Bennett, Don (Interview outline and video), 2005
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Navy
Don Bennett was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1925. He attended Albion College for one semester, then enlisted in the Navy, and became a submariner. He served on five patrols, one in the Kurile Islands, three near the Yellow Sea, and a final one north of Tokyo. During this time they sunk forty-two enemy ships. He was discharged on December 18th, 1945. After the war, he finished school at Albion College.
Bennett, Don
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
In Copyright
Bennett, Don (Interview outline and video), 2008
Bekkering, George (Interview outline and video), 2005
United States. Army
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
George Bekkering was drafted into the Army after graduating high school in 1966. He served in the Vietnam War for one year, 1967-1968, as a light infantry soldier in the 198th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division. His division camp was based in Chu Lai, which is south of Da Nang. He engaged in many fire fights and received the Bronze Star with a "V" device for saving his Lieutenant's life during an ambush.
Bekkering, George
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Beimers, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2004
Richard Beimers was born in 1920 in Lowell, Michigan and spent his early life in the Grand Rapids, Michigan. After injuring his eye as a young person, Richard received a surgery that caused him to lose sight in his right eye. He was eventually drafted into the service and sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan where he learned that he would serve as a non-combatant service man. After receiving basic training, he was sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where he served as an MP Escort Guard, guarding illegal German aliens. He was then transferred to Station Hospital at Fort McCoy where he served as a guard in the contagious and woman's wards. Richard was eventually sent to Hereford, England where he served in a hospital for one year. The hospital where he worked received two trains of patients every week but he only remembers losing seven patients during his entire service. He was eventually sent back to the United States and discharged in Indiana on November 17, 1945.
Beimers, Richard
Begin, Louis (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2007
United States. Coast Guard
Louis Begin Jr. was born to Hungarian immigrants in Pennsylvania. His family then moved to Detroit, MI after his father lost his job. He enlisted in the Coast Guard after the attack at Pearl Harbor. He was then assigned to guard ships going in and out of the Delaware River. His ship was then decommissioned, and he was forced to work as a mechanic on engines in Philadelphia. Then he was transferred to Flint, MI where he was trained to work on diesel engines. A photograph of Begin in uniform is appended to interview outline.
Begin, Louis
Becker, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Air Force
Bob Becker, born in Illinois in 1944, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 during the Vietnam War. While training at Lackland Air Force Base, Bob was recruited on to the base softball team. He traveled often with the team playing in tournaments against both military and civilian teams. He was then transferred to the Air Force Academy softball team and reassigned to the base newspaper. Here he covered sports stories including Air Force football games and the training of the 1968 Olympic team. After being discharged Bob continued his career in journalism working in sport in Grand Rapids Michigan and became very involved with veterans organization.
Becker, Robert
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Beard, Eric (Interview outline and video), 2011
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Eric Beard is from Lansing, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army after college and trained in Ft. Drum and Ft. Polk, and spent time in Ft. Drum before going overseas. He served as an E4 in Afghanistan for 10 months. He and his unit patrolled villages and made sure the Taliban and Al Qaeda did not interfere with the Afghanis setting up their own government.
Beard, Eric
Bostwick, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2004
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Robert Bostwick was born on April 7th, 1933 in Home Acres, Michigan. He was drafted in to the United States Army in 1953, while the Korean conflict was occurring. While in basic training, the conflict ended, and he was shipped to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, where he was a personnel management specialist until his discharge 2 years later.
Bostwick, Robert
Bos, William (Interview outline and video), 2008
William Bos was born in Cascade, Michigan on December 18, 1922 and went to school there through 8th grade. He had to quit school early to work on his father's farm when his father got sick and later received deferments from serving in WWII because he was a farmer. Bill grew anxious while his friends were being drafted and enlisted and decided to enlist in the Navy in June of 1944. After basic training, he was sent to the Pacific and endured a very long and difficult voyage to the New Hebrides, where he worked for several months on a Marine base and helped set up farms there. Late in the year, he was assigned as an anti-aircraft gunner on an escort ship and sailed to Guadalcanal, the Philippines and Okinawa, where he witnessed many kamikaze attacks.
Bos, William
Borst, Joseph L. (Interview outline and video), 2009
Joseph Borst was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. He was sent to Europe after going through training and fought in France, Germany, and Luxembourg. Joseph spent about 6 months in Europe and had two different machine gun crews working under him. He did not enjoy fighting in Europe and had a difficult time working there. After the war Joseph returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan and it took him about 10 years to re-adjust to civilian life.
Borst, Joseph L.
Kelloggsville High School (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Borek, Eugene (Interview outline and video), 2011
Eugene Borek was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925. He enlisted in the Army shortly after turning eighteen, and trained with the 78th Division at Camp Butner, North Carolina, until his unit was broken up and he was assigned to the 83rd Division. He sailed to England in April, 1944, and landed in Normandy in late June. He fought in the battles near St. Lo until he was wounded and sent to England. He was then sent as a replacement to the 104th Division in September, and fought near Aachen, in the Hurtgen Forest and western Germany until he was wounded again in early 1945. After that, he was assigned to a military police unit based in Strasbourg until he was sent home late in 1945.
Borek, Eugene
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Borah, Mike (Interview outline and video), 2009
Mike Borah served as a sergeant in the US Army during the war in Vietnam from 1969 through 1970. He enlisted in the US Army with the hopes of getting a better assignment than he would get if he waited to be drafted, but things did not work out that way, and he spent his year in Vietnam with a weapons company in the First Cavalry Division and spent a lot of time in combat in the jungle. Mike enjoyed working in the US Army, but really hated his time in Vietnam and was even more displeased with the welcome he received from US citizens when he returned from the war.
Borah, Mike
Booth, Lyle Edward (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2007
Lyle Edward Booth is a WWII Veteran who served in the United States Army from April 10, 1945 to March 30, 1946 in Yokohama, Japan. Although he was stationed in Japan after the end of the war, Booth's experience gives a clear description of the immense poverty and destruction present in Japan by 1945. In November 1945, Booth saw first-hand the aftermath of Hiroshima, which he describes in this interview. Booth shares how older Japanese men had resorted to standing at the end of the soldier's chow lines, quietly begging for scrapes. This interview captures not only the daily struggles facing the American soldiers serving in Japan but also that of the Japanese civilians. Photographs appended to interview outline.
Booth, Lyle Edward
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Bonner, Robert Allen (Interview outline and video), 2009
Robert Bonner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 29, 1950 and enlisted in the Navy as soon as he turned 18. He did well in basic training thanks to his ROTC experience, and then trained to service engines. He served at bases in California, the Philippines and Okinawa, repairing aircraft carriers, barges, tugs and other naval craft. He also worked in an amphibious base in San Diego before he was discharged in March of 1973.
Bonner, Robert Allen
Bonge, Richard (Interview outline and video)
United States. Army Air Corps
Richard was born in Holland, Michigan on August 21, 1917. He was drafted into the Army in 1942. He was sent to aviation mechanics school and specialized in propellers. He was stationed at Love Field in Dallas, Texas as a part of the 5th Ferries Command to the 62nd Ferry Squadron. Shortly after arriving however, he was attached to the guard squadron and eventually was transferred to the 1208th Military Police Company in New Orleans, Louisiana. Richard was sent to Brazil where he worked as base security in Natal. He remained there until his service ended in 1945.
Bonge, Richard
Bolthouse, Harry R. (Interview outline and video), 2009
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Harry Bolthouse is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1948 to 1949. Although unable to recall much of his service experience, due to his cerebral hemorrhages, he was able to share pieces of his pre-enlistment and enlistment. Among the things he does remember and discusses briefly are his days in basic training learning how to drive a tank while at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Bolthouse, Harry R.
Bolt, Martin (Interview transcript and video), 2007
Michigan. National Guard. Infantry, 126th
Martin Bolt served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. This interview covers his training and army life in both the US and in Australia. He tells of his unit's campaigns through New Guinea, Morotai, and the Philippines. Bolt's main job was to run communication wires from unit headquarters to the front, often close to the front lines or along jungle paths suited for ambushes. He offers detailed observations regarding a variety of aspects of jungle conditions and warfare. This interview was used in the documentary, "Nightmare in New Guinea."
Bolt, Martin
Bolinder, Robert (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2007
Robert Bolinder is a World War II who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps with the 423rd Night Fighter Squadron from February 1941 to October 1945. Bolinder describes Robert Bolinder is a World War II who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps with the 423rd Night Fighter Squadron from February 1941 to October 1945. Bolinder describes the specialized training for night fighter pilots, the missions he flew over France, Belgium and Germany. Toward the end of the war, he was removed from night fighting because of vision problems, but could still fly, and wound up serving as the pilot for the commander of an infantry division, a duty that took him to Torgau, Germany, for the first meeting between US and Soviet generals. Personal narrative and pictures appended to outline.
Bolinder, Robert
Bogert, Murl (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Marine Corps
Murl Bogert enlisted in the U.S. Marine Reserve in 1950. After the Korean War began, he was sent to Parris Island South Carolina for basic training. While in Korea, Murl served in P'anmunjom and Ascom sending out supplies by train to other Marine units. He was discharged in January of 1954. In 2003 he revisited Korea.
Bogert, Murl
Boerman, Orville D. (Interview outline and video), 2008
Orville Boerman was born in 1933 in Allegan County, Michigan. He was drafted into the Army in May of 1953. He trained as a mechanic and was sent to Germany where he served in a transportation company supporting an artillery unit, helping them move around and transporting supplies.
Boerman, Orville D.
Bocian, Gerald (Interview outline and video), 2008
Gerald Bocian was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 and enlisted in the Navy in 1943 when he was only 17 years old. He went through training in Chicago and then chose to continue his training with submarines. After going through submarine school Gerald was stationed at Pearl Harbor where he worked on refitting submarines while the crew had time off on R & R. Gerald worked in Hawaii for 3 years before he went on a war patrol on the submarine USS Silversides in the Pacific.
Bocian, Gerald
Boball, Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2007
United States. Army. Air Corps
Korea
Japan
Joseph Boball was born in 1912 and worked in the Aviation Engineers from 1943 through 1946. Joseph was Staff Sergeant in Okinawa and Korea. In Okinawa Joseph spent most of his time building an air strip and other infrastructure. While working in Okinawa, Joseph was threatened by Japanese plains flying over and shooting many times. After his time in the service, Joseph worked with for an oil refinery and as attended a few veterans' reunions.
Boball, Joseph B.
First Baptist Church of Otsego (Otsego, Mich.)
Blough, Keith (Interview outline and video), 2004
Keith Blough was born on August 28th, 1925 in Freeport, Michigan. He was drafted in to the US Navy in November of 1943. After attending boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, he became a signalman on a ship. After the war, he was discharged at Great Lakes in Chicago, Illinois.
Blough, Keith
Bloss, Lamar (Interview outline and video), 2011
Lamar Bloss grew up in northern Indiana and was drafted into the Army in 1952. He trained as an infantryman and was sent to Korea. He participated in heaving fighting in early 1953, including the action at Pork Chop Hill. After the armistice, he served on graves registration duty until he was sent home.
Bloss, Lamar