Nazario, Moises (Interview transcript and audio, part 1), 2019
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States—History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Other veterans & civilians—Personal narratives, American
Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American
Moises Nazario was born in Manila, Philippines, on October 25th, 1936. He recalls his uncle fighting in World War II when he was as young as five years old, and he remembers when Manila was occupied by Japan. Once the Philippines gained independence, Nazario attended college and medical school before enlisting in the Navy in early 1958. He got his physical at an American base in the Philippines, Sangley Point, and was accepted a few months later after which he was shipped from Sandy Point to Fort Mason, San Francisco. In August 1958, he flew out of San Francisco to San Diego for basic training. He was assigned to a company in September. After basic training, he attended steward school where he was trained to cook and serve before being transferred to Naval Academy as a steward. He served as a steward from 1959 to 1961. After that, Nazario was transferred to the USS Sampson and attended commissioning school in Rhode Island. After five months on the USS Sampson, he went back to the Philippines on leave before going to Boston where he assigned to the USS Johnston. While on the USS Sampson, he traveled to Charleston and then Cuba for the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade in December 1962. After a Mediterranean cruise, he was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for corps school. In July 1963, he graduated corps school and was stationed at the hospital in Great Lakes. In June 1965, Nazario was sent to lab assistant school, and he worked as a lab assistant in Great Lakes after finishing the 8-week course. After that, he was sent to Camp Lejeune to train as an emergency medical technician. After a brief return to the lab in Great Lakes, Nazario was flown to Vietnam in October 1966, landing in Da Nang. There, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division and served as a general corpsman at the battalion aid station. His battalion went on a “sweep,” or patrol to look for enemies, and it was his job to take care of casualties in the field. Nazario himself was injured when he got hit on the knee with shrapnel and got eight stitches on his knee at the battalion aid station.
Nazario, Moises G
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
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
Talmadge, Roger (Interview transcript and video, part 5), 2017
Roger Talmadge was based in Alexandria, Virginia for his last military assignment. He was responsible for managing military computer systems. He served as the senior chaplain at his base and ran several Bible studies. Roger retired from the military in July 1989. After retirement, he and his family moved to Roanoke, Virginia. He was hired by the Disabled American Veterans Organization. Roger was also responsible for running several thrift stores located throughout Virginia. In 1992, he became the Department Chaplain in Virginia, a position that he held until 2013. Throughout his time in the military, Roger was able to earn various academic degrees. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, a master’s degree in business, a master’s degree of military arts, a master’s degree of military science, and a PhD in theology. After his retirement from the military, Roger became actively involved in volunteer international mission work. Roger eventually helped form a program that aids military families in fulfilling their basic needs. He has been the president of the program since it first began. Roger is committed to helping veterans and their families.
Talmadge, Roger S.
Talmadge, Roger (Interview transcript and video, part 4), 2017
Roger Talmadge returned from his second tour in Vietnam in 1972 to receive training at Command General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He graduated in June 1973 from Command General Staff College and then attended the University of Kansas to earn a master’s degree in business administration. Roger graduated from the University of Kansas at the end of 1974. He worked during this time as an instructor at the Command General Staff College for 4 years. During his last 2 years at Fort Leavenworth, Roger was actively involved in prison ministry. He then was transferred for an assignment at the Military Personnel Management Center in Washington D.C. By 1979, Roger had become the head chaplain of his unit. He received orders to Fort Huachuca, Arizona in 1981, where he worked in personnel management. He remained at Fort Huachuca until 1983. Afterwards, he worked as an executive officer of the automated management directorate in Alexandria in Washington D.C.
Talmadge, Roger (Interview transcript and video, part 3), 2017
Roger Talmadge started college at the University of Maryland in the fall of 1967. He attended college while also working at Fort Holabird. Roger was promoted to major in 1968. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in computer science in June 1969. Roger was then transferred to Frankfurt, Germany in 1969 to take charge of Army Security there. He remained in Germany until July 1971. Roger and his wife Charlotte created a travel company while in Germany that they called ‘The Red Bull Express.’ They traveled throughout Europe with soldiers and their families via the travel agency. Roger was sent to do a second tour in Vietnam in July 1971. He was stationed in Saigon, Vietnam and worked at the United States Agency for International Development in management. He left Vietnam in July 1972. While in Vietnam, he was engaged in various projects throughout the country, including rescuing Vietnamese orphans during an Easter offensive early in 1972.
Talmadge, Roger (Interview transcript and video, part 2), 2017
Roger Talmadge went to Vietnam with an advanced party, the 11th air assault division, which became the 1st cavalry division, air mobile in 1965. They were tasked with building a camp at An Khe. Roger later was deployed with his division to the Ia Drang Valley, where he was involved in several skirmishes. He would also deliver supplies to various companies during combat as well. Roger helped medevac men from combat zones when necessary. He was involved in an operation in Binh Dinh, Vietnam, on December 18th, 1965. Roger served as an executive officer of his company during his time in Vietnam. He introduced a scouting technique that was referred to as surveillance in depth. He took part in Operation Crazy Horse and was eventually promoted to captain. Roger went on R and R in Thailand. He left Vietnam in August 1966. After leaving Vietnam, Roger returned to Fort Holabird, Maryland and received additional intelligence training. He attended the University of Maryland to study computer science.
Talmadge, Roger (Interview transcript and video, part 1), 2017
Korean War, 1950-1953—Personal narratives, American
Roger Talmadge was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey on October 16th, 1937. He joined the Navy Reserve on October 23rd, 1954, at the age of 17. Roger completed basic training and boot camp at Wold-Chamberlain Naval Air Station, where he also received training to become a certified electronics technician so that he could work on navigational equipment. During his time in the Navy Reserve, Roger also helped with recruiting. He then joined the Army and became an intelligence officer. He completed 3 months of basic training for the Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Roger then completed an additional 3 months of intelligence training in 1957 at Fort Holabird. He became an order of battle specialist. Roger was transferred to Germany in June 1957. He was first assigned to the 7th United States Army with the 525th MI battalion for a short time and then joined the 207th MI detachment. Roger did a lot of crypto work while in the intelligence service in Germany. He also worked in the debriefing interrogation section. He received a direct commission in 1962 and worked as a deputy executive officer. Roger then came to Fort Hood, Texas, to the 203rd MI detachment as a second lieutenant of the military intelligence. He moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, in November of 1963 to receive infantry training. He became a first lieutenant and was the executive officer for B company, 1st battalion, 188th infantry regiment. Roger went to Vietnam in 1965.
Rowland, Daniel (Interview transcript and video), 2018
Daniel Rowland was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and decided to enroll in the Marine Corps after his third semester in college. In 1995 Rowland attended boot camp in San Diego, California where he acted as the guide to recruits, After basic training, Rowland was sent to Camp Pendleton to complete Marine combat training. After completing Marine combat training, Rowland was sent to job training in North Carolina where he received training to become an administrative clerk. Rowland then spent three and a half years stationed in Hawaii at Camp Smith working as an administrative clerk. During this time, Rowland would be sent for occasional brief missions in South Korea. While he was stationed in Hawaii, Rowland also received his associate’s degree in business and bachelor’s degree in social work. In 1998 Rowland returned home and left active duty, joining the individual ready reserves where he did occasional active duty. One of these active-duty missions was a mission to go to North Carolina in 200. Due to the events of 9/11, this resulted in Rowland being involuntarily activated for two years during which he worked in a security manager’s office as an administrative clerk. In 2003 Rowland was deployed to Iraq as part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as the assistant security manager. After returning from Iraq to the United States by boat, Rowland decided to return to active duty as an infantryman in 2004. In 2005 Rowland’s unit was sent to Fallujah, Iraq working in headquarters company, and in 2006 Rowland came home for a year before being sent back to Fallujah, Iraq for a third time. Rowland returned home to the United States in 2007 and was stationed at Camp Johnson as a sergeant of the guard before being forcibly discharged and going on to return to school and resume civilian life.
Rowland, Daniel
Ramsey, Laurin (Interview transcript and video), 2008
Bob Hartman was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1919. He graduated high school in 1937 and joined the Michigan Army National Guard in 1938, assigned to the 126th Infantry Regiment, Service Company. His company’s task was to transport troops and provide them with ammunition, food, and clothing. He began as a truck driver and later became a Supply Sergeant. His regiment went on maneuvers that lasted up to two months, traveling to places such as Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Hartman was in Jackson, Mississippi to see a football game and was ordered to go back to camp immediately. He was then shipped to Fort Devens, Massachusetts for about a month before taking a train back to Frisco, Texas. After that, he was shipped to Angel Island and boarded the Lurline to head for Australia. He landed in Adelaide and then took a train to Brisbane. Later, he flew to Port Moresby where he marched across the Owen Stanley Mountains and saw jungle combat as a platoon sergeant. Hartman suffered from malaria during battle, and the sickness continued to recur every month for about five years. Hartman later was flown to Papua New Guinea. He made a beach landing in Saidor, where he experienced a few skirmishes before arriving at Aitape a month or two later. At Aitape, he was shot in the stomach presumably by a sniper. He was hospitalized on base before being shipped back to Australia and eventually the United States, where he spent time at several hospitals in San Antonio, Illinois, and finally back home in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Ramsey, Laurin
Jedlowski, Ray (Interview transcript and video), 2018
Ray Jedlowski was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1942 before his family moved to Michigan where he graduated high school in Dearborn in 1962. Jedlowski’s father was in the Navy during the Second World War and gave his son plenty of exposure to military life in port even though he was not fond of the seas. Since he could not find steady work after high school, he went down to the recruitment office and decided to enlist into the Air Force. He was then sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for Basic Training before graduating onto Amarillo Air Force Base for technical school and administrative training. Jedlowski was then stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland as a Civil Engineer. He recalled how the base went into lockdown following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. In 1965, he was deployed to Vietnam and was stationed at Pleiku Air Base near Saigon. Shortly after his arrival, the base experienced a small skirmish, but the new arrivals were not overly concerned for their safety. Jedlowski’s unit was tasked with constructing billets and lodging for the First Cavalry Division after its arrival near Pleiku. At the end of his tour, Jedlowski was relieved to go home and was flown to Hawaii and then back to Andrews Air Force Base where he was formally discharged in 1966. Back home, Jedlowski described the ‘chip’ effect where he was physically at home, but his mind was still as paranoid, wired, and irritable as he was in Vietnam. Disappointed with how the war was escalating and how some Americans looked to dodge the draft, he refused to watch the news, but was still proud of his contribution to the war effort. He was disappointed that presidents Nixon and Ford abandoned the war so quickly and that, combined with the intensified anti-war protests at home, the U.S. war effort fell apart. He was also conflicted by the construction of the Vietnam “Wall” Veterans Memorial in 1982 in Washington D.C. since he thought the sincerity of the project was mixed. After the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Jedlowski thought the U.S. military and government did a far better job of handling the war effort than during Vietnam. However, Jedlowski is grateful that the general, domestic attitude toward veterans of the Vietnam War has changed for the better.
Jedlowski, Ray
Grace, Matthew (Interview transcript and video, part 2), 2016
Afghan War, 2001-2021—Personal narratives, American
After leaving his first unit after his first deployment in the Fall of 2010, Matthew Grace moved to Fort Carson, Colorado where he was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. At this point, Grace was a Specialist and was quickly back to his normal routine by January of 2011. As a Specialist, Grace took an interest in helping to train his unit’s new group of Privates, specifically through PT and weaponry. Grace found out that he was leaving for his second deployment in the Summer of 2011 and left for Afghanistan in April of 2012. Grace left later than the rest of his unit to go to dog handling training, but eventually flunked out and returned to his unit in Afghanistan. Once in Afghanistan, Grace’s platoon had the job of specifically ensuring the safety of their Battalion Commander and getting him to wherever he needed to go. This was his platoon’s main task throughout the entire deployment. Grace’s tour was over at the end of November/the beginning of December of 2012. Upon finishing his deployment, Grace returned home to the States and took his block-leave, returning back to work for the remainder of his time with the Army. Grace’s ETS date was January 26, 2014. Grace encountered minimal amounts of reintegration training once resuming life as a civilian. One thing Grace was required to do, was to create a plan for life after reentering society. Grace applied to a couple universities and eventually ended up attending Grand Valley State University where he studied history to eventually get his PhD and become a professor. As a whole, Grace believes that his time in the Army plays a big role in his life and states that he would not be as successful as he is without it.
Grace, Matthew
Grace, Matthew (Interview transcript and video, part 1), 2016
Erickson, Floyd (Interview transcript and video), 2017
Floyd Erickson was born in 1922 in Gwinn, Michigan, a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 18-miles south of Marquette. Erickson grew up in Gwinn and eventually after graduating high school in 1941, went to Detroit to work in a factory making airplane parts. A year after Pearl Harbor, Erickson moved home to Gwinn because he knew he would be drafted soon. Nearly a year after Pearl Harbor, Erickson reported for duty in February in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was then sent to Camp Roberts in California for basic training. It was from here that Erickson was assigned to the 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 10th Mountain Division. Erickson’s first assignment was to Kiska in Japan. However, after a month he was sent to Camp Hale, Colorado. As 1944 approached, Erickson and his regiment were sent to Italy, where his regiment spent most of their time. Eventually, due to his service and helping when his fellow soldiers were injured, Erickson was awarded a Bronze Star. Quickly after, Erickson received orders to go home as the war was over in Europe in May 1945. Despite offers to move up as a Technical Sergeant, Erickson decided to leave the Army and get married to his wife. Erickson then went into construction where he worked in the industry for over 60 years.
Erickson, Floyd H.
DeGroot, Loren (Interview transcript and video), 2017
Loren DeGroot was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1935. While he was still in high school, he enlisted in the Naval Reserves. After he graduated high school in 1953, he began classes as Grand Rapids Junior College and then went to the University of Michigan to finish his bachelor’s in engineering. After graduating, he went to officer training in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1957, he joined the crew of a destroyer ship. His first cruise was to the Mediterranean, where he served as a shore patrol officer on the island of Rhodes in Greece. He then went to Piraeus, Greece and spent a total of six months in the Mediterranean before going back to Newport. His home base was then switched to Mayport, Florida where he served as ship’s navigator. After finishing serving his active duty on the ship in 1960, DeGroot joined the inactive Naval Reserve and stayed in it for 14 years. He went back to the University of Michigan to finish his master’s degree.
DeGroot, Loren
Ziebart, Kenneth (Interview transcript and video), 2017
Kenneth Ziebart was born on May 23, 1928 in St. Joseph, Michigan. Ziebart’s family owned a farm and his father lost his job as a butcher during the Great Depression. He recalled hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor over the radio when a newscast interrupted the football broadcast he was listening to. Since they owned a farm, Ziebart’s family received larger quantities of gas through wartime rationing. After missing the final draft for the Second World War, Ziebart was drafted for service during the Korean War in November of 1950. He attended Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he was instructed by personnel that were younger than the recruits in training. After basic training, Ziebart was sent to Beale Air Force Base in California where he received basic instruction on machinery and light engineer work before being shipped to Busan, Korea in November of 1951. In Korea, he was stationed at an airbase as a crane oiler and was later sent to another base outside Seoul where he worked in mechanized excavation. He recalled how, one night, an enemy aircraft flew over the base and dropped small bombs near the airfield, forcing Ziebart and the engineers to fill in the holes in the runway for American planes to land safely. Nonetheless, both bases saw little combat action, theft, or sabotage during his tour in Korea. He also recalled supervising a group of Korean laborers who he described as incredibly hard-working. There were approximately 85% African American personnel in the engineering units Ziebart worked with, which surprised him. He also visited Japan while on leave for a week during which the Japanese were exceptionally nice to their American guests. Toward the end of his enlistment, Ziebart was shipped back to the United States and was officially discharged at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. When he returned home, he acquired a job for a photographing company. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Ziebart believed he received a quality technical education as well as a greater appreciation for life in the United States.
Ziebart, Kenneth
Wolfe, Jill (Interview transcript and video), 2021
Jill Wolfe was born in December 1975 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to a mother who worked as an art therapist and a father who worked negotiating contracts. She moved to St. Louis, Missouri when she was 3, and moved again to Troy when she was 15 where she stayed until she graduated high school in 1994. Wolfe applied to and was accepted by both Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University. Several weeks before she was meant to leave for Grand Valley, her mother said she should join the Army instead, but she refused. Her father was in ROTC during Vietnam and his older brother was a career officer for 25 years, but Wolfe does not consider herself to come from a military family. After a lackluster semester of college, Wolfe came into contact with a recruiter following an argument with her parents about them wanting her to get a job to pay for her tuition, or else they would not send her back for a second semester. She originally was uninterested in the pitch but said she “...didn’t want to disappoint anyone” and left to think about it further, settling that service was a potential solution to her monetary issues. Her ASVAB score qualified her for several high-clearance positions of which she selected Non-morse Communications Specialist which would take 3 years. Wolfe was shipped out in 1995 to a holding unit in Fort Jackson, South Carolina before later being transported to boot camp in the same state, she recalls boot camp as being the most physically exhausted she has ever been “aside from giving birth” and Wolfe waited several weeks before being sent to San Antonio, Texas due to clearance issues. She was later sent to Camp Humphreys near Seoul, South Korea with the 3rd MI Battalion Bravo Company for 14 months on orders in 1997. In Korea, Wolfe volunteered as a lifeguard at a nearby pool and remembers being able to own an apartment off post and enjoying the thriving city life. 3 months before the end of her term in Korea, Wolfe found out she was pregnant and was forced to discharge and return home. Wolfe returned to Grand Valley and graduated in 2001, going on to work in PR and eventually become the Military and Veterans Resource Manager at Grand Valley where she continues to work today, assisting veterans in their schooling.
Wolfe, Jill H.
Widjeskog, Lee (Interview transcript and video), 2014
Lee Widjeskog was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey and grew up in that area, finishing high school in 1964. He attended Colorado State University and took ROTC training, and received his commission in the Army in 1969. He took infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia and jungle training in Panama, and went to Vietnam in April, 1970. He became a platoon leader in A Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. His unit patrolled the area near Firebase Ripcord, and was involved in heavy fighting on July 22, when Widjeskog's platoon was separated from the rest of the company for several hours, and the company then had to spend the night in the field behind before being evacuated. For the rest of the summer he operated in the field around Firebase Katherine and Firebase Rakkasan until he was reassigned to the rear in mid-September 1970. He served as the supply officer for Headquarters Company of the 3rd Brigade until he left Vietnam on March 15, 1971. He has been an active member of the Ripcord Association for over twenty years, and he and his wife currently organize the annual reunions.
Widjeskog, Lee
Vollink, Lawrence (Interview transcript and video), 2019
Lawrence Vollink was born in the Burton Heights neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he attended local schools and graduated high school in 1965. His father was a deeply religious, poor man with only an eighth-grade education and his mother did not work, but Vollink believed that he lived a comfortable childhood. With the financial help of his grandfather, he attended Great Lakes Bible College and graduated in 1970, becoming a minister. As a minister, Vollink was exempt from the draft and was encouraged to go back to Bible College for his master’s degree so he could become a military chaplain. In 1980, he was admitted into the military as an Army Chaplain at the rank of Captain after attending a reduced Basic Training Course at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He would console his men over issues such as suicide, depression, stress, and insubordination. After three years at Fort Campbell, Vollink was transferred to Germany where he was assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AADCOM), which had its units scattered all over the country. He then attended a second Chaplain School in the United States for six months before he was promoted to Major and stationed at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1990, Vollink was working at Selfridge when the United States invaded Kuwait and made the decision to remain in Michigan instead of deploying with his former unit from Fort Carson. After the conclusion of the invasion, he provided advice to his military commanders on how to better help and receive the troops returning home from deployment. In 1992, Vollink’s twenty years of active-duty service were up, so he joined the Army Reserves. He later became the State Chaplain, and then the National Chaplain, for the American Legion, serving the institution for a total of fifteen years. Afterwards, he joined the Civil Air Patrol as the organization’s Wing Chaplain in 2012 out of Pennsylvania. Vollink also worked smaller jobs for the VA and Hospice while working for the American Legion and Civil Air Patrol. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Vollink believed that God helped him not only to perform his job effectively, but also to be supportive of his men. Thus, he believed the military was his true calling and that he was used as a tool of God to do good in the military.
Vollink, Lawrence
Velez-Cruz, Miguel (Interview transcript and video), 2021
Miguel “Mickey” Angel Velez-Cruz was born in Puerto Rico in 1949. Velez-Cruz was raised and developed during the Cold War periods of the 1950s and 1960s. Coming from a long line of United States veterans and the desire to get out of extreme poverty, Velez-Cruz volunteered to join the United States Army. Velez-Cruz began his career in basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and eventually went to Fort Gordon in Georgia. Eventually, Mickey attended AIT and was made a medical records clerk in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After a few months at that position, Velez-Cruz received orders for Vietnam and landed with a missile air defense unit. Quickly, that unit was ended and Velez-Cruz was sent to the 38th Base Post Office. After spending five months with the 38th BPO, Mickey received orders for temporary duty. This is when he was assigned to work in grave registration. He stayed with this position until June of ‘69 when he left Vietnam. After his discharge, Velez-Cruz was reassigned to go to Stuttgart, Germany where he worked as a paymaster. However, since he left the service with the GI Bill Velez-Cruz decided to go back to school. He attended the University of Puerto Rico where he received his degree in Biochemistry. From there, Velez-Cruz worked in medical devices and eventually landed a 27-year gig with Johnson and Johnson. Velez-Cruz wraps up his interview by discussing his experiences with PTSD and emphasizing the importance of military awareness for the United States.
Velez-Cruz, Miguel A.
Van Dyke, Orley (Interview transcript and video), 2019
Orley Van Dyke was born on December 30th, 1924 in Holland, Michigan. After graduating high school in 1942, he worked in printing for the newspaper for a few months. Right when he turned 18, he enlisted in the Army. He began basic training and flash and sound training for artillery in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There he passed a test for the Air Force and changed to that military branch. He was sent to Sheppard Field, Texas for three months before beginning college at Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kansas after which he would be classified as a bombardier. He then attended pre-flight training in Santa Ana, California before being sent to Kirtland Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico for bombardier school. After a short leave, he went to Lincoln, Nebraska to be assigned to a crew. He then went to combat crew training in Alamogordo, New Mexico. After that he went to Kearney, Nebraska to pick up a new airplane and married his girlfriend there before preparing for deployment. He flew first to Sacramento, California, then to Hawaii for about a week, then to Kwajalein, and finally to Guam, where he flew to Japan for his first bombing mission. He flew a total of 24 missions. Right before the end of the war, he was involved in an in-air collision where he lost the tail and two engines from his plane. He was able to fly the plane to Iwo to be repaired. After World War II ended, he was flown home and discharged in January 1946. He returned to work at the newspaper until 1977 when he helped his wife run their furniture store until 1983. He spent the next ten years working for the city in the summer and visiting Florida in the winter. Van Dyke values his time in the military and the discipline it taught him.
Van Dyke, Orley
Strum, Susan (Interview transcript and video), 2019
Susan Strum was born in Alberta, Canada, in 1951 and grew up in Michigan after her father’s work moved to the United States. Her father was a Canadian citizen working for a telephone company in Edmonton and her mother was a schoolteacher in Michigan. After graduating high school in 1969, Strum enrolled into Muskegon Community College, but the poor job market deterred her from completing her degree and she began looking into the military as a viable alternative. She enlisted into the Navy in 1971 once she earned her full American citizenship. For Basic Training, Strum was sent to Bainbridge, Maryland, where she described the induction process as oddly organized. She was trained as a Dispersing Clerk and was transferred to a Naval Training Center in San Diego, California, for another ten weeks of training on how to calculate payrolls and use calculators while in sexually integrated courses. From there, she was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, for a year where she handled payrolls for several Navy detachments on the base. Strum later began training in recognizing precipitation types, meteorology, and weather patterns in Lakehurst, New Jersey, from 1973-75. After graduation, she was transferred to a Naval base at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, where she was assigned to the base’s Weather Office. While at Roosevelt Roads, Strum was more concerned with the unstable, violent political situation in Puerto Rico than with the ongoing war in Vietnam. She was also the first woman assigned to the Weather Office at Roosevelt Roads. From there, Strum decided to leave the Navy since she had accrued enough service points, was discharged, and returned to Muskegon, Michigan, where she re-enrolled into Muskegon Community College. She graduated with a degree in urban geography and a minor in sociology and went on to study regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania for her graduate degree. Strum was then hired by the city of Orlando as a regional planner and proceeded to spend the next thirty years of her career in Florida before retiring in 2012. She then moved back to Muskegon and began volunteering at the USS Silversides Museum. Reflecting upon her service, Strum believed the climate for women in the military was, for the most part, good despite some isolated instances of gender conflict. She ultimately believed her time in the Navy was a great experience which taught her the values of patience, focus, and discipline.
Strum, Susan Margaret
Stelter, LeeRoy (Interview transcript and video), 2017
LeeRoy Stelter was born April 7th, 1948 in Coloma, Michigan where he grew up and stayed until transferring his senior year from Coloma High School to St. Joseph High School. He graduated in 1966 and immediately went to work in a factory making record players. Stelter enlisted in the military after his cousin suggested it might help his career, taking an interest in the potential for a background in electronics as a microwave radio repairman. He started basic training in 1967 in Fort Knox, Kentucky and says he had no trouble adjusting to the army because his parents raised him to do as he was told. Two months later Stelter was flown to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey to begin his training as a microwave radio repairman learning basic electronics, how to operate gear, and solid state equipment. In 1968, Stelter recalled watching other groups perform drills preparing them for evacuations and riots in the wake of several political events. Stelter finished training at Fort Monmouth in May. He was deployed to Vietnam after a 30 day leave, assigned to the 327th Signal Company in Long Binh. After several months he was then reassigned to Vinh Long to replace a soldier who was lost in a mortar attack. Vinh Long was part of a radio relay set up by the signal company between Dong Tam and Can Tho, and Stelter recalled that it “was under attack every night…it was like the 4th of July, the whole place was incoming rounds, outgoing mortar fire” for three or four months, gradually deescalating. Stelter stayed at Vinh Long until June 1969 after which he took a 30 day leave before returning to Vietnam for a second time and being assigned to Can Tho. In all 8 months of his second term, he never heard any mortars or incoming rounds and was free to come and go from the village. In April 1970, Stelter returned home from Vietnam on a commercial flight and went back to work at the same factory he had as a teenager, making record players. In 1972, he married his wife who he said helped him return to some degree of normalcy. He attended Lake Michigan College before transferring to Western Michigan University and obtaining a degree in Industrial Engineering, after which he worked in manufacturing for the next 35 years.
Stelter, LeeRoy
Stark, Charles (Interview transcript and video), 2018
Chuck Stark was born in 1948 in Muskegon, Michigan. He graduated from Muskegon Senior High School in 1966. He joined the Army in April 1968 and completed his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Chuck remained at Fort Knox for his advanced individual training, which was focused on reconnaissance. He then attended the Non-Commissioned Officers’ Academy at Fort Knox as well. Chuck was sent to Vietnam in 1969 and was assigned to the D Troop, 17th Cavalry Regiment. While in Vietnam, he was involved in various skirmishes and reconnaissance missions. On June 23rd, 1969, Chuck sustained several injuries when the vehicle that he was riding in was ambushed and blown apart. Due to his injuries, he was sent from Vietnam to Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois to recuperate. Once he recovered sufficiently, he was assigned to a training unit at Fort Knox to finish out his time in the military. He left the Army in January 1970. Chuck is currently actively involved with a reformative program that is designed to help people in the prison system.
Stark, Chuck
Spyke, Wesley (Interview transcript and video), 2019
Wesley Spyke was born in 1948 in Muskegon, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1966. He enlisted in the Navy Reserve in April of 1968. Wesley completed bootcamp at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. He became a gunner’s mate in the Navy. He received additional gunnery training in Coronado, California. Wesley did small arms training at Camp Pendleton, California. He received orders to Vietnam in July of 1969. He was initially stationed at Dong Ha, Vietnam. Wesley did river security on riverboats for about 5 months. He then was moved to a base at Cua Viet, Vietnam, where he continued to do river patrols and aided in extractions and insertions of Special Forces personnel at various points along the riverways. While in Vietnam, Wesley was involved in various skirmishes. He returned from Vietnam in July of 1970. He is now actively involved in ministry. Wesley and his wife currently work with the Veterans Treatment Court of Muskegon County.
Spyke, Wesley