Burch, Roosevelt (Interview outline and video), 2007
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
United States. Air Force
Roosevelt Burch was born on July 24, 1937 in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He went to school in Mississippi until he was 9 years old and then moved to Chicago to live with his father for a while. Roosevelt later moved to his mothers' new house in Detroit and graduated from Central high school. After high school Roosevelt attended classes at Michigan State University for about 6 months where he studied Spanish. Roosevelt enlisted in the Air Force in 1960 and went through training in Texas. He was only in the Air Force for 8 months before being discharged.
Burch, Roosevelt
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Buikema, Douglas (Interview outline and video), 2011
Video recordings
United States. Army
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Douglas Buikema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946 and grew up in the area. After working for a year and going to college, he volunteered for the draft in 1967. In basic training at Ft. Knox, he became a squad leader and went to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for AIT. He also went to NCO School at Ft. Benning, where he gained more leadership skills. In Vietnam, he was a squad leader and was based out of Quan Loi. He was in A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry in the 1st Division. Mr. Buikema was wounded twice; once in the ankle, and the other time in the back of his knee. He received a Silver Star. After being wounded the second time, he left Vietnam and was discharged shortly after.
Buikema, Douglas
Brummel, Ted (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2008
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Ted Brummel was born in Byron Center, Michigan on May 14, 1952. He enlisted in the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. Ted was a 2-year reservist and the Navy told him that they would not spend time training him or with classes if he was only going to be there for 2 years, so he became a cook. He served on active duty between 1971 and 1973, including time spent off the coast of Vietnam on the USS Berkeley where they spent months on raids at night. Military service record appended to interview outline.
Brummel, Ted
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Brummel, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2007
United States. Navy
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Donald Brummel served in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. He trained as a truck and ambulance driver and served as an ambulance driver on Okinawa, transporting Marines and Seabees wounded in action.
Brummel, Donald
Beachum, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2006
Donald Beachum served in the United States Navy during the World War II era. Growing up in Michigan, he graduated from high school in 1945 and joined the Navy right away to avoid being drafted into the Army. Because of a scarlet fever outbreak at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, he was sent to New York for basic training, and remained on Long Island doing clerical work for fourteen months before he was discharged. He did not go overseas or see combat, and was perfectly happy not to be shot at.
Beachum, Donald
Baxter, Harry (Interview transcript and video), 2007
Harry "Bud" Baxter graduated high school near the beginning of WW II. He went to college at the University of Michigan for a year, but feeling that he would soon be drafted, he enlisted in the Army. During WW II he traveled with other men where they built bridges and repaired roads so that the United States Army could move around through the area. Harry continued to remain in the reserves when his time was up and eventually served for a short time in the Korean War.
Baxter, Harry
Bauma, Gerard (Interview transcript and video), 2011
Gerry Bauma lived in the Netherlands during World War II. As a seminary student, he had the opportunity to live in the times without having to go into forced labor as many of his friends did, although he was at one point caught up in a German sweep and sent to a forced labor camp, where he stayed until the seminary arranged for him to be released. He also observed the initial German attempt to capture the Hague by air, and after the surrender took his bike up to Rotterdam to inspect the bomb damage. He got a radio during the war, and passed along things he learned to a friend who ran an underground newspaper. He survived the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-45, and emigrated to Canada shortly after the war.
Bauma, Gerard
Bates, Jonathan Richard (Interview outline and video), 2007
Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
Jonathan Richard Bates is a Veteran of the Iraq War and has been serving in the United States Army since 1983. In this interview, Bates discusses his recent tour of duty in Iraq. As an Army Advisor for the Iraqi Army, Bates has unique insight into the Iraqi culture and people. With the Iraqi Army Bates went on 15 missions and over 200 patrols. His story is one that shows although Iraq and the United States are two different cultures, each has a rich history that often parallels the other, such as the fight for democracy.
Bates, Jonathan Richard
Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.)
Batch, Norman (Interview outline and video), 2008
Norman Batch was born in 1925 in Muskegon, Michigan. Since he was raised on a farm, he received 6 months of deferred service, but ended up enlisting on his own. He served in the 80th Division of the 3rd Army under General Patton, and fought at Metz and in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he guarded German POWs and took care of cemeteries until his service was up. He came back to Grand Rapids and worked until he retired in 1990.
Batch, Norman
Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Bassett, Dennis (Interview outline and video, 2 of 2), 2011
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
This interview session recaps the first part of Bassett's tour in Vietnam, and then covers the second half, when he was a brigade-level staff officer in the 9th Division. Bassett supervised long range reconnaissance patrols, organized and ran a provisional company working with experimental ground radar, and dealt with an unstable commander. He would remain the Army until 1997, working both with the Rangers and in intelligence work. He spent a total of eight years in Germany, including the period immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and also went to Saudi Arabia and Iraq at the time of the Gulf War, and also worked at the Pentagon. After retiring for medical reasons, he continued to work as a civilian contractor for the military, helping the Colombian army and national police with counterinsurgency training and later working with civilian contractors sent to the Middle East at the time of the invasion of Iraq.
Bassett, Dennis
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Bassett, Dennis (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2011
Dennis Bassett was born in 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Bassett decided he wanted a different direction for his life, so he enlisted in the Army. After completing both his basic and advanced training at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Bassett deployed to Korea, where he worked at a medical depot. Once he finished his tour in Korea, Bassett returned to the United States and worked with a Ranger training company in Georgia before receiving his discharge. Following his discharge, Bassett went through four years of college, with the final two years in ROTC and as a result of his time in the ROTC, after his graduation, received a Regular Army commission. After receiving the commission, Bassett went back through Ranger school and deployed to Vietnam, where he served with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region as part of the Riverine Force, and served as a platoon leader in the 3/60 Infantry for the first half of his tour. (see Part 2 for the rest of the story)
Barwacz, John (Interview outline and video), 2008
John Barwacz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1921 and enlisted in the Navy on August 18, 1942. John went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then had advanced engineer training at the University of Kansas. While in the Navy, John worked on the destroyer USS Hull as an engineer in the boiler room, as a lookout, and also handled guns on deck. Later took fire control training and served on an attack transport ship. He traveled all over the Pacific to the Aleutian Islands, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Hawaii, Okinawa, and Japan. John was discharged on December 24, 1945.
Barwacz, John
Barrone, Emerson (Interview outline and video), 2007
Emerson Barrone was a medic and ambulance driver in World War II. He was drafted in 1942 into the Army and spent time training in Missouri. He was then shipped of to England at the end of 1943. He landed on Utah Beach one day after D-Day. His job was to drive ambulances, and he was on the fringes of several major battles, including the Battle of the Bulge, but he never got into the fighting.
Barrone, Emerson
Barker, Robert M. (Interview outline and video), 2008
Robert Barker was born in 1926 and was drafted into the army early in 1944. He trained in Alabama and Texas with the 13th Armored Division and was shipped to Europe late in the year. He served as an armored infantryman, with his unit serving mostly in "clean-up" roles during the advance into Germany in 1945. His unit was in Austria when the war ended, and captured a large number of prisoners. His division was disbanded in 1945 and he switched into the 5th Infantry Division. He remained in the army until mustering out in 1946.
Barker, Robert M.
Barker, Albert (Interview outline and video), 2012
Albert Barker was born in 1925 in Stanton, Michigan. Albert grew up on a farm and was doing farm work when he was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and was then sent to Great Lakes, Illinois where he spent eight weeks in basic training. After his training, Albert was sent to the South Pacific where he met up with his PT squadron in New Caledonia. After being in New Caledonia, he was sent to Rendova Island where he patrolled waters against the Japanese. After Rendova, he was sent through the Solomon Islands until he was eventually sent to the Philippines. Albert was sent home from the Philippines and was discharged in Bainbridge, Maryland in 1946.
Barker, Albert
Barber, Scott (Interview outline and video), 2007
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives
Scott Barber is a Veteran who served in the United States Navy for five years from the late 1970s until the early 1980s in California, Iran, Thailand, and Panama. Because of skill and good military record, Barber's unit was assigned to the first rescue attempt of the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1980. In this interview, Barber discusses the training involved in preparing for this mission as well as the equipment failures and combat that took place that night. Barber also shares stories of his time in Panama, where his unit was responsible for destroying boats and planes used to transport illegal drugs, and his time in Thailand, where he spent over six days living in a dumpster.
Barber, Scott
Bantjes, John (Interview outline and video), 2008
John Bantjes was born in Illinois in 1929 to Dutch immigrants who decided to move back to the Netherlands during the Depression. John lived through the entirety of World War II in the Netherlands. When the war was over he moved back to the US and was later drafted during the Korean War. John spent his time in the service training for a Russian attack in Alaska.
Bantjes, John
Balyeat, Gordon (Interview outline and video), 2008
Dr. Gordon Balyeat was born in Michigan in 1911 and grew up in the small town of Sparta. He graduated from high school in 1928 and went to Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan. Gordon attended college during the prohibition and the depression. After receiving his medical degree, Gordon worked in various hospitals from Seattle to New York. He joined the Navy in 1942 and worked with the Northwestern Medical Unit. Gordon was sent to the Russell Islands in the Pacific in 1943 to set up a hospital, where he tended many Marines wounded in battle.
Balyeat, Gordon
Ballard, Carl (Interview outline and video), 2004
Carl Ballard was born on October 16, 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1951 and then enlisted in the Army. Carl trained in Kentucky and went through leadership school after basic. He was then sent to South Korea where he joined the 2nd Infantry Division and went on patrols at night. Carl was later transferred to the Heavy Weapons company where he worked as a squad leader. Carl had received enough points to return home a few months after the cease fire.
Ballard, Carl
Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Ball, Kenneth (Interview outline and video), 2008
Kenneth Ball was born in Byron Center, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1952. After high school he spent a year at community college before going to the University of Michigan for architecture. Kenneth was drafted into the Army in 1956 went through basic training in Colorado. He then went through advanced training to be a supply sergeant in Arkansas. After training Kenneth was sent to Korea during the armistice where he helped put up buildings for 16 months.
Ball, Kenneth
Baldwin, Scott (Interview outline and video), 2011
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Scott Baldwin Scott joined the Army National Guard in Oklahoma in 1986 and took ROTC training at Oklahoma State University. After a number of years on inactive reserve, he was activated, worked as a trainer at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was later sent to Afghanistan, where he helped train Afghan forces.
Baldwin, Scott
Baldwin, Ralph (Interview transcript and video), 2007
Ralph Baldwin was an astronomy instructor at Northwestern University in 1941 who volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor. He was initially assigned to teach navigation, but lobbied for a more important assignment. He was sent in 1942 to a secret program in Maryland being run by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Here he helped to develop the proximity fuse, a device that enabled anti-aircraft shells to sense when they were near targets and explode. By the end of the war, the fuse had become highly effective, and aspects of the technology developed for it are still used today.
Baldwin, Ralph
Baker-Clark, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2012
Charles Baker-Clark, born in St. Lois Missouri in 1948, served in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1970 as a Naval Corpsman during the Vietnam Era. After completing his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, Charles was given medical training at the same base. After this was completed he was then sent to Naples Italy where he served in a naval hospital. In December of 1968 Charles had to be moved after he was involved as an informant used to bust a group selling drugs on the base. Charles was then moved to Maine where he served in another naval hospital. Soon after, he was sent to Iceland and then Sicily Italy where he served with a Unit of PT Orion pilots.
Baker-Clark, Charles
Bailey, Glen (Interview outline and video)
Glen Bailey was born in 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. Glen left school during his 8th grade year at the age of 15; he went to work as his father had passed away and he wanted to support his family. At the age of 17, Glen got permission from his mother to join the Army. He did his basic training at Ft. Carson in Colorado where he did additional training as a mechanic. He was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division once the Korean War started and was then assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment. He served on the Pusan Perimeter and in the advance into North Korea, and then in the retreat after the Chinese counterattacked. While in Korea, he suffered two separate injuries: a burn to his arm as well as taking shrapnel from a grenade, but each time returned to his unit and rotated home in 1951, and served at Fort Carson, Colorado, until his discharge in 1952.
Bailey, Glen