Rick Rediske, 2021 (Interview video and transcript)
Oral history
Personal narrative
PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals)
Groundwater--Pollution
Dr. Rick Rediski is a professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Robert Annis Water Research Institute at Grand Valley State University and has lived in West Michigan since around 1980. In this interview, Dr. Rediski discusses is involvement in the PFAS contamination situation in Michigan. After learning of chemical dumping in residential water areas, Dr. Rediski helped to bring the issue to the forefront with interviews to news organizations.
Rediske, Rick
Living with PFAS (project)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In copyright
Redwine, Gerald (Interview transcript and video), 2011
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
United States. Marine Corps
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Gerald Redwine was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1933. After graduating from high school in 1952, Redwine was attending Grand Rapids Junior College when a group of five of his friends suggested they join the military. After both the Air Force and Navy refused to enlist the entire group, due to all the men being black, the group finally enlisted in the Marine Corps. Once Redwine completed boot camp in San Diego, he joined the 3rd Marine Division, which in 1953, received orders to deploy to Korea to participate in the Korean War. However, the brokering of the armistice ended the war and the division re-routed to Japan. After Redwine's deployment to Japan finished, he briefly served at El Toro Naval Air Station in California before transferring to Okinawa. Redwine spent fourteen months on Okinawa and when he returned to the United States in 1957, the Marines sent him to advance training in administration at Parris Island, South Carolina. After finishing the training at Parris Island, Redwine returned to California and went through training to be a drill instructor, a position he held for three years. In 1962, Redwine transferred to Bellingham, Washington to work with the Marine Corps Reserves. After spending a further three years in Washington, the Marines recalled Redwine in 1966 and placed him in the newly-formed 5th Marine Division, which soon deployed to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, Redwine served in administrative positions in bases at Dong Ha and Phu Bai. When his tour ended in Vietnam, Redwine returned to the United States and worked in the brig at Camp Pendleton, California. Following a year working at the brig, Redwine transferred again to Okinawa as part of the 3rd Marine Service Regiment. When his time in Okinawa ended, Redwine transferred back to the United States, spending time at both Camp Pendleton and El Toro. Finally, in 1972, after having served the mandatory twenty years necessary to earn a pension, Redwine left active-duty. Due to his ethnicity, Redwine faced numerous incidents of discrimination during his time in the military from officers blatantly telling him he would not receive a promotion based on his race to people confronting him when traveling in the South.
Redwine, Gerald
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
In Copyright
Reed, Sherman R (Interview outline and video), 2016
United States. Air Force
Sherman Reed was born in Jasonville, Indiana, on June 24, 1941. He originally served in the Air Force before becoming an Army chaplain. He received his interceptor weapons control training at Keesler Air Force Base, Missouri, then was assigned to the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Norton Air Force Base, California. During his time with the 848th, he was deployed to a base north of Clark Field in the Philippines to assist with the buildup in Vietnam. He decided to become a minister, and he attended the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from there in May 1971. While at seminary he was part of the reserve at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base. He resigned his commission with the Air Force and began the process of becoming a chaplain in the Army in 1977 He served at Fort Carson, Colorado, and worked with the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade in West Germany. Sherman retired from the Army in 2000, and as of 2016 is national chaplain for the Reserve Officers Association.
Reed, Sherman
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Reeg, Dave (Interview outline and video), 2012
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Dave Reeg served in the army as an artillery sergeant during the Korean War. He was trained on 105 Howitzers in Atterbury, Indiana. At one point in his service in Korea, the unit he was in was discontinued and he was sent to different artillery locations. Mr. Reeg was in Korea for about 17 months when the war ended.
Reeg, Dave
Reeves, Cody (Interview transcript and video), 2019
United States—History, Military
Iraq War, 2003-2011—Personal narratives, American
Cody Reeves was born in Grand Rapids and was raised in Smyrna, Michigan, by his mother while living with his grandparents. When he and his mother moved to Orleans and she married his stepfather, a Marine veteran, Reeves was greatly influenced to join the Corps. Since he never earned sufficient grades in high school, no college was willing to admit him, so he opted to join the Marine Delayed Entry Program as a way to challenge himself towards improvement. For Basic Training, Reeves was sent to San Diego, California. He spent three months in Basic Training before graduating onto Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton and then Non-infantry Military Occupational School in Twentynine Palms, California, through which he became a radio operator. After graduating from MOS, Reeves was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with the Headquarters and Support Company, 8th Marine Regiment where he trained for later assignment. He was then transferred to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Division in preparation for deployment and stationing in Romania in 2015 to deter Russian aggression in the region. In Romania, his unit was stationed at an old Army Air Base and lived a very routine life of exercise, work, and leisure. He also recalled friendly relations with both the Romanian military and civilian population. After his tour in Romania, Reeves was transferred into the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Division in 2017 and was sent back to Eastern Europe. He then began close work with American military allies before opting to join the infantry platoons as a radio operator, assigned to the Weapons Company of the Combined Anti-Armor Team out of Camp Lejeune. As a member of the greater Marine Expeditionary Unit, he and his platoon were deployed, without objective, aboard ships traveling around the world. After this tour, Reeves left the service in November of 2018 and began transitioning back into civilian life, although he found the Corps’ assistance relatively basic and lackluster. He then moved back to Grand Rapids where he enrolled into Grand Valley State University and pursued a degree in psychology. Reflecting upon his service in the Corps, Reeves believed he formed close bonds to the men in his units and that the internet and cell phones made communicating with home far easier. Ultimately, if he were given the option to enlist again, Reeves would do so in a heartbeat.
Reeves, Cody Michael
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
Reeves, John (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2004
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
John Reeves was a B-24 pilot in World War II where he flew 45 missions in the Pacific. He provides a detailed account of training and of missions over New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa and the Netherlands East Indies.
Reeves, John T.
Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Reeves, John (Interview outline and video, 2 of 2), 2009
United States. Army Air Corps
This interview adds new material to the original interview, specifically focusing on his efforts to help rescue the crew of the downed B-24 crew in the waters off of Borneo.
Reilly, John (Interview outline and video), 2011
John Reilly was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1946, and grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from college in 1968, he decided to enlist in the Army before he was drafted. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Reilly went through the Army Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Although initially slated for officer training, Reilly dropped out and deployed to Vietnam in June 1969. Once in Vietnam, Reilly joined the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Trained in fire direction control, he served at Firebases Airborne and Berchtesgaden in the latter stages of the 1969 campaign in the A Shau Valley, and later served with the battalion headquarters at Camp Eagle, where he was stationed at the start of the Ripcord campaign.
Reilly, John
Reiss, Joe (Interview outline and video), 2012
Joe Reiss was born in Cheshire Township, Michigan, in 1920. He enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor, and was assigned to the 1st Marine Division as a rifleman. He went with then to train in New Zealand, and was part of the initial landing on Guadalcanal, where he became a sniper and served for about four months. After rebuilding in Australia, his unit landed at Cape Gloucester on New Britain, in 1943, and on Peleliu in 1944. He was wounded on Pelelieu and sent back to the US, and got out of the hospital the day the war ended.
Reiss, Joe
Remus, Lillian (Interview transcript and video), 2009
United States. Army. Women's Army Corps
Women
Lillian Hansen grew up on a farm in Michigan during the Depression and graduated from high school in 1936. She then worked in her parent's restaurant for a few years before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps (WACs) on February 23, 1943. She trained at a hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida and cooked for the troops. After training Lillian returned home to help her parents run their business. She began writing to Raymond Remus, an old friend from high school, who was fighting in Italy. They got married when he returned 2 years later.
Remus, Lillian
Remus, Ray L. (Interview outline and video), 2009
Ray Remus, from Gilberts, IL, served in the army during World War II as a mail carrier and company clerk in an engineer unit. His unit traveled throughout Italy, France, and North Africa working to repair roads, hospitals, and air fields. He was in the service for three and a half years, which gave him the opportunity to get an education and a steady job. Today, he is involved with his local VFW Post in Muskegon.
Remus, Raymond L.
Renner, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2012
Mike Renner was born in Sigourney, Iowa. He enlisted in the Army in 1969 to stay ahead of the draft. After training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was sent for artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Sent to Vietnam in early 1970, he was assigned to Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, a 155mm howitzer unit in the 101st Airborne Division. He served on several different fire bases in the northern part of South Vietnam, including Ripcord, where he served during the siege that took place in July, 1970. His own gun was destroyed by enemy mortar fire during the siege, but he helped out as best he could until the base was abandoned. He remained with his battery for the rest of his tour, and returned home in 1971.
Renner, Michael
Rensi, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2019
Afghan War, 2001-2021—Personal narratives, American
Edward Rensi was born on December 7, 1925 in Parlett, Ohio, and grew up in Wintersville. He received his draft notice on March 14, 1944 when he was eighteen years old and chose to enlist in the Navy. He was then bussed to Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago for Boot Camp. After graduating Boot Camp, Rensi was trained off to Camp Shoemaker, California, where he awaited assignment. In June of 1944, he was shipped out on a troop transport ship from San Francisco to the Marshall Islands. Rensi was then assigned to the USS California. His duty was to clean compartments aboard the ship as well as maintain the ship’s air compressor units. The California sailed to Saipan and then up to the Mariana Islands. Offshore from Saipan and the Marianas, the California fired shells upon the beaches, inland factories, and Japanese ammunition dumps in support of the ground troops. Rensi was on watch the night the California collided with the USS Tennessee, after which he sailed to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Island, for repairs. The California was then prepared and redeployed from Palau to support the invasion of the Philippines. In the Lingayen Gulf, the California was struck below the upper control towers by a Japanese kamikaze plane, above Rensi’s former battle station, causing severe fires and damage to sailors and ship alike. After two months of repairs in Bremerton, Washington, the USS California traveled back to California before redeploying to Okinawa in the late spring of 1945. With the end of the war, the California anchored near Japan and Rensi was able to make it ashore twice. He recalled visiting Tokyo and a postwar memorial service in the Philippines, as well as taking other trips to Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Cape Town, South Africa. The California returned to the United States in December of 1945, docking in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the crew prepared it for scrapping. Rensi was then discharged on May 5, 1946 and proceeded to drift around before deciding to move to Detroit, Michigan, for work on the automobile assembly lines. He was laid off several times and eventually went to work in the coal fields near his hometown before retiring in 1985. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Rensi believed the Navy was a tremendous experience, teaching him the value and meaning of life.
Rensi, Edward C.
Lakeside Scene of a Walled Town from the Water
Fore-edge painting
Painting
Cityscapes
Painting on the fore-edge of "Les enfants de l'amour" by Eugene Sue of a lakeside scene of a walled town from the water with several boats resting on shore at low tide. Artist Retsof or Foster is unknown.
Retsof (artist)
Seidman Rare Books. ND2370.S84 E54 1850
Reusch, Matt (Interview outline and video), 2013
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
United States. National Guard
Matt Reusch was born in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1985. He joined the Army during his senior year of high school and served briefly with the National Guard until his deployment to Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum in January, 2006. He served two consecutive tours there as part of a heavy weapons company and a scouting company specifically in the Khost Province, Kunar Province, and at Barge Matal. In March, 2010 his enlistment was complete and he returned to Michigan.
Reusch, Matt
Reyes, America (audio interview and summary)
El Realito
Tamaulipas
Mexico
San Antonio
Texas
Factory
Asparagus
Marriage
Farming
Winter
Michigan Freeze Pack
Insurance
Season
Oral history interview with America Reyes. Interviewed by Penny Burillo. Spanish language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. February 11, 2016. América Reyes was born in El Realito, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She lived in Mexico for all of her childhood. She came to the United States when she was 22 years old and lived in Dallas, Texas. She married there and had two sons and one daughter. In 1997, América and her mother and brothers came to Walkerville, Michigan. They began working as migrants, picking vegetables in the fields. América now works at Michigan Freeze Pack. She wants to stay in Michigan in the future.
Reyes, America
Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage)
Carmen Tirado Reyes inerview and biography
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives
Social justice
Puerto Ricans--Social life and customs
Puerto Rico--Autonomy and independence movements
Spanish language--Personal narratives
Carmen Tirado Reyes is married to Marcelo Jiménez, a proud Hacha Vieja, and uncle of José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. In the 1940s they moved to Barrio Mula in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, where “Tio Gabriel,” as he was called, had purchased a large farm, hired workers, and raised his many children. When work was slow, those children and workers came to Chicago, settling in La Clark in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of Ms. Reyes’s sons became a leader of the Latin Kings. Ms. Reyes now lives in Puerto Rico.
Reyes, Carmen
David Rivera Reyes video interview and transcript, interview 1
Personal narratives
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Oral history of David Rivera Reyes, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 01/12/2011 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Reyes, David Rivera
Young Lords collection (RHC-65)
Lawrence Reyes video interview and transcript
Oral history of Lawrence Reyes, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez on 10/23/2016 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Reyes, Lawrence
Reynolds, Allan Jay (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Navy
Allan Reynolds was born in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1923. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and went to Aviation Radio School in San Diego, California. He was stationed in Alaska when the war began and served at Dutch Harbor during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. He was sent to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington and volunteered for Flight School at that time. He received flight training and operational training in Louisiana, Tennessee, and finally Florida with PBY and PBM seaplanes, promoted to the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class Aviation Pilot. At the end of World War Two he flew patrols over the Pacific Coast. He was part of VH-4 Squadron at Bikini Atoll for atomic testing in summer 1946 and was part of Operation Highjump in Antarctica from December 1946 to April 1947. During the Antarctic expedition he discovered a trough that was named after him, Reynolds Trough. He made a career out of the Navy and was stationed in China, Japan, all over the U.S., and in the United Kingdom. After twenty years of service he completed his career at Great Lakes Naval Station and retired in September 1961.
Reynolds, Allan Jay
World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Sermons
A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 5, 1981 entitled "World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 33:1-5, 10-22, Revelation 15:1-4.
Richard A. Rhem
Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/
A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 8, 1981 entitled "God and Cosmos", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hebrews 1:1-4, 10-12.
A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 15, 1981 entitled "God, Humanity and Cosmos", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 8, Hebrews 2:5-9.
A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 26, 1981 entitled "God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Chronicles 29:9-18, Ephesians 1:1-10.