Goodman, Donald (Interview transcript and video), 2019

Smither, James (Interviewer)

WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)

Donald Goodman was born on January 12, 1932, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Goodman graduated high school in 1949 and went on to attend the University of Illinois Chicago, which at the time had a campus at Navy Pier, for three years. In 1950, he rejected his admission into the Air Force and enlisted into the Army due to the shorter tours of duty offered by the latter service branch. For Basic Training, he was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for three years where he participated in rigorous practice drills of combat scenarios which he described as overly chaotic and nerve racking. He also recalled how the racial integration of the Armed Forces was difficult for some recruits to mentally overcome and how the Army was subtly preparing its recruits, mentally, for a potential war with the Soviet Union. After Basic, Goodman was promoted to Corporal and became a Company Clerk. At one point, Goodman was assigned to lead a ‘Prison Chase’ job with two other soldiers to retrieve five prisoners who were being held on charges of going AWOL near Chicago. He and his two men enjoyed a night in Chicago before retrieving and delivering the Army prisoners to Fort Sheridan the next day. During his service on the base, he lived with his wife in an Army trailer and his son was also born in the base’s hospital. In June of 1954, Goodman was discharged from the Army and moved his new family back to Chicago Heights where he became a middle school teacher in 1956 and later a high school teacher. During President Johnson’s Great Society initiative, his school district received large sums of money from the federal government which he used to help establish a reading, writing, and math program at a local college. Reflecting upon his service in the Army, Goodman believed his military training, in both recognizing and assuming authority, allowed him to control his classes by maintaining discipline. He owed a great amount of gratitude to the Army for helping him grow mentally into the ambitious person he is today. Goodman also kept in touch with one of his old Sergeants, was ultimately glad he enlisted into the Army, and was grateful he was never injured during his time in service.

2019-06

In Copyright

Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.

Veterans History Project (U.S.)

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