Jennings, Stuart (Interview outline and video), 2007
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
United States. Air Force
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Video recordings
Stuart Jennings was born during the beginning of the Depression in Michigan. He said that growing up through that taught him to share, to do things on his own and to treat people well. After graduation Stuart became a cadet in the Army Air Corps in Texas and eventually a Barracks Corporal in the Air Corps. Stuart never experienced combat or went overseas. His job was to fly wounded men back and forth from hospitals in the United States. After his time in the service, Stuart got involved in the post-war house building boom after the war. The business allowed him to make a good living and travel.
Jennings, Stuart
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Jeltema, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2009
United States. Navy
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Richard Jeltema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in December 1927. He enlisted in the Navy during high school. Richard chose to go into the submarine service and was stationed in New London, Connecticut. He was assigned to a submarine in Pearl Harbor and went to places like Guam, Okinawa, Australia, China and Russia between 1947and 1948. While working on the sub Richard was a mechanic in the auxiliary systems room. The sub mostly patrolled, but on one occasion searched for mines off the coast of Russia.
Jeltema, Richard
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Jelsema, Harry (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Army
Harry Jelsema was born to a farmer in Allegan, Michigan and served in the Army during World War II. He was drafted in 1944, and sent to basic training and after that to Europe, where he was a bazooka man. He fought in Northern France, Belgium, and Northern Germany, eventually meeting the Soviets. He was then shipped back to the US and was supposed to go to Japan, but the war ended before this could happen. He worked a desk job at Fort Carson, Colorado until he was discharged in 1946.
Jelsema, Harry
Jefferson, James (Interview outline and video), 2008
Merchant mariner
Merchant marine--United States
James Jefferson was born in New Jersey on July 13, 1924 and grew up in an integrated community. After high school James joined the Merchant Marines and was trained on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He enjoyed the training and did not feel discriminated against there, despite being the only black man in his class. When he signed aboard his first ship, however, he had to deal with a racist chief engineer who tried and failed to keep him off the ship. He describes some of his experiences in sailing around the world during and after World War II.
Jefferson, James
Jarocki, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2007
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Charles Jarocki joined the United States Air Force in 1986 and was stationed in many different parts of the United States and Europe for eleven years. While in the Air Force, Charles received his Bachelors degree and his Masters degree in computer programming. He never experienced hands on combat because he had been called out over seas just as the Persian Gulf War was ending. Charles still works in the computer programming and engineering field and believes that the Air Force was a great experience for him.
Jarocki, Charles
Schiller-Jarocki, Elizabeth (Interviewer)
Janssen, Raymond (Interview outline and video), 2008
Ray Janssen was born in Wisconsin in 1923 and then grew up on a farm in Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1942 and was drafted shortly after in 1943. Ray trained in terribly hot weather in Alabama for eight months and then trained in California for about three weeks before leaving for Australia. Ray worked with Australian civilians in supply warehouses for one year before traveling to Leyte, where he was wounded in a kamikaze attack on his ship. He recuperated on New Guinea and returned to duty in the Philippines at the end of the war, where he helped to destroy leftover supplies and munitions.
Janssen, Raymond
Janssen, John (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Marine Corps
John Janssen was born on April 30, 1922 in Wisconsin and moved to Michigan in 1928. He graduated from high school in 1940 and joined the Marine Corps on October 29, 1941. John went through basic training in South Carolina, where they spent a lot of time marching through swamps. John then began working on an aircraft carrier as an anti-aircraft gunner and served in a series of battles in the Pacific, concluding with Okinawa. After Japan was bombed, John worked there breaking down an arsenal and taking weapons away from Japanese soldiers.
Janssen, John
Janicki, Steve (Interview transcript and video), 2007
Steve Janicki served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. His history includes some colorful accounts of his joining the guard and going through basic training (he was 16 at the time, and not even shaving yet). He covers the trip to Australia by ocean liner, additional training in Australia, and the difficulties of fighting in the jungle. Illness took him out of action at Buna in New Guinea, but he rejoined his unit for some of the later battles, and tells of seeing MacArthur on Leyte in the Philippines. His history was featured in the documentary Nightmare in New Guinea.
Janicki, Steve
Jandernoa, Donald (Interview transcript and video), 2006
Donald Jandernoa served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. He trained as a B-24 pilot and flew missions for the 15th Air Force, based in Italy, in the later stages of the war. He describes the training process and his combat experiences in detail, including a mission on which he and his crew had to bail out along the Yugoslav coast and were rescued by local villagers. He also discusses the role of the Tuskegee airmen in protecting his unit.
Jandernoa, Donald
Jamros, Edwin Francis (Interview outline and video), 2009
United States. Coast Guard
Edwin Jamros joined the US Coast Guard in 1940 because he knew the United States was going to war. After going to Ellis Island for basic training, he was assigned to the USS Joseph Dickman as an electrician's apprentice. While on the Dickman, he traveled to Africa, Australia, Italy and Scotland. His ship participated in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. Edwin was discharged as an Electrician's Mate, First Class on May 22nd, 1945.
Jamros, Edwin Francis
Jalving, Marvin (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2008
United States. Army. Air Corps
Marvin Jalving enlisted in the Army Air Corps in July of 1943 and was discharged in October of 1945. He went to England late in 1944 and flew 23 missions in B-17s, most of which were in Germany taking out train yards and gasoline refineries. After flying missions in Europe, George had been sent to California and scheduled to leave for the Pacific. He was relieved when he found that he had enough points to be discharged before he was sent to the Pacific. Personal narrative appended to interview outline.
Jalving, Marvin
Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Jakubczak, Richard (Interview transcript and video), 2011
Richard Jakubczak is from Grand Rapids Michigan and was born in May of 1946. After high school he worked at Lowell Engineering and as a farmer. He briefly attended Kendall School of Design, but dropped out in 1966 and he and his brother joined the Navy and volunteered for training as medical corpsmen. He completed his basic training and medical training at Great Lakes, Illinois, and then went to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, for field training. He then worked at Great Lakes Naval Hospital for ten months, and went to Vietnam in February, 1968. He was assigned to the First Shore Party, which provided logistical support to Marine combat units in the field, and was regularly attached to combat units when on operations. He was based near Da Nang, and supported Marine units involved in Operations Allen Brook and Mameluke Thrust. He left Vietnam in February, 1969, and completed his enlistment at Great Lakes.
Jakubczak, Richard
Jager, George (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2009
George Jager grew up in Michigan and was drafted in 1943 and trained in Florida to be a replacement infantryman. In April of 1944 he went to England on a converted troop ship. George received chemical warfare training and then landed on Omaha Beach 10 days after D-day. He was a machine gunner and fought in battles at Normandy, Mortain, and the Hurtgen Forest. George was injured once at Mortain by a bullet and again at the Hurtganen Forest by a bomb. He was sent to a field hospital and then a back the US because of his swamp foot. He served for a short time after arriving home and then was discharged. After he was discharged he went to college and became a teacher. A map and magazine article are appended to interview outline.
Jager, George
Jacobs, Art (Interview outline and video), 2005
Art Jacobs joined the Naval Air Corps in the 1930s. He was one of only 32 men that graduated with wings out of the original 435 men. He stayed in the Navy for a long time and eventually taught other young men advanced air fighting tactics. While he was called out to fight in World War twice, in both times his orders eventually were cancelled before he was actually shipped out. Art Had a rough childhood because his father died when he was only six and then he and his siblings had to help support their mother. Art enjoyed being in the Navy and believes that every male should serve at one point in their life. After life in the Navy, Art also became part of the Masons, the Red Cross, and the Eastern Star.
Jacobs, Art
Jackson, Gloria (Interview outline and video), 2006
United States. Cadet Nurse Corps
Gloria Jackson was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from high school in 1942, just before being accepted into the Cadet Nursing Corps. She trained at Butterworth Hospital, Wayne University, and Percy Jones Hospital (Battle Creek Sanitarium). She also worked for some time in Des Moines, Iowa after getting married. She remembers seeing German POW's in the hospitals. Gloria was in Grand Rapids, Michigan when World War II ended.
Jackson, Gloria
Huver, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2010
Dan Huver was born in September 1943 in Lowell, Michigan. After briefly thinking about joining a law enforcement academy, Huver requested that the military move his name up on the draft list so that they would draft him and he would only serve for two years instead of the three years had he enlisted. After he received NCO and armored training, Huver was part of an airlift to Germany, where his entire division performed maneuvers of six months. Following Germany, Huver returned to United States and served at Fort Riley, Kansas as an advanced infantry instructor for soldiers going to Vietnam.
Huver, Dan
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Hurst, J.W. (Interview outline and video), 2005
J.W. Hurst was born in July 1918. After enlisting in the military, Hurst bounced around training, including going into the Air Corps, going to paratroop training and finally receiving training in artillery. Hurst served with the First Army Task Force and participated in the landing on Omaha beach and the campaign in France.
Hurst, J.W.
Hopper, Donald (Interview outline), 2013
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Donald was born in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan on December 14, 1933. He was seven years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed and remembers well life around his town during the war. When the Korean War erupted, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego, California and then to Advanced Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California. After his training, Donald was sent to Virginia where he took a course on topographical survey and later tested new construction equipment for Marine Corps use.
Hopper, Donald
Higgins, Mike (Interview outline and video), 2005
Mike Higgins was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 20, 1951 and was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and then went to leadership school for 2 weeks. After training he was sent to Vietnam on jet and was completely shocked when he got off the plane by the very hot and humid weather. Mike worked as a cook in Vietnam and also on guard duty. He did not experience much combat, and reports of racial tensions at his base were so bad that some of the soldiers were disarmed most of the time. He was never injured and never took time off on leave or for R & R, so he was able to leave Vietnam a few months early.
Higgins, Mike
Herrick, James (Interview outline and video), 2010
James Herrick volunteered for the Army in 1967. He trained as an electronics technician and spent much of his time away from combat, on the base at Cu Chi. He was there through most of 1968, including during the Tet Offensive, but his base received mostly harassment fire, and he did not see combat.
Herrick, James
Hemphill, Dale (Interview outline and video), 2009
Dale Hemphill was born in Michigan in 1942 and later moved to Indiana with his mother when he was 10 years old. In 1960 he enlisted in the Navy for 3 years of active duty and 3 years in the Reserves. Dale went through boot camp in San Diego, California and was then stationed in California and later Alaska. After his time in the service he began working on a project called Flags Across America n 1979. He also started a non-profit organization called Spirit of America and he often travels around the country working on his project and organization.
Hemphill, Dale
Helmink, Henry Lee (Interview outline and video), 2010
United States. Army Air Corps
Henry Lee Helmink of Holland, Michigan, enlisted in 1943 and served during World War II as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He flew C-46 and C-47 transport aircraft between bases in Burma, India and China, and would drop supplies to troops in the field.
Helmink, Henry Lee
Hawkins, Raymond Sr. (Interview outline and video), 2010
Raymond Hawkins, Sr. served in the Navy during the end of the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy with hopes of traveling and avoiding being drafted into the Army. Raymond went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through radio school and security training in California before he was stationed in Alaska. Raymond served as a radio technician in Alaska and Puerto Rico and was in the Navy for a total of 4 years.
Hawkins, Raymond Sr.
Hawkins, Raymond Jr. (Interview outline and video)
Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
Raymond Hawkins, Jr. was born on July 7, 1956 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father was in the Navy and stationed in Puerto Rico at the time. Raymond went through ROTC while attending college at Michigan State University and was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant once he graduated. He went through basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas and then through jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. While in the service Raymond was stationed in Louisiana, Bosnia, and Oklahoma before he was discharged. He then worked as a defense contractor during Desert Storm and was serving in active duty in the Reserves during the second Iraq war.
Hawkins, Raymond Jr.