29 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c524356262b598fb9523f3be4c46efd0.mp4 59dce9a926d08f38303877cc91ea3f03 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/99dbf1fa4910ee7323793ec4dd6d1e19.pdf 55f561d60d2522ee989d0c57fa888f5a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project George Sarros (00:21:31) (0:04) Enlistment • George enlisted three months after he had graduated from High school • He was in the service with four good friends, who were unlucky because they all ended up hurting themselves • He enlisted because he wanted to make money so he could attend college afterwards, yet he never did finish his college degree (1:40) Basic Training • They had to get up early every morning and work every day • Arms training was eventually incorporated • Lots of exercise • He would have like to have had better training (2:50) Korea • Went to a duty-station after basic training • Many men got moved around a lot • He was sent over to Korea by plane with a bunch of other men • He was sent back to the United States on a ship • Item Company, 3rd Battalion, First Marines • Experienced a heavy fire fight right when he first arrived • He had been pulled out of Korea and sent home early because the government was removing people from service (6:20) Combat • He had been in the front of the line, but was never wounded • He had received a machine-gunner assignment • When others called for support, he helped the rest of the men in his outfit • He had shot a couple of Koreans in the legs, but does not recall killing anyone (8:00) Time Spent in Korea • 1950-51; He was one of the first service men there • The time he spent in Korea seemed to drag on • They lived in something like tents and it was very cold out • They dug for holes wherever they went for safety positions (10:40) Korean Enemy • He and his men broke camp and secretly followed Koreans • They experienced small arm fire, but “clobbered” the Koreans • They were always busy doing something, protecting themselves and others �(11:00) Leadership • All his leaders did a good job • There were many good leaders, the Marine Corps was well taken care of • He had caused other troops to get angry at him because he had not been “in it all the way” • He never wasted time and was always quick to follow orders (12:40) The Korean Enemy • Spent time confronting Korean soldiers • They came across the Chinese many times • The Chinese were supporting the Koreans • The Chinese were more numerous during the later stages of the war (16:00) Friends/ Acquaintances Acquired While in Service • He does not have a good recollection of the men he served with • He has blanked many memories out because it was a bad experience and many people got hurt • Korea was not a pleasant situation � 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 SarrosG Title A name given to the resource Sarros, George (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarros, George Description An account of the resource George Sarros served in the Marine Corps from 1946-1951. He fought as a machine-gunner during the Korean War. He did experience combat with Koreans and the Chinese, but did not talk about much of his experience. He does recall being on the front line while he served in Korea. George said that many of his men were hurt and it was an unpleasant experience, so he blocked much of it out. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sarros, Alexander (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Marine Corps Korean War, 1950-1953--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 2007-05-28 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/0c4211f39b26763388ad5587637900c0.mp4 c1b1dab1286fd0b2039ff8e75ffdf500 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09992aa20f82e1aae650d9b679016f42.pdf 9bbd4abb90909f788c4d169f5b25925d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran History Project Dr. Jack Sanders (38:50) (00:25) Introduction • Born in St. Louis, Michigan • Lived in Alma most of his life • Able to skip to third grade because he knew how to read. • Played football in high school • Graduated high school in 1935. • Remembers the Depression and beginning of FDR’s presidency • Noted that FDR had development of B-24 bomber without any o.k. from Congress. • Immediate family did not suffer too terribly from Depression. (08:35) Recollections of 1930’s • Remembers reading translations of Hitler’s speeches. • Notes that a normal high school graduate would not have known who Hitler was in the late 1930’s. • The 1930 census asked Americans have heard a radio. • Very familiar with Civilian Conservation Corps efforts in Northern Michigan. • Noted that the Works Process Association was a lifesaver for many men; his high school received a new football field from their work. • Left Alma to go to medical school at 19 years old in 1935. (14:15) After College • Dropped out of medical school after a few weeks. • Taught high school in Vestaburg Michigan, at $900 a year. • One of the first high school coaches to coach a women’s team. (15:45) Pearl Harbor • Joined Army Air Corps in June 1941. • Instructing Air Corps trainees on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. • Air Corps was part of the Army, there was no Air Force until 1947. (17:05) Army Air Corps • No one had any training at beginning. • He had flying experience before joining corps. • Had to acquire his own military uniform. • He became an instructor immediately, joined on a Friday, and was instructing by Monday. • Before and during the beginning of the War, there were very few planes accessible to the Air Corps. • Most of his experience was in a B-17. • He taught others how to fly, but never saw combat of any sort. �He made several flights over the Atlantic to make deliveries of B-17’s to Europe. He would drop off the plane and have to find his own ride back to the United States. • The planes had no ammunition or bombing equipment on the flight to London to make room for the 500 gallons of fuel needed to make it across the Atlantic. (26:02) Medical Training • Because of his prior acceptance to medical school, they wanted to train him as a medic. • Army medical training let men have 4 years of medical school in less than three years. • Medical training occurred University of Michigan Medical School in June 1942. • He was serving his internship at Ford Hospital after medical school during the end of the war. • The advanced medical program only produced medics for after the war, none were certified by the end of the war. (29:40) Service After the War. • Rode hospital trains from one hospital to the next with patients following the war. • These trains would carry over 100 servicemen to military hospitals specializing in their condition. • The doctors had to keep patients who were destined for the Tuberculosis hospital near Boston from jumping the train, because they did not want to go. • The hospital trains catered to servicemen who had chronic conditions. (38:50) Life after the Service • Met his wife in Ann Arbor, after typing her thesis for school. • Nine months later they were married. • She passed away 14 years after their marriage. • He had 5 children with his wife before she passed away, ages 9-14. • Lived in Grand Rapids from 1947 until his wife passed. • Moved back to Alma in 1959, became head of medicine at the Masonic Home. • Became a Mason in 1962 and was a master during 1964-5. • Chief of staff at St. Mary’s and Senior staff at Butterworth and Blodgett hospitals in Grand Rapids. • One of the founders of Northwood University. • � 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 SandersJ Title A name given to the resource Sanders, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sanders, Jack Description An account of the resource Dr. Sanders entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the United States entered the war. Due to his previous medical training, the Army sent him through accelerated medical school training. However, he did not graduate from medical school until after the war had ended. He served in medical hospitals after the war had ended. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army. Air Corps 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 2007-06-29 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/03bd070f2750b6cf68aa08bf03fd59c9.mp4 d155022465b22c76d65b233c8d02b464 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fe272add63055ad91dbfee7f56cebb18.pdf cd3503ab0ce0daeb4fd568b9123ba5da PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Frank Sanborn (00:44:22) Hi, Frank, I am Charlie Collins and we are going to do an interview today with you about your experiences during World War II but more especially we are going to kind of review your whole life time. So what is your full name, Frank? Frank Earl Sanborn Okay. When were you born? (1:39) December 20, 1923. So you was within five (5) days of being a Christmas present? Right Do you remember much about going to grade school? Oh yes. Went I went to school we never got in trouble or nothing. We had fire drills and so forth and I forgot what year it was we had one Christmas time, I don’t know if you remember or not, the grass was green, no snow or nothing on the ground back in the thirties it was. Frank, where did you go to high school? Detroit Do you remember much about your high school experiences? Did you have any special friends there? Oh yeah. What kind of clothes did you wear? Well it was during hard times so we all wore hand-me-downs Did you live on a farm or did you live in the city? (2:52) I lived in the city. If I did something wrong my mother would use an iron cord and it would bite too you know. 1 �As you went through high school do you remember any special occasions and things that had happened, like maybe you got in trouble at school? Oh I never got in trouble too much. My grandfather use to make a and it was called white lightning you know and what happened one time was he was making the stuff in the house it kept bubbling on the stove and finally it blew up and he threw it out …”oh we got you now! Do you remember those days? Yeah I remember those days? I tell you people use to make home brew that? remember Frank, as you graduated…did you graduate from high school? Yes. Did you join the service then? 4:33 I got drafted. Well, when I was younger I worked at the CCC camp back in 1937. I think it was. I a worse outfit first I worked on road, then we use to fight forest fires and you know what they use to do? If I guy missed a they would make you wait until supper and make you all sit at a big table and the guys what we use to do to the sea captain, we would eat and when they blowed the whistle, if I was hungry, I would grab the first thing that I could get. “I’ll break your arm, he says!” Do you remember what kind of uniforms you wore at the CCC camp? Oh something like Army almost but it had CCC on the side. And where all did you go when you was in the CCC camp? Michigan up there. It is about….it is by Whitefish Bay. You can’t swim up there in the summer time, it is too cold. Yes it is? 6:09 The water is about 40 degrees. I can remember we had a forest fire and we were on the I was about fifty (50) miles from the Sault we didn’t do nothing bad. I served about six (6) month in the CCC camp. I got out and I didn’t have any job. Finally a guy says, heh…how would you like to work for me. I got a job as a plumbers helper. see. I can remember a year or a year and a half, I guess, I don’t remember exactly I got my draft 2 �notice, see, and I told him those people that you know I have to for a few people. They said what do you mean…well, I got the draft to go into the service. So what year was that Frank? Oh…..I am not too sure but it was close to the 40s I guess. So you were drafted before Pearl Harbor? 7:25 No…it was just about Pearl Harbor time. So it would be just about 1941 then? Yeah. Yeah…do you remember what Roosevelt said? I don’t remember the exact words but he said about the Japanese and Muskegon the kids all enjoyed it though So where did you go to boot camp? Ft. Bragg, NC, you know were you be a paratrooper. I wasn’t worried. I was never afraid of heights. So you trained as a paratrooper then? For a while yeah. I use to and finally they sent me to an ordnance school. I use to handle explosives, you now. You want me to tell you how we used to the airplanes? Sure? 8:43 This will make you laugh………we use to take an old mattress said that was no place for me to be so I got had to pull KP for several while then I got sent to the infantry. I said brother, you did me a big favor you know that. Finally well I took infantry training then and they fired live rounds over me…ya know that and I came back to the camp where I was at overseas and I said hey, jerk, come here I want to talk to you. He wouldn’t do it. That was the Chaplain? No….no…an officer. ???? Are you an ex-serviceman? No? 9:53 Well anyway this one guy from he was mean he made my buddies go on the drill field in 90 degrees..95 …..wearing over coats and wool sweaters and all that stuff. I got mad and 3 �the next morning I said, “buddy your day’s coming!” He said, what do you mean? I said you’ll find out. I got so mad one day I beat the hell out of him…I did. I don’t mean to talk that way but …heah I blew my top. As you finished boot camp, where did you go then? Well at the time, we went to New York for a while, you know…to school. What school was it you went to in New York? It was a trade school, it was communication and so forth. You learned communication at the school? Yeah. I could see the Empire State Building from and I went over there. Have you ever been over there? No. That is a thousand feet I guess, and you could see a long way up there. You know this building people thing when they put a building up it is straight, it has to sway a little bit, you know why? Otherwise it would make it snap. I don’t because It kept swaying back and forth than didn’t it? 11:39 Yeah you could see a long way up there. I was in one building in Detroit which was about five hundred feet (500’) off the ground. I use to get up on a ladder and go up about forty feet (40’) on the outside. I would make sure see and one morning I remember, my foreman said to me, “What a beautiful morning.” I said “Yeah sixty mile (60 mile) hour wind and when I went up it almost sucked me off the building I said I will go on home. He said No. After that…it made common sense you know. And I was washing windows. Someone told me that someone passed me by and I said I thought they did, but I wasn’t sure. I was up about forty stories up. Some guy jumped out of the window and hit the sidewalk. I seen what happened. I had to go home that day. I probably see he hit the cement about six (6) or seven (7) feet …I mean it took a long time for them to get rid of him. I don’t want to tell you someone said it turned your stomach. After you went to school in New York, where did you go then? 13:28 Oh we went back to North Carolina for a while and then we went to New Mexico. What did you do in New Mexico? We were pulling guard duty and we were getting 4 �Did you know that when you go to El Paso Texas, it is about 90 miles..the elevation as you are going along your ears start popping do you know that? Yeah People said…ahhh you’re crazy. I said I myself. In the summer time you could in the summer it was nice but in the mountains snow. After you was in Texas, what did you do then? 14:24 Then they had us guard a field and he said I want you guys to go out in the field, way …out about thirty miles…..and this guy and I ……. he was a coward I swear, do you know why? There were coyotes out there howling at night………….I couldn’t even Anyway, I told the sergeant I don’t want him out here with me. I said I didn’t get no sleep. Between him and the coyotes..you didn’t get any sleep……(laughing) No I build a fire...what kind of survival training was that After your training in Texas, what did you do then? Well, we were getting our orders to go overseas then. That same sergeant he cried like a baby. He says you guys hate my guts. I says, yeah. He told a major that these guys are going to throw me out the window. We had orders not to When you went over seas, how did you get there? By boat. Do you remember the name of the boat or ship? 16:03 All I can remember is it was a British ship. We shipped out of New York…near Staten Island or some place out there ..or something. A lot of guys were worried. You know what I told them? What did you tell them? I Boy they looked at me…they could have killed me, I swear…throwed me over board but you know what happened? We were over the water mark for two (2) weeks and we had and you would never believe it we had burnt beans think that wasn’t tough tomatoes and tea and bread And that is what you had when you went overseas? 5 �Yeah. Was the trip pretty rough? Oh it was all right. No radio silences all the way across. No lights on at night. We had to be careful you know. They could pick you off you know Did the ship sail straight or did it go in a zig zag pattern? 17:20 I can remember one night we I didn’t know where I was going to go see well then we went north and then I could see I told him that was Nova Scotia over there. How do you now? I says, I know. We were about twenty miles out across the ocean we had a escort us for a while. Oh they did huh? Yes We had a big convoy put together and then during the war time they had mines, you couldn’t see ‘em maybe they were six (6) or seven (7) feet underwater with a big chain and once and a while we had to shoot at it and blow it up. You would shoot at the mines and blow them up? Oh yeah….it had on the sides yeah…. Do you remember where you landed? Liverpool England You landed in Liverpool. I don’t know exactly what time of day but ………we had to take some other training again. I didn’t think of that. Well…we went on a train, I forget where it was …White Cliffs of Dover, I guess it was. We were on a Navy ship a crossed the English Channel. Okay 19:22 I think it was So now as you was crossing the English Channel was that after “D” Day or was that during “D” Day battle? Oh it was after “D” Day….I mean…yeah. So you arrived on the other side of the channel after “D” day. Where did you go then? 6 �In the Battle of the Bulge, I served in that too. You served in the Battle of the Bulge? Can you tell us about that. 20:14 It was winter time then, was it not? Yeah. I can remember they had like a big hill we went along. Some of the guys got shot like dogs, you know that. What you going to do I can remember one time I had in the foxhole with me one time and I had an unusual circumstance. A guy asked me “Would you shoot me and kill me?” I said, “no!” I just can’t doing it. I would be a murderer. I would never forget it the rest of my life, you know that. I said, “Hear is a gun, you do it yourself”…you know. I felt silly. I was liable to kill him. I would have gotten a dishonorable discharge; I would have went to a federal prison. That was in a foxhole in the Battle of the Bulge? He got injured bad enough that he wanted to kill himself. Yeah. I said you can shoot yourself ; I am not going to do it. Did he do that? No. He got better eventually. What got me is. We had a guy, I swear, I don’t care if I went to France, Germany, England, or anywhere, well we had one guy who was a real screw up, you know what he said? What did he do? 21:56 He got in a fight and put somebody through a window and You know what I told him I kinda looked at him in the face and I said …Oh no not again can’t you just stay out of trouble one and a while? Now during the Battle of the Bulge, what Division were you in? It was the 101st. Was that one of Rommel’s Divisions? [Ed. note: The interviewer really did ask this. Rommel was a German general, not American, and was already dead by this time as well.] Yeah So you went on that march with Rommel then in the Battle of the Bulge? Tell me about that. 7 �We went on……it wasn’t no picnic you know….I just said to myself, why am I here we had “K” rations and stuff you know and I see kids that were hungry over there and I gave my Spam or something. I bet that was food to eat then wasn’t’ it? Boy that was rough to it. Actually you ate “K” rations. It was too bad, but if you had You were in trouble. You were in real trouble then….(laughing) If you had false teeth, it would probably break ‘em. Fortunately back then you didn’t have false teeth. 23:51 You know what we use to do. Before you go in …..a…combat, you use to pull your teeth out, put then in a case….I didn’t see it but I heard about it. What they would do would be to right away. Did you ever hear of that? No I had never heard that. As you were in the Battle of the Bulge, where did you go after that? Did you follow the march into Germany? Can you tell us what kind of towns and terrains you went through? I went to Cologne, Heidelberg and places like that. Was you in the infantry at that time? Oh yeah. Did you go with the tanks and so on? How did you get to these places? Well, I was a foot soldier. You were a foot soldier. Did you encounter any battles during that time in Stuttgart and those towns? 25:03 It wasn’t like in the west you know. Those guys were sitting ducks out there you know. But we use to do over in Germany, we use to pull a raid up on then about 4 o’clock in the morning. We would shake the buildings all down with heavy ammunition and guns. We check all the buildings though. I can remember a guy was radio was come see…come sah…come see….com sah……he said After your travels in to Germany, do you recall the “VE” Day? Victory in Europe Day? 8 �Oh yes. Where were you then? You was in Heidelberg at the time Germany surrendered? Yeah and that was a beautiful feeling, you know that. Talking about “VE” Day, I can remember I seen planes by the thousands. So as “VE” Day happened, what did you do then? 27:01 Well we had occupation for a while then. You stayed in Germany as an occupation troop? Yeah During the time that was going on, what did you do there? Well, I use to cook for a while. I didn’t mind that. I use to say to myself, why did this have to happen, you know. It was so bad, I seen kids eating out of garbage cans, you know that. It touched my heart. Yes it would, wouldn’t it? Oh yes. I can remember some guys We have a We were standing around for a while. I told them, we’re not going to hurt you. They thought we were all murderers, you know that. We did alone. Do you recall where you were when the war was over in Japan? 28:32 I was in Germany. You were still in Germany? Did you hear about the atomic bombs being dropped? Well they told us. We didn’t know about it until afterwards. We all a couple of guns up in the air and started shooting straight up, you know….. Had a little celebration. As the war was over and you were in Germany. How long did you stay in Germany as one of the occupying forces? About three ______. 9 �You stayed that long? During that period of time, what did you do? Well, I learned a trade. You learned a trade again? And what was that? 29:31 Well, it was During your occupation time, how did the Germans react and how did they treat you? They hated us for a while you know. I can remember some kids were over there fishing. They use to use safety pins to catch fish. You know how we solved that? How did you do that? I threw four hand granades in the water and knocked the fish right out. If I tried that over there they would probably throw me in jail, you know that. They probably would, yes sir. I can remember, they had down in the water, there was about three (3) bushels of fish come up. The kids were grabbing them. Thank you…….I said sure. I don’t sound you know that? Frank, as you left Germany and came back to this country, do you remember what year it was? 30:46 I can remember from Germany, I forgot what they were, we took a convoy it was a long way over 200 miles and we went and it was clay and dirt and muddy. We got on the boat and it was we could believe there was a storm blowing like a gale, we had to stay at the dock for a week you know. So you stayed right there at the dock for a week while you road out this storm? Yeah and then one guy Yes, it does get rough out there in a storm. I can remember we went by Spain on one side and we could put fuel on the boat it took over nine (9) hours to load the boat full of fuel And what was it, a diesel ship. Was it a ship powered by diesel engines? 10 �I don’t know but that stuff was put was guess it is pre-heated. It took us all the way a crossed the ocean for two weeks. Now on your trip back a crossed the ocean was the weather after you road out the storm smooth? 32:44 Oh some times it was smooth and sometimes it was rough you know. Did you happen to get seasick? No. I got bored one day and I says, I got tired of looking at the water so I went down to the engineer room and helped them. You helped them in the engine room. You know what they said to me? What did they say? They said go get a nice meal, take anything you want and they said, do you want a drink. I said I don’t drink. You see when I ate the food sicker than a dog. And they wanted to give me that tells you how much they drink. A couple of them As you came back from Germany, where did you go then? We went across the ocean and when I got back, it was the day before Christmas Eve. You got back just before Christmas Eve. Do you remember what year it was? No. I can remember…… How did the ship smell ..do you remember that? 34:24 No. you’d better get out of the way, you now what I mean (did understand anything of this conversation) On arriving back in this country, where were you stationed then? We can into Chesapeake Bay then. I over the boat one day before that we had inspection to make sure everything was okay. I made a pig of myself I had all the ice cream, potato chips, I got sick out of it you know that. You got sick on ice cream and potato chips. They had a nice meal for us you know. A lot of guys got sick Did you stay in the service then? 11 �No. they wanted me sign over. I told them I wasn’t home much. I got a job waiting for me. Now you went back then to Detroit? Yeah. And where did you live? Were your married at that time, Frank? No. It was during war time, a lot of women wanted to get married to the guys while they are in service. Do you know about that? No tell me about it. Well, if he dies, they get the benefits. I can remember Johnny he went. He went in front of the firing squad and he told the guys, “Do a good job the first time.” It was heart breaking you know. I bet it was. 37:04 Some of the guys you know what touched me though, his wife went after all those war years, she didn’t get a dime. Really? Did you hear about that? That was probably worth a million dollars. But you didn’t get any of it? Why because on account of him? I felt sorry for her. She didn’t live very long after that. After you were discharged from the service and you came back to Detroit, what did you do? I use to be a plumber’s helper. I worked on these high rise buildings and I knew a lot about car too you know. I never was lazy. I tell you what they keep you in the dark about a lot of stuff, you know that. Sure they do. Well they don’t want you to learn too much or you’ll get their job. 38:29 and ballcock. I needed a new ballcock, right? Well those two (2) take it off. You go to the hardware store and get a washer for about fifteen cents (.15) and it would be as good as new. 12 �There you go. During your time that you were in the service, did you make any friendships that was lasting. Oh yes, I can remember one time over in Germany when I was pulling guard duty, the guys says, Heh… I said.He come on you seeso it was dark, I stood to one side where the bushes were. I made him put up his hands and I says, “halt” I made him drop his gun. I make him march to company headquarters. The sergeant says, ike hell… you’re a liar. Heh, I never had no more trouble with that. Yes, I bet you didn’t. After you were discharged and came back to Detroit, did you see any of the fellows that you were in the service with? Well there was some about ten (10) or twelve (12) years after the war time. I can remember I was only out of the service not even a week or two (2), a guy tapped me and you know what I did? I cold cocked him. I will tell you something else, I was sitting with my mother one time. You know we had ice blocks behind the refrigerator you know. And I forgot where I was at see, I got up. And and I told my mother I would myself. Did you join any of the veteran organizations after you got back? 41:02 Oh yeah…the American Legion. How about the VFW? No. Just the American Legion then? These guys that served in Viet Nam I think they got a raw deal you know. I think they did too. They called them baby killers and murderers and what have you. People use to spit in the face. You ask the guys from Viet Nam by the river Did you take any schooling when you got back on the GI bill? 41:53 I worked on the GI Bill. Yeah. I got paid for that you know. Sure. I wasn’t sorry. I could show you some short cuts on math if you want me to. Well, Frank, when did you get married? 13 �I waited a while. I was 35 years old….. You were 25 or 35 years old? 42:27 35 and I tell you what, my wife was a nice person for a while. She got with the wrong crowd. She started drinking. I was working washing windows and a man come over there how come I didn’t get paid? I said, well I gave my wife the money if you get your wages guaransheed I said fire me then. You now what I told my creditors? I said, “If I get fired, I am not going to get another job and you’ll never get a dime out of me.” So they went along with me. I worked two (2) jobs. I did pay them off eventually. all before my name was mud. My wife caused me a lot of grief and hardship, I swear. I had a little money in the bank and all. I said, I don’t want to know what she’s got. Give her a chance….I gave her seven (7) changes. I couldn’t take anymore. I had a boy and a girl. You now that she is sorry for what she did though. I beat the hell out of a guy. I had to a lot of crap for her you know.You now I miss her. Her mother use to hen peck her husband. You know what hen peck is you know. Yes I do. Frank, how long have you been in the home here? About nine (9) years. And do you like it? Oh yeah, I made a lot of friends here. You made a lot of friends here. 44:22 When some of the guys got sick and they choked, I helped them out. Good. Well, Frank it has been an enjoyable time and we appreciate your efforts and all the traveling we had to do this morning. This makes me hungry. Could I ask you a question? Sure. 14 � 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 SanbornF Title A name given to the resource Sanborn, Frank (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sanborn, Frank Description An account of the resource Frank Sanborn served in the 101st Airborne Division during WW II. He joined the division as a replacement prior to the Battle of the Bulge, and fought in that campaign and in Germany in 1945, staying on for some time in Germany as part of the occupation forces. 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives 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/b34a8730168e7e59e2069fac1e008523.mp4 925338af6360c452ddbb938aa03b89db https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2c577eb9ff46e906ed4fa418aa1c7637.pdf 96383f44b46ef30203b6f6fb88efe7b6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Korean War Robert Samuels Length of interview (34:05) (0:12) Background Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan 1930 moved to Grandville, Michigan at age 10 (0:29) Dropped out of high school during 10th grade year (0:46) Not much recollection of World War II except it ending on radio (1:05) Worked in construction building houses (1:18) Joined Marine Corps with friend in 1948 (1:28) Went to Detroit, Michigan to take a physical before joining (1:43) (1:43) Active Duty Took train to Parris Island, South Carolina for basic training (2:09) Marine Corps buses picked them up from train station (2:30) Right from the start, yelled at and had to hustle everywhere (3:06) Didn’t know much about Marine Corps before joining (3:20) Received weapons training and vigorous physical exercises (4:01) Trained on M1 Garand rifle (4:20) Pretty easily adjusted to training, got him inn shape (5:00) Most of the soldiers were enlisted, not many drafted (5:35) Sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for water training for six weeks (6:00) Military Occupation Specialist (MOS) was water supply (25:06) Learned how to distill salt water and purify fresh water (6:20) Did several training missions, practiced amphibious landings (7:11) Assigned to an engineering battalion at Camp Lejeune (8:30) On free time went to Jacksonville, North Carolina; people didn’t like the marines (9:00) When he joined the Marines were still segregated (9:10) Started to desegregate the troops while there; had a black friend (9:55) (10:15) Korea In July 1950 told that they were shipping out to Korea (10:33) With engineering unit until he arrived in San Diego, California (11:37) Took sixteen days to arrive in Korea; was sea sick whole time (12:13) Served with Easy Company 2nd battalion 7th Marines in Korea (13:38) 5th marines had landed first so there wasn’t a lot of resistance (14:02) Always on the move, went to Seoul, Korea to run missions (14:30) Shipped from Inchon to Wonsan, before heading to North Korea (14:41) Marched all the way from South Korea up into North Korea (15:07) Encountered minimal resistance along the way; took several weeks (15:48) Arrived at Chosin Reservoir and dug in, outnumbered 15:1 (16:44) Usually before firefight, they were bombarded with mortars (17:23) Enemy mostly attacked at night; position didn’t hold (18:21) �Received Browning Automatic Rifle when he joined Easy Company (19:04) Had some trouble with the rifle, it would jam and have to be cleaned (19:26) Company mostly held defensive positions against the Chinese (20:30) Was close enough to Chinese that he could clearly see their faces (29:00) Felt kind of sorry for the dead Chinese they were mostly children (29:15) Chinese weapons were very different from the American weapons (29:45) (20:35) Injury Due to winter conditions, feet became frostbitten (20:41) Had good medical care while injured (28:01) A lot of guys in the hospital had legs taken off due to frostbite (28:34) Flown out of combat to South Korea (21:03) Went on hospital ship to Japan and then back state side (21:15) Still had time to serve, chose to serve in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (22:06) Served as honors guard for the dead being brought back (22:22) Seeing all the dead bodies, wondered how he got out alive (23:07) Barely saw civilian population or South Korean army while in Korea (23:47) After Philadelphia, went back to camp Lejeune for water supply (24:50) Stayed there for two years until his honorable discharge (25:33) Asked to re-enlist for six more years; offered $6000 (25:35) (25:45) Post Service Discharged from the Marine Corps in 1952 (26:07) Worked for a place that built baking equipment until retirement (26:40) Moved back to the grand rapids area and stayed there for rest of life (27:11) Hard to readjust to civilian life and took some getting used to (27:30) Eventually got involved in veteran support groups (32:00) Not many people were interested in his story and he kept it to himself (32:25) Joined the legion post and then the Veterans Foreign Wars (VFW) post (32:45) The Korean war is often known as the forgotten war (33:25) � 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 SamuelsR1382V Title A name given to the resource Samuels, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Samuels, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Samuels was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1950 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1948. He trained at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he learned water purification processes. When the Korean War started in 1950, he was sent to Korea and served as a BAR gunner with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He served with that unit at Inchon and Seoul, and then in the invasion of North Korea. He fought in the Chosin Reservoir battles until he was airlifted out due to bad frostbite. He was treated in Japan and then sent back to the US, where he served out his enlistment in Philadelphia and finally back at Camp Lejeune. 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 United States. Marine Corps Korean War, 1950-1953--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 2012-05-17 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/6d058545ad7a86dd198fc287cb2f160d.mp4 ef4576d2380d52264573b06515c0a3c3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/051fa7119b591300fc0f9c4ec9302567.pdf 99cf515f66d55a3eb2ad7aa869187a09 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project John Salistian Jr. (00:44:16) (18:00) Detroit Michigan • Born March 20 1947 • Remembers serial number, RA#16926237 • Father John Salistian • Mother Mary Salistian • Sister Diane Salistian • John grew up in Warren Michigan • Went to Warren Fitzgerald Junior High and High School • (2:10) Played saxophone in the band-very interested in music • John says his IQ 176 • Graduated with a 3.9GPA-didn’t study (4:00) University of Michigan 1966 • Music Major • John talks about his study habits and he bowled with his father on a league at 13 years old (13:50) Army • John joined the army to stay out of Vietnam • Basic training was at Fort Knox, Kentucky • Shipped to Fort Benjamin, Indianapolis Indiana played in the 74th Army Band • Performed in ceremonies and parades while in the Army • (16:05) Received orders to go to Vietnam • Use to pay people to take his guard duty • Didn’t like to eat in the mess hall-he says he would for breakfast but made his own dinner (20:15) Came home from Vietnam • John went back to the University of Michigan • He said many people spit on him when he was there • (22:20) Performed at Carnegie Hall in 1970 • Traveled around the country playing his saxophone with different symphony groups • (24:40) Taught at the University of Michigan, Hilldale College, etc. • John states he is penniless and destitude • Has been with girlfriend Becky for 3 years • (30:05) John is currently living at the Veterans home �� 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 SalistianJ Title A name given to the resource Salistian Jr., John (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salistian Jr., John Description An account of the resource John Salistian Jr. was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He had a passion for playing his saxophone before the war and during the war. He enlisted to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and wound up being sent there anyway. He has never married and doesn't have the fondest memories of serving in the war. His reception on returning to college was also not a good one. 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 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 2007-01-08 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/a896a9dcd799fdb8191255101595450d.mp4 1e07097c0399dd4c533ef2537269ea1b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/934853074d5cd932568b5dd72a07b5df.pdf 5a2a9f3cc371290599c12a4ac30deca3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Brian Sager (40:42) Background Information (00:22)      He was born in approx. 1978 and was raised in Brown City, Michigan, where he attended and graduated high school. (00:22) After graduating high school, Brian joined the Marine Corps reserve. (00:35) At this time Brian was also enrolled at Western Michigan University. He thought the reserve was the best way to start his military career and still reach his academic goals. (00:40) He was to enlist in the Army before the Marines. He was convinced to pursue the Marines after a recruiter visited his school. (00:55) Brian intended to go into the Combat Engineers. (2:30) Basic Training (2:53)          19 days after graduating high school Brian was sent to basic training on June 19th 1996. (2:55) He attended basic training in San Diego, California. (3:12) On September 13th 2006, Brian graduated from his Marine training. (3:35) After Boot camp he attended Marine Combat Training (MCT) at Camp Pendleton California. This training lasted 1 month. (3:45) After MCT, Brain attended engineer school on in Courthouse Bay in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (4:10) The first weekend of January in 2003 Brian was informed that his unit had been activated. The men were shocked by the news. The men were officially on active duty on January 13th 2003. (4:54) After being informed of his unit’s activation, Brian and his fellow men were given 4 days leave before being deployed. (6:17) The Men flew out of Camp Pendleton and arrived in Kuwait on February 8th 2003. (7:21) The plane stopped in Finland and Germany before arriving in Kuwait. (8:00) Service in Iraq (8:11)      Once stepping of the plane Brian first noticed the heat. (8:11) After arriving, the men settled in while efforts were made to resolve the situation diplomatically. The soldiers knew that this effort would not work. (8:57) Brian’s unit was attached to the 1st Marine Division. (10:03) On March 15th the men moved to Breach Point West along with approx. 30,000 Marines. (10:25) The Marines thought that Saddam was to blow the banks of the Saddam Canal and flood the southern portion of Iraq. Because of this the men came with easily accessible bridges and boats. (11:00) Invasion of Iraq (12:37)  The day of the first offensive the men spent preparing for the move. (12:44) �                Due to the launching of Scud missiles, the men were warned 15 minutes prior to put their gas masks on. The men were able to hear the missiles before they could see them. (13:15) Patriot missiles eventually took out the Scud missiles before they reached the Marines. (14:15) Brian was in a trench at the time of the attack. He fell asleep here until he was woken at 1 AM by U.S. artillery fire. (15:15) The men then traveled the rest of the night in trucks towards Iraq. The second night of the fighting is when Brian crossed into Iraq. (16:04) For the next several days, the men were confined to their vehicle. (16:34) On the 6th or 7th day of fighting Brian approached Nasariyeh, Iraq. (18:07) While traveling through Nasariyeh the men opened fire on a house after hearing fire. This was the event that made the conflict seem very “real” to Brian. (19:18) North of the Euphrates River, Brian had his unit assigned to make a highway accessible to both military vehicles and supply trucks. A sand storm hit while doing this task. (21:47) Due to lack of visibility, the unit was ordered to stand down for approx. 4 hours. (24:14) At 11 PM the storm began to let up. At this time the bridge and road repairs were completed. (25:13) The Army requested an operational pause for 2.5 days. Shortly after moving Brian was tasked out with building 2 river bridges over the Tigris River. (26:00) One of the bridges put up was 155 feet long and designed to support an M1A1 Tank(27:46) After completing the bridge and guarding if for a short period, the unit was retrograded back to Camp Coyote. (29:00) Men often encounter military men dressed in civilian clothes or rebellious civilians. (30:10) On May 10th 2003 President George W. Bush declared major combat operation in Iraq. At this time Brian returned to Kuwait because his unit was simply used to build bridges. (31:18) The men stayed in Kuwait for 2 months before returning to California on July 3rd 2003. (31:38) Life in Iraq (31:56)   After placing the bridge in the Tigris River the men had some down time. In this down time the men played a lot of cards. The favorite game was spades. (32:04) He was glad that he was never placed in high stress situation, Brian appreciates the service of those who did. (33:12) Life after Service (34:10)        The men did believe that the marines had “kicked ass.” In spite of this, he believed that the nation lost sight of what the military did. (34:10) In retrospect, there was no sound reasoning for the invasion of Iraq. (35:18) He believes, at the time, that the invasion was needed, in particular to cope with 9/11. (35:26) He found more support amongst fellow veterans than his non military friends after returning home. (36:16) In the Dominican Republic, Brian assisted in building bridges for humanitarian work. (37:00) Brian’s unit received the Reserve Ribbon, Iraq Camping Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Ribbon and National Defense Ribbon. (37:37) Brian’s active combat contract was up when he was sent to Iraq. He chose to remain in service because if he was to be sent into duty he wished to remain with his original unit. (38:57) � 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 SagerB1366V Title A name given to the resource Sager, Brian (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sager, Brian Description An account of the resource Brian Sager, born in Brown City, Michigan, in 1978, served in the Marine Corps Reserve starting in 1996. After training in San Diego and at Camp Pendleton, California, he was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to train as a combat engineer, and then went home. He was still in the Reserves in January, 2003, when his unit was activated and sent to Kuwait. His unit participated in the invasion of Iraq in March, 2003, and built several bridges over the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers before being sent back to Kuwait and then home again. Since then, he has gone to the Dominican Republic to build bridges for humanitarian work. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Laciha, Tyler (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. Marine Corps Iraq War, 2003-2011--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 2011-11-02 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/7bbe0514beb81b99536cb3fe801de259.mp4 0c402b55deb83744e8bd89acbb2f4119 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a51666068b59afd8ee830b49e51c389b.pdf 4b7a9a519875250b2dd2ee3bf04ef1fb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ralph Hawley Safford (00:59:57) (00:14) General Background • Born in Ionia county on July 14, 1918. • His father was a farmer. • He can remember helping his father in the fields. • Drove a horse and buggy to school. (19:55) Stock Market Crash • Remembered his dad being upset at the news. • Family fared well; they grew everything on their own farm. (21:00) Graduation • Graduated with a class of six people. • Worked on family farm for a couple of years after high school. (22:00) Diesel engine • Participated in a diesel engine correspondence course. • Had to go to Detroit for two months for practical education. • Continued working on the farm until he was 21. (23:55) Enlistment • Enlisted in Grand Rapids, November 4, 1941. • Joined the Air Corps. • Sent to Detroit after enlistment for physical. • He was then sent to Fort Custer for more medical training. • Arrived at Keesler Field, a brand new Army Air Corps facility, near Biloxi Mississippi. (30:28) Keesler Field • Brand new barracks that had no heat. • Woken up at 3:30 in the morning and had five minutes to get ready. • The men had to furnish their own transportation; there was no mass transportation for the troops. (32:28) Tape is stopped, begins in the middle of another story (35:33) Air Corps Continued • Serving at Keesler field when the news of Pearl Harbor came through. • His friends and he were on their way to Mardi Gras when they heard the news at the train station. • The mood at Keesler field was very somber and routine after the attack. • He attended classes on aviation and mechanics on the Keesler base. • One of his instructors at Keesler field was his instructor in Detroit at the Diesel program. (45:00) Trip to the Northeast • Once mechanical training was complete, they were sent to Buffalo, New York. • Stayed in the Elks Club while in Buffalo. �Went through Rolls-Royce plant to see how the engines were manufactured. From there the men were shipped to Mitchell Field, Long Island, NY. The men slept in an air hanger, during an Army enforced blackout. Sent to Stratford, Connecticut to work on the air field. The men were paid $21 a month. Worked as a crew chief for a P-40 aircraft. Ivan Sikorsky was doing experimental helicopter work in the same area the men were serving. They were able to watch him do maneuvers most of the day. Disc Two. • • • • • • • (00:05) Connecticut Continued • Served in Connecticut in 1942. • Worked on P-47 in addition to P-40’s • Sent to East Hartford Connecticut to learn about the P-47 Thunderbolt Engine. (15:25) Queen Elizabeth • The ship rode alone, without a convoy. • The trip to England took seven days. • Early 1943. • Landed in Scotland. (19:10) Scotland and England • Landed in Scotland in a railroad yard in early 1943. • Took train all night and stopped at Kings Cliff, close to Peterborough, England. • Lived in small barracks with dirt floors, then found there was linoleum floor underneath, cleaned it and had nice barracks. • Were not affected by German bombing on Britain. • Most of the planes were flying maneuvers at first, learning how to fly combat. • Most pilots were in early twenties. (29:45) Hamsworth and Boxstead Air Fields • No heat in facilities. • Close to English Channel, beginning combat maneuvers. • Late 1943. • Sent to Boxstead, even closer to the English Channel than Hamsworth. • 44th maintenance crews, fixed planes that were too badly injured for combat. • 61st and 62nd maintenance crews provided maintenance for combat planes. • Planes out of Boxtstead airbase provided protection for bombers flying over the channel. (35:50) D-Day operations • June 1944. • Told to prepare the planes the day before the invasion. • Had to paint all of the planes with “invasion stripes” of black and white in one afternoon. 37:12 Break in Footage 37:15 After War • Autographed photographs and met people. �• Went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to visit military museum. (40:00) D-Day until the end of his service • Stripes were used to identify “friendly aircraft.” • Finished work at 11:30 p.m. the night before D-Day. • 12:30 a.m. the men were woken up to ready the planes for invasion. • 3 missions flew out of base on D-Day. • Remembers the weather being bad, but better than days before it. • Pilots would come back to base and tell mechanics about the fighting. • Many of the planes would come back with skin damage, had to be repaired before the plane went up again. The pilots would change from one plane to another while one was being repaired. • Stayed in Boxstead permanently until he left the war. • Pilots from his airfield were held prisoners by Germany for about a year, until Soviet soldiers liberated them. (59:17) After his service • Took the Queen Mary back to the United States. • Sent to Fort Kilmer. • Separated from crew at Indian Town Gap in Pennsylvania. � 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 SaffordR Title A name given to the resource Safford, Ralph Hawley (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Safford, Ralph Hawley Description An account of the resource Ralph Hawley Safford entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was educated in mechanics and engine work and used this training to work on aircraft from the Army Air Corps. He repaired fighter aircraft in England, and was working during the D-Day attack. 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 2007-05-22 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/004707e99425d2c9cebaf035aae3f190.m4v e2e12ccca3918eb0b5d2d2830d278253 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7bacbc2b2fc0b0d414e4fc9bd4a9ead0.pdf ec7ab45b135c4f3279d438a176a93c36 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Ronald Sabin, Jr. Length: 23:25 (00:30) Background Information      Ronald was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and has lived there his entire life He went to Kentwood high school and graduated in 1980 Ronald’s father was a carpenter and his mother stayed at home After graduating from high school Ronald began taking classes at Davenport College for accounting and began working for Hayworth He joined the Air National Guard in 1981 because they were in need of firefighters and he had always wanted to be a firefighter (2:25) Training      Ronald was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for the summer and it was very hot The training was more mental than physical and it was not too rough on him Ronald went through basic training for 8 weeks and then another 8 weeks of basic fire fighting training They were working on putting out fires on aircraft and structural fires also There were only about 20 men in the class (5:30) National Guard      After training Ronald was sent back to Michigan and was then under the supervision of the local fire chief He spent 1 weekend a months and 2 weeks a year on more training and exercises for 10 years Ronald got to know many local men he was working with and they all got along well He continued working on fire fighting with all different types of aircraft through advanced training and many men washed out He traveled to many different Air Force bases in areas like Germany, England, and Florida (12:05) Called Up for Service  Ronald had later became a fire fighter in Grand Rapids and received a call from his chief when his 10 years of service were almost up � He had not received much information on the call, but just knew that he was supposed to hurry to the station  Ronald was pretty sure he was being activated; it was near the year that Iraq had invaded Kuwait, but the US had not yet gotten involved  In October of 1991 Ronald was sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan to receive shots and go through paper work (15:30) Osceota, Michigan  The men later found that they were not going to Iraq, but to an Air Force Base in Oscoda  The fire fighters from that base were actually being sent to help in the war and the men in the National Guard were to serve as their replacements while they were gone  They worked 72 hours a week on crash, fire, and rescue  It was nice to stay in Michigan and have days off for Ronald to visit his family  They were training with B-52s, 135s and a few Canadian aircraft that visited  They had a lot of continued training and everyone followed the war very closely while they were there  A few B-52s from the base were sent to Iraq and did not return for 5 months (20:25) End of Service  Ronald was scheduled to be done with his service in the National Guard, but was told he would have to wait a little longer because of the war  The National Guard provided him with excellent practical training that helped him with his career working as a fire fighter in the city  Ronald is able to pass on what he has learned to younger firefighters that he works with � 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 SabinRJr Title A name given to the resource Sabin, Ronald Jr. (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sabin, Ronald Jr. Description An account of the resource Ronald Sabin, Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Air National Guard in 1981. Ronald went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for 8 weeks and then went through advanced firefighter training for another 8 weeks. After training Ronald began working as a firefighter in Grand Rapids until he was called up for service in October of 1991. He had though he was going to be sent to Iraq, but was actually sent to and Air Force base in Oscoda, Michigan to serve as a replacement firefighter for others that had been sent to Iraq. 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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. National Guard 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 2009-06-09 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/7c448bd6109777e1110f003162920563.mp4 6026e62d4bee69de85ae38ee00fbffd4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0cc03e07826d4a3048a4a14698ddec98.pdf 2502c099a3139ed6bf042db7f72fad62 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Name of Interviewee: Tony Urbon Length of Interview: 00:58:50 Background  He was born in Grand Rapids in 1917.  His dad was a barber.  He dad asked him what he wanted to do with himself. He did not want to work in a factory, so he went to barber school.  He did not finish high school. In his senior year, he was not too crazy about school.  He would go to barber school in Detroit. He had to complete so many days and so many hours and since he went full time he completed the required training in four months.  From there he would work under a licensed barber for two years. He could not run a barber shop by himself. He could take over the shop for a couple of hours, but not longer. He had to put in so many hours there as well.  He would be an apprentice for the barber shop for in Grand Rapids.  He would complete his apprenticeship and he would work for different barber shops.  In 1940, the National Guard unit from Grand Rapids was beginning to mobilize. He had friends there who tried to talk him into joining them, but he would not.  He would receive his draft notice in April 1941 and was then sent to where the National Guard Units were, in Camp Livingston, Louisiana. [He joined the 32nd Infantry Division, of which the 126th Infantry Regiment was made up of men from West Michigan.]  When he got his draft notice, he was asked to go to Alaska, but he was sent to Louisiana. Training (6:25)          When he got to Louisiana, they asked him what he was doing there. He said that his neighbors sent him there, not his friends. He was with a band, because he could play an instrument. He wanted to be in the band so he did not have to go to the front. They wanted him to learn how to shoot a Browning Automatic Rifle. That is a pretty big gun. He did a lot of the regular basic training, like the marching and the drilling. He was there for 3 months. While he was there, he had to go to the rifle range to learn how to shoot the Browning Automatic. When he joined the band, he would play the trumpet and the tuba. While he was down there, he was allowed to go off base and explore the town. However, the base said that if Japan was to attack, that they needed to hurray back to base as fast as they could, even if it meant taking a cab. The cab fare would be paid for by the military and the soldiers did not have to worry about the bill. �           When Pearl Harbor happened, he was off playing in the band at a football on the military football team they had there. They finished the football game and headed back to camp. From there, they were to go to Lake Pontchartrain, where they were stationed. When the division was ready to move, they went to Boston. He thought they were going to Europe, but instead they got on a train and went all the way to San Francisco. From there they were sent to Australia. While in San Francisco, they stayed at the Cow Palace. They took a ship out of the US. It was a Lurline. They had three or four bunks to each room. He had never been on a big boat before and he thought he was going to get seasick, but he never did. The waves were pretty high, but he managed to stay ok. When they crossed the date-line, they had a celebration. When they crossed the Equator, some guy asked him to shave his head so he could be like a bald headed guy. So he still got to be a barber sometimes. He used to cater to officers before the war started. One officer asked if he would take a couple days out of the week. He said that he would. Then the officer told him that he would have to do KP and other things, not just cut hair, so he said no. When he was on the ocean crossing, he was in a convoy and they did a lot of zigzagging. He thought they would land in Hawaii but they went straight to Adelaide, Australia. Australia and New Guinea (18:00)              The people there were friendly. He remembers that the soldiers coming into town by train did not want beer; they wanted a cold fresh glass of milk. He would play with the band for the Australians and the soldiers. He remembers seeing the soldiers coming back from combat and they could barely lift their feet. However, once the band started playing, they got up right away. He was in Adelaide for a while, but eventually he was put on a train and was sent to Brisbane. When he was going from place to place, he had to get off one train going out of one province and had to get on another in a different province. The tracks were different sizes. He would finally make it to Camp Cable. He would continue playing in the band, while the regular soldiers had more training. Once they were done there, they would go to Melbourne, Sydney and then up the coast to New Guinea. They would travel by boat to get to New Guinea. He would land at Port Moresby, New Guinea. He would play in the band in New Guinea as well. While other troops were in the mountains, he would go up into planes and he would kick out rations and supplies to them. It could be dangerous. One time a man tried to push supplies out of the plane and they got stuck on the back of the plane, causing it to crash and the man was killed. �             Going in the plane was strictly a volunteer mission. He figured, if that guy can go over the mountain, he could certainly bring supplies to him. Pushing supplies out was a two man job. One would push the supplies out and another would push the supplies down so as to not have it catch on the back of the plane. After the men made it over the mountains, he would go to the airstrips near Buna and gather injured and dead men and take them back to Moresby so they could be put in a hospital. It took the guys 45 days to walk over there, and it took the planes 45 minutes to do the same. He would take sick people and dead bodies back. He doesn’t know which one was worse. When got back to Port Moresby, he would help unload ships as fast as he could. While he was there, the Japanese would attack Port Moresby occasionally. They would send planes to bomb the port. He would have some close calls. If you were going to the latrines or what not, all you do is try to find your way back. It is difficult because you don’t know where the noise is coming from or even if it is enemy fire. (28:30) One time, during the night, an officer was coming through and telling the soldiers that the tanks were pulling back, but he wanted them to try to hold the line. He thought to himself, if tanks can’t stop them, then how am I supposed to? This was in the Philippines. While he was in New Guinea, he did not really pay much attention to what was going on. He just followed orders. When he was loading casualties, he doesn’t think he knew any of them. After the New Guinea campaign, the soldiers were taken back to Australia. Australia and the Philippines (31:25)              He had a girlfriend in Australia. She was a nurse. While he was in Australia, he just played in the band some more. They were on one of the islands there for a whole year. While he was there, he did get malaria. He tried to get help, but they said that he only had the flu. Later on, when he went home, his parents and wife would take care of him. He never got to see any really important people while he was there. While he was in the Division, Eleanor Roosevelt came to visit. He had heard that she came in, but never saw her himself. He was on three different islands while in the Philippines: Mindoro, Luzon, and Leyte. He would only spend time in New Guinea and the Philippines. His first stop Leyte. On his way there, a Japanese plane made a suicide dive to bomb the ship. He and the others would get on a barge that would take them to the island. He was closer to the fighting in the Philippines. The people in the band were allowed to have 15 bullets. He figured that if he was going to shoot, he would make sure that he was going to hit somebody. �                He just had the bullets; he never had to use his rifle. He would eventually get some hand grenades as well. Life in the Philippines was hot and humid. A lady came back here in the US asked him if it was as humid there as it was here, and he said that she did not know what humidity was. They were very near the equator then and it very humid. There was nothing he could do to cool off. Maybe you went into the ocean, but that wasn’t very cool either. Instead, you just got used to it. When he was on New Guinea he did see some of the natives. (43:10) They used to tell them not to cater to the natives, because they eventually got to learn which food was good and which was bad. Then they would only help for the good food. He mostly dealt with men, and did not see much of the women and children. The men mostly helped with manual labor. They were told to pay them for their work, but don’t spoil them. When he was in the Philippines, he saw quite a few of them. Again, mostly men and not women and children. They were told the same thing in New Guinea about spoiling the natives. While in the Philippines, they stayed in hammocks. They used to tell him, don’t sleep on the ground. Sometimes you were so tired, you fell asleep before your head hit the ground. He was told not to sleep on the ground because of the bugs and other critters. He never had any problems with that. While he was on a barge, traveling to another island, he actually witnessed a man falling asleep while walking. He was also ordered not to help anyone up if they fainted. Instead the medical team had to take care of them. The war would end when he was at home. He would leave the Philippine in May 1945. Going Home (49:30)    He got to go home because he had enough points. There were men in his unit that got to go home before he did. He got home in July 1945. Post Duty (51:30)     After getting back home, he went back to work as a barber. He would stay in that line of work. He was still cutting guys hair while he was in the service, during his spare time. It was difficult sometimes and it was easier to just let the hair grow. When he was in Australia, he wanted to get his barber tools sharpened up. When he asked for a pass, the guy said he didn’t need one. While in town, he was asked to show his pass. Since he didn’t have one, he was put in a three different guard houses in three different days. �    When he finally got back, the guys thought he either went AWOL or was in the hospital. They looked for him. He felt that that he was the same as before he joined the Army. While he was New Orleans, he would want to go into a bar that had a cover charge. They got around that by saying that they were looking for his buddies. So they let him in. Some of the guys would get drunk, but most of them stayed out of trouble. � 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 UrbonT Title A name given to the resource Urbon, Anthony (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Urbon, Anthony Description An account of the resource Tony Urbon was born in Michigan in 1917 and drafted into the army in April 1941. He was sent to train with the 32nd Division, which included the National Guard regiment from his area. He was a musician and served with the division's band. His division went to Australia in 1942, and then to New Guinea. During the Buna campaign, the band members worked on transport aircraft delivering supplies to the combat units and ferrying back dead and wounded soldiers. After Buna, they returned to Australia, and then went back to New Guinea and to the Philippines. 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 2011-02-04 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/0fd1dba8e5119bee5c0057c1bd86afb6.mp4 696c9ac67b5a92f296dc84346f938df5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/089437fb4d0a09d9ea75b4992b7519b3.pdf aaf8b66980d72ed07254d8b47930eba7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Garry Underwood Vietnam War Interview Length: (01:59:35:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:26:00)  Underwood was born in Jackson, Michigan in March 1946, although his family lived in the small village Eden, Michigan (00:00:26:00) o While Underwood was growing up, his mother was a stay-at-home mom and his father worked at Wyeth Laboratories in nearby Mason, Michigan; at the time, Wyeth was known for making baby formula (00:01:05:00)  Originally, Underwood’s father worked in the company’s shipping and receiving department, although he was later promoted to be the supervisor of the shipping and receiving department (00:01:28:00) o Underwood’s grandmother owned a cottage in Harrison, Michigan and Underwood’s family spent a lot of time there during the summer (00:01:41:00)  Underwood attended school in Mason and graduated from high school in June 1964 (00:01:53:00) o After graduating, Underwood attended Lansing Community College to study criminal justice; apart from going to school, Underwood also worked part-time in the men’s department at a department store in Mason (00:02:00:00) o Underwood married his wife before he went into the service and she worked at a credit bureau in Mason (00:02:29:00) o Underwood ended up being drafted while still in college, so he had to wait until his enlistment was over before returning to finish it (00:02:45:00)  Underwood did not receive a deferment while attending the college because he dropped below twelve credits, which was the limit from the draft board for deferments (00:02:56:00)  Underwood received his draft notice around March 1967, with orders to report the following month (00:03:09:00) o Underwood would read the newspapers very thoroughly, so he was at least aware of what was going on in Vietnam (00:03:23:00) o When he was drafted, Underwood hoped that he would be deployed to Europe instead of Vietnam (00:03:56:00) o Underwood’s father had served during World War II and was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge (00:04:06:00)  When Underwood received his draft notice, his father was concerned, just because of what was going on in Vietnam; like Underwood, his family was hoping he would go to Europe as well (00:04:16:00) o When he received his draft notice, Underwood had not yet gone through a physical for the military (00:04:44:00) o After receiving his draft notice, Underwood went to the local draft board and was placed onboard a bus with other draftees, which then took them to Fort Wayne in Detroit (00:04:52:00) �  Once at Fort Wayne, Underwood and the other draftees went through physicals and testing (00:05:01:00)  While waiting to do the physical, Underwood saw some of the other draftees trying several different methods to try and fail the physical; some of the draftees took large amounts of salt to spike their blood pressure but all the testers would do was make the man wait and do the physical over again (00:05:20:00)  The physical the draftees went through was quite rigorous; they were forced to strip to nothing but their underwear and the doctors then proceeded to go over them “stem to stern” (00:05:51:00)  As far as Underwood could tell, the doctors were rejecting some of the draftees, with eyesight and flat feet being some of the major reasons why the doctors rejected them (00:06:08:00)  Apart from the physicals, the draftees also had to go through a battery of tests, including standard IQ tests and tests related to the different occupations with in the Army (00:06:35:00)  Based on the answers that a draftee would give, the Army would try to fit a draftee into an occupation that the Army felt the draftee would be best suited for (00:06:58:00)  However, it was not until Underwood had gotten through basic training that he was officially given an occupation, working in the mortar fire direction center (00:07:09:00) After finishing at Fort Wayne, Underwood and the other draftees were taken by train straight to basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky (00:07:38:00) o When the men arrived in Kentucky, they were taken off the train and placed on buses; it was not until the buses reached the base that the recruits received their “welcome” from the drill instructors (00:07:49:00) o During the first few days, the recruits went through processing, with the Army taking their names, blood type, and any other information that had been sent with the recruits from Fort Wayne (00:08:07:00)  The recruits were then assigned to a training company and sent to a company barracks (00:08:21:00)  In Underwood’s company, there were a couple of other men from the Lansing area, as well as men from other parts of Michigan and surrounding states; however, Underwood mostly stuck with the two men from Lansing during the training (00:08:54:00) o On any given day during basic training, the recruits woke up, went into formation, followed by PT (physical training), after which small groups were broken off to train with different things, such as pugil sticks for bayonet training, going to the rifle range, map reading, etc. (00:09:35:00) o The drill instructors placed a lot of emphasis on discipline; in a combat zone, the men would not have time to think, only to react, and discipline got the men into that type of mindset (00:10:36:00) o It was not too difficult for Underwood to adjust to life in the Army, in particular the physical aspects, because he had been an athlete during his school days and � was not too far removed from those days that he did not remember what he needed to do (00:11:01:00)  The drill instructors had elected to make Underwood a squad leader, although he was apprehensive about the assignment because he had always heard to never volunteer for anything in the Army and to never be first or last (00:11:40:00)  Once he became a squad leader, Underwood was responsible not only for himself but also for the squad (00:11:56:00)  Underwood had never been much of an angry person and authority had never bother him, so he understood the harassment part of the training was to push the recruits (00:12:06:00)  Being a squad leader during basic training was not that big of a deal; nobody’s life was on the line (00:12:33:00)  Nevertheless, Underwood was still responsible for making sure the other recruits had everything in order; the drill instructors expected each of the squads (usually between five or six recruits) to work together to complete any tasks given to them (00:12:46:00) o Basic training lasted for eight weeks, which was capped by a graduating ceremony on the base’s parade ground and all of the recruits in the training companies, accompanied by their drill instructors (00:13:01:00)  One of Underwood’s drill instructors was a short, black man who Underwood ended up seeing again, when Underwood was deployed to Vietnam (00:13:14:00) After finishing basic training, the recruits received new orders for the next part of their training; when Underwood’s orders came and he saw he was going to Fort Polk, Louisiana, he knew where he would be headed after training (00:13:45:00) o Underwood immediately reported to Fort Polk after finishing basic training; he was not allowed to go on a leave (00:14:11:00)  In order to get to Fort Polk, Underwood and the other recruits assigned to that base flew from Fort Knox to Shreveport, Louisiana and then took buses to Fort Polk (00:14:21:00)  As the buses got closer to Fort Polk, the men started seeing bamboo fences; even the main entrance to the training area was made from bamboo and had a sign across the top that read “Tiger School” (00:14:28:00)  By the time Underwood arrived at the base, it was summer time and very hot; when the men got off the airplane in Shreveport, it was like someone slapped them in the face (00:14:51:00)  Although the heat somewhat prepared the men for Vietnam, Vietnam was on another level of heat and humidity (00:15:07:00) o Although the buildings on the base looked like any typical Army post, the terrain was entirely different than most other bases and a lot of the time, the recruits were sent into the field to train (00:15:35:00) o Although the training the men did was preparation for Vietnam, it was not what actual combat was like (00:16:06:00) �  Underwood did receive some infantry training but because of his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), the majority of his advanced training was spent reading maps, figuring out coordinates, etc. (00:16:22:00)  Underwood’s MOS as a mortarman meant either being in the field with an infantry line unit or in the rear with the mortar tubes (00:16:50:00)  If he was in the field, Underwood would be the person calling back for not only mortars but also artillery; if he was in the rear, Underwood would be working in a fire direction center that actually called coordinates up to the guns (00:16:54:00)  On one of the last days of training, each of the men were given a dead chicken, a bag of rice, and a can of water and told to make their own dinner out of that (00:18:03:00)  After the meal, the men were sent into the “jungle” area of the base and they had to move through an area where there would be “aggressors” on either side (00:18:23:00) o If a recruit was “captured”, he would be taken to a fauxprison camp and put through some of the things that might happen in Vietnam if they were captured (00:18:42:00)  The men who made it through the entire area were told they had graduated, although the men who were captured graduated as well; Underwood himself made it through the area without being captured (00:19:04:00)  The recruits did not receive a lot of training in how to deal with the local Vietnamese civilian population; Underwood did not learn how to do that until he got to Vietnam (00:19:25:00)  The recruits did go through seminars and training about the various booby-traps the enemy might use and what the recruits needed to look for; luckily, the area where Underwood ended up being deployed to did not have a lot of booby-traps (00:19:36:00) o Most all of the instructors who were training the recruits had already served in Vietnam (00:19:54:00)  For the most part, the instructors were helpful, although they would really let a recruit know if he screwed up (00:20:04:00)  The biggest emphasis was on not screwing up and if a recruit did not screw up, then he was doing alright (00:20:11:00)  Although most of the instructors had served in Vietnam, there were a few who had not (00:20:45:00)  In Underwood’s case, one of those instructors was during basic training and according to Underwood, the instructor was a “pain in the rear end” (00:20:47:00) The advanced training at Fort Polk lasted for almost eight weeks as well; when the training was over, Underwood received a leave home and orders to report to Oakland, California (00:21:22:00) o Underwood’s leave home was for thirty days (00:21:46:00)  Whenever Underwood had graduated from a training section, his parents came to the graduation ceremony (00:21:56:00) � When Underwood came home on his leave, he and his family did not really talk about his impending deployment to Vietnam; although Underwood’s father talked about it a little bit, Underwood cannot imagine what it was like to have someone leave for a combat zone (00:22:04:00)  Underwood’s father knew what being in combat was like and his mother knew what it was like to have a loved one in a combat zone, having married Underwood’s father prior to his deployment to Europe (00:22:36:00) o Once his leave was over, Underwood flew from Lansing to Oakland (00:23:10:00)  The facility in Oakland was a huge military processing center and all the men who went through it received a battery of shots and more information about where they would be heading (00:23:18:00)  At this point, Underwood still did not know which unit he would be joining in Vietnam (00:23:38:00)  Underwood probably spent about a week in Oakland; the men could not get off the base, so apart from going to the various classes and seminars, they stayed in the barracks (00:23:48:00)  When Underwood and the other men received their orders, they knew that they were going to be deployed to Vietnam; however, they did not know where specifically in Vietnam, when they would be leaving, and how exactly they would get to Vietnam (00:24:14:00)  The men were divided into groups at the processing center and individual groups would deploy together (00:24:30:00)  While at the processing center, Underwood was assigned his uniforms and equipment, but not a weapon (00:24:47:00) o Eventually, Underwood’s group boarded a Pan-Am 737 commercial airliner, which first flew from Oakland to Hawaii, then continued to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines and finally to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam (00:24:54:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:25:32:00)  The airliner arrived in Vietnam in the middle of the day, which was a good thing for the men because they could actually see what Vietnam looked like without having to wait until morning (00:25:32:00) o Underwood’s first impression of Vietnam when the airliner landed was that it was hot (00:25:51:00) o Although Cam Ranh Bay was a fairly secure area, it was still occasionally attacked by enemy mortars or rockets (00:25:57:00)  During their training, the men were given information about mortars and rockets and how to protect themselves (00:26:06:00)  During the first night, Underwood was placed on guard-duty with a fullyloaded M-14 rifle; once Underwood had the rifle in his hands, he knew that the situation was for real (00:26:20:00)  The base never actually came under mortar or rocket fire while Underwood was on it (00:26:57:00) �o Over the next couple of days, the men went through more in-country training,  including working with and firing the M-16 rifle (00:27:01:00)  Up until that point, Underwood had rarely used an M-16 in any part of his training; most of his training was still done using an M-14 (00:27:16:00)  Underwood only had an issue with an M-16 rifle jamming once and that happened part of the way through his tour; he was firing the rifle too rapidly, it jammed, and he had to use the rifle of another soldiers who had been wounded (00:27:38:00) o Underwood spent about a week at Cam Ranh Bay before finally receiving orders to his new unit (00:28:12:00)  When he arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, Underwood was told whether there was a greater need for mortarmen or regular infantry; as it turned out, there was a need for regular infantry (00:28:24:00)  There were a lot of cases of men trained in one thing, such as a cook or wiremen, but once they were in Vietnam, they were transferred to be regular infantry to fill a need (00:28:32:00) When his orders finally came down, Underwood was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division stationed in Pleiku and once at the division, he was then assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment (00:28:54:00) o To get from Cam Ranh Bay to Pleiku, Underwood flew aboard a C-130 transport airplane (00:29:06:00) o “Inside the wire” of the 4th Infantry’s position in Pleiku, it was like a regular military base, expect with a lot more sandbags to offer protection against mortars and rockets (00:29:17:00)  Although permanent barracks were built at the base while Underwood was stationed there, when Underwood first arrived at the base, the men slept in tents (00:29:31:00)  Inside the base was a large hill, nicknamed “Signal Hill” and it loomed large over the base (00:29:46:00) o Apart from Signal Hill, the area around Pleiku mostly consisted of gently rolling hills and flatland; there were not any other major hills in the area (00:29:54:00) o There was not anything special when Underwood joined his battalion; mostly, it was just that certain things needed to be done, like paperwork and Underwood getting all of his equipment together (00:30:46:00)  Underwood arrived with a duffel bag full of stuff, which was then taken and tagged so he could pick it up when he left (00:31:01:00)  It was after his duffel bag was taken that Underwood received his jungle fatigues (00:31:14:00)  When he received his jungle fatigues, Underwood was told not to wear a lot of undergarments because the high humidity would make him sweat more if he did (00:31:24:00) o After Underwood was assigned to a company, he received more training, specifically about the Vietnamese people; part of the training stressed avoid interactions with the Vietnamese prostitutes (00:31:40:00) �  When Underwood first arrived at the base, there was a small settlement set up near the base named “Sin City” and the entire population of the settlement was hookers and prostitutes (00:32:09:00)  At one point while Underwood was stationed at the base, a Senator visited the base, saw “Sin City”, claimed it was “corrupting the American GIs”, and ordered the settlement be cleared out and removed (00:32:30:00)  However, once “Sin City” was cleared out, the cases of venereal amongst the soldiers increased; at least in “Sin City”, the American doctors were taking care of any diseases (00:32:42:00)  The fact that “Sin City” was partially looked over by the doctors at Camp Enari came as a surprise to Underwood (00:32:58:00) When Underwood finally joined a company, the company was not at Camp Enari but was operating out in the field; there was a company tent on the base where the company mail clerk worked (00:33:14:00) o Once Underwood was assigned to a company, he went to the helicopter pad and rode on a helicopter out to where the company was; usually, new soldiers were flown out to the company on re-supply days (00:33:34:00) o When Underwood finally arrived at where the company had set-up its position, he was first assigned to a platoon within the company and then a squad within the platoon (00:33:53:00) o When Underwood initially joined a squad, the squad leader talked with him and when he started going out on patrols, Underwood learned more information; Underwood learned what he needed to do from the other soldiers who were already in the squad (00:34:17:00)  One thing Underwood learned was that he should not try to be John Wayne; the soldiers who tried to be John Wayne often ended up in a body bag before their tour was over (00:34:32:00) o When Underwood and the other new soldiers first joined the company, they were not immediately placed on assignments such as guard-duty (00:34:47:00)  However, Underwood joined the company during the monsoon season, which made it harder to sleep, on top of thinking about what was going to happen the following day (00:34:56:00)  The next day, the company woke up, ate breakfast, saddled up and moved out (00:35:12:00) o Underwood’s company was operating to the south of Pleiku, in slightly mountainous terrain (00:35:19:00)  The vegetation in the area tended to consist largely of forested areas mixed with areas of jungle grass; because they wanted to avoid going on the main trails, the soldiers had to do a lot of machete work to clear paths through the vegetation (00:35:36:00)  Whenever the company would set up for the night, small groups went out on patrols to see if they saw anything; during his first patrol, Underwood ended up flushing out three Vietnamese farmers (00:36:04:00)  The area where the company was operating was a free-fire zone, which meant the soldiers shot first and asked questions later; � however, for some reason, when he flushed the farmers out, Underwood did not immediately shoot (00:36:20:00) o The farmers ran away but ended up running into another patrol, who brought the three back to where the company had set-up its defensive positions (00:36:40:00) o In a free-fire zone, the civilian population was rounded up and given land and housing in a city, where they were supposed to stay until the area was clear of enemy soldiers; however, the farmers were defying those orders and still trying to farm within the zone (00:37:12:00)  One of the farmers had been carrying a Vietnamese machete, which was a length of bamboo topped with an extremely sharp blade (00:37:36:00) o Underwood ended up picking the machete up and he carried it for quite a while, before sending it back to Camp Enari so the company clerk could put it in his duffel bag; however, somebody stole it (00:37:56:00) o For the most part, when Underwood first joined the company, the majority of the enemy fire they came under was the result of hit-and-run attacks (00:38:33:00)  However, when the company received orders to return to Pleiku to transfer north to Đắk Tô, Underwood’s platoon commander, who had served as a mercenary before the war, called the platoon together and told the men that not all of them would survive (00:38:49:00) Relative to Pleiku, Đắk Tô was to the north, closer to the Vietnamese borders with Cambodia and Laos (00:39:35:00) o In order to get from Pleiku to Đắk Tô, the men first boarded trucks in Pleiku that moved out as part of a convoy (00:40:05:00)  The vegetation along the side of the road had been sprayed with Agent Orange (a defoliation chemical) and pushed back using bulldozers in order to clear the area around the road; usually, the area was one-hundred yards wide, with the road right in the middle (00:40:12:00) o All of a sudden, the convoy stopped and soon after, the platoon leader and company commander informed the men that they were going to be doing a combat assault (00:40:58:00)  The soldiers disembarked from the trucks and pulled on their rucksacks, which were heavy (00:41:13:00)  As part of the combat assault, the soldiers were meant to be a blocking force against an NVA (North Vietnamese Army) division that had been spotted in the area (00:41:37:00)  That night, following the combat assault, the soldiers dug in and Underwood ended up cutting his leg with his entrenching tool as he dug his position (00:41:54:00)  The men had been dropped off on the top of a mountain and they were expected to dig foxholes for fighting positions (00:42:12:00)  Although it was possible to dig the foxholes on the mountain, it was very hard work because of all the rocks (00:42:22:00) � As he dug, Underwood had placed his entrenching tool in the “chopping mode” and was chopping at the dirt in order to loosen it up somewhat (00:42:42:00) o However, he bounced the entrenching tool off a rock and it went straight into his leg, leaving a cut a couple of inches long (00:42:48:00)  Although the cut would not have been a big deal back home in the United States, in Vietnam it was a whole different story and overnight, an infection set in (00:43:06:00) o The day after he cut his leg, Underwood went back to the battalion headquarters in Đắk Tô and sent to a medic, who would take care of the wound (00:43:22:00)  However, as Underwood was getting off the helicopter, enemy mortar rounds were landing nearby (00:43:41:00)  Once they were off the helicopter, Underwood and another who was also onboard hurried to the company area and got into a bunker (00:43:46:00)  It seemed like Underwood and the other soldier were in the bunker forever because the mortar rounds kept coming in; the enemy was “marching” the mortar rounds up the runway to get a C-130 that was sitting at the end of the runway (00:44:05:00)  Eventually, the enemy zeroed in on the airstrip’s ammo dump, which went off in a massive explosion; the explosion caused Underwood and the other soldier, who were seventy-five to onehundred yards away, to bounce in the air and somehow switch positions within the bunker (00:44:26:00)  When the two came out of the bunker, the tents where they were supposed to be staying looked like Swiss cheese from all of the flying shrapnel (00:44:56:00)  Eventually, the soldiers found out that the barber who was working on the base was calling in the mortar rounds, so they arrested him and turned him over to the South Vietnamese (00:45:25:00)  At the time, it was quite a common sight to see South Vietnamese working on the bases (00:46:19:00) o The base at Đắk Tô was the brigade headquarters for the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the 4th Infantry; the 3rd Brigade was brought up to the base later, along with the 173rd Airborne Brigade (00:46:51:00) o Underwood ended up spending about ten days in Đắk Tô for treatment for the infection from the cut on his leg (00:47:22:00)  The treatment consisted of daily antibiotic shots along with having Underwood soak his leg once or twice a day (00:47:27:00) o Once the infection was healed, Underwood took a helicopter flight out and rejoined his company; Underwood rejoined the company around November 1st, 1967 (00:47:47:00) o When Underwood rejoined the company, the company was operating as a whole and going on “search-and-destroy” missions (00:48:15:00) � The various missions just became the soldiers attacking one mountain after another; in some cases, the mountains were so steep that the men needed trees to try to pull themselves up (00:48:26:00)  The men were carrying packs that weighed close to 100lbs; the packs were so large, if one was on the ground, a soldier had to sit on the ground just to get into it properly, then roll onto his knees to stand-up (00:48:42:00)  In the packs, the soldiers had to carry: grenades, canteens (Underwood carried four), two ten-magazine bandoleers of ammunition, LAWs (Light, Anti-Tank Weapons), and enough CRations (food) to last each of the men for three to four days; as well, the men had to carry their personal equipment (00:49:01:00)  The soldiers did not carry much in terms of additional clothing; every other re-supply, a huge bag of fresh clothing would be flown out and the men would rifle through the bag until they found a pair of pants and a shirt that fit (00:50:27:00)  Occasionally, the soldiers would make contact with the enemy but again, it was mostly hit-and-run attacks; it was just enough to remind the soldiers that they were being watched (00:50:56:00)  As well, the men also had to be aware of any wild animals in the area; at one point, the men found a panther in a tree and once they had past, a couple men went back and shot it (00:51:18:00) o The panthers were known to track people as they moved through the jungle (00:51:34:00)  If the enemy were ever in a company-sized area or larger, there were often bunkers, so it was hard for the Americans to ever really surprise them that way (00:52:13:00) o Normally, successful surprise attacks came when the American forces managed to set up ambushes that the enemy soldiers walked into (00:52:29:00) o Outside of Đắk Tô was a hill that had been designated Hill 875 and when Underwood’s company arrived in the area, they took part in an operation to take control of the hill (00:52:52:00)  The 173rd Airborne had been trying to take the hill before and finally succeeded on Thanksgiving day; during the operation, the 4th Infantry was coming up the opposite side of the hill (00:52:59:00)  However, once the 173rd Airborne took the hill, the remaining NVA forces vanished (00:53:13:00)  The hill had been bombarded so much with air and artillery strikes that only a single tree remained on it (00:53:22:00)  On average, Underwood’s company might loss two or three soldiers a day, depending on how often they ran into the enemy and how larger the enemy forces were (00:53:32:00)  During the attack on Hill 875, the soldiers were facing an entire NVA division; the 173rd Airborne in particular was hard-hit during the fighting (00:53:39:00) �Prior to moving north to Đắk Tô, the 173rd had been fighting the Viet Cong in the south; however, once at Đắk Tô, the soldiers were told that they were facing North Vietnamese Army regulars, who were not going to cut and run like the Viet Cong (00:53:57:00) o The commanders in the 4th Infantry had a better understanding of the situation because they had been incountry longer than the 173rd Airborne (00:54:37:00) Normally, officers stayed with a unit in the field for six months before rotating back to the rear area (00:54:57:00) o Underwood’s original platoon leader, the former mercenary, stayed as the platoon leader for six months and on the day he was supposed to leave the field, he was killed (00:55:21:00)  Underwood’s squad had been put out on an ambush the night before but the squad leader accidentally to the wrong ambush site; that night, the firebase where the unit was on ended up being mortared from an area close to where the original ambush site (00:55:36:00)  When the commanders figured out what was happening, Underwood’s squad was called back to the firebase (00:56:08:00)  Once the squad was back on the firebase, the squad leader was grilled by the company commander and the platoon leader; they both knew where the squad was supposed to be for the ambush and they also knew that the squad had gone short (00:56:23:00)  The next morning, Underwood’s platoon went in force up the hill to see what was up there (00:56:48:00)  Just before the soldiers got to the summit, the platoon leader had them stop, got a handful of volunteers, and the smaller group went forward to recon the rest of the hill (00:56:58:00)  The smaller group was not gone for too long before “all hell broke loose” at the top of the hill (00:57:21:00)  Once the shooting started at the top of the hill, the remain soldiers moved forward because they knew that there were dead and/or wounded soldiers at the summit (00:57:34:00)  When Underwood reached the top of the hill, he came across the body of the platoon leader; during the fighting, the platoon leader had called in artillery but a round landed too close to him and took part of his head off (00:57:52:00) o The body was lying in a small dip, so Underwood and a couple of other soldiers tried to pull it out; although it would not have been much trouble if the soldiers were standing, trying to do so while lying on the ground was difficult (00:58:14:00) o Underwood ended up having to get on his knees at one point, at which point an enemy round hit a piece of bamboo next to his face, causing splinters to go into the corner of his eye (00:58:32:00) o  �The soldiers eventually managed to get the platoon leader’s body off the summit, placed the body in a body-bag, and carried the body back to the firebase (00:58:51:00)  The attack on the summit was around January 1968, just before the beginning of the Tet Offensive (00:59:21:00) During Christmas 1967 and Tet 1968, there were supposed to be stand-downs, even amongst the North Vietnamese forces (00:59:46:00) o During the stand-downs, hot food, and maybe even dessert and a glass of fresh milk, was brought out to the soldiers (01:00:01:00) o At Christmas, one man from the company was chosen to go back to Pleiku to watch a Bob Hope comedy show (01:00:17:00) During the attack on the hilltop when Underwood’s platoon leader was killed, the men were facing off with a North Vietnamese regiment that had dug into the hilltop; however, they did not find that out until they attacked the hill as a full company, although by then, the North Vietnamese had left (01:00:55:00) After the attack on the hilltop, Underwood’s company had to follow a series of B52 strikes all the way to the Vietnamese border (01:01:20:00) o Following behind B-52 strikes was not fun for the soldiers because they had to navigate shatter bamboo, amongst other things (01:01:31:00) When coming upon bunkers that the North Vietnamese had abandoned, the soldiers never found any that the North Vietnamese had bobby-trapped (01:01:53:00) o Most of the bunkers were just left, possibly so that the North Vietnamese could return later and use them again (01:01:57:00) o On occasion, the soldiers would use explosives to destroy some of the bunkers they found (01:02:05:00) The state of an area following a B-52 strike largely depended on the size of the bombs used in the strike, either 500lbers or 2500lbers (01:02:29:00) o Whenever there was a B-52 strike, the soldiers could not be too close to the area being bombed; when the strike would happen, the ground shook and the soldiers could be six klicks (kilometers) away and still feel it (01:02:44:00) o Often, the B-52 strikes would cause the bamboo and surround trees to catch on fire; the soldiers had to pick their way through the area in order to avoid some of the worst destruction (01:03:02:00) o Usually, B-52 strikes were only called for when commanders were sure there were a large concentration of enemy soldiers in a single area; after the strike(s), the soldiers would move in to find any dead North Vietnamese (01:03:22:00)  Although the soldiers would usually find a few bodies, they never found many, because the North Vietnamese would often carry away any wounded (01:03:41:00) Apart from B-52 strikes, the soldiers also tried to destroy bunkers by placing grenades on their roofs to get the roofs to collapse (01:03:58:00) Due to the high heat and humidity, it did not take long for bodies to decompose; often, the soldiers would walk into an area and the stench would be unbearable (01:04:17:00) o On a couple of occasions, the soldiers found mass graves for enemy soldiers and they had to dig up some of the bodies to count them (01:04:37:00) o        �  When Underwood’s platoon leader was killed, his replacement was already with the unit and was learning what he would need to do; the replacement was an officer fresh from the States, just out of OCS (Officer Candidate School) (01:05:25:00) As Underwood got further into his tour, his attitude became a mixture of determination, along with a healthy dose of fear (01:05:55:00) o The fear was a big part of Underwood’s attitude; the fear that the next step could be his last (01:06:05:00) o Although soldiers are killed during war, they are not always killed by the enemy; accidental friendly fire was always a possibility (01:06:26:00)  Once, a 500lb bomb was accidentally dropped short of its target and it landed on a listening post, killing all three of the soldiers who were manning the post (01:06:37:00)  The soldiers were warned to fold the pins back on their grenades so bamboo would not get caught in them and accidentally pull the pins out; however, a couple of soldiers did not and they ended up dying when the pins on their grenades were accidentally pulled out (01:06:47:00) Tet Offensive / End of Tour (01:07:23:00)  When the Tet Offensive began at the end of January 1968, Underwood’s company was positioned on a firebase to provide security for the firebase (01:07:23:00) o Apart from some enemy probing, the firebase where the company was located was never directly attacked (01:07:36:00) o However, there was a firebase in the distance that Underwood could see was under heavy enemy attack in an attempt to overrun the firebase (01:07:44:00)  During the night, “Snoopy” was out and there was a lot of American artillery being launched in support of the firebase; although the firebase was never overrun, the soldiers were mauled pretty bad (01:05:54:00)  “Snoopy” was a gunship with a Gatling gun mounted inside that was capable of covering every square inch of a football field with gunfire (01:08:14:00) o Whenever “Snoopy” would fire, it sounded like a lowpitched groan (01:08:25:00) o Every seventh bullet in the Gatling gun was a tracer-round; whenever the gun fired, all the men saw was a red line from the gunship to the ground because the bullets were shooting so fast (01:08:31:00) o “Snoopy” would just fly in a circle around the firebase, firing the Gatling gun (01:08:40:00) o Once the Tet Offensive really started going, Underwood’s unit was re-assigned to the Kontum province to clear any enemy forces out of the area; although the 1st Cavalry Division had cleared the area previously, Underwood’s unit was sent in to see if they could find any enemy strongpoints (01:09:04:00)  Ultimately, the soldiers did not find much in the way of an enemy presence in the area (01:09:25:00)  By the end of offensive, Underwood’s unit had advanced so far that they had ended up entering a couple of clicks into Cambodia (01:09:40:00) �  Long-range patrols had come back saying that the North Vietnamese were trying to cut a new road through Cambodia, so Underwood’s unit was sent to investigate (01:09:54:00)  Although the unit did not lose anybody during the time they were in Cambodia, they managed to kill quite a few North Vietnamese personnel (01:10:09:00)  When the unit stopped for the night, there was a hill between the new road and the main Ho Chi Minh trail, further to the west (01:10:25:00) o During the night, the guards on the perimeter could hear elephants and trucks moving along the trail (01:10:41:00)  Apart from a single sniper in a tree, who managed to wound one soldier before being shot out of the tree, the majority of the North Vietnamese forces were engineers (01:10:50:00)  When the soldiers were finally pulled out of Cambodia, they were flown by helicopter back to a firebase, while B-52 strikes were called in to destroy the new road (01:11:21:00) Following the end of the Tet Offensive, Underwood’s unit stayed in the Kontum area until March 1968, when the unit was sent to a firebase that the enemy had overrun during the offensive (01:11:46:00) o There were four soldiers missing from the unit that had been previously stationed on the firebase and Underwood’s unit’s assignment was to find the four soldiers (01:12:06:00) o Once they landed by helicopter at the firebase, all the soldiers quickly spread out, before moving along a finger on a ridgeline (01:12:20:00)  However, the soldiers had not gone more than fifty to one hundred yards before four soldiers at the front of the column were killed (01:12:36:00) o The soldiers pulled back and first called in artillery, then an airstrike, before advancing back up the hill (01:12:42:00) o In the company, the point position rotated amongst the soldiers and during the second advance up the hill, it was Underwood’s turn to be “on point”; although Underwood would be “on point”, he said the company was going to advance at his pace (01:13:01:00) o Underwood and a friend took as many grenades as they could and started advancing up the hill; whenever they came to a bunker, they destroyed it with the grenades (01:13:10:00) o Eventually, once the entire company made it to the top of the hill, the soldiers began setting up a perimeter because the company was going to spend the night on the top of the hill (01:13:27:00)  However, because Underwood and his friend had led the way up the hill, they did not have to help set up the perimeter; instead, the two were told to help gather and stack water containers that a helicopter was going to be flying in (01:13:48:00) o As Underwood and his friend were stacking the containers, the area came under enemy fire (01:14:12:00) �o Although the company managed to successfully repel the enemy attack, at the   start of the attack, Underwood’s rifle was leaning against a nearby tree (01:14:38:00)  Underwood was lying on the ground when all of a sudden, he heard a rattling noise; looking up, Underwood watched as an RPG round with a stuck fin came down and landed next to his leg (01:14:53:00)  Underwood looked back at the company commander, whose eyes had gotten big; although he told Underwood not to move, Underwood ignored him and leaped away from the round (01:15:11:00)  The RPG round was so embedded in the ground that when Underwood jumped away, it just stayed there (01:15:26:00) o After the attack, the company stayed on alert throughout the night (01:16:04:00)  During the middle of the night, all of a sudden, a trip flare went off; the flare had been set off by a North Vietnamese soldier who was leaving the hilltop (01:16:15:00)  The soldier had been in a tree when the Americans took the hilltop and had stayed in the tree the whole time, until he thought all the Americans were asleep (01:16:23:00)  As a result of being on point during the advance up the hill, Underwood ended up being awarded a Bronze Star (01:17:07:00)  Underwood figures there were probably fifty enemy bunkers on the hill, twenty-five on each side, and during the advance, Underwood figures he destroyed ten or eleven (01:17:17:00) o When Underwood later went for a PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) exam, the doctor asked what was in the bunkers; Underwood told him that he never looked because he did not want to know (01:17:35:00) o If someone were in one the bunkers, they were not there once Underwood finished with the bunker (01:17:56:00) o Apart from those destroyed by Underwood, the artillery and airplane strikes also did a good job in destroying a large number of the bunkers (01:18:10:00) When Underwood first joined his company in the field, it was at the beginning of the monsoon season; normally, the monsoons began in September and lasted through November (01:18:32:00) o Underwood did not truly know what it meant to be wet until he went through the monsoons; although the men could wear ponchos, those just made the men sweat (01:18:46:00) o On occasion, it would be raining and all of a sudden, the rain would stop and the sun would come out; during those times, it would be so hot that it would dry the soldier’s clothes (01:19:04:00) After the hilltop fight where Underwood earned his Bronze Star, his company continued its usual routine of going onto a firebase for seven to ten days before going back into the field for thirty days (01:19:38:00) o The companies did rotate as to which company would provide security for the firebase (01:19:52:00) �  Whenever the soldiers were on a firebase, they would always be given assignments by the commanders, such as “enhancing the perimeter” with increased mines, wire, flares, etc. (01:20:01:00)  The soldiers also had some free time while on the firebase, during which they could write letters home, etc. (01:20:17:00)  Underwood usually wrote letters a couple of times a week and received letters a couple of times a week; usually, one of the letters was from his parents and another was from his wife (01:20:24:00)  Apart from the letters, Underwood also received care packages from his parents and wife; for the most part, Underwood asked them to send him food, such as sausages, cookies, and smoked oysters or clams (01:20:45:00)  For Underwood’s birthday, his family sent him a bottle of liquor, which they technically not supposed to do; his family warped the bottle in aluminum foil to trick the x-ray scanners (01:21:06:00) o When the bottle arrived, each of the men had some to drink but because they were still in the field, none of them were drunk (01:21:22:00)  Whenever there was a resupply, each man was given two cans of beer, which was offset by the fact that they had to drink the beer warm (01:21:33:00)  After Underwood found his platoon commander’s body, he was pretty shaky and someone offered him a cigarette to calm him down; although the cigarette did not calm Underwood down, he smoked for the rest of his tour (01:21:53:00) Underwood’s time in Vietnam solely involved doing operations in the field until the end of July 1968 (01:22:23:00) o At that time, a sergeant joined the company and Underwood became pretty god friends with him; eventually, the sergeant received a transfer into the brigade headquarters (01:22:33:00)  A couple of days later, orders came in for Underwood to transfer back to the brigade headquarters as well; Underwood did so and was given the position of “officer of the guard” for the battalion area (01:22:57:00)  By the time Underwood transferred back to the brigade headquarters, he was a sergeant (01:23:21:00) o During May 1968, before Underwood went back to the brigade headquarters, the fighting intensified (01:23:45:00)  The way the Vietnamese border was, the North Vietnamese forces would withdraw into Laos or Cambodia, rest and resupply, then attack back into Vietnam (01:23:49:00) o From Underwood’s perspective, it looked as though the Americans were winning the war, up until the Tet Offensive began (01:24:20:00)  To Underwood, the idiotic thing was that the soldiers would fight to take a hill, they would leave the hill once it had been taken, and the enemy would move right back in (01:24:25:00) �  Over time, Underwood began building the idea that the fighting was “crazy” and he questioned why the operations were happening the way that they were (01:24:50:00) o For the most part, everyone in Underwood’s company was on the straight and narrow; the company did not have that much trouble with drug usage, although there was some (01:25:12:00)  When Underwood finally got to be a squad leader, he told the men in his squad that if they used drugs, they did not have to worry about just the enemy shooting at them, but also Underwood himself (01:25:24:00)  Any drug use that did occur was when the soldiers were on down time in a firebase (01:25:36:00) o Underwood’s company largely operated in areas so remote that there were not even villages, although there were native Montagnard tribes; for the most part, Underwood trusted the Montagnard soldiers more than he trusted the South Vietnamese soldiers (01:25:46:00) o Eventually, Underwood’s platoon had to re-take the hill where the old platoon commander was killed (01:26:27:00)  The second attack on the hill resulted in a couple of soldiers being killed and a large number being wounded; by the time the soldiers came down from the hill, there were maybe half a dozen who had not been wounded in some way (01:26:39:00)  Normally, a platoon was supposed to have thirty soldiers but Underwood’s normally operated with around twenty-four or twenty-five (01:27:11:00) o On occasion, the individual platoons in the company would go out on their own to perform missions; often the platoons would be broken down further into individual squads (01:27:35:00)  There were always the nightly ambushes and often, the commanders often sent the men several klicks away from the firebase in order to set up their ambush (01:27:41:00)  However, if the soldiers ran into enemy opposition, they might have a long fight to get back to the firebase (01:27:57:00)  Typically on an ambush, claymore mines would be set up along with trip flares; normally, there would be a handful of soldiers armed with M-16 rifles and if they were lucky, a soldier armed with an M-60 machine gun (01:28:20:00)  Once the soldiers sprung the ambush, they got out of the area rather quickly because the next phase of the ambush was either an airstrike or artillery barrage (01:28:42:00) Underwood stayed in the field for as long as he could before he took an R&R (Rest and Recuperation), so that when he returned from the R&R, he would not have long to go on his tour (01:28:56:00) o Underwood ended up taking his R&R in June 1968, so that when he returned, he only had July, August, and September until his tour ended (01:29:17:00) o For his R&R, Underwood ended up going to Hawaii, where he met up with his wife (01:29:32:00) �     While on the R&R, Underwood had to metaphorically pinch himself to make sure that he was not dreaming (01:29:49:00)  There was a large military population in Hawaii and it was not until Underwood returned to the mainland United States after his tour that he ran into anti-war protestors (01:29:56:00) o When Underwood returned to Vietnam, he was probably even more cautious than he had been before he went on the R&R (01:30:39:00) Although Underwood’s company was originally slated to go to a rear area for a stand-down, that never happened (01:30:57:00) Underwood did notice that there were some racial tensions amongst the other soldiers in his unit (01:31:17:00) o For Underwood, race was not really a problem; in fact, his best friend in the unit was a black man (01:31:22:00)  However, there were some other men in the unit from Mississippi and when one of them made an insensitive remark, Underwood told the soldier that ought to keep those remarks to himself (01:31:27:00) While Underwood was working as officer of the guard at the brigade headquarters, he would have to go out on a daily basis and scatter the Vietnamese civilians who were going through the base’s dump (01:32:18:00) o As well, it was Underwood’s responsibility to set the guard every day, which usually consisted of newly-arrived soldiers who were waiting for their chance to go into the field (01:32:41:00)  When Underwood assigned soldiers to a bunker, the soldiers were supposed to have a live clip of ammunition in their rifles but not a round in the chamber (01:32:50:00)  One night, Underwood was woken up by the MPs (Military Police) around two o’clock in the morning and taken out to a bunker where one of the guards had shot himself in the foot (01:33:07:00)  As a result of the incident, Underwood had to do a large amount of paperwork and the soldier ended up receiving a court-martial (01:33:25:00) o By and large, there were not any more issues with moral than there were when Underwood was in the field (01:33:51:00)  For the most part, when not on-duty, Underwood and the other guards played a lot of cards (01:34:02:00)  Underwood ended up playing cards with the doctor who had treated the infected wound on Underwood’s leg (01:34:15:00) o For the most part, the base where the brigade headquarters was located was pretty secure, although it was later over-run by North Vietnamese forces; there were occasional mortar rounds that the enemy would lob in (01:34:36:00) Eventually, Underwood received orders that he would be rotating home and he was sent down to Biên Hòa for out-processing (01:35:22:00) o Once they went through out-processing, Underwood and the other soldiers who were scheduled to go home had to wait until an airliner arrived at the field in Biên Hòa (01:35:46:00) �o While they still at Camp Enari in Pleiku, Underwood and some of the other  soldiers who were rotating home went to the base’s NCO club and became quite drunk (01:36:04:00)  The men returned to their bunks and within two or three hours, the base came under an enemy rocket attack (01:36:14:00) Underwood’s company did do operations with Montagnard soldiers, although the men had to be careful when they worked with the Montagnards (01:36:44:00) o The soldiers could set up an artillery barrage to help the Montagnards in a battle but if the Montagnards decided they wanted to move to a different location, they were going to move to a different location (01:36:53:00) o For the most part, the Montagnards were scouts for the soldiers (01:37:09:00)  One time, the soldiers sent out a patrol made entirely of Montagnards and when the patrol was over, the natives called back to say that they would be coming back in (01:37:12:00)  The soldiers relaxed to watch the patrol come back in, when all of sudden, gunfire broke out; the Montagnards ended up putting one bullet into the monkey they had been aiming at (01:37:23:00)  Sometimes, the soldiers would receive useful intelligence from the Montagnards and sometimes, they would not (01:37:53:00) o Apart from using the Montagnards, the soldiers would also go out with scout dogs on patrol; for the most part, the dogs were really effective at finding where the enemy had already been (01:37:57:00) o Underwood’s company also worked with South Vietnamese Kit Carson Scouts, who were pretty good, for the most part; if the soldiers found something and got in a firefight, the scouts fought right along with them (01:38:32:00)  The majority of the scouts did not speak English; normally, there was one scout who could speak English and would translate between the soldiers and the scouts (01:38:58:00) End of Enlistment / Post-Military Life (01:39:28:00)  On the flight from Vietnam back to the United States, once the airliner was out of Vietnamese air-space, there was a big cheer from the soldiers onboard (01:39:28:00) o After leaving Cam Ranh Bay, the airliner flew to Japan first in order to replace a faulty engine, then to Alaska and finally back to San Francisco (01:39:44:00) o Once in San Francisco, the airliner landed at the San Francisco International Airport (01:40:15:00)  The airliner was parked away from the terminal, which meant the soldiers had to deplane and walk to the terminal (01:40:43:00)  It was the walk from the airliner to the terminal that Underwood had his first experience with anti-war protestors (01:40:52:00)  Once the terminal, the soldiers were given new uniforms to wear and taken out to a steak dinner before being given a hotel room of their choosing (01:41:13:00) o After he had returned to the United States, Underwood was given a thirty-day leave (01:41:48:00) �    After his leave was over, Underwood still had six months remaining on his enlistment, so he was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to be a drill instructor (01:41:55:00) o When Underwood first arrived at the base, he was put in a replacement company and almost immediately, was given a live pistol and ordered to take another soldier to the courthouse (01:42:02:00) o While taking the tests when he first enlisted, Underwood scored high in the medical aspects and while at Fort Bragg, the dental detachment on the base needed workers (01:42:51:00)  Underwood was asked if he wanted to work in the clinic, 7-to-4, five days a week, and he said “yes” (01:43:10:00) o During the time Underwood was a drill instructor, he acted the same way as his drill instructors had (01:43:36:00) o One of the soldiers who lived across the street from Underwood’s tent had also just returned from Vietnam and Underwood suspects that soldier did not do too much around the base (01:43:47:00) o When Underwood’s thirty-day leave ended, he and his wife drove down to North Carolina and ended up getting a duplex just off of the base (01:44:29:00) The Army did put in an effort to try to get Underwood to re-enlist; even while he was in Vietnam, the Army offered him a promotion to E-6 and an assignment as the base carpenter (01:45:02:00) o However, Underwood figured that he would only have the carpentry job until one of the squads lost its leader, at which point he would be going back into the field (01:45:12:00) Eventually, the orders came down that Underwood would be receiving his discharge from the Army (01:45:48:00) o The out-processing from the Army was a lot like the in-processing, although during the out-processing, the soldiers were giving back everything that belonged to the Army (01:46:55:00) When Underwood was finally out of the Army, he and his wife drove home to Michigan, going through Washington D.C. and rural Pennsylvania (01:46:25:00) o Once he was back home in Michigan, Underwood took some time to become readjusted to civilian life before going to look for a job (01:46:46:00)  Although Underwood was told the job he had been working at prior to enlisting was still available, he wanted to go somewhere where he could make a little more money (01:47:02:00)  Underwood ended up going to work for a company that did insurance investigations (01:47:12:00)  Underwood stayed at the investigation company for five years before going to work for a bank for a short period of time; however, the job at the bank was not paying well, so Underwood went to work at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing for another five years (01:47:41:00) o While working at the hospital, Underwood went back to school and finished his associates degree (01:48:04:00) o As a result of the initial encounter with anti-war protestors in San Francisco, Underwood was edgier around people (01:48:40:00) � While in San Francisco, Underwood and six or seven other soldiers stopped in a bar to have a beer while waiting for the airliner to leave; however, the bartender asked them to step to the back because they were “bad for business” (01:49:05:00)  After stopping one of the soldiers who tried to jump over the bar to hit the bartender, the men ended up leaving the bar and going somewhere else (01:49:20:00)  When Underwood got to the airport in Detroit, there was not a problem because he was with his family (01:49:36:00)  Back in Eden, Underwood’s family and some of the neighbors had hung a banner welcoming him home (01:49:42:00)  Underwood learned not to tell others that he was a Vietnam veteran, although he did put the information on job applications; for the most part, the information was pretty well-received (01:50:01:00) o Quite a while after he had returned, Underwood joined the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), although he let his membership lapse for several years; however, three or four years prior to the interview, he became more involved in the organization (01:50:24:00)  When Underwood first tried to join the organization, the post he tried to join was willing to accept him as a Vietnam veteran (01:50:45:00) o During the 1970’s, after his first divorce, Underwood joined a group at a Community Mental Health facility in Mason (01:51:03:00)  As part of the group, Underwood had access to individual consoling as well as group consoling (01:51:20:00)  Underwood was part of the group for eight or nine months before the funds dried up (01:51:30:00) o About six years prior to the interview, Underwood was diagnosed with Type II diabetes as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange (01:51:47:00)  One day, Underwood went into the VA (Veterans Administration) clinic in Lansing and when the nurse asked if Underwood was receiving compensation, he said he was not (01:52:10:00)  The nurse told Underwood to go to the local VA office to talk with a counselor, who would put in the paperwork for Underwood (01:52:23:00)  Underwood initially planned to ask for compensation for the diabetes but when he was talking with the consoler, he mentioned that he was a recovering alcoholic (01:52:34:00)  The counselor asked about the drinking and Underwood explained that he had been having nightmares and the drinking was the only way he could quite them (01:52:48:00)  The counselor said she would also put in an application for PTSD and wanted Underwood to talk with the office’s psychiatrist; the psychiatrist ran Underwood through a battery of tests and diagnosed him with PTSD, although they had to wait for Underwood to go through an official interview (01:53:04:00)  The official interview to determine if Underwood suffered from PTSD was done by a psychiatrist in Battle Creek, Michigan (01:53:32:00) �   When Underwood got into the interview, one of the questions the psychiatrist asked him if he had seem the enemy; when Underwood said sometimes, the psychiatrist asked what the enemy were wearing (01:53:47:00)  The psychiatrist asked about Underwood’s father and after Underwood explained what had happened to his father, the psychiatrists seemed fascinated with that and kept asking questions about it (01:54:13:00)  Underwood came out of the official interview disgruntled and when he received his rating, it was only 30% (01:54:28:00)  Underwood appealed the rating and had to go to Detroit (01:54:47:00)  While he was waiting for the appeal, Underwood received a phone call from the VA wanting to know if he wanted to go to Detroit for his evaluation (01:55:01:00) o Underwood had initially asked for a video-taped interview in front of the entire evaluation board but the phone call was to be in front of a judge (01:55:17:00)  Underwood went to talk with the judge and explained that he did not even have all of the records he needed; the judge agreed to wait for sixty days so Underwood could get his records organized, which he did (01:55:27:00)  Apart from the diabetes and PTSD, Underwood also had to have a hearing aid as a result of his time in Vietnam and contracted malaria once he had returned home (01:56:07:00)  Eventually, Underwood ended up transferring from the VA clinic in Lansing to the VA clinic in Ann Arbor, which had/has phenomenal treatment compared to the clinic in Lansing (01:56:53:00)  Underwood ended up receiving glasses, a hearing aid, shoes for his diabetes, and is re-checked every six months (01:57:08:00) Underwood’s time in the military, particularly the year deployment in Vietnam, showed him what he was capable of enduring, which was more than most people think they can endure (01:57:35:00) o The discipline that he and the other soldiers had to go through did not really hurt any of them; if everyone could be made to go through the discipline without having to fight a war, Underwood thinks it would be a good thing (01:57:54:00)  It made Underwood try to do things in a disciplined manner, a trait he carried for the rest of his life (01:58:14:00) By the time of the interview, Underwood was serving as junior vice-commander of his VFW post and was greatly involved in working with other veterans (01:58:44:00) � 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 UnderwoodG1474V Title A name given to the resource Underwood, Garry (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Underwood, Garry Description An account of the resource Garry Underwood was born in Jackson, Michigan in March 1946. He started college after high school, but did not do well enough to keep his deferment, and was drafted in 1967. He trained as a mortarman, but when he arrived in Vietnam in the fall of 1967, he was assigned as a rifleman to the 4th Infantry Division at Pleiku. He participated in numerous patrols and larger operations in late 1967 and early 1968, including a number of fights around Dak To. His platoon took heavy losses, especially immediately before and during the Tet Offensive of 1968 and during the "mini-Tet" in May. Toward the end of his deployment, he was put in charge of perimeter guards at his brigade's base camp. 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 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 2013-01-22 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/d93554ff344aabb69fdc8141574d9678.m4v 838740ad411f571a21fc9f3f7d2f3929 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/18b43c1264bf987a5dbc09f6405c0095.pdf b4bff8a5604e45c9a7481909fd7755e5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Mark Thiel Vietnam War Total Time: 26:30 Pre-War (00:00)    Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1950. Was part of a family of 6 children. Joined the Navy right upon leaving High School in 1969. Training (05:35)   He took Basic Training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago, Illinois Attended Hospital Corpman School at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Active Duty (05:55)          Went to Charleston, South Carolina and worked in the Hospital for 6 months, and after that went to Parris Island where he learned how to work in a lab. Was the sent to field medical school, and then went to Lab School in Portsmouth, NH. (07:09) He then went to Albany, Georgia to a Marine Corps Supply Center where he worked in the lab. (07:45) He was then given orders to report to Camp Pendleton and was attached to the a medical battalion in the 1st Marine Division. He operated the lab for the battalion. He also got to work in the hospital at Camp Pendleton, and was given charge of the morgue for a time. He got out of the Navy in 1973. (14:15) He then joined the Army in 1981 and had to do basic training all over again. After basic, he was given the job of driving forklifts and trucks at Fort Bragg and Germany. Went to the NCO Academy while he was there. His wife was in Germany with him for a while. Was sent to Columbia, SC to be discharged from Germany. Post-Service (20:05)  Returned to Grand Rapids, MI and became a trucker. � 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 ThielM Title A name given to the resource Thiel, Mark (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Thiel, Mark Description An account of the resource Mark Thiel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1950 and served in the Navy/Marines and Army during the Vietnam War Era. He worked for the Navy and Marines as a lab assistant in a number of different locations, including South Carolina and Camp Pendleton in California. After his stint in the Navy, he joined the Army and worked as a truck and forklift driver in Germany and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After the Army, he worked as a truck driver in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Rachel (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. Marine Corps United States. Navy 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 2009-10-15 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/ab5cea4db83415fdcd961535ac6e1afe.mp4 01769639623911d2e67ec72d5d6b5f5b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/16c7cad0c24018c5b71f978db646c617.pdf 66d0cea74e64f3be9db237b93830019e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran History Project George T. Zysk (00:44:57) Background • Born in Grand Haven Michigan • June 20 1916 • Joined the Red Arrow Division 1934 (2:10)Battle of the Coral Sea • Sunk the Japanese Navy • Started at Midway-Japanese sunk Yorktown aircraft carrier (4:00)Enlisted in the National Guard • Camp Grayling • George made orderly • (5:00) Tried out for the Soldier of the Year award • 1939 was in the CCC’s-built Camp Germfask 96000 acres?-last camp torn down at the end of the war-Conscientious Objectors • George was a carpenter at Camp Germfask *George was alerted about the attack on Pearl Harbor when he was on the West Coast. Possible attacks on the Coast was expected *Colonel Chennault-George talks about him-Flying Tigers (9:30) Company F • Went to Louisiana Texas before Pearl Harbor • George was training recruits Owens Stanley Mountains • (12:00) Buda Missions • George was a Staff Sergeant • Worked with the whole 2nd Army • (14:00) 2 Marines-shot while sleeping • Asked if he wanted R&R-he said he wasn’t tired and now we are winning • Malaria • George had stokes in 89 and 90-catscan in Muskegon-cured Malaria (17:00)Battle of the Coral Sea • George watched them sink the Japanese army �• • • Says they were getting hit hard by the Axis Came back on a Liberty ship-can’t remember name Mad he was kept with the engineers till the end-right before they left for the States (20:20)Battle of Tacloban [Philippines] • Oxygen tanks on board-blew up by Kamikaze fighter • Lost 89 guys• Convoy heading to Tacloban • (24:00)MacArthur-‘I have returned’-little respect for him • Bataan Death March-left Skinny Wainwright behind • Truman wouldn’t let MacArthur get them over the Yalu River [Korean War] (27:30) Back in the States • Quit Legion because they closed bar down at 12:30 instead of 2:30 • George is very appreciative of the men that came home and the home he came home to • (30:40)Family put him out-spent $9000 on a home • Married 55 years-divorced • (33:00)Old Burn Manufacturing Company (AP Auto Parts) worked for (34:00) After The Service • George is not bitter about things • He feels he had a great impact on life today • (35:50) George sings ‘God Bless America’ • George sings ‘National Anthem’ • George sings ‘You made me love you’ � 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 ZyskG Title A name given to the resource Zysk, George (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zysk, George Description An account of the resource George Zysk served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Infantry Division on New Guinea and in the Philippines during WW II fighter. In the Philippines, he was on board a ship that was hit by a kamikaze. He speaks critically of Gen. MacArthur but highly of the men he served with. 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.) 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 2007-06-29 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/d81bd398919ff832b2388b30876d38a7.mp4 4c1e042a9ea5c56e627da57689f64d58 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8697ac29a10a01cf817bf65b585baa7.pdf a2968d281208ed7d05fa28d1d2bd5a74 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Brian Zwart Iraq War 2 hours 20 minutes 8 seconds (00:00:42) Early Life -Born in Grand Haven, Michigan on February 21, 1985 -Lived in Spring Lake, Michigan for a short amount of time -Moved to Nunica, Michigan -Eventually settled in Fruitport, Michigan and grew up there -Dad was a welder -Mom was a medical transcriptionist -Had two siblings -A twin sister and an older sister (00:01:22) September 11, 2001 -He was a junior in high school when the 9/11 Attacks happened -He remembers being in third period going to his computer class -Saw live news feed on the TV -Originally thought that it was just a terrible mistake -Seeing the second plane hit the other tower in real time drove home that it was an attack -Remembers going outside and looking at the sky and not seeing any airplanes (00:04:01) Enlisting in the Marines -Parents had gotten divorced and he wanted a sense of direction -Neighbor of his was a Marine -Eventually became a major influence and motivator for him to join the Marines -From fourth of fifth grade on he wanted to be a Marine -Wanted to go into Force Recon, or an equally elite part of the Marines -He was already talking to a recruiter when 9/11 happened -Entered into the delayed-entry program in June 2002 -After he turned eighteen and graduated high school he’d be in the Marines -Went through physical and mental preparation prior to entering boot camp -Learned general orders, code of conduct, history, etc. -Minimal rifle training -Leadership skills building -Took the Initial Strength Test (IST) before going into boot camp -Made sure that he could do enough pull ups, sit ups, and had good endurance -By time he shipped out for basic he was already running 50-60 miles/week (00:09:10) Basic Training-Arrival -Sent to San Diego, California out of Lansing, Michigan -In Lansing filled out the formal paperwork -Took the Oath of Office and Oath of Affirmation for the military -Flying out of Lansing was his first time on an airplane -Had a changeover onto a larger jet in Chicago -Went to the USO building in San Diego �-Greeted by a drill sergeant there -First real taste of Marine regimen and discipline -Taken to the training depot by bus -Late at night (to deprive the new recruits of sleep) -Not allowed to look out the windows of the bus until they were told they were allowed (00:11:21) Basic Training-Introduction -First thing taught is how to properly stand at attention -Drill sergeants immediately began to berate the new recruits -It was a matter of establishing who was in charge of whom -Kept up the entire first night with basic preliminary work -Getting haircuts -Getting supplies and training uniforms -Filling out more paperwork -The entire reception process took about a week -Focused on getting the recruits immersed and prepared for Marine living (00:13:59) Basic Training-Other Recruits -On “Black Friday” (at the end of reception week) assigned to training platoon -Met the drill sergeants that you would be working with -People you would be training with for the next twelve weeks -Started off with one hundred people -By the end of boot camp they were down to less than eighty recruits -People dropped out for various reasons -Failing drug tests, failure to assimilate, failing physical and mental tests -High amount of inner city kids in his boot camp most of them just graduated from high school -A few older recruits (older than eighteen/nineteen but younger than twenty seven) -Had one older recruit that kept getting recycled -Wanted to be a Marine but couldn’t pass the pull up test (00:18:47) Basic Training-First Phase -First phase of basic training was at San Diego -Basic physical training and introductory classes -Running, more on the code of conduct, history of the Marines, first aid -Discipline training -Large amount of conditioning on following orders -Lasted about one month (00:22:21) Basic Training-Second Phase -Second phase of basic training was at Camp Pendleton, California -North of San Diego -Largest Marine Corps installation in terms of troop strength -Second phase consisted mostly of firearms training -Learned how to properly acquire a target and fire your rifle -Had rifle qualification test at Camp Pendleton -Wanted to have expert marksman qualification -After an unfortunate accident on the day of testing he missed “expert” by one shot -Still qualified as a sharpshooter though -Had physical training every day -Taught about how to do “field physical training” �-Trained with hiking with a fully loaded backpack on -Trained with CS gas (tear gas) in a gas chamber -Had to be exposed to the gas and then put your gas mask on when you were told to -Finished with the Crucible -Extreme mental and physical exercises for three days -Reaper Hike: difficult uphill hike with full pack and a rifle -After the Crucible you were almost considered a Marine (00:35:26) Basic Training-Third Phase -Third phase of basic training was back at San Diego -Final drills -Final tests -Battalion commander comes in and inspects the entire training group -Took about three hours -Had to stand at attention in the hot sun for the entire time -Last classes -Turned gear back in -Practiced for graduation -Finer details of the ceremony -Getting fitted for dress uniform -Drill instructors relaxed during third phase and began to see recruits as closer to being equals -After graduation you received ten days leave (00:37:49) School of Infantry -After leave reported to your MOS (military occupation specialty) school -His was the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California -Non-infantry Marines received Marine Combat Training -School of Infantry lasted six to eight weeks -Spent a large amount of time in the field doing hands on training -Offensive and defensive maneuvers -Trained with SAWs (squad automatic weapons), grenades, AT4 rocket launchers -At the end of the School of Infantry he received his infantry specialty -0311 Rifleman -Stayed for an extra month to qualify as an LAV crewman (MOS 0313) -LAV (light armored vehicle): similar to a tank, lighter armor, fast attack, reconnaissance -Learned how to drive an LAV, use the turret, and do basic maintenance on one (00:41:58) First Deployment to Iraq-Arrival -After he completed the School of Infantry he was assigned to his unit -1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton -Stayed in California for two weeks preparing to be sent over -Only had two weeks to catch up with the rest of the unit -The rest of the unit had been preparing for about six months -Had some veterans from the initial invasion of Iraq in his unit -February 21, 2004 departed on a commercial airliner for Iraq -Allowed to go up into the cockpit and talk with the pilots -Saw the Northern Lights at 30,000 feet -Had a short layover in Prague, Czech Republic -Landed in Kuwait late at night �-Extremely hot air was the first thing that greeted him -He was one of the new guys so he had to unload the plane -Stayed in Kuwait for two weeks -Everyone got sick adjusting to the climate -Received additional training in Kuwait -Checkpoint training, patrolling, and basic language courses (00:48:09) First Deployment to Iraq-Moving into Iraq -March 7, 2004 he was promoted to lance corporal -March 8, 2004 his unit joined a larger convoy to move north from Kuwait into Iraq -Fear and excitement even among the veterans -Remembers hearing someone playing the “Top Gun” theme on a harmonica -March 9, 2004 at 5 AM the convoy began to move into Iraq -Part of Operation Enduring Freedom 2 (OEF 1 was the invasion of Iraq) -Condition 1 Weapons (ready to fire, but with the safety on) -Had to drive across Iraq towards the northwest corner of the country -Destination was Al Qa’im, Anbar Province (on the Syrian border) -Took three days to travel across the country -Quiet in terms of enemy contact or incidents involving the enemy -Had to rely on night vision and thermal vision to drive -No headlights allowed at night -Led to one LAV going off the road and winding up in a ditch -Held up the convoy for four hours (00:53:30) First Deployment to Iraq-Al Qa’im -Stationed in Al Qa’im of the Anbar Province -Base of operations was an abandoned train station -Fortified it and cleaned it up -When they arrived Al Qa’im was still a small forward operating base -First days there consisted of getting their weapons and vehicles prepared -Also insuring that their LAVs were still in good working order after the trip -Stationed on the Syrian border to intercept Insurgents coming over from Syria -His unit patrolled the heavily traveled areas on the border -Patrolled stretches of the border looking for signs of activity -Stationed there for eight months (00:56:26) First Deployment to Iraq-Enemy Contact Pt. 1 -Large amount of indirect enemy contact -IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were a prominent threat -Insurgents knew how to exploit weaknesses of US Forces -IEDs became sophisticated over time -They focused on staying off the road to avoid IEDs and landmines -LAVs were highly susceptible to anti-tank mines -July 20, 2004 at 4:30 AM he ran over an anti-personnel mine -Only took off the front tire of his LAV -In April they had already made direct contact with the Insurgents -Platoon had their first Marine killed in action -Losing a soldier made the war real and serious -Went to Fallujah to help prevent people from entering, or leaving, the city �(01:02:02) First Deployment to Iraq-Enemy Contact Pt. 2 -August 6, 2004 an IED went off extremely close to his LAV -Suffered minor wounds and moderate vehicular damage -After Fallujah and the incident on August 6 the conflict escalated dramatically -Lost nine vehicles and two Marines in one day -They were killed from a direct hit to their LAV -Became difficult to patrol their area after losing a third of their LAVs -Had to cover an area roughly the size of West Virginia -Never made actual contact with the Insurgents -He wishes that they could have had direct combat with the enemy -IEDs forced them and their commanders to reevaluate the tactics that they were using (01:09:05) First Deployment to Iraq-Relationship with Iraqis -Detained a large amount of military age Iraqi males -Participated in humanitarian missions -Building schools and distributing soccer balls to local children -Parents brainwashed their children into hating Americans as they got older -Little kids were extremely friendly towards American troops though -Major cultural differences made their work difficult -Tried to have good, light-hearted interactions with civilians -Middle aged and older civilians welcomed the American presence -Young men were the primary threat -Village elders provided U.S. forces with a tremendous source of intelligence -Iraqi police were relaxed and noncommittal -Not good for combat or patrols -Apathetic towards the conflict at hand (01:15:41) First Deployment to Iraq-Conditions -First tour consisted of a large amount of field work -When they were on base they strived to get hot food and call home -Also made sure to resupply and maintain their weapons and vehicles -Insurgents would target Iraqis that helped the Americans -Caused problems for basic maintenance on bases -For example: when their sewage workers were killed toilets overflowed -Iraqi weather made weapons useless if not constantly cleaned -Weather had no major effect on vehicles though -Heard very little information regarding how the larger war was going -Primarily focused on whether or not their area was improving -When they got a TV on base they had access to more current news (01:21:04) First Deployment to Iraq-Going Home Pt. 1 -New unit came in and his unit introduced them to the area -Showed important parts of the Anbar Province -Explained the current situation -Turned over control of the region to the new unit -His unit went to the Al-Assad Air Base in Anbar Province -Getting ready to go home when they were told they would have to go back to Fallujah -Told they would have to go to the city to provide support -At the last minute that deployment was cancelled �-Al-Assad Air Base was still unsecured -Subject to rocket and mortar harassment -From Al-Assad they flew to Kuwait (01:24:40) First Deployment to Iraq-Weapons Cache Duties -He once got charged with emptying a weapons cache near the Euphrates River -Soviet era weaponry and unstable explosives -Also found a buried refrigerator next to the Euphrates River filled with AK47 machine gun clips -He and a friend made a game involving throwing the magazines into the nearby river (01:27:07) First Deployment to Iraq-Morale -Very poor morale in the unit prior to leaving -Thinking that they would have to fight in the Second Battle of Fallujah crippled morale -Extremely poor morale while stationed outside of Fallujah -Under constant threat of ambush or rocket attack -Morale soared upon going home -Worked well together while in the field -Conditions were horrible, but they made do with what they had -Always tried to find ways to lighten the mood -Watched pirated movies bought from Iraqis during their downtime (01:31:06) First Deployment to Iraq-Going Home Pt. 2/Stationed at 29 Palms -Flew out of Kuwait towards March Air Force Base, California -Made a brief stop in Germany -Allowed to buy some German beer while there -Airline was very supportive -Given two weeks of post-deployment leave -Got married to his girlfriend on Friday October 22, 2004 -Bought a 2000 Chevy Impala -Following Tuesday he and his wife drove from Michigan to California -They were given base housing -Lived together in California for eleven months -Wife moved back to Michigan during his second deployment -He went to 29 Palms Marine Base, California for further training -Didn’t know at the time his unit would have to go back to Iraq -He was selected to be a part of a unit that would protect General Huck -Now in 2nd Marine Division (01:35:30) Second Deployment to Iraq-Protecting General Huck -Left for his second tour in August 2005 -Same process as first tour -He and his unit were relieving the 2nd Light Armored Recon Battalion -Got stationed at Blue Diamond, Ramadi, Anbar Province -Assumed the position of gunner on an LAV -Provided security for General Huck -Traveled with him at all time s -Primary duty was to keep the general alive -Job lasted for a month -Relatively safe and enjoyable position -Able to enjoy steak and lobster every Friday night at Blue Diamond �(01:40:35) Second Deployment to Iraq-Protecting Colonel Davis -After being at Blue Diamond he and his unit were sent to Al-Assad Air Base -Primary duty was to protect Colonel Davis -Joined Regimental Combat Marines 2 in Al-Assad Air Base -Conducted major operations in that area -Worked with Marine Reservists -Colonel Davis was a commander that genuinely cared about his Marines -Always wanted to go where his Marines were stationed -Even during combat operations -Once had to escort him to Husaybah that was being attacked by the Marines (01:43:14) Second Deployment to Iraq-Enemy Contact -During his second deployment he was able to stay out of a majority of combat operations -IEDs were still a primary threat -Knowledge of how to deal with them had improved though -On the outskirts of Husaybah a Humvee was destroyed -Driver was critically injured and evacuated quickly by helicopter -Gunner suffered a severe head injury -Still had very little information coming in in terms of the war’s progress -Knew of safe areas and the Green Zone around Baghdad -Knew that enemy activity was starting to subside (01:46:37) Second Deployment to Iraq-Conditions -Living conditions had markedly improved since the first tour -Able to sleep in actual beds in climate controlled buildings -Had access to news -Returned to Al Qa’im and it was totally refurbished -Surgical hospital with a large helipad -New mess hall -Better food and better supplies -Iraqi attitude hadn’t changed much at all -They either loved, or hated, the Americans -Second deployment was much easier -Being around high ranking officers meant a high level of safety -His particular unit never took any losses (01:51:40) Second Deployment to Iraq-Going Home -Got home in March 2006 -He was able to fly out of Al-Assad Air Base because it had grown in size -While there he had been able to spend Christmas Eve with his cousin -Flew out on a C-130 -They took off at an almost 90o angle to avoid missiles -Almost puked in his lap because of the amount of G-force during takeoff (01:54:40) Second Deployment to Iraq-Personal Communication -They had established a very good internet and telecommunications network -Able to check email, get mail, and use a webcam on a regular basis -Led to having a good amount of contact with his wife -It was a completely different situation than the first tour �-Still felt strange to be away during major personal events -Weddings, deaths, emergencies, birthdays, holidays, etc. -Realized that the news was not helpful for the families back home -Couldn’t let his family know that he was safe in real time (01:57:01) Returning Home and Working at 29 Palms -Returned home in March 2006 -Got promoted to the rank of sergeant -Asked if he wanted to extend his enlistment for another deployment -Turned it down because he wanted to go back to Michigan and start a family -Helped train new soldiers on the LAV -Worked in the field as an instructor at 29 Palms Marine Base, California -Taught a class on how to deal with IEDs -Last few months of his enlistment were relaxed -Over 60% of his old unit was replacement soldiers -High amount of inexperienced soldiers influenced him not to reenlist -He was tough on the new gunners to prepare them for combat in Iraq -Wanted them ready to deal with the reality of the war -Took live fire training extremely seriously -He was even able to reprimand superior officers when necessary (02:07:10) Leaving the Marines -Formally discharged in June 2007 -He had saved up leave days so that he could take “terminal leave” -Meant that his leave would go past his discharge date -By the beginning of April 2007 he was effectively done with his service in the Marines -He and his wife took a road trip and cruise through the Southern and Eastern U.S. -Had to return to Michigan from Georgia because of car transmission issues (02:08:38) Life after the Marines -Got a job through an old neighbor’s excavation company -Helped him to get reestablished in the civilian world -Got a job through the U.S. Postal Service -Worked as a letter carrier for three years -Started taking classes at Muskegon Community College -Quit the USPS and became a full time student -Eventually went from MCC to Grand Valley State University -Student there with a major in history and a minor in archaeology -Wants to return to Fruitport, Michigan to open a local historical museum -Wife stays home and raises their two children (02:11:20) Adjusting to Civilian Life -Veterans’ Administration has worked well with him -Provided him with GI Bill college benefits and healthcare benefits for wounds -Didn’t have any difficulty going back to being a civilian -Last year of service at 29 Palms was a good transition period -Able to be a Marine, but live with wife and go off base to relax -In Kuwait he and other returning soldiers went through reintegration classes -Taught how to go back to being civilian and readjusting to life -Feels that the military did a far better job with that than they did in Vietnam �-Has suffered some complications from concussive head injuries sustained in Iraq -Has tried to stay in shape even after leaving the Marines (02:16:34) Reflections on Service -Had a profound impact on his life -Made him into a loyal patriot and American -Taught him key life values and established a tangible meaning for them -Perseverance, integrity, honor, courage, and commitment -Allowed him to mature and become a functioning adult -Learned that in the real world experience can be far more important than rank and age -Service made him become an experience and adult member of society � 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 ZwartB1481V Title A name given to the resource Zwart, Brian (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zwart, Brian Description An account of the resource Brian Zwart was born on in 1985 in Grand Haven, Michigan, and grew up in that area. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2002, trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, and became a Light Armored Vehicle crewman in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division, and deployed with them to Iraq in 2004. He spent his tour in Anbar Province, primarily trying to guard the frontier against insurgents. He returned for a second tour in 2005, this time providing security for different commanders in Anbar Province, and was discharged in 2007. 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps 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 2013-03-07 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/4a20c331c66c9bad6cf74fb0bba517dc.mp4 0aa0bef794cb5e9931e8065c717f6919 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b152ed8b2b17aad3ac44ff09e3bdce0c.pdf 522e88be6cad5bbd351dcf35d55f81db PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW GORDON ZUVERINK Interviewed by: Anita VanTil, GVSU Transcribed by: Joan Raymer June 29, 2007 Interviewer: “What is your name” Gordon Zuverink Interviewer: “What was your rank during your time in the South Pacific?” Staff Sergeant. Interviewer: “What year did you join the National Guard?” 1939, after I got out of high school. I needed a few bucks of extra money and that was a good way to get a few dollars to spend and a couple of my buddies were in there so I joined the “Guard” not knowing what was going to happen. Interviewer: “When you joined the 126th did you understand the history of the 32nd Division at all? Had you heard anything about it?” No. I just joined because it was a local National Guard. 1:01 Interviewer: “Had you ever lived traveled outside the West Michigan area before that?” Not much, I doubt whether I was even out of the state. I traveled to the east side of the state as a teenager, I drove in my Jalopy, but no, I had not done any extensive traveling, of course I was only 19 when I joined—I was 18 when I joined and I was 19 when we went to Louisiana. Interviewer: “How did Holland send you guys off? Were there dinners?” Oh, there was a big parade downtown. We marched from the armory down 8th Street to the depot and thousands of people lined the streets and sent us off to meet the train. 1:55 Interviewer: “Did you take any good luck charms or mementos with you to Louisiana?” 1 �No, just a photograph of my girl friend and that was about the extent of it. Interviewer: “I am going to ask you some questions about Louisiana now. Tell me about a typical day in Louisiana, what did you do?” I was a Supply Sergeant, so I didn’t do a lot of field training. I did some shooting on the range, we all had to do that, but primarily I was in charge of supply and had to make sure that the guys had the necessary clothing they needed and like the cooks, they stayed in camp, but whenever there was a review, of course, I had to march in the review and I was the guy that carried the guidon, a little flag. 3:00 Interviewer: “What is the funniest thing you ever saw in Louisiana?” I didn’t see much funny about Louisiana. We had some funny things happen in our organization, but in Louisiana we did make a couple of trips through Baton Rouge and Alexandria, which was the town nearest us, but we didn’t get mixed up in the civilization of Louisiana other than Sundays. We did come from a religious group and we would go to church on Sunday evening and we got to sing in the choir a few times, so we were a little active in that way, in the local scenario. 3:56 Interviewer: “Do you remember where you were when you heard about Pearl Harbor?” Oh yes. Interviewer: “Can you tell me about that?’ It was Sunday morning and my wife was there. My wife and I got married the summer before, so my wife and I were at our little garage home that we shared with the First Sergeant of my company and we had heard what went on, that we had been attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor and we immediately went to the local gathering spot, the Schlitz Canteen, just outside of Camp Livingston and that’s where everybody talked and 2 �watched and tried to decide what was going to happen to us at that time. I could almost name the guys that were there, my First Sergeant and the other guys that were out of camp for the weekend. That was just outside of Camp Livingston. 5:12 Interviewer: “Do you think your training prepared you for New Guinea? That you had in Louisiana?” Prepared for war, but not for New Guinea. There was no training. There was no jungle training that we had up to that time. In fact, when we were in Australia, not even then. We always said, “The people that trained us for jungle warfare were the Japanese”. Interviewer: “Can you describe the train trip over to California? What kind of accommodations and atmosphere was there?” 5:55 Well that’s a---from station to station and I’m sure you hear this from other people, but every time the train stopped to feed—we were fed along the way of course, some of the guys would go to the chow line and other ones would head for town to find the nearest bar to pick up a bottle and there was a bit of alcohol consumed during the train ride across the country and that was the longest trip any of us had had for a long time. We went from Fort Devens, of course, to San Francisco, but it was exciting. 6:50 Interviewer: “I’m going to ask you some more questions about the trip to the South Pacific. Can you tell me what ship you were on and how long did it take to get there?” We were on the S.S. Lurline. That was a converted pleasure liner. I believe it took us 21 days to get there and the reason it took so long, I guess, is because most of the way we were zigzagging and I was on gun duty and watching for periscopes and submarines and enemy ships. I recall a couple of days the ship turned around and headed straight east and I thought, “well maybe the war has been called off, maybe were going back”, but 3 �what I found later---apparently there was some scare of some ships seen in the area, so it was a dodging maneuver trying to get out of that area, but we saw no other ships. We had, I believe, a 9-ship convoy until we reached Australia of course. 8:17 Interviewer: “Did you have a “King Neptune” ceremony?” Oh yes. Interviewer: “Tell me about it.” Oh, that was rough. I wasn’t one of them that they---we had representatives that would represent each of us to go through the thing, but I was glad I wasn’t there and I wouldn’t want to, because the guys got messed up pretty good. I believe I still have in my memorabilia, the card that I am whatever they call it, I have forgotten. Interviewer: “You’re official?” Yup, I’m a member. Interviewer: “Had you heard any rumors about the Japanese or the fighting that was going on while you were on your way to the South Pacific?” 9:09 No, no, there was some speculation on board ship wondering where we were going to go and the best rumor we had was that we were going to Hawaii, which proved not to be true. Interviewer: “It wouldn’t have been so bad—better than what you ended up in?” Yeah. Interviewer: “In Australia now, how did the Australians treat you Americans?” Wonderful, the hospitality was great there. We were the “Yanks’ of course. They called us the “Bloody Yanks”. 9:46 4 �Interviewer: “What was your reaction to the Australian soldiers that you saw coming back from New Guinea? Did you see any soldiers?” A few. Not too many, that was 1942 and there weren’t many back there yet. Occasionally we would run into a few when we would get a leave and go into the local pub to drink a few beers, there would usually be a couple of them in there. They were very friendly guys and we were impressed at their—they were “Gung Ho”. That’s the way they were on the front line too, they were just great fighters—we found out later in New Guinea fighting along side of them. 10:38 Interviewer: “What is the best memory you have of Australia?” Well, my best memories of Australia after I got back, because we didn’t see much of it while we were there, we were in camp primarily, either at Sandy Creek down at Adelaide or up at Newcastle, Brisbane and Camp Cable. We didn’t get out much at that time; it was only afterward that we really mixed with the civilian population, after I got out of combat. Interviewer: “How and where did you land on New Guinea?” 11:39 We landed at Port Moresby. I might add, our first recognition that there was a war going on was a ship right along side of where we docked was sunk by the Japanese and was lying there in the water. A big Liberty Ship I think it was, so we knew---war became a reality then. Interviewer: “What were the native people like that you met while you were on New Guinea? Physically, were they helpful? Did they have any strange customs?” Well, Port Moresby of course, was somewhat civilized and they wore regular clothes like anybody else does. It was later on we met the true Papuan native. Again, when we were 5 �at Port Moresby, we were restricted and we stayed right at that bivouac area and I was only at the bivouac area a couple of days. 12:52 Interviewer: “What kind of weaponry did you personally carry?” I carried an M1 rifle, which I changed a couple of times on the front line. I was the expert rifleman in our company and I was the designated sniper and I preferred other weapons to the M1 for sniping duties, in fact the best sniping rifle I had was a captured Japanese sniper’s rifle. It worked better than ours. It was more precise, it had a longer barrel and you could shoot it better, but primarily starting out, I had the M1 rifle. 13:45 Interviewer: “What did you throw away out of your pack?” First one was, we weren’t on the trail a half a day and we threw the gas masks away. We didn’t figure we would be gassed. Interviewer: “What items that were in your pack were the most helpful to you?” My shelter half, the half of the pup tent and of course a couple of pair of socks that I had which were gone pretty fast on this hike over the Owen Stanley Mountains. 14:23 Interviewer: “What was the Kapa Kapa Trail like physically?” It was very grueling, not a wide trail, not nearly as wide as the Kokoda Trail, the Kokoda Trail was one of the main trails going across New Guinea, but the Kapa Kapa Trail was a little known trail, I understood from history that I researched after the war and it only went one way, two ways, up and back and you couldn’t stray from that trail. You couldn’t get lost because, you know, somebody didn’t lead me and say, “go this way”, you just followed the trail and kept going in a northeasterly direction. 15:18 Interviewer: “How cold did it get in the Owen Stanley Mountains at night?” 6 �It didn’t get cold, it’s the rain forest and it was quite warm. At the top of the mountain, when we really got into the rain forest, there it got a little bit chilly, but I don’t ever remember being cold. Wet, yes, in fact perspiring after a couple of days—we wore fatigues, that was out uniform and the pant legs were pulling on my legs because they were wet and I finally cut them off and that was much easier walking than having those pant legs dragging on my skin all the time. It was much more comfortable. 16:16 Interviewer: “I know we talked about this a little bit ahead of time, but can you tell me a little bit about the native teenager that helped you?” Oh yes, we had an interpreter with us and we had some natives that were bearers, carrying some of the heavier equipment for us, but we did have this teenager, Carlo Keela, who was an interpreter for our company and I didn’t get to know him very well, I knew of him and I knew him a little bit as we were walking across, but when we got over the top of the high peak and on the other side of the mountain, I might add that we were supplied by dropping areas, that’s the only way we could get food and when we would get to a dropping area, they would say,” take whatever you want for 5 days or 4 days or whatever it is”, so it was up to us to carry our own food, but when we got over to the other side of the mountain, we saw native villages all along the way, but this particular native village was called Jaure and I being the supply Sergeant for my unit, they put me in charge of that dropping area and left Carlo Keela, the interpreter, with us and we had with us a two man radio crew from the Signal Corps and they stayed in a little hut with the radio on by the side of the mountain and they would inform us when a plane was going to come over to drop supplies and food. 18:05 Other than that it was kind of fun. I don’t know how long we were there, maybe 10 days or 2 weeks. We had stayed there 7 �until the rest of the battalion came through, up the trail and picked up their supplies. We had tea and moldy bread and didn’t have any socks or clothing or anything, just food and no ammunition, they didn’t drop ammunition, we had to carry all that, but Carlo and I got to be very friendly and I have never forgotten the kid, a young teenager, he had been educated in a mission and could speak good English and could converse in the various dialects of the natives and he proved important to us when it came time when we received instructions. When the last of the troops came through our dropping area, we had to pack up and leave and head for Buna, so he commandeered the natives from the local village to pack up our supplies and we headed down the Kapa Kapa Trail for the front lines. 19:26 Interviewer: “When and where did your unit encounter the Japanese for the first time?” Well, it was on the Sanananda Trail. Our company was posted on just short of a road block that the anti tank battalion had established and our company had to keep that line open so they could get supplies back and forth to their unit. They called it a listening post, they were there just to make sure the Japanese didn’t come through and cut off the anti tank group that was up there and not very exciting, but one evening I had just finished eating a delicious can of mutton and I had my rifle laying across my knees, and sitting on a big log that went out into the jungle, when I heard a rustling noise and I looked around there was a Japanese just crawling up over the log, on the other end of the log that I was sitting on. 20:45 He was the wrong way, my gun is here and you shoot like that, like a dummy I shot pheasants and things and if it worked out I’d shoot left handed, but no, I had to jump around and twist around and by the time he saw me move, he jumped behind a bush along side that log, so I let one fly into that bush and he let out 8 �a yelp and he came crawling back across that log and I thought, “now I gotcha” and I had a bead on him and he was going to be a dead Jap. “Click”, I had a jam, I had a cartridge jammed in the chamber and you talk about a scared “Dutchman”, I was so scared, I thought if he heard that click, he and I are going to go hand to hand and that was evening at dusk and that was the worst night I spent on the front line. 21:46 The moon was shinning, when it got dark I was laying there waiting for these Japs to come back and the moon was shinning and casting shadows on the ground and the whole Japanese army came right through my position, I imagined. I knew it was my imagination working on me, I couldn’t get over it, that was the worst night I spent on the whole front line. Other worst nights, we had frontal attacks that weren’t fun at all. That was my first encounter with the Japanese and I guess I just winged him, I think I got him in the leg. He looked like he was dragging his leg when he went over the top of that log. 22:35 Interviewer: “Do you remember who was the first casualty in your unit and can you tell me about him?” I think it was Sergeant Dannenburg and right after that it was Sergeant Fuller. Dannenburg was from Wisconsin and Fuller was from Wayland or somewhere around here. I met his family, relatives of his at one of our reunions and they talked to me about him and I said, “yes, I knew Steve”, but Sergeant Dannenburg was the first one that was shot by a sniper and he had crawled over to one of his members of his platoon who was in a fox hole and had been hit by a sniper in the belly and he was crying for help, so Dannenburg crawled over there and was talking to him in the fox hole and he said, “we’ll get you outa there Boogie, we’ll getch outa there” and bang, right through his helmet and Dannenburg was dead and so we had to get him out of there knowing that the sniper was 9 �still out there. 23:50 Of course when a sniper was in the area, we put all the machine guns and all the 50 caliber guns on all the suspecting palm trees and just blaze the tops away trying to get whoever was around, you couldn’t see them up there, but we couldn’t leave Dannenburg lay there so Harry Glatz and I said, “Harry lets go in there, you grab one leg and I’ll grab the other and we’ll get him outa there”, so we dashed up there and we each took a leg and dragged him outa there and we eventually got Boogie outa there, I believe it was later on in the afternoon, so we apparently had gotten the sniper with the fire we put down. A couple of days later Fuller got it, he was talking talking to his--standing on the edge of a fox hole talking to a couple of his guys, members of his platoon, he had his hand up to his chin like this and he got shot right through the hand and the throat and it popped his neck wide open and I thought, “oh no” and we had to go up there and get him outa there, so those were the 2, first 2, my counterpart, because I was up to Platoon Sergeant, we don’t need Supply Sergeants on the front lines, so I was Platoon Sergeant, but we did have counter attacks and attacks that we went on where guys were shot and I don’t remember who they were. 25:24 In fact, a Lieutenant, one of our frontal attacks, Lieutenant before we went on the attack he said, “stick by me Zuverink, stay right by me”, so I did. At the signal we got out of our fox holes and started screaming and hollering and running and suddenly I heard a BANG behind me and Lieutenant went down, we had over run one of the Japanese in the ground and shot the Lieutenant in the back and of course I grabbed a grenade and threw it down in the fox hole and took care of him, but those are the kind of things we had during the frontal attacks, they were not fun, run and scream like a banshee—you couldn’t really see anything, just throw that out there and hope that you didn’t get hit. 26:23 10 �Interviewer: “What about your cousin, John Van Til?” Yea, see he was in Company “D” and I went into Cannon Company back when 126 was streamlined, so I had transferred to Cannon Company, but I had heard just a day after John got hit that, I believe or was led to believe, that he was with Ozzie Vos, who was a Lieutenant, Ozzie got wounded and John got killed instantly and I guess it was a mortar shell that got him. John and I were pretty close--we went on passes together when we were in Louisiana. John always told my wife, after war was declared and we knew we were going, he told my wife he said, “don’t worry about your husband, he’s going to come back, he is a good shot and a good soldier”, he said, “me I don’t know”, my wife never forgot that. 27:30 Interviewer: “Did your unit ever take any POW’s?” None, I guess the motto was, “Take no prisoners”, shoot before they can get so close that you can take them prisoner. Of course they were, I understood afterward that they were all worn out and quite emaciated. They had fought over the Kokoda Trail and back again, but there were some replacements that had not fought on the Kokoda Trail. Speaking of the Kapa Kapa Trail and the Kokoda Trail, the Japanese, I mean the Aussies, were reinforced when the Japanese got within 35 miles of Port Moresby. If they had gotten to Port Moresby and taken that, the next stepping stone would have been the mainland of Australia, so it was important that they be beaten back, so the Aussies started pushing them back down the Kokoda Trail and I often wondered, “what on earth were we walking up that Kapa Kapa Trail for, why did we have to walk to Buna when later on our guys flew over?” 29:02 Well, I found out later that we were supposed to get behind the Japanese and cut off their supply lines. Well, the further we walked, the further the 11 �Aussies pushed the Japs back and by the time we got to Buna they were already back there, so that was our first encounter. I did see a couple of—two different time we did see Aussies coming off of the line and how they got to the Kapa Kapa Trail, I don’t know, but there would be 3 or 4 of them in one particular time they were carrying a stretcher with one of their wounded fellas and I remember I said in my written biography, auto-biography, I said that “they met us and as they were coming by us they said, “give em hell yanks”. 29:55 Interviewer: “Do you feel that you had a reputation to uphold, both as an American and as a member of the 32nd?” Oh, absolutely. Yes we knew we were setting a precedent, we were the first American soldiers over there and sure we had to show what the American people were like. We had a reputation to uphold, sure. Interviewer: “Were you injured ever at Sanananda, Buna or on the trail?” No, never injured by enemy fire, no. I got malaria fever, black water fever, had 2 kinds of worms they discovered, Hook Worm and Whip Worm, jungle rot was the, other than malaria, jungle rot was the worst thing, a series of boils that were on both legs and they just wouldn’t heal up, just like boils, jungle rot and that got a lot of the guys, it was a fungus, wet clothing. 31:23 My wife said, “How often were you able to change your socks?” I said, “I only had one pair of socks and I only had one pair of underwear” and I tried to wash it out if we got near a stream, that’s about the extent of it. It would get wet most of the time at night. It would rain almost every day and we would wake up wet in the morning. Just during the day it would dry up and at night it would get wet again and we had no reporters with us, certainly no camera crew, but there were a few reporters that 12 �got into Buna I guess and you might have read it that it was the worst bunch of American soldiers that he had ever seen in his life, circled eyes and skinny limbs. After a couple of months walking on the trail, we were in pretty tough shape. 32:22 Interviewer: “What happened to the unit’s morale as they went over the trail?” It wasn’t good. It was pretty hard to keep upbeat, I keep mentioning Harry Glatz, a friend of mine from Holland, Harry I were probably the best physical specimens, we didn’t march, we walked as fast as we could. Harry and I always were out in front, we always arrived at the bivouac area first and it was, looking back at it, like a walk in the park. Some of the guys, they just couldn’t take it, they were so exhausted and the heels, walking in the mud and the roots, some of the heels come off and some would lose the heels of their shoes and had very difficult walking and you couldn’t get a new pair of shoes. 33:35 They complained that they couldn’t walk anymore, they couldn’t walk anymore, well I guess my commanding officer, Captain Fenton, didn’t like—he took offense that Harry and I were the first ones in camp every night, had our fire made, had our rice cooked, and he said, ”Zuverink, your going to bring up the rear tomorrow and push these guys, your going to be the pusher tomorrow and for a few days.” I didn’t like that at all because some of the time I’m carrying 2 packs and pushing the guys, pushing the guys along and those were the toughest, my toughest days on the trail, trying to help someone else along. After a few days of that I told the Captain, “you can court martial me if you want to, but if I want to get to the other side, I can’t keep doing that, I need to get back out front where I belong”, so he never said anything about it and let it go at that. 34:47 13 �Interviewer: “So all those nights that you spent on the trail and all the nights you were at Buna and Sanananda, what did you dream about the most? What did you have left to look forward to?” Well, I didn’t do much dreaming because I didn’t fall asleep until I was utterly exhausted and of course we could only sleep in shifts and the guy next to you was going to stay awake while you took a nap and it was not a whole night’s sleep. I remember a couple of times waking up in the morning laying on the ground and you pick a little high spot in the ground to lay on and in the morning you wake up and my hand and my feet are in the water that wasn’t there the night before-- it rained. It would rain so hard in the night that the water would collect and then run off again, but there not the best of accommodations there. 35:42 Water, drinking water, if we weren’t near a river, the only way we could get a canteen full of water was to dig a hole in the ground and the water was probably a foot below there, just dig a hole until we got water and get all that mud out of there and wait for a half hour until all that dirt and foam would settle and take a canteen cup and dip it in there and fill your canteen and put 2 iodine drops-- tablets in there and it was fresh water. That’s the only way we could get water unless, like I said, you would come upon a river. Interviewer: “You were telling us how you woke up in the field hospital there. Did you go back to the hospital in Australia then too?” Yes, I was carried from the front line and flown back from the Buna area to Port Moresby and went into the field hospital there, which was like a big circus tent and I understand that I was there probably a week, a small week maybe, in a semi-coma and when I woke up I was wondering where I was, I had to ask where I was, I woke up in the evening, I 14 �remember, and I checked to see if all my limbs were still there yet. 37:23 I raised one leg and thought, “that can’t be my leg, that skinny limb there”. When I went in, when we went into New Guinea, I weighed close to 200 lbs. And at that hospital I weighed 135 lbs. and I was in that hospital until I was ambulatory, until I could walk to the plane and I was flown to Townsville and we didn’t have any seats or benches in the plane and we sat on the aluminum floor and the vibration, when the plane landed I couldn’t walk. 38:08 They had to carry me off the plane. This was at Townsville where we landed and back into the hospital again and I spent some time there. What I had was orchitus, that affects the testicles and I couldn’t walk or do anything. I was there recuperating for about a week and ambulatory well enough to go to—to get a pass to go to town and drink a couple of beers and I walked to town and walked back, but by the time walked back I was down again. I shouldn’t have done that, so it was another few days and they finally gave up. They put me on another plane and sent me back—no I got better—I healed up and I got ambulatory and I could go back to my company, so they flew me back to Brisbane and I went back to Sandy Creek and joined my outfit again, who was getting—Cannon Company was getting replacements from the states and rebuilding to a new strength again. 39:14 I took over my job as Supply Sergeant and I don’t know how long we were there, but I would go back and forth to the hospital with malaria. Malaria would throw me back and forth to the hospital. Finally they gave up on me and said, “this guy can’t do it anymore”. They flew me to Sidney and I went to the 118th general hospital in Sidney and I was in that hospital for 9 months trying to get over---they were trying to heal up my jungle rot and get rid of the worms I had in my intestines and get over the occurrences of malaria and black water fever and after 9 months they discharged me and 15 �sent me to the replacement depot and from there I was reassigned to the 799th Military Police Battalion. 40:10 We were in charge of a stockade in Sydney that was not a POW camp, that stockade that was for our “bad boys” AWOL’s and deserters. Some of our guys would slip away from their outfit and our guards would have to go and pick them up and put them in the stockade until we could send them back to their unit, but that’s primarily what I did in Sydney, I was the Supply Sergeant for the stockade and the Military Police. Interviewer: “Was there quite a bit of AWOL’s and people walking off?” Lots of them, our stockade was full. 40:55 We had a couple of bad guys I remember who were not AWOL’s, they were deserters, guys that just left their outfit and those bad ones, we sent to a prison called “Round Mountain” at Brisbane and that’s where the bad guys went. AWOL’s, they were just out for a good time and we sent them back to their unit. We had some occurrences in the stockade, I remember one time one of our bad ones was shot, he had escaped once before, his name was Bert, and he was a “baddie”. He escaped once before and we got him and got him back in again and he was— sometime later he was trying to climb the wall again and the guard said “halt, halt, get back down off that fence, halt” and he kept climbing and he shot him in the back and knocked him off the fence and that was--- we had found that he came from a bad family, his mother was in prison over here stateside and he should have been let go for the good of the service. He was more trouble than good. 42:09 Interviewer: “ Do you remember when the decision was made to send you back here to the states and what was that like?” 16 �It went on rotation points. You built up rotation points by time and combat service. You reach a certain point, I forgot what they were, but they were in the hundreds. I knew that I had enough points to go back to the states and I just kept bugging my Captain and he said, “we need you here, you’re important to this” and he finally admitted, when I finally did get my traveling orders he said, “we have inspection, you know we have inspection periodically and I always get an A-1 rating and it is primarily because of the way you run a supply, your one of the reasons and I can’t let you go” and I said, “oh come on a prisoner could do my work, a trustee could do my work”. “No” he said, “you’re important to me”. I never forgot that, he held me over and I could have gone 2 months earlier, I had enough points to go. 43:31 I think I mentioned before that I was married. When I left, I left my wife pregnant and my daughter, I found out, was born on September 12 when I was in New Guinea at Port Moresby and I don’t think I was on the trail at that time, but at one of the dropping stations we received some mail, it was dropped to us and I received a V-Mail saying that you had a daughter born on September 12th and I was walking over the Owen Stanley Mountains and that was the first I found out that I was a father. I never saw her until she was—oh, a couple of months before her 3rd birthday, so I had something to come home to. 44:28 Interviewer: “Was your wife here in town or was she at a base?” No, she—when we shipped out to Massachusetts, she lived in Holland and she was working for the defense plant in Holland and she worked there all the time I was gone and she lived with her mother and father and they, her mother and father, raised my daughter and that was a bad thing when we decided to move out and take her with us. 17 �Her grandfather and she were such buddies, they were mother and father to her you know. It was a pretty tough situation for her to get pulled out of that environment. 45:27 Interviewer: “Were you awarded any medals for service or distinction and if so, what for?” Have I earned any medals? Interviewer: “No, were you awarded any medals?” Yes, the Bronze Star with 2 clusters and that was the one special one. The rest were all— Good Conduct Ribbon, everybody got a Good Conduct Ribbon unless they died in the stockade, but if you were a good guy, you got a Good Conduct Ribbon. I had the Expert Rifleman’s Badge and Combat Infantry Badge, which they all got if you were in combat infantry and the unit citations of course; we had Presidential Unit Citations, I probably got a dozen medals that I was awarded. Some of them I didn’t get until several years ago. I had to write for them because they weren’t issued at the time I was discharged. If I had them on my chest they would cover a good share of the left side of my chest. 46:45 Interviewer: “do you remember how long it took you to get back home to Holland from the South Pacific?” Well, I don’t know how long we were on board ship. We go on board ship at Brisbane. We had to go from Sydney to Brisbane to get on board ship and guess what ship I got on? The Lurline, the same one I went over on. I don’t know how long it took us to get back; it certainly didn’t take us 21 days. We went in a direct line and one of the greatest sights I ever saw was the Golden Gate Bridge when we went under that and I think I was only there a day or 2 and we were shipped back across by train to Chicago and the Great Lakes. I was separated from the Great Lakes Separation Center in Chicago. I was there 18 �for medical examinations and so on for 3 or 4 days and my sister, who was a nurse and her husband is a doctor, they live in Chicago, she drove me home when I was finally discharged, she drove me home. 48:02 When I got to Chicago I couldn’t wait to buy a set of “civvies”, a shirt and slacks, I had to get out of that army gear, so when I came home we drove up to my parents home and my wife knew that I was coming and she was there with my daughter and I stepped out of the car and my daughter was standing by the big tree and she got behind that big tree and she said, “you’re not my soldier daddy”. That was the worst thing I could have done was to come home in “civvies”, I’m telling you, I should have worn my uniform. I never forgot that, “you’re not my soldier daddy”. 48:43 Interviewer: “Did you ever visit or contact the families of the men from this area that died in New Guinea?” The only one that I recall is the Fullers, the Fuller family, I believe they are from Wayland. I ran into them at one of our reunions and they were there as guests or just people watching and they sorted me out afterwards and asked me if I had remembered Steve and I said, “oh yes, I remembered Steve very well”, I said, “I hauled him out after he had been killed”, They never heard how he died or talked to anybody who was there when he died, but that one I did. I never met the family of Dannonberg, he was from Wisconsin and of course the local guys. 49:39 My wife started keeping a scrapbook; it’s still there, up on the table there and its pretty well weather beaten and dog-eared. The pages are rotting, but their still---she made—she clipped articles out of the paper about everyone who was killed there until Boersma and those that came back wounded, but it’s all in that scrap book and it will be a keepsake that I pass along to my kids and of course 19 �John Van Til, my cousin and some of the other guys that-- their family, that got killed over there, always been in touch with them. 50:24 Interviewer: “ How do you think your time in the South Pacific altered your life?” Well, I grew up fast. I was 19 when I---I was not yet 20 when we left for Louisiana. I was born in November and we left in October and I was going to be 20 in November and I was just a young buck yet and had some wild oats to sow I guess, but we grew up fast over there. I look back at it and you know a lot of people say they can’t talk about it , but to me it was an experience I wouldn’t want to do again and I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything in the world. 51:16 I was so impressed with the whole thing, the way it went and primarily because I didn’t get killed. I came out of it and I guess—I carried a bible with me—I was a member of the 9th Street Christian Reformed Church and I had a little zippered bible that I carried with me all the time and I have that now and If you’ve got a supreme being that you know is looking after you—he sure did take care of me I’ll tell ya. There were times when bullets were flying around my feet and I still don’t know why I didn’t get hit. At one particular time, I came off—I had just talked to my platoon up front at various fox holes and told them that we were going to have a frontal attack and when it started the signal would be a burst of machine gun fire and we were supposed to open up with everything we had and I had just left the last one and I was coming back to my post, which was a bunker, and when I say bunker, which I did my sniping out of, when someone with a Tommy Gun spotted a Jap and they let that burst go and everybody thought that was it and they started firing and the Japs started firing back. 52:42 I was right in the machine gun lane, the grass was all cut off about this high from the bullets and those bullets were flying around my legs and you talk about a “Dutchman” taking big 20 �strides, I took about 3 or 4 big leaps and I dove behind that bunker and to this day I don’t know how they all missed me, but that was the closest one I had I guess, other than being on the front line. 53:10 You didn’t know if you had a bullet with your name on it or if it was for the guy next to you. Interviewer: “How were you received by Holland when you got back?” Great. My only regret is that we weren’t able to come back as a unit with all our uniforms on and march down the street and march back to the armory the way we left. We came back one at a time and just kind of melted back into civilization. Guys would get together at the local pub and drink a few beers and talk about their experiences because we had all separated pretty much. We all went separate ways during those years that we were overseas. We landed in April in 1942 and left there in June of 1945, so there were 3 years that had passed. Some guys had gone back to the states wounded and others got reassigned in the states, but we were recognized, I’ll tell you. 54:25 Of course the guards, to this day, the Holland National Guard means a lot to people. We have so many reunions put on by the city and the guards themselves and honored constantly time and time again. We just had one last Veterans Day—no, V-J Day it was, that we had a get together here in town. We were really honored there and the Mayor came up to me after we had a band concert and fireworks at Tunnel Park, which we were at and the Mayor came up to me and talked to me. He said, “I know who you are, I’m not going to ask you, I’m going to ask you how long you were in the service and when you got in”, because he knew I got in in 1940 and he had been at several of our reunions. We’ve had reunions at the armory and it’s been and honor, It really has been an honor. 55:27 I don’t mind talking about it and I am proud of it. In fact, I think I told you, I 21 �wrote and autobiography of my entire life and people who have read it said they, some people who have read it said they couldn’t lay it down. They just couldn’t. I do, I have written, I’m a sportsman, I’m a fisherman, so I’ve done some writing for some of the sporting magazines, so I know what journalism is all about. Interviewer: “Is it important for to you to stay in touch with other vets who served in the South Pacific?” Yes indeed. I am kind of the historian for our local Company “D” and for Cannon Company, the unit I served in New Guinea with and I keep track of who’s where and who dies and right now it’s down to, Bill Sikkel and I are the last two of the Holland National guard that left here in October of 1940 and went to New Guinea, we’re the only two left, Bill Sikkel and I. I’ve been to a lot of military funerals of my friends and buddies and after one and at a reunion we had, I made a little speech and I said,” you know I’ve been to some military funerals and I just hope that none of you guys ever come to my military funeral because it will mean I’m the last guy standing”. Bill never forgot that. 57:20 Interviewer: “I think he was competing with you for that one.” Yup, Bill is a pretty young looking guy too, well preserved. 57:32 Interviewer: “Well preserved, well thank you very much sir”. Frank Boring: That was outstanding. Session #2 Interviewed by: Anita VanTil Transcribed by: Joan Raymer August 9, 2007 Interviewer: “Explain the send off that Holland gave for the company “D”.” Well, that was rather eventful. We left in the evening and marched down the steps of the armory and it was about a 3-block tour to the depot where we marched downtown. Down 22 �the Main Street and crowds lined the street like it was tulip time. There were many, many people down there and they all congregated at the depot where we met the train that had come from Muskegon. :59 Interviewer: “Had the train already picked some up?” The train had picked up a company from Muskegon and Grand Haven I believe and then they were to pick up our company, Company “D”. Interviewer: “Can you remember anything that can stand out to you that maybe your mother or father or an older figure in your life had said before you left?” I don’t remember saying goodbye to my parents. I had a girlfriend that was not there that day, she was a nanny in Illinois and she intentionally went with them so she wouldn’t have to be there to say goodbye to me, but some of the other guy’s girlfriends were all there and they were hoisting them up to the windows in the train and I’ve got a picture of that, but my girlfriend was over in Illinois. 1 :00 Interviewer: “On the train and when you were picking up everybody, what was the— how did it feel? Was this just a trip that you were going on? Did you see the serious part of it yet?” Well, I thought it was rather eventful to look forward to because a young kid in those days, I was, I guess, nineteen years old and I don’t know if I was ever out of the state of Michigan. I had taken a few trips with my buddies in an old rattle trap of a car, but we were going to go to Louisiana and that was a long way away and if I had been out of the state of Michigan, I don’t know were it would have been, it might have been Indiana, but I doubt it, so it was quite an event for me. 23 �Interviewer: “I’m going to skip over to Australia because we had a lot of footage on the trip over unless there is something that really stands out that you think we should know about”. There was one occasion on the trip over when we boarded the Lurline in San Francisco. We had been out for 3 or 4 days heading southwest and there was some talk and speculation that we were going to Hawaii, which would have been nice, but suddenly for a matter of 2 or 3 days we headed straight east and I could tell because of where the sun came up. I thought it unusual and I thought maybe the war had been canceled because of lack of interest or something, but no, we had turned that way to avoid a large Japanese convoy that was trying to head us off. That was the main feature. 1:02 Interviewer: “How did you and the other Holland guardsmen, from Holland, remain bonded while training in Australia? How did you pass the time?” Of course we were in a makeshift camp, but the days, of course, were spent drilling, but the nights, some of us would chase off to the nearest town which was Gollar and we headed for the nearest pub and we would get in there and drink some beer and some wine. We did play a little softball and we played cards of course in the evening, but our schedule was pretty tight because we ran a tight training schedule knowing we wouldn’t have a long time to get prepared for wherever we were going to go. 1:03 Interviewer: “Did you go by boat over to Port Moresby?” Yes, by Liberty Ship. We landed in Adelaide, which is in southern Australia and sometime after that we were put on a troop train and taken through the outback to Brisbane and we left the Brisbane port on board a Liberty Ship to go to Port Moresby, New Guinea. 24 �Interviewer: “If you can remember back, what was atmosphere aboard the boat as you approached Port Moresby? Was there fear or was there shock?” Well, when we were heading into the port there, this was our first signs of was, that there was a war going on. There was a ship that had been sunk in the harbor and it was right next to where we docked so, the reality of it all of a sudden came into our minds that we were here. 1:04 Interviewer: “Where the Japanese bombing Port Moresby when you arrived or was it pretty quiet?” There were no signs of the Japanese in Port Moresby while we were there, but of course they had been bombing there because they bombed that ship, but there wasn’t much sign of any demolition by bombs in Port Moresby. We saw no--occasionally we’d see a Japanese bomber way up high in the evening, not zeroed on Port Moresby, I don’t know where they were going, so we didn’t see much of the was in Port Moresby. Interviewer: “Explain how long of a time you were at Port Moresby before you went on the trail? Were you at Port Moresby for days?” 1:05 We, my company and the 2nd battalion, who marched over the Owen Stanley with us, we were only there for a few days as I recall and the rest of the unit stayed there, but we were put aboard trucks and all of sudden we started heading in a southerly direction somewhere, they didn’t tell us where we were going, but we found out when we got there. The trucks got to the end of the roadway, which was the start of the Kapa Kapa Trail, there was a village there, I forgot the name of the village, but that’s where the Kapa Kapa Trail started and it was a little known trail, not heavily used. The main trail in New Guinea was the Kokoda Trail, that’s where all the fighting had taken place between the 25 �Australians and the Japanese when the Japanese were trying to fight their way from Buna, from the other side of New Guinea, the went over the Kokoda Trail, so this Kapa Kapa Trail, I guess we took because it was kind of a secretive trail and they didn’t think we would encounter any Japanese there. I was happy for that. 1:06 Interviewer: “So you didn’t encounter any Japanese on it?” No we didn’t. We did at one time after several days out we met and Aussie patrol, a little Aussie patrol came back they were carrying a stretcher with a wounded Australian on it, so they had apparently come off a side trail to get on the Kapa Kapa Trail so they could get back to Port Moresby and I know the one guy when they ran into us, of course we were the forward echelon and I’ll never forget he said, “Give em hell yanks”. So they were apparently happy to see us. 1:07 Interviewer: “When you got on the Kapa Kapa Trail how did you receive orders and did you understand the reasoning of where you were put and why?” Well, I we couldn’t figure out why we were walking up the trail. We assumed—we knew the main trail was to the north of us and we kind of assumed that we were supposed to go inland quite a ways and get behind the Japanese and cut them off from their supplies. Well, apparently that didn’t happen because about as fast as we walked the Aussies were pushing the Japanese back so; we met at Buna on the other side of Papua. I can’t believe that they thought they would walk us all the way from Port Moresby to Buna, which was 125 miles as the crow flies. It would be kind of stupid I thought, but it happened… and it took a long time. 1:08 Interviewer: “How long did it take from the moment you started on the trail until you got down to Buna?” 26 �It’s documented that the main force got to Buna 42 days after we started, but I got there just a few days later because I was first in the forward echelon and when we got over the Owen Stanley Mountains to the other side of the ridge, I had been a supply Sergeant, so my company commander left me in charge of the dropping area, that’s where we got our food, so I and a few other guys from my outfit had to stay there until the entire 2nd battalion came through and picked up their supplies. That’s how we got our supplies, just by airdrop and we had a 2-man radio crew from the signal corps and that’s how we kept in touch with headquarters. These 2 guys would give us the information they got from headquarters and relay our information back to them, so they’re the ones that gave us the orders through the Signal Corps that we were to pack up everything and get some natives to carry the supplies and head down the trail for Buna. 1:10 Interviewer: “What one image of the trail you were on stayed in your mind?” Well, I guess when we crossed over the top, that’s the rain forest and it was raining all the time. I think it was two days that we were on top of that in the rain forest and it was mud and roots and that’s where our equipment, clothing and shoes took a royal beating. Some of the guys coming down the other side, the heels would come off their shoes and we had no shoe replacements so they had to wear them as they were and if you liked a change of sox, you better have them in your back pack. That’s the only way you could get them. As I recall I wore the same clothes all the way over 50 days or however long I was on the trail. That’s a long time to wear some underwear, but we washed it out in the rivers or streams whenever we could get to it you know, but we lived like animals. 1:11 Interviewer: “What noise at night, when you were on the trail, made you the most nervous?” 27 �Noise? Lack of noise. Just a few night sounds, but it was eerily quiet and clear after the rain stopped and the sun went down, the sky was just bright with stars and I believe the moon, the moon was up, I remember that. Interviewer? “When you came down off the trail and into Buna, what did it look like to you?” Well, there wasn’t much to see—jungle, and on either side of the trail was what they call kunai grass and it grows 6 feet tall, so you didn’t see much. We came by other companies through their headquarters etc., but the other companies were all stationed along the front line at that point, in fact, my company was already on the listening post on the front line and that’s where I joined them after we brought our native train and supplies back down. 1:12 Interviewer: “In your last interview you talked about your first encounter with Japanese soldiers.” That was what we call the listening post, we were quite near the Huggins roadblock and that unit had fought its way through the Japanese line and established a roadblock. Well, that left the trail back to headquarters open, so we were stationed along that trail to keep the Japanese from cutting off that road block and we were stationed 2 guys at a post along that trail and one evening there was a big log right by our foxhole and that extended out into the jungle and I had just sat on that, unaware that there might be some Japs around and I had just finished eating a can of corned mutton and licking my chops, when I heard something off to my right, rustling in the jungle and as I looked over there I saw this Jap, a lone Jap, crawl over the end of that log that I was sitting on. I didn’t dare move because I didn’t know if he saw me or not. Well, he did see me and he jumped 28 �behind a bush right next to that log, so I pulled up my gun and fired into that bush and he let out a yelp and he came back across the log dragging his leg, I must of gotten him in the hind end or the hip or somewhere and I put another bead on him and I thought, “I got you” and I had him in my sights and I pulled the trigger and “click” the gun had jammed so, I had no round available and the guy with me, I said, “Shoot him, shoot him” and he couldn’t see him and said, “Where, where”, and I’m telling you that drove me crazy. That was my first encounter and I guess that was one of the longest nights I spent on the front line. I couldn’t get that Jap out of my mind and I was afraid that if he heard that click, we would have gone into hand-to-hand combat. Well, I wouldn’t have been afraid of that, I think I was bigger than he was according to the little Japs I saw. That night I laid there and watched, overly cautious, the moon was shinning through the jungle trees and leaves and those leaves made shadows and forms on the ground and I imagined the whole Japanese army came through my post that night. I knew it was in my mind, but I couldn’t stop it. All night long I watched the whole Japanese army cross my post. I was one scared “Dutchman”. 1:15 Interviewer: “Explain what illnesses you had after coming back to Australia from Buna and what kind of treatment they had for them?” Well, we all had to take quinine and then atabrine on the front line because most of us were bitten by the anopheles mosquito and had malaria and this would hold the fever down so—you were sick, but you didn’t know it. We had malaria, jungle rot, sores on our legs where we hadn’t washed properly and I had jungle rot on both my legs, up this side and down the other on my left leg, I had malaria and I had black water fever, which was an extended form of malaria as I understand it. I was told afterward that it is 95% 29 �fatal, in fact I was approached by a gold mining company to stay in Australia and work for them because once I had black water fever I was immune to it and I could work in the gold mines in New Guinea, which I turned down of course. I had 2 types of worms in my abdomen, hook worms and whip worm so, when I rejoined my unit—my unit left me, did I tell you that the last time? When we were relieved in the first part of January, the first, second or third of January, we were relieved by I’m not sure who it was, another division and the First Sergeant gathered us together and he said, “We’re going back to Australia”, but he said, “I gotta have 2 volunteers to stay on the front line with the replacements to acquaint them with what is going on, on the front line, what we know about it”. Well, This dummy, I said, “I’ll stay if Harry Glatz stays, Harry and I were 2 buddies that hiked it together all the time, Harry said, “I’ll stay with ya” so, we were back on the front line again and so I was—we were there probably somewhere between 10 days and 2 weeks as I recall because one day I passed out with the black water fever and they carried me off the front line, but I don’t know the exact date. Then I was flown back to Port Moresby to the field hospital there and my unit was back in Brisbane already. I stayed in the hospital there for probably a week and then flown back to the mainland and brought back to my company again. 1:19 Interviewer: “Can you go over what type of equipment you had when you were in New Guinea?” We were issued the M1 rifle, which was relatively new at that time. I guess it came to be just about the time the war started because we had old Springfield rifles before that they used in World War I, but the M1 fired a lot faster round. The Springfield rifle, you had to cock every time you would shoot, but this was automatic, it had an automatic clip. Those 30 �officers that didn’t have rifles carried a 45 automatic side arm. We carried hand grenades and bayonets for our gun. When we left Port Moresby, we were all issued gas masks of course and by the time we got to Port Moresby the gas masks were all on the other side of the mountain. They were the first thing we dumped, we didn’t think we needed gas masks there and fortunately we didn’t, but that was excess equipment and we had a back pack of course and the back pack was made up of what we call a shelter half, it’s half a pup tent and when you made camp at night you had to team up with a buddy and put the shelter halves together to made a little pup tent. We weren’t issued knives, just the bayonets for hand-to-hand combat. That was about the extent of our equipment. We had mortars, but those we didn’t carry over the mountain, they were too heavy and we had machine guns, which were too heavy and we didn’t carry those either that I recall. 1:21 Interviewer: “In Buna, explain how the fighting worked, was there some kind of system on the front lines?” Well, not really, being jungle we didn’t know what was to the left or the right of us, but we were told that “C” Company might be on our left and “A” Company on our right and we changed positions from time to time because occasionally we would have frontal attacks and take off screaming like banshees and push the Japanese back and establish new positions and afterward, in the documents I got, it was kind of a semi-circle around Buna, they call it a perimeter and had little holes in the line here and there that our units were able to break through and eventually got to the ocean on either side so, then the Japanese literally had their backs to the ocean and when they finally pushed them out of Buna there was no place to go if they wanted to run away. They jumped in the sea, in the ocean, some of them drowned in the ocean. I was carried out before—I think it was 3 31 �days before the final push on Buna, so I was already carried out at that time, but I have read a lot of war materials on that and how that all transpired. It showed diagrams in that book, where all the companies were, I saw where we were and where we moved to and that at times we were fighting side by side with the Australians, heck of fighters I’ll tell you, boy those guys were real nasty and I’m glad they were on our side. They were tough, they were tough. 1:23 Interviewer: “Some of the other men we have interviewed talked about the Japanese P.O.W.’s. What can you tell us about that?” I never saw one. It was “Take no prisoners”. I didn’t have the opportunity to take any prisoners, but there were prisoners taken. I didn’t let them get that close. I would shoot first. 1:24 Interviewer: “When you came back to Australia and you recovered as much as possible there, were you sent back to your base?” Yes, I came back to my unit and I assumed my job as supply Sergeant and I’d be there for a few days and I would get the fever again and I would go back to the field hospital and they would fill me full of atabrine and knock the fever down and send me back to the company. I think that happened about 3 times and finally they gave up and decided “this guy can’t go back into combat again” so, I was declared unfit for combat duty and sent to the 118th general hospital, which was in Sydney and I spent 9 months there trying to get rid of the worms and the jungle rot and it took a long time to get that all out of my system. Finally I declared fit enough for duty again so I was sent to the rehabilitation center and then I assigned to the 799th Military Police and we were in charge of a stockade, that’s a prison for Americans not P.O.W.’s, for the “bad boys”, guys that went 32 �AWOL and deserted. We would keep them incarcerated and eventually send them back to the unit, except in the cases of the guys that were really bad and deserters, we would send them to Brisbane to a prison they call “The Round Mountain”, that was for the bad guys they intended to keep incarcerated until they sent them back to the states. 1:26 Interviewer: “Were there quite a few AWOL that came through over and over and did they tell you why they went AWOL?” The guys in the stockade? Well, they just got sick of the front line and took off from their unit, with AWOL’s their unit is usually close by and they run to town without a pass and stay there for a few nights and maybe find a girl that they live with for a couple of days and come back to the company again. Deserters had no intention of going back and we did get a few of those and they figured they would just get away from the war. We had a couple of them that we killed in the stockade, they tried to escape and we had several who tried to escape and we would always get them back, but 2 of them I remember were climbing the fence and they had tried it before and the 2 of them were shot in the back and killed climbing the fence. It was serious. 1:27 Interviewer: “Explain how you left Australia and came back to the U.S. Explain how that system came around. You talked some about rotation points” Right, you had to establish rotation points, how long you were gone from the states, how long you were overseas, you got double time for being in a combat area and I forgot, but you have to be up in 100 and some points when your name would come up for rotation. I know that guys were leaving that had less points than I did and I tried everything to get out of there and my commanding officer wouldn’t let me go. I was in charge of supply there and he kept telling me, “I got to have you as my Supply Sergeant”, and I said, “you 33 �could give this job to a trustee, he could do that job”, “No” he said. The stockades were subject to inspection and he said, “ I always get good inspections and you’re part of that” so, he held me a couple of months later. I even tried to—I even applied to go back to my unit that was island hopping at that time and he wouldn’t let me go. 1:28 He said, “You’re unfit for combat duty, you’re not going” but, that was a long wait and finally, I guess, probably in May, I was told OK, I could go. I had more than enough points to go back home and so they shipped me, I think by train, back to Brisbane and that’s where I picked up the boat to go back and strangely enough in 1942 when we came over, we came on the U.S.S. Lurline, which was a converted pleasure boat and I got the same boat back to San Francisco again and one of the nicest sights I’ve seen, that I can remember in my life, was seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, when we crossed under that bridge. In fact, when we left San Francisco I had heard that if you throw a penny under the Golden Gate Bridge it would be good luck. Well, I guess it was good luck because I didn’t find the penny back, but I knew it was down there and I did get back all in one piece. 1:30 Interviewer: “You said before that on the train back to Holland, they dropped soldiers off along the way and that you couldn’t come back together as I company.” No, we came back as individuals. You know that’s the thing that I was always disappointed in, that Company “D” couldn’t come back to Holland as what’s left of the unit and march down the street and come back to the armory. We came back single file and you would go into town or stop at the local pub and you would say, “Oh it’s so and so and he’s back” and that’s the way you congregated again, some of them, when they came back, were sent for R and R to Florida and spent some time on the beaches there, 34 �but I didn’t get to do that, I came back too late and I was discharged as soon as I got back to Chicago at the Great Lakes Training Center. 1:31 Interviewer: “You had a daughter born while you were on the trail. What was it like seeing her for the first time?” Well, my wife and I were married down in Louisiana, in the summer of 1941, before war was declared. She came down to Alexandria and we got married down there and when I left she was pregnant. We left in February or whenever it was, we went to Fort Devins first incidentally, so I didn’t—it was strange how I found out that I was a father. When we were walking over the Owen Stanley Mountains, on some dropping areas we would spend an extra day to rest up and at one of these spots the planes came over and dropped some supplies and they also dropped a bag of mail and in that mail there was a V-mail for me from my mother-in-law saying that I was the father of a baby girl, born on September 12 and as I recall, that was on my birthday, November 9, that I got that V-mail and my daughter still has that V-mail at home. That was really Airmail it really came by air. Then of course, going home, when I left the Great Lakes separation center in Chicago— my sister lived in Chicago, she was married to a doctor there, she drove me home, back to Holland and of course when I was in Chicago, I couldn’t wail to get into “civvies” so, I bought a shirt and a pair of slacks and I wore that home and when I got out of the car my wife and daughter were there and my daughter saw us getting out of the car and she got behind a big tree in the yard and she peeked around the tree and she said, “You’re not my soldier daddy” and that was a bad mistake, I should have worn my uniform home, but I was so anxious to get into civvies. 1:34 35 �Interviewer: “What did you do after you got home and got reacquainted with family? Did you find a job right away?” We did get some subsistence pay after we were discharges, not a heck of a lot, but I did find a job with a moving company, moving furniture, a local moving company, but I intended to go to school on the G.I. Bill and I always excelled in high school in math, math and gym were my 2 favorite subjects and so I always wanted to use math. I was going to go to Grand Rapids Junior College and take up accounting and just before I applied my dad told me, I had worked as a carpenter prior to the war on my dads construction crew, so my dad said, “Jim wants to talk to you Gordie”, he was my old boss and he started the lumber company up again, so I went over and talked to him and he said, “I’ve got a job for you” he said, “I want you to come here and draw plans” and I didn’t know how to draw plans, I know how to build a house, but he said, “you will learn, I’ve got a job for you and I want you to start working for me, you can go to the Chicago Technical College and take a 2 year course and take up drafting and the side course would be building and construction of course and you can learn as fast as you want in college”,so I started in September and my wife went along with me and she worked at the Baby Bliss manufacturing company putting baby carriages together while I went to school. I went to school during the day and studied all night and that was in September, in February I finished my 2 year course and graduated and went home and got home and my boss said, “Here’s your office”, so I started and that was a nice shortcut to a good job and it turned out very well. I stayed in the lumber and building business all my life. 1:36 36 �Interviewer: “When you got back to Holland and met up with some of the other people from your company who had been over there? What was that like to be back to normal and see them?” Well, we all had to touch base and tell our war stories, where we had been and what we had done because very few of us had been together, I had one person with me in Australia, one of my friends that worked with me, but we would gather often at the local watering hole, which happened to be the Pioneer Club and drink a beer or 2 and tell our war stories and pretty soon here another one would come along and say so and so got back, Joe got back and another big celebration again. That was before the end of the Japanese war, so some of our guys were still over there fighting, none of our original because most of them were casualties, either killed or wounded or taken off the line from illnesses, but they eventually all the survivors staggered back into Holland and until we all eventually landed a job where we could go our own way and settle down and some— most of them got married then and settled down and started to get into the real world. 1:38 Interviewer: “You don’t have to answer this one if you don’t want to, but can you name some of the people that were killed?” Sure, George Boersma, he was killed by a sniper, Bob Dannenberg, he was killed by a sniper, I was the platoon officer on the front line because we didn’t need Supply Sergeants on the front lines so I was a platoon officer and Sergeant Dannenberg was a platoon officer and Steve Fuller was a Platoon Sergeant, both of those guys were killed out of three platoons, I’m the only guy that survived out of the 3. I carried both off the front line, hauled their bodies back. Paul Hannigan, Henry Wiermeyer, I’m trying to 37 �think of the clippings that my wife kept in the book of mine, every time one of the local soldiers would get killed his picture would be in the paper and she would clip it out and put it in the photo album that she had. Sullivan, Jimmy Sullivan, those are the only ones that come to my mind right now. Robert John was another one. 1:40 Interviewer: “These were all people that you knew?” Yeah, we were all buddies. Interviewer: “How often does the Red Arrow meet?” Once a year we have a—Red Arrow Division, in September they have the annual reunion. We have one coming up next and it will be in Wisconsin. It alternates between Wisconsin and Michigan because that’s where the guards were from in the Red Arrow Division, Wisconsin and Michigan, so it’s usually after Labor Day they have a big reunion and it’s getting smaller right along because the guys are dropping off at the rate of 1,000 a day and 30,000 a month. I don’t know how they can be dying that fast because there are not that many left, in fact, out of original guys that left Holland in October 1940, in the National Guard and ultimately went to New Guinea, there are only 2 of us left, Bill Sikkel and I, we’re the last guys standing. 1:41 Interviewer: “Is there anything you would like to add before we end?” Well, I talk about Bill and I, the last time we had a get together with Company “D”, that summer I had gone to a couple of my buddies’ military funeral and I told the guys there, I said, “You know, I hope that none of you ever come to my funeral because that will mean that I’ll be the last one” and it’s coming to pass I guess. 1:42 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 ZuverinkG1267V Title A name given to the resource Zuverink, Gordon (Interview transcript and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zuverink, Gordon Description An account of the resource Gordon Zuverink joined his local National Guard unit in Holland, Michigan, after graduating from high school in 1939. His unit was federalized in 1940 and sent to train in Louisiana. In 1942, his division was sent to Australia and then to New Guinea. Zuverink became one of the "Ghost Mountain Boys" who trekked across the Owen Stanley Mountains as part of the campaign against Buna. During the campaign, he contracted malaria and was sent back to Australia, where he served for the remainder of the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Vantil, Anita (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 2011-09-27 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/6973e9fc3e5be878f715a79cbfaa941d.mp4 486ef04ff50d68f85d3cfc995246ce0e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/06dcc252c1c2e9ff4e3345f49053853d.pdf 3af3b7a2dfe00ec78fe3a38589a8e624 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Air Force Academy Graduate Michael Zulauf Interview Length: (01:14:00:00) Early Life/ First Year at the Air Force Academy: (00:00:15:00)  Born April 26th 1985, in Muskegon, Michigan. Also grew up here (00:00:16:00)  Played basketball and ran cross-country and track in high school (00:00:24:00)  Parents were teachers (00:00:31:00)  Was a sophomore when the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001 (00:00:50:00) o This is when the decision was made to serve in the armed forces (00:00:58:00)  Received admission to University of Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering Program, but decided to go to the Air Force Academy instead, located near Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was a long-term aspiration. (00:01:10:00) o Was determined to go to the Air Force Academy because this meant a better chance of being a pilot (00:01:30:00)  Signing up for the Air Force academy is a process much like that of the college application process (00:02:10:00) o Difference between the two is that in the Air Force Academy, you have to get a sponsorship from a public figure, for example, a congressman (00:02:23:00) o Received a nomination from both former Congressman Pete Hoekstra and Senator Debbie Stabenow (00:03:05:00) o Each congressman is given the opportunity to nominate five individuals for each service academy, and there are few of these in the United States (00:04:05:00) o When interviewed for sponsorship, was asked a series on controversial questions that were used to analyze demeanor rather than actual opinions (00:05:11:00)  If you get into the Air Force Academy, you are notified by mail (00:06:12:00) o After receiving the letter of appointment, must accept or deny the request (00:06:30:00)  Minimum commitment of 5 years active duty and 3 years on reserve (00:07:00:00) o In the first two years of the Air Force Academy, “you try it out” (00:07:05:00)  Reported to duty on July 1st, 2004, allowing only 1 month between high school graduation and attendance at the Air Force Academy (00:07:45:00)  Freshman year at the Air Force Academy is very serious (00:08:20:00) o No personal media is allowed to first- year students (00:08:21:00)  Reception to the Air Force Academy is very serious (00:09:41:00) o Welcome event is held at the same time and place for each incoming class (00:09:52:00) o Much paperwork must be completed initially (00:10:01:00) o Must take an Oath to the United States Constitution (00:10:05:00)  A “Cadre” is an Air Force Academy attendant who has completed all portions of the new member process. These people are usually of Junior or Senior status (00:10:54:00)  First 3-4 weeks of new member training takes place at a plateau in the Rocky Mountains (00:11:36:00) �         o Many men are not used to this elevation, which commonly leads to dehydration, blacking out, and bloody noses (00:11:40:00) Each incoming class has a class color. Either blue, silver, gold or red (00:12:00:00) o When new students would arrive, a set of class-colored footprints were painted on the pavement on campus, set at a 45 degree angle, where the students were required to stand and be given their first briefing (00:12:05:00) Each new class was roughly 1500 students and generally 1000 of those graduate (00:12:30:00) Many people go in planning on becoming a pilot, but some do not meet this goal due to medical handicaps or deciding against it upon graduation (00:12:55:00) o “this is the most demanding job in the Air Force” (00:13:02:00) The main objective of the Air Force Academy is to “mold you into an officer of good character” (00:13:15:00) o Students attend the academy to earn a 4-year college degree and learn leadership skills (00:13:23:00) o A vast majority of students go for an engineering degree (00:13:40:00) o Zulauf picked civil engineering as his major (00:14:02:00) The academic year goes from the first week of August to the last week in May (00:14:56:00) New member training is split into two halves (00:15:10:00) o First half is mental training. This determines whether or not the students can handle the psychological strains that come with the field in which they may be employed. (00:15:13:00) o Having a brother that went to the academy at least provided a brief introduction to what this lifestyle would be like. (00:16:11:00) o The second half takes place at Jack’s Valley, a training complex at the Air Force Academy and took place in the last 3 weeks of new member training. This setting taught students the physical aspects of the Air Force with tasks such as obstacle courses firearm handling. (00:16:40:00) After the 6-7 weeks of new member training is complete, the student is recognized as a “member of the Cadet wing”, which translates to a “part of the student body” (00:17:45:00) o When you become a member of the cadet wing, you receive shoulder boards, which were placed on the shoulders of a service dress jacket. These boards would receive emblems such as the “horizon”, “cloud”, and ”ground” later in the student career. (00:18:15:00) o Other trinkets of value would be added to the service dress according to student achievement, for instance, earning above a 3.0 grade point average (00:19:15:00) Students at the Air Force Academy are graded in three areas: military service, academics, and athletics. (00:19:30:00) After basic training, a student begins the actual first year of a 4- year study. This lasts approximately 9 months (00:20:25:00) o During this time, one task that freshmen must attend to involves running on several pieces of connected square marble, at attention, greeting each person that he/she comes into contact with in the appropriate way (00:20:39:00) �       o Freshmen have a quota of tasks to complete on each of the three levels of study per unit of time. For this reason, students are almost always “dead tired”. (00:21:20:00) While at the Air force Academy, “your life is fully controlled”. (00:22:00:00) o All of the training determines when a student will graduate and become a second lieutenant, a position that outranks 90% of the Air Force body. (00:22:07:00) Another duty of freshman is “calling minutes”, which is where a squadron of the Air Force Academy informed other students of current conditions and a variety of daily information such as the weather, time of day, and lunch menu. (00:22:35:00) o Along with this, students would be given routine “knowledge tests” from a 200 page book called Contrails. This text aimed to inform students on the history and processes of the Air Force Academy (00:25:47:00) For Zulauf, the hardest thing to adjust to was the collective workload in balancing military, academics, and athletics. (00:26:32:00) o “Every day was filled. You had no free time”. (00:27:05:00) o Training officers were very strict (00:27:35:00) About 20% of students drop out in the first year. (00:29:40:00) o This would happen at any point in the academic year (00:29:45:00) o Dropping out was particularly easy because one was not bound to attendance, there was no money owed after the first two years, and a student could not fall below a 2.0 grade point average without being on academic probation. (00:30:05:00) Students also have to adhere to the “Honor Code”, which says that nobody will lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate any of the aforementioned terms no matter what. (00:30:35:00) o In addition to the code, a student can be put on “honor probation” for a violation of the terms. If this happens, the student will be asked to go before a board of officers and be “tried” for honor violations. (00:31:05:00) o Zulauf once sat on a board as a sophomore and the student violator was kicked out of the academy. (00:31:22:00) o It is possible to “self-report” yourself if you are approached by another student and asked to explain yourself due to a possible violation. This maintains a “culture of honesty” amongst the cadets. (00:32:01:00) o The Air Force Academy also exercises “core values”, which involves “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do” (00:34:05:00) During the freshman year, students are allowed to go off campus on weekends, but this privilege may be limited. (00:34:35:00) o “the process is very political” because congress runs the Air Force Academy, and is ever- changing student processes/abilities (00:34:52:00) o Students also receive holiday leave, which includes 4-5 days for Thanksgiving, 10 days for Christmas, 7 days for Spring break, and a summer break split into three sections called “A, B, and C go’s” which you have a certain practice mission to complete in 3- 36 hour segments (00:35:40:00) In one of “go’s”, called the “Jump Program”, a student is tested on sky diving, where if the student is unable to activate his or her own parachute, it results in termination from the program (00:38:20:00) o This is done at the Air Force Academy’s own airfield (00:38:32:00) �o The student is exposed to any possible environment that a cadet would have to endure if they were to have to free-fall from an aircraft. This could include pouring water on the student to mimic precipitation, using a leaf blower to simulate high winds, or another individual impose physically obstructions such as tampering with boots. Cadets are also tested on structural impositions such as a faulty parachute. (00:40:20:00) o Sports players were usually not allowed to have this type of simulation training for fear of physical impairment and the inability to continue with Air Force Academy athletics. (00:41:22:00) o A student can enroll in this program either in the summer of his or her Freshman year or the summer before Senior year (00:41:50:00) o This was Zulauf’s first “section” of summer after Freshman year (00:41:48:00)  The second section of Zulauf’s first summer as an Air Force Academy student was spent in Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas (00:42:01:00) o Traveled by C-130 aircraft (00:42:05:00) o Zulauf worked in a personnel squadron during this time, allowing him to see the vast amounts of paperwork that go into military processes (00:42:24:00) Final Years at the Air Force Academy: (00:42:40:00)  With the addition of years completed at the Air Force Academy, a student earns markedly more respect from peers (00:43:03:00)  During sophomore year, students are required to declare a major (00:43:45:00) o Main focus for students in their second year is academics (00:43:50:00)  In the summer after sophomore year, Zulauf travelled to Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base in Anchorage, Alaska. (00:44:05:00) o He was enrolled in the FERL program, which stands for “Field Experiment Readiness Laboratory”. (00:44:10:00) o FERL is aimed at civil engineering majors. (00:44:21:00) o Those in the program were able to tour all of the engineering facilities on the base. (00:44:35:00)  Civil engineers who work in the Air Force do a great amount of “dirty work” (00:45:11:00) o These individuals would use land machinery like bulldozers, pave roads, and use shovels for various things. (00:45:13:00) o Air Force bases are work with extremely large amounts of concrete, so people of this field are in demand. (00:45:37:00) o An officer- level civil engineer would be in charge of making sure structures were functional, dealing heavily with physics and mathematics. They are also responsible for negotiating with contractors on project matters such as budget and timeline. (00:46:02:00)  While in Alaska, Zulauf was able to embark on some various trips (00:47:00:00) o One was a halibut fishing trip. (00:47:02:00) o Another was a hike, where Cold War Era bunkers were found. (00:47:10:00) o Visited Denali National Park. (00:47:20:00)  Another part of FERL took place back in Colorado Springs. (00:47:35:00) �      o This portion of the program allowed students to work on civil engineering- related projects materials like the construction of bridges, water filtration systems, and the handling of concrete and asphalt. (00:47:35:00) o The FERL project was the entirety of Zulauf’s “B- Go”. (00:48:11:00) Zulauf went home to Muskegon during his “B- Go” (00:48:09:00) Zulauf’s “C- Go” took place in South Korea. (00:48:15:00) o Learned a great deal about Korean culture by visiting Seoul, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and the Korean War Memorial. (00:48:21:00) o This trip was mostly vacation and little military duty. (00:49:13:00) o Upper-level academy members are given more opportunities to visit places just for the sake of leisure than are lower-level students. (00:48:19:00) o Students had the most contact with the Korean people when they went to the local markets. (00:50:20:00) After Korea, Zulauf entered his junior year. (00:52:30:00) o Junior status students are still below seniors, but are given very important leadership roles. (00:52:42:00) o Zulauf spent the first part of this year as an exchange student at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy located in New London, Connecticut. (00:53:01:00) o Only about 50 cadets out of 1000 are accepted into exchange programs. (00:53:15:00) In his last 3 years at the Air Force Academy, Zulauf was in Cadet Squadron 33. (00:53:33:00) Coast Guard Academy was “very interesting”. (00:54:28:00) o Zulauf was able to drive to Boston to practice sailing. (00:54:32:00) o The ship that the students practiced sailing on was a German WWI “prize” given to the Americans upon the defeat of Germany. (00:54:39:00) o The students took the ship out near Cape Cod and saw a variety of marine life. (00:55:15:00) o Zulauf was part of the “Competitive Sailing Team” at the Coast Guard Academy. (00:55:35:00) o The atmosphere differed significantly from that of the Air Force Academy because the Coast Guard is a small service with little funding. Zulauf also notes that a student accumulates more privileges with seniority at the Air Force Academy whereas the workload is “spread out” amongst the 4 years at the Coast Guard Academy. (00:56:01:00) o Zulauf believes that the Coast Guard is more “rank-oriented” than the Air Force Academy. Coast guard affiliates emphasize official titles more so than Air Force affiliates. (00:56:39:00) o The Coast Guard Academy, being a Division III school, was conventionally smaller than the Air Force Academy, which is a Division 1 school. (00:57:15:00) o A large percentage of the officers at the Coast Guard Academy are alumni of the school whereas a much smaller fraction of Air Force Academy officers actually attended the academy. (00:58:00:00) The most common ways to get commissioned is by reserve officer training programs and service academies. (00:58:20:00) �        As an upperclassman, Zulauf decided to be more “relaxed” with classmates below him when he returned to the Air Force Academy. (00:59:39:00) o One reason for Zulauf’s attitude was his desire for students to focus more on academics in order to be more inclined to gain acceptance to graduate school. Zulauf supported shortened military tasks to allow more study time. (00:59:42:00) There was always a sense of “Big Brother watching you” at the academy (01:03:20:00) o Zulauf thought this was a good thing because it reinforced the accountability that students were taught to incorporate into their values. (01:03:27:00) Air Force students are often visited by speakers between meals and classes. (01:04:20:00) o Amongst those speakers were national sports team coaches, U.S. presidents, and vice presidents. (01:04:30:00) Zulauf received a medical retirement pass from the academy so once he graduated; he began looking for work immediately. (01:06:00:00) o He found a job in San Diego, California and moved there for a time, but the job did not last. (01:06:12:00) o Zulauf was eventually employed by the U.S. Census Bureau. (01:06:20:00) o After the second job failed, Zulauf returned home to Michigan and is currently attending Grand Valley State University to earn a master’s degree in education in hopes of becoming a math teacher. (01:06:28:00) Despite his retirement, Zulauf still had access to some veteran’s benefits including medical and military traveling coverage. (01:06:48:00) After graduating from the Academy, “everyone scatters”. (01:07:38:00) o Zulauf noted several companions who are now located in Europe and Asia. (01:07:45:00) Contemporarily, female Air Force Academy Students have become very integrated into the culture of the school (01:08:20:00) o One of the few, and the most prominently visible, difference between female and male Air Force Academy students is athletic records including those of Athletic Fitness Tests (AFT’s) and Physical Fitness Tests (PFT’s). (01:08:25:00) o About 15% of the Air Force Academy Student Body is women, according to Zulauf. (01:10:40:00) “The academy teaches hard work. I will never go through anything as difficult as the Air Force. My life is completely put into perspective. Nothing can be harder than that”. (01:12:10:00) o Zulauf said that the academy also installed firm leadership skills in him, which will also help him become a strong teacher in the future. (01:12:41:00) � 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 ZulaufM1075V Title A name given to the resource Zulauf, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zulauf, Michael Description An account of the resource Michael Zulauf reported for duty to the United States Air Force Academy on July 1st 2004, just a month after graduating from high school in Muskegon, Michigan. In his interview, Zulauf offers a detailed description of his experiences as a student there, as well as in assignments in Alaska, Korea, and at the Coast Guard Academy. Zulauf was permitted medical retirement from the Air Force Academy after graduating in 2008 and is now attending Grand Valley State University pursuing a master's degree in education. 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. Air Force 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 2011-04-05 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/67949ee28babadb61ee205c3ce2857b4.mp4 190c281d7a0d499620797391a9f1a98a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d49e37aa59216b5950855dbcf840cbc1.pdf dafd756b8adacf187de088a7873057ba PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Leo Zimmerman Length of Interview: 1:31:08 (0:00:00 – 0:05:12) Background        Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in December 1920 (0:00:21) Grew up in Grand Rapids, his father worked at John Ball Park, and also ran a streetcar, and also worked in a blacksmith shop repairing automobiles (0:00:30) Graduated high school in 1939, had started working with his dad when he was 15 years old and continued to work with him(0:03:40) Heard about Pearl Harbor at work one day on the radio (0:04:10) Did not think about enlisting and was not interested, it was a couple of years before it dawned on him “that it was time to get in on this mess" (0:04:40) Waited to be drafted, got married in „41, daughter was born in 1942 (0:04:50) Could have been deferred because of his work fixing trucks (0:05:12) (0:05:30 – 0:18:30) Enlistment Basic Training (0:5:30 – 0:13:48)          Received draft notice in 1943, shortly after having a surgery (0:06:35) Had to assure the recruiting officer that he was fit despite his surgery (0:07:34) Was sent to Camp Worth, Texas (0:08:00) States that the train trip was miserable from Michigan to Chicago and Chicago to Texas (0:08:43) Training with M-10 [tank destroyer]and M-60 [?] tanks, light small tanks (0:10:05) First thing he did while at boot camp was receive shots, felt like he ran around naked most of the time (0:11:03) Spent his time in infantry training, bayonet training, hiking, and camping (0:11:30) States that while in the military “discipline was Number 1” (0:11:50) Did not have a difficult time transitioning into the military (0:12:15) Specialized Training (0:12:20- 0:18:30)      After basic training was sent to wheeled vehicle maintenance and repair school at the main camp (0:14:00) The main camp had nice barracks, had his wife join him for three months in Coppers Cove, Texas (0:14:20) Finished wheeled vehicle training in November 1944 (0:16:40) Went on leave while headed to Fort Meade, Maryland (0:18:00) Before being sent overseas he received more infantry training at Fort Jackson in South �Carolina for six weeks (0:18:30) (0:18:30 – 1:23:00) Active Duty Tour in Italy (0:18:30 – 0:35:30)             Shipped out to Italy in December 1944 and landed in Naples on Christmas Day (0:19:35) Describes a terrible trip with 13 days of sickness (0:19:40) Fainted while standing guard, after not eating much for 10 days (0:20:35) Went through the Straits of Gibraltar (0:22:50) Moved into a replacement depot in Caserta, Italy (0:23:27) War ended in Europe on May 8th, 1945 (0:24:00) Was in the replacement depot from December to May 1945 (0:24:18) Traveled by truck down to the Mediterranean, and tended to mules (0:25:15) Moved supplies in trucks from Naples to Po Valley, a two day drive (0:26:25) Describes mountainous surroundings with many small villages (0:29:00) Traveled with a convoy of 20 or so trucks (0:29:50) When he wasn‟t on details with the trucks he trained, learning to shoot a .50 caliber machine gun out of a remote controlled plane (0:31:20) Life in Italy (0:32:40 – 0:35:45)     Had a lot of free time to go into Naples and Pompeii and study history (0:32:40) Describes relations with Italian civilians as being good, the Italians were very kind to the soldiers, the families were friendly and would offer meals and wine (0:33:08) Street children often sold cigarettes on the black market. While he didn‟t smoke he was given them, so he‟d sell them, they were $30.00 a carton (0:33:20) While in a bar, he received the advice to pour his drink on the stone floor, if it burned a good blue it was good to drink, if it didn‟t then it was not good (0:35:30) Deployment to Philippines (0:35:30 – 0:59:40)         Was transferred to 109th Ordnance Company when the war ended (0:36:30) Boarded an Italian ship and arrived in the town of Montalcino, a small resort town (0:37:40) Stayed on for two weeks in Montalcino (0:39:20) Boarded a ship, the USS South America and rode on the top decks with other privates while “a few thousand colored people were on the decks below” (0:41:15) Got to the Panama Canal and took a quick visit before heading towards the Philippines. The trip was 42 days long (0:43:00) Arrived in Manila Harbor (0:45:00) Stated that they went to the Philippines for “News reel pictures” (0:46:00)\ Set up a camp in a churchyard in Manila, where they lived in tents on five foot high platforms, protecting them from the rains (0:49:31) �    Started servicing vehicles of 126th Infantry Regiment (0:49:40) Tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Merle Howe of the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division who was his shop teacher in Grand Rapids and earned recognition for his heroic actions that led to his death in the Philippines (0:56:00) Lieutenant Colonel Howe died while flying surrender papers to General Yamashita in Baggao when his plane crashed (0:56:30) Leo stayed in the Philippines through the bombing of Hiroshima while the Japanese were still fighting in Baguio (0:59:30) Deployment to Japan (0:59:40- 1:22:50)        Boarded the USS James J. O’Hara to Nagoya, Japan (0:59:45) Leo‟s unit set up their ordnance company in bombed out sea plane factory and performed maintenance duties (1:04:08) During the time Leo was issued his service stripes (1:05:00) While in Japan he was given his brother‟s address in Yokohama, got a pass to go visit his brother (1:06:15) Most of his time was spent welding Speaks of his experience in Japan, did not like the food (1:14:00) Takes USS Robin to San Francisco (1:15:30) (1:23:00 – 1:29:30) Post Service    Arrived home April 1946, and moved to Grand Rapids in August (1:23:00) Worked with his sister until 1980 and retired at 60 (1:24:00) Learned from his experience, but says he wasn‟t any different, still had no desire to go to college, wanted to go back to work (1:29:00) Interview ends at 1:31:08 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ZimmermanL1284V Title A name given to the resource Zimmerman, Leo (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zimmerman, Leo Description An account of the resource Leo Zimmerman of Grand Rapids, Michigan, waited to be drafted before joining the Army in 1943 during World War II. Leo received his training in wheeled vehicle maintenance and repair in Camp Worth, Texas. His first deployment was to Italy in 1944 where he served with a replacement depot until the war ended in May 1945, driving with supply convoys between Naples and the Po Valley and performing other duties. After the war ended in Europe, Leo was transferred to the 109th Ordnance Company and shipped out to the Philippines to start servicing vehicles. He was stationed in the Philippines during the bombing of Hiroshima, and was sent to Japan shortly after to perform maintenance duties and gained further experience in welding. Leo left the military in April 1946. 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 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 2011-10-15 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/8a5080419504dc60ccb4f4ed95a66934.m4v c93b494d30b45e68ebe61296076d456b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/32b7f90cafeb1fe0d1f603fec8990a7e.pdf 278b09f739bdd0fdce01871089ba0a35 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Name of War: World War II Interviewee’s Name: Myrtle Zietlow Length of Interview: 28 minutes Mrs. Zietlow’s Story (00:18)  Childhood (00:35) o  Myrtle Zietlow spent much of her grew up and went to school in Woodstock, Illinois, 50 miles NE of Chicago. (00:48) Education (01:19) o Following graduation in 1941 from high school she went on to attend the University of Illinois. (01:35) o The length of time she actually spent thinking about WWII was when she would go to the movie theater and see the movie shorts since the U.S. was predominantly isolationist. (02:06) o With WWI, still fresh in many Americans’ minds the thought of going to war the prevalent attitude of resisting going to war again was the philosophy of many in America at that time (02:45)  Pearl Harbor (03:11) o When Pearl Harbor was attacked, it sent a shockwave through the country. Soon afterwards, war was declared on Japan and Germany. The strong sense of patriotic fervor hit her campus like a wildfire making many male students leave to join up. (03:36) o A few of the buildings on campus were converted into training centers. As a result of this women’s roles changed. Many of the recruiters from Pratt and Whitney Fellowship based in Connecticut that came to campus also came to train women in the same jobs males had vacated to join up. They came to her campus in spring, 1942. (04:23) o She attended various classes in mathematics and science to get a help her to get a job. Graduated from the University of Illinois in 3 years. (06:44) o Following graduation, she went by train to Hartford, Conncecticut, where she attended machine school. (08:20) � Hartford, CT (08:27) o Spent 6 weeks attending machine school and then another 6 weeks learning about how to make military engines for aircrafts at engine school. (09:10)  War on the Home Front (10:10) o Following this, she was assigned to different departments and eventually ended up working in a research department doing calculations: analyzing parts of engine distributions. (10:21) o Worked 50 hours a week. Wasn’t paid much but what she did receive she spent buying war bonds to buy supplies for the military. Describes how this system worked. (11:21) o Every now and again, they saw something they liked. People sacrificed much during WWII, with little expectations to receive anything in return. (13:06) o On VE Day, many celebrations occurred to celebrate the end of WWII. This eventually meant that women were expected to return to their traditional jobs as house wives. With these special experiences, women for the first time found that they were capable of doing things society originally discouraged women to do. As a result a changing perspective prompted many to form the Women’s Movement. (14:05) o After WWII, she went back Illinois and worked a variety of manufacturing companies. Eventually ended up at a research institute in Crystal Lake, Illinois (15:34) o Briefly describes how she met her husband there in 1952. (16:19) Mr. Zietlow Interview from Myrtle Zietlow’s perspective Pre-Enlistment (16:25)  Background (16:30) o Her husband was born on December 15, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois and eventually attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. (16:36) o After two years at Notre Dame University he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was inducted in August, 1943. (17:16) Enlistment and Training / Active Duty (17:22)  Where he trained (17:42) �o Attended basic and officer training and also flying school in George in which he was trained in the usage of single and multi-engine aircraft. (17:47) o He delighted in his aircraft training. Had a keen interest in glider training which he did while stationed in North Carolina. (18:04) o In her opinion, it was incredible that someone like husband could land a piece of aircraft that was very difficult to land. (18:35) o Enjoys the challenge that goes into it. Gliders, she mentions would have been heavily used in the invasion of Japan to ferry supplies and ammunition if the Abomb had not been dropped. (19:11) After the Service (20:32)  Background (20:37) o Upon being discharged in October, 1945 he was certified as a commercial pilot and as a pilot of single and multi-engine aircraft with gliders on top of that. (20:50) o After this experience, he was in the Reserves for an undisclosed amount of time. (21:43) o Took full advantage of the GI Bill and spent 2 years at DePaul University finishing up his BA. Following this he went on to attend Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago where he got his Master’s and Doctorate degrees. Describes the area he lived in brief detail. (21:55) o After finishing his doctoral work, he found a job in Crystal Lake at the same Research Laboratory where he met his wife. (23:18) They were soon married in 1952. (23:25) o Further describes a few experiences with the interviewer growing up. (23:34) o To wrap up Zietlow was appreciative of the chance to share her and her husband’s story. (27:17) � 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 ZietlowM Title A name given to the resource Zietlow, Myrtle (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zietlow, Myrtle Description An account of the resource Myrtle Zietlow was born outside of Chicago in 1921. She attended the University of Illinois, and after graduating she went to work for Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut, where they made aircraft engines. She tells her own story as well as that of her husband, George, who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Demeuse, Katie (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 Air Corps 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 2009-05-30 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/66c08ae8764bf937170381798d7fc3b6.mp4 ece3478c205d9b7eb784cd3a914e0274 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/682dc10301b92b657dec9d42845b7eac.pdf b58bbd56da9a74fd3a0ea4fc1643c81f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Bertram Zheutlin (25:15) Introduction Zheutlin was born in New Jersey and did undergraduate education at the University of Michigan, then attended medical school at Johns Hopkins. For years before the outbreak of war, he knew about the threat of Germany and Japan, and wondered if he would be allowed to graduate from medical school. Entry into service (0:35) Pearl Harbor occurred near the end of Zheutlin’s medical education, and he volunteered for service while still a student. Zheutlin was allowed to finish medical school before going into service, which he did in three years (2:12) When the war started Zheutlin and his fellow students were ashamed not to be in the war, and would wear khaki pants and shirts while on the street to appear is if they were in the service. Some would go so far as limp to appear wounded Europe (2:46) After finishing medical school, Zheutlin immediately went into the army where he was trained and sent to Europe as a lieutenant in the medical corps. Zheutlin mentions that men were assigned according to arrival times, with one of the men with him sent up to the front and killed a week later. (4:29) Zheutlin was sent to a hospital because of his medical training. Severely wounded men were sent back to the U.S. for better care. Zheutlin talks about how the crippled young men knew it was for a good cause. (5:10) Zheutlin describes people in New Jersey being able to see enemy submarines, and how the beaches in Jersey would be oily from the wreckage. (6:08) Zheutlin was happy to be doing what he trained for. Some of the doctors there were also professors, so he could keep learning. Zhevtlin also wrote a few medical papers while in Europe. He was also very happy not to be at the front, but felt he was doing his job. �(7:10) Zheutlin is proud of the medical corps. He was a captain when he left the service and would have been a major had he stayed in the reserves. (7:44) Zheutlin was under fire a few times while on trains. Zheutlin recounts one incident where the commander was killed and he was the ranking officer. (8:46) Zheutlin talks about his views on patriotism and feels people were more patriotic back then. (9:04) Zheutlin spent a year in the occupation army in Germany. Zheutlin talks about the basic training doctors went through and how hard it was on the doctors, some of whom were in their fifties. (10:17) Zheutlin talks about the ravages of war, and how allied bombers left standing buildings to use as headquarters later. The major cities in Germany that were bombed smelled of bodies. (12:10) Zheutlin talks about entering concentration camps. Zheutlin tells of a relative who escaped and joined a guerilla group. (13:51) Zheutlin talks about his army training. Had infiltration courses, but no weapons training. The “West Point of the medical corps” was in Pennsylvania. (14:30) Zheutlin feels lucky to have been in a hospital. He had clean bedding and regularly at a table with others. (15:00) Zheutlin talks about trying to locate a relative in a concentration camp (17:59) Zheutlin describes how his escaped relative was a guerilla in eastern Poland and some of the experiences of that relative, and how those experiences changed him. (18:10) Zheutlin talks about the operations of the Dutch underground and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and how thunderstorms still bother him. His experiences made him have feeling for his fellow man. �(22:00) Zheutlin also flew in aircraft during the war to pick up severely wounded and was amazed at how cheerful they were. (23:24) When Zheutlin returned the military offered a lot of enticements to go into the reserves, but he decided to go into practice instead. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ZheutlinB Title A name given to the resource Zheutlin, Bertam (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zheutlin, Bertam Description An account of the resource Bertam Zheutlin served in the medical corps during WW II. Still in medical school when the war broke out, Zheutlin recounts what it was like to be a civilian waiting to go to war, as well as his experiences as a doctor during the war and the training he underwent. Zheutlin also talks about the psychological after effects of war and of a relative who had escaped a concentration camp in Poland and become a guerilla. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Zheutlin, Alex (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 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 2007-06-02 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/6166b5a05c4f1a32cf511f191476a245.mp4 3abe91b9875954aa31f1ac379e1f76bf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/988ec695103d5757a861313916cbe541.pdf 7f7b896e7b6e7c09a1727bfa976aee53 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview James Zegollari Cold War Total Time: 42:28 Pre-Enlistment (00:10) • • Born in 1960 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Joined the Marines during his freshman year of college. Training (01:55) • • • • Went to Officer Candidates School (OCS) during the summers of his Freshman and Junior years of College. Attended OCS at Quantico, Virginia, and was trained by Vietnam Veterans. They dropped around half of the class. Also spent 6 months at basic school. He was then selected to be a Tank Officer, and was shipped to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to be taught the operation of the M-60 tank. Active Duty (04:04) • • • • • • • Was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for 3 years. Also did 2 rotations at Twenty-Nine Palms, California, a training facility where he served as both a 2nd Lieutenant and instructor. He worked for a summer at Little Creek, Virginia, where they show Navy Midshipmen what it would be like to be either a marine or a Navy SEAL. (05:20) He also served as an Anti-Tank Missile Officer. He was stationed in Narvik, Norway for a time for training operations. He joined up with the Marine Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when he moved there after being discharged originally from the Marines. He stayed connected with his family and friends via mail and phone calls. Post Service (20:25) • He has kept in touch with some of his men, especially the reserves. � 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 ZegollariJ Title A name given to the resource Zegollari, James (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zegollari, James Description An account of the resource James Zegollari was born in 1960 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and served in the Marines during the Cold War. He was trained to operate and command the M-60 tank. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Twenty-Nine Palms, California while he was on active duty. He was never sent into an active combat zone. He also serves in the Marine Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Austin, Caitlin (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 United States. Marine Corps 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 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/813fee669ddb513881ed87e557d6119c.mp4 2447333813a09b328950799b721c357d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/555a29a099cd322efe568f7267a8676c.pdf 1dd97c3eb427b4be89d9e1126761339d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ray Zeeff (35:190 Background Information (00:05)         Born in 1916 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (00:07) He grew up in Grand Rapids. (00:22) His father was a local truck driver. (00:30) He attended school through the 10th grade. (00:57) At 21 he worked in the office of a coal company. (1:05) In 1937 he joined the National Guard. (1:25) He joined the guard for the first time in 1932 at the age of 16 due to his uncle pulling some strings and making his age 18. (1:45) His father was able to keep his job off and on during the 1930s. Often he and his father would find work on road sites. (2:21) First Service in the National Guard (3:00)       The National Guard had the men practice with the Colt 45. and the Springfield rifle. (3:07) The men were also instructed on how to operate a radio. (3:45) There was close order drill and long distance marching. (4:50) The men spent 2 weeks at Camp Farley where they practiced maneuvers. (5:08) Ray was in the Regimental Head Quarters Company, 126th Infantry Regiment. (5:51) He stayed in the National Guard until 1935. He left because his dad hired him to help with the truck driving where he worked for many years. (6:13) Second Enlistment in the National Guard (6:20)         In the late 30s work was improving but not by a lot. (7:40) In 1937 he reenlisted in the National Guard. (8:20) A private in the National Guard got paid 1 dollar (per month). (9:00) He was assigned to his same outfit when he returned and reenlisted. (9:34) He was paying attention to the conflicts occurring in Europe during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He received this news through newspaper and radio. (9:48) In October of 1940 his unit was federalized. (10:23) He was then sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. (10:57) He was sent down to Camp Beauregard by train. (11:06) Training at Camp Beauregard (11:23)   All of the men from the National Guard were sent down to training. There were some older men. (12:08) The weather was very hot and muggy and there were a lot of bugs and wildlife. (13:05) �              There were a lot of men at the camp who were drafted (in the spring of 1941 to fill out the ranks of the unit) and from the west side of Michigan (the area that the guard unit came from). (13:20) His duties during his training were mostly of radio work. (14:33) He was using a hand crank radio that had a large antenna. The radio transmitted code not conversation. (15:56) He left Camp Beauregard after 1 year in the fall of 1941. (17:22) He was then sent to Camp Livingston, Louisiana. This was seen s being a much nicer camp than Camp Beauregard. (17:44) There was opportunities to leave the base while at Camp Livingston. (18:15) He was married August 26th 1940. (18:43) His wife never came to visit him but he was given a 7 day leave which he used to go see her. (19:00) His unit did go on large maneuvers. Ray was responsible for carrying his radio. It was very heavy. (19:39) Other men carried and laid the wire as well as carried batteries. (20:28) He remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. (21:24) He stayed with his unit till the remainder of them shipped out to Fort Lewis in Washington. (The unit was actually shipped to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, early in 1942, and then to San Francisco prior to being sent to Australia.) He did not go and was discharged due to partial blindness in his left eye. (22:07) He wasn’t disappointed that he was discharged. (23:18) His division left for Australia in 1942. (24:00) Life after Service (24:20)          He continued his work as a truck driver. (24:24) He began cross country truck driving when he returned (approx. 1942/1943) (24:55) The truck drivers were given special stickers so that they could get fuel that was otherwise rationed. (25:20) The road type varied. Some were very beat up and needed patching. (26:00) He didn’t fallow the news much or his former unit after he was discharged. Many contacted him after the war to see if they could get work. (27:23) During target practice after his service, a ricochet shot struck Ray in the head. (28:32) The bullet was eventually pushed out and Ray was unharmed. (30:03) He stayed in trucking, but in his later years he was made a departure. (31:00) He remained a truck driver for 32 years. (31:38) Thoughts on Service (32:19)     He recalls many of his sergeants. (32:22) One of his segments would often send odd codes to the men during radio training to make sure they were understanding it correctly. (33:00) He remained friends with one of his sergeants even after his service. (33:39) He learned a lot about team work through the military. (34:12) � 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 ZeeffR0117V Title A name given to the resource Zeeff, Raymond (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zeeff, Raymond Description An account of the resource Ray Zeeff served in the National Guard from 1932-1935 and then reenlisted and served from 1937-1942 during World War II. During his service, Ray served as a radio operator for the Regimental Headquarters Company 126th Infantry. His unit was federalized in October, 1940, and sent to Louisiana to train. He was discharged in 1942 before going overseas due to partial blindness in one eye. 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 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 2011-06-10 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/2b0f9159921575451d48ac80515a7888.mp4 77e43eb8397929f09a10507f05952cf2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/216fcf112d433ee80384999ae79868cc.pdf 23f65fa3290b7a8555c65f84e33c6606 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam Name of Interviewee: Thaddeus Zator (2nd interview) Length of Interview: 1:07:28 Background:  Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1919.  His family left New Jersey for Michigan so that his father could get a job at Ford.  He visited Newark later on because his grandmother still lived there.  He attended high school in Detroit and later moved to Alma. Eventually he moved to Grand Rapids.  He finished high school in 1938, a half a year ahead of time.  After graduation, he worked at a place that made axles.  He was trained as a machinist, because of the classes that were available in high school. Every Sunday his father would take the car apart and he would help put it back together.  His high understanding of machinery would earn him a high rank in the army. (1:58)  His father worked for Ford on and off during the 1930’s. He always went back because he was a specialist in making a special polisher for glass.  He used to watch his father work, especially the odd jobs around the house.  He definitely paid attention to what was going on in the world. He acquired most of his information by reading. His father was a great reader; they had a polish paper, an English paper and many magazines in the house.  His father talked about government often and he was a great listener. Before he graduated from high school he used to belong to a local discussion group at the library.  He followed the war all the way through. (4:00)  The day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was at another discussion group. This group he found were too liberal, as they were excited that Pearl Harbor was attacked because it meant that the USA would join the war.  Later on he realized that company like that was not really for him.  Once the United States entered the war, he knew he was going to get drafted, but he wanted to work as long as possible. He wasn’t ready to be in the services, especially when he heard some of the stories of people who got back from serving in the Pacific.  He received a 6 month deferment from the factory he was at for making war materials. (6:18)  He received his draft notice in the middle of 1942. He reported to Camp Crowder, Missouri, to undergo the various tests of skill. He ranked high in the mechanical tests and he was sent into the signal corps at Camp Crowder for basic training.  Camp Crowder was in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. Basic Training (7:22)  He remembers his time there during basic training. �         He was never pushed very hard doing the physical work, but it was difficult getting up at 5 AM. He remembers falling asleep standing up one time during training, he was so tired. The basic training he got, he felt was not much training at all. Most of what he did consisted of learning codes, and listening to telephone calls. He was there only a few months, a short time to him. He had a company pass and went out on the weekend once, but he did not have much time for that. People there were very disciplined, but they got along well. He recalls the various stories of how one man there was dating a Hollywood actress. Another man there was a genius at the radio, but since he was handicapped, he slobbered everywhere. (9:56) After Camp Crowder he, along with another man from Indiana, was rushed by train to the east coast, through Canada and were placed on a boat to England. Before that, he had gone through specialized training learning the teletype. The teletype is a machine that is like a typewriter, but the finished product prints out in another city. It also works by using a tape in a radio. He never saw another teletype after that. Active Duty (12:05)            He remembered the trip to England. The ship did not go with an escort because it zigzagged the whole trip. He was very seasick the whole trip too. They fed him toast and tomato juice and held him while he threw up. He spent most of the trip in his cot and they came to check on him once in a while. When they rushed him, they forgot to give him his overseas shots on the train. So one of the first things that happened on the boat was that he got 7 or 8 shots all at once. He remembers that they were poking him all over the place. Before he reached England, the boat stopped in the Azores. There he would see the flying fish and he was amazed at the sight. Fish really can fly. (14:15) After they left the Azores, they landed in England. Headquarters were in London. He lived on Green St., which was within walking distance from where he served. While he was there, he lived in the local houses. The people of London grew afraid of the war and left their homes. Many of them let the soldiers stay there since they were not living there. He was very thankful for that. Backing up, he explains what his work was during the war. After Camp Crowder, he did not go on a boat. Instead he went to Arlington, Virginia. There he was trained in the various languages that he was going to encounter during the war. He was also trained in both encoding and decoding. He learned how to operate the machine, and through that he learned how the mechanics of it as well. While he was there, he visited Washington D.C. One time when he went there he got the chance to speak with the first lady, Mrs. Roosevelt. After he came out of the depot, he was confronted by a man who wanted a picture with the first lady, but did not know how to approach her. So he did this man a favor by taking a picture of her. He never saw the �                   picture. Later, a similar situation would happen with Eisenhower and he never saw that picture either. He also visited his grandmother in New Jersey. Although he was trained in coding, he actually worked on the repairs for the machines. While he was in training, he passed all the tests fixing all the problems with the machines. (21:05) So when he was rushed to England, it was because they needed technicians to work on the machines. While he was in England, he stayed in London, but sometimes he was sent to other places when they needed his skills. He was sent anywhere from small villages outside of London to crossing in boats to Ireland. There was a mixture of people who lived in the houses in London. They all belonged to different camps and places and no one ever spoke about what was going on where they were at, and what they were doing. When he went to work, he worked in the residential building. It was like where he lived, but the windows remained closed because the people there did not want anyone else to know what they were doing. It was very elementary and was not much there. Mostly, they met and got their orders to work on specific machines and left. (23:53) Sometimes, when there was not anything for him to do, he was assigned to work with the others. One man he worked with, by the name of Barlow, was a genius with the machines. When they got to the machine it took Barlow 5 minutes to figure out the problem, when it would have taken him almost 2 hours. Only during the end of the raids did he have to go through some bombings. Each man was assigned to watch for shrapnel. He never got to see the big part of the war. He does not remember a lot of bombing while he was there. He was also sent to the core headquarters and air bases to work on the different machines there. While he was living in London, he and other took advantages of the hot fires and drinks at a place for the US soldiers. He sometimes took naps there as well. They also took the underground subway to Piccadilly Circus. There he saw musicals, had dates, and went to bars. They all laughed and had a great time. (28:20) The English people there treated him and the other soldiers very well all the time. They stopped him from smoking cigars. In England people who smoked cigars were considered to be of higher stature. So when he smoked his, people would look at him funny like he thought he was something special. So he gave up cigars and gave away most of his cigarettes to his buddies. He still smoked some, but he was no longer looked at funny. While he was there doing his job, he tried to follow the war. There was a local GI paper there, called the Stars and Stripes, but it was not very good. He also read the English papers. He enjoyed looking through them because they were so different. As D-Day approached things in London became somewhat tense, but nothing special happened. (30:15) �  As they prepared for the invasion, soldiers were moved to different places, spread throughout the coast of England. He ended up in staying with a nice old sailor and his wife. A couple weeks after D-Day, he landed in France. France (32:40)              When he got there, he saw German papers lying all over the place. He thought they would be worth something as a souvenir one day, so he picked some up Ultimately he would end up on Utah Beach, which was a code name for the westernmost landing zone in the Allied invasion of D-Day. While he was there, he did not work on machines, because all of the machines were being used by the forces ahead of him. Instead they were sent to different installations where he was needed. During one of these assignments, he decided to climb a French telephone pole to get a better look at the bombardment that was happening farther away. Unlike the ones in the United States, these were made of cement, not wood. He did not see anything; on his way down, he lost his footing and fell to the ground, injuring his tailbone in the process. Due to his injury, he walked with his legs spread apart and everyone was making fun of him. (35:30) Unlike his fellow soldiers, he had very little equipment. He carried around a toolbox that held a few basic tools and a diagram of some of the machines he was supposed to work on. Even when they were installed, he wasn’t operational. He remembers making one call someplace, but that was it. There was also a man by the name of Catello, who was also from Michigan, who drove him around to different places. A few months ago, he tried to have someone find Catello over the internet but he did not hear if they were successful in reaching him or not. (37:17) The closest thing he got was to finding some Catellos who worked as weather experts on a local TV station. The young man certainly looked like a Catello, but no more information was found. When he spoke of getting installed, he meant they were in the process of arrival. He and the others were following Patton as he chased after the enemies. They never stayed in one place too long, or else they would get too far away and then Patton’s forces could not be reached. (39:08) As he moved across northern France, a few things stick out in his memory. There was a bridge in one little town, he saw GI’s parked there, with supplies. Later on he was told that they were there waiting for the bridge to come down again. Apparently, that bridge had come down once and they had to put it up. He also remembers coming across a field, and he saw a kid, a GI to be precise, shooting at something. Turns out that it was a cow. They kid was complaining that he was shooting the cow, but it was not going down. He remembers it because it was stupid to think that one bullet to the belly would take down a cow. (41:08) �               He does not recall much about the native population. Usually they disappeared, and all they found were empty houses. Eventually they stayed in Verdun, France, for a bit, while the Allied assault was stalled near Luxemburg. He was fairly close to the front lines. While he was in Verdun, he sat and waited to be assigned to go to a place to work on maintenance. It did not take very long. (43:22) Sometimes he would take a small plane, sometimes he would be driven to where he needed to go. During the battle of Bastogne, he and the others waited for a couple of days, hoping that the clouds would clear. Once they did, it meant that the US planes could bombard the enemy. When he worked on maintenance, he would find the divisional headquarters, which moved day to day. His driver and he would spend some time having to find the new place where the headquarters were before he could do any work. During one of these expeditions, they found where they camp had previously been. A GI had been ordered to wait there and point them in the direction of the new camp. When they went to where the GI pointed, they drove until it was dark, and had not seen a person in quite some time. (45:00) Finally, they caught up with a GI, but he did not trust them. Because the enemy sometimes dressed in GI uniforms, the soldiers were entrusted with a daily passcode, to ensure they were friends. Unfortunately, he knew the code from the day before, but not that day, because they drove around so long. The soldier brought him to their commanding officer, who had to make a decision on what to do with them. He explained the situation and asked for food and shelter. He also offered to stay in the truck with his driver. At the time, the trucks they had were not the jeeps, but a different model used for the hauling around maintenance tools. They were offered food and coffee. He fell asleep quickly and slept soundly throughout the night. When he woke up in the morning, everyone was gone. He and his driver figured that they had been drugged, since they did not hear anything when they others left. (48:40) After that, they continued on and eventually found they place they were supposed to get to. Mission accomplished. Another time, they were trying to find another camp near the Bavarian Mountains. All the roads and bridges had been destroyed and they only way across a ditch was to use a small bridge that was for small carts or cows. They decided to take this bridge across, as they had nowhere else to go, and it collapsed behind them. They barely made it across. (50:11) During that same trip, they ran into German soldiers. They had ventured into an area that they did not know and out of the forest came two German soldiers with a white flag waving. They stopped the vehicle and looked for guns, but found none. He figured they were kitchen help that was left behind. He did not know what to do, he had a job to do, and did not have time for the German soldiers. So, he told them to keep walking with their white flag back from where he and his driver had come, until they found someone else. They did so immediately, with no questions. (52:03) �         When the Germans surrendered, he was stationed in Verdun. He went as far as Belgium for his calls, usually by a small plane known as a [Piper] Cub. He often got sick on those, just as he had on the boat. One time he was flying with a captain. When he took his helmet off, preparing to throw up, the captain order his helmet back on. He did so reluctantly, but the captain ended up landing the plane in a way that did not make him throw up. Instead of a wobbly, slow decent, the captain took the plane straight down. At the last minute, he swooped the plane up and landed. (54:55) During those times when he flew, he always stayed within the Allied lines. There was one time when he flew into a raid. At first he thought they were going to pass it, but it turned out to be the place where they needed to go. They got to the town and the only person they could see was a colonel directing traffic. He ordered them to go, as it was not a safe area. Had they arrived sooner, they may have gotten blasted. (56:35) During his time, he was pretty safe. He does not recall any close calls. Once the Germans surrendered, things changed. Everyone knew it was going to be over in a hurry. He stayed in Europe for the rest of the year. He was sent back to London to finish up his work. There he had worked in the American Embassy for a couple of days. (58:56) After his time was over, he was sent on a Dutch boat back home. They no longer had to worry about German submarines. He was seasick all the way home. The weather was good the whole way home. When he got home, they tried to get him to reenlist, telling him he could work for IBM if he wanted. He declined and was discharged. Post Duty (1:00:00)          After he went home, he attended college at DIT, Detroit Institute of Technology. When he was finished there, he attended law school at the Detroit College of Law. It was then that his family went through a crisis. His father could no longer work, due to terrible arthritis. His older brother was not working, but his younger brother was. This was not enough income. So he quit law school and went to a butcher school in Toledo, so he could become an efficient grocer. His family bought a store, and he and his mother ran it for a couple of years. Unfortunately at the time, smaller stores were beginning to disappear and larger commercial stores were beginning to take over. (1:02:25) After he stopped working at the grocery store, he went to work at one of his wholesalers. While working for them he contacted the many customers this wholesaler had and negotiated the business on goings, such as prices and quantities. It was an interesting job, and different every day. He did not regret not going into a technical field. If he did, he would have to change and move away. He was happy at home. Going back to his time in the service, he recalls teaching other people how to do his job. �     In England, before the invasion, his boss decided that some of the people that they serviced in England could learn to be trained themselves. They would come for weeks at a time and attend his class, teaching about the machine. He taught his class a little differently than what he got in basic training. Instead of teaching the names of parts, he taught them more about how the machine worked. (1:05:30) Looking back, he learned more about the machine. He appreciates the money that he got for schooling. He also thinks he changed a bit. He feels like he became more of a leader, which helped him in his supervisor position at a pharmaceutical company. His time in the service was fun; there was never a dull moment. � 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 ZatorT0958V Title A name given to the resource Zator, Thaddeus (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zator, Thaddeus Description An account of the resource Thaddeus Zator grew up in Michigan and was drafted in the Army during World War II. He trained as a communications specialist, first at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and then in Arlington, Virginia, before being sent to England in 1943. He was based in London, and traveled around to repair communications equipment. After D-Day, he was sent to France, where he moved from unit to unit to work on equipment as needed, often flying in small planes to his assignments from a base near Verdun, France. 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 2010-11-30 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/99f65f2b80ce6ff692e728f432c063e8.mp4 c8b9ec642c33c593697cedb3afaded2a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/47ddbf3a76cdf761da08ab75a4515384.pdf 67df91732c074f508feecebea0e5d5b0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Raymond Zandstra (00:54:14) Background • Interviewed at the Lowell Historical Museum. (:07) • Born 9/30/1941, in Grand Rapids. (0:16) • Raised as an only child, until his half-brother was born. (0:41) • His mother was a single parent during WWII. As a result he spent a lot of time with his extended family when she was at work. (:52) • His mother re-married 1947, when he was about six. (1:24) • His step-father was the only father he knew. He accepted and respected his step-father. (1:43) • He was nine when his brother was born. (1:56) • First job was delivering the Grand Rapids Herald, a morning paper. The Grand Rapids Press was an afternoon paper. (2:06) • Worked at a car wash during high school. (2:25) • Went to Godwin Heights high school, and graduated 1959. (2:38) • Met his future wife during high school. He was about fourteen. (2:49) Enlistment • Enlisted at age 17, in the Navy. (3:05) • Sworn in six weeks after graduating, July 14, 1959. (3:24) • Decided to enlist because he had no direction in life, and didn't want to go to college at the time. He had “had it” with books and studying. (3:45) • Also thought he wouldn't be injured during peacetime, and wanted to learn something. (4:13) • Learned discipline, respect, and became a man. (4:33) • His parents were opposed to his joining, but realized it was his choice and respected that. (4:50) • He chose the Navy partly because his biological father and his step-father had both been in the Navy. (5:13) • Another reason was that he liked the Navy clothes the best. The Army, Air Force, and Marines had to wear neckties and button shirts. The Army also had to wear hard hats and the Navy had softer hats. (5:42) • Basic training ideally lasted twelve to fourteen weeks, but in practice was usually around sixteen. The longer time was a result of bureaucratic lag in assignments and processing. (6:18) • Was shipped out, but not informed where he was headed. He didn't find out specifically until he had almost arrived. He did know he was being sent somewhere in Europe. (7:20) • Spent a year in Sicily. (7:30) • Came back to the U.S. Afterwards, and went to a school for helicopter training. (7:35) • Helicopter maintenance school in Memphis, TN. Lasted sixteen weeks (7:45) • West Coast, San Diego, CA. Helicopter Squadron 1. (8:02) • Helicopters were used for plane guard on aircraft carriers, and for rescue duty. (8:34) Survivor Training/Mock Prison • San Diego, one week survival training. (8:34) • Survivor course, had to learn how to survive off the land. (:02) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Escape and evasion techniques. (9:23) The week was completed with twenty four hours in a mock prison. (8:39) Were interrogated in the mock prisons. (8:39) Trained to only give name, rank, and serial number. (10:04) Training was required for air-sea rescue staff. (10:23) The course was also recommended for individuals looking to advance in rank. (10:44) The first day of the week was spent on the beach learning swimming techniques. (11:06) Had to forage for food. Had lobster and fish soup cooked on a fire pit. (11:34) They were taken out to sea in boats, and had to float alone in the sea for a short period. This was to learn about being stranded at sea. (11:57) Trained in helicopter pickup. (12:16) Learned more swimming techniques in a large swimming pool. (12:27) Endurance swimming and life-vest training. (12:40) Had to jump off of a tower, about sixteen feet high. Training for jumping off of sinking ships. (13:06) Went on hiking trips, five to seven people with a contour map. (13:23) Had to find their way to a specified point. (13:37) It was a day long activity. (13:52) The week was filled with other similar activities. (13:52) During the interrogations they were not given food or medical supplies. (14:28) Finally were given some food, but only after they sterilized their canteens with boiling water. (14:52) Remarks that hot water was “not fun to drink.” (15:18) They were not given much water to drink. (15:18) Asked for more water. (15:30) Given small amount of food, had to learn to share with his comrades. Usually made soup. (15:45) Stimulated air raids during mock prison experience. (16:00) Interrogations varied in length. (16:08) The interrogations were longer if they got any information. (16:33) During interrogations it is best to only give name, rank, and serial number. The interrogators often try to socialize with their victims. If they can get some information, even it is unimportant; it is easier to get more important information. (16:53) Common questions include: What task force are you with? What size ship? What ship? Where are you going? How many planes? And other similar questions. (17:27) Name, rank and serial number, only. (17:42) Some were interrogated multiple times. (17:51) One of the men was black (1 out of 125). He interrogated for longer periods, and more often. (18:05) Minorities were often picked on. (18:23) The black man was nicknamed “Elvis.” (18:46) The interrogators would often ask for Elvis, and the men would try to protect him, to no avail. (18:46) Elvis did very well. He was well conditioned, and intelligent. (19:17) Elvis was able to keep in mind the experience was a training exercise. It was very close to the real thing however. (19:30) The interrogations got physical frequently. They were hit, chairs were kicked out from under them, but the interrogators were not allowed to draw blood. (20:00) The interrogation was at the end of a survivor course. The men were exhausted, physically �• • • and mentally. (20:35) Several people, six to ten, got heat exhaustion. (21:01) The compound was in the desert, the exercise had to be stopped. The men with heat exhaustion were in critical condition. (21:22) A helicopter took them to the naval hospital. (21:43) Sicily • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • While in Sicily was a part of FASSRON, Fleet Air Support Squadron. (22:29) Originally was assigned to Malta. When he arrived, they were in the process of decommissioning the air base. (23:35) He was then sent to Sicily, to oversee the construction of the new base. The construction was delayed. (22:50) NATO required that the base be more than half built by Sicilians. The Sicilians were not very quick, resulting in the delay. (23:08) Some parts of the camp were finished, others were not. The barracks were not completed, and they had to sleep on desks in the administrative offices until they were finished. (23:32) The Sicilians didn't know much about the United States. American occupation during WWII had been brief. (23:55) The men were not permitted to wear uniforms while in Sicily. (24:28) Men went to Catania, Sicily for supplies and groceries. (24:36) Ate outdoors most of the time. (24:50) Sicilian culture did not approve of tattoos, uniforms, or living behind fences. They perceived people who did such as the “enemy.” (25:00) Italian perception was that higher class people lived North, and lower class people lived South. Sicily was south of Italy, and perceived as being low class. (25:31) Sicilians were mostly Italian culturally. (26:07) Americans did many of the things that Sicilians did not approve of, resulting in them being disliked. (26:19) The air base was part of an arrangement with NATO. (26:30) The air base was strategic to American interests, as it was in the center of the Mediterranean. (26:30) The base also provided jobs for Sicilians in construction, maintenance, and cooking. (26:58) While in Sicily, his duties were aircraft maintenance and repair and occasionally security. (27:21) The “ship's company,” men who were permanently assigned to Sicily, had three aircraft. (28:06) Had many types of planes coming and leaving. (28:17) Planes were usually at the base four to six weeks. (28:59) The planes served on many types of missions. Reconnaissance using photographs and sonar, and patrol squads. (29:03) Letters were the only form of communication. They took seven to days to arrive. (29:27) During Christmas he wanted to call home, so he went to a hotel. The operator had to place the call, which took two to four hours. The calls usually lasted two to three minutes. (30:08) The long distance calls were very expensive, which was why they were not allowed frequently or for very long. They had phones at the base, but they were internal only. (30:53) His aunt frequently sent him care packages. Gum, fudge, cookies, cakes, and other various baked goods were the most common contents. (31:17) Hopefully the baked goods would be sent by air. This only occurred if the aircraft had the �room, otherwise they were sent by ship. The ship route took thirty to forty days, by which time most of the baked goods were no longer any good. He was always thankful to receive things from home, even if they were stale baked goods. (32:03) • Has a picture of the base, explains various parts of the base. (32:32) • Some of the men brought their families with them. (33:14) • His barracks overlooked olive orchards. (33:38) • The base was near Mount Etna, the largest active volcano. (34:04) Helicopter School • After Sicily, he went to the Helicopter Maintenance School. • Helicopter Squadron #1 in San Diego, CA. (34:52) • The base was in Imperial Beach, CA on the Mexican border. (35:02) • Was a very small air base. (35:22) • It was five or six miles away from San Diego, which had a very large air base. (35:31) • Between the two was North Island naval base, which was used to train the Navy SEALS. (35:48) • The helped the SEALS with helicopter training. (36:10) • The SEALS had a graduation rate of around 8%. Half of a one hundred man group would drop out within a week. (36:33) • At Imperial Beach, he was the training petty officer for Helicopter Utility Squadron One. (37:15) • The air-sea rescue crew had rigid training. They had to lean special swimming techniques, aircraft, and were trained in taking off of an aircraft carrier. (37:41) • They had a permanent detachment in Hedsuey, Japan. The rescue crews would spend a year at that base. (38:22) • He scheduled training exercises, assignments, and classes. (38:46) • Deployments were called “cruises.” (39:04) • Cruises varied in length. North PAC or South PAC (North or South Pacific) lasted about three months. (39:16) • The cruises to the Poles were the only ones where crew was allowed to grow a beard. (39:41) • Other cruises were between four and ten months aboard carriers in the Pacific. (39:55) • Helicopters were put on plane guard. A helicopter had to present, and in the air at any landings or take-offs onto an aircraft carrier. (40:25) • When he was in Memphis, he sometimes went home for the weekends. It was a fourteen hour drive. (41:06) Discharge • His tour duty was a “minority enlistment” because he was sworn in at age seventeen. As a result he was to be released the day before his twenty-first birthday, but that was a Saturday so he was released an additional day early. (41:50) • Released 9/28/1962 (42:30) • He had everything packed and ready. He left base at about noon that day. Drove twenty hour days from San Diego to Grand Rapids and arrived at 9:00 pm Sunday. (43:02) • The following week he wanted to call one of his military friends at home. He found out his friend wasn't home. (43:13) • His friend had been at the “Bay of Pigs” invasion, and was not discharged until Christmas. No men were allowed to be discharged during this period, a fate he barely escaped. (44:14) • Credits Kennedy's fast-talking with preventing a war with Russia or Cuba. (44:38) • He was stationed during the Cold War Era, many things happened that he didn't know about. Later on, in the seventies, the government issues “Vietnam bonuses” to men who had served �in the “Vietnam Era.” He had served during the period, but had never heard of the situation in Vietnam. (44:45) Post-Enlistment • After being discharged, he came home. He was married by this time. (45:54) • His wife was expecting their first child. (46:08) • He still didn't want to go to college, and he had a family to support so he looked for a job. (46:20) • His parents had wanted him to go to college to avoid work in a factory. As a result, he did not want to work in a factory. (46:28) • He had taken drafting courses in high school, and got a job with the Fred F. Johnson map company. (46:54) • The company drew and sold city maps. (47:19) • He worked with that company for a year to a year and a half, and then had an opportunity to work with a civil engineering company in Grand Rapids. This job paid more, and had more of a future so he took advantage of the situation. He worked there for ten years. (47:32) • He left that company for another, similar company and worked there for fifteen years as the head of the surveying department. (48:11) • Later on, one of the engineers wanted to leave and found his own business, but was looking for a partner. The two of them started a company. (28:30) • For the first year and a half the office was in his home. They were in business for eighteen years. (49:21) • The company still exists, and has offices in Grand Rapids. He retired September 30. (49:36) • Has three daughters, his oldest is forty-five and named Rayna, after him. His second daughter, Wendy is four years younger. His youngest daughter Shelby is ten years younger than Rayna. (49:49) • He has five grand-children. (50:41) • His grandson is named Caleb Zandstra, and will continue the name. (50:59) • His family has always been in the Grand Rapids area, until recently. His eldest daughter is leaving due to a job transfer. (51:27) • His second daughter is still in the area, but she will be moving because her husband lives in Mobile, AL. She is waiting for some business transactions involving condos to be completed. (52:00) • His youngest daughter is moving as well, but he isn't sure where. (52:40) • Recommends retiring to everyone. (53:00) � 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 ZandstraR Title A name given to the resource Zandstra, Raymond L. (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zandstra, Raymond L. Description An account of the resource Raymond Zandstra was born in Grand Rapids. He served in the US Navy from July 14, 1959 to Sept. 28, 1962. He served in Sicily, and in the San Diego Helicopter Squadron One. Most of his duties revolved around helicopter maintenance and repair. He was trained in air-sea rescue in Imperial Beach. He also relates the story of a one-week survival training course he took, during which he was placed in a mock prison for twenty four hours. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Finnie, Rebecca (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. 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 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/b4a971084faf2ee7e6b962d95c465e11.mp4 07b9272c14d4a44f7b7863febcfc960c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5757102578b9b5ad361ebe5065e60b6.pdf 81fd8d834a447404033012b0eb056254 PDF Text Text Grand Valley state University Veterans History Project Vietnam War Ron Zahn (50:44) Background Information (00:20) • • • • • • • • • Born on December 29th 1951 in Indiana. (00:22) He lived his childhood in a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan. (00:40) Ron’s parents were retired farmers. (00:55) Before going into the service, Ron did much of his work on farms and also trapped animals. (1:17) He had little knowledge of what was occurring in Vietnam and paid little attention to its occurrences. (1:48) Ron got two MIPs while in high school and was given the choice of going to jail or going into the service. Ron chose the service in the spring of 1969. (2:15) Ron went into the Army and signed up for a 2 year stint. (2:54) Ron entered service in September of 1969. (3:45) He was sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a physical. He saw people intentionally breaking digits in order to avoid entering the service. (4:03) Basic Training (5:02) • • • • • • • • • • • Ron was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for basic training. He thought it was a little scary (5:15) Because Fort Campbell was full, Ron was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia. (5:55) Basic training was physically difficult; however Ron was in better shape than most. (6:25) Basic training lasted 6 weeks. (7:00) Some of the instructors were Vietnam veterans. (7:32) Next, Ron was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for AIT [Advanced Individual Training]. Ron was assigned to Field Artillery. (8:11) Ron was trained on 155mm howitzers. Ron was responsible for sighting the weapon. Ron set the elevation of the gun by using a sight and a crank. (9:10) The training on the gun lasted 6 weeks. (11:03) Ron graduated AIT in December of 1969. He received orders to go to Germany. (11:27) He was given 2 weeks leave and then reported back to Fort Sill. When he reported back the orders were changed to Vietnam. (12:12) The men were given another week of leave and then reported to Fort Lewis, Washington. From here the men flew to Alaska and then to Cam Ranh Bay. (13:47) Early Service in Vietnam (14:00) • • • Ron was scared when he arrived in Vietnam. He took note of the heat. (14:15) Ron was then sent to Camp Evans where the 101st Airborne was stationed. (15:20) The Battery was at Camp Evans. (15:36) �• • • • • • • • He believes that the Battery received Ron all right. He was not the only new man. (16:17) There were 6 guns on the battery. Ron was assigned to gun number one. Ron kept the breech clean and oiled the barrel. (16:45) Ron began his service at Camp Carroll where the men stayed for 2 weeks. In February of 1970 the men were moved to Firebase Rakkasan. (17:25) On the fire bases the men were subjected to mortar and sniper fire. (18:46) The men in the battery did have to set up parameter security. The men also had their own fox holes by the guns. (19:19) A month later in March of 1970, the men were moved to Gladiator. (20:11) While at Gladiator, enemy men got through the wire and demolished the ammo dump. (20:41) The men spent about one month at Gladiator before being moved to Fire base Kathryn for 1-2 weeks then to Rakkasan again. (21:17) Service on Ripcord (22:00) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The men arrived at Ripcord in mid June of 1970. The area was very frightening due to the proximity of the jungle to the base and that other groups had been chased off Ripcord before. (21:31) After the engineers dug foxholes, Ron went in and dug them deeper. (24:00) The guns often provided support for the troops around Ripcord. (25:25) Gradually, mortar and sniper fire began showing up along with rockets, tear gas, and machine gun fire. (25:50) Ammunition was brought in using Chinooks and Hueys. (26:52) The ammunition was dropped at the back of the base. The men were required to carry the ammunition from the back to the front of the fire base. (27:19) Ammunition often got to the base, it was the drop and going to get the ammunition that was dangerous as this was what triggered enemy fire. (28:51) Ron doesn’t remember sleeping in Vietnam. (29:50) Ron’s unit did not lose any guns. However, the 105mm battery unit lost all 6 guns in July after a helicopter crashed with ammunition on the base. (30:44) A man got pinned in the fire and pleaded for the others to shoot him. But due to the intensity of the fire, no man could get in close enough to do so or to help him. (32:05) There were no casualties in Ron’s battery because of the 105 accident. But because the 105s could no longer fire, Ron’s battery had to fire more to fill the missions. (33:02) At this time the unit was losing officers and sergeants through indirect fire and mortars. (36:37) There were some men that came to replace casualties, however on Ron’s gun, the men did not want any one else on their gun, even if a man as lost. (38:37) The men were told on the night of July 21st that on July 22nd the men would be leaving Ripcord. The men shot off as much ammunition as they had before leaving. Ron did not think they would be able to evacuate Ripcord. (39:10) Men were always prepared to destroy the guns if over run. (40:24) All 6 guns were removed successfully form Ripcord. When the men left, they were handed a number. The numbers were used to decide who left Ripcord first. (41:15) Ron took the second to last chopper off of Ripcord. (43:03) The men are moved to Camp Evans. Ron didn’t know where the other members of the battery or the guns were once he was moved. (44:41) �End of Service (45:09) • • • • • There was a two week long stand down after returning from Ripcord. The men then stayed at Rakkasan. Here Ron had his hand smashed in the breech of the gun. (45:16) Ron volunteered to assist build a new fire base in early August of 1970. (46:30) Ron did finish his high school education. This was before he was sent to Vietnam. (49:26) Ron was asked to reenlist but did not want to. (49:40) Ron spent his time after the service working as an auto mechanic and a truck driver. (50:15) � 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 ZahnR1444V Title A name given to the resource Zahn, Ronald (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zahn, Ronald Description An account of the resource Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on artillery. In early 1970, Ron was sent to Vietnam where he served in A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division. His battery was based at Camp Evans, and moved around the northern part of South Vietnam, spending time at Firebases Rakkasan, Gladiator, Kathryn and Ripcord and at Camp Carroll. His battery was on Ripcord while it was under siege and evacuated in July, 1970. 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 United States. Army 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 2012-10-06 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/c8761e156fa788eee932bc40d45f3187.mp4 4c4b31f2125cd236e0329dea065a13b7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/603cecbc86f9341a21354ca203463031.pdf aefb8996d9fbfac8ac7e185630160486 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Robert Twa World War II Total Time: 1:02:30 Pre-War (0:00:10) • • • • • • Born in Crystal Falls, Michigan, in 1922. His father and mother were both cooks. Attended Watervliet High School in 1940 His father and mother started a restaurant in Watervliet, Michigan, in 1934. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He enlisted at Manistique, Michigan, in June 1940. Training (04:05) • He was sent to Air Force Training School at Chanute Field, Illinois, where he took the AGCT test, which determined a recruit’s strengths. He tested well, so he got to choose where he wanted to go so he chose light trainer school, but that did not start for a long time so he chose weather school instead. • (0:06:30) The weather training school was at Chanute Field as well, and there were 600 other pupils in the class with him. • There was a lot of memorization in the training. They had class 8-5 with a ½ hour lunch. • The school was 6 months in length. • They didn’t do much on the weekends, as the pay was quite low. Active Duty (0:12:10) • After training, he was sent to Moffett Airfield in San Francisco, California, to a pilot training base where he worked in the weather station. • The base was overcrowded while he was there. • (0:15:05) James Stewart was housed in the Barracks next to them, and they used to go over and have conversations with him while he was there. • He was then transferred to Selfridge Filed in Michigan. • Selfridge Field had Pursuit Squadrons there and James Doolittle was stationed there for a time. He gave Doolittle briefings on a regular basis. • After Pearl Harbor, most of the planes that were on that base were shipped overseas. • (0:18:45) While he was at California, there was recruitment going on for the Flying Tigers, who would be sent to China. He took all of the tests for this but they never called him up. • He would go into Detroit some while he was at Selfridge Field when he had free time. �• (0:24:00) He was on a shift when Pearl Harbor was attacked. • (0:28:10) He was then sent to Greenland to a base called BW1 where he stayed for a time. There was a large Inuit village where he stayed while he was waiting for his base to be built. • They lived in a small cabin while they were there, and their job was to take continuous observations. • (0:31:40) They were there for around 3 months until they were moved to a fjord called Ikatek where they had to build their base from scratch. • They had some trouble with food while they were there. • They took weather observations while they were there 24 hours a day, and they also had to use a weather balloon to get high altitude observations. • They had to make their own hydrogen for the balloons while they were there because they couldn’t get helium shipped in. They took balloon observations every 6 hours. • He was in Greenland a total of 15 months. He was also the first one to leave the base for the south in October 1943. • He got 30 days leave and got reassigned to Bermuda. • This stop was on the South Atlantic Route, and he stayed there for a year. He worked in the weather office here as well. He was there for about a year. • (0:43:50) He was then sent to Goose Bay, Labrador. He worked there for around 6 months. • He was then sent to the US and worked training, and was then discharged. • (0:49:15) He remembers the weather in Labrador being very difficult to forecast. • He did code work for the Army, so he had to be checked by the FBI. • He was assigned to the 4th Region Weather Center, which was Georgia and some of the rest of the Southeast. • He was discharged September 17th, 1945. Post-Service (0:58:30) • • • He was home in Michigan for a couple of days after he was discharged, and then he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he signed up for the weather bureau. He volunteered to go to Alaska for the weather bureau. Got married in 1946. � 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 TwaR Title A name given to the resource Twa, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Twa, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Twa was born in Crystal Falls, Michigan in 1922 and served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was trained as a weather forecaster and served in California, Michigan, Greenland, Bermuda, Canada and Georgia. After the war, he worked for the Weather Bureau. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, 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 2009-04-25 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