DeWitt, Arthur (Interview outline and video), 2008
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Arthur DeWitt was born in Lapeer, Michigan in 1921, and grew up in Kalamazoo. While a senior in high school, DeWitt joined the Michigan National Guard, and his unit, Company C of the 126th Infantry Regiment, was called up soon afterward, causing him to miss most of his senior year. His unit was sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana for training, and he became a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner. In the spring of 1942, his division was sent first to Boston, then to San Francisco, and from there to Australia. They were shipped to New Guinea in September, and participating in the fighting around Buna. One of the few men in his company to get through Buna unscathed and healthy, he came down with malaria soon after returning to Australia, and was reassigned to the 41st Division. He served with the 41st on Biak, and then on Mindanao in the Philippines, and was rotated home shortly before the end of the war.
DeWitt, Arthur
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
DeWitt, Jake (Interview outline and video), 2010
United States. Navy
Jake DeWitt served during the Second World War as a Gunner's Mate on the USS Roper, a destroyer from WWI. The Roper patrolled the Virginia coast where it sunk its first German submarine, then travelled to the Straits of Gibraltar for convoy duty. She was eventually struck near Okinawa when a Japanese fighter plane crashed into the side of the ship injuring DeWitt. Dewitt was eventually discharged after recovering from his arm injury.
DeWitt, Jake
Michigan--History
Local histories
Memoirs
Oral histories (document genre)
Grand Rapids (Mich.)
Personal narratives
Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Emma Howe Foote was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 3, 1885, the daughter of Elijah Hedding Foote and Frances Amelia Howe. She lived at the corner of Lyon and College, and attended Junior College. Emma was married to Clarence S. Dexter, prominent Grand Rapids furniture manufacturer and financier in Grand Rapids on January 16, 1908. She was the president of Art Gallery on Fulton (Old Pike's home) and a regent of the Michigan Daughters of the American Revolution. She died January 5, 1983 in Grand Rapids and was interred at Graceland Mausoleum.
Dexter, Emma Foote
Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)
DeYoung, Nelson (Interview outline and video), 2014
World War, 1939-1945--Personal Narratives, American
Nelson DeYoung is a World War II veteran who was born on November 11, 1924. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was drafted on March 4, 1943. He started off training to go into the Medical Corps until he became a cook in the Army. He served at Camp Bradley, Texas
and in Florida. At the end of the war he was sent to India to aid with the removal of American wounded from India out of Karachi. He was discharged in 1946.
DeYoung, Nelson
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
DeYoung, Ralph (Interview outline and video), 2014
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Hank DeYoung born in 1928 in Spring Lake, Michigan. He left high school in the tenth grade and worked with his father in his father's construction business as a business partner. In the summer of 1950 he received his draft notice and on December 15, 1950 he reported for basic training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. After completing his basic training he got married to his wife on February 6, 1951 and was also in Cook School training to be an Army cook at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He served with the Headquarters Battery of the 194th Field Artillery Battalion of the Iowa National Guard back at Camp McCoy. In July 1951 he was deployed to Germany with the 194th Field Artillery Battalion and served at Wurzburg. From Wurzburg he was reassigned to the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion at Nauheim and then went into the field with them patrolling the East/West German border. In November 1952 he returned to the United States and was discharged.
DeYoung, Ralph
Diedering, Henry (Interview outline and video), 2010
United States. Marine Corps
Henry Diedering was a teenager in the Netherlands when the Germans took over in 1940. He describes life in his home town under occupation, and of his efforts to avoid being impressed as a forced laborer by the Germans when he turned 18. He made his way to Rotterdam and got a job on a cargo ship on the Rhine River, and worked on it until the ship was damaged by Allied air attack. After that, he tried to make his way home, staying in damaged and abandoned houses, until he found a German village that had no able-bodied men in it, and where he worked for the villagers until the spring of 1945, when the Canadians took over the area. Seeing few opportunities at home, he enlisted in the Dutch Marine Corps and was sent to Indonesia, where the Dutch were attempting to reassert control, and was sent home after the Dutch agreed to leave.
Diedering, Henry
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Diekevers, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2015
Donald Diekevers was born in 1937 in McBain, Michigan. He decided to enlist into the Army at 17. At Fort Knox, Kentucky he received basic training, while further training took place at Fort Carson, Colorado, and later at Fort Bliss, Texas. Their training involved the use of 90mm artillery and lengthy 70 mile marches. Eventually he would be stationed in Washington D.C. for the last part of his service. In 1954/55 he met his wife and they finally married after being discharged from the military in 1958.
Diekvers, Donald
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Diephouse, Gary (Interview transcript and video), 2017
United States—History, Military
World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American
Gary Diephouse was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 8, 1943. He enlisted in the Air Force on September 20, 1964. He received his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, then went to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, for Air Traffic Controller School. He reported to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, in spring 1965 and was stationed there for two years. In 1967, he was sent to Taiwan and served in an advisory role to the Chinese Nationalists at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base near Taichung. After a year, there he returned to the United States and served at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, for the last six months of his enlistment. He was discharged in 1968.
Diephouse, Gary
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
Dies, Claude (Interview outline and video), 2008
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
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.
Dies, Claude
Ray Diffenderfer (Audio interview and transcript), 2018
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Beaches
Audio recordings
Ray Diffenderfer's grandparents were among the first to own land near Mt. Baldhead, where they built a cottage in the early 1920s. In this article, Ray reminisces about spending summers of his youth at the cottage and swimming at the beach in the 1950s and 1960s.
Diffenderfer, Ray
Stories of Summer project, Kutsche Office of Local History. Grand Valley State University
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Dilley, Alva Newton (Interview outline, video, and papers, 1 of 2), 2007
Newton Dilley joined the Army in 1943 and worked with the 12th Armored Division during his time in the Army Specialized Training Program. He was eventually assigned to the 56th Armored Infantry battalion of the 12th Armored Division. He saw combat in Alsace and southwestern Germany, and before the war ended was called to finish Officer Candidate School and eventually spent more that a year working with the Army of Occupation. After his time in the service, Newton went to Yale Law School and became a lawyer. A summary of service written by Dilley is appended to his interview outline.
Dilley, Alva Newton
Dilley, Alva Newton (Interview outline, video, and papers, 2 of 2), 2007
DiLorenzo, Joseph James (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Air Force
Joseph DiLorenzo was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 3, 1948. He enlisted in the Air Force in April 1967 and reported for basic training on August 2, 1967. He received his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and for two and a half years was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana guarding B-52 bombers and KC-130 tankers. In December 1969 he received orders for Vietnam and in the spring of 1970 he was deployed to Vietnam. He was stationed at Phu Cat Air Base with the 12th Security Police Squadron. For the first six months of his tour he stood guard in a tower outside of the base's perimeter, and for the second six months he was part of a mobile Security Alert Team patrolling the base's perimeter and dealing with any security breaches. At the end of his tour he returned to the United States and was discharged in Seattle, Washington.
DiLorenzo, Joseph James
Dingman, James (Interview outline and video), 2009
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
James Dingman is a Korean War veteran who served in the ROTC and then the U.S. National Guard from 1949 to 1961. In this account, Dingman discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training and active duty in the U.S. Dingman also discusses what growing up during WWII was like, and his police career as a whole.
Dingman, James
Secretariat for Social Concerns, july 1991
Indians of North America -- Michigan -- Periodicals
Indians of North America
Michigan -- Grand Rapids
July 1991 issue of Secretariat for Social Concerns by the Diocese of Grand Rapids collected by Edward Gillis included as part of his Native American publication collection.
Diocese of Grand Rapids
Secretariat for Social Concerns, October 1991
October 1991 issue of Secretariat for Social Concerns by the Diocese of Grand Rapids collected by Edward Gillis included as part of his Native American publication collection.
Letter to Abraham. L. Pennock, June 18, 1845
Antislavery movements
London Yearly Meeting (Religious Society of Friends)
Society of Friends
Quakers
Quaker abolitionists
Slavery--United States
Pennock, Abraham Liddon, 1786-1868
Dirkind, Alexander
Pennsylvania
Haverford (Pa.)
England
Wigton (England)
Cumberland (England)
Letter to Quaker abolitionist Abraham L. Pennock in Haverford, Pennsylvania from a fellow Quaker in England cautioning him about activism with Abolitionist societies in America. The correspondent also inquires about the availability of work and housing in Haverford.
Civil War and slavery collection (RHC-45): http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472
No Copyright - United States
Grand Valley State University
Allendale (Mich.)
Universities and colleges
Facilities
Aerial view of Padnos Hall of Science and Henry Hall.
Dittmer & Company Photography
In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted
Letters concerning offices for Adjt. Gen. John A. Dix in Albany, N.Y.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--Politics and government--19th century
Letters to N.Y. Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Surveyor General from Adjt. Gen. John Dix requesting a new secure office; and to Chancellor Walworth about the offices.
Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879
Aaron Dixon video interview and transcript
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Mexican Americans--Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
Race relations
Social conflict
Cultural identity
Black Panther Party. Illinois Chapter
Oral history of Aaron Dixon, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 3/14/2013 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park. This interview is incomplete. At approximately 39 minutes, the interview with Dixon cuts to another interview with Linda Turner and does not return to Dixon.
Dixon, Aaron
Doak, Marshall (Interview outline and video), 2015
Marshall Doak was born in Sturgis, Michigan on March 3, 1921. He enlisted in the Navy on November 9, 1938 and went to Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island for basic training. He served aboard the USS Salt Lake City then went to Hospital Corps School in San Diego, California in late 1939. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and served in the urological ward at Norfolk Naval Hospital. From Norfolk he returned to Great Lakes Naval Station to work in the dispensary then got assigned to the USS Wakefield. In November 1941 the Wakefield joined a convoy in Canada and helped secretly transport 5,500 British troops to Singapore before the United States entered the war. By the time they dropped off the troops, Pearl Harbor had been bombed and the U.S. was in the war. He served aboard the Wakefield until Thanksgiving 1942 when he was reassigned to the USS Arapaho. Aboard the Arapaho he served as the ship's doctor. Through the summer of 1943 the ship operated in the Pacific Theater and during the Battle of Tarawa he went ashore to treat Marine casualties. He also participated in the liberation of the in liberation of Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Makin, and the Northern Marianas Islands. He experienced a quasi-mutiny on the USS Arapaho before being transferred to the USS Enterprise on November 24, 1944. He returned to the United States and served at Brooklyn Naval Hospital and Hunter College before being discharged on October 8, 1945.
Doak, Marshall
Doane, Daniel Edward (Interview outline), 2015
United States. Army Air ForcesOral history
Daniel Doane was born on June 29, 1926 to a family of six children. He joined the army in September 1945 and was sent to Fort Sheridan Illinois. After spending several months in the United States, Daniel was sent to Chitose Air Base in Japan.
Doane, Daniel Edward
Dochod, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2013
Edward Dochod was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on January 1, 1919. He grew up in the area and was drafted into the Army in January 1942. He was sent to Fort Custer, Fort Jackson and Fort Devens before being sent on a ship across the Atlantic to North Africa. He took part in the invasion of Sicily, Italy, fought at Cassino and Anzio, and then landed in southern France. Edward and the rest of the 45th Division then fought across France and on into Germany, and liberated the concentration camp, Dachau, on their way to Munich.
Dochod, Edward