Joseph Filko was born in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His military career would span 20 years and three separate wars. The financial climate of the Great Depression drove him to enlist in the Marines in 1939 at age 17. He wound up at Fort…

Dick Unger was born in Polo, Illinois in 1931. In 1951, he enlisted in the Air Force. Initially he was sent to Lackland Field in San Antonio, Texas, but the base was overcrowded, so he was sent off to Wichita Falls for basic training. Once training…

Thomas Pacic was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 23, 1927. After graduating from high school in 1945 he enlisted in the Coast Guard in December 1945. He received orders to go to Curtis Bay in Baltimore, Maryland for basic training. He reported…

Dwight Jamison was born in Big Rapids, Michigan on February 15, 1928. He served in the Michigan National Guard as a teenager and enlisted in the Army in 1946. He received his basic training at Camp Polk, Louisiana and after that was deployed to…

Kathryn Bulkley was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1919. During World War II she worked in the Continental Motors factory in Muskegon for a few years building aircraft for the war effort. In 1948 she enlisted in the Air Force. She received her basic…

Jerry Von Holt served in the US Navy from 1947 to 1956. He served on ships and at bases across the Pacific, including Korea and Japan. He served on destroyers that patrolled Korean waters, but did not see combat. He also received firefighting and…

Mr. Vermerris is from Michigan and was born on February 22nd, 1931. In 1951, he and some friends decided to join the Air Force instead of waiting to get drafted for Korea. He received his training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and then to…

Isabelino Vazquez was born and grew up in Puerto Rico and was drafted into the Army in 1951 at the age of nineteen years old. Once drafted, Vazquez went through training in Puerto Rico before deploying to Korea and fighting in the Korean War. He…

Morris Vander Veen is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Marines from 1944 to 1946. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. and the Pacific. Serving his active duty in the Pacific Theater,…

Robert Vander Laan is a Korean War era veteran who served in the 7th Army 966 Field Engineering Battalion. He was sent to Germany during his time in the service, and was never involved in any active combat. However, he witnessed the aftermath of WW…

LeRoy Van Vleet was born in Michigan in 1931. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1931, and received training as a specialist in fuels and lubricants. He was assigned to a refueling base in the Aleutian Islands for thirteen months, and then spent the…

Dr. Richard Wierenga, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He joined the Air Force after two years of college and became a pilot. He was never sent overseas, but remained stationed in the United…