Veterans History Project

Diary of Earl Dennis (Outline, transcription and scan)

Diary kept by Earl L. Dennis grew up outside of Coopersville, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army in April, 1942, at the age of 29. He trained at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and was then stationed in Groton, Connecticut, where he became a cook…
Abbott, Marvin (Interview outline and video), 2010

Marvin Abbott was born in June 1938 in Decatur, Michigan and after graduating from high school, attending Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, Abbott went through the ROTC program, which included a six-week basic training course at…
Abrams, James (Interview outline and video), 2011

James Abrams was born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1923, and eventually grew up in Montana. After moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, he joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor. After boot camp in San Diego, he was shipped to the Solomon Islands and joined the…
Adams, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2010

Michael Adams was a marine who served in Operation: Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He served as a security forces specialist who would be one of the first team of Marines to enter Baghdad. He reports observing the destruction of the statue of Saddam…
Alcumbrack, Lester (Interview outline and video), 2008

Lester Alcumbrack was drafted into the army in 1942. Les became very sick during basic training, and became a truck driver. He trained as a fuel truck driver and received amphibious training. He began duty in Scotland and Wales prior to the Normandy…
Aldrich, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2011

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…
Alexander, Floyd (Interview outline and video), 2013

Floyd Alexander was born in 1949 in Jerseyville, Illinois. He grew up in that area and joined the Army in February 1969. He trained at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Fort Sill, Oklahoma to be a part of the artillery. He was deployed to Vietnam in…
Alioto, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2013

Michael Alioto was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Despite having a college deferment, he received a draft notice in 1969, and rather than argue the issue, he decided to go into the Army anyway. Despite his high test scores, he was trained as an…
Allen, Ronald (Interview outline and video), 2013

Ronald Allen served in the Air Force from 1970 to 1974. He enlisted in the Air Force to avoid getting drafted into the Army and had a deeper interest in serving with the Air Force and working with aircraft. After travelling from Kalamazoo, Michigan…
Ambrose, Thomas (Interview outline and video), 2010

Thomas Ambrose joined the Navy in 1948. He trained for the Medical Corps, and initially did hospital duty, but then transferred to the Marines and was sent to Korea to serve as a corpsman with a line company. His unit fought a series of engagements…
Anderson, Doug (Interview outline and video), 2004

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…
Anderson, George (Interview outline and video), 2005

George Anderson was born on February 5, 1931 in Coopersville, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy in 1951. He was sent to the Great Lakes training center in Chicago, and then transferred to Newport, Rhode Island, where he took torpedo training. He was…
Anderson, Nicholas "Nick" (Interview outline and video), 2013

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…
Anderson, Bob (Interview transcript and video), 2011

Bob Anderson was born in August 1948 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While growing up, his father re-enlisted in the military, meaning Anderson and his family moved constantly, although Anderson's father stayed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland long…
Anderson, Robert (Interview transcript and video), 2005

Robert Douglas Anderson, born near Grand Rapids, Michigan. in 1926, was drafted into the Army in 1945 after the war had already ended. After training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and Fort Meade, Maryland, he was sent to Yokohama, Japan to identify and…
Anderson, Wayne S. (Interview outline and video), 2007

Wayne Anderson served as an armorer in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. He was based in England and serviced fighter planes, primarily P-51 Mustangs, that escorted bombing missions. At the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he was assigned to…
Armstrong, Larry (Interview outline and video), 2003

Larry Armstrong was born in Livingston, Tennessee. He joined the Marines and attended boot camp at Camp LeJeune. After boot camp, he was sent to the Marshall Islands to do clean up work such as clearing roads and standing guard. He was sent to Maui,…
Arntz, Bob (Interview outline and video), 2004

Bob Arntz was born in 1944 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school Bob worked in a factory for a while before enlisting in the Army in 1968. Bob went through basic training in February of 1968 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After…
Astrauckas, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2008

Richard Astrauckas served with the Merchant Marines from 1943 to 1948 during World War II and with the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean War. He discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S. and sea voyages…
Austhof, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2004

Jack Austhof, born on September 15, 1948, enlisted in the US Army in 1967 during the Vietnam War with a friend under the Army's buddy system. He spent a year and a half in Germany as a repair parts specialist in a supply company. He did not see…
Austin, Randy (Interview outline and video), 2008

Randy Austin was born in Paw Paw, Michigan on December 30, 1945 and was drafted shortly after graduating high school in 1965. He was not happy about being drafted and expected to be sent to Vietnam. Instead he began training in aviation electronics…
Austin, Robert (Interview transcript and video), 2008

Robert Austin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up on a farm. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June, 1941 and trained first for the Marine Air Corps and then for the Marine Paratroopers. He eventually was assigned to the 5th Marine…
Avgerinos, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2012

Steve Avgerinos was born in Chicago in 1949. He enlisted late in 1968 to stay ahead of the draft. He took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then AIT at Fort Lewis, and then went on to NCO school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then sent…

John joined the United States Army and spent nine months in training. He became a fuel truck driver, and eventually spent two weeks in Panama in support of Operation Just Cause in 1989.
Browse All Items in Veterans History Project

Title

Veterans History Project

Creator

Grand Valley State University. History Department

Contributor

Smither, James
Boring, Frank

Description

The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.

Coverage

1914-

Rights

In Copyright

Subject

Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American

Publisher

Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives

Relation

Veterans History Project (U.S.)

Identifier

RHC-27

Language

eng

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