Robert Park was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1943 and trained at Camp Roberts, California, and Camp Bowie, Texas, with the 13th Armored Division in a firing battery of the 498th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and was…

Elaine Panzone served as an army nurse from 1942 to 1945. She had already trained as nurse in civilian life before enlisting. After training in Illinois, she went to the Pacific and served in hospitals on New Guinea and the Philippines.

John Pahl was born in Fennville, Michigan and grew up in Allegan, Michigan. As a teacher during the early parts of World War II, he and his class would follow the war on a map. When the Army drafted him, Pahl received training as a quartermaster.…

Stuart Padnos was born in Michigan in 1922. He attended the University of Michigan and enlisted in the Army Reserve after Pearl Harbor. He was called to service a few months later where he took part in the Army Specialized Training Program. Padnos…

Tony Pacino served in the U.S. Navy as a medical corpsman assigned to the Marine Corps from approximately 1992-1994. During his service, Tony served in Somalia in the early 1990s at the Port of Mogadishu. After his service, Tony was able to use his…

Charles Olson was born in Muskegon, Michigan in September of 1921. In 1940, he decided to join the National Guard, and shortly afterward, his unit was federalized and sent to Louisiana to train. He had wanted to fly, so while in Louisiana, he applied…

Allan Owens is a Cold War era veteran born in Detroit, Michigan in 1940. He attended Marquette University for a time and enlisted in the Air Force in 1961. He took basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, tech school at Lowry Air Force Base,…

Calvin Owen is an Ohio native. Owen saw action various locations in the Pacific theatre of WW II while serving in the 533rd Engineers Boat and Shore Regiment, an army unit involved in amphibious landings. He describes the occupation of Japan and…

Fay Orvis was a soldier during World War II in the United States Navy. He worked as a minesweeper during his time in the service and spent time in Okinawa and Saipan. His account describes different duties performed on the minesweeper and onshore…

Al Orr was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 5, 1935. He enlisted in the Marines Corps in November 1952 when he was only 17 years old. Al was sent to the Pacific in March 1966 and first arrived in Okinawa where he was assigned to a unit. …

Roger Oppenhuizen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946. After completing college in 1968, he enlisted in the Army to stay ahead of the draft, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. He did his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and…

Raymond Paul Opeka was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956. He convinced his mother to give him written permission to join the Army before he graduated from high school. He was sent to Fort Polk for basic training where he did very poorly on many of the…

Cornelia Ooms was a nurse in the U.S. Army during World War II. She was stationed in Italy and worked in the field hospitals with French, North African, British and American soldiers. She hurt her back in Italy and had to return back home to the…

Peter Ondersma was born in Orlando, Florida and moved to Michigan in 1955 when he was 8 years old. Peter went to school in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated in 1966 and was drafted into the Army shortly after graduation. He began basic training…

Roy Olson was born in Minneapolis in 1922 and later moved to Michigan where he graduated from high school in 1941. He then began taking pre-dental classes at college and was a sophomore when he was drafted into the Army Medical Corps. Roy had basic…

Andrew M. Olah was born on March 4, 1924 and grew up in Muskegon, MI. After being drafted, Andrew served as a sergeant for the U.S. Army. He served in England, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. During his service, Andrew was selected by the government…

Charles Ohanesian is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 2nd Armored Division from 1942 until being seriously wounded in 1944, arriving in North Africa after the German surrender there, and participating in the campaigns in Sicily…

Albert Ohanesian was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1924. He wanted to enlist in the Army immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was too young, and was drafted late in 1942. He tried to get into the Army Air Corps, and tested well enough while in…

Donald Oderkirk grew up in upstate New York and attended college at Central Michigan University in the early 60s. He then went to Michigan State University for grad school until he received his draft notice. Rather than being drafted into the Army,…

Born in Charlevoix, Michigan in 1922, Jim Ochs grew up through the Depression. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended college for a couple of years before receiving his draft notice in late 1942. He received training as a…

Frank O'Boyle joined the US Navy after enrolling at Harvard University in 1942. He served as a communications officer on board his ship during the war and returned to Harvard in 1946.

After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Ron Oakes married, earned a degree in electronics and traveled around the Midwest working. Eventually, he and his family moved back to Michigan, where Oakes joined the National Guard. As part of the Guard, Oakes…

Chuck O'Conner enlisted in the U.S. Marines while living in Illinois and served 3.5 years in the service. During his service Chuck obtained the rank of Staff Sergeant and fought in the field during the Vietnam War. He was involved in the battle at…

Dan Morley was born in 1968 in Youngstown, Ohio. After a year at the University of Michigan, he was accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served in the United States Army from 1987 to 1993, earning the title of 2nd…