347 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a074d52dafe3f3a916789538ada72db3.jpg ba46c1dabbf50676d8246461afab644e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GibsonBarbaraAnn_Photo01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gibson, Barbara Ann Description An account of the resource Barbara Ann Gibson, Women's Studies Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5b117683275e81123bfaf2658b3a9d58.jpg 19bd7906a4cba6030f0f8254bc399950 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GibsonBarbaraAnn_Photo02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gibson, Barbara Ann Description An account of the resource Barbara Ann Gibson, Women's Studies Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/04136b4baac82e697ac295885f72a766.mp4 cde6ff13778c0203981650a3757af711 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df58c494eac0810388b20af8ddc40721.pdf 24b9126187bf4fc3552532006dafd30d PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW CAROL GILBERT Conflict: Vietnam Era Born: 1950 in Nuremburg, Germany Resides: Odenton, Maryland Interviewed by: Janet Coryell, PhD, GVSU Veterans History Project Transcribed by: Claire Herhold, January 19, 2015 Interviewer: Carol, let’s start with a little background information. If you would, can you tell us where you were born? Sure, my father was in the military and I was born in Nuremburg, Germany on July 25, 1950. Interviewer: And did you spend a long time in Germany? We were there just for two years and then we came back to the states. Then my father got out of the military and went into the reserves and worked up in Methuen, Massachusetts. And when the Cuban Crisis came back, his unit was called back into active duty and he stayed active duty. Interviewer: Because you still lived there in Massachusetts? (1:00) We lived in Massachusetts, then we moved to Texas when I was thirteen, and then he got orders for Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland when I was fourteen. Interviewer: And you spent a lot of years there. And he retired out of Aberdeen Proving Ground so that’s actually … and Maryland is actually, I claim, my home. Interviewer: When did you meet your husband? I met him at a teen club at Aberdeen Proving Ground. He used to dance in a dance contest where they would pay the contestants fifty dollars and they would split it between the boy and girl; he got twenty five, she’d get twenty five. Interviewer: This is rock and roll? It was rock and roll. Splits, hand springs… �Interviewer: Oh my gosh! In fact, he could still do it to this day. When we go to weddings with a friend of ours that was a teenager with us, he’ll start doing the footwork and everything, and I’m going…uh! I hang my head. [laughs] I’m going, we’re getting too old for this! But that’s how I met him. We started going steady October 2nd, 1965. (2:03) Interviewer: You still remember! Yes. Interviewer: And so you were how old? Fifteen. Interviewer: Fifteen. And you’re still with him all these years later. Yeah. He was sixteen, I was fifteen. We’d been to three proms. Interviewer: So you were in the same high school together. No, we were in different high schools. He went to Perryville High, I went to Aberdeen High. Interviewer: Did you get married right out of high school? A year later. A year later we got married. It’s like, in our era, you got married or you went to college, in that era. And so we got married. April 12th was our wedding day and I said to my husband, I said, “We’ve got to go get our marriage license.” I did not need a signer because I was eighteen in the state of Maryland, but he needed a signer because the male had to be twenty one or older. Interviewer: Right. So we get them and I just looked and I said, “Why don’t you go see what number you are for the draft board.” (3:01) And he said, “Ok.” So he came back and he said, “I need to talk to you.” �And I said, “Oh.” And his mom was there. And we found out the draft notice was mailed out the week before that. Interviewer: So he hadn’t actually gotten it yet? He did not get it yet. Interviewer: He had a number like four or something. We had not… he still has his draft notice at home. The original one. So he was supposed to leave April 10th. Interviewer: So what did you do about the wedding? I kind of called my father who was still in the military, and I said, “Dad…” He was a command sergeant major…and I said, “You’ve got to do something. This is your money.” Interviewer: You had a big wedding planned. Well, I had seven attendants. It was a rainbow wedding that I always… everybody was in different colors. Interviewer: Oh, how pretty! And it was all of our high school friends and cousins and everything in it. We had to go to the draft board and sat in front of four people. It was myself, my mother and father, him, and his mother and father. (4:02) And we got a thirty day deferment. So the day of the wedding, we come out of the church after we had our Catholic mass, which lasted an hour, and we came out and his mother was out there with an envelope and it was his draft notice and the date was…he left May 19th. Interviewer: And what did you do when he left? Did you move back with your parents? Were you living by yourself? �I moved in with his father and mother for a while, and then I moved with my mom and dad when they lived at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Freddy went to Fort Bragg for Basic. Right out of Fort Bragg, we went to Fort McClellan, to AIT [Advanced Individual Training]. He came home October 2nd, left October 22nd, and during that time I got pregnant with our first one. Interviewer: But you didn’t know yet. Nope [laughs]. They weren’t that modern! Three months later it was like, Oh! You’re pregnant! Interviewer: And how did you let him know? By letters. I wrote every night, every day to him. (5:02) Interviewer: Wow. Does he still have the letters? He has the letters and I have letters from him. And I used to get piles of letters at one time, and I’m going, why am I getting like five letters today? And when he came back I said, “why?” And he said, “Because I would sit and date them different dates. Because I never knew when I was going to have the time to write, but our agreement was we would write at least every other day to each other.” [laughs] So I do have the letters and I sent pictures as I got pregnant, bigger and bigger. And he sent pictures of him with his six pack [laughs]. Interviewer: Now he wasn’t able to come home for the birth or anything like that. No, nope. My father kept on saying to me… the due date was July 10th…and my father kept on saying, “Give me ten dollars.” And I says, “I don’t have ten dollars! I’m living off of …” He never made over five hundred dollars a month until he made E-5. So when he was in ‘Nam, he was a private and then he made Spec-4 and that was like three hundred and fifty a month. (6:10) And I said, “I don’t have an extra ten dollars! You know, I’m pregnant. I have to start thinking about diapers and this and that. I don’t have an extra ten dollars.” He said, “Well, I need ten dollars because I want to send ten dollars and bet.” And my father never bet on anything. And �he says, “To the Lloyds of London. And say that you are going to have your baby on your birthday within two hours of your birth date.” He said, “For your ten dollars, you can win ten thousand dollars on a bet.” Interviewer: Okay… I says, “I’m not giving you ten dollars.” To this very day I say, “Dad, you should have done the ten dollars!” [laughs] Interviewer: So he was right? He was right. Interviewer: Oh my gosh! My son is twenty years and a minute and a half younger than me. Interviewer: Oh, that must have hurt. [laughs] And in the delivery room they sang “Happy Birthday.” (7:02) And then they got a wire to Freddy. And I got a rose. I have, to this very day, I don’t know where the rose came … everybody in the family said…it had to be the Red Cross, is the only thing I could think of. Interviewer: That’s nice. And he got the word that everything was fine. Everything went well. You have a son. And how he got his name, is the guys in his platoon put their names in a hat. Because I told him, I will name the girl, you name the boy. And that’s how he’s Daniel Warren. He’s named after one of the guys in his platoon, was Danny Ferrara, and another guy named Warren, and it happened to be my father’s name too. Interviewer: That’s wonderful. So that’s how my son got his name. �Interviewer: That’s really neat. And he was about three or four months old when your husband came home then? Freddy came home in September. (8:00) He was born in July, July 25th. Fred came home in September because his mother passed away. And we got word from the Red Cross and they didn’t let him come home. And then, of course, I went to my father again. I said, “This is the second request. Does he have to go back?” Because he was due to come back in October. And so he did his paperwork and since he was thirty days short they let him stay stateside. So he did not have to go back to ‘Nam. Interviewer: And did he continue in the service after that? He continued in the service. When he turned twenty one he decided…he worked for the VA hospital before he got drafted. So of course, at that time they kept your jobs open. But you don’t have to work in the same job, but they had to hire you back. And his supervisor said, “You don’t want to come back to the young vet hospital. Number one, you’re going to probably see guys that have gone through, and you’ll see the roughness.” So on his twenty first birthday, he decided to stay in the military. (9:03) So he spent his twenty years in the military. Interviewer: Were you working during the time that he was in the military, when you had small children? I stayed home. I worked some. I stayed at home most of the time because I wanted to raise the kids. Interviewer: When you worked, what did you do? I did bookkeeping. I went to school for hotel management. And then when I didn’t work, and we went back, I went into real estate for property management and title work. And I do that to this day. �Interviewer: And did your kids…you kind of grew up at a very interesting time in our culture where you’ve got the women’s movement and the anti-war movement and the civil rights movement…did any of those have an impact on your life or did they affect the way your children saw your job? Or did they affect the way you picked a job or worked? I tried to pick so I would be at home with the kids. And even when I worked, I made sure I got home within in an hour of their time, and that’s how I picked a job because I’m very familyorientated. (10:06) And we were young. You know, the first one was born when I was twenty. The second was when I was twenty three. And we were young parents and with Freddy staying in the military, he got into training, and he was gone a lot. And I’m going, you know, these kids need some structure. That’s the problem with this world now is that the kids don’t have any structure. So I wanted to stay at home so I started babysitting for friends and to this day we’re still friends. I started babysitting in 1977. Interviewer: And that was people who… now were you still living on base at this point? We were living at Fort Meade, Maryland at that time. Interviewer: So these are all army friends? Mmm hmm. It seems like when he decided to stay in the military, all of our…I don’t want to say “civilian friends” but that’s what they actually are…they looked at us as that we had leprosy. (11:00) They did not want to have anything to do with us. Interviewer: Now is that part of the anti-war movement? I believe that’s what it was. They said, “We worried about him when he was in Vietnam. I’m not worrying about him anymore.” Interviewer: Wow. That must have hurt. �It was leprosy. I felt that we … and even being stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, we were just fifteen miles from his high school and all the kids he went to school with. We had very little conversation with any of them. Interviewer: That must have been very difficult for you. It was very hard. Because being a teenager, a young wife, you know, I went to school with these girls. We were in their weddings. I was their maid of honor. We were their best mans [sic] and everything else and all of a sudden I have nothing to do with you. Interviewer: Did that last even after Vietnam? It’s still. We’ll talk. They still live in the same towns in Perryville and still have cliques. (12:01) I finally talked Freddy for his fortieth high school reunion, let’s go. Let’s go! And we went, and there was, you know, roughly about twenty five at his. And they still…we talk on Facebook. You know how you…it’s like a commercial. You go to church when you get married and when someone dies. [laughs] That’s how I feel! We see each other when someone passes away or when their kids get married we always get an invitation, but like… it’s just our military friends. To this very day. Interviewer: So the army sort of became your family. Yep. Interviewer: What about your birth families? Were they supportive of your decisions to go into the army and to get married and stay with an army man? I have to admit that my parents never … did they back us? Yes. My dad was a military person. But my parents always let us do our own decisions. My mother had a saying: “you’re not going to come back to me ten years from now and say it’s your fault you got divorced. You should have told me you didn’t like him.” (13:09) And that’s actually with our kids. I don’t pick their �girlfriends. I didn’t pick their boyfriends. We supported them. When they fell, we’re there to pick you up. But my parents never put any stress. They liked Freddy. Did they love Freddy? They didn’t like his actions. After Vietnam, they weren’t crazy about his actions because he would do weird stuff like they all did. And we fought some. And, you know, I’ll tell anybody, marriage is a …and I’ve told my kids this…marriage is a two-way street. When it becomes oneway, that’s when you’ve got to get out. And it’s communication and understanding. We’ve been married since ’69. Interviewer: That’s a long time. It’s been a long…and he made a remark the other day. He said, “you know, I’ve been married more than half of my life!” [laughs] (14:03) Interviewer: [laughs] A lot more! You don’t look at it that way. But we’re also friends. It’s the communication that you have to have. Interviewer: So it must have been very hard for you as a wife of someone who was a soldier in a very unpopular war. It was. It was. Interviewer: How did you cope? Coped by myself and with other military wives. We went to Germany in ’73 and he was squad sergeant there. And I, like, adopted the new wives because it’s like, the thing with the military wife, my saying…and I think it comes back from my background…is Freddy decided the military to be his life, to be his job. I had to support that. The military came first. His family came second. (15:00) I raised the kids. He was gone a lot, TDY [Temporary Duty]. So I raised the kids. Everybody says, “Oh, you’ve got so polite kids. Your grandchildren are so polite. �They shake your hand and say, ‘yes, sir,’ ‘no, sir.’” Freddy says to … “Man, I did such a good job.” No, honey. You helped make them, but guess what? [laughs] I raised them. I was there at the soccer games. I was there at the cheerleading game, the football games for the daughter. And I said…because he was TDY all the time. He left, he was in the Marshall training unit from Fort Meade, he left in April and he’s back in October. But he’d pop in on weekends when they were… Interviewer: So the summers when the kids were home all the time, he wasn’t anywhere near? Nope, and I just kept…I think that’s why I’m so involved with the grandchildren. I was always involved with the kids. Because I wanted them to know we were here. Interviewer: Did the kids resent the military and the degree to which they missed their dad? (16:00) If you talked to my son right now and he’s forty three years old, he will say yes. He says, “I never had a dad.” He says, “That’s why I’m different with my son. I go to every baseball game. Because I used to look up at the stands and it was always my mom.” Interviewer: What about your daughter? My daughter, she’s very close to Fred. And he didn’t see any cheerleading because he was gone. And I think they had a bond that no one…daughters and fathers have something. I don’t know what it is. But he had a bond. And my son, I think, resents a little of it. When he was a teenager…but I said, boys are different. Girls you kind of cuddle more and watch over. You can take care, you know…at that time, oh, the boys can take care of themselves. It’s the girls that the heart gets broken. (17:01) Which it’s not true! The boys get heartbroken too with first love or �whatever. I said, but my son met the guys…we have gatherings that we hold in Maryland like every two years, we’ll have a gathering. And the first one my son got to meet some of the guys. Interviewer: And these are all Ripcord people? And these are all Ripcord people and they bring their families. And the kids can hear. And my son went and stood up in front of everybody with tears in his eyes and said, “I want to thank all of yous for letting my father come home. I understand my father finally.” Interviewer: So it took that long? It took that year, that long, for him to understand his father. Interviewer: So if Freddy didn’t talk much about his experiences when he back? No. Very little. Interviewer: Did he talk to you? I mean, he didn’t talk to the kids. He talked to some, sometimes with me. I could tell by his…he has a lot of body language, so I could tell he’s get…he never watched any movies, nothing on TV. He will not watch any war stories. (18:05) With him staying in the military and training, he focused on his training. So his was training troops that knew nothing about Ripcord. They knew about Vietnam. “Oh you’re a Vietnam vet.” You know. But they didn’t know because Ripcord was never known. It was all hush-hush. So to say, he talked some, but not a lot and I think that’s why he has such strong body language because it’s coming out. And he didn’t really know how. Interviewer: Has it benefitted him having this connection with Ripcord now? Ripcord has saved us, saved him. The kids can tell you, he’s a different person. Interviewer: That’s wonderful. Why do you think that is? Because he met the guys and they talk and they all have gone through the same thing. And I’ve talked to several of the wives. There’s some that’s here the first time and one’s been married just �like us, dated through high school and everything. And she says, “He never talked. (19:08) He never talked to us but we knew something was wrong. But since they’ve been meeting and Ripcord…” We’re a family. It’s not our school reunion. You know, when you go and say I’m going to a school reunion. You’re going to see the guy you dated when you were in the tenth grade and never seen him again. So we are a family and we keep in contact by Facebook and email. We keep in contact with… “Are you going to the reunion?” And blah blah blah. We do Facetime. Jay, one of his sergeants, will call and he’s out deer hunting and he says, “Man, look at this deer!” And we’ll keep in contact. Ripcord has been a savior to my husband. Completely different person. Interviewer: Because when he came back from Vietnam, like a lot of soldiers I imagine, he didn’t get any kind of appreciation… Nothing. Interviewer: Now some soldiers talked about they had been spit on or called names or whatever. Had that happened to him? (20:01) I picked him up at the airport. He was spit on and he was called a f-ing murderer. Right in front of me and my mother. And we were right up by the Washington airport. Interviewer: Just some passerby? It was passerby, hippie, that we called hippie, with the long hair and the hippiefied. Interviewer: What did you do? Nothing. It was like, I don’t believe what I just heard. I don’t believe it. Interviewer: Was he in uniform? �He was in uniform. He was in uniform. In fact, when we were coming out of the airport, one of the other guys from his high school was going into ‘Nam, going to ‘Nam. They bypassed right in the airport. Interviewer: Did they say anything to each other? And Freddy just said, “Good luck.” Interviewer: Wow. Said, “Good luck.” And like, Freddy he goes and sometimes I think he has maybe a chip on his shoulder because he doesn’t have a Purple Heart. He was never wounded in Vietnam. (21:04) He was…four out of his unit that never got wounded. And he says, “You know, what we went through, I don’t see how I never got wounded. I really don’t.” Interviewer: What was his position there? Point man, which is actually the first person that goes out into the jungle. Interviewer: And he managed to do that and not get shot? Yep. Interviewer: That’s pretty remarkable. And I told him a guardian angel was on him. Interviewer: At the very least. That’s all I have to…that’s the only thing I can say. Guardian angel was sitting on his shoulder. And he met a priest in Vietnam. It was Father Mathis, if I’m not mistaken. He came to Aberdeen Proving Ground and I was eight months pregnant at the time. He called me and I went and met him. He says, “You know, two weeks ago I was giving mass and your husband was there and I told him I was going to Aberdeen Proving Ground and I would look you up.” And he says, “What do you do during the day?” and everything and I says, “You know, my father, with �being in the military, I never listened to any news.” (22:06) When the news came on, he listened to it, I left it. I left it. He said, “You need to go somewhere.” He said, “You believe what your husband tells you in the letters because if you start thinking, you’ll go crazy.” Interviewer: And did you do that? Did you leave? I used to leave every news report. I used to leave. Interviewer: When he came back, did you start watching the news? Yes, [laughs] I did. I thought, “Wow! This is why I really didn’t want to watch the news!” But he would never. He wouldn’t. Interviewer: Freddy? Yep. He would not. Interviewer: So avoiding talking about it, avoiding looking at it. Yep. It was in the back of his head and he avoided everything. It’s like, we talk now about guys going to VA for therapy and everything. He’s never been to VA for therapy. I keep on saying, “You need to go to the VA.” (23:01) He says, “No, I don’t.” And I have to admit, he doesn’t. Because the Ripcord family is his therapy and he keeps in touch. We go once a month to go up and see Frank Marshall up in New Jersey. Just take a ride. I go, “Frank, we’re getting out of town. We’re coming up for dinner.” We come back home that night or we may stay over. But that’s his therapy, being around these guys. Interviewer: Does that help you too? It does. It really does because I hear stories and I’m going, “Man! You did that? You did this?” And I understand. Interviewer: Does it surprise you, some of the things you hear that he did? Yes. �Interviewer: Why is that? Because I can actually see him at the age of twenty, twenty one, doing that. Because I look at my grandson now, eighteen. I’m going, “Oh my God. I was married at nineteen! That’s a year older than…” And then I’m going, “Your grandfather was drafted.” And I’m looking at him, I’m going, “Look how young you look!” (24:00) And I’m going, “Oh my God, you were doing that at the same age as our, two years more, than what our oldest grandchild will be doing. How did you do it?” And Freddy just looked at it as a job. He was brought up in a strict family. You work for your living. So the military, he looked at the appointment as his job. How he ever made it, I don’t know because he doesn’t know his North, South, East or West [laughs]. I do all the driving! If I go and say, “Give someone directions from our house to his best friend’s house, Sam’s house.” He couldn’t tell you what street. “Just go down there and then you turn and then go down.” Interviewer: But not which direction you turn? Nope. Interviewer: What do you suppose accounts for that? I think because he was brought up in a family that lived off the land. His father hunted. He killed his first deer at nine. So I think when he got in the jungle, it was like, “Hey, I’m hunting. (25:02) So I have to watch for this, have to watch for this.” That’s the only thing I can think that … but to put him on land now? Lord, have mercy! Everybody have trouble going anywhere with him. Even if it’s straight 95 from Maryland to Florida, he would get lost. Somehow. He was in a backup one time on 95 up in Maryland. I was up in Massachusetts visiting my aunt. He calls me, on his cell phone, “I don’t know how to get out of this backup.” He says, “It was a twenty seven mile, twenty seven mile…twenty seven car pileup because of fog.” I said, “Well, �what exit are you at?” “I’m at exit twenty two.” I said, “Well, is that Route 7?” “Yeah.” I said, “Get off at Route 7.” “I can’t get off Route 7!” I says, “It goes the same was as 95!” I said… Interviewer: Trust me! [laughs] And he did. He stayed for seven hours in that backup. (26:01) Finally he got off of it after he got past Baltimore and he kind of knew his way and it was 11:30 at night he called. He said, “I’m home.” And I tease him all the time. “How did you do this in ‘Nam? How did you do this in ‘Nam?” Interviewer: It sounds like you two make a pretty good team. We do [laughs]. Interviewer: You said you’d been brought up Catholic. And was he as well? He was brought up Catholic. I was not. Interviewer: Oh, okay. I was not brought up Catholic. I was brought up in a very Methodist, strict household. Interviewer: Was there a problem when you two married? Yes and no. Interviewer: Because that was before the days of Vatican II, so… I had to convert. I’m a strong believer because I was brought up in a Methodist…we went to Sunday School every Sunday. I was involved. I taught Sunday School when I was a teenager. And I used to see the kids have one parent there, not two. And I said to my husband, I always said, when I got married it was going to be one religion in the household. (27:08) I’m not going to pull the kids apart. You know, this one go there, that one goes there. I said, I’m not going to do it. Becoming Catholic…in those days, you went to Catechism and they convert a lot. And I �said, how can I ask him to come to my religion? So I made the decision to go, to become Catholic. Interviewer: You didn’t think it would be fair to ask him to become…? I didn’t think so because his parents were still very much, his mother was very much into the Catholic religion. Every time she got sick, it was on a Sunday and when she died it was on a Sunday. Interviewer: Okay. So she just was…if they went on vacation, first thing she looked for was a church. What time was Mass? She made sure she went to Mass. (28:00) So that’s how he was brought up. You went to church. So I says, well, I’ll convert. So I sat my parents down and I just said, “I’m converting and we want to have a full mass for our wedding.” And my father says, “That’s your decision.” Interviewer: Going back to that thing where they’re not going to tell you how to do it. Okay. Yep. They said, “It’s your decision.” Interviewer: Was the church important to you all as a family growing or did you drift away? It was but then we drifted away with being in the military, him being gone. When he came home we went to church, you know, on leave. We went to church all the time with the kids. We didn’t push it on our kids because it was actually pushed on Freddy. You have to do this. And Freddy was one, from being in the military, “I’m not making my kids have to do anything. I’m going to ask. If they want to do it, that’s fine. If they don’t want to do it, it’s fine with me too. Because �they have to live with their own feelings.” (29:01) And that’s how we brought our kids up. Do they go to church now? No, but they do their own thing. Interviewer: Lots of changes from… It’s a lot…you know, when we went to church, you went to church. Interviewer: Right. I just think the more, the generations are getting pushback… I mean, Sunday School used to be a big thing when I went to Sunday School. It was, oh, let’s get dressed up. We’d do this. They kids just, they’re not into it anymore and the parents are pushing it. Most of the kids’ parents both work. My mother never worked. She stayed home. The father brought the money in. Nowadays… Interviewer: And you were sort of half and half. Mmm hmm. And so nowadays, mothers and fathers both work. So they look at, probably, weekends, instead of wasting… you know, it’s not wasted time but they look at wasted time going to church for an hour, hour and a half. We could be doing something else, doing yard work, doing this, doing that. Interviewer: Having fun. Sleeping in. All those other things. (30:02) That’s what…mainly. Interviewer: Now you were outside Washington, D.C. then for most of your adult life, I guess. Did you pay a lot of attention to politics that were going on in the capital? No. I stayed away from politics to be very honest with you. I’m a strong believer…the kids used to say, “Who are you voting for?” I said, “Whoever wins.” And that’s what my mother used to tell us. I says, “Who are you going to vote for?” “Whoever wins.” �Interviewer: And was that true or did you just say that because you didn’t want to tell them? Half of it was yes, half of it was no [laughs]. Interviewer: I won’t ask which half! [laughs] Yeah, I did good. I came from Massachusetts. It was always the Kennedys. That’s how I was brought up. That’s how Massachusetts…Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy. (31:00) And then when they got out, it was like, oh, what do I do? Where do I go? Do I want to be a Democrat? Do I want to be this? Do I just want to be a middle? I says, let me be in the middle and see which way I want to go and everything. Interviewer: Well, when you say you didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to politics, did you in terms of the war? So when Johnson announced he was going escalate the war, did you notice that? Or did you notice when Nixon said we’re leaving? I did notice that because it was in our era, but after that it was like politics just went over my head because we weren’t involved anymore. When they did the wall and when they closed the war or whatever, I said to myself, thank God! But during Desert Storm, Freddy got a letter and it said in the letter…and we were already retired out of the military but they can actually pull you back in ‘til you’re fifty five. (32:02) Interviewer: Yeah, I’ve heard that. So he got his letter and I says, “This letter states that you can tell your employer that you got your letter and you will have a forty eight hour notice.” Interviewer: And who was he working for at that point? CSC. He worked with CSC which is science computer corporation [Computer Sciences Corporation] and he’s head of security. �Interviewer: Oh, okay. And so I said, “What are you going to do if you get called?” He says, “I don’t know.” I said, “What do you mean you don’t know?” He said, “Well, I don’t know. I’m a little older now. I’m a little heavier now.” He says, “Now, if I can go back and do my instruction I’ll go in a minute.” He says, “But to go out there and do that PT and all that running. I don’t know about all that. I’m a little over the hill.” And he didn’t have to get called back but he did get his little notice. Interviewer: Did us going to war again in, well, Iraq and Afghanistan and all this other…does it bring back bad memories for him? (33:05) And for you as well? Do you know that was the first time from Vietnam, when Desert Storm, when everything started coming out about Vietnam. He used to watch the welcomes on TV. Interviewer: What did he think? He hated it. Interviewer: Why is that? Because he said, “We deserved that too.” Interviewer: Yeah. We deserved it. We didn’t deserve to be called murderers. We didn’t deserve to be spit on or have, like I said, all of our friends just disowned us. He said, “We don’t deserve that.” And I try to tell him that we learn from each war what not to do. And like I spoke with you before that the Iraq and the Afghanistan… their parents are the Vietnam era. So do they want their kids to be felt like what America did to the Vietnams? (34:00) No. So that’s why they’re getting all these welcomes. Plus, like I told Freddy, he didn’t go in as a unit. He left Maryland as one person. And met up, in Vietnam, and then got a unit. Now, they just take units so you’re with your �friend in reserves, well you’re going to Iraq with him. So they do it as a unit now. They don’t do individuals. Interviewer: Does that make a big difference do you think? I think it does. Interviewer: How so? Because they know each other. Right now, they know where you’re going in. To not know…in Vietnam, Freddy went over to Vietnam not knowing nobody except for a couple guys who went through AIT and basic training with him and they met up in San Francisco and went over with the big bird over Vietnam and then they stayed together. Michael [Grim? illegible] was one who got killed in Vietnam, and a couple other guys that Freddy met and they stayed together but… (35:04) I think it makes a difference going as a group because you train as a group all summer long or…instead of one person, then you get trained. Interviewer: So it’s that companion, companionship’s really important. Mmm hmm. I think it is. Interviewer: How about for you? For me, I tried to hook up with the wives from the Ripcord and people can say that…there’s a couple that comes from Oklahoma, Linda and Rudy Foreman, and she says, “You know Carole, we met three years ago. I feel like we’ve been friends for years.” And we see each other once a year. Interviewer: It’s that military experience and Vietnam experience. It’s just a closeness and we communicate. And we can talk what we go through. Because you can’t talk to your girlfriend whose husband’s never been in Vietnam. She’ll look at you and go, �“You’re crazy!” you know? (36:03) “My husband’s not that way.” But now they open up and we realize we have all lived the hell with the guys, so we’re not alone. Interviewer: When you say that, if I can, what kind of hell was it? Not knowing. Walking on eggshells almost every day. Interviewer: After he’s back? After he’s back. Interviewer: It’s bad enough when he’s there. After he’s back… Walking on eggshells. Interviewer: What were you afraid was going to happen? You hear of horror stories. You hear of guys going off the deep end, killing their families. Interviewer: Right. You hear of them killing themselves. You hear of them turning into alcoholics. You hear of them turning to heroin, doing pot every day. And you’re fearing, is this what he’s coming back like this? That was a lot of my thought too. (37:00) Interviewer: So you were worried before he even showed up at the door? I was worried before he even…he left…I’ll put it this way. He left as my young husband, happy and loving life. He came back almost hating life. The difference was … and the coldness. He had more cold and I remember when his mother passed away. She passed away at his house and the people came in to take her and he said, “Don’t zip the bag.” Interviewer: Why’s that? And I said to him… so they went and zipped the bag. They put his mom in the body bag and zipped the bag. He zipped it back down. He said, “I asked you not to do that.” And I’m going, well what’s the problem? I’m thinking to myself, what’s the problem here? They zipped again. �And he zipped it. He said, “Don’t take her out of there. Don’t do that again in this house.” And what it was, it was looking at a body bag. (38:02) Interviewer: Oh. Well, yeah. It was looking at his friends being in body bags. Interviewer: Right. So and then he explained to me. Not one tear ever came out of him when his mother died until we get to the graveside and everybody left and he collapsed. And he just keeps everything balled up inside until something hits. So it’s also what I used to tell the kids. We walk on eggshells because we don’t know what’s going to … he’s not a violent man but just the hurt, hurtness. And you don’t want to see your loved one hurt. Interviewer: No. But then you don’t know how to comfort him. Interviewer: Which makes it very hard for you. And the kids and stuff, so… But now, like I said, since he’s found the Ripcord, a completely different person. Interviewer: So the young husbands come back. It really is! Interviewer: That’s nice. (39:00) I’m glad. You know, the smile and the happiness. He’s always been happy go-lucky. Even at his work, they’re, “Oh, he’s the greatest guy!” And I’m going, “Oh my god, if you ever knew.” [laughs] If you ever knew what I have lived with! But that’s between the families and everything. And he is a happy go-lucky guy. And doing this every year and we try to tell all the Ripcord vets, “you need to get your story out.” �Interviewer: Yes, you do. Keep telling them that. You need to get your story out. Call your… we’ve got Veterans’ Day coming up. Go home, write your newspaper. Send them the article that’s on our website about the 502. You were in this, and you’d be surprised how many newspapers will call you. Interviewer: There does seem to be a real shift in people’s perceptions of how they need to treat veterans. Even the ones from that era. (40:03) My father-in-law’s a World War II vet and we go, we take him to John Hopkins and we go to John Hopkins and some lady came up to him, we were in a lab, and she says, “Can I take a picture of you and your father together?” And I said, “Freddy…” Because he had his Vietnam hat on. He says, “You don’t see this much, a Vietnam vet and a World War II vet together.” She said, “Can I please take your picture?” And I knew about it because she sent me the picture on the iPhone. I’m going, “Whose is this telephone number?” [laughs] “Who’s this taking a picture of my husband?” And it was down at John Hopkins lab. And I said, that’s where America has come. They have finally, I want to say, broken the era that vets are demanding people and to be proud that you are a vet. You don’t have to hide anymore. (41:01) Interviewer: You’re a veterans’ wife. Let me tell you, I have a shirt that says, “I’m a Veterans’ Wife” and I wear it quite a bit and I’m proud of it. Interviewer: Good. You should be. And we all should be. Interviewer: Thank you so much for telling your story. Well, thank you for asking. I’ve enjoyed it. Interviewer: So have we. �I hope we get some news out to people. You don’t have to hide. Interviewer: That’s good. Thank you. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gilbert, Carol (Interview transcript and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Carol Description An account of the resource Carol Gilbert was born in Nuremburg, Germany on July 25, 1950. After two years in Germany, her family moved back to the United States. She got married soon after graduating high school, but unfortunately her husband was drafted to Vietnam soon after. Freddie Gilbert went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for basic training and Fort McClellan, Alabama for advanced individual training. After that, Freddie Gilbert briefly visited home, and Carol Gilbert became pregnant during that time. The two exchanged letters daily, and Carol Gilbert sent him a telegram when their son was born. Freddie Gilbert came home a few months later and continued his service in Fort Meade, Maryland. While her husband served, Carol Gilbert worked as a bookkeeper and a babysitter. While they were living on base, some of their friends did not support the war and were hostile to the Gilberts. To this day, the Gilberts’ closest friends are those who have served in the military. They still meet with some of their military friends regularly, and Carol Gilbert is always surprised when hearing about her husband’s service in Vietnam. In 1973, Freddie Gilbert was deployed to Germany and Carol Gilbert befriended many military wives while she was there. Even at home, Freddie Gilbert was often on Temporary Duty, so Carol Gilbert did most of the work raising their children because her husband was usually away. Carol Gilbert converted from Methodist to Catholic when she got marries because Freddie Gilbert was Catholic. Religion was important to them, but they did not attend church as often when Freddie Gilbert was away. When he came back on leave, they went to church as a family but did not force their kids to join them. After Freddie Gilbert was discharged from the military and working for Computer Sciences Corporation, he received a letter notifying him that he could get called back into the military until he was 55. Fortunately, he was not called back. Carol Gilbert recalls her husband's demeanor becoming cold when he came back from Vietnam. However, joining the Fire Support Base Ripcord Association helped him return to his "happy-go-lucky" self. Now that America is past the era when veterans were called murderers and belittled in public, Carol Gilbert is proud to be a veterans’ wife. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Coryell, Janet (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-09 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilbertC1548V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7fbc35c3b094161066ec94c875470932.mp4 07ee7056d99908901815083001ef215e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8a067c476895def358369a3132506971.pdf be4666abb041879eff31e77091af78a9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Freddie Gilbert Vietnam War 1 hour 23 minutes (00:23) Early Life -Born in Vermont on June 12, 1949 -Grew up in Prairieville, Maryland -Had been adopted by father’s brother (uncle) when he was 5 months old -Biological father was a WWII veteran that couldn’t support another child -Uncle (adopted father) worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland -Civilian employee: tested artillery pieces to see if they fired properly -Graduated high school in 1969 -Worked for Veteran’s Administration until he was married and drafted -Worked as a male dietician at the VA -Job did not grant him deferment -Met his future wife when he was 16 at a dance competition -Made extra money in dance competitions -Received his draft notice in 1969 in Alton, Maryland after getting marriage license -Ordered to report May 19 -Had gone to physical earlier to register for the draft -Lots of men were trying to get out of the draft (08:55) Training at Fort Bragg -Went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for ten weeks of basic training -Training was about transforming civilians into soldiers -Physically and psychologically disciplined already (for the most part) -Drill sergeants could, and would, “beat up” recruits that were out of line -Idea was to prepare you for war -Knew about Vietnam growing up, saw the early reports on TV -Basic broke down into 2 zero weeks (preparation, receiving gear) and 8 weeks of actual training (13:10) Training at Fort McClellan -Sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama for further training to become an 11-Bravo (regular infantry) -10 weeks -Hoped he would get selected for NCO (officer) training -Originally was going to be sent to Fort Polk, but there was a meningitis outbreak there -Given a 12 day leave at the end of training -Training consisted of: -Hand to hand combat -Running Vietnam oriented scenarios (mock villages) -Good training, but it didn’t prepare you for the reality of Vietnam -Trainers were recent Vietnam veterans �(16:45) Deployment -After 12 days of leave had to get to Travis Air Force Base in California -Placed in hangar -MP’s (military police) kept at entrances and exits to keep soldiers in -Stayed there for a day and a half -Walked from the hangar right into a waiting jet -Took a chartered 747, 28 hour flight (19:17) Arrival in Vietnam -Landed outside of Saigon -It was hot, stank -Burning smell -Decaying smell -Told that 101st Airborne needed troops -Arrived in October 1969 -Not given a friendly welcome by the present troops -Transferred to Camp Evans via C-130 -Given another week of training there before being sent into the field -Booby traps -General information about Vietnam -A little helicopter training -Assigned to D Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division -Went to clerk for pencil and paper -Heard firefight on the radio -Realized the gravity of the situation -D Company returned to base from the field -Not a warm welcome for recruits -Some leaders were helpful, gave morale boosts, others not so much -Stand down for D Company, then they would be sent into the fields (27:30) Flatlands -Sent to the flatlands (near coast) -First few months were uneventful -Went to Firebase Jack -Ate pretty well -Little to no enemy activity (28:40) A Shau Valley -Sent to the A Shau Valley in the Spring of 1970 -Action picked up and gradually intensified -Original job was to be an ammo bearer for the M60 machine gunner -Promoted to E4 Squad Lead (point man) -Stayed off the trails -Rigged with booby traps -Watched by the NVA -Had one man behind him to watch the tops and sides -Kept 75 yards ahead of everyone else -“Sacrificial lamb” if they got killed that meant the main body didn’t suffer -Usually the NVA waited for radio operators and officers �-NVA were masters of close quarters combat -Knew that explosive capabilities were worthless at close range (34:15) Firebase Ripcord -Starting in March the military tried to establish Firebase Ripcord -First attempts were unsuccessful -D Company sent to Firebase Ripcord in mid- April -Acted as security for the artillery -Reinforced perimeter -Acted as security for 30 days then rotated to jungle patrols -Key tactical position for bombarding the Ho Chi Minh Trail -Encountered ambushes and booby traps fairly regularly in the field -Tried to attack NVA bunkers -Never able to get that close -Too dug in -Bombardment didn’t work either -Took part in the push for Hill 1000 (38:55) Battle of Firebase Ripcord-Rescuing Alpha Company -Remembers that rescuing Alpha Company was the worst part of fighting -D Company was in the rear for training when the NVA made a push to dislodge the firebase -D Company was told to immediately report -Told to rescue Alpha Company -In and out kind of mission -Tried to get out of walking point, but to no avail -Loaded up on helicopters with only ammunition and water -Landing zones were getting hit by enemy gunfire and were too hot to land -Returned to the helipad and would try again the next day (46:30) Rescuing Alpha Company Pt. 2 -Made another attempt on the second day -Landing zones were still dangerously hot -Sergeant Skinner jumped from helicopter and stormed enemy position -Shot and had to be evacuated -Took another casualty trying to land -Moved towards shooting and maintained radio contact -Moved quickly to become a difficult target -Forty minutes of running -Alpha Company was surrounded on the top of a very small hill -NVA was closing in from almost all sides -Rescue went fairly well -Had to clear new landing zone for helicopters -Able to rescue 56 soldiers from Alpha Company -He (Freddie) boarded the last helicopter -Almost didn’t make it out because the helicopter hit a tree and almost had to set down -Last major battle of the Vietnam War: 248 American casualties �(55:00) Coming Home -Returned to Camp Evans -Got a call that his mother died -Pulled out after 10 months of a tour -Red Cross brought him home -Harassed when he came home -Called a baby killer -Friends and former employer turned on him -Afraid of Vietnam veterans (57:45) Enlisting in the Army -Decided to re-up because he knew the Army -Given $10,000 -Promoted to E5 (sergeant) -Became a trainer at the Aberdeen Proving Ground -Trained officer candidates at Aberdeen Proving Ground (1:01:50) Emotional Impact of War -Battle of Firebase Ripcord left a deep emotional impact -So much carnage for a 19 year old -Prisoners were treated better than soldiers and returning veterans -Felt that it was his duty to comply with the draft and go to Vietnam -Would do it again if he had to -Profound emotional connection to comrades -“All we had in Vietnam was each other” (1:05:10) More on his Military Career-Germany -First stationed at Fort Dix -Transferred to Bamberg Army Base in Germany -Did a lot of training -Worked in conjunction with other NATO forces -Volunteers had a better attitude and outlook than draftees did -Draft was not an effect way to get soldiers -Army began to change over time -Began to become more a means to an end for young men -Some still joined out of patriotism -Wife liked Germany -Germans liked Americans -Facilities were provided for his children -Spent 5 years in Germany (1:09:00) Military Career-Fort Meade and the Shooting Team -Came home from Germany because adopted mother was having major surgery -Sent to Fort Mead -Given 90 days -Military wanted to find something for his reassignment -Placed with the Army Shooting Team -Having the background of combat infantry allowed him to skip preliminary process -Given 90 days to prove his worth -Made the cut �-Performed at West Point in front of huge audience -Traveled around in luxury -Met the president -Became a sniper instructor -Stayed in it for 6 years (1:11:25) Military Career-Korea DMZ -Stationed in Korea -Got promoted over time -Had fallen behind -Needed to brush up on mechanized tactics and basic tactics for soldiers -First was a squad leader -Later on was made platoon leader -Stationed on the DMZ (demilitarized zone) -Went on patrols on the DMZ -South Korean civilians liked to watch the American infantry get ready to go on patrols -Not a lot of action on the DMZ -“We looked at them and they looked at us” -If either party crossed the DMZ they were liable to be shot at -DMZ boundaries were not marked well -Lots of ordinance scattered across the DMZ (minefields specifically) (1:14:15) More about Korea-President Reagan Visits DMZ and General Info -Went to Korea alone -Visited Seoul -Had to be on pass list to be able to go on leave no matter who you were -Koreans viewed Americans well -Had no interaction with the South Korean military -President Reagan visited near the DMZ -Lots of pomp and circumstance -Placed on full alert just in case -Stayed in Korea for 12 months (1:18:30) Later Military Career -Came back to California and served with the 7th Infantry Division -Did more time with the Army Shooting Team -June 1st 1989 retired from the Army after 20 years of service (1:19:50) Life after the Military -Not ready to retire -Only knew military style work -Got into the civilian guard business -Became a lieutenant in the Pinkerton Guard Business -Guarded NASA facilities -Guarded GE facilities -Guarded facilities working with the NSA -Military experience was perfect for guard job -Intrinsic need to protect people and things -Still works for Pinkerton, has been in it for 24 years -Loves the job, loves the structure, and does not want to retire anytime soon � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gilbert, Freddie (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Freddie Description An account of the resource Freddie Gilbert is a Vietnam War veteran born in1949 in Vermont and was raised in Prairieville, Maryland. In 1969 he was drafted for the Vietnam War and was attached to D Company in 2nd and 506th of the 101st Airborne. His unit was heavily engaged in the fighting around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. After the war he enlisted in the Army and served as a trainer and made that his career until he retired from service on June 1st 1989. Afterwards he took a job in the civilian security sector with the Pinkerton Guard Business and is still serving with them. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-10 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilbertF1549V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0b792b6252b14142c4a9050ee3c64666.jpg 1bf0a76265a7ed79861512c7aaa29ac9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilderGeorge Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985 Title A name given to the resource Gilder, George Description An account of the resource George Gilder, Economist, Author Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng 1985s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cd241cc2e8e666ecd1ccaa623faee72a.pdf c3fe36efef60d225247425742b09ca23 PDF Text Text Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project Diana Azereth Giles Mendez Interview Total Time – (17:35) Interviewed by Norma Gonzalez Buenrostro, May 17, 2016, in English. Background • Diana grew up in Hart, Michigan o She grew up where all the stores were, next to the police department • She is not really used to life in the country • In a small farm town, community members get to know everyone else Vivid Childhood Memories – (1:50) • Diana got to know the neighbor kids pretty well o They would go over to each other’s houses and ask if they wanted to play Coming to Oceana County – (2:31) • Her family moved to Oceana County around 2002 when Diana was five years old • Diana’s parents were migrant workers, and someone recruited them to come to Oceana to work in agriculture • Diana and her family were the first Hispanics that settled in the area o Going to school was very difficult o Diana and her parents did not know English Diana’s Parents – (3:55) • Her parents had agricultural jobs o They started by picking asparagus and peaches o Years later, they went into factory work and worked on assembly lines o Later, her mom was a lab technician in the factory and her dad got a better factory job too • When Diana was growing up, she would go to work with her parents because they didn’t have a babysitter 1 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department • • • o She would take the bus to school and then come back after school and wait until her parents were done o Her mother would tell her that she didn’t want Diana doing work like that Work ethic was very important to Diana’s parents o Diana would ask her mom how to do things to help, and she would teach her Back then, her family was not wealthy, and her parents didn’t make enough money between the two of them o When Diana was 9 years old, she began working alongside her parents o Diana and her siblings experienced what it’s like to do labor work o Going through this gave her the motivation to go to college and get higher education Diana appreciates what her parents did and has learned to work harder towards what she wants Current Job – (9:34) • Diana is currently a community health worker at a migrant clinic • She is studying to be a nurse and a respiratory care therapist • What she does now gives her experience and better medical understanding Agriculture in Oceana – (10:30) • Agriculture is the biggest business in Oceana and what brings many people to the area • Sometimes this is the only type of job that some people can get, so they come there • There is also some tourism • Some migrants come there together, and they always help each other out • Some farmers are close with their employees and are more understanding towards them • There are always new workers too because they’ve heard there are jobs in Oceana Future Thoughts – (13:00) • Diana hopes that her mother doesn’t have to work in those kinds of jobs anymore because she doesn’t like doing it, and Diana wants to take care of her • Her father really likes the agriculture 2 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department • • • Diana wishes that there were other opportunities in Oceana too Many people don’t know what it’s like to do such hard work when they’ve never done it themselves before Diana’s children will never understand the struggle that it is to be a first generation migrant like she did 3 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/71f1a7948b65cf2efb96d4a65ffa8bb9.pdf da988c263a9742dd4856833fc2ac139c PDF Text Text Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department Una comunidad que cultiva: El proyecto de la historia agrícola de Oceana Entrevista de Diana Azereth Giles Mendez Tiempo total – (17:35) Entrevistado por Norma Gonzales Buenrostro, 17 Mai 2016 (Traducido al espaňol por Kassie O’Brien, May 2016) Antecedentes • Diana creció en Hart, Michigan o Creció donde había las tiendas y el departamento de policía • No está acostumbrada a la vida rural • Los miembros de la comunidad conocen a los demás en un pequeño pueblo agrícola Recuerdos vívidos de la niñez – (1:50) • Diana conocía a los niños vecinos o Se iban a la casa del otro y se preguntaban si querían jugar Venir al condado de Oceana – (2:31) • Su familia se mudó al condado de Oceana cerca de 2002 cuando Diana tenía cinco años • Los padres de Diana eran trabajadores migrantes, y se les contrató para trabajar en la agricultura de Oceana • Su familia fue uno de los primeros hispanos que se estableció en el área o Fue difícil asistir a la escuela o Diana y sus padres no sabían inglés Los padres de Diana – (3:55) • Sus padres trabajaron en la agricultura o Empezaron a recoger espárragos y duraznos o Años después, trabajaron en las fábricas y en cadenas de montaje o Luego su mamá fue técnica del laboratorio de la fábrica, y su papá consiguió trabajo mejor en la fábrica también 1 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department • • • • Mientras Diana crecía, iba al trabajo de sus padres porque no tenían niñera o Iba a la escuela en autobús, y después regresaba y esperaba hasta que sus padres terminaran de trabajar o Su madre le decía que no quería que Diana hiciera ese tipo de trabajo La ética laboral era muy importante a los padres de Diana o Diana le preguntaba a su mamá cómo hacer las cosas para ayudarle, y su mamá le enseñaba Entonces, su familia no era rica y sus padres no ganaban suficiente dinero o Cuando Diana tenía 9 años, empezó a trabajar con sus padres o Diana y sus hermanos tuvieron la experiencia de trabajo laboral o Eso le dio la motivación para asistir a la universidad y obtener educación superior Diana aprecia lo que hicieron sus padres y ha aprendido a trabajar duro para alcanzar lo que quiere Su trabajo actual – (9:34) • Actualmente Diana trabaja como agente sanitaria de la comunidad en una clínica para trabajadores migrantes • Estudia para ser enfermera y terapeuta respiratoria • Lo que hace le da experiencia y mejor conocimiento médico La agricultura en Oceana – (10:30) • La agricultura es la industria más grande de Oceana y es lo que atrae a mucha gente al área • A veces es el único tipo de trabajo que algunas personas pueden encontrar, así vienen allí • También hay turismo • Algunos migrantes llegan juntos y siempre ayudan a los otros migrantes • Algunos agricultores y empleados tienen amistades íntimas • Siempre hay trabajadores nuevos porque han oído que hay trabajo en Oceana Pensamientos futuros – (13:00) • Diana espera que su madre ya no tenga que hacer este tipo de trabajo porque a ella no le gusta, y Diana quiere cuidarle 2 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department • • • • A su padre le gusta mucho la agricultura Diana desea que existan otras oportunidades en Oceana también Muchas personas no entienden este tipo de trabajo físico porque nunca lo han hecho Los hijos de Diana nunca entenderán la lucha que existe para los migrantes de primera generación como ella 3 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aa3d5d1199a2b95ff854311193acdb80.mp3 418e553020836032b92c58bacb1c62d3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oceana County Migrant Labor History Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shell-Weiss, Melanie Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Growing Community: A Century of Migration in Oceana County." This project was a collaboration between El Centro Hispano de Oceana, the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society, and Grand Valley State University funded by a Common Heritage grant from the United States National Endowment for the Humanities. The materials in this collection document the history of communities in Hart, Shelby, and Walkerville and explore themes of migration, labor, religion, family, belonging, national and cultural identities, regional, national, and international connections, and citizenship. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Oceana County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource El Centro Hispano de Oceana; Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society Relation A related resource Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Image Sound recording Language A language of the resource eng spa Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Oceana County (Mich.) Hart (Mich.) Shelby (Mich.) Farms Farmers Migrant agricultural laborers Hispanic Americans Account books Diaries Oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Título Spanish language Title entry Giles, Diana (entrevista de audio y resumen) Descripción Spanish language Description entry Entrevista de historia oral con Diana Giles. Entrevistada por Norma Gonzalez Buenrostro. Idioma en Inglés. Mayo 17, 2016. Diana creció en Hart, Michigan. Su familia se mudó al condado de Oceana en 2002 cuando Diana tenía cinco años. Sus padres eran trabajadores migrantes, y se les contrató para trabajar en la agricultura de Oceana. Su familia fue uno de los primeros hispanos que se estableció en el área. Sus padres tuvieron trabajos en los campos y en las fábricas allá. Cuando Diana tenía 9 años, empezó a trabajar con sus padres y tuvo la experiencia de trabajo laboral. Actualmente Diana trabaja como agente sanitaria en una clínica para trabajadores migrantes. Estudia para ser enfermera y terapeuta respiratoria. Sujetos Spanish language Subject terms Migrante Agricultura Hispano Inglés Fábrica Se estableció Primera generación Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-06_Giles_Mendez_Diana Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Giles, Diana Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-05-17 Title A name given to the resource Giles, Diana (audio interview and summary) Description An account of the resource Oral history interview with Diana Giles. Interviewed by Norma Gonzalez Buenrostro. English language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. May 17, 2016. Diana grew up in Hart, Michigan. Her family moved to Oceana County in 2002 when she was five years old. Her parents were migrant workers who were recruited to work in Oceana’s agriculture business. Diana and her family were the first Hispanics that settled in the area. Her parents had agricultural and factory jobs there. When Diana was 9 years old, she began working along with her parents, experiencing what it was like to do labor work. Diana is currently a community health worker at a migrant clinic. She is studying to be a nurse and a respiratory care therapist. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gonzalez Buenrostro, Norma (interviewer) Shell-Weiss, Melanie (director) Subject The topic of the resource Migrant Agriculture Hispanic English Factory Settled First generation Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng spa Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3efda927628120a6bebd6213057b8688.mp4 a29ad08391a250f24c711d47ed78268d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cfb15a8c1bbaf9dbc45854cdbc27f2ae.pdf b2c487ed0c213d8117a770f63cd28b70 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Andrew Gill (22:03) Background Information (00:10)       Born May 9th 1966 in England. (00:10) Served in the Royal Navy. (00:11) His father served as a detective. He also has 1 brother and 1 sister. (00:43) Since a child, Andrew always wanted to join the Royal Navy. (1:05) He had no direct family in the military, however his father did work on submarines during World War II. When he joined the Navy he had just turned 18 (1984). (1:58) Training (2:10)      After joining the Navy, Andrew was sent by train to Dartmouth, England, in September of 1984. (2:11) He passed out of the Naval College in December of 1985. (2:49) He was somewhat prepared for military life as his interests prior to joining helped him prepare and inform himself on the Navy practices. (3:10) Andrew is still in contact with some of his friends he had met while in the Navy. (4:00) He was given a chance to enter the German Naval College which was interesting to many of the cadets. The training appeared to be very similar to the British Naval College. (4:31) Service (5:18)       Andrew spent much time in the North and South Atlantic in 1988. (5:24) He also served in the Pacific and Caribbean. (6:22) Andrew also had a service where he sailed around the world. (6:40) The Royal Navy worked with a U.S. aircraft carrier to enforce a no fly zone. (7:45) Letters and mail was how the men contacted home. Depending on where the ship was mail could take 1-4 weeks to get to its intended location. (8:21) Near the end of his service men were aloud 1 ten minute phone call once a week via satellite phone. (9:13) End of Service (9:38)    Several weeks ahead of time, sailors tell family and friends that the ship will be coming into port. Often times, there is a military band there to greet the sailors. (9:47) Adjusting to civilian life was seen as very odd. One thing that was odd was the different language Andrew required as a result of being in the Navy. (10:58) It took time to adjust to the wife’s and kid’s routine. (11:40) Moving to the U.S. (12:00) �     He came to the U.S. in May of 2000. Andrew left the Royal Navy in April of 2000. (12:00) His wife was American. This influenced him to move to the U.S. Military life was difficult with a wife and children. (12:21) He served 16 years in the Navy (1984-2000). (12:50) He very much dislikes being late. (13:25) Andrew is also a stickler for having a tidy room. He believes this is due to his military experience. (14:23) Life in the Navy (15:10)        At sea, Andrew was lucky enough to have his own cabin while at sea. This room consisted of a pull out desk, a sink, and a bunk. (15:11) Andrew’s main job was to steer the ship. He was a seaman officer and was a member of the executive branch which ran navigation. (16:02) He was also assigned a group of sailors that he was in charge of. (17:44) Andrew was later made a warfare officer. This meant he was responsible for the ship’s battle tactics. (18:26) The sailors very much liked seeing different countries as a result of being in the Navy. Military life also gave him appreciation of what he had at home. (19:00) Early on in his service, he served in a NATO unit. He enjoyed seeing the many different cultures as a result of this service. (20:27) He believes that his time in the military was very useful and would encourage others to pursue it. (21:14) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gill, Andrew (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gill, Andrew Description An account of the resource Andrew Gill, Born May 9th 1966 in England, served in the Royal Navy from September of 1984-April of 2000. During his service, Andrew served on many cruises including one that evolved NATO operations as well as another that traveled around the world. His primary tasks included ship navigation as well as warfare tactics. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maczka, Lillian (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, British Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05-31 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GillA1397V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/06b7c5a031999e48c2321bbcda347223.mp4 6d063be20723141f03f6c1e75505163f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bff40ea1645af1665fb5bb22dd5a9b1b.pdf 35c3260600c73fe85ed82a8f7c197e03 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: Ray Vincent Gill Length of Interview: 1hr. 22 minutes Pre-Enlistment (00:13) • Childhood (00:17) o Raymond Vincent Gill was born into an immigrant family in 1926, the first of their children to be born in America. His father, a former British Navy man, upon arriving took a job working at a steel mill near Cleveland, Ohio at about the time of his birth. (00:52) • Education (00:56) o The place he grew up was a melting pot of diverse cultures. He describes his early childhood years briefly while attending school. (01:18) o The four junior colleges in the area where he grew up were divided based on ethnicity while there was one high school in his town. (02:17) o Describes the town he grew up in and various high school activities he was a part of. (03:12) o First heard about Pearl Harbor after going to a band concert with a few buddies from the parking attendant who told them of the event. (04:11) Briefly describes his reaction to the attack. (05:01) o While still in high school, at the age of 17, he relates how government recruiters came to his school and administered a round of tests to students with the purpose of selecting those that passed for the Army Specialized Training Program. (06:02) o Education/Training in Army Specialized Training Program (06:11) ƒ Where he went and who he trained with (06:16) • Sufficed to say he passed and was soon sent to Purdue University where he briefly describes what classes he took and what type of military tactics they learned there. Was there for 16 weeks with no time for entertainment. (06:33) • Living Conditions during basic training (06:40) �o Training to become a mechanical engineer, the basic training was tough. Because the Normandy Invasion fighting was getting tougher the army program was broken up/ For Gill this meant that because he was 17 when he joined the program that the army could not touch him until he turned 18 to sign up for active duty. (09:34) o After completing about six credits of college courses he dropped out because he was needed at home. His mother did not think he needed college because she considered it a waste of time and that family was more important. (10:31) Enlistment/Basic Training (10:58) • Where he went and what company he served with (11:05) o Was sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana where he was inducted. Ran through a round of tests which he passed before moving on to basic training. (11:20) o Spent 17 weeks at Camp Wheeler, Georgia near Macon during the summer and fall months. Briefly describes what the layout of the camp was like and mentions where some of the people he lived within the barracks came from. (11:40) o Describes his instructors in some detail. In addition, he mentions what he was taught and also having an experience with one of his instructors later on after the war. (12:50) o Following basic training, he went home for a short time to visit family. Afterwards, he reported to the 76th Division at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. (15:59) ƒ While here he briefly describes his cadre training. Briefly describes what it was like to run military maneuvers in the snow was like. (17:05) ƒ Was soon told that his whole cadre division was soon to leave for Europe. (18:12) As time went by the Army developed a new type of combat boot for the infantry to wear. (18:33) ƒ Briefly goes into his training to become a 1st scout rifleman in the first squad of the 76th Division. (19:46) Active Duty (20:40) • Campaign Background (20:56) �o Left from Camp Myles Standish in Massachusetts aboard a special troop transport the morning after he had taken a train from the place he had been training previously. (21:10) Left the U.S. for Europe in November 1944 for Europe. Had graduated high school the previous January 1944. (21:50) o Left aboard the SS Sea Owl in a convoy of 42 ships. (22:10) On his trip overseas his convoy was approached by German U-boats upon which they dropped many depth charges to scare them off. Describes living conditions while aboard in some detail. (23:03) o Their destination supposedly France turned out to be instead a trip to Portsmouth, England and then by night to Bournemouth, England a resort town. (24:54) While there returning veterans already in combat would come to them with stories with action from the front. (25:27) • Living conditions in England (25:50) o While stationed in England, Gill mentions that he spent much of his time practicing his saxophone and performing with an army band at various clubs in the area. The band he was a part of was a dance band which played for 30 solid nights for the army troops in the area. (26:25) o Was asked on several occasions he wanted to be promoted to sergeant which he refused b/c it would take him away from the 13-man band he was a part of. (28:10) o On one instance, after obtaining permission from his chaplain he took a train to visit some relatives living in England. While on the train he mentions a story of meeting a tweet couple in his train compartment. He mentions that wherever he traveled that he had been given special orders to keep quiet about his duties and to remove any unit designations for fear they might be discovered by spies. Interestingly enough also aboard with him were six British sailors who he describes in some detail. (29:45) • France (33:01) o Soon afterwards he was deferred back to a rifleman and then went by ship to Le Havre, France which the Germans had destroyed. The buildings he saw had been reduced to rumble and mention that he was awed by the devastation. By this time the Allies were continuing to move towards Germany by truck when possible. (33:55) o During winter 1944 Gill describes briefly what camping conditions were like in the harsh weather conditions as his unit moved towards the Bulge. (34:42) �o Was part of the group in February 1945 that helped to push the Germans back into Germany. (35:51) o Mentions one instance in some detail of an encounter of the Allies and Germans exchanging shell fire over a particular river which he didn’t remember. While this occurred, men were not allowed to make fires and so they dug deep pits to try to keep warm. The greatest danger American soldiers like him faced was frostbite. (37:11) o During one instance while on patrol and dressed in camouflage clothing he moved by night to an observation tower to observe German movements. To communicate their positions they used signals to keep in contact with each other. (38:51) • Movement towards Luxembourg (40:50) o Gill mentions as they proceeded towards the Sauer River region to town called Echternach, Luxembourg where near there his regiment the 417D was assigned to build a bridge across the river since all the previous bridges in the area had been blown up by the Nazis. The building of this pontoon bridge cost many men frostbite. (41:40) o His regiment the 385th with the aid of the 304th Regiment and the 317th Regiment attempted to make the river crossing. (42:17) o About the time of the Sauer River crossing, Gill mentions that the river was at flood stage and was flowing very fast. The crossing of the pontoon bridge very difficult being that they were being fired on by German machine guns and German heavy artillery. The 417th eventually made the crossing and sustained 80% causalities and was never as effective after that. (43:12) o Upon crossing the Sauer River the Allies ran into the Siegfried Line and there was heavy fighting that occurred. One would usually have to jump over a dead body as they crossed the river and on the other side the Allied units regrouped. (44:17) o Upon approaching the Siegfried Line demolition engineers made a path through the tank traps for the tanks to make their way to the front. Gill describes what the German line composed of. They went through the line 3 times before the way was clear for tanks to penetrate. (45:20) o Inside the Siegfried Line the terrain was bumpy and was dotted with machine gun nests, artillery emplacements, and mortars. Scouts like him were responsible for identifying artillery placements. The fighting along the line was very savage. (46:57) �ƒ Often the PFCs and even the officers didn’t know where they were going. Causality rates were very high. (48:34) From January to May his regiment went through 9 different regiment commanders because the other ones were either killed or wounded. Eventually the line was overrun. (49:20) ƒ When it was overrun, Allied infantry men had to navigate the maze of concrete pill boxes and destroy them with flamethrowers. As the war progressed a tank artillery was developed to deal with pillboxes. (50:02) ƒ During one instance, Gill had to crawl over a little stream and then move towards a few pillboxes. He and his unit were pinned down for several hours. It was cold and muddy that day. (52:41) A friend of his, Vincent Lamberto, charged the German position and sprayed the pillbox with bullets. His action led to the Germans surrender at that specific pillbox. (53:51) His friend then cracked because he had lost a sense of reality. (55:03) ƒ Describes in some detail the thousands of Allied soldiers marching in columns of twos along the road with the armor usually taking the lead and battling German tanks. On one occasion, when they came to a town the Germans were ready for them. Gill would go into town and then report back that he was getting shot at and Allied tanks would be dispatched to that area. (56:27) ƒ Usually what happened was that the Germans would let the scouts go through and then when the rest of the column came up they would fire on them. As the war continued, the Germans realized they were losing and mass desertions followed. As the number of German officers decreased, German soldiers more and more didn’t know what to do whereas American soldiers and officers were taught to improvise. (59:10) • Briefly describes the pattern of town-taking and where once prisoners were taken what they did with their prisoners. (1:00:20) • On one occasion, he and a few other scouts were approaching an empty farm building and realized there was a German machine gun nest right there. The Germans positioned there immediately surrendered. The ammo man was a 14 year old kid. (1:00:52) • Germany (1:01:21) o In Germany, an organization called the Volkssturm served as the defense of towns in the area. Women acted as supporting roles. (1:01:25) �o In towns where the Gestapo or SS were there was heavy fighting where otherwise there would just be sporadic fighting. (1:02:37) In other places, ordinary folks surrendered or fled to the next own. As they moved along, Allied soldiers rounded up all the firearms. (1:03:34) o As they moved further into Germany’s depths, especially in the country where many Germans were just farmers didn’t want any part of the war and surrendered. (1:04:46) o Near the Czech border, Gill mentions that they dug foxholes in anticipation of meeting the Russians who came in with their wives [?] singing and dancing. (1:05:52) Upon meeting them, many Russians traded weapons with the Americans. The Russians, Gill mentions, lived off the land with no regard to German welfare whatsoever. (1:06:50) o The Allied Army was then given orders from the “Big Three” from the Yalta Conference that Germany was to be divided up into military zones. (1:07:45) o Gill mentions that the land they had just fought so hard to free from the Nazis was to become part of the Russian military zone. Gill shares his thoughts on this issue. (1:08:30) o With the end of the war in sight, many Germans tried to surrender to U.S. soldiers but were turned around and ordered to surrender to Russian forces that then pillaged and raped many German women because of the previous treatment of the Nazis during their invasion of Russia. (1:09:21) o Gill mentions that he was standing in a foxhole with water up to his calves on VE Day when he was ordered to report to service company headquarters to report to the regiment dance band. (1:10:25) He was then sent to the rear where he found out that he had combat fatigue and here again was asked if he wanted to be a sergeant upon which he refused. (1:11:48) • Battle for the Rhine (1:12:17) o Gill briefly backs up and describes what conditions had been like for the four month period that he had been trudging towards Germany with only two showers. (1:14:00) • Germany’s Occupation (1:14:37) o Gill and other Allied soldiers tried to reestablish some German political order while maintaining its towns also. (1:14:52) �o Sometimes, his dance band would go around and play for captured laborers who had been enslaved by the Nazis from other countries. They did this until their division was disbanded. (1:15:35) o Mentions that with only 42 points he was sent back to France with a traveling show which traveled around Europe while all the while accumulating discharge points. Was then discharged in May 1946. (1:16:38) o At about the time the war in Europe ended he was sent to France where he was stationed in Compiegne, France waiting to be shipped to Japan. Was near a depot station when the war officially ended. (1:18:17) o While touring through one town he auditioned with another band and got in and stayed on in Europe later on. Upon being discharged the next day, he received separate orders to join the Dixieland Band in Compiegne. (1:19:20) o Stayed on in France after he was discharged and joined a traveling soldiers band touring Europe for a while before going home. (1:20:32) o Wraps up by mentioning that he had more stories he could tell for a later time. (1:21:33)   � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gill, Raymond (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gill, Raymond Description An account of the resource Ray Gill is a World War II veteran who served with the U.S. Army from 1941 to May 1946. In this account, Gill discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He also discusses his active duty and how difficult the fighting was in France, Luxembourg, and Germany. He talks about soldiers living conditions, and the occupation of Germany. Gill also toured with a dance band throughout Europe. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-06-26 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GillR Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d41ebe88106ea411e4e3c946e58ac2e7.mp4 fa16394d3c3c71ee97a2a46984315a07 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f7c61eee54520c3f73f8afc31730bd7c.pdf 721380d39739f6ecb13df8b0f4deb865 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Richard Gillard (01:35:00) Pre-Enlistment (00:21) • Childhood (00:23) • • • • Gillard was born in Muskegon, MI on March 14th, 1919. Family (00:50) • Gillard’s father was a salesman for E.M. Shelving Company while his mother was a house wife who was the first female bank clerk in Muskegon. (00:56) • Gillard’s father served in the 39th ‘Polar Bear’ Division in Russia about the time Richard was born. (00:56) Education (01:42) • Graduated Muskegon High School in 1937. (01:46) • Went to Muskegon Community for 2 years and then attended the University of Michigan where he studied dentistry. While in school he found he wasn’t cut out for dentistry so he dropped. (01:52) Job (02:22) • Soon afterwards, Gillard worked for Charlotte Walker Inc. He describes his primary responsibilities there. Enlistment/Training (02:50) • • Influences (03:30) • When Pearl Harbor was attacked Gillard like many young men rushed to enlist because he felt it was his patriotic duty to serve his country. (03:31) • Gillard was drafted on July 6th 1942 upon which he went to Fort Custer, MI Relevant info regarding the service (04:11) �• • • While at Fort Custer he describes some of the odd jobs he did while there • From there he went to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri for army induction and gunnery training. (04:19) • He describes briefly the weather conditions there, what life was like in the Jefferson Barracks, and the men he served with. (04:56) Daily/Work conditions (05:57) • Briefly describes what he did in basic training. (06:44) • After basic training he was transferred to Fort Lowry outside of Denver where he underwent air corps training, bomb loading, and training in 50-caliber machine guns. (06:34) • Afterwards, he was transferred to St. Louis where he went to powerturret school to learn about aircraft maintenance. (08:50) While there he received training in the functioning and maintenance of power turrets aboard B-24s. (10:01) • After graduating power-turret school went by train to Salt Lake City, Utah for advanced training. (10:48) • Went to California from there for more training. (11:23) Briefly describes his feelings as he disembarked from Stockton, CA on Valentine’s Day 1943, and the largest American-passenger ship of 10,000 people aboard. (13:39) Describes his time aboard the troop ship briefly. (14:18) Shipping out (15:37) • Briefly mentions his time aboard the ship and trip across the Pacific with no convoy support doing nothing more than a zigzag course. Gillard mentions that troops were dropped off first at Wellington, New Zealand, and then at Melbourne, Australia. (15:52) • Gillard briefly backs up and highlights a few instances with MPs. (16:31) • From Melbourne, Australia, Gillard’s next stop was Bombay, India where he had his first encounter seeing beggars on the street. (19:26) Stayed there for a few days. �• Briefly describes his time in Egypt and his visits to Cairo, Alexandria, and the pyramids. (22:29) Active Duty (22:40) • Battles/campaigns/activities (22:41) • • North Africa (22:42)  As Gillard was visiting these Egyptian sights the Germans and English were fighting the Battle of El Alamein. Gillard describes his feelings as he traveled towards Tunisia.(22:58) Along the way he remembers seeing wrecked jeeps and tanks. (23:16)  From there he reported to an airfield just south of Benghazi, Libya. (23:47)  Gillard describes one encounter there where he loaded tubs of machine guns, mortars, belts of ammo, and bombs. His superiors then would often times just toggle the switches on these bombs. He describes his feelings about that. (24:23)  Gillard’s company was attached to the British 8th Army and their job was to service bomber planes. (25:39) At about this time, bombers flew long-range low level bombing runs over Europe. He was based in North Africa for 4 months before being transferred to Italy. (27:17) Palestine (27:40)  On one occasion, Gillard describes going on a supply run to Palestine to pick up supplies for troops in Tunisia. (27:48)  While they were there they were told that German paratroopers had made a dead drop onto their home base. (28:33)  Tells of how he spent a whole week in Palestine visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Further elaborates on a time when one of his friend’s on sentry duty killed a bunch of goats that he mistook for Germans. (29:08)  In another encounter, Gillard elaborates on how British gurkha troops dealt with German paratroopers by the fact that they �used swords and daggers and how the Germans felt about them. (30:07) • Daily/Working conditions – • In Palestine (30:28)  • In North Africa (33:07)  • Briefly elaborates on the daily routine and responsibilities that he conducted. (34:41) Battles/campaigns/activities continued… (36:36) • • During his brief stay in Palestine, Gillard met an Arab girl who he briefly elaborates on in some detail. Also mentions that had the Arabs known he was with her she would have been resented in their eyes. (30:54) Briefly describes the atmosphere of the people there. North Africa (36:36)  Gillard also mentions that they never had any power turret maintenance problems. (36:38)  Summer 1943 Gillard was transferred to Tunisia to a city called Sfax. (37:16) For about a week there the weather was rainy and nothing but muddy and wet on the ground for planes to take off. (38:15)He spent much of his time with a local teacher visiting Tunis and the ancient sites there. (40:08)  From Tunis, they ran bombing missions into Austria. (40:33)  On Thanksgiving 1943 Gillard boarded a liberty ship bound for Italy. (41:27)  Gillard goes back and discusses what desert conditions were like under perimeter tents in the Libyan Desert and an experience with locusts. (1:01:40) Daily life/working conditions – • Italy (41:57)  Landing at Brindisi, Italy, they went on to capture an airfield near Lecce, which from there they conducted bombing �missions into Germany, Rome, and Monte Cassino. (42:35) Took a lot of men and time to destroy Monte Cassino because bombing runs weren’t done below 20,000 feet when bombing factories. (43:50) •  Didn’t fly many missions to support the troops. (44:16)  Describes briefly his visits to Rome and his audience with the Pope. (45:06)  Gillard describes how friendly the Italians living outside his base were. Also mentions in some detail an encounter with an Italian outside the base. (47:07)  While stationed at his base (47:53) Gillard was a secretary performing duties such as typing various other things. Also mentions meeting a certain Douglas Duffy who he had a correspondence with for several years. (48:49) Battles/campaigns continued • Description of bomber missions (50:18)  Gillard mentions that bombers almost always had fighter escorts. In early bombing runs the lead bombers would have to stall briefly so as to let the other bombers lifting off get into formation. Bombers would then fly alone until they reached the border of enemy territory where they would be joined by fighter escorts. Overtime, plane fighting evolved so much that Mustangs eventually came on the scene. (51:53)  Briefly discusses bombing missions conducted in Yugoslavia. (53:34)  Gillard mentions that in one instance that a B-24 pilot returned with just 2 engines even though this was not ordinarily the case the pilot was able to land the plane. (55:24)  Gillard mentions that his base eventually resorted to having soldiers on 12-hour guard duty of aircraft because of previous sabotage. (56:38)  Gillard notes that group HQ found out that many air-force officers had previously come out of civilian life and joined the service. (59:05) �• • Other activities in Italy (1:06:44) • While working at HQ’s office in Lecce, Italy Gillard mentions being involved with reconnaissance. He mentions that he helped to organize social events for the locals. (1:04:55) He also discusses a peculiar instance with an Italian baroness and her daughter. (1:06:08) • Also mentions that they continued their bombing campaigns throughout Austria, Germany, parts of Romania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. Their focus was in bombing the ball-bearing factories in those areas. (1:10:14) • June 1944 Gillard paid another visit to Rome. Describes his personal thoughts of its people and his trips throughout Italy to his wife. (1:11:29) • As American and Russian forces pushed on into Germany bombing missions became less and less. (1:12:39) • On May 6th 1945 they were marched down to the docks ready to leave. Wasn’t there for the celebrations that happened on VE-day. (1:13:36) • Had just passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on May 8th when news reached them that the Germans had surrendered. (1:13:47) Briefly discusses the excitement the soldiers felt when FDR died because he was such a good president. (1:15:42) • Gillard briefly describes a few instances in which soldiers brought local girls to bed with them (1:16:32) and that no disciplinary actions were taken. Activities in United States (1:19:34) • Landed in Hampton Roads, VA. Upon arriving back in the states they were given 2 weeks leave. During that time Gillard took a train to Muskegon and spent his 2 weeks there. (1:20:03) • Upon getting back, he went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to supposedly reorganize the B-29s to go the Pacific. Wasn’t there long since news came that Japan surrendered in August 1945. (1:20:36) • Spent a month in Sioux Falls organizing discharges for soldiers who had less points then he did to get out. (1:21:37) Gillard had accumulated 140 points. �• Discharge, why he left (1:22:14) • Gillard was discharged around September [8th/9th] because he had accumulated the necessary points to leave. After the service (1:22:20) • Adjusting to home (1:22:36) • After being discharged, Gillard took a train for Chicago and reported to Fort Sheridan and then was able to make it back in time to reenroll into the University of Michigan. Graduating from there with a major in History and Political Science he got a job selling insurance. Discusses his personal thoughts. (1:23:10) • Discusses other career directions that he took and how he met his wife. (1:24:35) • Wraps up by mentioning that his military service helped him to grasp a better awareness of the world and how blessed he was at being uninjured during the war. (1:28:02) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gillard, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gillard, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillard served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from June 1942 to September 1945 during World War II. In this account, Gillard discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training and his combat experience abroad in North Africa and Italy. Gillard mentions aspects of war not generally discussed such as bombing missions conducted into Yugoslavia, Romania, and Germany and the maintenance aspects of B-24s. Gillard concludes with his life after the war and his thoughts on service in the army. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-04-29 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GillardR Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b782aa1d207025128b6cae333a4e7ca7.mp4 de816569e26ae7d3df60fba051a5b0bc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/466812f1eb1a9536bdda7dfb598a5bf0.pdf ab49d5eeb9ca173ba646973f820cce5f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Denny Gillem Vietnam War Total Time: 2:47:00 Childhood and Pre-Enlistment (00:00:00) • • • • • • • • • Born June 4th 1941 in Sacramento, California. Father was an architect. Attended Catholic School. Took ROTC in High School. Intended during this time to become part of the military and hopefully get into West Point. Was also in the Boy Scouts during his childhood. Applied to West Point but did not get in on the first try. After this, attended a junior college in California and then enrolled at a Military Junior College in New Mexico at age 19. On the third try, was accepted into West Point after his Congressman’s appointment dropped out. Was accepted in the middle of June and classes began in July. West Point (00:11:45) • • • • • • • • • • Was told where to be on what day, he showed up and was greeted in a very rough way. Was screamed at and harassed by the older cadets on the first day. The Cadet officer in charge wore a red sash and he gave orders on day one. He was first issued standard sweats and then was issued his uniform after the fact. Very few of the Cadets, other than him, had any military experience. (00:19:15) For initiation, he was marched to Trophy Point. Each barracks had a Upperclassman Squad Leader and they led them on this march. Each barracks had around 120 people and there were around 800 men total in his class. He described the different names for the different class levels. For instance, a Plebe is a freshman, and a Firsty is a senior. Also, Beast Barracks was the nickname for barracks for the newest guys at the school. (00:24:58) A typical day began with the Cadets waking themselves up and going to Reveille formation, and then the Cadets made their beds for inspection. After that, they went to breakfast. Food was served family style on platters. Breakfast was an opportunity for Upperclassmen to pick on Plebes. Much of the day’s activities consisted of physical training and some class work. On some days, the Cadets would camp. They would march or be trucked to the site. There were ways that underclassmen could get back at upperclassmen. After the summer, the recruits were placed in new barracks with some upper classmen �• • • • • Jobs for the Plebes were rotated between different positions between their barracks. His class had a 20% heavier work load then other classes. Work consisted of Mathematics, History, and Foreign Language among others. At times, Plebes were made to entertain the other classes at dinner. (00:40:05) Decided that Infantry was his first choice once he graduated. Training (00:41:00) • • • • • • Moved on to Fort Benning, Georgia after West Point. (00:41:50) Attended Ranger School. At the point in history when he served, the Rangers did not have special dedicated units. They just completed specialist training and then went into regular infantry units. Generally did not see any significantly different treatment from any of the people he met. Became a rifle platoon leader in a mechanized unit. (00:50:15) Graduated Ranger School in December 1964 and Reported to duty in January 1965. In June 1965 requested to serve in Vietnam, but his request was denied as there were only Advisors there at the time. Active Duty (00:53:30) • • • • • • • • After he was approved for Active Duty, he reported to Travis Air Force Base and flew to Vietnam. Remembers being fearful during the flight. Remembers how hot and humid it was when he got off the plane. (00:55:45) Stayed overnight at the base, and was then shipped out to the 2nd Brigade 1st Infantry Division as a replacement. Joined the platoon in the middle of an operation that they had been on for a week. This was the only time in the war he had ever been in a platoon that had the proper ranking structure. (00:57:55) Recalls at one point that he was told to set up an ambush at a location that didn’t exist, and so he made his own revisions to the mission. A month later, he was told to ambush the same position and he remembers being very angry about this. This was his first exposure to the difficulties of the army. He was given no specific instructions on how to deal with the enemy. Missions were called ‘Search and Destroy’ missions to find Vietcong and kill them. The only way that one could see the enemy in the jungle was in a crawl position and often they were simply firing at the noises they heard. During this time, the platoons would go out into the jungle for several days and then they would go back to base camp for several days and then back out again. (01:08:00) He recalls one particular instance of North Vietnamese atrocities which occurred during his second tour of duty. He fought into a village outside the city of Hue. Several men, women, and children were machine gunned just minutes before they arrived. �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (01:09:10) Had some training on booby traps in Vietnam, but had no other training before he arrived. Only lost one soldier in his first tour. When he was there, he had a sense that he was winning because they never lost a fight. Didn’t get much news from home. His fiancé wrote him daily and his parents wrote him weekly, but other than that he was pretty ignorant to what was going on at home. (01:16:50) All of his men were enlistees and thus they were better soldiers as a general rule. Six months into his tour he was transferred to be an Aide de Camp to a One Star General named General Hollingsworth. The general was kind for the first month but became very tough the last 5 months. Did not hold reporters in high esteem. Most of the reporters were there for a story. (01:28:50) Had some contact with the South Vietnamese and for the most part he liked them. (01:32:45) Had some interaction with the local population. Held an amount of respect for the people of Vietnam. He did some shopping in the local areas, including Saigon. Recalls one episode where he almost had to work with a smuggler to get beer for the generals at his camp. However, he did not have to in the end. (01:44:00) Was hurt during his second tour of duty, and he was replaced as commander of a rifle company. He went to division HQ from there. (01:47:05) He recalls when he was at Division HQ that he was required to do a complete recount of the enemy casualty figures given while the previous general was in charge. Through the recount they figured out that the initial numbers were inflated by around 3 to 1. (01:52:35) Worked in the Operations Center after the recount. This was the control center for operations in the vicinity. He worked the night shift. Came to Division HQ in March 1968. There were daily briefings which let the Operations Center know what was to happen each day. (01:55:40) The Operations Center occasionally worked with the South Vietnamese. US commanders worked with South Vietnamese units through South Vietnamese command centers. Their brigade was sent to the North near the DMZ with the 101st Airborne Division to reinforce the Marines in I Corps. Was aware of the Anti-War movement in the US, and did not like the reaction of the public. (02:03:00) By the time he was rotated home, I Corps was in charge of cleaning up after the Tet Offensive. (02:07:30) He had the choice to do another tour in Vietnam but he did not because he wanted to get home to his wife. While in his second tour he was promoted to Major and he was also selected to go to the Army Officer Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This is an academic-style training regimen by which tactics and logistics were taught. �• • • • • • (02:11:51) After Army Officer Advanced Course, got an offer from West Point to teach and an offer for graduate school from University of Texas-El Paso to major in Political Science and International Relations. He decided to go to graduate school. Got his masters degree. The Army required a utilization tour for those who had earned their graduate degrees on Army money, so after graduating he was sent to the ROTC department at Stanford. Also worked on his second graduate degree at Stanford. (02:20:30) After his time at Stanford, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia and then was placed as second in command of the Mechanized Infantry Battalion in Germany. This was the 26th Infantry Battalion. He was assigned as the Operations Officer and was then promoted to Executive Officer of the Battalion, which was his title for most of 3 years he was there. There was a lot of international training during his time there. Was in Germany during the mid-1970s. NOTE : 14 SECOND ERROR IN DISC (02:29:48) At the end of his tour in Germany, he was Assigned to the US Readiness Command in Tampa, Florida, and he worked as a Joint Planner in the Planning Section of the Command. He was initially responsible for the plan for general war in Europe and the backup plan for war in the Middle East. He was then rotated to the position responsible for the plan for war in the Middle East. The command was responsible for sending troops to combat zones in case of the war, so he had to keep track of where units were in the US and abroad. This was a top secret assignment. Was in this position for 4 years. They wrote what became the first draft of Desert Shield. (02:25:25) He then worked as the Professor of Military Science at the University of Tampa. He enjoyed his experience at the university. (02:39:10) He was then transferred to Wyoming, Michigan as an Army advisor to the Michigan National Guard. He was the Brigade Advisor to the 46th Infantry Brigade. After two years in Wyoming, he retired. Post-Army (02:40:50) • Discusses his views on Patriotism and how his Army experience affected him. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gillem, Denny (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gillem, Denny Description An account of the resource Denny Gillem was born in Sacramento, California, in 1941. He intended to make the military his career during his high school years, and applied to West Point several times before being accepted. After West Point, he was trained as an Army Ranger, and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. After his tours, he attended the Army Officers Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was the director of the ROTC at Stanford University. He then attended the Army Forces Staff College and became second in command of the 26th Infantry Battalion in Germany. He was then reassigned to Tampa, Florida, and the US Readiness Command. He also worked at the University of Tampa as a Professor of Military Sciences. He was then transferred to Wyoming, Michigan, to be the Army Advisor to the 46th Battalion of the Michigan National Guard. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-11-03 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GillemD Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8a4e3deb26de009c8a15ec6c99db5cf4.mp4 6dd397f7dbf074e3dead774fe85f93a6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df6f9c0227fea70eb7f7b70f19dab334.pdf ee1f511bbecd8104a2c9ee3a9b861203 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Denny Gillem Vietnam War (Note: This session covers the material missing from the original interview, mostly dealing with his second tour in Vietnam) Interview Length: (01:48:51:00) Review of West Point / 1st Vietnam Tour (00:01:02:00)  Gillem initially had two years of college with the intention of getting into the military academy at West Point; Gillem eventually succeeded in getting into the academy, on his third attempt (00:01:02:00) o In the four years Gillem was at West Point, he had one elective every year and other than that, all the classes were geared around making he and the other students engineering majors (00:01:12:00) o Gillem’s pervious two years of college only counted for one credit, in American History, which gave him the chance to take another elective (00:01:29:00) o Gillem did fairly well, finishing at the top of the bottom third of his graduating class (00:01:39:00) o More so than the grades, the experience at West Point molded Gillem, which along with high school and college ROTC, helped set the values that Gillem followed and continues to follow (00:01:53:00) o One of Gillem’s tactical officers at the academy helped steer Gillem in the direction of joining the infantry branch of the Army, a direction Gillem had already been considering (00:02:23:00)  Joining the infantry was Gillem’s first choice after graduating from West Point and he was given it (00:02:35:00) o Gillem graduated from West Point in 1964 (00:02:49:00)  After graduation, Gillem received a thirty-day leave before reporting to Fort Benning, Georgia to attend Airborne and Ranger school (00:03:14:00) o Interestingly, in the year Gillem began at Fort Benning and in the following year, the Army decided that all West Point graduates would not attend their branch’s Basic Course (00:03:35:00)  Although there was an Infantry Officer Basic Course that all the other officers went to, Gillem and the other West Point graduates in the infantry for those two years did not (00:03:46:00)  Instead, the West Pointers were required to attend OJT, part of which was a mandatory period in Ranger school (00:03:51:00)  OJT did not bother Gillem but the officers who had gone into the other branches, such as the Signals Corps or Air Defense Artillery did not like it as much (00:04:14:00)  The Ranger school headquarters was located at Fort Benning and that was where the first three weeks of the Ranger training took place; after the three weeks at Fort Benning, the men went to Dahlonega, Georgia for the �  mountain phase of the training, which lasted an additional three weeks, then spent the final three weeks training in the swamps surrounding Eglin Air Force Base in Florida (00:04:39:00) o During the four years Gillem was at West Point, he never saw Army beat Navy in their annual football game; however, the first year after he graduated, Gillem was in the swamp-training phase of Ranger school and on the day before the game, the men had gone through several days of long, wet patrols (00:05:01:00)  The men were trucked onto the base late at night and after cleaning their equipment, they all went to bed (00:05:35:00)  The following day was the Army – Navy game and although Gillem made it into the day room to watch the game, he slept through most of it; however, it was the first time he saw Army beat Navy (00:05:43:00) Gillem graduated from Ranger school just before Christmas, 1964 and received some leave time before reporting to Fort Carson, Colorado to join 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment as a platoon leader (00:06:17:00) o The 11th Infantry was mechanized infantry and although Gillem did not know too much about mechanized infantry, it was an easy subject to learn if an officer had a platoon sergeant who was willing to teach them (00:06:33:00)  Gillem himself had an incredible platoon sergeant, a man who had been in the Army since the end of World War II, was captured during the Korean War and held for about a year, and after being released at the end of the war, decided to get out of the Army (00:06:42:00)  The sergeant left the Army, found a civilian job, and got married but after two years of being a civilian, he decided civilian life was not for him and when he told his wife, she told him to go and that she would be waiting for him to return (00:07:05:00)  The sergeant re-enlisted but the Army brought him back as a private; he had worked his way up to sergeant by the time Gillem was assigned to be the platoon leader (00:07:21:00)  Gillem got as good a training as a second lieutenant could receive from the sergeant (00:07:48:00)  The pressure on Gillem and the other lieutenants to perform their job properly, having gone through all the training they had, as tremendous; although some lieutenants failed to heed their sergeant’s advice or received bad advice, the majority of the lieutenants grew in large part to the advice they received from their sergeants (00:08:16:00) The first large contingent of US Army ground forces, not just advisors, arrived in Vietnam in June but even before they arrived, Gillem had volunteered in May for assignment to Vietnam, as an advisor (00:09:20:00) o Although his request for assignment as an advisor was denied, the following month, Gillem received orders for assignment to Vietnam (00:09:43:00)  By then, the Army had decided to deploy three brigades, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, and Gillem was the first officer replacement sent to the 1st Infantry (00:09:46:00) �o When he received his orders for Vietnam, Gillem was told to report to Travis Air Force Base in California, where he boarded a transport plane for the flight over to Vietnam (00:10:04:00)  When Gillem got off the plane in Vietnam, he had no idea where he was going or what he was going to be doing (00:10:14:00) o During the tour, the fighting in the area where Gillem was assigned was not overly intense, usually fighting against small units or individuals; nevertheless, it was still scary the first time a bullet flew past Gillem (00:10:40:00) o It was very common to rotate officers between combat and non-combat units, both so that the officers in the non-combat units could eventually gain some combat experience and to ensure that there were always experienced, combattested officers in the various units (00:11:11:00)  Routinely, an officer would start in the field in a combat unit then rotate into the non-combat unit (00:11:21:00)  In Gillem’s particular case, his company commander, a fellow West Pointer, was selected to be the aide for the division’s newly-arrived commanding general (00:11:31:00)  Gillem kept in touch with the captain and several months after the captain moved to be the commanding general’s aide, the captain told Gillem that there was a new one-star general arriving in the division and Gillem asked of there was any chance he might have a shot at the new general’s aide position (00:12:01:00)  Ultimately, Gillem received the aide position for the new general; although Gillem does not know or remember exactly how he received the position, part of it came from the fact the general wanted a West Pointer as his aide (00:12:32:00)  When he first took the aide position, Gillem had no clue what he would eventually be exposed to by working with the newly-arrived general (00:13:34:00) o If given the choice at the time of his rotation to the aide position, Gillem would have preferred to stay in the field, but only as a platoon leader or company commander (00:14:07:00)  However, the probability was higher that Gillem would end up working on an officer’s staff (00:14:13:00)  Gillem was a good platoon leader; he liked the soldiers in the platoon and they liked him back (00:14:21:00)  Throughout the platoon, Gillem remembers that all the NCOs were one rank too junior for their position; the platoon sergeant was an E-6 although the position was supposed to be an E-7, the squad leaders were E-5s, which as an E-6 position, etc. (00:14:45:00)  When the 1st Infantry was told they were deploying a brigade to Vietnam, the commanders combed through all three brigades in the division to make a single brigade where all the officers and NCOs were the correct rank (00:15:05:00) o Gillem’s initial platoon sergeant was an experienced E-7 but the sergeant was eventually promoted to a different � position and an E-6 already in the platoon was given the platoon sergeant position (00:15:24:00) o For the most part, the sergeants in Gillem’s platoon were all experienced, having been in the Army for several years and been in combat for several months before Gillem arrived (00:15:35:00)  At the time, rank promotion was extremely slow and when Gillem was told he would be receiving a sergeant’s promotion to give to a soldier, he had to decide which soldier to give it to (00:16:42:00) o After thinking about the decision, Gillem decided to give the promotion to a soldier from Chicago who had shown immense courage under fire (00:16:51:00) o When Gillem talked with the other sergeants about the decision, one of the squad leaders advocated for a soldier in his squad, reminding Gillem of some of the trouble the original selection had been in (00:17:02:00) o Gillem relented and promoted the second soldier, who, although he was qualified for the promotion, had not shown the courage under fire the other soldier had (00:17:17:00) o At the time, the war was not expected to take long and part of the question was whether they wanted the soldier to be a sergeant during peace time (00:17:38:00) Gillem’s first tour in Vietnam ended in October 1966, after which, he returned to the United States (00:18:47:00) o Just before Gillem deployed to Vietnam in 1965, he had become engaged and when he returned home in 1966, he got married (00:19:02:00)  The biggest problem Gillem faced once he was home was that when he had deployed to Vietnam, he was a 2nd lieutenant and when he returned home, he was only a couple of months away from promotion to captain; during his wedding, Gillem had planned on wearing his dress uniform but only had the insignia for a 2nd lieutenant (00:19:28:00)  Gillem did not want to buy the 1st lieutenant insignia to only wear once, so before the wedding, someone suggested taking model airplane paint and painting the 2nd lieutenant insignia silver to look like a 1st lieutenant insignia (00:19:47:00) o While Gillem was in Vietnam, his original assignment when he came home was to join the “Old Guard”, the 3rd Infantry Regiment stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia (00:20:47:00)  However, around that time, the Army was beginning to accelerate promotions and by that time, Gillem had spent a year in-grade as a 1st lieutenant; whereas it normally took three years in-grade for promotion from 1st lieutenant to captain, Gillem would receive the promotion in thirteen months (00:21:03:00)  At that time, the 3rd Infantry was not in need of captains but lieutenants, so when Gillem arrived at his fiancée’s house, which he had listed as his �leave address, there were orders sending him to the 101st Airborne Division (00:21:23:00)  Although he was a little disappointed not to be going to the 3rd Infantry, Gillem was not too disappointed (00:21:37:00) 101st Airborne Division / 1967 Detroit riots (00:21:57:00)  After Gillem and his wife married, they took a short honeymoon before packing a trailer with all the gifts they had received from their wedding and heading to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where the 101st Airborne was stationed (00:21:57:00) o When they arrived at the base, Gillem was delighted to find out he was in line to become a rifle company commander (00:22:13:00)  Initially, he was made the rifle company executive officer for several months before receiving the promotion to company commander after the previous company commander moved to the battalion staff (00:22:16:00)  Gillem was given command of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (00:22:31:00) o When Gillem first arrived at the base, he went through a reception center, where he was told which unit he would be assigned to (00:23:01:00)  Someone from the 2nd Brigade picked up Gillem and took him to the 2nd Battalion, where someone else took him to C Company (00:23:09:00)  The entire series of events was very casual and Gillem felt accepted immediately in the unit (00:23:14:00)  At the time, there were not very many personnel who had combat experience and the fact Gillem was joining the unit with combat experience made him quite welcome (00:23:30:00)  Gillem was extremely excited to take command of an airborne rifle company (00:23:41:00) o Gillem and his wife slowly settled into the area, finding an apartment for four or five months until they received housing on the base (00:23:54:00) o Fort Campbell was right on the southern border of Kentucky; the northern half of the base is in Kentucky and the southern half is in Tennessee (00:24:04:00)  The base was located in a nice area but it was very rural, with the largest settlement, Clarksville, being five miles away in Tennessee (00:24:42:00) o Gillem reported to the base in December 1966, just before Christmas (00:24:45:00) o When Gillem first arrived at the division, there was not any expectation that the brigade would eventually deploy to Vietnam; although a brigade from the 101st Airborne was already deployed to Vietnam, the remainder of the division had no deployment expectations (00:24:59:00) o When Gillem took command of his company, the draft was going on but soldiers had to volunteer to join the airborne (00:25:14:00)  Therefore, all of the soldiers in Gillem’s were young volunteers who were full of adrenaline; on occasion, the soldiers would get in trouble and Gillem would have to take care of the problem but on the whole, the soldiers trained hard (00:25:26:00)  The company had a pretty solid mix of ethnicities (00:25:48:00) � The original company first sergeant was a black man and was on sick leave when Gillem arrived to take over command of the company (00:25:51:00) o While the first sergeant was on sick leave, Gillem worked with the acting first sergeant, a platoon sergeant from one of the platoons in the company (00:26:07:00) o After Gillem had been with the company for about a month, the original first sergeant returned to the company and left two impressions on Gillem (00:26:17:00)  First, the sergeant was in incredible shape to begin with and second, when the company went out for its morning run, the sergeant ran circles around the rest of the company for the entire run (00:26:25:00)  There was a tremendous mix of soldiers in the company, with ethnicities range from black and white to Hispanic and homes in both the North and the South (00:26:43:00) o One of both the positives and negatives of the Army is that the soldiers were treated like who they were (00:27:05:00) o The soldiers were able to, for the most part, look past any differences and work well together (00:27:27:00) o Gillem was not aware of any problems in the company based on race, let alone, the division (00:27:35:00) o The ethnic diversity amongst the soldiers continued up and down the entire chain of command, with both the battalion executive officer and the captain who Gillem took over for being black men (00:27:49:00)  Gillem remembers when the original first sergeant returned to the company, he addressed the other men and said that now that Gillem was in charge, the men had two options for haircuts, a black sidewall or a white sidewall (00:27:59:00)  In some ways, the situation in the company was an ideal situation for Gillem when he took command (00:28:45:00)  Although the company did not have all the ranks they would have wanted, regarding the NCOs, most of the soldiers were at their correct rank and most had not been rush promoted to those ranks, which would happen later (00:28:47:00)  Normally, if a draftee volunteered for the airborne, the company would only see the man for eighteen months, only after he had finished all his training, and he would normally leave as a PFC (Private, First Class) (00:29:12:00)  The promotion and experience system was one that worked well and one that Gillem liked to see (00:29:27:00) o Although not a training company, Gillem’s company went through training constantly (00:29:44:00) � One of the benefits Gillem earned from his time as an aide was he realized what available to him (00:29:48:00)  During his first couple of weeks in command of the company, Gillem was traveling around to find the different areas on the base and when he wanted to see the base’s maneuver area, he requested a helicopter (00:29:55:00) o Had Gillem not been an aide, it would have never occurred to him to request a helicopter (00:30:06:00) o By using the helicopter, Gillem had a chance to see the entire maneuver area from the air (00:30:13:00)  During training, Gillem would send the soldiers out as individual platoons, although they would also go as an entire company and sometimes, as an entire battalion (00:30:21:00)  During the training, Gillem integrated his experiences from serving in Vietnam (00:31:00:00) o At this time, the 101st Airborne and its sister division, the 82nd Airborne, were still airborne units (trained to make parachute landings, as opposed to airmobile units, which moved by helicopter) and were the strategic reserve for the Army (00:31:08:00)  At least one unit within one of the divisions was always on stand-by, ready to go if needed; typically, it was a battalion that would be ready to go in twenty-four hours and a company ready to go in three hours (00:31:19:00)  Gillem’s company pulled its fair share of this rotation, which meant they had to stay on somewhat higher alert level in the event that they did have to deploy to a location (00:31:33:00)  The concept of being airmobile was just one mission that the divisions could potentially perform (00:31:54:00)  Around the time Gillem was going through Ranger school was when the Army first developed the concept of the airmobile force, which eventually became the 1st Air Cavalry Division (00:32:03:00)  Although the 101st had more helicopters than conventional aircraft when Gillem arrived, airmobile was just one mission the division could do; the soldiers in the division still had the traditional role of jumping out of airplanes (00:32:16:00)  Jumping out of the airplanes was good for Gillem; he was afraid of heights and jumping out of the airplanes was one of the ways he overcame that fears (00:32:28:00)  Whenever Gillem’s company was on stand-by and received an alert, the soldiers would line up on the parade ground with their equipment then head to the parachute building; however, if the parachute building was locked up, the soldiers knew it was a drill (00:32:48:00)  At one point, the division received a new commanding general and during one of the “drills”, the men were sleeping in their trucks when the general came down and started yelling at them, saying they should be training or cleaning their rifles (00:33:01:00) � o Gillem’s battalion commander got in the general’s face and said that the men would not be there if their rifles were not ready to go and that soldiers in a combat situation did not know when they would be sleeping next, so they should be sleeping (00:33:30:00) o Gillem had been standing about six feet away from the conversation and he thought he was going to die; he never thought anyone would talk to a general like that but in the end, it worked (00:33:43:00) The one time the company did deploy from an alert was to attend to the 1967 Detroit riots (00:34:04:00)  The deployment happened less than a month after a new battalion commander had taken command (00:34:10:00)  Usually, one Friday morning every month, the battalion had command reveille, where the soldiers would stand in formation an hour early and the commanders would go through announcements and promotions within the unit (00:34:18:00)  On the Friday before that month’s normal command reveille, Gillem received a phone call early in the morning saying that he needed to report in (00:34:32:00) o Gillem figured the call was from the new battalion commander, mistaking alert for something else, so Gillem made a mental note to chew the battalion commander out for making the mistake (00:34:44:00)  Gillem packed up his gear and when he arrived in, he saw that the battalion commander had not made a mistake; the brigade had been selected to go into Detroit to deal with the riots (00:34:59:00)  The men in the company had no idea what they were going to be doing; a fourth of the men had combat experience from Vietnam and for a couple of the older soldiers, Korea (00:35:14:00)  The brigade loaded onto C-130 transports and flew to Selfridge Air National Guard base outside of Detroit (00:35:35:00) o When the brigade got off the C-130, the base personnel did not know what to do with them, so the soldiers dug in at the base, something Gillem figures the Air Force was not too happy about (00:35:45:00)  After awhile, the men eventually boarded Michigan National Guard trucks to be moved into Detroit (00:36:04:00)  Up until that point, the soldiers had yet to see an angry, riotous person or hear of anything that was out of place (00:36:14:00) o As the soldiers rode in the trucks through the city, it was like a normal trip through any city (00:36:27:00)  The soldiers were eventually placed in a junior high school and moved into various classrooms (00:36:34:00) �      Once the soldiers had settled in, Gillem was given the job of starting combat patrols around the neighborhood to see what was going on (00:36:57:00) o Gillem had re-enforced rifle platoons equipped with flak jackets, fixed bayonets, and loaded weapons going through the neighborhood (00:37:05:00) The majority of the rioting was occurring in downtown Detroit and was spreading in two directions; the brigade was stationed where the two directions intersected, although there had not been any rioting within the immediate area (00:37:13:00) o The residents were so happy to see the soldiers that Gillem’s biggest problem was all the people trying to bring the soldiers food and girls wanting to flirt with his soldiers (00:37:30:00) o The patrols would be moving down the street, ready for an attack, and people would be smiling, waving, honking their car horns, offering food, etc. (00:37:42:00) o It became clear to the soldiers that they were not in too much danger (00:37:53:00) One of the challenges was the men had been advised that the enemy was going to try and poison them (00:38:09:00) o Therefore, although the locals were bringing the soldiers a host of different food, the soldiers could not accept any of it and were forced to eat C-Rations (00:38:21:00) The biggest problem Gillem had was that whenever the soldiers were not on duty, they would be standing next to the fence surrounding the school’s playground three-deep and on the outside of the fence were girls five-deep (00:38:48:00) o Although it made for happy soldiers, it was difficult for Gillem to control the situation; however, he did not bemoan having to do it (00:39:07:00) One night, Gillem was sleeping when someone grabbed him and told him to get to the operations center because there was information that the rioters were going to attack a power station and the soldiers needed to get there (00:39:26:00) o Gillem threw a couple of platoons in some trucks, got in a jeep himself, and went to the power station, only to find the National Guard had already been at the power station for a month (00:39:40:00) o However, the National Guard soldiers thought Gillem’s force was relieving them and left (00:39:51:00) Fairly regularly, Gillem would send fire teams of five or six soldiers with fire trucks and those soldiers often encountered rioters (00:40:08:00) � o In the two weeks that the brigade was in Detroit, Gillem himself never saw an angry person, or at least, a person who was angry at Gillem (00:40:08:00) o For the most part, Gillem’s soldiers did not confront rioters; the National Guard soldiers did encounter rioters and Gillem’s soldiers assisted them by taking over guard positions and allow the National Guard soldiers to focus on dealing with the rioters (00:41:01:00)  The worst thing Gillem did was court-martial a couple of soldiers who either lived in the area or had a girlfriend in the area and left the school; when the soldiers returned after a day, Gillem courtmartialed them, which he did not like having to do (00:41:22:00)  Once the National Guard had the situation under control, the brigade mounted back up and returned to Fort Campbell (00:41:44:00)  Before they deployed to Detroit, the soldiers had not received much in the way of crowd-control training, apart from a few drills (00:41:59:00)  While in Detroit, the soldiers followed the rule that only an officer could authorize them to shoot; the rule somewhat worried Gillem when he sent out the fire teams with the fire trucks because they were only commanded by a sergeant (00:42:09:00) The brigade deployed to Detroit in August 1967 and after the brigade had returned to Fort Campbell, rumors started swirling that the remainder of the division would soon be deploying to Vietnam (00:42:44:00) o Roughly another month passed before the soldiers were formally told that they would be deploying to Vietnam (00:43:01:00) o At the time, the Army had a policy that officers could be required to serve a second tour in Vietnam but enlisted personnel did not (00:43:08:00)  Therefore, all the enlisted personnel who had already served a tour in Vietnam and did not want to go for a second tour were transferred to the 82nd Airborne and all the personnel in the 82nd who had not served in Vietnam transferred to the 101st as fillers (00:43:19:00)  However, the division was still understrength, so the Army did a search and found every airborne-qualified enlisted man in the Army who had not yet served in Vietnam and transferred them to the 101st (00:43:34:00)  The new personnel ranged from satellite communicators to bulldozer repairmen (00:43:46:00)  Gillem’s company received twenty-five replacements, after which the replacements went into the field for three weeks for infantry training (00:43:55:00)  For the most part, the attitude of the replacements was shock (00:44:12:00)  At one point, the 173rd Airborne got into a large fight in Vietnam and took a large number of casualties (00:44:28:00) o The 101st was the only source of airborne-qualified soldiers, so every company in the division had to give up a sergeant and four privates (00:44:36:00) � Gillem personally did not send his best soldiers to the 173rd and as a whole, the removal of the replacements for the 173rd helped the 101st shake off some of the lower grade soldiers (00:44:49:00) o Prior to the entire division deploying, advanced parties were sent over by ship carrying the division’s supplies (00:45:10:00)  Gillem sent one officer and a dozen enlisted men as his company’s advanced party and they left roughly four weeks before the remainder of the company (00:45:18:00) o During the last 48 hours before the deployment, all the soldiers in the division were confined to the base (00:45:42:00)  Gillem’s executive officer lived off the base, so Gillem and his wife offered to let the executive officer and his wife use the guest bedroom in the Gillem’s house on base (00:45:47:00) o When the day to deploy finally came, the soldiers boarded C-141 transports and left for Vietnam (00:45:55:00)  The division commander had told the soldiers that when they got off the plane, they would all have loaded weapons; however, the Air Force policy forbid this (00:46:03:00)  There was some negotiating and it was eventually worked out that at the last moments before the soldiers got off the plane, they were issued loaded magazines (00:46:27:00)  Each soldier placed the magazine in his weapon but did not chamber a round (00:46:42:00)  There was some equipment with the soldiers on the flight and some of the planes were carrying only equipment (00:47:11:00)  The division had pre-shipped a lot of the equipment and a lot of equipment, such as 106mm recoilless anti-tank rifles, was left behind at Fort Campbell (00:47:28:00)  From what Gillem can remember, the planes made three stops total from Fort Campbell to Vietnam (00:47:53:00)  For sure, the planes stopped on the west coast of the United States, on Hawaii, and one other place (00:47:57:00) 2nd Vietnam Tour (00:48:08:00)  The planes landed at Bien Hoa Air Force base in Vietnam, an area Gillem knew from his first tour in Vietnam (00:48:08:00) o When the planes landed at Bien Hoa, there were trucks already waiting to pick up the soldiers (00:48:16:00) o Most replacements came through Bien Hoa and most of the personnel working on the base were not thrilled with the idea of the soldiers carrying around loaded weapons on the flight line (00:48:21:00)  However, although he might ridicule the decision, Gillem believes carrying the weapons was a good thing because carrying the weapons helped set the attitude of the soldiers (00:48:40:00) �   The soldiers spent the night at Bien Hoa and the next day, moved to an already established base camp; the division briefly stayed at the base before moving to Cu Chi, where it stayed for several weeks (00:48:52:00) o Once the division settled in a Cu Chi, the soldiers began running operations and it became apparent then that something was going on with the enemy (00:49:21:00) The division arrived in Vietnam a handful of days before Christmas 1967 (00:49:33:00) When the Tet Offensive happened at the end of January 1968, it did not catch everyone by surprise (00:49:48:00) o Prior to the actual offensive, there had been indications of trouble in I Corps, in the northern part of the South Vietnam (00:49:52:00) o Then, one day, the entire 2nd Brigade was flown to LZ El Paso, which later became known as Camp Eagle, just outside of Hue (00:50:00:00) o Once the brigade arrived at El Paso, they set up the position and had just begun operations when the Tet ceasefire occurred; when the ceasefire happened, the soldiers were told they to stay in their barracks and get some rest (00:50:20:00)  However, when the battalion S-2 was circling around Hue in a helicopter, he ended up taking fire and was nearly shot down; however, nobody could figure out why there was enemy fire from Hue (00:50:36:00)  As it turned out, the North Vietnamese had successfully taken control of Hue, which the soldiers did not know (00:50:52:00) o All of a sudden, it was a whole new ballgame and the offensive consisted of some of the most intense fighting Gillem had ever seen (00:50:57:00)  When the offensive started, the Marines were responsible for I Corps and in the areas where they did control, the Marines had control; however, they could not be everywhere and the North Vietnamese had figured out where the Marines were located and where they were not (00:51:10:00)  There was a large area filled with trees, bamboo, and undergrowth about a mile-and-a-half north of Hue along the main highway and the enemy had been occupied that particular area so long that they had set up, amongst other things, a fully-functioning OCS (Officer Candidate School) for Viet Cong personnel (00:51:27:00) o The 101st eventually had to fight its way into the area and it was amazing what they ran into (00:52:14:00) o During the offensive, Gillem’s battalion had the job of fighting up to the walls surrounding Hue (00:52:29:00)  During the advance, the battalion fought its way into a small Vietnamese village; however, it got real quiet as the soldiers entered the village (00:52:35:00)  In one respect, the quiet was normal because the enemy had withdrawn but it was normally not that quiet (00:52:42:00)  Once the soldiers advanced enough into the village, they saw that the entire population of the village, men, women, and children, had been stood against a couple of walls and were shot (00:52:50:00)  Seeing the dead villagers was an incredible shock for the soldiers; however, because they were in pursuit of the enemy and could not �   stop, the only thing Gillem could do was have his medic check to make sure all the villagers were actually dead (00:53:11:00) Another time, the battalion had to attack across a field in a traditional, World War II-era, battalion-sized attack (00:53:23:00)  The soldiers had advanced across most of the field before the enemy began firing on them (00:53:37:00)  At one point during the attack, a platoon sergeant in the other company that was attacking with Gillem’s company was hit in his private parts by a dummy rifle grenade (00:53:50:00) o The sergeant was in pain on the ground and the giggle that passed through the assault line was incredible (00:54:24:00)  In the end, the attack was successful, with the battalion advancing across the field and successfully sweeping out the enemy (00:54:56:00) o The enemy gunfire was not terribly accurate and Gillem believes once the enemy saw the strength of the attack, they pulled back, although plenty were still left (00:55:02:00) Once they had secured the area, the soldiers began patrolling and found out the enemy had a large number of spider holes in the area, with men in them who were ready to fight (00:55:22:00)  Gillem lost several soldiers by shots that no one could identify where it came from (00:55:38:00)  One time, one soldier was hit and the other soldiers began firing at the tree tops, figuring it was a sniper, when in fact, the enemy shooter was in a spider hole (00:55:44:00)  It rained that heavily that night and Gillem remembers coming under rocket fire (00:55:57:00) o As it turned out, the place where the battalion had dug in was a place where a previous unit had already been dug in (00:56:13:00)  All of the sudden, Gillem heard the sound of a rocket coming in, then a “slurping” sound; the rocket had landed in a mud-filled trench and instead of going off, slid down the trench (00:56:24:00)  Gillem called the dud rocket into battalion headquarters and was asked to measure the size of the rocket; Gillem sarcastically replied asked if the person wanted him to get out of his trench under incoming fire, find the rocket, use a flash-flight, and measure the rocket (00:56:48:00) o When the person said they did, Gillem told them “no” (00:57:16:00) After the battalion frontal attack, Gillem’s company lost around eight or ten soldiers out of the one hundred soldiers in the company (00:57:40:00)  One of the soldiers as a black sergeant with a distinctive part of white on his hands (00:57:51:00) � o Gillem remembers walking past where the medics had established a “morgue” for the dead bodies waiting to be transferred out and see the hand of the sergeant sticking out from a poncho (00:58:03:00) o From the beginning of the advance towards Hue until the soldiers set up their position was the better part of a week (00:58:49:00)  As the battalion got closer to the wall, the fighting became less intense with only an occasional sniper, so that by the final day, it was pretty mundane (00:59:22:00)  During that time, the men also received a resupply, including a copy of the Stars & Stripes newspaper, in which the headline read Marines Retake Hue (00:59:32:00) Once Gillem’s battalion finished fighting around Hue, they were moved through a series of fire bases to the north of Hue, where they began running combat operations (01:00:10:00) o Ultimately, the battalion ended up at Camp Evans, which was a base that originally had been established by the Marines (01:00:22:00)  Camp Evans was already quite full when the decision was made to move the battalion there, so the battalion was forced to set up their position on the outside of the camp (01:00:39:00)  Just outside the camp was the camp trash dump and someone decided the battalion would set up a perimeter around the trash dump (01:00:52:00)  Having the perimeter around the trash dump was interesting because the soldiers found more supplies in the trash dump than through their own re-supply system (01:00:58:00) o The men managed to find supplies such as rain suits and slings for rifles (01:01:06:00) o Gillem’s first sergeant always had a crew searching through the dump to find anything useful that the previous units at Camp Evans might have thrown away (01:01:18:00) o One day, a helicopter from the base flew out and found a supply ship that was supposed to dock in Hue but could not because of the fighting still happening within the city (01:01:25:00)  The ship was refrigerated and had sailed from the United States carrying fresh steaks (01:01:42:00)  The helicopter landed on the deck and the crew of the re-supply ship, not know what to do regarding the situation in Hue, gave the pilot as many steaks as he wanted (01:01:46:00)  Once the pilot returned, for one day, all the men ate during the three meals was steak (01:02:03:00) o The fighting the soldiers encountered whenever they went out from Camp Evans was wildly intense (01:02:32:00)  For awhile, there would be nothing then the men would receive orders to patrol near a hill that the enemy was known to occupy; sometimes, the soldiers would patrol near the hill and find nothing and other times, they patrolled and find the enemy (01:02:38:00) �o One day, Gillem’s company had just come in from the field, which meant the soldiers had the day off (01:03:02:00)  Gillem was in the battalion operations center when someone noticed that one of the companies in the field was not moving very fast (01:03:09:00)  Someone called out to the company to see why the company was not moving very fast and they were told that the entire company had diarrhea (01:03:22:00) o Because Camp Evans was closer to the DMZ, Gillem’s company was now facing off with North Vietnamese regulars (01:03:55:00)  Usually, the soldiers did not see the NVA, although there was one time when the company was working along a river and managed to flush a large contingent of NVA troops into the open (01:04:02:00)  The next day, the company was working along a different river and was often the case, there were irrigation ditches running perpendicular to the river; at one point, there was a large irrigation ditch with a town on the other side (01:04:22:00)  As the company approached the irrigation ditch, it came under intense enemy gunfire (01:04:41:00)  Fortunately, Gillem managed to get either Air Force or Marine Corps air cover to attack the enemy but the soldiers still had to advance through the town (01:04:45:00)  Gillem managed to get a squad across a small land bridge but the squad was taking a large amount a enemy gunfire that they were starting to take casualties (01:04:51:00) o One of the soldiers was wounded so badly that the others did not know if they could move him; Gillem ended up sacrificing his one item of comfort, an air mattress, because he inflated the air mattress, placed the injured soldier on it and floated the soldier down to the river to a spot where he could be safely medi-vaced out (01:05:12:00)  Ultimately, the company fought its way into the town with assistance from the air strikes (01:05:37:00)  There were a lot of people in the town and all through all of them claimed to be just residents, some of them obviously were not (01:05:45:00) o The soldiers managed to identify one man who was clearly being non-cooperative (01:05:55:00)  The company had a Vietnamese interpreter handling the interrogations (01:06:14:00)  Gillem wanted to advance the company into the next village and wanted to know what the man knew, so he walked up next to the man, said “fire in the hole” and shot a .45 caliber round into the ground next to the man’s foot (01:06:20:00)  Although Gillem intentionally missed the foot, the man immediately started talking (01:06:38:00) �   Gillem was annoyed that he needed information about the area and the man had it but withheld it while still claiming to be a friendly (01:06:52:00)  Once the company had the information, they advanced into the next village and did encounter a large firefight (01:07:12:00)  After the fighting near the river, nothing really happened with the company and one day, the company was operating near a river and all the men stunk, so Gillem told have the men to take off their equipment and go swimming in the river (01:07:18:00) The morale amongst the soldiers in the company was pretty good (01:07:51:00) o The one thing that Gillem noticed was whenever the company was in the field, moral was good; problems happened whenever the company was stationed on a base, with knowledge that the base had never been hit by the enemy, yet the soldiers still had to be alert (01:07:54:00)  Gillem rarely had issues in his company to begin with because the company rarely spent extended amounts of time stationed on bases (01:08:11:00)  Whenever the company was on a base, it was often a fire base that had been hit at some point, so the soldiers knew there was the possibility it could happen again (01:08:17:00) One of the last operations Gillem took part in during the tour was when the battalion was flown to a location next to the South China Sea and ordered to advance into the mountains (01:08:44:00) o The enemy was really well dug-in on certain mountains but for the soldiers, it was difficult for themselves to dig in because the mountains did not have the best soil for digging in (01:08:56:00) o One night, Gillem’s company was occupying a ridge top and there was so much enemy activity below them that the soldiers were shooting through all their ammunition (01:09:21:00)  The company was taking a lot of enemy gunfire but most of it was not overly accurate (01:09:38:00)  At one point, Gillem had a C-123 gunship circling overheard, spraying the entire area for a couple of hours (01:09:46:00)  The next day, there was nobody below the ridge line and the next night, it was like the first night; however, the soldiers started taking casualties during the second night (01:09:58:00)  During the second night, helicopters were constantly flying in, both the resupply the soldiers and to carry out any wounded (01:10:10:00)  At one point, Gillem carried a wounded soldier onto a helicopter and he was just turning to walk back to his command post when someone else was running past and hit him; Gillem had played football but nobody had ever hit him that hard (01:10:17:00)  The next day, Gillem himself needed evacuation because he could not feel much below his hips (01:10:43:00) Division G-3 / End of Tour (01:10:43:00) � When Gillem was evacuated, he had been in command of the company for one year at Fort Campbell and four months in Vietnam and the Army decided that was long enough for him and moved a replacement captain to the unit (01:11:06:00) o Ultimately, the decision was made to move Gillem to the division level; however, Gillem did not need to report to the division for a couple of weeks, so when his battalion was attached to another brigade, Gillem was sent to the other brigade as a liaison officer for the two weeks (01:11:26:00)  The other brigade was fighting in one of the valleys leading into Hue and was having a tremendous amount of contact with the enemy (01:11:59:00)  Gillem remembers the brigade commander talking with the division commander on the radio, giving the division commander an update on the situation (01:12:11:00)  The division commander asked about how many enemy had been killed and when the brigade commander said it was a small number, the division commander said the number was not good enough and the brigade should have killed more (01:12:55:00)  The brigade commander sardonically asked how many enemy should be dead and when the division commander gave him a figure, the brigade commander said that was how many enemy soldiers were dead (01:13:10:00)  The exchange between the two commanders shocked Gillem (01:13:24:00) o Once the two weeks passed, Gillem reported to the division’s G-3 section to be the night duty officer (01:13:40:00) o About a month after Gillem moved to the G-3, the division’s commanding general was relieved and another general was brought in; the new general happened to be the other assistant division commander when Gillem had served as an aide to the general during his first tour in Vietnam (01:13:57:00)  When the new commanding general arrived, he address the division staff and said although there were rumors that some of the reports regarding enemy activity were false, if the rumors were true, then they were going to fix the problems (01:14:22:00)  Because Gillem was the night duty officer, three-quarters of the time, he had nothing to do, so he was given the job of reviewing the reports by the G-3 (01:14:32:00)  As part of the review, Gillem had to contact officers who had since left the various units to make sure the information in the official reports were accurate (01:14:40:00)  Gillem had never been prouder than re-reading the reports to make sure they were accurate (01:14:50:00)  He re-read reports of battles that he had fought in and founds those numbers were padded as well (01:14:56:00) o When Gillem was a company commander, if his company was involved in fighting, he would report to his battalion, the battalion would report the battle to the brigade and the brigade would report the battle to the division (01:16:30:00) �o Once he was with the G-3, Gillem’s job was to keep track of all the action going on in the division’s area for the entire night (01:16:41:00)  Sometimes, there was fighting going on and sometimes, there was not any fighting going on (01:16:53:00) o One of the funnier stories Gillem heard was when the division received a new aviation officer, an officer who had come from being a senior general’s personal pilot (01:17:06:00)  At some point, the general decided that since he was flying so much, he would get his own pilot wings and fly himself around; however, the condition was that the general could fly, so long as he flew with an instructor/pilot at all times (01:17:22:00)  One day, the instructor/pilot showed up and found the general already waiting in the airplane; although he assumed the general had gone through the pre-flight preparation, the instructor/pilot went through pre-flight preparation anyway (01:17:45:00)  As the instructor/pilot went through the pre-flight preparation, the general said there was something wrong with the pedals of the airplane (01:17:58:00)  The instructor/pilot told the general to take both his feet off the pedals, the press down only one, which caused the pedal to move perfectly fine (01:18:14:00) o For the most part, Gillem’s job was keeping track of all the information and making sure that everything was up-to-date (01:18:41:00)  In the morning, Gillem would brief the day shift to report to the general about what, if anything, had happened during the night and what any specific units had planned for the next day (01:18:46:00)  Because he worked during the night and had the days off, whenever an officer needed to be sent somewhere, Gillem was often the officer chosen to be sent off to do liaison work (01:19:05:00) o Gillem remembers that the base would occasionally take enemy rocket fire; however, the enemy rocket fire happened infrequently and was not very intense to begin with (01:19:27:00)  One time, Gillem was walking out of his barracks when a jeep went roaring past; Gillem yelled at them to slow down but when he later found out the crew was taking a soldier injured in a rocket attack to the aid station, he went and apologized (01:19:38:00) o When he was an aide, Gillem remembers watching the process of the division from the general’s perspective; once he started working in the G-3, he got the perspective of the workers at the division level (01:20:07:00) o At the time Gillem was with the division, there were five major subordinate commands in the division: the three infantry brigades, division artillery, and a support command (01:20:52:00)  However, the support command was normally medevacing soldiers or delivering supplies and the artillery was often working with the infantry brigades, so for the most part, Gillem only needed to worry about the three infantry brigades (01:20:59:00) � Typically, Gillem would interact with the brigade-level operations officer and did not bother talking with officers from the company- or battalionlevel (01:21:06:00)  The brigades rarely moved and when they did move, the division knew exactly where they were, so Gillem did not have much problem maintain communication with the brigades’ operations officers (01:21:19:00)  For the most part, if the information was unavailable, Gillem would report it as such, such as saying the brigade did not know what was happening or a battalion had yet to report in their current situation (01:21:26:00)  When Gillem was doing the numbers corrections in the after-action reports, that was when he interacted with officers at the company- and battalion-level (01:21:41:00)  One thing that the operations was absolutely forbidden to do was interfere with communications (01:21:46:00)  When Gillem was serving as an aide, whenever there was fighting, the general was always flying over the battle (01:23:14:00) o At those times, Gillem’s job was to keep the radio lines open in case the general needed to talk with someone; however, he cannot recall the general directly talking with company and platoon leaders on the ground below him, although he is not sure it did not happen (01:23:26:00) o This when Gillem acted as a liaison officer were times such as when another division would be working with the 101st and there needed to be direct interaction between both division staffs (01:24:04:00)  Other times, as would often happen, another brigade was assigned to the division and someone needed to interact face-to-face with the other brigade’s staff (01:24:12:00)  The work was not particularly exciting or memorable; in fact, it mostly annoyed Gillem because he was losing sleep while going on the liaison missions (01:24:21:00) o Because he had served on the ground, Gillem believes he had a good sense of how the fighting was going (01:24:54:00)  Whenever someone would say something was happening in a specific area, Gillem could picture it in his mind because he had either already been over the area on foot or flown over it (01:24:56:00)  The only place where the division was really pressing forward was up a large valley; although the fighting in the valley was hard, the soldiers knew it was going to be hard, which made the fighting somewhat predictable (01:25:17:00)  Although there were occasional missteps, such as an air strike hitting the wrong area, Gillem does not recall any situations where the officers felt like the situation was getting too out of control for the soldiers (01:25:33:00) �   Gillem’s tour ended at the end of November 1968 and he made it back home to the United States almost a month early (01:26:00:00) o Based on Gillem’s recollection, as it became the fall of 1968, things were quieting down; the soldiers had to go further out to find a fight (01:26:22:00)  Although there was still plenty of fighting to be done, it was not in the immediate vicinity of Hue (01:26:32:00) o Although Gillem acknowledges that there needs to be certain rules governing how the soldiers fought, at a certain point, the soldiers have to be allowed to go look for and engage the enemy (01:27:51:00)  Most of the time, the soldiers had the freedom to look for the enemy but in at certain times, they did not and it was very frustrating (01:28:01:00)  For example, the fact that the Ho Chi Minh Trail, despite being a combat area, was off-limits (01:28:10:00)  When Gillem was an aide, one of the things his general decided was he wanted to see Cambodia, so the general and Gillem took a helicopter and flew along a river bordering Cambodia (01:28:36:00)  As the helicopter flew under the tree canopy, it began taking enemy gunfire from the Cambodian side of the river (01:28:48:00)  There was not a doubt in Gillem mind that the enemy was in Cambodia but the Americans never went after them (01:28:58:00)  Being a platoon leader on the ground, Gillem was not affected too much by this but when he was in a position to see the bigger picture, it was frustrating (01:29:08:00) Occasionally, the division would have South Vietnamese military liaisons working with them (01:29:23:00) o More so, Gillem remembers that when he had been an aide, the general had planned an offensive with the intention of picking a fight with the enemy forces (01:29:26:00)  The general briefed the South Vietnamese military about the plan and said that while the main division would attack in one direction, a small column of bulldozers would go in another direction, towards an Special Forces camp (01:29:52:00)  In reality, the column of bulldozers was really an armored cavalry squadron, consisting of tanks and armored personnel carries; the hope was that the enemy would attack the column, which they did (01:30:08:00)  When the enemy attacked, there was a whole division waiting to respond to the attack (01:30:20:00)  Briefing the South Vietnamese military was deliberate in the belief that there had to be at least a few South Vietnamese personnel who were working for the enemy (01:30:28:00) st o The 101 tended to work less with the South Vietnamese military, mostly because the ARVN soldiers were not around all that much (01:30:38:00) Gillem remembers during his second tour that he made it a point that every evening, almost without exception, he would write a letter to his wife (01:31:28:00) o Gillem’s wife would write letters to him in return but often, he would receive a stack of letters one day then not receive anything for several days (01:31:38:00) � o Nevertheless, the communication presented in the letters was good, both for Gillem and for his wife (01:31:46:00) o For whatever reason, Gillem’s executive officer in the company never wrote to his wife, so Gillem’s letters, apart from keeping his own wife up-to-date, helped keep the executive officer’s wife up-to-date (01:31:52:00) The normal routine for the battalion when Gillem was the company commander was a company’s first sergeant stayed in the rear and pushed supplies to the front; however, Gillem’s first sergeant wanted to be at the front, so he negotiated with the executive officer so the executive officer stayed in the rear while the first sergeant traveled to the front (01:32:37:00) o Once the switch happened, whenever Gillem was in the field, the first sergeant was always there with back-up radios and spare parts; although his executive officer was an outstanding officer, he did not have the experience of twenty plus years in the Army, at the first sergeant did (01:32:48:00) Misc. Recollections (01:34:33:00)  One of the things that the Army did in Vietnam was rapidly accelerate the promotion process (01:34:33:00) o If a draftee or enlistee scored high enough on aptitude tests, the Army would offer them sergeant school; the men who took this route became known as “shake n’ bake” sergeants (01:34:39:00)  The school lasted for several weeks, at the end of which, the soldiers was promoted to an E-5 sergeant (01:34:56:00) o When Gillem first enlisted in the Army, it took eighteen months of service to reach 1st lieutenant and four years to captain; by the end of the war, it was a year to 1st lieutenant and a year to captain (01:35:09:00) o Although the rank was still there, there was a lack of experience, which ultimately hurt the Army (01:35:20:00) o When the draft ended, some of the problems with the soldiers ended as well, although not all of them (01:35:29:00)  After Vietnam, Gillem made stops at graduate school and the Armed Forces Staff College before deploying to Germany (01:35:33:00) o In Germany, there were issues with soldiers using drugs, having apathetic attitudes, etc. (01:34:42:00) o One of the largest problems was “Project 100,000”, which was a proposal to enlist soldiers who normally would not have even been allowed to enlist for various reasons (01:35:57:00)  Once the Project 100,000 soldiers enlisted, something needed to be done with them and additional education seemed like the best prospect (01:36:12:00)  Some of the soldiers accepted the additional education but others did not; for those that did not, life in the Army was just something for them to do and they were the soldiers who caused the most problems for the Army (01:36:20:00) �   o As well, there were problems with gangs and racial divisions; although these issues did not happen in huge amounts, they were still large enough to make things difficult (01:36:32:00) o While in Germany, Gillem served as a battalion executive officer and at one point, he was asked by a soldier in the battalion to speak to the soldier’s GED class (01:36:57:00)  Gillem said he would and on the graduation day, there were forty soldiers in the class when Gillem made his speech (01:37:22:00)  During the speech, Gillem made a joke about generals, not knowing that the student who had asked him to speak was a general’s jeep driver and the general had slipped into the back of the room (01:37:34:00)  All of the soldiers knew the general was in the room, so they all laughed at the joke (01:37:52:00) o Gillem deployed to Germany in 1974 and returned to the United States in 1977 (01:38:40:00) While in Germany on his second tour, while Gillem was working in the G-3, there was a promotion board to major, which was the next logical step for promotion, with Gillem being a captain (01:39:14:00) o Traditionally, when the Army considered promotions, they looked at the rank they were planning on promoting to then selected the top 5% of the next lowest rank for promotion; however, while Gillem was in Germany, the Army selected not only the top 5% of captains from promotion to major but also the next 5%, the group Gillem was part of (01:39:23:00)  Gillem was selected for promotion to major having only four years of service; however, he did not actually receive the promotion until he had about five-and-a-half years of service (01:39:43:00)  The promotion lists were designed to last for roughly a year to a year-anda-half and Gillem’s list did; the next promotion list took eight years to completely exhaust and the next one took almost as long (01:40:07:00)  Therefore, Gillem received promotion to major ten years before most of his peers because he had a been selected for promotion just before the promotions stopped (01:40:26:00) Although it is a fairly well-known fact that Vietnam veterans were abused when they returned home, Gillem was not (01:41:43:00) o Having come home and gone straight through military schools before deploying to Germany, Gillem knew that the abuses were happening but they never happened to him or anyone around him (01:41:50:00) Gillem’s last assignment was as an advisor to the Michigan National Guard, which at the time, was very different from the current National Guards (01:42:19:00) o At the time, the National Guard was essentially a general reserve in the eventuality of a conflict but did not expect to be activated for anything other than that (01:42:24:00) o Therefore, the motivation amongst the National Guard personnel was different but not too shocking because that was the way it had always been (01:42:38:00) �  Gillem does not think he experienced much of the culture change that occurred within the Army; if he did, he did not pay too much attention to it (01:43:03:00) Looking at the current situation in the United States, Gillem believes that Vietnam veterans have taken it upon themselves to make sure that the treatment they received does not happen to the returning soldiers now (01:44:05:00) o From what Gillem had seen, the next time the United States commits a significant amount of military forces to a conflict, the Congress should have to pass a declaration of war, which would place the country on a war footing (01:44:26:00)  Gillem reminds his students that on certain days during World War II, the country went onto rationing (01:44:38:00) o For the most part, Gillem sees that the majority of the American military personnel are treated well; however, there is also a large number of people in American who denigrate military service (01:45:01:00) o The major issue Gillem sees is the most important 1% in America is the 1% who choose to serve in the military; for most people, service in the military is not something they want to do or they want their children to do (01:45:32:00)  The military is more isolated than ever before because the military personnel are “strange” for wanting to serve (01:46:00:00)  As well, the military is so small and the requirement of personnel to serve consecutive tours has opened up new areas for concern; Gillem does not believe Americans have gotten close to problems such as PTSD and brain injuries (01:46:14:00)  These problems will further distance the military from the everyday public, who have not had to go through the experiences that the military personnel did (01:46:50:00)  Gillem sees a widening gulf between the normal, everyday American public and the people who go off for military service (01:47:00:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gillem, Denny (Interview outline and video, 2 of 2), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gillem, Denny Description An account of the resource This interview replaces the missing portion from his original interview in 2004, and primarily covers the period between the end of his first tour in Vietnam in late 1966 to the end of his second tour in 1968. During this period, Gillem was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a rifle company commander. He and his brigade were sent to Detroit in the summer of 1967 in response to the race riots there, and soon afterward received orders for Vietnam. They arrived late in the year and were initially based at Cu Chi, but went up to the area north of Hue just before the Tet Offensive started in 1968, and participated in the American counterattacks and recapture of Hue, and in followup campaigns in the I Corps sector. Gillem was reassigned to division headquarters after about four months in Vietnam, and spent the rest of his tour with the division's operations (G-3) section. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.) WKTV WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GillemD1198V2 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/049ef6bce8228d1602cbee889fdfce19.mp4 fd98391ec129e449d020b95bbddf70c7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2072733ed3347e9ff1fe44883b48e96.pdf 46215f15e38c675de993351d4144c033 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Oral History Interview Veteran: Bill Gillesse Interviewed by James Smither Transcribed by Jennifer Hughey Interview length: 58:31 Smither: We’re talking today with Bill Gillesse of Grand Rapids, Michigan and the interviewer is James Smither of the Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project. Bill, start us off with some background on yourself, and to begin with, where and when were you born? I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a little over 90 years ago. What year was that? That was in 1926. Tell me a little bit about your family background. Where were your parents from? My parents came from the Netherlands in 1923 with four boys in steerage. I was the youngest, I was born five years later and my sister another two years after that. I was the youngest of the boys, and those boys were one year apart. They graduated from Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids South High, as I did later. They graduated in ’37, ’38, ’39, and ’40. The oldest one was called up early and went to fight with the 32nd Division National Guard. The youngest of that bunch in ’40 joined the Navy immediately and was at Pearl Harbor during the bombing. Your family has connections. They started the war and I ended it. Did you grow up speaking Dutch at home or were you speaking English? No, we spoke English. My dad had difficulty, but he always insisted, and he tried to speak English. My mother spoke what’s called Yankee Dutch. That’s a blend of the two. Unless you’re one or the other, you’re not gonna get it. That’s the way it was. What did your father do for a living? My father was a mason basically, he was a bricklayer. When he came to the old country he immediately worked on, in those days they were building a whole series of—Standard Oil was building—lots of stations, and he was in that cycle. They continued to build them as different cycles and different architecture. That’s what he did, and then in WPA he worked also, and he laid manholes, he worked in the manholes. Later, he had his own contracting business. [2:36] You mentioned the WPA, that’s a New Deal Program. Was he out of work for a while in the ‘30s and had to go to the WPA? Yes, that’s correct. In fact, I remember him going to work for the City of Grand Rapids on occasion to pay for his taxes, and of course we were all on script, so we would take the sled across St. Andrew’s Cemetery and number four fire bars and get our milk, prunes, and grapefruit, and so forth. �So, it was kind of lean times for a while back. Lean times, especially for laborers like my dad. But you were able to stay in high school and graduate from high school. Yes, actually my 18th birthday was in September, but I had enough credits, so I probably chose to go, and I was sitting in December then of that year. [3:38] Do you remember how you heard about Pearl Harbor? How I remember about Pearl Harbor? How did you hear about it? My dad, mother, and I were riding to Lansing to visit a brother at that time, and driving back, that’s how I first heard about it. So, on a car radio? Car radio, yeah. In my 1939 Chevy. Did you know at the time that your brother was at Pearl Harbor, or did you find out about that later? No, because prior to that we had gotten letters from him from June of that year stating that “from now on my address will be APO San Francisco, so we didn’t know where he was. At what point did you find out he had been at Pearl Harbor? I really don’t know. At that point, I don’t know how soon it was that we found out, I can’t remember that. Do you think it might have been kind of a long time? I guess we kind of assumed where he was, because that’s where all Naval action took place. That was the main base of the Pacific fleet at that point. Yeah, and I know he was on a destroyer at that, I did know that, the name of the destroyer and so forth. Before the war started, did you pay much attention to the news, the war in Europe, that kind of thing. Definitely did, because I know we’ve got electricity in our house. Mind you, in the city of Grand Rapids, in the middle of the city, in 1936. And my Dad and I went to Sears Roebuck and got a Silvertone radio, and that was a highpoint in ’36. And you know what’s going on in Europe. So, my dad especially was very attentive to the news, he listened to the news. Gabriel Hader and you know, “there’s grave news tonight,” that’s the news we’d hear. [5:50] Of course, you still had relatives in the Netherlands at that point, so when the Germans go there in 1940, you’re aware of those things. Yeah, my mother had relatives there, my dad—when he came here—he had two sisters here just prior to that, and their husbands and their families, kids then were our cousins, so forth. �So, you’re paying attention to those things, then Pearl Harbor happens, and when it happens, did you think that maybe the war would end before you got into it or did you not think about that? You know, as a kid, I was hoping it would not end. I wanted to, you know, all our friends were going, our brothers were going, and we wanted to be patriots, you know. When did you finish high school? I got credit for graduating prior to my going to the service, so I didn’t have to go back to get a GED, I had my diploma so to speak. When did you enter the service? Enter? Yeah. I went in in December of ’44. Did you enlist or were you drafted? I was drafted. Draft Board number 44 called me and I went to Fort—thinking of where I was inducted, I was in inducted in Chicago. Chicago, did you go Fort Sheridan? Yeah, Fort Sheridan, and then we went to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. [7:43] Where in Arkansas was that? Was there a town nearby? Yeah, Little Rock was one, not too far, I don’t really remember. So, Central Arkansas basically? Yes How did they get you down there? How did—train. The troop train. Do you remember anything about that train ride? Not much about that train ride, no. Many others though I could tell you. The weather then was spring, I mean early in the year, and so we had a lot of wet snow, slop, that was our experience there. And our training was based on going to Germany. What did the basic training consist of? That was, like most, gas mask training. Learned to put your gas mask on and so forth. Bayonet training and marching of course and hiking, discipline, lay your pack out, marching, KP. It was just general, basic training. The guys you were training with, were they mostly from the same area or were they from all over the place? �They were from all over the place, there were guys from the South and the East, from all over. There was a pretty good collection there. [9:16] Were you part of a division at that point that was based there, or was this just training? No, not at all, we were just in training. That was a 15 to 16-week course. When that was over, then I went on delay in route and that decided where I was going to go, and that was to Germany, which I was very happy about that, but when we got to Fort Meade, Maryland, the tide had changed. You remember, when I went in in December it was the time of the Battle of the Bulge, so things were already beginning to change then. So, when I got to Maryland they said “woah, no more. We don’t need you anymore, we need potato peelers over there.” Then we went to camp, we were sent to Camp Howze Texas to learn how to hate the Japanese and then went to Fort Ord to the replacement depot. [10:23] Back up here to Camp Howze, Texas. You said you learned how to hate the Japanese. Were you simply learning about the Japanese, or were you training for fighting in Japan? Not specifically that, it was a mental thing. It was more or less movies showing the atrocities the Japanese had done. “This is the kind of soldier you’re going to meet” kind of thing. And more bayonet training, which I hated. You had to be strong to be good at bayonet. You were at Camp Howze and then after that the next stop was? Port of embarkation, Fort Ord, California. Did you stay at Fort Ord for any amount of time, or did they load you up quickly? Not for very long. It was a beautiful place to be, so naturally, when you’re army, you don’t stay anywhere where it’s a beautiful place to be. So, we went from there—fort Ord, that’s Monterey, a couple beach golf courses. You know, that’s a beautiful area. Then we went from there, from Fort Ord by train to Frisco, I guess, and left there. What kind of ship do they put you on? They put us on, I guess what’s the usual troops. I don’t know if it was a Kaiser build or what it was, but it was full impact and the thing I remember about that was the roughness of the sea at that point. There were a lot of sick guys, and I was sick. After a couple of days or so, I guess we got over that. From there we went past some of the other places that had already been taken, Guam, Ulithi, or some of the other places, we went right past. Hawaii of course, we didn’t stop at Hawaii for any pleasure trip, and on to the Philippines from there. [12:32] Where did you land in the Philippines? I don’t know where it was. I don’t know the name of the place. I don’t know the name of the place, no. It was a replacement depot, IRTC they call it. We didn’t do much different there, just waited, waited for our assignment. About how long do you think you stayed there? Probably about a week, yeah, probably a week. When you crossed the Pacific, did the ship go by itself or did you have escorts? �We had escorts, I don’t remember the zigzag, but yeah, I always saw a ship on either side at a distance. Do you think you were in a larger convoy or was this just your ship and a couple of escorts? I don’t know that we were in a convoy, I don’t remember that. Alright. So anyway, you get to the Philippines, they land you, you’re basically in a camp and you don’t really know where you are or what’s going on, and you’re there for about a week, and then what happens? Then we got onboard an AP, Assault—I guess AP is assault personnel or something—on one of those ships and then we went to—I guess—directly to Legazpi and come down the nets and onto the landing boats and went ashore. That’s where we met our new assignment, our new company. [14:17] What unit were you joining? It was the company A of the 158th Regimental Combat Team. Was the company there by itself, or was the whole regiment there? The regiment was there but spread out. Our company, and maybe even the battalion, was right in the Legazpi area. The others were spread out because I remember when we heard rumors that a Company A or whatever it was made ice cream on Sunday so that we were able to confiscate a weapons carrier and see if that was true, things like that. So, we were just there. And during that time that’s where were introduced to all the other guys, you talked to all the guys that had been through a lot and so forth. I read, I found this on the internet more than anything, I learned more about that outfit on the internet than I did by talking to the guys. One of the things I learned was that this regimental combat team was one of MacArthur’s favorites, and I found out that in preparation for the invasion of Japan, this outfit— our outfit—was two days earlier attack the island of Tadakashima, which was south of Honshu. [15:59] Well Kyushu was the island that you were gonna land on, that’s the big island, the southernmost of the big islands so this is gonna be a smaller island off. South, south of that. I don’t know how many miles, but that one held the radio communications, and so what I read was that it would be attacked early, before the main attack, I forgot the name of what they call that and that there would be heavy casualties, that was a really well protected part. But in the meantime, were you training at all? We did, we did for that month or so, whatever it was, yeah. Usual training, we did a lot of bayonet work again and a lot of compass work, and the jungles and things. Did they have you practice amphibious assaults, or did you just stay on land? Amphibious assault, yeah. So, you’d go back out on the boats and get on landing craft and come back in and all that sort of stuff? Yeah. When did you actually arrive at Legazpi, when did you get there? �I don’t know the date, but it was in July. July ’45 you’re there, getting close to when the invasion was supposed to take place. The bomb hadn’t gone off yet either. [17:25] While you’re there, at that point, do you see much of the local population or they kept away from you? No, I don’t remember local population per se, individuals yeah. We had girls who would bring us eggs and so forth. We had our squad tents, it was pretty well organized, and we had a good kitchen crew which was made up of the Koreans who were left there that the Japanese had used, and they became our cooks and so on so forth. So, we had pretty good meals there, beside drinking out of a lister bag, but the food was a lot better, yeah. Do you remember hearing about the atomic bomb? Yeah, we heard about the atomic bomb, yeah. Did you have any sense of what that meant at the time? No, only that it was spectacular. You know, talk back and forth, huge bomb, it looks like that, sounds good to me. Then the second one, and we started to have some positive thoughts about what we were doing. Then when it was finalized, when we heard that the hostility was over, we had completely different mindset. I don’t know if the discipline was as good as it was before. What was the reaction in camp when you heard the war was over? Everybody started planning what they’re gonna do at home, you know? And then, of course, the guys started counting their points. The high point guys, I forgot what the top one was, 80 or something like that, and then you know if you were a married man that’s so many points and so many children, years overseas, and awards, medals, they’re all points for you, see? I don’t think that any guy, any of our guys left then at that point and I think our whole outfit as it was at that time then was dispatched to Japan. [20:01] Do you know when you arrived in Japan? I think it was April 13. April 13 of that. April 13th is quite a long time after the surrender. Yeah. So, you were basically in the Philippines then for a long time after the surrender. Yeah. What were you doing in the Philippines all that time? Just doing routine Army stuff. Did you get a chance to go off the base and look around at all? �No, we didn’t. We just stayed right there in camp. Some of the guys did, they went to other—there were no cities there except just Legazpi itself, but no we just, boring army stuff: waiting, anticipating. We had a lot of free time. Over the course of the time then between August of ’45 and April of ’46, then presumably some of the guys are rotating home now. They’ve got enough points now and they’re leaving. They did have, yeah. They had enough points And when they left, did anyone come in to replace them or did the unit just get smaller? No, nobody replaced them. We would if they wanted us to go on. Did the Army provide any kind of entertainment for you in the Philippines? No, most of that was self-entertained. The guys, there were boxing tournaments and things like that. Did they have movies or other stuff like that? Yeah, anything they could do to keep us happy. Just a lot of boring time. Did you have much communication with people back home at that point? You’re writing to your parents or anyone else? Yes. We were writing. I don’t remember getting much mail, but yeah, we were writing. [22:02] So it’s just kind of this long sort of blank period. Not much happening. Long blank period. Very boring. But then finally then in April of ’46 you get orders for Japan. How did they get you up to Japan? We were on kind of an LST, and it was typhoon. We had that typhoon season and it was very, very rough. It was rough. I don’t know if that was the time, that’s a different story, I had a monkey on the ship I got from another guy. He would sit on the edge of it, he was sick. But that was on another tour, that wasn’t on this trip. Now, if you’re on an LST in a typhoon, did you wonder if the whole thing was gonna break up and sink? Oh yeah, yes. This was new. This was new, that was a—it was like you were in a tin can. Yeah. How long did that go on? Well, I guess several days. It wasn’t that far, I guess, from the Philippines to Japan really. But yeah, several days. But you managed to hit a typhoon. Where did you land in Japan? We landed, apparently, in Yokohama and then we got on a train right away and we went north to this area Usnomi, and then we went through town, which had been—you can see it was bombed. Some of the wood poles and stuff had been scorched and burned, things like that. I remember walking or driving through town, or village, we didn’t see anybody. We just didn’t see anybody. And we went to an �encampment, it was a high wood fence, you see a lot of those in this area, and I understand it was a former Japanese cavalry officers’ training center. It wasn’t large maybe—what would I guess—5 acres maybe. Something like that. And beyond that was the rice paddy. [24:44] So this is still fairly flat country that you’re in. Yeah, and around that of course was a service road, and that’s where we had to do our guard duty, I don’t know what we’re guarding, but we’re on guard duty, that’s what you do in the Army. The interesting thing there was, we always had this little book of Japanese American. We were quarantined there, I remember for a week or something like that, so we weren’t out on the streets of the city. When I got duty and was walking, there was a mama-san, an older Japanese woman, who was washing some clothes on her rock or whatever it was. And of course, I don’t know how it was with other GIs, but we didn’t like to wash our own clothes, so another guy and I, who did that guard post quite often, would meet with her and we would say, we were trying to say “mama-san, you wash your clothes. Sekken, I guess, was the name for soap” and she said “no” no she couldn’t do that cause she didn’t have any Sekken, and I said, “that’s okay, that’s okay we have soap.” So then, of course we got the GI soap out of the kitchen and so on and so forth and kind of secretly used her to take care of our laundry, and then of course we would make sure she had candy and cigarettes and all that sort of thing. So, while we didn’t really talk or communicate or ask any questions, which I regret, I wish that when I was there I had done a lot more research because one of the questions I would’ve asked would be “finally when your emperor said he was not your spiritual god, but he was your emperor, how did you perceive that? What did you do with deity at that point?” That’s kind of my question. Anyway, she was very gracious and she invited us to dinner and so we went into her home, the shoji panel they have the pit in the floor which, I would suppose was 3 feet square or something, and inside of that was the charcoal pot and then the blankets over us and she served us a dinner then. We hit it off well, but not with a lot of people, we knew her more intimately by what we did with her. [27:31] Were there many other around that you saw when you were on guard duty? People going by or just not very many? No there, see, next to the fence was this little road, and this was the back of her house so to speak, so no we didn’t see many other people around. Kids came later, after we got on the street, then the kids would come out, young people, because the chocolate was the big thing, and that always won them over. You said going out on the street, did you begin patrolling or something, or what were you doing? Nope we didn’t. Just wandering around. We had no duties there, we’re just waiting to, I guess, to dissipate, I guess. No, we really didn’t have much of anything to do there. That would be in April, did I say April, no January. We went to Japan in January 13, I said April? Yeah. �Oh, that’s wrong. The colors of the national guard went back in April. So, in that fan of time I can’t remember we did much of anything. Then when the colors went back, we left that place, back to Yokohama. Basically about 3 months there, so you get to know the area a little bit. A little bit. I can’t remember we did anything protective, we didn’t do any repair, we just played soldier I guess is about all we did then. While you were based there did you get to go into Tokyo or anywhere else or were you just stuck out there? Not when I was based there, let me think. I did get to Tokyo, yeah. I’m trying to think who I was with and where I was with. I think I went to Tokyo after I was reassigned to Yokohama, I think that’s right. Then we took a trip so to speak. [29:46] And there were trains that went back and forth at that point? Yeah. When we first were reassigned in Yokohama, our quarters were in what was called the Bunjido racetrack. It was like MSU stadium, all concrete, that’s where our housing was, was in this place. Cold, you know. At one time, at one end of it there was a printing company of some. There was also at that time when we read in the Stars and Stripes, you begin to read what ships are coming in to pick up guys and take them home. It’s there that I saw that my brother’s ship, my brother who was bombed at Pearl Harbor, was assigned to a transport, the Blatchford, R.M. Blatchford. So, I some way or another connected with him and I said “when you come in I wanna know” so when they came in, then I was the guest in the officers’ quarters. It was such a change for me because the officers all had—in those days— they had—what did you call the guys that were… They were stewards. sort Stewards, yeah. They were black stewards on board ships, and they served the meals and so forth. That’s the first time I had had milk in a good, long time. So, I was treated pretty royally. There were nurses on board ship also. I was permitted to be on board for awhile and live like a king. [31:45] When you transferred to Yokohama, what unit were you joining or what did you become a part of? I think it was that construction, 1279 Construction Engineering Battalion if I remember right, and then from there I think what we did was change quarters out of that place into an area in Yokohama itself, and that was another flat area made up of tarpaper Quonset, not Quonset but tarpaper huts set in order, and that’s where our company then stayed and from there our work assignments were interesting. Mine was. I was driven every day for a long time to a batching plant, a hot mix batching plant somewhere in North Yokohama and there was a Japanese guy who was in charge of that. He was in charge of the plant and he was in charge of the men that work there. Can you explain what a batching plant is? A batching plant is where you mix and the hot tar. You heat the tar, mix it with the gravel and you mix it and that’s your black tar pavement. And then the trucks would come, and they would all head off and be doing paving and batching somewhere. The astounding thing was, I was supposed to unload these— �these were flat cars, and they had wooden sides on them, and I had a D8 Bulldozer. Now, how you unload those cars with the blade of a D8 bulldozer is beyond me because you just don’t do it. It’s the clumsiest operation, I can’t explain it. Instead of having a backhoe to pull the gravel of or something or a hopper you drop, no it came in on flat cars and that was how primitive it was. Then there was a lot of handwork that the Japanese guys had to do to get that stuff in the conveyor. That’s kind of the way I spent my days and he had a garden at home. He had lived in the United States at one time. [34:26] This is the Japanese manager? Yes, he was a man much my senior. He might have been 60, maybe 60 or so. He knew what life in the United States was like and he would bring me fruits and things like that to eat. That was kind of what my day was for a while. Then maybe prior to that my job was to run what was called a Barber Greene Ditcher. Barber Greene ditcher, or Barber Greene is made, just like John Deere but it had a conveyor like this and the soil up there was nice to dig, it was sand and you’d dig trenches, just trenches, and then somebody came and put a foundation of some sort and they would set huts, quonset huts on those. Right next to that was, next to that one area was a Russian embassy or A consulate maybe. Something in Japan. They did not like it when one of the guys’ bulldozers knocked the tents down. I remember that. I thought “oh boy, now here we go, third World War” so we did that, and put those huts together. It was a lot of just plain work, work bees. But the thing that I found in going to Yokohama was a hotel was there and I wanted to get a haircut and I went out. I was alone, I don’t know what I was doing that day, but I went into this hotel and got my first haircut for almost nothing. I didn’t have a lot of interaction with Japanese, and they’re very passive. There was never a controversy or anything like that. One of the other things we did—what outfit was that now I’m thinking of—in Yokohama it was, there are a lot of airports around that area and one of the things we had to do was to disarm, supposedly, these things, machine guns and bomb sites and things like that. I didn’t take the engines off, I never did anything at that, but they took engines off and you lined them all up in a big row and then the Signal Corps, somebody came in and then they dynamited those engines, they just blew everything apart. And we would lay the machine guns on the railroad tracks like this and have a bulldozer run over and bend them. And he would take the planes with a quick way crane and pick them all up and get all that stuff on the pile and would take a barrel of gasoline and pour it all over that aluminum and then light it, so all that aluminum was charred, whatever. I thought that was a horrible waste, terrible waste. But anyway, those are some of the thigs we did. One of the problems was getting into there with our dozers that one day. I think our dozer blade, the finished blade, was probably 16-foot, maybe 14, very wide. Well, you know, you go down a narrow Japanese street, and make a corner with a semi—caught the corner of a house, you know. What do you do? So, people’s homes were damaged sometimes just getting your equipment. There was only one airport that I remember, one or two that we worked on like that. Some of the other things we did was, already then there was a begin to exchange of goods, and sometimes we’d have to take a big oil tank or something because some Japanese guy businessman needed a tank or whatever. We’d deliver a tank or something like that. So, we did a lot of variety of things. [39:14] When you went in into Tokyo, what was there to see or do there? �In Tokyo we went and saw the palace and all that sort of thing and the gardens and the things around there, the streets of Tokyo. Of course, in those days, all the women had the kimonos, not like today and so forth. It was just mainly scenery observing regulars there. Was there still a downtown area that was still in reasonably good shape? Yeah, there was a downtown area, but I don’t remember going to any specific ones there. I did in Yokohama cause I spent more time there. Then of course there was the camera shops and so forth, and one of the hospitals was there. That was undamaged in Yokohama. Did you see a lot of cleaning up activity going on, people rebuilding? You know, it’s amazing how much cleaning up was being done and had been done. Some of this stuff, if they needed some equipment for moving heavy stuff then our outfit could do that, but it was really amazing how quickly things got picked up and put aside and the streets opened up and cleaned and swept. It was my experience, you see, was more one of experience a little bit of a different culture and travel, you know, cross the country back and forth and so forth. And there’s an advantage of being the tail-ender. My brother was the front-ender and I was the tail-ender and I was glad for that of course in the end. But it also qualified me for some better benefits and so forth, just having been in a short time. [41:33] You’re mentioning travel, did you travel around much within Japan? You went from Yokohama to Tokyo; did you go anyplace else? Not a lot but once in a while we would go to Atami, A-T-A-M-I, it was on the coast. It was situated where it would get the hot water from Fujiyama, I think, or from the higher elevations there. We would often rent a place for a weekend, maybe two nights. We’d spend that time there in the pools and so forth, it’s a beautiful spot, overlook the ocean. But I didn’t go to the other side of the island to the Navy base or anything like that. Some of the guys I knew from school would come down, one guy that I went to high school from the 82nd airborne, I think he was at Hokkaido or something, so we’d have time together. Did you ever see anything of General MacArthur or see where he was based? Actually see him, I did not, but I saw the guards. The interesting thing was that the various guards was nice to see the changing of the guards and so forth because there were different countries, and one of the things I was most impressed with of course, the Indian Gurkhas. They had their machetes or swords down their backs and so forth. No, but I did experience saluting his car when we were in the southern part of Yokohama. Eichelberger’s headquarters was just beyond the racetrack, the Bunjido race track I was telling you about, they always had to pass our place, so we had plenty of times when the star was on the front of the car “star on the car!” [43:43] Did you have to salute Eichelberger’s car or just MacArthur’s? All of them. If anything came by. Did they have a little flag on the car or a sign on the window or something? There was a, I think on the front of the plate, there were stars on the front of the plate. I don’t remember the flag exactly, but maybe. But anyway, it was something a marker telling you that if that went by you were supposed to salute it. �Oh yeah, and when you were right there on the street, you’re right there on the street you see them coming. Another side of the occupation of Japan, or one of the things that shows up in the books and so forth is that apparently there was a lot of prostitution and issues like that. Was that around or were you aware of that? Well, I imagine individuals yeah. But really, I didn’t—we knew it was going on, we knew that guys were doing what guys do. As far as it being flagrant, girls on the streets not really, I don’t think I saw that. No particular establishments or anything like that. Well, if there were, I didn’t know where they were. That’s probably a healthy thing. Yeah. The other thing was great in Yokohama, first cavalry they had a great baseball team, and so we had spent a lot of time at baseball games in Yokohama. Very competitive, some of those games. [45:34] Did they ever play Japanese players or was it all Americans against each other? They were all American teams at that time. I keep thinking about going through town, and then, of course, you know the rear of the streetcars were all energized by the cables up above and the guys and then the guys for a little mischief got up and pulled the cart down. Poor Japanese guy, what could he do against all the GIs, mischief, kids, you know, kid stuff. How long did you spend in Yokohama do you think? That was until the time I came home. So that would be from April to November. It was quite a ride. Think about the time that you spent in Japan, are there other memories or impressions that stand out that you haven’t brought into the story yet? Yeah, no I-Has he left out anything? Offscreen voice: He had a houseboy involved. [46:45] You had a houseboy at some point? Well, yes, I did. That was great. After we got our barracks in Yokohama, then our big containers, you know you threw your GI stuff, your junk and your slop in, kids would come up here, stick their heads in there, get whatever food they could get. I took a liking to this one little guy. I was 18 and he was 18, but he was about that high. Taksa. His name was Taksa Shannara. I’d like to meet him again. He then became our house boy and he would, we were in squad tents I don’t know how many maybe a dozen guys in the barracks, and he would make our beds, he would shine our shoes, and he’d keep everything tidy. Then of course you know we paid him and then he got all the benefits of food and all the rest. But he also became kind of a brother you might say because he would learn to tease. He’d learn to tease. I would make some remark about Tojo or Yamashita or something, that they were bad guys, you know, and then he would say “no, no they were not, they were good guys” you know, stuff like that. But �overhearing conversations, GI conversation is always “when are we gonna go home?” When GIs gripe, you know everything is alright, they’re alive. He would hear us say “how many points till we go home? We wanna go home.” I remember him saying “where do you come from?” I always say, I didn’t say Grand Rapids, Michigan, I made it easy for him I said Chicago. “Oh, you gangster, you gangster.” Or of course you always heard the story of Babe Ruth but Taksa Shannara caught on and pretty soon he would tease, he would stand on my footlocker and he would say “aha” he would sing, he would say “No goal” in his laugh, he wanted me to chase him you see, so that was our game. Then I said to him, it was the day I was to leave, I said “Taksa, I think I wanna take you home” I said “I’m gonna take you by the pants,” I said, “and I’m gonna stick you in my barracks bag and take you home.” “No no no” he said “mamasan pissed off.” I laughed. Life in Japan, so I imagined there were a lot of little things that happened along the way that we had fun with. The Japanese people, what little interchange we had with them, was always positive. Downtown you’d have people, beggars. There was a lady, I don’t know if she had a physical handicap, she would sing, I think she was partially blind or something, she would sing a song. She would sing (sings in Japanese) we heard that so often, it was something like that. I don’t know what it means, so forgive me any Japanese person. But she was begging for food, she would stand in the hot sun and sing that song. [50:47] Eventually though, did you have enough points to go home or did a whole bunch of you get to go at once or what happened? I don’t—I think it was just a matter of the end. I didn’t have enough points over two years, one year overseas. I imagine it was a matter of another unit just going home. I don’t know what any of the other guys did. But a lot of people wound up, at the end of the war, staying in less that two full years. Well, that is true. One of the guys in our outfit, he was from West Virginia, he told me something about his lifestyle when he was home and it was not very high living. It was even difficult for shoes. So, he did say to me “this is a good place for me, I have clothing, I have shoes, I have this.” His memories were something about not a good living at home and I think some of those guys did stay rather than go home to work in the coal mines and so forth. But not many of our outfit that I remember stayed. When it’s time for you to go home, how do they get you back? How do you get home from Japan? How did I get home? I got onboard ship in Yokohama and we went to Seattle, the port in Seattle. I think that’s Fort Lewis if I remember right, Fort Lewis, Washington? I have to say it was the happiest day of my life I think, going home, USA. It was a beautiful time of the year; it was just like Michigan and football season was on. It almost made you think “gosh if the army was always like this every day, eating like this, being fed like this, maybe I’d stay” but no, it was time to go home, happy day. [53:02] Once you got home, what did you do next? After I got home? After I got home, I think I had the opportunity for the GI Bill, but I didn’t take advantage of that in any way. I think I intended to just find a job and I worked for my dad for a little while in concrete. Didn’t like that of course. At the same time, I had applied at Consumer’s Energy, Consumer’s Power Company at the time, Grand Rapids Police and Fire, both, they were separate at least at that time. So I applied there, did the civil service exam thing and they all came at the same time, I could’ve gone to any one and I chose the power company. I worked at Consumer’s Energy for six years �as a groundman and later as a lineman, and then after that I considered going to the concrete business, at least we thought that’s what it was at the time and then with my dad, I went back to work with my dad in the concrete business. Then a little after that, I poured concrete walls. I bought a set of wall forms and I poured concrete walls for a good long while, most of my years. Then after that, I don’t know how old I was then, I did some inspection work for Bill Holmier in Muskegon Soils and Structures. When they were building some of the Haworth buildings in Holland, I did some of the soil testing and concrete testing and some inspections for placing of concrete, things like that. I did that for a while. Then as years went by, I think our church was going to build a new church, so I did the clerk of the works business on that and just kind of faded out of the picture. [55:46] Look back on the time that you spent in the service, what do you think you learned from that, or how did that affect you? I thought it was an experience I would never have, I would do over any day; because after all, I didn’t get shot at and I didn’t have to kill anybody. I know what the army is like. I think the mistake I made was I didn’t take advantage of more communication with the people of Japan and maybe even the Philippines although I wasn’t there that long. I think I would have done more research trying to interview more people there. Travel more maybe. And when you got back to the States, had you learned things from being in the service that helped you in your jobs or otherwise? What did the service teach me? It taught me what it was like and it taught me about war, the effects of war, what happens to guys when they go through these things. I think you learn; you always learn more than you know, more than you can put your finger on. You learn how to get along with people, you learn how to size people up, you know who to stay away from and so forth. I think it’s a great learning experience. I think from the standpoint of discipline it’s a good thing. I think—from the standpoint of discipline—all young people should go through it, I do. I don’t have a negative feeling toward—I do say this when my children and grandchildren, I say to my grandchildren who lean towards the military that you get your college education first, and then if you want to be an officer or whatever comes after that okay, but you get that first. You don’t want to be on the bottom of the ladder, not that it’s great up on top either, I know that. Thanks for a good story. Thank you very much for taking the time to share with us today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_GillesseW2112V Title A name given to the resource Gillesse, William (Interview transcript and video), 2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-21 Description An account of the resource Bill Gillesse was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1926. He remembered hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor over the car radio during a family road trip to the state capital. Gillesse was drafted in December of 1944 and sent to Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and then Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas, for Basic Training. After training for war in Europe, he was redirected to Camp Howze, Texas, for mental conditioning and adjustment training necessary to fight the Japanese in the Pacific. Gillesse was then assigned to A Company of the 158th Regimental Combat Team. When the Japanese surrendered and the war was over, Gillesse remained in the Philippines before joining the occupational forces in Japan in April of 1946 with the 1279th Engineer Battalion back in Yokohama. In November of 1946, Gillesse was shipped back to the United States and was discharged at Fort Lewis, Washington, before traveling back to Grand Rapids where he went to work for Consumers Energy Company. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gillesse, William Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401. Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cdabc8b1ebe0bbe6ca012b62eb41e60e.jpg 8a28f85bcc0500479ea8176bf3a33428 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletRichard_Photo01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978 Title A name given to the resource Gillet, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillet, Old Kent Bank Financial Chairman and Friend of Grand Valley State Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng 1978s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1af8158b6a0fe51f9f8e2d0108edde71.jpg 1cb77d781e568f76271f643bf6631f66 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletRichard_Photo02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gillet, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillet, Old Kent Bank Financial Chairman and Friend of Grand Valley State Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b8c0e69fb0918f31279679b6a366d287.jpg 71f0f68efaf974670e3835cca7a74ae9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletRichard_Photo03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985 Title A name given to the resource Gillet, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillet, Old Kent Bank Financial Chairman and Friend of Grand Valley State Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng 1985s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c27d012199677599e30abc3c3747acce.jpg 7cd048bda32c95fcf3f11852bbe5163a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletRichard_Photo04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gillet, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillet, Old Kent Bank Financial Chairman and Friend of Grand Valley State Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/02cac302a1bce3389886d1e34df248a4.jpg 4f1552814d2e87e56697ada085ee55f3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletRichard_Photo05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986 Title A name given to the resource Gillet, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Gillet, Old Kent Bank Financial Chairman and Friend of Grand Valley State Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng 1986s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2013e01d89b537be7a00d9e30d3935d8.jpg 7db9e5552b7b32e2824532147e35ba21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilletteJames Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gillette, James Description An account of the resource James Gillette, Audio-Visual Services Director Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0a957be822b67ec7e82a4be20a642072.jpg 184948d788323cd11b7ac3c6ff236dd6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9d9bd3a310975b258cc1c6c5a1a2ebcd.jpg a7bf64e53cfad5301729267c5ea53f08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d5749e942186b1aee7e81becd078abba.jpg 68082e5a4a8e4e76087b2baecd7f6dcc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3b742ca07b18b9547471a1148bd72f4e.jpg d7bb373789e86201fc84e58e85793923 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/895423227252c225a1e2aa7d3b6fee9c.jpg cc0911058ff139222593e7ce06399511 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8eba67464fe0991ea5c8107cfb7c33da.jpg 2329b7eef65b0f5ae606d33955873d82 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GilmoreDan_Photo06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Gilmore, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Gilmore, Dean of Thomas Jefferson College Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College administrators Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng