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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f570b9fbe195a804d4d0adf76700688b.mp4
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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5b0bf48f326d2e41ad987f0807f7df36.pdf
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Grand Valley State University
Veterans’ History Project
Mort Hoffman
World War II
51 minutes 18 seconds
(00:00:31) Early Life
-Born in Rochester, New York
-Most likely in 1926
-Grew up in Rochester
-Attended George Washington High School and Ben Franklin High School
-Graduated from high school in June 1944
(00:01:05) Enlisting in the Navy
-He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school
-Sent to Naval Training Station Sampson, New York
-A lot of his high school friends joined the Navy at the same time that he did
-Had been in the New York National Guard from 1942-1944
-Got sick of being a foot soldier
-There was also a patriotic duty to serve one’s country during World War II
-He felt a personal duty to help stop the spread of fascism due to his parents’ heritage
-Mother had been born in Ukraine
-Father had been born in Belarus
-Father had served in the Russian Army in WWI
-Moved to the United States after the war
(00:04:47) Deployment
-Sent to Camp Parks, California to receive his overseas assignment
-He was given a week leave home before being deployed
-Upon returning from leave he wound up in a naval hospital due to a severe fever
-His original unit was shipped out to the Marianas Islands at this time
-He was reassigned to another unit and deployed with them
-On December 7, 1944 he was aboard the SS Carl Schurz bound for the Aleutian Islands
(00:06:10) New York National Guard
-In the National Guard as a high school student
-Only had to be sixteen years old to be in the National Guard
-He received Army basic training
-Drills and marching
-Would go to Camp Smith near Peekskill, New York for maneuvers
-Several of his friends were in the National Guard as well
-Helped prepare him for when he enlisted in the Navy
(00:07:29) Basic Training and Assignment to the Seabees
-Basic training lasted twelve weeks
-Basic training consisted of a lot of marching
-Went out for drills on Lake Geneva
-He was in good shape during basic training
-There was an emphasis on discipline and following orders
�-Wasn’t too difficult for him to adjust
-There were 144 men in his barracks
-He was not allowed to leave the base during the twelve weeks of basic training
-Parents were allowed to visit him after four weeks though
-He had worked for an auto parts store in high school
-He had experience with putting things together which led to assignment to the Seabees
(00:10:00) The Seabees
-The Seabees had been established in 1942
-Navy’s version of the Army Corps of Engineers
-Duty of the Seabees was to do construction work
-Building docks and airstrips
-Destroying enemy coastal defenses
(00:10:52) Stationed on Adak
-Constructed a spare parts depot for vehicles on base
-He was part of the 114th Naval Construction Battalion
-He had been assigned to the Navy side of Adak Island
-Maintaining refrigeration units for the mess hall and the medical facilities
-His unit finished a landing strip in only nine days
-The men in his unit got along together well and did their work well
-Primary duty was to maintain construction vehicles for the construction of that air strip
-In early 1945 he was reassigned to the Marine camp on Adak Island
-Trained with the Marines
-Carried the twenty pound Browning Automatic Rifle
-Went on marches with them across the tundra
-It got down to -55oF one night while they were bivouacking
-There was a fleet assembled to prepare for the planned invasion of Japan
-British ships, Canadian ships, and Russians ships were assembled there
-NOTE: The Russians did not declare war on Japan until August 9, 1945
-The planned invasion was cancelled after the atomic bombs were dropped
-The rest of his time was spent doing maintenance work
(00:15:33) Coming Home Pt. 1
-In early July 1946 they flew back to the continental United States
-Landed at Seattle, Washington then took a train to Lido Beach, Long Island, New York
-There was an attempt for the men to reenlist
-He declined
(00:16:53) Living Conditions on the Aleutian Islands Pt. 1
-They lived in Quonset huts
-The snow could get up to nine feet high
-There was a major snow storm that was the result of a typhoon near Hawaii
-During that time you were not allowed to walk anywhere without another sailor
-There were ropes strung between the buildings
-Both of these things were to avoid anyone getting lost during the storm
-This storm had 107MPH winds
-They had “foul weather gear”
-Heavy, fur lined, insulated jackets that the soldiers envied
-Some soldiers would trade their beer ration for a coat
�(00:19:11) Downtime on the Aleutian Islands
-The normal shift was eight hours and everything after that was downtime
-There was a movie theatre that they could go to
-There was a beer hall
-There was a recreation center
-Had pool tables, shuffleboard, etc.
-A lot of downtime was spent sleeping
-There was no alcohol abuse that he was aware of
-Used downtime to write letters home every day
-His parents would send him corned beef, cookies, and cake sealed in cans
-It was far better than the processed meat and powdered eggs they were served
(00:21:17) Contact with other Military Forces
-He met Russian, Canadian, and British troops
-The Russians could speak a little English and he could speak a little Russian
-This was because of his parents’ heritage
-Found that it was actually harder to communicate with the English due to their accent
(00:22:11) Living Conditions on the Aleutian Islands Pt. 2
-There were sixteen men to one Quonset hut
-Also could sleep in an insulated tent
-They would keep their food in a box in the ground as a sort of improvised refrigerator
-Also allowed to cook their own food on an oil stove
(00:23:18) Contact with Friends after the War
-He had a lot of friends while he was in the Navy
-He still maintains contact with some of them
-There has never been a formal reunion for his unit though
(00:24:45) Life after the War Pt. 1
-He went to Des Moines, Iowa for college at Drake University
-Started college in January 1947
-He joined the American Veterans (AMVETS)
-His roommate had been in the Army and had landed at Sicily and Anzio, Italy
-He and his wife visited Anzio after the war
-He met a man that knew a man that Mort worked with in Grand Rapids
-He saw the American cemetery that had been established at Anzio
-Now works as a civilian contractor for the Navy
-He worked for Wolverine-Hushpuppies Shoe Company
-Opened 128 specialty stores around the country
-Worked with foreign distributors
-Established a store for the company in downtown Charleston, South Carolina
-He set up locations for the Navy
-Due to his job he has gotten to travel around the United States and around the world
-He has been to Japan three times, Italy two times, and Spain one time
(00:30:24) Morale
-The morale was good in his unit
-Everyone knew they had a job to do and did it
-There was only one casualty in his unit
-Man killed himself after learning that his first wife knew about his second wife
�(00:32:08) Indigenous People and Animals
-The only other living things on Adak were foxes and some trappers
-There was also salmon and king crab that they could go fishing for
(00:32:39) Revisiting the Aleutian Islands
-He has since gone back to Kodiak Island
-He tried to return to Adak but it has since been returned to the Native Americans
-It is also basically inaccessible
(00:34:00) Famous People
-He saw President Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt when he was in the Navy
-Got to see actor Don Ameche
-Saw Phil Spitalny and His All Girl Orchestra
-He had gone to high school with one of the girls
-Got to go to dinner with them
-Saw actor Tyrone Power
(00:34:56) Logistics
-There were a few thousand men on Adak
-Ships would come in periodically to deliver supplies and refuel
-There was an Army Air Base nearby and planes would fly patrols from there
(00:35:50) Life after the War Pt. 2
-The summer of 1946 he worked for a local gas and electric company doing construction
-He attended Drake University because some friends were going there and it wasn’t crowded
-He majored in marketing and accounting
-Worked for the Edison Brothers’ Shoe Company
-From there he went to work for Utica Shoes and became the manager
-Worked there for ten years
-Worked on his master’s degree but didn’t complete it
-GI Bill took care of that
-Moved to St. Louis in 1958 and got married there
-He worked for another shoe company in St. Louis
-It was strange to go from being the one taking orders to being a manager
(00:41:14) Veteran Group Involvement
-He joined the AMVETS
-Eventually became a post commander
-Still receives their newsletter
-He has attended AMVETS conventions in Iowa, St. Louis, and Grand Rapids
(00:42:38) Life after the War Pt. 3
-He has one daughter
-Moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1976 and got the job with Hush Puppies
(00:42:58) Reflections on Service
-Taught him about camaraderie
-Always thought positively about their contribution to the war effort
-It was difficult to visit Japan the first time after the war in light of their war crimes
-Taught him people skills
-Learned how to get along with a lot of different types of people
-Taught him teamwork
-Learned that sometimes some jobs can’t be done by just one man
�-He did face discrimination due to being Jewish
-Some men beat him up solely for being Jewish
-Just tried to ignore the people like that
-Otherwise he and the non-Jewish soldiers got along and took care of each other
-There were three Navajo Native American soldiers in his unit
-They faced some discrimination as well
-Remembers that one wasn’t allowed to go home for his parents’ funerals
-Felt that it was a worthwhile experience and is grateful that he came through it okay
-Reflects on the men that didn’t make it, especially some of his friends that didn’t make it
�
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
HoffmanM1755V
Title
A name given to the resource
Hoffman, Mort (Interview outline and video), 2015
Description
An account of the resource
Mort Hoffman was born in Rochester, New York in 1926. He grew up in Rochester and graduated in June 1944. From 1942-1944 he was in the New York National Guard and after graduating from high school decided to enlist in the Navy. He trained at Naval Training Station Sampson, New York and was deployed out of Camp Parks, California. He was sent up to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and served on the island of Adak with the 114th Naval Construction Battalion, helping to maintain vehicles and equipment as well as take part in construction projects. He stayed on the Aleutian Islands from December 1944 to July 1946, and was discharged shortly after his return.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hoffman, Mort
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Moore, Deb (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. National Guard
United States. Navy
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-05-04
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Format
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application/pdf
video/mp4