Chenard, John (1 of 2, Interview transcript and video), 2017
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
John Chenard was born in Chicago Heights Illinois in 1948. He grew up with a barber father, and a stay at home mother, he also had a brother and a sister. He went to Creek Moni High School. He was drafted through the draft lottery in 1967. He was shipped off to Fort Polk, Louisiana. He did 8 weeks of basic infantry training, and then is advanced training there as well. After Basic and Advanced, he went to Fort Benning Georgia for Airborne training. After that, he signed up to be a Ranger, that training consisting of 12 weeks, which was near the Panama Canal. After that, he was hand picked for a small operation, search-and-rescue. He was based in Washington D.C, but would fly into Vietnam and rescue POWs. In 1970, he finished that tour in Vietnam, received surgery for bullet wounds he had acquired throughout his time in Vietnam, and was given an "Infantry/ Honor Guard" status. His return to the states was rocky, a crowd of being throwing things at him and yelling at him. He went to University of Maryland College Park campus for 2 years while extending his military contract for two years as well. For his service as well, he earned a variety of metals, including 4 Purple Hearts. He became a soldier at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Also, he was apart of the Army Drill Team, and would go around to public outings and do shows of gun maneuvers. After that, he retired from the military and did accounting for a year. He was let go from that job, and was a crane operator for 40 years before he retired. He had a wife, who has since passed away, and has three daughters.
Chenard, John
Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
In Copyright
Chenard, John (2 of 2, Interview transcript and video), 2017
John Chenard was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, in 1948 and was drafted into the Army in 1967. Chenard attended both basic and advanced infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, before being sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Airborne training as well as Ranger School near the Panama Canal. For his first deployment, he was selected to run small search-and-rescue operations in and out of Vietnam, recieving several bullet wounds during this action. Chenard's return to the United States was rocky, as crowds threw things and yelled at him. For his service, he earned a variety of metals, including 4 Purple Hearts, became a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and was a part of the decorated Army Drill Team. He also mentions crossing paths with several Cambodian refugees in the United States he had not seen since his service in Vietnam.
Cherington, Milford (Interview outline and video), 2004
Michigan--History, Military
United States. Air Force
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Milford Cherington Served in the Air Force during World War II. He joined the Air Corps after being classified 4F by the Army draft board. He wanted to train as a pilot, but wound up as a gunner on a B-17 bomber and flew numerous bombing missions over Germany. He was also part of the first group to bomb Berlin in daylight.
Cherington, Milford
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Chiarelli, Mike (Interview transcript and video), 2014
United States—History, Military
Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American
Mike Chiarelli was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949, to parents who immigrated from Sicily. In 1969, he got a draft notice while attending barber college, but he was allowed to finish school before being inducted into the Army in Fort Dix, New Jersey and sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic and advanced training for the infantry. After advanced training, he was sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland because he had not received orders to go to Vietnam yet. After three weeks at Aberdeen he was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and, three months later, to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam to be shipped to Phu Bai Combat Base. Chiarelli was assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 506th Infantry B Company of the 101st Airborne Division and served in Vietnam for eleven months from 1970-1971. He went to Bangkok, Thailand for R&R. While fighting in Vietnam, his friend Roberto Flores got killed and Chiarelli still lives with the guilt. After spending most of his deployment out in the field for the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, his Company was assigned to do security for the perimeter of the base. At the end of the battle, he got burned on the face from an explosion the day they evacuated the base. He spent three weeks in the hospital to recover, after which he was flown back to Fort Lewis in Washington state, where he was discharged. He returned home in New York to work as a barber and later got a business associate’s degree. In 1977, he and his wife moved to Texas. Chiarelli still suffers from PTSD and often spends time alone to cope.
Chiarelli, Mike
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Maps
World War, 1939-1945
Map of Europe during WWII, year unclear, emhasizing the French Maginot Line and german Seigfried Line.
Chicago Tribune
Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club scrapbooks (RHC-54)
No Known Copyright
Grand Rapids (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Boats and boating
Newspaper clipping of eulogy for John F. Corbet, who died at 83 and won a $1,000 prizeat the Columbian exposition, defeating Edward Clator in a single sculls race.
Chikaming Township Master Land Use Plan 1992-2012
Master plan reports
Chikaming Township (Mich.)
Berrien County (Mich.)
The Chikaming Township Master Land Use Plan 1992-2012 was prepared by the Chikaming Township Planning Commission and the Chikaming Township Master Plan Committee with assistance from The WBDC Group and was adopted on October 10, 1992.
Chikaming Township Planning Commission
Chikaming Township Master Plan Committee
Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)
No Copyright - United States
Childress, James Harold (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Navy
James H. Childress enlisted in the Navy in October 1943. He trained in Spokane, Washington
Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois (for Quartermaster School)
and Little Creek, Virginia for amphibious training. He joined a Landing Ship, Medium crew in Houston, Texas and trained with them before sailing out into the South Pacific. He took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima and after that the invasion of Okinawa where he survived the sinking of his ship. He was sent home later that summer and was home during the dropping of the atomic bombs and Japan's subsequent surrender on August 15, 1945.
Childress, James Harold
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Jeffrey Chivis interview (audio and transcript)
Potawatomi Indians
Bode'wadmi
Personal narratives
Archaeology
Mound-builders
Hopewellian culture
Indians of North America
Indians of North America--Michigan
Jeffrey Chivis is a member of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, and is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chivis graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Grand Valley State University (GVSU), and obtained his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Michigan State University (MSU). He is a professional archaeologist with a focus on historic preservation and the pre-Columbian archaeology of the Eastern United States. Previously, Chivis worked as a professor at MSU, GVSU, and Grand Rapids Community College, teaching courses on the diversity of Native American societies in North America and contemporary issues affecting Native American people. Dr. Chivis also previously worked for NHBP, creating its Cultural and Historic Preservation Office, Tribal Historic Preservation Office, and repatriation program. In this interview, Chivis discusses Native archeological sites in the Midwest and in Michigan.
Chivis, Jeffrey
Gi-gikinomaage-min Project
The Charter Township of Chocolay Comprehensive Plan
Comprehensive plan publications
Chocolay Township (Mich.)
Marquette County (Mich.)
The Charter Township of Chocolay Comprehensive Plan was prepared by the Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. under the direction of the Chocolay Township Planning Commission in 2005.
Chocolay Township Planning Commission, Chocolay Township, Marquette County, Michigan
Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. (consultant)
Neeltje Termaat (1886-1975) with two unidentified women, circa 1908
Dutch
Group portraits
Portrait of Neetlje Termaat (1886-1975) with two unidentified women, by J. Chrispijn. Neeltje was the unmarried daughter of Aris Termaat (b. 1832) and Neeltje De Jong (b. 1847).
Chrispijn, J. (photographer)
Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)
Christensen, Hoyt (Interview outline and video), 2014
Hoyt Christensen was born in 1926 in Greenville, Michigan. Prior to his service he left school after the seventh grade and worked on a farm and later at the age of fifteen managed a dairy farm until he was drafted at the age of eighteen in the summer of 1944. In November 1944 he attended basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. On April 13, 1945 he was sent to New Guinea and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division. He aided with clearing out the remaining Japanese forces on the islands of Halmahera and Morotai. After that operation his unit was sent to aid in the liberation of the Philippines. His unit landed at Davao on the island of Mindanao where they encountered fierce Japanese resistance. He was stationed on Mindanao until the end of the war and afterwards he was reassigned to an ordinance unit and then on to the island of Leyte where he joined an engineering unit where he drove a fuel truck. On October 17, 1946 he was sent home and was discharged from the Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
Christensen, Hoyt
Christensen, Sherman (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Marine Corps
Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
Sherman Christensen, born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1988, served in the U.S. Marines and Marine Reserve stating in February 2006 and served 11 months in Iraq in 2007-2008. He joined the Marines out of high school in February of 2006. He trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton as a mortarman, and was assigned to Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 24th Marines. During his service in Iraq, Sherman mostly patrolled and looked for road side bombs and IEDs.
Christensen, Sherman
Christian, David (Interview transcript and video), 2010
David Christian was born in 1946 in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. After completing high school there in 194, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. After training in California, David was sent to Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. David's first tour was spent at Chu Lai and fixing aircraft at Marble Mountain Air Facility. After returning home and marrying his wife, David reenlisted for a second tour. David was promoted to sergeant and repaired aircraft at Chu Lai until 1970. David also worked at Iwakuni Marine Corps Base for the remaining 6 months of his second tour. David returned to the United States in 1970 where he worked at Camp Lejeune and as a Drill Instructor on Parris Island.
Christian, David
Christian, Harold (Interview outline and video), 2011
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Harold Christian served as a Quartermaster in the U.S. Army from approx 1954-1957 after the Korean Conflict. While in the service, Harold spent two years stationed in Alaska and one year stationed in Texas. After exiting the service he pursued a care as an airline pilot.
Christian, Harold
Christiansen, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008
Robert Christiansen was born on August 11, 1920 in Muskegon, Michigan. He joined the US Navy in 1944 and served in the Pacific on board the destroyers USS Ward and USS July. He served on convoy duty between New Guinea and the Philippines and in the Okinawa campaign.
Christiansen, Robert
Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Christl, Roland (Interview transcript and video), 2017
World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American
Roland Christl was born on October 29, 1924 in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he graduated high school in 1943. Since several of his friends and brothers were in the service, he decided to enlist into the Army to offer his contribution to the war effort. Enlisting in April of 1945, Christl was sent to Camp Robinson, Arkansas, for Basic Training. Both the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific ended while Christl was in training, and he bounced between camps in the United States awaiting postwar orders. From Fort Lewis, Washington, he was deployed to Japan on a troop ship, dodging several ship mines in the Pacific during the voyage. The ship landed in Osaka before transferring to Yokohama. In Yokohama, Christl was assigned to the 98th Infantry Division and volunteered to be a truck driver, operating supply lines between the port and Tokyo. Later, he volunteered and transferred into the telephone section of the 98th Division alongside the 720th Military Police Battalion. Eventually, Christl accepted a job renovating a prison that held American servicemen from both theaters who were being penalized for insubordination. Since most of his division rotated home shortly thereafter, he was transferred to the 720th Military Police Battalion, working in a detachment at the prison. He, again, became an electrician with the MPs and worked electrical maintenance duties around the prison. Christl also had the opportunity to meet the famed wartime broadcast host Tokyo Rose while fixing her cell’s electrical switches. While talking with her, he managed to get her autograph on a ten yen note. The prison also held several Japanese officials who were being put on trial for war crimes. Overall, Christl thought the Japanese people were wonderfully respectful toward American troops despite the heightened poverty and starvation rates they suffered after the war. He was also briefly transferred to an Engineer Battalion to be trained as a refrigeration technician. He worked as a refrigeration technician until he accrued enough service points to rotate back to the United States in January of 1947. After leaving the service, he moved back onto the family farm and briefly worked for Studebaker Automobile Company before returning to farming. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Christl believed he left the Army as the same man or character that entered it.
Christl, Roland
Christopher, Norman (Interview transcript and video), 2017
United States. Navy. Naval Reserves
Norman Christopher was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 1943 where he attended local public schools and graduated high school. His father worked as a Hull Secretary for Atlantic Mutual Marine Insurance, influencing Christopher's interest in naval vessels. In 1961, he attended the University of South Carolina for its Naval Reserve Officer Training Course, alongside the study of chemistry, with the idea of possibly making a career out of the Navy. While in college, Christopher was aware of the growing tensions of the Cold War, but remained largely focused on his education. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy put the tensions of the decade into perspective for him, fostering a heightened sense of awareness going forward. He graduated in May of 1965 and went on to attend Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which helped clear him as a specialist in the Navy. His first assignment came in the summer of 1965 when he was assigned to the DD724 USS Laffey. an older ship ported in Norfolk, Virginia. He recalled how his first few months of duty were challenging since the turbulence of the sea made his work difficult to complete without developing his 'sea legs.' As an officer, Christopher was then assigned as a Quarter Deck Watch Officer with duties on the bridge as well as elsewhere on the vessel. After his time on the USS Laffey, he attended a course on Cargo Fuel Handling in San Diego, California, before being assigned to the USS Neches. On this new ship, Christopher traveled to the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. He detailed how American naval carriers supported the inland ground forces with aircraft that did most of the fighting while Christopher and his vessel ran refueling missions between ships in the gulf. He also recalled having to occasionally operate in typhoons or enormous waves. While serving on the Neches, his fellow crew members remained largely consistent and Christopher was eventually promoted to Lieutenant JG on the ship. He had great respect for his Captain on the Neches and held many of the other officers in high regard, even though he did not come into close contact with all of them. Christopher also believed he became a better ship handler over time and how homesickness affected some men who had been to sea longer than others. In one instance, his ship was fired upon as a warning to discourage it from drawing closer to shore. In other instances, he recalled how local fishing vessels would travel in close proximity to the American vessels to conduct their work. Christopher did travel into port in locations such as Subic Bay in the Philippines, Da Nang in Vietnam to access the military hospital at the port, as well as in Japan where he briefly became a Navy Military Policeman. Later, noticing how some planes never made it back to their carriers or how others barely made it back, Christopher was given reason to start questioning why the United States was actually in the war. Reflecting upon the greater picture of American naval operations during the war, he analyzed how every branch of the service, class of ship, and crew assignment worked together and cooperated during conflict. Christopher described the situation in Subic Bay as relatively chaotic with large populations of marginalized people, poverty, and pollution. This made the interactions of American servicemen with local civilians tense and often dangerous due to heightened rates of crime, bar fights, and widespread prostitution. When the Neches returned to California, Christopher chose, with the persuasion of his future wife, to not pursue active duty in the Navy as his primary career going forward. In June of 1967, he was released from active duty, remaining in the active reserves, and pursued marriage as well as employment at Dow Chemical Company. While in the Navy Active Reserves, he moved to New Jersey where he became a Lieutenant and Administrative Officer, and then Executive Officer, for his reserve unit before transferring to inactive duty. Ultimately, Christopher decided the Navy was no longer the best career choice for him in favor of pursuing a higher academic degree and was discharged in October of 1982. He concluded that the Navy taught him the value of accountability, intertwining it with lessons on responsibility. He noted how there was an honor in serving, but not overall respect for being a soldier, and how he was haunted for years about imagery of the effects of napalm while working at Dow Chemical. Reflecting upon his service, Christopher was ultimately happy that he served his country. He was also fortunate that memories of combat do not haunt him as they do for many mutilated veterans who served on the ground during the war. Pre-Enlistment: (00:00:33:00) Enlistment/Training: (00:02:05:00) Service: (00:14:45:00) Post-Service Reflections: (01:40:28:00)
Christopher, Norman
Christopoulos, Demo (Interview outline and video), 2011
Demo Christopoulos is a World War II veteran who served in the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 261st Infantry Regiment, 65th Division. He enlisted in the Army late in 1943, but did not go to Europe with his original training company because he was too young. He eventually sailed with the 65th Division, which joined the 3rd Army in time to participate in the spring offensive in 1945. His unit pushed through the Saar, crossed the Rhine, and then fought their way across the Danube, and ended the war in Austria. Christopoulos remained in Europe until the spring of 1946, with his last assignment involving screening SS prisoners held at Dachau.
Christopoulos, Demo
Kölnische Chronik. [Low German] Die Cronica van der hilliger stat van Coellen [folium 186]
Incunabula
Printing 1450-1500
One leaf from Kölnische Chronik [Low German], Die Cronica van der hilliger stat van Coellen, by Chronicles: Cologne. Printed in Cologne by Johann Koelhoff, the Younger, on August 23, 1499. Illustrated with colored woodcut. [GW 6688; ISTC ic00476000]
Chronicles: Cologne
Seidman Rare Books Collection
Churchill, Dennis Ray (Interview outline and video), 2015
Dennis Churchill was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1946. He enlisted in the Air Force in late September, or early October 1965 after graduating from high school in that same year. He received basic training in November 1965 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and mechanical training at the Technical School at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. He was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas and did temporary duty assignments at San Isidro Air Base, Dominican Republic and at RAF Mildenhall, England. He was reassigned to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base near Taichung, Taiwan and while there served multiple temporary duties in Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was stationed at Tuy Hoa Air Base and Cam Ranh Bay and made supply runs to the major American bases in the country. After his time in Vietnam and being stationed in Taiwan he received an early discharge from the Air Force, and was discharged at McChord Air Force Base, Washington in 1969.
Churchill, Dennis Ray
Cione, Jean (Interview transcript and video), 2009
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives
Baseball for women--United States
Baseball
Sports for women
Baseball players--Illinois
Baseball players--Wisconsin
Baseball players--Michigan
Women
Jean Cione was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1928. She grew up in the Rockford area and played softball with the neighborhood boys and then also played with the local industrial teams. When the Rockford Peaches made Rockford their headquarters, Cione tried out for the team and at age 15 joined the ranks of the Rockford Peaches in 1945 as a reserve rookie first baseman. In 1946, she was traded to the Peoria Red Wings and played first baseman for them but was then traded to the Kenosha Comets in 1947. She remained with the Kenosha Comets from 1947 to 1953 and played sometimes as a left-handed pitcher, first baseman, or outfield. Consequently, the Comets franchise disbanded in 1954 and she was traded back to the Rockford Peaches where she finished out when the All American Girls Baseball League was disbanded.
Cione, Jean
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-55)
Young Lords (Organization)
Young Lords (Organization) History
Puerto Rican Civil rights
Puerto Rican Social conditions
Chicago (Ill.)
Civil rights movements
Community activists
Press release from Citizens for Jose Cha-Cha Jimenez about his endorsement for alderman by the 46th Ward I.P.O. (Independent Precinct Organization).
Citizens for Jose Cha-Cha Jimenez
Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)
Letter to friends and neighbors about José Cha-Cha Jiménez's campaign for 46th Ward Alderman.