Diane Aamoth was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 13, 1950. In late fall 1968 she enlisted in the Army and in December 1968 she reported for duty. She was part of the Women's Army Corps and received basic training at Fort McClellan,…

Marvin Abbott was born in June 1938 in Decatur, Michigan and after graduating from high school, attending Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, Abbott went through the ROTC program, which included a six-week basic training course at…

James Abrams was born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1923, and eventually grew up in Montana. After moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, he joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor. After boot camp in San Diego, he was shipped to the Solomon Islands and joined the…

Raymond Acker first served in the Army as a radio operator with the 549th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He attended Philadelphia Bible College, the Reformed Episcopal Seminary, and the Dall Theological Seminary and was commissioned in the Army…

Michael Adams was a marine who served in Operation: Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He served as a security forces specialist who would be one of the first team of Marines to enter Baghdad. He reports observing the destruction of the statue of Saddam…

Rita (Vogler) Adams was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 7th, 1922. She grew up during the Great Depression. She lived in Wheeling until the age of 21. Rita attended high school at a girls’ private school, which she graduated from in…

John joined the United States Army and spent nine months in training. He became a fuel truck driver, and eventually spent two weeks in Panama in support of Operation Just Cause in 1989.

Margaret Akines was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 18, 1938. She married Bill Akines in 1978. He was one of the 317 men that survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and in this interview she tells about his experience surviving that…

Lester Alcumbrack was drafted into the army in 1942. Les became very sick during basic training, and became a truck driver. He trained as a fuel truck driver and received amphibious training. He began duty in Scotland and Wales prior to the Normandy…

Charles Aldrich was born in 1925 in Hastings, Michigan, and enlisted in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor at the age of 17. He trained for 5 weeks at Great Lakes, and then went to gunnery school in Little Creek, Virginia to train as an Armed Guard for…

Michael Alioto was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Despite having a college deferment, he received a draft notice in 1969, and rather than argue the issue, he decided to go into the Army anyway. Despite his high test scores, he was trained as an…

Richard Alkema was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1926. After graduating high school in 1944 he enlisted to the Navy. For his brief basic training he was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois. In Norfolk, Virginia he was trained to use the anti-aircraft guns…