12 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4029c1ee8154ba81748571012e1bee03.mp4 2dcc06b94edef58473514dad164bce62 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/00983233346248fa4ec8912a04ac6a5f.pdf f7b821c507bab9f5f1a5a7fea6ec15c8 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Fred Gallert World War II 31 minutes 37 seconds (00:00:14) Early Life -Born in Winnipeg, Canada on July 17, 1921 -Lived there for his first two years of life -Moved to Saint Joseph, Michigan -Parents were farmers -Had a small plot of land and worked that during the Great Depression -He had nine siblings -He was the ninth child of the family -Attended high school and graduated in 1939 (00:02:03) Start of the War -Didn't pay a lot of attention to the war when it started in 1939 -In college at Central Michigan University when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 -Became a big topic of discussion -Initially wasn't too concerned (00:03:21) Getting Drafted -Got drafted in June 1942 -Sent to Fort Custer, Michigan for processing -Already started receiving orders -Wasn't a problem for him because he was expecting it (00:04:48) Basic Training -Took a test to become an interpreter for German prisoners of war -Spoke German because his parents spoke it around him when he was growing up -Received basic training at Fort Custer, Michigan near Kalamazoo -Trained with other draftees -Most of the men were around his age, some were a little younger though -Consisted of drills and learning about Army protocol -High emphasis on discipline -Adjusted to the Army pretty well -Received some rifle training -Lasted six weeks -Got weekend passes home -Took the interpreter test near the end of basic training (00:08:19) Stationed at Fort Custer -Stationed at Fort Custer dealing with the German prisoners of war there in late summer 1942 -Worked alongside military intelligence personnel and military police -They wanted the information that he could get out of the prisoners -Had some higher ranking German prisoners there -Didn't interrogate them too intensely, just asked them basic questions �-Interacted more with regular German soldiers -Most were between eighteen and twenty years old -Some could understand English -Most seemed very content with where they were -His job was to ask them basic questions when they were brought in to be processed -When he was done with them he would turn them over to the military police -They were all very cooperative -Never saw any prisoners being used for simple tasks or menial labor -Had a lot of free time -It was relaxed duty -Lived in Army quarters and was fed good food -Never noticed any civilians coming down to look at the prisoners of war (00:14:16) Stationed in Santa Ana -From Fort Custer he was transferred to a prisoner of war camp in Santa Ana, California -Most likely the prisoner of war camp in Garden Grove -Working as an interpreter -No real difference with the prisoners being kept there -None of them appeared to be unhappy, and they were being treated well -Continued to deal with regular German prisoners -Got out to California by bus -Took about three weeks to cross the country -Stopped in Army camps along the way -Never heard anything about the internment camps for the Japanese -Kept a secret -Had good conditions at the prisoner of war camp because it was fairly new -Got to visit Los Angeles and San Francisco -Interesting for a serviceman and got treated well -Saw some USO Shows -Lived with a family off the base -Didn't have to live on the base if he didn't want to -Rationing was very noticeable -Rationed food, sugar, coffee, and gasoline -Tried to make life as comfortable as possible with the circumstances at hand for the prisoners -The prisoners introduced him to soccer -He enjoyed playing soccer (00:21:10) News & Progress of the War -Kept up with the news of the war -Never concerned about being deployed to the European Theatre to work as an interpreter -Had some black outs at night -Nothing too involved though -Never thought that the United States and the Allies were going to lose the war -Victory always seemed assured (00:23:25) End of the War -Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945) was a pleasant day -Even the German prisoners were happy that the war was over �-A lot of them were trying to get out Germany -Many of them didn't seem to have much loyalty to Hitler or the Nazi Party -On Victory in Japan Day (August 15, 1945) it was "jubilation" -Began working on repatriating German, but he wasn't involved with that -A lot of them were content to stay in the U.S. and wanted to stay -Especially the case for those going to Soviet occupied Germany (00:26:17) End of Service & Life after the War -In Santa Ana until he got discharged in November 1945 -Just had to wait around to get a ride back to Michigan -Went back to Central Michigan University -Studied teaching social studies and business math -Graduated in the late 1940s (1946 or 1947) -First teaching job was in Remus, Michigan -Taught there for ten years -Began working for Kelloggsville Public Schools in 1957 -Taught there until 1980 or 1981 -Went on the Talons Out Honor Flight to Washington D.C. in May 2015 -Non-profit organization that sends WWII and Korean War veterans to see the memorials (00:29:47) Reflections on Service -Could speak with the prisoners of war and see that they were human too -It was a worldly experience without leaving the United States -Most them were happy the way the war ended � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_GallertF1756V Title A name given to the resource Gallert, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-05 Description An account of the resource Fred Gallert was born in Winnipeg, Canada on July 17, 1921. When he was two years old his family moved to Saint Joseph, Michigan and he grew up there. After the U.S. was dragged into WWII in 1941 he was drafted into the Army in June 1942 and received basic training at Fort Custer, Michigan. Due to a proficiency in the German language he was selected to work as an interpreter for German prisoners at prisoner of war camps in the United States. He was stationed at the prisoner of war camp at Fort Custer and later at the prisoner of war camp in Santa Anna, California. He was discharged in Santa Anna in November 1945. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gallert, Fred Sr. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jones, Adam (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c218ddeca9270c7b2f0797f0205c59dc.m4v 229543b7b547bb209cb956ff43ca8b40 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf8e404d0e6aa5324812171326082b99.pdf 8afec4f901fb6e5f6bf5e1178822c491 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Joseph Gabrosek Jr. World War II 52 minutes 17 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life -Born in 1924 in Barberton, Ohio -Grew up and lived in Barberton until just after he was married after the war -Stayed there until his job forced him to move -His father worked as a drill press operator -His mother was a housewife -His father worked for Babcock and Wilcox Company through the Great Depression -He was able to keep his job, but at reduced hours -During the Great Depression his family had a garden which helped (00:01:53) Start of the War -They lived on an intersection that had two gas stations on the corners -It became a congregating area for the men of the neighborhood -On Sunday December 7, 1941 he was standing with a group of other men on the corner -Someone came out of a gas station and said that Pearl Harbor had been bombed -Prior to the war he knew a little about Pearl Harbor -Heard in the news that the Pacific Fleet had been moved there -At the time of Pearl Harbor he was seventeen years old, going to turn eighteen in February -When the war began he started to think about enlisting -He knew men that were dropping out of high school to enlist -He wanted to at least finish high school before he enlisted (00:03:38) Enlisting in the Army Air Corps -He graduated from high school in the summer of 1942 -His father wouldn't sign for him to enlist -At the time you had to be twenty one to join the military -In August 1942 a new law was passed that allowed for eighteen year olds to serve -He started to see friends getting drafted -He wanted to go into the Army Air Corps and become a pilot -The admission process was changed when the war began -No longer needed a college education, just had to pass the physical -He went to Cleveland, Ohio in December 1942 to take the physical -A week later he received a letter telling him that he was approved -The next step was to wait for them to tell him to report for training (00:05:46) Basic Training and College Training -He went from Barberton to Columbus, Ohio by train -In Columbus he boarded a troop train bound for Florida -He received basic training at Miami Beach, Florida -It lasted one month -Largely consisted of marching and classroom training -From Florida he went to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio �-In Miami Beach they used hotels as their barracks -On Sundays they were allowed to go down to the beach -The hotel rooms were left as is, so they got to sleep in hotel beds -In Miami Beach they had contracts with the local restaurants to make their food -Marched on golf courses near the beach -All in all basic training was an enjoyable experience -At Capital University he took a speech course, mathematics courses, and flight courses -He also received ten hours of flight training with the Piper Cub aircraft -First time that he ever flew in a plane -During college training spent all day in the classroom or in flight training -Despite the busy schedule he kept up with it all fairly well -They slept on cots in the dorms -Stayed at Capital University for March-June 1943 (00:09:29) Pilot Classification -After college training he was sent to the Nashville Classification Center -In Nashville he received more physical exams, interviews, and testing -Process to decide if you were to be a pilot, navigator, or bombardier -He wound up being assigned to be a pilot (00:10:02) Pre-Flight Training -Sent to Maxwell Field outside Montgomery, Alabama for pre-flight training -Spent two months in pre-flight training -The first month you spent in the lower class, second month in the upper class -Upper class would haze the lower class to reinforce discipline -Those two months were spent on class work, exercise, and drills -Lots of marching -Getting accustomed to military living (00:12:26) Primary Flight Training -The first phase was called primary flight training and was at Bennettsville, South Carolina -Began training with the Stearman biplane -It was a bigger airplane and more complicated than the Piper Cub -Had to listen attentively to the instructor -Remembers one flight during primary training where a heavy fog rolled in -Some men were forced to land at other air fields -No major accidents occurred during primary training -Some men dragged the wing as they landed -But no one got hurt as a result; it just slightly damaged the wing -Lots of men washed out in the first phase for a variety of reasons -The predominant reason seemed to be airsickness (00:14:50) Basic Flight Training -The second phase was basic flight training at Sumter, South Carolina -Started off flying the BT-13 -Bigger than the Stearman -Single engine, canopy, and two seats for the instructor and trainee -Also worked with the AT-10 -Twin engine aircraft -Used it to get trainees used to flying aircraft that had multiple engines �-During one flight there was a training accident with one of the AT-10s -An engine died and the aircraft didn’t have enough power to make a stable landing -One of the men onboard was killed in the resulting crash -Fewer men washed out during basic flight training -It was another two months at Sumter -One month for each aircraft (00:17:21) Advanced Flight Training -Advanced flight training was at Turner Field outside of Albany, Georgia -Trained with the AT-6 single engine aircraft -Began to train with the B-25 Mitchell bomber -In service aircraft -Flew at 200mph -Had to land the B-25 at a fast speed, or the engine would stall -It was a heavier aircraft because of the armor -Required more concentration to fly the B-25 -Took some adjusting learning how to land it -It was imperative to keep the nose wheel straight -He never heard of any accidents during advanced flight training -During one time he had a rough landing, but it wasn’t serious and there was no damage -At the end of advanced flight training he became a commissioned officer and received his wings (00:21:15) Sedalia Air Force Base, Missouri -His first station was at Sedalia Air Force Base in Missouri -It is now called Whiteman Air Force Base -Home of the B2 Strategic Stealth Bombers (long range nuclear bombers) -Started there in March 1944 -Began learning how to fly the C-47 transport -Primary use was to transport troops -A little easier to fly than the B-25 -It wasn’t as fast, but it also wasn’t as heavy -Overall, just a safer aircraft to fly -He learned how to pull gliders, pick up gliders, and drop paratroopers -Spent three months at Sedalia AFB (00:24:34) Deployment to the European Theatre -He left Sedalia AFB in June 1944 -His assignment was to pick up a new C-47 at Baer Army Air Field, Indiana -He was allowed to go home briefly, then began the transportation of the aircraft -First to Syracuse, New York then to Bangor Maine -From Bangor to Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada -From there they were redirected to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada -Stayed there for a week -From Canada they flew across the Atlantic Ocean bound for Casablanca -They flew for eleven hours and stopped in the Azores Islands -Chance to refuel and get something to eat -From the Azores they flew to Marrakech Air Field near Casablanca, Morocco -Arrived there in early July 1944 -From Casablanca they flew to Algiers, Algeria �-From Algeria they flew to Tunis, Tunisia -In Tunis he finally saw evidence of the war in the form of destroyed German planes (00:28:22) Arrival in Italy -From North Africa he flew to Capodichino Air Field near Rome, Italy -This served as his main base of operations for the duration of the war -He was assigned to the 35th Squadron of the 64th Troop Carrier Group of the 12th Air Force -The runway had have been lengthened to accommodate the American aircraft -Their living quarters there were in bombed out buildings -The building they were in, you could only stay on the first floor -The roof had caved into the second floor -For a while the only shower system they had was a primitive shower system -Eventually he just went into Rome and used the bathhouses there -Able to get hot water and have a private stall -When he arrived in Italy he started flying missions immediately -Part of the missions involved preparing for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France -This was scheduled for, and carried out on, August 15, 1944 -The initial missions he carried out was ferrying supplies, mail and personnel in the area -Around Italy, sometimes to the island of Corsica, and eventually to Southern France (00:32:00) Operation Dragoon and Other Missions -On August 15, 1944 he took part in Operation Dragoon, the liberation of Vichy France -Before dawn he dropped paratroopers into Southern France -The next phase was to tow gliders in that were carrying supplies -Some of the gliders were destroyed upon landing due to bad terrain -During Operation Dragoon he didn’t encounter any antiaircraft fire -After Operation Dragoon he went on missions airdropping supplies to partisans in north Italy -He did receive antiaircraft fire flying those missions -After Southern France was secured he was sent to Istres Air Field near Marseilles, France -From there he flew supplies north to the U.S. Army -The usual load he carried was 16 gallons of gasoline for General Patton’s tanks -The Army was advancing so fast they relied on aircraft to resupply -Ground resupply was just not fast enough -During those resupply missions he had to land in farmers’ fields -While flying into northern Italy he would sometimes pick up casualties and medical personnel -His unit took some casualties, but far fewer than the bomber squadrons -He knew some men in his squadron who died when they crashed into a mountain -Another plane crashed during a formation flying accident -He would fly missions five days a week -If the weather was bad he wouldn’t go out -If there weren’t many missions to fly, fewer pilots were called up to fly -If you had a mission you were told what it was the day before you flew it (00:38:53) Downtime and Relations with the Italians -While he was stationed in Italy he visited Rome once and a while -During downtime he wouldn’t travel far from base -He was also working as in operations so he couldn’t be far from base -He helped schedule flights for his squadron -Got the job after helping to get his plane landed at Marseilles in bad conditions �-The Italians would cook their meals and Italian girls would serve them their food -For a while he was sent up to Rosignano, Italy -Stayed in a house with an Italian family there -At the end of each month he would pay the family rent -The woman of the house would cook him and the other airmen dinner -Some men had intimate relations with the Italian girls -Remembers one soldier smuggling a girl into their quarters in Rome -Men never got in trouble for fraternizing with the civilians though -Towards the end of the war he landed at Milan a few times while aiding the partisans -They took him to see the gas station where they hanged Mussolini and his mistress (00:44:24) Mission to Cherbourg, France -In October 1944 he flew up to Cherbourg, France -His mission was to pick up new recruits and take them back with him -Their final destination was fields in northern Italy (00:46:00) End of the War and Coming Home -On April 12, 1945 President Roosevelt died -On April 14 he transported some Slovenian prisoners of war from Corsica -Talking to them, they told him that FDR had died -They had been captured by the Fascist Italian forces earlier in the war -I.e. pro-Allies -The war ended on May 8, 1945 -On May 24 he flew the southern route back to the Americas -Stayed in Trinidad for about a month -His assignment was to transport soldiers who were going back to the United States -He would fly to Georgetown, British Guiana to pick them up -Fly them up to Florida -Then return to an airfield in Puerto Rico -This assignment lasted from July-September 1945 -He was sent to an airfield in Georgia for a brief time -After the assignment in Georgia he was allowed to go home on leave -After the leave he reported to San Antonio, Texas and was discharged from the Army (00:50:57) Reflections on Service -He feels that he was extremely lucky to have never gotten hurt -He feels extremely lucky to have gotten to see the parts of the world that he did -Got to meet people that he formed lifelong friendships with -At the end of his service he toyed with the idea of staying in -Ultimately decided that he wanted to go back to college instead � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_GabrosekJ1695V Title A name given to the resource Gabrosek Jr., Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-10-13 Description An account of the resource Joseph Gabrosek Jr.was born in 1924 in Barberton, Ohio. He grew up there and graduated from high school there. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in December 1942 and went through the multiple stages of flight training at different bases, and finished his training in C-47 transport aircraft at Sedalia, Missouri. In June 1944 he was deployed to Europe and was stationed primarily at Capodichino Air Field near Rome, Italy. He was attached to the 35th Squadron of the 64th Troop Carrier Group of the 12th Air Force. On August 15, 1944 he took part in Operation Dragoon, the liberation of southern France, in that mission he dropped paratroopers and supplies into the area. Over the course of the war he flew supply missions to the Army in northern Europe and to partisans fighting the Nazis in northern Italy. In May 1945 he returned to the Americas and until September 1945 he ferried troops from British Guiana back to the United States. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gabrosek Jr., Joseph Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Forces Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eaa3603700a260b10a836133b13ad68d.mp4 9875f4b1f0e5491930911f593cd0f91e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c487bcb5dd19f0e67f0581818d5f396e.pdf 08aba0b48310ad956ac4098dc0cffb3b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Alvena Franzen World War II 45 minutes 58 seconds (00:00:11) Early Life -Born on February 2, 1919 in Salamanca, New York and grew up there -Father was the superintendent of Public Works and also worked for BRP Railway -During the Great Depression she learned how to live with less -After graduating from high school she wanted to attend college and become a doctor -Her family didn’t have enough money to send her to college -She decided to become a registered nurse and went to Bradford, Pennsylvania for nursing -It was a two year program -It was an integrated program (classroom work and hands on training) -Her parents were able to pay for nursing school -She graduated from that in 1941 -She returned to Salamanca six months after completing nursing school (00:03:37) Start of the War & Entering the Army -While she was a student she got off work and went to listen to the radio -She heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed -She was told that patriotic nurses joined the American Red Cross Nursing Service -Decided to join that and she enjoyed it for a while -She eventually received a letter that was essentially a draft notice -She had the option to go into the Army or into the Navy -Decided to go into the Army Nurse Corps (00:04:53) Basic Training -She reported to Fort Niagara, New York to be sworn in and processed -Reported for duty on May 1, 1943 -She was sent to Pine Camp (now Fort Drum), New York for basic training -She was subjected to the same type of training that regular enlistees and draftees faced -Crawling under wire while a machine gun was fire over the wire -Climbing up and down rope ladders -Learning how to fire carbines and pistols -Map reading -She trained alongside other nurses -They were all roughly in their early twenties -There was still an emphasis on military discipline, following orders, and following regulations -To her it felt similar to nursing school -She also did well with the physical aspect of training -Some nurses had problems adjusting to the training -Especially crawling under the wire and being fired over (00:07:50) Deployment to the European Theatre -After completing basic training she was sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts -Didn’t spend a long time there �-In March 1944 she and the other nurses were deployed -Left out of New York City aboard the Aquitania (sister ship of the Lusitania) -They sailed alone without a convoy -Remembers everyone getting seasick during the voyage, including herself -They were fed two meals a day, and most of the time she didn’t have an appetite -Sailed over with men and women -They were kept separate from each other though -It took seven days to cross the Atlantic Ocean -It was frightening to be out there on their own, defenseless against a U-Boat attack (00:10:37) Stationed in England -They arrived in Glasgow, Scotland -Only stayed overnight there before moving again -From Glasgow they travelled to Wales by train -While in Wales they stayed in Welsh houses -While stationed in England her unit did not have a hospital set up yet -She was assigned to the 62nd General Hospital -Served alongside sixty other nurses -Same function as a general hospital in the United States -Just dealing with different kinds of injuries -They were taking in medically evacuated personnel at the time and treating them -They had a ninety percent turnover rate in forty eight hours -From Wales they moved down to a town in England -Gathering clothing, equipment, and preparing to cross the English Channel to France (00:14:00) Downtime in England -While stationed in England she got a chance to visit nearby towns -The English were happy to see Americans -Viewed Americans as saviors of their nation -She was invited to dinner at people’s houses while stationed in England (00:15:04) Crossing to France -They didn’t stay in England for too long (roughly three months) before crossing the Channel -She remembers on D-Day seeing planes flying over to France in formation -Most likely the pre-dawn airborne assault on Normandy -Remembers seeing those planes come back one by one, not in formation -Upsetting because it showed how intense and serious the invasion was -When they finally crossed over to Normandy there was still fighting near the coast -Particularly between Carentan and St. Lo -She remembers landing at Utah Beach on a landing craft -They were loaded onto trucks and travelled inland that way -Passed through Carentan and St. Lo after the towns had been liberated -Both places had been levelled by the intense fighting -Roughly ninety five percent of St. Lo was destroyed during the war -They arrived in France about one month after D-Day (placing them there sometime in July) (00:17:50) Stationed near Paris -They boarded a train and travelled deeper into France -Remembers seeing craters and burned out tanks dotting the French countryside -Whenever they stopped at a town they were greeted by civilians �-Usually waving American flags and offering gifts to them -Eventually stopped in a chateau that had been used by the Germans -They had to clean out the chateau and make sure to avoid landmines in the area -Arrived there on Labor Day, 1944 after the liberation of Paris in August 1944 -Prior to getting to that place they lived in tents in fields -The chateau was their first established hospital in France -It was in the country and fairly close to Paris -They did not receive regular casualties even after getting established -While stationed at the chateau she got the chance to visit Paris multiple times -She would ride into Paris in a jeep to the American military sector -Remembers that the Red Cross had an outpost set up there -First time she got to have a donut since leaving the United States -She never got to spend too much time in Paris whenever she visited (00:23:14) Stationed near the Belgian Border -After leaving the chateau they moved into a regular county hospital -Once they moved to the new hospital they started to receive far more casualties -There were German prisoners of war working for them as litter bearers -They always had to be prepared in the event of an air raid -Made sure to keep their clothes organized so they could dress quickly if necessary -They were stationed near the Belgian border at this time -The job there was to stabilize the wounded and treat them until they moved again -Recalls seeing disturbing and grotesque combat injuries -Remembers some of the men not even being old enough to be out of high school yet (00:26:26) Battle of the Bulge -When the Battle of the Bulge began in December 1944 she was near the fighting -They started to receive a high number of casualties from the fighting -During the battle they were prepared in the event that they would have to retreat -The wounded would go first followed closely by the personnel -In January 1945 they still received a high number of casualties -Due to American forces pressing a counter-offensive against the Germans -During the battle they worked in conjunction with company aid stations -The more severely wounded were sent to their hospital for further treatment -Once the wounded were stabilized they were sent back to the front, or further back to the rear -Depended entirely on the severity of the wound and time it would take to heal (00:28:47) End of the War & End of Service -She was back in the United States when Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 -She had been sent back to the U.S. due, in part, to having pleurisy effusion -A sickness that causes a buildup of fluid in tissues between the lungs and the chest -She was receiving Novocain shots between her ribs to treat the illness -The doctor managed to puncture one of her lungs in the process -She was stabilized and sent back to the United States in early spring 1945 -She went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC for further treatment -During one operation she suffered nerve damage to her right arm -After she was mostly healed she was discharged from the Army in fall 1945 (00:31:08) Interactions with the Europeans -She doesn’t remember anything too memorable happening in England �-Other than the people being gracious to see Americans -Recalls how ecstatic the French were to see the Americans advancing -She pitied them and appreciated their gratitude -The German prisoners of war were very young and some had been part of the infamous SS -She learned some German from them -Remembers that they were guarded and watched by Military Police -Most of them were contemptuous of having been captured and put to work -Believes it has something to do with being so indoctrinated into Nazism (00:34:24) Life after the War -After the war she wasn’t able to immediately go back to being a nurse -She decided to go to Spring Arbor University in Michigan -From Spring Arbor she went to a college in Illinois and got her bachelor’s degree -After that she went to Michigan State University to pursue her master’s degree -Only attended for two terms -Her old nursing director offered her a job as an instructor in Bradford, Pennsylvania -She accepted the offer -Enjoyed the work until the administration changed -She moved back to Michigan and found work at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids -She set up a course to teach aids and orderlies -She was offered a position with the State Nursing Association in Lansing, Michigan -She would become an assistant executive director if she took the job -She took the job, but did not enjoy being behind a desk doing paperwork -She missed working with students and with patients -She returned to Blodgett Hospital and became a pediatric instructor there -She enrolled in the University of Michigan extension program in Grand Rapids -Got her master’s degree from there in 1963 -Became a coordinator for the nursing program at two local colleges in Grand Rapids -Calvin College and Grand Rapids Community College -She eventually went on to teach anatomy at Grand Rapids Community College -Did that for thirteen years until 1980 -In 1980 she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and underwent intense surgery for it -She attempted to return to teaching, but after the operation was unable to do it -It was difficult for her to adjust to that -She eventually moved in to help a friend suffering from Alzheimer’s in 2007 -Stayed with her until her death in 2011 (00:43:51) Reflections on Service -Her service taught her to appreciate life more -It also taught her to appreciate living in the United States -Remembers being overjoyed when she arrived in New York City from Europe -She can now empathize with the men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan -It also showed her the real ugliness of war firsthand � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_FranzenA1714V Title A name given to the resource Franzen, Alvena (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-12-11 Description An account of the resource Alvena Franzen was born in Salamanca, New York, in 1919 and grew up there. Prior to the war she attended nursing school in Bradford, Pennsylvania and graduated from that in 1941. She enrolled in the American Red Cross Nursing Service and was subsequently drafted into the Army Nurse Corps. She reported for duty on May 1, 1943 and received training at Pine Camp (now Fort Drum), New York. She was deployed to the European Theatre in March 1944 and was stationed there with the 62nd General Hospital until crossing over to mainland Europe after D-Day. She was stationed in the French Countryside near Paris, on the Belgian border, and saw the results of the Battle of the Bulge. After suffering a lung injury while receiving treatment for pleurisy, she was sent back to the United States in spring 1945 and was discharged later that year. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Franzen, Alvena Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/17513628d1018f4b313c2a2c88caaf25.mp4 84507c6fdb6f03cdd03b0c89b8ed6806 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/660abc4882bcedb991584d4574d77f09.pdf d7f853b7becde0aba3b9894c91fc85d2 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Kenneth Farris World War II 56 minutes 9 seconds (00:00:03) Early Life -Born in Pernell, Oklahoma in 1923 -Walked a mile and a half to school -Father worked in the oil fields -Went through high school -Started school in a little country school -Went to high school in Pernell (00:01:01) Pearl Harbor -He was eighteen years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed -Remembers hearing President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech on the radio -Read in the paper about the Japanese "peace" ambassadors in Washington D.C. -Disappointed and upset that the United States had been pulled into the war (00:02:17) Civilian Service & Getting Drafted -Graduated from high school in June 1942 -History teacher was also a government inspector -He was able to get some of the boys jobs at a Texas air base that was being built -Drove to the air base -200 miles away -Helping build up the base for the war effort -In November 1942 the draft age was dropped to eighteen years of age -Meant that he was made eligible for the draft -Received his draft letter in January 1943 -Didn't bother him -Deeply upset both of his parents though -Father took it especially hard -Went to Pauls Valley then took a bus to Oklahoma City for his Army physical -Passed the physical -Given seven days of leave before reporting for basic training -Father died in April 1943 -Believes that the stress of his youngest son getting drafted contributed to that (00:06:01) Basic Training -Took a train to Miami, Florida -Took seven, or eight, days -Initially went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to be processed and given clothes -Didn't matter if the clothes fit -Given vaccinations -Everyone was lined up and moved through a door getting injections in each arm �-Greeted by a 2nd lieutenant -Spent seven days at Fort Sill -They were all draftees -Mostly from Oklahoma, but they came from other parts of the country too -Hadn't travelled much before that -Only went to Illinois for a couple summers to work at his brother's gas station -Reported to Pauls Valley and took a bus to Fort Sill -Took about one full day to get to the fort -Fort Sill was a big base -Started learning some basic things about Army life -Ex. learning how to march -From Fort Sill he took a troop train to Miami -Basic training lasted twelve weeks -Quartered in a hotel on the beach -Had blackouts at night -First day at Miami he had to march two miles with a rifle -Got up every day before daylight and went to the drill field -Had to make your bed and go to breakfast first -Marched a mile and a half to two miles to the drill field -Marched back for lunch -Marched back out to the drill field in the afternoon -Marched back to the hotel for dinner and then went to bed -Initially had trouble adjusting to the Army -Didn't enjoy the Army and was homesick -Met men from all over the country and made a lot of good friends (00:13:30) Salt Lake City, Utah and His Father's Death -Boarded another troop train and was taken to Salt Lake City, Utah -One train car was a cook car -Brought your mess kit into the car and got some food -Returned to your own car and ate there -Took seven days to travel from Florida to Utah -Received word that his father had died -Got that information through the Red Cross -Reported to a colonel (or a general) -Interviewed to make sure that this was legitimate -Granted an emergency furlough to go home -Given $40 and a round trip train ticket from the Red Cros -Went back to Pernell, Oklahoma -Rode from Salt Lake City to Denver, then from Denver to Topeka -Took three days to get back home -Got to attend his father's funeral -The day after the funeral he had to go back to Salt Lake City, Utah (00:17:45) Assignment to 461st Bombardment Group -In July 1943 he was in Scottsbluff Army Airfield, Nebraska -The men he had been with in Utah had been sent to the Pacific Theatre �-From Wendover Field, Utah he was sent to Scottsbluff Army Airfield, Nebraska -Trained there with B-17s for ten months -He was in ordnance -Learning how to load ammunition -Got a furlough going home and was about one week late getting back -Punished for being AWOL and was transferred to transportation -Meant hauling crews from their quarters to the bombers -Sent to Hammer Field, California with the 461st Bombardment Group -While he was at Hammer Field he remembers a bomber crashing in Huntington Lake -He had been sent to Hammer Field in October 1943 -Hammer Field was basically made of tar paper barracks -Allowed to go off the base but he had to return by a certain time -Got in trouble for coming back to base late and drunk (00:23:55) Deployment -Shipped out in January 1944 -Placed on a troop train and taken to Virginia -Most likely Camp Patrick Henry -Boarded a Liberty Ship -Carrying personnel, ordnance, and vehicles -For three or four days they waited for the convoy to get together -Didn't get seasick -Saw men lose a tremendous amount of weight due to seasickness and not eating -On the ship for forty six or forty seven days -Convoy was strafed by an Axis plane when they entered the Mediterranean Sea (00:26:25) Arrival in Italy -Anchored off the coast of Sicily for about one week -Waiting for the harbor in Naples to be clear -Pulled into Naples and was taken to a bombed out college -Stayed there for about one week -Slept on a floor with a blanket -Fed two meals a day -Had only been fed two meals a day on the ship as well -Boarded a troop train and went to Torretto-Cerignola Airfield (00:29:27) Stationed at Torretto-Cerignola Airfield -Made a camp on a farm near the airfield -Used one barn as a mess hall -Used another barn as an officers' club -Six men to a tent -Had a barrel in the tent that they could use for a fire source -Used plane fuel -By now it was February 1944 -Had to sleep on the ground for a week before they got their tent -Stayed in the tent at Torretto-Cerignola for the rest of the war -Torretto-Cerignola was the base of operations for the 461st Bombardment Group -Got close with the bomber crews -Painful when they got shot down �-Had to wait for the bombers to arrive so missions could begin -Missions began in April 1944 -His job was to pick the crews up from their quarters and transport them on the base -First pick up the enlisted men and the officers from their quarters -Take them to headquarters for their briefing -After the briefing they were brought to the flight line to board their bombers -Found out what the missions were after the crews returned -Got to know some of the crews really well -Knew how many bombers went out, and how many bombers came back -Got close with the ground crews as well -A life long friend was in the 461st Bombardment Group, just in a different squadron -On a mission over Yugoslavia this friend lost his arm -He was able to visit him in the hospital before he was sent back to the U.S. -Friend later became a lawyer and then became a judge -Became routine picking up crews (00:42:07) Downtime and Travel -When he wasn't taking crews to the flight line he would just kill time on the base -Took crews to the nearby town if he wasn't busy doing anything else -Went to Rome for three days -Visited Venice for three days -Rode on a gondola -There were a lot of American soldiers in Rome and Venice -Got to visit the Vatican and see Pope Pius XII (00:44:16) Progress of the War -When they first got to Torretto-Cerignola they were close to the frontline -Could see flashes of artillery fire at night -As time went on though, Allied forces advanced north and the frontline moved north -At first he was afraid that they would be bombed by the Germans -Some nights wondered if he wouldn't wake up the next day (00:46:08) End of the War, End of Service, and Coming Home -461st stayed at Torretto-Cerignola for the rest of the war -He was at Torretto-Cerignola on May 8, 1945 when Germany surrendered -Everyone was happy because they knew that they would be going home soon -He returned home because he had enough "points" to go home -Points: Awarded based on length of service, rank, combat seen, and dependents -Taken to Naples by truck -Boarded a troopship in Naples bound for the United States -Some of the men on the ship were infantrymen that were being redeployed to the Pacific -On their way to the United States received news that Japan had surrendered -The infantrymen were ecstatic that they could just go home -Took eleven days to sail from Italy to the United States -Places his departure from Italy as sometime in early August 1945 -Arrived in New York City �-Got to see the Statue of Liberty -Docked in the Hudson River -Taken to shore by smaller boats -Given a carton of milk -Greeted by a welcome home committee -Sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey -Stayed there for three days -Sent to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas -Discharged from the Army Air Force there -Felt good to see the Statue of Liberty and get welcomed home the way that he was -At Fort Dix you could go into the mess hall and get anything you wanted to eat -Called his mother when he was at Fort Dix and told her that he was back in the U.S. -Had a sister that lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma -Took a bus from Camp Chaffee to Shawnee -Greeted by his sister and his first wife -It was a happy time -Hadn't been home since July 1943 -Mother was happy to see him (00:53:09) Reflections on Service and Life after the War -His service made him mature -Went in as a boy and came out a man -Glad to get out and get a job -Got a job on an oil rig -A lot of things he has forgotten and is glad that he has forgotten them -Out of the six men that he bunked with in Italy he is the only one left alive -Remembers there was a Catholic orphanage in Italy they could take their laundry to � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_FarrisK1797V Title A name given to the resource Farris, Kenneth T (Interview outline and video), 2005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-10-21 Description An account of the resource Kenneth Farris was born in Pernell, Oklahoma in 1923. He grew up there and after graduating from high school in 1942 he worked as a civilian worker at an airfield in Texas. In January 1943 he received his draft letter and he was inducted into the Army Air Force at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was sent to Miami, Florida for basic training, and from there was sent to Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to his father dying in April 1943 he was separated from the men that he trained with and wound up at Scottsbluff Army Airfield, Nebraska training on ordnance with the B-17. After ten months he was transferred to transportation and was assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group. He served with them at Hammer Field, California and deployed with them in January 1944. He was stationed at Torretto-Cerignola Airfield, Italy from February 1944 to August 1945. His duty was to transport crews around the airfield from their quarters to the flightline. He was sent home in August 1945 and was ultimately discharged from Camp Chaffee, Arkansas shortly after VJ Day. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Farris, Kenneth T. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0da7d8f317043745eab84976669601e5.m4v 69cfd22650085b5b880981f73a104514 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/569a202a8e3ad94a5625ed1f21db2c78.pdf 3cee9368e71e441de6bc2058815f915b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ralph "Hank" DeYoung Cold War 38 minutes 33 seconds (00:00:42) Early Life -Born in 1928 in Spring Lake, Michigan -He stayed in high school through the tenth grade -His father worked in a factory, owned a farm for 6 years, then started a construction business -Hank and his brother became business partners with their father -He had numerous cousins that served in World War Two -One cousin was shot down over Switzerland and captured -Managed to escape and made his way back to the United States -He had no interest of going into the service -In the construction business he laid brick, did carpentry work, poured cement, etc. (00:02:36) Start of the Korean War and Getting Drafted -Paid attention when the Korean War began -He wasn’t surprised when he was drafted -He was drafted in the summer of 1950 -Reported for his Army physical and was deemed fit for service -Sent to basic training in December 1950 (00:03:19) Basic Training -Went to Detroit for the physical -Sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin for basic training -Got there by train -It was a four (or five) hour train ride -Camp McCoy was cold during the winter -Some days they would train in -56oF wind chill weather -Basic training lasted six weeks -The main focus was learning to be disciplined and to follow orders -Difficult to adjust to the psychological aspect of training, but eventually adjusted -Physical training wasn’t difficult for him -One man was killed during a training accident -Stood up during an infiltration course and got hit by machinegun fire -Infiltration course: crawling under barbed wire while a machinegun fired over you -Drill sergeants would punish trainees in various ways -Most common punishment was to be put on “kitchen patrol” (00:06:23) Cook Training Pt. 1 -Originally sent to radio training and took the basic courses at Camp McCoy -Some of the tables in the mess hall were worn down -He took it upon himself to repair the tables -Oddly enough this led to him being placed in Cook School at Fort Sheridan, Illinois -He had wanted to be a combat engineer, but never got accepted for that �(00:08:00) Getting Married -Prior to going to going to basic training he, his family, and his girlfriend had an early Christmas -His report date for basic training was December 15, 1950 -During that Christmas gave his girlfriend a ring -He was allowed to go home on leave for New Year’s 1951 -Decided that the next time he came up he and his girlfriend would get married -He was supposed to get a three day leave starting on February 6, 1951 -The sergeant in charge of giving out leave wouldn’t let him leave -He wound up talking the chaplain into letting him go home to get married -Took a train to Milwaukee, Wisconsin then caught a plane to Muskegon, Michigan -The flight was delayed and landed late -He was supposed to change at his in-law’s house, but the house was locked -Arrived to his own wedding an hour and a half late, but other than that it went well -Their reception didn’t end until 2 AM the next morning (00:10:46) Cook Training Pt. 2 -Discipline at Fort Sheridan was strict -The first part of Cook School consisted of a lot of paperwork -Learning recipes and how to keep records of supplies used -After the paperwork training got into the kitchen and began hands on training -The two primary foods he made a lot of was scrambled eggs and sheet cakes -On Saturday nights they would make chipped beef -Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and scrambled eggs -Cook School lasted eight weeks (00:13:00) Returning to Camp McCoy -Returned to Camp McCoy and started working in the kitchen there -He was assigned to Headquarters Battery of the 194th Field Artillery -He cooked for all of the officers in his unit -Sometimes the officers ate better if they treated the kitchen staff well th -The 194 Field Artillery was an Iowa National Guard unit -Worked for three days then got three days off -Served with two men from Detroit -One night they went drinking with a sergeant and didn’t come back in the morning -This meant that Hank had to deal with breakfast on his own -He recruited the men on kitchen patrol to help him cook -During breakfast the two men from Detroit returned -He covered for them, so that they wouldn’t get in trouble -He stayed at Camp McCoy until July 1951 (00:15:28) Deployment to Europe -He eventually received orders to go overseas -Didn’t know where he was going -Went to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey by train -Once there he knew that he would be going to Germany -Boarded a troop ship with 3000 other soldiers -It was an old Liberty Ship from WWII -The weather going over wasn’t bad -Spent most of the voyage just looking for ways to kill time �-It took seven days to go from the United States to Germany -Lots of men got sick during the voyage, but he didn’t (00:17:03) Wurzburg, Germany -Arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany -From Bremerhaven took a train to Wurzburg -His first impression of Wurzburg was that their barracks were beautiful and modern -The kitchens were also modern -German civilians worked with them in the kitchen -Did a lot of shopping and sightseeing on his downtime -Days started at 2:30 AM and lasted until 6 PM (sometimes even later) -Same pattern of three days of working, then three days off (00:19:30) Reassignment to the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion -One night there was an alert and he was transferred to Nauheim, Germany -There was already a military facility existing there -From there he was sent to the East/West German border with the unit on patrol there -Had to live out of tents -Relied on portable kitchen equipment -He was attached to the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion when he went to the border -At the time it was still a predominantly black unit -The new battalion commander was strict, but fair and competent -He got along well with the men in the 272nd -The Detroit men from the 194th came with him -Remembers that one of them was a violent drunk -Efficiency in the 272nd was terrible until they got the new battalion commander -He was on border patrol when his wife told him that she wanted to come to Germany -He wasn’t an officer, so he couldn’t move her over through the Army -She made the preparations to come over on her own -She would have had to live on her own, and wasn’t allowed to work -He eventually talked her out of moving over (00:25:45) Downtime and Contact with Home -He wrote home every day and received mail from home every day -He was the envy of his unit because of that -To cheer up the other soldiers his wife would write to the other men too -Most of the men in his unit were single so they would go on dates with the German girls -During his downtime he took design courses and bought a drafting board -Designed a house for one of the men in his unit -He would spend his downtime reading religious magazines and going to chapel on Sundays (00:27:10) Awareness of the Cold War and the Korean War -Always worried that the Soviet Union would eventually attack Western Europe -Paid attention to the progression of the war in Korea -If you were in Germany there was little chance that you would get sent to Korea (00:27:59) Contact with German Civilians -The German women were hard workers -The German men spent most of their times in bars -The Germans were, all in all, good people -Even seven years after the end of WWII there were still a lot of orphans �-There was still a lot of poverty in Germany -On Thanksgiving and Christmas the orphans would be brought to the base for dinner -The orphans didn’t speak much English, but they still found ways to communicate -He didn’t learn much German while he was in Germany -There were still a lot of bombed out buildings in Germany -Amazed by how much the Germans had been able to rebuild in a few years (00:30:30) Visiting Amsterdam -He was given a ten day leave and decided to visit Amsterdam in the Netherlands -It was different than Germany -Heard stories about how the Dutch had violently opposed the German occupation -For example: shoved German soldiers into canals to kill them -More of the Dutch people spoke English than the Germans did (00:31:15) Temporary Promotion -Went over to Europe as a private first class -When he was in Germany he was temporarily promoted to the rank of sergeant -It was not an official promotion, but he still had the leadership responsibility (00:32:18) End of Service and Coming Home -Towards the end of his service he just had to maintain the food truck, but not cook -When his time was up the Army urged him to reenlist, but he declined -Offered him a bonus -He wanted to go home and be with his wife -There was the chance that he could have gone to Korea if he had reenlisted -He returned home in November 1952 -When he returned home he had to wait in Bremerhaven for three days for a ship -On the way home the troop ship ran into a hurricane -He got seasick then -Never thought that the ship would sink -The crew didn’t seem too bothered by the storm either -Arrived in the United States at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey -He was discharged from Camp Custer, Michigan (00:35:03) Life after the War and Reflections on Service -After his service he went back to work with his father -When he and his wife were in their early seventies they backpacked through Germany -She had always wanted to visit Germany -Visited his old barracks -Amazed by how modernized and different Germany was -All traces of the war were gone -He worked in construction for the rest of his life -His service taught him to appreciate travelling -After his wife died he found a box of his old letters and memorabilia that he had sent her -His service had taught him not to be too attached to his hometown -Later in life he and his wife would take an annual road trip to Texas -His service taught him to be more independent -If he had stayed in the Army he could have retired early -Staying in the Army also could have led to him fighting in Korea or in Vietnam though � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DeYoungR1664V Title A name given to the resource DeYoung, Ralph (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-08-28 Description An account of the resource Hank DeYoung born in 1928 in Spring Lake, Michigan. He left high school in the tenth grade and worked with his father in his father's construction business as a business partner. In the summer of 1950 he received his draft notice and on December 15, 1950 he reported for basic training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. After completing his basic training he got married to his wife on February 6, 1951 and was also in Cook School training to be an Army cook at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He served with the Headquarters Battery of the 194th Field Artillery Battalion of the Iowa National Guard back at Camp McCoy. In July 1951 he was deployed to Germany with the 194th Field Artillery Battalion and served at Wurzburg. From Wurzburg he was reassigned to the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion at Nauheim and then went into the field with them patrolling the East/West German border. In November 1952 he returned to the United States and was discharged. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DeYoung, Ralph Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3f407a5fec30eeb5b847db28641f599e.mp4 d8e858bfd2c65ce1f2ae04731168a863 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cd4eb9c8b7220c32f2d6722921a94685.pdf cf12c3476d017b1b97c98cc063620ce1 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Nelson DeYoung World War II 56 minutes 20 seconds (00:00:12) Early Life -Born on November 11, 1924 -Grew up on the southwest side of Grand Rapids, Michigan -His father worked in one of the factories there -Grew up in a good neighborhood -There wasn’t much money growing up -He had a job delivering newspapers -Spent his downtime playing baseball and marbles with friends -Attended Southwest Christian School through the seventh grade (00:05:06) Growing up during the Great Depression -After the seventh grade he left school to work in a furniture factory -He had had a hard time in school because of his speech impediment -He worked eight hours a day and five days a week -The extra income helped his family during the Great Depression -It was normal for a thirteen year old to work fulltime at the time -It was easier for him to go to work because he was teased in school about his speech -The 1930s were a hard time to pull through, but he is thankful because his family did -During the summers they would go up to McBain, Michigan to visit family there -He always enjoyed those trips and misses them now -Before the freeway system it would take eight hours to drive up there -Now it only takes one to two hours -He also worked on a muck farm and was paid $0.50 a day (00:19:44) His Family -He had three brothers and two sisters -His youngest sister had Spina bifida and his other sister took care of her -His oldest brother worked for a hospital in Cutlerville -His youngest sister eventually died due to her illness (00:25:04) Getting Drafted & Start of the War -He was drafted on March 4, 1943 -It was difficult to leave his family behind -It was made easier because many of the young men in his neighborhood were drafted too -He remembers it being scary when Pearl Harbor was bombed -Thinks that the U.S. pushing forward instead of retreating was a good move though -He knew too men that were killed at the onset of the war (00:28:25) Training -He was placed into the Medical Corps and worked in a hospital for a while -He was transferred to a different camp -He was placed on KP (kitchen patrol) duty waiting for his uniforms to arrive -It took a month for his clothing to arrive �-He also served food at the new camp -The mess sergeant offered him the chance to become a cook -He decided to take the offer -Had he stayed in the Medical Corps he would have wound up near the frontlines -Because of his transfer he was supposed to go to Cook and Baker School -The mess sergeant overrode that, so he didn’t have to -He started off at Camp Bradley, Texas for basic training -From there he was sent to Camp Tyson, Tennessee to serve as a cook -He was transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia -While he was there he had surgery performed on his back -After Fort Gordon he was sent down to Florida and stayed there for a short time (00:35:29) Deployment to India -While in Florida he received orders that he was to be deployed to the Pacific Theatre -He remembers going into a theatre and given an orientation about Army life overseas -Before being deployed the atomic bombs were dropped and the war ended -From Florida he was assigned to another hospital elsewhere -He flew from Florida, over Africa, to India to stay there for eighteen months -He aided at a field hospital in India helping to evacuate the wounded back to the United States -By the time that he got back to Michigan he had travelled completely around the world -When they left out of Karachi, India it took one month to get back to the United States (00:40:08) Coming Home Pt. 1 -He remembers when they got stateside men just left the ship and went AWOL -They were just excited to be back in the United States -He was discharged in 1946 -He had served at the same time as two of his brothers -All of them came home safe and roughly at the same time too -Remembers it was a “day of rejoicing” to see his family and his brothers again (00:42:19) His Wife -He met his wife prior to being drafted -While he was away they communicated over letters -It was hard to leave her behind when it came time to be drafted (00:43:45) Coming Home Pt. 2 -When he got back to the U.S. he arrived in California -He requested his discharge papers early so he could visit an uncle, but was denied -He was told he would have to wait until they got back to base -During the train ride home he cooked and served food -The thought of his wife helped him to get back home (00:47:18) Wanting to Enlist -When his oldest brother enlisted in the Army he wanted to enlist at the same time -His father forbade it and told him that he would get his chance soon enough (00:49:28) Reflections on Service -The experience of leaving his loved ones strengthened his trust in God -Believed that if he trusted in God he would make it back to them -He had felt that he had been part of a fight for good and justice in the world -His faith grew during his time in the Army �(00:51:35) Leaving India -He remembers when he was first onboard the ship in India he got terribly seasick -He could barely stand and it was caused just by the tides going in and out -After leaving port they hit rough seas -The deck was crowded with men vomiting over the side of the ship -He wasn’t affected because he already had his “sea legs” -He remembers that when they got to the open sea all he could see was nothing but water � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DeYoungN1697V Title A name given to the resource DeYoung, Nelson (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-10-19 Description An account of the resource Nelson DeYoung is a World War II veteran who was born on November 11, 1924. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was drafted on March 4, 1943. He started off training to go into the Medical Corps until he became a cook in the Army. He served at Camp Bradley, Texas Camp Tyson, Tennessee at Fort Gordon, Georgia and in Florida. At the end of the war he was sent to India to aid with the removal of American wounded from India out of Karachi. He was discharged in 1946. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DeYoung, Nelson Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Semeneck, Evan (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans World War, 1939-1945--Personal Narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd942827e01071a83e252fd7317a7ef9.m4v 6971b343f79c797bc3b7d6200013d68d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8b89fe51c587d6fb768cf0ac671d89f.pdf 5a3522dd3d6fab015354114f921d1331 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Richard DeVos World War II 55 minutes 26 seconds (00:00:02) Early Life -Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 4, 1926 -Went to Christian schools in the Grand Rapids area through high school -Except for one year at a public school -Graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School (00:00:48) Start of the War and Awareness of It -He was at his home in Grand Rapids when Pearl Harbor was attacked -A neighbor kid told him that Pearl Harbor had been bombed -He, and his family, wondered what that meant for him in terms of involvement -The closer that he got to being eighteen years old the more real the war seemed (00:02:39) Enlisting in the Army Air Corps -When he turned eighteen he enlisted in the Army Air Corps -He took his Army physical in Detroit and was approved for service -He was accepted into the Army Air Corps before graduating from high school (00:02:47) Basic Training -After graduating from high school he reported for basic training -Took a train to Fort Sheridan, Illinois -He, and one other man, was the only recruits on the train -At Fort Sheridan he was issued a uniform and given more physical exams -The barracks at Fort Sheridan were very stable because the fort was a permanent base -Didn’t spend a lot of time at Fort Sheridan, just went there for processing -From Fort Sheridan went to Sheppard Field, Texas for basic training -It was a permanent base with wooden buildings; it was also a clean and well-kept base -At Sheppard Field was his first introduction to being indoctrinated into military living -Daily routine was wake up, get cleaned, get dressed, and then report for marching and training -During basic training he also learned how to use and maintain a rifle -A large part of basic training was learning to be disciplined and to follow orders -He trained with men from all over the country -All in all basic training was an enjoyable experience for him -Got to meet interesting people -He adjusted easily to military living -Among all the men there was an intense feeling of patriotism -Knew that they were fighting for democracy and for human rights -Never felt that basic training was all that difficult -Never felt threatened, pushed, or abused by the training or the instructors (00:09:33) Glider Mechanic School -He had originally wanted to be an Army Air Corps cadet to become a pilot -Early on he was washed out because the Army said that he had tuberculosis -In all reality he feels that the Army just didn’t need any more pilots �-Looking for any reason, real or imaginary, to wash out cadets -After completing basic training he was assigned to glider mechanic school -Learned about how to maintain a glider as well as woodworking skills -He took the glider mechanic school at Sheppard Field (00:11:22) Glider Camp in North Carolina -After completing the mechanic school he was assigned to a glider camp in North Carolina -Part of his job was to aid in the training of glider pilots for the Normandy Invasion -The majority of the glider pilots were cadets -They had been approved to be pilots, but just not for engine powered aircraft (00:14:27) Downtime in North Carolina -Went to church on Sundays -Played softball on a team -Visited town in the evenings -He was too young at the time to drink, so he wasn’t able to go to bars -He forged strong bonds with the men that he served with in North Carolina (00:15:27) Deployment to the Pacific -From Winston-Salem, North Carolina he was sent to Salt Lake City, Utah -From Salt Lake City he was sent to an outgoing base near Portland, Oregon -At the time of his deployment he had no idea exactly where he was being sent -As he prepared to ship out the war ended -He thought that he would just be discharged -On the contrary the Army still needed personnel for post-war duties -He boarded a Liberty Ship and left the U.S. -It was crowded, messy, and there was always a fight to be on the deck -On the way to their destination there was an issue with the food -Stopped in Hawaii for thirty days -Stayed in Schofield Barracks -Received more training while in Hawaii -Remembers that the beaches were poorer than Michigan beaches -Got a chance to explore Hawaii while he was there (00:18:57) Assignment to the Island of Tinian -From Hawaii they sailed to the island of Tinian -En route crossed the International Date Line and there was a small ceremony for that -He never really felt like he was a part of group, always felt like an individual that was in a group -Never ran into any acquaintances from Michigan during his deployment -Upon arriving at Tinian he didn’t know much about the island -After they arrived they boarded trucks and were taken to their barracks on the island -The barracks had tin roofs and were temporary, but they weren’t bad -On the island they had access to a movie theatre and a clubhouse -Spent a lot of time playing cards and ping pong -Later he became a truck driver on the island delivering food to the various mess halls -The island had an airfield that ran the length of it -This was the airfield where the Enola Gay B-29 took off to bomb Hiroshima -For the most part everyone was just waiting for their chance to go home -Towards the end of his time on Tinian he was assigned to count material being sent out �(00:23:38) Returning to Tinian -Long after the war he revisited Tinian after a business trip to Guam -The island still has an airport and receives commercial flights regularly -There is a memorial for the servicemen who fought and died taking the island -Saipan is the next island over and is thriving, along with Tinian -There are hotels on Tinian now -He felt a lot of nostalgia coming back to visit Tinian (00:24:50) Downtime on Tinian -On Tinian they had a wonderful chaplain who performed regular church services -He played on his base’s baseball team -They played against the other teams on the island and won the championship -His position was first base -He had a lot of time to read -There were no ideal beaches for swimming -One Sunday he and a few other men found a decent beach and had a cookout there -Always had access to spiritual services when he was in the military (00:27:56) Conditions on Tinian -The weather was nice, but it rained a lot -Remembers having to wear ponchos to be able to watch movies -Most of the animals on the island were gone, or at least not present -Mosquitos weren’t a problem because of the location of the island in the Pacific (00:29:48) On the Philippines Pt. 1 -From Tinian he was sent up to the Philippines -His job was to help get supplies loaded onto ships that were going back to the U.S. -It was basically a place to go to wait for a transport to take him home (00:30:13) Coming Home Pt. 1 -From the Philippines went up to Yokohama, Japan -There was an issue with polio on the ship -Had to stay there until they got an iron lung for the ship (00:30:45) On the Philippines Pt. 2 -He was stationed at Clark Field on the Philippines -The living conditions were good -There was one instance where they were shot at by Filipino insurgents -The engagement wasn’t too dramatic though -Slept in tents -They were all mostly waiting for a ship to take them home (00:32:02) Contact with Family -He was able to write his family consistently -He kept in contact with his future business partner, Jay VanAndel throughout his service -He received mail from his family and Jay regularly -Telephones were not readily accessible -If you wanted to call home you had to make a costly long distance call (00:34:39) Coming Home Pt. 2 -When he got home he went into business with Jay -Prior to him coming home Jay had already come home and gotten things started -He had met Jay in high school and they decided to start a business after the war �-Even throughout their service both men had been determined to get a business started -He and Jay eventually founded the successful, international business, Amway (00:37:13) Reflections on Service -He feels changed by his service -He had seen the world and felt matured because of it -After his service he had trouble staying in college -Feels that his service had taught him enough already -After the Air Corps he was ready to get his life and his business started -Didn’t want to waste time in college -Feels that his experience in the military was a wonderful one -Feels that he had been fighting for a worthy cause -Fighting for the survival of democracy and the U.S. -Feels that our enduring patriotism is due to our victory in WWII -He believes that the men who fought on the frontline are the most valuable of our veterans (00:43:51) Miscellaneous Details -His fondest memories are of playing ping pong on Tinian -He has maintained one close friendship with a man that he met who was from New Orleans -He remembers working a temp job at a flour mill in North Carolina -Only worked there for one night and then quit -Affirmed that he didn’t want to do that work for a living -Remembers one Italian man who insisted that he was a chef -Remembers that there was a partially built hospital on Tinian -It had been planned to be a fall back hospital for the invasion of Japan -Shows how grim the invasion could have been had the bombs not been dropped (00:48:14) Personal Message -Feels that America is worth fighting for -Feels that when we are attacked we need to take the fight to the enemy -That there are certain times when we must take the initiative -Believes that we need to fight to protect our rights from those who would take them away -If we want to have freedom, then sometimes we must fight to protect it INTERVIEW ENDS AT 00:52:50 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DeVosR1578V Title A name given to the resource DeVos, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05-18 Description An account of the resource Richard DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1926. He grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School. After graduating he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and after being processed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois was sent to Sheppard Field, Texas for basic training and glider mechanic school. He was then sent to a base near Winston-Salem, North Carolina to aid in the training of glider pilots. From there he received orders to be deployed to the Pacific Theatre. He shipped out of Portland, Oregon shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered. He was stationed on the island of Tinian aiding in the effort to bring material back to the United States as well as the transportation of food to the various mess halls on the island. From Tinian he was sent to Clark Field in the Philippines where he continued to load supplies onto ships bound for the U.S. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DeVos, Richard Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7d0075a9401d563d02e22be4ddaf08dd.mp4 065b9061e95b362b1ebd0decf48a0e12 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3eb3674f9b5a28030a4821e9e64f5e03.pdf 985641fe94b1246ead32038ad891fcb5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project World War II, 1943-1946 John DeBoer Length: 57 Minutes Pre-War Born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1924, and graduated from East Side High school (0:39) His father worked on a bread truck and sometimes as an electrician, while his mother worked at a grocery store (1:38) They took in one of his nieces after her family was broken up (2:10) He was working as a tool and die apprentice, working in job shop with German nationals who could not get a job in areas related to defense (2:56) They did not talk about Germany so he did know what they thought of the Nazis (3:10) He paid little attention to the news before Pearl Harbor; he heard about Pearl Harbor in a friend’s car on the radio (3:45) He decided to join the military afterward; he picked the navy because he did not like marching and he was interested in it (4:58) Training He enlisted in February, 1943 (5:15) �He was sent to Sampson, New York for boot camp; boot camp was a breaking down process (5:35) When he was there they had to strip, go through a line to get a physical, then get a shot, wait in line for a psych exam and then they were given clothes (6:01) Boot camp ended after 6 weeks and then he was sent to radio school (6:28) He got a second class radio license from radio school; he basically learned to copy down Morse code (6:42) He found that it was harder to send a message than it was to receive them, because it was easier to write messages down (8:01) They kept building up the speed required that he had be able to write down the messages, but he does not remember anyone who had a hard time with that (8:30) He finished radio school after three months, May of 1943 (9:43) On the Edwards He was assigned to the USS John D. Edwards, a Clemson class destroyer that was built in 1919; it had torpedoes, depth charges, and anti-air guns as its main weapons (10:26) He joined the ship in Charleston, South Carolina; it was in dry dock under repair (10:46) There were 20 men and 12 officers on the ship (11:58) Their first trip was to Trinidad ; he got sick but did not get sick again; he was given shore patrol duty. He was given a club to keep the sailors in line (13:52) �After they left Trinidad, they crossed the equator and did the “crossing the line ceremony” which helped break up the monotony (15:33) They had an ice box but not a refrigerator, so after they ran out of ice, they had to use dehydrated food. They had a condenser that would allow them to turn salt water into drinking water (15:49) He slept in the after quarters by the fuel tanks ( 16:33) This was in the summer of 1943, but they were not hit by any storms (17:06) They crew was cycled through, but the commander of the ship, a lieutenant commander was removed because he could not dock the ship well, and was replaced by a lieutenant who was very good at his job 18:18 The ship, in dry dock, had been converted from a four, to a three, smokestack ship 19:34 They went to Maine after the first cruise, after that, they did convoy duty to the Mediterranean and lone patrols of the East Coast (21:21 First convoy was to the Mediterranean; on the convoy duty they were on the outside of the convoy using their sonar to find subs (21:48) Convoy Duty They used a mix of destroyers and light cruisers as part of the escort (21:51) Later in the war they added carriers as part of ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) because there were areas of the Atlantic that could not be covered by ground based aircraft (22:06) Later in the war they could drop sonar buoys to find subs more easily (22:38) �The convoy went to Tunisia to drop off supplies (22:58) They were attacked by German bombers in the Mediterranean (23:40) This was part of the German effort to try to cut off Malta (24:11) They stopped in Gibraltar and he was able to pick up supplies and sonar (25:00) They crew was more experienced and worked well together by this point (25:02) He slept in the aft crew quarters which rolled with ship making it hard to sleep at times (25:25) During bad storms they would eat sandwiches under the decks but normally they would eat on the deck of the ship (26:03) He was never worried the ship was going to sink, but bad storms could be very dangerous (26:58) It was important to have a good helmsman to help them avoid the worst of the storms They stopped at Casablanca, Bizerte, and Azores (27:54 The Azores, which was part of Portugal, was neutral, so they were limited to how often they could stop there (28:21) On the way back they stopped in Bermuda (28:43) His favorite port was either Boston or Casco Bay (28:52) When they stopped in Casco Bay they had to ride a whale boat to land (29:13) They had many contacts with U Boats and dropped many depth charges but they were never able to confirm that they sunk any of them (329:41) �His ship was involved in chasing down U-544 which was sunk by fighters (30:48) He was part of a submarine hunting group with the USS Guadalcanal, a carrier, and three other destroyers (31:15) They able to find the subs because of the breaking of the Enigma code (32:13) None of the ships he was with were sunk (33:10) They never got off the ship in Europe; they did most of their refueling on tankers at sea (33:45) Because they had the junior commander they always refueled last (34:22) They refueled by throwing lines across they ships (34:32) After they sank the U-544, one of the planes crashed on the carrier meaning the two other planes had wait until it was dark and one of the planes missed the carrier and they had to be rescued from the ocean (36:330 On his first trip, the carrier lost half of its planes and air crew (36:59) Afterwards they were in the Caribbean in on submarine patrol (37:20) The food was criticized even though they did not have refrigeration which made it hard to keep the food good (37:48) It was a challenge to move the food to lower decks when storms broke out because much of it was cooked on the deck (38:28) Flight training He put in for flight training, which his captain okayed, even though he thought it was crazy. (40:18) �He left the ship in 1944 after he was accepted in flight training (40:28) He was sent to school in Murray College and University of Georgia to study physics and navigation and other flight related areas before he started flight training (41:19) The survival training taught him how to build snares, hand to hand combat, and other information needed to survive on the ground (42:23) He took his preflight in Memphis Tennessee; he was the first in his class to fly solo (44:00) Most of the preparation was learning navigation and flew a Stearman Biplane (44:40) He was taught about carrier landing and during his first solo flight he almost overshot the runway (45:50) After that he learned aerobatics and other maneuvers (46:15) He left the military in 1946; he finished his flight training. He was told that once the war ended he could leave at any time even though he was signed up for five years (47:37) When they were not flying planes they spent time in Memphis and playing cards (48:17) Segregation was very notable because the town next to the base, Millington, Tennessee was 100% black (49:00) They also sank a tug off the coast of Florida. They picked up a ship on the radar, they challenged it and they got no response. They tried to light it up with comet shells but got no response; they turned on the searchlight and found out it was an American tug (50:50) After the war, he went back to tool design, but joined the telephone company (51:20) He could have gone to college but did not (52:10) �He did maintenance of switches for the telephone company; he retired from the phone company after 35 years. (53:32) He moved to Michigan because they had enjoyed coming to the lake (54:08) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DeBoerJ1707V Title A name given to the resource DeBoer, John (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-11-20 Description An account of the resource John DeBoer was born in 1924 in Paterson New Jersey and before the war he worked as tool and die apprentice. He enlisted in 1943 and trained in Sampson New York. He was sent to radio school and was assigned to the destroyer USS John D. Edwards as a radio technician. The ship did convoy duty and anti-submarine patrols throughout the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and participated in the sinking of a German U-Boat. He left the ship in 1944 to began flight training, and was based near Memphis Tennessee. He left the military in 1946 before finishing flight training. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DeBoer, John Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f592e74607c1864ae3f8301a8060f384.m4v e8271c2e59581cf050dde414d6c9d0cd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3120527022e84f0aa3cde12982dcae6b.pdf 581ed281a51cb1de46bf14a9e08d1ee3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran's History Project Vietnam War David Corradetti Total Time (00:24:47) Introduction (00:00:25)  David Corradetti was born in Woodbury, New Jersey, on January 1st, 1950 (00:00:32)  David had a background in hunting and fishing; he also played football and notes that he was pretty good in high school (00:02:02)  He graduated high school in 1968; deep down he knew he was going to get drafted for the Vietnam War and decided not to go to college and took a job instead working on a turnpike which he enjoyed doing; he received his draft notice in April of 1969 (00:03:43) ◦ David ended up getting married right before he was sent to basic training; he did his basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey (00:04:15) ◦ Basic training wasn't that difficult for him due to his background in sports (00:04:45) ▪ He got his orders for Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Washington (00:05:30) ▪ David got his orders to go to Vietnam; he departed from Ft. Lewis from the airport in Seattle, from there they went to Alaska to refuel (00:07:12) Vietnam (00:07:21)  David got orders to be apart of the 101st Airborne Division near Phu Bai, Vietnam to Camp Evans (00:08:16)  When David arrived, a fellow infantrymen took him under his wing to tell him what he should and shouldn't do as far as being accepted amongst his fellow men (00:10:11) ◦ A typical day in the field was walking through fields on trails looking for enemies or casualties- they had to be careful of booby traps (00:12:30) ◦ David and his unit were operating around Ripcord in late March of 1970 (00:15:03) ▪ He was caught in an ambush around firebase Gladiator on the 6th of April; RPG fire came in and killed his lieutenant who was next to him and David ended up wounded with shrapnel in his chest and legs (00:18:22) Back Home (00:19:18)  The injuries David sustained were bad enough to send him back home (00:19:23)  After David had recovered he was sent to work at Ft. Lewis doing supply work (00:20:15) ◦ He never personally encountered any anti-war protest even when he was in uniform back in the United States (00:21:07) ◦ He has no regrets from the Army or his time spent over in Vietnam (00:22:51) ▪ After the Army he went back to his old job at the service station on the turnpike for a few years and then went on to work at an oil refinery for 33 years and retired at the age of 57 (00:24:09) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_CorradettiD1693V Title A name given to the resource Corradetti, David (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-10-11 Description An account of the resource David Corradetti was born in Woodbury, New Jersey on January 1st, 1950. He graduated high school in 1968 and decided not to pursue college because he had a feeling he was going to be drafted. David was drafted in April of 1969 and did his basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. He did his AIT at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Washington and was sent to Vietnam after that. He joined up with the 101st Airborne Division. David received a purple heart medal after he was injured in Vietnam and was sent home. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Corradetti, David Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b54dfe85c031bfe6a3da822b57b4bc6d.m4v 4b63da329409c6cc5756d271708eba4d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f261a58cede3377f99188d3275e13c9d.pdf 4e70dc35fdd1d98a2b159abd0c8e9c62 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Jack Cole (40:16) (00:12) Background Information • • • • Jack was born August 23, 1948 in Grand Rapids, MI He went to reformed school until he was 16 Was the first of 3 brothers to go to the service; his brothers went into the Marines He wanted to be in the Airborne like his dad but couldn’t because of his hearing, so he went in for trucking (4:25) Training • • • Jack first went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for 8 weeks of basic in June of 1966 He then went to Fort Dix, New Jersey for 6 weeks of light vehicle drivers school He was deployed to the VII Corps in Germany and drove officers around Europe in a car company (6:03) Vietnam • • • • Jack landed at Cam Ranh Bay and drove a truck in a convoy that was brining supplies to a battle in Dac Tho, near the Laotian boarder Entering Dac Tho was like “running a gauntlet” If a truck got hit they would push it off the road to keep the convoy moving out of the kill zone They also drove with gun trucks to protect the convoy (8:25) Relationships • • • • • Jack became desensitized to people dying around him and was not interested in making good friends with the men he was working with The only way to keep in touch with friends and family back home was to write He could send photos and tapes with the letters He felt that they “were never off duty”; they worked from 4:30 am to 8:00 pm and then had to do maintenance on their vehicle They did get 5 days R+R in Da Nang and then Dong Ha which was the 3rd Marine Division base, where he was also able to visit his brother on his time off (14:47) Gun Trucks �• Jack was officially a driver but occasionally he had to ride on a gun truck with a M-60 machine gun or an M-79 grenade launcher, also known as a blooper • The gun trucks had to guard the ammo dump at night (18:15) Injured in an Ambush • • • • Jack hit a trip wire from a bomb in a tree while driving and was hit by shrapnel in his flak jacket and nose He was bleeding all over, but couldn’t stop the truck so he went down the road a ways He went to a Special Forces base for first aid then to the hospital the next day to have the shrapnel removed, then “back to work the next day” The gun trucks improved as the war went on with .50 calibers and mini guns (26:05) War Ends • • • • • • • • Jack returned to the US in November of 1968 They landed in Seattle and were told to take off their uniforms so they wouldn’t get hassled He had to drive a jeep for the army for 6 more months before he was discharged With one month left to go he got in trouble for attempting to elude the police When he returned to the base he got a Article 15, was fined one month pay, and had to pull KPs for the remainder of the time After his discharge Jack became a welder Jack took advantage of the GI bill and retired at 55 He advises people to go into the military because the training will help to earn a higher salary in civilian positions � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ColeJ Title A name given to the resource Cole, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2008 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-05-22 Description An account of the resource Jack Cole was born on August 23, 1948. He joined the Army as a light vehicle driver and drove trucks in a convoy that traveled and brought supplies to the battle at Dac Tho. Jack occasionally drove the gun trucks while traveling in the convoy. While in Viet Nam, Jack was injured. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cole, Jack Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Abraham, Blake (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9ef752d8159a1ad2394ff2ad598786e.mp4 abb2aa8b1f5a9e7ae194c618b4b00053 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a4091db1e90a29450aa636a7ee283ff6.pdf c81acf6e2e668b863a61a13df24997da PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Dr. James Clark Cold War 45 minutes 37 seconds (00:00:39) Early Life -Born in Oak Park, Illinois on September 7, 1939 -Grew up in Forest Park, Illinois -His father was in sales -His mother was a housewife and then went back to teaching when he was older -He was an only child -He attended and graduated from Proviso High School in 1957 (00:01:38) College & Reserve Officers’ Training Corps -He considered college while he was in high school -He decided on Miami University in Oxford, Ohio -He majored in secondary education with a minor in comprehensive social studies -He volunteered for the Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps -He was guaranteed a commission if he graduated from college -Felt the Navy ROTC was better than the Air Force ROTC -There was weekly rifle and drill -First year was focused on naval history and orientation -Second year was focused on weapons and gunnery -Third year was focused on navigation and engineering -Fourth year was focused on leadership skills -Learned not to come off as arrogant -Just introduce yourself and be personable -Emphasize camaraderie and professionalism -He was a contract student -This meant he only had to go to one summer training session -Did it between his junior and senior year -Went to San Diego and did a six week training cruise on a destroyer -He was also able to visit Pensacola, Florida -He was never introduced to submarines during his time in the ROTC -There were eight midshipmen in the junior officer billet during the training cruise -He would stand watch and work alongside communication and personnel officers -He graduated and received his commission in June 1961 (00:07:13) Reporting to the USS Purdy -His orders were to report to the USS Purdy DD 734 at Newport, Rhode Island in July 1961 -He was redirected to the Boston Shipyard where the Purdy was in dry dock -He stayed there for two months -His work consisted of supervising shipyard workers -He also started to get to know the ship -While at the Boston Shipyard he had some downtime and was able to visit Boston -There was a mix of new officers and career officers �(00:09:42) Refresher Training -In September 1961 he set sail with the Purdy -They sailed to Newport through the Cape Cod Canal -Stayed at Newport for a short time -After Newport they sailed down to New Jersey to load the ship’s ammunition -It had 5 inch/38 caliber guns -Three twin mounts -40mm antiaircraft guns -Torpedoes and depth charges -After New Jersey they sailed back to Newport -Sailed down to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training -The training was difficult and fast paced -It was hot and humid -The purpose of the voyage was to get the ship into fighting condition -They were at sea every day -They were running through scenarios to test their readiness -Tracking a submarine -Antiaircraft target practice -Navigation and maneuvering -Cryptography exercises -At general quarters for eight hours every day -After the refresher training they sailed back to Newport for two months (00:12:40) Mediterranean Sea -Sailed out and joined the 6th Fleet -Stayed in the Mediterranean from February 1962 to August 1962 -They stopped in several ports in Europe -Cannes, France; Naples and Genoa, Italy; Crete; Istanbul, Turkey; Greece; Sardinia -Civilian attitude of Americans varied from port to port -Some people saw Americans as a source of money -In Naples they had problems with American sailors and weren’t as hospitable -In Istanbul and Greece they were hospitable -He didn’t feel any Cold War tension or anti-American sentiments -He doesn’t recall there being any problems in the Middle East at the time of that voyage -He got along well with the other crewmen -Everyone was friendly and he got to know everyone around him -The single men fared better than the married men -They had black, Filipino, and Hispanic sailors working alongside them without problems -He remembers one sailor that got seasick all the time -They didn’t sail through any storms en route to and returning from Europe (00:19:27) Cuban Missile Crisis -After returning from the Mediterranean they didn’t stay in Newport long -The Cuban Missile Crisis flared up and they were sent to the Caribbean -They sailed independently to Guantanamo Bay -From there sailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico -They were battle ready all the time -News trickled in on the teletype that was on the ship �-They didn’t have TV or radio on the ship -They stayed in the Caribbean until December 1962 -Didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until they got to Cuba (00:22:01) Trinidad -In the spring of 1963 they sailed to Trinidad -They were tracking a ship that was sailing to Cuba and was considered suspicious -Followed it to Port Au Spain, Trinidad where it was in port for a while -After it left they followed it all the way into the Atlantic Ocean -He had shore patrol duty while in Trinidad -He saw extreme wealthy and extreme poverty -The population was diverse -There were lots of restaurants to visit -There were some discipline problems -He didn’t see any confrontations first hand though -After that they sailed back to Newport (00:24:45) Patrolling the Dominican Republic -During the refresher training they were given a weekend off to Jamaica -En route they were ordered to turn back and sail towards Cuba -There was a problem in the Dominican Republic -There orders were to patrol the waters there and did that for days (00:25:49) Leaving Active Duty and Joining the Reserves -He left the USS Purdy in May 1963 because his enlistment was up -He got a job teaching at a middle school in Oakwood, Ohio -Did it for a year -Returned to Miami University for graduate school -Completed his master’s degree -He decided to enlist in the active reserves -Keep his skills up -Served as a training officer, supervisor, commanding officer, and executive officer -Only had to train for two weeks out of the year -He worked in an administrative position -He didn’t notice many men that were trying to get into the reserves during the Vietnam War -He was in a reserve unit that was stationed in Bloomington, Indiana -There was fear that protestors would attack the reserve center -They were given guards -Some men avoided wearing uniforms near the university -He wound up leaving the active reserves as a captain -There were no longer any positions open that required a captain -He was informally retired in the 1980s -He formally retired in 1991 (00:32:29) Getting Promoted to Captain -He went before an officer review board -They would see if you were volunteering for more responsibility -Checked to see if you were staying in shape and passing your physical exams -Checked to make sure that you were being consistently professional -It was very competitive to get promoted �-There were no required schools to attend or programs to complete to get promoted -The two weeks of training each year was enough (00:35:05) Women in the Navy -When he first went into the Reserves there was only one woman in his unit -As time went on more women joined -He worked with a female officer -He also worked with a female journalist -The Navy began to allow women into the ROTC and into the military academies (00:37:27) Other Details of Service -He didn’t like to go out for drill during ROTC -He had a lot of good times in the Navy -Doesn’t recall there being any significant bad times in the Navy -Most Vietnam veterans avoided joining the Reserves or having anything to do with the military -They were better and resentful towards anything military -He remembers one young man that joined the Reserves after going to Vietnam -He only recalls one man being called up for service during the Vietnam War -All of the people he served with were professional about the protests and anti-war sentiments (00:41:25) Reflections on Service -One of the best decisions of his life was to join the ROTC -It was a great opportunity -His service was a positive experience -He recommends military service -It taught him how to be responsible for other people -It taught him professional and personal skills -Especially how to work with people -It was a great chance to see the United States and the rest of the world -He enjoyed the discipline (00:42:50) Life after the Navy -He worked as an assistant dean at Miami University -He went to school at Indiana University and got his doctorate -He became a dean at Hanover College, Indiana -He worked for the federal government for a total of twenty five years -He worked as investigator for the Department of Defense -Specifically dealing with discrimination and harassment complaints -His Navy experience helped him with his civilian work -Knew how the military worked by the time he worked for the Dept. of Defense � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ClarkJ1713V Title A name given to the resource Clark, James (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-12-11 Description An account of the resource Dr. James Clark is a veteran of the Cold War who was born on September 7, 1939 in Oak Park, Illinois. He attended college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and joined the Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps there. When he graduated in June 1961 he was also commissioned and went to report for duty at the USS Purdy DD734 based out of Newport, Rhode Island. He took part in several voyages to the Caribbean Sea, including one during the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as a Mediterranean Cruise with the 6th Fleet. In May 1963 his two year commitment ended. In 1964 he joined the Active Naval Reserves and stayed with that until he was informally retired in the 1980s and then was finally officially retired in 1991 with the rank of captain. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clark, James Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d504dcb9f12b1cbbce131eeb9115ebe7.mp4 383686e259c8a8c595e5b0d265027c88 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e5d182bf6e906fd719c345b5451f40ed.pdf 63588d19f1926bcb9c83996d6c64e3c4 PDF Text Text GrandValleyStateUniversity Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Lan Chi Le Interview Total Time: (31:47) Background  (00:11) Born in SaigonVietnam in 1970 o Mother from My Tho  Had 4 brothers and 4 sisters  Moved to the city for a better job o Mother met father while working as a waitress o Father from America, worked for GICC for Vietnam  He was a chief management officer o At the time, her mother knew just a bit of English  (2:09) Ms. Le’s mother quit working after staying with her father o Her mother became pregnant, father gave her money before leaving o Says he knew he wouldn’t be back o Gave her documents in case Ms. Le wanted to look for him one day  (3:17) Says mother was depressed after father left Communism in Vietnam  (3:51) Was about 4-5 years old when the communists took over o Does remember when she was upstairs in her house playing, saw many helicopters and jets o Engines were loud; was scared o Found out they lived about 20 minutes away from the airport  (5:13) Ms. Le said the cops threatened to take her mother’s house away  (5:26) After the communists took over, her mother had a very hard time finding a job  (5:45) Her mother did end up finding a job as a receptionist at a hospital  (6:15) Says her father left just enough money behind to get a house and start off  (6:25) Remembers that there wasn’t enough rice in the house as a child  (7:05) Ms. Le said she was fortunate enough to go to school o Said she got picked on a lot in school because of her American heritage o Said that sometimes she would have to go along w/others in saying she hated America o Had to wear a red scarf to show Ho Chi Minh loyalty � (8:54) Every family was required to have a picture of Ho Chi Minh on their walls o Risk of going to jail if they didn’t Opportunity to go to America  (10:46) There was a program called ODC o Took three years before they received a ticket to go to America o Americans paid for them to go  (12:07) Flew over with her mom and sister o Had to stop by the Philippines for 6 months o Went into a training program o They learned English, and a bit about everyday life  (12:51) Ms. Le was surprised by snow  (13:19) There were many emigrants at the orientation in the Philippines o Temporary homes were built o 10 sections with cubicles; each family was put in one o Food and drink was distributed o Walked to school o Philippine teachers  (14:07) Many of the other emigrants didn’t talk about their past  (14:33) Ms. Le’s sister was 100% Vietnamese o Her mother remarried o Her stepfather didn’t want to come to America; not sure why  (15:15) Ms. Le knew they were to be sent to Michigan, but wasn’t sure what it would be like o Said they were warmly welcomed when they landed at the Grand Rapids airport in November  (16:11) Stayed in Hamilton for about 5 years before moving to Holland  (16:25) She and her mother cried a lot when they first moved because of their family members back in Vietnam o Weren’t sure if they were able to see them again o Sister was too young to think about this stuff o Her mom worked hard to get a driver’s license, job, and took ESL night classes o Became a US citizen after 5 years o Mother worked at a factory in Zeeland for 11-12 years o Later worked with medicines  (18:09) Ms. Le started going to school when she arrived in Hamilton o Graduated in 1990 �         o Was in the top 10 of her class o Went to Western Michigan University and earned a degree in accounting  Graduated in 1994 o When she first got to high school it was hard because of her English, but the teachers spent extra time with her (19:53) Says that in Vietnam she was considered to be a foreigner, but when she went to America she was considered Vietnamese (20:22) The first couple of years were very hard for Ms. Le, especially because of the English (20:37) Ms. Le’s husband is Vietnamese o She met him in Holland o His family was very welcoming towards her (21:40) Watches national news every day and learns a lot from it (22:08) Says she would love to go back and visit her Vietnamese family o Wants to help Amerasian students there (22:55) They have regular contact with family in Vietnam o One time she and her husband and older child went to Vietnam to visit in 1997 (24:43) Her husband’s family is from an island off the coast of Vietnam (25:45) Mentions that she used to sing in Vietnam o The government used her singing abilities; at the time she didn’t realize she was singing communist songs (28:10) Ms. Le says she really appreciates the ODC program � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ChiLeL0494V Title A name given to the resource Le, Lan Chi (Interview outline and video), 2010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-01-07 Description An account of the resource Ms. Le was born in Saigon in 1970 to an American father and Vietnamese mother. Her father had to leave, and her mother struggled to make a living, especially when the communists took over. A program called ODC allowed them to leave Vietnam, go to the Philippines for orientation for 6 months and then move to America. Mastering the English language was a struggle at first, but Ms. Le worked hard and became very successful. She said she is grateful to the ODC program. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Le, Lan Chi Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/56fdb1c016379b6620bccc75bf08ba5a.mp4 85e74e83b313354a149a4989608bc0b4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7f1a9660bb482801914ff5376a6c78bd.pdf 1ef49ac73847a4279c6755ebfe52fe69 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project James H. Childress World War II Tape Length: 19 minutes 3 seconds Interview Length: 18 minutes 12 seconds (00:00:07) Enlisting in the Navy -Enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school -Worked for three months after graduating from high school and before enlisting -Worked seven days a week and made $130 a week -Made more than his father at the time -Tried to get as much living in as possible before he enlisted -Enlisted in the Navy in October 1943 (00:01:21) Training -Went to Detroit and boarded a train -Taken to Spokane, Washington -Got processed and went through orientation there -Sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for Quartermaster School -Issued seventy two hour leave passes -Would go up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a Navy club there -Given sandwiches, beer, and tickets to movies -Would come back to base Sunday night tired and hungover -Sent to Little Creek, Virginia for Amphibious Training -Remembers that it was very hot -Most likely summer 1944 by now -Went swimming in jellyfish infested waters -About three quarters of the men that went swimming got stung -Got a Navy tattoo in Milwaukee -Didn't realize that he had gotten it until the next day (00:05:22) Deployment -Sent down to Houston, Texas to board a Landing Ship, Medium (LSM) -Had a crew of about seventy men -Worked in a shipyard for two weeks and enjoyed that -Took the LSM down to Galveston, Texas for the shakedown cruise and gunnery training -Making sure that it is ready for service -Sailed through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast to San Diego, California -Trained more in San Diego -Sailed from California to Hawaii -Spent about five weeks there -Practicing invasions with Marines (00:06:43) Invasion of Iwo Jima-February 1945 -Sailed for Iwo Jima -Stopped at Ulithi and Saipan -Saipan had just been liberated in the summer of 1944 �-Had tanks armed with flamethrowers -Most likely the M4A3R3 "Zippo" -Arrived at Iwo Jima at night and could see the Navy bombarding the island -Didn't think that anything could survive that -Loaded Marines, tanks, and jeeps onto landing craft and took them to the beach -After dropping off personnel and vehicles they would go back and get more -On one wave they forgot to pull up anchor and got stuck on the beach -Had to get pulled off the beach while they were being shot at -On another wave their landing craft got hit by a shell and they lost one of their engines -Managed to get off the beach, but then the second engine overheated -They had to be anchored offshore for three days -Eventually got towed to Saipan -At Saipan they were loaded onto a Landing Ship, Dock -It was landing ship that acted like a dry dock -Took three (or four) days to get repaired (00:10:53) Invasion of Okinawa-March 1945 -After getting repaired and rejoining the LSM they sailed up to Okinawa -Saw a lot of kamikazes hitting ships -Received some antiaircraft training in an attempt to defend themselves from the kamikazes -A ship that had been heavily damaged was turned into a dummy target for the Japanese -Loaded with burning oil barrels to simulate smoke stacks -Armed with remote controlled machine guns to simulate antiaircraft crews -Looked like a real ship and drew the kamikazes away from the real ships -The LSM that he was aboard got hit by a kamikaze as he was preparing to take a shower -Ship sank in only ten minutes -He immediately got dressed and gathered whatever he could -The captain gave the order to abandon ship -Remembers that the rafts were overloaded with survivors -Decided that it would be better to just start swimming towards shore -Got picked up by another American ship -Wound up being given a bed beneath where the 5in. guns were -Eventually got transferred to another ship (00:16:49) Coming Home and End of the War -He was placed on another ship and sent back to the United States -Remembers pulling into San Francisco and being processed -Given a new uniform and new clothing -Sent home for thirty days -While he was home the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan -He was also home when Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 -People were stopping their cars in the middle of the street to hear the news -Remembers strangers hugging each other, overjoyed with the war's end �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ChildressJ1752V Title A name given to the resource Childress, James Harold (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-04-25 Description An account of the resource James H. Childress enlisted in the Navy in October 1943. He trained in Spokane, Washington Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois (for Quartermaster School) and Little Creek, Virginia for amphibious training. He joined a Landing Ship, Medium crew in Houston, Texas and trained with them before sailing out into the South Pacific. He took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima and after that the invasion of Okinawa where he survived the sinking of his ship. He was sent home later that summer and was home during the dropping of the atomic bombs and Japan's subsequent surrender on August 15, 1945. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Childress, James Harold Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Childress, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/13127e0895567905ab6708a3d94637ad.mp4 6b897cb41381ff378d3dc6343a038280 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f2fa2d37a1b5629c39d0aa4249533324.pdf e2dbb087838a2307c120e25583964683 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Don Chaffee Cold War/Vietnam Era INTERVIEW LENGTH: 1 hour 31 minutes 50 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life -Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939 -Grew up in Birmingham, Michigan -Attended high school in Birmingham -Father was a roofing contractor (00:00:54) College and Rear Officers’ Training Corps -Attended college at Middlebury College -At Middlebury there was a two year Reserve Officer Training Corps requirement -Went on marches wearing old WWII uniforms -There was some classroom work -He stayed in the ROTC past the two year requirement so as to avoid the draft -If he hadn’t gotten his officers’ commission he still could have been drafted -Graduated from college in 1960 -In the summer between junior and senior year attended a six week summer camp in 1959 -Took place at Fort Devens, Massachusetts -Trained with other ROTC cadets from all over the East Coast -There was a separate ceremony for receiving his commission -Granted the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the Army (00:05:45) Supply Officer Training -His date to report for active duty was in January 1961 -While waiting to report he worked with his parents in Florida building pools -In January 1961 he reported for duty at Fort Lee, Virginia -His assignment was to go into the quartermaster corps -He knew that with his poor eyesight he wouldn’t go into the infantry -Being in the quartermaster corps also made sense because he was an economics major -The quartermaster corps handled all of the supplies except for weapons and ammunition -He trained how to be a supply officer -How to fill out paperwork, the language of the corps, and the organization system -Still received some rudimentary combat leadership training -He was still a 2nd Lieutenant and eligible to lead troops into battle -The training lasted eight weeks (00:09:49) Deployment to South Korea -His original permanent duty station was going to be at Fort Bragg, North Carolina -He was appalled by the racism in the state -Requested a transfer to a different duty station and was given South Korea -He received no preparatory training before going to Korea -He reported to the Oakland Army Terminal, California -He was able to fly over to Tokyo, Japan on a Pan-Am Flight -Flew from Tachikawa Airfield, Japan to South Korea �-In Korea he was given a basic orientation about Korea -It basically consisted of how not to contract a sexually transmitted disease -Sent to the quartermaster corps headquarters in Uijeongbu, South Korea -While there he was placed in charge of Armed Forces Day -While he was in Korea there was a coup de tat which led to him being transferred -Sent to the 1st Cavalry Division stationed on the demilitarized zone -His job with them was to be a food supply officer (00:14:53) Conditions in South Korea and on Base -Not much had been done to help South Korea’s economy recover after the war -Even in major cities poverty was rampant -The Koreans were diligent and hardworking, but desperate -Theft from U.S. supply depots was a problem at the time of his deployment (00:16:58) Duties and Relationship with other Officers -Oversaw organization and distribution of food and mail -Another duty was to oversee that uniforms were washed -Another duty of the quartermaster corps was grave registration -Ate in a separate mess hall specifically for officers and pilots -Most of the officers that he met were career soldiers -He was the youngest supply officer -Some men did want to get in and out of the Army, but they weren’t the majority -Served with two men that had trained at West Point and Annapolis -They requested the quartermaster corps specifically to stay out of the infantry (00:22:29) Being Stationed on the Demilitarized Zone -He and the rest of the 1st Cavalry Division was stationed on the western end of the DMZ -It was the most vulnerable point of the DMZ -Close to Seoul, South Korea -Stationed on a path that would most likely be used by North Korean tanks in an invasion -The objective was to keep the supply lines short in the event of an invasion -His quartermaster company there had a fallback position in the event of an invasion -They were within the artillery range of North Korea (00:24:22) Duties as a Food Supply Officer -The Army had a preplanned food schedule for the whole year -His job was to insure that the food was distributed on the scheduled days -He also had to insure that rations were even distributed to soldiers -During the day he was a food supply officer and at night he was a guard -Some days he received “officer of the day duty” -This meant driving around base in a jeep making sure soldiers were doing their jobs (00:27:10) Conditions of Korea and Working with Koreans -U.S. and Korean soldiers would steal supplies -South Korea was poorer than most African countries are today -People had to haul materials on their backs, or with pack animals if they were available -American soldiers were perceived as being wealthy -They had Korean soldiers working on their bases -Lived with the U.S. troops in the barracks -Hated the American food -If a Korean soldier was caught stealing a Korean officer would beat him �-After that he’d be sent back to the Korean Army to be beaten some more -Aside from the theft of goods keeping an accurate inventory was generally difficult -Especially when he had to count acres of various petroleum products -Take note of how much gas, oil, diesel, jet fuel, etc. was available for us (00:32:23) End of Tour in South Korea -His tour wound up being sixteen months -Originally a thirteen month tour but there was a three month extension -This was due to the Berlin Wall going up -Left South Korea in August 1962 -He was not disappointed about leaving (00:33:41) Contact with Family -While in Korea he received a lot of letters from home -He had a tape recorder and could send back voice messages to his family -There was the ability to call home, but telephone use was reserved for emergency situations (00:34:39) Traveling Around South Korea -He would go flying with the Army pilots -Gave him a chance to see the Korean landscape -He drove around South Korea to other Army bases -There was one instance where he was attached to a USO tour -Gave him a chance to drive all around South Korea -Got as far south as Pusan -His job was to act as a liaison for the USO -Basically insuring that the Army had places for the performers to sleep -One journey was because of a Korean soldier getting run over and killed by a U.S. truck -There was a custom where the family would be paid $200 for the death -He drove all over South Korea and eventually found the family in Pusan -Part of the trip involved getting to fly in a helicopter (00:38:48) Changing Conditions of South Korea -Everyone was poor in South Korea -Even the capitol was impoverished -When he visited South Korea in 1966 Seoul had improved -When he visited again in 1982 the entire country had improved -Small, poor towns in the 1960s have turned into thriving cities (00:40:38) Relationship with Korean Civilians -There were Korean civilians working in labor and administrative positions -As an officer, he was encouraged not to go off base and fraternize with civilians -Enlisted men were allowed to go off base though and do that, within reason (00:41:36) Working with Veteran Soldiers -Some of the men were so worn out they couldn’t even wear combat boots -He served with WWII veterans that struggled with PTSD and alcoholism -Most of the sergeants were old enough to be his father -There was a lot of mutual respect between him and the sergeants subordinate to him -He learned a lot from the sergeants that he served with (00:45:03) Threat of Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Other Incidents -No one really knew if North Korea was going to invade, or not -The potential was always there �-The situation was unpredictable -The leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung was unpredictable and aggressive -North Korea was heavily militarized -He would see North Korean soldiers guarding the demilitarized zone -They were absolutely expressionless -There was no event that scared him, but he knew the threat of invasion was always there -During the Cuban Missile Crisis he was back in Fort Devens, Massachusetts -That incident gave him nightmares -There were some minor incidents on the DMZ while he was in Korea -Knew of some infantrymen that were wounded by North Korean infiltrators -He remembers the coup that happened in South Korea -For him it was largely uneventful besides being transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division (00:51:22) Assignment to Fort Devens -He came back to the United States in late summer 1962 -He requested his stateside assignment to be at Fort Devens -Served there from late summer 1962-January 1963 -He worked for the post quartermaster primarily in the commissary -His job was to help reorganize Fort Devens after a catastrophic fire -He lived at Fort Devens -Took college courses in Boston (00:53:23) End of Army Service -He wasn’t pressured to reenlist when the time came for him to get out of the Army -He was interested in the military advisory group -Fascinated by foreign cultures and wanted the chance to work with them -Told that if he went into that area he would be in the Army indefinitely -Decided not to go into it -He moved to San Francisco and went to active reserve status and worked at a bank -He reported for his active reserve duty at Fort Scott, California -Went to Camp Roberts for exercises -Also went to Fort Ord for two weeks -In 1965 his status changed to inactive reserve -In 1967 he was notified that he was honorably discharged from the Army (00:56:52) Awareness of and Volunteerism in Vietnam -While he was in the reserves he knew there was a chance he could be sent to Vietnam -He did not want to go to Vietnam -He went to Vietnam as a civilian and became cynical about the war -He was attending graduate school at UC Davis in the mid-1960s -There was a State Department project offered to graduate students in the social sciences -Began in summer 1965 by sending volunteers to Vietnam -The idea was that these students would be able to bolster public support -In the summer of 1966 he volunteered and was approved to be sent to Vietnam -Knew there was a chance that he could have gotten killed -Before leaving there was a preparatory process -Interviews with officials at UC Davis and in Washington D.C. -Attending a week of lectures on Vietnam in Washington D.C. (01:02:14) Volunteer Work in Vietnam �-He was sent over to Vietnam and landed in Saigon, South Vietnam -Received some training in Saigon -Sent to the provincial capital of Song Be Province to work with a representative of the project -One of the major projects was working with Catholic refugees from North Vietnam -Helping them build up a small community in the area -On his first in the province flew up to the northern part of the province in a transport plane -On the way back got to ride in a Huey helicopter with high ranking American officers -During the ride flew over an area where a firefight was taking place -He worked with two other Americans -A former Catholic school teacher and an ex-Green Beret -Got along with both, but felt the Green Beret was a little too gung ho -Learned that there were CIA agents operating within their ranks -Learned later on that the ex-Green Beret was a CIA operative -He was later killed in action (01:08:28) Opinion of the Vietnam War -After his volunteer work he came back more cynical about the war -He actively protested the war back in the U.S. -He had talked to high ranking American officials in Vietnam about the war -Heard what they had to say about the conflict -Saw firsthand the discrepancies between what was said and what the reality was -Saw in Vietnam that there was widespread corruption and cronyism -After talking to U.S. soldiers learned that the majority of what Americans had been told was lies -Found that it was impossible to know who the enemy really was -There was no great love for Americans, and even aid workers were targets -Saw that even the U.S. soldiers were disillusioned and frustrated -Realized that high ranking officials were spreading lies -There lies were resulting in people getting killed -Remembers sitting on a porch on the Saigon River listening to American artillery being fired -The volleys would be fired at random coordinates to disrupt the Vietnamese -It epitomized the randomness, chaos, and lack of direction of the Vietnam War (01:14:11) Relationship with the Vietnamese and Aid Work in Vietnam -He would go swimming with the ex-Green Beret in the Saigon River -Told that there was a chance that the Viet Cong would shoot at him -Went into villages with the military to round up villagers -The surface intention was peaceful (medical attention and food distribution) -The real intent was to look for anyone sympathetic to communist forces -He had a good relationship with the North Vietnamese Catholic priest -Worked with him to build homes for the Catholic refugees -Don’s job was to insure that the proper supplies got to the refugees -He simply just felt comfortable being with them, because he knew they were friendly -Went to visit a school for special needs children -Had to travel through a dangerous area and was issued an M1 Carbine -Only time he carried a weapon in Vietnam -Drove an International Harvester Scout -Safer because the Viet Cong would attack military vehicles, not civilian vehicles -Also opted out of being in an Army convoy �-Knew that those attracted far more attention and he was more likely to get killed (01:20:18) Downtime and Conditions in Vietnam -He visited the city of Saigon multiple times -Gave him a chance to eat better food -Ate authentic Chinese food in the Cholon District -Ate at some of the remaining French restaurants in Saigon -Allowed to eat at the American military facilities -Chance to indulge in American food -At the time Saigon was more sophisticated than Seoul had been in the early 1960s -Evident that it had once been a colonial city -Saigon was a dangerous city compared to Seoul -Acts of terrorism were carried out fairly regularly by the Viet Cong -There was more freedom of movement as an American, which exposed you to dangers -Seoul was safer because the Koreans were far more welcoming of Americans (01:24:08) Leaving Vietnam and Traveling in Asia -He stayed in Vietnam for two and a half months -He was able to split up his international plane ticket into multiple stops -Stopped in Cambodia on the way home -Prior to the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge -Cambodia was what Vietnam could have been -Flew into the county when Charles de Gaulle was visiting -Saw Angkor Wat -Deeply saddened when Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge -From Cambodia flew back to South Korea -Visited Seoul and where he had served while in the Army (01:26:30) Volunteerism in Uganda -Went to Uganda after graduate school for work during the Idi Amin regime -He was told before going that Amin had made Uganda a freer and more relaxed country -He arrived in July 1972 and in August 1972 Amin began to expel persons deemed unfit -Specifically targeted the 80,000 Asians living in Uganda at the time -Stayed in Uganda from 1972-1974 (01:28:40) Reflections on Service -Early on he didn’t feel that his time in the Army had had any major effect on his life -For a long time being a veteran was something that was best kept quiet -Without the GI Bill he wouldn’t have been able to go through graduate school -It is only in recent years that he has begun to think about and review his time in the Army -He is more willing now to talk about his service -Especially on holidays like Memorial Day or Veterans’ Day -All in all he is glad that he served 01:31:50 INTERVIEW ENDS � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ChaffeeDJr1703V Title A name given to the resource Chaffee Jr., Donald (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-11-07 Description An account of the resource Don Chaffee was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939 and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. He attended Middlebury College and completed the Army ROTC program there, graduating in 1960 and taking his commission. He trained as a supply officer at Fort Lee, Virginia, and went to South Korea in 1961. He served first in a headquarters unit as a quartermaster, and then went to the 1st Cavalry Division along the DMZ. He served the rest of his enlistment at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts. He left the service in 1965 rather than re-enlist in part because he did not want to go to Vietnam, but while in graduate school in 1966, he volunteered for a State Department program that sent volunteers to Vietnam as aid workers, and spent several months in Song Be Province. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chaffee Jr., Donald Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/53e4fb34d49dafeefd98e46e3501da3b.mp4 48f379f1067f898b003c1080fc4ca712 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4db48c0bd2d91e16ab2605db965299ba.pdf c4923ec27b11981c60bbcfcea893a811 PDF Text Text GrandValleyStateUniversity Veteran’s History Project WWII/Post-WWII/Korean Conflict James Carr Interview Total Time: Background  (00:14) Born in ChicagoIllinois, in 1927 o Stayed here through high school then moved to Park Ridge o Mentioned that they lived in a Norwegian ghetto o Got Norwegian newspaper o Went to high school in Park Ridge also  (00:50) Father was a civil engineer o Never lost a job through the Depression o Family members lived with them who had suffered during this time  (1:30) Father tried to get in the Marines during World War I as an artillery observer because of his technical background o They didn’t take him because his blood pressure was high from excitement  (2:02) Had two brothers; one was killed when Mr. Carr was an infant  (2:40) All of his male cousins served in World War II, uncles in World War I  (3:20) Remembers during childhood when his younger brother wanted to see an army jeep o Drove through Ft. Sheridan o Gates were closed when they tried to leave, they got let out o Went to a nearby relatives house who seemed concerned about a recent event o Found out that Pearl Harbor attack had occurred  (4:36) Mr. Carr’s first choice was to join the Naval Academy and take flight training o Navy wanted him to have a degree before joining o Joined the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager  (7:20) Mr. Carr enlisted instead of waiting to get drafted o Took a skill test that had to do with electronics o This made him eligible to go into the Navy as a first class seaman o He was 17 at the time, as well as his other friends o They had to wait until graduation o After graduation, the war in Europe was over  (8:30) Got to boot camp in early September of 1945 �Training  (9:00) Said that when they arrived to boot camp, “you were a nobody” o Had to learn many new things  (9:40) They had companies within the boot camp, about 100 of them in the company  (10:16) They had weapons training, but different than the Marines o They still used 1908 Springfield rifles o Firefighting aboard ship  (11:30) At the time, the Navy was still segregated o This was strange to him, because it was very different in Chicago  (12:35) He said the most challenging part of training was identifying aircrafts and ships o They only flashed on the screen for barely a second  (13:07) Boot camp was 10-11 weeks  (13:16) The electronics program was cancelled because the war was over  (13:16) Mr. Carr was given the opportunity to learn how to become a dispersing clerk o To handle Navy payroll o Once they graduated, they learned they could be discharged once everyone else was discharged  (13:56) There was a 3 week program to learn how to do this Navy Career  (14:15) Sent to Great Lakes Campus o Then assigned a discharge unit  (14:15) As a dispersing clerk, he looked at their payroll record  (14:50) A case Mr. Carr will never forget o One man was a chief petty officer; many ribbons o All the ribbons were red; which meant that he didn’t get top conduct awards o Address was the same as in 1908; had been serving for 40 years  (16:33) Says that they didn’t get paid a lot, so there wasn’t really any disputes about how much a person was paid  (17:10) There was a guy whose payroll didn’t keep up with him; had been in different combat situations  (17:34) Mr. Carr did this work for 9 months  (27:37) Afterward, he went to school at MichiganStateUniversity  (27:53) During his time as a dispersing clerk, he stayed at Great Lakes o Mentions that the base was more of a training center and a transition center o Hangers were converted to barracks; 1300 guys to each room �        (19:06) They had 8 hour shifts o They got liberty passes; got to go anytime as long as they reported when they got back o Talked about the nice houses near the area (20:22) Got days off sometimes o 8 hours on and off, and then 56 hours off o Then they were changed back to the regular schedule o Went downtown, got to go see movies and plays, etc. (24:13) Enlisted in the Navy Reserves o Inactive reserves o Joined an organization at school, 45 hours a month, and joined another one later (25:09) Because Mr. Carr could type, he could work any hours he wanted o Did this in between classes (26:10) One of his assignments was with Navy Intelligence in downtown Chicago o Didn’t know what they were looking for, but knew that there were many people with aliases (28:44) Mr. Carr had graduated by the time the Korean conflict had started o His enlistment was going to expire in August after he graduated in June o On June 25th, North Koreans invaded South Korea o About a month later the president extended all of their enlistments by a year o In August, he got word to report to active duty on September 7th o Had a wedding planned on September 9th, so they got married on August 23rd instead (31:35) Reported to the NavalReserveCenter and then went to Pere Marquette Railroad Station in Lansing o Went to Ft.Wayne, in Detroit o Then got on a train to Great Lakes Naval Academy o Went there for processing over a weekend o Wives came to visit them, and they got liberty o Took a train for 3 days to California  Said the ride was beautiful (35:16) Arrived at Port Hueneme in OxnardCalifornia o Assigned to a battalion that hadn’t been formed yet o Waiting until others arrived so they could be a 1000 man battalion o Had to build their own housing o Got to participate in the commissioning of the assignment of officer o Mr. Carr was color guard �            o Didn’t ship out until the first week of January (37:56) 60-70% of the guys in the unit were WWII vets or of that age o The rest were those who had joined in the reserve units (39:12) Went to a recruit training center in San Diego o Stayed at the place the SEALs trained o Spent an hour learning how to use each weapon o Learned a lot about being a good soldier; more than the Navy boot camp o Did this for two weeks before going back to Hueneme o Got leave shortly after, explored Northwest United States with wife (41:15) Shipped up to the Aleutian Islands o This was a secret project; not told that they were going there o It was a secret project for the Atomic Energy Commission o They were to do underground nuclear testing in basalt rock o They were in Amchitka o This was an area that hadn’t been occupied by 1,000 people since World War II o Two dozen of their people were flown up there, then 100 of them left on an attack cargo ship (44:42) Mr. Carr describes Amchitka as the “Florida” of the Aleutian chain o It snowed, but there was no frost o Remembers solid fog (46:55) Says the island as pretty much abandoned (47:13) Their first job when they arrived was to convert warehouses to barracks (48:25) The coldest it got there at night was 28 degrees o Snow never lasted more than a couple of hours (49:17) Eventually, the whole battalion joined them o They brought over the flu (50:44) Mr. Carr said they had a regular galley o Big meal was at noon, but they were working at that time (52:13) Decided to keep a diary because he could not write home about their work, since it was a secret project (53:37) Had 3 survey crews working, they laid out the ground zero line o Out from about 3 miles o Had to be witnessed, etc. o Whatever they put down was going to be destroyed, but they had to put it back (55:14) The biggest challenge of his job was the weather o Wind never stopped; caused equipment to vibrate o The Aleutian islands were all tundra – made a “mattress” �         (56:40) His team consisted of about 5-6 guys o He really liked these people o They came from all over the US (58:00) Also had to report tide gages (58:28) When they were off duty, they hiked and explored the island o Describes various moments in nature and wildlife that he experienced o They got to watch movies often (1:00:00) Stayed on Amchitka from January until June o Many decisions and work was based on the weather (1:04:42) Mr. Carr’s wife was in Lansing while he was in Amchitka (1:08:37) He said on the island, the morale would go up and down; depended on the weather a lot of the time. (1:10:40) His enlistment was extended by a year; different than World War II o Discharged in August (1:12:00) They came home in a victory ship o 6-7 days crossing the Pacific (1:15:00) Says his time in the military helped him have a great respect for those that do it now � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_CarrJ1296V Title A name given to the resource Carr, James (Interview outline and video), 2011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-11-10 Description An account of the resource James Carr grew up in Chicago and joined the Navy in 1945 at age 17 as a first class seaman. He received raining at Great Lakes Naval Station, and worked there as a dispersing clerk handling payroll for sailors being discharged after World War II. He then went to college and served in the reserves. He was called up when the Korean War started and was sent to Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands to work on a secret project for Atomic Energy Commission. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Carr, James Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.) WKTV WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2936481b9f3c3edc981ef2e89f915675.m4v 34e9da770026ccee2d79d9017e315593 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/632784532d231613c909ad14fe7d04ad.pdf 255aaca7751a2f4dbd6f5ec3899b33ad PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Dr. Edward Byrd Vietnam War 1 hour 24 minutes 28 seconds (00:00:12) Early Life -Born on January 26, 1940 in Birmingham, Alabama -Moved to Washington D.C. and grew up there -His father started several businesses -Most successful one was an air conditioning repair school for WWII veterans -His mother worked for the Federal government -She worked in the Commerce Department and then in General Accounting -Attended Calvin Coolidge High School -Graduated from there in 1958 (00:01:27) George Washington University -He was able to secure a scholarship to George Washington University in Washington D.C. -He majored in zoology which led to him going on to medical school -He was able to get into medical school after only three years and passing the MCAT -He was able to complete medical school -He was able to avoid the draft because he was in college -Graduated from college in 1965 -During medical school a high ranking Army officer came in and addressed the students -Told them that they would all spend two years doing some sort of military service (00:03:37) Awareness of the War -When he was young he saw a gory WWII propaganda picture in a magazine -It made him never want to go to war, or be involved with anything like that -When the Korean War occurred he was still too young to pay any attention to it -When the officer addressed his class he knew that there was no escaping the Vietnam War -Remembers seeing a picture of Hanoi post-bombing in 1964 in the Washington Post -Drove home the severity of the situation in Vietnam (00:05:47) Beginning of Navy Service -He was given three options: -Graduate from medical school, do a one year internship, then enter as a lieutenant -This is the option that he chose -Graduate from medical school, do an internship, then begin specialty training -Graduate from medical school, complete specialty, and then go in with a higher rank -At the time he wasn’t ready to decide on what his medical specialization would be -Eight days after completing his internship he was called to report for duty -Completed his internship at George Washington University -He was sent to Annapolis Naval Academy, Maryland -He was given a uniform, a brief lesson on the history of the Navy, and protocol -Training lasted only two weeks -There was no physical training, or discipline conditioning �(00:08:28) First Assignment to a Ship -The first ship that he was assigned to was the USS Truckee (a fast fleet oiler) -The commander of the fast fleet was aboard the Truckee -Navy wanted a doctor close to the commander -Reported to the Truckee in Baltimore, Maryland -At the time the ship was being repaired and wasn’t ready for him -He was sent to a ship in Norfolk, Virginia called the USS Chikaskia -It was going to be part of a group of ships to pick up astronauts in the ocean -They were getting ready to sail when there was a technical problem -Forced them to return to Norfolk -Stayed with the Chikaskia for about two or three months -Eventually rejoined the USS Truckee -During the time of those two assignments there were no medical duties for him -If there was an emergency there was a Naval hospital nearby -Mostly played golf during downtime (00:12:08) Mediterranean Cruise -He was assigned to a ship called the USS Altair -Sailed to the Mediterranean Sea on her -NOTE: What follows may have been on the USS Altair, or the USS Truckee -During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (“Six Day War”) he was in the Mediterranean Sea -Part of evacuating American citizens from Alexandria, Egypt -His ship was sent to aid the USS Liberty after Israel attacked it -Gave the ship medical supplies -During the time of the Six Day War his ship was never fired upon -Went to Naples, Italy to refuel and resupply -While docked in Naples he got a chance to visit Italy -Didn’t really have any encounters with any Italians -Attributes that to the language barrier -All toll spent one month in the Mediterranean Sea (00:16:49) Medical Duties and Downtime -Prior to the Vietnam War there were really no medical duties on the ships he served on -Crewmen were young and healthy and didn’t require medical aid -The most “serious” injury that he experienced was a broken finger -Bought a camera to film the ship’s basic processes -Examples: resupplying, refueling in the ocean -Found the processes fascinating -Remembers watching numerous crates being accidentally dropped into the sea -The crew didn’t seem too concerned and just ignored it -Thought it was bizarre how tons of goods were lost and it wasn’t a problem -Watched gunnery exercises being conducted with the ships antiaircraft guns -The gun crews would shoot at a target towed by a Cessna propeller driven aircraft -They never hit the target -Realized that they had no real defenses against modern, jet powered aircraft (00:19:47) Relationship with Crewmen -Served with a very interesting group of people -One sailor that he served with had served with the Merchant Marines �-Knew how to use a sextant and navigate by the stars -Valuable because that was a skill that had been mostly lost -He was also a good storyteller and all around a funny guy -A number of the older officers were career soldiers -He found the officers to be interesting -They were always up to date on world events -Knew that a crisis in the world may directly impact them -They tended to be politically conservative -Hardworking men -He worked with three enlisted men who were his subordinates -One of those enlisted men was a corpsman that had served in the Korean War -They took their job seriously and he respected that -They helped him to mature and be a more responsible person (00:23:23) Volunteering for Vietnam -He left the USS Truckee in July 1967 -He returned to his parents’ home for a month of leave -He was originally told that he would serve a year abroad, then a year stateside -Another doctor told him that he should consider becoming a neurosurgeon -At the time becoming a neurosurgeon really didn’t appeal to him -Part of the deal was going to a hospital ship off the coast off of Vietnam -It would ultimately become a five year commitment to become a neurosurgeon -He had to convince his parents that he would be safe and that it was a great opportunity for him -They weren’t happy about his decision, but didn’t forbid him from doing it either -There were not a lot of doctors volunteering to go to Vietnam to become a medical officer -Before being deployed to Vietnam he was not given any orientation (00:26:55) Arrival in Vietnam -Flew out of the United States in August 1967 on a commercial airplane -Landed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, South Vietnam -Recalls that the first thing he noticed was how hot and humid the weather was -Remembers seeing palm trees everywhere -He was taken to a place called Hotel Annapolis -Drove through Saigon and saw the old French buildings -Recalls that Saigon was crowded and full of people on mopeds or in small cars -Hotel Annapolis was a three story, cinderblock building -Guarded by an armed soldier -Stayed there overnight -Shortly after arriving at Hotel Annapolis there were multiple attempted attacks on the guard -A Vietnamese couple pulled up and attempted to shoot the guard -Their pistol misfired and they drove off -The guard wasn’t able to retaliate because there were too many people around -Introduced him to the idea that you couldn’t tell who was friendly and who wasn’t (00:30:57) Assignment to the USS Repose -After staying a night in Saigon he took a helicopter up to Da Nang -From Da Nang he was driven to the docks -Remembers on the way seeing crates stacked along the road that were 10-15 feet high -The stacked crates extended for at least a few miles �-Material for the war effort -He boarded the USS Repose and was assigned to a ward that dealt with tropical diseases -He treated both soldiers and civilians -Primarily treated malaria and parasites -He was able to assist the neurosurgeons onboard occasionally -It was always satisfying for him to treat malaria because usually the treatments were effective -There was a large hospital in Da Nang as well which aided in the treatment of soldiers -Treated the civilians that worked on the U.S. base at Da Nang -They were aided by translators aboard the ship -Always seemed grateful for the aid that they were receiving -The parasites that he treated were roundworm, tapeworm, and amoebas found in the water -Soldiers were supposed to treat the water with a chemical -They chose not to because it made the water taste bad -As a result they would ingest parasites -Remembers one soldier with a case of cerebral malaria -His brain was inflamed and swollen -Ultimately died because of the malaria (00:36:53) Assisting Neurosurgeons -Assisted the neurosurgeons occasionally by using an electrified tool to control bleeding -Slowed the bleeding in the brain during surgery -Over time other neurosurgeons began to ask for his help -After a while his primary job was no longer the ward, but to assist neurosurgeons aboard ship -Ultimately learned faster on the ship than he would have in the civilian world -He helped in treating head trauma and spinal trauma -Different than the average civilian head wound -Learned that artillery fragments tended to cause the most damage (00:40:15) Relationship with Doctors and Crewmen -Some of the doctors were career soldiers while others were just civilian doctors -Some of the doctors he served with had a family, a mortgage, and a private practice -Being drafted made it increasingly hard to support their family, or pay their mortgage -Most of the civilian doctors did not want to be in Vietnam -They were skeptical that it was going to be an ultimately good policy for the U.S. -Feeling increased after the Tet Offensive -Despite those feelings they still did their duty -He had a close relationship with his corpsman and the head nurse -Got along well with them (00:42:54) Tet Offensive -During January 1968 he remembers the Repose getting a high number of paralyzed soldiers -His job was to escort the soldiers to Bethesda Hospital in Maryland -During the mission got to spend a night with his parents -Took a flight from D.C. to California -Got stuck in California for five days due to the USS Pueblo Incident -Large amount of forces being diverted to South Korea -Got a flight out of California to Elmendorf, Alaska then from there to Saigon -Arrived in Saigon at 1 AM -When he arrived in Saigon he could see tracer rounds being fired �-Landed in Saigon and was told he could be taken to Hotel Annapolis -Decided to just stay in the terminal until morning -All through the night he could hear American artillery fire -Every thirty seconds a round was being fired on the Vietnamese -At 4 AM the action intensified -Automatic weapons fire, artillery fire, and flares being deployed -Learned that the Viet Cong had broken through the perimeter -He was placed on a bus and evacuated to a safer position at Tan Son Nhut -There he learned that all of South Vietnam was under attack -The next day he was placed on a Huey helicopter bound for Da Nang -Remembers that the pilot had to stop in the jungle to refuel -There was an absurdly placed self-serve pump in the middle of a clearing -Landed at Da Nang and returned to the USS Repose -Immediately had to get to work due to the high number of casualties -The Tet Offensive was his only exposure to combat while in Vietnam -The Tet Offensive happened halfway through his tour of duty -He and the rest of the Repose was busy during and immediately after the Tet Offensive -Surgeons would go two to three days without sleep -Surgeons would try desperately to save even the mortally wounded soldiers -Received everything from minor wound to fatal wounds -The majority of soldiers they received survived their wounds -Believes that it was due to advanced medical care and the helicopters (00:54:04) Downtime in Vietnam Deployment -Every five-six weeks the USS Repose would go to Subic Bay, Philippines -He was able to take a few R&R trips -Remembers one trip to Hong Kong -They were supposed to go to Sasebo, Japan -Cancelled due to the Tet Offensive -He enjoyed playing golf during his downtime -During his visit to Hong Kong he was able to visit a local golf course -During the visit an officer was taking pictures of Chinese farmers -They became visibly upset about this (00:56:32) Dennis Lobbezoo Sculpture -During the Tet Offensive a wounded Marine infantryman was evacuated to the Repose -His name was Dennis Lobbezoo and he was from Grand Rapids, Michigan -He had been hit by mortar shrapnel in Khe Sanh -Lobbezoo was then treated by Dr. Byrd -Byrd was able to dig out the shrapnel and help heal Lobbezoo -During the course of treating Lobbezoo he got to know him -Byrd always hoped that Lobbezoo would make it back to the U.S. -On Byrd’s last day in country he was reading the military newspaper Stars & Stripes -Learned that Dennis had been killed in action -The loss hit him hard -He came back to the U.S. and saw how Vietnam veterans were being mistreated -He received some harassment, but was more concerned about the injustice for the vets -Always wanted to do something to counteract that mistreatment and to honor them �-He retired from medicine when he was 58 and went to college to study art -The end goal was to learn how to make a sculpture for Dennis -He wound up making a bronze sculpture of a wounded soldier, dedicated to Dennis -He got into contact with Dennis’s ex-fiancé, Joyce Washburn -Together they looked for a place for Dennis’s statue in Grand Rapids -Able to get in contact with Henry Matthews at Grand Valley State University -The statue was put up at the Richard M. DeVos Center at GVSU (01:02:42) Drug Use, Racism, and Sexism on the USS Repose -He was never aware of drug use on the ship -He learned about drug use in the field later -He didn’t see any racial tensions on the ship -His observation was that everyone was so stressed and focused no one cared for race or drugs -In Vietnam it was the first time that there were female nurses on the ship -Caused morale and discipline issues -There were 29 females and 600 males -Most of the men were scared, lonely, and single -Relationships did develop over the course of his tour -When they ended either the male or female was hurt which was demoralizing -If a male pursued a female and was decline then there were morale issues -The nurses were great workers -All in all there were some gender problems caused due to the stress and proximity (01:08:28) Various Memories of Vietnam -He remembers that there was a rash of terribly burned soldiers evacuated to the Repose -Armored personnel carriers would carry a gasoline tank beneath the crew compartment -If it was hit and exploded then the soldiers were cooked alive -The only way to remotely save them was to skin them -Most of the fatally wounded soldiers were calm and accepted that they would die -He remembers treating one captain who had received 100% burns -Said that he would survive because he had a wife and baby to live for -Asked for a drink of water and then laid back down and died -Everyone relied on psychological defense mechanisms to stop from going insane -If they got to close to a patient it could psychologically cripple them -He remembers a doctor weeping openly only once during his time on the Repose (01:14:07) Coming Home -He knew, to the day, when he would be going home -He was given a little plaque saying that he had served on the USS Repose -There was a small farewell party for him -He got off the ship in Da Nang and stayed in the officers’ quarters in Da Nang -Arrived in the U.S. at Edwards Air Force Base in Washington D.C. -He had flown from Da Nang to Tokyo, Japan -Stayed in an empty ward at an American hospital -Ward was preempting casualties from Vietnam or a 2nd Korean War -To him the logistics seemed unreal (01:17:22) Life after the War -He was discharged and went back to George Washington University for neurosurgery -He was sent to the Washington D.C. veterans’ hospital for his general surgery internship �-After that began his neurosurgery internship at George Washington and affiliated hospitals -He completed his neurosurgery training and moved to Hagerstown, Maryland -Seventy miles from D.C. and he started a private practice there -Worked in Hagerstown until he retired -Moved to South Carolina with his wife and took art classes in Charleston -Got a degree in art history and in studio acting (01:19:01) Reflections on Service -He had never had any intention of going into a surgical specialty -The Navy played a large part in changing that direction of his life -His experience aboard the USS Repose led him to become a neurosurgeon -He respected and appreciated the organization and hierarchy of the Navy -Noticed that civilian doctors without military experience lacked some of that respect -His Naval service taught him to be more selfless and more concerned about the “unit” -He thinks that the Navy helped him to grow up and be more selfless and independent -Learned that it is a tough, impersonal, and unfair world and that you need to survive in it � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_ByrdE1704V Title A name given to the resource Byrd, Edward (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-11-10 Description An account of the resource Dr. Edward Byrd was born in 1940 in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Washington, D.C. He attended George Washington University and was accepted into the medical school there graduating in 1965. All medical school graduates at the time were expected to enter the service, so he joined the Navy,completed a short training at Annapolis Naval Academy, Maryland and served aboard the USS Chikaskia, USS Altair, and USS Truckee and took a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea taking part in aiding the USS Liberty during the Six Day War in 1967. In 1967 he volunteered to go to Vietnam to gain some experience with neurosurgery. In August 1967 he arrived in Vietnam and was assigned to the USS Repose off of Da Nang. He was originally in charge of his own ward aboard the ship treating tropical diseases until he began to assist neurosurgeons. In Vietnam he aided in treating a myriad of casualties from minor wounds to fatal wound and saw the immediate effects and aftermath of the Tet Offensive in late January 1968. He returned home and trained and worked as a neurosurgeon. After retiring he took art courses in Charleston, South Carolina and graduated with a degree in art history and studio art. He created a bronze sculpture in memory of one Dennis Lobbezoo, a soldier he treated in Vietnam that died in 1968, that was placed in the Richard M. DeVos Center of Grand Valley State University. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Byrd, Edward Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d354b5709a38f1aa06a35119c674bd92.mp4 58b43d35d0bb6d18ee00f079736c5c39 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2b57815118e05d80f00b07b319048eeb.pdf 1bec4393a42a0ccf68786a810326a41b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project David Burkholder World War II 38 minutes 37 seconds (00:00:21) Early Life -Born in a house on Union Avenue in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 21, 1926 -Had two older brothers and an older sister -Catherine (oldest), Clayton, and Johnny -Grew up in the house on Union Avenue until he was ten years old -Moved to a house on Greenfield Avenue when he was ten years old -First house that he lived in that had indoor plumbing -Father was a postal clerk for the United States Postal Service for thirty years -Helped him carry mail in the summers -Went to Wyoming High School -Quit school in the tenth grade to join the Navy -Wanted to join because his older brothers were in the Navy -Mother forbade it until he was eighteen -Worked until he was old enough to enlist in the Navy (00:03:09) Enlisting in the Navy -When he was eighteen he joined the Hospital Corps of the Navy -Enlisted in Detroit and took his physical there -From there he was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for basic training -Primary motivation for enlisting was that his two older brothers were in the Navy -Didn't want to wait to get drafted -Hospital Corps seemed appealing -After being in the Navy for six months he was given the chance to reenlist -Added two years to his service and he could choose his specialization -Decided to be an X-ray technician (00:04:49) Basic Training -It was fall 1944 when he got to Great Lakes Naval Station -Had six weeks of basic training -Normal course was six months, but it had to be condensed into six weeks -Difficult as a result -Discipline wasn't difficult for him to adjust to -Parents had emphasized discipline growing up -Had to keep uniforms neat and clean -He taught another sailor how to properly wash his uniform -Everyone made it through basic training -Company commander was tough, but respected and a good man -His training company was selected to be the flag company -Meant that they were physically and mentally the best -Life in the barracks was a different experience -Had to scrub the floorboards with steel wool �-Known as the "Great Lakes Shuffle" (00:08:34) Hospital Corps Training Pt. 1 -Sent to Sampson, New York which is where he added two years to his enlistment -From New York he was sent to San Diego, California for Hospital Corps training -In Sampson, New York there was a hospital and he served as a corpsman -Placed on watch in a ward -A lot of wounded men were there and needed care -Received his X-ray training in Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland -There were 120 men in his graduating class -He was the tenth in his class and was able to stay in Bethesda as a technician (00:10:52) Stationed in Bethesda Pt. 1 -Took care of admirals and other high ranking officers at Bethesda Naval Hospital -Since he was a technician he was able to treat high ranking officers like any other patient -Remembers being able to order an admiral to receive X-rays (00:11:38) Enlistment and Discharge Dates -Enlisted on August 24, 1944 -Discharged on November 18, 1947 (00:11:54) Stationed in Bethesda Pt. 2 -Worked on men that had been wounded in the European Theatre -A lot of the men from Europe were the worst cases that he experienced -His job was to take X-rays so that radiologists could analyze the results -Some men were sent back to fight after they recovered from their wounds -Stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital for a while (00:13:03) Stationed aboard the USS Cadmus Pt. 1 -He volunteered for ship duty and was assigned to the USS Cadmus -Docked one mile out from Norfolk, Virginia -Far enough out that he could get sea pay -Hurricane came in and they had to stay docked because a damaged ship was moored to them -It was rough -Worst of it lasted between a half hour and an hour -At one point the ship was listing forty five degrees -Had an X-ray machine on the ship -Administering to crewmen during routine checkups -Dealing with sailors that had been wounded in accidents -Remembers one sailor that was mortally wounded during a ship-ship resupply -His head got caught between the two ships and he died shortly thereafter -Had ship duties like cleaning if he wasn't doing medical work (00:16:50) Downtime Pt. 1 -Had liberty when he was stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital -Could visit Washington D.C. -When he was on the Cadmus, if he had liberty he would take a small boat to the shore -Norfolk, Virginia was a pretty rough town at the time (00:17:38) Living Conditions on the USS Cadmus �-Food on the ship wasn't bad -Had powdered eggs almost every day -Remembers the sailors requesting fresh eggs from the cook -Got "fresh" eggs, but by time they arrived they had spoiled (00:18:14) Discipline on the USS Cadmus -Remembers one sailor was cheating on his wife -He thought he had caught a disease and went to the lab technicians -To teach him a lesson, the technicians said that he had caught a disease -Encouraged him to tell his wife what had happened -A week later they told him that he was healthy and disease free (00:19:15) End of Service Pt. 1 -He was on the Cadmus until he was discharged in November 1947 -Pressured to reenlist, but he declined -As punishment, he had to chip paint on the ship for a week (00:20:17) Stationed aboard the USS Cadmus Pt. 2 -There were forty to fifty men on the ship -It wasn't a very large ship -Note: The Cadmus was actually a very large ship with a crew of 921 men (00:20:42) Downtime Pt. 3 -When he was on the Cadmus he spent a lot of time playing poker with the other men -Ship's cook would bring them snacks and desserts while they were playing cards -Drinking on the ship wasn't allowed -Some of the men smoked -Morale was good (00:21:36) News of the War -Got reports about the war's progress when he was on the ship -Got a lot of news about the war when he was stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital (00:21:53) Contact with Family -Oldest brother (Clayton) was on a Landing Craft Structure (LCS) -Purpose was to draw fire so that battleships could pick out targets and fire on them -Johnny (second oldest brother) served aboard a destroyer-escort -Escorted destroyers and would hunt/kill submarines that posed an immediate threat -Saw Clayton when he was training in San Diego -Got to go into the city with him and see the naval base -Saw Johnny a couple times when he was stationed on the East Coast -Kept in touch with his brothers via letters -Kept in touch with his parents and his sister with letters as well -Looking back, believes they were all more worried than any of them realized (00:24:20) Downtime Pt. 4 -Went to a couple USO Shows when he was training in San Diego -One of his classmates wanted to help him learn how to dance -After multiple failed attempts decided that David just didn't have any rhythm �(00:25:21) Hospital Corps Training Pt. 2 -Received basic Hospital Corps training at Balboa Park in San Diego, California -During the war it was renamed Camp Kidd -Only got onto the San Diego naval base when he was with Clayton -The training in San Diego consisted of going to classes -It wasn't easy, but it wasn't difficult either -Enjoyed the training (00:26:25) Life after the Service -First job was at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan -Didn't get along well with the nuns though -Went to the veterans' hospital in Grand Rapids -Worked there for three or four years -Decided to get into selling insurance -Tried it for a while and realized that he just wasn't cut out to be a salesman -Eventually went to work at the hospital in Sheridan, Michigan -Worked there for three years -Decided to become a minister -Worked as Wesleyan minister for forty two years -Pastored at a church in Munising, Michigan for three yeras -Pastored at a church in Lakefield Township, Michigan for twenty seven years -Pastored at a church in Washington Court House, Ohio for twelve years -Retired from the ministry after that -Returned to Grand Rapids -Used the GI Bill to take a couple flying lessons -Quit after his wife got sick -Met his future wife at vacation Bible school when he was twelve years old -Her name was Jackie -She died on December 5, 2010 -Had lost touch with her when he was in the Navy and reconnected with her afterwards -Got married in 1948 -Had two sons named Ron and Jim -Jim served in the Michigan National Guard -Ron served in the Army and was stationed in Germany (00:32:06) Reflections on Service -Proud to have had the chance to serve -Navy was instrumental in teaching him about X-rays and provided him with a decade of work -Glad to have been able to help the men that had been wounded in combat -Taught him that he was fortunate to not have wound up in a combat zone -Opportunity to see parts of the country he may not have gotten to see -Allowed him the chance to go on the Talons Out Honor Flight to Washington D.C. -Talon's Out Honor Flight: Non-profit organization to take veterans to Washington D.C. -Interesting to see how the city had changed -Navy had an overall positive effect on his life �-Learned to appreciate the men that had sacrificed so much in the war -Honor to work with them and help them -Made some long lasting friendships -One of his friends was able to get him a tour of the USS Missouri -Got to see where the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed -Naval service qualified him for free medical aid and medicine later in life � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BurkholderD1782V Title A name given to the resource Burkholder, David A (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-06-02 Description An account of the resource David Burkholder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 21, 1926. He grew up there and on August 24, 1944 he enlisted in the Navy Hospital Corps. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He received further medical training in Sampson, New York and at Balboa Park, San Diego, California. He received X-ray technician training at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland and was stationed there until he requested assignment to a ship. He served aboard the USS Cadmus off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia as an X-ray technician until he was discharged on November 18, 1947. Due to his X-ray technician training in the Navy he worked as an X-ray tech after the war. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burkholder, David A. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Moore, Deb (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86d9bb96ccc49571b945a51bf20dbb45.mp4 856c282c5bc351d9c5befebfbc2f8739 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b49bdfc6e039b1a06dd1b1d1ba81df40.pdf 7c4b1276139131cabaf7862dd6a1b224 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Dr. Robert Browne World War II 57 minutes 58 seconds (00:00:16) Early Life Pt. 1 -Born in Coldwater, Michigan on November 12, 1924 -Parents got divorced when he was two years old -Went to live with his paternal grandparents -Had a sister that was a year older than him -Lived in Coldwater from the age of two to the age of six -Moved to a farm with his grandparents -Father remarried and moved to the farm -Sister died at eleven years old due to a congenital kidney problem -Continued to live on the farm until he was about twelve years old -Moved to Lansing, Michigan to live with his mother and stepfather -Lived with them for about three, or four years -Went back to Coldwater for high school -After graduating from high school he enrolled at the University of Michigan (00:02:19) Overview of Service -Eventually enlisted in the Army Air Force -Became a pilot -Flew missions over the South Pacific during the war (00:02:30) Life after the War Pt. 1 -Returned to the University of Michigan in 1946 -Completed pre-dental school and went on to go through dental school -Graduated in 1952 -Worked in Kalamazoo, Michigan for five years practicing general dentistry -Returned to the University of Michigan and studied orthodontics for two years -Moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and practiced orthodontics for twenty years -Got involved in business and became an investment financier -Started out as a hobby -Eventually grew to having a company with 7,000 employees -Sold off that company and started a smaller investment firm -Dealing with the New York Stock Exchange (00:04:12) Early Life Pt. 2 -Grandfather was a farmer, but also worked at a grocery store in Coldwater -Father and him worked on the farm -He did everything that he could as a ten and eleven year old -Milked cows, cleaned stables, gathered eggs, etc. -The work never bothered him (00:06:05) Enlisting in the Army Air Force -The Aviation Cadet Examining Board came to the University of Michigan looking for cadets �-This was in November, or December, 1942 -He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program -There were strict physical requirements that had to be met -Primary focus was on eyesight and how your body adjusted to high altitudes -Placed in a pressure chamber and exposed to pressure levels at 20,000 feet -He had never been in a plane prior to being in the service -Motivated to join because pilots were paid 50% more than ground troops -Passed the physical exam and was on his way to becoming a pilot (00:08:06) Basic Training -Went to Detroit and boarded a train bound for Miami Beach, Florida for basic training -Issued military clothing -Did drills -He got to be a drill leader which meant that he was given his own room -All of the men in training were roughly the same age -It was hard work (00:10:00) Pre-Flight Training -Sent to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio for pre-flight training -Got the basics about navigation and aircraft recognition -Courses were taught by Jesuit priests -It was a good experience -Jogged through the streets of Cincinnati singing Army songs -Civilians would come out to watch them do their jogging -Incredibly supportive of the servicemen and servicewomen -Lasted a couple months -Had to be able to quickly recognize enemy aircraft and the number of aircraft present -Had to learn Morse code -Had to be able to send and receive a certain number of words each minute (00:12:47) Flight Training -Sent to San Antonio Aviation Center, Texas -Taught about aircraft engines -From San Antonio he was sent to Cimarron Field, Oklahoma for basic flight training -Note: In the interview he says "Kansas" but the actual location is Oklahoma -Training with PT-17s -Open cockpit and you had to wear a parachute in case you fell out -First time that he had ever been in an airplane -Trained by civilian flight instructors -There was one instructor to every five cadets -Learning how to fly -As he went into advanced flight training he was given the choice of single engine, or multi-engine -Felt that knowing how to fly multi-engine aircraft would be more useful as a civilian -Sent to advanced flight school and learned how to fly twin-engine aircraft -It was frustrating the first time that he had to land a plane on his own -Eventually mastered it, and after that it was easy �-Did "stage" landing -Learning how to land at marked off parts of the airfield -Training pilots how to land on island airstrips where space was limited -He could always hit the spot exactly because he had excellent vision -All of his training was complete by early 1944 -By then he felt totally prepared to fly overseas (00:20:25) Flying Missions in the South Pacific -Sent to New Guinea and was assigned to the 41st Squadron of the 317th Troop Carrier Group -Flew C-47 transport planes -Went to Hollandia, New Guinea by ship -Anytime after June 1944 -Sent up to the islands of Luzon and Leyte in the Philippines, then Okinawa -Leyte in November 1944, Luzon in March 1945, and Okinawa August 1945 -Carried supplies and dropped paratroopers in airborne operations -Took part in the Battle of Corregidor in February 1945 -Dropped paratroopers on the island -Dropped ammunition and supplies to the soldiers and marines fighting in the mountains -Flew vehicles to troops on the ground -Flew injured men to hospitals and to places where they could be taken to hospital ships -Could carry three jeeps for a vehicle drop -Crew was a pilot, co-pilot, radio operator, navigator, and a crew chief -Didn't always fly with the same men -Dropped napalm on Japanese positions in the mountains -Would be only about 1,500 feet off of the ground -Lost planes due to ground fire -Flew in groups of three, or four, for the napalm missions -One of the men shot down on one mission was his tent mate and a close friend -Initially rescued by U.S. troops, but ultimately died of his wounds -Co-pilot on that plane was also killed in action -Only needed four more hours of flight time then he was going home (00:27:38) Living Conditions Pt. 1, Contact with Home, and Protocol -While on Luzon in the Philippines they were stationed south of Clark Field -When he was overseas his only shelter was a tent -Had to sleep with mosquito netting covering him -Living conditions were hot and primitive -Had to deal with jungle rot, but you usually healed quickly from it -One of his duties as an officer was to censor outgoing mail -Hated to do that -Felt that it was an invasion of privacy and no one was comfortable with that -A lot of the enlisted men were much older than the officers -Awkward to be saluted and called "sir" by a man that was old enough to be your father -Issued "points" �-The points system was a way to track which soldiers were eligible to be sent home -Points were issued on length of service, rank, combat seen, and dependents -He wrote a lot of letters to his grandmother (00:34:13) Travel -Got R&R while he was overseas -When they were in the lower Philippines pilots would be sent to Sydney, Australia -He missed out on that because he hadn't seen enough action -When they were in the northern Philippines he got an R&R to an old, Filipino resort -Had a cottage, swimming pool, and a servant -Went up there with four other pilots -Spent most of the time relaxing and playing cards -Went to Manila and visited the University of Santo Tomas -Had been used as a major internment camp by the Japanese during the occupation -Met some young women and had dinner with their relatives -Opportunity to hear firsthand what it had been like under Japanese rule (00:38:00) Dangers of Flying -Didn't feel in danger every time that he flew a mission -There were a few times where he thought he was going to have ditch the plane due to weather -One instance was after the war when he was flying from Okinawa to Seoul, Korea -His mission was to deliver radio equipment to the airfield in Seoul -Clouds were so thick that he had to fly by instruments to get to the west coast of Korea -Eventually got under the clouds and followed the coast to the Han River -Picked up a radio relay from a B-25 that was giving landing instructions -Once he landed his plane only had fifteen minutes of gas left -Had to spend the night in Seoul to wait for a fuel resupply drop -The crew he flew with had just arrived from the United States (00:44:03) End of Service, Morale, & Living Conditions Pt. 2 -Discharged in March 1946 -Had flown almost every day during his deployment -Morale was good for the pilots, but not so good for the enlisted men -A lot of the enlisted men were frustrated about being overseas so long -On average, men in the Pacific were gone longer and dealing with worse conditions -He was overseas for about a year and a half -Got to see some USO Shows and some movies -The food was okay -Fed "bully beef" (corned beef) and hard tack (00:47:35) End of War, Post-War Service, & Coming Home -He was on Okinawa on Victory in Japan Day (August 15, 1945) �-Someone from headquarters came out shouting that Japan had surrendered -Had been expecting it after the atomic bombs were dropped -It was a huge relief, and there was a great celebration -He was kept overseas for a couple months after the war -Took a ship back to the United States -Stayed in old dormitories and had nice rooms for a change -There wasn't much to do in Okinawa after the war was over -There was a nearby community theatre that was used for USO Shows -Would take new pilots up for a flight to help them get used to the airplane -He flew by Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the war was over -Had expected to see destruction, and a lot of rubble -Wasn't prepared to see an entire city laid flat and devoid of life Note: Since Dr. Browne was in the service until March 1946 he was also most likely stationed at Kimpo Airfield, Korea and Tachikawa Airfield, Japan before being sent home -Taken to Oregon -Boarded a train in Oregon and went to Fort Sheridan, Illinois -Rather than be discharged he was placed in the Reserves -This was because pilots were too valuable to simply be discharged -He knew men that were called up for duty during the Korean War -He wasn't called up because he was pursuing his medical profession -At twenty nine years of age you could resign from the Reserves, which he did (00:54:50) Life after the War Pt. 2 -He was able to use the GI Bill in college which was a tremendous help -The GI Bill with his savings from the military freed him from working during college (00:56:11) Reflections on Service -Feels that he matured quite rapidly, moreso than he would have otherwise -Believes that a lot of that may have had to do with being a pilot with responsibilities -Had no trouble returning to civilian life after the war � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BrowneR1781V Title A name given to the resource Browne, Robert Warner (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-06-16 Description An account of the resource Dr. Robert Browne was born in Coldwater, Michigan on November 12, 1924. He grew up in Coldwater and Lansing, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan prior to enlisting in the Aviation Cadet Program of the Army Air Force in November (or December) 1942. He received training in Miami Beach, Florida, Xavier University, Ohio, San Antonio Aviation Center, Texas, and Cimarron Field, Oklahoma. He completed training in early 1944 and was qualified to fly multi-engine planes. He was sent to Hollandia, New Guinea where he joined the 41st Squadron of the 317th Troop Carrier Group. He flew C-47 transport planes and participated in supply drops, airborne missions (particularly the dropping of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment on Corregidor), and napalm bombing missions in the Philippines. He was stationed in Okinawa after the war ended in 1945 and was eventually sent home and placed in the Reserves in March 1946. In 1953 he retired from the Reserves. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Browne, Robert Warner Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Moore, Deb (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fc18f0ac8b846c4d3c1bc0756d04dcf9.mp4 848386dcaf25e9a8627d5c91dbb47b85 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/17f5989361587bb8779004fffef37b08.pdf 8e3f8371fc9124be7211a3b2890127c9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Robert Boyer World War II 59 minutes 21 seconds (00:00:10) Early Life -Born on July 5, 1918 in Conway, Arkansas -His father was a Presbyterian minister -The family moved around quite a bit because of his father’s job -Moved into Kansas because his father worked for the University of Kansas -Then moved to Hastings, Nebraska -Then moved to Kansas City, Missouri -Then Vincennes, Indiana -Then Saginaw, Michigan -Graduated from high school in Saginaw, Michigan in 1936 -Went to the University of Michigan and got his bachelor’s degree in 1940 -Pursued his master’s degree and got that in 1941 -Planned to study law, then decided to study history and become a teacher (00:01:53) News of the War -He paid a lot of attention to the Nazis’ actions in Europe -He didn’t really think too much about the United States getting involved in the war (00:02:36) Life after the War Pt. 1 -He got a teaching job in Clyde, Ohio -Taught there from fall 1941 to spring 1942 then got drafted -After the war he returned to Clyde, Ohio and taught there for two more years -Then taught in St. Louis, Michigan -Moved to Rockford, Michigan and began teaching there in 1949 -Has lived there ever since (00:03:45) Start of the War -He was reading the Detroit Free Press and had the radio on -Heard news flash at 12:27PM on December 7, 1941 that Pearl Harbor had been bombed -He knew that he would probably get drafted after the school year ended in 1942 (00:04:18) Getting Drafted and Basic Training -He got drafted in June 1942 -He sworn into the Army in Detroit, Michigan -From Detroit he was sent to Fort Totten in New York City, New York -Became part of the coastal anti-aircraft artillery unit there -He was placed in the medical unit that was attached to the anti-aircraft artillery -Received some basic training -A few days of marching, and learning how to follow orders -There were some men with college degrees, others with high school diplomas -Most of the men were in their early twenties -The fort was in the northern part of Brooklyn -He was assigned to the 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment �-Had 40mm and 90mm anti-aircraft guns as well as search lights -A few weeks later his training was done (00:07:56) Visiting New York City -He got to go into New York City almost every day -Men always took the chance to go into the city no matter how tired they were -They would take public transportation into the city -Movies, stage shows, coffee, and ice cream was free for soldiers in uniform -Even in some cases meals were free (00:09:44) Medical Training -He learned about basic first aid and how to administer shots -They had doctors as commanding officers -There were a few West Point graduates that were good men -They were considerate and reasonable -Several of the doctors had civilian careers and families -He felt bad for them because they had to stop their lives for the war (00:11:34) Life after the War Pt. 2 -He met his wife after he got back from the war -They met on Labor Day, got engaged by Thanksgiving, and got married in June (00:12:39) Deployment to Europe -Assembled in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey -They boarded the Queen Elizabeth and sailed overseas aboard her -It was her maiden voyage as a troop transport -There were still some luxury features that had not been removed -They travelled without an escort and zig-zagged to avoid U-Boats -They could outrun U-Boats -The voyage took five days -The waves were high -He was in the rear of the ship which was the best place to be -This was because there was very little up and down motion -The men that he was quartered with did not get seasick -They got fed in the ship’s dining area and got served actual food -They were fed three meals a day -They were allowed to go on the deck to get fresh air -Set sail on August 30, 1942 and arrived in the United Kingdom on September 6, 1942 (00:17:10) Stationed in the United Kingdom -They landed in Scotland -The Scots were welcoming and greeted them with tea and pastries -From Scotland they took a train down to southern England -Specifically to Salisbury, England -Their 40mm guns, 90mm guns, and searchlights were already there -The size of the regiment was 2,100 men -1 battalion for the 40mm, 1 battalion for the 90mm, 1 battalion for the searchlights -They were in Salisbury from September 7, 1942 to October 25, 1942 (00:19:28) Invasion of North Africa Pt. 1 -From Salisbury they took a train back up to Scotland -There were smaller boats waiting for them to invade North Africa �(00:19:44) Exploring England -They were allowed to go off the base into the town of Salisbury -He visited London at least six times -There were still air raids against London in 1942 -The area around St. Paul’s Cathedral was destroyed -He got to see #10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Churchill’s headquarters (00:21:38) Invasion of North Africa Pt. 2 -They boarded a smaller ship in Scotland that was part of a nine ship convoy -They sailed west into the Atlantic Ocean -There were rumors that they were sailing back to New York City -Eventually the convoy was joined by a Canadian corvette to defend them -More ships joined them that came from the United States and they sailed east -They landed at a place near Oran, Algeria -They passed through the Straits of Gibraltar -They were given French lessons on the voyage over -This was because they were invading a French territory -They sailed parallel to the coast while the Allied forces invaded -He saw the fighting that was happening on the beachhead -The Americans were engaging the Vichy French forces -After the fighting settled down they went ashore -The first night they were in Algeria a sandstorm hit them -They were stationed in a fort outside of Oran for two days (00:26:06) Stationed in Oran -They moved into Oran and established medical facilities in the city -They took over a garage and an office building for medical facilities -Their job was to treat the first casualties of the invasion -They slept in a building across from the improvised medical buildings -They stayed in Oran until spring 1943 -At 5AM each morning German aircraft would harass their positions -During one air raid the Germans managed to hit one of their 40mm gun positions -Killed a handful of men (00:28:54) Interactions with Civilians -There were a lot of Arabs in the area -The children would sell fruit to the American troops -The Arab civilians weren’t a problem -A lot of them were hired to do various menial tasks for the Americans -They welcomed the American soldiers -He didn’t see much of the French colonists or French soldiers -They basically disappeared after the invasion (00:30:54) Casualties in North Africa -They only sustained twenty casualties from German attacks -More men got killed or wounded from accidents -One man messed up a fuse on a shell and it detonated only 1 second after being fired -The explosion wounded seven men, but nothing life threatening -He helped to treat them -Traffic accidents were also a source of casualties �-Remembered once when a man hit a mule with his jeep -The jeep rolled over and the soldier was killed (00:33:30) Advancing Across North Africa -He didn’t see many high ranking officers while he was in North Africa -He does remember seeing General Eisenhower and Kay Summersby -They advanced across North Africa -Got into Tunisia in June 1943 and guarded B-17 airfield there (00:34:43) Invasion of Sicily -He took part in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 -They landed at Licata, Sicily on July 23, 1943 a few hours after the invasion began -Advanced across Sicily towards the north -He saw Sicilian farmers threshing wheat by throwing it in the air to separate the chaff -They guarded piers, wharves, and airfields -Every morning German aircraft would harass their positions -Most likely just scouts because an actual attack would be suicidal (00:36:45) Contact with Sicilians -They had contact with the Sicilian civilians -The children were enthusiastic about being around the gun positions -It was initially considered suspicious -Thought that they were being used as pro-German informants -Suspicion was dispelled when a child turned in a German spy -They were allowed to visit the towns and the villages -He got to see Palermo because he was stationed there in November 1943 -The first night he was there he had to sleep in a flowerbed -There was very little fraternization with Sicilian women, or problems with drinking -Most of the men appreciated being allowed to explore freely -Didn’t want to lose that privilege (00:39:22) General Patton -In Palermo there was a Red Cross station that served ice cream and coffee -Remembers seeing General Patton at the Red Cross station and heard him talk -He had a surprisingly high voice -He stayed in Palermo for fifty weeks and saw Patton at least once a day -Patton ordered his men to salute the car when he passed -To avoid having to do that he would duck into a shop when he saw his car -He heard about Patton slapping a shell-shocked soldier in a hospital -Didn’t think much of it at the time -Led to Patton being reassigned to the 3rd Army -Also cost him his chance at leading soldiers into France on D-Day (00:43:08) Invasion of Southern France -Prior to the invasion of southern France he was sent over to mainland Italy -Sailed over to southern France and landed at Marseilles in August 1944 -It was an easier invasion than the others had been -The Germans were nearby, but retreated quickly (00:45:37) Stationed in Marseilles -He spent the winter of 1944 in Marseilles -They took over a university in Marseilles where they lived and worked �-They turned the physics building into a hospital -Their gun positions were set up in downtown Marseilles -They were allowed to visit downtown Marseilles -Because they were stationed in the university they were away from the corruption and crime -Their guns were guarding the harbor and the train station -German aircraft would occasionally buzz the area, but generally didn’t bother -He stayed in Marseilles until spring 1945 (00:48:20) Getting Commissioned -While the Battle of the Bulge happened he went to Paris to get a commission -The process involved taking an exam and being interviewed -He got stuck in Paris for about one week because it was too cloudy for aircraft -The commission was to get a position as a medical administrator -Once the weather cleared he flew back to Marseilles -A week later he found out that he passed the exam -If a need for a medical administrator arose he would be granted the position -But if he was granted the position it meant six more months of service -He didn’t get the position, and in retrospect is glad that he didn’t (00:52:11) Advancing into Germany -In spring 1945 they moved into northern France and crossed into Germany -Went into northeastern France and crossed the shattered Siegfried Line -All of northeastern France was war torn -He saw German cities in ruins -He didn’t see many German civilians -Took over intact, abandoned houses as they advanced (00:54:14) End of the War -When they war ended they were sent to Heidelberg -Stayed there for a few weeks (00:54:23) Coming Home -From Heidelberg he was sent to Paris, then to Le Havre and took a troopship home -The weather was good on the return voyage -Arrived in Boston and took a train to Evanston, Illinois to be discharged -Went to El Dorado, Kansas where his parents had moved -After seeing his parents he went back to teaching in Ohio in the fall of 1945 (00:56:25) Reflections on Service -It taught him patience and how to have a sense of humor with people -Taught him to appreciate different peoples and different cultures -Enjoyed being in the same area as his cousin while he was in Sicily -In general he had a good experience -Felt lucky all the way through his time in the Army � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BoyerR1740V Title A name given to the resource Boyer, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-04-02 Description An account of the resource Robert Boyer was born in Conway, Arkansas, in 1918. He moved around with his parents growing up before settling in Saginaw, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1936 he attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a master's degree in history in 1941. He taught in Clyde, Ohio for a year before getting drafted in June 1942. He received basic training and medical training at Fort Totten, New York City, New York and was assigned to the 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. He was sent to the European Theatre on August 30, 1942 and would not see home for three years. During his time in the service he was stationed in England, Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, mainland Italy, Marseilles, France and Heidelberg, Germany until the end of the war. He witnessed the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, and southern France, as well as the final Allied push into Germany. After the war ended he returned to the United States and was discharged from the Army in Evanston, Illinois in 1945. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boyer, Robert Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/601385b29aa33971b5602be3363624bf.mp4 bf163e5765a85657c712387a7c9d873d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ab6ad46edbb8793297d5f7e4aaced2d9.pdf 3661eb427bd5443cd587d61dcadaa110 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Susan Ryan Bowers Vietnam War 49 minutes 45 seconds (00:00:11) Early Life -Born in Memphis, Tennessee -Moved to Florida when her father went to fight in World War II -Lived in Florida from 1941 to 1965 -Lived in Coral Gables and Jacksonville -Went to college in Tallahassee -She met and married Steven Ryan from Grand Rapids, Michigan -They met in 1963 and were married in January 1964 -Shortly thereafter he was deployed to Vietnam -Her father was in the Office of War Information and then worked in public relations for Pan-Am -Her mother was unemployed (00:01:47) Background and Training for Steven Ryan -She taught school for a couple years before marrying Steven and having children -Steven attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio -After he graduated from college he decided to enlist in the navy -He became an officer upon joining the Navy in 1960 -He became a bombardier/navigator in the A5 Vigilante bomber -He was sent to Newport News, Virginia for training -Then to Pensacola, Florida for further training -His training in Florida lasted for six months -He began with math, physics, and engineering courses upon joining the Navy -She remembers watching Steven doing carrier qualification training in Sanford, Florida -It was thrilling to watch the jets attempt to qualify for landing on an aircraft carrier -Never saw any carrier qualification accidents -She remembers seeing a midair collision with a civilian aircraft -A friend of hers was killed due to a cold catapult on an aircraft carrier -Cold catapult: Not enough steam to launch the jet, throwing it into the water (00:09:26) Meeting Steven -He was active duty on the USS Forrestal -She was living in Jacksonville, Florida and teaching when she met Steven in 1963 -They met each other on a blind date -He was stationed at Sanford Naval Air Station, Florida at the time -Wound up getting married and living together in Sanford County on Lake Mary -At the time there was only a post office and a laundromat -He came back from a European deployment in August 1963 and soon afterwards started dating -They got married in January 1964 -In June 1964 he was deployed to Vietnam, and wouldn’t return until June 1965 -On his European deployment he had gone to Naval Station Rota, Spain and to Italy -She wasn’t dating him during this deployment though, so the details were limited �(00:14:28) Living in Sanford -She didn’t get a job while living in Sanford -She wanted to spend as much time with Steven as possible prior to his deployment -There was a very active community for Navy officers and their spouses -It was all about living life to the fullest and being close with one another -It felt like being in a fraternity -There were squadron rivalries, games, and parties -Steven was part of RVAH 5 (a reconnaissance squadron) (00:16:00) Steven’s Deployment to the Pacific -He knew in January that he was going to be leaving in June -They would count the days together and just try to make the time count -They both accepted that it was going to happen -He was sent out to join the USS Ranger -It was a rarity for an East Coast unit to go on a West Coast deployment -Pilots were needed though, and his recon squadron was one of the best -He received a week of survival training in California -Evading being captured -Surviving in the wilderness without a weapon -Living on snakes and insects for sustenance -He was eventually “captured” and placed in an underground pen -Subjected to starvation and psychological torture -Most men lost at least twenty pounds by the end of the training (00:22:44) Serving in Vietnam -He left California in June after his survival training was complete -From California he sailed to Yokosuka, Japan -He spent the majority of that cruise at sea before Vietnam escalated -In August 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred and the resolution was passed by Congress -As a result this was the start of heavy American involvement in Vietnam -The first phase of that was an American aerial campaign against North Vietnam -He was involved in the initial bombing campaign against North Vietnam -Even that early in the war they already started to lose jets, and with those jets they lost pilots (00:25:25) Communication -They were able to communicate with each other via mail -He would talk about friends, food, and movies being shown on the ship -Never talked about any of his wartime activities or anything that happened on missions (00:26:49) Susan Coping with the Deployment -During Steven’s deployment Susan moved back to Jacksonville to be close to her family -She kept up with the war -Because she wasn’t in Sanford she didn’t have to see when wives lost husbands -She also didn’t get to get any of the immediate information or have that support network -In Jacksonville she didn’t have to deal with any harassment from antiwar protestors -She did see the protests on the TV and saw them get worse as the war continued -Felt that the lack of cooperation was abhorrent -She understood the frustration of a lot of servicemen with the politicians -The politicians wanted to run a war that the military knew how to win �(00:32:20) End of Deployment and Retirement -He was supposed to be home by March 1965, but the date kept getting pushed back -Eventually got pushed back to June 1965 -Didn’t know that he was coming home until the week of -Remembers when the squadron returned people dressed up and there was a celebration -It was momentous occasion for the survivors to return safely -Upon coming home he was the same man that he was when he entered the Navy -After that tour he decided to leave the Navy -He felt that it wasn’t the right career for him or for his family -The other men in the squadron were supportive of his decision -He went to work for Lear-Siegler in Grand Rapids, Michigan -They were designing and manufacturing long range navigational computers -He would frequently go to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio for his work -After the war he never faced harassment for having served in Vietnam -If anything, he was a curiosity in East Grand Rapids because he had served -People wanted to know about Vietnam and invited him to speak at gatherings -He was always well received when he spoke in front of a crowd about his service (00:39:59) Dangers in Vietnam -Missiles weren’t quite a threat yet during his time off the coast of Vietnam -Antiaircraft fire was still a very real threat for him -Because they were flying low, even small arms fire was still a threat -The landscape and the environment in general was also a hazard -They had to deal with fog and deal with navigating through a myriad of valleys (00:41:08) Reflections on the War -Resentful towards politicians for steering the direction of the war in the wrong direction -They both supported the military’s policies no matter what they were -Felt that the politicians would put the military in difficult and precarious situations -Both disappointed about people’s attitude during that time concerning the U.S. and the military (00:44:00) Day to Day Life in the Navy -She found the daily routine of being in the Navy fascinating -Steven would occasionally talk about the limitations of war, but he was never specific about it -Steven commented that there was always high adrenaline when combat missions were flown -Especially when you came back to the ship, and other men did not -In his squadron four (or five) men were killed in action during Vietnam -Aboard the ship he shared a small room with another airman -They had a bunk bed, a desk, and a chair -The pilots and navigators would spend most of their time in the “ready room” -Preparing for missions, or to just relax and swap stories with each other -There was a great sense of camaraderie on board the carrier (00:47:00) Reflections on Service -His naval service was a rewarding experience -It gave Steven direction in life -It also taught him how to be a leader and solve problems -They both feel that everyone should do at least one year of military or civil service -It would help many people to become more mature after high school or college �-It would also help to make people more realistic and more selfless -It changed his life for the better � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BowersS1708V Title A name given to the resource Bowers, Susan (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-12-02 Description An account of the resource Susan Ryan Bowers is the widow of Vietnam War veteran Steven Ryan. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee and then grew up in Florida. She met Steven in 1963 after a deployment to Europe. He was in the Navy as a bombardier/navigator for an A5 Vigilante in RVAH 5 Squadron (reconnaissance). They were married in January 1964 and in June of that year he was deployed to Vietnam where he saw action flying bombing missions along the coast of Vietnam. During his time in the service she was an active member of the Sanford Naval Air Station community in Florida and ardently supported his involvement with the military and with the Vietnam War. After his tour ended in June 1965 he decided to leave the Navy and they moved up to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he worked for Lear-Siegler, an aerospace company, which allowed him to still be involved with the military, specifically the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bowers, Susan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e57c8af7e01e462b5fc43b8361ad98a6.mp4 826ee48e4db2dbf9168229024610674c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f733618dbed47f3b21e79f69e00d4214.pdf d676a5bb9b7dd27ec90648e861d3791d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Wilbur Bouwkamp (Bill) (00:44:00) Introduction (00:15) Family and Friends (00:20) • Born in Lamont, MI on January 28th 1919. Bouwkamp describes in some detail his dad’s duties and responsibilities as a farmer. (02:40) • Further describes the activities that he and his sister had on his dad’s 13-acre farm and gas station. His mom was a homemaker. (09:28) Pre-enlistment (15:05) • Went to Lamont Christian High School up until the 10th Grade. While there he played softball and football. Graduated the 10th Grade in 1934. (11:34) • After graduation, he briefly describes working at his father’s gas station. During the course of the Depression, he mentions that since his parents owned their own farm they made it by with their own food. (14:48) Enlistment and Training (16:39) • Was drafted into the Armed Forces in 1937 but wasn’t accepted because he had high blood pressure. Was put on furlough until 1941. • Bouwkamp mentions that he was at home the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked. Soon afterwards, he reported to Fort Custer where he was finally able to join. • Went to Fort Benning, GA for basic training. While there he joined up with the 10th Armored Division. Bouwkamp mentions the great amount of drilling they did there. • From there he was sent to New York for more training. (17:51) Afterwards, he was sent to Camp Gordon, GA for more training and finally back to New York City where he boarded a boat bound for Europe. (19:01) • Bouwkamp briefly describes the type of he was in. His tank had an 81-mm gun and a boom in the front of it. He further mentions that his division was the first to go directly to France from America. �• Bouwkamp mentions that his trip over the Atlantic was uneventful. France (21:36) • Bouwkamp describes his job as a recovery tank commander and the duties his unit performed. His job was to find damaged tanks and take them to the repair depot for repair. (22:43) • Describes briefly how he was wounded. He mentioned that he was near a German position near a town. As he was getting out of his repair tank he sustained a shoulder wound. (24:55) Further mentions that he was in the hospital for a few weeks afterwards with a knee wound. (25:42) Going Home (27:36) • Following the Bulge, he received 90 days of leave from duty. Was sent home via a ship. They stopped in the English Channel where General Black boarded with wounded. Afterwards, Bouwkamp returned to Michigan. (27:36) Apparently he had enough points to return home. • After his 90-day absence he was sent to Texas. While there he took it easy fishing and eating well. (27:36) • The day that FDR died he was in his barracks getting ready to board a troop ship home. If the weather hadn’t been foggy that day they would have left. (29:38) • Was sent from Texas to Fort Custer, MI where he was discharged. (30:25) After the War (33:55) • Bouwkamp mentions that he was in the doctor’s office when VE Day happened in Grand Rapids, MI. Describes the joyous celebrations that went on and shares his personal thoughts of that day. Afterwards, he went to Detroit, MI where he worked for an auto-mechanic and was married to his wife. (33:55) Further describes his grandchildren and how he met his wife. (37:56) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BouwkampW Title A name given to the resource Bouwkamp, Wilbur (Interview outline and video), 2007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-08-01 Description An account of the resource Wilbur Bouwkamp served in the US Army between 1941 and 1945. After basic training, he was assigned to the 10 Armored Division, where he served on a recovery vehicle, a tank adapted to tow damaged tanks back to friendly lines where they could be repaired. He was wounded in action in Europe but returned to his unit, and received orders to ship home shortly before V-E Day. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bouwkamp, Wilbur Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/de689de91d59e7b573c0a859539f5fba.mp4 ec790d3d394d518ad2e2e899647e4797 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ab10f141d12412daafea55b6500b4a8e.pdf 082f02426c995f5bc5e6fc9391325ed0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Wallace Bouchard World War II-Post War 36 minutes 41 seconds (00:00:22) Early Life -Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 1, 1927 -Lived on Delaware Avenue in Grand Rapids for the first three or four years of his life -Moved to Wilson Avenue when he was three or four years old -Had an older brother, older sister, and a younger brother -Went to St. James Catholic School for elementary and middle school -Went to Union High School in Grand Rapids -Went to Grand Rapids Junior College (now Community College) and Aquinas College -Graduated from high school in 1944 (00:01:49) Enlisting & Getting Drafted -Enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve in 1944 -Allowed to enlist when you were seventeen years old -Enlisted in Detroit -Received testing in Detroit -Depth perception testing and how you handled a primitive flight simulator -Received a letter in spring 1945 saying that the flight schools were shutting down -Turned eighteen on July 1, 1945 -Received a draft notice shortly after his eighteenth birthday -Ordered to report to Fort Sheridan, Illinois on August 12, or 13, 1945 -Went to Chicago by train and then took buses to Fort Sheridan -Parents supported his service -Older brother was already in the Army at the time -Worked an office job -Issued a uniform at Fort Sheridan -There were a lot of German prisoners of war at Fort Sheridan used for menial labor -Rumored that a lot of them were from Rommel's Afrika Korps -He didn't have any direct contact with them -One prisoner threw a pebble at him, but Wallace was nonplussed about it (00:05:47) Basic Training -Sent to Keesler Field near Biloxi, Mississippi in August 1945 for basic training -It was hot and humid even in late summer -It was easy because the war was over and the officers were relaxed -Bivouacked in a swamp for a week -Had to watch out for the venomous snakes and spiders -Every soldier was nervous about them -Slept in pup tents -Learned how to fire the M1 Garand rifle, Colt M1911 .45 pistol, and Thompson submachine gun �-Had to be careful with the Thompson SMG because of its recoil -Given weekend passes -Got to see New Orleans -Got along well with the other men (00:09:35) Mechanic Training -Assigned to be a mechanic and receive Aircraft & Engine (A&E) Mechanic Training -Assignment based on last name, not on testing -Stayed at Keesler Field for A&E Mechanic Training -Learned about aircraft structure, electrical components, hydraulics, and aircraft engines -Learned about the different types of engines with hands on training -Instructors were good and relaxed -Allowed to go on leave during Christmas 1945 -Caught the flu and had to report to Fort Custer, Michigan -Notified Keesler Field that he was sick -Got back a day late and was yelled at, but not punished -Allowed weekend passes -Found a good bar with good music in Biloxi (00:14:29) Specialist Training -Assigned to Chanute Field, Illinois for Specialist Training -It was a good base and the food was much better than at Keesler Field or Fort Sheridan -Assigned to learn about the P-47 Thunderbolt -Still used after the war, but it was being phased out -Saw a German rocket-powered fighter plane that was being kept at Chanute Field -Most likely the Me 163 Komet -Not allowed to go too close to it (00:16:21) Stationed at Biggs Army Airfield Pt. 1 -Given a seven day leave to visit home then reported to Biggs Army Airfield near El Paso, Texas -Took a train there -Got to see the Plains States -Saw the P-51 Mustangs of the 9th Air Force -Same planes that had been used during the Second World War -Assigned to an Engineering School to learn how to work on the P-51s -Wound up assigned to Headquarters Squadron and assigned to work on a C-47 transport -Noncommissioned officers were allowed to fly on the weekends, but not during the week -Made routine flights to San Antonio to transport aircraft engines to the base there -Most likely Lackland Air Force Base -Took three or four hours to fly from El Paso to San Antonio -Repairing a single engine took a full day -A 500, or 1000, hour inspection took a few hours -Got to fly quite a bit -Most dangerous task was removing the shocks from the wheels of planes -Plane's engines had to be on, and it had to be moving to remove the shocks (00:22:45) End of Service -9th Air Force was moved to Shaw Army Airfield near Greenville, South Carolina �-Woke up one day and all of the P-51s were gone -After the 9th Air Force left Biggs Army Airfield there was nothing to do -Spent two weeks doing nothing but walking around base, smoking, and playing cards -Learned that he was three days late to be discharged from the Army -Getting processed out of the Army began in October 1946 and he was out by November 1946 -Took a train back to Grand Rapids (00:26:23) Contact with Home -Wrote his parents and his girlfriend at least once a week -Broke up with his girlfriend after going home -She wanted to get married, but he was only 19 and not ready for marriage (00:27:00) Life after the Service Pt. 1 -Used the GI Bill for college -Joined Michigan's 52/20 Club -Program for veterans to receive $20 a week for 52 weeks (00:27:40) Stationed at Biggs Army Airfield Pt. 2 -It was hot in Texas -Had to refuel planes in the scorching heat -Got to ride in a P-51 Mustang during an air show at Biggs Army Airfield -Buzzed the field and did acrobatics -Flown by a colonel -Had never flown before he was in the Army -Got to fly in various bombers like the B-25 and the A-26 (00:31:03) Life after the Service Pt. 2 -The skills he learned in the Army helped him get a few jobs -Eventually got a job with the Grand Rapids City Water Department -Made foreman after only a year there (00:31:58) Reflections on Service -Learned a few practical skills especially when it came to metallurgy -Doesn't feel that it helped him mature too much -Enjoyed being on his own and being away from home -Joined the American Legion -Good social outlet granted to him because he was a veteran -No negatives about his service in the Army -Chance to see his cousin at Chanute Field prior to his cousin getting discharged -Chance to see Tijuana and visit its bars while he was stationed in Texas -Chance to travel around the U.S. and enjoyed that � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BouchardW1869V Title A name given to the resource Bouchard, Wallace Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-07-28 Description An account of the resource Wallace Bouchard was born on July 1, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve in 1944, but was ejected from that in spring 1945 due to the Second World War ending. Shortly after his eighteenth birthday on July 1, 1945 he received his draft notice and reported to Fort Sheridan, Illinois in mid-August 1945. He went to Keesler Field, Mississippi for basic training and stayed there for Aircraft & Engine Mechanic Training. He was sent up to Chanute Field, Illinois for Specialist Training with the P-47 Thunderbolt then was assigned to Biggs Army Airfield, Texas. While in Texas he was assigned to Headquarters Squadron of the 9th Air Force and worked on the squadron's C-47 as well as the 9th Air Force's P-51s. In November 1946 he was discharged from the Army. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bouchard, Wallace Joseph Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Moore, Deb (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b23c68e64b1694d7382368efa3cf740.mp4 99773e110007bcc711174acdaf4ddc6f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ad85ef716533bc8d6061213c9785cb0f.pdf aed078777835ecdd6621c2526e4cd851 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II Willard Bosserman Length of Interview (00:49:50) Background Born on a farm in New Haven Township, Michigan; 1924 Father was a farmer who graduated from 8th grade; went up to a Ferris (Teacher’s Institute) which certified him to teach school for three years When Bosserman turned four years old, moved to Carson City; the only house on the block Father continued farming and selling produce  The Carson City hospital being built one block over Attended school and graduated from high school; after service, attended Michigan State University, Bachelor’s Degree  Eventually worked for a Master’s Degree Kept close attention to what was happening in Europe (00:02:20)  Received updates from the newspaper Remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor; was delivering papers at the time  Was 17 years old (graduated from high school at 19) Enlistment (00:04:00) Wasn’t thinking of enlisting  Discussed with three seniors from his church (Church of the Brethren); were conscientious objectors, didn’t have to go into the military  Only one of them took the deferment (preacher’s son), while the other two were drafted Bossereman given a deferment until graduation but action started right away (00:05:05)  Took his examination in Greenville  Had fainted in the blood-pressure line; uncomfortable with needles �Went to Detroit (his friend was rejected due to his light weight)  Given a choice between the Navy, started right away, or the Army, which would start two weeks later Chose the Army (00:06:30) Went back to Greenville to a take a train to Fort Custer Bosserman had quite a bit of background with mechanics; wanted to go into the Air Corps  Wasn’t accepted into the Air Corps Put into the Army Ordnance  Trained to fix trucks (Bosserman’s classification: half-track engine mechanic)  Some worked on small instruments, small arms; rifles, machine guns; some worked on canons  A little training in mechanics (civilian instructors) Fort Jackson, South Carolina (by train) (00:08:40)  Always looking out the window during the train ride Very active camp Didn’t notice the segregation issue; a lot of GIs in town Served with Black Units overseas Would go to classes then go to the shop to work on vehicles (followed manuals closely) (00:10:15)  Was going to do in-field training, but had six inches of snow fall; city never had that much snow before Had physical training, calisthenics; running up and down “Tank Hill” Emphasis on following orders Didn’t have too much trouble adjusting to the military life �Did bayonet training, rifle training (how to hold and shoot it)  Had some experience shooting: 12-guage shotgun, bought from a friend, and a .22 Stayed in Jackson, off and on, for 18 months (00:12:55) Changed from medium maintenance to heavy maintenance  Only had one tank to work on  Got a chance to drive the tank; a lot of changing gears, used sticks instead of a steering wheel o Had the port open to see Went up to Tennessee to have maneuvers there; servicing an infantry company  Didn’t have much to do since they came the last day o Drove around in the jeep; given a meal in exchange for a ride in the jeep o Ran into some moonshiners; bought a bottle  Spring of 1944, a lot of big maneuvers happening in Tennessee Main job was to maintain transport, fix vehicles (00:16:30) Assigned at different times; assigned to 301st Heavy Maintenance Field Company Went back to Fort Jackson, also went to Camp Mackall  Worked with a parachute group; having trouble with their rifles, not glued properly  The Lieutenant had said the paratroopers were tough people, but they got along well with them; apparently the paratroopers had gotten a similar message about them  Camp Mackall was in North Carolina Gave service to the 87th Division, then went to Camp Rucker, Alabama  Developed a heat rash there; wrote home about it Had taken a train to Camp Rucker; were lead by an army band from the barracks Serviced an Infantry Division, 66th �Didn’t go overseas for a while due to his company having to prepare other units’ equipment (00:20:05) In November 1944, had a red alert; shipped out overseas from Camp Shanks (New York) in December  There for about a month First night, had stoves heated with hard coal, hard to start and warm up Travelled through some of the places nearby (Weehawken, New York City, etc.) Could go to the Red Cross to get food, but were already well fed  When men were coming back from overseas, they would by fresh vegetables to enjoy Went to work as stevedores in Weehawken for a few days, just something to do (00:22:40)  Helped load a ship  Were using hooks to pull goods At Camp Shanks for about a month before being sent overseas Heading Overseas (00:23:15) Boarded the SS Washington and arrived in Liverpool on 16th of February  Washington was a cruise ship; 6,000 aboard  Took 10 days to get there  Given work during the voyage o Working on the third deck galley, had the porthole open when, suddenly water came sloshing in  A lot of the men got seasick; Bosserman did not  Would dump garbage from the galley overboard Had escort ships, but no convoy (00:25:40) Once arriving in Liverpool, moved to another town to scrap tanks  There for a couple of weeks � Some people got a trip to London; Germans still buzz-bombing Went to South Hampton to board a merchant marine vessel (00:27:00)  Went over to Le Havre (France) Went to Camp Lucky Strike  A tent city; would fill cans with sand and gasoline to have heat Stayed there for a couple of weeks Two meals a day until they got their own kitchens Bosserman had made Technician, 5th Grade; KP (Kitchen Police) (00:28:15)  Thought he would be relieved of KP duty after making Tech, 5th Grade (same as a Corporal), but wasn’t  Would peel potatoes often  Didn’t do KP, as much, in field kitchens Germany (00:29:05) Moved out of Lucky Strike to Aachen  Mechanics were last to be put in a truck to fix others that had problems  One truck did fall out of line, flat tire; convoy continued ahead  Remembers Düren, Germany, looked like a plow had gone through and leveled it Were changed to the 15th [19th?] Army (were in the 2nd in the States); 64th Ordnance group; attached to the Army Had engineers in their outfit; rigged an EM (electromagnet) at the front of their truck to move debris and prevent flat tires Arrived in Aachen, Germany April/May 1945 (00:31:50) In a town called Peck when the war ended Billeted in a former resort hotel; on the third floor �Had the shop a little ways away; someone rigged a diesel engine without a starter and a jeep engine to get the diesel working Didn’t see much of the local population (00:33:00)  Had a rule of no fraternization with the citizens Met with a lot of German POWs in Europe; worked together  Picked up a few words to get by Moved out to an old glider camp Went to Camp Brooklyn (00:35:00) Being scheduled to head over to the Philippines Getting prepared to leave from Marseilles (France)  Got a chance to go to some baseball games Four days before heading to the Philippines, the bombs were dropped Japan; subsequent surrender Bosserman and his group put on Liberty Ships back to the US  Mediterranean sea was smooth as glass  Atlantic was different  Put on guard duty because he wasn’t that seasick Discharge (00:37:25) Newport, Virginia Company broken up; some went to Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois  There for nine months to get points for discharge  Met his wife there who was working for the USO o Bosserman and some other GIs went to her parents house to have pie o Kept in touch with her; went back to Rockford, Illinois after staying in MI for a little while (discharged in Aril 1946) �o Rented a room there for $5/week and got a job Overseas Cont. (00:39:10) Saw some units that were all black; servicing vehicles for them Stayed where they were stationed mainly; would have vehicles brought in Was with the same people he had trained with until they got back to the US Had good officers  The Captain was chewed out after he told his men to pitch tents  Another fellow (Blau) was promoted to Captain afterwards  Schultz wanted to have this promotion, but was put as an Interpreter Most of the officers were citizen soldiers Their cadre (the people who trained them) was of long-time soldiers from Trinidad His company was never under fire  Not too much of a concern for them due to their location Had German POWs in Camp Grant; had restrictions (curfews, etc.) (00:43:35)  Was acquainted with a former German POW years later who was an artist Civilian Life (00:44:35) Didn’t get married right away  Had time to earn money then go back up to Lansing to attend Michigan State University  Married the summer of his freshman year Got a degree in Agriculture (Soil Conservation); became as an Assistant Agriculture Agent in Pontiac (through the school)  Assigned for livestock and fruit Transferred Port Huron, then Lake City Got involved in Planning Commissions, etc.; received awards for his work �Learned discipline and perseverance (00:47:40) Met a lot of different people in the Army  Was antagonized by a fellow and had a round of fist cuffs with him  Also did this with his friends (had boxed when he was younger) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BossermanW Title A name given to the resource Bosserman, Willard (Interview outline and video), 2010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-09-02 Description An account of the resource Willard Bosserman served in World War II as a mechanic in the Army. He was drafted in 1943 and worked in a maintenance company attached to the 87th Division, and then to the 66th Division. His company shipped to Europe in December, 1944, and took part in the final campaign in Germany. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bosserman, Willard Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.) BCTV Subject The topic of the resource 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. Army Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/89162dba74b7052d86c46ea343dd7c12.m4v 81976db78846f78abee48e93dfd4e837 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d2a68e38166ba62d7f78ff2a1ff49cf.pdf f9dda5a2b031f688aad4e2cdd9e24270 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Robert Borey World War II 1 hour 27 minutes 31 seconds (00:00:14) Early Life -Born in Flint, Michigan in 1920 -When he was an infant his family moved to Detroit -Lived in Detroit for a while -When he was in his teens his family moved back to Flint -Attended high school there -His father worked for General Motors -Initially in the factory itself and then in the office -He had one younger brother -He graduated from high school in 1938 -Went to Flint Junior College part time -Worked at AC Spark Plug (now ACDelco) for $0.65 an hour (00:02:46) Start of the War -Before Pearl Harbor he paid some attention to the war in Europe -Remembers being out in the street playing touch football on December 7, 1941 -Someone came out and told them that Pearl Harbor had been bombed -At didn’t time didn’t know the gravity of the situation -Later learned how serious the attack had been -When he was in the Navy he met some men who had been at Pearl Harbor that day (00:04:56) Enlisting in the Navy and Basic Training -He joined the Navy shortly after Christmas 1941 -He knew for sure that he didn’t want to get drafted into the Army -Went to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for basic training -For him basic training was a culture shock -First time that he had been subject to verbal abuse -Had to adjust to getting up at 3 AM to go on marches -He got sick in basic and had to go to the hospital for a couple weeks -Learned about how to use and to maintain a rifle -Learned general information about the Navy -Got used to taking orders and being disciplined -During the second of half of basic training you got weekends off and could visit Chicago -In basic training he got paid $21 a month -In Chicago the Navy provided you with free hotel lodging and baseball tickets -One time when he was in Chicago on leave he missed the last metro train back to the base -Cab driver helped get him back to base -People in Chicago were incredibly supportive of military personnel -Basic training lasted eight weeks -Stayed a little longer at Great Lakes because of his hospital stay �(00:12:55) Hospital Corps School -He was waiting for an assignment at Great Lakes -He was offered ten days of leave if he signed up for Hospital Corps School -He signed up for that training and stayed at Great Lakes for the training -He had classes all day -The goal was to learn a lot about medicine in a short time -That training lasted another eight weeks -Received training on first aid, pharmaceuticals, and other general medicine (00:15:28) Assignment to California -He got assigned to the Navy hospital in San Francisco -Got sent to California on an old train -Slept in the chairs -Stopped at a town in Nebraska where the people fed you -They fed every troop train that came through their town -Located at North Platte, Nebraska -Lived in a tent on the hospital lawn initially -Worked in a ward and met the men who had been at Pearl Harbor there -Learned more about medicine in the hospital -During down time would go and watch autopsies being performed -Led to him getting into the surgical program -Watched an operation and was advised to become an operating room technician -Became close with a Dr. Ogden who was from Twin Cities, Minnesota -One of the best surgeons he ever worked with in the Navy (00:23:30) Pre-Deployment -Prior to deployment went down to San Diego and then to Camp Pendleton -Receiving preparatory training through the Marines -Grueling physical training -Had to qualify on the obstacle course to be able to deploy -Went to the Navy hospital at Long Beach -Bought a 1925 Buick in Long Beach -He had nowhere to store the car when he was deployed -So he found a good spot to park the car and he left it -Before they deployed Dr. Ogden said they were short on surgical supplies -So he and another sailor managed to find and steal some more surgical supplies (00:30:02) Deployment to the Pacific Theatre -Got attached to the 1st Marine Division -Got on a ship in Long Beach -During the voyage to the warzone he didn’t get seasick (00:31:00) Guadalcanal -First stop was in Guadalcanal -First impression of the island was that it was hot -When he arrived the Battle of Guadalcanal was largely over -Spent the first night sleeping on the ground -Took care of sick call for the Marines on the island -Some Marines just didn’t want to work -Some men were contracting tropical disease �-Remembers one man coming in because of malaria and dying -Took the drug, Atabrine, to prevent malaria -After the Navy he came home and contracted malaria then (00:36:22) Northern Solomon Islands -After Guadalcanal went to a smaller island in the northern portion of the Solomon Islands -The island was going to be used for an airstrip with which to attack Bougainville -Boarded an LST (landing ship, tank) and sailed north for about two, or three, days -He was told that they would have to invade the island -Fortunately, he didn’t have to be in one of the first waves -The invasion ultimately went off without any initial opposition -Remembers when they ran into a Japanese machinegun nest -One soldier with a bulldozer drove up and buried the nest destroying it -The terrain was mostly jungle -Had to sleep on the ground because there weren’t even tents -Didn’t have any bathrooms, or outhouses, so they had to use the jungle -Finally got assigned to a tent and met one of his best friends that way -His friend wound up getting killed in the fighting on Okinawa -When he went home he talked with his friend’s girlfriend at Michigan State -He still feels bad about his friend’s death -Once they were established they started receiving casualties from different forces -Got men from the Air Corps, PT Boat crewmen, and Marines -They had a small hospital on the island -Saw some of the native populace -Friendly towards Americans -He got used to seeing native women that didn’t wear tops -Remembers when President Roosevelt died there was a lot of apprehension -No one knew how Truman would be as a president (00:47:38) Interacting with Casualties -He remembers when they brought in a soldier that had a serious head injury -The man’s brain was exposed -Called over a doctor and immediately he said the man was a goner -He remembers when an Army casualty was brought in -Told them that he was glad to be in the Navy’s hands -Said that the Army doctors were worthless (00:51:10) Downtime and Contact with Home -Movies were shown on their island a couple nights each week -They were B-Rated movies (not top quality productions) -They were fun to just laugh at and unwind with -Once a month they were given two cans of beer -Came from unknown breweries in the United States -Cigarettes were free -Spent a lot of time reading -Read whatever books were available -Also read the Stars & Stripes military newspaper -He got letters from home -He got care packages from home �-It showed that people back home still cared -Over time it just got to be incredibly boring (00:54:58) End of the War -The island he was on was essentially abandoned as the war moved closer to Japan -He was given a thirty day leave to go home -While on leave reported to a military office in Detroit for a psych evaluation -Told the doctor that he wasn’t fit for military service -Sent on a train to San Francisco and went to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay -He was placed on a ship and sailed to Pearl Harbor -When he arrived in Pearl Harbor he saw hundreds of ships -Learned that they were massing there for the invasion of Japan -Given manuals about what to do once Japan was invaded -While he was waiting to invade the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan -The second atomic bomb was dropped three days later and Japan surrendered -He was relieved that he wouldn’t have to take part in the invasion of Japan -He never saw so many happy people -Went to Sasebo, Japan (a naval base) -Stayed there for a few days -Went ashore and walked around the city -The whole city was in ruins due to bombing -Japanese people would not look at American soldiers -Went into a destroyed naval building and looked around -Ran into a Japanese man who ran away as soon as he saw him (01:03:30) Coming Home -Returned to his ship and was told that he had enough “points” to go home -Points were given based on duration of service, combat, and dependents -A ride was then arranged for him to get back to the United States -He boarded a ship and sailed to the Philippines -Stayed in the Philippines for a couple days -Boarded another ship that was bound for the United States -On the way home ran into a typhoon -Helmsman did well in the storm and kept the ship level throughout it -Pulled into the port in Seattle -The helmsman who had done so well in the storm managed to crash into a dock -Spent a few days in Seattle -Went back to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois -Spent a couple days there and then was discharged from the Navy -Took the metro train to Chicago and then boarded another train and went home (01:07:40) Life after the War -Took a couple weeks off -Went back to work for AC Spark Plug -Attended the General Motors Institute, which was an engineering school, on the GI Bill -Met a girl and got engaged to her on the third date -Took his engineering courses and wanted to specialize in tool design -In his third year there he decided to drop out -He got into sales and worked at a small spring company �-On his very first sales call he made a sale -The next fifty sales were not as successful -Eventually got good at sales and made a good living off of it -Got married to the girl that he was engaged to -They had three children together -Lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood in Flint, Michigan -After his children were grown and out of college his wife got cancer -Spent $80,000 fighting the illness, but she eventually succumbed to it -After his wife died he was overwhelmingly depressed -On top of that he lost his job and had to sell the house to pay off the debt -His son worked for American Seating in Grand Rapids, Michigan -Wound up moving to Grand Rapids to be closer to his son there -Got a job at the Grand Rapids Public Museum -Started to enjoy his life again (01:21:23) Reflections on Service -The Navy definitely changed his life -At the end of his service several men told him how much they had appreciated him -He didn’t dislike his service, but was glad to get out -He had had good and bad experiences in the Navy -He learned to get along with people in the Navy -War made him mature quickly and showed how people really were -Showed the total selflessness and selfishness of people � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_BoreyR1659V Title A name given to the resource Borey, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-07-24 Description An account of the resource Robert Borey was born in Flint, Michigan in 1920. He finished high school in 1938 and went to work, and enlisted in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor. He trained at Great Lakes, Illinois, and became a hospital corpsman. He was assigned first to a Navy hospital in San Francisco, and then went to San Diego to train with the Marines. he deployed to Guadalcanal in 1943, and then his hospital moved into the Northern Solomon Islands. He served as a surgeon's assistant and helped treat many sick and wounded soldiers. He got leave home in 1945, and was on his way back when the war ended. After a brief stay in Sasebo, Japan, he came home and was discharged. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Borey, Robert Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy United States. Marine Corps Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf