Baldwin, Scott (Interview outline and video), 2011
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
United States. Army
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Scott Baldwin Scott joined the Army National Guard in Oklahoma in 1986 and took ROTC training at Oklahoma State University. After a number of years on inactive reserve, he was activated, worked as a trainer at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was later sent to Afghanistan, where he helped train Afghan forces.
Baldwin, Scott
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Baldwin, Ralph (Interview transcript and video), 2007
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Ralph Baldwin was an astronomy instructor at Northwestern University in 1941 who volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor. He was initially assigned to teach navigation, but lobbied for a more important assignment. He was sent in 1942 to a secret program in Maryland being run by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Here he helped to develop the proximity fuse, a device that enabled anti-aircraft shells to sense when they were near targets and explode. By the end of the war, the fuse had become highly effective, and aspects of the technology developed for it are still used today.
Baldwin, Ralph
Baker-Clark, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Navy
Charles Baker-Clark, born in St. Lois Missouri in 1948, served in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1970 as a Naval Corpsman during the Vietnam Era. After completing his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, Charles was given medical training at the same base. After this was completed he was then sent to Naples Italy where he served in a naval hospital. In December of 1968 Charles had to be moved after he was involved as an informant used to bust a group selling drugs on the base. Charles was then moved to Maine where he served in another naval hospital. Soon after, he was sent to Iceland and then Sicily Italy where he served with a Unit of PT Orion pilots.
Baker-Clark, Charles
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Bailey, Glen (Interview outline and video)
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Glen Bailey was born in 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. Glen left school during his 8th grade year at the age of 15; he went to work as his father had passed away and he wanted to support his family. At the age of 17, Glen got permission from his mother to join the Army. He did his basic training at Ft. Carson in Colorado where he did additional training as a mechanic. He was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division once the Korean War started and was then assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment. He served on the Pusan Perimeter and in the advance into North Korea, and then in the retreat after the Chinese counterattacked. While in Korea, he suffered two separate injuries: a burn to his arm as well as taking shrapnel from a grenade, but each time returned to his unit and rotated home in 1951, and served at Fort Carson, Colorado, until his discharge in 1952.
Bailey, Glen
Bailey, Dick (Interview outline and video), 2009
Dick Bailey was born in Pennsylvania and enlisted in the army at the age of nineteen during World War II. He spent the majority of his time deployed in the Pacific, working as an aircraft mechanic in the 13th Air Force. He went home to Pennsylvania after the war, and became involved in stock car racing, and was one of the first NASCAR drivers.
Bailey, Dick
Baas, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2011
United States. Naval Reserve
Jack Baas, Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1920, enlisted in the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor. Initially, he was initially allowed to return to college to finish his senior year, but before the term ended, he was sent to Mississippi to begin training. He qualified as a Navy pilot and was given his choice of naval aircraft (other than fighters), and trained on the TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber. He did carrier training and flew patrols off the Massachusetts coast in 1944 and operated off of an escort carrier with an Atlantic convoy, and then was sent to the Pacific early in 1945. Assigned to Carrier Group 83, he flew missions over Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan, and participated in the attack on the Japanese battleship Yamato as it attempted to reach Okinawa.
Baas, Jack
Baar, Brian (Interview outline and video), 2008
Brian Baar served in the US Army Rangers and with several infantry units in the early 1980s. His active duty experience included training several different National Guard units, and units in the Egyptian Army.
Baar, Brian
Ash, Charles Nedwin (Interview outline), 2006
African-American soldiers
Japan
Korea
Charles Nedwin Ash is a Korean War Veteran who served in the United States Army from July 1952 to July 20, 1954 in Japan and Korea. In this interview, Ash discusses his time in the service and also what it was like to be an African American during that time. Ash briefly shares some stories of the prejudice he faced in Kentucky and being promoted to Sergeant. For his time in Korea, Ash received the Korean Service Ribbon with two bronze service stars, the UN Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
Ash, Charles Nedwin
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Amlotte, Mitch (Interview outline and video), 2007
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Mitch Amlotte volunteered for the Army in 1968 to escape a bad home life. He was sent to postal school and then to Germany. He volunteered to travel with the children of military men on field trips and spent much of his time seeing different countries. He was released from the military after 3 years would have re-enlisted except that he did not want to go to Vietnam. He encountered an assortment of personal and medical problems after his discharge, which he discusses at some length.
Amlotte, Mitch
John joined the United States Army and spent nine months in training. He became a fuel truck driver, and eventually spent two weeks in Panama in support of Operation Just Cause in 1989.
Adkins, John
Avgerinos, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2012
Steve Avgerinos was born in Chicago in 1949. He enlisted late in 1968 to stay ahead of the draft. He took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then AIT at Fort Lewis, and then went on to NCO school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then sent over to Vietnam, and joined D Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. In March, 1970, his company began a series of patrols in the hills and jungle west of Camp Evans, operating out of several different firebases. In May, his platoon's perimeter on a hilltop designated Maureen was overrun by enemy sappers, but Avgerinos and those still able to fight held the position. He was injured in the battled and sent to Japan and back to the US for treatment. He completed his enlistment as an instructor at Fort Leonard Wood.
Avgerinos, Stephen
Austin, Robert (Interview transcript and video), 2008
United States. Marine Corps
Robert Austin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up on a farm. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June, 1941 and trained first for the Marine Air Corps and then for the Marine Paratroopers. He eventually was assigned to the 5th Marine Division and was in the first wave of the landing on Iwo Jima. He was wounded soon after the landing and spent the rest of the war in hospitals. He re-enlisted after the war and played on a Marine baseball team prior to being discharged.
Austin, Robert
Austin, Randy (Interview outline and video), 2008
Randy Austin was born in Paw Paw, Michigan on December 30, 1945 and was drafted shortly after graduating high school in 1965. He was not happy about being drafted and expected to be sent to Vietnam. Instead he began training in aviation electronics and was sent to a base in Germany to work on electronics maintenance for an armored unit. He said the base in Germany was very laid back and he took every moment he had off to travel around in Europe.
Austin, Randy
Austhof, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2004
Jack Austhof, born on September 15, 1948, enlisted in the US Army in 1967 during the Vietnam War with a friend under the Army's buddy system. He spent a year and a half in Germany as a repair parts specialist in a supply company. He did not see combat, but saw rioting in Germany.
Austhof, Jack
Astrauckas, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2008
Merchant mariner
Merchant marine--United States
Richard Astrauckas served with the Merchant Marines from 1943 to 1948 during World War II and with the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean War. He discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S. and sea voyages abroad with the Merchant Marines. He describes his experience of the Normandy Invasion and carrying of supplies and cargo to European ports and elsewhere. Astraukas further mentions his involvement in Greece during the Marshall Plan and peacetime service during Korea.
Astrauckas, Richard
Arntz, Bob (Interview outline and video), 2004
Bob Arntz was born in 1944 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school Bob worked in a factory for a while before enlisting in the Army in 1968. Bob went through basic training in February of 1968 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After training at Fort Knox and in Maryland, Bob was sent to Vietnam in October of 1968. Bob drove semi trucks and helped transport supplies in Vietnam.
Arntz, Bob
Armstrong, Larry (Interview outline and video), 2003
Larry Armstrong was born in Livingston, Tennessee. He joined the Marines and attended boot camp at Camp LeJeune. After boot camp, he was sent to the Marshall Islands to do clean up work such as clearing roads and standing guard. He was sent to Maui, Hawaii, and was there when the bomb was dropped on Japan.
Armstrong, Larry
Anderson, Wayne S. (Interview outline and video), 2007
United States. Army. Air Corps
Wayne Anderson served as an armorer in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. He was based in England and serviced fighter planes, primarily P-51 Mustangs, that escorted bombing missions. At the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he was assigned to infantry training in France, but was not needed for combat. He served as a prison camp guard before being sent back to the US for his discharge.
Anderson, Wayne S.
Anderson, Robert (Interview transcript and video), 2005
Robert Douglas Anderson, born near Grand Rapids, Michigan. in 1926, was drafted into the Army in 1945 after the war had already ended. After training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and Fort Meade, Maryland, he was sent to Yokohama, Japan to identify and sort war materiel.
Anderson, Robert
Anderson, Bob (Interview transcript and video), 2011
Bob Anderson was born in August 1948 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While growing up, his father re-enlisted in the military, meaning Anderson and his family moved constantly, although Anderson's father stayed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland long enough for Anderson to attend school and graduate. After graduating, Anderson attended a junior college in Mississippi and went to Michigan State University for a year before the university kicked him out for low grades. Once he left Michigan State, Anderson received his draft notice and following completion of basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and AIT at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Anderson went back to Fort Benning to attend OCS. After completing OCS, Anderson deployed to Vietnam and joined the 1st Air Cavalry Division as a platoon leader. During his tour, Anderson served as a platoon leader, worked as part of base defense for a position and as a company executive officer. Once his tour in Vietnam ended, Anderson returned to the United States and went back to Michigan State.
Anderson, Nicholas "Nick" (Interview outline and video), 2013
Nick Anderson was born in Minnesota in 1989 and moved to Grand Haven, Michigan three years later. He had given thought to joining the military before 9/11 and, during his senior year of high school, decided that he wanted to be a Marine. Nick swore into the military in Lansing, Michigan and then went to San Diego, California for Basic Training. He was then sent to Camp Pendleton, California for Infantry Training. His first deployment was on an MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) until he returned to America for Mountain Warfare Training. Nick was then deployed to Afghanistan and landed at Camp Leatherneck. His unit served in Sangin where there was a constant threat of IED's. He remembers his experiences on patrols and the routines of finding abandoned compounds.
Anderson, Nicholas
Anderson, George (Interview outline and video), 2005
George Anderson was born on February 5, 1931 in Coopersville, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy in 1951. He was sent to the Great Lakes training center in Chicago, and then transferred to Newport, Rhode Island, where he took torpedo training. He was sent to San Francisco and assigned to the USS Curtis. He did not see any combat, but he went through patrols that took him all across the country and to Pearl Harbor. He worked in the armory of the ship.
Anderson, George
Anderson, Doug (Interview outline and video), 2004
Doug Anderson was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Union High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and began training one month after graduation. Doug went through accelerated college courses at Oakland College in Ohio and was then sent to mid-shipman school in New York. After going through training, the war was already over and Doug was sent to work in salvage and preservation in Guam. Doug spent the extent of his service in Guam and eventually became an Executive Officer when he was only 19 years old.
Anderson, Doug
Ambrose, Thomas (Interview outline and video), 2010
Thomas Ambrose joined the Navy in 1948. He trained for the Medical Corps, and initially did hospital duty, but then transferred to the Marines and was sent to Korea to serve as a corpsman with a line company. His unit fought a series of engagements on the Imjin River and in the Punchbowl. He learned to use field radios and transferred to a signal company, and at the end of his tour he served near Panmunjom.
Ambrose, Thomas
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)