back to the United States to finish the other two years of his service.
- Date Created:
- 2005-03-31T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Wilbur Bouwkamp served in the US Army between 1941 and 1945. After basic training, he was assigned to the 10 Armored Division, where he served on a recovery vehicle, a tank adapted to tow damaged tanks back to friendly lines where they could be repaired. He was wounded in action in Europe but returned to his unit, and received orders to ship home shortly before V-E Day.
- Date Created:
- 2007-08-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Gregory Phillips was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on August 22, 1948. After graduating from college in 1969 he was drafted into the Army. He received basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and his advanced infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In December 1969 he deployed to Vietnam. He was first assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Lai Khe and he served with them for two months (first in 2nd Battalion/28th Infantry Regiment then 2nd Battalion (mechanized)/2nd Infantry Regiment). Gregory transferred to the 101st Airborne Division at Phu Bai, and joined 2nd platoon of Delta Company, 1st Battalion/506th Infantry Regiment on March 1, 1970. On the morning of May 7th he and the rest of 2nd platoon fought at the battle of Firebase Maureen where he was wounded six times and was later awarded the Silver Star for his actions there. He was medically evacuated to the United States and served at Fort Hood, Texas, for the last ten months of his enlistment (he was most likely discharged in June 1971).
- Date Created:
- 2016-10-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Nick Anderson was born in Minnesota in 1989 and moved to Grand Haven, Michigan three years later. He had given thought to joining the military before 9/11 and, during his senior year of high school, decided that he wanted to be a Marine. Nick swore into the military in Lansing, Michigan and then went to San Diego, California for Basic Training. He was then sent to Camp Pendleton, California for Infantry Training. His first deployment was on an MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) until he returned to America for Mountain Warfare Training. Nick was then deployed to Afghanistan and landed at Camp Leatherneck. His unit served in Sangin where there was a constant threat of IED's. He remembers his experiences on patrols and the routines of finding abandoned compounds.
- Date Created:
- 2013-01-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Raymond Fischer was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924 and after attending junior college and working in Greenville, Michigan, Fischer joined the military. Following training in Oklahoma, Fischer shipped overseas and as part of the 79th Infantry Division, participated in the Normandy campaign, fighting through swamps and hedgerows, in the advance across France and fighting along the German frontier in the fall of 1944. While on patrol at that time, he was taken prisoner, and he spent the rest of the war in a prison camp until Russian soldiers arrived. He and some other men left the camp on bicycles and made their way back to the American lines, and he was sent home from there.
- Date Created:
- 2010-07-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Scott Pellerito served in the US Air Force between 1995 and 1999. Scott was trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base to become an imagery interpreter. Upon his graduation, Scott was placed in the 13th Intelligent Squadron where he worked on images relating to the Bosnian Conflict. In approx. 1996 Scott began his work in Florida. Here he assisted in Operation Desert Fox in 1998. After his discharge he began IT work in Michigan.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)
- Notes:
- Oscar Carlson was born in 1920, or 1921 and raised in Northport, Michigan. On December 8, 1941 he enlisted in the Army in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was processed at Fort Custer, Michigan and was sent to Camp Joseph. T. Robinson, Arkansas for basic training. While at Camp Robinson he was assigned to the 43rd Infantry Division. He trained in the United States for the majority of 1942 in Arkansas and Mississippi before deploying to the Pacific Theatre in October 1942. He was stationed at New Zealand before taking part in the occupation of the Russell Islands in February 1943, the liberation of Vangunu, Rendova, and New Georgia through the summer of 1943, securing Aitape, New Guinea in July and August 1944, and and the liberation of Luzon, Philippines in January-August 1945. After the war ended he returned to the United States and landed at San Francisco. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and was discharged there in October 1945.
- Date Created:
- 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- Veterans History Project (U.S.)