432 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cecc0b5dbf19f6447209ef6043ded497.pdf 43666b64d92a42ddc2d868d1536bb2ef PDF Text Text � 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 Incunabula Description An account of the resource The term incunabula refers to books printed between 1450 and 1500, approximately the first fifty years following the invention, by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, of printing from moveable type. Our collection includes over 200 volumes and numerous unbound leaves from books printed during this period. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1450/1500 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Incunabula Collection (DC-03) 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 </a> Subject The topic of the resource Incunabula Printing 1450-1500 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource text Language A language of the resource eng it la nl de 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/. Title A name given to the resource Sermones dominicales super evangelia et epistolas [folium 147] Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-03_147PratoFlorido1479 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hugo de Prato Florido Description An account of the resource One leaf from Sermones dominicales super evangelia et epistolas by Hugo de Prato Florido. Printed in Strassburg by Georg Husner not after 1479. Illustrated with red rubricated initals. [GW 13571; ISTC ih00506500] Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Strassburg: Georg Husner Subject The topic of the resource Incunabula Printing 1450-1500 Language A language of the resource la 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 application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1479 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Type The nature or genre of the resource Text https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e24ae57355c8cc841620b184103ee76c.pdf c656743e68cbd9cf092ce03901c8bf5c PDF Text Text � 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 Incunabula Description An account of the resource The term incunabula refers to books printed between 1450 and 1500, approximately the first fifty years following the invention, by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, of printing from moveable type. Our collection includes over 200 volumes and numerous unbound leaves from books printed during this period. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1450/1500 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Incunabula Collection (DC-03) 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 </a> Subject The topic of the resource Incunabula Printing 1450-1500 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource text Language A language of the resource eng it la nl de 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/. Title A name given to the resource Didascalicon de studio legendi et alia Opuscula [folium 141] Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-03_141SanctoVitore1474 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hugo de Sancto Victore Description An account of the resource One leaf from Didascalicon de studio legendi et alia Opuscula by Hugo de Sancto Victore. Printed in Strassburg by the Printer of Henricus Ariminesis (Georg Reyser) not after 1474. Illustrated with red rubricated initals. [GW 13625; ISTC ih00532000] Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Strassburg: Printer of Henricus Ariminensis (Georg Reyser) Subject The topic of the resource Incunabula Printing 1450-1500 Language A language of the resource la 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 application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1474 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Type The nature or genre of the resource Text https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/58024e835a654ddc75fbeecbecab14a5.mp4 de713e6611206473eeba0d4693329299 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d17d7f9f5cbc63f7206cd3d58520fd5.pdf 6ffccc57899f6fd0e51aaf0409a2fe8b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Tom Huis Interview Length: (00:00:21:00) Early Life/ (00:00:14:00)  Was attending Kellogg Community College before joining the army (00:00:19:00) o Had a draft deferment while taking classes, and after dropping a class, received a draft notice (00:00:20:00)  Received draft notice on Christmas Eve of 1968, at age 21 (00:00:34:00) o Had to decide whether or not to join the service (00:00:43:00)  Parents were Dutch (00:00:01:09) o Became United States citizens and had a great deal of national pride afterward (00:00:01:12) o Felt it was an obligation for their son to serve the country in Vietnam (00:00:01:20) o Being foreigners, parents “had a different outlook on things” (00:00:01:30)  Was not planning on joining the military at the time of recruitment, but originally intended to someday (00:00:01:40)  Very short window of time, only 10 days, between draft notice and entrance into the military (00:00:01:54)  At first, several physicals banned him from entering the military (00:00:02:06)  Branch of service was not a choice (00:00:02:40) o Some volunteered for the Navy to avoid lack of control over where you end up, but most simply got drafted (00:00:03:09) Military Experience (00:00:03:35)  First days in training “was a real rude awakening” (00:00:03:42)  First, was taken to the barber shop, where it costed 25 cents to get the standard “buzzcut” (00:00:03:47)  Did not think it was as bad as many people make it out to be (00:00:04:30) o Did what was asked, and you would not be punished (00:00:04:44) o Those that “made waves” had a hard time (00:00:04:55)  Change in wardrobe was “unusual” (00:00:05:10) o Used to wearing colorful clothing, now must wear “drab green” (00:00:05:14)  Did training in Fort Knox, Kentucky (00:00:05:26) o Was supposed to have 8 weeks of basic training, but the time frame was cut down to 7 in order to supply more men to Vietnam (00:00:05:32)  Traveled from Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas for medical training, but was instead asked to consider being a noncommissioned officer as well (00:00:06:00) o Did not intend on being in the military for more than the required two years, and declined the request (00:00:06:38) o After being asked several times to commit to medical and non- commission officer positions, was asked to consider military leadership (00:00:06:48) o As it turns out, there is very little difference between the training involved for a noncommissioned officer and leadership training (basically for corporals rather �              than sergeants), with the exception of not having to sign up for an extra year in service for the latter (00:00:06:58) Decided to train for leadership (00:00:07:05) Was part of the human resources system, which involved keeping personal records and other related documents (00:00:07:30) While stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, saw many wounded soldiers brought back from Vietnam (00:00:08:10) o Was one of the men in charge of overseeing the wounded men as they were unloaded (00:00:08:40) (00:00:09:05) Was supposed to go to Vietnam, but at the last minute, had a change of orders and went on leave instead. In the six days at home, was married and had gone on the honeymoon (00:00:09:31) Spent a great deal of time traveling (00:00:10:10) o Traveled much of Europe and was able to explore the various countries they went through (00:00:10:15) Communicated with those back home in the United States by letter (00:00:10:38) o All family information was conveyed through written letters, even serious matters such as deaths in the family (00:00:11:15) Because location was so confined, in a mountainous region, received isolation pay (00:00:11:30) o Got very close to the other men stationed in the mountains because of how few people were there (00:00:11:56) o Would spend holidays together (00:00:12:03) o “There was never a dull moment” (00:00:12:39) o It was still a difficult environment to get use to (00:00:13:10) Traditions of foreign peoples were much different, especially popular American holidays such as Christmas and Easter (00:00:13:25) o There were many different religions as well (00:00:13:35) o Religion was dichotomized between rural and urban areas, especially amongst protestants and Catholics (00:00:13:45) Transportation was also very different in Europe (00:00:14:28) o Many took trains, which was the primary mode of transportation (00:00:14:30) o Had a vehicle that the men could use, which made travel much easier (00:00:14:40) Was discharged from service on December 31st, 1970 (00:00:15:01) o Took two days to travel back to the United States from Europe plus one day to “process out” of service (00:00:15:15) o The “process out” portion of duty is supposed to take three days, but knew the paperwork well and was able to finish earlier than most, in fact, was able to do paperwork for all the men that were on the plane back home (00:00:15:31) Arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 12 A.M. on January 1st, 1971 (00:00:16:50) Still keeps in touch with some people from the days of service (00:00:17:05) Joining the military is a compatible choice for some, but not all people (00:00:17:28) o Is a “younger man’s type of position” (00:00:17:57) o Older people “never really readjust” to life after service (00:00:18:09) �  “If you don’t love the country you’re in… how can you say that you’re American?” (00:00:19:10) While in a Chicago airport, was harassed by several anti- war activists (00:00:19:48) o Was called names (00:00:20:20) o “I never really got over that” (00:00:20:30) o “Why is he spitting on me when I’m the one protecting him?” (00:00:20:40) � 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 Huis, Tom (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huis, Tom Description An account of the resource Tom Huis was drafted into the United States Army at the age of 21. He had, until this time, been deferred from the draft because he was attending Kellogg Community College as a full time student. After dropping a class, he was no longer eligible for deferment and received a draft notice on December 24th, 1968 to serve in the ongoing Vietnam War. Huis was first sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training, and then Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for specialized medical training. He expected to go to Vietnam, but his orders were changed at the last minute and he went to Europe instead. He was discharged at the end of 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Davis, Emily (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-10-20 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuisT1224V 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/01c2bcf343703db6508a5213000208cb.mp4 68d2d132941340b1542a929cf80556a4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/efe66a7d1471d2b4ad332b96384e288d.pdf d003f58ca01ca6c117b14a2726695d01 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Korean War Interviewee name: Bernard J. Huizenga Length of Interview: (00:29:15) (00:00:25)Pre-Enlistment  Childhood/Education o Served in the Korean War, Navy. o Born in July 20, 1929, Grand Rapids, MI. o Went to a Catholic grade school and graduated from Catholic Central High School. o Used to build sailboats with his friends and sail on Reeds Lake.  Family o Father was a mechanic, mother was a housewife. o Both were Dutch, came over from Holland. (00:01:42)Enlistment and Training  Background o Joined the service right after graduating from high school. o Joined with two of his friends and went to Great Lakes (Illinois) for Boot Camp  Learned a lot about rules and regulations, military.  Three months of Boot Camp. o (00:02:30)Continued at Great Lakes for Machinist Mate School  (00:02:44) Served in the early „50‟s. Active Duty  Duty placements before and during Korean War o After graduating from Machinist‟s Mate School/Engineering School, went aboard the U.S.S Missouri, a battleship. o One of the largest ever built; 880ft. long, weighed 45,000 tons. o The ship had 3000 men on board during wartime and 1500 men aboard during peacetime. o (00:03:50)First cruise was to Panama Canal to Cuba then back to Norfolk, VA. o During the Korean War, was assigned to bombardment up and down Korea. o (00:04:22)In charge of Engineering Office on the battleship; paper work for Main Propulsion Division.  Definitions o Main Propulsion- power for the ship; had four propellers (solid brass), 18ft in diameter. o Two End board Propellers (Power Blades) had five blades. o Two Outside Propellers (Maneuver Blades) had four blades.  Experiences o Had four engine rooms, Huizenga only dealt with the Main Propulsion Division. o (00:5:30) The ship was a like a floating city. o Mess halls, bunks, bathrooms, butcher shops, barber shop, ice cream bar, etc. �  o Made quite a few friends, but didn‟t keep in touch with them after serving. (00:07:00)Peacetime o When arriving in Norfolk, Pier 7, was astounded when first seeing a battleship, “floating gray metal.” o Assigned to the M division. o (00:07:40)Went to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side the next day. o Other duty locations  Guantanamo Bay, Cuba  Went up and down the East Coast of the U.S., also up to Halifax, Canada.  Has been to seaports in Norway, France, and England.  During the war, went to Korea by the way of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  (00:08:48)Before going to Korea, had a new captain; Captain Brown.  Came from a Destroyer which has a more shallow depth compared to the U.S.S. Missouri.  Out of Norfolk, VA there is a deep channel, for aircraft carriers and battleships, and shallow channel, for destroyers.  Somehow got the channels mixed up and the U.S.S. Missouri went out the shallow channel and ran aground.  There for about one month.  Corp. of Army Engineers had to dig one mile channel behind it to get the Battleship out.  Had to go to Dry-dock and fix the propeller blades and patch a 15ft. hole at the bottom of the ship.  (00:10:41)When first going on the ship, Huizenga saw two airplanes on catapults; motor driven.  The helicopter, which was first introduced during the War, replaced these planes.  Helicopters used to spot targets; knock out bridges.  (00:12:00)Went to Japan, as well (00:12:19)Onboard o Played a lot of cards o During peacetime, would go to port. o Sometimes, the port was too shallow for the ship so had to go on land by Cruisers or 30ft. ships (held about eight) that were at the back of the ship. o Drank a lot of coffee, smoked a lot of cigarettes. o (00:14:03) Never carried a gun aboard; was given a flak helmet and life jacket. o (00:14:28) Sometimes didn‟t see daylight for a couple weeks due to the ship‟s enormity. o From the main deck down, held seven stories; from the main deck up, it was about fourteen stories. o (00:15:00) When going to Korea, went through a lot of mine fields. o When going into a war zone, had to shut the doors securely to prevent flooding of the ship, “water tight.” o Pure quiet when going through a mine field. � o (00:16:18) The ship had [anti?] Armor Piercing Steel, 16in. thick; void area filled with air, then another four inches of steel wall with a void area filled with water; beyond that there was another void filled with air. o Would take about three torpedoes in one spot to pierce it. o The only problem, the bottom of the ship wasn‟t 16in. thick, so a mine could pierce it. o (00:17:18) Stayed in contact with family through letters. Korean War o (00:17:46)During the Korean War, the only “mental strain” Huiszenga ever experienced was during bombardment; the guns on the ship could reach up to 30mi. inland to aid troops. o Would also destroy towns or bridges; had 16in. guns, “block busting/destroying guns.” o (00:18:44) No casualties on Huizenga‟s ship; no wounds from enemies, mainly from work. o (00:19:06) Did not go into Korea, no land action. (00:19:30)After the Service  Adjusting to Home o Was very happy to get out of the service and be home. o When first coming back, went to look for a job. o Became an insurance investigator, then took a job at Nabisco after two months, instead; retired after 40 years. o (00:22:57)The War was still on when he was discharged. o Married six months after coming back. o (00:23:45)The problem Huizenga had adjusting was his equilibrium, getting his “land legs” back.  Reflection o (00:24:29)In the Navy, Huizenga learned how to appreciate people and get along with them; lots of team work.  (00:24:54)U.S.S. Missouri o The surrender of the Japanese was made on the U.S.S. Missouri at Tokyo Bay.  Was the Flagship of the 7th Fleet.  Famous for never being attacked.  (00:25:30)One night, Koreans attempted to board the ship by climbing the anchor chains; the ship had a detachment of Marines patrolling the deck who heard them.  Ship called to General Quarters and the Koreans ran, no shots fired  If given the choice to do it over again, would still go into the Navy; very patriotic.  Was in the service for about three years. � 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 Huizenga, Burney (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huizenga, Burney Description An account of the resource Burney Huizenga served in the Navy during the Korean War. His main job on the U.S.S. Missouri, the battleship he served on, was in the Main Propulsion Division where he dealt with running the engines of the ship. He served in the Navy for three years and was discharged before the war ended. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Dalton, Trevor (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-05 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuizengaB 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/f080ba970ed3e02c0ea07f1da88d6176.mp4 299cd28f06ddef5e404a1780122f8ec3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9d3873d1755b1007343186805ac0ca4f.pdf 0ff1f58625dd004f9d7177069e4808c5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Nicholas Huizenga World War II-Post War 39 minutes 35 seconds (00:00:11) Early Life -Born in Munster, Indiana in 1925 -Northern part of Indiana near Gary and considered to be in the Chicago metropolitan area -Went to a private Christian high school in Englewood, Chicago, Illinois -Father worked as a carpenter -Nicholas worked on an uncle's farm every summer after he turned twelve -Father was laid off during the Great Depression -It was a difficult time for the family, especially since there were eight children -Uncle would give the family food (00:02:09) World War II -Heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio -Didn't pay a lot of attention to the war before the U.S. entered the war -Pearl Harbor served as a wake up call and made him realize that the U.S. was in danger -Men in Hammond and Gary were working in the factories on government contracts -Meat, sugar, and petroleum products were rationed -Had to have special stamps to buy gas -His uncle that owned the farm was allowed to have more gas -This was because farms were considered crucial for the war effort -Did air raid drills and blackouts at night -Air raid siren would go off and they would go in the basement -There were food caches scattered throughout the city -Graduated from high school in 1943 -Fully expected that after that he was going to be drafted -Had friends from high school that had been killed in action in Europe -Since he worked on the farm he was given a draft deferment -Parents and other relatives believed that he would serve the country better that way -He had an older brother that fought in Europe and in the Pacific -Believes that influenced his parents to get him a draft deferment -Felt somewhat guilty that he was able to stay home and have a good job -Still contributing to the war effort in a major way by helping grow food -He was active in his church producing a newsletter about the servicemen from the congregation -Gave the community information about where they were and what they were doing (00:08:39) Getting Drafted -He received his first draft notice after his two years of deferment expired �-Given a big going away party by his family -He returned 4F (unfit for service) due to having poor eyesight -Guilt was replaced by feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment -He eventually received another draft notice -By now the war had ended -This time he was accepted -Got inducted into the Army in October 1945 -Had initially been told by a doctor that his eyesight wouldn't allow for him to shoot a rifle well -In basic training he received the highest marksmanship badge with the M1 Garand (00:11:14) Overview of Service -Sent to Camp Atterbury, Indiana where he worked in the reception center -Processing soldiers that were returning home from their deployments -From Camp Atterbury he was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky where he worked with records -Received basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama near the end of his enlistment -He was in Camp Atterbury, Indiana for seven months and worked as a company clerk -He was in Fort Knox, Kentucky for four months as a technician fifth grade record clerk (00:12:30) Stationed at Camp Atterbury -At Camp Atterbury the company he was in consisted of a captain, a lieutenant, and a 1st sergeant -Beneath them were the barracks orderlies and Nicholas -Their job was to deal with the records of the men working in the camp -1st sergeant was AWOL (absent without leave) -This resulted in Nicholas being made the acting 1st sergeant -It was a very easy and relaxing job -Spent a lot of time playing ping-pong with the captain and the lieutenant -Had great admiration and respect for the men that had served overseas -Offended and unimpressed by their behavior when they got home -Many of them drank too much and spent a lot of money on gambling -Doesn't recall any of them being rude to the clerks though -The barracks orderlies were black soldiers from the South -He befriended them because he was against prejudice and racism -Would often visit Indianapolis to go roller skating, or to see a movie -Did a lot of reading in his downtime, and took a college course on psychology -Went home frequently on a pass -Sometimes took a bus, and sometimes hitchhiked -Went to church every Sunday on the base -Appreciated what the chaplain(s) did for the soldiers -Feels that he was able to grow in his Christian faith -Provided a stabilizing force -Basically the same chaplain led all of the church services -Mother came and visited him one Sunday -Still remembers the sermon that was given that day -Didn't have much in common with the other enlisted men �-Got along better with the officers that he worked for -Remembers that the captain was kind to him (00:21:07) Stationed at Fort Knox -He was sent to Fort Knox after being at Camp Atterbury for seven months -Worked in an office and kept service records -Got promoted to the rank of technician fifth grade (T5) because he was a responsible worker -At that time it was mainly a training base -Saw a lot of new recruits and draftees -Would see tanks being driven around the base -It was a more established base and had more brick buildings as opposed to wooden ones -Remembers that the library was beautiful and he used it extensively -Planned on returning to college after getting out of the Army -Had already taken some math courses at Indiana University -He continued his college education after getting discharged -Officers were good, honorable, and respectable men (00:25:55) Basic Training -Near the end of his time in the Army he was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama for basic training -Couldn't leave the Army without getting basic training -Traveled to Alabama by train -Remembers that it was very humid, and very hot -Visited Montgomery and saw statues of Confederate war heroes and the mistreatment of blacks -Horrified by how black citizens were treated in the Deep South -Basic training consisted of exercising and one long bivouac -On the bivouac taught how to set up a camp and shoot their rifle -Basic training was eight weeks long -He was in excellent shape, so the exercise didn't bother him -There was a high emphasis on discipline and following orders -Prior to basic training he had never really handled, or fired, a gun -Father disapproved of guns, and he didn't even have a BB gun when he was growing up -As a result of that, he was more humble and attentive during rifle training -Because of that he scored highest on the shooting range -Also awarded the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge -Highest marksmanship badge possible -Adjusted well because he had already been in the Army for ten months -Got along well with the officers, sergeants, and other trainees -He was a little older than the other men that were in training (00:30:51) Stationed at Fort Bragg & End of Service -After basic training he was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina -Part of a record training company in the 6th Infantry Regiment -Liked the captain and the various sergeants in that company -Got to visit Terra Ceia, North Carolina and attend church there �-Knew that his time in the Army was coming to an end -Anxious to get out -One lieutenant saw that he had the potential to become a professional soldier -He enjoyed the patriotism and the regimen of life in the Army -Wanted to get out and return to college though -Wanted to see Europe, but he would've had to reenlist which he didn't want to do -At the end of 1946 he was discharged (00:33:32) Life after Service -Registered for college at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan -GI Bill paid for twelve months of school plus the number of months you served -In his case that was a total of over two years worth of college -Completed college in only three and a half years -Tuition and books were paid for, and he was given $100/month -When he graduated he didn't have any debt -Graduated with a degree in education -Worked as a teacher in Indiana and Illinois -Taught middle school -Eventually became a principal -Was a principal in the Chicago area for twenty years -Was a principal in New Jersey for twenty years -Retired from teaching and returned to Grand Rapids with his wife -Wanted to be at a Christian Reformed Church that was more egalitarian -Believed that women ought to be church elders and pastors -Had two daughters that were ministers in the Christian Reformed Church (00:36:16) Reflections on Service -Believes that he became more patriotic as a result of his service -Appreciated the discipline and the opportunity to serve his country -Believes that it made him more liberal and accepting other peoples and cultures -Tremendously helpful when he became a principal -Enjoyed some of the traditions of the Army -Had a deep respect for the officers that he served under -In a way, they became role models for him (00:37:48) Talons Out Honor Flight -Went on the Talons Out Honor Flight in May 2015 -Chance for veterans to see Washington D.C. and be honored for their service -Thoroughly enjoyed himself -People in Grand Rapids and Washington D.C. expressed their appreciation to the veterans -Had a police escort in D.C. as well as a guided bus tour of the National Mall -Enjoyed seeing the Lincoln Memorial, the war memorials, and the Roosevelt Memorial -Great experience getting to mingle with the other veterans and hear their service stories � 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_HuizengaN1851V Title A name given to the resource Huizenga, Nicholas J (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-07-07 Description An account of the resource Nicholas Huizenga was born in Munster, Indiana in 1925. He graduated from high school in 1943 and was given a draft deferment so that he could work on his uncle's farm to provide food to the country and the troops during the Second World War. In 1945 his deferment expired and he was drafted into the Army in October 1945. He served for seven months at Camp Atterbury, Indiana processing returning soldiers, then four months at Fort Knox, Kentucky handling records there. He received his basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama and his final duty station was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was discharged from the Army in late 1946. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huizenga, Nicholas J. 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 Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army 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/ff4d943bb0e50c58ef705ee46b17623f.mp4 af3300d63aa64de949256fb9737f17cc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7b18d106b433ee3509115da384c04214.pdf 6d81ada9f79c1e841c8ab3c8b238924c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Robert Huizenga Vietnam War Interview Length: (01:11:08:00) Pre-enlistment life / Training (00:00:14:00)  Huizenga was in Portland, Michigan, in 1948 (00:00:14:00) o While Huizenga was growing up, his father worked on a farm; Huizenga himself worked on the farm until he was fourteen, at which point his family moved to Hudsonville, Michigan (00:00:22:00) o The family moved because Huizenga’s father had reached the age where working on the farm was too much for him (00:00:34:00) o Huizenga had five older sisters, meaning that there were six children in Huizenga’s family total (00:00:47:00)  After the family moved, Huizenga attended Hudsonville High School and graduated from there in 1966 (00:00:55:00)  Huizenga graduated on June 2nd, on June 10th he turned eighteen and by June 16th, he was in the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego (00:01:02:00) o Huizenga had originally signed up for the Marine Corps in March 1966 on a delayed program (00:01:17:00) o Because Huizenga was seventeen when he signed up for the Marines, he needed a parent to sign as well; Huizenga’s father signed under the stipulation that Huizenga graduate from high school (00:01:25:00) o All his life, Huizenga had wanted to make a career out of being in the military (00:01:44:00)  Huizenga chose the Marine Corps in particular partially because of their uniforms and because he figured that he was going to be drafted regardless, he wanted to go to the best, which at the time, he considered was the Marine Corps (00:02:05:00)  Another motivation Huizenga had for joined the Marine Corps was that he wanted to go to Vietnam (00:02:31:00) o During his final year in high school, Huizenga immersed himself in newspaper articles and television reports about what was happening in Vietnam (00:03:01:00)  At the time, Huizenga remembers a more positive attitude regarding the war, although he figures that might have been because he only read the stories that he wanted to see (00:03:30:00) o In March 1966, Huizenga went through a physical in Detroit at the same time he signed the paperwork to join the Marines (00:04:32:00)  By the time he actually went to boot camp in June, Huizenga was ready to go (00:04:39:00)  In order to get to boot camp, Huizenga and sixty other men flew on a commercial flight from Detroit to San Diego (00:04:54:00) �   o When the flight landed in San Diego, the men were all joking around as they walked down a hallway but when they reached the end of the hallway and went outside, there was a group of men yelling at them to get at attention with their toes on the curb (00:05:10:00) o As the men stood at attention, cars were driving past with children in them who waved at the men (00:05:32:00)  The only thing Huizenga could think was that he had screwed up but on the bright side, he only had three more years of it (00:05:43:00) From the airport, the men boarded Marine Corps buses and were taken to the base, where they were made to stand on yellow footprints painted on the ground outside the bus; as the men stood on the footprints, they were called back to receive a haircut before returning to the footprints (00:06:08:00) o After the haircuts were done, the men walked to a large room where they received a yellow t-shirt, red shorts and white shoes, while placing all their civilian clothes, save for their lighters, cigarettes, and wallets, into a box that the Marines then shipped back to the men’s homes (00:06:29:00) The first week of the training was mostly the men running back and forth to receive shots and getting their records straightened out; when the men started out, they had already been assigned to a training platoon (00:06:56:00) o It is hard for Huizenga to remember the backgrounds of the other men in his training platoon because everything happened so fast; however, Huizenga does remember that there was a large diversity amongst the platoon, with men from all over the country (00:07:24:00)  Huizenga remembers there being a lot of farm boys and men like himself, from smaller towns and cities (00:07:34:00)  The men did not really talk about their backgrounds because they did not really have time to talk about them (00:07:53:00) Once the men made it through the first week of processing, the drill instructors had a schedule already set up for them (00:08:08:00) o After the in-processing, the instructors taught the men how to drill, how to march, the manual of arms, etc. (00:08:16:00) o The men woke up around five o’clock in the morning and went to bed around nine o’clock at night; the instructors had it set up so that the men did not have too much time to think (00:08:24:00)  On Sunday morning, the men were allowed to attend church services and were given a couple hours off until lunch; however, once lunch was over, they went right back to training (00:08:37:00)  At least with Huizenga’s platoon, the instructors never woke the men up in the middle of the night to do training (00:08:56:00) o Every so often, the instructors gave the men an hour break to read letters from home and to write letters in response (00:08:59:00) o The drill instructors had regimented the entire situation with the premise of keeping the men’s minds focused on the primary task at hand, completing their boot camp (00:09:07:00) �       Huizenga would describe the drill instructors for his platoon as “big, mean, and ugly”; at first, the drill instructors fit that description, but once the men reached the end of the training, they viewed the drill instructors as just regular Marines (00:09:24:00) o The drill instructors had to be hard on the men so that the men would respect the instructors; therefore, if a man screwed up, the drill instructors often came down hard on him (00:09:37:00) At first, it was not hard for Huizenga to adjust to life in Marines, although on one night, everything came together and he broke down (00:09:58:00) o Huizenga sat in the duty office and cried while the instructors gave him a cup of coffee and a little sympathy before sending him back to the barracks; nevertheless, the next day, Huizenga was fine (00:10:07:00) When he joined the Marines, Huizenga weighed around one-hundred-fifty-five / onehundred-and-sixty pounds and could do all the physical aspects of the training (running, push ups, etc.) (00:10:32:00) o Nevertheless, Huizenga was in even better shape by the time he left boot camp (00:11:02:00) The boot camp was supposed to last for eight weeks but the men actually spent around ten weeks because of the processing (00:11:06:00) o For two weeks, the men went to the rifle range and trained using M-14 rifles, learning how to sight the rifles, as well as use the sights, check for windage, and basic infantry tactics (00:11:24:00)  Having grown up on a farm, Huizenga had used rifles before but he could not wait to get his first “military” rifle; however, when he was made to sleep with the rifle in his bunk, he found out it was not so much fun to have as he originally thought (00:11:45:00) Some of the other men who started the training with Huizenga were “let go” (00:12:06:00) o One man cut his wrists but luckily, the drill instructors managed to reach the man before he bleed to death; after the incident, the drill instructors had the man stand in front of a billboard daily and read the Marine Corps manual but the man eventually left regardless (00:12:12:00) o Another man had flat feet and the drill instructors let him out as well even through he wanted to stay (00:12:29:00) o Huizenga believes that for the most part, the overwhelming majority of the men who enlisted were in for the duration (00:12:39:00) Two of Huizenga’s drill instructors had already served in Vietnam (00:12:53:00) After he completed boot camp, Huizenga joined an Infantry Training Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California, for an additional four to six weeks (00:13:02:00) o While with the regiment, Huizenga and the other Marines learned basic infantry tactics; the instructors stressed that every Marine was an infantryman, so the men needed to learn infantry tactics (00:13:12:00) o The men received additional, more diversified weapons training, everything from a 106mm recoilless rifle to the B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle) to a .45 caliber pistol (00:13:40:00)  Ultimately, the men received short, individual instruction period with all the weapons that were available at the time (00:14:05:00) �  o All the men stayed together through the Infantry Training Regiment and once that was finished, they all received leave before reporting to whatever school the Marines had chosen for them (00:14:24:00) Huizenga received orders for motor transport school at Montford Point, North Carolina, which was located near the larger Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune (00:14:35:00) o The base at Montford Point consisted of wooden barracks with two big fuelburning stoves in them (00:15:06:00)  When the wind blew, it blew right through the barracks because there was no insulation to stop it; because there was nothing behind it, the men could see the siding from the inside of the barracks (00:15:20:00) o On a day-to-day basis, Huizenga was learning how to work on deuce-and-a-half trucks (two-and-a-half ton trucks) in second echelon maintenance, which meant he was essentially a glorified parts changer (00:15:44:00)  Huizenga and the other men did not really get into working in the engines or components because that work was reserved for the third echelon (00:15:58:00)  Apart from the deuce-and-a-halfs, Huizenga and the other men also worked on personnel carriers and jeeps; whatever vehicles the unit had at the time were the vehicles the men worked on (00:16:14:00) o By this time, the men were allowed to get weekends passes to go off base, after dinner, they had the evenings free unless they were assigned to guard duty, there were movies on the base for the men to watch, and there were places where they could buy beer and pop (00:16:37:00) o Huizenga’s training at Montford Point lasted for another six weeks (00:17:04:00) o At one point during their earlier training, Huizenga and the other men filled out aptitude tests and the Marines used those tests in determining where the soldiers were assigned for their advanced training (00:17:16:00)  Huizenga had grown up working with farm equipment and a friend’s dad had a gas station in Hudsonville and Huizenga would help the dad repair cars (00:17:26:00) After he finished the training at Montford Point, Huizenga went onto Camp Lejeune proper and was placed into a motor transport battalion, where he began working in the battalion’s motor shop (00:17:48:00) o Huizenga stayed with the motor transport battalion for three or four months before he received his orders to deploy to Vietnam (00:18:04:00)  The men had always been told that they were Marines, which meant that at some point, they were going to Vietnam (00:18:23:00) o One day, the officers called the men to formation and said they needed two volunteers for Vietnam; naturally, all the men raised their hands (00:18:33:00)  The officers picked two men, Huizenga was not one, but two weeks later, Huizenga heard his name along with several other names read over the intercom, telling him to report to the CO (Commanding Officer) (00:18:41:00)  Huizenga and the other men reported to the CO and he told them that they had just volunteered to go to Vietnam, which is what Huizenga had always wanted to do (00:18:54:00) �  In the time he had already been in the Marines, Huizenga had not had too much contact with Marines who had already been to Vietnam; Huizenga and the younger Marines were more rambunctious while the older Marines who had already been to Vietnam kept to themselves wanted nothing to do with the younger Marines (00:19:11:00) Huizenga was given a three-week leave before having to report to El Toro Naval Air Station in California for an additional two weeks of paperwork and shots (00:19:34:00) o While at El Toro, Huizenga and the other Marines who were deploying did not receive too much in the way of additional information about what was happening in Vietnam at the time (00:20:04:00) o In order to actually get to Vietnam, Huizenga and the other Marines flew aboard a commercial airliner that the military had chartered; the only civilians on the flight were the pilots and the stewardesses (00:20:12:00)  As the flight approached Da Nang, the pilot came over the intercom and said that the temperature was 89º and the wind was coming out of the north, northwest with light to moderate ground fire (00:20:28:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:21:01:00)  Huizenga’s first impression of Vietnam was that it was hot and stinky; when he stepped off the airplane, they both just hit him (00:21:01:00)  When they got off the plane, Huizenga and the other men were placed on the back of a semi-truck with an open-top trailer covered with chicken wire; when someone asked what the chicken wire was for, they were told it was meant to keep the Vietnamese from throwing hand grenades into the trailer (00:21:14:00) o The men were eventually taken to a spot, dropped off and told where the hooches were to spend the night in, and if necessary, where the nearest trenches were in case of an enemy rocket attack (00:21:41:00) o The first night the men were in Vietnam was quiet; although there were not any enemy mortar or rocket attacks, it was the fear of those attacks, plus the sound of artillery firing in the distance, kept the men awake and alert (00:22:03:00)  The following morning, someone showed up at eight o’clock and began assigning men to different units according to what each individual Marine’s job status was (00:22:28:00) o Huizenga was with another Marine who he had gone through boot camp and the other training with and eventually, both men received an assignment to the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion, although Huizenga had no idea what that was (00:22:44:00)  Eventually, someone came and picked up Huizenga and the other Marine and took them to where the battalion was stationed, on a hill just outside Da Nang (00:23:04:00)  Huizenga remembers the first night he and the other Marine were with the battalion, being told by the staff sergeant that eventually, they had to do interior guard duty in their shop, which meant spending the night walking around the inside of the compound with their rifles (00:23:31:00)  Huizenga remembers the first time he did the interior guard duty, he only had a rifle and five magazines of ammunition; he did not �    have a helmet or flak jacket because the battalion did not have a spare one to give him (00:24:05:00)  At midnight, someone woke Huizenga up and told him he had to do guard duty; although he had no idea about the camp, Huizenga still had to walk guard duty and it was on that night that he learned what fear really was (00:24:18:00) When Huizenga had been at El Toro prior to flying to Vietnam, the Marines tried to give Huizenga and the other men some information about Vietnam; however, the information was like reading a book and once the men arrived in Vietnam, the book did not mean anything because it was totally different (00:25:02:00) The base where the 1st Anti-Tank was stationed was fortified, with barbed wire surrounding the entire perimeter and mines placed within the barbed wire (00:25:28:00) o The base was located on a hill overlooking the Da Nang river and there were bunkers at set intervals all around the top of the hill that were manned at night, with three Marines per bunker (00:25:36:00) o Apart from Huizenga’s battalion, there was also the 1st Motor Transport Battalion and a tank battalion located on the base (00:26:01:00) The primary weapon of Huizenga’s battalion was the Ontos, a tracked vehicle with six 106mm recoilless rifles mounted on the outside (00:26:22:00) o Although the six recoilless rifles represented a lot of firepower, the Ontos was not a very safe vehicle for the crew because the loaders had to get out in order to load the rifles; as well, the armor plating was only one inch thick, which an armor piercing round could penetrate (00:26:32:00) st The 1 Anti-Tank Battalion eventually disbanded, about five to six months after Huizenga joined it, with the entire battalion being condensed into a single company, which then moved north, to the Quang Tri area; when the battalion condensed, Huizenga transferred to the 1st Motor Battalion (00:27:07:00) o In the time Huizenga was with the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion, the Ontos would regularly join convoys as support vehicles as well as offer support to infantry units in the field (00:27:42:00)  The Ontos would often return damaged and in some cases, were towed back behind wreckers, in which case, they were used for parts to repair the other vehicles (00:28:01:00)  The Ontos was a weapon the North Vietnamese hated because of the Ontos’ firepower, so the North Vietnamese would specifically attack Ontos (00:28:14:00) o During his time with the 1st Anti-Tank, Huizenga worked in the headquarters/supply company doing mechanical work on the company’s jeeps and personnel carriers (00:28:37:00)  On a typical day, Huizenga would wake up, go to breakfast, complete whatever assignments needed to be done, go to lunch, finish any remaining work, then go to dinner; after dinner, if he did not had guardduty, the he had the evening off to do whatever (00:28:48:00)  Every once in awhile, Huizenga left the base to go into Da Nang to pick someone up as well as take home the Vietnamese girls who worked in the bar on the base (00:29:12:00) �  Although he had opportunities to get off the base, there were not any reasons for Huizenga to go off the base (00:29:33:00) o Apart from the Vietnamese girls working in bar, other Vietnamese civilians worked in the mess hall, as barbers, and two worked in the mechanic’s shop doing general clean-up (00:29:43:00)  Although there were concerns about the Vietnamese working on the base being VC (Viet Cong), the men tended to overlook those concerns (00:30:07:00)  Huizenga was never made aware of anyone on the base being picked up for being a member of the VC (00:30:20:00) o After Huizenga had been on the base for about three weeks, he experienced his first enemy mortar attack, which was another rude awakening because it was also the time he saw his first dead Marine (00:30:39:00)  Huizenga remembers the whistling sounds the mortar rounds made as they came into the base and he remembers someone getting onto the intercom to tell the rest of the men to get into trenches (00:31:13:00)  Although the attack seemed like it lasted all night, Huizenga figures it did not last for more than fifteen or twenty minutes (00:31:26:00)  During the attack, Huizenga believes the enemy were just lobbing mortar rounds onto the base, trying to hit whatever they could (00:31:40:00)  From the base, the men could see the glow of the mortar rounds as they left the mortar tubes and whenever the men saw the glow, they would fire their weapons in that direction (00:31:50:00)  A small Vietnamese village was located at the bottom of the hill the base was situated on but Huizenga is not sure if the mortar attack came from that direction; during the attack, he was lying face first in the trench and wanted nothing more than to pull the ground over the top of him (00:32:12:00)  There were two more enemy mortar attacks on the base while Huizenga was stationed there (00:32:44:00) o Although there were no enemy sapper attacks on the base, there would be periodic sniper fire (00:32:53:00) Huizenga left the first base around September/October 1967, when he was assigned to “Bravo” Company, 1st Transport Battalion; although the battalion headquarters was located at the old base, Bravo Company was deployed at Quang Tri (00:33:17:00) o After Huizenga transferred to the new battalion, he spent a couple of days at the battalion headquarters waiting for a staff sergeant; once the staff sergeant arrived, he and Huizenga flew to Quang Tri aboard a helicopter (00:33:57:00) o Brave Company was a traditional truck company that the Marines labeled as a “field motor transport” and the company supported the infantry, hauling both the infantry and their supplies around (00:34:17:00) o The camp where the company was stationed was a hodge-podge of tents thrown together and surrounded by barbed wire, with an ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) camp across the road (00:34:51:00) �  Huizenga saw a fair amount of ARVN soldiers but in all honesty, did not think too much of them; to Huizenga, it seemed to like the Americans were doing the job for the ARVNs (00:35:24:00)  However, looking back, Huizenga believes his first impression might be unfair because the ARVN soldiers were fighting for their country (00:35:52:00)  Nevertheless, Huizenga did not pay too much attention to the ARVN camp adjacent to Bravo Company’s camp (00:36:17:00) o Before Huizenga’s arrival, the previous mechanics had set up at tent on the base and whichever vehicle needed repairs, the men would work on it (00:36:39:00)  The company lost a fair amount of trucks, with enemy landmines causing the most damage (00:36:44:00) Bravo Company stayed at the base outside Quang Tri for another three months after Huizenga joined the company before pulling back the another base to the south of Quang Tri, Camp Carroll, just before the beginning of the Tet Offensive (00:36:55:00) o The company stayed at Camp Carroll for about two weeks before moving to a camp in the Gia Le province (00:37:14:00)  The Gia Le camp was circular and the 1st Motor Battalion shared the camp with an engineer battalion, a tank battalion and a SeaBee battalion; the camp resembled a giant pie, with each battalion having a quarter slice for itself (00:37:21:00)  A couple of days after the battalion arrived at the camp in Gia Le was when the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive began (00:37:35:00) o While Bravo Company was still located outside Quang Tri, Huizenga began going out on the convoys, manning a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the top of the deuce-and-a-half (00:37:50:00)  Although the convoys occasionally came under fire, most of the time, it was only harassing sniper fire because the enemy knew that the convoys were always in contact with helicopters and if they came under heavy fire, the convoys would call in the helicopters (00:38:05:00)  On some occasions, the convoy would go all the way from Quang Tri to Da Nang, which was a good day's drive (00:38:35:00)  However, part of the reason for the long drives was because the roads between the two cities were not always in the best condition and in some spots, were only gravel (00:38:43:00)  Although mine clearing was supposed to be done on a road before the convoy got there, it was not always done; therefore, every once in a while, a truck would hit a mine (00:38:55:00)  Fortunately, most of the time, the trucks only hit smaller mines; that, plus that fact that the men had lined the beds of the trucks with sandbags helped protect the truck’s driver and the assistant driver (00:39:09:00)  Over time, going on the convoys became part of everyday life for Huizenga; he never thought about what kind of target he made for enemy soldiers while manning the machine gun (00:39:32:00) � o The base outside Quang Tri was pretty quiet, although Huizenga saw not stationed there for too long (00:40:17:00) When the company moved to Gia Le, it was because the battalion commanders were trying to pull the entire battalion back together (00:40:35:00) o Bravo Company was the first unit on the base and when the Tet Offensive began, they provided a large amount of support to the infantry fighting in Hue, bringing supplies and fresh troops while carrying out wounded (00:40:44:00)  It was daily and eventually, nightly convoys for the first couple weeks of the offensive (00:41:02:00) o The camp itself came under enemy attack in the opening rounds of the offensive; however, because the attack was more of a diversion away from Hue, the enemy did not hit the base too hard and the men stationed on the base were able to stop the enemy at the wire (00:41:19:00) o The really intense fighting and convoys lasted for about the first week-and-a-half / two weeks; as more infantry poured into Hue and the commanders figured out how to effectively deal with the enemy, everything came together (00:42:04:00)  Nevertheless, it still took between a month and five weeks for everything to be taken care of in Hue (00:42:28:00) o The convoys running in and out of the city came under enemy fire a lot, everything from snipers to mortar rounds (00:42:44:00)  By this time, Huizenga was no longer manning a .50 caliber but was acting as an assistant driver; although Huizenga believes nothing ever really got close to him, rounds were still hitting the truck (00:43:08:00)  Huizenga’s truck was never disabled but there were trucks that were disable by the enemy; the standard procedure for dealing with a disabled truck depended on the condition of the disabled truck (00:43:30:00)  The company had a wrecker and if the men could get the disabled truck on the wrecker and back to the camp in a fair amount of time, then they did that (00:43:44:00)  Other times, the men would hook a cable from the disabled truck to a working truck and have the working truck tow the disabled truck back to the camp (00:43:52:00)  However, if a truck was too damaged for either method, the men would push it off to the side of the road and would worry about getting it later (00:44:00:00) o Later, the enemy made another, more serious attempt at attacking the camp in Gia Le (00:44:16:00)  The 101st Airborne Division was moving into a camp adjacent to the original camp and during the second attack, the enemy managed to make it inside the wire of the Gia Le camp (00:44:21:00)  Estimates of the size of the enemy force ranged from a company to a battalion and they ended up destroying a couple of bunkers and a single hooch (00:44:32:00)  Following the second enemy attack on the base was when Huizenga began questioning the media regarding the war (00:45:23:00) �   According to the media, during the attack, the 1st Motor Battalion alone killed eighty-two enemy soldiers while the 101st Airborne killed eighty-two soldiers as well while the SeaBee battalion also killed eighty-two soldiers; as far as Huizenga knew, only eightytwo enemy soldiers were killed total but three different units claimed all eighty-two (00:45:38:00)  During the second enemy attack, none of the men in the 1st Motor were killed and although a couple were wounded, the wounds were not serious (00:46:01:00) Following the Gia Le camp, the battalion moved further south, to a camp outside Da Nang (00:46:32:00) o Once in the new camp, the routine changed and now, five trucks with a mechanic in support would be sent out to an infantry battalion; a lot of the time, Huizenga would now be in the field, supporting the trucks (00:46:35:00) o At one point, Huizenga was assigned to an infantry battalion located at one of the bases that surrounded Da Nang; that base in particular was the closest of the three bases to the South China Sea (00:46:51:00)  There was a lot of enemy harassment fire on the base, with the enemy periodically launching several mortar rounds into the base three or four nights a week; as well, there was also sniper fire coming from the tree line during the day (00:47:03:00)  Huizenga and the other men would periodically laugh at the sniper fire because the snipers would never hit anything and the men would watch for half an hour as jets dropped bombs all along the tree line (00:47:27:00)  However, half an hour after that, the base would come under more sniper fire (00:47:44:00)  One night, the mortars rounds seemed to be coming onto the base heavier than normal (00:47:51:00)  Huizenga and the other men from Bravo Company had been told that they were not part of the unit stationed on the base, so they were to go to a bunker to wait and if they were needed, then somebody would come to get them (00:47:59:00)  That night, Huizenga was smoking a cigarette in the doorway of the hooch wearing only his underwear when a man ran past him; Huizenga thought the man looked funny then realized it was a Viet Cong (00:48:09:00)  The enemy managed to blow up a number of bunkers that night, killing a large number of Marines (00:48:32:00) o One of the men from Bravo Company was wounded by a piece of shrapnel and after that night, Huizenga and the other men kept to the bunker (00:48:44:00) While Bravo Company was still stationed at the camp in Gia Le, Huizenga still had a year remaining on his enlistment and the Marines wanted to send him back to Camp Lejeune (00:49:21:00) �o However, Huizenga did not like Camp Lejeune because he did not have any vehicle to move around in and his impression of the people living around the base was that they hated Marines (00:49:36:00) o Huizenga knew that he would be going back to the United States for a couple of months then returning to Vietnam because he would volunteer for another tour of duty (00:49:53:00)  Therefore, he came to the conclusion that he should just stay in Vietnam because he would be with people he knew, in a place he knew, doing a job and having a routine that he knew (00:50:01:00) o Huizenga chose to extend for an additional nine-month tour and was granted a thirty-day leave; the leave did not start until Huizenga arrived home and did not end until he left his home (00:50:08:00)  The feelings Huizenga felt when he went home on the leave were very weird and difficult to explain because the people at home did not have a clue about what was going on (00:50:35:00)  Huizenga would try to start a conversation with someone he knew from high school but would have to walk away fifteen minutes later because in his mind, the other person did not have a clue about what life was really like (00:50:48:00)  His parents expected Huizenga to act just like he had during high school but Huizenga had moved beyond that (00:51:05:00)  Huizenga had to guard against the language he used while at home; the first time he used foul language was at the dinner table when he asked his mother to pass the f****** salt (00:51:24:00) o Huizenga’s father just kept eating and his mother did pass him the salt but told him to watch his language (00:51:35:00)  Huizenga noticed criticism and opposition to the war but he made an effort to avoid them because he knew he was going back to Vietnam (00:51:55:00)  At that point, Huizenga did not want to get around any demonstrators because he was afraid of what he might do (00:52:02:00)  By the time the leave ended, Huizenga was ready to go back to Vietnam (00:52:24:00) Vietnam Extension(s) / Post Military Life (00:52:32:00)  When he returned to Vietnam following his leave, Huizenga went back to Brave Company, 1st Motor Battalion (00:52:32:00) o Both in the time Huizenga was with the battalion and when he was on leave, there was a regular turnover of soldiers in the battalion (00:52:39:00)  At one point, there were eight Marines working in the shop, including Huizenga, and they grew into a tight-knit group; however, some of the older men eventually rotated home and replacements were brought in to fill the holes (00:52:44:00) �        The idea of the older Marines teaching the younger Marines what the younger Marines needed to know and once the “younger” Marines become the older Marines, they too would teach a new batch of younger Marines worked well in Huizenga’s unit (00:53:12:00) Bravo Company was originally commanded by a captain, then by a lieutenant; however, Huizenga and the other men in the shop normally reported to a sergeant who worked in the shop, keeping track of everything the went on and doing all the paperwork (00:53:24:00) o One of the sergeants who Huizenga worked under had been a sergeant for eighteen years (00:53:46:00) Pretty much all the other Marines in the shop with Huizenga were around the same age as him, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years old (00:54:02:00) After Huizenga finished his nine-month extension, the Marines were going to give him orders to Camp Lejuene, where he would finish the remaining five or six months on his enlistment (00:54:17:00) o However, Huizenga had heard of the early out program, so he calculated that if he stayed in Vietnam for another three months, then he would get out of the Marines three months early (00:54:26:00) o When Huizenga returned to El Toro following the additional three months, they were calling out the different MOSs (Military Occupational Specialty) with the time remaining; when they reached Huizenga’s MOS, there was 30 days and Huizenga had 29 days, so he had done his math correctly (00:54:39:00) When Huizenga returned to Vietnam for his first extension, 1st Motor was still stationed at the camp in Gia Le (00:55:16:00) o A few months after he returned was when the battalion moved south to around Da Nang and Huizenga spent the remainder of his tour in that area (00:55:21:00) By the time Huizenga left Vietnam, everything had become so “screwy” that Huizenga thought it was time for the United States to get out and end the war (00:55:45:00) o Huizenga did not want to become a protestor; he would protest the war, not the warriors who fought it (00:55:52:00) o While Huizenga was in Vietnam, the process of Vietnaminization began but from Huizenga’s perspective, the entire process was not going to work; instead, in his mind, it would have been better for the United States to simply pull out because the war was going no place (00:56:03:00) Although Huizenga and the other men working in the shop did not have much in the way of contact with the truck drivers, on the whole, the morale of the unit was pretty good (00:56:39:00) o The men had to rely on each other to keep their morale up, so they would tell stories about girlfriends and family and life back home (00:56:49:00) Huizenga saw enough drug use by different men throughout his tours (00:57:22:00) o When the battalion had pulled back to Da Nang, there was one specific bunker known as the “druggies' bunker” (00:57:27:00) o Marijuana was fairly well-used in the battalion because the men did not have to go out into the field (00:57:36:00) o Although smoking marijuana was accepted for the most part, akin to drinking a beer, there were some men who could not handle the effects (00:58:05:00) �      At one point, one of the men was shipped to Japan for thirty days to get “clean” and dry out; the man had OD and had to be medieaced from the base (00:58:22:00)  About two weeks after the man returned, he was part of a convoy that Huizenga was also on; when the convoy had stopped, the men went along the entire convoy asking for marijuana (00:58:40:00)  When no one had any marijuana, the man took a rag, dipped the rag into one of the truck’s fuel tanks, which was filled with diesel, held the rag to his face, and inhaled (00:58:57:00) Towards the end of his deployment in Vietnam, Huizenga noticed more racial tension on the bases between the men (00:59:16:00) o According to the story that Huizenga heard, one night when the unit was in Da Nang, a black man and a white man were both going after the same Vietnamese bar maid (00:59:36:00)  Later that night, three or four black men ended up jumping the white man and put the man in the hospital (00:59:53:00)  One of the hooches was used primarily by black men and following the incident, the officers disbanded the hooch (01:00:01:00) o Although the racial tension was not always too bad, Huizenga and the other men could still feel it (01:00:12:00) o Huizenga figures around twenty to thirty percent of the truck drivers were black but all the mechanics he worked with in the shop were white (01:00:20:00) o The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. did not do any good for the racial problems in the unit (01:00:41:00) o When there was fighting, there were not any racial problems; it was when all the men were back at base camp that it got worse, especially if there were drugs and/or alcohol involved (01:00:51:00) At one point, Huizenga had to identify the body of one of his good friends (01:01:34:00) o It was December 1968, a drunk Marine walked into the hooch where the friend was and shot the friend, killing him (01:01:47:00) o For years afterwards, Huizenga and a group of Marines would meet with the parents of the friend, spending weekends at their home (01:02:05:00) o This was one of the harshest memories that Huizenga has of being Vietnam (01:02:11:00) Huizenga kept in contact with the other men in the unit for awhile after he was out of the service; however, over the years, he has lost touch with them (01:02:32:00) It was not long after Huizenga joined the Marines that he realized he was not going to make a career out of being in the military; as Huizenga got out of boot camp and saw other Marines, he gradually realized that he did not want twenty years of that (01:03:01:00) o However, if he had not gone at all, Huizenga would have regretted the decision because joining the Marines was something he wanted to do and something he had to do (01:03:35:00) It is hard for Huizenga to say what he learned from serving in the Marines that he could not have learned somewhere else (01:03:58:00) �      During his tour(s), Huizenga twice went to Hawaii on R&R to visit a friend from high school who was in the Navy and stationed on Hawaii (01:04:18:00) o While Huizenga was in Hawaii, other people could tell that he was in the military, mostly because he had a short haircut (01:04:44:00)  At one point, Huizenga and his friend were walking down Waikiki Beach Blvd. when someone dropped a string of firecrackers behind them; Huizenga immediately hit the ground then looked around before realizing it was a prank (01:04:52:00)  Nevertheless, the people in Hawaii were very hospitable (01:05:18:00) Huizenga’s goals once he was out of the military were to get a job, let his hair grown long, and go out drinking and chasing women (01:05:34:00) o Huizenga felt he had missed doing that because the time between his being in high school and being in the military was only two weeks and he did not know where he belonged at that point (01:05:52:00) o To that end, Huizenga was getting drunk six nights a week and drinking away his pay check from his job working in construction while also getting into fights with his parents until he finally moved out (01:06:10:00) Huizenga eventually grew out of the initial phase of his post-military life, met and married a beautiful woman, and had two sons (01:06:28:00) o It eventually reached the point where Huizenga’s wife gave him an ultimatum, either the bottle or his family and Huizenga decided he wanted his family (01:06:38:00) On the bases where Huizenga served, there were screens put up so the men could watch movies; apart from the screens, there were “sloop shoots”, where the men could get a cold beer or pop and hamburger or hot dog and some potato chips (01:07:13:00) o As well, every so often, there was a USO show on the base; at one point, Bob Hope was in Da Nang and although Huizenga and some other men tried to get tickets to the show, there were too many other men in front of them (01:07:29:00)  Sometimes, the show was a Filipino rock band and other times, it was an American rock band (01:08:06:00) Once he returned to the United States permanently, Huizenga tried to avoid and ignore the anti-war sentiment as much as he possibly could (01:08:46:00) o He did not leave his house for the first month until his hair had grown out because he did not want people to know where he had been (01:08:54:00) Huizenga initially did not talk with others about his experiences in the war but after he quit drinking, he became involved in the VA (01:09:05:00) o Huizenga remembers the first time he went to the VA, the nurse was asking him a series of questions and in the middle, the nurse stopped and based on the answers Huizenga had given, recommended Huizenga see a psychiatrist (01:09:23:00) o When the nurse made the recommendation, Huizenga knew he needed to do something, so he started with a psychiatrist, who helped Huizenga reach the point where he is able to talk about his experiences with his wife and his family (01:09:49:00)  For a lot of years, Huizenga’s wife did not fully know what Huizenga had gone through and Huizenga is able to take his sons onto Google Earth and show them exactly where he served in Vietnam (01:10:08:00) � Huizenga is proud to have served his country and worn the uniform of the Marines (01:10:54:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Huizenga, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huizenga, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Huizenga was born in Portland, Michigan in 1948 and grew up on a farmhouse near the town until he was fourteen, when his family moved to Hudsonville, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1966, Huizenga enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following boot camp in San Diego, California and infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California, Huizenga received orders for motor transport school at Montford Point, North Carolina. Once he completed the school, Huizenga briefly served in the motor pool at nearby Camp Lejeune before deploying to Vietnam. When Huizenga arrived in Vietnam, he received an assignment to the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion. However, only a few months after Huizenga arrived, the battalion contracted to a company-sized unit and Huizenga transferred to the former battalion's sister unit, the 1st Motor Battalion. While with the 1st Motor, Huizenga worked in the battalion's shop repairing vehicles and rode in convoys, first as a machine gunner then as an assistant driver. While Huizenga was with the battalion, it transferred to base at Gia Le outside of Hue just prior to the start of the Tet Offensive in 1968. During the offensive, the battalion helped transport men and supplies into the forces stationed inside Hue. He chose to extend his tour by a total of nine months rather than be posted back at Camp Lejeune, preferring to stay with his unit, which eventually moved to the Da Nang area, where it remained for the rest of his tour. 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 United States. Marine Corps 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 2012-01-05 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuizengaR1333V 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/d02f8bd781487c49eceea0580b21554e.m4v 6ad6775efa5e09599e5045c5d479e2cd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a4117401e58a2affc770a06d13ba2aa4.pdf 421aa224e5cf8f5f3bdefef432dde8a7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Eldon Hunsberger (00:39:20) (00:20) Background Information • • • • • Eldon was born on a farm in Plainfield, MI He went to college from 1940 to 1941 Eldon had attempted to join the Army Air Corps, but was not accepted because of an overbite He later tried to get in again and they accepted him Eldon was sent to Santa Ana, CA (03:47) Training • • • • • Eldon went to primary in Ontario, CA and then learned to fly Steermans, which are single engine biplanes He went to Miners Field in Bakersfield, CA for basic training and began training with BT-13s They sent him to Colorado to fly the AT-10 and the AT-17, twin engine planes Out of a class of 120 he was one of 6 that moved on to fly the B-26 In February of 1943 he graduated and was assigned to Florida where he trained more with B-26s • (07:35) Northern Route • • • • • Eldon was sent to Savannah, GA where he began as a co-pilot on a B-26 They flew the Northern Route which went to Savannah, NJ, Maine, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and England In England they got fitted with a bigger gas tank and then went to Marrakesh, Morocco In Iceland they were told not to go into town because they were pro-German He went to Casablanca to get fitted for battle (11:08) Tunis • • • • • Eldon saw a lot of wrecked planes when he got to Tunis His first base was outside of Tunis Their first mission was over Salerno, Italy On his second mission he had to land on the beach head At first they hit ground troops and then they went on to target German supplies �• There were up to 32 planes in a formation and they flew at 12,000 feet • After 13 missions he got to be a pilot then they switched back and forth from pilot to copilot • It took him one year to get 65 missions in • They “flew when the weather was good” • He helped out at Anzio in Italy • Eldon was in South Africa for 2 months and then was sent to an old German airfield in Sardinia (20:05) Sardinia • • • • Sardinia was a desolate place The B-26 had the best loss rate of anyone at 1/10th of 1 percent They had cameras under the planes that took pictures of what they had just bombed Eldon was supposed to go home after 40 missions but they couldn’t get replacements so he wasn’t told to go home until he had 65 missions in the summer of 1944 (25:00) Back to the US • • • • • • • He went to Naples, Italy and then flew a B-25 home on the Southern Route When he got back he had some time on leave in Miami, FL He was offered a position as a flight instructor but he refused Eldon got in trouble for not dressing right and got sent to flyC-47s towing gliders in Texas He went back to Dodge and took an aircraft maintenance course He became a Maintenance officer Eldon got to fly an A-26, which was the same concept as the B-26 but made by a different company and it was faster (30:19) Reserves • • • • He stayed in the Army as a Reserve He flew the T-6 out of Grand Rapids, MI Then the C-46, the AT-11, and the AT-6 out of Detroit, MI Eldon also worked as a carpenter (31:30) Recalled for Korea • • • • Eldon was recalled in April of 1952 He was first sent to Roswell, NM Then took a Squadron Officer course in Alabama He Flew 800 hours in a KB-29 �• • Eldon stayed near the US and refueled planes that were going to Hawaii After he was done he went back into the reserves, spending a total of 23 years in the military (34:50) Feelings about His Experiences • He enjoyed being in the Military • Eldon was glad he wasn’t on the ground (35:35) Jobs • • After the service he ran an airport, but didn’t like all of the restrictions He was also a Builders Hardware Salesman � 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 EHunsberger Title A name given to the resource Hunsberger, Eldon (Interview outline and video), 2008 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-04-19 Description An account of the resource Eldon Hunsberger was born on a farm in Plainfield, Michigan. He went to college for 2 years and then joined the Army Air Corps and trained as a pilot. He flew B-26 bombers on 65 missions over Italy from bases in Tunisia, Sardinia and Italy. When he got back to the US he was in the Army Reserve and then got called back in April of 1952 for the Korean War. Eldon flew a KB-29 and refueled planes on their way to Hawaii. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunsberger, Eldon Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.) BCTV Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3aa977fcd8326672c95490b7afb73226.pdf 947eedb401d3b022cb63f7cd3fcfd170 PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3cbcc09f75736516b4a4e774c1f6cdaa.pdf 12ec3b2169a6225a04867d5024406966 PDF Text Text [Page 1] Lockport, Sept. 8, 1855 Dear Sir: I have received your letter and am gratified to know that our views of national affairs are in accordance, now as in former and better days. I am living a retired life and had intended to take no more active part in public affairs. But many friends called for my opinion on the proposition to transform the Whig Party into a sectional faction. Having decided views on the subject, I could not refuse to express them without shrinking from an obvious entry. Your plan of a compromise between the North and South is very judicious and valuable, provided you can shew [show] that it is practicable. I would rejoice to see the contest ended on such a basis. But who are the men in the South that will unite in the movement and can they carry a sufficient number �[Page 2] of the Southern people with them to effort of any avail? There is the real difficulty, as I apprehend. You are right in assuming that the present state of affairs is alarming, and that some remedy must be found. It requires the wisest efforts of considerate and patriotic men in both sections. I hope there may be a sufficient number of such men to breast the torrent of sectional fanaticism. That indeed is our only hope. I am ready to cooperate in all rational endeavors to restore national harmony, and revive the ancient sentiments of paternity and loyalty to the Union. I remain with great regards yours truly, Washington Hunt Nathan Sargent Esq. � 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 Civil War and Slavery Collection Subject The topic of the resource United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Slavery--United States African Americans United States--Politics and government--19th century Description An account of the resource A selection of correspondence, diaries, official documents, photographs related to the American Civil War and to the institution of slavery, collected by Harvey E. Lemmen. The collection includes a selection of documents from ten states related to the ownership of slaves and abolition, correspondence and documents of soldiers who fought in the war and from family members and officials, diaries and letters of individuals, and a collection of mailing envelopes decorated with patriotic imagery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lemmen, Harvey E. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472">Civil War and Slavery Collection (RHC-45)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/470">John Bennitt Diaries and Correspondence (RHC-43)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent Papers (RHC-44)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/478">Theodore Peticolas Diary (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/476">Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Collection (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/479">Whitely Read Diary (RHC-52)</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 1804-1897 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; application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image; Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1804-1897 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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-44_NS1-15467 Title A name given to the resource Nathan Sargent from Washington Hunt, September 8, 1855 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1855-09-08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunt, Washington, 1811-1867 Description An account of the resource Letter discussing the dangers of the Whig Party becoming a sectional faction. Subject The topic of the resource Sargent, Nathan, 1794-1875 Hitchcock, Henry, 1829-1902 Biddle, Alexander, 1819-1899 Whig Party (U.S.) United States--Politics and government--19th century United States--Officials and employees Mobile (Ala.) 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> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent papers, (RHC-44)</a> 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/059228b4f40b589f634167b746c67152.pdf b4d7fd161a58394f4fe63377d9194179 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Korean War Clarence Hunter Total Time – (10:01) Background                He was born in London, Arkansas on September 1, 1935 (00:17) He served in the Army and the Navy (00:30) o He was an E7 in the Navy and an E6 in the Army (00:36) He served in Korea He was a farmer before he joined the military There were five members of his family that served in the military before him (01:16) o All of them were his brothers He joined the military through enlistment o He chose to enter the military because he knew that he would get drafted (01:41) o That is why he chose the Navy Basic training was extremely difficult (01:49) o The training was sixteen weeks long o The food in training was not bad “as long as you like slop” (02:07) o He received basic mechanic training He served all along the Korean peninsula (03:01) o In the Army the soldiers were always stuck in one spot, but in the Navy it was much different He was able to make friends in the military o During that time there were not easy ways to stay in contact with friends from the military (03:52) There were some points where he would spend two years overseas before he was able to go home (04:44) He was not on shore for Christmas for four straight years He only made sixty-eight dollars a month (05:43) His family was extremely happy when he came home from the war The war helped him to learn how to be away from home (06:06) A lot of the jobs that he had did not carry over to civilian life – soldiers never use many of the things they learn in the military �     He saw twelve year old children with their ears cut off (07:05) He believes that Communism is meant to keep people dumb and it tries to kill all intelligent people (07:24) The Americans were fighting Communism (08:27) He saw some people in China that used so many drugs that their life expectancy was twenty-eight years old He saw fourteen year old prostitutes (09:02) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hunter, Clarence (Interview outline), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunter, Clarence Description An account of the resource Clarence Hunter was born in London, Arkansas in 1935. He enlisted into the military and served in the Army and Navy. During his time with the Navy, Clarence spent a lot of time traveling up and down the coast of Korea during the Korean War. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bush, Kyle (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 United States. Army Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05-28 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HunterC1419V 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 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/10381c9cdbd4a2d2d10818d8b5d97ce6.mp4 c2737087c62c6ddbf97301af29b677e4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be067db4c3e032244f7f2778f58f5064.pdf 372d34b8f3aef93f044caca2b3802142 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Jim Hunter Total Time – (1:36:10) Background (00:00:13) • Jim Hunter grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was born in July of 1946 as he attended St. James grade school and West Catholic High School (00:00:28) ◦ His family included his mother who was a stay at home mom while his father sold motor oil for for 50 years (00:00:42) ▪ His family stayed in the Grand Rapids area the whole time; He has three siblings total, two sisters and one brother (00:00:52) ◦ Jim graduated West Catholic in 1964, the first graduating class for West Catholic at the time (00:01:11) ▪ He decided to enroll at Grand Valley State University [College] in 1965; He took German, Philosophy, Western Civilization (the latter course was particularly tough) (00:02:24) ▪ Jim and his best friend decided to not pursue Grand Valley State University after their freshman year and chose the Marines; Jim never doubted his decision, but caught flak from his mother for his decision (00:03:05) Enlistment / Training Camp (00:03:21) • Jim and his best friend enlisted in the Marine Corps of February, 1966; (00:03:21) ◦ Jim knew a bit about Vietnam at the time but was more intrigued by the pride and tradition of the Marines than the thought of going to war (00:03:54) ◦ He started basic training in the spring of 1966 in San Diego, California and stayed there for advanced infantry training (00:04:17) ▪ Jim flew out to San Diego by himself and quickly noticed life was going to change as upon his arrival, the Marines began their orders and profane yelling as soon as Jim boarded the bus to training camp (00:05:36) ▪ The physical training with drill sergeants banging on garbage cans to wake the recruits up; although most of the training was physical work, there was classroom training as well as this provided a breather from physical workouts (Jim still has his note book with tradition and terminology) (00:08:46) ▪ Although most of the men made it through training camp, some were sent to motivational platoons while some others were discharged (00:09:51) • For Jim, the pride of being in bootcamp started to show up as drill sergeants respected the recruits near the end of training (00:10:04) ◦ Nearly all the men were enlistees at the time although there were a few two-year reservists who were headed home after bootcamp (00:10:38) ◦ Bootcamp lasted about 10 weeks and ended with a transition to Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) which produced mostly infantry units (00:11:13) • Jim and the men of ITR knew quite well that they were headed Vietnam (00:13:32) ◦ Training for ITR lasted about 6 weeks, a few weeks less than bootcamp; the physical work was quite grueling and more demanding than bootcamp but Jim and the men were stronger and did things they never thought they could do (00:14:20) ▪ Jim and the men of ITR were treated much better than in bootcamp and were viewed as �Marines; the drill instructors were mostly Vietnam veterans by that time (00:14:47) • At the end of ITR, Jim received his orders to go to the “Staging Battalion” which was two weeks of processing (medical clearance and signing wills and paperwork) followed by a move to a Marine air facility in El Toro, California (00:16:40) ◦ From El Toro, Jim and the men of ITR flew to Hawaii via a commercial airliner to Vietnam (00:16:48) ▪ Before going to Vietnam Jim was allowed a leave back home as it was a quiet, somber time more than a fun leave (00:18:02) • Jim's parents were proud of his decision and his father was even part of the local draft board in Grand Rapids (00:18:22) Arrival in Vietnam (00:19:21) • Jim arrived in Da Nang in the daytime to the heat and smells of Vietnam after he walked off the plane to meet the other men from the army and marines (00:20:00) ◦ About every ten minutes or so Jim experienced a F4 plane taking off for a bombing run or air support for marines which caused immense noise (00:20:23) ◦ Jim was lined up with a few hundred other men where he was assigned, like every third man, to the 9th Marines, 2nd Battalion; this unit in particular took many casualties and needed many replacements (The unit became known as “The Walking Dead”) (00:21:29) ▪ When he arrived Dong Ha, Jim had to pick his gear and weapons from a pile of marines who had recently departed to go home, or recently deceased marines; the weapons and gear were all relatively new (00:23:25) • To get acquainted with the area and scenery, Jim worked on patrol in Dong Ha; as a new guy, he unloaded ammunition and bodies (00:25:09) ◦ When Jim joined his company, they had just finished a rather lengthy move around Dong Ha which enabled them a few days rest until they moved by foot to Cam Lo to do patrol, man perimeters, combat and ambush patrols (between Dong Ha and North Vietnam) (00:27:03) ▪ At first, there wasn't too much enemy activity (a few mortar shells here and there), some contact with enemy combat patrols, a few ambushes but nothing big although the listening post was tough because you could hear absolutely everything – bugs, animals, foreign noises; the listening post was critical as he had to stay awake and listen for the radio (00:28:43) ▪ The listening post was anywhere from 100 meters to 150 yards out from the rest of the unit- depending on the terrain (00:29:09) ▪ Although the climate was quite warm, the constant rain throughout the day and the temperature drop at night along with the newness and being constantly wet made sleeping at night a difficult task for Jim (00:31:28) Combat (00:32:50) • Between moves from Dong Ha to Cam Lo, Jim got into a pretty bad firefight; It was his first time seeing marines being ripped apart- the 1st sergeant was killed along with a couple of other guys as well (00:33:58) ◦ Jim and the other men had to get the dead and wounded together while they blew a hole in the jungle with C4 explosives just to get the medevac in; It was the most traumatic thing he seen since his arrival in Vietnam- this experience was the beginning of the war for Jim (00:35:02) ▪ Militarily, the men were in position and prepared to respond to the incoming attacks as they had cover to some extent but Jim and the men were not prepared for the fifty �• caliber machine gun as it was shredding down trees; Jim remembers shooting back for the first time (00:36:49) ▪ Lower members of the military were treated better by the senior members after intense fighting happened- Jim quickly learned that they were there to keep each other's backs as they had to depend on one another (00:37:48) ▪ Camp Carroll was one of Jim's assignments as part of his duty; their location was a strategic military base where Jim had to secure and defend the perimeter as this location had massive guns that could reach North Vietnam (00:39:39) There wasn't a platoon or squadron for the US forces that was at full strength while in Vietnam; a platoon was lucky to have 30 men (00:41:02) ◦ Air support and artillery was one of the things that saved many lives for the marines; the support was mostly there when they needed it (00:41:28) ▪ From May til December of 1966, Jim used a M-14 rifle and was happy with that for the most part; Jim was mailed packages of dry slide from his father (who worked for a motor oil company) to help maintain his weapons (00:43:34) ▪ Jim didn't see or use bazookas but used LAW's (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) but he never saw any tanks- they used the weapons to blow up bunkers (00:45:18) • Most of the bunkers Jim saw were unoccupied but well constructed and concealed; some were quite big and carried hospital gear- the enemy bunkers were better than their bunkers of foxholes and sandbags (00:45:09) ◦ Booby-traps were quite common and a lot of the injuries were booby-trap related rather than gun fire (00:47:07) ▪ The booby-traps were probably put in by the locals rather than the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) (00:47:34) • Encountering civilian locals was a hit or miss situation as they villages were mostly controlled by the Vietcong and NVA (00:48:54) ▪ In Jim's location, he never really knew who the locals were loyal to so he tried to steer clear of them (00:49:42) ◦ If the company had to move, which was a noisy operation, they tried to move by being spread apart from one another just in case of an enemy attack (00:51:42) ▪ Sometimes being spread out was a scary thing, especially for the tail end person as there was a chance to not keep up with the rest of the company and head the wrong way on a trail (00:51:58) ▪ To prevent the enemy from trying to get into their foxhole areas, Jim and the others would set claymore mines and have two men (one always awake while the other tried to rest) in a foxhole every 8-10 yards from each other (00:53:00) • Jim never faced an attack where their foxhole areas would be overrun as they always had artillery and air strikes- which were quite good as they were very close and accurate (00:54:12) ◦ Downtime in Vietnam for Jim consisted of being able to take his boots off and stretch out a bit, getting new clothes as they would rot out sometimes, visiting medical centers (Jim had an infection on his hand at one point), and being able to write letters (00:55:02) ▪ Jim wrote letters to receive items which sometimes arrived rather quickly (10 days) and sometimes not; he got cookies, fudge, fruitcake, sardine cans, can hams, socks, foot powder, mailing supplies- the handiest items he got were the dry slide lubricant and socks- the most important things were the ammunition and mail from home (00:57:28) �• • Jim was quite fortunate as his girlfriend wrote him at least once a day, his mother got involved in the Marine Corps league- he always got quite a stack of mail and felt bad for some guys who didn't get any mail- other than the ammunition, the mail kept him going (00:57:47) ▪ Overall the morale in Jim's unit was good although rumors did surface at times but they learned to toughen up quick and do your job to cover the guys with you (00:58:31) • The lowest points for the group was when they had to deal with injuries and casualties (00:58:43) ◦ Jim never had a 2nd lieutenant for more than a month or two at a time which was tough to deal with; they were either killed off pretty quickly or rotated elsewhere -captains as well, the leadership was always in change which resulted in a lack of cohesion (01:00:05) ◦ On the other hand, his lieutenants were gung-ho and he never dealt with a bad lieutenant or captain (01:00:31) Jim remembers a few particularly unpleasant experiences: Con Thien, Thon Khe Tri (Rockpile), being told he was in the crossing the sea into North Vietnam, the rain, climbing, the bugs, and snakes, pulling leaches from his private parts, soreness from the cold, carrying ammunition and others' ammunition that got hit- the tough training was nothing what he faced while in Vietnam (01:04:11) End of Tour / Injuries (01:05:38) • Jim heard a rumor that the company was heading to Phu Bai on foot- it took all of November and into December- it was the southern most base in Vietnam (01:06:19) ◦ On December 14th, 1966, Jim was sleeping under a tank and went to set up and ambush: on the way they were set up by a booby-trap and ambushed, a big firefight for a small group ensued and Jim ended up being injured (01:08:30) ▪ Jim's injuries blurred his vision and impaired his use of his rifle- his arm was hurt and his stomach was burning up; Jim received morphine in his leg as a medevac arrived to pick him up (01:09:41) • Jim laid in the helicopter between dead and wounded- the ride seemed like forever and was very cold (at 01:10:35) Jim shows part of his shrapnel wound on his arm) • He was taken to Charlie Med in Da Nang to be offloaded on a stretcher- his clothes were cut away and was being kept stable; he clearly remembers the talks of the medical staff debating whether to amputate his arm- he was taken into surgery and learned he was shot through his stomach as well (01:11:34) • After he woke up, he didn't know where he was and was told he was on the USS Repose on the China Sea- there were other wounded around him as well and he remembers the screaming from the others (01:12:42) ◦ The medical staff tried to graft skin of Jim's legs to put on his arm which was then soaked in a liquid penicillin- the grafts didn't take to Jim's arm so there are gaps of skin on his arm (01:13:17) ◦ Towards the end of Jim's time on the USS Repose, he was able to walk around a bit- a picture was taken of him holding onto a railing while catching some fresh air- before he was let go the medical team wrapped him up in a bundle as a pretty nurse gave him a kiss and away he went (01:14:30) ▪ Jim reveals his father sent him a .38 caliber snub nose pistol- this was one of the items Jim received in the mail- he didn't want to be captured and the weapon was illegal to have and the night Jim was hurt a gunnery sergeant confiscated it (01:15:18) �• • On the USS Repose, Jim was too hurt to open a wooden box sent to him so the team on the ship did it and there was .38 caliber ammo in the box- he jokingly told them to throw it over the side of the ship as he no longer needed it- (01:16:08) ▪ Jim received his last rights from a Catholic priest while in Da Nang; while injured, Jim remembers a voice telling him “I'll talk to your parents”, the colonel's driver was a marine by the name of Mazzarelli who had communication with Jim's parents in Grand Rapids (01:18:38) • Jim's father took him to see the Mazzarelli family (who owned a bowling alley on Plainfield in Grand Rapids); they ended up being connected by a friend of a friend but the marine was found dead in Grand Rapids before Jim could reconnect with him and thank him (01:19:37) Jim received the purple heart from General Lewis Walt; while General Walt was on the USS Repose, Bob Hope was as well too (01:20:08) Recovery (01:21:44) • From Yokohama Japan to Clark air-force base, it was a long road home for Jim; he roomed with an army lieutenant at Clark and went on to Andrews air-force base via Elmendorf air-force base in Alaska for refueling (01:22:20) • From there, Jim went to Glenview naval air-station in Chicago and then taken to Great Lakes Naval Hospital just north of Chicago; Jim spent seven months at Great Lakes recuperating while having surgeries on his eye and arm (01:23:10) • Jim had a three year enlistment and wanted to stay in, but with his eye problem he was unable to shoot properly- something that the marines were much harder on back then; nevertheless they wanted to put Jim on light duty and he was given three choices: 1. Key West, Florida 2. Stay at Great Lakes 3. Quantico, Virginia (01:25:22) ◦ Jim chose Quantico because his friend that he went into the Marines with was in Anacostia (in Washington D.C.) which was across the river from Quantico (01:25:32) ▪ Jim worked in Quantico at the Amphibious Warfare School as a light duty worker and was involved in training foreign officers and tactical issues as well; To work there, Jim needed top secret clearance to work with some of the new equipment (01:26:48) ▪ Jim was in charge of using transparencies on a project and remembers getting yelled at because of his impaired vision from being injured- his depth perception wasn't great and he couldn't focus the projector the way the instructors wanted (01:27:20) ◦ Jim's enlistment in the Marines had to be reviewed by the naval review board- the board decided to discharge Jim from the Marine Corps because of his limitations (01:29:14) Reflection / Post Marine Corps (01:29:51) • Even to this day, when Jim reflects upon his time in the Marine Corps, the word 'pride' sticks out to him; there were no regrets on his decisions- he understood his discharge but still knew the downside of his trying to find employment and there were times when he had doubts about himself (01:30:40) • Jim was put on partial disability; he receives a check every month along with free medical care through TRICARE For Life from his honorable and medical discharge- but he feels the compensation is small compared to the partial loss of his eyesight (01:31:47) ◦ Even though Jim had developed cancer and went through two years of chemotherapy he feels lucky that it was not related to cancer caused by Agent Orange (01:32:22) • Jim signed up for the Michigan Rehabilitation Agency and although some interviewers told him his limitations would impair his ability to work he ultimately applied for a position with the Michigan Interstate Motor Freight System in Grand Rapids; he want from being a claims clerk �• to a director of loss prevention (01:33:19) ◦ After his company was bought out and went out of business, Jim went to the Grand Rapids Federal Court House and through a connection from his sister, he became the 1st administrative officer in West Michigan (01:35:10) Jim has recently retired and although he misses the people he doesn't miss the work and is excited to be able to do things such as this interview (01:35:53) � 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 Hunter, James (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunter, James Description An account of the resource Jim Hunter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in July 1946. After briefly trying college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in February, 1966. After training in San Diego, he deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; this unit took many casualties and became known as "The Walking Dead." His unit operated close to the DMZ, around Dong Ha, Cam Lo, and Camp Carroll. He was badly wounded in December, 1966, and upon recovery was sent to the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia until he received a medical discharge in 1968. 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 Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine 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 2014-03-13 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HunterJ1584V 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/715b8df24c4015422ac94ed6a17edba0.pdf 1262444b551bc9ac4117f8debdd2b219 PDF Text Text 1 Grand Valley State University Special Collections Kent County Oral History collections, RHC- 23 Mr. David Hunting Interviewed November 12, 1971 Edited and indexed by Don Bryant, 2010 – bryant@wellswooster.com Tape # 35 (1:00:00) Biographical Information David Dyer Hunting was born in Grand Rapids 26 August 1892. He was the son of Edgar W. Hunting and Grace Emma Dyer. David died in Grand Rapids on 19 April 1992 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. David Hunting married Mary V. Ives in Ann Arbor, Michigan on 25 May 1925. Mr. Hunting was one of the founders of Metal Office Furniture Company which is now Steelcase, Inc. Edgar, David’s father was born about August 1862 in Grand Haven, Michigan. Grace Dyer was born about May 1869 in Missouri. They were married in 1891. ___________ Interviewer: Were you born in Grand Rapids Mr. Hunting? Mr. Hunting: I was born in Grand Rapids on College Avenue between Wealthy and Cherry in eighteen ninety-two. At that time, there were no houses between College Avenue and Madison and there was a diagonal walk or path that ran across the two lots and across Morris Avenue to the corner of Madison which we used to go to and from the Wealthy Avenue School at Lafayette Street. Interviewer: That school, that school’s still there, isn’t it? Mr. Hunting: The school is still there. It’s been remodeled somewhat but, that was a school that served the entire area, that I grew up and played in. Interviewer: Were there, were there other houses in this block that you lived in? Mr. Hunting: At that time there was a Tetium house on the corner of Cherry and College and the Shaw house on College Avenue and between the Shaw house and Wealthy Street there was only one other house which was later occupied by the D.C. Scribner family. On the east side of College Avenue, there were several houses. The street was pretty well built up from Cherry Street down to the middle of the block. There was the Wilson house, the Gilbert house, the Maddox house, the Twing house, the Hunting house, the Waddell house and the Murray house. Those were all practically along in succession. And then further down were some other houses. When I was growing up, and was going to school there were forty-one children on that block. Interviewer: Did, did all the children know each other, play with each other? �2 Mr. Hunting: Oh, we played together constantly. Other Man: Tell them about the black girl you grew up with. Mr. Hunting: About what? Other Man: The black girl that you grew up with, that little black girl, the only one who could recite the poetry as well as you could. Mr. Hunting: Yeah. Interviewer: What’s her name? Mr. Hunting: Theola Ford. At that time, Paris Avenue was pretty well built up too and the Wilcox family moved from their farm out on Lake Drive into the city for the winter and took a house on College Avenue directly behind the Murray house. The other families lived along on Paris that we grew up with were the Palmer family, the Wilcox family, the Shank family, the Seymour family, and we all played together. Also the Spencer and Baker families were there. One of the things I most remember was building a cave in a vacant lot opposite us. As a boy we had a big table over there which served as a headquarters for a group of boys with a long tunnel exit to a clump of trees so we could escape if we were trapped in the cave. That was the type of activity that we seemed to have. And I remember at the time of the Spanish American War we were greatly discussing, among ourselves, what we would do if we were in Cuba or if Cubans invaded Grand Rapids, Michigan. Interviewer: What was this, that John mentioned to us, young black girl, Theola Ford. Mr. Hunting: Oh, going through school, at Wealthy Street, Miss Blanchard taught the first grade and Miss Martine the second grade, Miss Cole the fourth grade, and there at that time was only one black girl in school and she was the daughter of Joe Ford, the passenger agent, assistant porter down there. Theola Ford, and she was probably the brightest girl in the class. I remember one of our second grade requirements was to learn Hiawatha and she could recite the entire poem of Hiawatha verbatim. We always had a terrific competition between Theola Ford and myself, eee who could remember the longest portions. Interviewer: What ever happened to her? Mr. Hunting: I don’t know, I don’t know. She moved out of town. I don’t know. She went all the way through grammar school and then to high school with distinguished marks. Interviewer: Were there, were there very many black people in the city at that time? Mr. Hunting: Very few. But the ones that were there we all knew, and were very friendly with. Weren’t very many. �3 Interviewer: Did they, did they have a neighborhood of their own? Mr. Hunting: There wasn’t any particular neighborhood. It was mostly down on Sheldon between Wealthy and Franklin, and perhaps a very few across Division street but very few. Interviewer: What did you remember the first time you ever saw an automobile? Mr. Hunting: Yes, the first, about the first one, I had much familiarity with was when the Russell family, who lived out at Comstock Park bought a Ford and that was when I was in grade school. And I used to ride in that car with Fran Russell a good deal. Then the Keeler family bought a Lozier with chain drive and Mr. Will Gay bought a White Steamer, which rode up and down College Avenue and the Austin family started to develop a car called the Austin, which was an assembled car with coachwork mostly supplied locally but a very well regarded car. Always in white with brown trim. And for quite a while the Austins were a recognized automobile made in Grand Rapids. Interviewer: Where was that factory located? Mr. Hunting: That was on Division Street, between Cherry Street and Oakes, I believe. Right in that area somewhere. It no longer stands. I completed the eighth grade in Wealthy Street School and went into the old Central High School on the corner of Ransom and Lyon. We went at morning and afternoon to that school walking from College Avenue to Lyon Street and Ransom, four times a day. And then playing football we would leave the school in the afternoon and go to the old YMCA building, change in our football clothes, walk across Pearl Street Bridge to a vacant lot where there is a freight boarding station now, along Fulton and Front Street, practice there till six o’clock, walk back to the Y, take a shower, walk home up State Street hill to College Avenue. Interviewer: It’s a little different than today, isn’t it? Mr. Hunting: I imagine, I imagine we got more exercise walking than most people do today playing football. Interviewer: Were sports very important at that time in school? Mr. Hunting: Yes, we had a good sport activity. We had, our big game was with Muskegon. We played Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, and in basketball we had a very good team and played in the YMCA gymnasium, and had a long season of basketball. Interviewer: What, what was this neighborhood that you grew up in? Was this a neighborhood of well-to-do families? Mr. Hunting: Well, I wouldn’t say they were well-to-do, but that were comfortably well-off. There were no very wealthy families there as I regarded at the time at least we weren’t conscious �4 of any, any distinction of that kind in that entire neighborhood. But up, we did feel that up on the Lafayette hillside area the more wealthy families had their home like the Hazletine's and the Holt’s and the Hollister's and the Lowe's and the Blodgett’s. Interviewer: So they, they lived all up on the, in the, what’s a really the hill district up on Fountain and Lafayette and that area? Mr. Hunting: That’s right. Interviewer: Did, did the children in your neighborhood, the forty-one children in your neighborhood associate with the children in the Hill district? Mr. Hunting: Oh yes. Interviewer: So there wasn’t any discrimination of… Mr. Hunting: No, feeling any way. The Bundy family, the White family all had children, we played tennis a lot together and saw each other quite a little bit. Interviewer: Were there very many parties when you were growing up? Mr. Hunting: There were a lot of parties and they were quite formal parties and Mrs. Bissell always gave a dance in the evening during Christmas vacation for all the young people. That was one of the big events we looked forward to at Christmas time. Interviewer: Then that was a formal affair? Mr. Hunting: That was formal, and usually in the St. Cecelia ballroom. Interviewer: Some of the people that I’ve interviewed have said that there was no liquor or very little liquor served at parties, really evidence of… Mr. Hunting: I, I never saw any alcohol served at any party till, well after I was out of college. Interviewer: So did, did the kids you grew up with drink at all? Mr. Hunting: Not at all. Not at all, and it wasn’t till after I got out of College that I saw any beer drinking in Grand Rapids. Interviewer: That’s curious. What, what did the young people do for entertainment outside of the parties? Mr. Hunting: They would organize small dances. We had a one group of dances which we called P A Y E group. Pay as you enter where we’d donate enough money to buy a little music, piano player and a violin perhaps and dance in somebody’s ballroom, usually in the Huntley Russell �5 house. We had picnics, we had treasure hunts, we had a great deal of social activity in skating. Skating and tobogganing was very popular. This was before skiing became a recognized activity. Interviewer: The Russell Family now, Huntley Russell where did they live? Mr. Hunting: They loved out at Comstock Park but a Francis Russell and Lucius Boltwood who lived there both came to the Wealthy Avenue School. And they would eat their lunch at one of their relatives on Madison or Morris. Interviewer: I see, the time, in other, no liquor well, no liquor at all I guess, How does that time compare, the time you were growing up compare to the time, for example, that your own children were growing up? Mr. Hunting: Well I think we had much simpler tastes and much less was done for us than was done for my children. I remember you could get an ice-cream soda for a nickel and when I first ate a banana split, it was fifteen cents, and that was quite an event to do that. When the summer time we had the Ramona Theatre, vaudeville. And that was an entertainment to do for an evening to go there and do some of the, some of the activities, in door skating rink, or roller coaster, features like that that were around the Ramona Theatre. Interviewer: What, what do you think that the time that you were growing up, was a slower paced way of living than today? Mr. Hunting: Oh it was much slower because you walked everywhere. When we first had our fraternity party at the new Kent Country Club out north of here at its present location, we would rent a street car to bring everyone home from the party and a great question was whether the car should run up Cherry Street or run up Wealthy in order to come to the nearest, to the homes of the people that went to the party. And at that time I remember we were, Sandy [Sanford] Wilcox, and I were taking two girls, the girl’s mother objected to her riding out in a Wilcox carriage. She thought she should go in the streetcar with everybody else. The girls always would carry their slippers in a bag and wear their regular shoes and overshoes till they got to the party. Interviewer: Well, I remember I was, I think it was Mrs. Avery that I was talking to, she was talking about, like dating customs, holding hands for example was considered, according to Mrs. Avery, was not the thing to do at all. Mr. Hunting: If you were able to hold a girl’s hand walking home why you thought you’d made quite a little progress. And certainly you didn’t want to be seen doing it. Interviewer: Yeah, what, what do you think that changed the way of living from that period of time to today. What, what was the big change? And when did it change? Mr. Hunting: I can’t tell because I haven’t been in a teaching business or any business where I saw the gradual change develop. It’s a complete change in, standards, conventions, and I see it �6 reflected in other ways that, there’s reluctance for people—unless they have to, to dress properly to sit down and eat, eat in the manner in which I was accustomed to eat, slowly and, everyone sit at the table until everyone was finished. It now has almost become a counter-grab and people do not like to take the time to go through a full meal in company with other people. I don’t, I can’t see where the complete change in young people’s relationships occurred. There seems to be a great desire now to show people their affection for each other and to act in a manner that normally they would feel, I mean that in older times they would feel should be reserved for privacy. I don’t know whether that really means a desire to be seen with people in affectionate poses, or in a boastful manner, or because they really can’t wait till they are alone. What do you think? Interviewer: I don’t know, it’s hard for me to, to talk about something like that because I never grew up in an, in an age where holding a girl’s hand was making quite a bit of progress. Yes, it’s very interesting that, that the way the society was then when you were growing up compared to the way it is today. It sounds like they had many differences. Mr. Hunting: Well it is, there’s, there’s a great difference. I… parents had much firmer control over their children; they knew what they were doing because the children were with them more. They couldn’t get out of sight. They couldn’t get in a car and disappear for the day and couldn’t be reached anymore. Now, you can’t tell where you children are because the mobility is so great that they can either go on their own or with somebody, and once gone they’re gone. And the activity no longer is centered in the house, like ours was. Interviewer: A question that I haven’t asked anybody yet, yet… I suppose it didn’t come along until a little later was, about the airplanes. When did, when was, do you remember the first airplane you ever saw? Mr. Hunting: Yeah, the first airplane was brought here by fellow named Bill Turpin, it was a graduated Phi Delta Theta in Ann Arbor and he would give exhibitions at the fair of flying an airplane and he just would go from fair to fair, to fly an airplane. That was before the First World War. In the First World War airplanes became rather common but it was six or eight years prior to the First World War, airplanes were infrequently seen and the only places they could fly from would be at a county fair or on a race track. Interviewer: Did you go out for the First World War? Mr. Hunting: I was in the First World War; I was in Europe for about eighteen months. I was first Lieutenant of infantry and I trained at Fort Sheridan, Camp Custer and spent the rest of the time in Europe. Interviewer: Was there quite a bit of patriotism? �7 Mr. Hunting: Oh yes, everyone, everyone volunteered practically, and the officers training camps were completely subject to volunteer enrollment. And I don’t just remember when the Brass started that. I was in the first officers training camp and felt very fortunate to be selected and I was very, had a, had a very high morale in the companies that I was with all the time. The attitude was terrific. Interviewer: After the war, what were, what were the twenties like, where they as wild as, they make it out to be? Mr. Hunting: They was a breakdown and there was, drinking became more common and they, they brought in dances that were not as dignified or as well recognized as the ones we were used to, but the participation was limited to few people and they were, were examples that were referred to, Fitzgerald group and, some of those and I would say that it was not generally through the society that I was involved with. Interviewer: Let’s see, I just have a couple more questions. How old were you when you got married? Mr. Hunting: Thirty three. Interviewer: Now was that common in those days for men, to, to wait until they were a little older to get married? Mr. Hunting: Well my brother was married when he was twenty one. Interviewer: Oh… Mr. Hunting: Best answer I can give you to that. And I know of the many that were married in their very early twenties. Interviewer: I see so that there was no, no set standard on that? Mr. Hunting: No, I think it shifted around a great deal. Interviewer: Ok good. We were just talking about schools, tell me a little about what the schools were like when you were going to school compared to the way they are now-- at least what we read. Mr. Hunting: Well the, in the grade school, particularly and also though high school, the teacher had complete control of the pupils. The discipline was excellent and it was imposed completely. You stood in line as you left properly, walked out properly, you came in to the school and into the class and you studied quietly. There were some occasional pranks played. I remember one time bringing in a lung-tester which my uncle made and which was filled with flour. When you blew into it the hand dial, hand on the dial which was supposed to go around didn’t but a lot of flour come up all over your face. And Miss Banister, the teacher, saw it on my desk and says �8 what was, and I said a lung tester. She said, bring it to my desk and you may have it after school, which I did. Well during the writing lesson I heard the damnest yell, Miss Banister stood up covered with flour. She kept me after school because I had no right to bring such a thing like that in the school. But the discipline was excellent and the teachers were uniformly older than the teachers are today. And teaching was their profession which was quite honored and quite respected and they, we did not have PTA groups then but the teacher would occasionally write a letter for someone to take home and have the mother answer or come to see her at a certain time. Interviewer: So then the big difference, the two big differences, one the respect for the teachers and two, the discipline within the school. Mr. Hunting: The students, I never saw a student show disrespect for a teacher or attempt to talk back to her or refuse to do what she told him to. And a teacher would occasionally send a pupil out into the hall to sit through a session if he’d been whispering or doing things that were wrong. Interviewer: Well is there anything else that… Mr. Hunting: OK, glad to talk to you. INDEX Ford, Theola · 2 A Avery, Mrs. · 6 G Gay, Will · 3 B Baker Family · 2 Banister, Miss · 8 Bissell, Mrs. · 4 Blanchard, Miss · 2 Blodgett Family · 4 Boltwood, Lucius · 5 Bundy Family · 4 H Hazletine Family · 4 Hollister Family · 4 Holt Family · 4 Huntley Russell Family · 5 K C Central High School · 3 Cole, Miss · 2 Keeler Family · 3 Kent Country Club · 5 L F Lowe Family · 4 First World War · 7 Ford, Joe · 2 �9 M Martine, Miss · 2 P Palmer Family · 2 R Ramona Theatre · 5 Russell Family · 3, 5 Russell, Fran · 3 S Scribner Family · 1 Seymour Family · 2 Shank Family · 2 Spanish American War · 2 Spencer Family · 2 T Turpin, Bill · 7 W Wealthy School · 5 Wealthy Street School · 3 White Family · 3, 4 Wilcox Family · 2, 5 Wilcox, Sanford · 5 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/91fb24701c0fec0d09c68dfd0f2721c3.mp3 d757e587e9b67ad33009042a01c9ce99 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 Grand Rapids Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Local histories Memoirs Michigan--History Oral histories (document genre) Description An account of the resource Taped and transcribed interviews conducted in the early 1970s primarily of the children and grandchildren of many of the founders of Grand Rapids, Michigan; many of whom were residents of the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Interviews were collected to develop a significant collection of oral resources that would supplement other primary and secondary local history materials. Initially funded as a private project, Grand Valley State College (now University) assumed responsibility for continuing the project until 1977. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/452">Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf; audio/mp3 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text; Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-23 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1971 - 1977 Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. 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-23_35Hunting Title A name given to the resource Hunting, David Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunting, David Description An account of the resource David Hunting was born in 1892. He was a lieutenant during WWI. He married Mary Ives in 1925. Mr. Hunting worked in the office furniture manufacturing business and was founder of the Dyer-Ives Foundation (now Steelcase). He died on April 19, 1992. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan--History Local histories Memoirs Oral histories (document genre) Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Grand Valley State University 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 Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/mp3 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971 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/c7b5c45615706ecd5a2e49023cb6c2fe.m4v 967b89b8e1ca834248d7728a7e851b4d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f64d805d15b43cdfd6fd83e64e90b173.pdf ef0eae97d57b41a61cb2c8adfc178d98 PDF Text Text Grand Valley Stte University Veterans History Project Emil Hurbanis (26:02) Background Information (00:12)     Served in the U.S Army. (00:14) Served in the Vietnam War. (00:18) He graduated from Western Michigan University. He had received his degree in Accounting. Several weeks after his graduation he was drafted. (00:37) Because of some training Emil was required to take to work a job at the U.S. Treasury Department, he had to change draft boards. This delayed his draft notice and gave him time to enlist. (1:01) Training (1:30)      He attended basic at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in January of 1969. (1:35) He was then sent to artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (2:02) Emil was then sent to Virginia for Officer Candidate School to become a combat engineer. He did not complete his artillery training. Emil dropped OCS because if he was to be sent to Vietnam he did not want to go as an officer due to their short life expectancy. (3:37) He was then sent to Arizona to learn to use unattended ground sensors. He was then sent to Vietnam in October of 1969 for 1 year. (4:00) Service in Vietnam (4:20)       He recalls the country looking very beautiful from the plane. (4:25) Emil had to go through a 1 week orientation after he landed. He had to be trained with the M16 and the M60. (5:08) Emil was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. (5:40) Emil was sent to Cambodia to set up sensors on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These were used to track enemy movement. (6:17) Emil’s favorite sensors were seismic sensors. These were dropped by helicopters. Once dropped, a bush was deployed to camouflage the sensor. (8:11) He was sent into the jungle with rangers. The rangers knew Emil’s position. He himself had no idea of his whereabouts. (9:14) Discharge (10:05)    Emil flew home on a commercial airline. He loved the safe feeling of leaving the air strip. (9:19) He landed in Oakland, California, where he was discharged in late 1970. (10:10) If something was bothering the men physically the men would have to stay for several weeks. Though Emil had an ear infection he did not tell anyone because he wanted to be discharge so badly. (11:02) �Life after Service (11:43)    Emil received a job as a revenue agent in Benton Harbor Michigan for 2 years. (11:48) In January of 1973 he was sent to Ohio to work in the criminal investigation branch. (12:06) Emil does not have any friends from his service. This was due primarily to the fast turnover of men that occurred in Emil’s unit. (12:51) Service in Vietnam (cont.) (17:28)     While in Vietnam men often didn’t sleep because if they did they would make noise. (15:00) While Emil was on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in May of 1970 there was a lot of movement on the trail. (17:30) After a bomb was dropped, Emil also had to assist clean up the targeted area. The men would examine the weapons the men had after an attack. (18:49) He received several Bronze Stars. (20:03) 1st and 9th Infantry (20:36)    The 1st infantry Devotion was one of the first to be pulled out of Vietnam. Because Emil did not have enough months to go home, he was transferred to the 9th Infantry Division. (20:37) Emil retained his job in the 9th Infantry Division but he was in rice paddies as opposed to jungle. (22:11) Emil’s most frightening moments was his first mission. When he met Rangers who were true combat soldiers it was very intimidating. (23:04) Life after Service (24:47)  He changed and came home in civilian clothes to avoid protesters. (25:01) � 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 HurbanisE1360V Title A name given to the resource Hurbanis, Emil (Interview outline and video), 2012 Description An account of the resource Emil Hurbanis served in the U.S. Army from approx. 1969-1971 in the latter half of the Vietnam War. Emil spent 1 year in country. He was first assigned to the 1st Infantry Division where he worked with unattended ground sensors on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia. He was later transferred to the 9th Infantry Division. He retained his same job but had to perform it in rice paddies. He was awarded 3 Bronze Stars. After service Emil continued his career as an accountant working to the U.S. Treasury Department. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hurbanis, Emil Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rodgers, Rob (Interviewer) Birkmeier, Nicholas (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Michigan--History, Military Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-02-27 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/76e1eff6e7aa53559ad17b6a57662090.m4v d253aa1972d8aa8117c658576b363f83 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f743f1ef9c19f44c411b7a25bcb1b94c.pdf a024ce9635c73b13b3bc198ac60c08e4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II J.W. Hurst Interview Length: (00:43:07:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:00:00)  Born July 1, 1918 (00:00:00:00)  Fought in World War II and served with the First Army Task Force (00:01:09:00)  Hurst served mostly with the infantry; his job involved calling back for artillery guns to shoot at enemy guns and trucks (00:01:37:00)  He landed on Omaha Beach a few minutes after the Marines [Rangers?]landed; maybe ten minutes or so after the Marines (00:02:27:00)  The military did not have any location in Tennessee, Hurst’s home state; instead, Hurst was told that he had to go to a base in Georgia to be sworn into the military (00:03:40:00) o At the time, the military picked people out of a hat or box; Hurst was not drafted, he was picked to be drafted (00:04:33:00)  He went to Georgia and was sworn into the military and originally joined the Air Force [Army Air Corps at the time] (00:05:14:00) o Both his sons also ended up in the Air Force (00:05:32:00) o He went into the Air Force, but they would not let him fly; Hurst eventually told his commander that he did not like the situation (00:05:58:00)  The commander asked Hurst what he wanted to get into because he could not keep Hurst as Hurst was not drafted (00:06:17:00)  Hurst said that he did not know and asked what openings the military had for him; the commander said that he would send Hurst back to North Carolina, “where they were jumping” (00:06:31:00)  The Air Force commander sent Hurst back to North Carolina but the men were not jumping out of airplanes; instead, they were jumping out of tall towers (00:07:01:00) o In North Carolina, Hurst’s first sergeant turned out to be a man that he had gone to school with (00:07:32:00) o At the time, the men had parachutes for jumping out of the tower and Hurst told the sergeant that he did not like the jumping (00:08:27:00)  Hurst had been used to working all the time (00:08:45:00)  The sergeant told Hurst to talk to the jump commander and Hurst told the commander that he did not much care for the jumping of off the tower; the parachute had barely opened by the time Hurst reached the ground (00:09:09:00)  Again, the commander said that he could not keep Hurst and asked Hurst where he wanted to go; again, Hurst said that he did not know (00:09:39:00)  The military eventually sent Hurst north to Vermont, which was extremely cold when Hurst got there (00:09:54:00) � o The Army used to take the man all over the place; one time, they took the men out and put down in a massive hole that the Army had dug (00:10:57:00) o The men were told to use their tools to climb up the embankment and get their equipment out with them; the men stayed in the hole for days before they finally climbed out of the hole (00:11:52:00)  One man eventually made it out, tied ropes to several trees, and then the men were able to pull their equipment out, including: guns, trucks, weapons carriers, and jeeps (00:12:19:00)  It took the men a long time to get out of the hole because they had to get their equipment out as well (00:13:09:00) Hurst stayed in Vermont and then he went to England and eventually fought in France (00:13:15:00) o He landed on Omaha beach, where he eventually got high enough that he could see smoke rising from a nearby city (00:13:40:00) o After they had landed, the Army turned Hurst’s unit around, took them back aboard the boats and through the Straits of Gibraltar, and had them land in Italy, on the heel of the boot (00:13:52:00)  During this landing, Hurst got off the same time as the infantry got off of the boats (00:14:08:00) Training cont’d / Service (00:14:46:00)  When he was in Vermont, Hurst’s unit went to New York state for a period then would go back to their base in Vermont (00:14:46:00) o Whenever the unit returned from New York, the unit commander said that he would take the men out for walks and runs of seven miles (00:16:06:00) o The men had to run seven miles out and seven miles back and when they returned to camp, the commander asked if anyone wanted to go to town (00:16:22:00)  Whenever the commander asked the question, the men from the South, Hurst included, raised their hands (00:16:56:00)  There were five men from the South in the unit and they all raised their hands to get into the city and see a show (00:17:05:00) o The commander told the men to be back at a certain time (00:17:40:00)  Hurst’s training was all over; he was in New York state, Vermont, and Virginia; on the trip to Virginia, Hurst drove a truck that pulled on of his unit’s four guns (00:18:04:00)  There were four batteries in the unit and each battery had four guns; Hurst was in “A” battery and he only had to worry about “A” battery, not “C” or “B” (00:18:39:00) o At any given time, three men from the unit were up with the infantry at the front and they all did the same job, calling back for the guns to fire at something (00:19:03:00) o The guns in the unit fired ninety-five pound shells (00:19:25:00)  England had a channel dividing it from the continent (00:20:23:00)  Hurst was in the service for four years, including two years training in the United States (00:20:50:00) o He did all types of training, including having to crawl under wires that the Army had pulled across a swamp (00:21:00:00) �    o The training was mostly to help the men prepare to land on Omaha beach (00:21:50:00) o Hurst also went to New York, Vermont, Virginia, and Tennessee (00:22:01:00)  Hurst’s grandfather had died and he asked his captain if he could go and see his grandfather buried (00:22:22:00)  The captain said that they had march orders to go to Rhode Island and Hurst asked if he could go to the funeral and meet the unit in Rhode Island (00:22:52:00)  When the captain asked who would carry Hurst’s equipment, Hurst said that it would be the same man who drove him to Tennessee (00:23:19:00) When his unit went to England, the Army took the unit out to the moors, where the unit’s trucks became stuck (00:23:54:00) o The men got the trucks out but getting one out first then pulling the rest out (00:24:30:00) At one point, Hurst almost got in trouble over a church (00:25:46:00) o One time, Hurst saw German’s in the church’s tower, so he called for an airburst round, which he received (00:26:09:00) o The ninety-five round airburst near the church and “B” and “C” batteries took their cue from the smoke and hit the church three times (00:26:27:00) o However, they accused Hurst of hitting the church and it took a long time to convince the Army that he was not at fault (00:26:50:00)  Hurst said that he ordered an airburst round to scare the Germans out of the church, which it did (00:27:11:00) o The church in question was in France and the Germans were climbing it so that they could see a long distance for their eighty-eight guns (00:27:32:00) Now, the situation in the military has changed (00:28:19:00) o For example, men no longer have to take training to land (00:28:25:00) Both of Hurst’s sons served in the military; one flew with a bomber and the other flew with a refueling plane (00:28:41:00) o The refueling plane flew right at the point of going into space (00:29:07:00) o One time, the refueling plane flew over the General Motors planet where Hurst worked; the plane had started refueling one plane over Canada and released it over the Mississippi River near Tennessee (00:29:46:00) o The other son flew in a bomber and helped drop bombs (00:30:36:00) Post-Military Life (00:30:48:00)  The one thing that bothered Hurst when he got out of the service was that he did not know how many people he killed (00:30:48:00) o He caught both trucks and tanks and the trucks were hauling either ammunition or soldiers to the front (00:31:07:00) o This fact bothered him, so Hurst went to see a doctor, where he meet a kid who had done the exact same thing Hurst was doing (00:31:36:00) o The kid asked if Hurst was bothered in the head and Hurst said yes, because by the time his unit reached a spot they had attacked, the spot had been cleaned up and the bodies taken away (00:31:58:00) �    This fact bothered Hurst because he could not get over how man people he had killed (00:32:36:00) o He did not know how many people he killed, but Hurts knew that he had killed some people (00:32:52:00) o One time, there was bunch of Germans that Hurst could see and he called back for one round to explode three feet off of the ground (00:33:06:00)  They battery sent the round in and that was when Hurst knew that men were killed; the round tore the group up and killed most of them (00:33:38:00) o When Hurst met the kid who had done the same thing, the kid said that he went to an herb doctor who was from India (00:34:24:00)  Hurst eventually went and the doctor told Hurst to rub a root on his tongue three times (00:35:20:00)  Whenever Hurst went to this doctor, the kid was always there (00:35:39:00)  Hurst went to the doctor three times and he took Hurst’s mind away from the men being killed (00:35:49:00)  When Hurst asked about going for a forth time, the doctor asked if Hurst wanted to die because if Hurst rubbed the herb on his tongue for a forth time, he would die (00:36:09:00)  The doctor said that Hurst used the exact amount that he wanted Hurst to use (00:36:51:00) Hurst was fairly young when he went into the military; he was about twenty years old when he went into the military (00:37:43:00) At one point, he started driving a caterpillar vehicle hauling dirt to pack down for the building a dame (00:38:22:00) o They then put Hurst another, larger, caterpillar vehicle and had him pushing down trees; one time, he accidentally turned too hard and broke a large axle of another vehicle (00:39:09:00) o The other vehicle was on the other side of a river and Hurst was pushing things back to him to the point that they could tie wires to the tree’s stump (00:40:32:00) He met his wife’s brother and sat with him and ate dinner; the brother eventually asked Hurst if he had a car (00:41:12:00) o Hurst said that he did because he had just purchased a new V-8, when the V-8’s had first come out (00:41:34:00) o The brother suggested that Hurst come with him and that was when Hurst met his future wife (00:41:48:00) Discussion of Hurst’s service pictures (00:43:07:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hurst, J.W. (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hurst, J.W. Description An account of the resource J.W. Hurst was born in July 1918. After enlisting in the military, Hurst bounced around training, including going into the Air Corps, going to paratroop training and finally receiving training in artillery. Hurst served with the First Army Task Force and participated in the landing on Omaha beach and the campaign in France. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hoffman, Jake (Interviewer) Glamo, Jared (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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-05-24 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HurstJW 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/771bd645ff9a33d15b5660b2dc63b74d.mp4 b833251c58f97ce796dac21370e18763 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/988882c8c6a166db4bf202428f082f7e.pdf fefcf5724de8d32f8cd41b3f334eaca4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Jay Huston (54:18) (00:15) Background Information • • • • Jay was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on August 25, 1925 In high school Jay had wanted to work as a railroad postal clerk Many of Jay’s friends began being drafted and he did not want to be drafted into the Army Jay graduated from high school in May of 1943 and enlisted in the Navy that August (04:00) Training • • • • • • • Jay took a bus to Pittsburgh and was sworn into the Navy He then took a train to the Great Lakes naval base in Chicago, Illinois The base was huge with many barracks, a parade ground for drilling, and a large supply building They got up every day at 6, had breakfast and then began training, which consisted of drilling, gunnery, orientation, commands, and marching Basic training lasted for 8 weeks and then he was interviewed to determine what his future course would be Jay had wanted to be a radio operator and his second choice was to be an electrician They decided that he would be going to hospital corps school (14:30) Specialized Training • Jay had nine days on leave and was waiting to be assigned to a school • Jay went to the main side hospital at Great Lakes • He went to hospital corps school for anatomy, physiology, field medicine, pharmacology, and other general nursing essentials • After 6 weeks Jay was a hospital corpsman 2nd class and attended a graduation ceremony • Jay remained working at the same hospital for 3 weeks on his first assignment • He was working in the contagious ward (22:50) SNAG 56 • Jay was assigned to the Special Naval Advanced Group #56 • Jay was shipped out to Long Island for the staging point • Jay was commissioned and boarded ship with 500 other hospital staff in January of 1944 (27:45) Overseas �• • • • • Jay crossed the North Atlantic in very cold weather headed for Greenock, Scotland There was 10,000 men on the ship and most of them were in the Army They were only allowed on the deck once a day for some fresh air They disembarked in Scotland, took a train to Ireland, crossed the Irish Sea, and then took another train to London They were taken by Marine trucks to a base for more training, unaware that they were preparing for the invasion of Normandy (34:50) Victorian Hospital • Jay and others began working in an old Victorian hospital preparing for D Day, but were not told any specific details • The hospital consisted of a surgery area, burn ward, 1,000 beds, and an isolation area • Jay felt very well prepared for the patients that would come in after the invasion • Jay was assigned to the neuropsychiatric area (39:20) Invasion • Many casualties began coming in after the third day of the invasion • The patients would start in the sorting area to be evaluated and assigned to a care unit • Patients came in by the hundreds at first and some surgeons were working 24 hours a day • Psychiatric patients that could be “trusted” were put in the open ward and others were put in isolation for further observation (50:30) Treatments • Some psychiatric patients were put to sleep by medication • It was a very deep sleep that lasted 48 hours while their vitals were checked every hour • They were slowly brought back awake while a psychiatrist interviewed them to try to find a historical point that caused them to “break” • Manic depressives and others that were self-destructive went through shock treatment Disc Two (54:30) (3:05) Patients • Most of the patients were British and American, but after the invasion there were men coming in from Holland and France • There were some German POWs that were kept separate under special guard • Also there were some British that had been fighting in North Africa • There was a steady flow of patients after the invasion for about one month (8:40) Leaving the Hospital • The Army had started to establish other hospitals in France and Belgium �• • • • • Many patients were being transferred to hospitals back in the United States In October of 1944 they received orders to ship the medical personnel back to the US They first went to Liverpool to pick up more people to bring back On the ship they carried back German POWs and others with psychiatric problems Jay worked with German POWs that had mental problems; most of them spoke English and were very submissive (16:20) Back in the US • They landed at a receiving station in Boston • Jay went to Tennessee on leave for three weeks and was waiting for his next assignment • He boarded a troop train to San Pedro in December of 1944, but did not know what his assignment was • They took a ship to Seattle to pick up more troops and supplies • They had to stop the ship because it was flooded with four feet of water • They launched an investigation and missed the convoy they were going to travel with (21:30) Guadalcanal • On the way to Guadalcanal they stopped in Hawaii for fuel and supplies • Then they headed to the Philippines in February • Jay was initiated with the King Neptune ceremony after they crossed the equator (28:20) Liberty in Manila • The area had been invaded 1.5 years [months?] ago, but some of it was still devastated • The locals were burning Japanese weapons and many service men were selling supplies to the civilians • Jay and others went through amphibious training, preparing for the invasion of Okinawa • At the time, Iwo Jima was being attacked • The hospitals that Jay worked at in the Pacific were not as safe as those in Europe (35:45) Okinawa • Jay went to the west side of the island in April of 1945 and landed near Buckner Bay • They landed with the 2nd Marine Division and set up an aid center on the shore • There were not very many casualties at first because the Japanese were not fighting back with such force • Jay was there for 9 days before kamikazes began attacking (41:17) Back to the US • They left from Guam and refueled in Pearl Harbor, where they also worked on more training maneuvers • Then they went to Maui to continue training for the invasion of Japan �• They stopped by the states to pick up more trips and then headed to Okinawa (42:30) Okinawa • A ship near them was attacked by kamikazes and they were almost attacked also • They left again to go back to the US to pick up more troops for the battle • They stopped back in the Philippines to pick up a division for the occupation of Japan after the war had ended (46:20) Bombs Dropped • Jay heard the news of the bombs being dropped on Japan on the radio • They went to China and back to the Philippines, continuing to transfer troops • Many people in the Philippines did not even know that the war was over • Jay was back in the US and done with his service in December of 1945 � 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 Huston, Jay (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huston, Jay Description An account of the resource Jay Huston was born in Erie Pennsylvania on August 25, 1925. He graduated in 1943 and then enlisted in the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. Jay went through basic training at Great Lakes in Chicago and went through advanced training there to be a hospital corpsman. He was then stationed in London and preparing a hospital for the incoming patients after the D Day invasion. After working in Europe, Jay also worked in hospitals in the Pacific, including on Okinawa, during the war with Japan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Naval Reserve World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-02-12 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HustonJ 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/20cd048daea9ace23b821e6b498e3a96.mp4 29239880b7eece70e7ba256263885b31 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8c1a6b03138432a3bff83b9952163d2e.pdf 759ab29fe52e8d9390499a919a8a6227 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ron Hutson Vietnam War 1 hour 6 minutes 37 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life -Born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1950 -Moved at the age of two to the town of Temperance, Michigan -Father worked for Consumers Energy -Lived ten years in Temperance through the sixth grade -Beginning of seventh grade they moved to Holland, Michigan -Wound up graduating from Holland schools -Had an older sister named Irene and a younger sister named Denise (00:01:23) Awareness of Vietnam War -Didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was happening in Vietnam -Other priorities in his life took precedence -Heard and saw some of the news about it (00:01:47) Enlisting in the Marines -Graduated from high school when he was seventeen -Sick of going to school -Didn’t think he could make it in college -Decided to enlist -Father helped him by signing paperwork that allowed for seventeen year olds to enlist -Joined the Marines -Wanted to be tough for Vietnam if he was going to go there because of the draft (00:02:40) Basic Training -Began basic training on August 28, 1968 -San Diego, California -Flown there out of Detroit after military physical -Given only a two year enlistment as opposed to a four year enlistment -Draftees and enlistees had been in the physical -Physical examination took two days, very thorough -After arriving in San Diego they were taken to the San Diego Depot by bus -Ordered to stand at attention when they got to the depot -Taken to San Diego Base in the middle of the night -Given a haircut -Had to give up civilian clothes for fatigues -Started to have second thoughts about joining -Didn’t know a lot about the Marines prior to enlisting -Given bunks at 2 AM, and at 3:30 AM they were woken up by drill instructors -Training started immediately -Drill instructors wanted to break down the recruits and rebuild them through training �(00:06:57) Adjusting to Military Life -Homesick at first but accepted it -Father had advised him to say tough -Father had been an Army Sergeant in the Philippines and a truck driver in WWII -There was some resistance from some of the recruits -They were disciplined or simply dishonorably discharged -Majority of recruits were able to graduate (00:08:35) Basic Training-Details about Training -Woken up before daylight every day -Went on ten mile runs -After ten mile runs they were allowed to eat breakfast -Only given thirty seconds to eat -After breakfast they were subjected to more training -Physical training, drills, or base duties (cleaning, maintenance) -Drill sergeants were intimidating -Thirty year olds that had been in peak physical and combat conditions for years -Basic training lasted about thirteen weeks (00:11:16) Basic Training-Drill Instructors -Everyone got harassed pretty equally -All three of his drill sergeants had already been to Vietnam -A lot of propaganda, and not a lot of actual advice was given to the recruits (00:12:41) Camp Pendleton-Infantry Training -Went to Camp Pendleton after receiving job designation -Assigned to be a truck driver -Welcomed the job position because of it supposedly being easier -Went through infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California -Firearms training in the mountains, hiking, forced marches -After infantry training was allowed leave for thirty days (00:14:28) Camp Pendleton-Truck Driver Training -Went to truck driver training at Camp Pendleton -Had some experience with mechanical work from working on his own car -At Camp Pendleton they were given pragmatic advice about Vietnam -Truck driver training lasted about six weeks -After training he was sent to the staging area’s motor pool -No leave was given after truck driver training was complete (00:16:30) Deployment to Vietnam -Loaded onto chartered commercial plane -Stopped in Hawaii to refuel after flying out of Norton Air Force Base, California -Landed in Da Nang, Vietnam -Extremely hot and humid during the day -Almost difficult to breathe -Arrived in April 1969 -Stood in line and issued camouflaged fatigues, boots, and firearm -Because he was a truck driver he was issued the M1911 .45 pistol -Later requested an M16 rifle after getting caught in an ambush �(00:19:48) Assignment to Unit in Vietnam -Assigned to M105 Battery (self-propelled artillery unit) -Went on minesweeping operations and did other jobs besides driving the trucks -Stationed at the “Rockpile” north of Dong Ha -Dong Ha was eighteen miles south of the demilitarized zone -The Rockpile was three miles south of the demilitarized zone -Occasionally the North Vietnamese would try to attack the Rockpile (00:22:55) Main Duty in Vietnam -Main duty was to bring in supplies to the Rockpile -Food, clothing, ammunition, etc. -Either went to Dong Ha or Khe Sanh for supplies -Unit had five, five ton trucks -Would go to the mess hall in the morning -If food was needed a small convoy of three trucks would be sent for food -No escorts were given to the trucks -Sometimes had to go by himself -Only one man was in the cab of the truck -No heavier defenses than the drivers’ firearms (00:25:46) Conditions in Vietnam -Got picked on for being the new guy -Indicated that you were in a war zone and were in for something -Benign harassment -Harassment lasted until other new soldiers showed up -There wasn’t a lot of instruction given when he got to Vietnam -Roads were rough which meant slow travelling -Driving fast on the roads usually led to damaging the trucks in some way -At the Rockpile they lived in earthen bunkers -At Dong Ha they lived in wood and metal huts (00:29:34) Contact with the Enemy -Never recalls ever actually seeing the North Vietnamese or the Viet Cong -They got shot at by them, but never actually saw them -Rapid engagements whenever they happened -The NVA and Viet Cong avoided the DMZ and stuck to the Ho Chi Minh Trail -Easier to cross into South Vietnam via the Trail -Sappers would occasionally hit Khe Sanh -Dong Ha and the Rockpile were never targeted by the sappers during his stay -Both positions were too fortified and not important enough -Army would camp out on their perimeter at the Rockpile and guard them -Fairly safe to drive the roads -Ninety percent of the time it was safe -Harassing gun fire and landmines were always a threat though -Remembers a truck in front of him hitting a landmine -Disabled the truck, but didn’t hurt the driver (00:34:48) Minesweeping -Pulled minesweeping duty a few times -Main job was to protect the minesweepers while they looked for and detonated mines �(00:35:23) Leadership in the Marines -Captain wasn’t very personable, but he didn’t have a lot of contact with the captain -Most of the corporals and the sergeants were good leaders -Wouldn’t ask you to do anything they wouldn’t do -Some of the leaders that he encountered were cowardly or foolish -Would order soldiers to do risky things, or things they wouldn’t do themselves (00:36:38) Vietnamese Civilians -No civilian presence around the Rockpile -Most civilians had moved out to avoid the DMZ -Civilians were present at Dong Ha -Worked for the military doing menial labor (00:38:29) Drugs and Entertainment -The only drug present was weed -No hard drugs were present during his deployment -No one smoked while they were on duty, only off duty -Given a nightly beer ration -Two beers a night -Hid a case in his truck one time and pulled it out as a surprise when they ran out of beer -At the Rockpile the only “entertaining” building they had was the mess hall -Used it to watch second run movies -Went to a USO show in Dong Ha featuring a Filipino entertainment group (00:41:14) Leaving Vietnam -Deployed to Vietnam from April 1969 to November 1969 -Eight month deployment as opposed to twelve month deployment -He was about to get R&R before they left -Wanted to go to Thailand or Hawaii -3rd Marines were pulled out before he could go on R&R (00:42:02) Race Relations in Vietnam -Served with a diverse group of soldiers -Most of the time the races stuck together out of comfort, but not out of animosity -No problems when it came to integration -Was best friends with a black soldier (00:43:06) Artillery Duty -Trained how to work with the artillery crews on the guns -Usually only fired when they were given specific orders to harass the NVA -Once or twice “fired for effect” (rapid bombardment) to support troops in the field -Recoil from the guns made their fortifications slightly unstable -Helped with handling ammo for the artillery -Mostly focused on firing on NVA as they crossed the DMZ -Wanted to quarantine NVA movements around the border (00:46:40) Typhoon -Got hit by a typhoon soon after his arrival to Vietnam -Never experienced severe weather like that before -Winds were strong enough to rip apart buildings and cause flooding -One soldier was cut in half by corrugated roof getting torn off by the wind �(00:47:48) Threats in Vietnam -Considers himself blessed for never having to go into the jungle -Was never wounded by accidents or in combat -Remembers having run-ins with Vietnamese water buffalo -One charged their line at the Rockpile -Took fifty eight shots to finally kill it -Water buffalo were friendly with Vietnamese -Did not like Americans -Ran into a water buffalo standing in the middle of the road -Tried to nudge it with the truck to get it to move -Buffalo ripped off the fender before clearing the path -Once saw a giant snake cross the road -Didn’t want to take any risk by running it over and just let it pass (00:51:25) Leaving Vietnam and Japanese Deployment -Whole unit was moved out together -Took a whole month to clean off vehicles before boarding LST (landing craft transport) -Went to Okinawa, Japan -Stayed there for a month -Deployed to Mt. Fuji, Japan for cold weather training -Everyone got sick with colds and flu because of rapid temperature change -Went to Yokohama for leave -Men that weren’t from northern U.S. couldn’t adjust to the cold -After Mt. Fuji they returned to Okinawa via jet helicopter -Did manual labor for the rest of the time he was at Okinawa (00:54:56) Returning to the States and Camp Lejeune -Shipped home individually on an airliner -Overseas deployment was finished -Okinawa had felt like a vacation after Vietnam -Went back to Camp Lejeune outside of Jacksonville, North Carolina -Spent last three months of his enlistment at Camp Lejeune -Did manual labor there, worked in the motor pool, and pulled guard duty -Given thirty days of leave before having to report to Camp Lejeune -Never ran into harassment from civilians while on leave (00:58:32) Going Home -After Camp Lejeune returned to Michigan -Still had four years of Reserve duty left -Never got called up for anything -Staying in for the full two years made him eligible for VA (Veterans Affairs) benefits -Pressured by the Marines to reenlist -Offered monetary and rank promotions -Declined (00:59:45) Post Military Career -Wasn’t aware of how Vietnam veterans were viewed -Difficult to get a job because of the stigma attached to them -Wound up getting a job with the Zeeland Black Top Company -Drove a dump truck for them �(01:00:54) Reflections on Service -Felt a little angry coming out of the Marines -Had to relax and watch his language -Learning how to drive trucks in the Marines gave him job training -Took a while to figure out that he had PTSD -Army friend helped him realize it -Began to attend VA Clinic after -Learned that anyone, military and civilian, can have PTSD without knowing it -Being in the Marines helped him to mature -Learned how to handle different things -Taught him how to know himself � 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 Hutson, Ron (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hutson, Ron Description An account of the resource Ron Hutson born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1950 and enlisted in the Marines in 1968. He trained as a truck driver and was assigned to a 105mm self-propelled artillery unit in the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. His unit was based at the Rockpile, just south of the DMZ. He served there between April and November, 1969, when the division left Vietnam. After spending several months in Japan, his unit returned to the US, and he completed his enlistment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. 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 Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine 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 2014-01-30 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HutsonR1566V 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/31a883c7715ffeca7c7012ff8781a0f3.m4v fb90b04ad0467e0f33b9fc11acd0be20 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f9caf603ba55d890b59619290c22b6ca.pdf 3ff0bb1cbc88a0457f1a8991d1ae7886 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam Era Dan Huver Interview Length: (00:19:30:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:14:00)  Born September 28, 1943 (00:00:14:00)  Served in the Army as a sergeant E-5 during the pre-Vietnam era (00:00:18:00)  Born in Lowell, Michigan at his parent’s farm (00:00:42:00)  Went to Lowell High School and graduated in 1962 (00:00:58:00)  After high school, Huver was not sure what he wanted to do; he thought about joining the Michigan State Police and going into law enforcement (00:01:07:00) o At that time, there were only two schools available for that type of training, each at different times of the year, and when Huver graduated, there were no schools available, so he decided to go into the Army (00:01:16:00)  When he enlisted, the military draft was in effect (00:01:35:00) o Ever male signed up for selective service when they were twenty-three or twentyfour and if a man’s name came up, then he served for two years (00:01:46:00) o Huver was eighteen and he decided that he would have his name moved up on the list; instead of enlist for three years, he got drafted to serve for two years (00:01:54:00)  In September 1962, Huver was inducted (00:02:17:00) o Initially, he went to Detroit, Michigan, passed his physical exam, then went on to Fort Knox, Kentucky for his basic training (00:02:24:00) o After eight weeks of basic training, Huver was selected to go to an NCO (Noncommissioned Officer) training school (00:02:35:00) o After NCO school, Huver went into the armor training where the men learned how to drive the tanks and how to fire off all of the tank’s armaments (00:02:51:00) Deployment (00:03:10:00)  After graduating from armored training, Huver went to advanced training at Fort Riley, Kansas, where the Army was preparing an airlift to Germany (00:03:10:00) o The Army was taking a complete division of troops and transporting them to Rhein-Main, Germany (00:03:24:00) o The Army did this every six months; in seventy-two hours, they took an entire division from Fort Riley and transported them to Germany and brought the troops in Germany back to Fort Riley (00:03:38:00) o Huver gained experience being involved in the airlift, such as learning to be at the right place at the right time; experience that allowed him to be promoted to sergeant (00:04:03:00)  After his promotion to sergeant, Huver was in charge of training troops (00:04:25:00) �    o When he came back to Fort Riley, it was at the beginning of the Vietnam conflict (00:04:35:00) o Everyone who took basic training went on to some sort of advanced training, such as armored or infantry (00:04:47:00) o The Army turned Fort Riley into an advanced training location for infantry, which meant that soldiers fresh out of basic training went to the fort for the advanced infantry training (00:05:03:00)  At that time, the instructors were focusing on Vietnam; how to training, protect, and advance the trainees (00:05:25:00) o At this time, Huver was an instructor at the fort (00:05:37:00) The experience in Germany was wonderful; the people were friendly towards all of the soldiers (00:05:52:00) o In the early 1960’s, the German people loved and looked up to the American soldiers; if the soldiers went off-base, German civilians would invite the soldiers in for dinner (00:06:03:00) While he was in the service, Huver’s girlfriend wrote him a letter every day; at mail call, he could count on his name being read (00:06:27:00) Huver also made several good friends while in the service (00:06:52:00) He had a lot of memorable experiences while in the service, but training the troops to go to Vietnam was the most stressful (00:07:42:00) o Because it was early in the war, the instructors were not exactly at that point in time that they knew what the military were getting into or how they should be training the troops; however, the instructors did the best that they could (00:07:55:00) Training cont’d (00:08:14:00)  Basic training was interesting (00:08:14:00) o Going from a high school farm boy into the Army meant discipline (00:08:18:00) o The men woke up at five in the morning; when reveille sounded and the lights came on, the men hit the floor running (00:08:26:00) o Every morning, the men did PT (Physical Training), calisthenics and ran two miles, all before breakfast (00:08:37:00) o Before the men got to eat breakfast, each man had to do fifty to sixty feet of monkey bars and if he fell, a man had to go to the back of the line; the men learned very fast that if they wanted to eat, they held on (00:08:51:00) o The training was good for a lot of the men; the heavier men lost weight and the regimentation helped all the men (00:09:22:00) o Huver enjoyed the training, but it was still tough (00:09:35:00)  Huver went into armor early on, but there were a lot of other avenues that Huver could have taken (00:09:50:00) o At that point in his life, he did not know what he wanted to do, so Huver just went with the flow; he still thought that when he got out of the military, he could still go into law enforcement (00:10:15:00) o However, he did not follow up on that avenue, although the military did offer wonderful military police programs (00:10:32:00) � When he arrived at Fort Riley, it was a culture shock; he came from Lowell high school, where it was all white males (00:11:06:00) o Because of the airlift to Germany, the Army had brought in troops from all over the United States to build up the division (00:11:22:00) o Huver figures that it was around 60 to seventy percent black troops in his division (00:11:38:00) Video pauses at 11:55 Germany / Fort Reilly cont’d / Post-Military Life (00:13:02:00)  The airlift from Fort Riley took Huver to Germany (00:13:02:00) o From there, the division spent six months doing maneuvers (00:13:06:00) o At that time, the Soviet Union had a large force that the United States had to defend against, so the division spent time preparing to fight them (00:13:11:00) o At one point, Huver went to Berlin and saw the Berlin Wall (00:13:20:00)  West Berlin was almost like the United States but when Huver went on a tour of East Berlin, the communists did not allow any cameras (00:14:08:00)  For the tour, Huver went through “Checkpoint Charlie”, which was just machine gun nests and barricades; when the tour bus went into East Berlin, it was like night and day (00:14:38:00) o West Berlin was busy, had industry, and socially, everything was going; in East Berlin, the buildings that had been bombed during World War II were not repaired and sometimes they just put a freshly painted façade over the bombed-out building (00:14:57:00)  It was interesting to take the tour and see East Berlin (00:15:39:00) o Huver met a lot of nice people while he was in Germany (00:15:51:00)  Eventually, the division airlifted back to the United States after six months and went back to Fort Riley (00:16:01:00) o While at Fort Riley, Huver helped with the training for soldiers before they went over to Vietnam (00:16:10:00) o Although the United States had some soldiers in Vietnam in late 1959, the conflict did not escalate until the mid-1960s (00:16:17:00) o To assist, the Army turned Fort Riley into an advanced infantry training location and Huver was assigned to a training station (00:16:36:00) o While training, he met a lot of troops that he and the other instructors prepared as best they could for what the soldiers would encounter in Vietnam (00:16:52:00) o At that point in time, Huver was a “short-timer”, which meant that he was getting close to the end of his two-year enlistment (00:17:12:00) o After the training, the Army shipped the entire division, the 1st Division, to Vietnam in July – August of 1964 (00:17:27:00)  Unfortunately, the division did not have the best results while in Vietnam (00:18:24:00) � When he was discharged, Huver went back to Lowell and at that point in time, he had married his high school sweetheart (00:18:32:00) o The couple stayed in the Lowell area and raised their family (00:18:57:00) o Huver’s State Police and law enforcement career never panned out, but everything worked out in the end (00:19:01:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Huver, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huver, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Huver was born in September 1943 in Lowell, Michigan. After briefly thinking about joining a law enforcement academy, Huver requested that the military move his name up on the draft list so that they would draft him and he would only serve for two years instead of the three years had he enlisted. After he received NCO and armored training, Huver was part of an airlift to Germany, where his entire division performed maneuvers of six months. Following Germany, Huver returned to United States and served at Fort Riley, Kansas as an advanced infantry instructor for soldiers going to Vietnam. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Huver, Quinn (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 Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-05-15 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuverD 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/dd3da711b287b2b33b6926e0bb3c07d7.mp4 95365306306d6d38568b313523be3ea5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/27c321929738b2c2dc96e7d1e31d0c7e.pdf 0d0ac6c4c01046bb49bf6ce9679c59b5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project William Huyser World War II 35 minutes 46 seconds (00:00:10) Early Life Pt. 1 -Born August 3, 1924 in Pella, Iowa -Grew up on a farm that his parents were renting (00:00:33) Start of the War Pt. 1 -He remembers December 7, 1941 and hearing the news about the attack on Pearl Harbor -Believed that a war with Japan would be over quickly (00:00:49) Early Life Pt. 2 -Stayed on the rented farm until he was sixteen (or seventeen) then his parents bought a farm -The Great Depression was already a difficult time, and drought only made it worse (00:01:49) Start of the War Pt. 2 -Didn’t pay a lot of attention to events happening with the Germans and the Japanese -Knew about the “peace talks” Japan was having with the United States -From what he heard it seemed like they were going well -He knew men that were getting drafted, or were enlisting prior to Pearl Harbor -He was aware of Hitler’s presence in Europe and the damage that he was causing -He began to see rationing early on in the war -He graduated in summer 1941 before Pearl Harbor, but was given a deferment -It was determined that farmers were too essential to be drafted -His older brother was also turned away from the service because of a heart murmur (00:05:58) Volunteering for the Draft -As the war went on he grew uncomfortable with being deferred -Knew men that had gone to the war and come back -Deferred men were looked down upon -He and a friend gave up their deferment at the same time -He reported for duty on April 14, 1945 -Reported to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri to be processed (00:07:33) Basic Training -Sent to Camp Hood, Texas for basic training -Received training with the M1 Garand rifle -Went on long marches and bivouacked a few times -Remembers one march was twenty miles with a full backpack -Had weekly rifle and uniform inspections as part of instilling discipline -Adjusting to Army life wasn’t too difficult -He was used to demanding physical work from growing up on a farm -Followed orders because the only option was to cooperate -He was given a furlough (leave) at the end of basic training -His training began close to when Germany surrendered (May 8, 1945) -His training ended shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped (August 6 & 9, 1945) �(00:12:10) Deployment to Japan -After his leave he reported to Fort Riley, Kansas -Took a train to San Francisco, California and boarded a ship there -Train ride took three or four days -Boarded a ship in San Francisco and sailed directly to Yokohama, Japan -Took about one week to sail across the Pacific Ocean -Three or four days were spent in Typhoon Louise -Arrived in Yokohama in October 1945 -Remembers that rebuilding efforts had not begun yet -City had effectively been laid to waste by the bombing campaign -Most people were living in shacks (00:17:47) Utsunomiya, Japan -From Yokohama was sent one hundred miles north to Utsunomiya, Japan -Utsunomiya was a rural area and had largely been spared the worst of the war -Mission in that area was to patrol the roads and search buildings -Keeping the peace and looking for any weapons caches -Didn’t run into too many Japanese civilians in Utsunomiya -Went there as part of a nine hundred man battalion -Lived in barracks -Stayed there for about three months (00:20:36) Yokohama, Japan -Sent back to Yokohama and assigned to a port (transportation) company -Overseeing the Japanese foremen who were overseeing the Japanese dockworkers -Japanese civilian workers were being used to unload American ships -A rebuilding effort had begun in Yokohama -Living in barracks again about one mile from the harbor -Noticed that the Japanese workers were deferent and also a little fearful (00:23:26) Downtime in Japan -He was able to visit Tokyo -Most of Tokyo was heavily damaged -Only the business district and the Imperial Palace were intact -Got a chance to go shopping -Saw U.S. soldiers fraternizing with Japanese women -Shop owners were respectful and eager to do business with Americans -Spent his downtime reading or writing letters to his girlfriend and family -He was used to going to church on Sunday and was able to do that in Japan -Thought about ways that he could spread the Gospel to the Japanese -Also thinking about ways to get missionaries to Japan (00:27:58) End of Service -His tour in Japan ended in November 1946 -Took a ship from Yokohama back to California -Had good weather this time -Travelled from California to Illinois to be discharged from the Army -This happened in December 1946 -Visited his girlfriend in Grand Rapids, Michigan then returned to Iowa �(00:30:17) Life after the Army -Enrolled in college at Calvin College and began there in January 1947 -Studied theology there -Graduated from Calvin College and Calvin Seminary in 1953 -Worked at a variety of churches around the Midwest -First one was in northern Michigan, north of Cadillac -Worked there for three years -Second one was in Madison, Wisconsin where he started a church -Worked there for six years -Third one was in Kalamazoo, Michigan for thirteen years -Worked at Western Michigan University as a campus minister for nine years -Last four years were in Lansing, Illinois -Working at WMU the goal was to have a good impression on the campus -Worked with some of the international students -Remembers a couple from Nigeria -Worked with a young man from Iran -Helped him with housing once because his money didn’t come through -Has maintained contact with him since then -Part of his wedding when he married an American girl -Not allowed to return to Iran because of the Iranian Revolution (00:34:24) Reflections on Service -Got a chance to meet a wide variety of people -Including other types of Christians from around American and the world -Appreciated the opportunity to different kinds of people -Got a chance to experience different people and different cultures � 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_HuyserW1746V Title A name given to the resource Huyser, William (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-04-16 Description An account of the resource William Huyser was born in1924 in Pella, Iowa. He grew up there and graduated from high school in summer 1941. He was deferred from the draft because he worked on his parents' farm, but gave up his deferment in 1945. On April 14, 1945 he received his draft notice and he began basic training at Camp Hood, Texas in early May, 1945. After basic training he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas and was then sent to Japan as part of the occupation force in October 1945. He was stationed in Utsunomiya and Yokohama and returned to the United States in November 1946. He was then sent back to Illinois and was discharged from the Army there in December 1946. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huyser, William Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans 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/547ca3919a0de70e42182b0e97bcd6d9.mp4 cf86423dcdc93ad55ba4f2b40002fda8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/125d7b5e995639b32f7bdfc3735c4497.pdf 105bc3693841efd7cf7067d9ebb58e82 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview George Hyslop Korean War Total Time: 18:15 Childhood and Pre-Enlistment (00:23) • • • Grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan. Decided to join the National Guard, and was drafted into the Army in 1951. Had graduated high school and was working when he was drafted. Training (02:41) • Once he was drafted, he was sent to Battle Creek, MI and then to Fort Riley, Kansas for 8 weeks of basic training and 8 weeks of field wiring school, which was training for being a telephone and telegraph operator and cable/line layer. Active Duty (05:45) • • • • • • • • • • • When he landed in Korea, he thought he had gone back in time 300 years. He was generally in the area North of Seoul. The weather there varied by time of the year. His duties involved doing electrical and wiring work. For instance, he had to wire a generator while he was there. (08:30) His work often put him in the direct line of fire, and sometimes even behind enemy lines. Recalls one episode where they were rebuilding a bunker, and they were shelled. Wrote letters home to his family to stay in touch. He remembers the food as being good. (12:05) They were positioned 20 miles behind the DMZ, so they had very little contact with the civilians. For entertainment, they would have movies that would be played at their base. (14:16) He was sent home after the hostilities had ceased, and he got his points to head home. Post-War (14:53) • • Got a job and went back to work when he got back working at a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Joined the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion when he got back. � 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 Hyslop, George (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hyslop, George Description An account of the resource George Hyslop grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan and was drafted into the Army to serve in the Korean War. He did basic training as a wiring specialist and worked in this capacity while he was in Korea. He returned to the United States at the conclusion of the war and worked in a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maul, Katie (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. Army Korean War, 1950-1953--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 2004-12-06 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HyslopG 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/df0688e7f5eb066d85fae308ceef7e94.mp4 d7a6f1a78e2fef121f103b7c3b8208c1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85395f3f014938e2b29638dcfee23014.pdf 6a23f04910af6d1f32c22dd687fb85dc PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] CHARLIE MOTT: Getting back to the reticle, now the reticle is that portion of an optical device where the light shines through and you can see whatever is scribed on the reticle. You can see it through the instrument. In case what we were looking for is a white circle. I could not find in Rangoon who could scribe reticles. We had reticles but they were the wrong size. So I did a little calculations and found out what real size they should be and had the boys down in the shop drill me a piece of metal and then I would take a piece of needle, we had these little kerosene lamps about so high, get it just the right temperature I could put that that one there center it nicely take the needle and inscribe the line. So I was in the barracks I set up a production line and inscribed an appropriate circle on all the gunsights. Course everyone wasn't perfect wasn't totally quality control. Sometimes the temperature wasn't quite right and the paint would chip and would be fuzzy. There were complaints which were handled by my compliant department along these lines, well, it you don't like the god-damned circle so scribe it yourself. All the customers were very happy. Nobody complained about the gun sights and they worked, but they were awful crude, but it took quite a while to line them up. The story of the gunsight is typical of the group and it certainly permeated all the activities in the case of the bore sighting in the guns. Our guns were bore sighted as well or better than they were in the service. We had chief ordnance man by the name of Hoffman, Army type and he �was a gunner. Every gun on every plane met the specifications of shooting thru very small circle at the given range which was normally 1,000 feet. In case of the mechanics I can't say enough about them. It was not just a question of spare parts, it was a question of utilizing a talent which was made available. Coolies who were out planting rice one day, were working for us, we paid them 12 Annas a day, which was approximately 15 cents a day and they were eager and they could clean airplanes and do a better job than our guys could. They could change plugs and check the oil. So they were used and while the crew chief or plane captain in the Navy went about more important things. In many cases the Chinese fabricated parts, or repaired parts, including propellers and kept us flying. In some cases, like tires you were up the creek. These were perennially cause for concern particularly in view of the fact that we were training. The runways were macadam and every time you landed you get a puff of smoke, you do that around here, too, and that is rubber coming off. So the men worked miracles in maintaining the planes and in fact I think that any of the pilots that you have talked to will speak absolutely highly about them. FRANK BORING: Can do spirit. CHARLIE MOTT: Talking about the spirt. They kept the airplanes flying they kept the morale up. The low point the nadir of the group was when we first arrived at Toungoo and there was no airplanes and no enough to do. As soon as we got the challenges as soon as we work as soon as we got the activity, morale went up. In every case, not necessarily in the materiel way, the troops responded. Now, I want to say something that will be a little controversial, but in the service, and it is still true, the radiomen were the electronics guys and they were dealing in a black art and they regarded themselves as a cut above the normal deck swabber and they were also the people who had more time on their hands to sit around and bitch. Yet when the balloon went up people like Mickey Mihalko on their own initiative make contacts, went over a hung around the radar. �The British kept it under wraps, by the way, same in our service it was hush, hush - don't talk about this. Was able to relay warnings to us. He couldn't vector us he wasn't an air controller, but at least he kept us from getting caught on the ground. In those case where we didn't have these warning, like Magwe we lost airplanes, bad. This permeated the whole force, even in the darkest days and there was no sitting round wringing hands-- it was do something about it. FRANK BORING: Pearl Harbor. CHARLIE MOTT: Let's jump a little forward or backward or sideways, to December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor. I had been up at Chiang Mai making a pre deployment survey for Chennault, considering moving the group up to Kunming because we were trained, ready to go, and Chennault did not believe in exposing the group in places like Kyedaw Airdrome. I was in Hostel I, of course it was December, Kunming is about 6,000 feet high, damp, permanent chill in the Hostel because the Chinese have no central heat, there were a few charcoal braziers around I was listening to short wave radio and it was apparent to me from all these bulletins that we had suffered severe loses. I was also tuning in on some of the foreign broadcasts. So I was congratulating me, myself that I had the whole Chinese Army between me and the Japanese. Nothing happened in Kunming we went on the alert, the group came up and we had two squadrons there, but fundamentally we just getting bedded down, settled and it wasn't until the 20th until there was any activity like Japanese attacks. This, I'm sure has been better described by participants other than me, I was in the battle, but I was in a sector where they didn't come. Radios were so bad I couldn't get a vector so my flight we were circling around with trying to hear what was going on, just the confusion babble so finally it was cloudy too, so we came down and landed. I never saw the buggers, which was a disappointment. After the 20th there were no further attacks on Kunming and the same time the boys in Rangoon were being heavily engaged, they did a wonderful job, �but they were getting thin and Chennault decided they should be relieved. The second squadron was delegated to relieve them. We flew down en masse. We planned the flight to refuel at Lashio, which is at the head of the Burma railway. We had the whole squadron, I forget exactly how many planes were involved, something like 12 or 14 planes with Newkirk and headed for Lashio. We got to where Lashio should be and there was nothing there, just a big bowl of soup down there in the mountains. We had a quick conference and we decided to make turn and Toungoo So we turned all strung out in normal cruising formation and headed for what we thought was Toungoo, well, we steamed along and the terrain but we couldn't recognize anything we were pretty confident that our navigation was sound, but we had a unknown wind and you could get an unknown wind of 30-40 knots up there that would really blow you off fast. The fuel gauges kept going down and the tensions kept going up and one of the flight leaders said airfield in sight. We looked over there at 10 o'clock and lo, and behold there was an airfield. I didn't recognize that airfield, but with the fuel state we didn't have any choice. So called up Newkirk that we got to go down and Newkirk agreed. So we let down and here was this strange airfield, had one strip and had some bullock carts across the runway. We had an idea that it was RAF, but we didn't know which one. Meanwhile there was no choice, land, guys, so we landed actually not on the runway, but the dirt alongside, we all drug it in, carrier approach and sat down safely. We taxied up, there was a hanger there, no body home. But here in back of the hanger there one lonely Indian troop looked like a Punjabi. He couldn't speak very good English, but he could speak enough to know that we wanted gasoline. Finally the airdrome officer was a flight lieutenant came out of the boonies, because everybody in those days including the Japs, were apprehensive about paratroopers. They thought that a paratrooper arrival had taken place. Well, we identified ourselves we were Hako, which is a strip up towards the Shan states quite a ways from Toungoo, and then went direct from there to Rangoon. But we sure at the wrong airfield, but we arrived safely and good spirits and relieved the �current defenders of the Burma Road and took over. I forget what date this was, the 26, 27 around after Christmas. The Japs had shot their bolt and our first week was pretty tame, they gave up the daylight raids and contented themselves with coming over at night. We rebutted those tactics, I think some of the guys have told you about using satellite fields and we go out there in the late afternoon, cover up all reflecting surfaces, ride in, turn in, go out first thing in the morning pick up the planes. Japs would come over bomb the bejesus out of the field actually got Wavell's [?] plane one night, but they didn't get us. We weren't there. So we tried some night interception tactics. The idea was to stack, a moonlit period, 2, 4, 6000 feet over the field and wait for them to arrive. If they were in formation they had a habit of dropping on signal, a machine gun burst to the rear and we thought we might silhouette them against moon or thin layer of clouds. I saw one night, the gun fire, but I could never pick them up. This was the operation were we lost another pilot, Pete Wright who was former Navy pilot. When he was coming in, we didn't have airfield lights, we just line up a few vehicles along the runway and land between them the headlights would be pointed diagonally down the runway. Well, when Pete came in and threw his flaps down full, you come in full and throw your flaps all the way down, he had a failure of the hydraulic and the whole cockpit filled just like that with oil spray hydraulic fluid, fogged up his windshield, goggles, and just before landing, he figured it out right, he landed and was on the runway but he couldn't see and rolled off the runway still going real fast and hit one of the cars with his wing, not the body of the airplane. Well, Merritt, he was one of Shilling's best friends and he was asleep in back of this car and when I got over there it looked like a rag doll, but it was Merritt, he was all chewed up. And that was the end of him. But Pete got out without a scratch. So after that we gave up those experimental tactics. The gain wasn't worth the [?]. � 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 Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</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 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. 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-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. I was born into this group of aviators. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 First AVG Réunion we as children were old enough to attend for us Lockes, was Ojai in 1957 Jane Mansfield was miss Flying Tiger and the last year General Chennault was alive. Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 5 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his appreciation for the Chinese mechanics he worked alongside in the AVG and how Pearl Harbor informed the AVG's work in the days that followed. At the AVG reunion in 1963 we met with Dr. James Turpin from Coronado who ran an NGO medical missionary outfit called Project Concern. He said that Project wished to expand back into South East Asia and Vietnam. The entire Locke family was in Vietnam from 1963 to 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Vance Locke son of Robt. P.(Burma Bob) Locke Descanso California. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. 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 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0c52d4f130b5b34a4e4082826f43b8c2.pdf 9d77bd60d280dde810e9189a8ae1e0c3 PDF Text Text 1 Grand Valley State University Special Collections Kent County Oral History collections, RHC-23 Mr. Chester Idema Interviewed on September 24, 1971 Edited and indexed by Don Bryant, 2010 – bryant@wellswooster.com Tape #16, 17 (52:28) Biographical Information Chester Frederick Idema was born 18 August 1886 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He died 20 March 1978 at his home at 29 Gay Avenue, Grand Rapids. He was the son of Henry and Johanna Wilhelmina (Doornink) Idema. Henry was born in Grand Rapids in 1856 and died 8 Jaunuary 1951. He married Johanna W. Doornink on 3 February 1880 in Grand Rapids. Johanna died in 25 December 1953. Chester’s brothers, Walter D. Idema and Edward H. Idema were also born in Grand Rapids – 16 December and 1888 and 23 November 1890, respectively. Chester F. Idema was married on 4 October 1913 to Marion Mead in Grand Rapids. Marion was the daughter of James Andrew Mead and Alice Nash and born 4 August 1891 in Grand Rapids. She died 22 December 1957 in Grand Rapids. Many members of the Idema family are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Grand Rapids. ___________ Interviewer: There, now we’re starting. I’m going to start right out with that, that question I asked you before, whether you have, whether you think there is any value to this project at all. And if you don’t think so, why not? Mr. Idema: I am unable to see the ultimate good in a sufficiently to warrant the time, effort, and cost, getting the material. I am unable to see that your objective is important. I’m probably wrong. Interviewer: You can be right, you know… Mr. Idema: Hmm? Interviewer: You could be right. Mr. Idema: Well, time will tell that... Interviewer: Well, were you born in Grand Rapids? Mr. Idema: I was born on Lyon Street. Interviewer: Whereabouts on Lyon? Mr. Idema: Between Prospect and Lafayette on the south side. �2 Interviewer: Yes? Was …? Mr. Idema: The house still stands, in spite of the fact I left it. Interviewer: What was it like growing up there in that neighborhood? Mr. Idema: What was it like? Interviewer: Yes Mr. Idema: I don’t know just what you mean. There were an awful lot of kids, my age, a little younger, a little under. We had our fights and our armies and our games and our plays. We all went to Fountain Street School, then later to the Grand Rapids High School, which was then at, on the Lyon Street hill, the big red school, that was high school. Interviewer: Is that at Lyon and Barclay? Mr. Idema: Barclay, yes, or Ransom, yes, I guess Barclay. No, Barclay would be, no, the big school was on Ransom Street, the big red school, Ransom and Lyon. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Idema: Then I went, I graduate…, I didn’t graduated, I went to preparatory school in Pennsylvania and I went to the University of Michigan graduated there in nineteen nine. Interviewer: What did you do after you graduated? Mr. Idema: Went to the Elliot Machine Company. Interviewer: Can you tell me the story about the Elliot Machine Company again? Mr. Idema: Well, the Elliot Machine Company was a mana… was a company engaged solely in the manufacture of button-fastener machines which would wire fasten buttons on button shoes. The machines were leased, for a certain sum a year, and the wire, they, unless he agreed to use, wire made by the Elliot Machine Company and no other, and that profit, and the very large profit, was in that. And they had machines in every part in every city in the U.S., every shoe store had to have one because a person would buy a pair of button shoes and they wouldn’t fit and they’d have to have the buttons set over. So they clip off the old buttoner, unfasten it, set it over where it belongs, and put it on with this machine. Every click was some value to the Elliot Machine Company. Well, that, during the war, the government, I’ve forgotten what division that would be, put the ban on the manufacture of button shoes, in order to conserve leather. As a result of which, as button shoes disappeared, and couldn’t be repurchased, there was no use for a machine to put buttons on them. And the Company folded up, there was no value except junk value to those thousands machines, which were in every part of the United State, but not worth the freight to bring them back. �3 Interviewer: Well, I, how would, what would it conserve leather by doing away with the button shoes? Weren’t there other shoes made out of leather? Mr. Idema: Yes, but it made two styles. Two different types of shoes, you, you and your wife would either buy lace shoe or button shoe or for some occasion or both. But anyway, they, what it accomplished I don’t know, but that was their reason. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Idema: Conservation of leather. Interviewer: That was a pretty profitable company, the Elliot? Mr. Idema: While it was growing, it was very profitable. But it ended just as quick. And all the investment in machinery and tools and everything was practically nil. And these machines that were in existence all over the country under lease, and they say they’re not worth shipping back. Interviewer: You mentioned that Elliot paid for half of the Masonic Temple here in town. Mr. Idema: I think its contribution was either about, even figure of about one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or something like that, about half of it, I’ve forgot. But a large sum, which he made in this business. Now that was during nineteen thirteen-fourteen-fifteen-sixteen, just before the war, when it was in its height. Previous to that, lace shoes had been the style. Gradually it turns over and button shoes came back in. Women used to wear button, button shoes almost to the knee, there’d be sixteen buttons on shoe; that’s thirty-two buttons on a pair. Well, that was worth probably twenty-five or-thirty cents to the Elliot Machine Company to put those on. See, when, when shoes were sent to the retailer they’re sewed on, they’re never clipped on with wire, because they have to be changed to conform to the customer and their needs. So, it’s very easy to snip the threads, then put ‘em on with wire. So that very, very few of ‘em except for heavy men’s shoes, were put on at the factory. They were sent and just tied on really. But you go in, you’d lose a button as it happens you’d do this and a button would come off, you’d stop at the first little shoe store, it’s on the way down, go in and take off your shoe and he’d put it on there and like that there’d be a new, be clamped on. Automatically crimper would do that and slap the button on. And using Elliot wire, which, in which he had a whale of a product. Interviewer: Then, you went off to war? Mr. Idema: Then I, I enlisted in nineteen seventeen, yes. Interviewer: Did you go overseas? Mr. Idema: No, I didn’t get overseas: I came back in nineteen nineteen and went into the, well, it was soon after that, there was a little interim which there’s no need to go into.., I went with the Welch-Wilmarth Company which later became a part of the Grand Rapids Store Equipment Corporation. They had a factory down on Madison Avenue and a great big factory on outer �4 Monroe Avenue. And, I left that to go in the Old Kent Bank in nineteen …, I can’t tell you, about nineteen thirty-three or four. And I’ve been with the Elliot, I’ve been with the Old Kent nineteen years, at the Old National office, you know where that is, where it was? You know where the Bank is? Interviewer: The Old Kent Bank? Mr. Idema: No, the Bank, it’s a restaurant in the Pantlind. Interviewer: Oh yes, the bar, yes. Mr. Idema: That’s where the Old National office of the Old Kent Bank, that’s where I was, that was my desk. And I was there until the new building was built and then they put all our stuff over there, the National office, I mean. And the main office was in the Morton House, at that time. It’s still a bank, but it’s not the main office; the main office, of course is in a new building. Interviewer: Yes, was that known as Old Kent Bank when you joined it? Mr. Idema: Yes. (It) was the Old National office of the Old Kent Bank, just like the other would be the Morton Hotel office, or Cherry-Diamond office, or Plainfield branch, or whatever. I was. at the time I retired, which they made me do it, I was a little over 65, according to the retirement rules; I was in charge of the Old National office of the Old Kent Bank, Vice President in charge of the Old National. And I haven’t worked since. Interviewer: Did, were your brothers instrumental in forming Steelcase? Mr. Idema: One brother. Interviewer: Which brother was that? Mr. Idema: Walter, he started with the Metal Office Furniture (Company), which was then, with Mr. Peter Wege, who came here from Ohio, from General Fire Proofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio. They formed and organized the Metal Office Furniture Company which is now Steelcase. Interviewer: Was that a relatively new thing at that time? Mr. Idema: What? Interviewer: Was that a relatively new concept, metal office furniture when they went into business? Mr. Idema: No, no. General Fireproofing had been making it for years, and they were at that time the largest in the world. Mr. Wege came here and got people interested; put in money, got a factory down in the south end, started making metal furniture;. started in a very modest way, making wastebaskets and little tables and filing cases and so forth. Now God knows, they make everything, and they are the largest in the world, by far. General Fireproofing is not done so well �5 since…I, I that shouldn’t be recorded, I mean comments like that, I don’t need to make them because I have no business making them. I can tell you about the Metal Office or the Steelcase, but I don’t know anything about General Fireproofing except they’ve lost some standing in the business. Interviewer: Yes, you go down to lunch nearly every day at the University Club, don’t you? Mr. Idema: Just about every day. Interviewer: Can you tell me a little bit about the University Club? Mr. Idema: Well, as I say, I think it was first meeting was in the house right down there on the corner which was then occupied by Mr. Wanty... Tom Wanty graduated [from] the University of Michigan, and I went to Michigan, my brother went to Princeton, and they got somebody else from Harvard, somebody from Yale, and so forth and formed a nucleus of the University Club. I can’t give you the date, I wouldn’t even guess. But we have been in various places. We’ve been in the Pantlind; we’ve been, well, for a long time on the top floor of the Michigan Trust Company, until we moved into the new, five years ago, where we are now. But, what do you want to know about it? Interviewer: Is that, well, is that why they call it the University Club, because they took men from certain universities? Mr. Idema: You have to have attended a university to belong. Interviewer: I didn’t know that. Mr. Idema: Yes, well, that’s true in every city where there is a University Club, that’s why the name. Don’t have to be a graduate, but you have to attend, been a pupil at a university, recognized university. I don’t know how many members they got now, but I they got an awful lot of them. Interviewer: Was, what kind of, was there any kind of competition between the University Club and the Peninsular Club? Mr. Idema: No competition. The University, the Peninsular Club is more of the business club. Older, older men and younger men if, you want to take a business, somebody there talk business, take ‘em to the Pen Club. They don’t, the University Club doesn’t, doesn’t cater to that kind of trade. Interviewer: What, what does the University…? Mr. Idema: It’s a social club, I mean you meet there to meet friends and. But the Peninsular Club is a businessman’s club. A great many people belong to the Peninsular Club who don’t belong to the other, or vice versa. Now, when I was in the bank, I belonged to the Peninsular �6 Club, because it’d be some banker from Chicago over here, and I’d would want to take his, and I would take him to the Peninsular Club which had more the atmosphere of a business club. And they don’t cater to that kind of business at the University Club. It’s a social club, it has long tables; everyone sits, long and then they have small tables around. Have you ever been there? Interviewer: At the University Club? Mr. Idema: You know what it looks like. Interviewer: Yes, it is pretty nice. Their, their new club is particularly nice. I remember I went to a dance at the old, you know, the University Club that was on top of the Michigan Trust Building. Mr. Idema: Oh, this is much larger. Interviewer: Yes, oh yes. Mr. Idema: And we never, the old club, the old club in the Trust Building, we didn’t have regular evening dinners, which they do here I think every night but three nights, four nights a week, I guess. All you have to do is to go down there and be served. Interviewer: When you were growing up on Lyon Street there, was there very much closeness among the families that lived along Lyon Street? Mr. Idema: Oh, very much so, sure. Everybody knew everybody. Judge Dennison lived right across the road, next to him was Mr. Barlow, next to him was Mr. Stone, next to him was Dr. Schaefer, across the street was Mr. Treadway, in the railroad business, on the corner was somebody connected with the Grand Rapids Brewery. I can go right around the block. Those names I can remember, but you ask me who sat across from me this noon at lunch, I don’t know… Interviewer: What, what did, there, there were closeness in the neighborhood, was there very much socializing among the families? Mr. Idema: Not a great deal, no. Oh, there’d be some…this way, but not this way. This man here, this family here, might be very close and friendly with the one across the street, because their children was (were) the same age. Maybe the house next door they had no children and they didn’t contact at all. Children made a great deal of difference; they, they kind of mixed the families up, and in our particular house had the top floor which was the neighborhood, especially on a rainy day, for all the kids in the neighborhood. There would be only one place that was that big, and that was a very large house, and the whole top floor was a playroom. So we had all the kids. In those days we didn’t play football, we played some baseball. And then, we had a big dog, we used, we used to play some game Prisoners, some prisoner game, chase them with the �7 dog. But all the people are gone, I haven’t got a single acquaintance that lived up where I lived when I was little, a young man. Well, my brother. Interviewer: You don’t know even whether they’re still living in Grand Rapids? Mr. Idema: Oh, I know they’re dead; I know what’s become of them not eventually, but, I know they died. Interviewer: Was that street paved, Lyon Street? Mr. Idema: Used to have cable cars. Ever see or hear of a cable car? Interviewer: I’ve seen them in San Francisco… Mr. Idema: Well, that’s the same thing. The cables were continuous cables that ran through a slot. They dropped this grip down and take hold of it, the cable, and take the car up the hill. Interviewer: From downtown on Lyon Street? How far out Lyon does that cable car go? Mr. Idema: I think to what is now Grand Avenue… but I may be wrong on that. Perhaps only to Union. Interviewer: Beyond those streets was where the country was? Mr. Idema: Yeah, more or less. I don’t think it was built up to much. But I don’t know, I didn’t know much about what went on then, east of where I lived. West was downtown. Interviewer: Did you spend a lot of time downtown? Mr. Idema: Well, when? What do you mean? Interviewer: If you didn’t spend much time east of the house, you must have spent your time west of the home. Mr. Idema: Well, what age are you talking about? Interviewer: Oh, I don’t know…. Mr. Idema: We used to go downtown every day or two, for sure. Slide down a hill in winter and walk down in the summer. Washington Street used to be a wonderful street for sliding. They had the police roped it off. You start at College Avenue, ran down and turn on Jefferson. And I don’t think they ever allowed it on Lyon, it was too steep. But Fountain Street allowed it and roped it off. And then they had the horses; some of them would have horses, pull ‘em up. Interviewer: When the kids came downhill, somebody had a horse to pull the kids up? �8 Mr. Idema: They had a horse; it take ‘em down the hill, around by Fulton Street, then have them pull it up to Fountain. But mostly we hauled our own. They had bobs that would hold twelve, fourteen kids, and they’d go, I don’t know how fast they’re going at the bottom but we were moving. Interviewer: Was downtown much different then, than it is now? Mr. Idema: Well, it’s beginning to change now, it’s high time. Interviewer: What do you mean? Mr. Idema: Well lower Monroe Avenue and Monroe to Campau Square of course entirely different than it was fifty years ago. But it wasn’t very long ago that it looked a great deal the same. They’re just waking up downtown now. That, maybe thing, maybe they can hold it, maybe they can’t, I don’t know. Business is moving out, so is residential property. Interviewer: Was that lower Monroe section, taken out by urban renewal, was that, were there quite a few businesses in there? Mr. Idema: Oh, retail businesses, firms, sure. Spring Dry Goods Company, a very large concern that was right down at the bottom of the hill, just where you made the turn, the bottom of Monroe. And, Herpolsheimer’s used to be Voigt-Herpolsheimer’s, but that’s moved up the street from where it was, I think Wurzburg’s is where Herpolsheimer’s used to be, as I recall it. But of course none of them are sitting home now. Steketee's. Interviewer: Yes, Steketee’s is still sitting on a bench[?]. Mr. Idema: About the only one. Interviewer: Voigt-Herpolsheimer, that’s the same family as the flour mills? Mr. Idema: C. G. A. Voigt was the father of the Voigt brothers, and he and Mr. Herpolsheimer owned the business, but he wasn’t active. He was always in the flour business. But my grandfather, on my mother’s side and Mr. Paul J. Steketee, were partners, and the name of the store was Steketee-Doornink and they were partners right where Steketee’s is now, ‘til they agreed to disagree and my grandfather sold out to Mr. Steketee, and it became Steketee and Sons, Paul Steketee and Sons. But he was in the dry goods business with Mr. Steketee, for quite awhile. Interviewer: What did he do after he sold his a….. Mr. Idema: Oh, he retired: he, I don’t think he did anything. I never knew him, I was pretty young then. Well, I knew him, but can’t, I have no memory of him. Interviewer: Who was the first member of your family to come to Grand Rapids? �9 Mr. Idema: Well, what do you mean by family? Interviewer: Well, let’s say both on your mother’s and father’s side. Mr. Idema: They were both born in Grand Rapids, my father and mother. Interviewer: Did their parents come to Grand Rapids? Mr. Idema: Their parents came from Holland; the old Holland called the Netherlands. Idema is a Dutch name and a Dutch family. Interviewer: What… Do you know what brought them from the Netherlands to Grand Rapids? Mr. Idema: Ships. Interviewer: I mean, what would have prompted them to leave the Netherlands for….. Mr. Idema: Same thing that prompted everybody to leave the Netherlands, religious persecution and they settled here, and they settled around Holland, Michigan. A great many of them settled in Iowa, that’s a great Dutch settlement. And quite a few of them in Pennsylvania, although the Pennsylvania Dutch, I mean the Dutch as we know them here, they’re not very much the same class of people. I don’t know but I know they talked kind of disparagingly of Pennsylvania Dutch. But all your VanRaaltes founded the Church down in Holland, the Dutch Reformed Church. That was one of the most prominent Dutch families to come from Holland. But here the Steketees and the Doorninks, and the, oh, I don’t know. There used to be more Steketees in the telephone book than there were Smiths, not now, of course, but they died out. Interviewer: Why did the Dutch come to this part of the United States? Mr. Idema: I can’t tell you, I don’t know. I know when my grandmother, they moved, they lived first in Buffalo, then they came from Buffalo to Grand Rapids, that’s my grandmother on my mother’s side. And what brought ‘em to Grand Rapids, I don’t know. I don’t know why they chose Grand Rapids, of course, a little bit of a village then – a town. Interviewer: Well, would the Dutch people that came here, were they a very close knit ethnic group? Mr. Idema: Pretty much, and very religious. Interviewer: Was your family a part of that group? Mr. Idema: I would say so, my grandmother on my mother’s side, more than on my father’s. I my father’s background is a little hazy to me; I don’t - I can’t tell you much about it. Interviewer: Where did the Dutch locate mostly, in Grand Rapids, did they kind of hang together in the same neighborhood? �10 Mr. Idema: No, I can’t recall that they did. We were about the only one on that neighborhood on Lyon Street. But the Dutch Church was on Bostwick Street, just off Lyon, called the Second Reformed Church, and the services were in Dutch language. My grandmother who lived with us, on my mother’s side spoke very little English. As a result of which I acquired a pretty good smattering of Dutch. Interviewer: Can you still speak it? Mr. Idema: Oh, yes. I can understand it better, (at least when I knew) I had no need of the vocabulary. I used to be pretty good in French when I went to college and took it four years. But I don’t use it, so I forget it. But I can understand Dutch; we have a cleaning woman who comes here every week and she speaks no English, why she and I get along fine. And it was a big help to my father when he went in the banking business, and, the Kent County Savings Bank, where he started, was called spaarbank. … Interviewer: What does that mean? Mr. Idema: Savings Bank Interviewer: Is that Dutch? Mr. Idema: Sure, it’s Dutch. It was on the corner of Lyon and it’s opposite where the Old National was, the other end of the Pantlind, which was then Sweet’s Hotel, before the Pantlind. Then the Kent County Savings Bank combined with the State Bank of Michigan, formed the Kent State Bank, which later combined with the Old National Bank and made the Old Kent Bank. They also took in the Fourth National Bank and People’s; that left only the Old Kent Michigan National. And the well, really, before the days of the Union Bank, there were only two banks. Mr. John E. Frey formed the Union Bank, Jack Frey, Ed Frey’s father. Dates I can’t give you – I don’t know. Interviewer: Who, who was kind of instrumental in tying together all these various banks to form the Old Kent? Mr. Idema: My father. Interviewer: Your father? Mr. Idema: Absolutely, he made it, he did it. Interviewer: What was his name? Mr. Idema: Henry. Interviewer: Henry Idema? �11 Mr. Idema: He lived to be ninety-five. He was active up to the time he was ninety. In those days they didn’t kick them out at sixty-five like they do all over now. They, they took, they has a little stuff left in ‘em. And he was very active in the bank in his eighties. Now when you’re sixtyfive, away you go. Everywhere. Interviewer: Yes, in some places I think it’s even lower than that. Mr. Idema: Yes, some of them have sixty two, and almost all of them have an option, if you want sixty five or sixty two you can, but you lose some benefits. My other brother, the third brother, Edward Idema, when he retired was the owner and operator of the Manufacturer’s Supply Company, which is now being run by his son named Henry Idema the second. So that was, what became of the three brothers. Interviewer: Did you associate, like, the kids that lived along Lyon Street, did they associate with the kids living over on, let’s say, Lafayette, Prospect…? Mr. Idema: Oh, to some extent, because if we went to the same school. But we were, we had enough of us in the area to take care of our needs for a little baseball or hockey or something like that. Oh, there were, I had friends on Crescent Avenue, and over on Prospect Street, sure… Interviewer: Where did you play ball in those days? Mr. Idema: Usually in our backyard. We had the biggest back yard, that’s where they played. Interviewer: What’s the address of that home up on Lyon Street? Mr. Idema: I don’t know. It was two eighty-four when I lived there, but I know it’s changed. It was bought by a Mr. Wagemaker, who bought it from my father and Isaac Wagemaker, and there he had a son named Ray, who owned and operated the Wagemaker Company making bolts, you know. He later bought this house directly across the street. And he died of a heart attack, about, I’d say five or six years ago. And I always called that the Wagemaker House, although he didn’t build it. But I never knew that, I never knew their family, except as I knew that they lived in the old house. Interviewer: Do you think that living is very much different today than when you were growing up? Mr. Idema: Sure is. Interviewer: How is it, what was the biggest difference? Mr. Idema: Well, your needs are so much, your economics are so different, your economy is different. Five cent sodas are thirty five cents and all that stuff, and I mean, money wasn’t so important. If a kid got fifty cents a week allowance he’d be pretty affluent. Now you get that much for nothing. The economy is tiring, change, right straight across the whole strata. Not just, �12 youth, it’s everybody. And I’m talking about previous to World War Two and way back in then, I was born in the eighteen eighties. We didn’t know, we had the Spanish American War, but that was no, that didn’t amount to anything. And of course, I was, after the Civil War, I hope. But we never, we didn’t have the war problem, we didn’t have the economy problem, we didn’t have the liquor problem. I don’t know, life was a lot easier, I’ll tell you that. [End of side one] Mr. Idema: Well, did you, were you in school with John? Interviewer: Yes, he was a year behind me. And Steve was in my grade. Mr. Idema: Yes, John just moved here within the last six months. He was in the army until last, well, I guess he got discharged about March, February, March. He’s out at Amway Corporation. Interviewer: Oh, is he? Mr. Idema: And Steve is head of the local Legal Aid and their oldest brother. Phil, is a partner with Crook, Fryhoffer and somebody, he’s been with them quite awhile. So they all live here, all have children, no, Steve doesn’t have any. Steve just came here from Denver. He was the head of the Legal Aid in Denver, or in the Legal Aid work. Previous to that he was with, oh, I’ve forgotten the name of that, the government deal, similar kind of work but he was down in the Caribbean. What was the name of that, VISTA, you know, VISTA, Volunteers In Service To America .Well, that brought him to Denver and he worked with the poor around Denver, and that kind of work, and then he was offered this job here and he came here oh, a couple of months ago. Interviewer: Let’s see, I was going to ask you about your wife, and you know, if she was a Grand Rapids girl and what her background was. Would [you] tell me a little about that? Mr. Idema: Not very much. She was born in Grand Rapids, and went to Grand Rapids’ schools, Smith College, graduated in nineteen thirteen; we were, in nineteen twelve we were married in nineteen thirteen. Interviewer: Did you build this house after, just after you were married? Mr. Idema: No, I didn’t build it ‘til nineteen seventeen. I moved in the day war was declared. And that was in April, nineteen seventeen. I enlisted and left here in February of nineteen eighteen, and I was gone until nineteen twenty or twenty-one. But I didn’t go overseas. I was in Camp Hancock, Georgia most the time. And she lived here; we had one child at that time. She lived in the house. Interviewer: Who built these homes, the other homes along Gay Street? Mr. Idema: I can’t tell you. I’m the newest house so I don’t know. �13 Interviewer: That one across the street, the Wagemaker house, you said that a… Mr. Idema: I don’t know, well, I know who owned it, Mr. John Duffy, had it built, that what you mean? Interviewer: Yes Mr. Idema: I don’t know the name of any builders… Interviewer: Yes? No, the people who… Mr. Idema: John Duffy bought it, built it, and paid for it. He was the head of the Grand Rapids Hardware Company. And as I told you, Wagemaker bought it out of the Duffy estate, after John Duffy died, and Mrs. Duffy. The house down here belonged to; I don’t think it was built by him, but belonged to Joseph Brewer. Interviewer: Whose house is that, the one that the Lockwoods live in? Mr. Idema: No, the next house. Interviewer: Oh, yes. Mr. Idema: That’s an apartment house, and that is in their garage, and so… the Lockwood house, I can’t tell you who built it, but I think it was a man named Childs. And his probably the oldest house on the street, except the one on the corner, but that faces Washington. And the Gay property, the Gay house faces Fulton, and the one up on the corner, which belonged to Mr. Mormon, he built that, that faces Fulton. Interviewer: That’s the green house there on the corner? Mr. Idema: Well, they’re all apartment houses except Mrs. Lockwood’s and this one. And not only there, but all the way around this block every single one of ‘em are apartment houses. There isn’t a single apa… a single house, in the block which I’m sitting. That’s the way the change is, all single houses when I built. There was no East Grand Rapids as we know it today. We used to go out there by the streetcar and go up to the show at Ramona. That was East Grand Rapids. But, if I knew then what I know now, I’d never built here. Interviewer: Why is that? Mr. Idema: Why is that? Interviewer: Yes? If you knew what… Mr. Idema: If I knew, what I know now? Interviewer: Yes? What do you know now that you didn’t know then? �14 Mr. Idema: Well, I know that we’re in right on the edge of a slum. I mean, the character of the people, the houses, everything, we’re in a, they had a, well, tonight, right down here night before last. Interviewer: Where’s that, on Washington? Mr. Idema: Yes, just off Washington. They snatch purses around here. I wouldn’t, well, I finally persuaded the city to put up this light, I got a big light out here that lights itself, but… we’re only two blocks away from Wealthy and that’s all colored, and that’s where the trouble is. Don’t I I (didn’t) want that on. Interviewer: No, that won’t be on, won’t reprint that. Mr. Idema: I’d I mean I don’t, you don’t talk that way. Interviewer: No. Why do you think that the, what, what caused these homes to go from single family residences to apartment houses? Mr. Idema: Because nobody kept up, and built decent houses, they all went out to East Grand Rapids. That’s where all the money is in the houses. Interviewer: In other words, the economics that maintained a home like this aren’t very much different for maintaining a sizable home in East Grand Rapids… Mr. Idema: What do you mean, cost? Interviewer: Yes, Mr. Idema: Oh, that isn’t a matter of cost. They just don’t want to be in this neighborhood anymore, and I wouldn’t either. Interviewer: Why did they all move out in the first place? Mr. Idema: Well, why does anything like that occur or any movement, migration? I can’t tell you. Interviewer: Well, the reason why I asked is that I was talking to, I was interviewing someone last week I think it was either Mrs. Whinery or Mrs. Lockwood, and they said that the Ledyard property up there on the corner of Cherry and College that six generations of family lived. Mr. Idema: That’s the Oakwood Manor. Interviewer: Yes, where they opened the Hillmount, that six generations of the family lived there, on that same plot of ground. Mr. Idema: Yes, that’s right, and they die out. �15 Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Idema: Nobody comes along. Interviewer: Yes, that’s another, other people we’ve interviewed talk about how their family, well, I’ve talked to George Shelby and he said that the family built the, the house that’s commonly known as the Booth house, his family built that, and they built another one on the corner, and they built another one next to that. Mr. Idema: I don’t know. Shelby ought to. Those are beautiful houses, on Lafayette Street, that was, well, and this was top grade. Interviewer: Well, this is still a beautiful house. Mr. Idema: Of course it is, but isn’t a beautiful neighborhood. It’s a lousy neighborhood. Interviewer: Well, I think there’s kind of a move among young people at least. I noticed up on, I haven’t seen a house for sale on Gay Street in a long time, but, up on the hill there, the houses come up for sale, and they’re sold pretty quickly. Now, I don’t whether it’s a… Mr. Idema: Because they’re cheap… Interviewer: I don’t know – I never looked at prices. Mr. Idema: Well, East Grand Rapids prices are way up, compared to ours, for a similar thing. My kids and grandchildren bought out there, one of them built, gee, what they have to pay for a house would make you sick. But, they all want to be out in East Grand Rapids. Interviewer: What, if you want to answer this one, but, just out of curiosity, just what, what did a house like this cost you to build when you built it? Mr. Idema: Forty-two thousand dollars. Interviewer: That was pretty expensive house at that time too. Mr. Idema: Oh, you couldn’t do it today for a hundred. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Idema: That’s with everything. And I know that because I just discussed selling it. People want to know exactly what it cost, and they have a right to. But that was in nineteen seventeen, that’s fifty-five years ago, fifty-four, sixty-four, so you can’t compare it because anymore than you can compare furniture that was made then, or any automobile. When I moved in here I bought a Cadillac, nineteen forty-one, at one time, while I was living; what do you suppose the price was? �16 Interviewer: For a forty-one Cadillac? Mr. Idema: I have no idea. Interviewer: Four door, everything on it, was sixteen hundred and twenty-five dollars. That car today is sixty, [er] six thousand dollars. And that’s the way with everything. If I were to build, I wouldn’t build this house today, I wouldn’t build this type of house, I’d have a more modern house. This isn’t modern. It’s old, but isn’t an old fashioned house, but, there are a lot of things about it, I’d put in air conditioning if I was building. There are a lot of things that I would do. But that time’s past. One day, this will be another apartment house, I presume. It has six bedrooms and four baths, and the entire first floor, this room and that room and the hall, is one great big recreation room. Interviewer: What, down below us? Mr. Idema: I’ve had fifty people here to a dance, orchestra and the whole business down there. Interviewer: It’s a beautiful place. Mr. Idema: Well, it was then, it was, been a happy home for many years, kids grew up in it, and but, it’s in the wrong location. Interviewer: You didn’t really answer that, of course, maybe you don’t really know the reasons but the question I had is - why did people move out of this area? I mean, why did they start moving to East Grand Rapids, or Cascade, or wherever they moved? Mr. Idema: Oh, they were attracted by the terrain, and the very strong work done by certain realtors, one of which was Mr. Bonnell. [Do] you know where Bonnell Drive is? Well, Mr. Bonnell bought all that property in there, and had it landscaped, and new streets put through and they sold lots. Mr. Gilbert, Will Gilbert, bought where I used to play golf out there where East Grand Rapids is now, part of that. And, that’s all East Grand Rapids now, the water’s there, the lake, everything that attracted. There’s nothing attractive about this part of town, not now. When I built it there wasn’t any East Grand Rapids. As I told you, Ramona, but not, there were no homes like there are now. The Edward Lowe home, which is now Aquinas College, was built approximately nineteen hundred and one or two. You know where that is? That’s now, well that is on the South side of Robinson Road, at the end of Plymouth and that was the Edward Lowe house. He lived, when he built that house out there, he lived over here on the corner of College and Washington, which is the Insurance Company office, directly across from WOOD [TV]) Interviewer: Oh, yes. Mr. Idema: That was, that’s where I lived, that’s my father bought it of Mr. Lowe, sold the house up on Lyon, to Wagemaker. Interviewer: And bought which house…? �17 Mr. Idema: The one up on College Avenue on the corner Interviewer: Is that house still standing? Mr. Idema: Oh, I’ll say it is, sure. Interviewer: Is that the Castle? Mr. Idema: No, no, no, this end, Washington Street. The Castle’s on Cherry Street. Interviewer: Oh, Washington and College. Mr. Idema: Washington and College, south west corner. Interviewer: Oh, yes, I see, yes. Mr. Idema: It’s an insurance company. I sold it after my father died and my mother, to this insurance company. That was before WOOD [TV] was put up, which is an abortion. That was a beautiful block of homes, from Cherry to Fulton, on College. You can see that, well, you know the Waters’ house still stands. And then the Bissell house was there, that was where WOOD is. And down on the corner the Aldrich house, the Pantlind house, on this side the Castle, and the Byrnes, John Byrne’s house, and the Voigt house, and then that house my father owned, beautiful block, every house in there was a beautiful, big house. Look at them now. Awful. One’s an insurance company, another’s torn down, and the Waters’ house is the Waters’ house. And it’s an apartment house. Interviewer: Yes, and they’ve got all those others, those multiple living, high rises. Mr. Idema: Oh, as a residential section, this Grand Rapids is sunk. If you got any money, I mean, if people have got to buy fifteen thousand dollar houses, you can’t go to East Grand Rapids. You’ve got to buy where they can afford to, which is Grand Rapids, per se. But it’s, that doesn’t make it any more attractive. Interviewer: You think the automobile had much of an effect on the dispersal of the society? Mr. Idema: On what? Interviewer: On the dispersal of people, in other words, everyone lived in this area all of a sudden are living… Mr. Idema: Oh, I don’t know. Everybody had cars. Interviewer: Everybody had cars before East Grand Rapids started developing? Mr. Idema: I can’t tell you that, I don’t know. I think the first car in our family was nineteen four, when we lived on Lyon Street, and that was a Winton. But cars weren’t cars then, I mean, �18 they didn’t depend on them. Trip from here to Detroit took all day. There wasn’t the fluid moment movement that there is now, and that, automobiles have come as you know, in the last fifteen-twenty years was a tremendous rush. I won’t say they didn’t have something to do with it, because without the automobile, East Grand Rapids would be left high and dry. You can’t walk out there, but to say that that‘s the reason, I don’t know. But this so-called Heritage District that you mentioned is, you’ve taken in an awful lot of territory, you’ve taken in some, I think very run down places. You’ve got some good ones. Interviewer: Well, I think that’s what the Heritage Hill people are concerned with, is not necessarily you know, the junk that’s in there, but the good houses that are still standing that can be preserved. Mr. Idema: What they gonna do with ‘em? Interviewer: From what I’ve seen, some of these homes, they are trying to persuade the people that own them to, you know fix ‘em up, maintain them, keep ’em in good shape instead of letting them decline and… Mr. Idema: With what incentive? Interviewer: Well, the incentive to maintain an area that they think is beautiful. Mr. Idema: Why? Interviewer: Because it’s like this street here, you can’t go out to East Grand Rapids and find a street like this, maybe Bonnell Avenue, but that’s it. Mr. Idema: Oh, yes, you can, these houses are old-fashioned…. Interviewer: That’s right that’s, but out there, like you say, if you were building today, you’d build a modern house. Mr. Idema: Why, sure. Interviewer: But you don’t find homes like the homes in this area, built out there. A lot of people find these homes, homes along Gay Street and …. Mr. Idema: Oh, I think that house across the street, the Duffy house, I would say architecturally, it was a great deal like the Fitzgerald house. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Idema: And that’s in East Grand Rapids, and this was here. I don‘t think that’s, that’s follows at all. I might put this same house if I could find a spot on Reed’s Lake, and it would be in keeping, I mean, it’s not old-fashioned, in spite of the fact it’s that old, it’s architecturally, it’s �19 still good. And outside, you can say, look at that old house. But this house could have built last year. Interviewer: Well, I guess we’ve got enough. Think so? Mr. Idema: You’ve milked me. INDEX B K Bonnell, Mr. · 16 Kent County Savings Bank · 10 D Dennison, Judge · 6 Duffy, John · 13, 18 E L Lockwood Family · 13, 14 Lowe, Edward · 16 O Elliot Machine Company · 2, 3 Old Kent Bank · 4, 10 F P Fountain Street School · 2 Frey, John E. · 10 Peninsular Club · 5 G S Gilbert, Will · 16 Grand Rapids Store Equipment Corporation · 3 Shelby, George · 15 Smith College · 12 Steelcase · 4, 5 Steketee's · 8 H Herpolsheimer’s · 8 U I University Club · 5, 6 University of Michigan · 2, 5 Idema, Edward · 11 Idema, Henry (Father) · 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 Idema, Johanna Wilhelmina Doornink (Mother) · 8, 9, 10, 17 W Wagemaker, Isaac · 11, 13, 16 Wanty, Tom · 5 Wege, Peter · 4 �20 Whinery, Mrs. · 14 Wurzburg’s · 8 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/117ab6d09f5daa4acebb2faf48e2759d.mp3 917681dc9d2837b6e5939fdaf03577f1 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 Grand Rapids Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Local histories Memoirs Michigan--History Oral histories (document genre) Description An account of the resource Taped and transcribed interviews conducted in the early 1970s primarily of the children and grandchildren of many of the founders of Grand Rapids, Michigan; many of whom were residents of the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Interviews were collected to develop a significant collection of oral resources that would supplement other primary and secondary local history materials. Initially funded as a private project, Grand Valley State College (now University) assumed responsibility for continuing the project until 1977. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/452">Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf; audio/mp3 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text; Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-23 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1971 - 1977 Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. 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-23_16-17Idema Title A name given to the resource Idema, Chester Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Idema, Chester Description An account of the resource Chester Idema was born on August 18, 1886 in Grand Rapids. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1909. He worked at the Elliot Machine Co. in Pennsylvania. In 1913, he married Marion Mead. During WWI, Mr. Idema enlisted in the military. Afterward, he worked at Old Kent Bank for 19 years and became a vice president. Mr. Idema belonged to the University Club and the Peninsular Club. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan--History Local histories Memoirs Oral histories (document genre) Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Grand Valley State University 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 Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/mp3 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971 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/acb6f7c2686a70208443a7a1cdbd5f71.pdf 446b5e9d5ece3c46508c65f2d1de2ba7 PDF Text Text TEL EPHONE 5 -5575 M Yr P. G R AND RAPIDS Termaat 1235 1-~ayfield, 7, M ICH IGA N _ _ ~=ra_r_c_h_h-'--J--_ _ __ 19-2._ r.z. Grand {anlds , Mich . IMPORT & EXPtlRT SERVICE CO. 451 ELLIOTT STREE T, S . E. CUSTOM HOUSE FORE IG N FREI GHT BROKERS FORWA R DERS OUR R EFERENCE NO. 5~- 3- 3643 . MARKS & Nos. Ex 5-S IN VOICE NO . rE'N ,.,L.tCI 7138 -- DUTY DEPOSIT-Estimated U. S. Customs Duty subject to correction upon liquidation by Custom authorities 1 liftvan ~- 1 case - Household Effects Duty Free Duty on one bicycle CUSTOMS ENTRY 2 50 Deposits for missing documents Postage, Telegrams, Long Distance Calls ,::_,: ✓✓ Blanks and No tary Fees Premiums on Bonds, Surety, Etc. Entry Fee 7 e;n Freight Marine Insurance Storage U. S . CU _)1 015-Proport::i. onate share nul eac,e. t.o GB r. r e±,1JJ::n fo-r j nsned ,j on 1 Collection Y 1i 1rp " OD 'J i::n ~ 00 Cartage at Grand Rapid~ Special Services ,.rranging ""or transfer shd outside ov,:,m; n'lt,i ,..,.,... T OTAL T erms: NET PAYABLE on Presentation 15 OS � 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 Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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-144_Termaat_DOC_1952-03-06-Duty-deposit-receipt-367 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Import & Export Service Co. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1952-03-06 Title A name given to the resource Duty deposit receipt Description An account of the resource Receipt from Import & Export Service Co. for the transport of 1 liftvan and 1 case of household effects for Pieter Termaat. Subject The topic of the resource Dutch Netherlands Emigration and immigration Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</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 Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b0cdb769666fe5e31058adcfa5d365f7.pdf 5dce52156ad34b39f8e54972b5a20112 PDF Text Text A Performance Honoring GRAND VALLEY STORIES: Fifty Years Building A More Inclusive Community November 2 at 4:00 p.m. Cook-DeWitt Center November 3 at 4:00 p.m. Loosemore Auditorium Grand Valley Stories is an exciting theatrical endeavor that highlights the experiences of faculty, staff and students on our campus. These original productions are produced by Jeffrey Steiger, artist-in-residence at the University of Michigan. The productions utilize eclectic performance elements and styles to depict classroom dynamics, student and faculty experiences, departmental culture and climate, and staff life at GVSU. Most importantly, they are based on interviews with GVSU faculty, staff and students. Sponsors: Division of Inclusion and Equity, Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, School of Communications, Office of Multicultural Affairs, LGBT Resource Center, and Women's Center. GVSU is committed to a policy of equal access to our programs, facilities and services. If you require additional assistance, please contact Inclusion and Equity Division located at 10 Zumberge Library or call (616) 331-3296. @ GRANDVALLEY STATE lJNivERsrry INCLUSIO AND EQUITY DMSIO ~ ~ Yean of Shaping Lives 1111""" GRANDVALLEY STATEl.JNivERSITY � 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 Sexuality and Gender Flyers Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Rainbow Resource Center Women and Gender Studies Department Women's Commission Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity Description An account of the resource Digitized posters, flyers, event notices, and other materials relating to gender expression and sexuality at Grand Valley State University, with materials spanning from 1974 to 2019. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974/2019 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized from collections at the Rainbow Resource Center (formerly the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center), Women and Gender Studies Department, Women's Commission, and Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Gender identity Gender expression Sexual orientation Women's studies Queer theory Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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-09_SGF_2010_Fifty-Years-Building-More-Inclusive-Community.pdf Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Inclusion and Equity Division Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-11-02/2010-11-03 Title A name given to the resource Grand Valley Stories: Fifty Years Building a More Inclusive Community Description An account of the resource Flyer detailing an event showcasing original productions produced by Jeffrey Steiger based on interviews with GVSU faculty, staff, and students. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Division of Inclusion and Equity, Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, School of Communications, Office of Multicultural Affairs, LGBT Resource Center, Women's Center Subject The topic of the resource Community centers Theater Experience Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Inclusion and Equity Division 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 Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/47fab59b3f98d6a6c4156a1325b790e3.pdf 4e1e6ea0a424af3b6c4bbe6bf13f9598 PDF Text Text •/r:j;",, j ' l/r,/ 1/, ,t· 1/r •r sJl,,Luct l~ , /Ir/Ir 1/r;y / / rj /_1 " ,--· LLLILJ J1o';}~"' rc '-!! 1/'lj/J(/ /' f,_ ✓1/ I'/ lu:-,lr•,/ 1r;/11lrr, I/, Nly / 01 //t,,If/ H/ ,;{,,(;/ J, '/''·" I/,, 1//'/,w,flo1 01 7.f'J,,,/,1{,,.; I ' • ' \jj'/,,,,,,;,li.11/ ;.,1 I,,,,,,. ,}f,,,11 .;1,,,1/'nv,. //) / 1/ir,) . , . � 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 Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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-08_Bnai-Brith-Charter Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Independent order of B'nai B'rith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1917 Title A name given to the resource Abraham Rosen Unit #818 Charter Description An account of the resource Charter certificate for the Abraham Rosen Unit #818 of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) 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 Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/427b590239e13b95ee9cf4dce8509e00.pdf 134f6514deacd98c541db37d4b3d8e66 PDF Text Text KATI-NEEK ANISHNABE +++++++++++++++++++++++++~~++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++az Dec./Jap. 19 !~¼~*;*~~;*!***************************************************************** Dear Reader: Welcome to the first issue of ANISHNABE KATI-NEEK. We hope you will find it interesting, informative, and enjoyable! Chemegwetch to Joe John and the other elders on his committee who selected the newsletter name which means INDIAN CATHOLIC. But for a newsletter to be effective, we will need to hear from you! Please contact us. If you have any news that others would like to read about, send it to us. If you have a favorite poem or reading, share them. Or if you would like to discuss your views on religion --Indian or Christian-- write them down and send to us. Or phone us. We want to hear from you! Fr. Pat, Fred, and Shirley Send all correspondence to: ANISHNABE ·KATI-NEEK Indian Catholic Ministry 650 Burton Street, s.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49507 Phone: 616/24)-0491 xJ5 HISTQ·RIC EVENT At the 9:JO AM liturgy on Sunday; December 28, an historic event will take place at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Grand Rapids when John Vallier, a Chippewa, will be ordained · to the transitional diaconate --the first Native American in the Diocese ·of Grand Rapids to do so. Vallier, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is the son of Francis and Eleanor Vallier of Portland. He received a bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology and a master's of Divinity on November 24 from St. Regis' Seminary, Toronto. The date of his ordination to the priesthood wiil be set after the first of the year. Because Vallier will be a diocesan priest, he will be assigned as transitional deacon to a parish within the Diocese of Grand Rapids. The Indian community is welcome to attend the December 28 ceremony. Or watch it over Channel 8 T-V. -1- �Our Indian Bishop: He's One Of Liturgy Plans The Indian Catholic Ministry's monthly liturgies in the St. James School chapel are well attended. The first liturgy was in November. Fr. Pat Cawley offered the Mass and gave an inspiring homily. He especially s~ressed the key point that Indians have much to offer the Church. Roger Martell Jr. assisted Fr. Pat as altar server. Jeanette St. Clair was the reader. And Fred Chivis Jr. assisted with the distribution of the Eucharist. The music was under ·the direction of Vi Cumming. Particularly meaningful was a song in the Ottawa language composed by her and Mabel Shomin. A guitar and drum provided the musical background. After the service the attendees met· for fellowship and refreshments. All are ·invited to attend the Wednesday, January 7, service at 7:JO PM in the st. James School Chapel, 750 First St., NW, Grand Rapids. And stay for fellowship afterwards. -2- Us ! America's first Native American bishop came from beginnings that many of us can relate to easily. Bishop Don Pelotte grew up amid the same kind of poverty that he will encounter on the reservations and in the poor Hispanic settlements of his new diocese in New Mexico. His father --an Abenaki and Algonqu'in Indian-- died of alcoholism. Two other family members also suffer from the disease. Bishop Pelotte grew up in rural Maine in an old, run-down house with no running water and an outhouse. Bishop recalls that they had to stuff rags in the cracks of the house during the winter. And the boys had to sleep three or four to a bed to keep warm. The family was also on welfare from time to time. Bishop Pelotte --he's one of us! �JESUS' BIRTH Kateri Circle Kateri Circles are spreading throughout the country. Each circle develops a program to fit its locality. The Grand Rapids Kateri Circle was formed to meet the needs of the Indian Catholic community in a rural -urban setting. The goals are three -fold: prayer, service; and development of a liturgy around Native American culture. Circle members serve the community in a variety of ways, such as assisting at funerals and sitting with the sick. The circle meets every Monday at 7:00 PM in the St. James Community Chapel, 750 First St., NW, Grand Rapids. Everyone is welcome! CO-ED Gym Activities The Native· American Education Program of the Grand Rapids Public Schools announces that it has the use _fo the West Middle School gym facilities {men's showers included) on Thursdays from J:00 to 6:00 PM. Anyone interested in participating in basketball, volleyball, and so on is invited. A youth basketball league is also being planned. {ORIGINAL BLESSING by Matthew Fox, Bear & Co., Inc. Pg. JOO) Interested persons should come down to the gym at 615 Turner NW, Oi call Ron Yob at 456-4226. -+ ... Jesus' birth comes about not through an ordinary father but through the Holy Spirit. This makes his birth a cosmic event, as was the original birth of creation. This makes Jesus not only a prophet of the New Creation but the New Creation itself ••• "Mary is a virgin who has not known man, and there.f ore the child is totally God' : work ••• a · hew creation." This spirit that begot Jesus resembles "the Spirit of God that hovered over the waters before creation" in Genesis 1 :.2. The earth was void and without form un~il that Spirit appeared; just so Mary's womb was a void until through the spirit God filled it with a child who was His Son ••. Not only does a new creation begin with the birth of Jesus, but at the end of his life Jesus sends the spirit of new creation on to others. "He breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" {John 20122) This is the spirit who will make all things new. -J- �You Are Invited LITURGY FOR NATIVE AMERICANS First Wednesday of every month 7iJO PM in St. James SchooL Chapel 750 !irst St. NW (Behind the Church) Grand Rapids, Michigan KATE RI CIRCLE Every Monday at 7:00 PM St. James Community Center Chapel 750 First St., NW Grand Rapids, Michigan COED GYM ACTIVITIES Every Thursday, J:00 to 6100 PM Gym of West Middle School 615 Turner Ave., NW Grand Rapids, Michigan JOHN VALLIER'S ORDINATION TO THE TRANSITIONAL DIACONATE 91)0 AM Sunday, December 28, 1986 St. Andrew's Cathedral 267 Sheldon Ave., SE Grand Rapids, Michigan ANISHNABE KATI-NEEK is published six times yearly by the Office of Indian Catholic Ministries for the following purposesr (1) to inform the Ind~a~ Catholic of pertinent religious programs and liturgical events; (2) to disseminate news of personal, spiritual, and social significance to the Indian Catholic community; and (J) to provide a vehicle for discussion of Native American religious values and beliefs within the context of the message of Jesus Christ. SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR Fr. Pat Cawley MINISTRY COORDINATOR Fred Chivis, Jr. NEWSLETTER EDITOR Shirley Francis ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ANISHNABE KATI-NEEK Office of Indian Catholic Ministries 650 Burton Street, s.w. Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507 EDWARD GILLIS 2512 UNION ST. N.E. GRAND RAPIDS, Ml 49505 � 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 Native American Publication Collection Subject The topic of the resource Native Americans Indians of North America Anthropology Indians of North America -- Michigan -- Periodicals Michigan Description An account of the resource Selected digital surrogates of published and unpublished materials from the Edward V. Gillis Native American publication collection dealing with different aspects of human culture and anthropology, with an emphasis on Native American people, events, organizations, and activities in Michigan. Includes newsletters, event programs, flyers, posters and other printed materials. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gillis, Edward V. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/446">Edward V. Gillis Native American Publication Collection (RHC-14)</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-02-21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Gi-gikinomaage-min Project (Kutsche Office of Local History) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-14 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1958-2000 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/446">Edward V. Gillis Native American publication collection, RHC-14</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-14_anishnabe_v1n1_1987-01 Title A name given to the resource Anishnabe Kati-Neek, December/January 1988 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-01 Description An account of the resource December/January 1987 (Volume 1, Number 1) issue of Anishnabe Kati-Neek by the Indian Catholic Ministry collected by Edward Gillis included as part of his Native American publication collection. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Indian Catholic Ministry Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Francis, Shirley (Editor) Subject The topic of the resource Indians of North America -- Michigan -- Periodicals Indians of North America Michigan Michigan -- Grand Rapids Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>