36 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8f18436c636633f611a72cfdde8c1c3d.mp4 f1fa24e0499f518a768560c44b961baa https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/de6666d93cfc75458d4ddcf1e7f65f8f.pdf 1adcce2aed832d4bde722b3e2fd99d9c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Clair Musgrove (54:04) • • (00:25) Hershey Michigan Born in Hershey Michigan on July 8 1919 Taught rural school for 4 yrs after graduation Mother died before he was 5 years old during birth of youngest brother Father was a farmer and general laborer. Worker on the Pere Marquette Railroad during the war. Worked for Hershey Gravel Company after war where he died in an accident at 62 years old Church vital in his life (3:23) Graduated from Hershey High School Attended County Normal School in Evart, Michigan, and obtained certificate to teach in 8th grade rural school Heard about Pearl Harbor bombing on car radio Finished out year in school--volunteered for Army Air Corps • • • (5:32) Joined Army September 3, 1942 enlisted Left Evart, Michigan on a bus for Fort Custer Clare put in charge of the bus • • • • • • • • (7:10)Fort Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan Stayed on base for 1 day before being assigned to Shepherd Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, for basic training • • (8:40) Shepherd Field Basic training at Wichita Falls Upon graduation enlisted in Aerial Gunnery School • • • • • (9:20) Aerial Gunnery School, Laredo, Texas Clare was in the first class to attend the school Clare was a corporal in the Army at this time Practice torrent (target practice?) in field (11:10) Appointed an instructor in the school upon graduation Received a 10 day furlough to go home before new class came in �• • Taught for less than 1 year Volunteers for overseas duty (12:40) Sails out to sea, Late winter/Early Spring 1943 • • • • • • • • • • • • • (13:48) Algeria, North Africa (13:56) Followed 15th Air Force to Italy to bomb group assignment-North of Bari on Adriatic side Assigned to the 456th Bomb Group Part of the 782nd Bomb Squadron Shared landing filed with 464th Bomb Group Path of fighting started in Naples-didn’t really hit Bari (16:00) Flew missions into enemy territory Flew B24 liberator into Southern France, Austria, Lower Germany, Romania, and Czechoslovakia Flew 9 missions 9th mission—engines hit by anti-aircraft fire over Ploesti Oil Fields, Romania (18:58) 2 P-51 fighter planes covered them (21:51) evacuates jet at 10,000ft over Serbia-July 9 1944 (25:00) Locates two ladies and two boys with sheep (27:10) Man in village shakes Clare’s hand Mutton, potatoes, and bread for dinner-German soldier at door (30:30) Rest of crew taken to German war camp (31:18) Czech soldiers lead Clare towards safety Serbian principal takes Clare in (35:20) Assembly Point-downed American airmen-200 total Helped build airstrip and brush piles in mountain (38:56) Rescue • • • • • • • (40:40) Headquarters-15th Air Force-August 13 1944 Interrogation Process Doctor’s Exam-sprayed down for lice (42:42) Fed meals by locals (43:40) Returns to squadron (44:35) Other members in prison camps-1 dies there Assigned to indoctrinate new crews on bail out-stayed till end of war (47:40) Rescue kits-silk maps • • • • • • (49:18) Back in the U.S. �• • • • Disbelief Discharged from service as aerial gunner Arrives home Brother stationed in Germany when war ends-comes home • • • • • • (51:40 )Impact on life Huge accomplishment G.I. Bill-graduates from Michigan State University-Agriculture and Farming Hired by Michigan State University in Agriculture-30 years of service Port Huron Michigan 2years Fremont Michigan 13 years (53:34) County Extension Director in Berrien County-finishes career � 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 MusgroveC Title A name given to the resource Musgrove, Clare (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Musgrove, Clare M. Description An account of the resource Clare Musgrove served in the Army Air Corps, 1942-1945. He was a B-24 Gunner with the 15th Air Force in Italy, where he flew nine missions. On the last, over Ploesti, his plane was hit and the crew bailed out over Serbia. The rest of the crew were captured, but he was rescued by a local family and smuggled out by the resistance. Upon returning to his base, he was given a training assignment for the rest of the war. 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 2005-09-13 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2d544a7fd0ddf957866f0446a25d1fe7.m4v 23b18c4f1ea4d48513df038f1b93132c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/40417b022d62d0d9b447e5454424c994.pdf e0a7214cc7ea0037d07d179e1c1dc2ca PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam War Interviewee’s Name: Thomas Murphy Length of interview (00:59:00) (00:11) Pre-Enlistment Went to school at Rockford High School. (00:22) Volunteered for the draft after graduation in 1967. (00:35) Two months later, Thomas was in the army. (01:04) Grew up outside of Rockford with his brother and two sisters. (01:12) Never told his parents that he had volunteered for the draft. His parents found out three or five days after he had left for Fort Knox, KY. (01:20) Wanted to serve because it was his patriotic duty and because he had friends who were already serving in Vietnam. (01:50) (02:22) Training in Fort Knox, KY Learned about the discipline of military life and how to use various weapons. (02:22) Describes experiences with drill sergeants. (02:36) Traveled to Fort Lewis, WA after basic training for advanced infantry training and jungle warfare. (03:20) Received orders to go to Germany for about a month and a half. (04:07) Received orders to go to Vietnam. Was given a two week leave before leaving. (04:51) Mother wrote a letter to President Johnson saying that he was not physically capable to go to Vietnam. Recruiting officer arrived at his house near Rockford with orders from President Johnson insisting on a complete medical examination. (05:14) Had had no training with the M-16 rifle and had to learn on the job. (08:14) (08:21) Service in Vietnam Traveled by commercial jet and landed in Cam Ranh Bay. (08:24) Assigned to 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, Company D which received orders to base camp in Lai Khe. (09:08) Describes infantry operations in Vietnam. (09:37) Describes main functions and duties of the infantry and what that demanded from the individual. (13:10) Describes his experience in enemy tunnels as a ‘tunnel rat’. (19:06) Landed in Vietnam on April 1, 1968. (21:29) Entered the jungle in search of a village that the Vietcong and NVA were hiding in on May 1. Describes the operation and the mistakes they made. (21:47) Legs were paralyzed due to a gunshot wound while taking cover in a ravine. Didn’t realize until an hour later and passed out due to blood loss. (24:55) Describes his anger with God. Later accepted that God never abandoned him. (26:35) �Describes dealing with dangerous aspects of everyday life in Vietnam, such as malaria, leeches, red ants, dehydration. (28:36) Was wounded three times during his service. (32:35) Describes his experience during the Tet Offensive Drive. (33:25) Was awarded three Purple Heart Awards, a Combat Infantry Badge, and a Cross of Gallantry with Palm. (37:31) Describes booby traps that he encountered. (42:13) Shares several stories about things that happened while he was drunk with his friends. (43:20) (49:00) Life after Vietnam Had lost so much weight that his mother didn’t recognize him when he returned home. (49:00) Describes adjusting to the weather when their jet landed in Anchorage, AL. (49:23) Then landed in Fort Lewis, WA and had to walk in a parade in Tacoma, WA before returning home. Troops were received very badly by protesters. (50:03) Describes being treated very badly when he returned home. (50:28) Doesn’t suffer from physical effects from Agent Orange exposure, but doesn’t like being around bug spray. (54:53) Encourages people to be grateful for our troops. (57:38) � 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 MurphyT Title A name given to the resource Murphy, Thomas (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Murphy, Thomas Description An account of the resource Thomas Murphy is a Vietnam War veteran who volunteered for the draft after he graduated from Rockford High School in 1967. He served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, Company D and was awarded three Purple Heart Awards, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Cross of Gallantry with Palm. In this interview, Thomas shares many stories about his experience with booby traps, dangerous living conditions and being a ‘tunnel rat.' Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Murphy, Sydney (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-05-26 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/bf1d047d231cdbf9e80ba0b28b851025.mp4 689973b612dc8d0b00a7e8a35dc9db03 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2086a255d8eb1dbc076a2d76a23fec0.pdf 1459afb74b5e5b14ce7f155dbdd7f2f2 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam War George Murphy Total Time: 54:45 Background  (00:18) George Murphy was born in Sandwich, Illinois, on March 6, 1948  Grew up in a small town 3 miles west of Sandwich  He went through high school there, and then went to junior college, then was drafted  (00:41) His mother was a homemaker, father worked in a factory in Sandwich o His father worked as a manufacturer in a company called New Idea  (1:03) In high school, Mr. Murphy played baseball, basketball, and track  Attended a community college about 25 minutes away  (1:24) Was drafted in June 1969 after graduating from college two weeks earlier  (2:10) He earned a science degree After Receiving Draft Notice  (2:19) Went to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri  Went to induction center in Chicago before going to Ft. Leonard Wood  (2:35) Got a physical in Chicago  Didn’t notice people trying to get out of going to Vietnam, but he heard stories  (3:04) From Chicago he was transported to Ft. Leonard Wood by plane, they first stopped in St. Louis and took a bus from there  (3:24) First impression of Ft. Leonard Wood: smelled of honeysuckle, which grew wild  (3:44) His first stop was the reception center, stayed there for 6 days o Received shots, fatigues, etc. o Took some classes o Assigned to company/battery  (4:17) Once he was out of reception, he didn’t know what his job would be Basic Training  (4:28) Described basic training as rough  Lasted from July to August, very hot weather, couldn’t take shirts or boots off  They got more used to it as the weeks went by  (5:08) Learned a variety of things at training �    o First aid, classes on hand to hand combat, how to use a bayonet, rifle, pistol, shooting, etc., military marching, military history Stood guard duty a lot (5:45) The training was to get them used to being a team as opposed to being an individual (6:00) Guessed that probably all of the guys in his company were draftees Basic training lasted 9 weeks AIT Training  (6:18) Orders for the next army phase during 9th week of basic training  Mr. Murphy was to go to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, for artillery training  He went straight to Oklahoma with no leave on a bus  (6:59) When they got off the bus, they sat in bleachers and watched a gun crew show them how to shoot a 105mm howitzer o His group was told if they were good enough they could demonstrate for the next set of recruits  (7:40) He learned how to do everything with the howitzer o Trained on 105mm, 175mm, and 8-inch guns  This AIT lasted 9 weeks  (8:33) Most guys in his company (now called battery) were draftees  (9:00) The last week of AIT focused on preparing them for Vietnam, “jungle school” Vietnam  (9:39) When he got orders for Vietnam, he didn’t yet know what unit he would be in  Allowed 14 days for leave  Went to Illinois  After leave, went from O’Hare airport to Oakland, California  Spent 3-3 ½ days there  (10:28) got card to notify for shipment, told him when and where to report  Flew from Oakland to Anchorage, AK, stayed for a couple hours and then went to Kona Air Force Base in Japan o After refueling, went to Tan Son Nhut  (11:30) Didn’t know a lot about Vietnam at that point other than what he saw on the news, said he spent more time concentrating on college  (12:02) Stayed at Tan Son Nhut for 4 days, went to reception center and was assigned to Charlie battery, 7th Artillery, attached to the 1st Infantry Division o The unit was based in the Mekong Delta �                o After a few months he was transferred to the 101st division o Mr. Murphy was well received in his unit (12:42) Every battery he was in was always shorthanded o They were supposed to have 6 men per gun, but the most he ever had in a unit was 4 (13:16) In the unit he was assigned, he was assistant gunner Moved around a lot, within 3 ½ months they were in 3 fire bases, a truck was their means of transportation Fire bases were attacked sometimes with mortars and rockets at night, more for harassment, to keep them on their toes (14:12) 1st reaction to getting shot at was knowing he did his job, and after he realized what was going on he found it a bit nerve wracking (14:40) About 2 fire missions a day, they shot defensive targets at night, trail and stream crossings just in case the Viet Cong came (15:37) Establishing fire base: engineers went in with bulldozers, the unit set up guns, build bunkers and filled sandbags o Infantry came in at night to set up a perimeter around the firebase (16:26) Each gun section had an M-60 machine gun, which was manned by Mr. Murphy’s team, always 2 guys on an M-60 all night (16:50) Each gun section constructed a parapet (17:08) Took about a week to finish construction duties o He was told it took 10,000 sandbags (17:45) How the bunkers were constructed: trench was dug, PSP (perforated steel planking) on top, covered that with sandbags o Engineers bulldozed to make trenches (18:13) Mr. Murphy was in 3 firebases, and established 2 of them (18:17) Joined Minnesota company/battery (101st division) after the 1st division went home (19:10) Heard more about the 1st division before going to Vietnam, didn’t think anything of switching (19:57) C-130 brought Mr. Murphy to the 101st division o Flew from Saigon to Cam Ranh Bay o 6 or 7 from his battery went to 101st o 2 (including Mr. Murphy) from his gun section o (20:23) Having friends/acquaintances go along helped the switch o From Cam Ranh Bay to Camp Eagle (20:37) “Snake School” at Camp Eagle �        o Learned about the jungle and booby-traps o After that, the chopper took them to a fire base (21:18) 1st firebase he was at was called “Brick”, 20 miles away from Camp Eagle o Brick was small, just enough room for 6 guns, less than half the size of a football field o (21:45) The Howitzers they had weren’t the split trail ones, but M102’s o (22:08) Mr. Murphy said they were good guns, all they had to do was crank them, lighter compared to the heavy 105’s in the 1st division, used in WW2 o Airmobile guns were the M102 Howitzers o (23:24) Mr. Murphy was an ammo bearer when he first joined this gun division, moved up based on seniority o Once again, he was received well, his team was shorthanded (24:05) 101st division was very busy, firing a lot, fired at least 100 rounds a day on average In the 101st division, they had contact missions – if infantry was in trouble, they would help (25:08) Stayed in that location for about a week, then moved to fire base Rifle, which he helped build (25:41) Deployed to Rifle by helicopter o Had to march order Howitzer, which was a learning experience for Mr. Murphy o Howitzer was brought by Chinook, when previously it was done by truck o Howitzer was the first thing brought in the air, followed by a load of H.E., and then personal supplies o Beehive loads were carried on, as well as firecrackers (27:47) Stayed at Firebase Rifle for about 2-3 weeks, moved when infantry moved o Provided supporting fire for infantry, who would secure the firebase o (28:51) He did this for the rest of his tour o (29:00) Had to use beehive round once; intelligence said that the enemy would come up the gully and attack the firebase, so they pointed the Howitzer straight down into the gully and fired the beehive, which took care of it (30:00) Mr. Murphy was on 11 firebases total, moving every 2 weeks – month, but one time it was just within a few hours o Wherever the infantry was going, they went (30:38) Operation Ripcord was going on, they went to Gladiator fire support base, which was 6 or 7 clicks from Ripcord which was getting sporadic fights o His battery at Gladiator provided fire support for Ripcord o (31:20) In mid-July, they shot 3600 rounds in one fire mission �          o Each round was 35 lbs, ready to shoot from helicopter, all day long they ran back and forth and shooting them (32:24) Murphy and another man from his battery were sent to Ripcord by helicopter to check out positions for their battery's guns after the 105 battery on Ripcord had been destroyed. Going into Ripcord they landed on the south chopper pad, Mr. Murphy and his friend Frank ran to a shell hole during a fire fight, dodging bullets, etc (34:33) Constant rockets and mortars going off o Heard that an average of 1200 rounds a day hit the firebase (35:42) Once there, they wound up staying to help. They guarded the perimeter, helped with mortars, humped ammo (36:50) Mr. Murphy doesn’t remember because of everything going on at the time, but people told him it was constantly windy on Ripcord (37:35) Mr. Murphy was informed that he was getting off of Ripcord on the 22 nd, and he left on the 23rd (38:06) Leaving was “ten times worse than arriving,” he was amazed at how many rockets and mortars were going off as he left o Inside the TOC, he noticed a guy on a stretcher and told the others waiting for the chopper to take them out of Ripcord that they were bringing him whether he was dead or alive o (39:19) Remembers when they took off on the chopper it went straight down hill, there was so much shooting it made 30 seconds seem like almost an hour o Chopper looked like a pincushion from being shot so much, but it arrived safely at Camp Evans o (40:18) Remembers landing at Camp Evans and sitting down with his friends, “wow” at all that had happened (40:41) Pilot kissed the nose of the chopper, noticed all the fluids leaking from it and was amazed how it got them back to Camp Evans (41:14) It took awhile to get back to B Battery o (42:00) Mr. Murphy and some friends decided to have some beers before going back to Camp Eagle o Stayed at an inn overnight before hitchhiking back to Camp Eagle o Went to an art club before going back to Gladiator fire base, he remembers the commander being mad that they were a few days late because the whole time he wondered if they were dead or alive (43:46) They went back to their gun section, Gladiator was done, so they went to another firebase called Kathryn (44:24) Still very busy, this base was close to Ripcord, so lots of fire fights �      (44:53) Recalls one night at Kathryn that two were killed and 17 wounded in a sapper attack (45:18) “Puff the Magic Dragon” was used, a C-130 with mini guns o The day when this was used, one gun was lost from a rocket and the fire base was pretty badly damaged (46:05) Lathryn was the last major confrontation he had with the NVA (46:54) For food they had C rations (later mentions the same rations from WWII), sometimes once a week they would get hot meals sent in cans (47:50) He saw minimal drug use, but being on a fire base it would have been difficult to get near drugs o He guessed that probably in the rear there was some usage o Didn’t personally experience drugs, but sometimes he would smell pot walking past a bunker (49:18) Racial demographics of his battery were about 80% white, 15% black, and the rest Hispanic, there was no racial tension Going Home  (50:01) After 10 months he went to Australia for 6 days before returning to Vietnam and finishing his tour  (50:38) Out processed at Cam Ranh Bay, flew to Seattle, and processed out at Ft. Lewis  (51:55) Mr. Murphy remembers how happy and excited everyone was on the plane when the captain announced that they cleared Vietnamese airspace  (52:30) Ate a steak dinner and chocolate milk at Ft. Lewis, got back home on Christmas, this was a two day process  (53:27) When he got home, he was very tired. He mentions that he got to see his girlfriend at the time, parents and sisters. � 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 MurphyG1269V Title A name given to the resource Murphy, George (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Murphy, George Description An account of the resource George Murphy was born and grew up in a small town in Illinois. After finishing high school and junior college, he was drafted into the Army in 1969. He did his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, and was then sent for artillery training to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here he trained as a gunner, and was then sent to Vietnam. He joined a battery of the 7th Artillery which was attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta, and served with them until the unit rotated home three months later. He and several other men from his battery were reassigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans, and he served the rest of his tour with them. He continued to work as a gunner, and his battery regularly moved from one firebase to another. They provided fire support for Firebase Ripcord when it was under siege in July, and Murphy was sent to Ripcord to inspect artillery positions there when it was thought that his battery would move there. Instead, the base was abandoned, and he went back to his regular duties. Later on, he was stationed at Firebase Kathryn when it was attacked by sappers. 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 2011-10-08 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/f9ef82c59576e8f424483770ae6807c9.m4v 8e533579c09b834f7bc9ccd47be282ef https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/14afe07d687fd607b8eaa653c4f9ae58.pdf ac840e800722638c8f8275ff7f632d68 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview William Mulvey World War II, Korea, and Vietnam Total Time: 2:22:28 [DVD 1] 1:01:18 [DVD 2] DVD 1 Pre-Enlistment and Childhood (0:00:13)      Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1918 His parents were out of work during the Depression. He attended school through the 8th grade. (0:03:10) He worked for the WPA before he joined the Navy in 1937. He decided to join the Navy because he saw films about the Navy. Training (0:06:17)  He was sent to Newport, Rhode Island for basic training. They were there for 21 days before they got leave prior to being shipped out.  (0:09:06) He was sent to Norfolk, Virginia after basic, where he was placed on the battleship USS Texas, which was a World War I era battleship. Active Duty (0:10:50)         The ship was then sent to Annapolis, Maryland, where they picked up midshipmen and then to Europe (0:11:35) He was a seaman on the ship. (0:11:50) When they returned, he was transferred to the USS Boise. (0:12:55)His first trip on the ocean in the Boise was on a ferry from Providence, Rhode Island, to New York. On his first cruise, they were sent to Cape Town, South Africa, via Monrovia, Liberia. (0:15:41) The USS Boise was then sent to the World’s Fair in New York City, and once that was complete to Pearl Harbor in 1939. (0:17:30) In 1941, they escorted a convoy of Marines to Manila. They stayed close to the Philippines after the war began, and he was able to go ashore in Manila while they were near there. (0:19:50) He remembers the Sunday morning of the Pearl Harbor Attack. He watched Clark Air Force Base in Manila getting bombed. They spent the day painting the ship in camouflage. (0:23:10) They then went to the Dutch East Indies. They were the most modern American ship in the area, and they took the Dutch Admiral aboard and attempted to catch up to the rest of the Dutch fleet. They ran into a reef and had to detour to Borneo. �                 (0:27:00) In Borneo, he signed up for another tour of duty. (0:27:15) They were then sent to Port Darwin, Australia, then Sri Lanka, and finally Bombay, India where they stayed for 3 months while the ship was being fixed. (0:32:00) They spent their time in India cleaning the ship and touring Bombay. (0:32:40) After Bombay, they were sent to Australia and then New Zealand and back to the United States for refurbishing. (0:33:45) They were sent to Guadalcanal after refurbishing where they took part in a naval battle[Battle of Cape Esperance]. They attacked some cruisers and sunk several of them. The Boise had 3 of its turrets hit. (0:41:15) After the battle, they went to a repair island where they patched up the damage. They were then sent to the Philadelphia Naval Yards to get a full repair. (0:42:35) While they were in Philadelphia, he went to various places doing speeches and drumming up support and War Bonds. (0:50:15) He was then sent on a small sub chaser from New Orleans to Miami to be outfitted. (0:57:45) They were ordered to take the ship to Pearl Harbor. They had to stop in Guatemala for fuel, and then proceeded through the Panama Canal and on to Pearl Harbor. (0:59:45) He asked for reassignment when he got to Pearl Harbor, and was placed on the USS Indianapolis. He was then made Chief Master at Arms. (1:02:55) They were sent first to Tarawa, and then hopped from Island to Island assisting with landings. (1:08:15) They assisted in the landings on Iwo Jima, and they were able to see the flag being raised over Mt. Suribachi. (1:11:00) He worked organizing and working as a police of sorts on the ship. The ship was segregated while he was on board. They had separate quarters for the African American sailors. (1:12:25) They were attacked by Kamikazes while they were at Iwo Jima. A plane codenamed ‘Betty’ [twin-engine bomber] hit them, and they lost several men. They were assisted by the USS New Jersey from whom they got water, as their evaporator was hit and that was their main source of fresh water. This forced them to return to the United States to make repairs at San Francisco, California. (1:16:20) While they were in San Francisco, they were assigned to carry the atomic bomb. The bomb was carried on deck, under heavy guard. They took it to the Marianas. They delivered it several days before the bombings took place. They dropped the bomb off and immediately headed towards Guam to pick up an escort. (1:22:05) They were not zigzagging on the way to Guam, which may have been part of the reason why the ship was torpedoed. (1:22:40) When the ship was torpedoed, it was the middle of the night and he was sleeping. He remembers the ship jerking twice, which brought him out to the quarterdeck. He was sent by the commander to investigate what the problem was. At the time, they thought a boiler had exploded, but a second explosion made them realize that they had been torpedoed. �      (1:24:55) He had no lifejacket when he went into the water, and he had to swim through fuel oil to get a life jacket from another sailor. Some of the life jackets that they had leaked air, so they had to continually refill the jacket with air via a tube. However, he had a kapok lifejacket, which floated much better than the inflatable jackets. (1:29:55) When day broke after the accident, he was covered in fuel oil, and the seas were rough. There were no provisions available to him, and he didn’t see anyone else. (1:32:05) He didn’t see any sharks or shark attacks while he was on the water. (1:32:25) He was in the middle of the pack of men that had jumped off of the ship. (1:32:45) He was in the water 4 days and 5 nights when they were finally spotted by a B24 bomber that was coincidentally being fixed in flight. The plane dropped its water cans, and radioed back to base. A flying boat was sent out next and even though it was not supposed to land, it was able to. There were also provided rafts, which were insufficient. He was able to get into one of the rafts with some assistance. (1:44:20) He was taken to Palau, where he was twice given the last rites. He was then put on the hospital ship Tranquility. Post-World War II (1:47:30)    He arrived back in the United States, and he applied for a job in the trucking industry. (1:48:48) He eventually signed up for the Naval Reserves. (1:50:35) He received two Purple Hearts for his service. One was for the shipwreck and the other was for an incident that happened on the base in Auckland, New Zealand. Re-Activation (1:53:15)       He was called up for service during the Korean War. He was sent to Philadelphia and then to New Jersey where he was placed on a guided missile cruiser. (1:54:50) They were sent to the North Atlantic where they practiced with the missile launchers that had been added to the ship. (2:00:00) They were also testing airplane launchers or catapults. (2:01:33) They took the ship back to the yard and fixed the problems with the launchers. (2:02:20) They helped to install catapults on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga as well. (2:02:50) He was then assigned to the USS Ticonderoga, which sailed around the Drake Passage and got caught in a storm. They were hit a large wave which bent one of the structural I-beams on the ship, and they had to pull into port in Santiago, Chile. They eventually had to take the ship back by only calm water to the US via the Panama Canal. �  (2:06:20) He stayed on active duty until the 1960s. (2:07:00) He worked on a troop transport ship during the Vietnam War. Their ship could take a variety of different pieces of equipment for beach landings. He worked the gyros on the ship. Miscellaneous (2:14:50)    He remembers, while he was in the water after the sinking of the Indianapolis, they tied themselves together as a group to help each other. (2:17:55) One of the men in the group thought that he could swim down to the ship and get water. On the first attempt, he failed and almost drowned, and on the second try he did drown. (2:19:45) Some of the men gave him their dog tags, with the thought that they may die. END DVD 1 (2:22:28) BEGIN DVD 2 Active Duty (0:00:00)               Pictures of his medal collection A commemorative poster (0:01:31) Medal collection. (0:03:01) There was a book written about the USS Indianapolis sinking. (0:07:30) He was not interviewed for the court martial hearings against the captain. (0:08:30) All of the men that were not sleeping at the time of the sinking were likely drowned quickly, as the hatches to the sleeping quarters were cumbersome to open. He also refutes the claim that an SOS signal was sent, because the speed with which the ship sunk would not have allowed the time for the message to be relayed. (0:11:10) They communicated with seaplanes via lights and flags. (0:12:45) When he was at Guadalcanal on the USS Boise, they were fighting the heavy cruisers from the side. (0:15:15) They did not meet any enemy battleships, as far as he knows. (0:16:02) They had burials at sea for the men who died at Guadalcanal. (0:17:08) They would drop anchor off of islands with the USS Indianapolis, and being the flagship they would they would begin the fire on the island. (0:20:30) They would fire at Kamikazes but it usually made little difference unless the bomb was hit. (0:22:50) They followed a convoy back to the United States after being hit by the Kamikaze. (0:26:30) The nuclear bomb, when it was on board, was guarded by special troops. �      (0:27:30) At times, he would wear a Roentgen Tag to detect radiation levels. (0:29:23) When he went into the Navy in 1937, they had very primitive conditions, and the bases were not developed. (0:40:30) They had a very regimented routine, including a limited supply of fresh water. They would also scrub the decks on a regular basis. (0:46:30) They painted the ship so that barnacles wouldn’t attack themselves to the hull. (0:49:40) They were fed on deck with picnic tables suspended from hooks. They waited in lines by rank, so the seamen would often get the bad cuts of meat, or the worst food. (0:55:05) His mother had 5 children in the service. END DVD 2 (1:01:18) � 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 MulveyW Title A name given to the resource Mulvey, William (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mulvey, William Description An account of the resource William Mulvey joined the Navy in 1937 and served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. William joined the Navy in 1937, and was trained in Rhode Island before he was placed on the USS Texas. He was then transferred to the USS Boise where he remained until part way through World War II. He participated in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal on the Boise, and was then transferred to the USS Indianapolis, and served on that ship until a Japanese submarine sank it. He survived the aftermath, and joined the Naval Reserves upon his return to the United States. He was reactivated for the Korean War, and served in several capacities including on the USS Ticonderoga. He also served in the Vietnam War on a ship used for beach landings. He eventually retired from the Navy in the 1960s. 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. 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 2009-09-15 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/37fb072432cb5aa0d110194cde853aa2.m4v c30b08c0925321e7681dba16fb582b0e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a78ed2a593e0236895bb0fc73c40cf5e.pdf 57f86551530e7419d52a6b43b2aa16c6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Interviewee’s Name: Robert Mulder Name of War: Korean War Length of Interview: (00:59:15) (00:40) Background Information        Robert was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan He went to Southwest Christian School and then Grand Rapids Christian High School His father had lost his job and house during the Depression and it was always a struggle for him to pay to put his two sons through school Robert graduated from high school in 1947 and began working in painting He was drafted in October 1950 and the Korean War had broken out just a few months earlier Robert had not been paying any attention to the war and did not know anyone that had been drafted He was sent to Fort Sheridan for his induction (3:55) Training  Robert was sent to Camp Atterbury in Indiana for basic training  He had a few first aid classes and went through much physical training  They went through training quickly because the Army had been short on medics  Robert adjusted well to the military discipline, but was not happy that he had only got one week off for Christmas  They took a troop train from Indiana to Seattle and stayed in an old fort with tar paper shacks for a few days (9:50) Overseas  They boarded a converted liberty ship and the voyage took 2 weeks, but they had mostly smooth sailing with nice weather in March  They stopped in Japan for a few weeks and then made their way to Korea  There was a storm on the way to Korea and everyone on the ship was sick  They arrived in Pusan and boarded a train (13:00) Assignment  They arrived at their camp and Robert was assigned to the 38th Medical Company of the 2nd Division and was then also assigned to a medical line company  The 2nd Division had been taking replacements and regrouping when Robert had been assigned �  Many men befriended Robert because he was a medic and they wanted him to watch their backs Typically most men tried not to become good friends with others because they never knew if or when they might lose them (18:30) Patrols  Robert’s first experience with combat was like “cops and robbers”  He had wanted to stand and see what was going on, but was ordered to stay down and out of the way of fire  They took over an abandoned small village during one of their patrols  They were ambushed with grenades and small arms fire during their 2nd patrol  Someone had been hit in the back and it was the first time that Robert had to treat someone (24:30) Wounded  The North Koreans always attacked at night; they were very loud and indiscreet  It was easy to locate them and pinpoint where their weapons were  One night Robert had been ordered to leave the area and take cover near a hill  He was hit by a mortar shell and his whole body became numb  Men ran into help him and helped carry him away to find a medic from another company  Robert was patched up at a medical station and sent to Seoul to board a hospital ship  They operated on both his shoulders and leg to remove the shrapnel and also had to reset his arm  Robert was in a hospital from May through September in Japan and everyone had assured him that he would be going home once he had healed (30:20) Guard Duty  Once Robert had healed he was not sent home, but instead returned to the 38th Medical Company  He got in the middle of another fire fight right away  Robert often worked guard duty and on tagging dead bodies  He enjoyed working on guard duty at the medical station because he had been taken off the line  Robert eventually got frost bite and was sent to another hospital in Japan (38:55) Back to Michigan  Robert was sent back to the US in December of 1951and spent time at Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, MI  They operated on his arm in February 1952 to try to get some of the feeling back �  Robert was then sent to Fort Custer in Michigan to work on guard duty while he waited for his papers to be discharged He was finally done with his service in July 1952 (44:30) After Service  Robert went back to work in painting and after a few months got a job working on small motors  He then began working on installing sound systems when the new HIFI came around, but was not really making much money  Robert got married and then found a good job working in electrical supply until he retired � 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 MulderR Title A name given to the resource Mulder, Robert P. (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mulder, Robert P. Description An account of the resource Robert Mulder was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School in 1947. He was drafted into the Army in October of 1950 and went through medic training at Camp Adenberry in Indiana. He went through training quickly because the Army had been short on medics. Robert was shipped to Korea and assigned to the 38th Medical Company of the 2nd Division. Robert was eventually wounded and sent to a hospital ship in Seoul to have all the shrapnel removed from his arms and legs. After he healed Robert worked on guard duty at the medic station until he got frost bite and was sent to another hospital. Robert was then sent back to Michigan and discharged in July of 1952. 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 Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-09-22 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/fef441a01e870531ce67be49736a7075.m4v d65883503f8a74d150ae9923b8792ea0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b04b57ba4c3d323cc9b73f076b5e522f.pdf ddc6655868ec6185c14867f70bdad55a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Name of War: World War II Interviewee Name: John Mulder Length of Interview (00:26:30) Pre-Enlistment  Born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, MI(0:03)  Grew up in Montana during the Depression (0:30)  16 years old when World War II broke out, only completed the eighth grade (0:50)  Moved the family back to Grand Rapids after the war broke out (1:00)  Did not think he would be part of the draft, but the day he turned 18 the draft dropped to 18 years old from 21 years old (1:30)  Had orders to report to Kalamazoo, MI for a physical in 1943 (1:45)  Drafted in June of 1943, got a physical and moved to Ft. Stewart, GA (1:50) Training  Anti-Aircraft camp at Ft. Stewart (2:15)  Two camps because of segregation: one for blacks and one for whites, new experience for him (2:30)  Had basic training at Ft. Stewart, as well as heavy artillery training afterwards (3:20)  Very hot, but they took miles long runs (3:40)  Had a pass after basic was over, before they started artillery (4:00)  Hopped on the back of a bus, had to move to the front because a black family came on the bus. Very new and confusing experience (4:55)  Held up well during basic training because of his work in the fields in Montana (5:20)  Only trained on .50 caliber machine guns and anti-aircraft guns (6:00)  His unit was a mobile unit, based off of trucks towing the guns (7:45)  After anti-aircraft training, the unit was moved to Long Island, NY to learn how to defend an airport (8:00)  Stationed where they manufactured P-31 because they had a big airport (8:20)  Had to get rations trucked in from New York City (16:00)  Liked that duty because it was time away from training (16:30)  Had a great USO, gave them coffee and snacks for free (18:00)  Went back to Ft. Stewart, and had a furlough. During furlough, Europe was invaded by the Allies (8:50) Enlistment      Was shipped overseas, was supposed to go to Cherbourg, France (9:00) Ended up serving with an infantry unit instead (9:20) Was shipped to California to trained to be in the Pacific theater, then went to Washington to embark (10:00) Took an Army transport to Hawaii (10:20) Trained in the hills of Hawaii for the invasion of Okinawa (10:45) �          Sent a black anti-aircraft team to the invasion, so his unit took their place guarding Pearl Harbor (11:00) Big aircraft carrier in dry dock, with half the flight deck blown off due to a Kamikaze pilot (12:00) In the middle of the night one night, all the ships in the harbor blew their whistles, signifying the war was over, but they were two days early (13:00) Heard that the bombs had been dropped, but thought it was just another bombing (13:30) Couldn’t go home because he didn’t have enough points (14:15) Stayed in Hawaii at the Schofield barracks (14:20) Did some training, gun maintenance (14:30) Kept the battery guns set up at all times (15:00) Was discharged the 26th of February, 1945 (15:20) Often took overnight trips to Honolulu and stayed at the USO (18:50) Post-Enlistment       After the service, he got a job with a clothing factory (19:40) Never learned how to drive before entering the service, but bought a car as soon as he got out (20:20) Didn’t keep his first job very long, became a butcher for awhile, then got a job at Steelcase (21:20) Finished high school by correspondence, then the American School in Chicago, IL (21:30) Is thankful he came back alive from the war, but feels that he did not do much for his country (22:00) Learned how to follow orders, how good life is at home while in the Army, also matured greatly during his time in the service (23:00) � 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 MulderJ Title A name given to the resource Mulder, John (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mulder, John Description An account of the resource John Mulder was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His family moved to Montana, but moved back to Grand Rapids after World War II broke out. John was drafted into the US Army when he was 18 years old. After completing basic training in Fort Stewart, Georgia, he also completed anti-aircraft school, in which he learned how to operate mobile anti-aircraft units. After training, he spent the remainder of the war in Hawaii, guarding Pearl Harbor. 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 2009-09-08 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/b8febe07b632f960fe058bb89451c318.mp4 8fde5953768e0fc2105c4f37d6e60b50 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7987f3472d9c753bd567fdf15998b04b.pdf 7c311971099a81e1b15bd2754dbbbb7b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Title Mulbrecht, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2012 Subject World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army Air Corps; United States. National Guard Description Fred Mulbrecht served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic from 1942-1944 in Italy during World War II. Prior to joining the service, Fred was in the National Guard. After being drafted in 1942, he aspired to be a pilot but instead was made a mechanic. Fred’s training was undergone at Kistler Field Virginia as well as several private schools in New Orleans and Detroit. In late 1943 Fred was sent to a unit of the 15th Air Force in Foggia, Italy, where he spent all his service until he was discharged in 1944. Creator Contributor (Interviewer/Affiliation) Mulbrecht, Fred Date 2012-09-20 FMulbrecht1441V Digital Identification Smither, James (Interviewer); Barnum, Rich (Interviewer) � 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 MulbrechtF1441V Title A name given to the resource Mulbrecht, Fred (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mulbrecht, Fred Description An account of the resource Fred Mulbrecht served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic from 1942-1944 in Italy during World War II. Prior to joining the service, Fred was in the National Guard. After being drafted in 1942, he aspired to be a pilot but instead was made a mechanic. Fred's training was undergone at Kistler Field Virginia as well as several private schools in New Orleans and Detroit. In late 1943 Fred was sent to a unit of the 15th Air Force in Foggia, Italy, where he spent all his service until he was discharged in 1944. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Barnum, Rich (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 Air Corps 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 2012-09-20 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ba685df32e6f52a68d26a15745accc4e.mp4 80a3c3cfe5211bf2f29825d49d910295 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eccf74ce6a4f5704c7e8c5086f236ce9.pdf b1648c73cdbe7d97447bcc8701ff0737 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Jerry Muir World War II (1:04:02) Background Information (00:56)            Born April 14 1924 in Grand Rapids Michigan. (1:04) He grew Up in Grand Rapids and attended East Grand Rapids High School. (1:15) He had 1 brother and 1 sister. (1:33) His father made a living repairing cars. (1:40) The family did not have steady income during the Depression. (2:00) His Father was a World War I veteran. (2:32) Jerry heard of Pearl Harbor while working as an usher. Jerry worked as an usher from 19391943. (3:29) After hearing of Pearl Harbor, Jerry expected to be drafted. (5:44) He did assist his dad with car repairs occasionally. (6:10) He was drafted in June of 1943. (6:27) He was then sent to Fort Custer, Michigan. Here he was interviewed to see what sort of job he may be qualified for. (6:40) th Basic Training (7:20)            He began his training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (7:25) Jerry was taken to Fort Sill via train. The trip took approx. 3 days. (7:38) When arriving at Fort Sill, Jerry was placed in the Signal Corps. Here he was taught Morse Code. (9:10) There was an opportunity that arose for Jerry to join the Air Force (Army Air Corps) due to the need for additional men. (10:48) After being approved for the Air Corps, Jerry was sent to Oklahoma Baptist University where he was to learn more advanced mathematics and physics. After 3 months of the 6 month program Jerry was pulled. (12:16) Due to the production of the P51 Mustang and its extended range, the need for additional men in the Air Corps (for bomber crews to replace combat losses) was no longer present. (14:25) Jerry was sent back to ground forces and placed in the Quartermaster department at Fort Warren, Wyoming in the spring/summer of 1944. (14:30) The elevated altitude in Wyoming made it difficult for Jerry to go on longer runs. (15:17) Jerry had a motorcycle shipped to him by truck while he was at Fort Warren. (16:15) Every Sunday, which the soldiers had off, Jerry took his motorcycle on rides into town. (17:56) Jerry was given a 2 week furlough before being sent to San Francisco, California. (18:40) Voyage to the Pacific (19:55) �       Jerry traveled on a converted cargo ship. (20:19) The voyage from San Francisco to New Guinea took approx. 1 month. (21:10) The ship was not in a convoy. (21:25) The men were then sent to the 4 replacement center on Luzon in the Philippines where he stayed for 1 month. (22:08) Some of the men he was sent with were sent to a trucking company outside Manila. Board, Jerry decided to go along as well. He was not stopped. (22:52) The men were sent to Manila by ship and than by train. (23:30) Once Jerry arrived at the shipping company, he was sent back because he was not assigned there. (24:00) th Service on the J.M Davis (24:20)          He was than assigned to the J.M. Davis. The ship, however, was unable to be found. After searching for 1 week, Jerry was sent to the wrong location. (24:38) Jerry was assigned to do electrical work as well as radio work once aboard the ship. (25:15) While on the J.M Davis, the men decided to restructure the communication devices on the ship so that it could more easily communicate with other vessels. (26:00) In June of 1945, the J.M. Davis was to sail to the Philippines. Before the ship was sent to a dry dock at Manus Island where the ship was painted. The J.M. Davis was used as a sort of repair depot for the Army’s supply and transport ships. (29:02) Aboard the J.M. Davis the men had very good food. In fact, the men grew “sick of steak.” (31:55) While in the Philippines, Jerry met his cousin who was in the USO. She was working in a play that was showing in Manila. (33:11) The ship was anchored in the bay in Manila. (34:44) When the war ended in August of 1945, the J.M. Davis was moving toward Tokyo bay. The ship eventually docked at a pier in Yokohama ,Japan. (35:39) Service after Surrender (36:56)        After the war ended the men still repaired other ships. However, the time after the war felt like “a vacation.” (36:58) When going ashore on Yokohama there was very little there, most of the city was bombed out. (37:14) Jerry did visit Tokyo. (37:40) The Japanese civilians were very nice to the American Soldiers. (38:05) One of Jerry’s friends from the service began seeing a Japanese girl while in Yokohama. The girl’s father owned a hardware store. While out with the girl, a former Japanese Soldier spotted them and began shouting at her and the GI. (39:40) Cigarettes were very valuable for trading with the Japanese civilians. (41:09) While waiting to go home, the men were showed a garage full of military rifles for the men to take home as souvenirs. Enlisted men were allowed a rifle, and officers were aloud a rifle and a pistol. Jerry took neither. (42:40) �    He was sent back to the Seattle, Washington on a Liberty Ship. It stormed for the entire voyage. (44:30) Next Jerry was sent to Fort MacArthur Los Angeles. Jerry’s discharge was postponed 1 month due to dental work he required. (46:00) When his oral surgery was complete Jerry was discharged from Fort MacArthur in fall of 1945. He was picked up and taken home by his parents. (48:27) Life after Service (49:05)     For 1 year after service Jerry did very little. (49:12) Jerry worked for a radio station for a short period. (49:40) He then worked in Kelvinator and then was a spot welder. (50:00) Jerry than worked at Steelcase for 30 years until he retired. (50:48) Thoughts on Service (51:16)          He did similar work in the military as he did while he was at home. (51:29) He thought his ship was run well and that his officers were fair. The ship was run by the Coast Guard but the Army did all the repairs. (51:45) While stationed in Japan, Jerry used a home-made flotation device which he used to swim by a Japanese shipwreck. (53:40) Jerry saw very little of the native population while in New Guinea. There was one occasion when the natives tried to sell the soldiers things in exchange for cigarettes. (55:55) While waiting for the J.M. Davis, Jerry did encounter a native man who looked as though he was ready to battle Jerry. (59:11) Natives did work in the mess halls at times or on bases. (1:00:00) Jerry saw some of the Filipino population as well. (1:00:30) While in the Philippines, one of his fellow soldiers who made a catcall at a girl was yelled at by a the girl’s mother(1:01:34) Manila was mostly GIs and USO members. Jerry did not see many natives while stationed there. (1:02:30) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MuirJ1290V Title A name given to the resource Muir, Jerry (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Muir, Jerry Description An account of the resource Jerry Muir, born April 14th 1924 in Grand Rapids ,Michigan, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. Sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training, he was assigned to the Signal Corps and began learning Morse Code. He took an opportunity to transfer to the Army Air Corps, and spend several months taking college courses in preparation for flight training, but the program shut down after three months, and he was now sent to Fort Warren, Wyoming, for Quartermaster Corps training. After this, he want by ship to New Guinea, and then to a replacement depot in the Philippines, where he waited over a month for an assignment. He was eventually assigned to the J.M. Davis, a ship that provided repair services for Army transport ships. He served aboard the Davis for the last few months of the war, and went to Yokohama, Japan, after the surrender. 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 2011-11-01 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/d77986b9e57b3b582905f7a2d90e64a5.mp4 229ca41f4cae28bb26e4a64cca708e34 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d53a5a5f579b60a0d4f02a6f5ebe8c19.pdf 347e1004f23a12ca504e0cc54005f61c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewer: Win Mueller Name of War: World War II Length of Interview: (00:34:11) (00:15) Training      Win was drafted in 1942 and inducted at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan He went through training at Fort Custer to be in the Military Police and was there for about 6 months He later worked guarding POWs; they had picked up some men from Africa and brought them to Camp Swift in Texas Win worked on guard duty in Texas for another 6 months The area was surrounded by double fences, guard towers, and dogs, but no one ever tried to escape (5:25) Europe  Win worked as a replacement troop for a while and eventually formed the 106th Division with the men he was working with  They were sent to England for more training  Win later traveled to La Havre, France and boarded trucks to be brought to the front line where they worked with the 101st Division  They eventually replaced the 101st Division right before the Battle of the Bulge  Win’s division was trapped along with British soldiers from the North and South for about a month  There was not much to eat or even time to eat; their priority was to constantly fight  The weather was freezing cold and he could not stop shaking the whole time he was there or feel his hands  Much of Win’s Division was lost during the Battle of the Bulge and he later joined another outfit (19:40) Back to US  Win boarded a very crowded Liberty Ship that was to take the men to New York  They were all pretty worried about being shipped to the war in the Pacific  They arrived in New York and were told they would eventually have to meet in California to be shipped out to the Pacific  They heard the news that Japan had surrendered at the last minute  Win took a train to Chicago where he was discharged a few months later  He was asked to re enlist, but was not at all interested in doing so � Win took some time off for vacation that summer and then decided to finish high school (26:30) Men in the Service  Win had made some very good friends while in the service  He had a friend from Oklahoma that moved back to France to start a taxi company  Win had been a private first class and had many officers that were just out of college, whom they called “90 day wonders”  Most of the men did not like their young officers, but later found that they were all pretty smart and knew what they were doing  Win had joined the American Legion, but said he was treated like a “pee-on” by veterans from WWI � 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 MuellerW Title A name given to the resource Mueller, Winfried S. (Interview outline and video), 2003 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mueller, Winfried S. Description An account of the resource Win Mueller was drafted into the Army in 1942 and went through basic training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also trained there to be in the Military Police and was at Fort Custer for about 6 months all together. After training Win worked at Fort Swift in Texas, where he guarded POWs for another six months. Win later helped form the 106th Division and was sent to Europe where they eventually replaced the 101st Division in the Netherlands right before the Battle of the Bulge. Win fought in the Battle for about a month in freezing cold weather with not much food to eat. After making it through the battle and traveling to other parts of Europe, win had enough points to go home right around the time of the Japanese surrender. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (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 2003-08-08 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/25d06752b80626ba7cc512aa40ecc362.mp4 3bfc8089b8b5386589999e8a567d6dcd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/89e56ef017fc00bc63467e863c31fbed.pdf a24d5b6af96676a9b5dc3c8e01894711 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Bob Mueller (00:41:41) (00:15) Background Information • • • • • • • Bob was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 8, 1921 His father worked as a chemist and was also a very good pianist Bob went to high school in Chicago and graduated in 1939 He had been captain of the swimming team and received a scholarship to a college in Minnesota He went to college in Minnesota for about a year, but it was very cold and the school [St. Olaf] was too religious Bob got an offer for another swimming scholarship to a college in California He moved to California and also went through a flight school program (6:45) California • The college in California was much more enjoyable and the weather was very nice • He lived in the resort town of Palm Springs and there were many nice rich people around • Bob met Ann Baxter once and she later won an Academy Award • Bob had been hanging out on the beach when Pearl Harbor was attacked; he wanted to enlist right away • He just needed to pull a few strings at his college because he needed a two year degree to become a Navy Cadet (11:25) Navy • Bob began pre-flight training in Iowa City, Iowa, which was similar to boot camp • There were many classes and awful physical training activities • There were other men from all over the country and many of them had more military experience • Bob was only allowed in because of his flight classes he had took in California and his degree (14:40) Norman, Oklahoma • Bob had primary flight training in Oklahoma, working on Steerman airplanes �• They had one day off a week and usually went into Oklahoma City • They flew every day for three months and had to take different tests, all of which Bob passed (16:30) Pensacola, FL • They were in the final stages of training working with SNJs and AT-6s • Advanced training consisted of radio work and flying sea planes • Bob had a very bad accident in a sea plane and ended up upside down stuck in the plane underwater • He heard more pilots died in training than did in their actual missions (22:45) New Orleans • Bob was sent to New Orleans and had just received his wings • He began going through instructor classes learning how to teach others how to fly • They were able to fly on their time off and he had an excellent time (23:15) Flight Instruction • Bob was sent to Saint Louis for flight instruction • He went from being a cadet to an officer and had his own private room • The living quarters were like a nice hotel and they could order their meals off a menu • Bob was a junior flight instructor for three months and then became a senior flight instructor • He then became a senior check pilot and was the person that decided if the trainees passed their tests (27:35) Corpus Christi, Texas • In Texas Bob was assigned to a squad and went through weapons training • They were flying Grumman Wildcats and training in dog fights • They also had to train to land on air craft carriers • Bob had to land 14 times and he felt that the carriers seemed so small compared to the ocean �• He had been training to fight in Japan, but the war ended before he was sent • Bob was then put on inactive duty, but still had to fly for four hours a month • He flew to South Carolina because he heard the government was selling a bunch of planes at very low prices • Bob bought a plane and flew back home to Michigan (31:52) After the Service • He leased some area at an airport in a small town in Michigan with the money he received for his bonus • Bob went to Grand Rapids to get his flight instructor license so that he could teach classes at the airport • They told him that he could actually qualify to be a flight examiner • He received his examiner’s license and people were coming in to the airport from hundreds of miles away to get their license • Bob later bought a crop duster in Milwaukee for $700.00 • His business grew steadily and he eventually had four other pilots working under him • Bob worked in the same business for about thirty years and then retired � 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 MuellerR Title A name given to the resource Mueller, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mueller, Robert Description An account of the resource Bob Mueller was born in Chicago in 1921, and at the time of Pearl Harbor was attending college in California and taking aviation classes. He enlisted as a Navy cadet and went through pre-flight and advanced flight training before becoming a flight instructor in New Orleans. He then trained to fly fighters off of aircraft carriers and was expecting to participate in the invasion of Japan when the war ended.. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Marine 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 2008-09-11 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/0669742892aad8dbe929e8b4b6d7909c.mp4 e6bb4ed6aac5ee54cc03224968a336f6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/794dcfd3d657cd8a336333a89bd68397.pdf c012846db303a064d2899c0654be777f PDF Text Text GrandValleyStateUniversity Veterans History Project Joyce Mrozik (30:09) (Note* time code begins at ) Background Information ()     Born in AdaMichigan, in 1935. (10:38) Her father worked for WPA (Works Progress Administration). His job resulted in Joyce moving often during the early 1940s. (11:00) She has one sister 10 years her senior. (12:04) She was very aware there was a war going on, even though she was still a child during the early to mid 1940s. (12:33) Life as a civilian during World War II ()     She recalls seeing search lights in the skies over the cities she lived in as a child. This was very frightening to Joyce. (12:50) Sirens also were sounded with the search lights. When these sirens sounded, civilians were supposed to take cover, shut out the lights, and close the curtains. (14:18) Volunteers with in Neighborhoods would go around and ensure that the lights in all the homes were out. (15:10) Joyce attended CentralHigh School in Grand RapidsMichigan, where she was living at the time. (16:54) Joining the Reserves (1953) (17:28)     Joyce wanted to join the Reserves. However, she needed to be a high school graduate in order to do so. Joyce did not graduate but instead received her GED and used this to join the Reserves. (17:32) She joined the reserves after being inspired by all of the soldiers and military propaganda during World War II. (18:02) Joyce’s parents agreed with her joining the military. (18:35) Joyce joined the Navy reserve due to how much she liked their uniform. (18:50) Training (19:17)      Joyce did a lot of office training and typist practice. (19:40) She was trained on various firearms. This took place at the Naval Reserve Station on Monroe street in Grand Rapids. (20:31) There were dances held occasionally. These dances were very formal and were held in a big marching room on the second floor of the Reserve office. (21:54) Joyce did practice marching. She was not very skilled at it. (22:25) She would occasionally march in parades. (23:54) �  The dates brought to the dances did not need to be amongst the reserves. (24:35) She has no regret of joining the reserves. (25:23) Effects of Service (25:33)   She believes that the time in the service greatly helped her to mature. (26:03) She did not think to reenlist in the reserves but wished she had because she liked military people so much. (26:19) Life after Service (27:12)    Her husband was in the Infantry and Served in New Guinea. (27:16) He never said much about the war. (27:55) She was married to her husband in 1957 and had her first child in 1958. (28:21) Civilian during World War II (cont.) (28:54)    Her parents would horde stamps for food or other goods. (29:20) Her grandfather worked a self sustaining farm. (30:02) Because Joyce’s grandmother canned everything, the family did not struggle as much as others. (30:31) Life at the Veteran’s Home (32:15)  She visited the Veteran’s home when she was a bit younger. After she broke her hip she came to the home in July of 2010. (32:20) Final Thoughts (35:15)  She thought her time in the reserve were fun and refreshing. (35:33) � 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 MrozikJ1178V Title A name given to the resource Mrozik, Joyce (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mrozik, Joyce Description An account of the resource Joyce Mrozik was born in Ada Michigan in 1935. As a child, Joyce was exposed to rationing of goods and the fears of air raids during World War II. In approximately 1953, Joyce joined the Naval Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was trained as a typist as well as an office worker. She very much enjoyed her time in the service. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Moore, Debra (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Naval Reserve. Women’s Reserve 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 2011-08-05 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/abc1b9e0663d6d1799d54bb98fbd7a0d.pdf 27216343478c24ac3c69e8f62d997f49 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project World War II Len Motyka (25:22) Background Information (00:15)       Born In 1925 in Detroit, Michigan. (00:17) Highest rank was Technician 5th Grade. (00:20) He attended a catholic school for 8 years and then attended Cleveland High School in Detroit. (00:50) Len knew he would be drafted, so instead of being drafted he enlisted in 1943 in the U.S. Army. (1:45)] Len had some uncles who were in the army. (2:10) He wanted to go into the Navy, but instead was placed into the Army. (2:44) Basic Training (3:05)      He attended basic training in Texas. Here he was placed in an antitank unit. He was then made a machine gunner and then placed into a mortar squad. Len had 14 weeks of basic training. He was then sent to Baltimore, Maryland. (4:08) When traveling across the Atlantic, most men, including Len, got sick. (4:27) Len landed in Marseille, France. (4:47) Military life was very strict but Len under stood their reasoning for it. (5:15) Service in Europe (5:43)          He severed in the 63rd Davison in the 7th Army under General Patton [Patch]. (5:44) Len did meet Patton at one point in his military career. (6:29) Len and his unit traveled through the countryside taking one village and town at a time. The unit moved until reaching Germany. (7:00) He was asked to place the bayonet on his rifle at one point. Fortunately the German forces retreated and he did not need to engage in hand to hand combat. (7:52) He did not form close friendships with the men he was serving along side. (8:57) Several times, someone would have cookies sent to them. When this happened, the men often shared them. (9:15) To pass free time while in the field, Len and his fellow soldiers would play card games or pick up sports games. (10:34) One of Len’s friends who were higher up on command stole an accordion for him to play out of a shop in France. (11:45) Len served for 3 years in the military (1943-1946). (12:05) End of Service/ Life after Service (12:51)  Len found it difficult to readjust to military life. (12:45) �    Len’s parents separated while he was in Europe. He stayed with his mother when he returned home. She was very happy when he returned home. (13:45) He kept in contact with his army friends when he returned home. As time passed he lost contact with them. (14:30) He is a member of the VFW. (15:00) Len was awarded a quarterly guard. He was almost given a Purple Heart after an altercation in a bunker. (15:10) Effects of Service (16:25)     He was very nervous for some time after returning from his service. (16:30) Len does not like to talk about his military experience because of all the killing he saw. (17:10) When the men entered towns, he recalls given people his chocolate bars who looked like they were starving to death. (18:25) He believes that having his military service was a very good experience. (19:20) � 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 MotykyaLT Title A name given to the resource Motyka, Len (Interview outline), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Motyka, Len Description An account of the resource Len Motyka, born in 1925 in Detroit Michigan, served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946 in Europe during World War II. Len was trained to be a mortarman. When he arrived in Marce France, he was assigned to a Mortar unit within the 63rd Davison in the 7th Army. He then spent most of his tour traveling across France into Germany taking town after town. He was discharged in 1946. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Buechman, Timothy (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. 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 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 2011-05-22 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 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/b9b9421a0b87161c6e2853f07a135d18.mp4 2968557059773eca31de1dde92296807 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/baf8cf8304828578f2a6b361dc42c013.pdf ba85bcbabfa5dfcf1c18c92032c4357b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewee: Roger Morrison Name of War: World War II Length of Interview: (01:45:07) (00:15) Background Information • • • • • • Roger was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 21, 1924 His father worked a s a metal polisher and lost his job during the Depression He then began working part time and making only half as much per hour His father worked at Michigan Wheel Company during the war making propellers Roger went to school until he was 14 years old and then began working at a bait shop His brother had been drafted even before Pearl Harbor was attacked (6:35) Drafted Into the Army • Roger was drafted in February 1943, right before his 19th birthday • He was sent to Fort Grant in Illinois for induction and then to Fort Bliss is El Paso, Texas • He went through basic training where they worked on gunnery, guard duty, marching, infantry, and military discipline (10:45) New Mexico • The men stayed in tar paper shacks on their base; it was very hot during the day and cold at night • Roger had finished training in August of 1943 and had trained for 6 months altogether • They had time on leave to go to Mexico where they could get lots of goods for a very low price; there was no rationing south of the border • They were told to basically pig out and eat lots of ice cream and drink lots of milk because once they went overseas they would not be able to • Roger was assigned to the 13th Infantry Division and they began training with the 12th and 14th Divisions (14:15) Overseas • They left from New York on the SS Monterey, a passenger ship • It was a 12 day voyage and there were not enough bunks, so half the men had to sleep on deck every other night while the others slept in bunks • They traveled in a convoy with warships; there were about 100,000 troops altogether • They landed in Oran and waited for another week or so for their guns and other supplies • They were then shipped in rail cars through the Atlas Mountains to Tunisia where their battalion was stationed �(20:25) North Africa • They worked in Algiers with anti-aircraft guns • If planes came through the airspace they were guarding and had no ID, they were supposed to take them down, even if the plane did appear to be American • The Germans were working on reconnaissance and always came through at night • The Americans had 548 radar that helped detect German planes at night • They were the Mediterranean and it was a very nice area • The Americans did not want to associate with the civilians and suspected that they stole from them at night while they were sleeping (34:10) Leaving Africa • The US had some Italian prisoners that had helped them work in the area • There were many Italian-Americans in their unit and everyone got along well with the POWs • They left the area in July of 1944, heading toward Egypt where they were to meet the British and head into Italy • All the men had already been expecting to be sent into Italy or France (42:10) England • They moved North to England and stayed there for 6 weeks, waiting for supplies and cleaning up US camps • They often stayed in the estates of old castles in the very green countryside • The men all received a few 3 day passes while they were there to travel through Britain (45:10) France • The men were shipped to France on a ferry that held about 600 men and landed on Omaha Beach • They stayed on the boat for 5 days waiting off the coast, about 1 mile for the beach �• There was not much activity and they felt like sitting ducks; it was about 139 days after D Day • They finally got off the ship and went through a little village near Normandy, where they decided to stay in a cow pasture • The area contained old German bunkers, hedgerows, orchards, and was the main landing area for gliders • They then moved into Paris and set up positions in an old soccer field • Everything in Paris was very expensive and no one could afford anything, so most used cigarettes as a bartering tool • There were no Germans there at the time and they stayed there for about 6 weeks (55:20) Belgium • They had been stationed in the Liege area , a German anti-aircraft site • They were often attacked by German planes, but never hit • Roger was so busy, he was staying up for many days in a row and not getting any sleep • Belgium was very cold and no one had any proper winter clothing (1:11:50) Back to France • They left Belgium to go to Germany on April 13, 1945, the day that Roosevelt died • The men had been staying on the West side of the Rhine River near a pontoon bridge • There were convoys carrying German POWs that were constantly crossing the River • Roger was sent to Marseilles to begin training for the war in the Pacific • They had only been working in Germany for 3 days and Roger would have liked to stay longer • Roger was on guard duty in France and saw a lot of the growing black market (1:23:20) Working in Europe • Roger was able to work with the same group of men while he was in Europe • A few were taken from their unit to serve as replacements in other units �• They mostly worked with their sergeants and did not see much of their officers • The men usually did not trust any of the civilians in Europe and felt that some of them were German sympathizers • Roger really enjoyed visiting Germany and felt that much of their architecture was similar to that in America (1:27:20) Marseilles • Roger was in Marseilles from May through November; they were staying in small tents guarded by MPs and Roger felt that they were all crooks • They left Marseilles on a very rough sea voyage • Throughout most of the trip Roger was worried that the old ship was going to break in half • The ship landed in Boston after going through many large swells and everyone on the ship was sick • It was very cold when they got off the ship and everyone was very hungry • They had arrived unexpectedly and no one was ready for them or had any food waiting (1:32: 30) After Service • Roger was discharged at Camp Atterbury in Indiana • When he returned to Michigan Roger helped his parents build a new house • He continued working at the bait shop and then later got a job working in a factory � 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 MorrisonR Title A name given to the resource Morrison, Roger W. (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morrison, Roger W. Description An account of the resource Roger Morrison was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 21, 1924. He went to school until he was 14 years old and then began working in a bait shop until he was drafted into the Army in February 1943. Roger went through basic training in El Paso Texas and advanced training in New Mexico for a total of 6 months. He was assigned to the 13th Infantry Division and first fought in North Africa, working with an anti-aircraft unit. They later moved north into France, Belgium, Germany, and then back to Marseilles. Roger had been training for the war in the Pacific in Marseilles, but was eventually discharged before being sent to the Pacific. 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 2007-04-14 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/b4b18603afbbf8b3c6336157f35dbb4c.mp4 8017917ed1639f8ec4ba4fbd32cff27e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/235471a8a88ebf4ea9e0c639cd9c4d3b.pdf a0fa84cb3c6e0f8642bde46994ec5733 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Shirley Morris Interviewer: James Smither Transcribed by Emilee G. Johnson, Western Michigan University Length: 30:33 James Smither: We’re talking today with Shirley Morris of Ionia, Michigan, the interviewer is James Smither of the Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project. Now, Mrs. Morris, can you start by telling us a little bit about your background, to begin with, where and when were you born? Shirley Morris: Well, I was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1923. And my father was studying to be a minister and he went to school there, so my sister and I were both born there in Massachusetts. And then since my folk were both from the West, we returned to Colorado where my father had a small church. And eventually we moved up 1:00 to northern Wyoming and I went into nurses’ training in 1941 in Billings, Montana. James Smither: Now before we talk about that, tell me a little bit about what your life was like growing up in Colorado, Wyoming, I mean, what kind of places were these that you lived in? Shirley Morris: Well, we did live in Utah for a while, and that’s where we started to school, they had good schools, but then, I started high school in Wyoming and graduated in, must’ve been 1941. And then 2:00 my folks wanted us to continue schooling, they couldn’t afford to send us to a university or a college so, by going into nurses’ training, my sister and I both went, we could get our training and our education, it was three solid years, we never had any, we had one week off on the first two years and the second week [misspoke] we had two weeks off for vacation, so it’s almost like a four-year college course would be, and… James Smither: Now how did you pay for that, or did the program pay for it? Shirley Morris: Well, it was paid for through our work. We had three months of schooling, we were transported in buses to a school in Billings, 3:00 for our work and the rest was right at the hospital and then we started gradually working on the wards. And we continued with this schooling, all through the three years, working almost full time toward the last. And I graduated in, let’s see, ’44. James Smither: Now before you graduated, were you paying much attention to the news from the war and that kind of thing or were you so busy, you didn’t notice? �Shirley Morris: Oh, we all paid very close attention because we all had relatives, I had two brothers in the service. And of course, you’d get daily news of it and we were very concerned about it. And I can remember, 4:00 it was on the Sunday they attacked Pearl Harbor, I remember that very well because I was just coming out of church and we heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. And that was, of course, very upsetting. James Smither: Were you in nursing school by that time? Had you started that? Shirley Morris: I was, I think I was through nursing school by then. James Smither: Or at least first term, or? Cause that’s 1941, you would’ve been 18, so. Pearl Harbor is 1941. So, that would’ve been about the beginning of your nurses training, I guess. Shirley Morris: Yes. James Smither: All right, that happens. Now, when you were 5:00 training in the hospital, were you thinking about the prospect of joining the military, or was that a plan? Shirley Morris: No, in a way they, I guess this was through an act of Congress, they established the Cadet Nurses. And we were paid about $30 a month and we were given little uniforms to wear when we were off duty. And we were quite proud of those, and that helped us a lot with our payments and so on for the schooling. And at that time, that’s when rationing started, and we had, you know, you’d get points and you could only buy so many pairs of shoes. But I remember that nurses could have one extra point so you could buy your white 6:00 work shoes. But I remember I wore my uniform, by that time, my folks had moved back here to Michigan, they wanted to be where there was better schools for my brothers and I wore this uniform and I don’t think a lot of people understood just what that meant, they knew it had something to do with the service but not many people had seen that type of uniform before. But I thought I could, maybe I could get my fare cheaper if I had a uniform. [laughs] But I remember, I took the Greyhound bus and you had about 20 minutes to eat or wash up or whatever it was, well, I was young and hungry so 7:00 I just washed my hands and when I got back there, my arms weren’t very clean back in the [laughs] from just washing my hands, but it was an interesting trip. Course I was glad to get back to see my folks. I started working at the little hospital here, it was an old house that they had renovated and I worked there until I joined the service and… James Smither: Now, what motivated you to join the service? Why did you join the service? Shirley Morris: Well they said they needed nurses, they were, of course, expecting to have a lot of casualties, and they kept saying, we need nurses, we need nurses, so a friend of mine �and I decided to enlist in the Navy. Like I said, when I got the call to go it was in the Army and I said, well, 8:00 I’m not going to go. [laughs] And I decided that… And they told me I would be considered AWOL if I didn’t go so I packed up and we went to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. And we were put through marching and how to salute and calisthenics and we all lost weight, but we learned the basics of Army life. And course, we were outfitted with different uniforms. The uniform we wore to work in the hospital was a brown-and-white sear-sucker wrap-around and the caps were kind of a pointed thing that tied in the back and that’s what we wore on duty. And we were given an olive green two-piece suit for dress and then the light beige for dress-up. 9:00 And we were given fatigues and we were given boots, ankle-length boots and underwear, it was cotton, it came down over our knees. And different kind of caps, we had the visor cap with the little [motions], what do you call, the little peak cap. James Smither: Now, I want to fill in a little bit about your training, you said you did do a version of basic training, then, at Camp McCoy, in Wisconsin. And were you training just with other nurses, or was this with women of all kinds, from the WACs too. Shirley Morris: This was nurses that were all graduated and we were being trained how to be a military nurse. You know, 10:00 with the marching and saluting, and that sort of thing. James Smither: Now, were you going to get to be commissioned officers because you were nurses? Shirley Morris: Yes. We were inducted as officers because we had had the three years of training. James Smither: All right. Was that helpful to you in any way? Was it good to have the status of an officer or did you not notice? Shirley Morris: It really didn’t—we didn’t have the background to compare it with. I never met many officers or soldiers or anything to know just what that meant but I soon found out because when I got to Japan, I found out that, through letters that I had a cousin that was in the service. But he was an enlisted man. And I could not go out with him any place, we had to sit in the parlor and visit. [laughs] 11:00 James Smither: Cause you outranked him. Ok. Now, how long did the training at Camp McCoy take? Was it just a couple weeks, or? Shirley Morris: No, that was about three months. James Smither: Ok. So were you getting any training about Army medicine, or that kind of thing, or was it all just Army discipline, and…? �Shirley Morris: Army discipline because we already knew about medicine and all of that. And then we were put on a train and sent down to South Carolina and that’s when we heard the news that the atomic bomb had been dropped. And we thought, well, we won’t have to go now, but that didn’t make any difference, they still sent us on. We went down through the Panama Canal, which was fascinating, and we got to get off the ship for a while 12:00 there and see some of the, some of the police officers who were working there and they kind of took us over and showed us around. It was nice. And then we went back up to Hawaii. James Smither: Now what kind of ship were you on? Shirley Morris: It was a hospital ship. It was made for shipping patients. But it had a, there was a compliment of thirty nurses that were assigned to the ship, but we took over, the places where we could be with patients, just, we were in bunks, and so… James Smither: And how many were on it when you started? Shirley Morris: Well there was a thousand of us, which is a lot of women 13:00 and then, course, as I said, after we got up through the Panama Canal, they sent five hundred back to San Francisco and dispersed them over the States. And the rest of us went on overseas to, well, to Hawaii, and then to, we went to the Philippines, and they kept breaking us up into smaller units and I was sent down to Leyte. And that was, we took care of patients that were, by then any casualties had been sent back to the States, so what we took care of were just things that civilians had, tonsillectomies and appendectomies and malaria, 14:00 and that type of thing. And we lived in a, we had a twelve-foot-high burlap wall all around our quarters, and there was a wooden floor and there was four of us in a little hut. And we had cots with mosquito netting over it, because there was rats around too. [laughs] And Filipino girls came and asked to work for us. Well, that was fine, they’d take our clothes and wash it and keep the place tidy and clean and… But one thing we had to deal with was mildew, it was constant, you know, you couldn’t put your suitcase on the floor or it would get all white and mildewy. So, the only place we could go was if we went with an officer, 15:00 so we, they would all find us a date and we would go to an officers’ club and that was it. There was no place else to go, but… James Smither: Was there much of a hospital facility there? Shirley Morris: It was all just like our living quarters, it was wooden floors and tents and all the patients had mosquito netting to put over them at night. And we worked, called tropical hours, we worked six hours, instead of eight and we wore slacks, tan slacks and tan shirts for work. And let’s see, I forget how many months, we were over there around, I’m not �quite sure how long it was. 16:00 It was just a short time, several months. Maybe just over three months. James Smither: Right. Shirley Morris: And they put us on another hospital ship, it was called the Hope and we were sent to Japan. And they had taken over all the Japanese hospitals. And I was stationed at the 76th General. And we had quarters right next to the building. And there we had to wear our sear-sucker uniforms. And we had ward boards [????boys? boards? Not sure what she’s saying???] that helped us, and one of the ward boards????, I found out, was from Michigan, near where I lived. So he would come and talk once in a while. And then there was a patient that he said was from my home town, and so this fellow 17:00 came to see me, and course, I hadn’t lived here very long in Ionia, and so he wanted to visit and hear about everybody but I wasn’t much help. [laughs] But we had a good visit. But it happened that when I got home, I went into a furniture store to buy my folks a rug, and the fellow that came to wait on me, I knew him immediately, he looked just like his brother, and so I started talking to him and then he delivered the rug that I had bought for my folks and we started dating, and he’s the man I married. [laughs] James Smither: Ok, let’s back up a little bit, let’s go back to the Philippines, here, for a minute. When you were in the Philippines, did you have to take drugs against malaria? Did you take atabrine, or something like that? Shirley Morris: Yes, we did. Oh, I remember all the nurses that had been there, how yellow 18:00 they looked, but we still had to take it, we had to take salt tablets and atabrine, all the time we were there. James Smither: Did you have any problems with any of the tropical diseases or were you able to stay clean enough and healthy enough that that wasn’t a problem? Shirley Morris: No, there was no problems with any of that for any of us, I don’t know if the girls before us, they didn’t seem to have any problems except they had this yellow cast to their complexion from taking that atabrine. James Smither: Now, were there many American servicemen left in the Philippines while you were there, or were they all getting sent home? Shirley Morris: Oh there were some there yet, they had to keep them there to help maintain the peace. That’s where we’d get the patients from and there were some English people I remember too, there was one Englishman, that, he told us he always thought American girls were kind 19:00 of cheeky. [laughs] There problems were just what you would have in regular civilian life. �James Smither: Right. Ok, tell me a little bit more about Japan. Where in Japan were you stationed? Where was your hospital? Shirley Morris: It was in Tokyo. The 76th General and it was a Japanese hospital that the Americans had taken over. And their bathrooms were something to be desired. There was just a hole in the floor. And you had to squat. [laughs] That was hard. And we had little Japanese boys that would help, they didn’t deliver the trays to the patients, they took them back, and we had to watch them real close because they would eat the food from the trays. And one little boy was really clever at it, and he 20:00 started getting fat from eating that food. [laughs] James Smither: What physical condition was that area of Tokyo in? Were you in a place— Shirley Morris: Tokyo was in good condition, they had tried not to bomb especially around the Imperial Palace and that… Tokyo was just, the outlying places was bombed because they knew that they had given war work to the individual homes. And Yokohama was bombed badly cause that was considered a manufacture center. So we didn’t see a lot of destruction in Tokyo. James Smither: In general, how did the Japanese people behave toward you? Shirley Morris: [bows] 21:00 James Smither: They bowed a lot? Shirley Morris: [nods] James Smither: Did you deal with many of them except the boys that helped clear out the stuff, did they work in the hospital? Shirley Morris: No. There was one girl that worked as sort of a receptionist at our, the home where we stayed. And she spoke English, we could talk to her. And she was, she didn’t have much to say, she was always real polite and her job was to sit at the desk and if anybody came calling for us, she’d come to the room. And sometimes we’d say, “Well, what did they look like, how tall are they?” And she’d come and stand next to us and she’d go like this [motions upward]. [laughs] But I can’t remember that there was anything disrespectful 22:00 or you know, walking in the streets or anything, everybody was just sort of nonchalant. Course we had to get used to the bowing, they all did their bowing, no matter what. But I remember, we went out to the country, we’d get a jeep and go for a ride and they used to, they called them honey carts, you had alleys by all the homes and they would take waste from these homes and take it out and put it on the fields. So we were warned never to eat anything other than what we got from the hospital. Although we did, if you became ill, which I did, I had a bite on my forehead and �I developed a fever and I couldn’t work, so 23:00 they sent me to, what-you-call-it, TDY, Temporary Duty, and I was sent to a, it was sort of a resort area at the foot of Mount Fujiyama. And I could take one of my friends with me, And the food there was really good. And there was a lot of different nationalities, I remember the table next to us there was some fellas that were from India, they had the turbans on. James Smither: The Sikhs, yeah. Shirley Morris: And that was interesting. And some of them did hike up, start up Mount Fuji, but I wasn’t allowed to do that. But that was a restful time. A nice break. James Smither: Did you enjoy the work? 24:00 Did you like being a nurse in the Army? Shirley Morris: Yes, I did. I felt like I was doing my part. James Smither: In general, how did the military personnel treat the nurses? Did they respect what you were doing and treat you like professionals, or? Shirley Morris: Yes. Sometimes, I think, the civilians on trains, I don’t think they knew the difference between a WAC and a nurse. Sometimes some people would sort of look down on the WACs. And I think sometimes they didn’t realize, you know, they didn’t see your insignia, and realize the difference. I could feel that on the trains at times. But otherwise, you know, the nurses were respected and… James Smither: Now, when you were in Japan, were you treating military American personnel only, or did you have Japanese people or civilians? 25:00 Who were your patients in Japan? Shirley Morris: Oh, they were Americans. We had no Japanese. When I was a nurse, I worked in Billings, that was when I was in training, there was a Japanese man that was quite wealthy, and you know, the Japanese were moved from California, they were moved back into Wyoming, there was a camp where they put these Japanese. And since he was quite wealthy he could move from that area, it wasn’t very pleasant, they just had barracks. I felt sorry for them. But he was a patient and I got to know him and he came to visit my folks and he gave them 26:00 a beautiful picture because they were so nice to him. [turns and points] It’s that picture over there. [laughs] He gave it to them, he was a nice gentleman. But you could tell they were resentful from having to be moved. Cause they considered themselves, I don’t know whether they considered themselves American, whether they were naturalized or not but they were, no matter what, they were, all of them were shipped from the California coast. �James Smither: Are there particular events, things that happened while you were overseas that kind of stand out in your memory? If you think back to being in Japan or in the Philippines, what do you think about? 27:00 Shirley Morris: Well, it’s just hard to say, the whole thing was sort of, put together, I consider it really, I think it was a privilege and I felt like I got a lot out of it. As well as, like I was doing a part for the war effort. But if I’ve ever talked to anybody, a group, and I said I’d been so-and-so places and they said, “Oh, you have?” And I’ve said, “I had a rich uncle. His name was Uncle Sam.” [laughs] 28:00 James Smither: So a good way to see the world, then. Shirley Morris: Yeah. But as far as anything outstanding, it was just, it was the whole thing together. James Smither: All right, now how long did you stay in Japan? Shirley Morris: Well, I think it was, maybe the same time as the Philippines, it was probably about three months. James Smither: And then, when your time was done in Japan, how did they send you home? Shirley Morris: A ship. James Smither: Was it a hospital ship or just a regular transport now? Shirley Morris: It was a transport, not a hospital ship. They had all the women on one deck and they had all the soldiers on the other one and we used to lean over and talk to each other. [laughs] And then we landed in 29:00 Oregon and we were sent by, I think we were sent by train to Chicago, Illinois. And then we were dispersed from there to our homes. James Smither: Now when you got back home, did you take a job as a nurse, or did you just get married, or what did you do? Shirley Morris: Well, I worked for three years, as a nurse at the hospital here in town, so, as I said, I met my husband and we went together for about that long, and we got married. Lived on the farm. [laughs] I’d never lived on a farm in my life, I had a lot to learn. But I loved every minute of it. 30:00 James Smither: All right. Well, it makes for a good story, so unless you’ve got something else you want to add to the record here, we can kind of close this out. Shirley Morris: Well, I can’t think of anything except to say that I hope we never have to go through it again, but I would do it all over again if I had to. �James Smither: All right. Well, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me today. 30:33 � 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 MorrisS Title A name given to the resource Morris, Shirley (Interview transcript and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morris, Shirley Description An account of the resource Shirley Morris grew up in the western United States and attended nursing school between 1941 and 1944. Upon graduating, she was recruited into the army. After military orientation at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, she was sent to the Pacific on a hospital ship and assigned to a hospital in the Philippines. She later went to Yokohama, Japan and served in an American military hospital there for three months before being sent home. 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. Women’s Army 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 2010-11-18 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/62ac42f7e6562982366614ca8854a08a.m4v d95e3b5d62885a1c479de767f27e228f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0b58a04e9274a6969ce6e032a2fb77c5.pdf 75577487ddf9e71516010dfa53c4e5d1 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Basil Morris World War II Total Time: 1:57:27 Childhood and Pre-Enlistment (0:00:13)       Born in 1922 in Allegan County, Michigan. He lived on farms while he was a child. He attended high school in Otsego, Michigan and graduated in 1941. He worked for the local paper after graduation, and attended Parsons Business School. He remembers going to church after hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor. (0:05:02) He enlisted in the Air Corps in the January following the attacks. Training (0:06:26)               He was then called up to Detroit where they boarded trains for Santa Ana, California. (0:07:10) He signed up to be a mechanic, but he was given a pilots assignment, and he took ground school at Santa Ana. Ground school consisted of book work, and some physical training. (0:10:00) There was no place to send them after ground school, so they were sent to Merced, California where they practiced taxiing. (0:10:30) They were sent to Dos Palos, California where they trained in open cockpit planes. (0:11:30) It took him a little longer than most to solo pilot the planes, but his instructor got him through it. He got married in Las Vegas, Nevada while he was stationed in California. (0:18:02) His wife was able to rent rooms from people in the area of the bases. (0:18:20) He was then trained on B-13s. It took him a very long time, but he was eventually able to solo and graduate on multi-engine aircraft. (0:20:20) He was then sent to Roswell, New Mexico where he crashed on his first solo flight. They never got off the ground. (0:22:15) He had to go before a board to decide whether or not he would be allowed to continue the program. He told them he did not want to continue, but they allowed him to return to basic flight school at Santa Ana, California. (0:22:45) He was then sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was trained to be a bombardier. He was trained on the Norden Bomb Sight. His wife was always able to follow him from base to base. (0:26:50) He was then sent to Clovis, New Mexico for navigation training. (0:27:30) Next, he was given leave, and was subsequently given orders to report to McCook, Nebraska where the 454th Bomb Group was forming up. �Active Duty (0:27:45)               He became a part of the 736th Squadron of the 454th. They flew B-24s. (0:29:45) He was then shipped to Charleston, South Carolina by train. He was appointed car commander for this trip. (0:30:36) In Charleston, he was assigned to train bombardiers. (0:32:50) He was then shipped overseas. They were first sent to Mitchell Field in New York, and then to Florida, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and then Natal, Brazil. They stayed in Natal for a time while they were waiting for the airfields in West Africa to clear. Eventually, they made it to West Africa, and were then flown to Tunis, Tunisia where they waited for further airfields to clear. (0:37:30) They arrived in Tunis in January, 1944 and the flew to Italy shortly thereafter. They stayed in tents while they were there. (0:39:26) His aircraft was a squadron leader. (0:40:50) They would receive a pre-dawn briefing before flights. On his 3rd mission they were sent to bomb a facility in Austria. They ran into some very heavy flak, and as they flew over the target German fighter aircraft attacked them. They were hit in the nose turret, and it was knocked out of commission. Two of their engines caught fire and they had to leave the group and drop altitude. They were then given the order to bail out. (0:49:35) They bailed out through the bomb bay doors. He landed in an open field in a small mountain village. He opened his parachute at the very last moment because of rumors that the Germans were shooting down American aviators while they were parachuting. (0:54:05) He decided to run for some woods and a farm. He got part of the way across the field when he heard some women talking and he lay down in the middle of the field. He then saw two young men with rifles, who were not soldiers, approach him from behind, and he decided to give up without a fight. (0:57:00) He handed the young men his pistol, and they took him back to their house where they dried his clothes out for him. He was then taken to a local beer hall where they offered beer and cigarettes, which he did not take. He was then taken into town and handed over to the chief of police. (1:01:27) He was questioned when he got to the police station. All he would tell them was name, rank, and serial number as he was trained to do. (1:02:50) He was then turned over to the German Army. He was placed in a halftrack and eventually the sidecar of a motorcycle. He was finally placed alone in a cell (1:04:45) He stayed in that cell for several hours before he was put in the halftrack again. They ended up in Freistadt, where he was taken to prison. He was able to meet up with part of his crew while he was there. (1:08:05) They were put on passenger trains later that afternoon and shipped to Frankfurt, Germany. There they were placed in a building with 30 other prisoners. �                 (1:10:35) They were there one night, before they were sent to another building. There, they were given prison uniforms. They also had to fill out information forms there. (1:12:30) They were then put on another train for Berlin, Germany where they were placed in former barracks. These barracks were in rather poor condition. [This was in a Luftstalag in eastern Germany, not in Berlin itself.] (1:15:50) They were fed barley infested with worms on a regular basis. They were also given potatoes with sawdust and sauerkraut with glass in it. (1:17:10) They did many things while they were in the camp, including bible study and plays. (1:18:05) There were some suicides while he was in the camp. (1:18:45) Food parcels were supposed to arrive weekly from the Red Cross, but they only occasionally got them. They were also sent cigarettes on a regular basis, which became a sort of currency in the camp. (1:20:45) There were several escape attempts in the prison while he was there. (1:23:20) The camp was mostly American officers (1:24:30) They had a radio hidden somewhere in the camp, by which they got updates on the war. He never knew where exactly it was hidden, but there was one in the camp. (1:26:45) The men in the camp were able to make an alcoholic drink out of the prunes from the Red Cross kits. (1:27:20) Most of the guards were older men not fit for any other type of military service. (1:30:20) They could hear when the Russians were getting close. Eventually they were freed by the Russians and released into American custody after about 2 weeks of negotiation. (1:34:10) He went home first thing after he was released from custody. (1:37:55) His wife learned that he was a POW via the Ham Radio operators on the East Coast that had intercepted German radio and Red Cross transmissions. She knew he was MIA for 3 months before she found out he was a POW. (1:41:00) He was taken to Camp Lucky Strike where he waited for three weeks for a boat. He was finally given a spot on the USS Admiral Mayo. The weather was very bad on the crossing. They eventually arrived in New York City. (1:45:20) His back and knees got messed up while he was over there, for which he had several surgeries. He was sent to Miami Beach upon his arrival in the United States to bring his records up to date. He was given 60 Days leave Post-Service  He eventually enrolled in the University of Michigan business school. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MorrisB Title A name given to the resource Morris, Basil (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morris, Basil Description An account of the resource Basil Morris was born in Allegan, Michigan and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Basil joined the Air Corp following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and went through the requisite training to fly B-24s. He was eventually sent to Europe, flying missions from a base in Italy. On his third mission, his plane was shot down over Austria, and he was captured by local villagers and made a POW. He was sent to a POW camp in Germany, and released when the camp was over-run by the Russians. 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 Air 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 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/728e343d66b110929b446a27c9770ad4.mp4 f13b877d10ce767a684a65198d59c5c1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1684d4225be7942bd0ae430a348da41a.pdf 1730a35cda1772412301ac7808f60485 PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW EDWARD MORRIN Born: June 21, 1926 Boston, Massachusetts Interviewed by: James Smither PhD, GVSU Veterans History Project, Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, July 15, 2012 Interviewer: Mr. Morrin, can you start with some background on yourself, where and when were you born? Well, I was born in Boston, East Boston, Massachusetts. I lived in East Boston the early part of my life. Interviewer: In what year were you born? 1926, June 21st, 1926, and I was born on 37, Utah St. East Boston, Massachusetts. Interviewer: Did you grow up there or did you move around? Yes, I grew up there and I went to school there. Interviewer: What did your family do for a living? My father was killed early, so I didn‘t—he was a printer and my grandfather was a tugboat captain in Boston Harbor, so thought the period that I can remember the most was during the depression and we moved to 52 West Eagle St., East Boston. 1:01 It was there I grew up with a bunch of people. That place, let me describe it for you. It was a road that ran about a half a mile, tenements, and most of us were working poor because of the depression, but there must have been twenty-five or thirty of us kids, either a little bit younger or a little bit older than me, who were constantly on the street. And it was a great time to grow up; I had a lot of friends. I was approximately fourteen and a half years old when the attack happened on Pearl Harbor. We met every night, the kids, and we‘d listen to radio and know what‘s going on, and everyone wanted to go. I do not 1 �know of anybody who did not want to go and help. We had a couple of boys, I remember I can‘t remember their names now, who were 4F‘s, physically, unfit to go, and they cried like babies, it was terrible. 2:00 Most of them started to join the different organizations, from the coast guard, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and they all started to go. When I was seventeen I tried to join, but they said that I would have to have my parents‘ permission. However, I didn‘t have any parents; my mother had died a year before. So, I couldn‘t go and I was afraid to do it because I was afraid if something happened to me, my grandmother would not get the ten thousand dollars they were paying in those days. So, I didn‘t, I went down to the draft board with the other guys, and in those days—that‘s why you asked me if I was drafted, we all went into the draft board and told them, ―Ok, we‘re ready go and you can take us‖. So, October of—I think it was October, I‘m not sure of the date exactly, I was taken into the army. 3:01 I went to a local camp there and then I went to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Interviewer: Now, did you get basic training at Fort Dix? No, I went to Camp Wheeler, Georgia. It was the first time I had been in the South and I was really surprised because I had never seen any of this ―white only‖ and ―back of the bus‖, and that kind of stuff. But, Camp Wheeler was a tough place and we had a—I guess when it comes right down to it, our basic training was rough. We were brought in and within two weeks, they told us, ―If you guys go into combat, somebody‘s not going to come back‖, so that was always in the back of your head. I remember a Major standing up and saying, ―The guys who train the best, and know the most, will probably make it‖, but he said, ―All of you are not‖. So anyway, we trained hard and we went through the basic training and no trucks, we walked everywhere. 4:00 The biggest thing 2 �that I can remember is that after every days training, which one day it would be the M1 and then the BAR and then the machine guns and mortars, but every evening, just before retreat, we had a twelve mile speed march. What they did is, you were fully packed and you march for four miles and then each week they decreased the time, so you went faster and faster and it was a tough time, but I kind of liked it. Interviewer: How easy or hard was it for you to adjust to army life? Oh, I adjusted right away because, let‘s face it, it was the first time in my life that I got three meals a day, and I really adjusted to it, and I hate to say this, but I kind of enjoyed being in it, you know. Interviewer: So, it wasn’t a problem to deal with army discipline and following orders? Oh no, no, no, we knew this, and as a matter of fact, when I was going to high school, one of the Majors that were in the high school, used to say that the essence of a good soldier is obedience. 5:09 And that always stuck with me. Interviewer: You did what they told you. Oh, you know it, and they had sergeants that made sure you did. Interviewer: How long did the basic training last? Ok, the basic training was supposed to last about eighteen weeks. However, we all thought we were going to go to the Far East because the war in Europe, during this time, was kind of—we were pushing all the way to France and we thought it was going to be over. But, about three weeks before we finished all of us—they came in and said, ―We‘re going to cut your basic training by three weeks. ―You‘re going home‖ and they issued all kinds of winter clothes to us. So, I went back to Fort Dix, believe it or not, and then I got 3 �a one week furlough, or whatever you want to call it, to go home. 6:03 So, I went home, back to Fort Dix in one week, got all our gear together, got on a train, I‘ll never forget the train, and we shut the windows down and the shades, and away we went. The next thing I know we‘re in the port of New York. We get off the train and we‘re lining us, you know how the army lines up and all this kind of stuff, and I look up and I see the biggest ship I have ever seen in my life, and there it was the Aquitania. Later I learned there were three ships that use to go across the Atlantic without any escort, the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and the Aquitania. I don‘t know how many people were aboard that ship, but we were stuffed aboard that ship. We spent most of the time, I did, on deck because it was—the areas they had for sleeping, it was five tiers high, and inevitably, someone halfway up would get sick and vomit, and the place stunk. 7:09 It was run by the British, and we ate two meals a day, one in the morning about nine o‘clock, I‘ll never forget that, and then we waited all around the decks, and all this stuff, until about four o‘clock in the afternoon when they fed us something else. The eggs, I‘ll never forget it, we could pick up those eggs and we could throw them through the bulkhead. We headed out and the next thing I know, one of the guys says, ―it‘s getting hot, we‘re heading south‖, so I guess we must have headed south and the artillery people that were aboard this ship, we tested the guns and all that kind of stuff on this ship, ―What the heck are we doing going south?‖ Then all of a sudden away we went and headed the other way. 8:01 I forget, don‘t get me wrong, how many days, but it wasn‘t too much, four or five days, we were on the Isle of Man, in Scotland [presumably that passed the Isle of Man en route?]. Got off the ship, some of us went down the plank, some of us went over rope wires and all—it was unfortunate going down that way, you had to wait until the barge 4 �came up and anyway, we made it. We got across and we‘re in the Isle of Man and all of a sudden we look up and there‘s a bunch of railroad cars and we got up close to the railroad cars and there‘s an elderly woman, I call her elderly, she could have been maybe thirty-five, you know, I was only eighteen, and she started handing us all these little booklets, I‘ll never forget it, ―Welcome to Scotland‖. So I got aboard the train and we‘re all reading the book about Scotland and I was looking out the window, a beautiful place. The train kept going and going and going, and finally somebody yells out, ―Throw the book about Scotland away, here's, England‖, and they handed out these little books again, ―Welcome to England‖. 9:08 We went along and pretty soon, all of a sudden we stop, ―Pull down the shades‖, we pull down the shades. We couldn‘t have waited more than a half an hour or an hour and up the shades, and go forward. Later on I heard, I don‘t know if it‘s true or not, but a buzz bomb had come over or some damn thing like that, and then pretty soon somebody says, ―Throw away England, we‘re heading for France‖, and we went down to Southampton and we boarded another one of these troop transports. We‘re heading for France and we‘re going to—we didn‘t get on the beach, we went to the port. Interviewer: Le Havre? Yes, we got off there. Again, trains—as this was going on I had met a another fella, his name was Monhe, my name was Morrin , so every time they would call us it would be in the M‘s, and we got to be kind of like friends, you know. 10:14 We figured we‘re sticking together now, you know, and him and I, we got on the train and he looks up and he says, ―What do you think those holes are from up in--?‖ I looked up and I said, ―Boy, I don‘t know, they look like bullet holes to me‖, and they were, and apparently the train had been strafed or something, but away we went. I don‘t know how long it took us, but 5 �we went into Belgium, I guess. I‘m trying to think of the little town, we had a repo depot there, and we went in to the repo depot and just waited. It couldn‘t have been too long, two days, and all the units that needed people came to the repo depot. They called Morrin and Monhe and four or five other guys to get on a truck. 11:04 We got on a truck and we went to the 94th Division, and we went to the battalion headquarters. Another guy comes up to me and he says, ―You Morrin?‖, and I said, ―Yeah‖, and he said, ―Where‘s Monhe?‖ I said, ―Right here‖, and he said, ―Get into this Jeep‖, so we went into the Jeep, I can remember that, and we rode some more, and more, and more, and pretty soon he said, ―Ok, right here, get out‖. We met a guy, who I later found out was named Carpenter, who met us down at the bottom of this hill. He said, ―We‘re going up this hill, that‘s where your unit is, Company C of the 301st Infantry‖, so we said, ―Ok‖, and it was cold, oh my God was it cold, so we started climbing up the hill. Interviewer: Do you know about what date that was? Was it in January or February? Late February, and we‘re going up that hill and I can remember—now I‘m going to get into some real---you know. 12:05 I‘m walking up that hill and I see these bodies, German soldiers, and I said to myself, ―I don‘t know whether I want to see this or not, but I got to, I got to‖, so I start looking, and we climb, and climb, and climb, and finally I look up and there‘s a bunch of civilians and they were picking up German casualties, and they were as stiff as boards, and they were just piling them up. We got to this little; I guess you would call it a ranch house, not a ranch house-Interviewer: A farmhouse? 6 �Yeah, a farmhouse like, and down in the cellar of this farmhouse with a little light that they had, they lit up a candle, but they made it out of something, I don‘t know what, fat or something. They had a little candle, and I got down in there and they said, ―Ok, you guys sit over there and we‘ll get to you‖, and the old sarge comes over and he says, ―Welcome, you‘re with the outfit, sit down against the wall‖. 13:09 I said, ―Ok‖, and I‘m just waiting for something to happen and all of a sudden, that was in the evening like and I kind of slept against the wall that first night. The next day, I know this, they came in and called, ―Morrin‖, and I said, ―Yup, here I am‖, and they said, ―You‘re going out and be on the listening post. I said, ―What‘s that?‖ He said, ―Over the hill, on the other side, there‘s a listening post, a little telephone over there, and you‘re the eyes and ears over there. They come up that hill, tanks or anything like that, you let us know‖. ―Ok‖, and he said, ―There‘s somebody down there now‖. This was my first duty in combat, so I‘m going out, and I‘ll never forget it, as I was walking out the door I looked over and there was a German soldier, a young kid, maybe even younger than me, and he was propped up against a wheel and he had been killed right there, and it was just outside the house. 14:14 I‘ll never forget it, I looked right at him and I‘ll never forget that, It‘s just something that stuck with me. So, I said, ―Ok, let‘s go‖, so we go, and one of the guys said, ―Now, follow the boots‖, and I said, ―What? Follow the boots?‖ What they had done is they had taken a foot that had been blown off of these guys with the mines, and put them up and aimed them so you wouldn‘t walk into the mine field. So, I follow those boots, and there was only about four or five of them there, and got up over the hill, and I forget who I was with, but he pointed down and said, ―See way down there, see? That‘s where you‘re going‖, so I went down there and I got to the—it was a foxhole. 15:01 I 7 �got to the guy and he says, ―Morrin?‖ He didn‘t say Morrin, he said, ―buddy‖ or something like that and he said, ―I‘ve been here for so many hours‖, and he was old, a crotchety old guy, he must have been twenty-two or twenty-three. So, anyway, I said, ―I‘m here, I‘m your replacement‖, and he said, ―Ok‖. I said, ―What do I do?‖ He said, ―What you do is you keep a—see that bunch of trees down there?‖ I said, ―Yeah‖, and he said, ―If they‘re going to come, they‘ll probably come through there and counter attack‖, and I said, ―Then what do I do?‖ He said, ―You get on that phone, and you let them know back there that they‘re on their way‖, and I said, ―Then what?‖ He said, ―You get your ass going and you run across that hill‖, and I look up and I said, ―Will I make it?‖ He said, ―I wouldn‘t give you a bet on it‖. But, every once in a while a shell would come in and ―boom, and I don‘t know why they‘re popping us because they don‘t even get close. I‘m sitting there and that‘s the first one and I‘m watching down there and watching and watching and all of a sudden I hear this grrrrrrrr, and I said, ―Oh my God I‘m right in the middle of this damn thing. 16:12 I‘m looking, looking, looking and nothing and finally I think, ―Wait a minute, it‘s not coming from that woods, it‘s coming from up and it‘s one of our planes, one of our artillery observers‖, and that was a relief, I‘m telling you. Anyway, I got through that and my time was up there and I went back over the hill. That went on for days and then all of a sudden we got the word, ―the big one, the big one‖, and this had to be early March because we were there for quite a bit of time. All of a sudden, ―Pack up and get ready‖, so we pack up and get ready and the artillery started, and oh my God and whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, you could hear all this stuff. 17:07 They put these things in the back of our helmets and they would illuminate, so you could see it, and that was it, you followed that helmet, if you lost that helmet 8 �you‘re—you know. So, we went down the hill, climbed down the hill and went into a flat area, and then I started hearing some of these kids that had been hit, and they were coming back, groaning-Interviewer: Was this in the night? Yes, it was getting into the night. Interviewer: So, that’s why you had to follow them? I had to follow them, right. So, we kept following them there and pretty soon I get the word, ―A lot of snipers, find a hole and get in it‖, so I got in the hole and you could hear p‘ting, and this kind of stuff, you know, and finally one of the old—I don‘t know who it was, one of the sergeants, came by and said, ―We‘re going to go across this plank bridge, and they‘ve been knocking some guys off that plank bridge, so get across that bridge as fast and as you can get‖, so we got up and we went across this plank bridge. 18:11 We got on the other side and I realized later our objective was to go up a hill on the right hand side and go all the way up the hill and take that portion and open up the whole thing, so you know, so they can come through. I learned that later, and we‘re going up the hill and it‘s getting a little bit light now and all of a sudden somebody said, I don‘t know who it was, said, ―Form a skirmish line‖, so we form a skirmish line, and we kind of waited there for a while and then somebody yelled, ―Let‘s go‖, and up we went, and we expected to meet the Germans right there, but they took off. They took off, man, when they saw us coming; they took off and down the other side of the hill. We went up to the top of the hill and that was our objective that night. 19:03 Then they said, ―Dig in, we may get a counter attack‖, but you could not dig in, my God, that ground was like cement and we could only dig so far. 9 �Interviewer: Were there German foxholes up there? There were some, yeah, but they weren‘t too deep either. What we found, which was great, we found blankets and we found, and it was great—we had K rations, are you familiar with K rations? Interviewer: Yes They had the German version of K rations and they had sausage in there and it was just great. They had blankets that were better than ours, I‘ll never forget that. Those old brown blankets we had, they had better ones and I took one and wrapped it around me because it was ungodly cold. So, we were up on top of the hill and all of a sudden one of the older guys came over and he said, ―Now, I want you to listen to this‖, so I would listen and artillery would come over, ―Boom, that‘s ours, listen now‖, and then all of a sudden you would hear ―whew, whew‖, and that was theirs. 20:12 From where we were, we could look down and we could see that the engineers were building a pontoon bridge across this river, the Saar River. Anyway, we were there and we just sat there. We said, ―Hey, this is great, they‘re firing over us both ways and we were up here and nobody‘s coming into it‖. I forget how long we were there on the side of the hill, but then came that night and it started. There was nothing but one drive, I won‘t go through all the details because I can‘t remember them all, but it was one drive after another. One time they put Monhe and me as points, you know, the out in front man, and we go into this little town and it was melting like, so we got up on the side of the road and climbed and went right into this town. 21:12 There was no Germans in there, and we took over that town, I forget this one, but the next day in comes a bunch of Germans. They didn‘t know we were there and we had a little firefight and all that stuff. Later on I learned that 10 �the Germans didn‘t think we could get in because that road we were on was mined and because it was so bogged up and everything else, we climbed on the side just by sheer luck. But anyway, this went on day after day, and day after day, and tired, holy moly were we tired. The other big incident I remember—we were going down this valley like and shells were coming in, boom, boom, and bouncing around and came down on one of the guys that came over on the ship and he yelled off, ―Hey Morrin, I‘ve been hit‖, and his whole neck had been-- 22:07 I got so mad, I had never gotten so mad in my life as that, I could have—that day I could have killed anything. What we did, there were holes and we get down at the bottom of the hill there was holes up in front, which was occupied by the other battalion and they had pulled back because they were worn out. We moved into that area and it was some German places too. Then I heard somebody say, ‗We aren‘t going to get any artillery‖, but there was two or three German guns up ahead. ―We aren‘t going to get any artillery‖, you just have to get up out of those holes and go after them. We waited and waited and then all of a sudden our old sarge said, ―Let‘s go‖, and we got up and put out a skirmish line. We went after them and I have never seen a bunch of guys so irate in my life, and those Germans moved out, but we got the gun. 23:01 As got through it and on the other side, apparently our artillery or our air corps, somebody, shot them up bad and they were laying all over the place. That went on and on and then pretty soon, ―Get on trucks‖, and we got on trucks and went a few miles up the road and, ―Get out of the trucks, go through these woods and flush them out‖, and we did a little bit, and flushed them out and captured prisoners, but we took no snipers, if we thought it was a sniper—well, what can I say? Interviewer: But, you were taking some prisoners at that point? 11 �Yeah Interviewer: Were these mostly young kids? Yes, and I‘ll go a little further. One kid came up and myself and my buddy were going to shoot him and I looked at him and he couldn‘t have been fifteen. I said, ―Look at this young kid‖, and I was only eighteen, and he‘s crying. He was all dressed up as a German soldier, but he threw his helmet away. 24:12 As typical Americans we hauled his rear end onto a truck, hauled him in and gave him chocolate to eat. The kid didn‘t have anything to eat. We took him down the road a little bit and there was a big column of German prisoners, so we threw him out with that and that‘s the last we seen of him, but that‘s Americans, we were worried about the kid. Up the road we went again and into the woods, and up the road again and into the woods, and we just kept this up and pretty soon somebody said, ‗We‘re going all the way‖, and we got in the damn trucks and we started moving out. We‘re driving, driving, and all of a sudden, don‘t get me wrong, I really don‘t know, but somebody said, ―Listen to that plane‖, and zooooom, and later on, one of the guys we met later on said, ―That was a jet‖. 25:06 I never seen it or anything, but I heard the thing. Anyway, we got to Ludwigshafen, which was on the Rhine River. Okay, we get to Ludwigshafen—now I‘m going to go right—and I‘ll give you—the reason--you‘ll understand later why I‘m going to go into this in detail. We‘re in front of the I.G. Farben Chemical Plant and we stopped. All of a sudden this Lieutenant, who we only had for three days, came in, his name was Lieutenant Adams, and he said, ―We‘ve got to go in and clean this I.G. Farben Chemical Plant out because‖----I can‘t think of the named of the division, I think it was the 12th Armored Division, had been stopped just outside of it. 26:00 They came down the road and they started handing us out these gas 12 �masks. Gas masks? They were afraid if the plant itself had some gas in it we wouldn‘t get exposed and get it out and whatever. We didn‘t want to carry these, I was loaded, my God, I was assisting Monhe, the BAR man now because we had lost people, and I was the assistant BAR. Now, the assistant carried extra ammo for him, so anyway, I‘m loaded with this stuff and I bet the stuff I was carrying weighed more than I did as an individual. So, we start in, we started moving in, and as we‘re going in I look over and it was the worst sight I think I have ever seen in my life. Apparently there were five or six halftracks out there that had been hit--don‘t ask me with what, and it was bloody—all GI‘s, blown every which way. 27:05 I mean, pants burnt off, they were exposed, I mean it was—you can‘t believe it—arms gone—I don‘t know what the hell they were hit with, but we marched past them and all of a sudden the Lieutenant says, ―Ok, here we go‖, and we go into the plant. My only thought, believe it or not, was, ―I got to keep up, and I don‘t know if I can do it with all this stuff‖. We‘re going and Monhe‘s up ahead of me and I‘m saying, ―Ok, I got to stay with him‖, and we went through these different areas and I heard machine gun fire to our left and machine gun fire to our right, and machine gun fire up ahead—sniper, and we‘re ducking against the wall. We kept going, kept going, and it was like this all the way in. 28:02 Interviewer: Was this a factory complex with different buildings? Yes, it was a big complex, and the whole regiment, I guess, was moving through there. We were up—too far out ahead and the sergeant told the Lieutenant, ―We‘re moving too far‖, but anyway, we go through the whole factory and didn‘t run into anybody. All of a sudden we come to this wall on the other side and I could hear the sarge, ―We‘ve met our objective, Lieutenant‖, ―Let‘s see what‘s on the other side‖, the Lieutenant said. We go 13 �up over this mound of rubble and it looked like an area where they were parking cars, and you looked down and it looked like a housing area where people lived, you know. Later on we figured it was probably people who worked at the plant, that‘s where they lived. 29:00 So, the Lieutenant goes down there and the sergeant goes down there and the next thing I know they‘re waving for Monhe. I look around and I say, ―Wait a minute, there‘s only five or six of us here, where‘s the rest of the group?‖ That‘s all that was there, so we go down and the sarge says to a couple of these guys, ―You go to the bottom floor and the Lieutenant and I, Morrin, Monhe‖, and I guess two more guys, maybe one, I‘m not sure, ―up to the second floor‖. So, we get up to the second floor and I‘m against the wall, Monhe‘s against the same wall, the Lieutenant‘s kind of in the middle, and there‘s somebody on the other side. We heard voices yelling, ―Germans‖, so Monhe says, I‘m going to take a look, so he sneaks his head out and looks and all of a sudden, whiz, bang, boom, he gets hit in the helmet, I guess with a rifle, and his helmet came flying off past me into the ground and he started sliding down. 30:12 I reach over to grab him and the top of his head is all blood and I don‘t know if he got it through the skull, across the skull or where it was, but he was just sinking to the floor. All of a sudden the stuff came into the window where the Lieutenant was standing—BOOM—I‘ll never forget that, and it threw me up into the hole, and I don‘t know how long I was in that hole, but I was there, and then I heard a voice say, ―All right, let‘s move and we‘ll set up a perimeter up above‖, I guess it was the sarge downstairs. Well, I had to get Monhe out of there, so I grabbed him, and he was heavy with all stuff. We cut all the stuff away from him and somebody else helped me, but don‘t ask me who it was. We both grabbed him and we pulled him way back and we got up on that rubble, and then we set up a little defensive 14 �position. 31:06 My whole thing was, I felt Monhe again and he was just full of blood. I looked down and I could see where we came out of that doorway and it was my determination that they weren‘t going to get us. I would fight them to the last right there, so we set it up and pretty soon we‘re up there for a little while and all of a sudden I get this tap on my leg. He said, ―Where is he?‖ Its Doc Offa, our medic, now the rest of them wouldn‘t come up, but he came up. I said, ―This is him‖, and he said, ―How bad?‖ I said, ―I really don‘t know‖, and he said, ―What are you going to do?‖ I said, ―I‘m going to stay right here and cover you‖, and he said, ―I‘m going to take him back‖, and I said, ―Ok, I‘ll stay here and I‘ll cover you‖, and there was two other guys that did the same thing. We were ready to take them on if they came after us. 32:02 So anyway, Offa pulled him out and then all of a sudden the sarge comes up and he said, ―Ok, the rest of the company‘s caught up with us, they‘re in these cellars‖, across this area which was wide open, and I said, ―Oh cripe‖. We set up and we started running across there and it was Bing, Boom, Boom, Bing, and we go into the cellar, I almost fell in the cellar, and I don‘t know who it was said, ―Ok, you guys get up against the wall and take a rest‖, and then I heard somebody say, ―Shoot the son of a bitch‖, and I said, ―What the hell‘s going on here?‖ What had happened was probably the bravest guy that I can remember, a German medic. 33:00 There was a German soldier just outside the window crying and screaming for his mother and all this kind of stuff, and of course we always have the guy that says, ―Shoot the son of a bitch, I don‘t want to hear anymore of him crying‖, and all this stuff. Pretty soon that medic came walking up and he picked him up, and the guys were saying, ―Shoot the bastard‖, and then the lone G.I. said, ―No, we don‘t shoot medics, leave him alone, leave him‖, and they left him alone. They picked that kid up, 15 �how, I don‘t know, but they got him and that medic turned around and walked right up to the window where we were and said, ―Danke Schon‖ , and somebody inside said something like, ―You‘re welcome‖, and that guy walked off with him. I said, ―I can‘t— jeez that guy had a lot of guts‖. So, I‘m laying up against the wall there and I‘m tired, oh gee we were tired, and pretty soon they came up and they said, ―The Lieutenant is not dead‖. 34:05 He had crawled out and crawled out to that street. Now, you have to realize that thing is in a quarter to a half mile behind their lines, that‘s how far out we were. They said, ―We got to go and get him‖, ―Ok‖, there was me and two other guys from the same squad and two other guys, so there was five of us. We‘d just gone out and we snuck our way back and we got up on top of that hill and looked down and there he was right in the middle of the road. We got down to him and he said, ―Boy, I‘m glad to see you guys‖, and I said, ―We‘re glad to see you too‖, but anyway, we picked him up and got him up on that big pile I was talking about and then here we were with the square wide open. So, ―How are we going to get him over there, he‘s heavy?‖ So, we put his hands crossed so he could sit up and one guy in the back so he wouldn‘t fall over and I said, ―All we can do is just run across this damn thing‖. 35:09 We started running across this damn thing and nobody shot at us. We got all the way to where the troops were, got him in there, and, of course, that‘s the last I ever seen or heard of him. Later on I always felt that, that medic, the German medic, had done the same for us as we had done for him. So, then they pulled us out of the line—we had opened up the thing and enabled Patton to pee in the Rhine River because that‘s what he always wanted to do. Interviewer: So, Ludwigshafen, that was on the west side of the Rhine still? 16 �Yeah, still on the west side, but they built, the engineers came in and they built a pontoon bridge across it, and he went on the pontoon bridge. The big thing was, and I didn‘t realize until later, he got across the Rhine before Montgomery, the British General. 36:08 You know, they had that big rivalry, and then he pulled us out of the line because we had been in the line so long, and we had a rest right there. As a matter of fact, we—I can remember myself sleeping in a bed. I guess it was the German people who had worked in the plant. Then we were pulled back and I don‘t know how long it was, but the next thing we got was we got in trucks and we went up to Krefeld. Now, what was our job up there? Our job was to be on the west side of the Rhine, and two American divisions, the Airborne and the British, had surrounded the Ruhr and they had about three hundred and fifty thousand heads, I found out later. 37:04 Our job was like an anvil, in other words were not going to go forward, we‘re going to hold here. We didn‘t go out during the days because there was still sniper fire, and stuff like that, but we‘d go out at night and set up ambush patrols, and that was the job. The only bad part about the whole damn job was, the medic—there were still a lot of German bodies still laying along the west side and they said the medic wouldn‘t go up. They told us, at night, go out pick them up and bring them back this way, a ways. That was not—some of those guys had been up there a long time and whooo. Interviewer: And it wasn’t any longer frozen either? No, oh no, it was kind of—it was cold, but it wasn‘t really freezing. We hauled them back there, and the medics finally got a hold of them and they stuck them in what‘s his name? Some barn I can remember, but as you went by that barn, ―Mother of God‖. 38:09 So, that was out duty there, and we kept that up until they had crushed them all up 17 �there, and then came the end of the war and we were like occupation troops now. One of the things that really got me was that the German farmers, DP‘s, did you ever hear of a DP, a displaced person? Ok, well they turned all those people loose, you know, and they start raiding these farms around there, so the German farmers came to us and we used to go out at night, two of us, I mean if you want to volunteer for it, with the farmer, and go to his house and protect him against the DP‘s. They use to make good Kartoffles. The German women would take these potato pancakes, oh my god they were good and we weren‘t use to eating like that. I use to remember that, we would go out there; I don‘t know how many times we were out there. 39:03 After that we were just like, Oh yeah-Interviewer: Did you go to other places? Yeah, around Dusseldorf, and we were like—we just made sure people weren‘t killing each other and this kind of stuff. Of course, everybody was hungry and we tried to take care of that and do the best we could. Then they came in to me and said, ―Do you guys want to go to Copenhagen, Denmark?‖ I said, ―Yeah‖, so I want up to Copenhagen and had the best week I‘d had in a long time. Nope, I‘m a little bit ahead of schedule. Anyway then, the word came that they were having trouble in Czechoslovakia, and the division was assigned to go to Czechoslovakia and we got on trains, and I got dysentery on the train. I‘ll never forget it, it was terrible—in one way, out the other way, all the way down. 40:03 So, we ended up in Plzen, Czechoslovakia, then up in the hills, and then they sent us out and the next people up the line were the Russians. We set up a—we got to know them, and a matter of fact, they were in a farm house up the road and we were in a farmhouse there and one night we had a dance together. But anyway, that was the job and we stayed there until they decided that we‘re going to move out or the 18 �Sudetenland land and the whole division got picked up and were moving out. A bunch of these German Sudeten Germans were scared to death because of the Russians, so they— we took a lot of them with us, which was risky; we hid them in the trucks with us, kids, women and all this kind of stuff, and took them into Germany. We were into Germany and the word came down, then I could go up to Copenhagen. 41:06 I went up to Copenhagen, came back and they were breaking up the division. The guys with the points went somewhere and the guys like me, who didn‘t really have too many points, they came up to me and said, ―You‘re going to Nuremburg, Military Police‖, so I went there. I went up to Nuremburg and joined—I got the little card that they gave me. Around Nuremburg it was mostly the 1st Infantry Division, the 26th Regiment of the 1st. Some of the guys joined that and some of them ended up with the white hats that you‘ve seen over the prison as the Nuremburg trials were going on. They put me in the Military Police and the first job I had was at the Bahnhof Railroad Station just to make sure there was no riots or stuff like that, and that was my first duty there. 42:03 Then all of a sudden they came down and said, ―Morrin, you‘re going to 33 Mohnestrasse‖, and I said, ―What‘s that?‖ They said, ―That‘s where they‘re holding the trials‖, the trials were on. I said, ―what am I going to do there?‘ They said, ―You‘re going to be a Criminal Investigation Section, Nuremburg Provost Marshal's Office‖, and I said, ―Me?‖ I was only about nineteen. I didn‘t know what I was doing, so I get down there and meet the Colonel and the sergeants and all that stuff, and he said, ―I got a first job for you‖, that‘s how chaotic this place was, and he said, ―This woman‘s come to my office twice, she‘s crying, she can‘t find her husband, German, and I want you to look into this. He has apparently been picked up by the M.P‘s and we got find out what‘s going on‖. I go to the 19 �gefutzscaffen [?], that‘s how bad it was—I‘ll tell you, my buddy Schotz, who could speak German a little bit, he became head man at a women‘s prison in Nuremburg and he was only my age too. 43:07 But, I got out there and the guy's in the jail and the German warden was going to keep him right in there, and nobody talked to him or anything. So, I said, ―What the heck is going on?‖ I can‘t figure this out. They bring the kid out, a guy actually, and I find out he was going to work one night and it was past the curfew. A Military Policeman picked him up and shoved him in there. The agent came in, who put him in the jail, told the warden, ―You don‘t let anybody see him and you don‘t let him out until I get back‖. He rotates back to the United States, so the guys still in jail. I pull him out and you had to go through the CIC and then the OSS. You had to get clearance from both of those. 44:08 I got the clearance, and I get back to the colonel and he said, ―Turn him loose‖, and so I took the guy down and dropped him off and his wife was ecstatic. Well that was my first gig and you can see how chaotic it was. Then, of course, a lot of people don‘t realize there was a lot going on. A lot of people didn‘t want this trial or anything like this and they would jump—a GI would be off or something like that. You know how GI‘s are, they get half crocked and stuff like that and people would jump them, steal from them and all kinds of stuff. My job was to kind of keep that calm and the other big job was, I didn‘t realize it at the time, was security for Justice Jackson. Now, we were outer perimeter and they had an inner perimeter and then they had a house bunch and we were kind of like the outer perimeter to all the roads, and to make sure nobody was supposed to be in there. 45:11 I didn‘t realize that wild Bill Donovan was in there, too. Did you ever hear of him? Interviewer: Yeah 20 �Well, I didn‘t know him, anyway, he was in there too, so we kind of—I seen him later, and in a while, one day I‘m coming in and the Colonel says to me, ―I want you to get in the stands, at the trials and here‖, and he hands me a weapon. I said, ―What‘s my job?‖ He said, ―You just listen to what‘s going on and if they break through and they try to get those guys out, you shoot the bastards‖, and I said, ―I can do that‖. But anyway, they put extra security out there and more armored vehicles and all that kind of stuff because there was a threat that they were going to try to break these guys out. So, one of the times I‘m in there, I‘m standing down where they all came in and who comes walking by me, Herman Goering, have you heard of him? 46:06 He said, ―Guten Tag‖, and I looked at him and I said, ―Guten Tag‖, so I talked to Hermann Goering. So, that was basically what I was doing the whole time I was there and my number was called and I went up to Bremerhaven and got on board a ship, went to New York, got out, got my papers and headed for Boston. One thing I remember when I got off, Maverick Square was where I got off with the street cars to my home town. I looked up and said, ―Mother of god, I didn‘t realize how small this place was. Do you want me to continue? Well, there‘s four years of I don‘t know what you would call it. 47:01 Everybody was coming back, the ones that came back, there was a few who never made it, and we just had four years of drinking. I joined the Fifty-Two Twenty Club, did you ever hear of that? Fifty two weeks, twenty dollars a week and it was supposed to rehabilitate, you know. So anyway, we made a racket out of that, and I played football, I played baseball, I played every sport known to man I think. We all got together and Friday nights we would go out and drink, it was a wild great time. It went on and on and then finally we had to find jobs, so we finally found these jobs, you know, and started going to work and all this stuff, and it was 21 �getting close to 1950. I had a job at the Keystone Manufacturing Company in a foundry and I‘m looking around there and I‘m looking around at some of these guys—forty years old and still doing the same stuff, you know. 48:01 Then all of my buddies started getting married and I looked at that and I said, ―Jeez, I don‘t know if I want to do anything like that, taking care of somebody and all this kind of stuff‖. They were in these apartments and they had these jobs that weren‘t really paying much money, I don‘t think. As a matter of fact, at Keystone Manufacturing Company I was making big money, a $1.10 an hour. So anyway, the Korean War broke out and I‘m sitting there one day and I forget what happened, and It just dawned on me, ―I‘m going back in there, to hell with this stuff‖. Interviewer: Had you stayed in the reserves in the meantime? I was in the reserve, oh yeah, but it was the inactive reserves. They didn‘t bother me with the reserves, so I went in anyway and I said, ―Eh, I‘m going back‖, so I went down and it was in the Navy Yard where you signed up, so I went down and signed up down there. 49:00 Boy, as soon as they found out I had that experience—guess where? Back to New Jersey and they took all kinds of tests and all that kind of stuff. The next thing I know I‘m on a train, and I mean it was a matter of days and I was gone. We took a train, I‘ll never forget that train ride, it was all the way across Butte, Montana up to—we ended up in Seattle on pier, I can‘t remember the pier number, ninety something, I remember that. We got organized there and all this kind of stuff and the next thing I know we‘re in the Seattle airport and of course, they had the four engines, but they were the propeller jobs. We got on them and we flew to Anchorage. We got to Anchorage, got off, ate, played around, refueled and all this kind of stuff. 50:05 The next one was Shima, we‘re 22 �coming down and the pilot said, ―This is going to be rough coming in there‖, and it was rough landing, boom, boom, boom. As soon as that plane stopped, people came out and anchored it to the ground. We got out of there and this bus pulls up and it‘s air force, and the bus had all the windows had been wooded up, so the wind—and I talked to the driver and he said, ―This is the worst place in the world, you won‘t believe there‘s not a tree on this island, the wind‘s got to be a hundred miles an hour every day‖. He said, ―Feel it‖, and boy, huh, huh, of anyplace I‘ve ever been, Shima Island will take the cake. So, we went into the mess hall and they fed us and they refueled that thing. 51:06 We got ready to get on the plane, we‘re loading up the plane and the pilot says, ―I think we can take off. Okay, well we take off and head for Japan, Camp Drake, that‘s where that infantry outfit was, and we land there and we get off, and it‘s like a repo depot there too. They handed us, I think it was there, they handed us a weapon, a M1 and only about three or four rounds of ammunition, you‘re just supposed to zero it in at 300 yards, you know. I‘m looking around and I‘m saying, ―Hey, wait, what the hell is going on?‖ A lot of these guys--I don‘t know where they came in from, but they had guitars, they had lei‘s around their neck, they had these Red Cross girls giving them cookies. 52:00 I‘m saying, ―Whoa, this ain‘t the 94th Division, what the heck are we doing?‖ We go to Sasebo, which was a navy base there. We get into Sasebo and then within hours were aboard, I think it was a LST, I‘m not sure, but anyway, we got aboard that thing, and a lot of guys got sick just going over. The next thing I know we‘re off the coast of Pusan and we got off at Pusan. Interviewer: Do you know, roughly, when you landed there? 23 �Oh boy, that‘s a good question—let me think now. It was in the winter, about November of 1950. Interviewer: So, by this time the Inchon landings had taken place and we were advancing northeast in Korea. Yeah, we got in there and then we headed for Taegu. 53:01 They hadn‘t gone—the army hadn‘t moved too much out of Taegu at that time, but the landing had been made and what was it? The 8th Army hadn‘t broke through yet as I remember, but they finally did and away we went, up through there, Inchon, and then on to Seoul. Interviewer: Now, what unit were you assigned to? The 558 Military Police company, and what there job was, to guard the 8th Army headquarters, well, that was our job, just guard the 8th Army headquarters, and it got boring, I mean, it was just guard duty, and then occasionally they would take us out and put us on MSR-1, which is a route for the supplies and stuff to come through. Our job was to make sure that they kept right on the supplies because there were a lot of people left behind when the 8th Army broke through. 54:06 There was a lot of North Koreans in the hills and this kind of stuff and occasionally they would come down and try to knock off a truck for food and all this kind of stuff. We‘re out there all by ourselves and you had your rear end hanging out there, it wasn‘t like being in the infantry, but you‘re hung out there all by yourself, and sometimes all night long. Interviewer: At the beginning there, you land; you move north, did you move up to North Korea with the headquarters? No, no, we did not move up in the headquarters up there. Interviewer: How far up did you get? 24 �I guess to the border, to the border, maybe a little further, but not exactly. I know we didn‘t get up, way up to Pyongyang or anything like that. Because the next thing we know—well, we had all this guard duty and stuff, which I found annoying after a while, but then the word came back that the Chinese are into this thing. 55:10 I found out later, what they did is they broke through between the 8th Army and the 10th Corps, which had the Marine Corps and the 7th Division over here. They were the ones that went all the way to the Yalu. The Chinese broke in between them and were going to try to pin the 10th Corps that way and pin the 8th Army this way toward Inchon. So, I don‘t know what you‘d call it, we start moving back, strategic withdrawal, but that‘s when the big General came in, Ridgeway, toughest man I‘ve ever seen in my life. He came to the 8th Army forward and he‘s looking around and I remember the Major I was working for he says, ―Where‘s the mess hall?‖ 56:06 The Major says, ―Right outside where your tent is sir, it‘s right there‖, and he said, ―Put that thing at least a half a mile out, and I don‘t want to see anybody not running back and forth‖. My God, I wasn‘t actually in there listening to him, but the word would come out. He‘d get in there with those Colonels and he said, ―We‘re not moving back anymore, we‘re going to kill those bastards‖, and he set up the--he just turned the whole army around, mother of God, and then he‘s get in a Jeep and he‘s say, ―You, get in the Jeep with me‖, and away he‘d go. He‘d go down to company headquarters and he‘s tell these people—one incident there where the, I forgot what he was, Major, Colonel, what the hell, but he was with them and they all got out and he‘s talking to this battalion commander and shells start coming in. 57:05 Everybody‘s jumping and he just stood there—you know, he used to carry two grenades up here on his chest, plus his weapon—what a man, holy--- 25 �Interviewer: Did you drive him around sometimes? No, I didn‘t drive him, but escort him not in the same Jeep, but the escort. Interviewer: What was the headquarters situation like before he got there, because General Walker had been in charge? Well okay, what had happened is we were moving back, moving back—ok, let‘s put it this way, 8th Army headquarters was up in Seoul, right? I was told to take two or three of my men and put them on a post where they could direct the troops coming through, so they could get down to this pontoon bridge. 58:03 See, we had a pontoon bridge here and all the Koreans, oh the poor—they were going over the steel bridge that had been hit and all this kind of stuff and they were just a mob trying to get across there. People were actually falling off the bridge and all that kind of stuff, so anyway, I had that crew and I‘m there on the side with Seoul, and I‘m looking around and all of a sudden traffic is practically stopping going across that bridge. I asked somebody, I don‘t remember who it was, but I asked somebody and he said, ―This thing is slowing down‖, and I said, ―Wait a minute, I got a couple of guys still out there‖. I had a Jeep, I had a Jeep and I said, ―I have to go back into Seoul‖, you know, and Seoul‘s burning and blowing up, and I‘m getting up there and one of the kids is still there, standing up in the middle of the road. 59:01 I said, ―What are you doing?‖ I can‘t think of his name, and he said, ―I‘m doing what you told me to do, but‖, and I said, ―What‘s been happening?‖ He said, ―A bunch of guys came marching through there and they said, ―The next ones up the road are the Chinese‖. I said, ―Get in the Jeep, let‘s go‖, so he got in the Jeep and I picked up the other guy, and we went down to the pontoon bridge and I looked at the engineers that were down there and they said, ―You better get your ass across this thing, because if you 26 �don‘t, you‘re going to be in the Chinese prison‖. So, as I‘m pulling across, I got on the other side and then they blew the bridge, boom, da‘boom, da‘boom, and then we started moving south and I had, those guys I had with me, one of them said, ―I was an old artillery man, I‘m going to stop and see if I can find an artillery outfit and join that‖, that‘s how chaotic it was. They did and didn‘t, but we get down to, close to Suwon, I think it was, and all of a sudden that Major said, ―Corporal, get over here, we‘re going to set up headquarters here‖. 00:07 We went into an area and the engineers came and threw barbed wire around it, so we were 8th Army forward. There was 8th Army headquarters and 8th Army rear, but we were forward and all it was, was one little squad with me leading the damn thing, so anyway, I was there and that‘s where what‘s his name had been killed, Walker. The next thing I knew we ran into Ridgeway, and whew, he really straightened that thing out. Then they put a big, I don‘t know what you‘d—I think it was the 27th Regiment around us and he said, ―We ain‘t moving no further down‖, and he set that thing up and when those Chinese finally reached the area he blasted them and stopped them. 1:10 Then we started moving back up, and we moved back into Seoul. Then, I guess, the Chinese decided they wanted to talk peace or something, and they sent me and my kids, and a bunch of other ones, further on up. We were just south of—I can‘t think of-Interviewer: The town where they had the peace talks? Yeah, yeah, we set that thing up—we went into a grove up there, apple grove, we set up that thing. Admiral Joy came in from the navy, and who was that? Some big football player came too. Anyway, we set that thing up and then the other thing that they import, I guess, they asked for volunteers—oh yeah, they had set up a town across this river, up 27 �the road. 2:08 they were going to set that up as the peace talk area, but the air force decided that they didn‘t know who it was up there, so they hit it and blew it up, so they had to pull them back. I don‘t know what convoy it was, but they asked for volunteers and I said, ―I‘ll drive the damn thing‖, so I got a Jeep, and I had a bunch of reporters with me. No weapons, a little white flag, I got a picture of it somewhere. Anyway, we got down to the river‘s edge and there‘s Ridgeway. He said, ―You guys all look presentable or I‘ll‖, you know, and away we went. We went up and there we ran right into the North Koreans. They got us into these little tent areas that they had, that‘s before they had all the stuff that‘s going on now, and they finally turned us around and went back. 3:04 I actually met them up there, so that‘s how it all started with Admiral Joy and all that stuff. My job was inside the perimeter, to take care of the people like Admiral Joy and stuff like that, it was guard duty. At night I would go around with my trusty forty-five so nobody got in. Around the whole hills was the infantry and stuff like that. I could tell you some incidents though, I had one guy that could make applejack, and he did, but anyway, that‘s the way that went on. I stayed there until it was time for me to go home, I think I was there eighteen months all tolled. I came back and me and my buddy, Chuck, who had met another friend of mine who had been a close friend of mine, and we got aboard ship at Inchon. Interviewer: Before we take you out of the country, tell me a little bit more. What did sort of Korean landscape, countryside, towns, what did that look like to you? 4:10 Oh, for us, for me, it was all hills, I mean hills, hills, hills, and we tried to stay to the roads, but the roads were, no pavement, no nothing, and all the trees had been knocked 28 �down from the artillery fire and stuff like that, but basically, it was nothing but a bunch of hills. Man, would that take you out of it when you would go up into those hills, you know, to try to—yeah, that‘s about what it amounted to and it was all barren like because everything had been shot up so bad. Of course, they had the farms around the area and they used human excrement and all this kind of stuff, so the place stunk and that‘s about what I remember. Interviewer: Did you see much of the local population? 5:00 At that time, not with this one, but I did see some of them because we helped a lot of them out because a lot of them ran to the south. They were coming through, but they were just poor people with those things on their back and walking south to get behind our lines and stuff like this. As a matter of fact, the only other time really—yeah, we—about that time too, as I remember now, we got some Katusas, did you ever hear of Katusas? We got some of them in the outfit. Interviewer: Those are Korean soldiers attached to the Americans. The Americans, yeah, we got those as Military Police and they would help us guarding gates and all this kind of stuff. Interviewer: Did you spend any time in Seoul? Did you get to see much of that? Seoul, yeah, but there was nothing in Seoul in those days, but I saw MacArthur. He came and made his speech and all this kind of stuff. 6:03 the first time I was in Seoul it was just burning, I mean, there was nothing in there. Later on, just about when I was coming back from the peace talks, you could see it was picking up. They had a couple old buses, they‘re really not buses, they‘re our two and a half ton trucks that they converted into 29 �buses and stuff, and they were beginning to mill around like a regular city. In the beginning though, all the buildings were a mess. Interviewer: While you were there did you get to see things like USO shows or anything like that? No, I didn‘t see anything like that. No, no, we were up—as a matter of fact, and it often got to me later on, and I‘d say, ―We never saw company headquarters come up there. Well, the road leading to where we were wasn‘t exactly something you‘d want to drive without some kind of an escort. 7:03 I never seen anybody, no Lieutenants, nothing, me corporal, I couldn‘t believe it. Even when I got back there, you know, as I was leaving, I got in the headquarters and nothing, you know. I don‘t know what the hell—we were just the lost children of Eve, I guess, but we made it back there, got to Inchon and took the ship. Interviewer: What kind of ship was it you went back on? It was a ―what‘s her name‖, a converted freighter. What do they call them, Liberty Ships? Yeah, and chuck and I we spent most of the time on the deck because again, the same old routine where the guys, somebody gets sick and there were a lot of people on there. I forget how many days it took us to get to Hawaii, and of course by the time we got to Hawaii we were in winter clothes. We got off in Hawaii and my buddy, Chuck; I‘ll give you a little incident with him. 8:05 In WWII they wouldn‘t take him because he was deaf, but Korean War, psttt, but he spent the time during WWII in Hawaii, so he knew Hawaii. We landed in Hawaii and a joker or somebody aboard the ship didn‘t want to let us off, and we were only supposed to be there a day or so, I don‘t know, but some commander came up and said, ―Let these guys off this ship or they‘ll tear the‖, so they let 30 �us off. They let us off and we went into town and Chuck and I, we just hit the bars and stuff. We got back on the ship and we‘re prepared to go again and all of a sudden we got to spend another day there. We found out later that somebody got off the ship, went into one bar and drank himself to death, and he died there in the men‘s room or something like that. They had to investigate that, so they kept us there one more day. 9:00 They turned us loose for one more day and we got back and then, let‘s see, we got back on the ship and headed for Seattle. There was supposed to be a big time—we were one of the first ones coming back and there was supposed to be a big parade and this kind of stuff. Women are going to be waiting for us, you know because we‘d been in—anyway we get all in and Edward G. Robinson is meeting us, so anyway, we get into Seattle and they say, ―You guys are going to go parade‖, and as we got off the boat they put these lei‘s on us and all this kind of stuff and they marched us over to these buses and we got on all of these buses and we start going in and then we realized the buses are locked and we can‘t get off the bus. We learned later that they were afraid of us in Seattle, to let us off because we just run wild in there. 10:03 We get all the buses and we finally get to the airport and that‘s when Edward G. Robinson came and gave us the old act, ―Hey you guys‖, and that was fun and all that kind of stuff. We got on a bunch of planes and headed for home. I got on some damn plane with only two engines and it couldn‘t go over the Rockies, we had to go through the Rockies, and they turned around and said, ―Here‘s blankets because it‘s going to be cold in this damn thing‖, so we there to, I guess, Colorado and then to Michigan, actually, and then from Michigan to Boston. I got off and I got my word and I had been assigned to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 31 �Interviewer: At this point were you in as a career soldier or did you have an enlistment that ended later? What happened, I was in—no, I wasn‘t really a career soldier at that time. 11:03 I was on my original assignment which was four years, I think. Interviewer: You had enlisted for four years. I got into Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and my buddy chuck got into the Walter Reed army Medical Center, and we had—I‘m telling ya—all those guys had been wounded from Korea and stuff were there too, and it was wild. We use to—did you ever hear of Strykla frame? Interviewer: No Okay, it‘s when they would put these guys in these Strykla frames and you flip—they were so paralyzed you just flip them around from—and it was all steel like. I‘ll tell you how bad it was, we go into these wards and the guys would say, ―I want a drink, I want a pttt‖, and we would run them across Georgia Avenue with a Strykla frame and the M.P.‘s would come running after us yelling, ―You guys can‘t do this‖. At that time, Walter Reed, and it‘s changed now because I‘ve been back there as a civilian. 12:04 they use to have run pathways from one ward to another, and these guys with lost legs, or something, would see how fast they could go down and they actually put an M.P. down there to keep them from—and let‘s see what else. Yeah, it was just wild, there was dancing every night and all this kind of stuff and Chuck and I spent that time, and it came time at the end of the-- and I said—oh that‘s-- yeah, I said, ―I know where we can get a good job‖. The Alaska pipeline [highway?] was starting and they were looking for truck driver and stuff like that at three dollars and some cents an hour, whoo, big money, but 32 �Chuck said, ―Na, I think I‘m going to stay in the Army‖, and I said, ―Ah, what the hell, we‘ll get a big bonus‖, so we joined the Army for six more years and got ninety dollars, I won‘t forget it. 13:06 Interviewer: How long did you stay at Walter Reed? Almost two years, and then they said, ―You‘re going back to Korea‖, and me and Chuck headed for Korea again. He went into the engineers and I stayed with the transportation. Interviewer: At what point did you get into transportation? Oh, wait a minute, that‘s way up before. Okay, I was in the Military Police when I first got to Walter Reed and I decided I didn‘t want any more guarding that gate and all this kind of stuff. I told the sergeant that was in charge, Sergeant Block, he was a good man and he was my friend, I said, ―I don‘t want to be in this anymore‖, and he said, ―I can get you into transportation‖, which he was in, so I said, ―Ok, get me in transportation‖, so I got transferred into transportation and they sent me down to Fort Belvoir. 14:03 They gave me two full weeks of training in transportation. Interviewer: What did that consist of? Oh, learning to drive all the vehicles that the Army had up to a 113, which is a personal carrier. We learned all the stuff, how to maintain them, how to check the oil and all this kind of stuff, how to get in a convoy, how to keep the separation between vehicles and all that kind of stuff. So anyway, when I got back I was that and I said, ―Boy, I want a job as a truck driver‖, so they made me an ambulance driver at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We had these big Cadillac ambulances and one of the main jobs was, when somebody would die in one of the wards you would have to go up and pick them up and take them over to the digger, we use to call him digger O‘Dell, and that was the autopsy 33 �area. 15:02 We would pick up the body and take it over there and then he‘d show us around, you know. The only time that really got me was sometimes we‘d have to pick up a little kid and I didn‘t particularly care for that. Let‘s see, yup, that was the first two years, it was just well time. Interviewer: Then they send you to Korea? Then they got me back into Korea and we were in—south of Seoul and we set up a big transportation area there, and we supported both Korean and American units around the area because it was always hard to get parts in those days especially spark plugs and stuff like that. The units would come in and we‘d maintain them and stuff. Interviewer: So, what was your actual job or position or what unit were you with? Oh boy, that‘s a good question now, I can‘t think of the actual unit, I guess—I can‘t think of the name that I was with. 16:07 The motor pool, but what the actual—we were with the support unit, I remember the patch I use to wear, but I can‘t—it wasn‘t with a division or anything else, because it was a support unit. Interviewer: So, it was assigned at corps or army level or something like that? Yeah, yeah, so anyway, that‘s what our job was. Basically it was like a regular job. Everyday you‘d go and try to take care of these guys. Interviewer: How was life in Korea different the second time? Ah, you get to know people down there. I got to know—there were a lot of Korean people who were working for us and I got to know them pretty good. I never got invited out to their house though, but we‘d have picnics with them and got to know them and liked them, at least the ones that we were working with. Then they had the secretaries, you know, that would work in the motor pool its self. 17:03 They were good, they were 34 �learning English, they would ask us all kinds of questions and stuff, so I got to think of it like it was just a regular part of the outfit. Some of those guys worked really hard for us though, basically ok. Then we‘d do stuff like this-- there‘d be a drought situation or something like that, and we would fill us water tanks, you know and take it to them and we were doing all this kind of stuff. We helped them out and they helped us, and I even got to eat some Kimchi. Did you ever hear of Kimchi? Interviewer: Uh huh Whew, anyway–break in interview—I think I should go back and tell you that I made sergeant at Walter Reed and that is one of the reasons, Chuck and I both made sergeant at almost the same time and decided to sign up for another six years. We were now sergeants in the United States Army. Ok, then we got back there and the incidents I told you and that‘s about all it amounted to in the time we were there for the second time. 22:35 Interviewer: Did you do things like help out the local community and stuff? Oh yes, we did a lot of—we did everything that they required and that they wanted us to help them with. We even helped them grow trees because the whole place had been bombed silly, you know. Yes, I got to know them, now that I‘m thinking about it, and got to like them, they were hard working people. 23:01 They worked hard with us and we took care of—as a support unit, the units we were supposed to take care of the whole time. So, it was like garrison work, it wasn‘t really that hard. Interviewer: Now, did you get R&R time or leave time and things like that while you were there? 35 �Let me think now, did we at that particular time? Oh yeah, that‘s right, I went into Tokyo and got into Tokyo, and it was really amazed at how they had changed. I had a good time for, I think it was ten days. Really had a good time in Tokyo, did everything that you were supposed to do. Went to the—got massaged up and got into tubs so hot that I couldn‘t get out of again, and drank a lot of beer and just raised heck. We had a good time, me and the sarge. Interviewer: At this time were you not married yet? 24:03 No, no, no married at this time, no. Interviewer: So, when then did you leave Korea? I left—let‘s see, I‘m trying to think, 1956, I think, the second time and it was spring, I think. Like I say, we flew out of it this time, and I‘m trying to think—like I said, we‘re flying over, and somebody said we were running low on fuel, headwinds or something like that. We landed on this little island and I can always remember because it looked like the wings were over both sides, and were over water. There was a little navy outfit out there and they invited us off the plane and they had a little beer hall there and we went in and drank beer. 25:02 The navy was just great to us, but we had winter clothes on and it had to be a hundred and ten degrees. We got back on the plane after we refueled, and we ended up in Midway and refueled there. Then we flew further on in and let‘s see, it was Seattle again, I think as I remember it. Then across, but this time with a bigger plane, and ended up with kina like the same route. From there to Colorado, to the great lakes, and then up to the Boston area, and then a little leave and then I was assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center again. Well, I put in--I said I would like to go back, you know, but it was different now, and that was about the same time where they 36 �integrated the army. 26:08 I was living in the barracks right there at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and let‘s see, a lot of stuff happened at that time. I think Pershing was still there or he was dead. Interviewer: Pershing was dead, he died in the forties, I think. No, I think 1952 or something like that. Anyway, he was there, but that was the elephant graveyard for all the big shots, but let me see—when I was there Secretary Dulles got sick and we had to get out and get him, and I could tell you a story about that one. Did you ever hear of Pearl Mesta? She was the big party giver. Well anyway, we had the ambulance and I had a little kid, a little corporal, and by the way, I‘m in charge of the transportation at Walter Reed, sergeant first class now. 27:07 The word came that we had to pick up Secretary Dulles, and I coached the kid how to get down Sixteenth Street and all this kind of stuff. He said, ―I know the area there‖, ok, but they sent the doctor with him, a Major, and the Major‘s in the front seat with the kid, they get to Dulles‘ place and they pick him up and put him in the back of the ambulance, so on the way back the Major says, ―Let‘s go through Rock Creek Park‖, and the kid says, ―Well I‘m not sure of Rock Creek Park, driving through there‖, you have to see it. ―Did you ever see Rock Creek Park?‖ Well anyway, they start going through Rock Creek Park and pretty soon we can‘t find the Secretary of State. And they‘re all beginning, all the big shots in Walter Reed start, ―where the, what the‖, and all that. 28:11 They start—all over the place, and I forget how long it was, but I guess it must have been twenty to thirty minutes, we had no contact with the Secretary of State. He comes in, ―Well, got to hold somebody accountable for that. Who was it that was driving?‖ It was the kid, the little corporal kid and, ―Ah, we‘ll get him‖, and they were gonna—but the kid said, ―The Major told me to 37 �drive through Rock Creek Park. I didn‘t want to drive through there‖. Err, ―Can‘t blame‖, he was a doctor and they can‘t blame him. So anyway, this is really true too, Pearl Mesta use to throw these parties. 29:02 Well, she‘s throwing this party, and at this party is a girl who was the girlfriend of that corporal who was driving that ambulance. She started crying because she was afraid they were really going to hang this kid, and she told Pearl Mesta. Pearl Mesta said, ―What?‖ She calls this reporter from the Washington Post and they tell him the story, and into the paper comes this column about this kid being hung for something that this Major had pulled and that was the end of that. So anyway, Pearl Mesta saved the day for us and that‘s the way thing went on. One night I‘m in there, I believe this was the tour at the same time, and I was in there as NCOIC of the Walter Reed up in headquarters. 30:02 Are you familiar with Walter Reed, the old armory at Walter Reed? They had the steps in front and the big columns and a beautiful place. I‘m in there and I‘m up in the main receiving area and I‘m walking around and all of a sudden two guys come in. It looked like they were dressed alike, and they came in and said, ―Hi sarge‖, and I said, ―Hello‖, and they go sit down over there. A little while later another guy comes in and he sits over there. I said, ―Holy crap, I think this is the secret service‖. I can‘t remember the guy‘s name, I think O‘Rourke was his name, and he was the spokesman for Eisenhower, reporter, I think it was O‘Rourke, an Irish guy,, and he came running in ―Hey sarge‖, and I recognize him because of the papers and stuff. 31:04 He said, ―You got any coffee around here?‖ I said, ―I can get you some‖, and he said, ―Get us some and get a lot of it. Have you got a telephone?‖ I said, I got two or three over here‖, and he said, ―Get what‘s ever is around, we want them all set up‖, and all this kind of stuff, you know. I called the officer in charge, he was sleeping, and I said, 38 �―I think we got something big going on here‖, and he comes and he said, ―What? What did you think?‖ I said, ―I got secret service all over the place‖, and he said, ―I‘ll be right up‖. He comes up and then he starts calling the different, you know, mess sergeants and all this stuff and had everybody going. Down the hallway comes another group and behind them is the President of the United States. He comes down and I‘m standing there at attention, you know, and he comes up and says, ―How‘s everything going, sarge?‖ I said, ―It‘s going pretty good sir, anything I can do for you?‖ 32:04 I didn‘t know what to say, you know, and he said, ―Nah, they‘ll take care of this stuff‖, and he shakes my hand, so that‘s how I met Eisenhower. Interviewer: Do you know why he was there? Yes, he had Ileitis, something wrong with his leg. I got a kick out of this because the commanding officer of Walter Reed Army Medical Center—all they could, at that time, officers could only get the two stars, that was the tops, and he drove around in a little Chevy, maybe it was a Buick, that was his staff car. They worked on Eisenhower and I don‘t know how long after it was--a big Lincoln Continental. He moved up to three stars, but I think that was the Ileitis attack he had at that time, and well, that‘s how I met him. Interviewer: How long did you stay then at Walter Reed? I was there until 1961and I had met my wife Patsy, and we had gotten married. 33:12 Her father had come home from Eniwetok, actually—no not that, he had done that before. He had come back from Japan, and she had been in Japan with him, but she came back by herself and she was living with her uncle in Silver Spring, Maryland. I met her at a beach and one thing led to another and we got married at Walter Reed Army Medical Center by the chaplain of Walter Reed on September 7th, 1957. We had two kids there 39 �too. It was 1961 when they came and said, ―Morrin, you got all the background, we're sending you to Berlin‖. That was during the Berlin crisis that was going on then. 34:10 So, they flew me to Germany, then on the Idlewild, not Idlewild, yeah Idlewild, the airport there. Interviewer: Idlewild is on Long Island. Okay then, I‘m wrong—Tempelhof-Interviewer: Tempelhof is a Berlin airport there. Yeah, Tempelhof, so we landed at Tempelhof and the transportation section was set up where we took care—we had four helicopters in Berlin, we had the highways leading to Berlin, and we had the train which went from Helmstedt to Berlin. The way the train was set up, our engines would take the thing out of Helmstedt and we would go all the way to the outskirts of Berlin. 35:02 Then they would come out, the Russians, they would come out and pick it up with a Russian engine to take it into the middle of Berlin, that‘s how they operated it. The thing I learned later on was that the engines they were using were ones we gave them during WWII. But anyway, that was--their main job was to make sure, and the main thing was that they would pull a lot of shenanigans on the route going, saying that the rail broke down or there was something wrong with this, or the engine, or something like this. One of my jobs, with a member of the State Department, was to go out and kind of investigate it to make sure they were telling the truth or whether they were conning us. That was one of the jobs, and the other job, which I really enjoyed, was that—oh no, I‘m getting ahead of myself. 36:02 Anyway, the other thing was that everybody from East Germany was coming through, I mean, they were taking these subway stations and all this kind of stuff to get into West Berlin. Then from West 40 �Berlin they were trying to fly out by air, trying to get on the train, trying to just drive out, but they were leaving East Berlin and East Germany. I mean, they were really coming out and then all of a sudden, the thing was, they decided on the wall. Ok, things were hectic and we were busy just taking care of things, and then all of a sudden they came down one night, we didn‘t know it, and started setting up the wall. Well, that really threw us into a panic and we—we had the 40th Tank Company there, which was a medium Company, and I don‘t think they had more than twenty-five tanks. They had the 6th Regiment there and they didn‘t have that many guys either. 37:07 Later on I learned that we had about six thousand people, special forces, some of them too, and we were a special brigade for Berlin and we had about six thousand, the British had about the same, and the French had about the same, but surrounding us, somebody had mentioned and I don‘t know how true it was, but that there were twenty-two Russian divisions around us. We just kept operating in there, grabbing these people and trying to help them, and all this kind of stuff. They started putting up the wall, and of course that was the first big one, that everybody went to the wall and lined up across the—you know. We‘re talking to them and all of a sudden—and of course the Russians are saying it‘s the East Germans that are doing this, it‘s not us, and we have all the kids up with there—but we never issued any ammo. 38:09 We use to have these alerts, about two or three a month and you would go to your area and my area was down around the motor area and was to set up all these convoys, so if the Russians let us out we would take all of the dependents and stuff and send them out. That‘s the way it was set up and then they started setting up the walls and then Checkpoint Charlie started. Then they turned around and said you had to go through Checkpoint Charlie to get into East, and we said the Potsdam Agreement, 41 �which was all set up, said we had the right to go anyplace in Berlin, and that was all signed. Of course, the Russians had the right to come into our area, and what we did, we started setting up a bunch of cars, and stuff. 39:11 The senior NCO‘s, I was one of them, and officers, we put on the American flag with our uniforms, and we‘d go through Checkpoint Charlie and go into East Germany, and that was comical. We would go in and East Germany was all glum now, the wall was up and they couldn‘t get out and they were all scared, I‘m sure. We would go in there and there would be a lot of VoPo‘s. A VoPo is a-Interviewer: VoPo Police? Yeah, VoPo Police, they were the ones—the use to—they brought them in because the regular German police from Berlin were hesitant to use the type of what they had to use to keep these people back, because they would shoot you. 40:04 anyway, I would go in, I don‘t know, maybe three or four times a month and I‘d go through the thing and sometimes during the day, and sometimes during the night. What I would do is when they would get in there was what I was told, ―Just mingle with them‖, and of course, somebody‘s looking in a window at a shop or something, and I‘d walk right up an stand next to them and they‘d look at me and say something and disappear. They don‘t want the East Germans to think they were a part of the thing. One of the places I use to go was to a Lutheran Church that they had and was more like a Cathedral where they use to have German Emperors, and all this stuff, crowned, and all this kind of stuff, and it was right in the middle of East Germany. Or used to, but it was bombed during the war and they were using it, at that time when I was there, as an attraction to show people. 41:10 I used to go there and I met the woman who was running it, and she was a good friend. I 42 �used to bring her candy bars and stuff like that from West because the difference between the two places, you cannot believe. Interviewer: How much damage from the war was still visible when you were going through? Oh, it was just like WWII. It looked like West Berlin did during WWII. There were still buildings out and of course, the Russians and East Germans were rebuilding it, but the junk that they would—they would put up a building and the damn thing would fall down in six months, I‘m serious. Of course they used to use charcoal for heat and during the winter that place would just be smothered with coal dust all over the place. You go into West Germany the thing was turning into—like the West—I mean it was great. 42:09 They had French restaurants, Chinese restaurants and everything over there, and of course, the people who were working there, Germans, were making extra money because of there being surrounded. The attitude in West Germany was, ―You‘re making it, spend it, because we don‘t know when they‘re coming‖, and my God, it was a wild, wild place, but it was great. One thing that really caught me was the fact that you would go out at night and you would go into these places and light was like three o‘clock in the morning, it would turn daylight. So, you‘d be in a bar drinking and having a good time and boop, its morning, you know. I could never figure that one out, but the winter was just the opposite, of course. 43:04 That went on and-Interviewer: Did you bring your family out there? Ok, about four or five months after I was there they said I could bring the family in, so really what it was, we were hostages, we were, no question about it. We had heard Kennedy on the air that if anything happened they were going to really start the routine 43 �and then we heard about the 7th Army all along the border getting really, and all this kind of stuff, so we were really hostages. We figured—we were talking, I don‘t know, that we could probably last two or three days at the most if we decided to fight, and that‘s with the British too and all this kind of stuff. We got to know the British pretty good and I got a kick out of, we went to the big stadium where they had the, what was it, ―36‖ Olympics, we went to that, and they had the British Monarch‘s birthday there, and I don‘t care who knows it, only the British can march and have a ceremony like that with horses and all that stuff, it was great. 44:13 I got to know a couple of British Sergeant Majors and all this kind of stuff, and then they gave me—I became an eight [E-8] at that place, in Berlin. Anyway, that was my job, and one of the great jobs I had, which I really enjoyed, after my wife got there now, because I didn‘t fool around now, it was at the Club 50, that was the name of the NCO Club, and General Clay was the—he was also the one that was in Nuremburg too. I never thought I‘d see him again, he was a two star, I think, there but he was a real big one up here, a four star, I think. 45:01 General Clay, yup, and they named an alley up from the street for him and all this kind of stuff and of course we were going—and we‘d have picnics and everything with the German people out there and one thing I couldn‘t get, they would get popcorn and put sugar on it, eck. We went out in the street and we were just—steak was only $1.65 a lb., and booze was cheap. Oh, they use to bring Berliner Kindl, which was the beer, right to your door, and boy, it was great. That kind of stuff, and oh, the job that I really liked—nobody could get in trouble there because if you got in trouble in Berlin, you were gone. I mean, you had to act right or you were gone and they didn‘t care—shhpt, goodbye. 46:00 So, we had a courtesy patrol, and what that meant was they would use a first sergeant or E-8 or something like 44 �that, and we would get a sedan and we would go to all the different houses of you name it, bars and all this stuff where the GI‘s would go drink and stuff. Our job was to go in there, talk to the madam or whoever it was that was in charge and stuff, and make sure they‘re all acting right and if anybody they thought was going to get in trouble, we‘d actually grab them, take them and put them in the sedan and take them back to his unit, and that was the courtesy patrol. I use to get into every place; you can‘t imagine some of the places that I was in. And of course, you got, ―Oh, American, so bad, not sargie, sargie, you want a ticket to this‖, and all this kind of stuff, so it was great and I really got a kick out of that. Ok, that‘s Berlin, now I‘m going to tell you the big one on Berlin. 47:03 I think it was, again, in October of 1963, mark me wrong, but I‘m pretty sure it was, we had an alert, boom. I went to my local where I was supposed to meet and get everything set up, the evacuation and stuff like this, and I get there and the Colonel comes running up and he says, ―Morrin?‖ and I said, ―Yes sir‖, and he said, ―go home and get in civilian clothes‖, ―Ok Colonel, what am I going to do?‖ He says, ―Just get in civilian clothes and come back and I‘ll let you know‖, so I go home—well, civilian clothes over there was a pair of pants, black shoes, and a Hawaiian shirt. Every GI and his own brother was dressed the same. 48:02 So, I get back and he says, ―We got two buses here, the Major‖, it was a Major or a captain, I can‘t remember, ―he‘s going to take one and you‘re going to take the other and inside, you‘ll see it‘s all GIs‖, and that‘s what they were, all GIs for that, sitting. I said, ―Ok, what‘s your story?‖ He said, ―You‘re going to go through Check Point Charlie, but these Germans have come up and said that we had to show a passport, and we‘re not showing passports‖. The Potsdam Agreement says we can go in there, and we use to take these tourists to the—a lot of them use to like 45 �to go over to the Soviet Union‘s cemetery over there, and they had a big cemetery over there with statues and all this kind of stuff because they lost nearly a quarter of a million men there. But, to make a long story short, he said, ―You go over there and the VoPo‘s will probably stop you‖. 49:05 He said, ―Give them some nudges and make sure they‘re really going to stop you‖, and I said, ―Do you mean shoot into the‖, and he said, ―Could be‖. But anyway, I said to him, and I don‘t ask many questions, but I said, ―But aren‘t they the Soviets over there?‖ He said, ―No, no, they‘re saying they don‘t know anything about this, it‘s all East Berlin or the East Germans‖, so I said, ―Ok, Colonel away we go‖, so we get down there—oh, by the way, and I could be wrong on this, but I think I‘m right. It‘s the only time they actually issued ammo to the troops for this alert. So, I get down there and all the tanks are lined up, all the GIs are up in the buildings and they have an officer standing right to the edge of our zone. 50:11 They had a Russian, or was it East German, I‘m not sure, all the way up facing each other, just looking at each other, and out we go. We go through Checkpoint Charlie and we go up I don‘t know how many hundreds of yards, but it was quite a way to the—and I could look back and they were all lined up across there, and low and behold a couple of those VoPo‘s were there. One of them looks at me and I look at him and he had one of those sub machine guns and he put his hand up, so I told the driver to stop. He gets out in front of the bus and he knocks on the door to get it, but I was told, ―You don‘t let anybody in‖. 51:04 I said, ―You ain‘t getting in‖, and if I had to kill him, I was going to have to kill him. So anyway, he looks at me and I look at him and he knew what I meant, so he went around and I said to the driver, ―Edge up on him and push him out of our way‖, so he, bump, 46 �bump, we had a big what was it? I can‘t think of the name, but a big bus, nice and all the GIs are in back and they‘re all—they didn‘t know what the hell was going on. Interviewer: Now, were you all in civilian clothing or were just you? I was, I had my—we were supposed to be tourists going to that Russian thing. We all looked the same, we all had our Hawaiian shirts on, that‘s what I had too, and we start nudging him a little bit and pretty soon he gets up and he takes the thing and he breaks the headlight. 52:04 He picks his foot up and we nudge him out of the way and he falls down. Then all of a sudden—they had a radio contact with the—it‘s amazing, I can‘t remember if that guy was a Major or Captain, but he comes running down, ―Ok, sarge, ok, that‘s far enough, we‘ve been told to stop right here‖, okay, so we stop and I look back and we had to be a few hundred yards from the lines, you know. I‘m saying to myself, ―Oh shit, if something happens here I‘m going back there with the one kid‖. Anyway, we‘re staying there and all of a sudden from our line come a couple of Jeeps full of MPs. They pull up, get out, set up a V and start pushing the VoPo‘s out of the way and then I hear it, big heavy roars. 53:01 I look up the road, I don‘t know how far up it was, and down comes the big Russian tanks. I‘ll never forget it; they looked like big guns, man. They‘re coming down and they get right by the bus and go by and then one comes up and stops and somebody opened the hatch and a little German kid is sitting in the thing, a little German, eighteen, nineteen, I don‘t know, whatever, and he looks up and looks at me and I look at him so, I look like I don‘t know what‘s going on, but there they were, all ready. So, we‘re waiting, waiting, and finally somebody comes up and says, ―Go back through Check Point Charlie‖. We take the bus, turn it around and go back through all the reporters—oh cripe; I don‘t know how many reporters were there all 47 �wanting to know this and we wouldn‘t let them on the bus, we just rode right back to where we were going. 54:06 Then General Clay called us in a few days later at Club Fifty, and all the NCO‘s and stuff like that, and he said, ―Now here‘s what happened. We went to the Russians consulate telling them that they‘re not going to get away with this. The Potsdam Agreement says this, and they kept saying, ―it‘s not us, we have nothing to do with it, we don‘t know nothing‖, and it was my idea to set this thing up to get them into the act, because it‘s what‘s known as salami tactics‖. I said, ―Salami tactics?‖ He said, ―Yeah, you take a slice and if they made us do that, next month it would be something else and pretty soon you own the whole salami‖, so that was the idea of it, so it was pretty exciting. 55:00 Interviewer: So, you were testing the limits and you kind of forced the Soviets? That‘s right, we forced the Soviets to come out and after that they didn‘t bother us anymore. Interviewer: Do you think that was October 1963 as opposed to 1962? I think it was 1963 Interviewer: Because 1962 was the Cuban missile crisis. Yeah, yeah, that was the whole—you got to realize now, in between that time, Vice President Johnson comes in, he drove in over the—it was all pushing to see how far they could go. Then Kennedy came, oh yeah, that was—in their mind they were saying, ―If that thing blows, we‘re gone, forget it, there‘s no way you can hold off in Berlin. I wasn‘t really scared, not scared—I wasn‘t really concerned until something happened on that thing, but I‘ll tell you something about the Russians you‘ll get a kick out of. 56:00 When I was leaving, I had a vehicle there, I had a car and I had to take it up to 48 �Bremerhaven and I had my little boy with me, he was two or three, and he wanted to drive up to Bremerhaven with me. So, we pull out and what you had to do, you had to get a passport type of thing that says you‘re American, and all this kind of stuff, to go through the highway, because the Russians had a block there. We‘re going, we go up to the thing, I get out of the car, and they go under the car checking for bombs and all this kind of crap. I get in this little building that they had and they had Lenin‘s picture and all the rest of the big shots, you know, on the wall and they played some Russian music and all, and what they do, they just lift up a slide like and they held out their hand and you hand them the thing and down it would go and if they felt like it they would keep you there for hours. 57:00 Well, I go in, and I had little Jimmy with me, and I sat him down off to one side and up comes the window and I hand them my thing and down comes the window and it wasn‘t five minutes and up comes the window again. He hands me my ok and he hands me a lollypop for the kid, and we drove all the way up. I thought that was a nice little story you might like to hear. Interviewer: So, what year was that when you were leaving? I was leaving in 1964, 1964 and Oh, I had another child born there too, Eddie, Eddie was born in 1964. Interviewer: Now, you come back to the states and where do you go? Ok, Topeka, Kansas, onward to Topeka, Kansas, I drive out through here with my old car from Berlin, and it had just about had it, but we drove to Topeka, Kansas and my job there was as an advisor to a heavy truck company, which was in Osage City, which was outside of Topeka. 58:09 Cowboy country man, the guy who, the Captain in charge of it, was the Captain of the company, he had a cattle ranch out there and he had about four 49 �or five hundred and I learned a lot out there man, because he said, ―I‘m going to buy some more land‖, and I said, ―Oh yeah?‖ He said, ―Yeah, I‘m going to buy two sections‖, and I‘m saying to myself, ―Two sections, how many acres is that?‖ Two sections, that‘s a mile long and a mile this way, and I use to get a kick out of it because I use to have to drive out and get these guy that wanted to sign up for the reserve and all this kind of stuff out there. I go out there and all they had out there was beer and wine. The other thing was, they would put a post-up, ―Seventy five cents and hour and all you can eat‖, if you want to push these things through the Corn Belt. 59:05 the Corn Belt was so far they used to issue some of these guys a motel. You cannot believe how big that place was. So, that was my job and I‘d have to take them once a year up to McCoy, Wisconsin, and we‘d train them up there and stuff like that. That was my job, being their advisor. I would go their meeting, they had one a week and one a month, and I would go them and sit in on them to make sure they were talking on them and make sure they were there, because a lot of these outfits they would write them down, ―Oh, we had fifty guys‖, and all this kind of stuff. Oh, we had a tornado too that came right through, and we had an old ambulance and I drove that through the tornado and helped them out with the tornado thing, it came right through town, but it was a nice take. :02 We had people next door who had come out there with the covered wagons, for god's sake, and one of them knew Wild Bill—the guy that had the big show? Interviewer: That’s Buffalo Bill Buffalo Bill, yeah, and he knew Wild Bill Hickok too. I don‘t think he knew him. Interviewer: He wouldn’t have because Hickok had died relatively young, he got shot. 50 �Yeah, it was Buffalo Bill Interviewer: He had the Wild West show. What he did for Buffalo Bill was, when Buffalo Bill had come into Topeka, he would ride and get some cattle and stuff like that, so he could use it in his show. But, what was good about him is that his house had a big deep cellar because of the tornadoes. The place that I had rented out there didn‘t have that, so we rushed over there and went down in his cellar because that thing came right over us, whoo, whoo, I‘ll never forget that one. But anyway, yeah, they got to be good friends of ours, and I was there for two years. Interviewer: So, you get to 1966 and what do they do with you then? 1:01 Well, I was there, let‘s see 1956, it was 1964. Interviewer: You came back in 1964. Yeah, I was back in 1964 and I was there from 1964 to 1966, and then came Vietnam. I get the word to go to Vietnam and I went back to Washington D.C., set my wife up in a house in Washington D.C. and took off and they had a strike, an airline strike. The airlines had a strike, so all the way to the west coast I had to take National Guard planes and stuff like that all the way over and boy, some of them were rickety. I went to San Francisco and I got a good deal, I‘ll never forget it, because they had my papers for all the way to Vietnam. A guy came by and he said, ―Sarge?‖ I said, ―Yeah‖, and he said, ―They got four spaces in that plane over there, all the way to the Philippines‖. 2:34 All the way to the Philippines, and it was a class A flight with Continental Airlines, and I said, ―Holy cripe‖, and aboard that they had movies and everything. We got into Hawaii and everybody was nice, they bought me beer, a buck sixty cents a glass, holy cripe, you know. Anyway, I got back on the thing and went all the way to the Philippines. 3:03 51 �Got off at the Philippines and then MATS come in, of course you know and old beat up air force transport, got on that baby and into Saigon. We‘re flying out there and all of a sudden all the lights come on and we got to take a different route before you land and all this kind of stuff. We land into Saigon and M.P.s are waiting there where you get out and dogs with them and all this kind of stuff and then out to the area where they had the tents and all that kind of stuff and all kinds of crap was going on, this was in 1966. I met an old sergeant as I was home and this was the second time he was going back there and he said, ―The army should have left this place alone. Johnson should have left this place alone. We were here a couple years ago and everybody was having a great time and all we had was advisors here, you know, and nobody bothered anybody and all that kind of stuff‖. 4:11 So anyway, to make a long story short, I spent a couple days in the tent and then they came in and they said to me, ―There‘s a C130 out here that‘s going to take you up to Qui Nhon‖, so I said, ―Ok, what should I take?‖ He said, ―Take everything, that‘s where you‘re going‖, so I got on, and I think there were only about two or three other guys on there, but they were dropped off before Qui Nhon and we were flying on. I get on there and the damn thing is smoking and everything else and I‘ll never forget, I said to the sarge, ―This thing is smoking‖, and he said, ―Not again?‖ So, all of a sudden we get over this area and it‘s wide open and we just land, bump, bump, bump, and he says, ―Ok sarge, get out‖, and there‘s nobody there, just a little shack way up the road, nothing. 5:08 I‘m sitting there, I don‘t know how long I sat there and pretty soon a Jeep comes up, a kids in the Jeep and he says, ―Come on sarge, are you the new first sergeant?‖ I said, ―Yeah‖, and he said, ―I‘ll take you out to the company‖, and I said, ―Where are we‖, and he said, ―Well, we‘re in Valley A‖, so we go through Qui Nhon and up this old dirt 52 �road and up this road, up, up, up and there‘s Valley A and the company is set up on the side of a hill. Interviewer: What kind of country was around there? Hilly, not too much, but some and in fact, there was a lot of foliage though and it was kind of nice, a really nice looking place, I was surprised. I got a picture of this place where we were if it makes any difference. 6:06 But anyway, we got all the tents set up, and it was all tent work, and I get in there and take over the company. Interviewer: What was the company? The 556th Transportation Company, I‘m pretty sure that‘s the number, and we were with the 5th battalion of transportation. They had the big heavy duty trucks on another compound just to the left of us and beyond that was an engineering outfit and to the right of us was a hospital. We were up in this big hill and the hill went like this and we were all barbwire‘d in and we had bunkers down the front end and a bunker here. 7:01 Our job was to get stuff out of Qui Nhon, the harbor, and take it up to An Khe, which had at that time, I believe, it was the 1st Airmobile outfit up there, and beyond that to Pleiku, which had helicopters and stuff like that, and beyond that was Special Forces at Dak To. Our job was to take whatever they had off them beaches and get it up to them. Interviewer: So you were taking convoys of trucks? Yes, convoys Interviewer: Wasn’t that kind of dangerous? Oh yeah, it wasn‘t exactly exciting, I mean yeah, this was a lot worse than Korea, when I was in Korea. Stuff like what‘s happening in Afghanistan and stuff like that and of course, they didn‘t have the means that they have in Afghanistan, so we didn‘t run into 53 �that many mines, but we ran into our mines and the ones they had made and blow up a few trucks here and there every once in a while. 8:03 Some of those kids, every day, stuck their rear end out to get that stuff through and when you went past Pleiku, you were in a wild, wild horse race up there, that was—the Montagnards were up there and we met them and we used to try to help them out too, of course. What we did, we had a G5, they called it, and we would take stuff up to their little camps and stuff. Most of the stuff they would sell anyway, because you go up there and they had all these huts and they were up on poles and stuff like that, and we‘d go up with big pieces of steel and, ―Oh, look at this, you put that on top of your roof ―, and my god it would get so damn hot it would kill you, so they use to take that stuff and sell it, you know. I got to meet a couple of Montagnard chiefs, you call it, and they would sit up down when we‘d go into their areas like that. 9:06 Of course they wore loin cloths and stuff and had bow and arrows and stuff like that. I know me and one other sergeant, we went up there one time and they invited us out for a meal and the rice wasn‘t bad and the meat wasn‘t too bad until I looked over and seen that they had a dog on the spit. Then he used to point out, I‘ll never forget it, his little water creek that was in the middle of this thing and he had some little fish in there, the chief. They use to let us know if there‘s—don‘t go this way, go that way. That‘s where we got hit with the Agent Orange. As you come out of Bong Son you went through a jungle area and it was real slow going up these hills. 10:02 I mean you were in grandma all the way up, of course that‘s where you run into some sniper fire and stuff like that and if they were really going to set up—the French called it ―The Street Without Joy‖. Interviewer: “The Street Without Joy” was along the coastal highway. 54 �But no, coastal until it starts going up into the hills Interviewer: The same highway? Yeah, highway 9, and that was the one where the French really got blobbed, just outside of An Khe is where they really got clobbered, and they called it ―The Street Without Joy‖, or something like that. I‘ve got a picture of that too. Interviewer: There was a book by that name and part of that book covered the mobile columns the French had getting ambushed up there in the hills and getting pretty much destroyed. In An Khe, so the division had a big place up there they had set up, and then beyond that is Pleiku and now you‘re really up in the highlands because you‘re in the flat country up there. 11:04 Where the French use to have coffee and stuff they grew out in up there, and some of the women, you look out, and they don‘t look like Vietnamese, they‘re half and half. Interviewer: Right Then Dak To, now when you get into Dak To you‘re dealing with the Special Forces. They use to love to see us because the myth is that everything was taken up to them by helicopters, but my kids their job getting them shells and all the goodies, they got a lot of that stuff up there. Interviewer: Were there times when the roads were basically closed and you couldn’t get through? Yeah, well the convoys, we‘d get as far as that jungle area I was talking about, and at that time, when we first got there, you couldn‘t see five yards beyond, some of that foliage would come in the truck, driving it, and yeah, then they‘d close it off. 12:09 55 And you �would have to get an escort, I mean 113 helicopters {M-113 personnel carriers and/or helicopters?], so you would be escorted all the way up there, because on the side of the hill they had snipers shooting down and stuff like that. Then they—I forget how long I was there when one of the kids came up and said, ―Hey sarge, you gotta see‖, and I can‘t think of the name of that jungle area, and he said, ―You gotta see this, what‘s happened there:, and I said, ―What do you mean‖, and he said, ―Oh, they came down and sprayed it with something‖, and I said, ―Oh? ―I‘ll take a convoy in for you‖. I had to take the convoy every once in a while just to keep my foot in it because you can‘t tell those kids to do that and not go up yourself, you know. So anyway, to make a long story short, I took one into that area and holy moly, I couldn‘t believe it, everything was gray. 13:06 Everything was off the trees, everything was off the bushes, you had a firing lane about a hundred or two hundred yards on both sides. And, of course, everything was covered with this junk, or whatever you want to call it. By the time we got to Pleiku you were covered with it, Agent Orange, and we didn‘t know what it was at the time. So anyway, to make a long story short, that was the job and the thing I didn‘t particularly care for about the job, was the fact that I was the one—the Lieutenant, the poor Lieutenant, he used to be the convoy commander just about every day. We got a Captain in there, but he didn‘t last very long. He got killed going up by a sniper. We use to run that poor Lieutenant to death and running the company in that Qui Nhon area there. 14:04 And oh, and then we got another company in and they wanted to use our area and the Colonel came in and said, ―They have to use this area and you have to move the whole company‖, which I did, up to Pleiku. Holy moley, what a job that was, and I got a kick out of—right outside of our place was a guy who would help you with tires, and by the time I got up 56 �to—it‘s supposed to be all secret now, all secret, he was already set up there. He knew more about it than what we did. Anyway, we were in Pleiku, I forget—we come out of there—of course, we had to dig holes up there because we could be hit anytime up there, and let me think—Pleiku—Pleiku was quite a place. We did our job out of Pleiku, helping the helicopters with their material and stuff like that, and the ammo dumps, and taking a lot of stuff up to Dak To. 15:05 there was another place beyond that, but we— this is—I use to go up there for—because I—A guy from Walter Reed Army Medical Center was up there as a medic. I knew him at Walter Reed and I went up there. I use to go see him and he had a little Green Beret and all that stuff, and he would say, ―Hey, put this on sarge‖, you know, and this kind of crap. I use to go up there just to keep my foot in because you just can‘t do—you can‘t ask kids to do something you won‘t do. Interviewer: You can’t just lead from the desk. No, no Interviewer: What kind of casualties did you take? Not too bad, most of our casualties were from traffic. These kids would go up there with these—I forget how many gallons of fuel, and it‘s over a hundred miles or something like that, and they would empty that fuel and they would be coming down those mountainsides and all of a sudden they would fall asleep. 16:05 Whittt, I think we lost-killed, it was only two, but going off the side of those roads, at least a half a dozen, and of course, I got a kick out it, and I‘ll tell you how bad it was. You had an accident, or my outfit had an accident, the General would call me, nothing in between. You would expect—he was something else, he would say, ―Hey sarge, what are you doing out there?‖ And all this kind of stuff, and I would say, ―Here‘s what we‘re doing sir‖, ―Ok, 57 �make sure you keep doing that and cut down those god damn accidents, I don‘t care what you have to do‖, but never tell me why he didn‘t go through the Colonel or anybody else. Interviewer: What kind of guys did you have working for you? Great, great, when I first went there it was all volunteers, just about everybody. 17:01 And those kids, and believe me when I say this, I was beyond belief when I met them. They were willing, they were able, and they went. All you would have to do is say, ―We‘re going to‖—every day we set—I‘ll be perfectly honest with you—ninety-eight percent of our trucks, out of the fifty-eight trucks, went out every day, and we loaded them. Our biggest thing was to maintain them and get them going, and have those kids go up those roads and they went up there. Only in a few cases, and we put sandbags under their seats and all this kind of stuff, because every once in a while a truck would get hit, and a truck would go up with the sandbags and what they were using at the time didn‘t kill the whole crew, just ruined the truck. The trouble I had, well, not really trouble, some kid would come back after he‘s been hit like that and he‘s all shaken. 18:04 I let him rest for a day or two and then I‘d say, ―Come on‖, and I‘d take him up in a truck, next to him, so they can, you know, and they got over it, most of them. I don‘t know what they did when they got back, but the biggest thing—no, great kids, great, great, great guys, well, they weren‘t really kids, they were guys. I had a colored sergeant who was—who ran the operation and he was fantastic, a great guy. I had the best cook in the United States Army, and what we did, which was not kosher, I had a beer tent and we weren‘t supposed to have beer tents, you know. I use to sell beer for approximately ten cents a can. Where do we get the beer? 19:01 We would go down to the wharf, and what they would do, they bring a lot of this stuff in and there were no warehouses down 58 �in Qui Nhon, and they put it right up on the beach, and this stuff would be left out on the beach and boy, when it rained there man, monsoons, it would completely ruin the setup and all the beer cans would fall. We‘d go down there, and I‘ll never forget the sergeant, he said, ―You gotta clean up this damn place. I‘ll sell you the beer, fifty cents a front end loader‖. We go down, a big front end loader, and we‘d take all this beer, put it in the trucks, take it out, put it in the little tent I had for beer, sell it to the kids, get the money, and give it to Cooper. Cooper was the name of our mess sergeant, Cooper, give it to him. 20:06 He‘d go out on the local economy and you could not believe what this guy could do. He would get stuff, stuff to eat and stuff, but what he did, he‘d built this big mess hall, I got a picture of that thing, and it‘s unbelievable. Rock--and he‘d get the local guys that knew all about rock and stuff, and then we had people from around the area, engineers and other guys from other areas, and they would come in, and especially who use to come in was the guys from the—Koreans. What was it—the 1st Light Horse Division, they would come in and all eat with us. Man, he use to set up—he was the greatest cook I‘ve ever seen in my life. 21:00 We ate, and colonels came in and said, ―We gotta eat over here‖, and all this kind of stuff. Then another thing, I had another kid there that was just a great kid and he said—you know you had to have—where you crapped, you know and he built us a beautiful, I think it was an eight holer. It was all covered and everything else, it was great. I‘ll tell you a Lieutenant story, okay? We had this lieutenant come in who was supposed to take over, and he came in with a, ―I‘m a Lieutenant and this is what we‘re going to do‖, and all this stuff. The old Captain who we‘re running up and down all the time, he was so damn tired, he came in there and we said, ―Hey captain, we got a Lieutenant in here and he is gung ho and I think he‘s from 59 �West Point, I don‘t know‖. The Captain said, ―I‘ll handle him‖. 22:02 I said, ―Do you want me to kind of take care of this?‖ He said, ―How are you going to do it?‖ So, I said, ―What I‘ll do‖, I use to write all the orders up, ―You‘re supply, you‘re in charge of supply, voting, you‘re in charge‖, and we all give this to the Lieutenant and he‘d sign for everything, you know, he owned everything. I said, ―I‘ll make him fecal control officer‖. He said, ―What? There‘s no such thing‖, and I said, ―I know it and you know it, but we‘ll make him fecal control officer‖. He said, ―Come on‖, and I said, ―Do you want me to take care of him?‖ He said, ―Ok, go ahead‖, so I wrote all these orders up and handed them to the Lieutenant and he‘s going around and he said, ―Where‘s all the ammo and stuff?‖ I said, ―Over here‖, and pointing around, and he said, ―Wait a minute, what‘s this fecal control officer?‖ I said, ―Oh, that‘s local‖ and he said, ―What do you mean?‖ 23:06 I said, ―The battalion set this up‖, and he said, ―What is it?‖ I said, ―You know we feed the men so much food every day, we know how much they feed, but we want to know if they‘re all feeling ok‖, and he said, ―How do we do that?‖ the set up was, out of that eight thing we had fifty-five gallon drums cut in half and we‘d put them under the different places, and then we had a Vietnamese guy who would pull them out if they‘re getting kind of full and he‘d stack them up and as he‘s stack them up we had a combination of diesel fuel and he‘s burn all that stuff and then put them back. The Lieutenant said, ―Well, what‘s my job?‖ I said, ―Well, here‘s this measuring stick, find out how much is in each one‖. 24:08 He said, ―You‘re kidding‖, and I said, ―No, no, this is battalion headquarters if you want to check with them‖, and he said, ―No, no, no, why can‘t an enlisted man do this?‖ He was that type, and I said, ―No, they want an officer to make sure that they‘re getting the right measurement‖. I don‘t know how many 60 �days he did it and he finally came one day and he said, ―You son of a bitch‖, and I said, ―What‘s the matter?‖ He started laughing and he was never the same guy again, he was perfect and he started taking convoys. But, that‘s my story and he was the fecal control officer. Interviewer: Now, when you were stationed in these different places, did the camps you were bases at get hit by rockets or mortars periodically? Oh, well, yeah, actually Pleiku, you don‘t know there. 25:01 We set up bunkers and all that kind of stuff. We didn‘t—the only big hit we got, and you won‘t believe this, the Korean Army was there, you know, the Koreans, and they start shooting artillery over, and they would explode up over my damn tents and stuff and all the crap came down and we were ducking all over the place, but in Qui Nhon we were pretty well set up and we‘d have an alert or something like that, but we had bunkers and I made bunkers for what you were saying, and of course, if one of those things ever hit you direct, forget it anyway. But, these bunkers were—if they landed a little way off or something like that, but no, we never got hit out there, but Pleiku and Dak To now, you‘re dealing with boom, boom, boom, all kinds of crap. So anyway, that‘s the way--the kids going up, the big thing was either sniper, it depended where you were going, or something in the road. 26:07 I‘ll tell you a story about the Koreans. One of our trucks went up there and got hit, and that Captain came down and he wanted to know what happened and of course, I told him and he said, ―I‘ll take care of that‖, and he went back up there and I watched and he had all the guys with the, like they did in the old days with the bayonets, going up the road like that to find out if there were any mines up there. Then he said, ―I‘ll get the son of bitches‖, and I said, ―What are you going to do?‖ He said, ―Tomorrow night I‘m going to 61 �pull everybody off, there won‘t be anybody around this whole road and then we‘re going to sneak around to the side and nobody with weapons, nobody with a carbine or a weapon—knives‖, and he set this thing up and of course, these guys that were doing this were only fifteen, sixteen, eighteen years old at the most. 27:06 They would sneak down and do this kind of stuff. He‘s let them sneak through and then he‘s surround them, and then they went out with knives and killed every one of them. Man, those Vietnamese didn‘t want any part of them guys. That‘s just a little story I thought I‘d let you hear. Interviewer: When you got up to Pleiku or Dak To, did you ever get ground attack or sapper attacks or anything? No, no, no ground attacks, Dak To did, but I wasn‘t there. Then they had a couple of artillery bases that got hit up there. They were mostly worried about, like you called them, terrorists and stuff like that. But the Montagnards use to take care of it, anybody not—that didn‘t belong there. 28:01 Actually, the biggest part was going up those roads. Interviewer: Now, did you do like one twelve month tour up there? It was a thirteen month tour, and then I came back, what was it? In, this was 1967, and they shipped me out to Grand Rapids and I had the reserve center at Grand Rapids and then of course, I had the worst job I ever had in the army. The reserve wasn‘t bad, I got it kind of in my mind as I was looking around, and all the wheels had their kids in the reserves because they weren‘t calling them up. Lawyers' sons, and all the wheels, you know. Then of course, the word came down of the casualties. We‘d get it out of Madison, Wisconsin and they would call me and they‘d say, ―Here‘s what happened at so and so, go out to the house and explain it to whoever‘s there, and then come back and 62 �report to us what happened and all this kind of stuff. 29:08 Then they would send the telegram, but you‘d get there before the telegram. So, I did it I don‘t know how many times, I never did count, but I did it one time on Mother‘s Day and of course, when you drove up they knew immediately. The Mother‘s Day one, she just looked at me and she said, ―You don‘t have to tell me, I know‖, and her son who was with her at the time that I pulled up, was in the National Guard, locally and she took it real hard. Then of course, the idea was for me to offer whatever help I could get, and let them know when their son is coming in and all this kind of stuff, but I would get to some houses where they would all break down and one or two of them pounded on my chest and said, ―why couldn‘t it have been you?‖ And all this kind of stuff, and of course, everybody‘s screaming about Johnson, who was the President, and all this kind of stuff. 30:09 Ran into all kinds of stuff like that and that was a brutal army. You don‘t know what you‘re going to face when you go in there. I went all the way up to Traverse City and back. Most of these kids were the ones that got killed, were mostly lower echelon, you know what I mean, they weren‘t the—one Lieutenant, and he had a nice beautiful house, but the rest of them you could tell were working people, you know. The one I really got a kick out of—well, not a kick out of, but threw me off in a way. I pulled up to this house, it was like a little farm house and I look around and there‘s a big Mercedes over here, a Cadillac over there, and it‘s a little farmhouse. 31:04 I knock on the door and she says, ―Come on in, I know what you want‖, and I came in and she‘s in, I don‘t know what you call those outfits they wear in Hawaii, that long thing. She was a kind of heavy set woman and she had books everywhere, and she said, ―I told him not to go. I took him to the Democratic National Convention‖, and she was showing me books he had and stuff. I said what 63 �happened, that he had been killed and all this stuff, and I said, ―He will be on the west coast in a day or two and we‘ll ship him in‖, and she said, ―I‘m going on vacation, have him cremated on the west coast‖, and I‘m kind of solemn. Then there would be cases where they are all upset and pounding on, and all this kind of stuff. ―I got to tell my husband, he‘s not here, we‘re divorced‖, and comes Monday morning and they are fighting over who‘s going to get the damn insurance money, so that went on. 32:14 Interviewer: How long did you do that job? For that almost two years I was here in Grand Rapids. A lot of them and it just got to me. I was kind of fed up with the whole thing, you know. Interviewer: What was your impression of the war itself by then? Well of course, I was a professional, I mean I figured if they told me, this is where you‘re going to go and this is what you‘re going to do. The political consequences of the war never bothered me. I said, ―We‘re going to do our job‖. The thing that I use to—well, I was used to being in an army that went forward, so we would go up and engage with our troops as support and all this kind of stuff, and take some place and then the next thing is we‘re turning back to where we came before. 33:09 They used to say, ―Hay sarge, when are we going up to Pleiku? When are we going all the way up?‖ I‘d say, ―Boy I don‘t know‖, and then we‘re getting all this stuff with the bombing runs and all this stuff, so that was really frustrating trying to hold the morale up because they understand that what they were putting out and then have to come back to the same place again. So, that really got me and then when I got back here and I saw what was happening in the reserve center right here in Grand Rapids, and then what I was doing with the kids out in the—it really began to shake me and I was beginning to say, ―This is not the army I used to 64 �know‖. 34:01 You know, the one where you went in and did the job and went all the way and victory. Then I was here two years doing that kind of stuff and then going back to Korea. I went back to Korea, and of course, everything was changed in Korea. They were modernizing everything, my God. It was different, we were—there was Arbor Day, they had an Arbor Day and we were helping them plant trees, they had an Arbor Day just like we do. We‘d go to the village and say we need this and this and we‘d get it and take it to them and they would plant trees. They were getting—getting into Seoul, I couldn‘t believe it and then I couldn‘t believe Seoul, and then of course, the roads were all paved. They had us on Wolmido Island, yeah, and then what really got me were Johnson and his buddy who was running the war, decided they were going to take a bunch of kids who were below seventy IQ. 35:15 We began to get some of them and that was horrendous. These kids were crying or they‘d be on dope and all this kind of stuff. We were supposed to send them to school in the afternoon and the Army‘s not set up for that kind of stuff. I looked at this and I began to whoo, and coming back from Korea the second time, I called the Pentagon and told them, ―I‘m retiring‖, and they said, ―Ok‖. Interviewer: Now, had they wanted you to go back to Vietnam at that point? Yes, oh yes—well I had called and I said, ―How long am I going to be at home?‖ ―The most we can give you is nine months‖, so I said, ―Oh shit, then what will we do?‖ 36:09 Well, the point was we were evacuating and I said, ―That‘s not my Army. My army‘s not evacuating, I‘m not going to go over there and give up, that‘s just‖, but after that Nixon, of all people, got the all-volunteer army and now we got the best bunch of kids—I‘ve been down to Fort Bragg here a year or two ago, which my daughter was part of, what a 65 �bunch of kids we got now, they‘re fantastic. The best army we‘ve ever had, the best navy, the best everything we‘ve got right now, and I‘d join it in a minute. Interviewer: What did you wind up doing after you retired out of the military? Well, I got here in Grand Rapids and I—did you ever hear of Thornapple Valley Meats? Well anyway, they made hotdogs and stuff. 37:00 Interviewer: Yeah, yeah They wanted to set up security for the plants, so I set up the security for them and I had a bunch of guards and all this kind of stuff. Then MIOSHA safety, I became the safety director and I dealt with the government. I took care of MIOSHA and stuff and it was like a regular job, back and forth. All that time I could never understand, this is dull, but it was a regular, regular job and I did all right by it, because the people at Thornapple Valley showed me how to invest, so I whipped, not a great one, but I got a little 401k, I got the army pension, which is not a great amount of money, but it‘s nice. The other thing is, I also draw some Agent Orange money. I applied for the Agent Orange stuff because I got sugar diabetes, which they hooked up with the Agent Orange, and here I am today. 38:05 I guess you could play the song. Interviewer: I’ll tell you, you’ve gone almost the entire three hour tape here, and you’ve told one heck of a story. Is that right? That‘s my life, let‘s see, what else, oh—some of the stuff, like I‘ve met Roy Rogers. When I was at Walter Reed he came for a Sunday service, and I took care of him and his horse. Let‘s see, Nixon, I met Nixon, I had the, I don‘t know how you‘d put this, but Kennedy came to Berlin and we had to take care of him too, so I met all those people. Nixon, I said Nixon, and did you ever hear of Bedell Smith? 66 �Interviewer: Yes You did? Interviewer: One of Eisenhower’s aides. He—was the top one—well; I got to tell you a little story. I‘m at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and one day there‘s a clamp down-boom. Don‘t go in this door; don‘t go in that door and I thought, ―What the hell‘s going on?‖ Churchill was coming, so Churchill arrives, I don‘t know what it‘s all about, but I see him come through the door, I never met him, but I seen him. He came through the door and I finally got the word what it was all about. Bedell Smith was dying and he had been the CIA man. They had an Admiral who first started the CIA and then he screwed it all up. They brought Bedell Smith in and he knew all the secrets in the world I guess and they really covered him because I guess he was getting Alzheimer‘s. 40:08 They didn‘t want him to—and it wasn‘t too long and he died there, but I was surprised, they really clamped down. I thought, ―Who the hell?‖ I knew Bedell Smith to be the Chief of Staff and the—but boy, he—and of course, Eisenhower came there and who else? I‘m trying to think, oh, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the use to come up with the programs, you know, and we would support them when I was at Walter Reed, and Dean Martin was just like you know him. He could care less, didn‘t want to go practice or nothing. The other guy was something else, get this done, do this, do this. 41:02 I like old Dean Martin, but I didn‘t like the other guy too much. So I met them all, Pearl Mesta, you know, and all these people and they all came there, you know what I mean, that‘s the end, if you can‘t make it there, or at least at that time, you couldn‘t make it. Those are some of my experiences and here I am a dumb, I mean, a dumb kid from Boston. I went to school in East Boston, but really, 67 �when I left there, I mean, I didn‘t know noth‘n, and I got a degree in the army. The army taught me how to read, how to write, how to be responsible and I just loved the army when it was a winner, you know what I mean. Well, you know the story, so I kept going and if it was today‘s army I‘d join it tomorrow morning. 42:04 But, I‘m an old—I‘ll be eighty-five next month and I‘m too far gone, but I back them up now, don‘t get me wrong, and I try to do the best I can for them. Interviewer: Well, thank you for coming in and sharing your story here. Well, I‘ll tell you what happened. My grandkids are the ones that really pushed me to it, because, you know, they keep asking me these different questions. Oh, and two of my kids were born at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, one in Berlin, one in Topeka, and one in Grand Rapids, and my daughter, right now, is a bomb disposal expert and she‘s been in Iraq and spent a year there, so we‘re still in the military, and Patsy‘s father, of the woman I married, he was a Full Colonel in the army. D-Day, he went through the whole thing, so we‘re all family and we can go back to the Civil War if we have to. So, that‘s us, we‘re not rich, but I‘m happy. Interviewer: Alright, and I thank you very much. You‘re welcome and I just hope I haven‘t bored you with a lot of this. Interviewer: Not at all 43:18 68 � 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 MorrinE Title A name given to the resource Morrin, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morrin, Edward Description An account of the resource Edward Morrin was born in East Boston, Massachusetts on June 21st, 1926. At the outbreak of World War II, Morrin attempted to enlist but the Army denied him because he was only seventeen and needed permission from his parents, although both his parents were dead; however, the Army eventually accepted him. Once finished with training at Fort Wheeler, Georgia, Morrin deployed to the European theater, remaining until after the end of the war, including helping with security during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. After returning home, Morrin initially got out of active duty but re-enlisted after the Korean War began and made his way to Korea, where he served as an MP. Following the tour Korea, Morrin returned to the United States and served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. as an MP and ambulance driver. After Walter Reed, Morrin had another tour in Korea before returning to the medical center. Eventually, Morrin received orders for Germany and deployed to Berlin, where he was stationed while the Soviet Union and East Germany built the Berlin Wall. When he returned from Germany, Morrin received orders for Vietnam and deployed to the country for a year. Finally, after his tour in Vietnam was complete, Morrin returned to the United States and received an assignment to work with the Reserve forces in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where one of his assignments was delivering news of a soldier's death to his family. However, the job took a toll on Morrin and after two years, he asked for his discharge, which he received. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.) WKTV WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05-19 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c5b54e2c3c49f20e5ef387c7e97c0fc.m4v 7922fc54c8b8d6e9da88b8d350c5b2fa https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09d67de4b6589e26ef6e3985068f28a5.pdf 9f89a9205b2e50a74b39512d7e775bcf PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Interviewee Name: Wyatt Morren Name of War: Vietnam War Length of Interview: (00:35:16) (00:25) Background Information    Wyatt was born on April 12, 1947 in New Orleans He was 18 when he enlisted in the Army in 1965 Wyatt became a sergeant first class and spent 8 years in Europe, 1 year in Panama, and 26 months in Vietnam (2:35) Training  Wyatt trained at Fort Knox in Kentucky from May 1965-December 1965  Boot camp was kind of scary at first, but also very exciting  They spent much time exercising, working on rifle training, and combat operations  Wyatt also went through technical training for tank maintenance at Fort Benning, Georgia (4:40) Vietnam  Wyatt had been sent to Germany for a few months before he was sent to Vietnam to work on a Forward Maintenance Unit  It was very exciting for him to be in foreign countries that were so different from the US  Wyatt was in Vietnam from 1966-68 and then he worked in Panama for 1 year  He was then sent to Vietnam for another 6 months until he had been wounded  Wyatt was wounded when the Vietcong had broken through their perimeter and an explosion caused shrapnel to hit him in the face and he dislocated his knee  He spent time in various hospitals recuperating for 6 months and then spent 6 years as an instructor in Texas  After working in Texas Wyatt was sent to Europe for 8 years, until he returned to Texas and retired (9:10) Average Days  The food was tolerable, but terrible when they had to eat c-rations  They usually had enough supplies and only seldom would their supply train be unable to keep up with them  Wyatt was only able to call his family about twice a year, so he often wrote home  If they ever had free time, they would play cards, listen to the radio, or go swimming �(14:20) Europe  Wyatt worked in Europe where he helped stand guard near Czechoslovakia  He was part of an artillery unit, but they never saw any real combat  They diligently practiced combat situations that might develop out of the Cold War  They knew their enemy was watching and they wanted to deter any fighting (16:10) Panama  Wyatt worked guarding the Canal Zone, watching for rebel attacks  They guarded the ports of entry near the Pacific and Atlantic, trying to deter terrorist attacks  They only had real problems when there was an election occurring and political riots would erupt (17:45) Traveling  The men could take leave often between transfers and were allowed 30 days off a year  Wyatt traveled around Europe and found he liked Germany the best  He visited Bavaria, Munich, and watched the Winter Olympics  It was a very beautiful country and he enjoyed learning about its history and architecture (21:55) Retirement  Wyatt retired when he was 37 years old in September of 1987  It was a very strange feeling to have to go to work the next day when he had been doing the same thing every day for 20 years  Wyatt had been living with his wife, who was also in the military, near Fort Hood, Texas  They had gotten married in Denmark, had a child in Germany, and another in Texas  They eventually moved to Michigan and Wyatt got a job working for the United States Postal Service � 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 MorrenW Title A name given to the resource Morren, Wyatt (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morren, Wyatt Description An account of the resource Wyatt Morren was born on April 12, 1947 in New Orleans. He enlisted in the Army when he was 19 years old in 1965. Wyatt went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and then through technical training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After training Wyatt worked in Germany for a few months before he was transferred to Vietnam in 1966. He fought in Vietnam for almost 2 years and was then sent to work on guard duty in Panama. Wyatt also worked in Europe during the Cold War for 8 years and was an instructor in Texas. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ganzevoort, Jessica (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-05-21 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/57b9a689a5f93da0caf9cbdfd8dca434.mp4 cd9bc5011a3c719584100ed5e9531321 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/92352f1a68dfbfa1bc7cc5547b9569d8.pdf 946bb18b5be4abe8b8db390abbd4309e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Notes Length: 7:35 Daniel John Morley Veteran United States Army; 1987 to1993 (0:00) Life before the service (0:30) West Point Military Academy • 19 years old • Picked West Point because of prestige • Discusses the strict regulations and military training like jumping out of airplanes, rappelling from helicopters, etc. • Learned discipline and teamwork • Never fought in war (4:24) After serving • Became a teacher • Father of three (5:35) Most memorable moment at West Point • Near death experience during training at West Point o Military training accidents are often known as “acceptable losses” • Jumped out of airplane with the wrong parachute. The one Morley jumped with was actually a better parachute however it was not one that he had practiced using. When he looked up at the canopy, Morley saw two huge holes (which was how this parachute was designed but Morley was not familiar with this design). Morley grabbed his reserve parachute and was about to release it but paused. At that moment, the parachute with the two holes in it began working. • Had he released his reserve parachute, the two parachutes would have gotten tangled and he would have died. (6:41) Closing • Brief discussion about the rigors of freshman year at West Point • Advice to students � 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 MorleyD1 Title A name given to the resource Morley, Daniel John (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2006 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morley, Daniel Description An account of the resource Daniel John Morley served in the United States Army from 1987 to 1993, earning the title of 2nd Lieutenant. In this interview, Morley discusses his four years at West Point Military Academy; the rigors of the program and the intense training that included jumping out of airplanes and helicopters. One of the most memorable moments in his military career was jumping out of an airplane during training with the wrong parachute. Morley never saw combat. After the service, he became a teacher. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bacans, Lauren (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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Veterans United States. Army 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 2006-05-30 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/63979a3008ceb57733875da0c4dc6e79.mp4 3ea74b54927b7d77c6869e81f21f7a1d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf4094fb37ac3388f06fd5be6b136fa9.pdf 4533be696599ddd0c46d65cf155cfe39 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Stephen Nyenhuis Total Time – (38:41) Background      He was born on April 11, 1949 (00:04) He was born in Princeton, Minnesota (00:27) o At the age of 2, his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan In Grand Rapids he went to Southwest Christian High School until the sixth grade (00:53) o He then attended South High School in Grand Rapids (01:00) o Halfway through the eighth grade he quit school He worked for a bakery, laundromat, and then was drafted into the Army (01:16) He had three brothers o His oldest brother has passed away o His brother Mark served in the military for four years (01:50)  He served in West Berlin decoding messages Enlistment/Training – (02:32)       He served in Vietnam from April 1969 – May 31, 1970 (02:40) When he was drafted it just felt like it was something he had to do for the country (03:11) o His family was very proud of him When he left for Vietnam he was very sad (03:36) o Once he got going he felt better o His brothers were very sad when he left o They were able to stay in contact (03:58) He was transported from Grand Rapids to Detroit via bus (04:18) o In Detroit he received his physical o After a few days he received his orders to go to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training He spent eight weeks in Fort Knox for basic training (04:37) Basic training was fun and easy for him compared to other units o There was a lot of testing o They would do physical exercising, marching, etc. (05:02) �      o Looking back, he wishes that he would have been part of a unit that had more rigorous training – he would feel like he was more a part of the service (05:52)  Most of the time he did just enough to get by He then spent twelve weeks in AIT (Advanced Individual Training) (06:13) o In AIT he spent a lot of time in classrooms, doing tests to see what his strengths were, etc. o After the testing he was told that he was best suited for being a typist He went to his Company Commander and they mutually decided to send him to another base where he could be a military policeman (07:05) o He was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia (07:16) After a background check at Fort Gordon, they found that his background check was not good enough to be an MP He was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana to learn how to be a truck driver (07:38) In between Fort Gordon and Fort Polk he served on coal duty o He was at Fort Polk for eight-ten weeks After a two week break he returned to Fort Polk where he received his orders for Vietnam (09:04) o At the time he was glad to go because he felt like he was serving his country (09:35) o If he had to do it over again he would go to Canada (09:48)  He believes that America “has no business sticking our noses in other peoples countries when our own country is in such chaos” (10:06)  He believes that most wars are just for financial gain Active Duty – (10:32)     He was sent from Oakland, California to Anchorage, Alaska to Japan, and eventually landed in Vietnam The flight over was cheerful because the stewardesses would try to keep the soldiers in a happy mood (10:59) o They knew that some of the soldiers would not return Many of the Vietnamese people spoke English (11:35) o He was able to learn some of the Vietnamese language The Vietnamese were nice to the Americans when they were working for them (12:04) o In combat areas some Vietnamese would go to help the Americans – once they were on the American bases they would be found out to be North Vietnamese trying to kill Americans o He never came in contact with Vietnamese that were unfriendly (12:55) o Sometimes the Vietnamese seemed happy that the Americans were there o There were women that would go in and wash their things o There were Vietnamese that would help the Americans load supplies (13:37) �             They would be paid to help He received his money from the Army – they were paid once a month (14:11) o He made roughly $350 every month (14:18) o There were PX’s (Post Exchange) where soldiers could spend their money  Soldiers could buy cigarettes, alcohol, and just about anything o Soldiers could save up their money and go on vacation (14:46) He was in Vietnam for thirteen months o He extended for twenty-eight days so that he could get “Early Out” (15:08) o He found out about the Early Out six months after he was in Vietnam When he found out that he would leave early he was happy (16:24) o He was excited to go home and try to be a normal person again His main job in Vietnam was to drive a Sergeant major and a Major around o He never really had to drive them very much – he just had to keep the vehicle clean (16:50) o He would sometimes drive them to airports (17:16) o He never had conversations with them He then transferred to a transportation outfit hoping to go on convoys (17:55) During the last two months that he was in Vietnam he fixed flat tires (18:24) o They would go to a few outposts but they would mostly pick up supplies that came in on airplanes o They would pick up 2x4 plywood, tools, etc. (19:07) On the convoys, there were usually two vehicles in front that were meant for protection o There would be 5-20 vehicles in the convoy and two vehicles for protection in the back as well o The significance of a convoy was to supply outposts that were running low on supplies (19:57) o The convoys never ran into any kind of combat or warfare He sometimes wishes that he had gone into the combat o He believes that it will not show on his record but he had requested to be transferred to a combat unit (20:43)  He was turned down for the combat unit o If he had gone into combat and done some of the things that were in his thoughts at the time, there is a good chance that he could not live with himself (21:35)  He believes he would have been the type of person that would cut ears off and wear them around his neck (21:47) His daily routine was to get up early, eat breakfast, and receive orders His job of fixing flat tires was essentially an eight hour/day job (23:11) There were no other men in his unit that expressed a desire to go into combat (24:23) o The soldiers typically did what they had to do to get by He was able to form relationships with a couple of other soldiers, but for the most part he was “a loner” (24:39) o To this day he is still “a loner” � At the time, Vietnam was what the country asked him to do so he did not question it (25:20) o He was simply doing what his country asked of him After the Service – (25:36)                  After he served in Vietnam and came back, he did not do much for a few months (25:54) He eventually returned to his job at the bakery (26:02) o He stayed at the bakery for one year He took a lot of different jobs and spent a lot of time hitchhiking around the United States (26:17) When he returned his family met him at the airport (26:36) o His church had a welcome back for him as well He was able to maintain contact with his family while in Vietnam o He received roughly one letter every week from his family (27:41) o He would sometimes get mail from other people as well o It would typically take 3-4 days to receive a letter It was difficult to adjust to civilian life o He was torn up inside (28:25) Roughly two years after he returned he joined the Army Reserve for one year (28:45) He did six months in the National Guard o In Gaylord, Michigan they went and did some maneuvering and drills o He was able to keep up with training even though he was not in the military (29:34) When he first returned home he was very willing to go back to Vietnam o He sometimes wishes that he would have reenlisted so that another person would not have to go to Vietnam (29:56) When he looks back at the war he is sad and confused (30:13) He had a lot of anger inside of him during the war Even though he did not see combat he believes that the war changed him as a person (30:53) It was hard for him to maintain a job because he struggles with keeping his work life separate from his private life (32:37) He found most of his jobs on his own (33:04) In 1994 there was a special program for Vietnam veterans that struggled with substance abuse, alcohol abuse, or mental problems o He stayed in the program for nearly a year and a half (33:32) o The military service helped him in some ways To this day Vietnam effects him He does not believe the military owes him anything for his experiences in Vietnam (34:23) �   o He believes that it is his own problem – he gets overwhelmed and does not know how to handle things very well o Some of his problems come from substance abuse, depression, and some others (34:54) He is not sure why Vietnam has changed him He will always support American troops but he thinks that wars today are senseless (36:17) o The wars are causing a lot of problems in the United States o Many of the soldiers are coming home with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) He knows that there must be some kind of military presence but he feels like American should take care of itself first (37:46) � 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 NyenhuisS1424V Title A name given to the resource Nyenhuis, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nyenhuis, Stephen Description An account of the resource Stephen Nyenhuis was born in 1949 in Princeton, Minnesota. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and was eventually drafted into the Army in 1969. Stephen was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for eight weeks of basic training and was then sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia for AIT training. He then transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana where he learned to be a truck driver. After his training at Fort Polk, he received his orders for Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Stephen worked in convoys transporting supplies and near the end of his service he fixed flat tires. Because of his duties he never saw combat. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hall, Tabitha (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 2012-04-21 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/8d168eed82105904cdb00145da05435c.mp4 04fc75a0d6f479c0b8db26b650c64ef6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0f0a4bebb54e5f61748daa4c59a2798e.pdf a34d47390336445fea63a9bd9703facb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Don Morell (01:00:18) (00:10) Background Information • Don was born in Ludington, MI in 1926 and raised in Muskegon, MI • His father worked in a factory • Don had been at church when Pearl Harbor was attacked and realized that he wanted to join the Navy • Don did not finish high school, but enlisted in 1944 when he was 17 year old (6:30)Great Lakes Naval base in Chicago, IL • Don went through basic training in January for six weeks • They only had basic training and no time for any advanced training • Don was taught Navy rules and guidelines, weaponry, physical exercises, and spent a short amount of time on nautical knots • They were then shipped to California and waiting to go overseas • Don waited about six weeks in California and was able to go out at night to watch movies (11:00) Overseas • Don boarded a troop transport ship and left California • He did not know anyone on the boat and the water was very rough; many people were getting sick • They arrived in Pearl Harbor in April and it was a beautiful place, though there was still much damage from the attack • Don was then called to be a passenger on a sub, which was strange because only he and one other man were pulled • They later found out that they were going to Midway, but did not know why they were chosen • Don chose to work in submarine service so that he would not be stuck on the small island of Midway • He was assigned to a Submarine Relief Crew to help prep subs for switching over crews and locations (16:05) Midway • Don was sent to Midway and continued to help switch over crews on subs • He was there during his 18th birthday, which was D Day in Europe • Don worked at Midway for six months until December 1 • He spent much time fishing, catching tuna, shark, and dolphin • Don was later brought back to Pearl Harbor to form a new Squadron Relief Crew (18:45) Brisbane, Australia • Don then traveled to Australia and took a train across the country to Perth �• • • • • Every area of Australia had different gauges on the trains, so they constantly had to switch to different trains as they traveled Don traveled along the coast through Sydney, Melbourne, and through the desert They ate mutton three times a day and it made many of the men sick Don continued to work on refitting submarines and was eventually called out to go on submarine service He was not worried at the time, but later learned that 1 in 5 subs were sank (24:40) First Submarine Patrol • Don had been very eager to go out on his first sub patrol • On the first night they had damaged a small freighter and after a destroyer had been looking for them the next day; they sank the destroyer • The Americans were very much in control of the Japanese shipping lanes • Don was a lookout, working one hour on and one hour off • He learned a lot while he worked on the sub because he had such a short training experience in Chicago • Don also worked on the air manifold (31:10) Sinking Ships • Altogether they sank about 11 ships • After sinking a ship, they could expect a depth charge attack • There were about 4 depth charge attacks that were quite close • The worst experience was when they had been on the surface and the radar had not picked up a plane nearby, which dropped two bombs very close to the sub • The sub was usually submerged during the day and on the surface at night (36:50) Daily Sub Life • Don did not mind being submerged for half the time and not seeing sunlight; he slept most of the time • The men spent time watching movies, reading, and playing cards • Free time was boring and most of the men slept for 12 hours a day • They had two large meals a day at 8 am and 8 pm (44:20) End of the War • Don had R & R in Australia for two weeks and really had a great time • The Australians were very nice and treated the Americans well • He had been in Australia when the war ended and the bars had to close early because they were all out of beer and liquor • Don was then sent back to the US through the Panama Canal • Everyone that 18 months or more overseas was immediately discharged • Those who were older or had dependants were then discharged • Don was still only 18 years old and so he had to continue working • He was decommissioning submarines for about 6 hours a day and had nights off (50:50) Discharged May 1946 �• • • After being discharged, Don traveled back to Muskegon and began working for the telephone company for about four months He then worked for a friend in a heating outfit for a few months and later opened his own heating company, where he worked until he retired Don joined the VFW and the Submarines Veterans of World War II � 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 MorellD Title A name given to the resource Morell, Don (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morell, Don Description An account of the resource Don Morell was born in Ludington, MI in 1926 and joined the Navy in 1944 when he was only 17 years old. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, IL for basic training for about six weeks. Dan only received basic training and was then sent to Pearl Harbor. He was then chosen for submarine service, where he worked on submarines through the transitions of crews and locations. Dan worked in Midway and Australia during the war in the Pacific, went on several submarine patrols and was discharged in May of 1946. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum (Muskegon, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-09-18 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/925fe6da20f44e48f8c26928f4bce978.mp4 bbd0e2708756cb53e124cb96e1a9dc60 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/35a3304ee539352191fa8c899b97d3b2.pdf d314cb7d7bc8eb855a72653d7d6c0c1d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ernest Nunley (01:02:35) (00:15) Background Information • Ernest was in the 5th service squadron of the 8th Air Force during World War Two • He started out as a private and ended as a sergeant • Ernest was inducted in Oklahoma City on December 4, 1941 • He began basic training when Pearl Harbor was attacked • He spent 6 months in Mississippi for basic training and then went to Virginia • He spent 4 months in Syracuse New York and then went to Fort Dix in New Jersey • The trip overseas took 4 days and he was told that the ship held 23,000 [ed. note the largest ships only carried 3,000 or so] troops (5:15) 5 Months in NE England • There was an air raid right after they reached their barracks • They got the next day off and went into town to visit • Then they moved south to an air base, where they stayed for 2 years, or the duration of the war • Ernest traveled with a convoy to Germany, where he stayed for four months after the war • He was then sent to Camp Lucky Strike in France for 1 month and then went back to the US • Everyone was sick on the trip back home • There was a big storm and they were getting ready to abandon ship • He was discharged on December 17, 1945 and he then went to Alabama (13:40) The Air Force • Ernest was able to make his own decisions regarding where he would be stationed and training because he had enlisted before being drafted • The Air Force [Army Air Corps at this time] had told them that they would send him to school, but that never happened • On his first day in the service, they received immunization shots and their uniforms • He got some time on furlough in Syracuse because his dad had a heart attack (17:20) Boot Camp • Boot Camp was very rough and there was lots of marching • It was very hot and they had to work all day long • He sometimes had KP from 2am until 10pm; they had to feed 3,000 troops • They had to clean pots that were 8 feet wide and 6 feet tall • Ernest communicated with his family by mail (26:00) England • The country was similar to the US, but there was less technology �• • • • The English were all very strong He was a welder in a shop that worked on repairing planes Ernest never experienced any combat During Christmas of 1944, many bombs his their air base and killed a whole crew (41:05) Crew Members • They wanted to get him drunk because they knew that he did not drink that much • They slipped him a bunch of whiskey at a dance and he had to ride his bike home • He woke up the next day on the road next to his bike (43:50) Entertainment • There were dancing and music entertainers; Bob Hope and Joan Stafford • They made friends with some of the locals and Ernest was invited to a wedding ceremony • He was able to go to Scotland on leave for 3 days (50:45) Showing of Pictures � 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 NunleyE Title A name given to the resource Nunley, Ernest (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nunley, Ernest L. Description An account of the resource Ernest Nunley served in the Army Air Corps during WW II. He worked on an airbase in England with the 5th Service Squadron, 8th Air Force, and was stationed in Germany after the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hoard, Kristen M. (Interviewer) First Baptist Church of Otsego (Otsego, 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. 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 Text Moving Image Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-11-06 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/3e97056b345a610267013bc97a4da33e.mp4 095ae122577bae7ceea0f6dcd976812f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/278c47178c0be32e2c8e58fcc9687ca3.pdf c51632e1fc4feb121d82f110d514f81c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Leonard Moore Total Time – (01:02:31) Background • • • • • He was born in Rockingham, North Carolina on October 24, 1949 (00:23) o He grew up in Rockingham His parents were farmers (00:41) o They operated a dairy and tobacco farm There were five boys and two girls in his family (00:48) o He was the second oldest He went to school in Rockingham o He played sports and goofed off in high school (01:12) o He knew what was going on in Vietnam, but he did not know the details (01:22) His father was a World War II veteran (01:26) Enlistment/Training – (01:33) • • • • • • • He volunteered for the draft in March of 1969 (01:46) His father did not have a lot to say about him being drafted He went to basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (02:00) His first impression of basic training was that it was rough and demanding o He was in good shape and did not have problems with the physical aspects (02:16) There were enlisted Reserves and National Guard, but he majority of the men were draftees o They were from all over the country  There were a lot from the Northeast (02:41)  They were harder on the men from the Northeast Basic training consisted of push-ups, running, classes, rifle range, etc. o He did not find many of these activities very difficult o There were roughly five men that were recycled (03:15)  Primarily due to P.T. (Physical Training) difficulties Basic training lasted eight weeks (03:28) �• • • • • • • • • • o He received a thirty day leave after basic training He was ordered to go to Fort Gordon, Georgia for AIT [advanced individual training] (03:53) o His MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) was 11 Bravo (Infantry) The training at Fort Gordon was a little different o They were treated a little better (04:13) Some of the trainers were Vietnam veterans (04:26) The infantry training at Fort Gordon consisted of a lot of the same activities as basic training o They did not spend a lot of time in the field (04:53) He had caught pneumonia in basic training and never had to do the bivouac training (05:15) o He was in a hospital for nearly a week (05:28) The racial mix of the basic and AIT training had around twenty-five percent blacks (06:06) o There were no Hispanics o There was not very much racial tension AIT lasted eight weeks long He received his orders for Vietnam (06:55) The AIT training was more beneficial than the training in basic training He reported to Fort Lewis, Washington (07:37) o Soldiers would just lay around and wait for their name to be called out o He waited for nearly six days before his name was called (07:54) Active Duty – Firebase Erskine – (08:04) • • • • • He flew to Vietnam o They stopped in Japan and then went to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam (08:10) His first impression of Vietnam was when he was inside the airplane o He could feel the heat coming through the plane and he could smell the country (08:22) o It was hotter in Vietnam than it was in North Carolina o He arrived in August of 1969 (08:46) When he arrived in Cam Ranh Bay, the soldiers immediately went to Proficiency Training (08:53) o The training lasted for roughly one week o It consisted of walking trails, setting up ambushes, and general infantry skills (09:01) The training was not that much different than basic or AIT training He was then assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (09:50) o He knew that the 101st had been involved in Hamburger Hill and he knew that he may be going to a hot spot (10:02) o Most of the soldiers in the 101st did not go to jump school �• • • • • • He traveled in a C130 from Cam Ranh Bay to Phu Bai (10:30) o He was at Camp Eagle o He then took another C130 to Camp Evans (10:47) o He was assigned to the 187th Infantry Regiment (10:54) He then met his unit at Firebase Erskine (11:11) o It took him nearly a week and a half to get there o He would do details around Camp Evans until he could meet up with his unit (11:26) He was not received very well when he got there (11:40) o The morale in the unit was terrible o The unit had gone through the Hamburger Hill battle o Some of the men would go to sleep on guard duty (11:55) o Many of the men did not want to fight alongside a new guy (12:02) Falling asleep on guard duty was “more or less tolerated” He had to go on some hikes around the firebase to do scouting (12:42) o There was no combat going on at the firebase He was at Firebase Erskine for nearly a week (13:08) Active Duty – Quick Reaction Force – (13:15) • • • • • • • Lt. Hightower told him that they were starting a Quick Reaction Force at Camp Evans (13:18) o No one volunteered for the job training o He was asked if he would do it (13:46)  He agreed to go o They were supposed to pick their best men for the job (14:05)  They chose some new guys and outcasts from the company o There were only two sent out of his company o He did not have to go, but he did not know any better (14:32) When he joined the B Company, his basic load was his food, his water, ammo, smoke grenades, hand grenades, and some personal items o He was carrying around seventy-five to one hundred pounds (15:18) o They would often carry fifteen rations of food He did not have any problems adjusting to the climate (16:13) He was the only replacement in the company He was there for one week until he volunteered for the quick reaction force o He returned to Camp Evans He had to go through training – stream crossings, shooting certain guns, map reading, communications, etc. (17:39) o There were thirty men in the unit o They were from a variety of brigades (18:06) It was obvious that some of the men were rejects from other companies o They were worthless (18:30) o They would not pull their own weight and they had attitudes �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • o The majority of the men were good soldiers When they did not have a call for action, they were always in training (19:14) He was a gunner on a Loach (20:03) o He was new and no one else wanted to do it o He did a lot of training on aerial gunnery (20:48) o He would shoot ammo cans or anything else (20:56) o The Loach allows for free-form shooting He would get airsick in the Loach (21:47) As a gunner, he would wear a flak jacket (22:02) The role of the Loach was to give fire support and report what was going on on the ground (22:26) They would fly low with the Loach and try to find trails, bunkers, or anything else (22:51) o Their main job was to draw fire so that they could know where the enemy was at The Loaches worked in two sets o One loach would fly low as bait and the other would fly higher (23:19) o When the low Loach would get shot at, a Cobra would come in behind them and open fire (23:28) A lot of the time they did not realize they were taking fire because the Loach was so loud (24:50) The majority of the work was done in the mountains (24:28) o They would sometimes go in the flatlands between Camp Evans and the ocean (24:32) Most of the time the soldiers on the Loach just looked at treetops all day (25:22) o It was hard to see through the triple canopy jungle He was a gunner, but he also had to observe (25:38) The Loach only had the pilot and the gunner (25:49) The infantry minicav strategy worked and was used regularly (26:32) The Loaches were not going to be used with the minicav any longer o Because they no longer needed a Loach gunner, he was sent to CLC (Combat Leadership Class) at Camp Evans (27:10)  It consisted of map reading, communication, and other training  The training was to become a squad leader  The course was a week long (27:34) The minicav was a voluntary position and no one needed to stay The minicav had totally lost the air power component (27:53) He volunteered to be a gunner on a Huey (28:47) There was a time when he had been shot down in a Loach o The Loach hit a tree and went down (29:24) o He did not get hurt in the crash o While he was down on the ground, the minicav was only four hundred yards away o They had been scouting for a minicav operation that was already going on (30:17) �• • • • o He got to go back to Camp Evans o The Loach was extracted When a Loach would spot the enemy, if they were close enough they would start shooting o Cobras would then come in and tear up the entire area (31:34) When scouting, he only saw the enemy around four or five times o He spent nearly half of his tour in the Loach (32:36) The minicab had very poor leadership The Lieutenant would not go into the field with his soldiers (34:12) o He would gamble and cheat – it broke all confidence and trust with people o Roughly ten to twelve men left because of him Active Duty – Aboard a Huey – Firebase Ripcord – (35:03) • • • • • • • • • • • • He had to go to aviation and get permission to be a gunner on the Huey o He went to his Commanding officer for permission (35:25) The Huey was a lot safer than the Loach o The Huey does not get low and look for enemy activity (35:55) o The troop carriers get low and land at the LZs The majority of the time, he flew for the Colonel of the 3rd Brigade (37:07) The Huey would take occasional trips to Firebase Ripcord On June 7th, 1970, he was north of Firebase Ripcord when his Huey was hit with an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) (38:40) o The rocket blew a hole in the top of the Huey o They crash landed  Everyone aboard was wounded  A Huey could not make it to where they were – A Loach was sent on three different trips to get the men (39:11) o He was taken to the hospital for a month  He had shrapnel in his leg, arm, and back (39:23)  The injuries were not life threatening  He did not wear his flak jacket that day The American forces were on the ground where they went down (40:07) o The enemy was on the other side of the river The men were taken to a med station at Camp Evans before he went to the hospital at Da Nang, Vietnam (41:07) o He stayed in Da Nang for five days o He was then sent south to a rehab hospital The hospital in Da Nang was a nice hospital (41:52) When he was in the south he never left the base The soldiers would have to go out and pull bunker guard at night (42:31) He remained in the south for nearly three weeks He was able to stay in contact with his family during his time in Vietnam (43:11) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • After rehab, he rejoined his unit Firebase Ripcord had heated up while he was gone (43:42) o When the helicopters would go in the Vietnamese would stop firing mortars and wait for the helicopter to touch down o They would then try to shoot the helicopter with mortars He made several trips in and off of Firebase Ripcord (44:31) The wind on the firebase was extremely strong and difficult for the helicopters His pilot was very good but never took unnecessary risks (45:29) o He would be flying the helicopter and coordinating everything on the ground as well o He was extremely professional His last trip into Firebase Ripcord was the day of evacuation (46:12) o He was with Harrison (Col. Harrison, the brigade commander) the entire day He watched other pilots operating around Firebase Ripcord and he did not believe that they had much of a chance to survive (46:38) They traveled from Camp Evans to Ripcord several times in the day (47:16) o They never touched down on Ripcord o He did not fire a shot the entire day o They were up higher than others (47:12) There were rockets and mortars during the evacuation At one point, the enemy fire had stopped and a Loach had to go and retrieve a Kit Carson Scout (48:43) He witnessed a majority of the evacuation The trip from Ripcord to Camp Evans was nearly twenty minutes (49:06) He believes the evacuation process went very well (49:18) Early in the evacuation, troops were worried about getting into the choppers because they were taking so much enemy fire (49:27) There was one Chinook that went down in the process There were several choppers disabled, but none went down (50:16) After Ripcord, he flew for nearly a month (50:40) He extended his time for a month so that he could receive early discharge He was given some light work at Camp Evans for a month and a half o He gained twenty-five pounds (50:55) If he had not extended his time in Vietnam, he would have had five remaining months in the Army after getting back There were some men at Camp Evans that took pills as drugs (52:47) In the South of Vietnam, there were a lot of drugs being used Camp Evans had a lot of marijuana use (53:28) By 1970, many of the racial problems were getting bad (53:54) o In the Minicav, all of the blacks would throw the M60 machine gun ammo into the bushes, pull out half of their water and food and then bum off of others for supplies, etc. o Many blacks believed that Vietnam was a white man's war (54:24) o Some refused to go out into the field �• • •  There were no repercussions against those men o The racial issues caused some fights (54:57) He spent thirteen months at Camp Evans in total He feels that internal problems had become worse while he was in Vietnam (56:41) After he was done flying, he had other assignments such as: building a basketball court, burn things, pull guard duty, build a clubhouse, etc. (57:07) o He would only have to pull bunker guard once a week o Everyone in aviation had to do guard duty Leaving Vietnam – After the Service – (58:05) • • • • • • • He left Vietnam through Cam Ranh Bay (58:10) He flew a Loach from Camp Evans to Phu Bai o There was cheering when the plane took off o They stopped in Japan and then eventually landed at Fort Lewis, Washington (59:50) He was at Fort Lewis for fifteen hours No one ever tried to talk him into re-enlisting (01:00:28) There were protestors that were very far away from where they landed Once he returned home, he returned to his job at a cigarette factory (01:01:58) o He worked for a week and then put in his two week notice He eventually bought a farm for himself to work o He was always self-employed � 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 MooreL1451V Title A name given to the resource Moore, Leonard (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moore, Leonard Description An account of the resource Leonard Moore was born in North Carolina in 1949. He volunteered for the draft in 1969 and went to basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for infantry training. He was then sent to Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He flew up to Camp Evans and was assigned to a rifle company in the 187th Regiment, but was with them only briefly before accepting assignment to the rapid deployment force, known as the "minicav" that the brigade was organizing. He served as a helicopter gunner with this unit for several months, and when the unit was reorganized and lost its helicopters, he transferred to the brigade's aviation unit and served as a door gunner, mostly on the brigade commander's helicopter, through the Ripcord campaign in 1970, and stayed on for several months before returning home and being discharged. 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 2012-10-05 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/7a240b1f705acf85a2ea260aba78d8db.mp4 2e92dde9454e3af80d845d72c677f9c6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b0117df69ffd6e75194944761884b077.pdf cece89f0e72a883bd054a5027cd5a54b PDF Text Text Interview Notes Length: 30:35 Chester Joe Novak WWII and Korean War veteran United States Air Force; February 1944 – 1952 Pacific – Aleutian Islands; Korea (0:00) Before grade school • Born in Bay County, MI in 1927 • Dad was a farmer • Mom worked on the farm too • 1 brother, no sisters (1:49) School • Went to school in Williams Township o 1 room school house o Would draw names to find out who was responsible for keeping the fire going o Would have to stand in the corner if misbehaved • At recess played softball, crack the whip, marbles • Never went to high school • Stopped school in the 6th grade to work on the farm o Had a 120 acre farm o Grew at lot of crops for the canneries (“truck farm”) ƒ Tomatoes, pickles, squash, beans, etc. o Dad had a 1929 Chevy truck that they used to take their produce to the farmer’s market o Novak learned to drive at 12 year old (5:58) WWII (before drafted) • Ate well because lived on a farm • Traded a lot for gasoline (7:01) Army • Joined the Army at 15 years old but somebody told on him that he was too young so left the Army and then was drafted into the Air Force in 1943 or 1944 (7:47) The draft • Drafted in Bay County and sent to El Paso, TX for basic training o El Paso was easier for him than for many others because didn’t have other commitments like a wife or kids o Got $25/month o Had a lot of fun the first 2 years • Sent to South Dakota for gunner school on the P51 planes [ed. Note: P-51s (Mustangs) were single seat fighter planes, and did not have gunners] • Sent to the Aleutian Islands (12:28) Aleutian Islands • Novak became a supply sergeant �• • • Flew P51 as gunner Never in any battles but did meet Japanese planes Job as a gunner was to take out the gunnery turrets that were on the mountain sides • Met the people on the islands and they were very friendly (15:34) VJ Day • On Adak Island (Alaska) fishing; heard the news from a local fisherman • Became one big week long party (16:48) After WWII • Stayed in the service • Sent to Korea and was a gunner on a jet plane o Had to go to New Brunswick, NJ for training (19:02) POW • Plane got shot down • He and pilot rode plane down, told Lieutenant to run on without him because Novak was injured and couldn’t run • Novak turned self in o Sent to one of the Korean houses in the area, knocked on the door and turned in his gun o Stayed there for 2 weeks and was treated very well o Found a few weeks later and taken to a prison camp where he stayed 17 months ƒ Only given rice ƒ Picked up garbage and just sat in camp ƒ When released, went back to SD then back to MI (22:08) Marriage • Was married to Patricia for 36 years before she passed away • Met Patricia when she was working in a restaurant up in Bay County • She had a heart attack and Novak took her to Cleveland Medical Clinic in OH but wouldn’t admit her because Novak didn’t have enough money o Novak went back and sold everything – the farm, his dog, etc. – so that she would be admitted • He and his adopted son, Sam, stayed in motel across the street from the hospital • Wife survived and the whole family moved down to Mississippi so as to get out of the cold weather • Novak bought a shrimp boat and was a shrimper for 22 years (26:06) Shrimping • Drag net behind the boat • Could get anywhere from 1 pound to 1000 pounds of shrimp • Paid well; made a good living • Rode out a couple of hurricanes • Had three workers helping him • Would often make 10 day trips 40-60 miles from shore; would return just as all the ice had melted • Wife owned a restaurant called Jody’s Truck Stop �(30:53) Final thoughts • Life was changed by the service • Would still be a farmer otherwise • Has 8 grandkids � 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 NovakC Title A name given to the resource Novak, Chester Joe (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Novak, Chester Joe Description An account of the resource Chester Novak is a WW II and Korean War veteran who served in the United States Air Force from February 1944 to 1952 in the Aleutian Islands and Korea respectively. In this interview, Novak talks about growing up on a farm and joining the Army at 15 years old. Because he was underage, the Army sent him home. In 1944 he was drafted by the Air Force as a gunner. During the Korean War, Novak's plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war for 17 months. After being released from prison camp, Novak left the Air Force, got married and moved to Mississippi where he was a shrimper for 22 years. 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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Air Force Prisoners of war 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 2007-05-15 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/9f664da5b8e861c7e3825628c4716ed3.m4v b9454dcbadc446d4cc50c5ad3b6ba2da https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2228515ed2071d3bc85e6d424c0dab6a.pdf 106dbe849d45e53b145db2b24d0c4ce5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Interviewee’s Name: Walter M. Monson Name of War: Korean War Length of Interview: (00:28:45) Pre-Enlistment Enlisted in the US Army (1:20) Completed college in January of 1953 (1:40) Waited to be drafted, but since he was married, he decided to enlist on April 10, 1952 (2:15) Went to Detroit, MI to be inducted, and was sent to Fort Custer, MI (2:30) Grew up in Saginaw, MI (13:00) Married during Senior year of college, 1951 (21:30) Enlistment/Training Trained at Ft. Custer for 2-3 months (2:40) Was trained in Training, Information and Education (2:50) Stayed there until basic training at Breckinridge, KY (3:00) Trained in heavy weapons: machine guns, mortars (4:20) Went into Counter-Intelligence after basic training was over (4:45) Trained for that at Fort Halliburt (5:00) Had courses in Communism, typing, writing (5:30) During the interview for the Corps, was asked many questions he did not know (7:30) Had a second interview by three Colonels, very laid-back interview (9:20) If he failed the interviews, he would be sent back to heavy weapons unit and shipped to Korea (11:45) Active Duty Discharged at Corporal rank (0:27) Served in Baltimore, MD (0:30) Lived at Ft. Halliburt (1:10) Was in charge of top-secret files in the Counter Intelligence Corps (6:00) Was an analyst in the Corps (6:15) Kept in touch with family by letter (12:00) Wife came to Baltimore after he completed training, but moved back to Saginaw shortly after (12:50) Food was not too bad in Baltimore, always hungry though (13:30) Always went out for pizza and beer on Friday nights (13:50) Had weekends off most of the time, unless they had KP duty (13:55) His job was to analyze intelligence reports (15:00) For fun, went to Washington, D.C, went to the movies, took some vacations (15:20) When on base, stayed in the barracks with 40 other men (16:50) Worked under a Major, had a very professional relationship (19:00) �After the Service Was discharged early because of a new Army regulation regarding seasonal jobs (22: 15) He had a teaching contract in Grand Rapids, MI, and was released early (22:30) Taught woodworking at South High School for 10 years, then went into administration (23:00) Had many friends, but never kept in touch with them after his discharge (23:50) Had a debriefing interview upon discharge (24:30) Received college training, his masters degree, through the GI Bill (26:45) Did not think the Army was a good experience at the time, but eventually came to see it that way (27:20) � 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 MonsonW Title A name given to the resource Monson, Walter M. (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Monson, Walter M. Description An account of the resource Walter Monson entered the US Army in April of 1952. Upon completion of Basic Training at Forts Custer in Michigan and Breckinridge, Kentucky, Walter was stationed at Fort Halliburt in Baltimore, Maryland. After several interviews, he became an intelligence analyst for the Army. Upon completion of his service, Walter moved back to Michigan and taught with Grand Rapids Public Schools. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Justin Monson (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-05-19 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives