Meyers, George O. (Interview outline and video), 2007
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
George Meyers was born in Coloma, Michigan on August 6, 1926. George spent his early years on his parent's farm, but they had lost it during the Depression. Both of George's older brothers were already in the service and fighting when he received his draft papers in 1944. George went through basic training for the Army at Camp Hood in Texas and then went through extended training before being sent to Luzon. George served as a replacement in the 32nd Infantry Division and was later sent home after being injured by a grenade.
Meyers, George O.
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
McCoy, James (Interview outline and video), 2013
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Jim was born in Santee, California on August 29, 1951. After Jim graduated from high school in 1969, he decided to beat the draft and enlist in the United States Army. He was sent to Vietnam in May 1970 and worked as a base guard at Bien Hoa. After some time, he was reassigned to 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne out of Camp Evans. Jim took part in the attack at Firebase Ripcord. After getting out of the army, Jim joined the California Highway Patrol and served for twenty eight years. After retirement from the CHP, Jim went to Iraq and Afghanistan and worked as a police advisor to local police departments.
McCoy, James
Myles, Johnnie (Interview outline and video), 2011
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Johnnie Myles, born in Natchez Mississippi in 1929, enlisted in the Army in 1946 at the age of seventeen. He qualified for training as a medic, and did both basic and medical training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. While he was there, the Army began to desegregate, and the all-black unit that he was initially assigned to was broken up, and he was placed in an integrated unit. After completing his training, he was assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he served in an integrated transportation unit as a medic until his discharge in 1949. After returning to Natchez, attending trade school and getting job in a shoe shop, he decided to reenlist in 1952 in order to see more of the world and make a better life for himself. He was assigned to a base in Arkansas, and was now a sergeant supervising several soldiers in a medical unit. He stayed there for two tours, and was discharged in 1958.
Myles, Johnnie
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Myers, William (Interview outline and video), 2008
Merchant marine--United States
William Myers was born in Chicago in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines at the age of 16 and trained as a radio operator on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He sailed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean during the last months of the war and for several years afterward as the US was providing aid to and helping to rebuild countries affected by the war.
Myers, William
Musgrove, Clare (Interview outline and video), 2005
United States. Army. Air Corps
Clare Musgrove served in the Army Air Corps, 1942-1945. He was a B-24 Gunner with the 15th Air Force in Italy, where he flew nine missions. On the last, over Ploesti, his plane was hit and the crew bailed out over Serbia. The rest of the crew were captured, but he was rescued by a local family and smuggled out by the resistance. Upon returning to his base, he was given a training assignment for the rest of the war.
Musgrove, Clare M.
Murphy, Thomas (Interview outline and video), 2009
Thomas Murphy is a Vietnam War veteran who volunteered for the draft after he graduated from Rockford High School in 1967. He served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, Company D and was awarded three Purple Heart Awards, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Cross of Gallantry with Palm. In this interview, Thomas shares many stories about his experience with booby traps, dangerous living conditions and being a ‘tunnel rat.'
Murphy, Thomas
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Murphy, George (Interview outline and video), 2011
George Murphy was born and grew up in a small town in Illinois. After finishing high school and junior college, he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He did his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, and was then sent for artillery training to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here he trained as a gunner, and was then sent to Vietnam. He joined a battery of the 7th Artillery which was attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta, and served with them until the unit rotated home three months later. He and several other men from his battery were reassigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans, and he served the rest of his tour with them. He continued to work as a gunner, and his battery regularly moved from one firebase to another. They provided fire support for Firebase Ripcord when it was under siege in July, and Murphy was sent to Ripcord to inspect artillery positions there when it was thought that his battery would move there. Instead, the base was abandoned, and he went back to his regular duties. Later on, he was stationed at Firebase Kathryn when it was attacked by sappers.
Murphy, George
Mulvey, William (Interview outline and video), 2009
United States. Navy
William Mulvey joined the Navy in 1937 and served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. William joined the Navy in 1937, and was trained in Rhode Island before he was placed on the USS Texas. He was then transferred to the USS Boise where he remained until part way through World War II. He participated in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal on the Boise, and was then transferred to the USS Indianapolis, and served on that ship until a Japanese submarine sank it. He survived the aftermath, and joined the Naval Reserves upon his return to the United States. He was reactivated for the Korean War, and served in several capacities including on the USS Ticonderoga. He also served in the Vietnam War on a ship used for beach landings. He eventually retired from the Navy in the 1960s.
Mulvey, William
Mulder, Robert P. (Interview outline and video), 2008
Robert Mulder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School in 1947. He was drafted into the Army in October of 1950 and went through medic training at Camp Adenberry in Indiana. He went through training quickly because the Army had been short on medics. Robert was shipped to Korea and assigned to the 38th Medical Company of the 2nd Division. Robert was eventually wounded and sent to a hospital ship in Seoul to have all the shrapnel removed from his arms and legs. After he healed Robert worked on guard duty at the medic station until he got frost bite and was sent to another hospital. Robert was then sent back to Michigan and discharged in July of 1952.
Mulder, Robert P.
Mulder, John (Interview outline and video), 2009
John Mulder was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His family moved to Montana, but moved back to Grand Rapids after World War II broke out. John was drafted into the US Army when he was 18 years old. After completing basic training in Fort Stewart, Georgia, he also completed anti-aircraft school, in which he learned how to operate mobile anti-aircraft units. After training, he spent the remainder of the war in Hawaii, guarding Pearl Harbor.
Mulder, John
Mulbrecht, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Army Air Corps
United States. National Guard
Fred Mulbrecht served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic from 1942-1944 in Italy during World War II. Prior to joining the service, Fred was in the National Guard. After being drafted in 1942, he aspired to be a pilot but instead was made a mechanic. Fred's training was undergone at Kistler Field Virginia as well as several private schools in New Orleans and Detroit. In late 1943 Fred was sent to a unit of the 15th Air Force in Foggia, Italy, where he spent all his service until he was discharged in 1944.
Mulbrecht, Fred
Muir, Jerry (Interview outline and video), 2011
Jerry Muir, born April 14th 1924 in Grand Rapids ,Michigan, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. Sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training, he was assigned to the Signal Corps and began learning Morse Code. He took an opportunity to transfer to the Army Air Corps, and spend several months taking college courses in preparation for flight training, but the program shut down after three months, and he was now sent to Fort Warren, Wyoming, for Quartermaster Corps training. After this, he want by ship to New Guinea, and then to a replacement depot in the Philippines, where he waited over a month for an assignment. He was eventually assigned to the J.M. Davis, a ship that provided repair services for Army transport ships. He served aboard the Davis for the last few months of the war, and went to Yokohama, Japan, after the surrender.
Muir, Jerry
Mueller, Winfried S. (Interview outline and video), 2003
Win Mueller was drafted into the Army in 1942 and went through basic training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also trained there to be in the Military Police and was at Fort Custer for about 6 months all together. After training Win worked at Fort Swift in Texas, where he guarded POWs for another six months. Win later helped form the 106th Division and was sent to Europe where they eventually replaced the 101st Division in the Netherlands right before the Battle of the Bulge. Win fought in the Battle for about a month in freezing cold weather with not much food to eat. After making it through the battle and traveling to other parts of Europe, win had enough points to go home right around the time of the Japanese surrender.
Mueller, Winfried S.
Mueller, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Marine Corps
Bob Mueller was born in Chicago in 1921, and at the time of Pearl Harbor was attending college in California and taking aviation classes. He enlisted as a Navy cadet and went through pre-flight and advanced flight training before becoming a flight instructor in New Orleans. He then trained to fly fighters off of aircraft carriers and was expecting to participate in the invasion of Japan when the war ended..
Mueller, Robert
Mrozik, Joyce (Interview outline and video), 2011
United States. Naval Reserve. Women’s Reserve
Joyce Mrozik was born in Ada Michigan in 1935. As a child, Joyce was exposed to rationing of goods and the fears of air raids during World War II. In approximately 1953, Joyce joined the Naval Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was trained as a typist as well as an office worker. She very much enjoyed her time in the service.
Mrozik, Joyce
Len Motyka, born in 1925 in Detroit Michigan, served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946 in Europe during World War II. Len was trained to be a mortarman. When he arrived in Marce France, he was assigned to a Mortar unit within the 63rd Davison in the 7th Army. He then spent most of his tour traveling across France into Germany taking town after town. He was discharged in 1946.
Motyka, Len
Morrison, Roger W. (Interview outline and video), 2007
Roger Morrison was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 21, 1924. He went to school until he was 14 years old and then began working in a bait shop until he was drafted into the Army in February 1943. Roger went through basic training in El Paso Texas and advanced training in New Mexico for a total of 6 months. He was assigned to the 13th Infantry Division and first fought in North Africa, working with an anti-aircraft unit. They later moved north into France, Belgium, Germany, and then back to Marseilles. Roger had been training for the war in the Pacific in Marseilles, but was eventually discharged before being sent to the Pacific.
Morrison, Roger W.
Morris, Shirley (Interview transcript and video), 2010
United States. Army. Women’s Army Corps
Shirley Morris grew up in the western United States and attended nursing school between 1941 and 1944. Upon graduating, she was recruited into the army. After military orientation at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, she was sent to the Pacific on a hospital ship and assigned to a hospital in the Philippines. She later went to Yokohama, Japan and served in an American military hospital there for three months before being sent home.
Morris, Shirley
Morris, Basil (Interview outline and video), 2009
Basil Morris was born in Allegan, Michigan and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Basil joined the Air Corp following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and went through the requisite training to fly B-24s. He was eventually sent to Europe, flying missions from a base in Italy. On his third mission, his plane was shot down over Austria, and he was captured by local villagers and made a POW. He was sent to a POW camp in Germany, and released when the camp was over-run by the Russians.
Morris, Basil
Morrin, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2011
Edward Morrin was born in East Boston, Massachusetts on June 21st, 1926. At the outbreak of World War II, Morrin attempted to enlist but the Army denied him because he was only seventeen and needed permission from his parents, although both his parents were dead; however, the Army eventually accepted him. Once finished with training at Fort Wheeler, Georgia, Morrin deployed to the European theater, remaining until after the end of the war, including helping with security during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. After returning home, Morrin initially got out of active duty but re-enlisted after the Korean War began and made his way to Korea, where he served as an MP. Following the tour Korea, Morrin returned to the United States and served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. as an MP and ambulance driver. After Walter Reed, Morrin had another tour in Korea before returning to the medical center. Eventually, Morrin received orders for Germany and deployed to Berlin, where he was stationed while the Soviet Union and East Germany built the Berlin Wall. When he returned from Germany, Morrin received orders for Vietnam and deployed to the country for a year. Finally, after his tour in Vietnam was complete, Morrin returned to the United States and received an assignment to work with the Reserve forces in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where one of his assignments was delivering news of a soldier's death to his family. However, the job took a toll on Morrin and after two years, he asked for his discharge, which he received.
Morrin, Edward
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Morren, Wyatt (Interview outline and video), 2008
Wyatt Morren was born on April 12, 1947 in New Orleans. He enlisted in the Army when he was 19 years old in 1965. Wyatt went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and then through technical training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After training Wyatt worked in Germany for a few months before he was transferred to Vietnam in 1966. He fought in Vietnam for almost 2 years and was then sent to work on guard duty in Panama. Wyatt also worked in Europe during the Cold War for 8 years and was an instructor in Texas.
Morren, Wyatt
Morley, Daniel John (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2006
Daniel John Morley served in the United States Army from 1987 to 1993, earning the title of 2nd Lieutenant. In this interview, Morley discusses his four years at West Point Military Academy; the rigors of the program and the intense training that included jumping out of airplanes and helicopters. One of the most memorable moments in his military career was jumping out of an airplane during training with the wrong parachute. Morley never saw combat. After the service, he became a teacher.
Morley, Daniel
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Nyenhuis, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2012
Stephen Nyenhuis was born in 1949 in Princeton, Minnesota. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and was eventually drafted into the Army in 1969. Stephen was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for eight weeks of basic training and was then sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia for AIT training. He then transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana where he learned to be a truck driver. After his training at Fort Polk, he received his orders for Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Stephen worked in convoys transporting supplies and near the end of his service he fixed flat tires. Because of his duties he never saw combat.
Nyenhuis, Stephen
Morell, Don (Interview outline and video), 2008
Don Morell was born in Ludington, MI in 1926 and joined the Navy in 1944 when he was only 17 years old. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, IL for basic training for about six weeks. Dan only received basic training and was then sent to Pearl Harbor. He was then chosen for submarine service, where he worked on submarines through the transitions of crews and locations. Dan worked in Midway and Australia during the war in the Pacific, went on several submarine patrols and was discharged in May of 1946.
Morell, Don
Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum (Muskegon, Mich.)