Strum, Susan (Interview transcript and video), 2019
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Korean+War%2C+1950-1953%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Korean War, 1950-1953—Personal narratives, American</a>
Susan Strum was born in Alberta, Canada, in 1951 and grew up in Michigan after her father’s work moved to the United States. Her father was a Canadian citizen working for a telephone company in Edmonton and her mother was a schoolteacher in Michigan. After graduating high school in 1969, Strum enrolled into Muskegon Community College, but the poor job market deterred her from completing her degree and she began looking into the military as a viable alternative. She enlisted into the Navy in 1971 once she earned her full American citizenship. For Basic Training, Strum was sent to Bainbridge, Maryland, where she described the induction process as oddly organized. She was trained as a Dispersing Clerk and was transferred to a Naval Training Center in San Diego, California, for another ten weeks of training on how to calculate payrolls and use calculators while in sexually integrated courses. From there, she was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, for a year where she handled payrolls for several Navy detachments on the base. Strum later began training in recognizing precipitation types, meteorology, and weather patterns in Lakehurst, New Jersey, from 1973-75. After graduation, she was transferred to a Naval base at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, where she was assigned to the base’s Weather Office. While at Roosevelt Roads, Strum was more concerned with the unstable, violent political situation in Puerto Rico than with the ongoing war in Vietnam. She was also the first woman assigned to the Weather Office at Roosevelt Roads. From there, Strum decided to leave the Navy since she had accrued enough service points, was discharged, and returned to Muskegon, Michigan, where she re-enrolled into Muskegon Community College. She graduated with a degree in urban geography and a minor in sociology and went on to study regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania for her graduate degree. Strum was then hired by the city of Orlando as a regional planner and proceeded to spend the next thirty years of her career in Florida before retiring in 2012. She then moved back to Muskegon and began volunteering at the USS Silversides Museum. Reflecting upon her service, Strum believed the climate for women in the military was, for the most part, good despite some isolated instances of gender conflict. She ultimately believed her time in the Navy was a great experience which taught her the values of patience, focus, and discipline.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Strum%2C+Susan+Margaret">Strum, Susan Margaret</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2019-06
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
StrumS2310V
Stelter, LeeRoy (Interview transcript and video), 2017
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American</a>
LeeRoy Stelter was born April 7th, 1948 in Coloma, Michigan where he grew up and stayed until transferring his senior year from Coloma High School to St. Joseph High School. He graduated in 1966 and immediately went to work in a factory making record players. Stelter enlisted in the military after his cousin suggested it might help his career, taking an interest in the potential for a background in electronics as a microwave radio repairman. He started basic training in 1967 in Fort Knox, Kentucky and says he had no trouble adjusting to the army because his parents raised him to do as he was told. Two months later Stelter was flown to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey to begin his training as a microwave radio repairman learning basic electronics, how to operate gear, and solid state equipment. In 1968, Stelter recalled watching other groups perform drills preparing them for evacuations and riots in the wake of several political events. Stelter finished training at Fort Monmouth in May. He was deployed to Vietnam after a 30 day leave, assigned to the 327th Signal Company in Long Binh. After several months he was then reassigned to Vinh Long to replace a soldier who was lost in a mortar attack. Vinh Long was part of a radio relay set up by the signal company between Dong Tam and Can Tho, and Stelter recalled that it “was under attack every night…it was like the 4th of July, the whole place was incoming rounds, outgoing mortar fire” for three or four months, gradually deescalating. Stelter stayed at Vinh Long until June 1969 after which he took a 30 day leave before returning to Vietnam for a second time and being assigned to Can Tho. In all 8 months of his second term, he never heard any mortars or incoming rounds and was free to come and go from the village. In April 1970, Stelter returned home from Vietnam on a commercial flight and went back to work at the same factory he had as a teenager, making record players. In 1972, he married his wife who he said helped him return to some degree of normalcy. He attended Lake Michigan College before transferring to Western Michigan University and obtaining a degree in Industrial Engineering, after which he worked in manufacturing for the next 35 years.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Stelter%2C+LeeRoy">Stelter, LeeRoy</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2017-10
Smither, James (Interviewer)
Lest We Forget
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
StelterL2166V
Stark, Charles (Interview transcript and video), 2018
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Korean+War%2C+1950-1953%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Korean War, 1950-1953—Personal narratives, American</a>
Chuck Stark was born in 1948 in Muskegon, Michigan. He graduated from Muskegon Senior High School in 1966. He joined the Army in April 1968 and completed his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Chuck remained at Fort Knox for his advanced individual training, which was focused on reconnaissance. He then attended the Non-Commissioned Officers’ Academy at Fort Knox as well. Chuck was sent to Vietnam in 1969 and was assigned to the D Troop, 17th Cavalry Regiment. While in Vietnam, he was involved in various skirmishes and reconnaissance missions. On June 23rd, 1969, Chuck sustained several injuries when the vehicle that he was riding in was ambushed and blown apart. Due to his injuries, he was sent from Vietnam to Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois to recuperate. Once he recovered sufficiently, he was assigned to a training unit at Fort Knox to finish out his time in the military. He left the Army in January 1970. Chuck is currently actively involved with a reformative program that is designed to help people in the prison system.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Stark%2C+Chuck">Stark, Chuck</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2018-02
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
StarkC2183V
Spyke, Wesley (Interview transcript and video), 2019
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American</a>
Wesley Spyke was born in 1948 in Muskegon, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1966. He enlisted in the Navy Reserve in April of 1968. Wesley completed bootcamp at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. He became a gunner’s mate in the Navy. He received additional gunnery training in Coronado, California. Wesley did small arms training at Camp Pendleton, California. He received orders to Vietnam in July of 1969. He was initially stationed at Dong Ha, Vietnam. Wesley did river security on riverboats for about 5 months. He then was moved to a base at Cua Viet, Vietnam, where he continued to do river patrols and aided in extractions and insertions of Special Forces personnel at various points along the riverways. While in Vietnam, Wesley was involved in various skirmishes. He returned from Vietnam in July of 1970. He is now actively involved in ministry. Wesley and his wife currently work with the Veterans Treatment Court of Muskegon County.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Spyke%2C+Wesley">Spyke, Wesley</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2020-02
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
SpykeW2350V
Slager, Kenneth (Interview transcript and video), 2015
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American</a>
Kenneth Slager was born on June 11, 1925 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where his father worked for Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company. Slager was the oldest of four children in his deeply religious family, attended Kalamazoo Christian High School, and worked for his uncle’s celery field during his early teenage years. He received a draft notice in the summer of 1943 and opted to volunteer for the Marine Corps. He underwent Basic Training in San Diego and spent two months in Marine Boot Camp before graduating onto two months of Advanced Infantry Training. He was then shipped to New Caledonia and then Guadalcanal aboard the USS President Tyler, without escort, in a Replacement Battalion. Slager arrived at Guadalcanal after the fighting had receded and was assigned to a Military Police Company in the Headquarters Battalion, Third Amphibious Corps. As an MP, he escorted Admirals and Generals, guarded gates and entrances, directed traffic, guarded the Corps’ Brigg, as well as raised and lowered the American flag each day. From Guadalcanal, Slager was involved in the invasion of Guam in the summer of 1944 and was also allocated towards the invasion of Okinawa where he escorted high-ranking personnel. Slager’s cousin was also serving in Okinawa in the Army, but he was killed by an enemy sniper while on guard duty, which was devastating for Slager. From Okinawa, he was transferred back to Guam in preparation for the proposed invasion of Tokyo Bay, Japan. However, the invasion was called off after the use of the atomic bombs leading to its unconditional surrender. Slager was then sent to China for four months under fears that the Soviet Union would stage an invasion of China. Afterwards, he was shipped back to the San Diego aboard the USS Roi and was transferred to Great Lakes Naval Station for discharge in March of 1946. Slager then returned home to Kalamazoo, enrolled into Calvin College, became an Ordained Christian Reformed Minister out of Willmar, Minnesota, and married his wife in August of 1949. He fully retired by January of 1988 and decided to move back to his childhood home to take care of his elderly mother before moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan and partaking in the Civil Air Patrol. Reflecting upon his service, Slager did not believe that the Corps left a lasting impression on his character other than exposing him to a personal religious awakening in China.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Slager%2C+Kenneth">Slager, Kenneth</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2015-05
Smither, James (Interviewer)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
SlagerK1767V
Senior, Alan (Interview transcript and video), 2021
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Other+veterans+%26+civilians%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Other veterans & civilians—Personal narratives, American</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American</a>
Alan Senior was born May 19, 1925 and grew up in a small town outside of Buffalo, New York. Senior was just a junior in high school when the bomb was dropped at Pearl Harbor, leading to questions about what was going to happen to him as he approached military age. Around the time Senior turned 18, he enlisted in the Voluntary Induction Program due to his dreams of becoming a flyer, therefore, joining the Air Cadets to guarantee his spot with the Air Force. Senior attended basic training in Greensboro, North Carolina where he didn’t quite make it through the Air Cadets program. Instead, Senior became an aerial gunner. This is when Senior went down to Laredo, Texas for gunnery school. Finally, after months of training Senior and his crew headed overseas to England where they were stationed. During their time in England, Senior and his crew were only able to fly ten missions before the war ended. Due to his time with the Air Force, Senior received the Air Medal and his crew was recognized for their particularly strong safety record. After being sent home from England, Senior went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for reassignment. However, this is when the final bombs were dropped and the war thus “ended.” Eventually, after Senior was discharged from the service he went back to school and pursued a degree in Psychology. He then worked in the property casualty insurance business and stayed there for his entire adult life.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Senior%2C+Alan">Senior, Alan</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2003-02
Lupo, Tony (Interviewer)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
SeniorA2363V
Scherer, David (Interview transcript and video), 2018
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American</a>
David Scherer served in the U.S. Army from 1980 until 1988. He served as a sergeant in the 19th Maintenance Battalion, 302nd Maintenance Battalion, 705th Maintenance Battalion, and the 3rd Infantry Division. He was stationed primarily in Germany and the U.S.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Scherer%2C+David">Scherer, David</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2018-11
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
SchererD2287V
Ryman, Donald (Interview transcript and video), 2019
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American</a>
Donald Ryman was born on April 1, 1928 in Brady Lake, Ohio, into a very mobile family, moving eleven times before settling into East Canton in 1939. Ryman’s father pursued a degree in education in addition to his degree in mechanical engineering, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, his father was finally able to get a job as a mechanical engineer. His mother struggled to acquire food for the family and there was little fuel to use for their car due to stringent wartime rationing. After graduating high school, he attended Ohio State University in June of 1945 with the expectation that he might be drafted into the war. He briefly joined the university’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps and Ryman graduated from Ohio State in 1948, moving on to Harvard Law School where he encountered financial difficulty and accumulated some debt with the university. In June of 1950, he received several draft notices before enlisting in the Navy. Ryman was then flown to San Francisco, California, for Navy Boot Camp and was later transferred to Newport, Rhode Island, for Navy Officer Candidate School. Ryman finished his training at Newport in July of 1952, was sworn into the Navy Reserves, and was transferred to the Eighth Naval District, headquartered in New Orleans. He was frustrated that New Orleans seemed to be so poorly managed, and by the persistent racial segregation of the South as well as lingering racism in the Navy. Ryman was then assigned to a gasoline tanker vessel out of Norfolk, Virginia, on which he participated in routine deck watches on the bridge and helped refuel destroyers. He was then transferred to the USS Coral Sea, operating primarily in the Mediterranean. After serving aboard the Coral Sea twice in the Mediterranean, Ryman was shipped home on the USS Everglades to Norfolk where he was officially discharged. He then returned to Culver, Indiana, where his wife and baby were living. He eventually moved his family to Dayton, Ohio, and later up to Buchanan, Michigan, where he acquired a job on the legal team of Clark Equipment Company. Reflecting upon his service in the Navy, Ryman held his later experiences with Clark’s legal team in high regard since he appreciated the fact that he could walk to work as well as the success of the business during his tenure.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Ryman%2C+Donald+F.">Ryman, Donald F.</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2019-05
Smither, James (Interviewer)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
RymanD2307V
Rowland, Daniel (Interview transcript and video), 2018
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Vietnam War, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American</a>
Daniel Rowland was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and decided to enroll in the Marine Corps after his third semester in college. In 1995 Rowland attended boot camp in San Diego, California where he acted as the guide to recruits, After basic training, Rowland was sent to Camp Pendleton to complete Marine combat training. After completing Marine combat training, Rowland was sent to job training in North Carolina where he received training to become an administrative clerk. Rowland then spent three and a half years stationed in Hawaii at Camp Smith working as an administrative clerk. During this time, Rowland would be sent for occasional brief missions in South Korea. While he was stationed in Hawaii, Rowland also received his associate’s degree in business and bachelor’s degree in social work. In 1998 Rowland returned home and left active duty, joining the individual ready reserves where he did occasional active duty. One of these active-duty missions was a mission to go to North Carolina in 200. Due to the events of 9/11, this resulted in Rowland being involuntarily activated for two years during which he worked in a security manager’s office as an administrative clerk. In 2003 Rowland was deployed to Iraq as part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as the assistant security manager. After returning from Iraq to the United States by boat, Rowland decided to return to active duty as an infantryman in 2004. In 2005 Rowland’s unit was sent to Fallujah, Iraq working in headquarters company, and in 2006 Rowland came home for a year before being sent back to Fallujah, Iraq for a third time. Rowland returned home to the United States in 2007 and was stationed at Camp Johnson as a sergeant of the guard before being forcibly discharged and going on to return to school and resume civilian life.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowland%2C+Daniel">Rowland, Daniel</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2018-12
Leroy-Rollins, Koty (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
RowlandD2291V
Rowe, Bert (Interview transcript and video), 2017
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Korean+War%2C+1950-1953%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Korean War, 1950-1953—Personal narratives, American</a>
Bert Rowe was born in April of 1930 in Saginaw, Michigan, and grew up with his mother in Muskegon Heights. Before graduating high school in 1948, Rowe attended civilian flight school. After graduating, he enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1949 with the expectation of being placed into the infantry. Rowe attended Boot Camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. After Boot Camp, he was stationed at a Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, where he began flying for the Corps. He was assigned to a crew of three other mechanics and worked with the Marine Corps’ Corsair ground attack aircraft. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Rowe’s unit was eventually sent to San Francisco, California, before being shipped to Japan. From Japan, Rowe’s crew from Jacksonville was flown to an airbase in Korea where he was appointed as Sergeant overseeing the maintenance of three fighter planes. The airbase would occasionally come under attack by groups of North Korean or Chinese fighter bombers, which prompted the personnel on the base to launch patrol squadrons in pursuit. At night, the base lived under threat of being attacked by a few, sporadic nighttime fighter bombers. In their free time, Rowe and the other troops played baseball while living in six-person tents. During the winter months, the troops relied on their sleeping bags, tent stoves, and outdoor fire pits for warmth. Rowe also recalled briefly visiting Seoul where he and the troops got along well with Korean civilians. Overall, his unit experienced little combat and spent much of its time repairing battle worn aircraft. After being shipped back to the United States in 1952 toward the end of his three-year enlistment, Rowe spent some time in Miami, Florida, serving with a different crew. In Miami, his crew maintained jet fighter aircraft--a newly introduced technology to the U.S. Armed Forces. Once officially discharged from the Corps in 1952, Rowe returned to Michigan, got married, and went to work for Clark Equipment Company as a General Foreman. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Rowe was proud about having served in the Marine Corps and was grateful for the GI Bill for helping him complete his higher education. He also believed that the Marine Corps helped him mature as an individual.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowe%2C+Bert">Rowe, Bert</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2017-12
Smither, James (Interviewer)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
RoweB2177V
Rosin, James (Interview transcript and video), 2021
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=World+War%2C+1939-1945%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American</a>
Jim Rosin was born in September 1947 in Bay City, Michigan. Rosin lived there all his adolescent life and graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1965. Upon graduation Rosin went to work for a company in Saginaw, Michigan that sold bakery equipment. However, in the summer of 1966 Rosin was summoned to Detroit where he had to get a physical for the military. Eventually Rosin was cleared for military service. October 20, 1966 was the day Rosin was to report for military duty. He then began the trek down from Bay City to Detroit to then Fort Wayne. Eventually, Rosin and his peers were taken down to Fort Knox in Lexington, Kentucky. Rosin and the rest of his group were eventually split up and Rosin was selected to head to Fort Hood in Texas to complete his basic training. Here Rosin took an aptitude test and was selected to be an Army Medic. In the summer of 1967 Rosin traveled to Vietnam where he served in the 46th Infantry. Because of his time in Vietnam, Rosin was awarded two Bronze Stars. One for putting his obstetric training to use and delivering a baby, and the other for meritorious service. Rosin service ended when he eventually rotated out on October 1st 1968. He returned back home and continued to work for the company selling bakery equipment.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rosin%2C+James">Rosin, James</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2021-05
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Text
RosinJ2356V
Rensi, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2019
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+history">Oral history</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+%28U.S.%29">Veterans History Project (U.S.)</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=United+States%E2%80%94History%2C+Military">United States—History, Military</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans">Veterans</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Video+recordings">Video recordings</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Afghan+War%2C+2001-2021%E2%80%94Personal+narratives%2C+American">Afghan War, 2001-2021—Personal narratives, American</a>
Edward Rensi was born on December 7, 1925 in Parlett, Ohio, and grew up in Wintersville. He received his draft notice on March 14, 1944 when he was eighteen years old and chose to enlist in the Navy. He was then bussed to Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago for Boot Camp. After graduating Boot Camp, Rensi was trained off to Camp Shoemaker, California, where he awaited assignment. In June of 1944, he was shipped out on a troop transport ship from San Francisco to the Marshall Islands. Rensi was then assigned to the USS California. His duty was to clean compartments aboard the ship as well as maintain the ship’s air compressor units. The California sailed to Saipan and then up to the Mariana Islands. Offshore from Saipan and the Marianas, the California fired shells upon the beaches, inland factories, and Japanese ammunition dumps in support of the ground troops. Rensi was on watch the night the California collided with the USS Tennessee, after which he sailed to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Island, for repairs. The California was then prepared and redeployed from Palau to support the invasion of the Philippines. In the Lingayen Gulf, the California was struck below the upper control towers by a Japanese kamikaze plane, above Rensi’s former battle station, causing severe fires and damage to sailors and ship alike. After two months of repairs in Bremerton, Washington, the USS California traveled back to California before redeploying to Okinawa in the late spring of 1945. With the end of the war, the California anchored near Japan and Rensi was able to make it ashore twice. He recalled visiting Tokyo and a postwar memorial service in the Philippines, as well as taking other trips to Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Cape Town, South Africa. The California returned to the United States in December of 1945, docking in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the crew prepared it for scrapping. Rensi was then discharged on May 5, 1946 and proceeded to drift around before deciding to move to Detroit, Michigan, for work on the automobile assembly lines. He was laid off several times and eventually went to work in the coal fields near his hometown before retiring in 1985. Reflecting upon his time in the service, Rensi believed the Navy was a tremendous experience, teaching him the value and meaning of life.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rensi%2C+Edward+C.">Rensi, Edward C.</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Veterans+History+Project+collection%2C+%28RHC-27%29">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
2019-03
Smither, James (Interviewer)
In Copyright
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
video/mp4
application/mp4
eng
Moving Image
Text
RensiE2306V