Seifert, Cathy (Interview transcript and video), 2008
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
United States. Navy
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Video recordings
Women
Cathy Seifert was born in Grand Rapids, MI in 1952. After graduating from Hope College, she entered the civil service in 1976, and then went to the Naval War College for officer training in 1978. She then served as a naval officer in various capacities until retiring in 1999. She served in Hawaii, Guam, Japan, Portugal, Norfolk, and finally at the Pentagon, serving with the Defense Intelligence Agency. She describes her different assignments in detail, and also says a good deal about life in the Navy and issues confronted by women officers during the period in which she served.
Seifert, Cathy
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
In Copyright
Seigel, Ronald James (Interview outline and video), 2006
United States. Air Force
Ronald Seigel served in the United States Air Force as an Air Force Security Specialist at the Kelley Air Force Base in Texas starting in 1979. Although technically serving during peacetime, his personal account of his time in the service is very interesting. In this interview, Seigel shares stories from the third shift like hearing a nuclear detonator explode at nearby facility and getting accidentally tracked by a B-52's four 50 caliber machine guns. Also, while at Kelley Air Base, Seigel talks about how he witnessed the arrival of the ex-Shah of Iran who was flown to the base to begin cancer treatment at an area hospital.
Seigel, Ronald James
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Senft, Peter (Interview outline and video), 2013
United States. Army
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Peter was born August 27, 1948 in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from high school in 1967 and after trying a couple of colleges he eventually went to the United States Army recruiting station and enlisted. He signed up for intelligence and after basic training he went to intelligence school where he learned how to become a combat order battle intelligence analyst. Peter was sent to Vietnam in 1970 and was assigned to S-2, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He spent time on Firebase Ripcord and made it home in May 1971. After returning from Vietnam, Peter became a special agent with the United States Army Intelligence before being discharged.
Senft, Peter
Senior, Alan (Interview transcript and video), 2021
United States—History, Military
Other veterans & civilians—Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American
Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American
Alan Senior was born May 19, 1925 and grew up in a small town outside of Buffalo, New York. Senior was just a junior in high school when the bomb was dropped at Pearl Harbor, leading to questions about what was going to happen to him as he approached military age. Around the time Senior turned 18, he enlisted in the Voluntary Induction Program due to his dreams of becoming a flyer, therefore, joining the Air Cadets to guarantee his spot with the Air Force. Senior attended basic training in Greensboro, North Carolina where he didn’t quite make it through the Air Cadets program. Instead, Senior became an aerial gunner. This is when Senior went down to Laredo, Texas for gunnery school. Finally, after months of training Senior and his crew headed overseas to England where they were stationed. During their time in England, Senior and his crew were only able to fly ten missions before the war ended. Due to his time with the Air Force, Senior received the Air Medal and his crew was recognized for their particularly strong safety record. After being sent home from England, Senior went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for reassignment. However, this is when the final bombs were dropped and the war thus “ended.” Eventually, after Senior was discharged from the service he went back to school and pursued a degree in Psychology. He then worked in the property casualty insurance business and stayed there for his entire adult life.
Senior, Alan
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
Serafino, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2009
United States. Marine Corps
Edward Serafino was born in Illinois in 1948 and enlisted in the Marines Corps right after graduating from high school. They were sent to San Diego for basic training for 9 weeks, which was very rough on him even though he had played many sports in high school. Edward then trained with amphibious vehicles called Amtraks for another 30 days before being shipped to Vietnam. While in Vietnam Edward worked for a while on supplies, guard duty, and then spent most of his time traveling along water ways in the Amtraks.
Serafino, Edward
Nathan Sargent from John Sergeant, January 1, 1840
Sargent, Nathan, 1794-1875
Whig Party (U.S.)
United States--Politics and government--19th century
United States--Officials and employees
Petitions
Pennsylvania
Washington (D.C.)
Letter informing Sargent that it may be possible to recommend him to a committee. Sergeant also expresses his opinion that William Henry Harrison will be the best opponent for Martin Van Buren in the Presidential election.
Sergeant, John, 1779-1852
Nathan Sargent papers, (RHC-44)
No Copyright - United States
Nathan Sargent from John Sergeant, February 20, 1841
Letter expressing Sergeant's desire to serve Sargent.
Jordan Serla audio interview and transcript
Civil rights--Michigan--History
Gays--Personal narratives
Homophobia
Jordan Serla discusses growing up gay in a small town.
Serla, Jordan
Speaking Out: Western Michigan Civil Rights Oral History Project
Incunabula
Printing 1450-1500
One leaf from Vitae XII Caesarum by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. Printed in Bologna by Benedictus Hectoris on April 5, 1493. [GW M44198; ISTC is00825000]
Seutonius Tranquillus
Seidman Rare Books Collection
Letter from William Henry Seward to Richard M. Blatchford
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872
United States. Department of State
Blatchford, Richard Milford, 1798-1875
Letter from William Henry Seward, Sec. of State under Abraham Lincoln, to the Hon. R.M. Blatchford
Civil War and slavery collection (RHC-45): http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 1 of 6), 1991
China--History, Military
China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah describes his background before becoming involved with the American Volunteer Group (AVG) and his experiences in Shanghai during the time of the bombings.
Shah, Konsin C.
Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 2 of 6), 1991
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah discusses his transition from serving in the Chinese Army to joining the Air Force and his recollection of his first flight.
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 3 of 6), 1991
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah discusses when he first heard of the American Volunteer Group, the American training program in China, and his knowledge of the Chinese air pilots that fought the Japanese before the AVG.
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 4 of 6), 1991
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah describes the differences and problems between the Chinese Air Force and the Japanese Air Force before Pearl Harbor, in addition to the arrival of the AVG and his first impressions of the Flying Tigers.
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 5 of 6), 1991
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah describes the first battle of the American Volunteer Group, the bombing of Kunming, and his perspective on the AVG's place in Chinese history.
Konsin Shah interview (video and transcript, 6 of 6), 1991
Interview of Chinese Ambassador Konsin Shah by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Ambassador Shah served as a Chinese aviator during World War II and later as President Chiang Kai-shek's pilot and aide de camp. In this tape, Konsin Shah discusses the great dilemma of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek at the time of Japanese invasion in July 1937 and the lack of hope for a peaceful solution in China.
Shannon, James (Interview outline and video), 2008
Merchant marine--United States
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
James Shannon was born in Galveston, Texas in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines while in his first year of college. He had boot camp in Catalina, California and went to radio school on Hoffman Island in the New York Harbor. He completed his training just as the war ended, and served on merchant ships carrying relief supplies and other cargoes to Europe, Africa, and Asia, alternating voyages with terms in college. During the Korean War, he served on a troop transport ship. He eventually completed his degree in electrical engineering, stopped sailing and worked as an engineer designing anti-submarine warfare systems.
Shannon, James
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Shapin, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2008
Charles Shapin served in the US Army during World War II. He trained both as an artillerist and an infantryman, and eventually shipped over to Europe with an artillery battalion attached to the 75th Division. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, and later in the Netherlands and Germany. He provides detailed discussions of training and army life, as well as of his experiences in Europe, both in and out of combat.
Shapin, Charles
Grand Valley State University
Michigan
Allendale (Mich.)
Universities and colleges
Facilities
Grand Valley's Stage 3 theater in the former Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids.
Sharpe, W. C.
In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted
Shaull, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2010
Richard Shaull was born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1921, and enlisted in the army in 1942. He wanted to become a pilot, but his vision was not good enough for the Army Air Corps, and he enrolled in a course for artillery observation pilots, but was then sent to radio repair school instead. When he arrived in England in the spring of 1944, he was again reassigned, this time to an office in London where he worked with aerial reconnaisance photographs. After the Normandy campaign, his unit moved first to Chartres, then to Reims, France, and then to Namur, Belgium, and finally into Germany after the war ended.
Shaull, Richard
Sheathelm, Glenn (1 of 3, Interview transcript and video), 2018
Glenn Sheathelm was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1946. Enlisting in the Army in 1965, he joins the Army Artillery and undergoes Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before being deployed to Nuremberg, Germany. He is then redeployed to Vietnam where he served with the Fire Direction Control and S2 Military Intelligence sections of the First Cavalry Division until after the Tet Offensive in January of 1968. He sees combat while on patrol, during rescue missions, during Air Assaults, and during the Second Battle of Tam Quan when he receives several minor wounds and is sent to the rear for treatment in the final days of his deployment. He then returns to the United States in February of 1968 where he attends the Western Michigan and Grand Valley State Universities for masters' degrees in library sciences, literary media, and history.
Sheathelm, Glenn H.
Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27
Sheathelm, Glenn (2 of 3, Interview transcript and video), 2018
Sheathelm, Glenn (3 of 3, Interview transcript and video), 2018
Michigan--History
Local histories
Memoirs
Oral histories (document genre)
Grand Rapids (Mich.)
Personal narratives
Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
George Cass Shelby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 5, 1878.
Shelby, George
Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)