353 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e44487514c6a36c8dd97cc8de23ea6a2.pdf 2867cd20f3a929ab0582891e44326fd1 PDF Text Text Good News of Cosmic Dimension Eastertide I Text: I Corinthians 15:22; Matthew 28:19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 6, 1997 Transcription of the spoken sermon Easter is focused on Jesus. That's quite understandable, because Jesus is the one who was raised from the dead, and so our liturgy, the music, the anthems - all of it is very much focused on the risen Lord. That's understandable. But, I want to say to you this morning that Easter is not so much a matter of Christology, that is, the doctrine of Christ, as it is theology, that which is about God and that which God has affected. Resurrection was God's mighty act. Resurrection was God's sign, a sign in the midst of history of cosmic significance and eternal dimension. Easter is good news. Good news for the cosmos about God's intention, God's "Yes" to life, God's "No" to death, God's "Yes" to love, God's "No" to hate, God's "Yes" to light, God's "No" to darkness. It is understandably a story that lifts up Jesus, but it is more profoundly a story about God. Jesus died. If you followed or participated in the drama of Holy Week, if you were here on Maundy Thursday when the sanctuary grew dark and the altar was stripped and we left in silence, if you were here in the meditative, somber mood of Good Friday, if you came to the Easter Vigil and saw the sanctuary engulfed in darkness, then you know that Christian faith acknowledges that Jesus died. Jesus died a human death. Jesus as a human person entered into the powerlessness of death. As far as Jesus was concerned, it was over, which is why the brightness of Easter Sunday is not because of something intrinsic in Jesus, but of something intrinsic in God, the Creator, the One Who will not allow death to reign. God's way is life. That is Easter. It is a theological affirmation. It tells us something about God and it is the good news that in the end, there is life ! Paul understood that. Paul was one who was absolutely gripped by that vision of the risen One whom he knew had been crucified but now knew to be still living, and who had called him to tell this good news, particularly to the Gentiles. After he founded the Church in Corinth, he kept in touch with them via letters, like the two epistles to the Corinthians. They were raising some questions, and so, in his letter, the one we call First Corinthians, he deals with this matter of resurrection. He cannot express its truth, its mystery. He stumbles and stammers around as he tries to give expression to it, but of this he is quite convinced - that the whole of © Grand Valley State University   �Good News of Cosmic Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the Christian Gospel, the "Good News" has to do with the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. He tries to explain the magnitude of what has happened by borrowing from the Genesis story, the Creation Story, the story out of Israel's tradition where, through the disobedience of one man, Adam, death came upon all. He says, as it were, Jesus is the new Adam, the second Adam, and as death came to all through one man, so life comes to all through one man. As in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive. Notice that the Hebrew thinking was always corporate, always concerning the total community. So when he said, "in Adam all die," he meant all humankind die. There was a commonality of the human story, which was under the sentence of death. In the light of God's action, raising Jesus from the dead, Paul saw a sign, a sign that that sentence of death was not ultimate. Rather, the ultimate, final, last exciting word was life. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive. It is as inclusive on the one hand as it is on the other - and here is where we sense Paul's strain of universalism. For what he is saying is that God's action in Jesus has implications for the whole human family. This Good News, the raising of Jesus by the power of God was a sign, a light, an indicator, a marker, something that could be laid hold on and believed in and hoped in for all of us. Paul had had a particular revelation, but he understood it to have a universal application. A transformation of the whole of reality, which he understood to embrace the whole of humankind. Now Matthew had a similar understanding of the momentous transforming power of the resurrection. Matthew's Gospel is the only Gospel that sees Jesus' ministry, pre-crucifixion, as focused strictly on Israel. Did you know that? The reason we don't know that is that we don't study these Gospels as units having their own context and their own message. We throw them all into the blender and pour out a homogenized Gospel. We pick up a little of Matthew, a little of Mark, a pinch of Luke and a dash of John, and we get one blended picture. But, Matthew has Jesus, pre-Easter, interested only in Israel, the Jewish people. He only talks to two Gentiles in Matthew's Gospel. One is that Syro-Phoenician woman. I love the way Krister Stendahl talks about that story. He tells it as one of his students preached it one day. Jesus and his disciples needed a retreat, so they journeyed into the countryside, beyond the precincts of Israel. A woman approached them there, pleading with Jesus to heal her daughter. The disciples said, "Go away. We're on retreat. The master said if we don't do this once in a while, we'll burn out. Go away." Well, she was not going to take their "no" for an answer. They said to Jesus, "Do something about this woman." So he says, "Look, I am sent to none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Can you imagine Jesus, meek and mild, shunning this woman, saying, "Look, it's Israel, not you"? She said, "But I have a great need." He said, " I can't give the food on the table to the dogs." This is Jesus, now, referring to the woman and Gentiles as dogs. She was quick. She responds, "Look, under the family table there are crumbs which © Grand Valley State University �Good News of Cosmic Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 3   the dogs may eat." Jesus is taken aback and replies, "Woman, that's some faith. I have never found such a faith even among my own." And he healed her daughter. There was one other exception he made, and that was for the servant of a Centurion who was ill. He healed that servant. That Centurion also demonstrated great faith. If you read in Matthew's Gospel, you will find the story, but you don't find the reason that Jesus responded to that Centurion. You have to go to Luke for that. But, it's obviously the same story. Luke says, when the Centurion came, the elders of the synagogue came over to Jesus and they whispered in his ear, "Help him out. He paid off our building debt." True. True story. Luke 7:1, you can read it yourself! Two times only he addressed Gentiles in the book according to Matthew. For the rest, the pre-Easter Jesus was interested solely in Israel. When he sent out the disciples on their missionary journey, he said, "Go through the cities of Israel. Do not go any place where there are Gentiles." He said, "You're going to have enough to do before the end comes. You won't get through all the cities of Israel." Yet it is this Gospel, Matthew, that concludes with what the Church always calls The Great Commission: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to the nations, to the Gentiles, teaching them, healing, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." That's the conclusion of Matthew's Gospel, post-Easter. Now remember, this book is written six decades down the line. There's already now a Christian Church, a Christian community. I think we have to admit that the resurrected Jesus did not gather with those disciples and say to them, "Go to all the world and teach the Gospel and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." If that had been done, if it had been that clear a few days after Easter, there wouldn't have been such a struggle in the early Church to find out who they were and what they were supposed to do. Obviously, Matthew is taking the whole story of Jesus and then he's giving a distillation of what now is his understanding of the resurrection, what the implications were. For Matthew, the implications of Resurrection were that this one who had been focused strictly on Israel had now, by the power of God, been raised up to create good news for a broader community. Now was the time to break out of Israel's particularity and to create a community universal and inclusive, of all the nations, of all people. This Good News had universal implications for the building of another community. Krister Stendahl likes to say that Israel was Laboratory One. God's Laboratory One. Israel understood itself as a particular community that was, in its life, to be a light to the nations. And now it was time for Laboratory Two; now it was time to break out of that narrow community and to have, well, Gentile time. It was a broadening, a building of a new kind of community that was inclusive, that was universal, that was for all. Stendahl also notes that the Jewish people believed itself to have a particular revelation of the one true God, and the truth that it understood was the truth that © Grand Valley State University �Good News of Cosmic Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 4   impinged on all people, but what Israel never expected was that all people would become Jews. Israel was content to be Israel, to live in the light of its revelation, to witness to that revelation, and to let the positive effects of its witness wash off on the world, but not everybody was supposed to be a Jew. There was never a movement to make the whole world Jewish. They were a particular community with a particular revelation and a particular understanding of salvation, and they shared it far and wide, but people could receive that light and remain in their respective communities. Stendahl believes that Matthew had the same kind of an idea for the Christian movement. Once again, it had a message, a particular message, a particular revelation, and it had universal implications. It was for the broadening of that community of faith, but it was not as though now suddenly the whole world would have to become Christian. The whole world should be told the good news and the Good News was for the whole world – Good News, that is, that God, the Creator, is a God of life and not death, that God is for us, that God has an intention for the cosmos. And all of that was and is enough to make you dance and sing, because the news is so good. That in this world where death and decay are all about us, the ultimate word is life and light and love and community! So, go tell the world! With the Christian movement, that's very likely the way it began. Now, the news was brighter. Now there was an exuberance, there was an excitement, there was a joy, there was a confidence, so that, in the wake of the resurrection of Jesus, a movement developed. Have you ever been part of a movement? Movements are spontaneous. Movements are powerful. Movements are confident. Movements are passionate! And in the wake of the resurrection of Jesus, recognizing now that this good news is about God Who says "No" to death and "Yes" to life, this good news was to be spread everywhere. It was for everybody. It was for the whole world. For anybody who would hear it and heed it and become a part of it - it was an open community now. But, that movement was so powerful, so full of fire, it gained such ascendency that within two or three centuries it became a force to be reckoned with. And as it gained in dominance, it became domineering. Then, contrary to the model of Israel that shared its witness but didn't force everybody to become a Jew in order to have access to God, the Christian Church linked its particular revelation with a universal mandate to make everybody like we are. Eventually it gained great power in its association with the state, with the Roman Empire. And over the centuries, for 2000 years, it has grown, it has become powerful, and in its wake we have a tragic history that I think as a Church we've never fully owned up to the Crusades and its brutal intolerance; the Inquisition with its burning of heretics and forced baptisms; pogroms, anti-Semitism, creating the soil for the horror of the Holocaust. Why? Because a movement became dominant, powerful. It had this wonderful vision of God, the God of life; it had this vision to share with all, but rather than remaining a witnessing community, it became a domineering © Grand Valley State University �Good News of Cosmic Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 5   community, coercively using its power to enforce conformity to its particularity as though that particularity was to be of universal application rather than simply a universal witness, an invitation. And now, after almost 2000 years, the Christian Church, which has been so dominant, is tired. The Church is sick at soul today. Its shrill rhetoric only betrays its lack of confidence. In those early centuries, it was a movement of joy, it had power, it was soulful, it was exuberant, it was strong, it was empowered, it was open, it was excited, it swept the world! But, it's not a movement anymore, not really. It's an institution. It still has a lot of resources, it still has a lot of wealth, it still has a lot of numbers, and it can linger perhaps for a long time. But, it's not a movement; it's not strong, it's not vibrant, it doesn't have soul, it doesn't have passion, it doesn't have joy unspeakable, full of glory! It is a skeleton of itself. Its life is a denial of its message and a betrayal of the one who is its founder, who reached out in compassionate embrace to all. But, I think we're on the threshold of something new that's breaking. I think there's going to be a groundswell in this old world of ours. It's breaking out because good news cannot, finally, be kept under. And the good news is that the dream is bigger, that the cosmos is one and that all people belong together. There is underfoot something that will transform the face of the earth. And God knows if it doesn't happen, we'll destroy each other. Witness our history of divisiveness, violence, war and devastation. But, we're learning. Here and there, there's a straw in the wind. Last Sunday evening we finally made ABC News. Perhaps you've heard. We were linked with Mohammed Ali, this noble human being who can no longer articulate for himself. But there he sat, his wife next to him, who said for him, "Muslim, Jew, Christian - they're all God's children." And then we came on, 9 ½ seconds! We, too, articulating that the eternal embrace is inclusive. That it is arrogance to proclaim otherwise. Then later in the evening I caught the last half of the film, "Gandhi," and I was deeply moved again as that man of India who was so impressed with Jesus said, "I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian." And single-handedly, through a spiritual power, changing the landscape of that nation with all of the chaos and all of the death that ensued, nonetheless, affecting a transformation through a kind of spiritual vision and methodology that he learned from Jesus, among others. And, of course, Gandhi influenced Martin Luther King and there was in this nation a significant address of the evil of racism. And, as the second millennium is coming to its end, after 2000 years, this dynamic movement of Jesus People which has become a tired institution, wondering if it can survive, will yield up its arrogant exclusivity and there will be a joining of heart and hand, of all people of good faith who believe in God the Creator of all, Whose intention for all is life and not death, love and not hate, light and not darkness. Now, there's good news! It is news of cosmic dimension and eternal significance. And when we catch it again, the passion will return, the © Grand Valley State University �Good News of Cosmic Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 6   confidence will return, the joy will return, the power will return, and the world will be changed! Alleluia! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/72d150ea76bf119172e7c096ee95f092.mp3 a9e6a71dcac5909f8b355f5377d5bf80 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> 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 Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide II Scripture Text I Corinthians 15:22, Matthew 28:19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-19970406 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-04-06 Title A name given to the resource Good News of Cosmic Dimension Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 6, 1997 entitled "Good News of Cosmic Dimension", on the occasion of Eastertide II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Corinthians 15:22, Matthew 28:19. Eastertide Global Community Inclusive Universal Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8de484398ddb136691adb4df48646a9a.mp3 bdc9dda7e52313fd360dc3812d32503b 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> 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 Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany I Scripture Text Luke 2:32-35 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-19950108 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-08 Title A name given to the resource Good News! The Light Has Come! Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem 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 Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 8, 1995 entitled "Good News! The Light Has Come!", on the occasion of Epiphany I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 2:32-35. 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/c68700d4df8c1cd5747d75e182bc9660.jpg 1f40cb39388ce17aa14d85851af74942 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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. 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Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ecdbd8c838dbfdda01c990b581c6f316.jpg bb1ca52f589641587bf6888cc393fc56 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_227 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image four actors stand in a line with their arms halfway raised. Their costumes are quilted Chinese jackets. Though they are not Chinese, they wear eyeliner mimicking an elongated eye shape. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2bd2b6a707c3a3e3b8cec876d36d66fd.jpg cc708fa1af884de13eb8f1dd0b18fe63 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_236 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image three children hold of a sign reading "YARD BEHIND SHEN THE'S SHOP." All three wear quilted Chinese jackets, one wears a stereotypical cone shaped hat. Though they are not Chinese, they wear eyeliner mimicking an elongated eye shape. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7bf108c5f6162135c279d3b8ca18d8d9.jpg d0e38cfee0113a5d7f17e9a5ee0c3bc1 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_237 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image a man balances a bamboo cane with two buckets hanging from either end on his shoulder. He wears ragged stereotypical Chinese clothing and exaggerated makeup to age him and elongate his eyes. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45c1934186cbb65c27bf192310b02b04.jpg 25d5578509b9c8e7e54c5c33f371a435 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_238 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image, three mysterious figures in colorful, traditional Chinese gowns and theater masks look down at a man cowering below them. The man holds his hands up in fright and wears exaggerated makeup to age him and elongate his eyes. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6b9aff65a76261a24c651e5cb927684e.jpg ba4a165748b30c7c4dbed7f62d6bc17d 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_240 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image a woman in a Chinese blouse gazes lovingly across the table at the man whose hand she is holding. In the background other actors are seen also sitting on the ground at tables. The woman is not Chinese, but is wearing eyeliner meant to elongate her eyes. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/868967bee2b151ba63a6a8e51ca1055f.jpg e3c48ab926d1f72601e97dd724ba8fef 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_244 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image four adult actors dressed in Chinese jackets and three child actors dressed in rags sit on the floor around a wooden table. Behind them can be seen rows of chairs in the auditorium. Most of the actors, though not Chinese, are wearing makeup designed to elongate their eyes, and some also wear makeup meant make them look old. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2de4d98c4b4451d86e8a34d7d3a0465.jpg f30f45c60bf8932954a48a5ace4774c3 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_254 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this image a man and four children sit on a stage. The man's expression is fearful, and he wears exaggerated stage makeup designed to age him and elongate his eyes. All wear worn and ragged Chinese quilted jackets and have dirt on their faces. The set is dressed like a brick street. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0bb2beef7197ca4cfa1a3b18b3f586ae.jpg caabf6fe892b2c04aae9f8c944b9b02e 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg 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 GV058-01_1982-Good-Person_266 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Good Person of Szechuan (theater production), 1982 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 1982 production of "Good Person of Szechuan." In this close up image, a young man reads aloud from the open book he is holding. He is dressed in a black robe and black head scarf. Behind him are rows of chairs. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d3928664aa0222aec5b15f3318019734.mp3 b27f7cb65a6030d76f4399ce20389e72 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> 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 Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Midweek Lenten Service Scripture Text John 18:23-19:16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-19970226 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-02-26 Title A name given to the resource Good Question, Pilate Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 26, 1997 entitled "Good Question, Pilate", on the occasion of Midweek Lenten Service, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 18:23-19:16. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b037cc63cc87bc75a589caf064d8051.mp3 ec6343b2dc2c8b2408975a4f471c1951 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4ce95ff200c70b9ce72fb9aee512e59d.pdf c32ee24dd54713a908bc462ec9e71a63 PDF Text Text Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent The Littlefair Legacy, A Center for Religion and Life Weekend Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 10, 2004 Transcription of the spoken sermon It is a pleasure to sit here once again in your midst, although, in getting ready for this moment, I realized why I retired. We've had a great weekend. Friday night was a party at Duba's Restaurant, where else? And it was a wonderful, celebrative remembering, telling Duncan stories. Yesterday, Dr. Gary Dorrien of Kalamazoo College, gave two fine lectures, the one about the Chicago School which had a shaping influence on Duncan, and then one addressing more the contemporary situation in a manner in which Duncan would have been proud. Now, of course, this morning, and the session following when we will continue to talk about the Littlefair Legacy. This has been a weekend sponsored by The Center for Religion and Life which cannot really be separated from this community of faith, and the question might be raised - why are you doing this? I thought perhaps I ought to begin by saying that we are doing it because we want to keep alive the voice and the spirit of Duncan Littlefair who made such a great impact on this whole area, particularly the Fountain Street Church community that he shaped and formed over some six decades, being a part of it as pastor and pastor emeritus, and the area far beyond. But we do it too because, more lately, he became a shaping influence in this community through an intimate friendship developed between us, he becoming for me as one born out of due time, a mentor in my elderdom, a time when perhaps I should have had it all figured out. But I continued to find new horizons opened, particularly by the scintillating mind and passion of Duncan Littlefair. If he were here on this weekend, he would say, "What's all the fuss?" Dr. Lubbers mentioned that at his party Friday evening. What is this all about? I never knew anyone quite like Duncan, who had an unusual giftedness, brilliance, charisma, force of personality, who was, at the same time, so unconcerned about self-promotion and would not at all have been happy to be the center of this kind of celebrative weekend. Yet, down deep I think he knew that, while he never had it within himself to promote himself or in any way to perpetuate that which he had shaped and created, nonetheless he was not unaware of the value of it. From time to time I had conversations with him about © Grand Valley State University   �Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent Richard A. Rhem Page 2   finding some way to keep that voice and that spirit alive, and he was open to that. I think he would be pleased that there are those of us who are concerned to perpetuate the power and the influence of the religious embodiment that he represented in our midst. We do it here simply because he had come here so often to worship and loved this place, and in many ways, cast his mantle upon me. He was present with us when we brought Ian here for the first time and he was fascinated by Ian and so hopeful and confident for the future of this place with the leadership of him. One of the goals that we have in a weekend like this, with the lectures yesterday by Dr. Dorrien being what we touted as the first annual Littlefair Lectures, is to establish an annual lectureship, an annual Littlefair Lectureship that will keep alive that vision and that voice and that spirit of Duncan Littlefair, an endowed lectureship that annually can bring an outstanding scholar on the cutting edge of religious thought and study into the West Michigan area, that we might be reminded every fall or whenever it would occur, that we have had in our midst one of the greatest religious thinkers and leaders of his generation. It is my hope that such a thing will be established, perhaps with an endowment at Grand Valley State University, and then a directorship from Grand Valley and from Fountain Street Church where Duncan labored all those years, and from Christ Community. I have met with Dr. Lubbers who will be with us in the hour following, and former Mayor of Grand Rapids John Logie from Fountain Street Church, and we are working on this and do hope to bring it into reality. But, why all the fuss? What's it all about? And I want to say that we have had a gift in our midst which ought not to be forgotten or not ever to be taken for granted. We have experienced this gift and can relate to the positive value, the impact of that life and, thus, I think that it is incumbent upon us to do what we can in order to keep that spirit alive. Duncan Littlefair was for decades known as the “Voice of the Liberal” in Western Michigan, a bastion of conservative, evangelical orthodoxy. He was not unaware of the fact that the whole conservative community saw him as a threat, suspected him, and called him by the nickname Dr. Littlefaith. He would simply smile about that. But the very fact that everyone seemed to be aware of him and threatened by him and would denigrate him by such a name as Littlefaith was indicative of the fact that, in this area, he was having an impact far beyond the community in which he was carrying on his ministry. To have met this man and to come to know him was to come to experience religion in all of its fullness, in all of its beauty and all of its positive power. For me, it is a most remarkable fact of my life, a life that has been given wholly over to engagement with the religious quest and the religious task, one who was warped from the womb to be religious, one who was educated for religious ministry and leadership, one who has done it seriously and responsibly with all of my being, it is most remarkable to me that I should have come in the latter © Grand Valley State University �Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent Richard A. Rhem Page 3   decade of my life to encounter one who embodied religion that caused me to be "born again," even though I had engaged positively and I think fruitfully in the religious quest and the religious life. But, I suppose, to be honest, I was one for whom religion had also been task and burden. And then to come to encounter one who embodied a religion that was the very poetry of life, that brought forth the deep inner resources of life, one who lived a religious life that enabled him to be fully human and to bring the aroma of humaneness to all of those whom he met was quite amazing. When I met Duncan Littlefair, my life was changed. It was good religion. It was religion that drew from the depths of reality, bringing to expression in a magnificent manner the highest possibility of being human. The toast at Duba's is famous now. Lifting our glasses around that table, "To the wonder, the miracle, the glory and the joy of life." And that was more than a toast. For Duncan, it was a way of life, and to be in his presence and to come to know him in intimate friendship was to be transformed and changed. I was conscious of it happening. I was conscious of the consciousness with which I began to live humanly when I came to the encounter with this man. Good religion is passionate. So much of the religious story, so much of the Christian tradition story, of which we have been a part, is a story of a very serious and magnificent religious vision. The whole biblical story born in Israel and coming to full expression in the event of Jesus Christ and the whole grand tradition of the Church - all of that has been a passionate, human adventure and experience. But, that whole tradition came to its expression in a world, in a time, in an age before the modern period with the explosion of knowledge and our scientific understanding of the whole cosmic reality. So, what we have inherited, what has shaped us, our prayers, our liturgies, our hymns, our sacraments, our manner of devotion - all of that derives from a worldview that has been dissolved by the application of modern science. That in which we have been nurtured is reflective of a conception of reality, of a world that is dissolved by the advance of modern knowledge. And so, we live a bifurcated existence and, if we are aware, if we are conscious, there is a dissonance between the practice, the Sunday worship with the forms and the structures that had been given to us and the way we live the rest of the week, with all of the knowledge that we have of this unfolding cosmic drama. In the ongoing life of the church there have been those who have tried to take seriously the eruption of human knowledge and accommodate the tradition with our present reality. What happens so often is that, before that advance of knowledge in our world today, the religious faith, the belief system, etc. has been reduced and reduced and reduced. Take away this, take away that, give up miracles, give up prayer, give up whatever, bring it down as far as you can, but hold on to the biblical worldview, out of custom or fear or superstition, all while a modern world with all of the knowledge is cascading down upon us. The liberal theological movement tried to lessen the dissonance by reducing the core of the faith. But, what has often resulted is an anemic religious experience, believing a © Grand Valley State University �Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent Richard A. Rhem Page 4   little less, believing a little less passionately, but knowing the real world is a world that is being opened up to us by the continuing research and probing of the sciences in all of the human disciplines, calling the old faith into question. That wasn't true of Duncan. Duncan had a robust religious experience. As I said in his memorial service, the man was drunk with God. He was intoxicated with the Holy and the Sacred, and to be in his presence was to be in the presence of a human being that was filled with religious awe and wonder. It was shocking to me. I, who had been prejudiced with the rest of Western Michigan to think of this humanist, this naturalist as one who must be religiously barren, to find one who was so passionately religious in the spiritual quest, to whom the toast "To the wonder, miracle and joy of life" was the center, core and creed of his faith. It was contagious. To see him stand in awe of the flower, of a blade of grass, of a leaf turned golden in autumn, to see the joy in his countenance as he sat in his old wooden rocker by a crackling fire on a dreary, gloomy day, delighting in the heavy, gray clouds; one who looked you in the eye with penetrating eyes and loved conversation, and at our Duba's table would insist on one conversation with everybody at full attention at all times. This was a human being that was the very embodiment of everything that is divine, and I stood amazed. For me that heavy obligation of religion, that burdensome aspect of religion, that controlling, threatening, condemning dimension of religion, that religious tradition which had weighed heavily upon me, which I had been working at all of my life to resolve, suddenly fell away before the beauty of a human being who was the very incarnation of God. There was no sacrifice of the mind or the intelligence. There was the eager and ready exploration of every facet of human knowledge, of probing of the depths of every question, the welcoming of every little piece of data, the delight at every favorite theory and canon of science that got overthrown by more exploration and further experimentation in the revelation of new data. The mind was fully free to soar into all of the realms of human understanding, never a threat, always an increase in wonder and awe, because religion for Duncan was not some creedal formulation, not some set of propositions, not some truths deduced from this Bible storybook. Religion for Duncan was not some canon law of the institutional church or the favorite formulations of an ancient tradition for, as my good friend Lester always was fully aware, knowing it in Duncan and, to his distress seeing it happening in me, finally there is no authority beyond the authority that arises from within one fully cognizant of the totality of the possibility of human understanding. And then reveling in life …not some kind of abject bowing before some supernatural deity out there, but indeed, as he contended, the whole cosmic process was coming to expression in the likes of us, the emanation of God from the creative center, that ultimate Mystery of Being. I love the quote read a moment ago. Can't you hear Duncan preaching it? It's typical preacher's talk. It’s © Grand Valley State University �Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent Richard A. Rhem Page 5   not carefully honed rhetoric. It's not carefully, philosophically expressed. It's the kind of pulpit talk where the preacher begins to foam at the mouth because there's something within him that will come to expression. We are the intrusions, we are the extrusions. What are we - intrusions or extrusions? One pushes in, the other pushes out. We are illustrations, we are examples, we are God! For God's sake, we are God! It's amazing. There isn't anything beyond, you see? But, the beyond has come to expression in the concrete, the infinite in the finite, and we, the finite concretization of that Infinite Mystery, have that longing again for the Mystery. It's a longing to go home. And so, in our very naturalness, we're the ultimate expression of that which is Sacred and Holy, that one reality of which we are a part, that one tapestry into which our existence is woven. We are the consciousness, the voice, the storytellers of that unfolding of God in the one reality. Passionate, intelligent, Duncan loved Paul. Of course, he had no time for Paul's eschatology, the end of the world; he had no time for Paul seeing Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. He would say, "Well, Paul couldn't help himself. Look where he was coming from." But, he loved Paul because Paul had passion. He loved Paul. Couldn't you see Duncan just like Paul going right into the Areopagus in Athens, right to the heart of the philosophical center of the ancient world? Can't you see Duncan going there and looking those greybeards in the eye and saying to them, "Haven't you heard the latest?" Paul had a vision, Paul had a passion, Paul was delivered from the burden of religion. Paul was delivered from all of that striving, all of that load of guilt. Paul was released by grace in his encounter with Jesus Christ in that vision he had, and he wanted to tell the whole world about it. Duncan loved that about Paul. Duncan loved anybody that was passionate about something, somebody that believed something and wanted to move the whole world. Good religion is not some anemic non-controversial pablum fed to weak people who are afraid. Good religion is robust, full of passion, and it has an open mind to probe to the depths with all of the possibility and potential of human understanding. Why should we keep that alive? It would be a dereliction of our duty if we should allow that which we have had in our midst to fade from memory and fail ourselves and our larger community the opportunity of exposure to that beautiful, passionate intelligent quest for God in that one drunk with God. He was the embodiment of religion that makes the human divine. © Grand Valley State University � 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> 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 Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Center for Religion and Life Weekend Series The Littlefair Legacy Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-20041010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-10-10 Title A name given to the resource Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem 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 Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng 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 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 10, 2004 entitled "Good Religion: Passionate and Intelligent", as part of the series "The Littlefair Legacy", on the occasion of Center for Religion and Life Weekend, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Duncan Littlefair Fountain Street Church https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1f42e45d0f331afba8c1842cc182f0ca.mp4 484445bfd402ebf172db0ff8c124eaa9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9e5d4574cc0c08b488f421d5416933c8.pdf a9af87cc71c5a80128f6b3d1e6d889d4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: David Good Length of Interview: 34 minutes Pre-Enlistment (00:15) • Childhood (00:17) o Briefly mentions that he served in the Navy aboard the USS Alaska in the Pacific as a 1st class petty officer and technician. (00:43) o Good was born on February 21st, 1925 and was born and raised in Caledonia, Michigan. (01:04) • Education (01:09) ƒ He graduated from Caledonia High School. (01:12) ƒ The day Pearl Harbor was attacked he mentions that he was either in school or working in his father’s garage when it happened. (01:26) ƒ While still in high school at age 18 he signed up for the military draft. (01:45) Enlistment/Training (02:17) • Why he joined (02:18) o Good went to Detroit, Michigan where he took a round of physical tests and was selected like many others for Navy service. (02:36) • Boot camp (02:48) o Started his military service on December 24th, 1943 and started basic training at Great Lakes, Illinois. (03:04) o Describes in some detail what a typical day in boot camp looked like. (03:15) o Briefly describes his instructors in some detail. (04:12) • Where he went after boot camp and what company he served with (05:05) �o Attended electronic school at a junior college in Chicago, Illinois for a month months. (05:16) o Afterwards he attended Texas A&M College for 3 months all the while training for electronics’ school. (05:30) o He then went to Treasure Island, an island outside of San Francisco Bay for the final phase of his training and was here for 5 months. (05:46) o After basic training, Good took a 2 week leave to visit home. (06:09) Active Duty (06:16) • Campaign Background (06:45) o Upon his return to duty, Good boarded a transport ship to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where they stayed for about a week. (06:23) o Boarded another ship which took him to the war zone. (06:36) • Living conditions aboard ship (06:54) o While aboard ship as an electrical technician his ship responsibilities with others from his unit included taking care of the surface radar air surface radar. (07:05) o Good describes what the number of ships and what types of ships were found while in a task group and that outside a task group were the destroyers supported by U.S. submarines. (07:50) o Their job entailed protecting the aircraft carriers as they came in. (08:13) Usually they would be out of port for long periods. His job also entailed like mentioned before the maintenance of radar operations. (09:11) o Briefly describes what medals he was awarded after the war. (10:03) o Good kept in contact with his family on a weekly basis by letter. All of his letters were censored, so that if he mentioned anything about where they were or what they were doing it was taken out of his letters. (10:47) o Briefly describes the type of food he and others were able to eat or what supplies were always coming aboard whenever they were at a port to resupply. (11:45) Sometimes their task force would go 50 miles or more to rendezvous with their supply ships to restock. (12:45) o During one instance, when the task force was under fire from Japanese cruisers everyone would go into something called General Quarters. (14:24) �o For entertainment, military personnel could go to the store and buy food or play cards. For him he didn’t have much time for entertainment. (15:32) o Upon completing his service in the Pacific he returned home upon which time he had a 30 day leave in which he spent getting reacquainted with old friends. (17:30) • China (18:15) o After the war, Good visited Tsingtao, China where he describes what Chinese life and culture were like. (18:20) o Wasn’t allowed to take any pictures while he was there. (19:07) o The day the war ended the USS Alaska had been ordered to Tsingtao to secure the place. The U.S. Marines landed and secured the city upon which time Good and others were able to go in. while there, the Marines found a stockpile of Japanese rifles with bayonets which they confiscated and he mentions receiving one. (21:16) After the Service (22:22) • Adjusting to Home (22:32) o Upon being discharged, he spent the first couple of days relaxing by going deer hunting and finding out what was going on at his local store. (23:22) o Went back to college for the next 2 to 3 years attending the University of Michigan and Davenport University. Afterwards he worked with his dad. (24:02) o Describes several stories with close friends after his time in the service. (24:34) • Reflection (26:02) o Briefly describes the impact that WWII had on other wars later on. Also mentions how his service impacted himself and what he learned from the experience. (26:13) • Other stories (27:20) o Describes one instance in action in which the Japanese were firing on them and while operating the radar Good could tell what was going on based on what he saw through the radar. (28:04) o During another instance, some Japanese airplanes would stay about a mile out of range of their General Quarter stations. (28:51) �o During an invasion of an island, the big ships would fire their 16 in. diameter guns and soften up the beaches so the Marines and Army could go in. (30:28) In addition to this, Good describes what landing procedures for the landing of planes entailed. (31:10) o For Good the most important event of WWII was the dropping of the atomic bomb. (32:03) � 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 Good, David (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Good, David Description An account of the resource David Good is a World War II veteran who served with in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. In this account, Good discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He discusses his work as an electronic technician aboard the USS Alaska at sea in the Pacific. He also covers the ship's visit to Tsingtao, China, after the Japanese surrender. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Nietling, Ashley (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, 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. Navy 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 2004-12-09 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GoodD 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/276f9ffe0527db984d5d869233c676d2.jpg 0e047b413700763c871343c5527352be 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 GoodeJames Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Goode, James Description An account of the resource James Goode, Middle East Studies Director 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/91aa62f3f40bcc75310a5834ebdb59a6.mp4 2e265651c6d80f3372956ffafbb2ff80 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6642921ba39e3fa84227de5b861be8cd.pdf 5e992f76c8c18166876153794fc02be4 PDF Text Text Goodman, Donald Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee’s Name: Donald Goodman Length of Interview: (1:12:55) Interviewed by: Koty Leroy Rollins Transcribed by: Maluhia Buhlman Interviewer: “Hello this is a joint production between the Grand Valley State Veterans History Program, WK T.V voices, and the U.S.S Silversides Museum. My name is Koty Leroy Rollins and I’m here with Donald Goodman of Muskegon, Michigan. So let’s start off early I guess, your childhood, what made you sort of want to join the military?” Well I not only remember Pearl Harbor, I remember when Hitler invaded Poland but I didn’t want to join then I was only six years old then but as far as– I grew up in World War II and I had an uncle who went in but even then I didn’t have any enormous desire to go in. (1:18) I went to school to graduate– Oh, if I can wander from that for a minute– I’m gonna– Interviewer: “That’s okay, go ahead.” I was going to say my overall impression in the Army, when I go see people now and I wear my shirt or I wear the hat and they say “Thank you for your service.” I want to say “Thank you for your Army.” Because the Army did far more for me than I ever did for it and when I joined– Why did I join? You know I’m not even sure why I joined, the Korean war started in summer of 1950, I graduated from high school in 1949 and I went on to Navy Pier which is the University of Illinois, Chicago branch. I was there that was supposed to be a two year college I actually got three years out of it, in the summer I was working in a chemical factory, in the control lab of a chemical factory otherwise I had been working, I’ve been working since I was about 12. So I was going to finish– I was ready to join the Air Force when I was just ready to turn 20 in 1950 and I’d gone there to the Air Force, signed the papers, ready to leave the next week, got appendicitis. They took the appendix and then the Air Force came and said “Where’s little �Goodman, Donald Donnie?” “Well just had the appendix–” “Well we don’t want him for six months.” Said “Okay.” So I thought I might as well go for another semester, amazingly just then in January on my birthday I met this cute little gal, I said “You know I can’t go in the military, I might as well finish up my third year.” And in the meantime– This is in Chicago Heights, Illinois and she was from Chicago, so we dated and through that winter, that was the first part of 1952 and I got to thinking you know the Air Force is four years and the Army’s only two. So I walked into the Army and it wasn’t hard for them to talk me into it, so I joined, left, and then in June the Air Force came and knocked on my door again and my mother was there and they said, you know “Does Donnie want to come out and play?” And well no, she said “He’s in the Army.” They said “Well we’re not gonna go and get him.” As far as why did I join I think I joined, well for one thing I didn’t want to waste any more money for college, it was my money, it was my dad’s money but also because everybody’s gone. My mother said “Do you wanna have a going away party?” I said “Who would come? Everybody I know, Skerwanski’s in the Air Force, Van Buskert’s in the Army, Otto Bomberg is in the Air Force.” Everybody I could name was gone and they either dodged the draft by enlisting in something or else they were drafted. So I went in– Interviewer: “Okay, so–” (4:54) But so I went in and to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and that’s where I went through basic training, I said in the beginning that I owe the Army much more than anybody owes me, if you went through my high school yearbook, end of high school– After four years, let’s see what did I do? Was I on the football team? Well not likely. Was I in basketball? No, in fact the only thing behind my name after four years, I belong to the auto bond club and I wrote for the college– Or for the high school newspaper. If you looked at what they did when I finished 40 years of teaching I was– I had been chief negotiator, contract negotiator for year after year after year for two different schools, for a public school system and for the college, I was grievance chairman over and over, they elected me or appointed, whatever they did, the distinguished faculty and as a matter of fact in 75 years of college they had only bestowed that on like six other people, I think I was number seven and Jack Branch was number eight. So why? Because the Army, they helped me find who I was and they did it, well the way they usually do things. When I got in in �Goodman, Donald the beginning for some reason I had it in my mind I’m gonna teach you people how to soldier, although I didn’t, I knew how to shoot a rifle that’s all and I thought “I am gonna be the best soldier.” At the end of 16 weeks of basic with eight weeks infantry and eight weeks engineering, the training sergeants picked out four trainees to compete for best trainee, I had no idea they were looking at me. So there I was, but I never made better than four so I thought later, I really ought to have a pin made that says “I’m number four!” Out of 250 that wasn’t bad. Interviewer: “That’s pretty high.” So they– There’s one thing that was surprise– If you look at the pictures and find pictures of our outfits this is 1952, they look totally different from anything four years before or in World War II because when Truman took over– Truman became president in 1945 April when FDR died and in 1948 he integrated the Army’s– All of the armed forces, so you see pictures of all these trainees together in the barracks, scrubbing down and doing all that and there’s blacks all over the place, they were coloreds in those days but when I got on permanent duty, permanent cadre as a company clerk, we had some strange here and there. (8:27) Some of the southerners “I aint taking a shower with him.” Or “I ain’t sleeping next to him.” You wanna bet? They– So some of them had a hard bringing up to get used to that. Anyway in basic training there was one night that kind of stuck– It does stick in my mind and I can’t imagine how some of these guys underwent real combat, in this basic training thing what we did we were– It was supposed to be a commando raid and we were supposed to cross the big piney and take a hill. Well we got eight blanks in our M-1s and we’re supposed to be quietly paddling these boats that held about a dozen guys across the river and then sneak up the hill side and not bother– Of course the first person to– First boat made enough noise that the machine guns up on top were going full blast by the time we got there and you were supposed to push this boat, it held about ten people– Ten guys, push it out into the water and then pile in and paddle across, we had no training in paddling, there was no instruction on paddling at all, we were supposed there, land the boat, they had one person in charge of piloting– In charge of the boat to steer it I guess and he was going to stay with the boat and we were supposed to run up this hill and shoot eight shots to show our good intentions and then turn around and run back and get in the same boat. Well you got in any boat you could, after that– To make it more realistic they were using quarter pound blocks of nitrous �Goodman, Donald starch and they would cap the fuse, and fuses work well even under the water, this is like– Probably has the same speed as dynamite, I don’t know maybe 13,000, 13,000 feet per second. Anyway it was not as fun– Anyway these were little blocks, they looked like– Kind of looked like a stick of butter and they– Then they throw it, they were out there in the water and go boom! Whoosh! And boom! Whoosh! All around and with the machine guns up there [machine gun noises] and all the noise and so we heard boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! And then we heard Womp! And what was that, well it seems the boat in front of us, that’s supposed to cross in front of us, the guys had hauled it out into the water, piled in but they piled in too soon and it went down and dragged on the river bottom and so they could– Half of them jumped out and tried to pull it, the commanding– The sergeant who was running these things and throwing the nitrous starch in the water he grabbed them and pulled them and they turned the boat so it was all cockamamie– Yeah that’s what it sounded like. Anyway– I didn’t know we had sound effects here. They got turned around and they’re paddling, some are paddling this side and that side and I think some were paddling in the air and they twisted around and went right over one of those charges. Interviewer: “Oh no.” (12:00) So instead of boom! Whoosh! It womp! Cause it blew the bottom out, and there they are screaming cause I imagine some of them had broken legs by that time, and the motor is there we can see it not that far ahead of us, floating, twisting around, and they’re screaming cause they’re hurt and some of them are still paddling and the boat is sinking because it’s got a big hole blown in it and I just remember the insanity. Oh I know we were gonna stop and help them and the sergeant is yelling to us “You’re on a mission, you don’t stop you’re on a mission!” So the whole insanity of the reality of the high explosives and the reality of these guys hurt and the insanity of the shots, blanks. It’s stuck in my mind, I still think of it, I can’t imagine what these guys who have been through real combat are like because that’s the one night in basic training I remember. Interviewer: “They didn’t–” �Goodman, Donald So I don’t– Oh we got back, we went up and shot our eight and [gun noises] and then came back and when we got back they were already there was an officer standing on top of some platform and he was saying “We have never had an accident in this operation before.” But they did, people did get hurt, they– And one thing that ticked me off about the Korean– The records of the Korean War, they tell you– And I don’t want to downplay Vietnam, Vietnam they said they had killed 58,000, in the Korean war they’re divided, they’re still arguing about how many got killed in accidents and maneuvers. They say “Yeah 36,000 got killed in Korea.” But there’s arguments about whether there was actually 18,000 killed in maneuvers. I, as company clerk, I can’t remember ever filling out a death certificate, I sent a lot of people to the hospital mostly with ammonia but I ran into a couple of other accidents when I was a company clerk, they bring people in. Oh my God, a friend of ours had the craziest kind of accident imaginable, he must have been one of the last people who suffered from a poison gas. So what had happened was this, he was– Ellsworth was his name, great guy, he lived– Later on when Betty and I were living on the coast, I got married in the Army, and we– I think his trailer was right down from ours, anyway or poor Dan Ellsworth, he’d been through Korea and he has a number of medals, he wanted to make– Wanted to make the Army a career, fine. (14:53) Then he went to skip troops and learned to ski, and then he came to– They shipped him to Fort Leonard Wood, God knows why, and okay he wanted to be in the training part and wanted to teach, and they put him in CBR, chemical, biological and radiological training. Okay, we had to go– Besides going through the gas chamber, tear gas chamber which everybody remembers real well, they also took the trainees and ran them through light concentrations of other poison gas and I think a phosgene and mustard and I don’t know what other one. Okay, his job was to set one of these off, he had a tomb of– And I think it was Phosgene, I’m not sure, and then he had two blasting caps taped to it and they were wired to each other and then the long wires– And I think they were maybe 15 feet long and he was supposed to put that out there where– Set it off and as soon as– While the stuff was still in the air they’d run the trainees through this so they could smell poison gas and see what it was like. He pulled the shunt on the caps, the– Do you know anything about explosives? Interviewer: “Not much.” �Goodman, Donald Okay they’ve got the blasting– Got a blasting cap, looks like about half of a wooden pencil, then it got– And that’s a high explosive and when you– And what– And it’s got two wires and of course the wire when electricity comes it will spark and set off the pin and so you should never pull that shunt until you’re just about ready. Well he was in a hurry and he was carrying this tube of poison gas with two blasting caps, fortunately he wasn’t pinching it he was just holding it lightly, he pulled the shunt and walked across the field and must have picked up static electricity because all of a sudden bam! There he is with his fingers blown back and flopping and he squatted down then and actually sat on his heel, which was smeared with mustard gas that had been there from whatever the last one was. So he went into the hospital as a victim of poison gas and they had to fix his– Try and save his fingers, which they did, and then take care of this thing back here and every lieutenant around would come there and say “Half mass soldier, I want to see it, I’ve never seen a mustard gas blister.” So have to pull his skivvies down, and so I talked to him, went to visit him in the hospital and I said “Is that embarrassing?” “Nah.” He said “It could be but I like to shove my but in the face of those damned officers.” He said “I’m hoping for a major.” But he never got one. Interviewer: “The best out of a bad situation right?” (18:08) I never did know what happened because I got graduated, yeah I got discharged before. Interviewer: “So you were in Fort Leonard Wood from what dates?” From June 1952 to June 1954 and after basic they sent me to Company C’s headquarters, and I was like– The time they because the time they had me opening there I was a company clerk, their company clerk had been promoted to first sergeant, and then we got another first sergeant. What happens– I don’t know if you’ve talked to anybody in a training outfit but by the time you get through, with most training outfits the way they change personnel so fast, you should really read Catch-22 because if you read Catch-22 you find that the one who’s running the entire war is PFC Wintergreen and so much– So many of our outfits were run by the company clerk and the supply sergeant and that’s what happened, you wound up– Even if you only had one strike, you wound up taking on jobs, answering questions, filling out forms, signing form and in effect– �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “You were running it.” I looked at– With my first we had– But I had a really good company commander at first, then he got transferred to someplace else, then I can’t remember who followed up but we had– He had brought in this big World War II hero who was one nasty– So God he was mean and you could see he had ghost stripes, in other words he had been sergeant at one time and he was no more so he got busted for something and we– Captain Gollenstein got him another stripe, so he’s there, we always call him sergeant. He gave me stories of World War II like I don’t want this guy on my side but I don’t want him on the other side either and so he was– He’d come in drunk, really drunk, and the meet up troops– Meet up trainees, we got 250– When I got assigned there as company clerk we had 250 civilians every eight weeks and run them through, teach them infantry basics and how to salute and march and so on and then the next– Then we’d get– They’d be gone and we’d have the next bunch the next day and so I was processing a lot of that stuff but I remember this one sergeant, our first sergeant, and he was standing in front of me just like you’re right there and I was doing whatever and I look at him and he says “I hear you’re gonna testify against me at my court martial.” (21:20) I said “Those are my orders sergeant.” And he leaned forward and he said “Make it good I want to get out of this fucking Army anyway I can.” Well I didn’t have to tell them much, I could testify to his being AWOL, I could’ve cover it up, the AWOL I’d done that for people before but he didn’t want that. I didn’t have to say anything, the trainees that testified against him were enough, he got a less than honorable discharge and away he went, and he was replaced by a friend of mine who was a full time pistol shooter. He was on I don’t know how many teams and he was always gone so company clerk takes over his job, then the next– Then he was transferred someplace else, I forget who came in after he did, and then some place in there as I say we had– The Army was– All of the colored troop organizations were dissolved, they were spread out and reassigned and we got this one sergeant who had been– He might have been in World War II, anyway he was a full sergeant and he came in but he didn’t– What, not Gonzalez, Lee Gonzalez was the supply sergeant, and what he and I wanted was a company commander who just let us do things, let us take care of things, and as first sergeant it didn’t matter, that didn’t get into our way because we had a nice running. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “Yeah, it was a smooth operation.” Yeah, it was going well and there was Sergeant– I don’t want to slip and tell his name, let me call him Jones. So Gonzalez, Lee Gonzalez was the supply sergeant he and I were close and he said, middle of summer, he said “You know where Jones is?” And I said “No I haven’t seen him, I mean they come and go and come and go.” And he said he’s over there in the captain’s office, sitting behind the stove, it’s a coal stove in the summer and he’s just sitting there with his hands folded and he’s looking off like that and then he’s looking over here, and that’s what he’s doing for a couple of hours at a time. Said “Well what do you think?” He said “Well you can try and talk to Cunningham.” Who was next door in battalion and he said “You know what are you gonna do? Call up the regiment and say ‘I think my first sergeant is crazy’ do you have any idea how many company clerks think their first sergeant is crazy, what’s it gonna– Is he bothering you?” “No.” “Well leave him then.” I said “What the heck?” He doesn’t need anything to be gone for hours and then he’d come back, he never did do– So but one time he, this was one of the scariest nights I had, he went on leave to East St. Louis and came back with a social disease after a while he discovered he had so he went in to the medics and talked to them. (25:00) While he was there he was explaining to the doctor exactly how the world operated and instead of how you think it is and so they just kind of kept him and the next thing we know well we’re getting orders that he’s being transferred to some hospital out east and we should box up his foot locker stuff and they’d come and store it someplace. We said “What about his car?” Because there was a number of times on Monday morning where I’d round up the jeeps and he couldn’t remember where he’d left his car and he’d have parked it God knows out in some rain in someplace and Leonard Wood is a big place and how he made it back I don’t know or where he spent the– But he’d be there Monday morning, couldn’t find his car. So I ask what about his car and they said they don’t know so somebody found it out there and stick– Yeah I don’t know, I called the motor and said winter was coming, I said “I don’t know what shape this thing is, it’s got no business being there so better tow it and take it to motor pool to store.” They have storage, so but that’s the end of it, check the end of that, and it was months later I was going to the movies and I came bouncing back in and the CQ– I had a– I was supposed to point people to BCQ, you know charge a quarter at night to be supposed to answer the one phone we had on the company, and he was sitting back there and he had this funny look on his face and I came up and I thought “What–” �Goodman, Donald And I could see from his eyes and he looked over “Oh well, Sergeant Jones!” There he was, full uniform, medals, all that “How are you doing?” Well what do you say, you know I did think “Yeah you were crazy, did they fix that or what?” You know. Interviewer: “That feels like not a very good opening line.” No it’s not the way to go. Interviewer: “You’re crazy, did they fix that?” I said “Oh!” Interviewer: “Did you escape?” Said “You’re back?” “Yeah.” But we got no paperwork he wasn’t back to us because by then we had a different– I had a different first sergeant who was well into booze and he was just as useless as anybody else which was fine as far as we’re concerned. (27:28) So [unintelligible] “Oh good to see you” And he said “Goodman you know what happened to my car?” I said “Yeah we finally found it out there.” He said “Where is it?” And I said “It’s in storage, bought it.” He said, I forget the order anyway he asked me “What’d you do?” I said “We had it towed back.” He said “How did you do that, wasn’t it locked up?” And I said “Yeah I had to break a window, broke my way in, unlocked it, had it towed away, and then we had– I had them drain the radiator and the battery there.” He said “Who broke the window?” “I broke it.” Because I’m not gonna lie and he stood up, patted me on the shoulder “You’re a good man Goodman.” And walked out the door. I was– Interviewer: “What a crazy individual. I guess you got–” Never know what happened to him, we gave– We had no paperwork, no way for me to check up on anything, why should I check up on his car, but that was one of the weirdest nights. Anyway when– Yeah, his successor was– Then we had, oh we had a first lieutenant who was just– �Goodman, Donald Screwed up one way or another. I got the phone call and the phone said, they said “You’re due for prisoner chase in company C.” “Okay, we need a name.” Well I’m tired of being in here anyway, said “Corporal–” I was corporal by then “Donald J. Goodman RN 1-6-4-1-5-6-0-9.” “Okay.” And didn’t think any more about it and then got the order and the company commander lieutenant there he– A couple of weeks he said “Goodman! You’re on prisoner chase.” I said “Geez how did that happen? But– Must’ve been random or something.” Okay so I was assigned, I was assigned and I can’t remember, I keep trying to remember this, memory doesn’t work all that– If there were three of us then we had to pick up five prisoners, if there was five of us then we had to pick up seven prisoners. I’m pretty sure that it was just three of us that what we had to do was take the train and wear class B uniform which was all dress, tie the whole bit but combat boots and of course we had to pick up pistols, we had to pick up our 45 Colts. Anway, so we went to– I didn’t know these other guys and two of us were corporals, the other one I forget what, so we got up there and I had already been read the orders for a prisoner chase from the same sort of thing. Go to Sheraton, pick up your prisoners, handcuff them, bring them back through Chicago and deliver them to such and such, takes two days okay. When we got there to check out our pistols in the ordinance they said “You guys are all qualified with a 45 aren’t you?” (30:55) No, nobody was, he said “Anybody ever shoot a 45?” I said “Yeah I’ve shot targets.” “Okay, you’re in charge.” “That’s good, I like that.” Because I had plans and they– So we got our pistols, can’t put your clip in until you get your prisoner, well we got our pistols and our handcuffs and we’re off– Oh. Interviewer: “Must be a boat.” Yeah we never had those down in Fort Leonard Wood. So we got out and I had all the chips for meals and the orders and the whole bit and my wife doesn’t like me to tell this story but I’ll tell it. So we were on the train going from St. Louis up to Chicago and I said “How’d you guys– I know they’re expecting us at Sheraton, how’d you like to spend the night in Chicago?” And they said “Can we do that?” And I said “Well I’m in charge, I say you can.” Never give a guy two stripes God knows what he’ll do with the power, we got there in Chicago to the Randolph Street Station and I said “We’ll have to find a place for you to stay and you gotta pay for it.” “Okay.” So in those days they had a monstrous Chicago telephone directory but the truth was for a guy in �Goodman, Donald uniform all he had to do was ask any cop “Hey is there a hotel I can stay at here a while?” So they decided– I think they asked a cop and they went to the YMCA and stayed there, said “Well– ” Said “I’m not staying there.” “Okay.” And I said “I’ll meet you tomorrow morning seven o’clock at the Randall Street Station we’ll take that up to Sheraton, pick up our prisoners, bring them back, walk them through the loop, and to change stations we had to walk from Randall Street Station to the Union Station, yeah and then catch that to St. Louis so I said “We gotta do something with these pistols, why don’t you check– They probably have a safe there at the Y, why don’t you just check them in there? Whatever you do, don’t get arrested, whatever you do don’t get drunk, no drinking.” “Okay, fine.” They said “Where are you going?” I said “Oh I know where I’m going.” Well nine four– I left them there and set off praying that they wouldn’t get drunk or arrested or into trouble there in Chicago while I took the I.C down to 63rd street I think and then took a trolley down to 85th cause I was going to 914 West 85th Street where this cute little gal that I married two months before was waiting. Mind you this is long before there’s any cell phones so everything we had arranged we’d done by writing or by plain telephone. (34:17) So that’s where I headed walking through Chicago with my big pistol on my hip and taking the– So stayed there, that was better than the Y, got up in the morning and cleaned up and took the trolley and took the I.C train back and prayed that these guys would– Interviewer: “Didn’t do anything stupid.” Meet me at the Randall Street Station. Interviewer: “Did they get there?” They were there bright and chipper, I said “Did you have a good time?” “Oh yeah!” I said “What’d you do?” They said “We went to the movies.” “Okay.” I said “Where’d you eat?” “Wimpy’s” You got this Chicago cuisine in front of you and you eat at Wimpy’s? Yeah, it was better than the mess hall, so we went and picked up our five prisoners, yeah five prisoners, two of them together and then I picked the biggest guard I had and fastened him to the other oddball, and we’d been warned don’t let them– The last prisoner chases, prick chasers, lost one, you don’t want to lose one because– No we don’t because we got our old handcuffs there, I don’t want to �Goodman, Donald be wearing them. We got them back just fine, we got the [unintelligible] walked down through the loop from station to station, so it was kind of fun. Interviewer: “So what were you getting these prisoners for?” I don’t know, I don’t remember what they were, I doubt that they were desperate murdering criminals or mass murderers, my guess is they were guys who got home sick and ran away to home and then they let them– And MDs let them sit there for 30 days and if they still had their uniform then they charged them with AWOL, if they destroyed their uniform desertion, and this was war time you didn’t want to be charged with desertion. So they were probably heading for Korea, after they finished they’d go– They’d finish basic training under the gun, we had a number of guys who went through our basic training outfit with guards right behind them and I’m sure they got shipped off to Korea. So I can’t believe that these guys were anybody that was that dangerous, I don’t remember. Interviewer: “So these were like Army guys that ran away?” (36:36) Yeah they were just Army guys yeah, they were just trainees. Interviewer: “Okay, I didn’t know if you were just like picking up random prisoners to draft into the Army.” No they’d been in and I’m sure they just got home sick and ran away home and so the MPs came and knocked on their door and said “Can Bobby come out and play?” And then they took them to Sheraton, so they never asked us as Sheraton where we spent the night before, I was glad about that. Interviewer: “It’s probably a good thing.” �Goodman, Donald But the Army did that for me, I belong to the Autobahn club in high school but I was– They had taught me this is your mission, that one awful night that blew things up, and if you got a job to do you do it and so I had in mind that I had a job to do and it’s too late to court martial me now. Interviewer: “There you go. You mind if I ask a few questions about basics?” No go ahead, I’m sorry I knew I’d ramble. Interviewer: “No it’s okay, it’s interesting stuff I never even knew we did that but so one thing that was really sort of outline in my historical background in classes on this is that the training for Korea and Vietnam, like the basic training, had nothing to do with what the combat was actually like there.” I will tell you, I think now looking back over it, when we had cities and training and shoot ‘em up training in town and villages, there were no hooches there, they didn’t teach– We weren’t shooting up Korean hooches those were European towns that we were– I think they were preparing us to fight Europe– In Europe. (38:20) That was what– And our chant– I don’t know how much you’re going to do about editing this but besides chant we’d learn to march. G.I beans and G.I gravy gee I wish I know and anyway it was a hup, two, three, four, you had a good home and you left your right, you wouldn’t go back if you could you’re wrong so [humming] If I die in a combat zone, box me up and ship me home, sound off– One, two. Sound off– Three, four— And then it was, if I die in a Russian front bury me with a Russian cunt, sound off– One, two. Sound off– They didn’t sound like [unintelligible] to me and we saw films of the Russians in World War II and we knew about that little Tommy gun, the little burp gun they had with a drum and on a ventilated barrel and there was– Rifles, well I think that we were gearing up to go to war with Russia at that time in ‘52, I didn’t think about it at the time but– Interviewer: “Oh yeah.” They were. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “That’s what they were training you for if the Soviets attacked.” I think it must have been. An interesting thing, while I did graduate my oldest son was born the day I was discharged and if she hadn’t come through with that they wouldn’t have let her in the base hospital, I don’t know what we would have done but took her in and so she was– I was getting processed out of the Army, she was over in the base hospital and I came back from processing and I– Another Sergeant Jones let’s say, this was the boozer and “Oh Goodman your wife had a baby.” Said “What’d she have?” “I don’t know, babies are babies.” What the hell, so I scooted off to the hospital to see my son, my oldest and we stayed there, I think we just stayed there a week, and then my mother came to– We were living in a 28 foot trailer at the time, it was service, it was an Army trailer and they– I got– I managed to get one in January of ‘54, maybe it was February, and so we lived there until June and then packed up and headed for– Back home to Chicago Heights where I found my folks had sold their house and they were building another one and we were planning– Three of us, were planning to stay there at their house so it was an interesting time, right after that they– I know what I wanted to tell you, aside from doing– I became a teacher. (41:27) At that time teachers, especially men teachers, were held in high esteem. That’s not like today, today they just treat them like dirt but in those days– “In those–” God that makes me sound old, in those days, in the 50s when I started and the 60s even into the 70s, if you saw a guy teaching in an elementary school or high school and he wasn’t real old, he probably was a vet and he probably would not put up with a whole lot of crap from anybody. There were guys who did and later on when Jack Brice and I wrote– Oh in 30 years later, 1990s we were talking to the vets who had come in on the G.I bill from World War II, yeah it was cool, anyway– Wow were they a nutty bunch, and they were so gutsy they– Well one group the school they were in was that old Hackley building that looks like a castle and they had one teacher who– The teachers didn’t know how to handle these guys either I mean holy mackerel, but you’ve got these 17 year olds in with these guys who have been 50 bombing missions over Germany and whatever else they’d been through, they didn’t know how to handle them and this one– They told me about this one teacher in English, she hated– It was the second floor, she hated the pigeons that gathered at the top of the window. So she had some kind of long pole that– I guess to open and unlock the window, anyway she’d get up there and tap the window and chase them away so they just– I forget what she– She had some other peculiar thing. So they got up there, second �Goodman, Donald floor, got out one window, crept along the windowsill, unscrewed the screws that, held that window up, and then went back down and the next day when she went tap the whole window went down and she about had a heart attack. They did worse than that, they decided they’re in the middle of Muskegon, there was big talk they were gonna change– They were gonna move community– It wasn’t even community college it was a junior college, they were gonna move it out to where it is now over the banks of Four Mile Creek and a couple of them who were apparently old engineers, Army engineers, “You know what, they don’t have a bridge there.” “Nope, don’t have a bridge.” So a couple of them, I can imagine it took a few six packs to get them into this, “Well bring them a bridge.” “Okay, where are we gonna–” “Well we’re not gonna build one.” “Well no.” “Just find one, we’ll move it.” Interviewer: “They stole the bridge?” Okay, so that was– The bridge they picked was not– It was just a regular city street that had two lanes, and it was not far from where the old farmer’s market Muskegon is now, I’ve driven over that bridge. (44:50) So they got– They prepared ahead of time, they spent weeks squirting oil WD-40 or whatever they had then on the bolts and planning so this was the big night they were gonna– I bet they were well oiled then not only the bridge but then too, they had a flatbed truck, they had a crane, and they were under there unscrewing and they heard the train come. So the guy underneath figures if this is a steam engine he’s about to become barbequed, barbequed by bridge. So he’s yelling “Take me up! Take me up!” And they’re down there playing the game “What’s the password?” Finally they helped him up and decided, you know this isn’t the night to move the bridge, so away they went and took the truck back to wherever it had been and took the crane back wherever they got it, wherever they got the tools they took that back but as– I started as a teacher in 1956 we were treated really well, they were– People were on our side and nobody tried this crap that these teachers are undergoing now where you got a bunch of checklists, you got somebody come in and decide what good teachers do and what good teaching is and these are guys who couldn’t teach a puppy to poop on a paper and they’re running the schools. Interviewer: “Yeah, so what grade were you teaching?” �Goodman, Donald Oh I taught sixth grade for 13 years and in a ghetto school, I never had less than 36 kids, their average reading level was four but I didn’t have discipline problems, partly because they didn’t– I never sent a kid to the principal, I didn’t have to, on the other hand they didn’t come in and tell me what I could do and couldn’t do. I never had a– I never had a charge leveled against me and I show people pictures of my last sixth grade class– Mind you these are all black kids so if you’re wondering about that, there’s a picture of them when I take them to– On a field trip to Grand Rapids Museum. So I had to do– Overnight I got the bus figured out, these kids are dressed up really nice like it’s Sunday and they’re– And I was taking their picture and they don’t look like they’re beat up or they don’t look like they– And they don’t look like they’re wild either, they’re just kids and people look at the picture and say “My God.” But I had the one kid, I can’t make up a name for her, her name is Theresa, anyways she was always a bit of a devil and got into things. One time we were playing cage ball, I don’t know do you know what cage ball is? You do crab running and you have this giant ball and you kick it with your feet, you can’t have shoes on, and there’s this– It’s kind of like soccer if anybody makes a point it’s a miracle, and they’re kicking it back and forth and there was the backstop for the basket, well they crank it up if you’re not going to be using it because we use this gym for everything. (48:26) The way you crank it up there is a cast iron crank, okay you’ve got this big box on the wall and that’s what you put that thing into and turn it and it winds up cranking the thing up and down. Alright what do you do with the cast iron thing? Custodians put it on top, fine so I was standing under it doing whatever refereeing you can do in this melee and all a sudden wham! I feel this thing that all but knocked me out and I could feel blood, I sat down and I could feel the blood up there but the kids are dead silent and my God what and I gonna do here. So I gotta get somebody in here to take the class and the principal was there so I did go down there and I said “You gotta take over the class.” She said “What do you want me to do?” I said “Give them spelling, tell them to write their words down ten times, whatever take them back to the room.” Because that’s all they had left for time, so she did so I get after– And I went and did a dumb thing, I laid down, I mean it’s a wonder and afterwards I got up, she dismissed the class and I got up to get these sheets of paper with their names on them and this one Theresa, angel, she had filled up four pages with “I hope he doesn’t die. I hope he doesn’t die.” Wow, I saw her after she left and from then on we had looks because I knew how she felt, for all the hell she’d given me. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “That’s good.” Years later, I’m trying to think how many years that would’ve been, maybe ten or 12, I’d gone through the high school, I was with the college, I set up a program in the prison. I was always doing something or other extra and I was– I had to go into the prison and I think give a test or something, anyways I supervised reading, writing, math classes in the prison besides the– When you get into the prison you gotta empty your pockets, put them in a locker and then you could have this big key. Okay you had to stand in front of this iron barred gate slid open, sprang, you stepped into a room– It wasn’t too different, a room about this size, and you stood there, the gate slid behind you, clang, oh God what a creepy feeling that is cause you’re locked in there, and then that one is supposed to slide open, sprang, and you go out and you could go– You’re free to go into the prison then carry whatever you got with you, tests or whatever there. So I’d been doing that a number of times and I got in there one time and the gate slid behind me, clang, I paused, waited, and I’m a little claustrophobic anyway I don’t even like elevators, and the gate didn’t open– Interviewer: “Oh no.” (51:55) And I “Oh my God.” And then I hear this cackling from up in the control booth and I recognize her. Interviewer: “It was her?” I said “Theresa you devil!” And she said, I’ll never forget this, “Mr.Goodman I finally got you where I want you.” Interviewer: “That’s wonderful.” I said “At least you’re on the right side of the bars.” She said “I am but you aren’t.” So we had a nice talk there and she finally let me out to go in the prison and I never saw her again, but that was so funny. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “That is really– It’s really nice getting to see a former student like that.” Well I’ve seen– Oh I’ve had– There– Funny I was there the second year there and I was teaching second grade and I ran into– I had one kid but I thought at that time– This is maybe my fourth year teaching and I thought if I teach for 40 years I’ll never teach a smarter kid than that. I’ve taught for 40 years and never did teach anybody smarter than that, I went to– Unfortunately I went to his funeral about three years ago, he had gone on to become a lawyer, so had his sister who was very very smart too, and I felt so good– He had a heart attack, he’d been busy with that I don’t know what or how many things, I felt so good his mother remembered me cause I talked to her then, but he was just one of those no matter– You just know this is the smartest person I’m ever gonna know just how fast they pick things up and he was, that was a Lindberg school and he was with one of the classes of 36, 37. My average was 36 and if he taught– If they had more than 38 they did their best to try to move somebody out into somebody else’s class and we didn’t have that many classes and we had– Teachers did have real discipline problems, a lot of them did there, there were a lot of– There were good teachers who flat out couldn’t teach, back then you needed a steady hand, but there were also teachers who weren’t [unintelligible] (54:17) I had two student teachers there and one was so good I said “I’ll recommend you for any place, even here.” And they did teach there, the other one I said “You know you’ll be a good teacher but you can’t handle this kind of stuff, so I’ll write you a good recommendation provided you promise me you will not apply for this for at least five years.” And he said “Okay, that sounds good.” And he turned out, I’ve heard later he was a good teacher in a different school. Interviewer: “That’s good.” Different system. Interviewer: “So your Army training definitely helped you maintain discipline.” Oh yes it did, what the Army training did was open me up to myself and like I say when people say “Thank you for your service.” I think “No, I should thank the Army.” Because I didn’t learn �Goodman, Donald all that stuff by belonging to the autobahn club and I didn’t find me belonging to the autobahn club. I was– I didn’t know I could organize things and I did and I was– When I was grievance chairman they said “Will you be–” At the college this was “Would you volunteer for grievance chairman?” I said “Only if I run things and I choose my grievances.” They said “You can’t do that.” I said “Then forget it.” Then they came back and said “Let’s see if we can play your game.” So I said “Alright what I’m looking for, the only grievance I’ll take right now is one that involves big bucks and that when I look it over I’m pretty sure I can win it at arbitration.” They said “We’ve never taken a grievance to arbitration.” I said “That’s what I do.” So I did have a couple people come and say “You gotta take my grievance!” And I’d say “Nope, you just became the grievance chairman, bye.” And then forget it, so I finally got 10,000 bucks out of a grievance and it was– I was real sure I could take it to arbitration and we did and later on– And yeah it went to arbitration, they paid. Later on I had good and bad, winners and losers in the grievances but this one I have read– I learned to read real closely, that’s why I knew on that prisoner chase that I could get away with this because of the faulty rating that they did. I won one grievance based on one word in the table of contents and it was worth 3,000 bucks to a psychology instructor because the board had said there is no– It was double overload, there’s no such thing as double overload, you can’t file a grievance against something that doesn’t exist in the contract. (57:14) They said “Go through the whole contract and see no place does it, use the term double overload.” And I already knew what they was up to I said “Look at the table to contents it says double overload page 33 that means on 33 whatever they say is double overload.” And won this guy 3,000 bucks, he bought me two bottles of whiskey and I thought that was kind of nice. Interviewer: “That’s a good repayment, was it good whiskey though?” You know I think it must have been I don’t remember, I can’t– I really liked my 40 years, I really liked teaching sixth grade but I was– I got this one opportunity, they came along, Bill Murry who was the assistant superintendent, see I’d been teaching sixth grade there for– I don’t– Ten years maybe, knocking on the door– This is when Lyndon Johnson took over presidency and he opened up– He poured money and we got bushel baskets of money and all of a sudden when he had none before because we– It was a great society and the schools just all of a sudden we got �Goodman, Donald we got all kind of program we can do and so nine o’clock in the morning get a knock from the assistant suit and he says “Don, we got money enough to set up a reading program in the high school would you give it some thought?” I said “Sure Bob, yeah let me think about it.” He said “Okay I’ll be back at 11 you tell me yes or no.” He was back at 11, I hadn’t had any time to talk to my wife or anything, I said “Go.” He said “Okay, show up at the high school at like 3:30 on Wednesday and talk to Al.” Who had already set up a reading program like that in the junior high and so I went there and sat down to him, and we knew each other and he had these catalogs in front of him and he said “There they are Don we got an– You got an hour and a half to spend $4,000.” I said “I’ve never taught a high school student in my life I don’t know what kind of stuff I ought to be–” He said “We gotta turn the order in now.” So I went through and I had never even seen the room that I was supposed to be assigned, that’s how goofy it was under the great society. All of a sudden bushels baskets of money in there “Spend it now.” And so we did, some of it we spent well, some of we didn’t know what we were doing but it was a good program I set up, and then I got the call from the college saying they are going to set up a reading, writing, and math program, are you interested in being in on the ground floor of that? (1:00:10) I thought “God yes, you bet I am.” I am tired because we had learned– I’ll tell you another thing, sort of thing, I’m running– I’m rambling here. Interviewer: “That’s okay.” Anyway I had just got assigned to the high school and to set everything up and found out that they locked the doors at noon time, and I went– I liked to go out for lunch, didn’t want to bring sack all the time, I went to the principal said “Can I have a key to that one door?” He said “Gee Don I don’t have any spare keys at all.” He said “Can’t you just coordinate your coming and going with some other teacher?” So I was talking and complaining, pissing and moaning at one of my classes, I had a class of like eight, and one of my students “Mr.Goodman you want a key to that door?” I said “Yeah.” He said “Give me 50 cents.” I gave him 50 cents the next day I had a key that opened every door in that high school including the principal’s office. This is the ghetto, this is the way you do things, my Army training– Interviewer: “So I’m gonna go ahead and jump us back a little bit.” �Goodman, Donald Sure, jump back. Interviewer: “Back to the Army, you mentioned working or at least being there when integration started happening and African Americans started melding into units. Was there a lot of tension or was it just–” No, no it went a whole lot smoother than you might have thought, there were a few guys from the south who couldn’t get by but our battalion commander– Name was Green, Major Green, was black and we had– And we made– Oh when I went in my first platoon sergeant who was– Everybody was working above rank, whose corporal, Corporal Summers, and I remember him big, tall dude and I was kind of surprised, I don’t know why I thought “Fine.” No, we didn’t have– And in fact two of my good friends in the Army– This is advice for anybody that’s gonna be stationed anyplace, were cooks and one was– One’s name was slaughter, he was– I thought “Okay.” Interviewer: “It’s a fitting name.” (1:02:49) The other one was Makita and they were– Yeah they were drinking buddies but “Wanna grab a steak?” It’s after the movies, “Sure.” I mean they open up the mess hall, gotta start the fire with butter and coals– All our stills were coal, and then get out the steaks and fry them in butter and I remember the one time I had my own room in the– When I was permanent party in the barracks and it’s like six o’clock in the morning and somebody knocks on my door and I didn’t usually show up orderly room until seven. Knock on the door, “Yeah?” Open the door there’s three trainees, each one had a tray full of– They had oatmeal, they had cold cereal, they had juice, they had pancakes, they had SOS, they had– You name it and I thought “Yeah, one of the cooks is up for a promotion and they want me to write because I wrote all the recommendations for promotion.” I never had any turned down and that was actually the first time I had experience with creative fiction, in fact it bordered on fantasy for some of those but they all got promoted when I wrote it. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “Hey gotta be good at what you do right?” There they were– Interviewer: “So they were just bribing you with food?” That’s it, reminding me. Interviewer: “Just a friendly reminder.” No that was Slaughter, he was– Slaughter, Makita and I hung out a lot together, I’d never had a black friend my God, and I remember one time I was so surprised, we were out someplace or other and said “How about we go to the movies?” And he said “They don’t want me in that movie” And I said “What?” That was the first time I’d ever heard– This was Missouri, he said “They won’t let me in there.” Okay, we’re not going to the movies then but it was still– Segregation was still hot and heavy in the 1950’s down south, not in the Army, no. (1:05:04) Interviewer: “That’s good.” It was, and it was absolutely– They integrated– Yeah it was only the trainees, a few trainees from someplace or other who started this crap “Well I’m not gonna–” Interviewer: “One interesting thing that I just thought of, did you ever work with any Japanese or German troops?” No. Interviewer: “When you were in training?” Nope, never did anything like that but one time I remember I was at my desk and these people came in and they had brownish uniforms and stars, like two or three stars like holy cross mother �Goodman, Donald I’ve never seen a– So I jumped up and the American who was with them said they were from Thailand and they were lieutenants something or other and I said “Oh, okay then.” They pass out thinking “My God, here’s two or three generals coming.” No never worked with– We had no foreign troops, we had 250 brand new troops come in as civilians and we taught them to do shoot and salute and polish a boot, that’s what– And they were gone and they could go– They’ll find out after they left us, go into engineering basic, I liked engineering– I liked explosives, you show me a bridge, you show me a steel girder bridge today and I’ll tell you exactly where to place the charges and what size they ought to be, how much TNT– I don’t know if we use TNT anymore, what to do but I still have that mind, the formula– If anybody’s checking, is still P=⅜ A and nobody knows what that means except old timers. Interviewer: “Well now I know.” It means pounds of TNT, the number of pounds TNT time ⅜ of the the area, the surface area, and most I beams– That’s for I beams, you get the web and the– Where’d it go? Web in the something else, I forget what it is. (1:07:20) Anyway you measured and then you multiply that times ⅜ and that tells you how much TNT– Interviewer: “Interesting.” You need to cut that, so I never got to blow a bridge but I still know how, that’s a lot of stuff. Interviewer: “Hey at least you learned.” Do you wanna know anything else? Because I’ve just been running my– Interviewer: “I guess we can start moving towards the end of it. We’ve already touched a lot on your life after the military and how it really set you up for success.” Absolutely. �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “Did you keep in touch with anybody from the Army?” My first, first sergeant yes and they moved to Florida– He got out before I did of course, and he went to Florida and we went down there to visit him, the wives did keep in touch by way of Christmas cards and he was a twin and they had– He and his twin had twin cars, one was a Chrysler and the other was a DeSoto, I forget what year they were but I remember those two cars. They had fluid drive which meant you could shift or you didn’t have to on the car, I don’t know how many years they actually did that but we kept track of John Nelson until a few years back and then kind of faded away. We went down to them to visit them, I’m not coming through, someplace down in Florida, he was an engineer, he knew– Oh we went to school together, after the Army he has signed up to go to the University of Illinois Champaign and that’s where I finished up my thing in education and he finished– He did his in engineering and so yeah I went to– When we were going to Champaign we had the one child Brian and I was working, full time student I had one job at the film library and had another working for ptomaine Tom, what he did– Isn’t that a great name, wouldn’t you buy from him? (1:09:40) He hired a bunch of us and we went around to fraternity and sorority houses, we had a route we took our own– We carried a big pot– Excuse me, of hot dogs, boiled hot dogs, and we– Excuse me, milk cartons, we had little pies, we had sandwiches, and we had the original– Well I always said we had the original Subway sandwiches but we didn’t call them that, we called them big mothers. So– And we always said that, they were made on a big loaf, you know Subway loafs big mother. Yeah it was so funny to go into a sorority house and these sweet little girls go “I want one of those big mothers!” And the joke we had with that was that– His name was Bill Sleicher, I still remember his name, anyway that Bill had the sharpest meat cutter in the world and we advertised this thing has three kinds of meat and two kinds of cheese on it, which it did but among ourselves we said “Yeah, three kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, and you can read a newspaper through all five layers.” Which, yeah you don’t know how thin meat bologna and cheese can get sliced till you had a big mother. Interviewer: “That’s funny, so it was mostly just bread?” �Goodman, Donald It was, yeah just what it was, you’re gonna waste a lot of money on stuff, and I remember– I don’t know how much that cost but I remember a braunschweiger was 40 cents, 40 cent sandwich for a braunschweiger and we had a number of different kinds of sandwiches. God that thing was heavy, that was a gut buster but in those days I was in good shape, came out of the Army. Interviewer: “Yeah you were ready to go, so–” Go ahead. Interviewer: “Would you do it all over again?” Well not that I’m 87 years old now I think. Interviewer: “If you could–” (1:11:42) Am I sorry? Oh hell no, but I didn’t get hurt, there was no time when I was close to getting hurt and it didn’t screw up my mind in anyway, I learned to accept authority then but I learned to deliver authority too and I learned to assign– Assume authority, it was no question “Thank you for your service.” Thank you for your Army. Interviewer: “Well now I have a good response for when people tell me thank you for my service I can be thank you for your Navy, they’re paying for my college.” Yeah paid for– Finished up mine too yeah. Anything else comes to mind? Jesus, I've been talking for two hours. Interviewer: “Has it been two hours?” I don’t know, how long? �Goodman, Donald Interviewer: “I don’t think it’s been quite two hours.” Been a long time. Interviewer: “Unless you have any other interesting stories you’d like to tell us about your time in the military or something to do with afterwards.” No I can’t– Well I can’t think of anything else, I’m sure I’ll get out in the car and of course I will, a whole bunch of stuff but– Interviewer: “We could always do another interview if it comes to that. So I guess we’ll wrap it up here.” Fair enough. Interviewer: “Sounds 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/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GoodmanD2311V Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Goodman, Donald J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019-06 Title A name given to the resource Goodman, Donald (Interview transcript and video), 2019 Description An account of the resource Donald Goodman was born on January 12, 1932, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Goodman graduated high school in 1949 and went on to attend the University of Illinois Chicago, which at the time had a campus at Navy Pier, for three years. In 1950, he rejected his admission into the Air Force and enlisted into the Army due to the shorter tours of duty offered by the latter service branch. For Basic Training, he was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for three years where he participated in rigorous practice drills of combat scenarios which he described as overly chaotic and nerve racking. He also recalled how the racial integration of the Armed Forces was difficult for some recruits to mentally overcome and how the Army was subtly preparing its recruits, mentally, for a potential war with the Soviet Union. After Basic, Goodman was promoted to Corporal and became a Company Clerk. At one point, Goodman was assigned to lead a ‘Prison Chase’ job with two other soldiers to retrieve five prisoners who were being held on charges of going AWOL near Chicago. He and his two men enjoyed a night in Chicago before retrieving and delivering the Army prisoners to Fort Sheridan the next day. During his service on the base, he lived with his wife in an Army trailer and his son was also born in the base’s hospital. In June of 1954, Goodman was discharged from the Army and moved his new family back to Chicago Heights where he became a middle school teacher in 1956 and later a high school teacher. During President Johnson’s Great Society initiative, his school district received large sums of money from the federal government which he used to help establish a reading, writing, and math program at a local college. Reflecting upon his service in the Army, Goodman believed his military training, in both recognizing and assuming authority, allowed him to control his classes by maintaining discipline. He owed a great amount of gratitude to the Army for helping him grow mentally into the ambitious person he is today. Goodman also kept in touch with one of his old Sergeants, was ultimately glad he enlisted into the Army, and was grateful he was never injured during his time in service. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States—History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians—Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27) 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.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4e13681e1732cb057b2add08d0175f72.mp4 ea0d1548798590bcc520e8cb6cc8ea2f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a03f569aaa037dcedb9fc6f0f3c92345.pdf f05c871c2a3704fd382dec47252cfc68 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Harrison Goodspeed (50:14) (00:30) Background Information • • • • • • Harrison was born in 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and attended East Grand Rapids Elementary He attended high school in Massachusetts and graduated in 1942 He began paying more attention to the news after Pearl Harbor At the time, most people had never even heard of Pearl Harbor Harrison attended college at Dartmouth for one semester and then he enlisted He was pretty sure he would be drafted anyway, and if he enlisted then he might be able to have a say in his position (2:30) Enlistment • • • • Harrison enlisted because he did not want to have to join the infantry, but he is glad now that they put him in the infantry because he was able to see the war first hand After enlisting he went to Fort Custer in Battle Creek and was then sent to Arkansas for basic training He went to Colorado for desert training and it was very rough They were forced to go through combat conditions (4:20) Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) • This was like going back to college; it was at the University of South Dakota where they were trained in engineering, but the Army then decided that they had too many engineers (5:10) Officer Candidate School (OCS) • • • • • Harrison went to Fort Benning in Georgia and graduated as a second lieutenant He got married in Grand Rapids and then shipped overseas Harrison received the best training for the infantry OCS Most of the men who trained him had been in combat in World War One He trained for only sixty days because things were getting really bad in Europe (10:00) Shipped Overseas January 1st, 1944 • They were constantly threatened by U-boats so they had to zig zag along the course and that took much longer than the normal trip �• They traveled in a convoy, and they men were to serve as replacements when they arrived in Europe (12:00) Europe • • • • They embarked in France and joined up with their company in Luxemburg right after the Battle of the Bulge There only 12 men left of the 180 who had fought and Harrison was one of the replacements When the company had reached 180 men again, they headed East He went through his first combat experience in only one week (16:30) The Machine Gunner • • • He shot at them near a Catholic Church and his Para-trooper friend was badly wounded and had to ship back to the US The mortar crew brought down the machine gunner and then some other men surrendered Each battalion is made up of four companies, and each company is made up of four platoons (20:45) Battle in a Small German Town • • • • • • They were traveling down a hill and were surrounded by craters in the ground from explosions Rifles started shooting at them and they started running down the hill They then went into the building where the sniper was shooting from They found some fresh poured champagne inside and some warm pork chops, which they consumed before proceeding Then they found a lot of petrified women and children in the basement There had been German propaganda that stated American men were on drugs and would rape German women (22:55) The German Army • • • They constantly found themselves outnumbered, in which cases they would surrender; Harrison said that they were “pretty shabby.” He also stated that the SS were the real “die-hards” Germans had shot at the platoons ahead of them while they were crossing the Rhine (27:20) German Bunkers • The Germans had just left their bunkers and his crew found a German pistol, a P-38 �• Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary was a veteran of the 88th Infantry Division during World War One and he had come to visit Harrison’s crew • He asked if he could give the gun to the president as a souvenir and it is still on display at Hyde Park (30:00) German Civilians • • • • • The company commander was going back home and so Harrison took his place His job was to contact the Germans as they moved along to see if they would surrender They worked with German Mayors and sometimes needed interpreters They had occupied Bavaria and spent a whole summer there They headed towards Berlin when the German army was starting to fall apart, but then the Russians said they could take care of Berlin, so they headed South towards the Austrian Alps (32:40)The Battle that Earned Harrison a Silver Star • • • • • He saw an American tank explode and found that six Germans were using anti-tank weapons He threw a grenade in the fox hole that they were hiding out in They had been pointing a machine gun at him, but they all were dead after the grenade They did not come across many German tanks, most likely because they were starting to run out of petroleum In Austria there were 200,000 Germans hiding in the mountains waiting to attack, but they eventually surrendered (36:40) The End of the War • • • • No one knew about all the concentration camps in Germany until the war came to an end During the last months of the war, Harrison’s crew was not taking very many losses and morale was excellent Many of the men in his platoon were from the East coast and were about 18-22 years old They went to France and then took a boat back to the US (40:25) Bavaria • • • While in Bavaria, they men continued to train because they thought they might be shipped out to the Pacific They dug a trench to set up a rifle range The men did not really need any more training, but Harrison had to keep them busy (43:00) The Scrapbook �• His daughter put it together for him and it contains many letters he wrote to his father and some pictures (45:50) Back in the US • • • • •   Harrison arrived in New Jersey on December 12th and then went to Indiana His wife met him there and they finally went home He took some classes in Michigan at Grand Valley and then went to the University of Michigan He got a message in the mail telling him that he would have to serve in the Korean War, but he was able to get out of it because he had three dependents He continued to study engineering at the University of Michigan � 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 Goodspeed, Harrison (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Goodspeed, Harrison Description An account of the resource Harrison Goodspeed was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. Harrison thought that he would soon be drafted, so he enlisted in the Army after high school in order to have a choice in the position that he would hold. Harrison served as a platoon leader in the 80th Infantry Division in France, Germany, and Luxemburg and provides some detailed combat stories, as well as observations on conditions in Europe after the war. 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Veterans 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 2007-10-04 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GoodspeedH 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/821c289514ad9b234b9cb8f2b0cc4e2f.m4v 2fda56a315b25910f14a81b983223b01 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/149565706651507f86906fe48c841ef9.pdf c048b384bb4e187219f8ad5c3eec83c4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II Alexander Gorashko Length of Interview (02:06:27) Background Born in Saginaw, Michigan; 1st generation American, son of Russian immigrants Father owned a grocery store Born in1924 Father eventually sold the store and became a commercial fisherman near Saginaw Bay; Gorashko started school there Chevrolet Foundry, moved to Saginaw Went into trade school in Saginaw, only went up to the 11th grade; 1942 Remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor on the car radio after church Recalls hearing about Hitler, but that was all he knew at that time Had several jobs after school Remembers his manager telling him he wouldn’t be drafted, found it doubtful (was 18 years old) Wanted to work for the telephone company and kept going there to see if there were any openings January 1943, was employed at the telephone company Training and Service (00:03:36) Drafted two months later  Went to Detroit to be examined  Sworn in on March 27, 1943  Given one week to settle affairs  Michigan Central Depot, he and 200 other men were sent to Fort Custer by train �Inclined to work with electricity and wires (00:04:40) Wanted to be a radio operator on a plane Sent to Atlantic City, New Jersey for basic training; Army Air Corps. Took him about two days to get there by train  Went in a tunnel under the Detroit River into Canada, then into Pennsylvania where Gorashko saw a lot of electric trains, then to Atlantic City Atlantic City is known for being a tourist area, so the government converted all the hotels to barracks for all the men in training  Rooms were bare, cement floors, cots  Five or six men to a room  Had to close the drapes for blackout conditions Training included mostly marching (drill), calisthenics, airplane recognition, first aid, “over-thehill” (00:07:14) Had a drill master who wasn’t too strict Training took about one month A group went by several trains to Scott Field, Illinois for Radio School Had to do KP (Kitchen Police) for a week Had code class in the morning, radio mechanics in the afternoon  As he got more proficient, the speed of the code went higher  Gorashko wasn’t able to go over 16 words a minute  Wasn’t going to be a radio operator  Kept attending classes anyway until his group graduated Had Saturdays off, went to St. Louis, Missouri; a ship called “The Admiral” would patrol up and down the river to monitor the men Gorashko himself didn’t drink, but always found something to do �Gunnery School (00:11:08) Continued with his graduating class and wound up at Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas Enjoyed gunnery school Taught how to take a machine gun apart and back together; then learned how to do that blindfolded (00:11:40) Also had simulations (a company in Detroit that made the screens), this was how they were scored Another test: given single shot guns, stood on a platform on the back of a truck (while moving) where they shot clay pigeons that were being launched from different directions  Had never used a gun before, training reflexes; was easy for him Later, went to a camp that had a turret set up and would use the turret to shoot a clay pigeons being shot out of towers, given only a single shot  This was a little more difficult for Gorashko Then, moved to a base that used planes to pull out a target sleeve, Gorashko and the other trainees would fly along on another plane (00:13:37)  Each men had different colored bullets, so several could be tested on the same target  Almost didn’t become a gunner because his seat belt wouldn’t fasten, a rule that must be strictly followed  Had to hold on to both ends of the belt while taking off so he wouldn’t fall out  Finally got it fastened as the plane leveled out  The sleeve had already passed but Gorashko shot away  When they landed, he was able to blurt out his reason for the delay; had 21 rounds left and was passed Also flew in a B-24 and operated a turret at all positions, then graduated (00:15:50)  1944, finished training  End of winter, March �Meeting the Crew (00:16:30) Had a “delayein-route,” went to Lincoln, Nebraska  Here he met his crew, didn’t meet them until the last minute Officers went on one train and the rest got on another, kept separate Went to Tucson, Arizona; took training as a crew in B-24’s; was a Tail-gunner Smaller men were usually Ball-gunners (00:17:25)  The area for the Ball-gunner is five feet in diameter with two machine guns and a small window to look out of  Very self-contained, has to depend upon everyone else to get out  Usually in there for five to six hours Tail-gunner  Very cramped area, had to be forced in because his shoulders were very broad  Turret overseas were much larger and wider, also had doors Didn’t get a chance to really associate with his crew in Nebraska (00:19:15) The crew flew together for a month and a half before they were sent overseas Flew all over the country, western part Flew a lot of night missions, not enough planes to fly during the day Pilot from Lanark, Illinois, very nice (00:20:00) Co-pilot from Texas; wanted to be a fighter pilot Bombardier, heavy-set Irishman from Connecticut, a smartass because he picked on Gorashko Navigator, a Jewish fellow from New York The Bombardier would always call Gorashko “Feets” because he has a size 12 shoe An officer also called him “Feets” which he thought was out of line �The Nose-gunner was from Connecticut, Edwin Doctor, nice guy, a joker Engineer and Top-gunner from Georgia, was a drinker, knew his job though Radio Operator was a Waist-gunner from Indiana, played the harmonica, nice guy  When over in Italy he and Gorashko went sailing together  Was responsible for the Ball-gunner The other Waist-gunner was responsible for Gorashko, Charlie Overton  When flying over an area where flak is being used, they must wear a special armor  Gorashko could not get the armor on and get into the turret because it was clipped together  Charlie Overton would bring him his “flak suit” once he got into the turret and help him hold it and clip it together  Had armor over the chest and armor over the abdomen  Also wore a heated suit: suit, booties, and gloves; Gorashko called it a “Bunny suit”  Wore the armor over this  Also wore an inflatable Mae West; everyone had to Went to Topeka, Kansas where they received all of the clothing they would need (00:25:05)  Gunners received a helmet with a visor, each were different colors; came in a kit  Issued some aviation sunglasses and .45 pistol  Boots, heavy clothing, and a heated flight suit  Received a bag about 2 feet long to keep all of their clothing Going Overseas (00:26:25) Some crews were given an airplane to fly overseas: usually flew to Brazil then to North Africa Gorashko’s crew was taken by train to Newport, Virginia, near Norfolk There for a few days until they could get on a ship, “Santa Rosa”; a passenger ship Had a couple thousand people on it �Sailed in a convoy Really enjoyed the trip across, went on deck often to read a book; good weather and no U-boat scares (00:27:35) Landed at Naples, Italy (00:28:08) Put on a trolley that was underground then went above ground into the northern suburbs of Naples Put in a building that Mussolini had built for underprivileged children; no facilities, slept on the floor with their blankets Waited to be deployed Had a chance to go to Pompeii (00:29:15) There wasn’t much battle damage in downtown Naples Met an Italian girl there (00:29:50) Got on a train and went through the southern part of Italy, on it for two days (00:31:20) Got out on the east side of Italy and stopped in an open field with B-24 Bombers Weren’t given parachutes, flew only 500 ft. off the ground, so they wouldn’t have helped much anyway Landed on an airfield, a part of the 736th Squadron, 454th Bomb Group (00:32:35) Could see the town’s church from the airfield, town of Cerignola, a part of the Foggia complex Didn’t take long before he was sent on a mission, 3 or 4 days afterward (00:33:15) First Mission (00:33:35) Had terrible living conditions  Five or six men in a tent  No electricity  No bathing facilities, took sponge baths  Used an ammunition box to heat water  Had a water trailer �The layout of the camp was a horseshoe shape; at one end, had a dayroom where a bulletin had missions posted on it (very rarely) Didn’t usually know when they were to have missions, kept in the dark usually Had to get early morning reports (4:30 AM), then go to the mess hall; didn’t eat as a group Then got on a truck for the 454th Bomb Group where they gathered at a Quonset hut containing a covered map which the officer would pull off when debriefing began Two colored threads, one red and another black, on the map  Red was the main route, black represented the alternate route Usually didn’t post missions on bulletin boards because spies or civilians could see them The morale was pretty good, miserable in the morning and happy when coming back alive (00:36:05) When overseas, had a few talks about what to do when captured; had been told the losses of planes were about 5%  Actually means 50% for 50 missions, good chance they wouldn’t coming back (captured or killed)  Expected to fly 50 missions; not told that the odds were 50% First mission was Budapest, supposed to bomb a truck factory, actually an armaments factory (00:37:30)  During debriefings, they were never told what the actual target was, so if they got captured, they could confess to bombing something else entirely Process (00:38:15) Enlisted men are first to the plane; officer’s men in groups are debriefed with more detail; Gorashko and the gunners usually waited on the side Then a truck comes by to give everyone K-rations and juice When the pilots show up, they do an inspection of the plane Just when they are ready to take off, the engineer stands outside the wing with a fire extinguisher (everyone else is off to the side) He walks from one wing to the other until all engines are working �They go through a checklist and then Gorashko and the other men get on board Four men in the back six men in the front The men in the back have their backs against the bomb bay bulkhead, so they have a little protection if they crash They then release the brakes and the plane begins to slowly move, and then speed up along the runway  Runways were actually mats, Marsden Mats Begins to feel some apprehension as they are 2/3 down the runway before they leave the ground; fence is ten feet below as they pass (also had a cemetery that they passed) During the invasion [southern France], took off at night, saw an explosion at the end of the runway (00:41:40) Two planes had run into each other, a total of 20 men First Mission, cont. (00:42:15) When flying to Budapest, had to be in formation at all times When over the flak area, become a little more scattered This was one of the scariest things that Gorashko had ever experienced, no place to hide An 88 will explode a ways behind, and they can’t help but think, “Is the next going to be a little farther ahead, or what?” After his first mission, Gorashko didn’t want to go up again On the first mission, went with another crew (pilot and tail-gunner were wither another crew) When they dropped the bombs on their target, the plane moved at a dangerous angle, lifting Gorashko off his seat; he was worried that the pilot flying had little control “Chaff,” like tinsel; cut to a certain length (depending on the frequency) and used to scramble radio frequency The other gunners would throw out the chaff as fast as they could, the sky filled with them; blurs the enemy’s radar, who would have to resort to optical Didn’t see any German aircrafts, just the flak Fighters usually flew above them, wasn’t sure if they were there on that particular mission �After the mission, they were loaded on to trucks and driven to the Interrogation Office and were asked questions about what they saw (00:45:33) Had a Red Cross girl handing out coffee and donuts; another line for whiskey, Gorashko would usually give his shot to the engineer Afterwards, could go back to their quarters Bucharest and Blechhammer (00:46:20) His next mission was about one day later at an oil refinery in Bucharest, Romania; dubious about going up but did his duty Charlie, who helped him with putting on his flak suit, had forgotten to give Gorashko his helmet (00:46:50) Reluctantly, Charlie went to give him his steel helmet; didn’t want to leave his position because he was standing upon armor that gave him protection from flak Just as he got his helmet on, Gorashko heard a “zing” and a piece of flak had fallen through the top right above his head and bounced off his helmet The amount of flak was the same as in Budapest (00:48:15) Gorashko was what they called the “Tail-end Charlie,” always the newest of the crew (00:48:30) First to be shot at, couldn’t see much outside the plane, so didn’t often see others get shot down Had 14 missions before being shot down, had three doubles (00:49:10)  Every mission to Germany counted as two missions Furthest flight, Blechammer near the Auschwitz Camp, in Poland near the German border Target: a petrochemical plant (this was near the point the Air force had bombed most of the fuel refineries in Romania, so this was one of the remaining plants for fuel) The target was so far that when they got back, they’d only 15 gallons in each tank; this is equivalent to two or three minutes of flight Flew the same mission again and didn’t have enough fuel to get back; tried to fly to an island called Vis (in Yugoslavia) that was controlled by the British (00:50:44) �Southern France Invasion (00:51:00) Flew in support for the landing in Southern France (August ’44); had to practice night flying with the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator On the morning of the Invasion, as they flew, they were joined by other groups; airplanes as far as the eye could see Had to drop bombs at 7:30 AM on a particular beach; couldn’t find their own planes, followed those in front of them Arrived at their destination 5 minutes late and couldn’t drop their bombs because they could hit their own men; flew back to Italy to drop the bombs in the Adriatic Sea (couldn’t land with them) When flying over that sea, could see miles and miles of enemy ships Hadn’t known what was happening on the beaches Prior to the Southern France Invasion, flew several missions targeting bridges (00:53:15) Bombed at 9000 feet; very low, anti-aircraft could shoot them out of the sky On one mission, felt the plane suddenly rise up as the bombs were dropped, wasn’t near the targeted bridge Hit an intersection of houses (this was in France); Gorashko isn’t sure what happened, but after interrogation, heard nothing else of it Didn’t turn back though, just went back with the rest Didn’t ever see any German aircraft during his missions, it was a problem (00:55:15) Hour after hour of scanning the skies, would sometimes daydream because it couldn’t be helped Gorashko was always concerned about an enemy firing from the direction of the sun; he had a piece of visor (made of very dark material) so that he could hold it up to the sun At the airfield in the beginning of July, shot down August 22 (month and a half) (00:56:25) �Entertainment (00:56:35) Life at the airfield was boring; for entertainment, they had a movie every other night  No electric lights, so would make a bonfire and roast potatoes  One waist-gunner would play the mouth-organ  One instance they swam in the Adriatic, also went into town a few times  Went to a mountain-top village, some men wanted to drink at a cantina  Remembers swimming with a ground troop fellow in a drainage ditch, suddenly a bunch of sheep manure had come floating down; had to use the showers the ground troops used (which they weren’t happy about) Blechhammer: Enemy from 12o’clock (00:58:25) When it was announced the mission was Blechhammer, everyone gave a groan  Told that they may have to make a landing on the island of Vis At the target, saw a plane on fire and spiraling downward; saw a bunch of parachutes Some of the others saw planes go down, too; one of the rougher missions On the way back (45 minutes after the target) the engineer checked the sight-gages; came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t make it back to Italy and started for Vis After a while, the pilot was on the intercom telling the men to be on alert as another group had been hit Half hour later, the engineer announced a plane was coming from 12o’clock (00:59:48) It flew under Gorashko’s group’s formation Made a turn and was vulnerable, but turned at an angle that the body armor was towards Gorashko’s group He could see the tracers bouncing of the plane; then Gorashko shot, but the plane was a ways beyond already Shot with short bursts, only one shot 15 or 20 minutes later heard explosions going on around their plane; hadn’t heard anyone call out an airplane At that time, turned his head and saw their plane was on fire �Had no time to tell anyone and got out, lost his intercom connections By the time he got out, the whole area was on fire; his oxygen tank had caught fire, as well The two waist-gunners already had their parachutes They headed into the bomb bay to let the others know about the fire Heard explosions just as they were standing under the fuel tanks, Gorashko thought it was his ammunition going off in the tail-end Was actually being attacked by another plane, a fighter As the bombardier hit the lever for the bomb bay doors, the plane went into a roll Fell off the ten inch catwalk and got caught on something; going down in a dive Parachute harness caught from behind It then took another little roll and freed him; he then floated out as the plane fell No time to think, just pulled the handle for the chest chute and nothing happened Instinctively pulled out the pilot chute, which pulled the main chute out Was dropping at such a rapid rate that there was a jerk, “stop,” that caused him to pass out Seconds later, woke up; his lines were all tangled and was missing a boot Trying to figure what to do; the lines of his chute were still unwinding, so he was spinning downward Saw an airplane burning below, another plane Felt a sense of euphoria as he realized that after all this, he was still alive It didn’t last long Could hear bullets going by, thought it was bullets from the plane that was burning below; was actually being shot at from the ground Came down in a tree and hung there for a moment and tried to decide what to do next Saw movement below and then a Hungarian soldier came forward, aimed, and shot at him �Gorashko surrendered (01:07:00) Was shaking as he tried to get down from the tree Was surrounded by people, got undressed and they checked to see if he had a radio Pulled off his wings and soldier hit him in the back with the butt of a rifle knocking him down Got dressed, but then a German Sergeant came over and made him undress again (in front of all women, children, and Hungarian soldiers) Then got dressed again and was told to go to a certain spot, there was a yellow bottle on the ground Gorashko picked it up, everyone backed away; it was oxygen, and he told them what it was (to which they all laughed) After they examined him, they marched Gorashko to a place where he would be kept captive Marched passed some houses (one child tried to give him an apple, but his arms were full), it was a really hot afternoon Went up to a house to rest, was given bread and water, they were very kind A quarter of a mile later came to a university where he was put in a room Charlie, one of Gorashko’s buddies, showed up here; doesn’t think anyone else in his plane got out though Prison Camp (01:11:13) Seven or eight other men were captured, as well Slept on boards lain across sawhorses The next day, fed soup with potatoes peelings and a little piece of bread Was told they were being taken by train to Budapest by an English-speaking Hungarian soldier A tall civilian was standing next to the soldier and asked him something; the Hungarian soldier then asked if there were any Jews among the prisoners No one said anything, one fellow looked Jewish, but nothing came of it; Gorashko is pretty sure that civilian was actually a Gestapo Marched down the road down the road to the station, were being spit at and slandered by civilians as they went �Put in a boxcar with young Hungarian soldiers with machine guns who eager to fight; was really uncomfortable and Gorashko couldn’t wait for dark so he wouldn’t have to see them staring Followed Lake Balaton to Budapest, arrived at 12:30 or 1:00 AM, taken to the city jail by ambulance Spent the night there with a Lieutenant, never spoke a word, too tired; slept on mats upon the floor The next day, taken to the prison and put in solitary confinement for five days (01:15:00) Was interrogated to which he gave vague answers, said he didn’t know anything The interrogator then pulled out a book that contained his bomb group number Was taken back to his cell, asked for a nurse because he had a burn on the right side of his face and right hand A day later, put in a room filled with bread There for another five days, taken to a train station and guarded by two pilots on rest-leave Got very cold, had only their summer clothes on Taken out of Budapest, stopped at one place where they saw a huge Ferris wheel (Vienna); taken from there and to the north It got so cold that they had to huddle to keep warm After a couple days, stopped during the night and slept until morning, awoken by a German sergeant from the prison camp Made to push the railroad car off the track Walked 20 minutes through the woods to the prison Examined very thoroughly, had their pictures and fingerprints taken The barracks were all filled, so they were taken to little buildings called “dog houses,” only 10x10 feet with eight men No electricity or facilities, had to go outside the door  Gorashko had to go one night, and a guard dog was coming around the corner, he made sure to get back into the building as fast as possible �There were about 2,000 men in each compound, so about 10,000 men at this camp (01:19:55) They built another compound and it took a whole day to move Gorashko and the other prisoners Given nothing to eat that day No beds or facilities besides a stove; had to make their own mats Lights went out at 10 PM every night Daily Routine (01:21:17) A lot of the men in the prison were anxious to know how the war was going The morning, given hot water; then stand out to be counted At noon given a stew or potatoes, very small portion (Gorashko ate out of a can) The next meal was either the stew or potatoes, as well, with a 1/7 piece of bread; daily ration Got Red Cross parcels; were supposed to get one per man per week; only got a ¼ or this so they would split it  One pound can of Klim (milk spelled backwards), two D-bars, corned beef, sugar, coffee (one can), K-2 Crackers, cigarettes (four packs, a form of money)  Didn’t trade with the Guard Officers, very strict  “Big Soup”  Some men actually knew a few of the Officers, they had lived in Saginaw but had gone back to Germany  “Green Hornet” Usually played cards provided by the Red Cross, also had a library with books donated by the International YMCA (would sit around and discuss the book being read) (01:25:25) Gorashko’s first book was, “Chemistry for Nurses” Not much trading went on (01:26:40) Got a job as a bread cutter �Had a compound leader; each room elected a leader (01:28:00) Assigned details (get water, clean the room, peeling potatoes, etc.) Had 20 men in the room, would rotate the jobs  When peeling potatoes, would have to do it outside, so if it was cold out, everyone would help out  Used butter knives The International YMCA had brought in some instruments, they had a show; a couple days after the show, one of the comedians came in with a piece of paper with the news (01:29:45)  Went from room to room  Heard about the Battle of the Bulge Also given photographs by the YMCA, one actually had a radio built into it March (01:31:10) Wasn’t much change in mood or morale as the Russians got closer, the prisoners hoped they would be liberated by them December, Russians made a big drive into Germany from Silesia, progressing towards Pomerania, where the prison camp was Gorashko’s room leader told them to treat the Germans well when the Russians come because the Russian wouldn’t Could hear gunfire and canon fire, heard nothing the next day The Commandant came in to tell them that they were ordered to evacuate, one day to get ready 7:30AM must begin marching, no transportation or food, February 6, 1945 Very cold, marched out the gate and handed one Red Cross parcel per man Gorashko’s group came out last, were told to take two because they had too many left Marched through the woods; Gorashko had to eat most of his extra parcel (in 2 or 3 days) because carrying it was becoming too cumbersome Stopped at night at two barns, 500 men to a barn; only just enough room to sit �A fellow in the hayloft had a guitar and began playing for 20 minutes, then asked for requests Someone answered, “Yeah, how about ‘Let Me Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?’” and everyone laughed and from then on they told jokes that night Continued marching for three days and on one particular night, Gorashko was so weak and tired that he couldn’t climb into the hayloft without assistance In the beginning, men were able to keep up, but a week later some were falling by the wayside By this time, the German’s had a wagon to carry the stragglers Some of the older German guards (around 65 years old) couldn’t handle it and threw their guns out No one attempted to escape, no point because they were in the middle of German territory No on attempted to escape from the camp, either, highly improbable that anyone could get out; too many spotlights, dogs, and machine guns Had to stay 15 feet away from the fence or the Germans would shoot, “Warning Rail” “Long, Lean, and Unclean” Some men had to walk 86 days, Gorashko did not because he got sick (01:36:50) “Combines”- a group of three men who took care of each other; each did different duties Gorashko got separated from his, but found a couple guys; about this time got diarrhea Waiting for a train; couldn’t eat anything without it coming out, so he had to tell the German guards Took him a hospital barn where he was given a stall where he could sleep, also given a Red Cross parcel and blanket There for three days Moved him to another barn, very cold, moved up into the hayloft The group up there didn’t want him there because they had a way of getting extra food; he got in on it anyway A German General then came and took 49 of the prisoners by wagon to a prison camp in New Brandenburg; waited for 16 hours in 0 degree weather �Gorashko froze his feet and hands very badly; they were taken back to the barn because the prison was having a Typhus epidemic The next day, knew he needed to take better care of himself if he wanted to survive, went into one of the greenhouses, a cellar Had heated vents, so Gorashko snuck in there and warmed his feet; did this for a couple days Bribed a French worker with cigarettes to keep him from being discovered One day, a German General came walking through and greeted him, then continued walking; he didn’t go back there again Eventually, they were taken to a train by car; 50 men to a car Travelled all night and wound up at a train station in Hamburg Given a German Red Cross parcel with a piece of sausage and bread in it, thought it was out of this world Next morning, in another camp and bombers from England were flying over The camp was filled with British men captured in North Africa; worse conditions than the first camp No Red Cross parcels Allowed to keep all of their stuff, except their guns; had a little market going, a lot of trading, a “stock market”; a very ingenious bunch “Blower” a tin can that had fire in it and a small grill to set a can upon; use twigs, paper, and a crank to light it; became very hot quickly British were tough, found one of their men stealing and threw him in an outhouse and urinated on him One of the Americans happened to take a bunch of cigarettes but they were stolen from him when sleeping This was March of ’45 (01:45:30) Received news everyday The Germans came in one day and told them to pack up and move Took them out to a gate; the war front was close, so saw a lot of German vehicles and planes �The British had to stop and make their tea; one of the men from one of the other camps kicked this over and bellowed at them to get in ranks They began to march and after 5 km, a couple of planes come swooping down; a German plane shot down by an American; was about 15 or 20 feet above their heads Stayed at a farmer’s barn, no place to sleep; slept in on a conveyer belt of a threshing machine The days were getting warming, passing through villages and crossing bridges They were crossing one particular bridge when Gorashko suddenly heard the propeller of a plane, thought it was going to strafe the bridge Two 20 mm guns were shooting at these planes; these planes went over them shooting at something across the river Had felt helpless during that incident Another incident: British Mosquitoes were patrolling the highways at night for convoys; shot a rocket near the barn they were sleeping in Decided to sleep under a wagon the next night Kept being moved from one farm to the next, being fed barley (01:50:10) Made it to an intersection where there was a little community A woman fed them soup and cake One of the guards said that the Americans were in the next village, one man on guard duty Later, a jeep came in with a British Officer and American Sergeant; the German guard threw his gun down The Germans threw their hands up and the prisoners were told to round up all the guns and Germans Found a German supply truck with food, drinks, and money Gorashko took half a loaf of bread and shared it with a guy who had half a jar of jam While they were eating, a German Officer came up to them wanting to give up; Gorashko told him he had to sit down and wait until he finished eating One of the ex-POW asked them if they want some eggs, a woman was cooking for the men �They walked to the house with the German officer, let him get his stuff then took the officer to an enclosure with the rest of the captured Went to the next town to get a car, walked then took a bicycle Got into town and everyone was trying to leave so they could escape the Russians One of his buddies got a truck fueled by pieces of wood and a fire Everyone was having a ball drinking and singing Came up to a bridge lined with stalled vehicles, MP’s made them push the truck off the road (01:54:10) Determined to get a car but all the vehicles were torn apart because they were being used as blockades against the Russians Began walking again, and a New Zealander in a jeep picked them up Reached a bridge Told by the MP to push the jeep into the river after they crossed the bridge Gorashko saw a small cow path that went straight and said to go there so they wouldn’t have to lose the jeep Made it to another bridge, worried that the jeep would be taken Met a 20mm English Gun Crew who told them to join them for supper Had eggs and tea, told the crew they wanted to cross the bridge This was the same crossing where they thought they were being shot at (the original bridge was by now replaced by a pontoon bridge) Saw one of the last actions, a house blown up by cannon fire; were waved across by MP’s Driving late at night, had nowhere to stay; told to go to the Mayor’s house, then to the Commanding Officer’s house Shared a bed with a Lieutenant and hoped the guy wouldn’t get his fleas (had a lot of fleas) �The next day, taken to a school house where they were served the best meal (01:57:20)  Mashed potatoes, Swiss steak, gravy, peaches  As he left, felt his mouth water and threw all of it up; stomach couldn’t handle it; did this again the next night  Went to a hospital and was told to stop eating too much at once Wound up at a British airport, waited for a plane, four or five days (01:58:10) Flew to Brussels, Belgium, controlled by the British  Were issued British uniforms, but Gorashko wanted to keep his flying coveralls V-E Day, May 8 (1945), lots of fireworks Put on train to Namur, Belgium, under the control of the American Army Was deloused, kept his coveralls which were deloused by gas Given Invasion money, nice clothing, and had Belgian women bringing them food Sent to Camp Lucky Strike on the French coast Wanted to go to Paris; hitchhiked for two miles, but the road was blocked (01:59:25)  Didn’t have a pass, so decided to walked around the MP’s  Walked along the coast and saw all the emplacements for the Invasion  Did this all afternoon, then went back to the camp  Given eggnog provided by the Red Cross  Had a musician by the name of Alec Templeton, a blind pianist, perform  At night, men were playing crap games Shipped out to Le Havre, France; told they would have KP duty (02:00:15) Gorashko wouldn’t do it, so he walked out and went to downtown Le Havre Had supper with some bargemen and was going back to the camp, but didn’t remember where it was, and it was getting dark, had tea with a French man �Left and eventually ran into another man heading toward the camp KP duty again, went to downtown Le Havre, again; got back on a GI truck Was then placed on a ship to Southampton, England; didn’t land, waited for orders (02:01:30) A couple hours later, continued sailing Had more men than bunks, so had to sleep on deck; still a very pleasant trip Getting near America, could see a bellboy swaying back and forth Had to proceed slowly due to fog, so Gorashko went under the deck to wait Later, one of his buddies, Red, told him to get up on deck Saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Brooklyn Saw a sign on Brooklyn that said, “Welcome home! Well done!” there was a ship full of girls and a band playing He cried, it was great Perspective (02:02:42) All that had happened definitely changed the way he looked at the world It talks about this in the last page of his book  It’s not the fancy things, the fancy clothes, the fancy cars that matter, it’s the everyday things  “These are the things you miss: bread and butter, a clean shirt, a bath, a nice bed to sleep in” Benton Harbor was quite a welcome Then went to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey by train Saw German POW’s frying up steaks, AAA Steaks The next day, went to Fort Sheridan, Illinois, allowed to go home Home for about a month then got a telegram telling him to report to Miami Beach in a month Shipped to Wilmington, North Carolina as a helper in a radio shop that had B-26 Bombers and P47 Fighters �Moved him to an intercostals waterway where there was a ship; made a radioman there  Just guard duty Given 73 points and shipped back to North Carolina and was discharged Went home and wanted a better job at the telephone company Was going on a date with one of the girls at the company and was waiting for her One of the bosses comes by and asks him why he isn’t working here (knew him by name) and so Gorashko told him he wanted a better job The boss asked for his number and got him a job at Port Huron Retired after 41 years, has worked all over Michigan � 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 Gorashko, Alexander (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gorashko, Alexander Description An account of the resource Alexander Gorashko was drafted in 1942 was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He began training as a radio operator, but then switched to gunnery school, and was assigned to a B-24 crew as a tail gunner. He and his crew were sent to the 15th Air Force in Italy, and flew 14 missions before being shot down over Hungary, including raids over Romania and Auschwitz, and a mission in support of the landings in southern France. After being shot down, he was captured and sent to a POW camp in Pomerania, and was eventually forced by the Germans to march eastward to escape the advancing Russians. The Germans continued to move prisoners around as Allied forces approached from east and west, and Gorashko was eventually liberated by American and British soldiers 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps 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 2009-12-01 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GorashkoA 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/54f68fff905d87250b15ac9959883980.jpg a796b48c06ff7852fbd823f53f73f917 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> 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-50_1787 Title A name given to the resource Gordi class destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Gordi class Russian DD (destroyer), October 1, 1947. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy Military education World War, 1939-1945 Slides Warships--Recognition Russia Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-10-01 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/a90f09d30d405bd1fa455e05e314f62e.jpg 4aff1e9645edaf13d41a06da1e5f8ec4 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> 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-50_1789 Title A name given to the resource Gordi class destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Gordi class Russian DD (destroyer), October 1, 1947. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy Military education World War, 1939-1945 Slides Warships--Recognition Russia Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-10-01 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/7616c0fbdfc77e82414b5413782ccd20.jpg d21d4e06b68f6fd18d4a01065c4a399f 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> 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-50_XX659 Title A name given to the resource Gordi Russian destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Gordi, Russian DD (destroyer). Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Russia Military education Warships--Recognition Slides Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) 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/c3c49baad89288fbc643046d96b54c7c.jpg 46f94d08807bcc9d2bf54313f52fac75 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 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. Source Lincoln and the Civil War. PS2514 .G6 1903 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-01_Bindings0221 Title A name given to the resource Gordon Keith Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Armstrong, Margaret (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of Gordon Keith, by Thomas Nelson Page, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1903 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/400733bb3c0239a1a043449219e4d957.mp4 c7fc6aa01d610ce0eaf43c3fdfd14378 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/43a1de5774ade27de56fec5f88f1be34.pdf da5d4357551e875260f4fa39d3e829d4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project George Gordon World War II 1 hour 20 minutes 3 seconds (00:00:22) Early Life -Born in Evanston, Illinois in 1925 -Raised in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and Winnetka, Illinois -Graduated from high school in 1943 -Father was initially a beer distributor for Heileman Brewing Company -Later went on to become a stock broker for Ashland Oil Company -Had three brothers -Remembers that the family had a cottage in Wisconsin (00:03:06) Start of World War II and Enlisting in the Marines -Head about the news concerning Pearl Harbor that Sunday night -Didn’t know anything about Pearl Harbor prior to the bombing -Gas rationing took effect quickly after the United States entered the war -Had to do a lot of walking just to accomplish every day errands -He was made aware of the war by the personal impact that it had on his life with rationing -Prior to Pearl Harbor he hadn’t followed the war in Europe -In April 1943 he was drafted by the Army -On the way to being sworn into the Army the Marine Corps offered him a chance to enlist -Changed his mind and decided to enlist in the Marines instead (00:06:35) Marine Corps Boot Camp -Went to boot camp in San Diego -Didn’t do so well with rifle training because of bad knees -The Marines desperately needed new soldiers so he qualified as a sharpshooter anyway -Got to boot camp by way of train -After twelve weeks of training he was allowed for a short leave home -Went on marches in the mountains around Camp Pendleton, California -Most men actually enjoyed being in boot camp -They were given three square meals a day and a bed to sleep in -Specialized with the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) -Remembers that there was competition between the training platoons -Who could do a training task better, who would be rewarded, etc. -Main emphasis was discipline and following orders (00:14:37) Deployment to Guadalcanal -In December 1943 he was sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific Ocean -He was assigned to C Company 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment 3rd Marine Division -Remembers that his lieutenant had been an editor for the San Francisco Chronicle -Had gotten to Guadalcanal after being sent over from New Caledonia by way of transport -Noticed that older men didn’t deal with deployment as well as the younger men did -While he was in Guadalcanal he developed a serious infection -While at Guadalcanal they received additional training for fighting in the Pacific �-Learned that he was incredibly adept at throwing grenades -Broke a Marine Corps distance record (00:20:21) Marianas Islands Campaign-Landing on Guam -In June 1944 he boarded an LST (landing ship tank) bound for the Marianas Islands -Lieutenant got a personal letter from General Teddy Roosevelt Jr. before landing -Landed at Guam -LSTs were being protected by a destroyer -Still took a hit from a Japanese dive bomber -Before the landing at Guam they ran out of cigarettes -He was part of the third wave in -Still took Japanese artillery fire -Japanese had already been pushed off the beach by the first two waves -Abandoned his BAR and instead chose to help wounded down a hill back to the beach -Later got hit by several banzai attacks without any kind of rifle to defend himself with -Remembers that the Japanese were using dud grenades -He was finally able to find an M1 Carbine to use for the time being -Shot and killed a charging Japanese lieutenant colonel -Noticed that the lieutenant colonel was attempting to become a suicide bomber (00:33:45) Marianas Islands Campaign-Silver Star on Guam -After getting established on Guam he and his unit were sent out to relieve an outpost -They were set up in a skirmish line to attack a Japanese position -Miscommunication led him to initially going out on his own -Was able to get back to his own line without alerting the enemy -Eventually the skirmish line pushed forward to engage a Japanese machine gun position -He wound up running straight towards the machine gun position and got separated from his unit -Only had two grenades on him -Used last two grenades and two live ones that he found to neutralize the machine gun -For destroying the position on his own he was awarded the Silver Star (00:44:10) Marianas Islands Campaign-Other Details on Guam -Spent a lot of time hunting down the Japanese forces on the island -Given alcohol one time by a doctor to relieve his fatigue -Wasn’t a drinker at the time and was able to fall asleep in his foxhole -He wound up being able to sleep through a firefight between Japanese and Marines -Spent three days in a hospital because of having dengue fever -Spent most of his time on Guam going out on patrols (00:48:33) Iwo Jima -After Guam he and his unit were sent over to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima -Remembers that it was a hellish looking place -Ugly island with nowhere to find cover from fire -Soldiers welcomed getting horrendously wounded just to be off the island -Remembers seeing amputees that were happy to be done with fighting -Remembers that even after Mount Suribachi fell the Japanese continued to fight on -Almost had to land on Iwo Jima -His unit was being sent in, but after a logistics mix up his unit was sent back to the ship -The plan from there on out was to keep his regiment on hand as a reserve unit -Worked with cargo on board the ship during the Iwo Jima Campaign �(00:56:29) Return to Guam -In later 1945 after Iwo Jima he and his unit were sent back to the northwest part of Guam -Mission was to help clear out the 7,500 Japanese that were still at large on the island -Placed in charge of his squad -Ran into a Japanese suicide bomber -Was able to kill him before he could detonate the grenade that he was holding -Eventually was able to clear out the remaining Japanese on the island -Remembers that Guam had a diverse mix of terrains -Red soil, arid places; jungle; and beautiful beaches -His platoon was sent to a hill as a show of force for the higher command -They weren’t supposed to be near the hill, but were because of miscommunication -American artillery barrage wound up killing half of the platoon in a friendly fire incident (01:05:24) Interactions with Non-Americans and Foreign Experiences -Didn’t interact very much with the native Chamorro people on Guam -They were U.S. friendly, but they didn’t exactly like the U.S. presence either -Knew that they actively fought against the Japanese though -Heard about one Chamorro farmer killing a group of Japanese soldiers -Caught them on his farm and hanged their bodies -He and the other Marines were allowed to eat the native fruit on Guam -Got to know some of the native farmers on Guam -Got to know some of the Korean forced laborers that they liberated from the Japanese -Very friendly towards Americans -Saw the Marines as liberators and allies (01:09:03) End of the War and Coming Home -Got back to the United States on December 14, 1945 -Landed in San Diego -Went back to Chicago by way of train -Didn’t have any overcoats provided to them even in the dead of winter -Had been kept on Guam even after the bombs were dropped -Serving as a U.S. presence there -They had also been training for the planned invasion of Japan -Sent to Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago and was discharged from there -His father picked him up in Chicago and brought him home to Winnetka, Illinois (01:14:22) Life after the War -In early 1946 he enrolled in and attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York -Graduated after attending for four years -Went to work for the same company as his father -After that got involved with Standard Oil of Indiana (renamed: Amoco, now part of BP) -Worked in Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan as well as in Chicago -Met his wife while working for Standard Oil -Settled permanently in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1955 (or 1960) (01:16:59) Reflections on Service -Learned that sometimes you have to have faith in fate -No amount of training is ever too much training to prepare you for something -Happy and feels lucky that he was able to avoid some of the worst landings in the Pacific -Combat experience taught him to listen to intuition �-Feels that instinct and intuition saved him when he destroyed the machine gun on Guam � 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_GordonG1653V Title A name given to the resource Gordon, George (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-06-26 Description An account of the resource George Gordon was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1925. He grew up in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and Winnetka, Illinois and graduated from high school in 1943. In April 1943 he received a draft notice for the Army, but enlisted in the Marine Corps. He trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, California and specialized with the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle). In December 1943 he was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific where he joined C Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine, Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. In June 1944 he partook in the invasion of Guam where, after neutralizing a Japanese machine gun nest, he was awarded the Silver Star. At the start of 1945 his unit sailed to Iwo Jima but did not land, and instead returned to Guam to clear out Japanese stragglers and prepare for the invasion of Japan. He remained there after the Japanese surrender and returned home in December. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gordon, George 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image 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> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/362cb55397ef3338c704fb576f50d5dd.mp4 ff61c5c50c53fab3c6c2969e4ce2d3dc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25b1b6cf355a25b22102ace073639a46.pdf 72a9b57387c6beb7656161366b5138c3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Jerry Gore Length of Interview (00:09:13) Background Born July 9, 1949 Served in the Vietnam War, Army Drafted into the Army Living in North Baltimore, Ohio During the time he was drafted, a Marine Sergeant picked which men would go into the Marines and who went to the Army, no choice Received a letter, was working at a rubber factory that made road seals Everyone was getting drafted during this time Tried to join the Navy, but wasn’t accepted Fort Gordon, Georgia, did training there in March into the summer Would run up a hill called Big Red, due to the red clay; it was terrible, horrendous It was tough getting used to being away from home, had to adapt Went through Advance Infantry Training in Fort Gordon Did Jungle Training  Used the forests and swamps to train  Remembers doing night maneuvers, could see water moccasins in the swamps  The training wasn’t for him, he was a just a kid from a farm town  Once, during training, snuck around to the “enemy” headquarters where they didn’t know what to do �In Vietnam, he was a Machine Gunner, M-16; also was a Tunnel Rat  Tunnel Rat is someone who goes down tunnels that may be hiding the enemy Always saw combat, but doesn’t want to talk about it Once was sent back to the rear to Base Camp where they had the hospital Had microscopic worms making him sick with fever  These things happened often because they were living in the jungle While he was recuperating, the Playboy Bunnies came in and took pictures with the GI’s  When they heard what he had, they just took right off Was never a POW Was awarded the Purple Heart (wounded), two Bronze Stars, Army Commendation with Vdevice for Valor, Air Medal for combat assaults in a helicopter, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge for the amount of time in combat, Vietnamese Medals for serving in Vietnam, Cross of Gallantry which he received later Wasn’t married before he left Used radio to stay in contact with his family  A ham radio operator would contact the States with a telephone operator who would then connect their call to the family Would usually eat C-rations, also smoked (they were very dry) Towards the end, had Warp Rations, basically dehydrated foods, which were pretty good The stress of carrying a backpack about 45 pounds, and a 20 or 30 pound gun through the jungle is memorable for Gore � 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 Gore, Jerry (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gore, Jerry Description An account of the resource Jerry Gore was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War in 1969. Having gone through Advanced Infantry Training, he served as a machine gunner and tunnel rat until he became too ill to fight. He states that he was in combat all the time, but chooses not to talk about it. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bennett, Bradley (Interviewer) 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 2009-11-08 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GoreJ0316V 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