24 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c574ce1112ee8da8f23869d54d84208.mp4 52a09515db8916fb3f2145a3e972b4a8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8aabc81fe020bdcad9a828037c1b8bfb.pdf a7aa7d9d04330d690d1d884268d72d8f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Tom Westbrook Total Time – (01:02:31) Background · He was born July 3, 1919 (00:38) · He was born in Ionia, Michigan Enlistment/Training – (00:49) · He enlisted January 3, 1942 (00:52) o He was twenty-two years old when he enlisted · He enlisted because he believed it was the thing to do o He was very unhappy with what the Japanese had done to Pearl Harbor (01:14) · For basic training, he was sent to Keesler Field, Mississippi (01:36) · In basic training he had to adjust to the new routine and discipline o Once he had been through his basic training, he had to do two weeks of KP (Kitchen Police) (02:19) § It was only for those that did not qualify for mechanic school · The food was very good in basic training (02:53) · The soldiers had to march back and forth to school · Basic training had eleven phases of schooling · There were 1,100 soldiers that graduated and 43 got sent overseas immediately (04:22) o They shipped in July of 1942 · The soldiers were in barracks during basic training · He was one of the 43 selected to go overseas right away (04:54) · He was sent to Angel Island near San Francisco, California (05:53) o They waited here to get on board their ships · The soldiers new they were en route to Australia (06:35) · His ship would change course every nine minutes (07:19) · He was on KP every other day that he was on the ship · Most of the men got seasick (07:47) · They first landed in Auckland, New Zealand and then went to Wellington, New Zealand (08:15) · The ship was the USS Mount Vernon (08:26) �· · · · o He was on D deck o His friend would get sick and he would take care of him He was on the ship for 23 days (09:44) There were roughly six thousand men on the ship (11:01) o It was a luxury liner during peace time In Australia, he was sent as a replacement o They received 90 more days of infantry training because the Japanese were pushing down on Australia (11:47) His specialty was to be an air mechanic even though he received all of the infantry equipment and training (12:01) o He received his training in the latter part of July of 1942 (12:43) Active Duty – (13:54) · His unit was guard duty for a large base that was being evacuated due to a large threat that the Japanese would attack Australia (14:03) · From there, his unit left for Brisbane, Australia · The American soldiers got along very well with the Australian soldiers (15:31) · After Brisbane, he left for Townsville, Australia where he worked to overhaul aircraft engines (16:12) o He worked seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day o He received an engine specialist rating (16:37) o When he left Townsville he was offered Staff Sergeant position · He wanted to leave Townsville because he wanted to see what his reaction to war would be · The soldiers would play cards and other activities to pass the time (18:36) · He got on a Liberty ship and left Townsville o The Liberty ships were primarily meant to transport goods · The first base where he worked after Australia was on Finschhaefen, New Guinea (20:07) o They were in Finchhaven for six weeks o It rained so much that the G.I. shoes would last only ten days · The wildlife in New Guinea was beautiful but the mosquitoes were terrible · They did not face any kind of combat in Finschhaefen (21:42) · He was then sent to Hollandia (Jayapura) in the Dutch New Guinea (21:53) · A lot of the soldiers came down with sicknesses o He came down with Dengue fever (22:30) · British New Guinea was his worst experience because of the rain and mosquitoes · When he was living in tents, lizards and rats would crawl into their spaces (23:53) · After leaving British New Guinea, he was sent to Morotai · He was in Morotai working for six weeks before any missions had been done (24:48) · He was there to build a camp for a fuel base · The first time he faced combat was when the Japanese bombed the fuel camp �· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · o There was a Japanese base twelve miles away (27:46) Because the Japanese and Americans were both trying to use Morotai, the Americans were attacked 7-8 times each night (28:21) o The Japanese never came during the day because the American antiaircraft was so good o The Japanese would drop phosphorous bombs It was close to 120 degrees in Morotai (31:03) After Morotai, he went on an LST that met up with a convoy en route to Okinawa (33:12) In Okinawa he helped take care of transit aircraft He worked primarily on C-47, B-25, P-47, or transport planes (37:37) o The pilots often flew some of the planes very dangerously There were times when planes could not make the trip back to the appropriate base because of damage and they would stop where he was stationed When casualties came back, the wounded or dead would get removed before he worked on the plane (42:06) Planes sometimes crashed on take-off (42:17) With time off, soldiers would play cards and do other competitions He had a fellow comrade who would go and fish when stationed on Morotai (46:21) o He used hand grenades to catch the fish (47:19) He remembers hearing that the Atomic Bomb had been dropped while in Okinawa After the Japanese surrender, he and ten went to an island off the coast of Japan called Kanoya Kyushu (50:11) The Japanese treated the Americans extremely well on Kanoya Kyushu because they knew that the Americans had won the war (53:05) o Of the 11 on Kanoya Kyushu, there were two radio operators, two American born Japanese interpreters, and two crew chiefs He received his discharge November 11, 1945 (55:18) On Kanoya Kyushu he witnessed prisoners being returned that the Japanese had held (57:13) o It was hard for him to see o They had been working in coal mines o He remembers one marine that was six feet three inches tall that was down to 130 pounds § He looked like a 70 year old man § A lot of the men were down to 150 or 160 pounds o One man had club foot (58:06) o It was evident that the Japanese had mistreated the soldiers The soldiers were ready to fight in Japan if the Atomic Bomb had not been dropped o They believed that their chances of survival were small (59:46) On his route home he flew over Hiroshima o It was nearly a month after the bomb had been dropped (01:00:32) �o He flew over on a C-46 o The soldiers were absolutely amazed that one bomb could create that much devastation (01:01:27) � 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 WestbrookT1319V Title A name given to the resource Westbrook, Tom (Interview outline and video), 2006 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Westbrook, Tom Description An account of the resource Tom Westbrook was born in 1919 in Ionia, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army after Pearl Harbor and trained as an aircraft mechanic at Keesler Field, Mississippi. Immediately after training, he was sent to Australia, where he worked at bases in Brisbane and Townsville, and volunteered for duty nearer the combat zones. He then went to Finschaefen and Hollandia, New Guinea, and then to Morotai, and from there to Okinawa and, after the war, to Japan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Weber, Mark (Interviewer) Lowell Area Historical Museum (Lowell, 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. Army Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2006-02-20 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1b06d51ec8ac6988243efd927e188f7.mp4 2f7aa52c591cccbdf72d3d359d502c43 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a33c5cfef34c571d3b7991f85bcf13e1.pdf 20e35c80d872ae0fde81cedb5c7d7584 PDF Text Text GrandValleyStateUniversity Veterans History Project World War II John Wessels (1:03:17) Background Information (00:25)        He was born in Grand RapidsMichigan, in 1924. (00:31) John worked a paper route on the Northeast and Southeast Sides of Grand Rapids. (00:50) He attended Central High school. He was set to graduate in 1942 but went into the Navy in January of 1941 [1942?] at age 17. (1:08) He was sent to DetroitMichigan, before being sent to basic training in Rhode Island. (1:52) John was inspired to join the Navy due to his love of water. (3:00) His parents were not upset about him joining the Navy. (3:47) When arriving at basic he did not see many people from Grand Rapids. (5:16) Training (6:30)       John liked the team attitude of basic training. (6:35) There were some men who washed out of the service due to extreme homesickness. (8:10) When asked where John wanted to serve, he selected submarines. He could not have this position however, due to poor balance. (9:06) He was trained as an aviation radioman. (9:40) For radio school John was sent to Florida and Virginia. (11:03) His training in total lasted approx. 1 year. (11:48) Service (13:00)      John served on a PBY [Catalina-a seaplane used for long range patrols]. (13:02) The first squadron assigned was BOB 208. (14:09) A squadron consisted of approx. 15 aircraft each with a crew of 14 men. (14:23) Because the missions were fairly long, the aircraft had a galley where the men made food and had several bunks. (15:00) After completed his training he spent 14 months in Key WestFlorida. Out of Key West the men would fly to several areas within the Caribbean. During this time, the men were looking for submarines. (16:00) Service in the Pacific (17:10)      John was transferred from the 208th to the 26th he was then stationed in Hawaii. (17:15) In the Pacific, John's unit was used for antisubmarine, anti-shipping, sea rescue, and reconnaissance missions. When an enemy ship was located, sometimes the PBYs would bomb the ship, but often it was simply reported to its location to a nearby U.S. vessel. (18:30) The men also dropped the reconnaissance buoys. (20:14) Using a buoy the men managed to locate a submarine. (23:53) John and his crew often saw Kamikaze pilots. While on a ship, John saw them approach the ship �    and realized there was nothing the men could do but get hit or watch other ships get hit by the pilots. (25:37) There were no weapons aboard the ship that John was on when he was attacked by Kamikaze pilots. (29:31) Every evening the men landed their PBY and went aboard ship. The aircraft floated and was attached to a buoy. There were always 1 or 2 men left aboard the aircraft to insure it was secured. (30:56) John served near Okinawa and, after the end of the war, in TokyoBay. John’s squadron was the first squadron to land in Tokyo Bay. (33:16) He believes that his entire time in the military was a maturing experience. He very much valued his Christian faith. (34:32) Life in the Service (35:30)           John’s wife often wrote to him. He wrote back but he does not believe that she knew what John’s service had entailed. (35:39) His parents, as well as people from his church congregation, also wrote John. (36:45) The men often played cards for entertainment. (38:00) While on the ship, men would catch flounder and cook them. (40:16) John served over 4 years (January of 1941-November of 1945). (40:41) He was able to make and maintain very close friendships from the service. (41:38) John has attended many reunions that were held across the entire U.S. (42:36) Due to the need to have his appendix removed, John was sent on sick leave to Florida. (44:26) While stationed and training in Hawaii the men were given some opportunity to explore but not a lot. (45:09) There were USO shows or people who came to see the troops. (46:12) End of Service (48:30)         When the war ended the men eager to count up their points to ensure that they could go home. (48:31) John was discharged in Great Lakes Naval Base and was sent there via train form California. (51:03) John was also given a bus ride from Chicago to Grand Rapids. (51:59) John completed high school after returning to the U.S. He started college but dropped out. (54:56) He attended many reunions across the country. (56:20) Although John does not believe he was changed when he returned, his wife believes that he was much more mature. (57:00) His son also went into the Navy and served aboard an aircraft carrier. (59:45) Their son was killed aboard the ship after a bomb accidently detonated aboard the ship. (1:01:38) � 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 WesselsJ1372V Title A name given to the resource Wessels, John (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wessels, John Description An account of the resource John Wessels, born and in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1924, served in the U.S. Navy from January 1941 to November 1945 during World War II. After having completed his basic training, John was assigned to be an aviation radioman. His first deployment was to BOB 208, a unit of PBY seaplanes, in Florida and the Caribbean. Here, John looked for submarines. John was then transferred to the 208th of the 26th and flew in the Pacific, mainly performing reconnaissance. His unit started in Hawaii, served in several areas, including off Okinawa, and flew into Tokyo Bay at the end of the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Moore, Debra (Interviewer) 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 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-03-23 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ad2a03603c7b54aed68ea6006e1c68ad.m4v 60dd2a917cbe443322087e95d354f5e3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bcccc71bb3244fbbd36be006eeb1f46c.pdf 0f924a240b5d9d9cfcced00884029cf7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Jake Werner Length: 1:14:36 (00:55) Background Information     Jake was born on November 29, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan He went to Union High School and junior college in Grand Rapids After going to college Jake had no money and could not find a job so he enlisted in the Army in May of 1938 He enlisted for 3 years and was told that he would be going to Panama after training (2:50) Panama  After training Jake was stationed at Fort Slocum in New York  The area had lots of rain and his uniform was always wet and faded  They were constantly marching around in the rain and it was miserable  Jake was then sent to Panama and found that he did not like this either  The base was completely overrun with drugs and Jake decided to buy his way out of the service (5:50) Reserves  After paying a large fee Jake was sent back to the US and put in a reserve unit  He did not have to go through training again and was working as a civilian  Jake began working in a hardware store, but was not making much money  He was called back to active duty in February of 1941, but had not been expecting that he would fight in any war (7:10) Armored Division  Jake was sent to Camp Grant, Illinois and began working with the Military Police  They worked on chasing, town traffic control, and watching gates  He was offered a chance to go to Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox in Kentucky  Jake went through officer training for 3 months and then became a 2nd lieutenant  He was a lieutenant in the Armored Division, which was relatively new at the time with only 2 units  They began more training and were constantly running for about 3 months  Jake was part of the 10th graduating class, working with tanks and machine guns  Only about half of the men graduated and the others washed out  The division was growing; it started with 2 large armored regiments and then had 3 tank battalions �  Jake finally became Platoon leader of Company D, a light tank platoon of the 81st Battalion There were 79 tanks divided into 4 companies (15:44) Europe  Jake left from Camp Miles Standish on a ship within a convoy of about 60 other ships  They traveled in a converted luxury liner with no heat, but the AC worked; they were freezing the whole time with snow on the deck  They landed at Liverpool and began more intense training for when they would arrive in France  Jake worked on preparing a camp for the 29th Infantry Division before they left for France  It was in July when they began training in the Salisbury Plains and would soon be moving South (24:40) France  They crossed the Channel on July 22, 1944 and arrived days before their equipment  The area was covered with troops and they had to travel 80 miles to get their Division together  Jake’s job was to form a task force with Companies A and B  He did not encounter any fire while traveling with his task force  They eventually ran into German infantry and “cleaned them out”  They continued traveling and looking for German infantry and tanks; all the tanks they found were empty and abandoned  They were in Paris for 3 days getting the US tanks repaired  Jake and his men ran into some Germans on their way out of Paris  Wherever the towns were over ran with Germans, they could always tell because they were like ghost towns, with no civilians or animals (35:30) Germany  They traveled through Belgium, Luxembourg, and some British territory before arriving in Germany  The group ran into many Germans that would try to hold them up; they would shoot at the men for a while and then the Germans would eventually retreat  They then crossed the Siegfried line into the Ardennes area and the terrain was very difficult to run their tanks through  They traveled North through the Hurtgen Forest and their infantry suffered a lot in this area  There were only 28 men left of 185 and no officers; only 18 tanks left of 79 �  It was miserable and cold, the Battle of the Bulge was being fought in the South They were eventually replaced by the 102nd Infantry Division (44:50) Closing of War  Jake and his men were working with the 102nd and 84th Infantry Divisions and the 5th Armored Division in Northern Germany  They could absolutely tell that the Germans were losing and took some time to celebrate Thanksgiving in an abandoned factory  Many civilians were still convinced that the Germans would win  SS Troops were all very stubborn and would not cooperate while being interrogated  They made their way along the Elbe River and built bridges so the Infantry could cross (54:10) Nordhausen  Jake and his men made their way a little south to Nordhausen where V-2 rockets were being built  There was a large tunnel and 4 railroads that were all going into a factory within a mountain  They were given the job to go out and find German engineers and their families so that they could help shut down the factory  The area was eventually given control to the Russians, who seemed to be short on supplies and took apart many German trucks and used the parts on their old beat down vehicles  Jake said the Russians looked “like a bunch of gypsies” (1:00:20) VE Day  Everyone was very happy on VE Day, but also annoyed with the problem of rounding up German soldiers  2 weeks after VE Day Jake worked on Operation Tally Ho  They had to surround various towns, going door to door, and checking or Germans soldiers and ammunition  He later was sent to Camp Lucky Strike in La Havre, France  Many of the men were hearing rumors that they might now be sent to fight in the Pacific � 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 WernerJ Title A name given to the resource Werner, Jake (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Werner, Jake Description An account of the resource Jake Werner was born on November 29, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and enlisted in the Army on May 1, 1938. After training Jake was sent to Panama and was not at all enjoying himself because of the drug problem in the area and decided to buy is way out of the service. He returned back the US and remained in a reserve unit until he was called to active duty in February of 1941. Jake went through Officer Candidate School and then helped form one of the first armored divisions, which were relatively new at the time. They were later sent to Britain for more training and then traveled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany throughout the remainder of the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hinogosa, Rachael (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 Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-01 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e366e5a74edc261197e67cce360e2e4b.mp4 b13c8b9c251d0ad05d313db08f962cc7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/499fd23b1e83bed156386a6f1a175bf9.pdf a6d2c6e591f0312e6a96d617926d7b9e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Jake Werner Length: 1:14:36 (00:55) Background Information     Jake was born on November 29, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan He went to Union High School and junior college in Grand Rapids After going to college Jake had no money and could not find a job so he enlisted in the Army in May of 1938 He enlisted for 3 years and was told that he would be going to Panama after training (2:50) Panama  After training Jake was stationed at Fort Slocum in New York  The area had lots of rain and his uniform was always wet and faded  They were constantly marching around in the rain and it was miserable  Jake was then sent to Panama and found that he did not like this either  The base was completely overrun with drugs and Jake decided to buy his way out of the service (5:50) Reserves  After paying a large fee Jake was sent back to the US and put in a reserve unit  He did not have to go through training again and was working as a civilian  Jake began working in a hardware store, but was not making much money  He was called back to active duty in February of 1941, but had not been expecting that he would fight in any war (7:10) Armored Division  Jake was sent to Camp Grant, Illinois and began working with the Military Police  They worked on chasing, town traffic control, and watching gates  He was offered a chance to go to Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox in Kentucky  Jake went through officer training for 3 months and then became a 2nd lieutenant  He was a lieutenant in the Armored Division, which was relatively new at the time with only 2 units  They began more training and were constantly running for about 3 months  Jake was part of the 10th graduating class, working with tanks and machine guns  Only about half of the men graduated and the others washed out  The division was growing; it started with 2 large armored regiments and then had 3 tank battalions �  Jake finally became Platoon leader of Company D, a light tank platoon of the 81st Battalion There were 79 tanks divided into 4 companies (15:44) Europe  Jake left from Camp Miles Standish on a ship within a convoy of about 60 other ships  They traveled in a converted luxury liner with no heat, but the AC worked; they were freezing the whole time with snow on the deck  They landed at Liverpool and began more intense training for when they would arrive in France  Jake worked on preparing a camp for the 29th Infantry Division before they left for France  It was in July when they began training in the Salisbury Plains and would soon be moving South (24:40) France  They crossed the Channel on July 22, 1944 and arrived days before their equipment  The area was covered with troops and they had to travel 80 miles to get their Division together  Jake’s job was to form a task force with Companies A and B  He did not encounter any fire while traveling with his task force  They eventually ran into German infantry and “cleaned them out”  They continued traveling and looking for German infantry and tanks; all the tanks they found were empty and abandoned  They were in Paris for 3 days getting the US tanks repaired  Jake and his men ran into some Germans on their way out of Paris  Wherever the towns were over ran with Germans, they could always tell because they were like ghost towns, with no civilians or animals (35:30) Germany  They traveled through Belgium, Luxembourg, and some British territory before arriving in Germany  The group ran into many Germans that would try to hold them up; they would shoot at the men for a while and then the Germans would eventually retreat  They then crossed the Siegfried line into the Ardennes area and the terrain was very difficult to run their tanks through  They traveled North through the Hurtgen Forest and their infantry suffered a lot in this area  There were only 28 men left of 185 and no officers; only 18 tanks left of 79 �  It was miserable and cold, the Battle of the Bulge was being fought in the South They were eventually replaced by the 102nd Infantry Division (44:50) Closing of War  Jake and his men were working with the 102nd and 84th Infantry Divisions and the 5th Armored Division in Northern Germany  They could absolutely tell that the Germans were losing and took some time to celebrate Thanksgiving in an abandoned factory  Many civilians were still convinced that the Germans would win  SS Troops were all very stubborn and would not cooperate while being interrogated  They made their way along the Elbe River and built bridges so the Infantry could cross (54:10) Nordhausen  Jake and his men made their way a little south to Nordhausen where V-2 rockets were being built  There was a large tunnel and 4 railroads that were all going into a factory within a mountain  They were given the job to go out and find German engineers and their families so that they could help shut down the factory  The area was eventually given control to the Russians, who seemed to be short on supplies and took apart many German trucks and used the parts on their old beat down vehicles  Jake said the Russians looked “like a bunch of gypsies” (1:00:20) VE Day  Everyone was very happy on VE Day, but also annoyed with the problem of rounding up German soldiers  2 weeks after VE Day Jake worked on Operation Tally Ho  They had to surround various towns, going door to door, and checking or Germans soldiers and ammunition  He later was sent to Camp Lucky Strike in La Havre, France  Many of the men were hearing rumors that they might now be sent to fight in the Pacific � 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 WernerJ0918V Title A name given to the resource Werner, Jacob (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Werner, Jacob Description An account of the resource Jacob Werner served in the Army in World War II. He initially joined the Army in 1938 and served in Panama, until he was put on reserve. He was then called up in 1943, and served in Europe. He was a medium tank commander in an infantry battalion in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. Specifically, he served in the Hurtgen Forest and the Falaise Gap. He also served as a Special Services Officer in Germany after the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hinojosa, Rachael (Interviewer) 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 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-10-01 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df4935447055f4119414c68ef1a6d551.mp4 e85880f7fae1e03861bc7ff370a3c734 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0d6e031797bed45fc0a48a2dd85ffe2f.pdf 8ef108addcb1b050105ffe784b1e5239 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam War Era Gary Wermuth (48:04) Introduction (00:21)   Gary was born near Ithaca, Michigan. His family lived on a farm, and in 1961 he went to Michigan State University. He graduated from college in 1965 and in January 1966 he was drafted into the United States Army. Military Training (01:01)    Gary was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. After his basic, he then went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He spent six weeks there, and the top of the class were sent to Fort Gordon for communications school. Gary was at Fort Gordon until June 1966. 147 were in his company, and 7 were sent to Fort Dix, the remainder were sent to Fort Ord, California and deployed to Vietnam. Germany (02:04)        Gary was one of the seven to go to Fort Dix and deployed to Germany. Once there, he was assigned to the 6th Battalion, 10th Artillery, Headquarters Battery in Bamberg. His unit had 175mm self propelled guns that had a range of about twenty miles. Gary worked in the communications area, and they trained in Grafenwöhr which was 100 kilometers from Bamberg. They went there six different times for training for one month at a time. Their job was to conduct training on setting up the guns, communication tests, and surveying coordinates for the gunners. The first round they fired was to zero the gun, the second round was for effect and they could hit an eight foot diameter target at twenty miles. (04:25) Later, Gary was given a secret security clearance and sent messages and worked with cryptic technology. Gary spent 18 months in Germany and returned to the states in December 1967. Just prior to his being discharged, they allowed him to go home for Christmas. After that he was sent to Fort Ben Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana to be discharged. (06:25) Civilian Life (06:40)   Once he was discharged, he went home and resumed his job at Massey Ferguson working as a mechanical engineer. The second year he was out he was required to report to the National Guard in Camp Grayling, he did this for two summers. After the fourth summer, he was given his official honorable discharge. �Thinking Back (07:40)                        Once a month, they had an alert drill that caused everyone to abandon the post and report to a designated area. They would remain there from anywhere to a couple of hours to a day or more. When they returned they had to clean all their equipment and get things spit shined again. Moving out to the designated area, they often ran over the Germans property and other things with the big guns. He got up at 6am and worked till 5pm. Meals were good, and served in the mess hall. They also had a PX where he could buy personal items, and he also bought a cuckooclock there and sent it home. He never saw any live action, only training exercises. Gary worked in the message center and would get many 10- 49’s, which were a transfer request to Vietnam. Gary was happy where he was and never requested a transfer. He went in as a private and was discharged as an E-5 Sergeant. (11:16) His uniform has a 7th Army Patch on the shoulder (Seven Steps to Hell). In basic training when he was training on the M-14, he was the highest shooter in the training company with 78 out of 80 hits. Gary was given a medal and a special trophy for this accomplishment. Every one got a marksman medal, they had three different ranks: good, medium and marksman. When he was drafted, Gary was 22 years old. He and his wife have been married since August 1968; they lived and worked in the Detroit area. The one experience that he learned the most from was working together as a team with his fellow soldiers. When working with the 175mm guns, everyone had to have good communication and teamwork. It was not hard for him to readjust to civilian life once he got home. Since he was older and had finished college, he fit right back in to society. Also, because he did not see any combat, he did not have to worry about that sort of stress. (15:27) His unit was on standby and ready to go to Vietnam if they were needed. Since he was not infantry and the range that the guns could fire, he would have been away from the action, but anything could happen. Gary was able to write letters home, and was given free postage. He also bought a tape recorder and made tapes and sent them home, and his family would do the same and send them to him. They had no computers, but the tape worked well. Germany was an ally at the time and was apart of NATO. Some of the locals liked the military, and some were not as hospitable to them. Gary and his wife went back to Bamberg two years ago and visited. It was the first time he had been there since 1967. (19:21) It looked pretty much the same, except maybe a little cleaner. Bamberg was a small farming town with many private breweries that make beer and wine. �                        Gary keeps in touch with one man that he served with; he currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was first inducted into the service, he was in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was then bussed to basic training. (21:33) When he went to Germany, he took a train to Fort Dix and was there for only three days before he was flown over to Germany on a military transport plane. In Germany, he was able to take leave and travel over Europe by train. While there, he was given emergency leave to come home to the states because his father had a heart attack. The post was two miles from downtown Bamberg, so when the weather was nice they would walk into town. Gary was paid once a month. When he was drafted, he was paid $90 a month and when he was discharged, he was making $250 a month. (23:45) In Germany, he could go into town and get a big sandwich, fries and a one liter mug of beer for $1.75. His base also had an NCO club that had entertainment. They would also have softball tournaments and picnics. A battery was about 120 people. Total number of people on his base was about 1200 – 1500 people. (26:39) The ranks of the Army go as such: private, private first class, private second class or specialist 4, sergeant or specialist 5, staff sergeant and the highest sergeant is the master sergeant. The officers have: second lieutenant, first lieutenant, major, colonel and general. (28:20) In basic training, they get you in shape. They did a lot of running and also bayonet training, gas warfare training, night warfare, inspections, weapon assembly and cleaning. After basic training everyone was given a special training school such as infantry or motor transport. Gary was sent to communications. (30:28) At Fort Jackson, they called it Pole City, and they learned how to climb telephone poles and string telephone wire. When Gary was sent to Fort Gordon, he learned about class A rotary and field telephones. Fort Dix was only a transfer base, but they still had KP and Guard Duties. Guard duty was for two hour shifts starting at 6pm until 6am. (32:32) Gary also took classes on photography and developing film. He also did not learn to speak German while in country, because most of the people could speak English. When he was drafted, his family was concerned but he did not pay much attention to Vietnam and what was going on. At the time Gary was drafted, about 50 others were also drafted but he did not know them because he was so much older than they were. Most of them were right out of high school. (36:42) Many of these men wanted to see some action so they transferred to Vietnam. The weapons that he worked with in Germany were like a bulldozer with a cannon on the front. (40:31) Germany had many other American military posts in the area. (43:02) �   Each post had a different mission, such as infantry posts and artillery posts. They also had supply and ordinance posts. The weather was similar to Michigan, except no snow. Winter would have lots of rain. (46:38) Gary would have served anywhere his country needed him to, but is thankful he was sent to Germany instead of Vietnam. � 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 WermuthG1526V Title A name given to the resource Wermuth, Gary (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wermuth, Gary Description An account of the resource Gary was born near Ithaca, Michigan and later attended Michigan State University. He graduated from college with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1965. Gary received his draft notice in January 1966 for the United States Army. He was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and later attended communications school at Fort Gordon. Gary was stationed in Germany for 18 months and served with the 6th Battalion, 10th Artillery, Headquarters Battery located in Bamberg. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jansma, Samantha (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 Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-29 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f63334befa6fab25e9cbd84d8ee5a7f2.mp4 7ae7939612e0a61b58a6982fe638025e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b562aff167c1618dc2beb8556948a6e7.pdf 9494a071f8d99dcc823885be9990d188 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam Name of Interviewee: Steve Wendt Length of Interview: 00:18:37 Background:                   Steve served in the United States Navy from the Fall of 1968 to the Fall of 1972. He attained a rank of E4 while he was in. He was an engine repairman. He served in Vietnam from February of 1970 to February of 1971. He was in the Brownwater Navy, which was Navy Gunboats. Most of his time was spent in the Mekong Delta. He would also run secret operations in Cambodia. The main job while on those gunboats would be to set up ambushes to catch the Viet Cong who tried crossing the rivers at night. He was in the Navy for 4 years. He got married while he was in the service, and his wife had come to live with him while he served in New Hampshire. He had 8 duty stations: Hawaii, Alaska, New Hampshire, Great Lakes, California, the Panama Canal (3 times), Nova Scotia, Canada. He joined the Navy after high school. He would have been drafted if he didn’t join. He did not want to go to Vietnam, but since he was going anyway he signed up for the Navy because he did not want to join the Army or the Navy. His first opportunity that he heard about the boats, he volunteered to serve on them, and they sent him off right away. He has been married for 39 years and has 2 children. His summer job, before he joined the Navy, was a watchman for Michigan Consolidated Gas Company. When he came back from the Navy he worked at a Tool and Dye Shop. He enlisted because he did not want to get drafted. He chose the Navy because it seemed more exciting than the others. While he served in combat, over in Vietnam, he had been in severe combat. Active Duty (3:00)     One of the most memorable experiences of while he was serving was when he was in Cambodia. One day, he and the others that he served with actually caught a Viet Cong. He got a picture of him and he was in charge of him while the VC was on the boat. His unit did suffer some casualties. One time, there were two casualties, when an Army helicopter shot at them. He was told that the reason he was there was to replace someone who had been blown up by a rocket. In his unit, there were not many casualties beyond that. (3:40) �                 He was afraid a couple of time while he was serving. Once they had set up a little spy station over some rice paddies. Some guys were coming and they hid in the nearby bushes, and they walked right by. Most of the food they lived off of was C-rations. If you lucky enough to be on a base, you would enjoy the hot food there. They would also throw grenades into the water and knock fish out and eat them. Most of time, because he and the others worked 12-14 hour nights, was spent sleeping. If you weren’t asleep, you were getting the boat ready for the next mission. For the first three weeks when he was there, he did not have any sort of form of communication. But after that, the letters came frequently enough. He was a good letter writer. In the year that he was in Vietnam, he may have called home twice. He doesn’t remember doing much for recreation. Sometimes he and the other guys would go to the bar and talk, but there really wasn’t much to do there. Most of his holidays were spent at home, he planned it that way. He did spent one Christmas on guard duty at one of the bases he was at. He remembers being very lonely. He met his wife before they got out of high school. Jeanie would go to college while he served in the Navy. Just before he went to Vietnam, they got engaged. And when he got home, they had a small window of time, so they got married. (7:30) He doesn’t remember much of when he got out of the service, but he does remember coming home from Vietnam. None of the soldiers came home in uniform because they were afraid of the ridicule waiting for them when they got home. Instead, they traveled in civilian clothing. There were no parades or congratulations waiting for you. You just came home and that was it. He learned mechanical skills while he was in the service. He says that he can fix almost anything, though he did not use those skills for most of his working life up until the last 5 or 6 years. When the war ended, he and his family were living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife had just bought a house and he remembers watching the news, which showed people trying to escape the city before the communists got there. After he got out of the service, he looked for work. He eventually ended up at a General Motors company. They sent him to a supervisory school, and he was a supervisor on and off, in different factories for about 30 years. He has two very close friends. One was from high school, which had joined the Coast Guard. He sees him regularly. He did have another friend he made while in the Navy. And he would also have another friend who would marry his wife’s best friend. His wartime career did not contribute to his working career until the last 5 or 6 years of working. He is a member of the American Legion, a veteran’s organization, but he does not attend any meetings or clubs. Although he has not gone to any reunions, he does receive a letter and has not seen one available to go to yet. Otherwise he would like to go. (11:30) �       Next is shown a showcase of all the medals and awards given to him while he was in the service. If you were at a ceremony or something like that, you would wear the full medal. If you were just out on duty, you would just wear the ribbon. One was for good conduct, three or four were from the Vietnam Campaign, one is for a special merit award for a secret Cambodia operation, one is for Navy Marksman. There is also Vietnamese money in the case as well. This money has no value on the world market. You were not allowed to have real money while in Vietnam. Instead you would have to use a special certificate. One of his first missions was to help get a ship ready that would star in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! The ship had just been painted and he had helped prepare the ship. In the early spring of 1971, America was given permission by Cambodia and Vietnam to assist the Vietnamese who were told to go back to Vietnam from Cambodia. All the refugees were told to leave, and the VC and the Communists were trying to kill them as they went home. His job was to patrol the rivers and help the Vietnamese people get home safely. Other Memories (15:00)         While he was in Pearl Harbor one night, and one of his jobs was to give cable to Japanese ship that no one knew was there. The Japanese ship came in under the cover of night and they supplied them with cable and then left before anyone knew they had been there. They figured that Americans would be upset seeing a Japanese ship there, so they had to do it secretly. While on his missions, he would also be through a hurricane, a typhoon in Alaska. He would also be near the Elusion Islands, where the Russians would be everywhere around their ship. There would also be a day, a windy day, when he was working on a ship and one of the officers was killed in an accident. While he and his wife lived in New Hampshire, they took a vacation into the While Mountains for a few weeks. He volunteered for Vietnam, and he would not change his mind, and he would do it again. He believes that the reasons we are there were good and he would do it again. When he got home, his family was very supportive. But you did not come home looking like a soldier. You had to be very worried about people attacking you because of your involvement in the war. You came home quietly and went on to your next duty, whatever that might be. Most of the veterans from Vietnam will say that they are not appreciated and that they should not have been there. But most of them are still proud to have served their country. � 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 WendtS Title A name given to the resource Wendt, Steven (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wendt, Steven Description An account of the resource Steve Wendt served in the US Navy between 1968 and 1972. He did a tour in Vietnam as an engine mechanic working on river craft on the Mekong River. He went on numerous patrols and saw combat on a regular basis. His unit went into Cambodia on a number of occasions, and helped to escort Vietnamese refugees from Cambodia back into Vietnam. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Walsh, Mitchell (Interviewer) Wendt, Jason (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 United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-05-03 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c0b0ef8a3ba927671a46e89fdfe76a63.mp4 c72f282354b82541ed6f97f4001f13ec https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/19007b545353dd4e157612e64e98de09.pdf 15987f994f74829610f47472c414e874 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project John Wells Korean War/French Indochina War 47 minutes 55 seconds (00:00:39) Early Life -Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1930 -Family moved to Michigan after he was born -Muskegon, Michigan in 1931 -Family lived there for five to six years -Moved to Manistee, Michigan -Father ran the Chamber of Commerce there -Wound up in Grand Rapids, Michigan -Father ran the West Michigan Tourist and Resort Association -Went to high school in Manistee and Grand Rapids -Graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids in 1949 (00:02:02) Awareness of World War II -Older brother was in the Michigan National Guard -Part of the 126th Infantry Regiment out of Muskegon -He was stationed in Louisiana and then joined the Army Air Corps -Flew bombing raids on B-17 bombers -Shot down twice over Germany -Was a prisoner of war for a year and a half -Brother came home after the war and went to college (00:03:39) Army National Guard -He was attending Grand Rapids Community College and serving in the Army National Guard -Part of the Officer Candidate Program -Specialized as a machine gunner in the National Guard -Went to Camp Grayling for training -Went for three summers -Learned how to fire heavy weapons (machine guns and bazookas) -Enjoyed the time spent at Camp Grayling -Battalion and company commanders were WWII veterans (00:05:53) Enlisting in the Air Force -There was a possibility that National Guard units would be sent to fight in the Korean War -Father had a lunch with Governor Williams -Told that his (John’s) National Guard unit was next up to be sent to Korea -Transferred into the Air Force -Wanted better living conditions if he was going to be sent to Korea -Joined the Air Force in February 1951 (00:07:10) Air Force Basic Training -Sent to Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas for basic training -Taught the basics of marching and close order drill -Also had fire arm training with how to properly handle and fire a carbine rifle �-There was a heavy emphasis on discipline in basic training -Concept wasn’t foreign to him after serving in the National Guard -Made basic training easier for him -Stayed at Lackland AFB for about eight weeks (00:08:40) University of Southern California School of Aeronautics -Sent to USC School of Aeronautics for further Air Force training -Enjoyed training there -People were friendly -Able to hitchhike into Los Angeles on the weekends -Saw USO shows and given tours of Hollywood -Taught the basic aircraft maintenance fundamentals -Aviation electronics, engine repair and maintenance, how to check for problems -Given a large amount of hands on training -Had to take an engine apart, repair it, and put it back together -Worked with propeller engines only, jet engines were still being introduced into the Air Force -Course lasted fifteen weeks -Got college credit (00:10:34) Chanute Field, Illinois -After UCS School of Aeronautics he was sent to Chanute Field, Illinois -Given specialized training with the R350 engines used on the B-29 bomber -Larger and more elaborate engines than what he had worked with in the past -Training lasted nine weeks -He was able to visit Chicago on three day leaves -Also able to visit the University of Illinois and try to meet girls there (00:11:30) George Air Force Base, California -First deployment was to George Air Force Base north of Victorville, California -Located in the Mojave Desert -Stayed there for almost a year -Worked as a crew chief on a B-26 light bomber -Enjoyed the deployment -Hitchhiked to Los Angeles -Able to watch movies or see USO shows -Base was about sixty miles away from the city -Able to fly a lot during his time there -Regularly flown to nearby bases to repair aircraft there -Had to ride in the rear gunner position on the B-26 -Remembers flying over an atomic bomb factory (00:14:39) Visiting Home -Went home frequently while at Chanute -A few other soldiers were from Grand Rapids so they would car pool together -They would leave base on a Friday and get back to base on Sunday -While in California he wasn’t able to visit home (00:15:21) Tow Target Squadron -While at George Air Force Base he largely ignored the Korean War -Unaware of the situation there -His unit was a Stateside squadron that wouldn’t be deployed �-Pulled radar patrol missions in Canada to make sure the radar could pick up Soviet aircraft -He was a part of the 4th Tow Target Squadron -Worked as a crew chief -Duty was to tow a target behind a B-26 -Target practice for the anti-aircraft batteries (00:16:55) Deployment to Japan -Three or four men from his squadron were selected every month for an overseas deployment -Rotation system eventually got to him -Spent Christmas 1952 on a troop transport headed for Japan -Didn’t get seasick -Weather wasn’t bad -Sailed over with a couple thousand other soldiers -Voyage to Japan took about two weeks -Landed in Yokohama, Japan and kept at an Army holding base until he received his assignment (00:19:05) Ashiya Air Force Base -Sent by train to Ashiya Air Force Base, Kyushu, Japan -Southernmost Major Island in Japan -Fifty miles directly across from Pusan, Korea -Assigned to the 816th “Packet Rats” Troop Carrier Squadron -Used the C119 troop transport/cargo plane -About twice the size of the C-47 troop transport used in WWII -Used C119s to parachute supplies into Korea -He worked as an engine technician repairing C119 engines -He would get flown to Korea to repair engines there as well (00:22:10) Downtime during Deployment to Japan/Korea -Given three day passes while at Ashiya Air Force Base -Base was close to a small fishing community -Japanese were friendly -There was a movie theatre on base -Saw Bob Hope perform at the base a couple times -In Korea only stayed on bases long enough to repair engines and then fly back -Never got a chance to see any Korean villages that were nearby (00:23:24) Deployment to Vietnam -On a Sunday in May 1953 he received orders to report to base headquarters -Reported to Colonel Casey along with two other soldiers -Told they were being sent on a classified mission to Saigon, French Indochina (Vietnam) -Given proper vaccinations and a haircut -Flown to Saigon the same Sunday at 4 PM -Stayed overnight in Saigon -Woke up the next day to find the U.S. insignia had been replaced with a French one -Flew up to Nha Trang on the coast of Vietnam -Stayed in a French villa -Served complimentary beer and food paid for by the French government -From Nha Trang they were flown to Hanoi -Shared the airport there with Air France and Pan Am -Stayed in Hanoi for three weeks �(00:26:27) Duties in Vietnam -Assignment was to repair engines -Also had to help with basic aircraft maintenance and functions -Stationed there in the midst of the French Indochina War -Could hear artillery being fired outside of Hanoi -Saw maps that showed that Viet Minh forces were surrounding Hanoi -Aircraft were dropping troops and supplies into Dien Bien Phu to build an air base there -Surrounded by Viet Minh artillery -High susceptible to crippling artillery strikes -U.S. C119s were being used for supply missions to Dien Bien Phu -Flown by contracted civilian American pilots -Touch and go supply drops -Area was too dangerous to actually landed, just dropped supplies and took off -Moved out of Hanoi to avoid drawing attention from civilians -Moved to Haiphong -Also moved out of Hanoi because the supply chain was being destroyed by Viet Minh -Fuel trains were regularly being blown up (00:31:43) Conditions in Vietnam -Operating in Haiphong was more secure -Still took fire in the outlying areas around Hai Fong though -In French airbases they were served cognac and wine for a very low price -Rats were a common problem in Vietnam -Vietnam was very hot -Allowed to change into French military uniforms -U.S. troops were being recognized and attacked by Viet Minh soldiers (00:35:15) Leaving Vietnam -Only stayed in Vietnam for about two months -Dien Bien Phu did not fall while he was there -Not told why they were being taken out of Vietnam so soon -Later on told that it was due to keeping operations secret and for health reasons -Very high rates of dysentery in Vietnam -Flown back to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for a health examination (00:36:25) Redeployment to Japan Pt. 1 -After Clark Air Base he was flown back to Ashiya Air Base in Japan -Back in Japan he followed the French Indochina War very closely -Wasn’t surprised when the French surrendered at Dien Bien Phu -Area was too vulnerable to be sustained (00:36:57) Relationship with French and Vietnamese -Had a great amount of respect for the French Foreign Legion soldiers -Had a good relationship with the French troops -Remembers a colonial soldier from Senegal and had a good friendship with him -French troops could always recognize the American troops at checkpoints because of accents -Vietnamese civilians were very friendly towards Americans -Vietnamese children wanted to practice their English with American troops -No sign of animosity towards Americans -Only ever interacted with Vietnamese civilians in the surrounding areas outside of bases �(00:40:05) Redeployment to Japan Pt. 2 -After Korean War Armistice the focus shifted from Korea to Vietnam -Large amount of supply missions were being flown from Japan to Vietnam -Constantly repairing engines for the aircraft -Never got used to, or enjoyed, Japanese food -Didn’t really get off the base much during his second time in Japan -Remembers that the nearby fishing town had an 11PM to 6AM curfew (00:42:32) Hill Air Force Base -Returned to the United States on a Navy transport -Crossed under the San Francisco Bay Bridge -Greeted by horn blasts and water jets in the harbor -At the dock a band played “California Here I Come” -Sent to Hill Air Force Base, Utah -Stayed there for a year -Got an early release to go back to college -While at Hill AFB he was an engine technician (same job that he’d had before) -Still worked with transport aircraft -Job expanded to include bombers while he was in Utah (00:44:39) Leaving the Air Force and Life after the Air Force -Encouraged to extend his enlistment and stay in the Air Force by officers -Got out in January 1955 -Went to school for optometry at the Illinois College of Optometry -Visited the campus once during a trip from Chinook Field to Grand Rapids -Later when he applied he was accepted in immediately -In the fall 1955 he went to college -After three years he graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry -Returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan and started his own optometry practice -Shared his office with President Ford’s younger brother, Jim Ford (00:47:02) Reflections on Service -Still respects the Air Force very much -Had great officers that led him and extremely capable enlisted men he worked alongside -Appreciated the responsibility that he had to take � 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 WellsJ1590V Title A name given to the resource Wells, John (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wells, John Description An account of the resource John Wells was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1930 and his family moved to Michigan in 1931, graduating from high school in 1949 in Grand Rapids. He then attended Grand Rapids Community College and served in the Michigan Army National Guard. After hearing rumors that his National Guard unit would be deployed to fight in the Korean War he decided to transfer to the Air Force in February 1951. He received training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas; University of Southern California School of Aeronautics, Santa Maria, California; and Chanute Field, Illinois. He was first stationed at George Air Force Base, California with the 4th Tow Target Squadron and then sent to Ashiya Air Force Base in Kyushu, Japan where he served with the 816th "Packet Rats" Troop Carrier Squadron flying supply and repair missions to Korea. From May to July of 1953 he served in Vietnam as an engine technician aiding the French air force at the time when they were building the base at Dien Bien Phu. He returned to Japan after his short stint in Vietnam, served a year at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, and left the Air Force in January 1955. 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 Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. National Guard United States. Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-04-03 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/15138b6a72cf1c90b9404942bf5b043a.mp4 eb13bc324441ec39ec1538d5c2a3d56f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5f13d447149d3f0182d9d1573bf98f44.pdf f1f0c2b52a082dba651349e449bca01d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Gerald Wells (18:10) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Was in the service 1953-1955 (:07) Born 11/11/1932 (0:14) Lived with his father, his mother, and his elder brother. His brother was ten years older. (0:18) He lived on a small farm, he worked with the horses. (0:32) His father was a farmer, his mother was a practical nurse. (0:42) His father had been raised on a farm and decided to start his own farm after losing his job for political reasons. (1:00) His first car was a 1939 Plymouth convertible, it had two seats and a rumble seat in the trunk. (1:17) The car had no seatbelts. Seatbelts were not widespread until the 1960's. (1:53) He hung out at the Christian drugstore. The drugstore had a soda fountain, ice cream, and sandwiches. His favorite treat was the lemon malt, which cost ten to fifteen cents. (2:02) He had an appendix operation in high school. (2:35) His first job was a mason's tender for Barry Construction. He carried bricks, mixed cement and mud, and ran errands. (2:55) The job lasted a few months, in the summer. (3:07) Doesn't recall his wages, but probably under a dollar an hour. (3:24) WWII began when he was eleven. His brother served in WWII, and he lost some cousins in the war as well. (3:49) Everything was rationed, gas, tires, no cars were made. (4:00) Meats, sugar, flour, all the groceries were rationed as well. (4:11) Food was not a major problem for his family, due to the farm. Sugar, gas, and other staples not produced by the farm were sometimes problematic. (4:48) He had four years of high school, and two years of college at MSU. He majored in agricultural engineering. (5:00) He was drafted into the army. He had been in the Navy for two years prior to his Army service (5:27) Applied to serve in the Navy when he was drafted, but did not meet their requirements. He was able to meet the Army physical requirements, noting they had different doctors. (5:47) Drafted Feb 9th, 1953. (6:03) Went to Georgia for two years, where was an instructor. (6:17) Instructed troops on military code of ethics, and use of firearms. (6:31) Forts Gordon and Seward. (6:57) Went to the movies, bars, and chased girls in his free time. (7:06) Did not have a steady girlfriend while in the Army. (7:13) It was about fifty cents to go to the movies. (7:20) Had “army chow” in the service, which they complained about often. Notes that “it was good food, but the cooks ruined it most of the time.” (7:23) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Frequent meal was chipped beef and gravy on toast. Tasted bad, but was passable with enough salt and pepper. (7:57) Was a good shot, enjoyed shooting the rifles. (8:21) Integration was just starting while he was in Georgia. He did not experience problems in his classes. (8:34) Some problems related to race outside the classroom. (9:00) He was not outranked by any African Americans. Since integration had just begun, few had reached higher ranks. (9:14) He was a military policeman as well. Almost all of the MPs were white. (9:30) The white men were not allowed to go into “black parts” of town. Black MPs were sent to patrol that area. (9:38) Misfires with rifles were rare, but occurred. (10:02) No one was injured as a result of misfired. (10:10) His classes were similar to high school classes today. (10:21) Trained recruits with weapons to the best of their ability. Felt somewhat sorry for the troops, as they were sent to active duty (10:44) Had a teacher-student relationship with the recruits. (10:56) Spent about six hours per day teaching. (11:10) After the service, he used his accrued leave to visit his brother in New York. Next he went home. (11:30) His brother owned a paper box factory. (11:52) He went back to work at Beecher's Food company, as the clean up man. (11:56) He was trained to be the “swing-man.” This meant he covered other worker's shift if they were sick or otherwise unavailable. Sometimes this result in working two consecutive shifts, which was exhausting. (12:45) Enjoyed his work. Was paid perhaps $1.00/hour. Got married while working. (12:45) He and his wife made less than $4,000 per year combined. (13:03) Bough his first car for $2,600 new. (13:19) Re-adjusted to civilian life very easily. (13:34) Has five daughters dispersed throughout the United States. Has five grand-daughters, the youngest of which is a sophomore in high school. (14:00) Married 11/10/1955, a day before his birthday. Didn't want to forgot his anniversary.(14:40) Divorced 1958. (14:44) Believes every young person should enlist for two years, it would do them good. The military teaches people to be independent. (15:14) Military taught him to obey rules, and to take care of himself. Going out of the base required a pass, which meant he had to keep up on his chores. (15:41) Only regrets his divorce, which was the result of miscommunication. Despite the divorce, he is still on good terms with his ex-wife. (16:32) Believes the war in Iraq is a mess, but would serve again if he were younger. (16:40) A volunteer service leads to higher quality military. The drafted soldiers �• don't care as much.(17:08) Military had a rigid hierarchy. (17:47) � 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 WellsG Title A name given to the resource Wells, Gerald A. (Interview outline and video) 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wells, Gerald A. Description An account of the resource Gerald served as an instructor in the Army from 1953 to 1955, despite failing his physical for the Navy. Gerald focuses mostly on his home life prior to and after enlistment. He also briefly recounts the complications of integration of the armed forces. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Greenwald, Tegan (Interviewer) Lowell Area Historical Museum (Lowell, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-30 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b645bf3abefd362470b628c9ec4b8db1.mp4 1e9a31585a94ebdb5ffa2e5378931293 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/401c74d5ba43e3e2548a627f801132ee.pdf 57c5c919dace38d57e60e25e36046f16 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Gene Welch Interview Total Time: 57:54 Background  (00:12) Born in June of 1942 on a small farm in Pennsylvania o Grew up here o Midland, Pennsylvania o His father was a welder, mother was a housewife but also did farm work  (00:55) Remembers working on the farm as a young boy  (1:05) Finished high school in June of 1960 o After graduating, looked for a job but knew the country was going into a recession at the time o In August of 1960, joined the Navy o His father was in the Navy and felt that it was a better service for Mr. Welch, because of his metal working background Training  (2:25) Great Lakes Training Center north of Chicago for basic training  (3:23) Got out there by train  (3:50) Describes the first couple of days as a “flurry of activity”  (4:13) Got a physical here  (4:48) No draftees when he was here, said the army was the only group who drafted at this time  (5:14) Says most of the guys were here to get some training for a job or to get away from family  (5:47) Training consisted of getting up early, marching, learning how to use a rifle o He knew how to use a rifle and a shotgun o Did paper and bookwork as well o Learned terminology later on  (6:35) Not a lot of emphasis on discipline, which was surprising  (7:20) Most of the guys who were training him were just a few years older  (8:00) Basic training was 9 weeks o Decided that he wanted to go to a welding school in San Diego  (9:06) Took a train to San Diego o Took about 4 days, very few stops �      (9:29) The base was located on a hill o The place he was at was a school for people who were going into jobs related to mechanical things o Machine and welding shops, etc. (10:38) Arrived here in November in 1960 and noticed that people were sunbathing – he really appreciating the weather (11:20) 8-5 schedule (11:40) He trained to be a welder/metalsmith o Did a lot of sheet metal work o Made ductwork for air conditioning, etc. o Welding high pressure steam lines from the boilers and outside of the ship, etc. o This was easy for Mr. Welch to learn o There were guys from all over the country here (14:20) In boot camp, about 10% of the recruits were black, 7-8% in the training school o There were also people who had Italian, Greek, Mexican backgrounds, etc. (15:31) This training school lasted about 12 weeks o After completing this, he had a choice to go home for awhile o Didn’t do this because he’d been home for two weeks after basic training Overseas  (16:30) Met a girl whose father was on the USS Klondike – which was a repair ship o This is the ship he went aboard o The ship was about 800 feet long, 150 feet wide  Deep draft because of all the tools on board  There was a full carpenter shop o Probably about the same size as a cruiser o (18:13) About 600 men in the crew  (18:31) Thought they’d be in port for awhile doing repairs, but they headed out to the Western Pacific two months later o Headed for Japan  (19:40) Once he got on the ship, went directly to the welding shop o Lived on the ship while they were in port  (20:41) On the way to Japan, they stopped in Honolulu o Stayed here about 4-5 days to refuel and restock o Got to go off the ship o From San Diego to Japan it took over three weeks  (21:24) First stop in Japan was Sasebo o At this time it was the largest American naval facility in Japan �o o o o          45 miles from Hiroshima At this time, Japanese accepted Americans pretty well Got to look around a bit 3 evenings off, had a curfew  If they stayed overnight, they had to give an address o Interacted with natives a lot o Had to stay in uniform at this time – had to get special permission to wear civilian clothes (25:16) They were organized in groups for certain jobs (26:25) After Japan, they went to Hong Kong for a week o This was like R&R o Went into mainland China and wore civilian clothes  This was an area they weren’t supposed to go in – Kau Lung (28:24) Went to the Philippines next; Subic Bay o Here for a couple of months o They stayed on the ship and sometimes went off base into the town o There were lots of bars! o They were here during election time and couldn’t leave the base for a few days during the election (30:10) While in the Philippines, they got warnings about how to behave around the natives o Some people were in trouble and got sent home for getting into fights (31:12) Mr. Welch said that if he had a choice, he would have stayed long term at Sasebo, Japan o The natives there were not so aggressive as the Filipinos o He liked the Filipino natives but said they could be hard to live with (31:44) Came back to San Diego after the Philippines – total time about 6 months o This was about 1962 (32:27) After getting back to the US, he got a job as a dishwasher, then a bartender, and then got an apartment (was still in the Navy and doing these things on the side) o Some of the barmaids wanted to be his roommates o He got arrested for “running a house of ill repute” (not exactly the case) o Two weeks later he got transfer papers to go to an oiler ship in Long Beach (34:00) The civilian jobs were at night o This was a common thing for people to do at this time (35:18) Life on the oiler was much different than on the Klondike o Oiler spends a lot more time at sea because their job is to refuel other ships o Went back to Japan �         o Filled up in San Pedro and refueled ships on the way over to Japan  A lot of this was practice  Constant training (36:33) He was directly part of the refueling as well (38:02) On the oiler ship, they never spent more than 4-5 days in port except for San Diego (38:11) Went from Japan to Taiwan, stayed there a few days, filled up with oil o US had a contract with Taiwan to buy oil at this time o Then they went to the coast of Vietnam (39:07) October or November of 1962 was when they arrived at Vietnam o They got shot at near the south shore of Vietnam o Near the DMZ (42:54) He was on the coast of Vietnam for no more than two days o Refueled in Japan and went to the Philippines, then to Hong Kong (43:35) Went to Hong Kong first, remembers that there were lots of women who painted the ship for them (44:31) Got orders to go to South China Sea and refuel Australian ships o These were the roughest seas he’d ever seen o Lost footing in the waves and at one point he was washed overboard – the rope was too long o Did lots of pitching and rolling o This was towards the end of his tour (47:20) Remembers having a cable break on the Chemung (oiler ship) and it took off a guy’s leg (47:58) Remembers getting offers to reenlist towards the end of his tour o Got a small pay raise offer o Considered going into underwater welding but he couldn’t do it because he had a few fillings in his teeth o Had two years in active reserves left Home  (49:20) Got back to the US in late 1963 o Before this, they wanted to rebuild the Chemung, so they had it in dry-dock o Mr. Welch participated in this  (50:49) Stationed at Long Beach and got out in July of 1964 o Had an apartment on shore after he was married  (51:50) Got a job in California doing metal work �  o Stayed at this company for a few years and then took his Navy experience and went to a refinery in Southern California for 22 years (52:26) Lived in California until 1989 o A few years earlier, he had the idea to move because of political and economic problems o Moved to Bellingham, Washington for 11 years o In 1999 they decided to move to Michigan, his wife’s family lived there  It was 2000 when they officially moved (55:00) He says that his time in the Navy taught him a lot about discipline even though they weren’t really strict about it o Still had a sense of what was right and wrong, etc. o How to be careful o He said he’d do it over again o Would recommend it to young 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 WelchG1330V Title A name given to the resource Welch, Eugene (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Welch, Eugene Description An account of the resource Gene Welch was born near Midland, Pennsylvania in 1942. After graduating high school in 1960, he decided to join the Navy. Mr. Welch received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy, and then went to a training school in San Diego to specialize in welding and metal working. He worked on the repair ship USS Klondike and the oiler USS Chemung. He made cruises to Japan, The Philippines, and Hong Kong on both of them. After returning to the United States in 1963, he was stationed at Long Beach for another year while the Chemung was being overhauled. 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 United States. Navy Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-10-17 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2c090d45e29f06aa8914ab6b725ff766.mp4 d839fe45523ee19e86de239075a2bc69 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/19b527bc8efa0124ff5be9223f858573.pdf 5448c84e41927a96333c06bb0370870c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Charles Weingate (00:46:21) (00:24) Pre-Enlistment • • • • • • • (00:30) Born in West Hazelton, PA Father was a coal miner Moved to Grand Rapids so father could work as a cabinet maker Remembers hardships of Great Depression Attended Union High School, Graduated in February, 1944 Drafted in November, 1944 Army Allowed him to graduate (04:20) Training • • • • • • • • • • • • • (04:35) Went to Fort Crowder, MO. Learned how to be in Signal Corps. Given comprehension test on signals such as Morse Code, and a good score on that got you into the Signal Corps. Was initially going to be sent to Asia. Loaded all of the equipment on to the train, and left. Got as far as Kansas before they got the information that they were going to Europe. Train had to turn around and head to New York instead. (09:10) Camp Crowder was location for Basic Training. (13:15) Was trained as a Radio Operator in Specialist Training. Four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening of practicing code. (14:40) 2000 men were taken in at Pine Camp, NY from Camp Crowder, MO, in June 1944. 200 were kept at the end of the program. Every man in the outfit had to learn how to drive every type of vehicle that the outfit used (16:20) The purpose of the outfit was to make sound so as to make the enemy think that there were more troops there than there were. Learned everything about sound, for instance the difference between day and night. (17:10) Worked with wire-mag to create the sound. Sound was projected through speaker in the turret of the M-10 tank destroyer. (18:20) Worked with the equipment in New York before they are shipped out. (19:20) Pine Camp was a location where they kept Italian POWs Lieutenant was replaced right before they were shipped over seas. �(21:50) Active Duty • • • • • • • • • • • • Transported on the Ship “Blue Goose” to Naples, Italy. Encountered a storm. Travelled in a convoy. (26:00) Was transported to Pisa, and stayed in a house that held 200 men for about a week. (26:50) Were then sent to Upper Apennines. Their job was to take tanks into mountains and make sounds so to make the Germans think that there were more tanks there than there were. (27:30) They had a battalion of British attached to them that used rubber tanks and canvas to fake the Germans into attacking the fake tanks, rather than the real tanks. (27:55) They were trying to weaken the German lines an allow the Americans to break through. They did this by tricking the Germans into thinking that there were more troops and tanks there than there were. They were fired upon on their first night. (30:50) He was in a ¾ Ton truck. He was a radio operator for the platoon. (32:25) After the Germans surrendered, they broke into the Po Valley, and captured some German soldiers. Stayed in the valley for a couple weeks. Moved then into the Southern Alps. (33:50) Given orders to move to Rome and be shipped to Asia, but that was cancelled after the war ended. Was then given the choice of what to do at the end of the war. He chose to go to the Air Force. He was shipped to Naples and helped catalogue and ship different items. Was promoted twice, achieved Tech Sergeant. (35:35) Then got enough points to be shipped home in June, 1946. During time in Naples, was able to gain some photography equipment. (38:30) Post-War • • • (38:30) Shipped to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin for discharge. Proceeded home to Michigan Got a job at a plating company after the war, then worked in die casting � 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 WeingateC Title A name given to the resource Weingate, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weingate, Charles Description An account of the resource Charles Weingate was born in West Hazelton, Pennsylvania and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan as a child. He was drafted into the Army in 1944 before finishing high school, but was allowed to finish. He became a radio operator in the Signal Corps. His unit's objective was to create a source of sound to deceive the enemy into thinking that there were more Americans present than there were. He landed in Naples and operated throughout the Italian peninsula. He spent some time in Italy working for the Air Force after the war was over. He was sent home in 1946. After the war, he worked several jobs, most of which were in factories. 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.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-12-13 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/404147b502e5b5a6842a26b31511c45a.mp4 e85de1c2d57b8ca1a521f2cb13e7883f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5b83014a6e0180b8552a0e80dc42a79e.pdf b74059e6bd0b459be467233ee834f2b4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee: Fred Weidner Length of Interview: 00:39:25 Background              Born on November 25, 1922 in Muskegon, Michigan. His father was a metal pattern maker and his mother was home maker. He would grow up in Muskegon until he was 18 [19] years old when he joined the service. His father had to switch his occupation from one city to another, but they still lived in the same place. He was an only child. He would live with foster parents. He would learn about Pearl Harbor from the newspapers. He knew about what was going on in the world and he knew we would probably go to war soon, though not with Japan. His foster father had come from Germany and he would serve in the Pacific so as to not accidentally meet up with his family and friend while in combat. He went through high school and joined the military in 1942. He worked for a while before he joined the army, but would end up volunteering to join the armed forces. Since he wasn’t 20, he was able to pick the branch of service that he wanted to go into. He tried to get into the Navy but did not pass their physical exam. Instead he would join the Army. For basic training he was sent to Camp Hahn, in California. That is near Riverside. Training (4:30)        The camp itself was really nice. It was a new base, with new barracks and things like that. When they got there they would learn how to fire a rifle and did lots of marching and drilling. He would march 15 miles. Others with bad feet would quit, but he would go all the way. He was in good shape at the time. He would do his specialized training for anti-aircraft fire at Camp Hahn as well. He was learning how to use and repair the weapons during his training. He learned out to shoot the 30 caliber rifle, 50 caliber machine guns and the search light. He did not train in the larger guns. When he learned how to use the search light, they learned how to clean them and use them. He ran the district electric control system, which was used to position the search light. �          He would practice using the search light at night. They would practice finding drones at night. They were similar to the toy planes that people played with. He would spend a year at Camp Hahn. When he finished he was a Corporal at the time. He had been five times. He would get busted each time for insubordination for things like talking out of turn. After that he was sent to Florida and Georgia for training with the Air Corps. Here he would be able to train with the search light for real planes. He would be assigned to the 222nd Searchlight Battalion in Camp Hahn. He would stay down there for about 6 months between Georgia and Florida. While in training, he did not have much liberty to leave the base to do his own thing. But there was plenty to do in the Camps, like an obstacle course and a gun range. While he was there, Bob Hope came a number of times, especially while he was overseas. He would go home right before he went overseas, in 1943. He was sent overseas in 1944, early in the year. He left from San Francisco on a Dutch ship. The US would pay these ships to take the American soldiers over in there ship so they wouldn’t be noticed on the ocean. War in the Pacific (13:05)                The ship would sail by itself, and it would carry all the equipment as well as the soldiers over. The unit itself was at full strength, or 1000 people. When they were traveling, the pistons went out on the ship and they sat idle for 3 days. No one came to help, but they fixed it themselves. He decided before he set sail that he would not let himself be captured. Instead he would rather drown. He landed in New Guinea, which is where he unloaded. While they were there, they had to do some form of training; he chose boxing and swimming. The training they were doing would help prepare them for the invasion of the Philippines. While he was there, he was given drugs to help fight diseases like malaria. He took some, but not all of them. He would not catch any of the tropical diseases while he was there. He put a mosquito net around his bed and he kept himself dry. This would help a lot. He would then go from Finschaefen to Aitape. It was a nicer place than Finschaefen, a lot less muddy. He saw Bob Hope when he was in New Guinea. He put on a good program. It was funny sometimes and serious at other times. They kept him fed fairly well. While he was in New Guinea, he did not have any problems with the Japanese. Although he had been trained in the search light, there was not a whole lot for him to do there. From New Guinea, he went straight to Luzon. (21:00) He and the others tried to take a ship to Luzon, and it took 7 tries before they could get into Luzon. The enemy aircraft had kept them from coming in until then. �                 The enemy aircraft that he saw there were mostly bombers. Though on the way to the Philippines, he did see Kamikaze planes. He also saw them hit some of the American ships. None of them tried to attack their ship. He did finally land in Luzon. They would attack the Japanese in a place that was a surprise for them and he would land in Luzon while witnessing some of the naval bombardment that was going on. He remembers while he was there, the Japanese had tried to blow up the landing strip. They had dropped 23 bombs, but only 13 of them had gone off. They did not make very good bombs. He also remembered that they sent some bombers so close to their outfit that he could see the eyeballs on the pilots. They got bombed day and night. He would use his searchlights every air raid they had. Once he landed, the airfield there was mostly used as an emergency landing airfield. The Japanese had been chased away from the area that he stayed in. He would also see the natives as well. They Philippians did not wear any shirts. They went about their lives without the need to wear shirts. This however would make them a target for the Japanese. If a native crawled in a Japanese foxhole, and the Japanese felt that there was no shirt, it was too bad for them. The Philippians and Aussies were wonderful Trojans of war. They would help to fight in the resistance against the Japanese. He also remembers that you had to have your initials on your socks, or the native girls would take them. He would stay in the same place for the time he spent in the war. (28:00) When the war was over, he had an emergency furlough. His father had had a stroke back home. He would go to Manila on his way home. He would also see a lot of the city. There were not a lot of people there. He and a buddy had to carry their rifles around because there were Japanese snipers still in the city. He was in Manila when the war was announced to be officially over. While he was in the Philippines, he remembers his buddy’s dad died and his wife divorced him. He would not be able to go home for his father’s funeral and would be unable to defend himself in the divorce. Post Duty (32:00)      He would be flown back to the United States in a transport plane. When he got back to the US in November, he was discharged in January. He would go to work right away when he went home. He got a job in cabinet work. He would also work in a couple of other jobs. His time in the service would greatly change his life. He was married when he went in, which would cause enough problems for it to cause a divorce. He would rather not remember that stuff. His time in the service would teach him what was good for him and what was bad for him. �    When he was in the Philippines, their outfit never had a good commander. He did have one good battalion commander, one who really understood the soldiers. The platoon performed very well when they went into action. He did not receive any awards. Those who would lead the invasions would receive a bronze arrowhead, a campaign medal of some sort. � 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 WeidnerF Title A name given to the resource Weidner, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weidner, Fred Description An account of the resource Fred Weidner served in the 222nd Searchlight Battalion in the Pacific in World War II. His unit was deployed to New Guinea in 1944, and then to the Philippines in early 1945, where he witnessed enemy bombing raids and kamikaze attacks. 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-03-03 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5ab2a8b1b7f51fe728d22f6cc65061ff.mp4 faeb35555a71d04e53c94f211ce3883f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a3134c020cd78092caf5be73806c3b97.pdf 99366bd36761b16127425e1189c3e38c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Shirley Weber (00:52:53) (00:20) Kalamazoo, Michigan • Shirley was born December 11 1918 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. • His father worked for American Sign Company when Shirley was a child. • Shirley did graduate from high school • He joined the National Guard in 1938 because you could not find a job at that time. (2:00) Civilian Conservation Corps • From the Guard he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. • Shirley said they paid about $2.00 more. • They spent time in the UP cutting down jack pine trees and selling off brush. They also replanted trees. He was there for 6 months. (2:40) Kalamazoo, Michigan • Shirley rejoined the Guard. He was involved in the Guard part-time. They were trained on rifles and marching at Camp Grayling. • (4:00) He says at Camp Grayling it was at least his regiment (126th Infantry) and that the 125th Regiment (the other guard regiment from Michigan) might have been there also. • During maneuvers, they did carry weapons but they were scarce. He does remember them having mortars also. (5:00) Camp Beauregard, Louisiana-October 1940 • The Army sent his division here for training once the war broke out in Europe • Shirley remembers that this camp was a WWI camp and there were swamps and rivers around the camp. • He says that Louisiana was warming in the summer than Michigan and that they had different snakes. He remembers having to shake one out of his blanket one morning. • (7:25) Shirley was a Private First Class at this point. • They were continuously getting new recruits to the camp. • Once in awhile you were able to get 48 hour passes to go to town. Once a year you could go home for a week. • Once off base many of the guys would drink. • (8:50) When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the men were really excited and were told to pack and get ready. Then they were told to unpack and repack. They didn’t know what was going to happen. • They were receiving regular equipment at this time. They had all three rifles and they were more accurate. He said they had M1’s. They had 60mm mortars and D company had 80mm mortars. • (10:40) The men would be out for a week or so training. It was almost like war and that is the way the guys acted like. They learned a lot of fighting but the army �didn’t have anything like the woods in New Guinea that they were to deal with in real battle. (12:00) Boston, Massachusetts • Shirley’s company was sent to Boston on their way to Europe but the Normandy, which they were to sail on, burned so they couldn’t go. • MacArthur asked the men to go to Australia instead of Europe so they headed off to California to ship out. (13:00) Voyage to Brisbane, Australia • Shirley remembers the trip over to Australia as being a good trip. He remembers going through the Coral Sea about the same time that the battle was going on but didn’t see anything. The men aboard were given lemon drops to aid in sea sickness. • The weather was good the whole way across • The men would play jokes on people like cutting their hair as they past the date line. (14:30) Adelaide, Australia • The town was a big town with a lot of churches. The people were very nice. • This was during the winter but they would only get about an inch of snow. • They were invited to dinner by local people once in a while. (15:30) Brisbane, Australia • They arrived there on a train. You arrived on the side unlike our trains. • There were different gauges in each state, so they had to change trains at each border. • The men did maneuvers once they arrived. • The Japanese were trying to get to Port Moresby. They were dropping bombs attempting to scare them. The Australians lost many men here. • The men were being trained to battle in jungle terrain by this point. • (17:30) Shirley arrived at Camp Cable just outside of Brisbane. There were no Australians teaching the men how to fight that Shirley could remember. The Australians needed every man they had to fight in the war. • The surroundings were not jungle terrain just trees. (17:20) Port Moresby, New Guinea • Shirley took a boat to Port Moresby. It was only twenty miles away. The boarded a plane that flew over the Owen Stanley Mountains and landed at Pongani. There were not many air strips; they landed basically in an open meadow. • Shirley went to Buna by walking over mountains. Some of the mountains were so steep they would slide down them. They were given food but most was gone before they arrived. • It rained a lot while they were there. It didn’t hinder the journey there. They were carrying their packs which weighed around 30 lbs. Some were carrying heavy machine guns and mortars. • (21:44) The entire division ran out of food five days before arriving at the camp. • They ran into the enemy. There was a river with Buna on one side and Sanananda on the other side. Shirley was on the Sanananda side. �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Once on the trail, they were sent in right away. They didn’t get to rest or eat before they were sent out. They received rations afterwards which consisted of a can of bully beef, a chocolate bar, and a handful of rice. These were Australian rations not American rations. They ate this for two weeks. (23:15) After this they received C rations. Shirley believes these were from WWI since they were told to eat it but once you get down to the green stuff stop. Once in the area of the Japanese it was all jungle and they had to patrol to find where they were. They dug slit trenches and never received a real meal, just bits of food here and there. They were basically eating straight from a can. (24:55) Shirley first realizes where the Japanese are and that they were out there as soon as they started firing on the Americans. This happened 2 or 3 times that he remembers. Mostly the fighting was during the day but there were few men who were out at night. Japanese soldiers were trying to get into their camps but were not succeeding. Shirley said they had a sleep and holler system from camp to camp to prevent such soldiers from breaching the camps. There were men 3 or 4 miles down from the coast looking for Japanese soldiers but not finding them. (26:30) The Japanese were trying to get back to Buna but the Australians were pushing them back. There were more companies than Shirley’s out there as he remembers both sides of his men were other men fighting with them. (27:35) The Australians linked up with the Americans in fighting. Shirley says they were really good fighters too. He jokingly says they paid attention more to orders than they did; they were stricter than the Americans seemed to be. Shirley believes they were not more than 1500 yards from their front line. He remembers hearing them chop wood at times. (29:00) Toward the end, the captain asked the men to draw fire (get the enemy to fire upon them) and Shirley did not want his men to go since there were only two of them left in the squad and the other guys were new guys. Since the new guys seemed scared, Shirley told the captain he would go. The captain said no because he was a sergeant but Shirley said it was either him or the captain so they sent Shirley. Shirley took the 8 or 9 hand grenades with him that they had left and set them off and fired out at the enemy but nothing was returned. They then sent out five men to patrol and only two made it back. Many of the men were being stricken with malaria at this time and were given tablets to help stop it. Shirley’s was so bad they sent him back to be treated for it. Many of the men, including the Japanese, were stricken with jungle diseases. (32:00) The Navy set up blockades to stop the Japanese from getting supplies. Many starved to death while out there. You would have to have 105 fever people before you could go back and see a medic so many still fought on the front lines stricken with extreme cases of malaria. Shirley was eventually sent back to medics with 107.8 degree fever. To get him out of there the natives carried him out to the planes and they were flown back to �Australia to a hospital. Shirley remembers being in a daze at this time and wasn’t sure what they did to him at the hospital. • (33:45) The natives on New Guinea had large gardens and yams were their main staple. One of the natives had a long stick of bamboo and stuffed particular things from the ground into it including leaves and cooked it. When it was done he would cut it open and eat it. Shirley ate some also. It had fish heads in it, eyes and all. • The natives helped out the soldiers by carrying out men. They were paid to do this although not much. • (36:30) Shirley received a Bronze Star for his mission to draw fire from the enemy. • Early 1945, Shirley was sent back to the states after being sick with malaria. • (39:00) Shirley remembers a mission where they were traveling across the coast in chest deep mud carrying their rifles over their head. They walked through the mud for about 100 yards before setting in for the night. Shirley was woke in the middle of the night and told they were moving out. The enemies were shooting mortars at them but Shirley had been so sound asleep he didn’t even hear them. (40:40) Saidor and Aitape • Shirley remembers fighting here but you could not see much because of the jungle. • Provisions and food seemed to be more adequate as the fighting progressed. The soldiers seemed to improve on fighting in the jungles. • The division packed to go to the Philippines but because of Shirley’s malaria he was not able to go ahead with the men. (42:15) Shirley heads home • At this point, Shirley heads home on a ship. He returned on a Liberty ship and doesn’t remember eating too well there. • He is sent to Chicago at this point. Shirley worked in the office at a prison camp for Germans. He typed up their names and hours they spent working. Shirley remembers them as good guys and many of the prisoners wished to stay here after the war was over but were not allowed to do so. He didn’t get a chance to talk to them much so didn’t know where they were captured or how they got here. • (44:10) The prisoners were assigned duties such as fixing roads or paving roads. (44:30) Shirley returned to New Guinea later in life • A family member of Shirley’s took him back to New Guinea. • Shirley visited schools and were given gifts by the children. • He says all the kids knew about the war. They were all excited and wanted to shake Shirley’s hand. They gave him a carved alligator that he donated to the museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. • He noticed the differences such as people wore clothes now and they had roads. • He also was able to meet a lady whose father carried supplies for the military during the war. (47:00) Home again • Shirley returns home to find it hard to find a job. • He eventually works for a paper company for about two years in the offices. �Shirley went to school to become a barber and spent twenty-eight years on this occupation. • Shirley started painting houses for the next ten years. (48:20) Affects of the military of Shirley’s life • Shirley feels it was a great experience and that kid’s right out of school should do some time in the military. • He feels that it teaches young people to behave and changes them. • While visiting New Guinea, Shirley met Japanese family members trying to find grave sites of their relatives. • �Company TROOP TRAIN ROSTER DFO Bat . , 32nd Di "C", 126th Lnf antrry , Lst, v.i s Michigan Arm}T i.on , National Guard. 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Cobb 7\t-."t.-.._"'7" ~_ ""J Merr~ers ,....n .Lll... I:" '"')-, V'-l-V.1.ICJ. T""t .... _"­ 4. J. r'\_.J--_'t-.._ ........ T"'\. ~·lalker II.. l?itzgerald J. .I":l..L L..UU.L _-:V""Io l-J.<;>..J..LL 48 . Kean, Thomas B. 49 . Tr":,_ L\.'C \... \....1..l.QUL I\.UUC.L. \... "'= __,_ Capt. Glen H. .J... .J- ........ Q'h.; ~..L ~__ '~T ..L."'-1 T ...n6 . ~ ~ nco,-ucu=,c, UVOC.!:JU 0.:>. r.T...:"'O"'.J­ __'t-.."· .......,...,, 7\'~ +­ r..T ,,,..L.1.J.\...C.LJ.JU.J...1.L, .l'"'1..L.U'C'.J.. \".. n. r..'T........ ~ ..-.rt......... T n.L ..L. ~.1..1 '- , .uC YY ..L 0 _ ........ ~ _ "I rt \,... .. �THE BATTLE RECOP~ OF THE 32nd (RED Tl\.T .J....." r"f"ITTTr-. .L J. J...L L) T('1 .L ..:JI ",TTT:t ..L J. i.e. 1iT:l"""'r'\T")T'"\ L\..c. ' - V,[\..lJ !! 1"&,.AnT T""\ r'tT7\T"AT:"r'\ 7\('1 r1.a.J 1".. .' 77\ "n '- .L.U"'1.L.....,I.!.":"U n'\T .LJ J. I"'f"ITTT:' .L J..1.1..:.. ~~ROW) T"'\T'tTTCWTA1\T J.J.L V .L L;J .J.. V.L 'lI I:r~FM~TRY DIVISIO:r~,"- -~'~ORLD 32nd DIVISION T T .L .L '-'.t"U"\. nvL"\..J...J.LJ 7\1\TT"'\ .l'":U.... J-/ vlAR T"')T':'InAnrt"'T:'In s: V.1\.. J.. J..:.U..J L\.~ ...... .L.L COMBAT TIME (B) 15,696 HOURS OF ACTION --MORE WAR! Tan~J ~~IT U.S. DIVISION IN (C) THIS IS 48% OF THE TOTAL TIME THE U.S. WAS IN WORLD W~~ ~~IT II THIRTY FIVE FORTY-O:r~E (F) ..... 1\1fr'\."'TI'T"ITTt"'1 l'lVl.'1 J. ni:> 0<:..1. OF T'dErw1 "'"I\"T .Ll.'1 COMBAT. (C) 49 LEGION OF MERIT, 845 SILVER t t» ,, 78 SOLDIER'S \~ .... --.... :. Mt:i'T"'In ........... .- .... T.C! ~- ST~~S. , 11,500 PURPLE HE~~TS ' DIVISION FIRSTS (~~) THE FIRST U. S. AGAINST THE JAPAl~ESE (n'I \ '-J THE !O'TPC!'T' .L. ..L..L,"~'" TT ~. C! LJ • ~..P~1\1Y T1t.T .Ll.'1 DIVISION TO FIGHT ~TT'r.'I J. n.c. rt'7\,..II"T""\'7\Tr'"'7\T (1\ , \ '-J I IT"1\ \J:1J) J.nJ:1J ~"T"T"\nrT'1 L'.Ll'\.i:>J. fr"l\ I ,., \ \ \;J" ) rnTTT;I u • o , ~~KE ( n·7\ nTT7\ 'l\T \ .. .r.i. ... V~ll A BEACH Ln~IDING IN NEW GUINEA ~!O''I\Tt:i'O 7\ T. "'-'.L.I.&. .. .L.I.L~~ M7\ rvr. P'T'UTTD , LJ C! ...- ............ ~'".a. ...... \oj.L'" BY-PASS STP~TEGY. ~'T"'TT"T"n'T''''''''T lJ.LV.L.::>.LVl.'l rn"" J.V T"1t1.II"""''7\T'"\T' J:1Jl'10iU'\.!\. T""'I"'T"\ L'Vl'\. ""'.,.T""T"\nT""'l'7\'" VVJ:1Jl'\..::>J:1Ji-lo..::> nT"1T"\'TT"T"r'tT""l .::>J:1Jl'\.V.LL.J:1J J.nJ:1J T~T .Ll.'l ""TT""I Vl.'lJ:1J AFTER DEC. 7, 1941. ~TT"nfT't rT'Ir'\ nTTT"\,.....T~r T:lI""\T,.,..... T""'TT:I-"''''Tf'T'''T"'''T r.'7\""'U"T"'7\TTr"\1I..Trt 'r'r'\'n rT"tT'.7r\ J.n.c. .L'.Ll'\.i:>J. J.V i:>urr.wJ. .L'VUl\. .Ll... .L'i-lo.l.'1J.l\.J. DrtJ.J..t"U.J.LV.L".:> .L'Vl\. J.wvv f"'f"'I'I\TC!!O'f"'TT'T'TUP 1\7\ VC! !O'Of"'lM 7\ O'T'TT.T .!O'pv T. T 7\ T C!f"'I'I\T "f"'TTn" rrr . 7\ 'l\T!O'C! '-'....., ...... ...., ........ '-'u~~v~ ....".c. ... ...., .L.4~......, ... · ... ~'" ........ ....., ................... 'I. ... ...... ..... .c:L ..... ...,......, ....... '-olJ..., .... ~ .. .&...Il.J ~TT,...., ~~CTION • EMPLOY co~n!oy \.L'} fr'l'"7\T'1""\r"\n\ \ i:>rt.LlJVl\.) THE OFFENSIVE DIVISION TO BE (C) THE FIRST U.S. DIVISION TO L..t-U'U:'rt.L\;7l.'1 ~~J SOt.i'T'n~-mST T""'1"T"T'"tn,.,.., L'.Ll'\.'::>J. ,.,..,,..., J.V T"TTT"1IT TnTT .l:'UO.1..J.L.::>n NEWSPAPER IN THE ~"'T i-lo.l.'l "7\ft,,~T"\"T""""''7\''k'" i-lo.!YI J:1J l'\. .L L.i-lo.l.'l SOL~HWEST nT"'lT'"lo ... T"T" ....... .,..,I\."7l."'-T' ,.., '::>J:1Jl'\.V .LL.J:1Jl'!i-lo.l.'l· .::> PACIFIC. (T .!O'V'T'P \ \.&...1...................... / �CM4E ON AUGUST 15,1945. (I) ELEME~ITS OF THE 32nd DIVISION WERE ALSO ~~n"nT~~~ A~~TTn~~TA~ ~nAAn~ ~"TTr"t'l'Trn ~"" .t"1.1• .l~.1\..L.'-.l"1.J.'J , '" \ \H.) ..... ~...:J ~ J.n~ v,-\-"ur~..L ..)L.HU .t'uU\oTnJ. -LVJ.'1 ~ .. T~ ..L.1\.vvrt.J' I""f "lrt""'l J.)H.~ .L.L I -LJ."4 rT'1TT~ "T"'It,T i:J ~~n~u u~r.l'U'J T"'\~ J.n~ .LJ.\I T"'\TT~""'T ....... '71. 'ft1f'f""\"I'I. "T"r"f"'''' .l:'H..I:'UH.J.\I 1.....t-U·l.l:'H..L\oTJ.'11 (PTThT1l. \...., _........ _Qn l\T1l. l\T1l. .a. l\m1l. \ FROM SEPTEMBER 1942, TO JF~~JARY ~.a..AJ AT':' MID DTI:FEATED (n\ 'T"'''''TTT'7\T'\',. UH.J.'1U.t"U'o.~ MORE , rn \ ..... J '7\1T" '7\Tr'T"'7\'T"\'r.'I rt.l. J FROM F~PRIL 'I\/lI""\'Mo'l.'l ""'TT'7\ 'trI.T VL' nr\. rtJ.Jov UJ.\I.I..loJ.J T'trI.T Ln~GEST .I.ilJ::l 'T'7\ T"'I n U rtr 0 r'\n L.;;I, -1nJlJl T1\T -LJ.'J r'TtTTT ~ ..LJ.J..J..tJ T'I.'I""'fT"I'r.'I 'r\T':"~T:"I'7\r'T'1'1.'1r'\ "''I\Tr\. .L;;I'±'± rtTTT"'-T'I.'I'7\ UU.loUJ::lrt, L~ITIL J.J~L'J::lrt.l.J::lJ.J rtJ.\IJ.J .I.ilJ::l ..., ""'\ __ ...:J JL.Uu. L'VUUil.l. AUGUST 23, 1944 T:'Ir\T"'l L'VL\. r-,.., ~ J ~~N ONE I"T"'ITTM J.JJ::l.L.l.J::l TO J~~J~~Y k'1l. Q'T' Tl\mTk'Q ..... .... ..., ............. J.Jrt.l.O 'I.'I""""'/f L'L\.Vl·l ,,.("'1 J.Jrt.l.O DEFEF.TED 1 PACIFIC ELEMENTS r'I'I.'IT"'\""'I.'I1\/fT"''I.'IT'''l.,r.L~, o.c.r.l.J::ll·lDJ::lL\. or ..,nAA .L;;I'±'± DEFEATED PT'1Tt"'\l\T .I.ilJ::l ~ ",,_...;2 'I.'Ir'\TTrtTTr'T"t JL.Uu. L'VUUil.l. 2, 1945, ~ID JI"" '± J "{,.n lJrt.Li:J T'\'7\ 'I.'IT'\r\l\/t L'L\.Vl·l 'tI.Tr'\"rT'I.'I'I\/fT':'lT"'l J.'lVVJ::ll·lJ::lL\. AND SPENT 78 UoA.:t.::> IN THE VI LL1"~ T'7\ T'\0 U.l"'1.rtJ • VEP~E OPEP~.TION 30, .1. . -o a.a._t:; JF~~J~~Y ~TT'T",,"'7\ .L.t-U·1rtOil.lo.l.rt, THE 32nd DEFEATED MORE .., 0' "'1 L..,OJ..&.. fTlTTT':' .L J.J.~ (G) IT WAS TO THE 32nd DIVISION PHILIPPINES, JAP~~ESE I ::iviOPPING UP:: JAP REiviNANTS IN NORTHERN LUZON. T"\TTn T1\.Tr'I .LIU.1\..LJ."4\.:1' -';:"'7\ 1\1r'7\ -t r: -1 n A it .LO, .L;;I'±'±, DEFEATED 6,700 MEMBERS OF THE {!.%L..PN LUZON THE 32nd FOUGHT FOR 119 DAYS FROM rT"Il""\'I\Ir'7\ ~"TTT}",T .I.Vl·1rt~ UL\..L 1"'"\ '7\ vr.L;t~..L .LVJ.'t. VJ.\1 o nnn O,:Jvv 41l.~ID SOL~HWEST ......a.......... ... T"'\'7\,"t"'" 7\,T7\ TT '7\nT T:'I .l""1. V .l"'1.-L.1.J.l"'U,.).LJJ...:.I T~ -L tJ r\nT:"lT"') " -t "" e­ .LL.~ 'I.'Ir\TTrtTT,.,., • NETHERLF~IDS L'VUUil.l. r'T'ITT'I.'I NOVEMBER 10,1944. rtI'"\Tn.,...,.,. '-VU.1.'1..L ..; 118 DAYS '7\T"'IT"1TT rtrL\..loJ.J DEFEATED IN T":"Ir"\TTrtTTr'T'1 JL.J.J.u. "I\'TI'"\ .1."4V r\'trI.T UJ::ln ~~JMBER -''''"\_...:3 ".,TT'I.'I 1\..T'r.'I'r.T .loU 22, 1944, n ., r'l r\ ;;I, J U V .I. nrt1\1 L~ITIL ('1.'1 \ TT'tI.Tr"T1TT ON MOROTAI IN THE r"\T':" \J::lJ '7\ T rt.lo.l.rtrJ::l, THE \~ -1nllA .L;;I'±'±, o a... _, < 1049 JAPS. Tan~T l·lVL\.J::l (n\ ~ L., 1 ..... r::' THE \ '-' J 22, n"" ~,UVU .. r·10RE V.I.' THE FIRST &~ONG .. '1'7\ T"'\'7\ SL~.RE~mERED Ta1l.~~ T\~ TF~T LIEL~EN~IT GENEP~L ~T~r'I'r."I urtrrtJ.\IJ::lOJ::l "T'J\ u~.rtJ t""'TTT"\""'~'I\,/f~ OUrL\.J::ll·lJ::l r"r-.'I\Ir'I\/f'7\ 'trI.~T:'IT"'\ .....Vl·J.1·J.rtJ.\IlJJ::lL\. ON SEPTEMER 2, 1945 T~T .loJ.'1 'T'1TTT":"J .I.ilJ::l �mE SOLDIERS WHO WIN mE BATTLES DO NOT MARCH IN TRIUMPH Honoring and in Remembrance of Members of I COMPANY "C", 1261NFANTRY I 32DMSION I World War n I I I I I Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice Upon The Field of Battle NAME ABBY, RUSSELL BARBER, AMOS J. BINNS, JACK M. BONA,ARmuR COBB, WllLIAM R. COFFMAN, CLARENCE COUNTER, PETE M. DEWITT, JAMES T. DRAPER, MELVIN W. EASTWOOD, HOWARD M. FAUNCE, LEIGH c. ""~OLKERSMA, JORIS GASELL, HAR~LD R. GORDON, ROBERT W. HAMMAKER, HAROLD 1llNMAM, CHARLES JORDAN, WESLEY W. KAAZ, ELMER.J. KALIN, JOSEPH F. JR. KEAN, JACK R. KING, HASKELL D. LAMBERT, CHARLES A. LEE, FRANK H. LEWIS, HERBERT L. LINGENFELSER, JOSEPH E. LOCHEY, JOSEPH LOCKARD, EUGENE J. McCAIN, FLOYD R. McCLEARY, LYLE C. McFARLAND, RAYMOND RANK ISfLt PFC CORP. PVT SGT PVT T/SGT PVT S/SGT PVT CORP 2ND LT. SGT PFC ISf LT. PFC PFC PVT PFC CORP. PVT PVT PVT PVT PVT S/SGT S/SGT PFC 2 NDLT PVT KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA DOW KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA DOW KIA DOW KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA DOW KIA �McGREW, ORVILLE F. MELODY, RAYMOND A. MEISLAHN, CHRISTIAN NAHIMAS, HERMAN ORDEWAY, GAYLORD S. RINGLER, CECIL K. RINGUS, CHARLES RITCIllE, FERRAL E. ROBERSON, JOHN G. ROSS, ELBERT M. SCHEERENBERG,DURKP. SCHEIK, JOSEPH F. SIXBURY, LOURENCE STROUD, CHARLES F. THOMPSON, JOSEPH TOPEL, RICHARD L. VANECK, MELVIN VICKERS, GEORGE PFC PFC PVT PVT PFC PFC PFC PFC PVT PFC SGT SGT PVT PVT PFC PVT SGT PVT --------,---, ---,---------­ DOW KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA KIA DD DOW TRANSFERRED BEACH, CARGILL H. GRACE, ROBERT L. lSTLT lSTLT KIA KIA ----------------------------:-------------­ POST WAR DEATHS EMIG, CARL J. SGT ROSENBERGER, CARLTON S/SGT wAlKER, GLEN H. MAJOR -­ ,--­ -------­ ------------­ ------------­ Corrections, Spelling, Rank, etc. --Additions, Deletions should be given to WOSG Vern Trudell at Armory Without Delay �Btl·', . , , '" ... , . I. , '/ I. r. !. ,, '. ~ '. I ;. i. , ",, 'r • I : . ~.).:, ~~: '; ..~ . '~ ( ... ;. '" j . '. I . ", ' , ~ ., " •. • • , or. ' . .: . . < '; , I ! ,' .; :.'.~~ri~.,';>·' · ';:;, ii, . · " ~ · Mr"~ · ,: Shirley .,H. 'Weber . ' ~i~ t"' . i ·; :. ;: ; :; ~· .; ~·~,' a h4tt . t.:': ~di·, : : · ...., ,..:. ..>../~ ., 'j , . .~ . -.:;~\. '<'.. • " .. ,.::,;... t .. ' :1 i· , '. , ... :..,,\.~{ GALESBURG ~ ·: ~·MIOHIGAN . '.'.: ':>:" .', " ,t , ~ -.» 1 ' ,I, ... ~ /f .~ > ..: ,',J !" ...... ' . vi ' . J . ."1':: . ,~ .•~:t ... .. . . ., . .~ ••• " . ' • ~ 1· " \ I; . ~~ " .~ ,I• i :. r~ :.. Jo ' '' ,', »: ~. ',: . r. .. .. ..;.. .,:;::"l, . . . ; .> �� 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 WeberS Title A name given to the resource Weber, Shirley (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weber, Shirley Description An account of the resource Shirley Weber served in the 32nd Infantry (Red Arrow) Division during WWII in New Guinea. His company teamed up with the Australians fighting Japanese soldiers on the island. He spent time fighting in Buna, Saidor and Aitape battles. He received the Bronze Star for an operation to pull out fire from the Japanese hiding in the jungle. He contracted malaria on New Guinea, which eventually led to his being sent home, where we worked with German POWs at a camp in Chicago. Military papers appended to the interview outline. 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 United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-04-01 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/111810ad9ce6ec5649cea231ed5cdff9.mp4 c5d709fde54dc338ca4c8b446088967a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9703de570e2d52618bb3b3cb1a12ef99.pdf c3dd00ab58939ee813b4d3fa0d3f7ac6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Dale Weaver (00:50:0) (00:25) Introduction (01:02) Family and childhood • Born in Detroit, MI on Oct. 30, 1959 Weaver grew up in Livonia, MI and lived with his father, who had his own saw sharpening business, and his mother, who was a homemaker. • Attended Walk Lake Western High where he was seriously involved with football, baseball, some wrestling, and swimming of which he was state champion swim-diver his senior year. Each day after school, he spent 2-3 hours practicing with the swim team. He excelled in the making of small engines and mechanics. (07:26) Pre-enlistment • Enlisted in the navy as a junior in high school. The navy delayed his enlistment period until after he graduated from high school. • He had enlisted in the Navy by going down to the Service Center and signing up in the delayed entry program so that his enlistment was delayed until after graduation. (08:09) Enlistment and Training • Went to Great Lakes Naval Training Center where he was chosen for recruit training. Being the short and scrawny fellow that he was he was assigned to carry the company flag. Graduated the camp with Company 215. • Upon completing recruit training, he underwent boot camp training of which he did a lot of running, marching, and training with firearms. (09:09) • Weaver recounts a story regarding his gas chamber training. His superior officer would send 10 people into a gas chamber and then fill the chambers with tear gas and command them to take off their gas masks. The objective of this was to get used to breathing in the tear-gas so that one would be prepared for the experience if encountered. �• Was then sent to Lakers, New Jersey where he attended Aviation school for a month and a half and underwent aviation training. While there, his job it was to spot aircraft off the flight and hangar decks of aircraft carriers. (13:53) • After that he went to Philadelphia, PA where got additional firefight and aircraft-type training before going to the ship. (14:55) Norfolk, VA • Weaver talks about his four years serving aboard the USS Independence. • Gives a brief description of his work with V-1 division and how they were responsible for the launching and recovery of airplanes on the flight deck. At the time he had the Navy rank of an E-3. • In January, 1979 he made the first of two cruises which lasted 6 ½ months. During this time, they stopped at various ports around Spain, Italy, and Africa. While in port, he would go social-drinking with the guys at the local bars in the areas he was stationed. (17:58) • Upon finishing their first cruise they were in a standby period of about a month of which everyone took shore leave. (18:06) (18:15) Portsmouth, VA • Upon returning to duty, Weaver and his company were dispatched to Portsmouth, VA for 9 months while the ship underwent a complete over-hall. • Gives a brief description of how he met his wife, his married life, and then tells of the tragic car accident in 1985 that befell his wife and two of his kids. (19:03) (20:47) Norfolk, VA • Upon completion of repairs on the USS Independence, Weaver and his company return and go on their 2nd cruise which takes them around the Caribbean. Their cruise was cut short, however, when they returned to Norfolk. For a short time, Weaver mentions that he served aboard the USS Independence while waiting to be transferred. After about a month, Weaver is transferred to El Centro, California. (22:23) Trip to El Centro, California �• Weaver gives a detailed account of his journey to California. On the way, he stopped in Arkansas to visit his uncle and go fishing. (23:20) In Arizona, he blew his motor and arranged for his car to get fixed while he boarded a bus and journeyed the rest of the way. (25:10) Upon arriving in California, he found out that he had been transferred to El Centro for his next assignment. (21:20) El Centro, California • While stationed at the NAF base in El Centro, CA he got to know members from the RAF and the Blue Angels because they trained every winter at his base. He was assigned there to take care of the aircraft. • Weaver gives a brief description of jumping out of a RAF plane. In part it was this experience which made him want to join the Navy Seals. Upon jumping out of a RAF plane he made up his mind that he wanted to join the Navy Seals. After sending his application in and a 6-month wait he found out that he had been accepted. • Went to Pensacola, FL for SEAL training. (27:10) Pensacola, FL • Gives a brief description of how he had to do a lot of swimming, jumping out of helicopters and planes with parachutes, running, and physical fitness exercises. (27:10) • Upon completing seal training he went to Little Creek, VA of where he and his company did more training in-between assignments. (28:40)TOP Secret assignments • He couldn’t disclose the details of his combat missions but he did elaborate on where he went. • In 1983, he was involved with the hostage situation in the Beirut Airport. He mentions helping the NIS with a drug bust in Panama. (29:46) Along with this, he helped the British with something in the Falkland Islands. • Also mentions helping the Coast Guard with several search and rescue operations. • Gives a brief description of his experience aboard a submarine of which they would be dropped off in the ocean. They would then wait in their inflatable boats for the submarine to come and pick them up. (31:24) He recounts that as a Navy seal they never had to swim to shore because they had their inflatable boats. (34:50) �(35:41) Post-Service Experiences • For a brief time of about two months he mentions working at a golf course and getting paid to do yearly maintenance on golf carts. Upon getting laid off from that job, he and a friend worked on replacing wiring in conduits. While doing this one day, he gave some wiring a little tug and fell off his ladder breaking his neck and back. • He describes the difficult times that he had being a quadriplegic and the 9 months of hard work and physical therapy of which upon completing he regained the use of his arms. (38:15) • Since his injury, he was involved in wheelchair sports • Gives a brief description of his six-year history with the National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games. While participating in track and field for six years; the Wheelchair Games took him all over the U.S. They took him to Cleveland, OH, Palm Beach, CA, and Minneapolis, MN. • Went to the Para-Olympics in Athens, Greece and Torino, Italy. In fall 2000, he went to Athens where he won an individual bronze and team bronze while on the archery team. (39:44) He also participated in the 2006 games in Torino Italy where he was on the basketball team and took home a silver medal. • His health issues started around July 4, 2005 when he had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital. By August 8 of the same year he had his open-heart surgery. (43:40) • Afterwards, he was transferred to Ann Arbor V-9 for a short time before being sent to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans where he’s been for 2 months. He briefly discussed his musical history in the service and remembers playing at the Hoedown in Detroit, MI. Finally, he wraps up his discussion by stressing that being in a wheelchair should never stop one from traveling the world. (49:36) � 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 WeaverD Title A name given to the resource Weaver, Dale A. (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weaver, Dale A. Description An account of the resource Dale Allen Weaver is a veteran and former E-6 who served in the U.S. Navy from 1976 to 1990. In this account, Weaver briefly discusses his pre-enlistment years, his basic training and other training in the U.S. Navy. Additionally, he discusses his service assignments around the U.S. and briefly discusses his secret missions as a Navey Seal in Panama, Beirut, and Lebanon. Finally, he discusses his athletic years with the Para-Olympics following his navy service. 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.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-04-02 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b021b6ba5bd7c6b242a8760c12c04bfc.mp4 1321475171fd08962e5d0dfcd39a89a4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86283095a83a16a9e661628f62572323.pdf 0a45e0b89fcece92e54f8f0b08310e4f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Bruce Weaver 1:52:06 Introduction (02:15)         Bruce was born April 16, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan. He went to school in Fowler, Michigan, which is in Clinton County. Bruce grew up there and graduated from Fowler High School. His father played a lot of cards downtown, and when Bruce’s mother passed away his father did not do much with the family. The family operated the Fowler Gas Station. As a boy, Bruce worked there pumping gas using the old style visible gas pumps. (04:23) Bruce was about twelve or thirteen when his mother passed away. He was an only child with one sister who died at birth. His high school graduating class had about twelve or thirteen people. He lived right in the village of Fowler, and during the summers he worked out in the farms picking sugar beets. (06:16). They used machines to pull them out of the ground and Bruce would come by and throw the beets into the truck. Military Life (07:37)          Bruce was drafted into the Army Air Corps on February 12, 1942. For induction, he was sent to Fort Custer and remained there for about six months. This was a supply point and he worked at keeping the fires going to keep the barracks warm. (09:26) Bruce was there with a couple hundred other men doing the same thing he was. They did not have any uniforms, so they were issued a barracks bag and all of their uniforms. He was sent to Weems, Utah for his basic training. About fifty of the men from Fort Custer went with Bruce to Utah. They took a train until they reached Utah, then they were loaded into trucks that brought them into Salt Lake City. (11:25) They were met by a very prosperous man who brought them to the hotel and bought them the best steak they ever had. While in Weems, they did marching and spent time in the mud. Bruce pulled late duty one time with three other men, and patrolled around the water reservoir. After they were done, the sergeant came out and told them that they had done a good job but they had to do another shift because he didn’t have any one to replace them. (13:14) Weems was about 15-20 miles from Salt Lake City. They had a man from Brooklyn, New York and he had never fired a rifle before. Suddenly, bullets came from inside the barracks and the man was firing through the wall on accident. No one was injured. (15:22) Life at Fort Custer was like going to a basketball game. They all knew where it was and they simply waited there for a full unit to form. �          One of Bruce’s drill sergeants was named Frenchy. He really knew his business. Once, they had a wall they had to climb over, and Bruce couldn’t get over it. Frenchy came over and yelled at him and gave him ten seconds to get over the wall. He finally got over it after great effort. (17:25) One man that was his friend and that he served with at Weems was killed during a beach landing. The landing barge was riddled with bullets from the Germans. His name was John and he was the best soldier that Bruce ever knew. John’s wife called Bruce after the war and told him that he had been killed. One lesson that he learned while at Weems was that they couldn’t go after the Salt Lake City girls, because they were Mormons. (19:34) While at a casino, he started talking to a beautiful woman, and all of a sudden a man the size of an ox-cart came up and said “Soldier, that’s my daughter, leave her alone.” And he did. Some soldiers were not allowed to enter the casino, but Bruce was. Once at the casino, Bruce was approached by a woman about sixty years old, she bought the men breakfast; she then asked if they went to church and knew the Lord. (22:50) After church, they could smell the mutton being cooked at the mess hall. Instead of going there and eating it, most men, including Bruce went to the PX and bought food rather than eat the mutton. (23:41) Bruce was at Weems for about eight months. After the wall climbing incident, Bruce remembers that Frenchy came up to him and asked if he was a draftee. He answered that he was, and Frenchy told him that all the draftees had problems getting over the wall because they had been at home having their mothers take care of them. (27:08) One man named Jim bought cigarettes for everyone at the PX one day. Bruce told him that he didn’t smoke and went in and bought some rolls instead. While there, they could smell mutton stew being made at the mess hall and they both decided to eat at the PX again. (29:23) Coral Gables, Florida (29:42)         Coral Gables was an Air Corps base, and they were greeted by the lieutenant in charge and he welcomed them to the base. He told them to leave the nurses alone. Within twenty four hours, Bruce had gotten involved with a nurse from New Rochelle, New York. She was a lieutenant and he was a corporal. The nurses were well trained by Major Whitney. (31:31) Bruce was put into the Post Office and worked as a postal clerk. To get around the ban on dating the nurses, Bruce met her out in town. The nurse’s name was Kay, and Major Whitney treated them both well. (33:46) A stream went through the base, and it often had an alligator sitting there. One day, an alligator was chasing a nurse and her boyfriend. Bruce saw it, so he jumped in a golf cart and went after them. He came up on the alligator and picked up the nurse and her boyfriend. (35:24) They had a pool there at the base, and the enlisted men were not allowed to swim when the nurses were. Bruce checked for alligators in the pool before they went swimming. (39:42) �     Bruce was sent to Coral Gables to take his hospital training because he was a medic. At 7am he had to be up at the hospital as the medic on duty. He once went to the Nautilus Hotel in Miami Beach to train some new medics. (43:28) They learned nicely, some of them were already trained at Coral Gables. Bruce was lucky because all of his officers that he served with were real nice to work for. (47:03) One officer that he knew was very nice, and the man turned out to be a general and Bruce never knew it because he didn’t wear his rank. Overseas (49:31)                       Bruce was then sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey and spent six weeks there. While there, the only training he received was marching and drill. He later came back to Fort Dix when he got out of the Army. After leaving the United States, Bruce was sent to Scotland. There they received wounded from Europe. The flight nurses would take care of the wounded while they were being flown to the hospital. Bruce was assigned to take care of the wounded while in the barracks. (52:06) One of the men that he was watching hadn’t seen his brother in five or six years and he found him there at the barracks. Bruce also assigned flights home for the wounded soldiers going back to the states. Most of the men who were wounded were sent home and Bruce always thought that was very decent. (55:37) Bruce was in Selkirk, Scotland which was in the southern part of the country. He was there with about a dozen other soldiers. While overseas, he never saw any combat, he was never wounded, and he was never a prisoner of war. (57:40) His stepbrother, Richard Barnes, was on a landing barge that went ashore in Europe; everyone in the barge was killed except him. (59:34) Bruce was never awarded any individual citations or medals. He didn’t really have any family or friends back home, so he did not receive any letters so he did not send any either. (1:01:25) The food was good, lots of goulash dishes. Most people still went to the PX for food. His unit was always well supplied. (1:03:20) When the wounded would come in from Europe, they would stay in the barracks there for three to four weeks at the most until they could find a flight home for them. The wounded would come in on C-47’s. (1:05:22) While in Scotland, they were not able to see any USO shows. He was in Europe for about a month, and while there he saw Bob Hope. Three of them went and performed the same duties of assisting the wounded to get home. They assisted the flights going out. (1:07:54) Bruce was in Scotland for over a year and was in France for his month in Europe. He was never able to take leave or liberty. (1:09:05) When he went to Poland, he was there for about two months after VE-Day. The Polish women made the best meals for them. At that time, he wasn’t doing much. His C-47 �  crashed while flying over Poland because it ran out of gas. It was really more of a rough landing in a field. (1:11:18) Bruce was never able to take any photographs while in Europe. He has high regards for his fellow soldiers that he served with; he never had to worry about them not watching his back. (1:13:45) After the War (1:15:12)               When he came back to the United States, he was able to fly. His brother however, had to take a ship and he later said it was the worst trip he ever took. Bruce’s flight home was onboard a flight of twelve wounded, he is not sure exactly when he came home. He was given his discharge at Fort Dix, New Jersey and was only there a week or two. After that, he and another soldier went to New York City and toured around. He was discharged on February 12, 1946. (1:17:17) Thinking back on his time in Coral Gables, Florida, he was once approached by Major Whitney and she asked if he was from Michigan, he said that he was. She then asked him to take three black soldiers down to Miami, but told him to be careful because “They don’t like the niggers down here”. She sent a man to protect them; he was a shore patrolman with a rifle and bayonet. While down there some kids came up and started yelling “Niggers! Niggers!” The patrolman with them stepped forward and lowered his rifle and said, “Who wants it first?” and they ran away. (1:20:31) After the war, he went back to his job at Oldsmobile. He had worked there for about a year before he was drafted. The plant was in Lansing, Michigan. Bruce was the general foreman in the crankshaft area and then to the axel plant. Later, he was sent to the new plant north of town. (1:22:15) His boss came up to him and asked him to pick eight men to take with him to go to the new plant. Bruce was once taken down to Buick to interview some new potential foremen. They asked him why he was so successful, he told them to treat people the way they wanted to be treated. (1:25:10) He lived and worked in Lansing, and Bruce was married to a woman named Mary Lee. (1:29:12) She worked as a telephone operator but had to leave due to health concerns. After the war, Bruce joined the VFW in Lansing, and he also joined the American Legion Post 379. He wasn’t really active in the organizations. (1:31:20) They never had any children, but he does have a step-daughter named Susie Faulker, who did not get along with her mother. Today, she lives in Denver, Colorado and is a successful artist. She just sold one painting for $5,000. (1:33:31) In Bruce’s opinion, he feels that the military in general was okay. Going back to Fort Custer, they were shipped out on the oldest train they had. The smoke from the engine was so bad it went back into the cars. (1:35:29) Bruce has never attended any reunions or kept in touch with anyone that he met while in the service. (1:38:33) �   He sent two girls through Grand Valley State University. Their mothers had helped Bruce’s wife when she had trouble getting around. One of the girls is an English teacher in Paris, France. (1:40:20) Bruce’s wife passed away in 2003. When Bruce was young, his grandparents helped get him through school, that’s why he wanted to help these two girls with their college. (1:45:30) � 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 WeaverB1527V Title A name given to the resource Weaver, Bruce (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weaver, Bruce Description An account of the resource Bruce was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 16, 1922. He grew up in Fowler, Michigan and was drafted into the Army Air Corps on February 12, 1942. Bruce served as a medic. He was sent to Scotland during the war and helped coordinate flights home for wounded troops. He also spent some time in France and Poland. Bruce was discharged in 1946, and moved back home to Lansing where he continued his job at Oldsmobile. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace (Interviewer) 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. Army Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-06-17 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/990d6dcfa70a7538aa8cd9703d36c22c.mp4 df45e81997145e1afb6ef3c061235957 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1b0564904df3d50d547591ef1ba56ff5.pdf 84bdd856282918b2808fc21008537689 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II: Europe Ted Weatherhead Length of interview 1:14:54 (0:00:10- 0:04:25) Pre-Enlistment Ted was born in Columbus, Ohio on March 14th, 1923. (00:13- 00:19) He lived in Columbus for a short time until moving to Cleveland, Ohio. (00:19- 00:22) After living in Cleveland for a while he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. (00:29- 00:39) He then moved to South Bend, Indiana and later moved to Lakewood, Ohio. (00:41- 00:49) He graduated high school in Euclid, Ohio. (00:49- 00:55) Ted moved around a lot due to his parents being divorced. His mother went to go job searching and his father went to places not mentioned. (00:56- 01:07) He stayed with his mother. (01:09- 01:10) He had one older sister named Mary. Mary was sent to a private school while Ted stayed with his mother. (01:17- 01:27) He was a little above average student despite being frequently relocated. (01:32- 01:40) He finished high school in 1941 where he was an active member of the National Honors Society and many different sports such as: basketball, football, and track. (01:40- 01:57) After graduation he went to Ohio University where he wanted to play basketball. He went there for a short time until Pearl Harbor (02:02- 02:15) Before Pearl Harbor, Ted knew little about the war in Europe. He was more interested in the basketball world. (02:25- 02:32) Ted learned about Pearl Harbor coming home from church over the radio. Every radio in his dorm was playing the news full blast. (02:35- 02:54) Upon hearing the news Ted, like most of the men in his dorm, wanted to go out and get the Japanese. He went home and enlisted into the Army Air Corps. (02:58- 3:21) The recruiter told him that he was going to have to wait for a little while so he stayed in school until fall of 1942. (03:30- 04:05) (0:04:25-0:19:00) Enlistment and Training Ted was sent to the Classification Center in San Antonio, Texas. He was at the center for about eight or nine weeks and was put through many different physical and mental tests. He wanted to become a fighter pilot. From there they took him to pre-flight in San Antonio. (04:25- 05:55) The main things that Ted learned in pre-flight consisted of the physics of flight, the theory of flying, navigation training, and figuring weather patterns. (06:13-06:28) He was in pre-flight for nine weeks. (06:47- 6:57) He then went into primary flight, basic flight, and advanced flight. All of these lasted nine weeks. (06:57- 07:03) Primary flight training was in Uvalde, Texas. It was a very small facility with one hundred or less planes. (07:26- 08:00) He started off on a PT-19A. It was a low winged, single engine plane. (08:04- 08:14) �During the primary flight training about fifty percent of the recruits would wash-out. The main causes were flight nervousness and disagreements between training pilot and student. (08:5009:09) Ted remembers his instructors as good people, not the best pilots but average, good people. They were all civilian pilots but the flight check people were military. (09:19- 10:01) After primary training Ted was moved to Waco, Texas for basic flight training where he flew a BT-13A. This plane was a single engine plane with a five-hundred horsepower engine. This allowed Ted to perform slow loops and other acrobatics. (10:25- 10:52) He stayed with the same group of guys throughout training. (11:17- 11:19) All of his flying was done during the day. He would fly cross-country, stop for lunch, and then fly back. (11:48- 12:18) Ted was in group 44A for his advanced flying training. (13:00- 13:03) January 7th was his flight school gradutation. (13:04- 13:15) He was put into a two engine plane against his wishes. He flew this plane for three to four weeks. His next plane was a C-47 which he flew for three to four weeks. His next plane was a B-25. (13:36- 14:12) During his training, Ted had little time away from his studies because quizzes were common. (15:18- 15:43) He was not given any time off during his schooling. (16:51- 17:18) Before being deployed Ted was given four weeks of vacation. He was sick for the first three. (17:22- 17:36) He and his group got their new C-47s in South Bend, Indiana and flew the southern route to Europe. (17:36- 17:49) (0:19:00-1:02:54) Active Duty Pre D-Day Drop (19:00-29:19) Ted was not given the usual nine week transition period due to an incident over Italy where our Navy shot down nineteen C-47s filled with paratroopers. He was only given four and a half weeks. (19:00-19:42) Ted’s crew consisted of himself, a co-pilot, a radio operator, and a crew chief; though flying over seas he was given a navigator. (19:45-19:59) During his flight overseas German submarines would send out homing signals in order to lure planes away from base and shot them down with anti-aircraft guns. So having a good navigator was important. (20:18-20:30) From the first base he went to Marrakech, Morocco in northern Africa where he stayed for about a week. From there he went to Egypt and then to the base in Cottesmore, England. (21:0021:50) His training at Cottesmore centered mainly on night flying. (22:40- 22:55) To train the pilots for night flying they set up a night vision school in one of the gymnasiums. Each night they would tests the pilots vision while dimming the lights. (24:05-24:36) Ted and the other pilots were trained how to carry paratroopers and tow gliders. These gliders would sometimes cause problems with the plane by not staying in the propwash and spreading out. (24:40-26:00) �Every day Ted would go through the routines, without the path of flight, which he would have to do for his missions. They would have sessions to learn what to do in certain situations. (27:5128:21) Ted was not told the path of flight until the night of the briefing. This was when he found out that the routines that he had been doing were the exact opposite of what the mission was. (28:5629:19) D-Day (29:19- 37:35) Ted left the base at midnight with nineteen paratroopers of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. (29:40-30:20) After taking off the planes took twenty or so minutes to get into formation and took off to Normandy. (31:27- 31:59) To avoid detection from the Germans each plane had only three blue/purple lights on top of each wing and three blue/purple lights on top of the plane. (32:26-32:50) They flew northeast to south west over the Cotentin Peninsula. (33:49- 34:00) The pilots knew to drop their paratroopers when the lead planes light turned from red to green. (34:14- 34:25) After dropping the paratroopers the pilots, flying low, went back to base. They flew low so then they were faster than the anti-aircraft guns. (36:23-36:57) They then went back to drop off the gliders, which was a lot tamer than the paratroopers. (36:5637:35) After the Drop: Normandy Campaign (37:35-48:16) After the drop, Ted did glider snatching. There would be two poles attached to the ground and around the poles would be the nylon glider cord. The plane would come in, lower a hook, and snatch the nylon cord. (37:30-39:04) He also transported injured troops. He would bring a flight nurse and pick up about fourteen or fifteen litter patients and take them to a hospital in England. Due to everywhere being closed in, Ted had to land in Lands End in the southern end of England. (39:17- 41:08) He also carried supplies such as: gasoline, ammunition, and food. He always had a load going over. (41:57-42:05) It took ten days or so after D-Day for the steel landing mats in France to be set up so Ted and the other pilots could send supplies and transport wounded. (42:57-43:07) Ted also pulled British gliders though he never went to a British sector in France. (43:15-43:46) This pattern continued until the breakout of Normandy in early August. (44:00-44:20) After the breakout Ted flew in many different parts of France and Belgium. As time grew on the destinations became a great deal different. (44:36-44:51) The most prevalent thing that planes would carry was gasoline though they also carried a lot of food and ammunition. (45:16-45:24) The C-47, according to Ted, was a marvelous airplane. It was hard to imagine a plane built more safely. It landed better, it took off better, and it carried heavier loads. That plane rarely caused you to have a forced landing. (46:20- 46:40) Market Garden Operation (48:16-53:01) While flying over the English channel to get to Holland Ted and his fellow pilots had an issue �with Germans who got wind that they were coming. So they complained enough to get P-47 and P-51 escorts who would rip the Germans to shreds. (48:24-48:59) For the operation Ted carried paratroopers for a couple of trips, then gliders for a couple of trips, and then more paratroopers. (49:24-49:30) He carried the men from the 101st Airborne Division and one or two loads of British paratroopers. (49:35-49:49) After two or three jumps his plane encountered a lot of enemy fire but due to its sealed gas tanks it was safe. No planes were lost due to loss of fuel. (50:46-51:06) Supplies were dropped every jump by using para racks. After the paratroopers jumped the pilots would release the para racks which were kept under the plane. (51:25- 51:45) During one of the jumps a para rack filled with landmines got caught up on Ted’s plane. After a few failed attempts at getting the landmine out from underneath the plane, the crew chief cut a hole in the bottom of the plane and shot the lines off with a small machine gun. (51:46-53:01) After the Market Garden Operation (53:01-58:42) It wasn’t long after the Market Garden Operation that the war in Europe was over. (53:16-53:22) During the Battle of the Bulge the weather was so rotten that he barely flew at all but when the weather first got better the pilots dropped their para racks as quickly as possible in order to reload more racks. (54:19-54:32) On the days that he was not flying Ted was playing poker on base and watch for the weather. (54:50-55:02) After waiting for a month to get his four day pass Ted would go into London and went sightseeing. (55:14-55:32) Towards the end of the war his base was switched to a base in France. He was there for the last three or four weeks. (56:51-56:56) On May 3rd or 4th, before the German surrender, Ted was on a ship to get a new plane to go to Japan. (56:59-57:09) His base in France was lousy. They lived in tents and the toilets were terrible. Everyone wanted to go back to England. (57:12-57:23) Back in the States (58:42-1:02:54) As soon as he got to the states he was transported to a base in Pope Field, North Carolina. (58:45-58:51) Before he got to the base Ted’s whole group spent about three or four weeks getting their teeth fixed because the dental officer lived in Lester or Nottingham the whole time he was in Europe. (58:54-59:15) On the base he would deliver packages and mail across the United States. (59:16- 59:32) He was in Richmond, Virginia delivering a package when the A-bomb hit. (1:00:07-1:00:27) He flew a total of eight combat missions and two hundred and fifty supply missions. (1:00:471:01:04) At the end of the war Ted thought he had enough flying for a while and chose to go back to school. (1:01:43-1:02:32) (1:02:54-1:14:54) After the Service �Ted married his wife on the eighth of September, 1945. (1:02:55-1:03:01) He went back to Ohio University even though his wife wanted him to go to the University of Michigan. (1:03:15-1:03:23) Ohio University was very good to its veterans. Their housing was flourished and living was good. (1:04:07-1:04:19) He graduated with an engineering degree with a specialty in industrial engineering. (1:04:211:04:31) Due to the flooding of veterans wanting to get an education, Ohio University had to build new buildings. (1:05:08-1:05:17) His father-in-law got him a job in a sheet metal company. He worked for him for three or four years and then he started working at his family’s company in Cleveland, Ohio. (1:06:091:06:32) He was transferred to a little town called Antwerp, Ohio where they were building a new cement plant that needed an engineer. So he started working at the cement plant. (1:06:33-1:06:54) He worked at the plant for thirty years. (1:06:54-1:07:10) Ted and his wife moved to the Grand Rapids area because eleven of their family went to Aquinas and they wanted to be close to their family. (1:07:35-1:08:22) Ted believes that his time in the service matured his thinking. (1:08:50-1:09:17) He remembers the segregation on the base. How blacks had different eating places and dormitories. This was strange for Ted since he was from Ohio. (1:10:30-1:11:39) � 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 WeatherheadT1169V Title A name given to the resource Weatherhead, Edward "Ted" (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Weatherhead, Edward "Ted" Description An account of the resource Ted Weatherhead was attending college at Ohio University when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. He immediately enlisted in the Army Air Corps, but had to wait for some time before starting his training. After surviving the initial screening and tests at San Antonio, he made it successfully through pilot training, only to be assigned to fly transport planes rather than fighters. Assigned to a transportation squadron early in 1944, he flew his C-47 to North Africa and then to England, where he underwent an accelerating training program to prepare him to drop paratroopers into Normandy. Between June, 1944 and May, 1945, he flew eight combat missions as part of the D-Day and Market Garden operations, as well as over 250 supply missions. 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 United States. Army Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-07-19 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6650e91efc62242799848430324ed667.mp4 1225178fa45c6ba2be37de94908bad34 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eed84504c10a5a1f5d9b574df1009d07.pdf 199a9b0c7decc484f7b5f9da91aa2238 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Name of Interviewee: George Way Length of interview (00:32:12:23) ***horizontal blue bars appear across the screen in the first few scenes (00:09:06) [interviewer introduction] Mr.Way was born on September 27, 1915, and lives in Grandville, Michigan In The Army (00:38:22) Way was drafted in the last week of June in 1941; he was living in Dearborn, MI (01:02:16) he was “in the medics” and he liked it because he did not have to shoot anyone Basic Training (01:18:03) [response to interviewer question about his first day in the service] “it was a sudden change in my whole life, from civilian to military, and I suddenly realized that I was alone…except for the men that were around me” (01:43:05) [emotions during the first few weeks in the service—interviewer] he did not have time to think about himself (01:48:02) it “took a little bit…”: being drafted was not the same as going there willingly, trying to get into the army � “you’re doing it because you have to, but at the same time you do it because you want to be loyal and patriot”; once Way got into it, he “felt good about it” (02:44:00) he went from Detroit to Battle Creek, for four days; a cadre came from Camp Walters in Texas and took them back by a train; he was there for twelve to fourteen weeks, in boot camp or basic training (03:21:02) they started them out going on long hikes, “longer and longer,” five miles, seven miles, ten miles, twenty-two miles, or twenty-five miles—carrying a full field pack (03:37:25) “then little by little, they’d teach you to handle a rifle,” a bayonet, hand grenades, how to do close-order drill—marching in formation; then “extended order”—advancing on a skirmish line out in the field With The Medics In Europe (04:29:09) Way was in the 2nd Infantry Division, serving in Europe as a medic �(04:49:03) [how he felt arriving in Europe—interviewer] “it was mixed feelings”; it was “an awakening” � he spent several months in Ireland and in Wales (05:33:23) [his job in the medics—interviewer] basically they took care of the wounded; they went out into the field and practiced on wounded people Dow Chemical In Texas (05:49:10) soon after getting into the medics, Way was sent to a town in Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, where there was a Dow Chemical plant; it was feared that the enemy would come ashore and destroy it � “the infantry was there to guard it”; they needed four men to guard it, and they were there several weeks, were then relieved, and he went back to his outfit (06:54:15) in his unit, they might have had 15-20 casualties, but there were 36 men in the unit—about a 50% casualty rate (07:33:13) “Everyday was…it wasn’t one that wasn’t worse than the other. When you think you could, it was the worst, the next day was worse.” � he was wounded three times and “sent back to the hospital” (08:13:28) “the worst one,” the one that affected him the most was when he was driving his jeep, and he had the men “stacked like cord wood” not on stretchers up high because he was afraid that they would get shot, but on wood � he heard a roar to the side, and three German Messerschmidt’s came by; they turned and came back � there wasn’t a ditch, there wasn’t a tree, there wasn’t anything—I was right out like in like a desert � he jumped out of the jeep and unrolled his flag, a bedsheet with a red cross painted on it; � the planes circled and came down the road above him; if they would have shot, he would have got it first � the planes circled again; he faced them and kept waving the flag; the last one that flew by him “waggled his wings” in acknowledgement that he was a medic (10:54:12) [was he a prisoner of war—interviewer] “not officially”; Way was captured, but they let him go—in July of 1944; they let him go because “they couldn’t, they couldn’t do anything with us—they were in a bad situation themselves and they felt they’d better not be caught with us” (11:33:22) they had “v-mail”: they would take a picture of a letter on small film and send it home on a roll, “hundreds, thousands of letters”; back home, it was reprinted larger �(12:20:05) [what the food was like on the battlefield—interviewer] “very good, very good…even K rations were good…4 & 1 rations were really, really good” (12:49:28) [pressure or stress—interviewer question] “oh yes, yes” but he “felt it had to be done”—whatever they told him did not bother him, but getting it done bothered him (13:16:29) he read “a lot,” and “they played cards”; they also had some USO shows, “quite a few,” and they got “right up there near the front line” (13:53:17) after two years in the army, Way had a furlough: he was in Texas, and he came home to Detroit and got engaged � he had known his wife for five years, and she did not want to wait any longer � she knew he was going to propose before he did � he got engaged in 1942 and married in 1943 (14:52:19) then Way went overseas; one time when he was recuperating from wounds, he was in England, and his brother was there too, in the 8th Air Force, and they got together on weekends � once, they got perhaps a ten-day furlough, and they went to London (15:22:17) he had weekends off “a lot,” and he could go home when he was stationed in Wisconsin (15:51:00) he was in the United States from 1941 until ’43, then in Ireland, then Wales The Normandy Invasion (16:06:00) on June 6 of 1944, the invasion was made on Omaha Beach � Way was in France, he got hit once, stayed there, went back to his “outfit,” got hit again, then went back to England—he was there three or four months � then he got back to his “outfit” “just in time for the Battle of the Bulge”; he went through Europe until the end of the war th � [what he means by “outfit”—interviewer] the 9 Infantry Medical rd Detachment, 3 Battalion (17:20:13) [how did he feel knowing that they would invade and maybe turn the war around—interviewer] “scared to death…it was beyond exciting...you can only go so far in excitement and then it becomes terror” (17:48:13) this was the invasion of Normandy, about 5,000 ships” � Way was not in the initial landing—he went in at 5 p.m. when “things had settled down” � he landed on the ground “by barge”; his job was driving a jeep—they dropped the gate on the barge, and he drove out in his jeep �(19:02:16) recollections of especially humorous happenings [interviewer question] (19:35:18) Way had just finished delivering a baby for a French woman; he left the house, and was going down the porch when he heard someone yelling “comrade, comrade, comrade”—he realized it was coming from under the porch � “he wanted to surrender—he was about a middle-aged man”; Way did not know what to do with him, so he told him to get in the truck � he rode with Way into Leipzig, about five or six miles, where Way turned him over to those handling prisoners � the funny part was him [the German] waving at people: “they didn’t know what to think about him… that’s a German, what’s he doing sitting in an American truck?” (21:08:22) [the day his time in the service ended—interviewer] Way does not remember the day, but the time: in October—the World Series was going on and Detroit won; he was discharged and went home to Detroit Life After The War (21:49:23) Way worked at Burroughs before going into the army; Burroughs was an adding machine company and it is now Unison; they no longer make adding machines, they make computers “really for like space and big businesses” � when he got “out of the war,” he “went right back to work” [at Burroughs], and stayed with them for many years, until he retired (23:04:28) [close friends in the military—interviewer] some; there is a man who is “closer now” than when they were in the service because he was “in a slightly different outfit” but Way has seen him off and on during recent years � he did have a close friend, “but he’s gone” (23:42:12) Way joined the American Legion and the 2nd Division Association � the Legion meets once a month, they have social, dinners, activities nd � the 2 Division Association sometimes has reunions faraway, like in California, but when it is nearby, in “this part of the country,” he tries to go to the dinners (25:04:18) he is probably more patriotic now than before the war; he was not patriotic before the war— “nobody was” � once into it and involved, it was his life: he wanted people to back him up, to support him � “I’m, very pro-military” (26:06:17) the “biggest way” his experiences in the military affected his life [interviewer] �(26:17:13) Way did not really know how to answer this; he thinks he is more conscientious, willing to tolerate hardship � he is thankful for what he has � “without the Lord, I never would have made it”; “Time after time after time, I called on God…” (27:50:09) his pastor’s nephew is in the same unit now that Way was in sixty years ago � when they did Operation Fallujah, he sent home a combat video in night vision, and Way “had some things to say to the congregation at that time”—around Veterans’ Day � he [the nephew] is in Iraq in the army (29:20:10) Wounds He Treated On The Battlefield, Examples [2nd interviewer] (29:39:22) he would “go right up on the front line”; Way was in charge of litter squads � he was responsible for the soldiers when they were brought back to the jeep; they would try to stabilize them � “just about any wound that you could imagine, I had encountered”; he had men die in his arms (31:24:13) their priest, a Roman Catholic, ordained them, authorized them to give last rites in his place, and gave them the equipment � Way had “quite a few opportunities like that” (32:09:06) several photographs follow on screen, without audio commentary: � the first appears to be a military base or the barracks � the second is probably Way in uniform � the third is probably Way with his wife as newlyweds � 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 WayG Title A name given to the resource Way, George P. (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Way, George P. Description An account of the resource George Way grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and was drafted into the US Army in 1941. He trained as a medic and served with the 2nd Infantry Division throughout the war, from the Normandy landings, through the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Dean, Ashleigh (Interviewer) 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 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-05-18 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d0cd715186951e6be3393ea860b6bacd.mp4 ab1a9bbf1ce7f521195640911829d28e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f309d41d158e5e5601803eb8e4027d25.pdf a7a62f16beccf78beaf19987782ba1c3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Cornelius “Bob” Warners (00:46:39) (00:25) • Born September 15 1919 • Graduated from Davis Tech 1939 • Worked for a printing company in Grand Rapids (00:54)Drafted • Went to Battle Creek, Fort Custer for 4 days and on a train to Louisiana • Assigned to 3rd Armor Division • Combat Command B-33rd Armored Regiment • Bob was a T5 when drafted--technician 5th grade which was a corporal’s rank • Tour was from 1941 to late 1945 (3:20)Fort Custer • Bob was here for about 4 days • Came in on a Friday and by Tuesday they were processed and sent on • Billy Conn and Joe Louis fight was that weekend • They were given no information except that they were heading to Louisiana. Not even what branch of the service they were going into (4:40)Camp Polk, Louisiana-1 year • They were split up into different companies as they got off the train • Lived in pup tents, practiced maneuvers, supplied tanks, 25 mile marches, calisthenics • Bob drove for Colonel Strong (8:09)Mohave Desert-late 1942 • Colonel Strong lost his car so Bob stopped driving for him • Bob received his 35 millimeter anti-tank gun • Two man crew driving a half ton truck • Didn’t have a lot of ammunition at this time for the 35 mill so they couldn’t shoot it for practice • They were training in the Mohave Desert • It was decided that they didn’t need more troops in Africa so their division went to France • His division was the 3rd armored division • (11:00) His unit was to control the Colorado River and monitor people on the roads coming into the River. They spent 6 days straight on the river monitoring traffic which was difficult because of the tides and undertows. You had to swim well and row hard to be on this assignment. �• • • • While there a young star, Dinah Shore, sang for them. She eventually became a great star but at this time she was not well known. General Patton had come to his division and given them a harsh speech (13:30) Bob was in the desert for approximately 6 months They loaded up on flat cars all their stuff and the men and headed for Virginia (13:50 )Virginia • Their division was put on guard duty in Virginia which took about 10 days to travel back from the desert • This was a jumping off point out of the country but the coast was covered with submarines so they went to Hershey Pennsylvania (15:45) Hershey, Pennsylvania • Stayed here about 43-45 hours before heading out to England (16:00) Warminster, England • Their division stayed in various towns around Warminster but their company stayed together in one building • They maneuvered through the countryside and learned to drive on the opposite side of the road • The English troops were not happy to see them. Bob said it was because the American troops had extra money to take the girls out • (17:20) Bob was able to get off base and see London, Birmingham, and meet the Queen. The King and Queen came to a place where the guys were in the parking lot with their trucks and she stopped and shook hands with the guys. Bob says that had a lot of respect for her because she wouldn’t hide behind the King, she just came out. • The soldiers at this point knew they were in training for combat but had no idea what exactly combat would be like and once subjected to combat they wished they had paid more attention while they were learning. • The boys were not prepared for combat once they were involved • (19:40) June 6th they all gathered around the radio and heard about D Day and they assumed they would be going back to Omaha. They waterproofed all the vehicles and a storm hit. They had to take the vehicles off, throw them in the ditch, and wait for the storm to pass. Then take them back out and waterproof them and reload them on the ships. (21:30) Normandy • The traveled across the channel with exceptional weather. When they landed on the beach, the mess was cleaned up. They landed far enough in that they could unload the tanks and went right into action digging foxholes. • For a few weeks, the service company didn’t have much to do. The guys were well equipped and all was in working order. Once things were used the service crew was able to assist in fixing and servicing machinery. • (24:20) They had no idea how close to the front line they were because it would consistently change �• • • • • • • • • • • • • (25:30) Bob was here when they had a 3000 plane bombing attack against St. Lo and General McNair was killed by friendly fire when some of the bombs fell off target. At this point they were forced to use the fields to travel since the roads were well bombed (26:39) Bob says he remembers one day that they traveled with their tanks 100 miles which was considered the longest tank battle in history. Once on the move they were able to be more aggressive They lost their commander in Belgium, General Rose. He was a well liked commander. He was always in the front of the forces. (29:20) The service company didn’t change much because they took few casualties (30:47) His company had 147 days of continuous actual combat while on duty as their longest campaign without rest There was not much time of actual rest. Most of the time was spent in combat and waiting to enter combat with the longest stretch of time waiting was about 1 ½ weeks. (33:10) Bob says that the Bulge was the most difficult time for his division during the war. During this battle the weather was horrible. It was winter and conditions were harsh. One battalion was cut off from the rest, one was completely killed, and sugar was put into gas tanks. They were in Spa Belgium at the time and the entire company was being used to guard corners in town. This was the one place where he was ordered to deploy his anti-tank gun, but then a cavalry officer came by and told him to get it out of the road before he got run over, the gun being too small to do anything to German tanks. They were there for about 10 days in the Bulge (36:20) The fear was that somebody would break the line and if done would be disastrous. They had bombs tied to every tree along the roads and the trees partially cut so they would fall across the road if needed. It seems that morale was high during this time and the men were ready for a quick end and a quick return home (37:50) The final days of the war • Bob’s unit was planning on meeting the Russians but it was decided to let the Russians take over the area • Once they had the Elbe River they basically sat and waited • Bob said that the part of Germany they were in was very dirty and unlivable. Even the government wouldn’t let anyone live like that. • (39:40) The German people seemed tired and ready for the war to end • The guys spent much time raiding houses for ammunition and equipment • Bob found postcards in one house they showed the bones of dead Jews. They are in the Jewish museum in Detroit. • (41:15) Bob remembers seeing a lot of the Jewish prisoners wandering around wearing striped pajamas • (42:30)The division was broken up according to how many points each had. Bob had to stay a month by Sensei River before being evacuated. He drove jeeps around while he was there. • Bob was officially discharged back in Pennsylvania before VJ Day • Bob returned to printing once discharge and didn’t take his 20 weeks of pay after the war. �• • He said he was an athlete before joining the military and had never drank or smoked before. Once in he learned quickly how to do both He feels he had a contribution to the efforts and would not change them but would not want to do it again. � 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 WarnersC Title A name given to the resource Warners, Cornelius (Bob) (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Warners, Cornelius (Bob) Description An account of the resource Cornelius "Bob" Warners served in World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and Normandy in the 3rd armored division service company that assisted the men in battle. He served time in battle that at one point extended 147 straight days of combat duty. He discusses training in Louisiana and in the Mohave Desert and his experiences in France, Belgium and Germany. 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 United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-06-22 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c43899a8b022f6fe40b8eaa6131a32c.mp4 b2f72dc143d39e4351c4852158d95c81 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c3a40785e6f9d62271b2c8b561a30af5.pdf 04d021aa7ed4fe5011d10f8b4f5bd421 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Frank Warner (01:14:53) (00:15) Background Information • • • Frank was born in Michigan in 1918 and grew up during the depression His father died four months before he was even born His mother played the organ and piano for movies and his grandparents helped raise him (4:45) School • • • • He lived near the city and went to a larger elementary school, which he walked to He was into music and played the drums and also sang In high school he loved football and also ran in track He hated school and did not like to study; he got bad grades (10:40) Michigan State University • • • Grand did not have enough money to attend college right out of high school He got a job sailing the Great Lakes to help ship iron ore and worked his way through college Frank studied forestry at MSU and also met his wife there (17:15) Pearl Harbor • • Frank said that he will always remember Roosevelt’s speech the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked Frank was still in college at the time and then thought that war was inevitable and terrible (19:15) Joining the Service in 1942 • • Frank was pretty sure he was going to be drafted, so he took an exam for pilot training because he wanted to have a choice if he was joining the service He had never been in a plane before (21:40) Training in the Air Corps • • • • Their motto was that you have to take orders first before you can give them He had to wake up every day at 4:30AM Training was very disciplined and rigorous They were in Georgia for primary training and then they went to basic training in Arkansas �• • • • They never took a break from different training forts and they traveled to a different state every nine weeks He went through advanced training in Indiana and worked with 1810 twin engine planes Frank was then sent to Idaho to meet his crew All the missions that Frank went on were in 1944 and they flew P-24s, which could carry lots of bombs (30:50) Fresno, California • • They simulated the war conditions and flew over the desert Frank learned to use the Norton bomb sight (34:00) The Bomb Runs • • • • They would drop boxes of tinsel over the enemy to distort their view Frank flew a total of 41 missions in B-24s and many were very dangerous There was a very high rate of casualties There were psychiatrists that worked with the men because they had problems caused by their very dangerous missions (36:45) The Plain Caught on Fire • • • They were en route to France from Italy The engine caught on fire so he dove down to try to put it out The engineer told him that it was impossible (40:00) Contacts with the States • • • • Frank wrote to his wife every night Officers went through their letters to make sure that no important information was being leaked His wife worked for a telephone company in Lansing Frank was never able to call her or anyone else (43:40) European Missions • • • • • Their tail-gunner was shot on their first mission The navigator’s propeller exploded and he ejected, but his parachute did not open Frank’s plane was the only one still able to drop bombs He flew over the Adriatic Sea many times They bombed oil fields and refineries to slow down German movement (48:40) Life After the Service �• • • • Frank did not serve a second time because he had a young son and wife waiting for him, but had he stayed, he could have made lieutenant kernel Frank worked as a commercial fisherman in the Florida Keys for 14 years They had to file a report every day with the government and keep track of all the fish that they caught and sold so that the area would not be over-fished The area contains the only living reef in the US (55:35) Back in Michigan • • One of his children was born in Texas and the other two were born in Michigan All three of his children graduated from Central Michigan University �Crew Position Frank ~'larner, First Name last Name 2nd Lt. Rank E. MI '0-811476 A. S. N. Pilot 1024 MOS Job Title HISTORICAL RECORD Dote . No. Award Time Date Recoa Total I GO No. 17 Apri}. 44 GO #433 ir Ha1~thAF adal .$tL~ ..rei B 1'( "Ja;)' .tel nd ..fOl B Tota! ReaKKk ~lgt~ 44­ ~l~m 6 Jun 44· 12 May . 44' I Remarks GO No. . 26 Jun 44­ 30 Jun 44 VICTORIES " ',' Destroyed - Credit No & Type Adt No. Date .. .; I ';~';~ ~ Damaged ProbaMe - Credit Date No. . No & Type Adt Date No. No. & Type Acft �" .: HEADQ,UbRTERS 46l3T BOii3Af.D1:ENT GROUP (h"V) AAF lIPO 520 c/o PI\.: 13 Deoember SUBJECT: Unit Citation TO All concerned 1. The 45lst Bombardment Group (fW) was cited> in General Orders 4187, !~adquarters Fifteenth Air Force, APO 520, US brmy, 26 October 1944, tor outstanding perforlliance of duty in armed co . . . ith the enem.y on 15 July 1944. This citation was approved by 01 iried letter 330.13 Subject: Unit Citation, Headquarters United Army Air Forces luediterranean Theater of Operations United 3tate Army, APO 650, dated 22 November 1944. Whereupo~ the inclusion a Unit Citation in :iar Department General Orders becomes aut.omat Lc Cir 333 - 1943). The plain blue streamer was presented to the 46 BOflbardment Group (rN) on 3 December 1944 by Brigadier General C Bo:cn... Dep.u.ty CCUIllIlat\.d.a.:c:f "ii:fte.~~t.h. Ai.r ~o.rc~. 2. 2nd L~ J'ra.ok E. warner 0EU1.47& was an assigne member or this Group on 15 ;U1,.. 19M ana is, pursuant to authori contained in par 4a (I) War Department Circular 333 (1943), auth to wear the Distinguished Unit Badge. By order of Colonel HAaEa: R. FOS'!'FRB-GOTT kajar, Air corp. OFFICW: ~f~~t8~~ RICfIbRD L. RUSSEY :Vc;JG USA. J Assistant Adjutant. Adj utant, � 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 WarnerF Title A name given to the resource Warner, Frank (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Warner, Frank Description An account of the resource Frank Warner was born in Michigan in 1918 and attended college at Michigan State University before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942. Frank was sent to a different training base in the United States every 9 weeks before flying to Europe, where he flew combat missions from bases in Italy. Frank trained with B-24s because they could carry quite a few more bombs than the older planes. Frank stated that there was a very high mortality rate for the type of missions he had worked on and that a psychologist had to stay with the men to help their mental health. Frank has many stories from flying over Europe that includes being shot at and planes exploding. Military documents appended to interview outline. 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.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-09-01 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f25a7cd92c186c9b1995429b7d63bd40.mp4 74ae454f93f40c82e2e1864426c5dc8d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b5cfa220b4bff244a822128f502674b7.pdf 904298a7a37816b4bb194edc6fa033eb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam Interviewee: Jack Ward Length of Interview: 00:28:57 Background          Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on December 14, 1949. His father was an Army Air Corps veteran. He was a bombardier and navigation systems tech on B-29 Super fortress. He served in WWII. His mother would stay at home while his father was at war. They are both deceased now. He has one sister, who is 5 years younger than him. He graduated high school in June of 1968, from Kentwood High School. He had a week off after high school before signing up for the draft. The next day he was being sent off to Fort Wayne, Detroit for his physical and induction. He entered the service by volunteering for the draft. It is considered to be enlistment. He would sign up for two years. He did not know that it was considered enlistment until he read it in Parade magazine. He wanted to join either the Marines or the Army. He figured he had a better chance to get into aviation if he joined the Army, so he did. Training (3:15)        After the physicals and inductions were completed, they were put on a bus for an allnight ride to Fort Knox, Kentucky. When he got there, he would have to take a couple of tests for placement purposes. This would take a couple of days. He would then start his basic training with Company B-19-3. After the completion of his basic training, he would be at the mercy of the Army to place him where he would go next. Had he signed up for 3 years he would have got to choose where he would go and what he would do for specialized training, but he had only signed up for 2 years. He expected to be put in the infantry, which he would have been fine with, but he ended up being placed in the mechanical side of things and would work in repairing helicopters. He found adapting to military life fairly easy. When he was in high school, he was told what to do by his athletic coaches, so he knew how to follow orders. He really liked his training. He really enjoyed the field training they had to do, like learning how to shoot machine guns. Active Duty (5:15)  After training, he would depart from his home in Grand Rapids on December 12, 1968 to Chicago, then by airplane to San Francisco, and then was placed in a cab to Oakland, CA. �                     He would be housed in the Oakland Army Depot. He remembers the bunk beds there were 6 or 7 high and he was on the very top. After about 3 or 4 days in Oakland they were shipped out, at night, to Travis Air Force Base in the San Francisco area. There he would be put on a commercial air liner and be flown to Hawaii. They would only be there for 2 or 3 hours for refueling and would then go to Guam. From Guam, it would be a non-stop flight to Bien Hoa, Vietnam. It would be north of Saigon. From Bien Hoa, he would be taken to the 89th Replacement Company. He was housed there for about a week, until they figured out where they wanted him to go. He remembers them telling him that he would probably end up in Pleiku, also known as “Rocket City.” He would then get on a cargo plane and be flown to Pleiku. He remembers landing there and hearing all the things about it, but it turns out he was at an Air Force Base there. There was a swimming pool, a PX, real building in construction. There were also paved driveways and grass and flowers. He thought he had it made. Unfortunately, the Army guys were sent to their camp, Camp Holloway, a few miles away. It took a while to get there and it was nothing like the Air Force Base at Pleiku. He was never on the front line. In fact, there never really was a front line. The closest he ever got to the front line was when he had to go out at night to serve in his defensive positions on the perimeter on Camp Holloway. Vietnam was not scary during the day, but at night it was. The Viet Cong, in his area particularly would like to fight. It was a series of flares, mortars, and rockets coming in. They had gunships out on the perimeter trying to suppress them. This was happening pretty much all the time. He did not see any heavy combat, as he was a mechanic. But when he did, he would mostly fire his weapon into the tree line or at muzzle flashes. It’s not like in the movies where they run out in the middle of a field and then get shot. They were a lot smarter than that. Neither side would expose themselves needlessly. He remembers the casualties he saw were things of a stupid nature (10:25) For example, in the early morning they had taken “bloopers” which were M-79’s he thinks, to a training camp. They were not gone an hour before they had to go back because one of the instructors shot a grenade straight up in the air. It would come back down and cause a lot of casualties. He remembers having to pick them up and take the injured and dead to the hospital. He would see a lot of his own casualties as well. A young man would join in 1969 as a co-pilot, and after his first or second day in he would go out on a mission and come back with an NVA 51 caliber round right through the head. There wasn’t much left of him. Since he got out in January of 1970, he hasn’t heard from anyone who he served with. It’s not like today where you go over in a company with a bunch of guys you know. You go over by yourself and you come back by yourself. He learned to depend more on himself more than other, so he did not make any lasting friends. He would get in trouble while staying in touch with family and friends back home. There was plenty of time to write letters back home and he did not have a girlfriend, so he only wrote home to his family, which was his mom, dad and sister, and his grandma. �              He would be so tired after working 12-14 hour days and then have to work 2 hours on, 2 hours off in defensive positions; he would sometimes go a month and a half or two months without writing a letter. His mother or father, he could not remember which one, had contacted the Red Cross to make sure that he was still alive because they hadn’t heard from him in so long. He got called into his CO’s office and got it from him. He had to sit there and write a letter to his family back home and had to promise his CO that he would write one letter a week, which he did the rest of the way in. He would bring some civilian clothes with him, though he did not know if he would ever get the chance to wear them. He could not wear them off base, but in certain time he could on base. He would also bring his mitt and ball with him, along with a few other guys. He would play catch 4 or 5 times a week. He would also shoot some hoops, as they had that available to them too, though not anything like in the US. He would also jump rope for fun as well. They soldiers would also have PT exercises they had to do in order to stay in shape. Everyone that was there, whether it was Marines or Army would get a 7-10 day R&R. (15:45) There were 8-10 destinations that you could choose from to take your R&R. The closer it was to Vietnam, the sooner you could go. The farther it was, the longer you had to wait. He was only interested in Sydney, Australia. Most of the married men would go to Hawaii and meet up with their wives. Most of the single guys would go to Bangkok or Japan because it was closer. He wanted to go to Australia because he wanted to see what it was like. He would have to wait 10 months before he took his R&R. Between December 1968 and the middle of October 1969, he had not had any time off. So he learned how to work hard and not complain. Eventually he would make it to Sydney and he would really enjoy his time there. He would serve his 12 months, plus a 1 month extension and would leave in the middle of the war. When he got out he would go from Pleiku to Da Nang at a marine barracks there for a couple of days before getting shipped on a commercial airliner to Japan. A lot of the wounded soldiers would be shipped to Japan, so many of the men on the plane were in pretty bad shape. He would spend the night in Japan and then go home to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he would be discharged from the Army, in the middle of January in 1970. Post Duty (18:40)   In 1973, when the conflict ended, he was fully civilianized and not thinking about the war so much at all. All of the people he knew went in ’67-’69, when the heat of the war was at its most. So he did not hear much about it. He had received his training as an airline transport pilot and was working in Grand Rapids as a pilot when he heard about the end of the combat in Vietnam. �                In 1975, when the war officially ended he had bought his first house, he had just got married and was a chief pilot for an airline service. When he left Fort Lewis, he had a non-stop flight to Chicago. When he got to Chicago, he had just missed his flight back home to Grand Rapids so he had to spend the night in the terminal building. He didn’t care. He was so happy to be home and alive that he would have stood on his head for 12 hours if they told him to. At the time, the only way you could fly home for free is if you wore your uniform. You could not put civilian clothes on and show them an Army pass and go for free. While he was waiting for another flight to Grand Rapids, he would sit in the waiting terminal. Each time he would sit by a group of people, they would leave five or so minutes later. It didn’t bother him, because he was so happy to be home, but he did notice that people did not want to sit by him. When he got to Grand Rapids, his dad had come to the airport with an 8 mm camera but he was so happy that his son was home that he couldn’t hold it steady. So the videos were everywhere, it was pretty comical and they all got a good laugh out of it. He was met by his mother, father, sister and his grandmother at the airport. Adjusting to civilian life was rough at first. He took a couple days to go see his friends, which was great. He was eventually invited to a party down at Western by a girl named Sue Miller. She was cute so he went. He really stuck out like a sore thumb at this party, as he was tan and had no hair. It being the middle of January, he really stuck out. And people knew where you had been. When he got there, he had a run-in with a lady in the parking lot for a parking space, but that was no big deal. He was only at the party for about 10 minutes before he left. He could tell that besides her, no one really wanted him there. It didn’t bother him. He knew he wasn’t welcome there, so one he went. She would call the next day to apologize for her friends’ behavior. (24:50). A group of his friends would go to a sand dune in Grand Haven, just before the 4th of July. They had hiked up the sand dunes and laid out some blankets to relax. When it got dark, he had heard firecrackers that had been lit by another group of people nearby. It sounded just like an AK-47 and he freaked out a little bit. His friends, who had not served, got a good laugh out of it. He would laugh with them, and that was the end of that. He always felt that after the experience of serving, he felt he could handle anything. Consequently, he doesn’t let things get him down and once in a while he would get in the dumps, but it would be nothing compared to his time in the service. What he learned from the service was to be self-sufficient. He would also learn that training and education are important, but you need them both, or they mean nothing. He would also learn out to deal with people that he would work with the rest of his 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 WardJ Title A name given to the resource Ward, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ward, Jack Description An account of the resource Jack Ward enlisted in the US Army in 1968. He trained as a helicopter mechanic and was sent to Vietnam in 1969. He was stationed at Camp Holloway, outside of Pleiku. He spent most of his time on the base because of his assignment, but endured regular mortar and rocket attacks, and took turns manning the perimeter, where the Viet Cong would often make trouble at night. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ward, Samuel (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 United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-10-05 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e986c4bbb4c7964761dbd9e42d9556d3.mp4 c086686a930d07504708cbaabb43a153 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/511c6c586b5000dfe0396f6f0f7a1a07.pdf 797db08f3d801d670bbf8737331e2916 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ester Maxine Warber (00:59:10) (00:14) What is your full name? Ester Maxine Warber (00:20) Where were you born? Grand Haven Township, MI, near Grand Haven City (00:30) What is your birth date? March 21, 1923 (00:40) That is quite a few years ago, isn’t it Ester? 80 years ago. (00:43) Isn’t that something. As you were growing up as a young girl, do your remember any of the things that happened in grade school? Anything that stands out good? I started in pre-school but they said I was too small…too young to fight the snow drifts and all so I started when I was six (6) years old in first grade. I missed two (2) years of grade school. They shot me ahead so that I was eleven (11) years old and out of school and the superintendent says you have to do something to keep her busy. I started high school at age twelve (12). (01:33) Can you recall any of your friends or any of the things you did besides study in high school? It was a very small school. We only had thirteen (13) kids in the school in Grand Haven Township. (01:51) In the high school? Oh, in the high school we had a total of 168 graduating. It was the biggest class that had gone through. I graduated from high school in 1940. (02:07) As you graduated from high school, what were your plans? What did you do then? �Oh I wanted to be a nurse, I thought. (02:20) You mentioned you looked forward to going to the lower rung bomber plant, could you tell us about that? I applied when I was nineteen (19) after having worked in Detroit. First of all, I worked at the Farm Crest Bakery and then Sealtest Creamery. I then went to Willow Run when they first started recruiting. Henry Ford owned that place. It is a huge place. The largest it had ever been in the world or course. It was building big planes also. One a day came off the line. I had to wait until I was nineteen (19) years old to work there. I worked there a little over a year. (03:15) What did you do at the bomber plant there? I was on machines in the machine shop with Henry Ford’s old cronies who made his bicycle with him. (3:20) Did you ever meet Henry Ford? He came there a lot because those were his friends in the machine shop. (03:28) Can you tell us about anything of Henry’s friends that you remember? They were as old as he was and that was quite an age. He might have been about 80 years old when he went around to various people on the machines and talked to them; he was very friendly. He was very knowledgeable. He put me in the apprentice program up on the loft at Willow. He didn’t personally do that; the supervisor did. But I learned quite a bit about machines. (04:15) What kind of machines did you learn about at that time? I was mostly on the drill press and the sanding machines. I did a little bit of work just to be doing it on the lath and the milling machine. (04:28) As you continued to work at the bomber plant, what did you then discover, like maybe…….? I would see the planes as they would move down the line to the riveters one mile and at the end of the line everyday with the plane coming off like an assembly line, there was a with a “W.A.S.P” from England. She would take that plane and get acquainted with it before she went through Canada and over to England to deliver it to the American pilots who were loading the planes with bombs and going off to Europe. And we learned all of that of course, about what was happening to our planes. (05:30)Was that before Pearl Harbor? �No, it was built about one (1) year after Pearl Harbor. (05:47) Ester, do you recall the day of Pearl Harbor? What were you doing? Yes. I was at Herman Kiefer Hospital looking through to the fourth floor window to a little boy who had scarlet fever and his family were the ones I lived with in Detroit. Forest and Grand River. (06:12) After you worked at the bomber plant, you then enlisted in the WAVES? I came out perfectly showing my little sister the place and told them I was quitting to go into the WAVEs. But they didn’t take me for three (3) months. I didn’t realize that I would have all that waiting to do from about the end of September until they finally took me by train. It was the first train I had ever ridden. They took me to Hunter College in New York City. It was very exciting, it really was. So in September I got my exam, my physical exam and they got all of my history and had me all ready to go. They were very busy at Hunter College. They only gave us four (4) weeks of basic training. (07:12) Ester, do you remember what kind of train that was? It was a Canadian train. We always moved when I was in the United States on Canadian trains. (07:28) Were they diesel engines? Yeah, they were steam. (07:34) Anything special happen on the train that went to New York? Oh my friends all gave me a lot of joking about how I spent my time. They played cards and I read the dictionary. I had left my two (2) classes in Ann Arbor and I had books that I had been studying. They were English and History. (08:03) You mentioned that you saw a poster that really triggered your thoughts to join. A beautiful poster. That was a glamorous poster. It was with the uniform then that I was able to wear when I got to Hunter College. It was a Handmacher uniform. He was one of the well known fashion designers. We had really good looking uniforms. (08:44) As you went through basic at Hunter College, can you tell us any of your recollections there? I got off the train at New York Central station with my Pullman case and my high heels and I walked 200 blocks to the reservoir out by Jerome Avenue, in that area, and we went up six (6) stores. I was assigned to a room with about sixteen (16) girls on the sixth (6) �floor. We would get there and then they would have us come down to assemble on the street at parade rest and call off our names and then most of the time we had to go off to some of the classrooms and get measured for uniforms and get some postcards, coast guard shoe and our work outfit which was a “drop seat” in the uniform which we got rid of as soon as we could petition and the people who could change our uniform and was able to wear the men’s dungarees because we couldn’t stand that uniform; it was out of style. (10:24) Did you do physical exercises and things in basic training like the men did? A lot of it was just running around the reservoir, and running up those six (6) flights of stairs. It was all walk up. They locked up the elevators. Everybody walked everywhere. We had classroom discussions and just anything that would give us exercise. We always had to walk about a mile to get over to the dining room three (3) times a day. There was a lot of walking. (11:04) What did your basic training consist of? Getting fitted for uniforms and an exam. I had that already in Detroit, but they did it all over again. We trained as to what the Navy was all about; what the men were doing; what the war needed; what kind of effort we might have to put forth and it was much quicker than any group that had gone through. They always took maybe three months and we had only four (4) weeks. And then we got on a Canadian train again and went out of New York Central Station. (11:48) And where did you go? Oh we had to make a choice of what we wanted and I said I would like storekeeper and I got aviation machinist mate school. (12:00) As you went to aviation machinist school, where was that at? It was at Norman, OK in the heart of the big state of Oklahoma. When we had got there, there had been a tornado the night before. By the way it took us five (5) days of traveling by day and being on sitting at night. They didn’t have us travel, they had to take supplies on freight trains at night so we were a passenger train, old cattle cars by the way. When we got there the tornado had really done a job on all the garbage cans and that is what we did the first few days was clean up garbage all over the yards and the grounds. (12:56) That was at Norman, OK? Yes. (12: 59) What location is that in relation to Tulsa, OK? �It is further from Tulsa than the storekeepers school was by the way. It was eighteen (18) miles out of Oklahoma City where they had all kinds of oil derricks everywhere in Oklahoma. (13:20) Could you describe a little bit what the terrain looked like? Could you smell the oil? In Oklahoma City, I think so. Where we were it was nice and clear out. Very spacious ground. Lots of hangars. Old planes that had already served their usefulness in the war effort or prior to the war. It was four (4) miles from North base where the boys were training for pilot training. I had a nephew by age at the North base and he became a fighter pilot going off the aircraft carriers. I saw him a few times. We had to go to North base and fix tears in the yellow parcel training plane. We also had a lot of classroom training, sitting and learning all about planes. We all went to auditoriums and learn to identify planes. They would zoom them across the screen like in a moving theatre and you had to tell on paper what plane that was. I wasn’t all the accurate in finding the right label for the planes. I learned later on what they were because I actually worked on them at Alameda, but while I was in training for six (6) months, I had the measles and the put me in a dark room and wouldn’t let me do anything for two (2) weeks, and I was two (2) weeks behind with my class so I took over the platoon leaders job for eight (8) other people who had fallen behind in their classes. We marched to class. We had classed until noon time and then stood in a big mess line to get fed, and then right back to the classes then. In our last two (2) months of the six (6), we were out taking planes apart and putting them back together again. Learning how an engine worked because it had to work when they put it back together. Having the proper propeller. It couldn’t fly but it had to have a live engine after we had torn it apart. (15:58) So you became quite proficient at repairing airplane engines then? Yeah (16:05) What was the food like in the mess hall as you stood in line? Beans every morning. A great big tray of beans. Sometimes it didn’t get very much use. It was there after we finished our breakfast. (16:22) What were your uniforms at that time then? Some where along in early on, we got rid of those “drop seat” uniforms that didn’t do anything glamorous and we got the men’s dungarees in their storekeepers shop and we had captain parades inspections in the barracks on Saturday morning every Saturday morning with competition with the other barracks. I understood there were men there plus the W.A.V.E.S., about 20,000 people and as soon as we left, they had 20,000 more in training. It was still kind of early on for training. The captain’s parade was very dusty and we had to send them out to Oklahoma City every week, and we also had to buy any �extra uniforms. They gave us two (2) uniforms basically. Beautiful beautiful uniforms as I said. (18:00) As you went to Norman, Oklahoma and the training and so on and the airplanes there, tell me a little bit about what kinds of planes you worked on and the engines that you rebuilt? I graduated two (2) weeks later than any of my friends and buddies that I had trained with and I was an aviation machinist rate, 2nd class, and then after I trained I went home for ten (10) days and then straight away to St. Louis, MO, and out to Alameda, CA to an assembly and repair plant where I went into the machine shop. (18:51) What kind of train did take to Alameda, CA? I think it might have been the Wolverine or the New York Central. It was not in cattle cars but we did have plenty of cattle cars that were shipped around all over the United States. We often got placed in those. (19:20) What did you do in there; did they have chairs or anything? Oh yeah, they were all fitted out with a dining car and not an easy feat. The seats faced each other in the same like most of our passenger cars that had been around. I had never been riding trains. I had never seen trains inside until I went into Hunter College in New York City. (19:55) Do you recall anything special about your trip from Oklahoma to California? I stayed overnight in St. Louis after my ten (10) days at home and lots of relatives to visit. I got into Alameda, CA in probably four (4) or five (5) days and two (2) huge long tunnels that kind of disturbed me. One was about a mile long they told me. You just stayed forever inside the tunnel. It was dark. The train was all darkened. There wasn’t anything too different about those. (20:40) So there wasn’t anything different about the trip there? Did you have to stop and wait until other trains went by? Yes…not a whole lot. They had things planned better than the Amtrak does now. Now computers are planning it all. It was human beings that seemed to do a very good job of getting the trains where they belong on schedule, and on the side track letting one pass the other one. (21:11) These planes and engines that you worked on, were all Navy planes? Yes they were. �(21:18) What kind of planes? They were all the basic fighter planes, Pratt Whitney engines and all the planes that I worked on were the small fighter planes that were going out on the aircraft carriers. I took a course to learn all the insides of the flying. I got my certificate in that and I think I can’t really recall how long the course was. It was about three (3) months. I already knew engines from out in Norman, Oklahoma. Those were the Rolls Royce engines from Britain and pontoons of course. We learned everything about the plane. The entire plane, the flight engineering deck. We didn’t just go through the engine. We sat in class learning about the engine. (22:28) Was this a Navy rebuilding area that you went to in California? It was Navy. It was right outside our base. Part of the federal compound I think with all the Eskimo huts. I went into an Eskimo hut and we had two (2) very smart young men who taught us and it was a small class. I think there were about four (4) or maybe six (6) of us in the class. (23:10) As you did this rebuilding work on the engines, did you get to see the planes themselves? Yes. They would fly the used planes that had been in the Pacific to our runways and there were Navy men on the line, I don’t think any of our girls were out there on the airport area, but they would take the engine, strip it down and then they would use our new parts. Our machine shop was making knew parts for the most part. We did some liners on air ventilators and things that could be retrieved and reused. That is what I did on the banding machine. (24:09) How long were you there? I had about a year and a half on the Alameda base and I also took a course to become aviation machinist mate, first class, and so they said I had to wait until all the men had gotten through and taken the course and wanted to move up. When the men moved up, then I had had a chance. They told me that right away. So I waited and before I got out I made First Class because I had passed the exam. (24:53) How old were you? I was 21 at the time, I think (25:04) Were you there at the base when the war ended? I was in Hawaii. I was six (6) months. (25:18) How did you get from the repair base to Hawaii? �I asked to go to Panama and they sent me to Hawaii and it was the first group that had moved out. They had a group that had moved to Alaska, one to Bermuda, one to Panama, and one to Hawaii. We went with what had been a private cruise ship and it took us five (5) days rendezvousing every morning and traveling with merchant marines, a whole lot of supply ships on their way to far off places in the Pacific. We were stopping in Hawaii. Oh these ships had already been loaded with women and children to go back to Hawaii. When we got there, they still had all the fence around the beaches. They had everything pretty well patrolled and guarded and they had our own submarines out in the water all around the island. Course there had been no attacks enough times so they thought they were safe to bring the civilian woman and children back. (26:45) What did you do then in Hawaii? They put me right on the line and I went out with an eighteen (18) year old who taught me how to run a supply, 10 ½ ton truck, a big big truck that was a British. I steered it in the same fashion we always used for our American cars, but you had to have four (4) way stops and use a lot of care in going around to do anything like supplying the ship, loading, but also because I was one of the petty officers, I worked in the administrative office at the airport. We pushed the chiefs out of there and the guards took over as far as our living quarters. I am sure it was discussing to all of the guys who had to move into barracks and the girls took over. We all had single rooms then. (28:07) What was your rank then? I was aviation machinist mate, 2nd Class and so I had a little scooter to run around all over the place including the airport area. I met people in all the missile stations. The missile dump…not missile but whatever…. (28:44) The ammunition dump? Yes, there you go. They gave me all the war bonds, the civilian and military boys had them taken out of their pay which was very slim in those days, but they could always make $18.75 on their war bonds and we still went all over the island getting acquainted with all the fascinating things on the little bit of money that we had left. We never missed on the war bonds. I always had the same people to give another one too every month. (29:30) So you were working in the office then pushing paper work? I ran around all over. I took up…I didn’t sit in the office and do any typing or anything. (29:40) While you were in Hawaii, did you do any rebuilding of engines and that sort of thing? �No it was supplying the planes. I helped with putting them…I took another course on flight engineering which I was so proud because there were only two (2) of us in the W.A.V.E.S that had ever done that at that time. Aviation Machinist Mate. I was so proud I made several copies of my certificate and showed everybody. That was the highlight of my time in the service and that was again two (2) young military men, sailors, who taught the course eight (8) weeks and then I did some practice or training trips down to Motto’s Inn on the Parker Vance on the big island for training trip. (30:50) Did you get any chance at all to get any type of recreation? Loads of USO dances on the Navy aircraft carriers that were parked out near Kenaway Bay. I wasn’t in Pearl Harbor. I was immediately crossed over the to Petanioway Bay, the big air base. (32:26) Did you happen to have any opportunity to go to the USO dances and things like that? Only…we could go every Saturday night and Friday night. Sometimes we would like to go to the Queens YMCA in Honolulu and to Sears Roebuck and to see all the spouting pacific coming up through volcanic tubes. They had a lot of waterspouts and they were fascinating. They had lookouts at these places. It took only a Sunday afternoon to go all the way around Oahu, the major island where Honolulu is located, and they had pig grocery stores. They called them Piggley Wiggley. They would have them all up and down California and Seattle, WA. (32:26) Did you happen to see any of the movie star entertainers and people like that as you were there and went to the USO clubs? In Alameda I saw a lot of them. They weren’t too far away from Los Angeles and Hollywood and ex-President, Ronald Reagan. He was a lieutenant colonel in charge of the USO entertainment and he shipped a lot of people out to Hawaii and further and some times we were able to see them on the island. Most of the time they just had a little rest stop and then went off to Australia or to the Philippines or Iwo Jima or wherever they were going. Most of them went all the way out to dangerous zones for the USO, but we saw a lot of people coming through getting rest and recreation, the boys, themselves. They would come to the famous hotel on the island at Diamond Head. One of the breakers is where we had the USO dances when we didn’t have then a board the ship. They were always asking us to come out a board ship because they air craft carriers only came in for refueling not really so much to be resupplying. They got that in the main lands, but they had to stop in Hawaii so we had USO dances all the time..many many of them. The women officers and we women officers had barracks that were a little bit more elegant then our chief’s quarters. I did guard duty or night time duty up there and telling the person on ship that their date was ready to go out to a restaurant. We had a lot of good meals anywhere on the island. Many many places on the island. (34:59) So the meals were a little better than the beans in basic training? �Yeah…..the beans kind of are still used on Navy bases I understand and they always have bean soup in the Senate in Washington DC. It is traditional for them to have beans for breakfast and beans for supper. (35:29) Do you remember where you were at on VJ Day? I was on ten (10) hour days and they had four (4) days of blowing up ammunition dumps and having an exciting and ecstatic kind of a time. They just really had not work getting done. The people were signed up immediately for how many points they had and whether they could leave and go back home to the main land and get out of the military. The men were high priority. The WAVES were support people and stayed a little bit longer. It wasn’t long and they had them loaded aboard planes and hospital ships. I went in a hospital ship myself eventually, back to Los Angeles. The chief of my unit in the machine area, I had not been working for him, a couple of my friends had, but he married an Hawaiian girl and took her on a honeymoon for a month to the mainland so I got my aviation machinist mate, 1st class, I just stepped into the job and there were very few people to take care of anymore; they were all gone out of the service already in that month. I took over the chief’s machine shop and there was nothing going on the carmax so in the morning I would have to do all my chores and guard duty. We did have to guard the fence. The boys were on one side of the fence, the girls inside our compound. There was lots of good talk and lots of good coffee. We had to have guard duty. We also guarded inside our barracks as well as the fence line. After I got all my duties done and cleaning up there even though I was suppose to be in charge of practically no personnel really, then I could go out to Nimitz beach to play volleyball and eat my meals out there. Usually it was strawberries with waffles, or tuna fish with waffles but not Beans!! (laughing)…something else. Anything went with waffles. That was a very nice month. The boys were suppose to be in charge of taking care of the beach and cleaning it up daily. They let me clean it up. I was never assigned to it. I love to go out there and run the tractor and I sifted the sand through and cleaned up a lot of junk off the beach. There are beautiful beaches in Hawaii. (39:16) As you came back to the states, you said you came on a hospital ship? It was the Tranquility; it had made many voyages back from the Pacific and all the places like New Guinea and everywhere. I think they all stopped in Hawaii. There weren’t very many people when I came back because I had been delayed a little bit. It took us about five (5) days. The Tranquility had been made for the Canadian Oil Company. Canada transferred it to the United States and it was fitted as a hospital ship. It was kind of a nice ride. The weather was very good. I listed to radio music. By the way in Hawaii we had Bob Crosby. He finally got out of the Philippines. That was Bing Crosby’s brother and he had a wonderful band. He had been in Oklahoma, and when I got out to Hawaii there he was for all the time that I was in Hawaii. Near the end he had to go. I don’t know where he got located though further on in the Pacific I guess. We had all kinds of good music. Those wonderful songs of WWII were played on the ship radio and I lay in the sun on the deck. Didn’t do much of anything for five (5) days. I got into the presidio and �I think I said Los Angeles, I went into the presidio of San Francisco. There were two (2) of them. I left to go to Hawaii out of San Francisco and they kind of debriefed us for a couple of days, we then took one of the cattle car trains to go to Great Lakes Illinois where I was discharged. (42:00) So you ended up being discharged in Great Lakes, IL? February 8, 1946 (42:11) After you were discharged, what did you do? I was taken by either the Wolverine or New England…not New England, it was New York train from Great Lakes the very same day, February 8, to Ann Arbor and I registered that day to finish my freshman, first semester, in the Great Lakes. They were on quarters then, they were not semesters. It didn’t take them long to change from quarters to semesters and I finished up my 156 credit hours and 3 ½ years and I went summers on the GI bill and they paid all of our tuition by IBM card and we delivered them to the administrative office. They put us pretty much on our own. My roommate had been an “X” WAVE too that first year. She went steady real quick after she hit campus and she and the guy she ended up marrying took off on what they called the snowball expedition to Washington DC to congress to get us more money because we were making sixty-five dollars ($65.00) a month to live on and they pushed it up to eighty-five dollars ($85.00) a month…a month! A little bit less than what they get now a days. You might say when I went into the military in the WAVES, I was getting the very same pay that the men were. This was ninety-six dollars ($96.00) a month. So from the very beginning I bought War bonds. I thought they were useful and they accumulated very well for me. There were no problems selling War bonds. The men from the Pacific coming off the ships in Hawaii and Alameda and in the civic auditorium in San Francisco, they had bonds. The civilians as well as the military, they all bought war bonds. I was proud of my effort on that. I also had the engine….safety effort…where I have to use the fire extinguisher on the Pratt and Whitney reconstructed engine….we would…….it was a dangerous kind of thing. I was scared to death while I was in that pit holding that fire extinguisher. I never had a fire while I was in. Many of us had to take that duty. It was almost constant. I think there was mostly the fire fighters and they were especially trained to be out on the tomeck when they were firing up a plane to take off. That pit duty was isolated and dangerous and I got through that. (46:29) As you went back to college for 3 ½ years, what did you do after that? I tried to get a job in one of the places in north Chicago TB hospital because they had lab work training. I went into the basic sciences, but I had taken a little of this and that and it didn’t look that much as if I was a lab tech so I went on that summer and �they had put me on unemployment role and tried to find a job in Muskegon for me on my resume that had come out of the head office in Ann Arbor. So I took the summer duty on the line over at Grosse Isle? and I took the exam for nursing school and went into nursing school with the rest of my GI bill in Ann Arbor. (47:41) So you became a nurse? I took a year and a half of it, not quite a year…it was a year and a summer, and decided I didn’t want to be a nurse so I got back and work in an OBGYN office for three (3) years, four (4) years in Blue Cross Blue Shield, 600 Lafayette in Detroit, and I was a supervisor in the subscriber’s interviewing and all my people that I were supervising would tell me that they were going back to graduate school so I went back to graduate school at Wayne State University and became a psychologist and while I was training at Wayne State I worked in a cardiac specialists office. He was affiliated with Henry Ford Hospital. It was very good experiences. (48:45) Was Henry Ford still alive then? No…no… I think he died right at the end of the war. He was a good age when he died. I don’t remember something like 90 years old or something. He was a very personable guy. (49:04) What did you do at the Henry Ford Hospital then? Well, I didn’t work at the Henry Ford Hospital, I worked in the Fisher Building in Detroit in the cardiac specialist’s office, but he was affiliated with the women’s hospital and taught the interns in the cardiac specialty. I did his notes all over. He kept me there for twelve dollars ($12.00) a day. He was there from…….I had to come in at 8 o’clock and he came in at 9 o’clock and stayed until 2 o’clock, but he had me working for twelve dollars ($12.00) until 6 o’clock at night and doing all the typing of his notes for the cardiac training for the medical students. That was a very good experience. (50: 00) After there what did you do? I was then hired by the city of Detroit in the Herman Kiefer Hospital as a psychologist. I was on the president’s list for very good marks and extra special work with four (4) blind students whom I read to. Oh yes, and I worked for Cord Hauser to estimate remarks from all the union employees from the big car companies. He was doing a book. He was a social service professor and he went out to Appleton, WI and left three (3) of us in his office doing all this work for him. He was a very kindly old gentleman, and his son was teaching a journalism course. I took that course. He was from Ann Arbor and worked at Ann Arbor, his son. It was a good family to know. (51:16) After doing that, what was your next experience? I went in to the Peace Corps. �(51:24) I was hoping we would get in to that. I had a ham radio in Herman Kiefer Hospital where we received a Spanish course that was being taught by the Henry Ford Foundation in the school right across the street. The kids were third graders and we all chipped in and practice the Spanish along with them and I waited quite a few months before the accepted me in the Peace Corps and that was in a December date too when I finally went to Puerto Rico and trained for four (4) months, I practiced a lot of Spanish and got a lot of training in how to conduct ourselves in the South American countries and the Spanish culture…the local culture. They sent me to Ecuador. I knew already when I was in training in Puerto Rico that I would go to Ecuador. The Ecuadorian man who was accepting us, worked for the national government of Ecuador came to our training base and we had some lectures from him. A lot of ground proofing from men who came from the University of North Carolina, he and his son, trained us in drown proofing and extra ability to swim and a lot of class work and President Johnson and Lady Bird came down and graduated us after four (4) months. We flew home for ten (10) days sort of military style and had to meet in Miami the day before we were to get aboard a night flight into the mountain town of Tito where all the embassy’s of many of the foreign governments were working and occupying the place. We stayed there and met the diplomats and met the president of Ecuador and then an eight (8) hour trip down the mountainside. I was assigned to Guayaquil and I had been working in hospitals and doctors and they put me into a healthcare program. We went around with 20,000 squatters or new people or natives who had come flocking into Guayaquil. They were outside of the city and they had their own Heffies who organized the communities under the chiefs or Heffies as they were labeled. We went around to the homes in this 20,000 person nicely organized seaside communities where I had twelve (12) kids, young women, teenagers who had been trained for two (2) weeks in the Ecuadorian university and in the hospital to give syringe shots, the dbt or diphtheria pertusses and tetanus vaccine and added to that at the last minute the soul pox scratch test on the arm. We went around to all the household and wherever they had a six (6) months to six (6) year old child, they had all of these kid shots before starting school. It was all from world health organizations in Atlanta, GA. I had Walt Disney health movies made in Mexico City, in Spanish, on what dirty things flies were, and how to build a latrine, and many discussions on health care. I taught home nursing afternoons the entire two (2) years. It was in the mornings that we went around and gave the shots to people and the girls only worked half days, but I think we hit the entire 20,000 at some time or another. (57:28) How many years were you in the Peace Corps? Just two (2) years. A girl from New Mexico who had been trained as a veterinarian took over my job. I guess you can do the same things with animals, you know they have all the same kind of training the vets do. They have to make sure that all of our animals are safe and they certainly have very vigorous training. They are very knowledgeable, but I did meet her and I had a Judy Mucha who was a famous swimmer on the Olympic team. �Her mother had been to Tokyo and had metals from her swimming long before Judy was born. Her two (2) uncles were famous football players so I thought I had a famous person living with me the last six (6) months of my two (2) years. (58:37) Well Ester you did have and you know it has been a real enjoyable time talking to you. I don’t think your life time would fill just one hour, but probably about fifty (50) hours worth of video tapes. It has been a fun time and we really appreciate your talk and it has been so interesting. (59:01) Thank you very much. It was a wonderful thing to have this happen to me in my old age…age 80. (59:10) � 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 WarberE Title A name given to the resource Warber, Ester (Interview transcript and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Warber, Ester Description An account of the resource Ester Warber grew up in Michigan and worked in defense plants in the Detroit area during World War II, and then enlisted in the WAVES, trained as an aircraft mechanic and served on a base in Hawaii. After the war she held a variety of jobs and became a psychologist, and then served in the Peace Corps in the 1960s. She provides detailed descriptions of her training and duties in the military, and mentions meeting Henry Ford as well as Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. 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. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Video recordings Women Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-02-11 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb4bb6494fd558b30fa948159f7847af.mp4 c17530eaf07268eabb1f81bed75b254b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/04cec03d09c095f48cc436614d36c261.pdf 67c35292416e27eb910fbda441349e3a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Warren Wandrey World War II (1:23:31) Background Information (00:40)              Born November 9th 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. (00:43) For the first 3 years of his life he lived in Chicago. In approx 1927 he and his family moved to Berwyn, Illinois, where he attended high school. (00:50) His father was a streetcar conductor in Chicago and a World War I veteran. (1:11) During his service, his father was in France and the Argonne Forest. (2:09) His mother was approx 18 years old when she was married. His father was approx 28. (3:14) His father was eventually placed in a Mental Hospital, possibly due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (4:00) Warren attended high school in Cicero and graduated in June of 1943. (5:55) On his birthday in 1942, Warren was 18 and received his draft notice. He received a deferment until July 1943 so that he could finish High school. (6:04) Warren was called into the auditorium of his high school after Pearl Harbor so the students could hear the Day of Infamy speech. (6:24) He paid little attention to the events happening in Europe before Pearl Harbor. (8:32) Warren received his draft notice so quickly that he never considered enlisting. (9:37) He reported to the draft board in Chicago where he received a physical. Unlike other soldiers, Warren was given a choice between Army, Air Force (Army Air Corps), and Navy. (11:05) Warren picked the Navy because he didn’t want to go into the Army. (12:07) Basic Training (12:30)         He attended training at Great Lakes Naval Base. This training lasted 6 weeks. (12:33) He was given problems at Great Lakes Naval Base due to a preexisting heart murmur. (14:00) Warren was out of shape before basic training. (15:09) He signed up to be a radioman in September of 1943 and was sent to radio school at Western Michigan University. (15:37) The men were taught typing and Morse code at radio school. (17:00) Radio school lasted 3-4 months. He graduated in January of 1944. (17:49) He was than assigned to a naval base in California. (18:30) On March 5th 1944, Warren left from San Francisco to the South Pacific on the USS West Point. (18:50) Voyage to the Pacific (19:15)     The voyage took 2 weeks. (19:18) The men were given 2 meals a day and salt water showers. (20:06) The ship landed in New Guinea (20:18) The ship would zigzag during the day but at night would move on a straight course. (20:48) � There were approx. 10,000 soldiers of all different military branches, aboard ship. (21:20) Service in the Pacific (22:00)                Warren was assigned to the MTB (Motor Torpedo Battalion). There were 10 radio operators. Here the radio operators both received and sent messages. (22:11) He was then placed on a PT boat tender. (23:22) The boats never sank any others due to faulty torpedo performance. (25:17) His ship was also tasked with intercepting Japanese as they traveled from island to island. (24:54) If a ship hit a reef, it would have to go in to be repaired. There was a rumor that ship captains hit reefs on purpose if they were tired of being out at sea. (28:00) The tender that Warren serviced on was the size of a destroyer escort. The ship had two 5-inch guns and .50 caliber machine guns. (28:18) The ship had movies on deck almost every night when available. (29:59) Supplies for the ship came primarily from Australia. (30:28) Fresh eggs were nice gifts. Most of the time the men used powdered eggs and milk. (31:49) On thanksgiving and Christmas the men were given roast turkey, mashed potato and other “good food” (32:22) Warren was assigned to 4 different PT Tenders. His constantly having to change ships was very annoying. (34:24) As a result of his frustration, he asked to be transferred to the ship company. (35:00) Every night Warren worked midnight to 4AM, from 8PM to Midnight or 4AM to 8AM(36:00) One day Warren overslept as a result of his shift time. As a result he was to be put on report. (37:15) Finally the communications officers gave all the radio watch men a chance to catch up on sleep. They were placed in a separate room and were not to be disturbed. (38:25) The Invasion of the Philippines (40:57)            The ship was stationed in New Guinea for 4 months (41:27) On the 23rd of October, the ship was on its way to the Philippines. (42:43) On October 24th, 29 PTs were ordered to take up position in 13 sections. These were intended to be long range lookouts for the 7th Fleet. (44:25) Several PTs damaged during invasion. (46:28) One of the PTs hit had to be beached. (48:00) Warren’s ship shot down 5 planes while in the Philippines. One plane did drop a bomb and struck one of the PT boats. (49:00) In spite the amount of military activity accoutering at this time (Late October 1944) Warren had little knowledge of the state of battle. (50:20) Because the PTs were mostly made of wood, they frequently needed patching. (52:40) Between Warren's work and his sporadic sleep schedule he didn’t have much time or energy to focus to long on the state of battle. (53:24) All radio messages came in coded. (53:55) Higher radio frequencies were used during the night and lower ones were used during the day. (54:17) �   While communicating with a ship across harbor, Warren needed to relay the message back to Pearl Harbor Hawaii then to the ship. (55:29) For his first months on the PT tender, Warren was placed in the decoding room. This room was approx. the size of a closet. (56:16) Warren could decode 10 words a minute when he started. (57:10) The Leyte Gulf (57:48)    Traveled with approx. 100 other ships into Leyte Gulf. (58:00) While traveling, Warren watched a Kamikaze pilot hit the ship in front of his own in the rudder. Warren’s ship was never hit. (58:30) Warren was in Leyte Gulf for 4 months (59:02) Life in the Pacific (1:00:45)         While in the Pacific Warren was let ashore. While ashore he made watercolor paintings of the locations. (1:02:57) While on shore in one location, the men were given 2 pints of beer. (1:03:44) Warren rarely saw members of the local populations in the places he went ashore. (1:04:12) In the Philippines, the people commonly begged the soldiers for food or clothing. (1:04:20) Warren was rarely frightened while on duty. This was because his position in the radio room often inhibited him from knowing exactly what was going on outside on the deck. (1:05:54) Warren did see several Japanese planes. (1:07:33) Often when copying code, Warren knew very little of what the code actually said. (1:09:05) The captain would receive a message 1-2 hours after it was received by the ship due to the coding process. (1:11:00) End of the War and Life after Service (1:11:20)       Warren was on watch in Borneo when he heard that the war was over in early August. To celebrate the men fired guns into the air. (1:11:45) On September 30th Warren’s tour ended. On October 25th Warren was placed on the USS Cape Johnson. On November 2nd he arrived in Seattle, Washington. (1:14:15) After arriving in the U.S., Warren still had 4 months left on his service. He was assigned to the USS Crenshaw in Seattle. (1:14:46) After several months, Warren was discharged on March 19th 1946 before the ship was set to leave for Australia. (1:15:20) Warren went on to complete 4 years of college in Illinois on the GI bill and was married in 1950. (1:16:20) Warren also had 2 daughters. (1:18:37) Effects of Service (1:20:00)   Because he was at a very impressionable age while he was in the military, it greatly influenced him. (1:21:10) Warren’s ship was never hit and he was safe so he found his experience enjoyable. (1:21:30) �� 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 WandreyW1406V Title A name given to the resource Wandrey, Warren (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wandrey, Warren Description An account of the resource Warren Wandrey, born in 1924 in Chicago, served in the U.S. Navy from July 1943 to March 1946. After receiving his draft notice in 1942, he was allowed to finish high school before starting training in 1943. He trained as a radioman, and was sent to the Pacific in 1944. He started at a PT boat base in New Guinea, and was soon assigned to a series of PT boat tenders, which he accompanied to the Philippines and back to the East Indies, where he was stationed when the war ended. 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-11-10 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9ca59d6e3de41560d0b446ea31f3702.mp4 2439866a7b981544072b312179257fbd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e4429351d16ef981e64700ec45c7b209.pdf e629d2c9472d392d292257f456d780d9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Bob Wallace Interview Total Time: 1:24:54 Background  (00:11) Born in Plattsburgh, New York  (00:30) Played football, baseball, a bit of basketball  (00:50) Dad was a prison guard at the state prison, mother was an RN  (1:05) Went to a Jr. College in upstate New York o Took forestry  (1:20) After two years, went to University of Michigan o Conservation and water pollution  (1:48) Went to the Peace Corps in 1964 before getting degree, then got degree in 1966  (2:50) Through the Peace Corps, he went to Nigeria o Assigned to write Game Laws o He was in the first group in Peace Corps who weren’t teachers o (3:27) Learned the language of the area he was going to in Nigeria, 260 languages in Nigeria total  (4:35) Mentions that after Vietnam he worked in US Customs, and when he got a Nigerian from the same area on the phone, he talked in his language, Ibo, and the guy was surprised, thought of him as his brother  (5:43) He was trained in Nigeria for 3 months  (6:53) When he got to Nigeria, noticed it was disastrous, many animals eaten  (7:50) Didn’t like how the British left the colonies – no help with setting up government or anything  (8:20) Mr. Wallace’s job was to establish the Teak and Mahogany trees o (9:00) Reestablished plantations that were there  (9:30) He noticed the Nigerians didn’t think white people went to the bathroom, they looked surprised when he asked where to go  (10:50) Got back to the US, finished degree Drafted  (11:15) Got a draft notice that told him to report to Albany o Lined up, physical, etc o Counted down the lines: “1, 2, 3, Marine…” o He wasn’t a Marine �             (12:00) Mr. Wallace was drafted in April of 1968 (12:10) Received Basic and AIT at Ft. Dix (12:23) While he was in Basic, he was asked if he wanted to go to OCS, he said yes (12:54) Went to Ft. Benning, Georgia (13:21) He enjoyed the training, 26 at the time, most of the guys were 18-22 (14:00) Enjoyed rifle shooting (14:15) Thought that Vietnam would be over soon, and tried to delay things as much as he could (14:29) Went to Ft. Polk as a training officer (14:47) Offered to go to Jungle School in Panama o Also enjoyed this, reminded him of Africa because of jungles and map reading, etc (16:16) Jungle School was about a month (16:32) After that, they flew to Charleston, South Carolina and took a C-141 to Travis Air Force Base (17:07) He was on his way to Vietnam at this time (18:40) Flew from Travis to Anchorage, to Okinawa, then to Saigon Vietnam  (18:55) After getting off of the plane they went on a bus with caged windows because they were afraid of people throwing grenades at them  (19:15) Went to SERTS training, remembers getting a little red pill that showed a dentist where they hadn’t brushed their teeth  (20:01) Learned about booby-traps  (20:58) This training was for the 101st Airborne Division, to which he was assigned  (21:28) Flew to where 101st was, the unit was coming back from A Shau Valley o Landed on a highway, introduced to company o He was very nervous and scared o The Sgt. In his platoon was Sgt. White, who was very good o (22:23) Went up to Sgt. White and told him how he felt, he told him not to worry and that he’d get him through it o Anytime he had a decision, he would tell Mr. Wallace about it o (23:33) Sgt. White was there for 2-3 months when Mr. Wallace was there  (24:04) Assigned to Charlie Company, 1st platoon leader, 2/506 Infantry  (24:21) Went back to Camp Evans, stayed there 3-4 days  (24:41) Flew up to the edge of the DMZ, Mai Loc, combat assaulted out of the DMZ  (25:10) Between 20-40 helicopters in the air �                (25:36) Remembers children asking for candy, but really writing helicopter frequencies on their arms (26:22) There was a priest giving out communion, and Sgt. White was giving out whiskey (27:10) It didn’t make sense to Mr. Wallace that he was praying to the same God the people he killed were, puzzled about war (27:34) “Religion is a zero for this year” (28:42) The most striking thing in his whole year there was when they landed on an LZ, saw a US soldier being dragged by others trying to get him on a helicopter and a soldier who was pulling him turned around to respond to someone and his head exploded (29:57) Standing on a mountain top, watched F-4 phantom jets, as he looked, a piece of one of the bombs bounced off of his helmet o (30:40) Remembers the piece being beautiful, stress lines made it all different colors, so he put it in his pocket o (31:03) A week later it was rusted because of the sweat from his uniform (31:30) The NVA would strike and run (31:47) Says the Vietnamese soldiers didn’t get credit, they lived off of what they could carry, US soldiers lived off of what the helicopters could bring in (32:10) Mr. Wallace carried 18 magazines for an M-16, everyone had to carry 50 rounds for a machine gun, but he carried a couple hundred rounds, carried a couple extra batteries for the RTO, smoke grenades, C-rations o (33:10) He was the only one who enjoyed C-rations (34:07) Used to pick branches from the trees, brought back different samples of wood because of his background in forestry (34:33) Mr. Wallace says if you have to be there (Vietnam at the time), it’s good to enjoy something of it o Said most of the time it wasn’t bad o Notices how he rested on the good times he had (35:22) In his platoon, he had about 25,which was pretty good o (35:55) People coming in all the time, leaving for R&R, appointments o Lucky to have 25 most of the time o Believes smaller was better because in the jungle trying to move was easier (37:10) Thought it was better to be shot at, at least once a week so the whole unit is exposed to gun fights (38:31) Sometimes he went 2-3 weeks without being shot at (39:19) He felt safer in the field, thinks that staying a few days in the rear took away a bit of your sense of being in the field (39:55) His unit was really close �           (40:08) Knowing where you were was very important (40:45) Sometimes to let the others in his company know where he was, he’d shoot a white phosphorous round in the air o This was helpful because some guys had no idea where they were (41:40) After being pulled out of DMZ, they got to spend a few days on Eagle Beach (42:30) On Christmas Eve, he and the guys in his unit decided to build a hut o (43:18) His commander called it a “Gypsy camp”, and then Mr. Wallace’s nickname was Gypsy (43:44) Afterwards, they went to many fire bases (44:55) After being in the field 6 or 7 months, he decided to go on his R&R o (45:07) Went to Australia, when he came back, his unit was hit near [Firebase] Ripcord o This was near the beginning of the Ripcord operation o He was asked to go down to Graves Registration and get the names of the bodies o (46:10) He couldn’t identify who was black or white because of the blood and sand (47:37) Was told he would be going to Ripcord o Next morning around 5:30 they started, nice clear morning o They got to the top without fire or anything o (48:10) Once they were up to the top, digging, there was an explosion from a hand grenade o They were also hit with mortar rounds o (48:56) Believes Captain Vazquez saved many lives by what he did o Very impressed with Captain Vazquez, this was his 2nd tour in Vietnam o Vazquez was his company commander o (49:40) His whole company was on top of Ripcord and they were fortifying the position (49:53) They were on Ripcord for about a month o At the end of the month they combat assaulted out and went to another firebase o Then afterwards, he got his job in the rear (50:18) Once he got transferred to the rear, he had 7-8 months in the field (50:35) The policy was usually 6 months in the field, then to the rear, people with higher ranks stayed longer, Mr. Wallace didn’t necessarily think it was fair o (51:30) Didn’t see how he was more of a target than the machine gunner o To identify him as lieutenant, it wasn’t easy (53:35) The guys he was with, he would do anything for �          (54:00) When talking about a battle after Ripcord on Hill 902, he felt sorry he wasn’t there (55:00) Mr. Wallace thinks he knew more about this RTO’s wife that he served with than he did, when talking about the relationships between soldiers (55:30) When talking about a fellow soldier who died, describes the low feeling he had when they talked to him about giving the guy a medal o It felt like they were trying to make it right when the guy gave “the ultimate” o (56:27) “You don’t do it for your country, you do it for the guy who’s next to you” (57:20) He mentions when talking to his wife, he said his life went downhill after Vietnam even though he was successful o (57:42) Believes that was the peak (58:10) His job with Brigade after being taken out of the field consisted of being on the radio with every battalion and company; they called him and asked for resupplies, etc. (1:00:20) He never in the field saw ANY drugs o (1:00:58) In Camp Evans, yes, that’s why he didn’t like it o (1:01:40) Didn’t want to be in the rear and be overrun o (1:02:45) He believes the guys in the unit wouldn’t have stood for that o (1:03:05) It wasn’t a problem until he got home and heard people talking about drug use there, to Mr. Wallace, it was the opposite (1:03:25) Was told not to wear his uniform when he left Ft. Lewis [on return from Vietnam] because of the way people responded to Veterans (1:03:31) Remembers if a car backfired he would get on his hands and knees because of a natural reaction from being in Vietnam (1:04:23) Racial make-up of his company: 6 or 7 blacks, but everybody was one (1:05:30) He wonders if certain people don’t show up to reunions because of beliefs that it was a “white man’s war” o (1:06:40) Mentions that he lives in Canada o Talks about how there is racism there as well, but others don’t believe there is o (1:08:10) Believes if others were on the outside looking into the United States, they would like their country more o (1:08:40) Believes these things are of human nature Going Home  (1:08:55) Took off from Da Nang Air Base, says that it was quiet, and as soon as the plane lifted off, everyone started yelling from excitement  (1:09:36) Flew to Kona Air Force Base in Japan, then to Seattle o Got medevaced at one point and lost shoes he had been issued �      o (1:10:25) Got shoes replaced but didn’t have money with him, flew out o 10 years later, got a bill for $8.25 for shoes o Never got any money from Vietnam, called about it o (1:11:45) Got a check eventually for $80 some, including interest (1:13:20) He had a two year military career, he just wanted to get home o Did what he was told, but didn’t go looking o (1:14:12) There was a rumor that if you wanted to live and go back to the states, get with Lieutenant Wallace o (1:15:45) Knew he wouldn’t be a career officer, but knew he would spend some time at home, and then go back as a company commander if the war continued o (1:16:30) Knew he would have been rifted (1:17:35) Ended up with a job in US Customs o A lot of the guys who got into US Customs were former officers who had been “riffed”, demoted to enlisted rank (1:18:00) He got enjoyment out of a bad situation by collecting things o (1:19:10) Remembers writing Tricia Nixon a letter on her birthday o (1:19:32) Got a letter back from her o Often wrote to celebrities and different companies (1:20:19) At Ft. Lewis he got 30 days of leave o (1:20:55) Really liked Ft. Polk, asked to go there, nobody else requested it o (1:21:36) Became company commander of about 300 Vietnam Veterans that were going to get out of the service soon o (1:22:07) Mr. Wallace had to sell them savings bonds, also to bail them out of jail o (1:22:47) Did this from September 1970 to February 1971 then got discharged (1:23:11) When he was in Vietnam, he got some sort of foot fungus, but told them there was nothing wrong so he wouldn’t have to stay (1:23:25) Mentions that they used to get letters from school kids, so he stopped by the school � 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 WallaceB1281V Title A name given to the resource Wallace, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wallace, Robert Description An account of the resource Bob Wallace was born in Plattsburgh, New York and studied at a Jr. College in the state as well as University of Michigan. Mr. Wallace spent two years in Nigeria through the Peace Corps before finishing his degree. He got drafted in April of 1968. He received basic training and AIT at Ft. Dix, and then went to OCS at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Ft. Polk, Louisiana. He also went to Jungle School in Panama. He was assigned to Charlie Company as 1st platoon leader, 2/506 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Throughout his time in Vietnam, Mr. Wallace collected things such as branches from trees and it made the situation enjoyable. He did not experience many bad fire fights; they sometimes went 2-3 weeks without being shot at. Mr. Wallace's company went to Firebase Ripcord for a month and helped build its defenses. He had a rear job after 7-8 months in the field in which he communicated with every battalion and company regarding supplies. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (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 United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-10-06 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c7af6c8fd5c75c84ea059dc6a9a009cd.mp4 2cd624dd699d8597468a13880f78ba53 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0093b90870003614fa054de659fd7017.pdf b64719e5acb53f7ded45aff31a5c609a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Harold Wallace 47:30 Introduction (00:13)     Hank was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania on April 28, 1927. He attended Oil City High School, and two weeks after he turned 17, he graduated high school. Hank was too young to enlist in the military without his parent’s permission, so his parents sent him to Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania for one year. At the end of that year in April 1945, he enlisted in the United States Navy. Military Service (01:15)          Hank was sent to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for induction, and on Memorial Day 1945 he was sent to boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland. They were tested the first day there, and he was identified as a candidate for sonar school after he completed his basic training. His basic training consisted of obstacle courses, swinging on ropes, marching and running. The most difficult part for Hank was the survival training. During this time, he had to pass a swimming test that was two laps in an Olympic pool. The most difficult part for him was the water survival test. For this he had to jump off a twenty foot tower into the pool fully dressed except for shoes. Once they hit the water, they had to take off their shirt, tie off the neck and sleeves and use it to make a flotation device. Hank had to perform the action several times until he was able to pass it. (03:43) After that, they cancelled all the boot camp training and all of the secondary schools because the war in Germany was closing down. Once he completed boot camp, they were sent to Camp Perry, Virginia and stayed there for two weeks training on heavy equipment such as ditch diggers and cranes. They were then put on a train and four days later reached Port Hueneme, California. At the port, they waited for a full load to fill the troop ship, which took another two weeks. While there, the men were all required to have a job, so Hank chose to set bowling pins at the bowling alley. (05:56) They thought they were being shipped to Guam. On board the troop ship, they slept in cots that were stacked four high. The ship stopped at a little island named Eniwetok and once there, a man called four names, one of which was Hank’s. He was transferred to the USS Pavlik APD 70 (All Purpose Destroyer]. He was a deck ape, and for three weeks chipped the deck and painted. When they were out to sea and the water was calm, they were able to put a platform over the side of the deck and paint. (07:49) �                  While on board the ship, he met an officer that had attended the same college he did. The officer asked if he wanted to come and work for him. He was in charge of all the quartermaster facilities on board the ship, which included the supply closets, the stores, the dining menu and the laundry. (09:45) He had two other people working for him, and the office was very small. Hank worked as the disburser, who paid people on the ship. On the APD, they had a five inch gun on the front of the ship, and over the bridge they had batteries of Pom Pom guns, which were used primarily against aircraft. (11:46) The ship was also armed with depth charges. Hank volunteered to become a sight setter for the five inch gun. He controlled the wheels that adjusted windage and elevation. The ships mission was to patrol there section of the Pacific Ocean two hundred miles from Japan. They would pick up flyers that were coming back from bombing Japan and weren’t able to land. (13:58) His ship never picked up any flyers, but ships that were with them did. The ship carried a crew of 128 men. They were sent to Yokosuka Harbor six days after the war had ended. They weren’t allowed to dock on the land, so they attached themselves to a bell out in the harbor about 800 yards from shore. (15:43) The men became bored on their ship, and they could not go on land because it was not secure outside of the Army secured area. Still working as the disbursing man, Hank was shown inside the safe onboard ship that held $700,000. (18:30) After being there for several months, they wanted to acquire an empty warehouse on shore to turn into a recreational facility for the crew. The Lieutenant Commander onboard ship tried unsuccessfully, so Hank was given 72 hours to get one himself. So he sat down and wrote a letter to the Army, he later delivered it directly to General MacArthur’s Headquarters at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. At the office, he met a man he knew from back home in the states, who was now working as one of MacArthur’s aids. Fifteen minutes later he was given an order giving them permission to use the warehouse for as long as they were stationed there. (24:45) They had a ping-pong table and some card tables in the warehouse. They also bought some beer from the PX. Some men did some painting on the walls and they really fixed up the place. Most of the men only wanted small amounts of their pay, usually around $25. (26:55) Hank kept track of all the files about who got paid and how much they were given. Eventually they were able to travel around Japan. Hank visited Komikuri and saw the shrines and other religious sites around the area. (28:38) On one occasion he was able to go into a family’s home and he saw that the house was bare except for three rolled up mats in the corner that they slept on at night. They ate fish, rice and a soup made out of seaweed. (30:30) The exchange rate at that time was 15 Yen per dollar. Americans would take a pack of cigarettes and sell them to the Japanese and then take the Yen and have it converted into dollars. Later, a limit was put on the amount that could be converted. �           Communication was very bad in Japan at the time, and many people did not know the war was over. They were warned not to drink the whiskey because it may be the wrong alcohol. (32:45) At night, Hank would sometimes write letters for other sailors that couldn’t write themselves. (35:51) Occasionally they would set up a screen on the deck of the ship and show movies. By the end of July 1946, they were ordered back to the states. They traveled to Hawaii, then to Charleston, South Carolina by way of the Panama Canal. When they got there, they were told they were going to refurbish their ship. (38:05) Hank had to take all the money out of the safe and remove all the pay records and brought them to the Philadelphia Naval Command for an audit. At that point, Hank was given an honorable discharge. He served as SK3C (Store Keeper/Disbursal) and he was discharged on August 19, 1946. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom, along with all the other men that served with him at that time. When he was given his dog tags, they read: Hank G. Wallace, Service Number, Date of Enlistment, USNR, A (blood type). Luckily, he was never injured, because his blood type is not A. (40:30) The only souvenir that he brought home was the bayonet that fit on the barrel of his rifle. He was awarded the Atlantic Area and Pacific Area fleet ribbons. On December 7, 1945 two Japanese men swam from the shore and tried to climb up the lines that held them anchored. They were armed with knives, but the pair was discovered by the deck patrol and jumped off the deck and got away. Thinking Back (44:03)       Hank chose to join the Navy because he was so small (5’4”, 128 lbs.) he didn’t want to join the Army or Marine Corps and run into a big German and make him think that he had run out of men. He adapted well to military life, and he enjoyed the relationships that he had with his fellow serviceman. The food was surprisingly good, and Hank helped to come up with the menu. When the war ended, he was out to sea about two hundred miles from Japan. (46:10) After the war, he adjusted well back into civilian life. Shortly after returning home he reentered college. Hank learned in the service that people have to make the most of what you have. � 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 WallaceH1524V Title A name given to the resource Wallace, Harold (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wallace, Harold Description An account of the resource Harold was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania on April 28, 1927. After he graduated high school, he attended Allegheny College and later joined the United States Navy in April 1945. He was sent to Bainbridge, Maryland for basic training. Hank was stationed on the USS Pavlik in the Pacific and Japan and served as a supply and disbursing clerk. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wallace, Aidan (Interviewer) Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.) 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. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-24 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9107cdcaa9a3971f67aabaadf2047db5.mp4 9a1c226f17f1446622986308f613e78f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/566ba5c1d2e5401b785187a662ad69c6.pdf 1278f3cffbbdff50da8c62b2f6128dc3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Al Walker (1:41:54) (00:30) Background Information • • • • • Al was born in Pontiac, Michigan on August 17, 1949 His father worked for GM and his mother did assembly for Pontiac He remembered business slowing down in the 60s as many moved out of town to Waterford Township He had worked at an attendant nurse in a state hospital after high school Al then became a cadet in the police department (3:35) Drafted in 1966 [67?] • • • There was much social unrest and protests going on in the town After one round of riots, many young African-American men, including Al, were drafted Al had his induction physical and then went to Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan (7:55) Fort Knox in Kentucky • • • • • • This area was pretty laid back, with many men in civilian clothes and drinking beer There was not yet any organized training, but they were sent to a different part of the fort and it was much different Al’s previous police experience did not help him with the training He felt like he was surrounded by many people that did not want to be there There were some that were from the National Guard that were able to go home after training There was much physical training, working with weapons, marching, and guard duty at night (12:25) MOS: Armored Reconnaissance • • • • • Al became specialized in armored reconnaissance They traveled to New Jersey, Washington, and then to Alaska They left the US for Japan, via Guam, and then to Vietnam on civilian aircraft Vietnam was very hot and there were many different people walking around with weapons At night there were many sirens, rocket and mortar attacks (23:00) Reconnaissance • Al went on many missions at night, becoming a “tunnel rat” �• • • They would find the enemy in tunnels and even some Chinese people, which he had not expected There were many “booby traps” in the jungle to watch out for The Vietnamese set up many traps and mines at night and the Americans had to adapt to doing much of their work at night (29:40) Additional Tunnel Training • • • • • There was a big class sitting in bleachers They were brought into actual tunnels and told that they often contained snakes and scorpions There was an area near Saigon that was full of many tunnels that made up a huge network There were even tunnels directly under their base The tunnels were used to transport troops and supplies, to instigate attacks, for living quarters, and for hospitals (40:20) The Civilian Population • • There were many Montagnards in the highlands people who not Vietnamese and who did not get along with them They were very primitive and got along better with the French and the Americans (43:40) Snipers • • • Sometimes snipers would arrive on helicopters They never could tell the men their missions, but they were suspected of coming to assassinate important village leaders Al and other men often had to assist these snipers (48:50) Racism • • • Al felt that most people got along and worked together in the field, but separated and went their own ways once in the rear Many white men grouped together and the same with black men Some areas were still segregated, such as the showers and bathrooms (53:50) R & R • • • For entertainment, some areas contained make-shift bars Others would travel to Saigon, Bangkok, or Hawaii; Al went to Hawaii Yet once in Hawaii, some men would just take another plane back to the US and become AWOL �(57:10) Reasons for the War • • • • • • • The men were not exactly clear as to the reason for the war and what their objectives were Al often questioned why he was there He did not like fighting , but would do whatever it took to just get back home He is still trying to learn the purpose of the war and dealing with why he had to fight The men were told that they were liberating the people from communism and helping to spread democracy Al was in Vietnam from September of 1969 to September of 1970 The time helped him to build character and a strong work ethic, helping him look more towards the future (1:06:00) After the Service • • • • • • Al began working as an officer in the Police Academy He now wishes he would have spent some time relaxing and took a break from working During the war, it was really hard to be proud of being in the military Al was harassed in the US when he wore his uniform and preferred to wear his civilian clothes He feels that soldiers today get much more respect because of the problems that occurred during Vietnam The Army did not do much to help people re-adapt to civilian life (1:13:30) Pontiac Police Force 1973-1990 • • • • • Al had to first earn his associates degree from Oakland University Only about 10% of the officers were black He was working patrol, on major crimes such as suicide and homicide, and then became a detective Al retired early in 1990 after two heart attacks He became restless and began some electrical work for a while, and then finally retired for good � 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 WalkerA Title A name given to the resource Walker, Alford (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Walker, Alford Description An account of the resource Alford Walker, of Pontiac, Michigan, was drafted into the Army in 1967. Before being drafted, he remembers business greatly slowing down and much protesting and civil unrest. Al went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training, and then to New Jersey, Washington, and then Alaska before going overseas. While in Vietnam, Al went on many reconnaissance missions at night and also worked with the underground tunnel network built by the Vietnamese. After his time in the service, Al worked for the Pontiac Police Force. 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 United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American African-American soldiers Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-03-20 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives