Bleil, Eugene (Interview outline and video), 2012
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
United States. Army Air Corps
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Eugene Bleil was born in 1920 and grew up mostly on farms outside of the city. He was accepted to Eastern Michigan University, but dropped out after a semester, traveled with his brother looking for work, and wound up enlisting in the Army Air Corps. The brothers trained as Selfridge Field in Michigan and passed the tests for pilot training, but failed the physical, and trained as mechanics at Scott Field in Illinois. Assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron, Bleil shipped out to the Philippines in 1940. Based at Nichols Field outside of Manila, the squadron trained there until the war with Japan began, and then transferred first to Clark Field, and then to Bataan. When the aircraft were withdrawn, the crews became provisional infantry and fought off Japanese landing attempts along the coast until the surrender in April. Bleil survived the Bataan Death March and three years in labor camps in the Philippines before being sent to Japan to work in foundries. Bleil and some of the other prisoners developed a talent for sabotage, but were never caught by the Japanese. After the war, Bleil was told by Army doctors that he would not live very long or be able to father children. Even so, he went back to college, became a doctor, raised a family and is still around to tell his story. He has also published a memoir, Condemned to Death Six Times.
Bleil, Eugene
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Bleecher, Arthur (Interview outline and video), 2008
Merchant marine--United States
Arthur Bleecher enlisted in the Merchant Marine in 1944 and trained as a radio officer. He sailed to Asia and Europe in 1945 and 1946 and then returned to civilian life, only to be drafted for the Korean War. This time he served in the army, attended Officer Candidate School and trained as an anti-aircraft officer. He shipped out to Korea in 1952 and spent several months there on active duty.
Bleecher, Arthur
Bledsoe, Henry (Interview outline and video), 2005
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
United States. Air Force
Henry Bledsoe was born in 1951, in an Illinois farming community. He served in the Vietnam War in the Air Force as a medic. He spent several months in Vietnam, where he tested blood cultures and worked with a unit whose job it was to keep patients stable prior to shipment to hospitals.
Bledsoe, Henry
Blanchard, Roy (Interview outline and video), 2007
Michigan. National Guard. Infantry, 126th
World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, American
Roy Eugene Blanchard was a WWI veteran who served in the Michigan National Guard – 126th Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border and in Europe. Roy's son, Clark, is conducting this interview in memory of his father. At 15 years old, Roy managed to join the Michigan National Guard despite the fact he was underage. Soon after joining, Roy was sent to the Mexican border to stop the raiding of Texas towns by Mexican gangs. While in Mexico, WWI broke out and Roy's division was immediately shipped over to France. In this interview, Clark shares many detailed stories about his father's time on the front, including unique stories of mustard gas and barbed wire. Clark also discusses the time his father saw a fellow solider get hit by shrapnel and also the time Roy was blinded by mustard gas. Because Roy kept diaries of his time on the front, the stories Clark tells are very clear and truly give one a sense of the front lines. During WWII, Roy was an auxiliary policeman for Grand Rapids who policed many of the women's baseball games.
Blanchard, Roy
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Blackwell, Robert (Interview transcript and video), 2004
Bob Blackwell served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber with the 8th Air Force in Europe. His account covers his training, experiences in England, and flying missions over northern Europe. During the Battle of the Bulge, his plane was shot down, and he had a narrow escape from the Germans when he landed in a river near the front lines and was rescued by Belgian civilians.
Blackwell, Robert
Burke, James Sr. (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Army
James Burke, Sr. was born in Pennsylvania on April 29, 1918. James was the second oldest of a very large family of 11 children. He went to school through 5th grade and then began working to help his parents support the family. James enlisted in the Army in early 1942 and went through boot camp in Maryland. After boot camp James went through leadership school and became a staff sergeant. James went to France in 1944 and into Germany in 1945 and then served in Japan for another 3 years with his service not completely ending until 1948.
Burke, James
Bruinekool, Jerry (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Navy
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Jerry Bruinekool was born in Michigan on December 15, 1938. Jerry enlisted in the Navy in January of 1956 because he felt that his life needed some direction. While in the Navy, Jerry traveled to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas, France, Italy, Portugal, and Greece. He enjoyed going to all the different foreign ports and seeing how other people lived.
Bruinekool, Jerry
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Brown, Richard "Dick" (Interview outline and video), 2013
United States. Marine Corps
Dick was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in December 1946. He grew up in Rockford, Michigan and graduated from high school there in 1965. After facing a certainty of being drafted, he instead chose to enlist in the United States Marine Corps in 1966. After boot camp and ITR, he was made a truck driver and arrived in Vietnam with the 7th Motor Transport, which operated around Da Nang and Phu Bai in the northern part of South Vietnam. He served with two different companies carrying supplies to different units and bases, and toward the end of his tour went with a convoy into Khe Sanh.
Brown, Richard
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Brooks, Sarah (Interview outline and video), 2006
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Women
Sarah Brooks is a long-time volunteer at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. In her interview, she discusses her volunteer work there, and some of her experiences with the veterans.
Brooks, Sarah
Brooks, Richard (Interview outline and video) ca. 2005
Richard Brooks was born in Canton Township, Michigan. His father died when he was two years old, and his mother later remarried and the family moved to Grand Rapids. He graduated from Central High School in 1933 and joined the Navy in 1940 to become a pilot. Richard went to Pensacola, Florida to conduct flight training and went on to be stationed in Naval Air Station Coco Solo in Panama. While there, he flew future President Gerald Ford across the Panama Canal so he could make it back to his ship. Later in the war, he was sent to the Pacific and stationed in the Philippines where he flew hundreds of hours of missions doing both Black-Cat operations and Air-Sea Rescue.
Brooks, Richard
Brooks, Mary Jean (Interview transcript and video), 2007
United States. Naval Reserve. Women’s Reserve
Mary Jean Brooks was in the WAVES during World War II. She trained at Smith College in communications. She worked in the Naval Department building in Washington, D.C., encoding and decoding messages sent to and from naval bases and ships. She delivered some messages herself to different government offices and to the White House.
Brooks, Mary Jean
Brooks, Ed (Interview outline and video), 2004
Ed Brooks served in the US Army between 1962 and 1964. He trained as a mechanic and worked in motor pools at bases in the US and in South Korea, where he served for a full year.
Brooks, Ed
Bronkema, Audrey (Interview outline and video), 2011
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
Audrey Bronkema served in the U.S. army from approximately 1989-1993. Audrey had her basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina and was then sent to MOS training at Fort Gordon in Georgia. Audrey spent several years of her service as a telecommunication center operator in Germany. She was stationed in Germany at the time of the 1991 Gulf War, and her unit was put on alert for deployment, but the alert was cancelled once the war ended.
Bronkema, Audrey
Brong, Matthew (Interview outline and video), 2008
Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
Matthew Brong was in1983, received some ROTC training at Michigan State University for a while, but dropped out because he was not getting good grades. He joined the Army in 2005 and was sent to Iraq in August of 2006 with the 82 Airborne Division. May 26, 2007 Matthew was injured when the truck he was traveling in ran over a road bomb. He experienced back injuries and memory loss. He was discharged and it took him quite a while to recover from his injuries. Matthew later re-enlisted in the Army, but can no longer endure intense physical activity.
Brong, Matthew
Riley Street Middle School (Hudsonville, Mich.)
Broek, Douglas (Interview outline and video), 2011
Douglas Broek grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 to stay ahead of the draft. After completing basic training in San Antonio, he spent about two years working as a clerk for a security unit at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. In June, 1969, he was sent to Vietnam. He served his tour at Binh Thuy in the Mekong Delta, and worked as the R&R clerk for all of the military units based in the area. Things were pretty quiet in his area at the time, and he picked up other odd jobs on the base just to stay busy. After returning to the US in 1970, he completed his enlistment as a clerk with a heavy equipment unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Broek, Douglas
Broe, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2012
Daniel Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949, and grew up there and in Holland, Michigan. He went to work after high school, and was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1969. He did well enough in rifle training at Camp Pendleton to be put into scout/sniper training, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. Assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, he spent most of his tour on patrols in the northern part of South Vietnam, with occasional forays into Laos. The patrols were intended to find the enemy without being seen, and for the most part they avoided firefights, and took no casualties while Broe was in the field, despite a number of scares. While trained as a sniper, he never had occasion to carry out a sniper assignment, and instead operated his squad's radio. Toward the end of his tour, his unit shifted its area of operations away from the Laotion border and closer to Da Nang, and he was eventually assigned to a radio relay station, where he communicated between the units in the field and the rear area headquarters.
Broe, Daniel
Brodie, Craig (Interview outline and video), 2014
Craig Brodie was born in Plattsburgh, New York in 1941 and grew up Newtown, Connecticut. He attended the University of Vermont and Army ROTC there and received his commission in 1963 He served in Germany with the 4th Medium Tank Battalion of the 68th Armored Regiment as well as the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Cavalry participating in training maneuvers and border patrol of the East/West German border. He then served at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He commanded the 590th Maintenance Company at Bearcat, a base outside of Saigon. After Vietnam he served in different positions in the US and Korea, and retired at the rank of colonel.
Brodie, Craig
Brockschmidt, Philip E. (Interview outline and video), 2004
Phil Brockschmidt knew that he wanted to join the armed service after Pearl Harbor was attacked and joined the Navy when he was only 15 years old. He took many long trips traveling in a convoy to Russia to deliver oil. Phil was eventually transferred into the Navy Air Corps and was disappointed with the transfer. In the Navy Air Corps Phil traveled to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Africa, Miami, Cuba, and Puerto Rico working as an ordinance man.
Brockschmidt, Philip E.
Brinn, Joseph (Interview transcript and video), 2010
Joe Brinn was born in 1950 in Virginia and eventually moved with his family to Michigan, where he grew up. He got married at age 16 and dropped out of high school, and a year later decided to join the military. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, and then Ft. Rucker to train as a Helicopter Crew Chief. He landed in Pleiku, Vietnam, in 1968 and was assigned to the 77th Air Cavalry which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and worked as a crew chief. His unit did "hunt/kill" missions and he did maintenance on the aircraft as well. During his time in Vietnam, he flew many combat missions, notably over Dak To, but he was never wounded; although there were many close calls. Mr. Brinn was awarded a Bronze Star after for repelling down from a helicopter to recover a lost aircraft, which he found out crashed; and even though there were no survivors he secured the bodies. After Vietnam, he continued his military career, eventually becoming a warrant officer and helicopter pilot, and retired after twenty years.
Brinn, Joseph
Brinkman, William (Interview outline and video), 2009
After graduating from a military academy, William Brinkman attended Officer's Candidate School where he was given a commission as 2nd Lieutenant. He served during the Korean War, but his division, and a couple of others, were sent to Germany, instead, to guard against the Russians. He served in the 102nd Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. He also tells the story of his OCS classmate, Doc O'Donnell, who was killed in Korea. After the war, he worked for Martin Marietta and was involved with the space program.
Brinkman, William
Jarvis Brink is a Cold War veteran from Zeeland, Michigan where he attended Holland High School and graduated from there in 1953. In 1954 he joined the Army and served for two years. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas for eighteen months working as a machine gun mechanic on tanks in the motor pool for one of the armored tank divisions stationed there. During his time at Fort Hood he returned to Fort Knox and received more training on how to repair the .30 and .50 caliber mounted machine guns.
Brink, Jarvis
Brigalia, Dianne (Interview transcript and video), 2009
Diane Brigalia enlisted in the Army after high school because she had always been interested in becoming a doctor, but was not yet ready for college. She went through 9 weeks of basic training and then was sent to Fort San Houston in Texas for EMT training. They mostly focused on field simulations and learned how to put together make shift medical centers and basically work with very few materials. Diane was stationed in Korea after she finished training and worked at the field station with the Second Engineer Battalion. She met her husband in Korea and they later got married when they were both stationed at Fort Riley in Texas.
Brigalia, Dianne
Breuninger, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2008
Fred Breuninger was born on April 22, 1922 and enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. He had gone to Castle Lake Military Academy, and was put into a HQ company. Fred was sent to England with the 8th Air Force in the 446th bomb group that used B-24 planes. He was part of operations in the HQ Company. They would work 14 hour shifts and alternate from days one week to nights the next. After VE day Fred went back to the US and thought he was going to be sent to Japan, but was discharged and returned home to Michigan.
Breuninger, Fred
Brazones, Donald L. (Interview transcript and video, 2 of 2), 2009
Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Donald Brazones enlisted into the Army Air Corps at the age of 18 in retaliation to the Japanese's bombing of Pearl Harbor. Brazones trained to be a navigator and was sent to England to fly missions over Europe. On Brazones' 18th mission, he was shot down and captured by German Officers. His interview is a detailed recollection of his time in the service, especially his memories from the day he was shot down, and his subsequent capture, imprisonment and release from captivity.
Brazones Donald L.