39 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a0d0bffb364664fda00bdcdefd1d48a1.m4v 47d4d1cc31fc5006de4b50082a71f166 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/08dbc3c3bbf0e20bff5b8528295dc09c.pdf 4952d3f007fec17676d2434f645c3db0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview James McConnon Length: 36:08 (00:25) Training    James was drafted into the Army in October of 1971; he had been living in Caledonia, Michigan He went through many physicals in Detroit and then was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training for 8 weeks James went through secondary advanced individual training at Fort Bliss, Texas where he worked on an Air Defense Missile System (3:50) South Korea  James was sent to South Korea to work as an Air Defense Artilleryman in April of 1972  He became squad leader and was working with vehicles that carried the missile launching system  Most of the time in Korea James just spent field training at Camp Casey in the North  He worked on the Air Defense System near the DMZ for 14 months  James felt it was nice to live in a different country and learn about another culture  Plus his father had fought in the Korean War and James was able to learn more about some of the things his father had experienced (9:20) Average Days  The men used an HAM Radio to call home and James also wrote his friends and family often  They had cafeteria style food, which wasn’t terrible, but they got sick of it pretty quickly  They were told not to eat the local food because they could easily get sick from it and have serious health issues  James was able to see a few USO shows with Bob Hope  They men often played softball and other games on the base (13:22) After Korea  After serving his time in South Korea James was shipped to Fort Hood, Texas and he worked there for a short time before he was discharged  He did not enjoy working on the base in Texas because he had grown accustomed to such a different environment  James then went to college and earned his Associates Degree and also became a member of the American Legion �  Being in the service helped him to become a more open-minded person and he was able to work with many different types of people James made many good friends in the Army and overall had a very positive experience � 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 McConnonJ Title A name given to the resource McConnon, James (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McConnon, James Description An account of the resource James McConnon was drafted into the Army in October of 1971 and went through basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for 8 weeks. He then went through secondary advanced individual training at Fort Bliss, Texas where he worked with the Air Defense Missile System. After training James was sent to South Korea in April of 1972 to work with Air Defense Artillery. James spent 14 months in the Northern area of South Korea working on air defense where he spent most of his time in field training. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Farhadi, Matthew (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 2009-05-29 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/742ade047db221ec0c5326d3efa42bb9.mp4 3286ed4dd1ef2ff8abd488b18cef7535 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/08f90ed333dada156955a3c9c3d143f0.pdf e7ec639ee85c9a76aea5b866172ce8e6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Interview Vietnam War Jim McCloughan 1 hour 44 minutes (1:03) – Background -Born May 30, 1946 in the hospital in South Haven, Michigan -Parents took over grandparents’ farm in rural Bangor, Michigan -Grew up in Bangor, MI -Attended one room school house “about a mile down the road” until 6th grade -Junior High School and High School in Bangor -Graduated in 1964 -Went to Olivet College -Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology as well as a teaching degree -Played 4 years of football, wrestled for 4 years, and played 2 years of baseball -Graduated in June 1968 -Told to report for a physical -Had signed up for draft when he was 18 -Was told he would be drafted that July (1968) -Had already signed contract with South Haven Schools in May to teach, desperately needed teachers -School board appealed to draft board, but the draft board said he had already had his deferment (4:17) – Basic Training (Fort Knox portion) -Sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training -1st week housed with 30-35 men -E5 Spec. 5 Medic was in charge -Medic finds out he has medical knowledge, most likely requested for him to be sent to Ft. Sam Houston for medic training after basic -Only one to go to Ft. Sam Houston -Most medics were not draftees -Training wasn’t very difficult (physically) -Had to emotionally adjust to not being in a small community -Mentally disciplined from sports, prepared him for distractions and drilling -Appointed squad leader because he was older -Sense of maturity, majority of draftees were high school graduates -8 weeks of basic training ends (10:35) Fort Sam Houston portion -Rode on bus to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas �-Met Marty Romine -Arrived 2 weeks early, attached to transportation unit in the country -Had barracks to themselves -Drove every kind of vehicle they had, said it reminded him of home -10 weeks of medic training -Lots of classwork -Marty was training partner -Learned how to give shots and apply bandages knew other basic medicine from being in sports -Interviewed to get a trainer position, thought he would get it and stay out of Vietnam (13:00) Last Day of Training -Deployment orders: Southeast Asia, Vietnam -Thought it was mistake, asked command, not a mistake, Army regular (enlistee) got the training job -Offered to “re up” by joining Airborne, Special Forces, or OCS (Officer Candidate School), but declined because it would mean an additional year of service (15:15) More Talk about Training - Prepared for hospital work as well -Was assigned as a combat medic because the Army needed them -Went to Ft. Sam Houston in November -Got 2 weeks of leave for Christmas -Graduated from medic training in February -2 weeks leave in February -Worked with wrestling team in South Haven for the championships -Visited wife (16:35) Deployment -Sent to Oakland California -Gates in sorting area locked to keep soldiers in (17:35) More Talk about Training -Had only one conscientious objector -Some men claimed they were but in Vietnam that changed -First time medics were allowed to be combatants (19:10) More about Deployment - Layover in Oakland for a few days -Flew up to Alaska -Brother lived in Alaska with wife and child, wanted to visit them, but the plane was only there for 20 minutes -Flew in military transport (very uncomfortable) -First thing he noticed about Vietnam is that it stunk because it was humid mixed with the smell of human feces (21:20) (Added Step) Went from Alaska to Guam, and from Guam boarded military transport and flew to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam) �(21:55) Arrival in Vietnam -Orientation for 2 days -Booby traps -Snakes -Division headquarters was in Chu Lai -Part of 3rd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Division -Introduced to Captain Jim Foster who was in charge of medics -Taught him how to create a practical medical kit for the field -Was attached to Charlie (“C”) Company just outside of LZ Center -Flew out in helicopter -Met the soldier he was replacing, one Pat Rocco -First person he met in Charlie Company was Sergeant Doug Hatton who “talked real slow,” “was missing a front tooth,” and “had his helmet on crooked.” -Grew to like him -“I was a kindergartener in fighting war, but he (Sgt. Hatton) had a master’s degree.” -Became best friends -Company was stationed in a thick tree area, but not dense enough to be considered a jungle (27:50) First Contact -Arrived in LZ Center on the 7th of March and the company was ambushed on the 10th -In the ambush lost two men, but not from his platoon (2nd platoon) -Immediately got used to hearing, and reacting to, people calling for a medic (30:00) Basic Duties -Was in charge of making sure that men took daily and weekly anti-malarial pills -Tended to still healing wounds -Impetigo was rampant (bacterial skin infection) -Hydrogen peroxide and nitrous ointment used to treat it -Took about 5 to 6 days to heal -Also took care of sprains, strains, boils, and rashes (31:19) Daily Routine -Got up before dawn and started moving -At sunrise stop and eat -He (Jim) would go around and check on soldiers -Get to destination and establish perimeter before dark -More patrols meant less contact -Normally moved as a company (35:10) Conditions -Rice paddies -Jungle in the mountains -Not a lot of civilians -“Not a good country for a democracy” -Very rural, very primitive -In the beginning thought the people were friendly, over time sensed bitterness -Booby traps in the rice paddies �-OED’s (“other explosive devices”), not IED’s like in Iraq or Afghanistan -Caused gruesome injuries -Hated being in the rice paddies because of vulnerability and booby traps -Occasionally fought alongside Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN’s) -Inept and unhelpful soldiers (43:40) Jungle Conditions -Humid in the jungle, lots of leeches, lots of spiders -Never saw snakes or tigers (45:10) Return to LZ Center -Return to LZ Center for a week -Resupply -Shower (only allowed 5 gallons of cold water) -New set of clothes -Get more rations -Access to warm meals -Got to sleep on a cot instead of on the ground (46:40) Battle of Tam Ky (Prologue) -4th Day of 7 Day rotation at LZ Center they were attacked -May 12th at 1:30 AM the north end of LZ Center was attacked by North Vietnamese sappers -2 U.S. troops killed -Evening of May 12th Lt. Carrier (company commander) was called into TOC (tactical operations center) -Being sent to Tam Ky (large town that was being attacked) -No idea on enemy troop strength -Lt. Carrier argued that the mission was flawed, but was threatened with court martial if refused to go (49:30) Battle of Tam Ky – Securing the Landing Zone -Left for Tam Ky at 10:10 AM on May 13th via helicopter -Landing Zone was “hot” (under fire) -Had to jump from helicopters -2 helicopters were shot down -Established perimeter to help with extraction of wounded -Helped one man who had managed to hurt himself in the jump -Secured landing zone and regrouped (52:30) Battle of Tam Ky – Nui Yon Hill Pt. 1 -At 4 PM command wanted scouting platoon to go to Nui Yon Hill -Massive fortification south of Tam Ky -About 1500 North Vietnamese -Scouting platoon was made up of 19 U.S. soldiers and 1 South Vietnamese interpreter -Entered trench surrounding Nui Yon Hill -Noticed two contacts stringing wire in the distance -Opened fire on them with Sgt. Hatton -Immediate NVA retaliation, point man killed -2 soldiers wounded in the open �-Went to help them, realized they were shell-shocked, not wounded -One wound up getting killed, the other captured -Left trench four or five times to retrieve wounded troops -Airstrike was imminent, tons of crossfire -Helped load wounded onto medevac -Lt. Carrier suggests that he (Jim) goes as well since he was wounded -Refuses, wants to stay behind and continue to help (1:06:58) Battle of Tam Ki – Nui Yon Hill Pt. 2 -Next day was uneventful -Hungry, tired, and wounded -By evening the company was told to move, 1st Platoon would lead instead of 2nd -Engaged again -Goes back into crossfire again to retrieve wounded soldiers -Spooky (AC 130 gunship) provided flares for light, and heavy covering fire -NVA failed to win because they didn’t totally surround the U.S. forces -169 NVA killed, minimal U.S. losses -Extracted by helicopter (1:12:15) Stand Down in June -Returned to LZ Center for a break from the field -Patrols and search and clear missions continued though -Did not reach full company strength again until July -Tried to welcome replacements, make them feel included (1:15:10) Battle of LZ East -LZ East was getting probed by NVA -June 10th volunteers were asked to go assist LZ East in establishing a perimeter -2:35 AM NVA sappers attacked -Bunker hit, saved 2 men -NVA began to bombard position with mortars -Sappers effectively overran base -Destroyed key positions -Artillery -Medical bunker -High ranking officers killed -Lost 17 U.S. soldiers -Treated wounded NVA as well -Fighting lasted 30 minutes -Returned to LZ Center (1:22:10) Deployment to Chu Lai -Had to provide positive ID for rescued POW at the hospital in Chu Lai -While at the hospital was offered position at the hospital in Chu Lai -Asked Lt. Carrier for permission, response, “What the hell are you still doing here?” -Emotional, bittersweet moment -Attached to 91st Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai -Got own bunker and locker �-Helped in the hospital -Emergency room work -Paperwork -Interviewed patients -December 1969 Bob Hope performed in Chu Lai, opted out of seeing him -Occasional rocket strikes happened, but Chu Lai was relatively safe -Extremely competent medical personnel (1:31:25) Morale and Relations -Morale constantly fluctuated between good and bad -Troops nearing the end of their tour had high anxiety -Competent officers improved morale -No problems with insubordination -Fairly high drug use -Pills -Marijuana -No heroin yet -African Americans kept to themselves out of choice -Race relations were good though (1:38:40) Coming Home -Came into Chicago -No welcome committee -Father and wife were sent to the wrong gate -Wanted to tell family and friends “goodbye” and “I love you” from then on -Was not hassled, but not welcomed either -People didn’t want to talk about Vietnam with veterans -Rehired by South Haven Schools -Head coach there for 38 years as well -Coached 35 summers with the American Legion Baseball -Worked a lot -Loved his various jobs -Staying busy kept his mind off memories -Retirement allowed for the memories to start to come back -Proud to have served alongside who he did -Highest respect for those he served with � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context McCloughanJ1554V Title A name given to the resource McCloughan, James (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCloughan, James Description An account of the resource Jim McCloughan is a Vietnam War veteran who was born in South Haven, MI in 1946 and was drafted after college in 1968. He served with the 3/21st Infantry in the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Division as a combat medic. He fought in several major battles, including Tam Ky, and received two purple hearts during his tour. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.) WKTV WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-24 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8f8102e6706616e16bda56d9633165bf.pdf 7982921f1df87a8e863f93a3a89c28bf PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Richard McCarty (7:17) Background Information (00:35)    Before joining the Service he worked in the Printing department. (00:40) At the age of 21 Richard received his draft notice. (00:51) At the time of his draft, he was living in Grand Rapids Michigan. (00:54) Training (1:05)   The first days in the service were very exciting for Richard. (1:06) Richard attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (1:34) Service (1:37)     After completing basic, Richard was assigned as a truck driver at Fort Leonard Wood (1:40) The men would wake up every morning and run. Because of the heat, the men were made to wake up an entire hour earlier (3 AM) to run. (2:00) Richard was to be sent to Korea, however was discharged and aloud to spend the remainder of his service in the National Guard. (3:39) The men had very little free time while in service. (4:11) Exiting Service (4:48)     Richard was very sick the day he was released from service. He was very happy to return home. (4:52) After being released, Richard served in the National Guard in Grand Rapids. (5:20) He did make some close friends while in the service. He is no longer in touch with them. (5:35) He is a member of the American Legion. (5:58) Documents (6:08)  Discharge papers. (6:39) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context McCartyRT Title A name given to the resource McCarty, Richard (Interview outline), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCarty, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard McCarty served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (approx. 1951-1953). After completing his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was employed as a truck driver on base. Richard was assigned to be sent to Korea but was discharged before being sent out. He served in the National Guard after completing his military service. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kimes, Nathan (Interviewer) McCarty, Richard (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. National Guard United States. Army Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-05-09 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf 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/f0f9e8dddd753fdedb3eb69de598630f.mp4 3125be7c17987b80ebf570c42c19381b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ca0bd31b94ab41f77b41ced49b765f05.pdf b49cca928b170c194789639591d19ccf PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Barry McAlpine Vietnam War Interview Length: (02:00:05:00) Pre-enlistment Life / Training / Germany (00:00:16:00)  McAlpine was born in Cass City, Michigan in 1945, located in the “Thumb” region of the lower peninsula of the state; McAlpine grew up in the “Thumb” region, living on a small farm, the oldest of six children (00:00:16:00)  McAlpine graduated from high school in 1963 (00:00:32:00) o After he graduated from high school, he briefly worked for General Motors before attending Michigan State University (00:00:38:00)  However, his time at Michigan State did not work out too well and in 1965, McAlpine received his draft notice (00:00:57:00) o At the time, drafts notices were sent to everyone and both students and married men had opportunities to use deferments; McAlpine chose not to use his student deferment because he did not fully know what he wanted to do (00:01:11:00)  McAlpine viewed it was having a chance to serve in a war, which in his mind, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (00:01:38:00)  McAlpine recalls sitting around the kitchen table talking with his uncle and grandfather about their respective experiences serving in the military and he always wondered if he would ever had a similar opportunity (00:01:51:00)  The conflict in Vietnam was just starting to intensify and McAlpine viewed it as a good time to serve (00:02:01:00)  McAlpine married before deploying to Vietnam and could have received a marriage deferment along with the student deferment (00:02:12:00) o McAlpine is glad that he chose the route of going into the military when he did because the experience was very interesting and fun (00:02:42:00)  After receiving his draft notice, McAlpine first went through an induction center in Detroit, Michigan before traveling to Fort Knox, Kentucky to begin his basic training (00:02:59:00) o Although he does not recall the exact reception he received when he arrived at Fort Knox, McAlpine does remember that it was a far different world than what he had known growing up on a farm (00:03:44:00) o At the time, McAlpine was pretty independent and he did not understand the idea of someone else giving him orders (00:04:02:00)  To that end, McAlpine had some difficult encounters with his drill instructors and they were forced to break him down a little bit; although it took some time, the instructors eventually broke him down and began to “rebuild” him (00:04:22:00)  For example, McAlpine had never seen a two-way loudspeaker system and one night, an instructors came over the loudspeaker in the barracks and told the men something; McAlpine made a �  flippant remark and he remembers the instructors running up the stairs, placing a bucket on McAlpine’s head and beating the “h***” out of the bucket (00:04:47:00)  Following the incident with the bucket, McAlpine had more respect for his superiors (00:05:32:00) o The basic training started out with McAlpine and the other men learning the ways of the Army, such as marching, map-reading, how to fire and clean weapons, proper radio procedures, etc. (00:05:47:00)  On a typical day, the men were training from six in the morning until eight or nine o’clock at night (00:06:14:00) o The men also went through a lot of physical training, namely running and calisthenics (00:06:25:00)  McAlpine was in pretty good shape when he first went into the military, so the physical training helped build his strength and stamina (00:06:37:00)  As well, because he had been shooting guns since he was eleven years old, McAlpine was confident firing the weapons, because he had played baseball at Michigan State, McAlpine could throw grenades further than most of the other soldiers, and because he had been in the marching band in high school, McAlpine already knew how to march (00:06:51:00) o Basic training lasted for a total of eight weeks, at the beginning of which McAlpine and the other men took a series of test to determine what their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) would be (00:07:20:00) McAlpine’s MOS was military intelligence, so he was assigned to regular advanced infantry training, which was also at Fort Knox (00:07:43:00) o Specifically, McAlpine was assigned to train in an armored division to train as a scout, part of a new wave of military intelligence having greater interaction with unit scouts (00:08:12:00) o McAlpine does not remember too much about his advanced training, except that it involved more map reading; at the time, the Army was still operating under concepts from the Korean war, so the curriculum for the advanced training was pretty old-fashioned (00:08:47:00)  At the time, McAlpine and the other men were still training with the old M-14 rifle; McAlpine did not see an M-16 rifle until he deployed to Vietnam (00:09:30:00) The second course at Fort Knox lasted for another eight weeks, after which McAlpine was able to go home for a month before deploying to Germany (00:09:45:00) o Receiving the orders for Germany was a surprise to McAlpine because he was not even thinking about serving in Europe (00:10:02:00) o Once his leave ended, McAlpine remembers taking a bus to New York City, where he boarded a ship for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean (00:10:14:00)  On the first night, the ship's crew gave the men chili for dinner and McAlpine remembers that within a couple of hours, all the men were seasick (00:10:25:00)  The journey over to Europe was in November and the traditional November storms on the Atlantic were in full force; one time, McAlpine �stuck his head out a window and saw that some of the waves were taller than the smokestack of the ship (00:10:42:00)  The storms were such as bad experience that when McAlpine finally got off the ship in Bremerhaven, Germany, he kissed the ground and promised himself that when he went home, he was either going to fly home or desert the Army (00:11:09:00) o After McAlpine arrived in Germany, he was assigned to a unit stationed of the West German border with Czechoslovakia (00:11:30:00)  When the other soldiers found out McAlpine had played baseball at Michigan State, he was recruited to join the unit’s baseball team (00:12:06:00)  Because he was on the baseball team, McAlpine did not have to stand in formation, a fact that his company first sergeant did not appreciate (00:12:16:00)  Apart from the baseball team, McAlpine tried out as the only white guy for the unit’s boxing team (00:12:36:00)  One night after boxing practice, McAlpine was surrounded by black guys and they wanted to teach him the lesson that he was not allowed in their gym (00:12:50:00)  The black men “taught” McAlpine his lesson and he ended up in the infirmary, unable to move his arms for several days (00:13:03:00)  Because he was unable to try out for the boxing team and the baseball season had ended, the first sergeant was waiting for McAlpine (00:13:26:00)  Meanwhile, McAlpine had requested deployment to Vietnam, which was denied; McAlpine put in another request and again, the unit commander turned the request down, largely because the commander wanted McAlpine on the baseball team (00:13:38:00)  Once baseball season was over, McAlpine was finally under the control of the company first sergeant and when McAlpine returned to his barracks from the infirmary, the first sergeant was waiting to give his bunk an inspection (00:14:03:00)  When McAlpine’s bunk failed the inspection, the first sergeant tore up the bunk, looked at McAlpine in a “funny” manner, then went and locked the door to the barracks (00:14:25:00)  McAlpine knew he was going to get into a fight with the first sergeant, so as the first sergeant walked back to McAlpine’s bunk, McAlpine punched him (00:14:41:00)  The fight ended when a group of other sergeants broke the barracks’ door down and separated McAlpine from the first sergeant (00:14:58:00)  Soon after his fight with the first sergeant, McAlpine’s request for deployment to Vietnam came through and he was sent to Vietnam (00:15:06:00) �  While in Germany, McAlpine was officially assigned to an armored personnel carrier (APC) and on occasion, his unit would go into the Black Forest to take part in war games; however, because he was on the baseball team, McAlpine never had to take part (00:15:38:00) McAlpine finally left Germany in early fall, 1966 and had another month-long leave at home before having to fly to Oakland, California to deploy to Vietnam (00:16:08:00) o McAlpine spent a few days in Oakland before boarding a military transport that first flew to Hawaii to refuel then to several other islands, also to refuel, before finally arriving in Vietnam (00:16:48:00) Vietnam (00:17:24:00)  McAlpine arrived in Saigon in the latter part of fall, 1966 (00:17:24:00) o McAlpine remembers the flight to An Khe, which was where his new unit, the 1st. Air Cavalry Division was stationed; McAlpine remembers that the pilots wanted to avoid mortar strikes, so they initially approached the airfield at a very high altitude then rapidly descended (00:18:10:00)  Once the plane had landed, McAlpine and the other men were told to go out the door and were quickly hustled off the runway (00:18:41:00)  After arriving in An Khe, McAlpine needed to wait for additional orders and once the orders arrived, he received an assignment to the 1st (Squadron) of the 9th (Cavalry Regiment) (00:18:57:00) o Before McAlpine reported to his new unit, he and the other new arrivals stood in a group and the question was asked if any of the men were married, with any married men made to take a step forward (00:19:09:00)  McAlpine figured that the commanders were going to send all the married men to relatively safe assignments, which he did not want, so he did not step forward (00:19:18:00)  The two groups were separated, with the married men go off in one direction, while the other men, McAlpine included, went in another direction, which was when McAlpine received his assignment to the 1st of the 9th (00:19:34:00) o At the time, the 1st of the 9th was the “most ambitious” unit in the 1st Air Cav., having started most, if not all, the fights that the division had been involved in up to that point; as well, the squadron claimed more than 50% of the entire division’s enemy kills (00:19:47:00) o The 1st of the 9th was divided into four “troops”: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, with Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie being helicopter-borne, with each troop having roughly twenty-five helicopters (00:20:21:00)  Normally, the composition of each troop was divided between several different groups, such as pilots and mechanics, as well as support personnel such as cooks and supply clerks (00:20:38:00)  Of the ninety personnel in the troop, roughly thirty were ground scouts while ten or fifteen were airborne scouts using small scout helicopters; apart from the scout and transport helicopters, the units also had helicopter gunships, with a pilot, co-pilot and a pair of door gunners (00:20:47:00) � The gunships and scouts were designated as three groups: Red for gunships, White for airborne scouts, and Blue for ground scouts; when he arrived at the unit, McAlpine was assigned to be a Blue (00:21:16:00)  The concept behind the composition of the battalion was that at first, a scout team would go out and either try to entice the enemy to engage them or would look for signs that the enemy was nearby (00:21:49:00)  The men on the scout team would write the information down and in the following day or two, several squads of Blues would insert into the area to figure out what was going on; in a sense, the Blues would start the fight with the enemy (00:22:16:00) o The men in the Blues would wake up in the morning and know that on one day, they would make numerous air assaults; during one particular day, the Blues made a total of eleven air assaults (00:22:29:00) o When McAlpine arrived at the 1st of the 9th, he did not receive any type of orientation (00:22:58:00)  McAlpine remembers that the first night he was with the unit, he was laying in his bunk when he felt something on his chest (00:23:21:00)  He got out of his bunk and turned the light on, but nothing was around; he turned the light off and got back into his bunk but soon, it felt like something was back on his chest (00:23:28:00) o McAlpine had decided that if he felt something on his chest again, he was going to pull the cord for the light and turn the light on but not get out of bunk (00:28:37:00)  When he felt something on his chest again, McAlpine pulled the cord and on his chest was a rat (00:23:44:00)  As the rat scurried away, McAlpine hopped out of his bunk, grabbed a gun, and started shooting at the rat, which did not go over too well with the other men in the compound because he was shooting inside the perimeter (00:23:54:00) o During his first couple of days with the 1st of the 9th, McAlpine met with the supply sergeants and was assigned his equipment, as well as his personal weapon and ammunition (00:24:13:00)  The Blues were always involved in firefights and there was always a constant needed for new personnel, so within a couple of days of his arrival, McAlpine was flown to a landing zone and introduced to his commanding sergeant (00:24:27:00)  McAlpine and another soldier, a black kid from Chicago, were both sent to the landing zone and the sergeant was in need of soldiers because he had had some men wounded or KIA the previous couple of days (00:24:57:00)  Both McAlpine and the black kid were assigned to the 1st Squad of “B” Troop (00:25:13:00)  McAlpine was initially issued an M-16 rifle but that rifle was eventually replaced by at CAR-15 carbine (00:25:28:00)  The CAR-15 was a little bit shorter and a little bit lighter than the M-16 but jammed just as frequently (00:25:36:00) � McAlpine preferred the CAR-15 because he was doing a lot of air assaults and the smaller the weapon, the better; as well, the environment where he and the other scouts tended to work largely consisted of elephant grass and jungle and a longer weapon, such as the M-16, was not the weapon to have (00:25:43:00)  All the men had the choice of which weapon they wanted to carry, from the M-16 and CAR-15 to shotguns or B.A.R.s (Browning Automatic Rifles), although not too many men chose to use a B.A.R. (00:26:03:00) o It was usually left to the individual squad leaders to tell the men which weapons they should be carrying (00:26:25:00)  For the early part of their time with the squad, McAlpine and the black kid tended to stick close to the veterans in the squad (00:26:54:00)  McAlpine had been an outdoors kid while growing up and the “Cowboys & Indians” aspect of the squad’s operations was a perfect fit for him (00:26:59:00)  McAlpine remembers the squad leader selecting him to be a point man, so for several days, McAlpine walked with the squad leader and the squad leader taught McAlpine the finer points necessary to be the point man (00:27:15:00) o After walking with the squad leader for several days, McAlpine walked behind the point man for several more days to study how the point man moved (00:27:31:00) o The squad always needed a skilled soldier as the point man to avoid ambushes; McAlpine did not mind walking into an ambush, so long as he was by himself but he never wanted to lead all the men into an ambush (00:27:45:00)  McAlpine and the other men in the squad encountered the enemy every day because that was their job, to start fights (00:28:11:00)  When McAlpine first arrived at the squad, the squad leaders and the pilots would have a meeting with the troop’s S-2, who was in charge of intelligence (00:28:27:00) o At the meeting, the men would develop a plan of action for the entire day, although often, the plans changed within an hour anyway (00:28:56:00) o When McAlpine arrived, the Blues operated as a platoon-sized unit under the commander of a captain-level officer, although the platoon never had a captain to command it (00:29:31:00)  The platoon was broken down into four squads, none of which ever had a full compliment of soldiers; normally, a squad was supposed to have eight or nine soldiers but the most they ever had was six or seven (00:29:49:00) o McAlpine recalls several distinct situations happening during his first full month with his squad (00:30:27:00)  At one point, the Blues were stationed at some rubber plantations outside the city of Pleiku (00:30:35:00) � Prior to McAlpine’s arrival, the Blues had a pet monkey that stayed tied up in the platoon’s tent (00:30:44:00)  When the platoon was stationed on the rubber plantation, the jungle butted right against the outside of the tent, with only a single strip of barbed wire acting as the perimeter (00:30:59:00)  Whenever the platoon returned to the tent, the monkey would always jump on the men but one night, the men came home and found the monkey had accidentally hung himself (00:31:35:00) o McAlpine remembers guarding the Bob Hope Christmas Tour when the tour stopped in Pleiku (00:31:55:00)  The platoon was on the outside perimeter and were only supposed to prevent anything from getting inside; if something happened inside the perimeter, then another unit had to take care of the situation (00:32:00:00) o The terrain where the platoon was operating was largely jungle (00:32:38:00) o When the platoon would go out on missions, they could insert via either landing zones or rappelling out of the helicopters, although for the most part, the helicopters would fly to a pre-determined landing zone (00:33:16:00)  The squadron’s commanding officer was a colonel and prior to operations, would fly in a helicopter about 3000’ off the ground and pick out a specific landing zone for the Blues (00:33:24:00)  If the operation was set to begin at first light, the gunships would prep the landing zone before the Blues' helicopters would go into the landing zone (00:30:38:00)  In reality, the Blues' helicopters never actually landed on the ground; instead, the Blues developed a method whereby they jumped off the helicopter as the helicopter flew through the landing zone (00:33:54:00) o The men had to be very precise when jumping off because if an entire side jump off together, then the helicopter would tip to the other side (00:34:03:00)  Normally, the helicopter would be several feet off the ground, depending on the terrain, and would fly into the landing zone, slow down as much as they could, would hear the soldiers jump off, and would fly out (00:34:18:00)  The commanders never wanted the helicopters to land because it was too difficult for the helicopters to take off again and it was too slow (00:34:46:00)  The helicopter pilots never carried any weapons because they knew they were safe with the other soldiers around; the soldiers took care of the pilots and the pilots took care of the soldiers (00:34:55:00)  The Hueys used to carry the men were often early models and did not have the power to take off; the gunships were often late models and did have the power necessary to carry around the extra ammunition (00:35:09:00) � o o o o The early model Hueys only had enough power to carry the two pilots and seven or eight soldiers, who were often loaded up with ammunition and supplies (00:35:34:00)  There was not a tried and true method for avoiding injury when jumping out of the helicopters; for the most part, it depended on the terrain of the landing zone (00:35:51:00)  Sometimes, the men would hit the ground and roll and other times, they were able to land on their feet (00:35:55:00)  McAlpine does not know of anyone specifically who was hurt jumping out of the helicopters (00:35:59:00)  For the most part, it was 50/50 between landing in a hot LZ (Landing Zone) as opposed to a cold LZ (00:36:17:00)  The men knew they were being sent into a specific area to look for the enemy; therefore, they never really expected to land in a quiet area (00:36:19:00) o Instead, they would go into areas where the enemy had been seen (00:36:31:00)  If the Blues could handle the situation, that was fine, but if they could not take care of it, then additional forces would be brought into the fight (00:36:41:00)  As far as McAlpine can remember, the Blues never had an aborted flight, which was sometimes a detriment to the men (00:37:06:00) o Helicopters were shot down all the time but in the minds of the officers, they were acceptable loses (00:37:16:00) During his first week or two with the unit, McAlpine noticed that some of the younger soldiers took certain situations for granted; the young soldiers would be on an ambush all night then have to do a landing the next morning (00:37:30:00)  McAlpine remembers that he could not believe they would be coming into a hot LZ, the enemy was shooting at the helicopter, and some of the younger soldiers would be asleep (00:37:51:00)  Standing on the skids of the helicopter going into an LZ was such “mundane, normal act” that the soldiers were trying to get thirty seconds of sleep (00:38:03:00)  However, after serving with the platoon for several weeks, McAlpine understood what the soldiers were experiencing; the constant missions just wore him down (00:38:15:00) When McAlpine first joined his squad, he was the only white guy in the squad but by the time he left, there was only one or two black guys remaining in the squad (00:38:34:00) Every squad on the platoon had a radio, while the platoon commander had two, one radio to maintain contact with the colonel circling overhead and one radio to maintain contact with the squads (00:39:14:00) After they would land at a landing zone, the platoon would form up and begin moving towards their mission objective, such as a village where a couple of days before, scouts had seen uniformed NVA soldiers (00:39:32:00) �   If the men had deployed into the mountains, their mission might involve investigating a hut where, two nights before, smoke had been seen coming out of the chimney (00:39:47:00) o For the most part, the platoon’s operations occurred in the An Lao, A Shau, and Ia Drang valleys; McAlpine spent 90% of his time working on operations in those three valleys (00:40:01:00)  Working in the valleys was fun because the men knew they were going to get their money's worth from the enemy by the end of the day (00:40:16:00) o Once the Blues were inserted, they were expected to handle to situation but if they could not, then they were supposed to call in reinforcements, such as artillery or air strikes (00:40:29:00) o One man in McAlpine’s squad carried an M-60 machine gun, which represented the heavy firepower, while every other man carried at least two hundred rounds of ammunition for the M-60 (00:40:35:00)  However, the M-60 gunner would use the machine gun five or six times a day, so the men always needed re-supply (00:41:01:00) st o The 1 of the 9th was extremely high-powered and the squadron had its own gunships; the gunship pilots often knew the names of the men in the Blues and they were not going to allow the Blues to be overrun by the enemy (00:41:33:00)  The Blues would normally have a forward artillery observer with them and prior to going out on a mission, the observer would set up coordinates with the men, so that if the men did run into trouble, there would be no problems calling in artillery strikes (00:42:06:00)  As well, four or five times a week, the men would call in air strikes on enemy positions (00:42:21:00) Overall, there was a different fighting philosophy attached to the 1st Air Cav. opposed to many other fighting units and the 1st of the 9th had a completely different philosophy compared to the rest of the units in the 1st Air Cav. (00:42:58:00) o The 1st of the 9th was acting almost as quasi-guinea pigs for their fighting methodology and the pilots knew that for the 1st of the 9th’s methodology to work properly, they needed to provide as much support as possible (00:43:07:00) o To that end, a ready reaction force of a couple hundred men waited every day, in case the Blues made contact with the enemy but were unable to completely handle the situation (00:43:28:00)  If the Blues started something they could not finish, the commanders determined how many men from the ready reaction force were needed and those men were brought into the fight (00:43:35:00)  It was common for the Blues to start a fight alone but soon have back-up from any number of other squadrons in the division (00:43:43:00) o On some days, the Blues would be pulled out of one area and told they needed to make an insertion into another hotspot (00:43:59:00)  When that happened, the men would get a drink of water, get more ammunition, then insert into another area (00:44:12:00) The men spent all their time in the field, never in the base camp (00:44:38:00) �  o The men might have had a stand-down once every month but it always seemed like something would come over the radio, saying that there was an assignment for the men (00:44:48:00) For the most part, the men largely operated out of forward fire bases (00:45:02:00) o Because the men were always involved in intense fighting, their commanders did not want to leave them in the field overnight (00:45:07:00)  Normally, the commanders would try to pull the men back to a semiprotected landing zone and during the night, the men would either have to defend the perimeter, put of a listening post outside the perimeter, or go out on an ambush outside the wire (00:45:17:00)  Many times, McAlpine’s men would set out an ambush but they would be so tired that they would fall asleep as soon as they sat down in the elephant grass (00:45:38:00)  Although the commanders would have liked all the men to stay awake during the night, the men could ration it out so that only two men were awake at a time throughout the night (00:46:08:00)  When McAlpine received promotion to staff sergeant, it was his job to make sure everything was taken care of during the night and at least one person was awake; however, he can also guarantee that at some points, everyone in the squad was asleep (00:46:24:00) Normally, the men would move along trails in the field, although it often depended on the environment and situation (00:46:48:00) o Often, if a situation looked too good to be true, then chances were, it was too good to be true (00:46:54:00) o The point man would often walk down the trail while two other soldiers would advance along his flanks (00:47:08:00) o As well, there was always at least one helicopter above the men; however, instead of hovering directly over the squad’s position, the helicopter would criss-cross over the area so that the enemy had no definitive way of knowing where the squad was (00:47:14:00)  The helicopter could also see what was ahead of the soldiers and could if there was enemy activity (00:47:45:00) o Often, the men did not encounter too much of the prototypical triple canopy jungle; the enemy might lose track of the squad’s movements, which is not something they wanted to do with that group (00:48:05:00) o Booby-traps along the trails were common but over time, the soldiers developed a sense for where the traps might be (00:48:22:00) o When a soldier walked the point or on the trail, he could not think about anything else other than walking point (00:48:35:00)  A young man might be twenty-years-old when he goes over to Vietnam but within two months, he is a forty-year-old man (00:48:41:00)  The man is in touch with himself and with his senses and his awareness of particular situations; he knows that if he is not right, then the consequences are tremendous (00:48:48:00)  It took McAlpine about three weeks with the squad before he began walking point himself (00:49:11:00) �  The squad’s old point man got hit, which was not unusual, so McAlpine took the man’s place and walked point for the remainder of his tour, even once he became a squad leader (00:49:14:00) o The men would get a feel for the terrain and were able to sense ambushes and booby-traps before they happened, even by smell (00:49:44:00)  Although the enemy could place booby-traps anywhere, they often did not place them far away from something, usually villages; often the boobytraps were punji sticks, meant to only slow the soldiers down so that the enemy could get away (00:50:04:00) o Some of the areas where the men operated had a large numbers of tunnels and other areas, such as mountains, did not have as many (00:50:42:00)  However, there were some mountains that were all tunnels and McAlpine recalls collapsing an entire mountain that the enemy had honeycombed with tunnels (00:51:03:00)  The men filled the tunnels with explosives and when they set the explosives off, the whole mountain went up then came down, which was a beautiful sight (00:51:12:00)  Marine forces had arrived at the mountain before McAlpine’s men but McAlpine’s men were inserted with orders to get to the top of the mountain to examine what sort of tunnels they were dealing with (00:51:25:00)  The men encountered several ambushes and firefights on the way to the top of the mountain; by the time they reached the top, there were only five men left in the squad and two of the men, including McAlpine, were suffering from heat stroke (00:51:38:00)  McAlpine was pulled off the mountaintop and taken to a hospital in the rear area, where the medics placed him in a large metal tub full of ice (00:51:50:00) After McAlpine was with his squad for a couple of weeks, he received a promotion to E3 (00:53:17:00) o At some point, one of the sergeants was killed and McAlpine was selected to take the sergeant’s spot on the flank (00:53:29:00) o Eventually, the squad was involved in a firefight where most of the squad members were either wounded or killed, including the squad leader, who had been wounded (00:53:38:00)  McAlpine carried the squad leader out of the firefight but as he had the man on his shoulders, the man was shot again (00:54:01:00) o After the firefight, McAlpine was the old man in the squad and he received both promotion to E-4 and command of the squad, which was normally a position reserved for an E-6; therefore, he received promotion to an E-5, a sergeant (00:54:30:00) o Within a very short period of time after McAlpine received his promotion, the lieutenant commanding the platoon was killed and there were no available lieutenants, so McAlpine took over as platoon leader until there was another lieutenant available (00:55:01:00) �   There were several career-oriented NCOs in the troop and McAlpine believes that his promotion to replace the deceased lieutenant might have rubbed them the wrong way (00:55:28:00)  For the most part, the senior NCOs were often squad leaders (00:56:08:00) o Eventually, McAlpine returned to commanding his squad, still as an E-5 in an E-6 slot (00:56:24:00)  After a couple of months, the E-7 came to McAlpine and said he was being promoted to E-6 (00:56:34:00)  The promotion to E-6 meant that McAlpine was earning over six hundred dollars a month, all of which he sent home (00:56:55:00)  The men tended to live off the land and there were never any stores to actually shop at (00:57:16:00)  On occasion, enemy soldiers would have money in their pockets, so any new soldiers were told not to shot the enemy in the pockets because there might be money in them (00:57:21:00) Because the 1st of the 9th was a very aggressive unit and the men were fighting every day, they fought against both NVA regulars and Viet Cong (00:57:59:00) o If the men fought every day for four days, McAlpine figures they fought against the NVA on four or five of those days (00:58:18:00) o Although the NVA did not always wear traditional NVA uniforms, they would be wearing NVA backpacks and using NVA weapons, which was how the soldiers were able to tell them from the Viet Cong (00:58:32:00) One time, the men had deployed into Cambodia with specific orders not to cause problems by engaging the enemy (00:59:21:00) o One way or another, the mission was compromised, the men got into a firefight and killed six Chinese soldiers (00:58:29:00) o The colonel, who was circling above the area as always, asked if anyone had a camera and when McAlpine said he did, the colonel said he wanted pictures of the bodies and wanted the men to take the Chinese weapons (00:59:44:00) o One interesting thing was that all the Chinese soldiers were over 6’2” (01:00:10:00) o Going into Cambodia was not a common mission; on occasion, the men would accidentally stray across the border but the helicopter pilots would call down to alert them (01:00:38:00) Decorations / Misc. (01:01:40:00)  McAlpine earned several decorations for gallantry, including two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star (01:01:40:00) o McAlpine’s first silver star was earned when his squad was moving through a valley and were ambushed (01:01:41:00)  During the course of the ambush, the squad leader and several squad members had been either wounded or killed; eventually, only McAlpine and one other soldier were the only two men in the squad who were not wounded or killed (01:01:53:00) � McAlpine was giving first aid to the wounded soldiers around him, mostly stopping the bleeding and dragging them out of the killing zone (01:02:04:00)  The only other uninjured soldier happened to be the platoon’s supply sergeant, who had previously asked McAlpine if, at some point, he could go out in with McAlpine’s squad so he could earn his combat infantryman’s badge (01:02:32:00)  After about fifteen minutes of fighting, McAlpine and the supply sergeant were the only two men left (01:03:27:00)  Eventually, McAlpine told the supply sergeant that they needed to clear out the enemy, who had hidden in some rocks; McAlpine told the supply sergeant to take the high ground while McAlpine took the low ground (01:03:35:00)  As the two soldiers progressed through the rocks, McAlpine heard the sound of an AK-47 then a groan, which he interpreted as the supply sergeant being shot by an AK-47 (01:04:04:00)  McAlpine then heard the sound of an M-16 falling through the rocks, so he suspected that the supply sergeant had been killed as well (01:04:26:00)  As time passed, McAlpine slowly filtered his way through the rocks, trying to stay alive while simultaneously killing as many enemy as possible (01:04:50:00)  At one point, he saw an enemy soldier climbing down the rocks backwards but at the same time, saw another enemy soldier coming from a different direction (01:05:04:00) o McAlpine shot the second enemy soldier then turned around and killed the enemy soldier who was climbing down the rocks (01:05:22:00)  McAlpine was eventually wounded in the knee by a ricocheted bullet (01:05:31:00)  McAlpine did eventually receive some re-enforcements, including a friend of McAlpine who was in another squad (01:05:37:00)  With the friend’s help, McAlpine was able to finish driving the enemy out of the rocks (01:06:07:00) o Firefights with the enemy happened every day and McAlpine believes that all the men in his unit should have, at one point or another, received some type of decoration for their actions (01:07:22:00) o McAlpine earned his second silver star in May, when his platoon had followed some communication wire into a village and found itself embroiled in a massive firefight with the enemy (01:07:37:00)  The soldiers had just gotten off the helicopters when the pilots saw the communication wire leaving the village; the communication wire was a big deal because it usually indicated that there was a NVA command post of some sort in the village (01:07:47:00)  McAlpine’s squad was advancing on the left flank while another squad was advancing along the trail itself (01:08:08:00) � Once the other squad made it into the village, they accidentally sprung an enemy ambush and lost three or four soldiers right away with a couple more being wounded (01:08:19:00)  The firefight lasted for most of the afternoon and the men eventually ran out of both water and ammunition (01:08:37:00)  Re-enforcements were constantly being brought in to the soldier’s rear and air strikes were being called in constantly (01:08:48:00)  At one point, a relief helicopter was being flown to the men carrying more ammunition (01:09:00:00)  As the helicopter flew in, the crew were pushing the ammo crates off the side of the helicopter; however, the pilot had the helicopter 100’ feet off the ground and between McAlpine’s squad and the enemy (01:09:20:00)  The enemy managed to shoot the helicopter down and as the helicopter came down, the crew chief and door gunner, who were not strapped in, managed to jump out and run over to where McAlpine’s squad was positioned (01:09:28:00)  In the meantime, the helicopter was on fire and starting to set the ammunition off (01:09:45:00) o Both pilots were out knocked out cold or wounded and were hanging upside down in the helicopter (01:09:50:00)  As the other crewmen were running towards McAlpine, he was running towards them to try and get the pilots out of the burning wreckage (01:10:01:00)  McAlpine and two other men cut the pilots out and dragged both men back to where the rest of the squad had taken up their defensive positions (01:10:08:00)  Eventually, the squad managed to give the pilots to some reenforcements who had come in behind them (01:10:37:00) o McAlpine remembers a young soldier in the reenforcements running up to grab a body but he made the mistake of standing straight up and sure enough, a splitsecond later, his chest exploded (01:10:43:00) o At the same time, McAlpine watched as the reenforcements came in and one of the men standing on a helicopter’s skid was shot and ended up falling all the way to the ground (01:11:07:00) o McAlpine also earned three Purple Hearts, including one from the ricocheted bullet in his knee when he moving to clear out the rock formation when he earned his first Silver Star (01:11:27:00)  McAlpine received another when a piece of shrapnel went into his foot and ankle; the shrapnel itself did not come out of McAlpine until several years after his time in the military, when he was taking a shower and rubbing his ankle (01:11:41:00) �   Another time, McAlpine had a hand grenade landed near his face; although the hand grenade was a dud, it still threw stuff into McAlpine’s face, causing him to bleed (01:12:08:00)  McAlpine’s friends thought he was dying but he could not feel anything, so when he rubbed his face and saw the blood, it came as a surprise (01:12:26:00)  Although McAlpine did not think he was hurt, the other men told him he needed to be medevaced out, so he hopped in a helicopter (01:12:40:00)  Medievac helicopters would not come unless there had not been any gunfire for several minutes but at the time, the firefight was still going on, so McAlpine boarded one of the troop’s own helicopters (01:12:56:00)  As the helicopter was flying away from the battle, they were flying 100mph+ down a canyon and as a bridge approached, McAlpine, who was still laying in the back, kept willing the pilot to pull up; instead, the pilot flew under the bridge (01:13:14:00) Although he was originally supposed to receive two R&Rs, McAlpine only received one and went to Bangkok, Thailand for a week (01:14:01:00) o While in Bangkok, McAlpine ended up going to jail for two days, so he did not have full, week-long R&R (01:14:13:00) o Going on the R&R was a totally different experience than life in the field, where the majority of the men fully expected to be wounded or killed (01:14:28:00) o McAlpine remembers there was a merchant selling sugar cane from a cart pulled by a donkey; McAlpine bought the whole cart and he and the merchant went around, handing the sugar out to kids for free (01:14:54:00) o Getting on the plane to go back to Vietnam was not difficult for McAlpine; he was in jail and was happy to get out (01:15:35:00)  McAlpine was thrown in jail because he had a little bit of trouble at a local nightclub (01:15:46:00)  The nightclub had an entire wall made of glass and McAlpine, who had only ever seen glass in windows, accidentally knocked the wall over and broke it; when the police were called, there was a disagreement over who would pay for the broken glass (01:15:56:00)  The police officers had McAlpine’s paperwork and knew he had to be at the airport on a specific date at a specific time, so on that date and at that time, the police made sure McAlpine was there (01:16:26:00) As new men came into the squad, McAlpine and the other, more experienced men, felt obligated to instruct the new men; however, McAlpine does have some regrets regarding that particular process (01:17:05:00) o Although the platoon was technically supposed to be military intelligence, none of the men actually knew what they were going to be doing (01:17:13:00) o When McAlpine would start looking for a replacement for his squad, he was looking for a very specific type of individual (01:17:36:00)  At the base in An Khe, there was a large tent that all the soldiers stayed in; McAlpine’s bunk was marked and the new soldiers were told they could �  sleep anywhere but McAlpine’s bunk, since he would kick anyone’s butt who slept in the bunk (01:17:43:00)  When he would periodically go back to An Khe, McAlpine would find out who had slept in his bunk, because that was the type of soldier he wanted in his squad (01:18:11:00) o Once a new man joined the squad, McAlpine would train with the man every day (01:18:36:00) o If McAlpine needed a replacement, he would return to An Khe for a couple of hours; however, he was eventually kicked out of An Khe and told that if he ever came back, he would get thrown in jail (01:18:52:00)  McAlpine had such a bond with the men in his squad that he felt an obligation to be fighting with them (01:19:40:00)  McAlpine would go into An Khe for a couple of hours, pick up two or three replacements, then the group would hop aboard another helicopter out to the squad (01:19:54:00) Although McAlpine spent most of his time around An Khe, which was in the Central Highlands and fell in II Corps’ jurisdiction, he also spent time further north, in I Corps’ area of operations (01:20:36:00) One night, the platoon had set out for an ambush and while McAlpine’s squad was supposed to move onto one side of a village, another sergeant was supposed to lead his squad to the other side of the village (01:20:55:00) o McAlpine remembers being told to go to radio silence and to only use the radios if they ran into trouble (01:21:12:00) o The other squad saw some enemy and decided to go into the village after them; however, it turned out the group was a wedding, but the other squad did not know this at the time (01:21:24:00)  The squad killed the VC soldiers in the group, shaved the head of the bride, raped a couple of the women, and threw the dead VC bodies into a well, along with a couple of grenades; at the time, everything except raping the women was normal for the soldiers to do (01:21:54:00) o When McAlpine later talked with the other sergeant and asked how everything had gone, the sergeant said that everything was normal (01:22:48:00) o A couple of days later, McAlpine was wounded and forced to go into the hospital (01:22:52:00) o As it turned out, the girl who had been getting married was the daughter of a village chief; the chief complained to the MACV (Military Assistance Command Vietnam, which oversaw American operations), who called up the 1st Air Cav., who came to the 1st of the 9th, and went through the after-action reports to see who was in the village that night (01:23:01:00) o Once McAlpine returned to his unit after healing for a couple of weeks in the hospital, both his and the other squad were standing in line-ups (01:23:28:00)  The bride then came to identify the soldiers in the squads who had attacked her (01:23:42:00)  The captain in charge of the company told McAlpine not to stand in the line-up but when McAlpine asked why, the captain did not give him a reason (01:24:01:00) � o The bride identified the other sergeant and his squad as having done everything, so McAlpine’s squad was off the hook; however, the soldiers in the other squad denied everything the bride said (01:24:18:00)  One of the men in the squad, who had been sent to infiltrate and investigate the unit by higher command, given the unit’s growing notoriety, subsequently stepped forward, identified himself, and said that yes, what the woman was saying about the squad was true (01:24:37:00) o The men in the other squad were supposed to be arrested but they were in the field and the MPs did not want to come out there to get them because they were afraid of the men (01:25:18:00)  Instead, the division asked McAlpine’s squad to guard the men in the other squad; McAlpine’s squad said they would, so all they did for three or four days was sit around their tent and play cards (01:25:30:00)  The MPs eventually came in force but the other squad surrendered and all were sentenced to prison terms (01:25:57:00) o Once the other squad had been arrested, the men in McAlpine’s squad drew straws as to who would go to the rear area to kill the man who had turned the other squad in (01:26:20:00)  Although he was the squad leader and controlled the straws, McAlpine still drew the short straw (01:26:30:00) o McAlpine went back to An Khe and began looking for the snitch; however, his best friend from high school, who was serving as an MP, walked past (01:26:49:00)  The friend asked McAlpine how everything was going and when the friend asked McAlpine what unit he was with and McAlpine told him, McAlpine saw a look of recognition on the friend’s face (01:27:06:00)  The friend offered the get McAlpine a cold Coca-Cola and returned with four additional MPs, who escorted McAlpine to a general’s tent (01:27:37:00)  The general interviewed McAlpine for a moment and asked why McAlpine was in An Khe (01:27:55:00)  The general gave McAlpine a lecture and told him that if he ever came back to An Khe again, then the general was going to put him in jail (01:28:57:00)  The general had McAlpine placed on a helicopter and had him flown back to his unit (01:29:06:00) o It took a long time for McAlpine to get over the urge to settle the score with the man who had snitched on the other squad (01:29:49:00) When the squad would go into the field, they would encounter Vietnamese villages and they would have to search through them (01:30:19:00) o The soldiers also encounter Montagnard villages but because there was not much action in those villages, the Montagnards were much more friendly towards the soldiers (01:30:27:00)  Although McAlpine believes the NVA and VC constantly harassed the Montagnards, he does not think that the NVA and VC set up specific combat against them (01:31:03:00) �   Just by looking at the Montagnards, the soldiers could tell that they were ethnically different from the Vietnamese (01:31:31:00) Late in McAlpine’s tour, his troop’s camp was moved north to I Corps; however, it was not too long after that that McAlpine’s tour ended, so he does not recall too much about the time in I Corps (01:31:59:00) The various camps where McAlpine’s soldiers would spend the night only came under mortar attack a handful of times (01:32:28:00) o At one point, the squadron had just taken over an ammunition dump from a Marine Corps unit and enemy forces had made it so that the Marines were unable to get out of their own perimeter (01:32:38:00)  When the 1st of the 9th arrived at the ammunition dump, their arrival was unlike anything the enemy soldiers had ever witnessed (01:33:09:00)  The daily kill ratio eventually reached one hundred dead enemy soldiers for every one killed American soldier (01:33:27:00)  When the enemy began mortaring the ammunition dump, McAlpine took his squad out and found the enemy mortar tubes, but not the enemy mortarmen; the squad destroyed the mortar tubes then for the next couple of nights, would slip out to there the tubes were, hoping to find the enemy mortarmen (01:33:35:00) o Although the enemy never launched mortar rounds onto the ammunition dump again, they still managed to destroy the majority of the supplies being held at the ammunition dump (01:34:36:00) End of Deployment / Post-Military Life / Misc. / Reflections (01:35:44:00)  For the pilots in the unit, they were asked to go to the rear area thirty days before they were set to rotate home; however, that was a luxury that McAlpine and the other ground scouts did not have (01:35:44:00) o McAlpine and the other the ground scouts never knew exactly when they would be rotating out (01:35:58:00)  McAlpine remembers that on the day he rotated out, the first sergeant met him on the flight line before the squad went out on its first assault and said that McAlpine was not going out that day (01:36:01:00) o When the first sergeant told him this, McAlpine started crying because he could not believe he had made it through the tour (01:36:17:00) o McAlpine said his good byes to his squad as the squad was flying off to do their first assault of the day (01:36:34:00) o After he said his good byes and the squad left, McAlpine returned to An Khe and told the captain in charge of the rotations that he was going to be staying in a bunker; McAlpine had made it through the tour and did not want to risk anything, so he told the captain to just bring him food and beer (01:36:51:00)  The captain did as McAlpine requested but McAlpine got so drunk that he missed his ride to the airport (01:37:10:00) o McAlpine boarded a C-7 Caribou transport and the next thing he remembers, he was in Fort Lewis, Washington (01:37:37:00) �       McAlpine was the highest ranking person in his barracks at Fort Lewis, so he was put in charge of making sure everyone in the barracks was in formation in the morning (01:37:54:00)  At one point, a major want McAlpine to tell his men to police the area for garbage but McAlpine said no (01:38:31:00) From Fort Lewis, McAlpine flew to Chicago, where he took a taxi to Moline, Illinois and began attending Palmer College the same day (01:39:09:00) o McAlpine’s brother was already attending Palmer and had already enrolled McAlpine, using McAlpine’s grades from Michigan State and from high school (01:39:27:00) While in Vietnam, McAlpine’s unit received mail usually once a week; however, getting mail only once a week was not that big of a deal because all the men had more important things to worry about (01:39:56:00) For the most part, the men survived off C-Rations, although on occasion, when they would return to their landing zone for the evening, there was a hot meal (01:40:18:00) Although most all of the men suffered from one tropical disease or another at some point, the men realized that there was not much they could do about it (01:41:01:00) o After McAlpine had been home for a couple of months, he was talking with his father about pain in his feet; however, his father waved it off, saying he had the same thing working on the farm (01:41:09:00) Having enough drinking water was never much of a problem because the men were always operating near streams and rivers, so if they ever ran out of water, the could just fill their canteens up there (01:41:36:00) o Each man always carried two, if not three, canteens with him whenever the squad went into the field (01:41:42:00) o The monsoon season affected how well the squad could operate, mostly because the low ceiling caused by the rain made it impossible for the helicopters to fly properly (01:42:01:00)  Apart from assaulting positions, the squad was also assigned the job of rescuing any downed pilots and securing the helicopters; however, the monsoons made doing this job difficult (01:42:13:00)  At one point, one of McAlpine’s friends was shot down and the rescuers could not reach him in time; instead, the friend was captured and spent six years in the infamous North Vietnamese POW camp, the Hanoi Hilton (01:42:47:00)  The friend was the troop’s flight surgeon and did not know what to do once he was on the ground; his fear made him walk away from the helicopter where, had he stayed there and hid, McAlpine and his squad would have found him (01:43:14:00) In the unit, it was more common for men to leave because they had been wounded as opposed to finishing their tour (01:43:53:00) o Almost everyone in the troop, at one point or another, received a Purple Heart; McAlpine does not know of anyone in the Blues who did not receive one, or several, Purple Hearts (01:43:57:00)  Receiving medals entirely depended on having an officer available to do a proper write-up; McAlpine was twice recommended for the Medal of �  Honor but both times, the decorations were reduced to Silver Stars (01:44:17:00)  However, McAlpine did not even know he had received the medals until he was on his way home (01:44:24:00)  Nevertheless, in his mind, the medals were less important than the fact that he was going home alive, able to see and speak with his parents and rest of his family (01:44:36:00) While in Vietnam, the men vaguely knew a little bit about the anti-war movement in the United States, but not too much (01:45:03:00) o However, when he got back to United States and began attending college, McAlpine did not comprehend the full extent of the anti-war sentiment in the United States (01:45:06:00)  At first, McAlpine tried to ask the demonstrators why they were demonstrating and what the problem was (01:45:18:00)  When the demonstrators could not give McAlpine a straight answer, he tried talking with them but that method did not go anywhere (01:45:26:00)  McAlpine would then physically confront the demonstrators, the police would come, and McAlpine would go to jail (01:45:35:00)  McAlpine’s brother had to get McAlpine out of jail several times because McAlpine was physically disrupting the demonstrations (01:45:44:00)  McAlpine could not drive down a road and see people protesting about something they knew nothing about without doing something, especially having gone through what he had in Vietnam (01:45:59:00)  Although McAlpine initially tried to reason with the demonstrators, that method never worked, so McAlpine eventually resorted to just grabbing the protestors signs and posters and destroying them (01:46:24:00)  The police would inevitably be called and they knew McAlpine in a very short period of time; although the police agreed with McAlpine, it was still against the law for him to attack the demonstrators (01:46:44:00) o Eventually, the demonstrations stopped but McAlpine has still not calmed down regarding the actions of the demonstrators (01:47:02:00) When he returned home, McAlpine never openly talked about his experiences in Vietnam (01:47:44:00) o However, his reputation had preceded him to Palmer, where one of the administrators had fought in the Korean War and had received the Silver Star, so McAlpine had to talk with him (01:47:46:00)  When McAlpine pledged into his brother’s fraternity, a couple of the other fraternity members called him Audie Murphy and McAlpine threw them out a couple of windows; that was not a comparison that he wanted being made about him (01:48:15:00) o For the most part, McAlpine did not talk about his experiences because he did not think anyone cared, which was true at the time (01:48:32:00) � o Those people who knew McAlpine had served in the military knew he was a man of principles and would not break under pressure (01:48:36:00) o More recently, McAlpine has done talks about his experiences at various colleges and universities in Michigan, including Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, and Hope College (01:49:04:00) During on the recent reunions for the unit, McAlpine ran into one of the old helicopter pilots; the two renewed acquaintances and stories, the friend mentioned he was looking for a job, and McAlpine helped the man find a job in Michigan (01:49:59:00) o At one point, the friend called McAlpine to say he was going back to Vietnam and he wanted McAlpine to go with him and another pilot (01:50:27:00)  McAlpine said that he did not want to go and that he had no reason to go back there (01:50:54:00)  The friend said he would call back the following week and when he did, he told McAlpine that by the time McAlpine did want to go back, he would be too old to appreciate going back (01:51:02:00)  The crack about McAlpine being too old hit home and McAlpine began giving the trip serious consideration, eventually deciding it was a good idea to go (01:51:18:00) o McAlpine went with the two pilots back to Vietnam and the three had a great time; during the trip, McAlpine saw Vietnam in a way that he had never seen Vietnam before (01:51:37:00)  While serving there, he never saw a road or a city or electricity, never ate their food or experienced their culture and, never saw them dressed in anything other than black pajamas (01:51:45:00)  The trip rekindled a fire inside McAlpine that there was something in Vietnam that he had missed while serving during the war and he owed it to himself to look at the country differently (01:52:02:00) o After McAlpine returned from the trip, he was asked to give a presentation to the Rotary Club; one of the Rotary Club members was a Vietnamese expatriate who was going to Vietnam in a couple of months and was wondering if McAlpine would go with him (01:52:19:00)  The expatriate was going to Vietnam to do business, so McAlpine met some Vietnamese business people (01:52:32:00)  While the other man was conducting business, McAlpine hired a car and going up to Pleiku, visited a floor-making factory; having recently redone the floors in his house, McAlpine saw how inexpensive production was and formed the idea of starting a business (01:52:37:00)  McAlpine organized his finances, insured the entire operation and began importing hardwood floors (01:53:16:00) o The Vietnamese attitude towards the soldiers who return to visit Vietnam is one of love and admiration (01:53:47:00) o During one of his trips back to Vietnam, McAlpine traveled up to the city of Hanoi (01:54:41:00)  McAlpine was working with a young lady as a guide and she took him to the flooring company he was looking to do business with (01:54:50:00) �  The head of the company wanted to know more about McAlpine, specifically if he had been in the Army, had had served in Vietnam, and had served near Pleiku (01:55:29:00)  The man’s father had served at Pleiku from 1966 until 1967 as the general commanding the area for the NVA (01:55:45:00)  The man asked if McAlpine would like to meet his father and McAlpine said he would love to; after questioning McAlpine, the man said his father would be there in ten minutes (01:56:15:00)  Ten minutes later, the father showed up and he turned out to be a very nice man; the father had not talked with an American since the 1960s, so his son translated between he and McAlpine (01:56:50:00) Looking back, when McAlpine returned home from Vietnam, he appreciated his family more, as well as a hot shower and hot food (01:58:48:00) o As well, McAlpine was more in tune, both with God and with himself; he understood himself better and realized that he had been born as a warrior, could control a lot of his own destiny, and he understands that he can control a lot of things (01:58:58:00) o McAlpine’s time in the service helped in defining him as a person (01:59:05:00) � 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 McAlpineB1378V Title A name given to the resource McAlpine, Barry (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McAlpine, Barry Description An account of the resource Barry McAlpine was born in Cass City, Michigan in 1945. After graduating from high school in 1963, McAlpine briefly worked at General Motors before attending Michigan State University. However, his time at Michigan State did not work out and in 1965, McAlpine received his draft notice. After going through the induction center in Detroit, McAlpine went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for his basic training. Once he completed the basic training at Fort Knox, McAlpine's MOS was military intelligence, which required him to go through advanced infantry training, also at Fort Knox. After finishing the advanced training at Fort Knox, McAlpine deployed to Germany, where he received an assignment to a unit stationed of the West German border with Czechoslovakia. McAlpine left Germany in 1966 and after a short leave, deployed to Vietnam. Once in Vietnam, McAlpine's orders sent him to "B" Troop, 1st of the 9th, 1st Air Cavalry Division. While with "B" Troop, McAlpine served as a member of the Blues, a ground scout section of the troop tasked with purposely finding and engaging the enemy. McAlpine spent his entire tour with "B" Troop, eventually becoming a squad leader. When his tour ended, McAlpine returned to the United States and began going back to college. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-04-26 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/8119b1417591fa316fa0637667bf4143.mp4 e1f4de5e9a8d825bbb9e5e889d1484a6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4defcf1b10002d206173be6b60d64e06.pdf fbb5ba96746dc5513dd8875fc488cc80 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Interviewee’s Names: Jack & Norma Mc Caulley Name of War: World War II Length: (00:32:49) (00:20) Background Information      Jack was born in Woodland, Michigan in 1927 He went to school all over Michigan because his family traveled a lot Norma was born on August 28, 1925 in New Auburn, Wisconsin She went to a one room school house that taught 8 grades altogether Jack quit school in 1944 and enlisted in the Navy when he was 16 years old (6:25) Training  Jack was told by the Navy that “if you can shoot a gun, we will take you”  He was not old enough to enlist and his mother had to sign a release form for him  Jack was sent to boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and he quickly found that he did not like training  There was much physical training, hiking, and marching  They had pretty good food and he avoided KP by pretending that he had pink eye  Jack was sent to Camp Barry in Virginia for 2 weeks and then sent to San Francisco  He was preparing to ship out when he came down with scarlet fever  Jack was in the hospital recovering for about a month and his unit shipped out without him  He was transferred to the 59th Seabees and later shipped out from California (10:25) Pacific  They stopped in Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Saipan  They helped build an Air Force base for B-29s in Guam  Jack spent the last months of his service in the Marianas Islands where there was still quite a bit of fighting going on  His job was to drive a large truck for the Seabees, delivering supplies across the islands  There were snipers hiding in trees all over the island (15:10) After Service  Jack met his wife at a roller rink in Battle Creek, Michigan and they have been married for over 56 years  Her family had recently moved to Michigan from Wisconsin  Norma had moved to Washington with her sisters during the war and they sang gospel songs on the radio �    Jack later got a job working for Post Cereal and he worked there for 36 years They traveled a lot through their marriage and visited all 50 states It’s hard for them to travel now because they are older and gas is so expensive Jack has been part of the Masons in Battle Creek for over 50 years � 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 McCaulleyJ Title A name given to the resource Mc Caulley, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mc Caulley, Jack Description An account of the resource Jack Mc Caulley was born in Woodland, Michigan in 1927 and enlisted in the Navy in 1944 when he was only 16 years old. Jack went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then shipped out with the 59th Seabees. Jack worked as a truck driver delivering supplies on Pacific islands such as the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Saipan. Jack and Norma met after the war in a roller rink and have since been married for more than 56 years. 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. 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 2005-07-16 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/e698ac1343b520c4d858a98e88759b9a.mp4 0f21052d0112e7ee36b0d433f3b8d09a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d47237c6c8b6b431bf740497ef8610bd.pdf 48f4652691fdc00dd945a3ff7cfb3b1f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Kay Maxson Korean War Era (53:12) Background Information (00:14)         Born in Lowell, Michigan, in 1933.(00:18) His parents were divorced when he was a 9 in 1942. (00:40) He lived with his mother. (1:05) He attended high school in Lowell. (1:23) He graduated from high school in 1951. He enlisted in the Navy Reserve in January of 1951.he had no intention of going to college. (1:45) He moved to Galesburg, Michigan, with his father because it was closer to Grand Rapids Michigan where he was stationed. (2:20) In January of 1952 he was told he would be going into active duty. (2:30) At the time of his enlistment (1951) he had 2 siblings enlisted in the military and was very aware of the conflicts in Korea. (2:46) Basic training (3:25)        He was at Great Lakes Naval Base for 8 weeks for basic training in January of 1952. (3:25) Many of the soldiers he trained with were from southern states and other areas in the U.S. (3:40) In spite it being winter the men still did PT (physical training) outside. The men were also trained in swimming, weapons and even how to fight oil fires. (4:04) There was a great emphasis on discipline during basic. He didn’t have too much difficulty adjusting to this. (4:38) He had a lot of experience with water and boating before his naval training. (5:38) After Basic training he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia by train. (6:20) He served aboard the USS Oriskany, an air craft carrier. It was 189 feet long and 59 feet wide on the flight deck and 40 feet to the flight deck from the water. (7:11) Service aboard the USS Oriskany and in the Korean conflict (8:00)       The ship was originally supposed to travel through the Panama Canal but was 5 feet too wide. (8:25) The Ship stopped in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. (8:30) While in Peru, the ship got a liberty boat. Due to storms the Oriskany could not keep the liberty boat. (9:20) The ship than stopped for 2-3 days in Chile. (9:50) Most civilians had a positive outlook on the American sailors. (10:36) The ship was “tight” for 3 days due to a horrible storm that was passed while going around Cape Horn. (11:17) �               The ship than arrived in California and got a “green squadron” or a new squadron of aircraft. (13:12) The ship then docked in Hawaii and stayed there for 1 week. Than the ship circled the island for 1 week in order to give the new squadron practice landing on a moving ship. (14:13) Kay worked damage control. This included many tasks including refilling the CO2 bottles on aircraft. (14:45) During practice, several aircraft ran out of gas. The squadron lost planes but no pilots. (16:00) After a week in Hawaii the ship docked in Hong Kong for a good will mission. (17:42) Because this aircraft carrier was the first to arrive in Vietnam since World War II, the ship was met with much celebration. (18:10) He did not have the immediate perception that there were many Chinese refugees there. (19:48) Next the Ship Docked in Yokosuka, Japan. Here the men took R and R. (20:28) The ship then moved to North Korea where they patrolled 7-8 miles away from shore. (20:41) Occasionally the ship would be warmed of enemy submarines. (21:28) The ship did have escorts including 6 destroyers. (21:41) Due to an accident with a bomb on the ship, 2 men were killed, 7 were injured, and the ship was damaged. After this the ship was out of commission for 24 hours. (21:30) The carrier deck at this time (1952) was made of wooden planking. (24:42) Kay had exact knowledge of what the ship’s mission was and what the air aircraft aboard the ship was being sent out to do. (25:07) Aside from enemy submarines, Kay himself was never under threat of enemy attack during his service. (26:39) Life and Experiences aboard Ship (28:00)            While ashore in Japan, he was surprised with how friendly the Japanese people were to Americans. (28:45) He did have 1 weekend in Tokyo. He traveled by train to get from port to Tokyo. (31:00) While in Japan, there was little evidence that a war had recently ended there. (32:10) He arrived on ship in April 1952 and got off in September 1953. (32:35) There where black and white sailors aboard ship. There weren’t any discrimination problems. (34:07) Because he didn’t like seeing the big cities too often, he would often be paid to take other men’s watch duty so that they could go into town. (35:30) When charring supplies the men had to carry it on their shoulders because the hallways where so narrows. (37:10) The men pulled into Yokosuka to dock before heading back to the US. But on May Day (May 1st 1953) the men were supposed to come home. However because no one in Japan was working on that day, the men left one day later (May 2nd) (39:54) The ship did not stop often on its way back to San Francisco. (41:03) He was given an early discharge in October of 1953 instead of February of 1954. (42:33) Kay was given an opportunity to reenlist in the Naval Reserve; However, Kay turned it down. (43:50) Life after Discharge (43:00) �      When arriving in San Francisco it was so foggy the men couldn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge. (45:50) After finishing his service he attended college on the GI Bill. He spent 2 years at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo Michigan and 1 year at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. He studied mortuary science. (47:13) He married a woman from Kalamazoo Michigan. (47:33) Due to the GI bill he and his wife he actually made money while he was going to school. (48:55) He worked for his father-in-Law. (50:04) He received his mortuary license in 1957 and his insurance license in 1958. (50:20) Thoughts on Service (51:00)    He thinks positively on the experience his military service gave him. (51:05) He is particularly moved by his visit to Pearl Harbor.(51:30) He believes his service made him a better student in college and gave him direction in life. (52:20) � 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 MaxsonK1168V Title A name given to the resource Maxson, Kay (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Maxson, Kay Description An account of the resource Kay Maxson, born in Lowell Michigan in 1933, enlisted in the Naval Reserve in early 1951, and was called to active duty in January, 1952. Trained in fire and damage control, he was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. After he joined the ship at Norfolk, Virginia, it sailed to Guantanamo and to Panama, but the ship turned out to be too wide to get through the Canal, and had to go around the Horn instead to reach the Pacific, and was damaged in the processed. They stopped in Chile and Peru, then went to San Francisco to pick up its aircraft, and then went to Hawaii to train the pilots before going on to Korea. They crossed the Pacific and visited Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan, and patrolled off the North Korean coast before returning to port in 1953. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Navy Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-09-20 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/c24c29ea3dc5c9a2f2c01c89f20a35c6.mp4 0855568b0ccdb62d32c58a1d1b5d67fb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dfb039f93efa240bccdd172182ed7102.pdf a6be20b5691835988e79b84f8ddf3c34 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Earl William Mather (2:10:37) (00:30) Garfield, Ohio • Earl was born April 1, 1919 • When he was young he remembers many accidents on the railroad by his house. They tended to be at night when the watchman was off duty. They did not have lights in those days signaling problems or issues on the tracks. • (2:40) Earl’s father owned a Delco plant. (Generator that produced electricity) When they received electricity, one company ran from the north and another from the east with an agreement that the first to wire a house in Garfield could service the whole town. Earl’s father had already wired his home because he owned the Delco plant, so when the company from the north arrived they hooked up to the house and lit a 110 watt bulb to the front of the house claiming their stake on the town. His father was told to never turn that light bulb off and run it 24 hours a day. • (4:15) When Earl was 10 years old his father installed a toilet in the house. It was the first in the town to be installed. His uncle was a carpenter and thought that was ridiculous. He said you use to do that outside and eat inside, now we do that inside and want to eat outside. • Earl’s father and uncle both worked together. When Earl’s father bought a Model T Truck, his uncle refused to give up his horse. He said no working man ought to own a vehicle. It took awhile before he gave up the horse to ride with his brother. • (6:30) Earl’s uncle had barn raising parties on Saturday’s. The neighbors would get together, men building and women cooking, and raise it in one day. He said he didn’t make mistakes, they were oversights. • The town of Garfield had the lowest taxes in Ohio because the railroad and the street cars were paying taxes. • (8:40) as children they played street hockey with an evaporated milk can that they would smash flat and attach them to their feet and then smash a tin can and hit it around with any stick with a bump on the bottom of it. • His school house was a two room school. One class upstairs and one class downstairs with two teachers. There was a furnace in the basement that kept the building warm. Toilets were outside as was running water. The school held all 8 grades. • (10:20) His mother was a school teacher and they had the first little red handbook. It was distributed by Winston. Earl memorized the book but didn’t learn to read it. • Earl’s father wrote words down by how they sounded and Earl did the same thing. • Earl graduated from the 8th grade with one extra credit in Music. • Earl went to high school between Garfield and Damascus. • (13:47) His high school had a basketball team but no football team. He was told he should play basketball because he was tall but he didn’t like the sport. He did �participate for a couple of weeks but decided he would never like it so he stopped practicing. • Earl did participate in both the Junior and Senior plays at school • (16:00) Earl went to a Sunday school picnic at Westfield. He met his wife there and took her out on a rowboat. She had never been on a boat before. It was the first girl Earl dated. • Earl graduated from High school in 1937. • The depression years were pressing on everyone. Earl’s father was a self employed contractor who would work mostly for farmers. He had a lot of people owing him money since they had no money to pay him. They would often give farm animals as payment or partial payment. One time he was given a cow as partial payment and had her till the 60’s when Earl and his brother butchered her while they were out of town. • (19:30) They kept bags of wheat in the basement and would grind it in a coffee grinder and get skim milk from the neighborhood creamery and make cereal for breakfast. The creamery would give skim milk away for free because it wasn’t worth anything. • (20:30) Earl and his brother would go out and catch geese in grain bags and carry them home to butcher. They also kept chickens in the cellar and would kill them and eat them. • Earl’s brother, Raymond, was a mechanic after high school. • (24:20) Earl married at 19 years old to his present wife. She was the only girl he dated and when they married they didn’t have a honeymoon. When her sister married they went with them to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. By this time they had one son, Jack. • Jack was diagnosed with cancer on his spine and was diagnosed a paraplegic. Jack was expected to live 6 weeks after they did surgery on him. Today he is almost 67 and drives his own car, paints, welds and so forth. The doctors didn’t believe it was the same boy when Earl and his wife brought him back to the hospital. Jack loads his own wheelchair in his truck when he leaves to go places. • (29:00) Earl built a house for his aunt who had been widowed and was moving up from Pittsburgh. She didn’t like the darkness (no street lights) so she decided to move. She loaned Earl and his wife (Millie) $700 for the down payment on the house. Earl at the time was making either $2.50 a day or $25.00 a month. Their house payment was $18.00 a month (32:40) Military service • April 1943 Earl was drafted into the service by letter. He says it started with “Your friends and neighbors…” • He reported to Cleveland, Ohio, and was sent to Indiana • (34:10) While in Indiana he met a neighbor of his who was in the 3c’s, a training camp who trained men in a job [Civilian Conservation Corps]. This friend told him not to throw his socks on the ground at night but to lay them crosswise on his boots so they would dry at night because he would be wearing them the following day. • In Indiana Earl was given the name of his outfit, the “Combat Engineers” (36:20) Camp McCain-Mississippi �Earl was fitted here with his uniform. This was his basic training camp While here Millie’s grandfather died, Earl was in radio school at the time, the company sergeant told him what the telegram said. Earl returned to class. Sergeant came back with a telegram from Earl’s parents this time. Earl was given a furlough. He got in the jeep, took a shower, and a jeep took him to the main gate. He was still 10 miles from town. Millie was already waiting for him at the bus station. He caught a ride to a hotel across from the railroad station. Earl bought railroad tickets so they could get home. The train was already moving by the time they got on. They took a streetcar to Alliance where her grandparents lived. They drove back down in a car (a Hudson) that had a hundred thousand miles on it already all the way back to Granada. There was no place to live so Millie and the two kids lived in the car for about two weeks. The racetrack made gates into houses and Millie lived in one with the kids. Their car was the only civilian vehicle in Granada at the time. • (43:42) Earl flunked out of radio school because he was gone and became a technical sergeant for his carpenter abilities. He was good at building things. (44:45) Fort Polk, Louisiana • Earl took his final training at Fort Polk. • Because he was a Combat Engineer he had training for this and also light infantry training that needed to be finished up before being sent into the field. They were expected to carry a rifle on their back while doing their job. • An anti-aircraft battalion went with them everywhere and encircled them while they did their jobs. The battalion was able to shoot up at the planes to protect them. • There were balloons up in the sky on thin wire that would catch the aircraft above them. Earl said you could see them but they were pretty far up there. The wires were attached to an anchor in the ground and once the airplanes hit them they could tear a wing right off of the airplane. • (46:40) Earl remembers bringing down 9 aircraft with the balloons alone. • Earl said that the balloons would sometimes bring down our own planes because they were so hard to see. He remembers a P-51 coming up on them who must have seen the balloons because he weaved his way through without a problem. • Earl remembers one plane coming from the Rhine River and came down right in front of them and they were too mesmerized to move out of the way. The two people in the plane did walk away from the crash though. The two men were Canadians who when they got out kept looking at the map wondering why that wasn’t on the map. (49:20) Crossing the Ocean-November 1944 • Earl remembers crossing the ocean on the biggest convoy they had ever assembled. There were a total of 300 ships. Their ship was the biggest and they had to move at the slowest ship’s speed so Earl’s ship had LST’s circling them day and night. • Aboard ship they were given orders to empty the ashtrays but didn’t hear word of whether they had hit a submarine or not. • • • �Earl’s ship was a luxury ship, a sister to the Queen Mary. It was 6ft shy of the Queen Mary, both owned by the same company. His ship was called the Dominion Monarch • Earl remembers being sea sick the whole time but did not ever vomit over it. • They landed in Southern England (50:50) Southern England-December 1944 • Once landed, Earl’s company walked a long ways. • They spent about 4 months in England • Once there, Earl was picked out of his entire company to be the MP. Two men from each unit in the area were sent downtown to be the MP Unit. Because of this, Earl did not receive much training while in England. • (53:00) Earl’s unit was in England during the Battle of the Bulge but was not suited as an infantry unit but an engineer unit. Earl didn’t qualify to help out because of his training and his status as an MP. (54:20) France-February 1944 • Earl’s unit reached France in February and the weather was very cold. He slept in mud while there. • Once there his unit moved rather quickly. They had a jeep with a red ball painted on the back and took the red ball highway which was one way with no stopping. His convoy traveled around 300 miles a day. • Everyday they would send back a ration truck that would find a depot and then chase them down to wherever they had made it to. The jeep could never find them so they were down to the emergency rations, about a week under stocked. The depots moved every two to three days which also made it hard for the jeep to make it back. • The medical officer realized they were low when men would get cut and the cut would not heal. He stood at chow line and made them eat vitamin pills. At one point they ran out of water. • (56:40) They reached a town called Gelderen which was blown to bits and even the brewery was demolished. The bank was blown up and the money was all over the streets. They went into the brewery and found a few that had not been blown up. They filled up every can they had full of beer. Earl remembers shaving with beer. The beer was black beer. • (58:15) Earl and his buddy were sitting at a table in a building they confiscated playing cards when a guy walked over to them with a round jug full of clear liquid. Earl’s friend filled his glass half full and drank it down and almost died. Earl had to revive him and once he could talk again he said he thought it was water. It was pure alcohol. • (59:58) Earl’s company built about 5 bridges on the way. All five were exactly alike. • Many of the bridges the company built were blown out bridges that needed repair but there were a few they built because they felt that there needed to be a bridge there. • Earl explains how they built the bridges out of wood piling. While building the bridges, the excess wood would drift down stream and create a dam at the next • �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • bridge that was blown out so the men would have to lasso the wood and pull it out of the water. (01:04:10) The men were being protected from the anti-aircraft units in case of attack by the enemy. Earl’s unit never saw the troops but they knew they were there. There were no ground attacks on their unit while building bridges. The airplanes above were dropping leaflets stating that this area was being taken over and that if you wanted no part of fighting to get out. This was the Allies talking to the German people. Earl makes a statement that they were not fighting the German people; they were fighting Hitler and his army. Earl states that the German people around them knew this. (01:05:50) Once the leaflets were dropped, they had mortars and bombs that would follow. Each mortar would have absorbers attached to register where they would land. This gave the man an idea on where to move it to hit the target desired. Every crater overlapped the previous one. It would be as long as what you set up to hit. This gave them 24 hours of bombing. They would aim to hit every single building in the town. (01:07:50) Earl’s unit’s main problem was getting through these towns that were on fire safely. If there was not a street, they would make one. They had bulldozers and chainsaws with handles at both ends available to them at all times. (01:09:40) Earl remembers that they did not know what country they were in half of the time. One time a guy flipped over a sign that said Charleroi. They knew then they were in Belgium. The guy was from Charleroi Pennsylvania and he knew it was named after a town in Belgium. It took an average of 9 to 10 days to build one bridge. (01:11:10) The last bridge that they built, they were there for about a week before the 9th army crossed the bridge. Earl was on duty till 4 this day. The German Junkers 88 bomber got across the river to the Allied side. Earl could hear him coming but couldn’t see him. The anti aircraft began to shoot up heavy as soon as they spotted him. The men chose to do four hours on and eight hours off instead of two hours on four hours off like they were told to do. (01:14:10) While napping, Earl heard a plane hit the building he was in. The plane stopped about a mile away from the building and men inside the building went to check on the plane. Earl was too tired so he stayed there. The plane held one guy who looked about 18 years old and flying a Junkers 88 plane which was a big plane. The kid died in the plane. This spot was where the last bridge was built. The next night the sky was full of airplanes all night long. Earl thinks millions. The next day they came back and were flying low in friendly territory. Earl could see the men’s legs hanging out waving at the guys below. Earl says there was always fuel but how they got it and where they got it he didn’t know just that there was always fuel. �(01:16:50) Earl remembers that when they were out of water, they would wash there clothes in gasoline. That was how abundant it was. • (01:18:08) From the Rhine they headed up to the Elbe River where they were told to hold up because they were giving the Russians this territory. This seemed to be close to where Germany surrendered. • At this point the war ended in Europe but Earl didn’t have enough points to come home (1:19:50) Treadway Bridge Outfit • Earl was transferred to a treadway bridge outfit at this point. They were sent out on a 6x6 truck with a crane to lay a part of the bridge and get out of the way since their job was over with. Then another truck would come and lay their part of the bridge. Earl remained with this group until he came home. • (01:20:38)While in Marseille, part of their outfit was in Nice, all truck drivers were asked to volunteer to go to Nice. On the third day, they were demanded to go if they could drive a truck so Earl volunteered to go. They spent one night in Nice and had no fuel to go any farther. The sergeant was at his girlfriend’s house so they could do nothing without his say. Finally, they were told if their truck could make it a hundred miles to go home. Earl was lucky and headed back to Marseille. • (01:23:45) Earl had encounters with concentration camps while in Europe. They were stationed in Essen, the steel city, and the camp was on an incline. The people thought it was an officer training camp but couldn’t explain the truck loads of prisoners heading into it. Earl thinks they just didn’t want to know what was going on there. They went around to all the rooms and in the furnace room there were hooks embedded in the walls. They would tie people’s hands and tie them together and hang them on the hooks. Earl remembers the walls being bloody. He said that the people were alive when they were on the hooks and that they would try to get off but they were left there until they died. Then they would throw them in the furnace. • (01:26:45) In December 1945, Earl was told he would be going home and on New Years Day 1946, he seen New York City and the Statue of Liberty again. Earl is emotional about this point. He didn’t think this was possible with all the situations he was involved in. He felt that survival was not possible so he began living day to day. Being home was a miracle to him. • Earl said that 24 hours you could hear bombs and planes during the war. He could tell by the sound of the plane what kind of plane it was and who it was. He said you had to sleep while bombs were going off and they were loud. He was told to be comforted by the fact that if a bomb hits you that you wouldn’t hear that one. (01:28:50) Fort Belvoir, Virginia • Earl was discharged here. • He met up with his wife, and the following morning he took his car down the road and a half mile down he got out and looked around the car at the tires to make sure they were all there. The drive was so different from the jeeps in the service. He knew it was him and not the tires. (01:30:30) Home in Ohio • �Earl and Millie returned to their home in Ohio. During the war they had rented it out and now they came back to live there. • Earl returned to working for his dad doing carpentry work. He felt he should be doing something that had to do with the war. • He went to work for the Elias Machine Company building cranes • He built houses with his dad till his dad died and then built houses on his own. He laid bricks for the houses. • (01:33:10) Earl and Millie went on to have 4 more children after the war. Richard was third, then Bonnie, then Terri, and Tom. • Earl volunteered for the fire department for 42 years. He was given a watch after 40 years that said Congratulations on 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. He was 80 when he stopped. Earl is still an EMT. • (01:36:40) Earl said we need to remember that without everyone in the service doing what they were told to do we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing today. • (01:38:10) While in the service Earl said he was in charge of prisoners. They were building a high tension line in a staging area. Every day he would get a group of prisoners to help him and they enjoyed helping because they got out. They would take back scraps to their buddy’s for a midnight snack. This was in Southern France after the war was over. Earl went to the compound on the first day for 6 volunteers. He asked if anyone spoke English and an older man did. He actually spoke British. He interpreted a story of a 16 year old kid to Earl. The kid said he was inducted into the army at the last minute with no training. He had a buddy with one rifle between them. They hid most of the day and looked for food one at a time. They had to surrender because they were starving. Earl kept them working till about noon and let them go to get some food. They would wait by the garbage cans and the service men would scrape their food into the prisoners cans. The 16 year old boy got lost while they were moving and ran around trying to find them again. The boy said he was scared he wouldn’t find them again. • (01:42:25) Earl made friends with them. He said people fight wars because of the government not the people. People are people where ever you go. (1:43:00) Military Items • Earl shows some items he still has from the service including Jurgen knives the German military boys would carry pens, unit patches, German switch knives, Italian razor blades, toilet paper and more. • He shows a German paper dated 2-4-44 • Two notes saying from The Liberation of Buchenwald by Henry J. Herder. • (01:44:55) Buchenwald Concentration Camp Weimar, Germany Liberated April 11 1945 Exterminated more than 56,000 victims • A picture of two men holding Jewish prisoners hand and foot while he lay on the ground. He was a survivor who had died. • A picture of a trench dug at the concentration camp that was filled with bodies. The picture shows German soldiers who were prisoners removing the bodies from the trench. • (01:46:28) A couple pictures showing survivors of the camp showing the allies how they loaded the dead bodies in the furnaces. • �• • • • • • • • A picture of a pile of bodies A building that was on the grounds with piles of dead bodies in front of it. A picture with a cart full of dead bodies. Two pictures of close up of the bodies. (01:48:01) Earl is reading a paper A picture of a bridge over the autobahn. It was 300 ft down from the top. The span between each arch was 90 ft. The picture shows approximately 30 arches but never gets to the end of the bridge in the picture. His brother in law was part of the outfit that built the bridge over the autobahn. A man carrying capacity for the bridge crossed over and the bridge was shut down immediately afterwards. Earl’s crew was told to get over there and dismantle the very bridge. (01:53:18) Earl has a man riding a bike, both that he built. It looks like it is powering a generator but is not said. The following are pictures taken during and after WWII [also in this collection] �������������������������� 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 MatherE Title A name given to the resource Mather, Earl (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mather, Earl Description An account of the resource Earl Mather served during World War II for the 1256th Combat Engineers Battalion. He served in Europe, France, Belgium, and Germany building bridges and repairing bombed bridges. He served during the Battle of the Bulge as a MP Officer and was involved in the freeing of Buchenwald concentration camp. His memories of the war are still vivid in his mind and his interview is remarkable. Earl and his wife still reside in Ohio where they originally built their home before the war. His file includes numerous photographs from the war and afterward. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-05-20 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/40df11e52ae38a937fb8bd10b22b7fcd.mp4 d337b167f84ffc947a74a6dd53dc7863 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9d90bf10bb67539df7b2e68325294edc.pdf b16643f646dcdd8f50e22d162a723fb8 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Warren Mastenbrook (00:25:00) Introduction (00:23) Family and Pre-enlistment (00:27) • Born in 1923 in Grand Haven, MI. Mastenbrook grew up with 3 brothers. • His father ran a filling station and was a veteran of World War I and received the Purple Heart. Also his mother was a school teacher. During the Depression his father did all right. (01:24) • Didn’t graduate high school in 1941 because he lacked ½ credits. Mastenbrook was 18 in June, 1941 and after working the summer decided to join the Marine Corps because he didn’t want to go back to school. Enlistment and Training (03:03) • Was sent to Parris Island where he underwent basic training in September 1941. Following that he was stationed at Quantico, VA. He was on his way to Chicago when Pearl Harbor was bombed. (03:03) Served 6 months training as a mechanic and then 6 months of aircraft training at Navy Pier in Chicago. Combat Experiences (04:38) • Afterwards, he boarded a train for San Diego, CA, from where he was shipped to Hawaii. Served as crew chief for a F4F Wildcat carrier-based fighter plane with his BMF-211 outfit. Mentions various places marines were sent to: Wake Is., Midway, and Honolulu, Hawaii where he was stationed. In Honolulu, he joined up with his outfit and went 1000 miles west to Kolombangara, an island in the Solomons which was significant because it had an airport on it. • Mastenbrook briefly mentions that Pan Am at the time was trying to build a hotel on Kolombangara, an island shaped like a horseshoe. (05:38) Afterwards, he returned to Honolulu, Hawaii they were outfitted with a new Corsair aircraft. They stayed there for training. • From there they went to Espiritu Santu and Guadalcanal but didn’t stay long. They went from there to Bougainville where the Japanese made a stand. The Japanese had a big base there. (07:24) Mentions the bombing runs that went on there morning and afternoons. Gives a brief description of the American �and Japanese positions on the island. Mentions that Japanese Zeros would often counterattack making it difficult to position their aircraft. After a while, they got off the island because of continual Japanese attacks. • Mastenbrook briefly mentions the fighting on Green Island, northwest of Rabaul. (08:57) At this point, the Japanese had no planes. Mastenbrook briefly describes his crew and a certain Colonel Lindberg. (11:22) • Mentions shooting down 26 airplanes [context not clear here, since he was not a pilot] during the course of the war. Also, mentions losing an engine once and having to fly back to Guadalcanal. Going Home (12:29) • Afterwards, Mastenbrook mentions that he was sent back via a new Liberty ship to San Francisco where he met up with a man from Grand Haven. They exchanged stories. • Mentions that he was never wounded nor that his outfit encountered kamikazes. Returned home in 1944. • From San Francisco he went to Santiago and then home to Grand Haven for a period of 30 days leave. Afterwards, he went down Cherry Point, NC where he worked pulling out on B-25 and Corsair engines. Gives brief description of job responsibilities in some detail. (15:01) He was discharged on Dec. 20th, 1945. After the War (15:20) • After being discharged, he went to Grand Rapids looking for jobs, but after finding nothing, returned to Grand Haven. Worked in a variety of capacities for the next few years; first as a factory worker and later as a service agent for Pennsylvania Central Airlines for 3 years in Muskegon. Afterwards, he lived in Traverse City for 11 years and returned to Grand Rapids. (16:31) Had 36 years and 9 months worth of working. During his time with Pennsylvania Central Airlines he spent 22 years on the big island of Hawaii. (18:09) Mentions that he regularly attends Marine Corps Reunions every year around the U.S. (23:31) � 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 MastenbrookW Title A name given to the resource Mastenbrook, Warren (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mastenbrook, Warren Description An account of the resource Warren Mastenbrook is a WW II veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an aircraft mechanic from 1941 to 1945. In this account, he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training the U.S. and combat experiences in the Pacific, primarily in the Solomons. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Marine Corps World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-02-16 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/226b8e7fdf56f50cc7ec74b15affab81.mp4 6396fcb82dd7120a11af35c899f1f8cd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/487202c34bc378eaedc9786f1ad2d831.pdf 32642b21de9cde3966803ce9050fa692 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Julius “Bud” Masinick (01:29:46) (0:09:25) Pre-Enlistment • • • • • • Born February 5, 1925 in Maryd, PA, which is in Eastern Pennsylvania. Father was a coal miner Moved to Detroit in 1936, father worked at US Rubber Finished high school at Eastern High School in 1942 Paid attention to some of World War II. Remembers Pearl Harbor. At graduation, he was only 16, thus he worked for a time at Ford being a mailboy. For 2 months. Worked as a foreman until he was drafted. (0:06:00) Training • • • • • • • • • • • (0:06:00) Drafted into the Navy in June, 1943. Was then sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, where he did boot camp. He had certain special duties, because he could type. He would take visitors from the gate to the hostess house for visitors. He had the opportunity to work at the hostess house instead of doing his basic training. (0:11:32) Met Mickey Cochrane who got him a baseball bat and invited him to practice with the base baseball team. Went to service school at the Great Lakes Naval Station. There he got training in reading and writing in Yeoman school. (00:17:38) Did submarine school at New London, Connecticut. Attended so called “Spritz’s Navy” where they did tests in various different things, like mental and physical aptitude tests. They also did pressure tank tests and other tests to see if recruit could stand escaping from a submarine. Tests lasted about a week. After tests, they did training on very old submarines from the early 1900s. In one episode, nearly fell off the ship during training. They went out on old boats for most of the training, however, they did occasionally used the newer S-Boats during their training. There would also on occasion be those who could not mentally handle sub training. (00:27:55) Submarine school was 6-7 weeks, he then went to Key West for a month to practice on sound and sonar equipment. (00:28:38) His job was to be a striker. He did watches on top, and did lookout duties. Also worked as first loader on 5 in gun, and captain on forward 40mm gun. He also was the swimmer who helped to rescue aviators. At were then transferred back to New London, where he prepared for commissioning of USS Icefish. He got involved in baseball while he was in New �• • London. He was then sent to Manitowoc, WI for the commissioning of the Icefish. (00:37:05) They then had to take the boat down the Mississippi. They took it down to Chicago and then the boat was dry docked to be moved down the Mississippi. They took off from New Orleans to the Pacific Ocean (00:37:54) Active Duty • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • When they were in the Caribbean, they saw a torpedo coming at them, and it just missed. (00:39:23) They did some trials when they were in Panama, and they spent a lot of their time doing this training. Most of the men on the ship had some experience on a submarine, so they had mentors to help out the men who were inexperienced. They then went from the Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor, and they stayed there a couple days. Saw a man who he knew while in Pearl Harbor who later was on a ship that got sunk. (00:43:40) 1 out of 5 men did not make it back from the submarine corps. He remembers that the German submarines were very small and in bad shape (00:47:15) They were sent to the Straits of Leyte in the Philippines after Pearl Harbor. They attacked a freighter and a troop transport. They got attacked in return and they were depth charged pretty badly. When a sub is under attack, the first thing that they do is dive, and then become silent. In this case, they leveled off at 300 ft. and they got hit by 13 depth charges and then got knocked down to 412 ft. His job was to turn the rudder cranks manually during the silent running episodes. In one episode, they had to use a mixture of different oils in the hydraulic systems because the system failed. (00:53:50) The routine was at night they would be on the surface, and during the day they would be below the surface waiting for a target to show up. They had various different problems with the ship. They had a rudder problem in the Yellow Sea, and they had to make their way back to Pearl Harbor. (00:57:00) They didn’t experience any number of depth charges like they did on that first patrol. They also didn’t encounter any other large convoys like they did on that first patrol. (00:57:40) There were also occasions that they had to pick up downed aviators near Formosa. They sank a minesweeper near Bali as well. (1:00:35) 1st Patrol Run was Philippines, 2nd Patrol Run was the Marshall Islands, 3rd Patrol Run was Guam, 4th Patrol Run was Australia, and 5th Patrol Run was Home (1:01:30) They stayed in Perth, Australia for some time, where he essentially instigated a riot by getting into a fight with a British sailor. �• • • • • • • • (1:05:20) In another incident, they surfaced near Java. There were several Javanese fishing boats. They were supposed to fire a warning shot but there was some confusion and they sunk the boats. (1:07:13) In another instance, they captured a Japanese boat and the captain was interrogated, and his job was to take notes of the interrogation. He was a boxer in the Navy. He got into a lot of fights during his time in the service. He learned to box at Great Lakes Naval Base. A couple of times, they had to dive because of aircraft or the suspicion of aircraft. (1:16:30) They sometimes rotated the crew, usually around 15% of the crew each patrol. One of his jobs was to be the swimmer. He went to talk to the captain about this, and the captain noted to him that he may have to be left behind if they have to dive. He got back to US in September 1945, and he went home in April of 1946. (1:21:14) In between returning to the United States and his discharge, they had to decommission the Icefish. To do this, they had to bring it up to total compliment. This meant that they had to get all of the equipment that belonged on the ship, even if they didn’t have them during the tour. They decommissioned the boat right where they tied it up. (1:25:20) Post-Service • • Right after his discharge, he spent some of his time travelling around the country, and it took him quite some time, nearly a month, to get home. Arrived home in May. Worked at Ford, then played professional baseball for five years. Made it to AAA Toledo Mud Hens before he retired from baseball. Finally went to college and worked at one company 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 MasinickJ Title A name given to the resource Masinick, Julius (Bud) (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Masinick, Julis (Bud) Description An account of the resource Bud Masinick was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Detroit, MI during his childhood. After graduating high school, he was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He attended basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, and attended submarine school in New London, CT. He was then assigned to the USS Icefish, and patrolled the Pacific until the end of the war. After the war, he played professional baseball, making it to the AAA level. 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.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-30 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/d02f5b66adb97f6728206c5ed41250ce.mp4 d945d5909ef3f8623b08122694701560 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1e332e8deab56fb85ffc4ce4a65ee4a.pdf ff1af726a497d4a20b82da99f4089e17 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Leon Marx (46:30) Disc One (1:02:04) Disc Two (1:01:41) (00:30) Born in Battle Creek, MI 6/29/1921 (1:45) Leon’s Parents • • His dad worked at Fort Custer as the Chief Engineer His mother was a registered nurse at the sanitarium, but stayed home most of the time to take care of the kids (3:25) His Father at Fort Custer • • The Army of Engineers built a pontoon bridge behind their house to move a bulldozer over the river in their back yard The bridge broke and the bulldozer ended up in the river (4:30) School • • • • He went through the 9th grade at River Park School There were thirty students per class and two grades per class His friend and he pulled a prank fire drill and sprayed the extinguisher all over their teacher His favorite subject was mathematics, in which he received A’s (7:00) Kellogg High School • • • The principal was his grandfather so he did not get into much trouble He was his grandfather’s favorite grandson and could always borrow his car to go for a ride during school with his friends Leon has been driving since he was ten years old (8:15) Past Driving Experiences • • • • He first drove a Model T Ford with three pedals and ran it into a telephone pole When he was younger, he lived on a farm and was allowed to operate a tractor On the farm they raised over 1,000 chickens a year, which he and his brother had to feed and take care of They once captured five skunks and kept them as pets �• • • • • The skunks sprayed everyone except he and his brother; they had to get rid of the smell with tomato juice He once borrowed his brother’s Model A Ford to go to the prom, which his brother had bought after graduation for $25.00 His brother once drove a car into a river on accident and his father had to buy a tractor off a farmer down the road to pull it out The tractor was hard to drive, but it was fun It had steel wheels, and started with gasoline and then later switched to diesel (13:45) The Prom • Leon went to the prom with a junior when he was a senior • He was not a very good dancer, but he danced to every song • That night he met a Detroit Tigers baseball player (15:20) Baseball • It only cost $1.00 for the whole family to go to a game • His grandfather had played baseball in college; he traveled and played with the Detroit Lions, so many times they were able to get into games for free and sit right next to the dugout (16:25) After Graduation • • He went to work at Michigan Carton Company • In 1941 he went to Western Michigan University for Aircraft Mechanics • It cost him only $20.00 a semester • He attended college until the war broke out (17:25) Pearl Harbor • When the Japanese attacked he was on a ride with a girl near Lake Michigan • He heard the news on the radio and then hurried home • He had been living with his parents at the time • His father had been gone working at Fort Custer for two straight weeks because they were already on alert • That previous August his father had been at a meeting in Chicago �• At that time his father believed they would be at war with the Japanese by Christmas (21:55) The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor • His father had said that the soldiers who were not good at their job were being sent to Panama • But when the war got serious, Panama was a strategic location so they started sending the soldiers to Hawaii; his father believed that was why Pearl Harbor was attacked • Speaking of Pearl Harbor, Leon said “No wonder it went to hell.” • He and his brother enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor; they were sworn in December 20th • They then went to Jefferson Barracks together in Missouri (24:40) Missouri • Before going to Missouri, they had to stop at Fort Custer where they were sworn into the 10th Infantry • Afterwards they went home for one last dinner before leaving; the memory made Leon cry • They shipped out the first week of January to go to Missouri; they traveled on a train with no heat and it was negative three degrees • The base in Missouri was similar to Fort Custer and there were about 50 men sharing one room (28:35) Basic Training • Leon had to pull KP a few times and clean the mess hall • There was no graduation party, but afterwards he was sent to Long Island • He learned the basics of plain engines in Long Island, yet while at college he had learned about P24s (32:10) Mitchell Field • He was at Mitchell Field until 4/1/1942 and then was assigned to a service squadron • The master sergeant there picked on him all the time (34:20) Special Services • Leon began training for the OCS and it was very hard work • He was reprimanded for being out at night without a pass �• He had helped the cook cut up whole chickens and then he became the mess hall clerk • He was in the kitchen all the time (38:45) 1942 Race Riots • The riots were in New York and each soldier was issued 60 rounds of ammunition • There was also another race in Detroit at the same time • There were blacks against blacks, but there were no guns; they were fighting each other with bricks and bats • They started firing their guns and everyone quickly ran off • They were called out another time and given 120 rounds a week later • They had to play guard duty until the National Guard Rainbow division came to relieve them (41:50) The Trip to Iceland • Leon traveled to Iceland on a Santalina cruise ship • He had to sleep on the top deck to keep from getting sea sick; it was very cold • There were many storms during the trip and lots of people got sick • They did not eat very well; a meal consisted of 2 boiled eggs, 2 pieces of bread, and a cup of coffee • Many people would sneak into the kitchen to steal food • Some would just eat a whole case of onions as though they were apples • They had to have guards on duty to watch the kitchen 24/7 (44:10) Iceland 1942 • There was salmon being dried out on racks all over the coast and it smelled like fish everywhere • They had to go through inspection because everyone on the ship had fleas • He got to bar tend for 3 days and he got drunk everyday; he got sick of bartending quickly • He was transferred to guard duty • It rains a lot in Iceland and it is always cold �• In the summer it only gets to about fifty degrees • He enjoyed cooking more than guard duty because they got the first dibs on food, worked in a warm environment and were able to take hot showers; they also got free laundry service (48:00) Guard Duty • At one point he had heard some Morse code and called Army Intelligence • The next night he was transferred to a different post so that Army Intelligence could guard the area where he had heard the code • It turned out to be a German spy who was sending code to Germany every night at 11pm • Leon then received top security clearance • He guarded Roosevelt’s sons and the Russian ambassador • He was in Iceland for two years • He went back and forth from cooking to guard duty • Privates receive $21/month and guards receive $66/month and three days off • He never had to shoot anyone the whole time he was in the service (54:05) 1944 • He went with 32 other men from the Air Corps with the 101st Division • He was not going to volunteer to be a paratrooper, but they would not let him cook • He was assigned to a higher area to guard Eisenhower’s headquarters • In June he was able to start cooking again (58:30) London • He cooked for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expedition Forces, Eisenhower’s staff • He also cooked for George Patton, who was always out of uniform to visit his nephew that cooked with Leon Disc Two (00:25) The Advantages of Cooking • They went out on the beach and found thousands of clams • They ate some and gave some to the captain, then they had to go back and get more so they could make some for everyone �• They were able to go into town and eat at restaurants • Restaurants served horse meat in Iceland (2:40) The Boat to England • They played poker in his room • They made lots of money and went shopping; he bought scotch in Scotland (5:10) June 2 • He started cooking again in England • On June 4th he saw a buzz bomb from Germany (9:00) Normandy • On June 5th reporters were denying that there was any activity in Normandy (14:00) Cooking School • He went to school for a while and was taught how to bake • The regular personnel did not get the good food that he was taught to cook • He cooked for Eisenhower and his staff • He cooked whole pigs for the king of England and for Winston Churchill • Leon was treated like a king by everyone because he could cook so well (18:50) Russia • Secret Service asked him to go to Russia • They went to Italy first because the plain was having problems • They stopped in Greece after Italy to pick up a new radio for the plain • In Greece Germans were shooting at them on the runway • They then went to Egypt and stayed in a hotel • After that they went to Iran for a week • In Iran there was a slave market where they were selling Caucasian women for less than $50 (42:00) POWs • In Russia they were supposed to get Americans who had been in prison camps �• They did not find many American POWs • After staying in Russia for a while, many men learned to speak Russian • Leon was sent to Russia because they did not have any good cooks • Leon cook turkey in Russia for Christmas (46:30) Poltava, Ukraine   • The city is on a big river near Kiev • He cooked here also until VE Day, for five months • He got drunk a couple of times in Ukraine • He found a Russian camera and took many pictures • US intelligence wanted the pictures and asked him to take more � 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 MarxL Title A name given to the resource Marx, Leon (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marx, Leon Description An account of the resource Leon Marx served in the Army Air Corps during WW II, 1941-1945. He spent most of his time in guard duty and also cooked for high level officials while serving with the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He received top level security Clearance and was able to cook for the King of England, Winston Churchill, and Eisenhower. While in the Air Corps Leon traveled to Iceland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Russia, and Iran. Leon did not experience combat while serving. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans 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 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/c159f33d01ce2d48dac78034b49d0578.mp4 fef4577eaede9f90bbe7956adf15213d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/79f14533415c6c95b6a681e3ffe8de34.pdf ca5259ea1d8c046120cc405872c2b57a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Douglas Martyn (00:45:53) (00:20) Background Information • Born in Flint Michigan in 1925. • Father worked in factory. • Joined National Guard at 16. • During high school, worked for National Guard on Saturdays only. • Left high school before graduating to join military. • Drafted in February of 1944. (04:25) Basic Training • Fort Sheridan, Illinois. • He knew what to expect at basic training because of his prior training with the National Guard. (05:25) After Basic • He helped people take the aptitude test for 6 months. (06:30) Chicago • The men would stay in hotels that were converted into servicemen’s quarters. • Attended stage shows and movies in Chicago. (07:50) Time as a Medic • He worked in a medical dispensary. • He doesn’t know what qualified him to become a medic. • He was taught by a pre-med student all of the proper medical procedures. • He had to sterilize and sharpen his own needles. • He remembers men fainting while getting their inoculations. • The men had to be on call during weekends to help with emergencies. • The doctors in the dispensary were all civilian doctors. (17:45) After Chicago • Switched to the Air Corps. • Based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. • The base was very warm, especially during the summer. • Limited contact with civilians, unless he ventured into town. • Based at Lake Charles for around 6 months, until it was closed. • Sent to El Paso, Texas. • He would ride along with pilots over the oilfields of Texas. (22:46) Alaska �• • • • • • • • • Was sent as a medic. He was stationed in the western half of Alaska, near Nome. It was a rather large base, due to fighting in Aleutians. The men did a lot of fishing and hunting during their time in Alaska. They burned oil to keep warm during the winter. The oil would start freezing and become very thick because of the cold. Moose were around the base, but never came near the men. Mechanics, maintenance men and medics were the main groups of people stationed at the base. There were a couple of seaplanes on the base, but no major military planes. (30:45) Important Leaders who visited the camp • General Eisenhower came to the base to fish at one point. • They built cabins at a far end of the base for the upper echelon of military leaders. • Curtis LeMay, the future head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also visited the camp. • He complained to LeMay, without knowing who he was, and soon after, some engineers came and renovated some of the base. (35:25) Other Duties in Alaska • He helped build a floating dock for seaplanes to land on. • Helped with a lot of small odd jobs, such as plumbing, around the base. • Was stationed in Alaska for 20 months. (37:00) Anchorage • The men would take three-day leaves from the camp to go to Anchorage. • There were recreation facilities for the troops in Anchorage. (39:10) Thawing Water Pipes • One of the men caught the pump house on fire while thawing the water pumps. (40:00) After Alaska • Was discharged in Great Falls, Montana. • Returned home to Flint after discharge. (41:00) Work • Attended school at the General Motors Institute. • Received an apprenticeship and then began working. • He worked as an engineer. (42:25) Grand Haven, Michigan • After visiting relatives in Grand Haven, they decided to move from Flint to Grand Haven. �� 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 MartynD Title A name given to the resource Martyn, Douglas (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Martyn, Douglas Description An account of the resource Douglas Martyn served in the US Army from 1944 to 1946. He initially trained as a medic in Chicago and worked in a dispensary and administered inoculations to new recruits. He eventually transferred to the Army Air Corps and was based first in Louisiana and then in Alaska at a base near Nome that Generals Eisenhower and LeMay visited because of the good fishing there. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-12-21 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/05c6067547228cd12240f16cc52cdf63.mp4 98892ad0a07fc538da6015098b0538b0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8d66ee7e4161921240873a1a2d5c2bb0.pdf 291163b57ba72c89251fc39f7acc9b85 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam & Afghanistan & Iraq Baltazar Martinez Total Time – (02:11:52) Introduction / Basic Training – (00:00:11)  Baltazar Martinez was born in Plainview, Texas on August 8th, 1952; he lived there for about eight years until his family moved to Bovina, Texas (00:01:03)  His father was a farmer and his mother stayed at home to work on the fields (00:01:42) ◦ Baltazar was one of the last people drafted by the draft board in 1972 (00:03:16) ◦ He is the oldest in his family and has a younger brother and and two younger sisters (00:06:00) ◦ Baltazar was planning on going to college to play football and used that as motivation to keep up his grades (00:07:33) ◦ A couple colleges offered him football scholarships but he ended up receiving a draft notice and his mother took it especially hard (00:08:54) ▪ Baltazar headed to Amarillo, Texas for a physical and other check ups and eventually wound up in the Army (00:12:00) ▪ He went to Ft. Ord in California for basic training (00:13:28)  Baltazar was brought up in a very structured family and thanks his parents for that as it helped him get used to the way of the Army (00:14:34)  Baltazar got sent off to become a 19 Delta (Cavalry Scout) (00:17:25)  A lot of the basic skills of the Army came natural for him; his father taught him how to shoot a rifle- everything Baltazar did in Basic Training is what he wanted to do (00:19:53)  Four to five weeks after he arrived at Basic Training, he was congratulated by the 1st sergeant on being of the last people to be drafted (00:22:01)  Baltazar didn't know what a 19 Delta was when it was announced that's where he was going to be; he finally learned that he was going to be at reconnaissance school (00:23:37)  All of his drill instructors had combat experience and his 1st sergeant had served in Korea (00:25:27) ◦ Baltazar left Ft. Ord for Ft. Carson in Colorado to be a cavalry scout (00:26:57) ▪ He learned how to set up ambushes, explosives, booby-traps, among other things; he already knew how to work with a map and compass (00:29:13) ▪ The training at Ft. Carson took eight weeks; from there, Baltazar got orders to go to Vietnam (00:32:01) ▪ After Advanced Infantry Training (AIT), he earned leave to go home for about a week; he then reported to Travis Air Force Base (AFB) and flew from there (00:32:48) Vietnam (00:32:29)  He jokes that his time in Vietnam was so short that he just showed up, saw the land, and was turned around to be sent back home at the end of 1972 (00:33:00)  They flew from Anchorage, Alaska to Japan and then Japan to Saigon; he was only there for a �couple of days (00:33:54) Back to the United States (00:33:57)  He was then assigned to the 1st of the 10th Cavalry at Carson (00:34:20) ◦ Baltazar mentions that the military is constantly training people and that's part of the everyday routine- a lot of weapons training (00:36:29) ◦ He liked the training because he was never bored- he was constantly doing something (00:37:19) ◦ Baltazar describes a situation when he was on a vehicle one time that was on fire and his sergeant told him to keep driving; eventually the situation was diffused but quite nerveracking (00:40:29) ◦ He spent about two years with the 1st of the 10th Cavalry before he got his orders that sent him to Korea (00:41:43) Korea (00:43:30)  Baltazar was with the 1st of the 72nd Armor and was attached to combat support (00:43:41)  He was still a Cavalry Scout but was attached to his assigned unit; he spent 13 months there (00:44:43) ◦ After Baltazar became the rank of E5, he was told that he needed to go to NCO school and was sent there because of his character (00:46:33) ◦ He was getting ready for an inspection when North Koreans entered into the “No Mans Land”; gunfire was exchanged but nothing major happened (00:49:27) ◦ Baltazar says he learned to always be prepared because you never know what's going to happen- you must have flexibility (00:49:40) ▪ With about three weeks left in his 13 month tour, Baltazar explained a story about a US chopper getting some bullet holes from North Koreans near the exhaust (00:53:55)  His parents let him make his own decisions once Baltazar turned 18 but said they would always give him advice for whatever he chose to do (00:55:18)  Baltazar then enlisted for another three years with the Army (00:56:09)  He and his unit provided gifts for a local orphanage while in Korea (00:58:09) ◦ Other than providing for the orphanage, Baltazar didn't really have much other communication with the local population but remembered a few words he learned while he was there (00:59:44) ◦ Baltazar mentions another story about a time when locals got on to a restricted area in their mortar range and how one of his NCO's chased them off (01:03:15) ◦ The weather in Korea was brutally cold but not a lot of snow (01:04:28) ◦ Sometimes the locals seemed to know more than the soldiers about alerts and things like that as one certain local would set up shop for the soldiers because she had heard about an alert before they did (01:07:43) ◦ When an alert would happen, his unit would resort to fighting positions and again, it was a secret to the US but not to the local population (01:09:07) ▪ Baltazar put Ft. Hood, Ft. Carson, and Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas as his number one destination- he laughs because he got sent to Ft. Knox, Kentucky (01:09:39) Back to the United States (01:10:58)  Baltazar was sent to Ft. Knox, Kentucky after 13 months in Korea; he was assigned to the 1st � Training Brigade Unit (01:11:05) He was still an E5 and was an Advanced Individual Training Instructor- about a year later he was E6 (01:11:32) ◦ Baltazar was selected by a committee to go to drill sergeant school at Ft. Knox for about five weeks (01:15:30) ◦ He received a score of 49 out of 50 and the person that graded him told him the only mistake he made was that he wasn't perfect- Baltazar was humbled by that (01:17:57) ◦ Overall the quality of individuals of recruits were intelligent; he remembers a young man that had a masters and was gung-ho as could be (01:21:22) ▪ The young man that Baltazar mentioned wanted to become a Chaplain and he wanted to know why the man didn't just go through OCS and the man replied that if he didn't go through the training, how would he know what the other soldiers are going though (01:22:15) ▪ Baltazar did the training stint for three years which would have been around 1981 as his enlistment was coming up (01:23:15) The Marine Corps Years (01:24:47)  After nine years and three three-year enlistments, Baltazar decided he wanted to join the Marine Corps (01:24:47)  His Command Sergeant Major told him he was going to make E7 soon and asked him why he wanted to give that up and Baltazar replied that something was telling him to join the Marines (01:28:04) ◦ He was told that he'd be brought down to Lance Corporal, an E3 position, as well as go through boot camp and that was fine with Baltazar (01:29:42) ◦ Baltazar was brought in as the Marines were suspicious of his situation: they asked him if he was related or knew any people in congress- they couldn't believe he wanted to come into the Marine Corps as an E6 (01:32:08) ◦ He actually came back as a Staff NCO as an E6 in the Marine Corps at Ft. Knox (01:33:05) ▪ Some of his previous majors from the Army were sitting at the NCO bar as he walked in (01:35:13) ▪ He was at Ft. Knox from around 1981 til 1983; he was then assigned to an inspective duty over in Alameda, California (01:36:39) ▪ Baltazar finished a three year enlistment with the Marines and then went on Reserve Status for three years (01:37:36)  He was thinking about himself and starting a family and that's a big reason why he chose to not be on active duty (01:38:53)  Baltazar and his family lived in California from 1983/84 til almost 2000 (01:41:35)  Him and his family ended up moving to Marshall, Michigan in 2000 (01:43:28) National Guard Duty (01:45:50)  In 2007, Baltazar joined the National Guard after his daughter entered college (01:45:50)  After the E6 and E5 slots were filled, he decided that he didn't need the rank in order to lead as part of the National Guard (01:50:23) ◦ In 2010, Baltazar was deployed to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan for six months (01:52:50) ◦ The deployment was an individual deployment because of Baltazar's expertise in weaponry and prior combat experience (01:53:38) ▪ Kuwait was his main base and first flew out to Afghanistan; he was accountable for all �▪ the heavy machinery (01:54:33) He went back and forth from Kuwait to Afghanistan twice and would be gone from ten days to 14 days at a time (01:57:19)  Baltazar was accounting for equipment in Iraq as the United States started to withdraw troops as this made his job quite critical (02:00:00) ◦ He mentions that while he was in Iraq it seemed like the Insurgents were just waiting for the US troops to get out (02:04:26) Back to the United States (02:06:00)  Baltazar returned from Iraq in 2011 and wanted to return in 2012 but his aged barred him from his deployment (02:07:27)  Baltazar came home to a loving family in 1972 when he got back from Vietnam and came back from Iraq to a loving family in 2011 and that's what he believes keeps him grounded and sane (02:10:05)  He feels like he can still perform for the military and be able to provide experience for young men and women; to pass the torch on to the younger generation is one of his goals (02:11:17) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MartinezB1571V Title A name given to the resource Martinez, Baltazar (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Martinez, Baltazar Description An account of the resource Baltazar Martinez was born in Plainview, Texas, in 1952. He was one of the last people to be drafted into the Army in 1972. He trained as an armored cavalryman and was deployed to Vietnam toward the end of the year, but stayed only a few days before being sent home. He re-enlisted twice, and served in Korea and in different bases in the US until 1981. He subsequently served in the Marine Corps for three years, and then later joined the Army National Guard, and deployed to Kuwait, and Iraq in 2010. He currently serves with the 507th Engineer Battalion, but did not deploy with them to Afghanistan in 2011 due to his age. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American United States. Army United States. Marine 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 2014-03-08 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/ad9c9cee515370899db77cd9c64d8be7.mp4 8a4fec83c382ecda506f91f14a8d9488 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/95c4c52190e91b36865061046ad43833.pdf ecee4a5434d8867126ec0dae74ecb8ab PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam War Interviewee name: Alfred Martin Branch of Service: Army Length of interview (00:35:05) (0:00:06) Pre-enlistment  Born in 1948, born and raised in western Pennsylvania (0:00:12)  Grew up in a family of farmers (0:00:25)  Has a high school education (0:00:32)  Did not work, drafted right out of high school (January 1969) (0:00:39)  Did not know much about Vietnam before joining (0:00:55)  Expected to be drafted (0:01:11) (0:01:17) Enlistment/Training  Had to report to New Castle, Pennsylvania, then bussed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for physical. Was sent home to wait for paperwork (0:01:18)  Went back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was flown to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for boot camp (0:01:28)  No evidence of people trying to „beat the system‟ (0:01:41)  After boot camp in Fort Jackson, South Carolina he went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for artillery training (0:02:01)  Learned familiarity with the rifle, emphasis on discipline (0:02:16)  He had a rough idea of the states his fellow troops were from (0:02:48)  He was in really good shape when he went through boot camp (0:03:01)  Basic training was roughly 6 weeks (0:03:22)  Artillery school consisted mainly of gun firing training (0:03:40)  Volunteered for NCO school because upon completion he would become a sergeant, so he went to Vietnam as a sergeant instead of a private, and it would give him the opportunity to make more money and have more time in the states (0:03:52)  Artillery school was roughly 8 weeks long (0:05:05)  Had to learn about every weapon (0:05:18) o 10 Deucer, back then was a 105 o 155 towed units o 105, 10 Deuce SP o 155 self-propelled o 175 o Basically medium and heavy artillery pieces, both self-propelled and towed  NCO school familiarized him with the gun, how to operate it and be in charge of it (0:06:03)  155 unit had 13 men (0:06:27) �o Gunner o Assistant Gunner o RTO [Radio Telephone Operator] o Powder man o Man that runs rounds o 2 men run a loading tray o 1 man running a ram rod  FDC [fire direction control] ordered them to PD (point detonate), delay or time fuse (0:07:17)  Had leadership training, marching and drill (0:07:35)  Went from basic to AIT to NCO school, totaling approximately 1 year (0:07:46) (0:09:04) Active Duty  Flew from Pittsburgh to Fort Lewis, Washington, and Fort Lewis to Vietnam (0:09:09)  Landed at a base in Southern Vietnam (0:09:26)  In-country training consisted of “do‟s and don‟ts” (0:10:03)  101st Airborne unit, 155 artillery, unsure of assigned battery (0:10:25)  Joined 101st approximately January of 1970 (0:10:40)  The 101st was in I Corps when he joined them (0:10:57)  Was stationed on 12 or 13 bases (0:11:05)  Was assigned to the 155 Towed Howitzer, 2nd Battery, 11th Artillery (divisional artillery, joined at a firebase) (0:11:13)  Assigned as a Gunner to E-6 Sgt. Davis (0:11:41)  Most challenging thing about the position was the responsibility of the men and the possibility of losing one (0:12:06)  Had to adapt his training to combat because combat is much different (0:12:44)  Physical conditions of Vietnam were hot, dirty, no supplies or water (0:13:37)  Some firebases were more active than others (0:14:47)  Name of bases he can remember (0:15:00) o Jack o Granite o Gladiator o Ripcord  Once they land, they set up the pad, dig a pit, get bunkers ready and lastly the hootch for living quarters (0:16:29)  A hootch is like a hole in the ground with sand bags over the top of it (0:16:51)  When they did come under fire, it was typically mortars, rockets and small arms fire (0:17:39)  Some of the bases he was on before Ripcord were attacked by sappers (0:17:49)  They could see an RPG coming at them, and were authorized to return fire (0:18:05)  They were required to pull guard duty 24/7 (0:18:20)  He carried an M-16 (0:18:37)  Sapper, mortar rounds, and RPG attacks occurred at Granite and Gladiator �                  (0:19:02) Thinks the battery commander of Ripcord was Captain Baxendale (0:19:25) Robert Kalsu (Bob Kalsu) a former pro football player was the Executive Officer (XO), and the nicest guy you will ever meet and led by example (0:19:57) He joined early in the Ripcord campaign, right when it opened up (0:20:29) The Ripcord operation kept getting worse and worse every day (0:20:47) o Guns were run almost 24/7. o Infantry units in the field were taking a beating and calling for support. o They slept when they could, and would sometime go days without sleep No sense of how effective their fire was aside from body counts. They were not privileged to that type of information, it was not filtered down to men with guns (0:21:59) Not much contact with infantry unit except for when they came back for supplies (0:22:12) There were problems with resupplies, they needed more of everything (0:22:54) o Ammunition o Food o Water Saw Lieutenant Colonel Lucas (Andre Cavaro Lucas) fly in and fly out quite often, but Colonel Lucas did not come around the artillery often (0:23:08) From the beginning to the end, he does not believe they were there to win the war (0:23:56) Had the sense at the time, that they were not supported properly (0:24:27) The morale of the unit at Ripcord was low, but he had a good crew of good men (0:24:58) He stayed with the battery until November 23rd, 1970 after Ripcord ended, and then got out and went home (0:25:22) No recollection of how Ripcord ended- he was on R&R because he was wounded. Spent 21st birthday in Sydney, Australia (0:25:32) Was hit and wounded by a mortar round at Ripcord (0:26:01) At Ripcord, sometimes ammunition supplies were hit and blew up. That is what destroyed the 10 Deuce battery [the other artillery battery on the base] (0:26:17) Was wounded on the 19th or 20th of 1970, right before they abandoned Ripcord on the 23rd (0:26:45) Enjoyed the 1-week R&R trip to Australia, went to Sydney and Hyde Park (0:27:08) Returned to Vietnam for the remainder of the tour, and the rest was a blur (0:28:23) (0:28:34) After Service  Took a commercial flight back to the United States. They flew into Fort Lewis, Washington (0:28:35)  Was welcomed back by his parents (0:28:51)  Was not aware of how Vietnam was being reported in the news while he was in Vietnam and even before he left for Vietnam during training (0:29:06)  He did receive letters from family while he was in Vietnam, which was the only �         communication while he was there. He would write back, but did not tell them anything that was going on in Vietnam or that he was wounded (0:29:19) His wound consisted of shrapnel in the thigh (0:29:38) Was discharged at the end of 1970 and tried to find a job but there was not anything available at the time (0:29:53) o After the 1st of the year (1971) he got a job at a coal mine for a couple of years o Next he got a job truck driving, and that is the occupation he retired from, he drove a truck for 32 years People did not ask about Vietnam once he returned (0:30:24) Went to a reunion in Fredericksburg, Virginia (0:30:28) They were not exposed to civilians in Vietnam because they were typically isolated out on a hilltop (0:31:52) There was a little drug use on the firebase (0:32:16) Race relations were not a problem at all (0:32:51) o His best friend David Johnson served on Randy Burdette‟s crew Everyone made an effort to get the job done (0:33:42) Had a sense of responsibility toward the infantry men that were out in the field (0:33:55) � 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 MartinA1282V Title A name given to the resource Martin, Alfred (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Martin, Alfred Description An account of the resource Alfred Martin was born and raised in western Pennsylvania. He grew up in a family of farmers. He was drafted into the Army in January, 1969, not long after finishing high school. He completed Basic Training, Artillery School and NCO school before departing for Vietnam in January, 1970. He was assigned to 2/11 Field Artillery, a 155mm howitzer unit attached to the 101st Airborne Division. He served on several different firebases, notably Ripcord, where there was heavy fighting in June and July. He was wounded on Ripcord, and after he came back he continued to serve with his battery until he was sent home in late November. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-09-05 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/3d8b573226f1f27f0b0c022fb132dd6e.m4v 8db6c5b25363dd981ce79a58128ee9b9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5032d0eff4e22bd90a6b2b6bfd58f3fb.pdf f098924173cac1e5e9a0543bdaf5c700 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: Robert Marshall Length of Interview: 56 minutes Pre-Enlistment (00:54) o Childhood (01:04) ƒ Marshall was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 17th, 1928. (01:06) o Family (01:11) ƒ At age, eight Marshall’s father died. He briefly mentions the fact that his mother immigrated from Germany, whereas his father immigated from Ireland. (01:20) ƒ Growing up Marshall and his folks lived on the North Side of Chicago just a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Mentions a few experiences there. (02:05) o Education (02:49) ƒ Marshall didn’t finish high school but finished at a Lutheran parochial school. (03:10) o His Job (03:15) ƒ Briefly mentions working in a cold-storage warehouse. Also mentions his various jobs. (03:24) Enlistment/Training (03:57) o Background (03:58) ƒ May 1944: FDR signed an Executive Order lowering the draft age for inductees into the Maritime Service to the age of 16. (04:21) ƒ Marshall briefly discussed how he joined the service. (04:51) o Why he joined (05:12) ƒ He attributes his joining the armed service in part to peer pressure, the need to do his patriotic duty, and then that the maritime service was the only branch willing to take a 16-year old kid. (05:18) o Where they trained and what company they were in (05:30) ƒ Went to Sheepshead Bay for basic training. Briefly describes the discipline and regular routine of training and taking tests. Overall he had a positive experience there. (05:57) ƒ Next, Marshall landed up at Hoffman Island, New York in Nov., 1944 where he briefly describes the place and schooling he received there. (08:21) ƒ While still at Hoffman Island, New York Marshall learned Morse Code & theory; how radios worked, and after mastering it graduated. (09:52) o Living conditions (10:05) ƒ Mentions spending much of his free time at a local church in New York City and visitng various places too. (10:54) ƒ Graduated from Hoffman Island in April 44’ and had a week’s leave of furlough. (11:07) �o Active Duty (13:03) ƒ Background (13:05) • Briefly shaers his thoughts as they made their way through the Straits of Juan de Fuca the waters in the Seattle/Port Angeles area. (13:37) • From there his ship sailed to a naval base where they stopped and loaded more cargo. (14:26) • Mentions the excitement expressed in learning the ins and outs of a sailor. (14:43) And then he also discusses briefly what sort of man his British captain was like. (15:05)) • In April/May 45’ Marshall arrived at Eniwetok (15:59) Shares his thoughts while there. (16:10) ƒ Guam voyage (16:10) • 2 weeks out, he was in Guam. On their way there, his ship sailed sailed without a convoy escort; something rarely done. He remembers how anxious the crew aboard ship were. Stayed in Guam for a few days in July 45’. (17:26) o While stationed here, the authorities issued a report that a possible typhoon was going to hit the island. They issued warning to ships to stay out to sea away from shore. (18:44) Last minute, the typhoon missed the island and they stayed a few more days. Marshall further mentions hearing rumors going around of a possible U.S. invasion of Japan. (20:20) • Out to sea experiences (20:23) o In one instance, Marshall mentions being on night duty when he heard a bunch of Navy officers discussing the treaty that was signed between Japan and the U.S. which ending the war. (20:25) After arriving back in San Francisco and being there two weeks, Marshall signed off his ship. (20:26) Briefly describes his thoughts of VJ day. (21:29) • After World War II Years (21:30) o Afterwards, Marshall and his friend Sid boarded a train for Chicago. Upon arriving he decided to go to New York City. (22:43) o In New York, Marshall mentions reporting to radio operations and being assigned to the USS Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; a converted troop transport. (22:54) While serving aboard her, Marshall mentions the various calls to ports across the eastern seaboard and Belgian ports that his ship came to call at. (23:07). o In one instance, his ship brought back a bunch of men from one of Patton’s HQ companies. (23:55) o While he was in the European port city of LeHavre, France (24:13) he learned about the poor economic conditions �o o o o o o facing much of Europe in the post-world war. Briefly shares his thoughts about it. (24:33) Antwerp, as he describes, was a disaster zone in which the currency among the local people was cigarettes which was a lot like gold to them. (25:40) Marshall mentions that the general feelings among Europeans about Americans were ones of deep gratitude. Further mentions that while he was aboard his troop ship that their main mission was to bring troops back home and not cargo to Europe. (27:19) After serving a year aboard the USS Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, he signed off that ship and signed onto the cargo ship, USS Steven W. Gilvary, which was operated by the Atlantic Guilf & West Indies’ Lines (27:36) Operating out of Savannah, his ship stopped in Maine and filled up with a cargo of red potatoes which they brought to Antwerp, Belgium. (28:28) On this occasion his ship received orders to divert to Nova Scotia. (29:43) Mentions that it took them 3 days to unload their cargo of potatoes. Afterwards, they returned to Savannah for ship repairs and upon landing Marshall and the crew were terminated. (31:41) Afterwards, Marshall signed aboard a Victory ship in which he mentions making various runs to Belgium from 1946 to 1947. (32:52) Mentions that afterwards he went on to radio and electronics school, while also taking general courses in Math, English, and Composition with the Merchant Marines. (33:47) The next ship, Marshall served aboard was the C-2 USS Crest of the Waves, which was a larger version of a Liberty ship. While serving aboard her, he mentions making varoius runs up and down the Caribbean; stopping at Cuba & Panama. Served aboard her until mid-to-late 1947 when he returned to land for a while and worked a factory job in Chicago. (35:57) After a miserable experience in factory life, Marshall mentioned signing onto an old oil tanker named the Harry S. Sinclair Jr. (36:22) Briefly describes the ship and it being torpedoed during WWII. (37:33) After being put up for auction three skippers pulling their resources bought the ship for charter purposes. It was aboard this ship that Marshall mentions various trips up and down the Eastern sea board. (39:59) Briefly describes in depth what the captain and his duties were like. (44:58) After the Service (44:58) o Adjusting to Home (44:59) �ƒ After being discharged he describes his brief period of installing teleivions (45:01) o Korean War (45:12) ƒ Before long, the War Department called him back to the service. They sent him out to Japan where he was put in charge of teaching a bunch of Army signal people how to run and fix radars. (45:19) ƒ Living in Japan for 3 years he served at Johnson Air Force Base. (45:55) ƒ Mentions that while there, the experience rekindled some of his WWII experience. (46:48) o Life after after the Korean War (45:20) ƒ Came back to the U.S. and worked for IT&T for 25 years. Briefly describes his time with them. (47:04) ƒ Briefly mentions several of his technical projects while serving with the Strategic Air Command. (47:35) Some of the planes he was equipping went on to be flown in flying missions over Hungary. (47:56) ƒ Further mentions an encounter where he met a certain General Montgomery. (50:16) ƒ Marshall further discusses his other career pursuits. (53:08) ƒ Finally, Marshall mentions how his time in the Merchant Marines had benefited him. He describes it this way: the discipline, structure, and sense of responsibility he received while there shaped the course of his life very profoundly. (56:45) � 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 MarshallR Title A name given to the resource Marshall, Robert A. (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marshall, Robert A. Description An account of the resource Bob Marshall is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Merchant Marines from November, 1944 to mid-1947. In this account, Marshall discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, and training in the U.S., and combat experience on the high seas in the Pacific. Marshall also ends up mentioning his participation in the shuttling of humanitarian supplies & medicines to European ports after WWII and much later his role as a radio teacher during the Korean War in Japan. 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 Merchant marine--United States 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 2008-05-22 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/151840e44d1671f9daffd1027c331e90.mp4 2b76a3366b318f529aea169e9eaa4af8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85b3396f660c913336e6471368847c95.pdf 904f1e6e053ab74550a1dc12af1e2d52 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Iraq War Justin Marshall Interview Length: (00:26:11:00) Life before the Army (00:00:09:00)  Before joining the military, Marshall was in his last semester of college (00:00:15:00) o He figured this would be the best time for him to join because he did not have any other commitments, such as a wife or kids. (00:00:25:00)  Marshall has a history of military personnel in his own family. (00:00:37:00) o His father and both his grandfathers were in the army. The grandfathers served in WWII: One in Southeast Asia and one in Europe. (00:00:39:00)  Marshall grew up in New Jersey. (00:00:49:00) o While he was in middle school, his family moved to Vermont. (00:00:52:00) o The family moved to Michigan sometime later, where Marshall finished high school and attended Kettering University. (00:00:55:00)  When he confronted his parents about joining the military, Marshall’s father was very excited while his mother was not. (00:01:07:00)  Marshall joined because he wanted to do something for his country and he was out of shape. (00:01:40:00) o Additionally, in regards to controversy over the war in Iraq, he never wanted to make “uninformed statements” about why or why not Americans should be fighting in this war. (00:02:22:00). o “I joined to know a little bit more about myself” (00:02:41:00) o “I wanted to be humbled.” (00:04:10:00) Early Military Experience (00:04:15:00)  In January of 2004, Marshall enlisted in the United States Army. (00:04:20:00)  On July 27th, 2004, Marshall went to basic training. (00:04:30:00) o This was a 9- week long program. (00:04:33:00)  Basic training is “just like you see in the movies”. (00:04:42:00) o Marshall believes that the purpose of this program is “training you as a basic soldier”, just as the title suggests. (00:05:00:00)  After basic training, Marshall went to Officer Candidate School which lasted for 14 weeks. (00:05:11:00) o At OCS, “they teach you more about being a leader”. (00:05:20:00) o At OCS your communication is limited as it was in basic training. He was able to make 5-10 minute phone calls and use e-mail a few times a week. (00:06:02:00)  After OCS, Marshall went to Airborne School which lasted for 3 weeks. This was located in Georgia. (00:06:35:00)  After Airborne School, Marshall attended an Infantry Officer Basics Course. (00:06:52:00) o This taught infantry tactics and extended leadership training. (00:07:01:00)  After IOBC, Marshall attended Mechanized Vehicles Course. (00:07:10:00) o Here, he learned how to work certain military utility vehicles. He needed this knowledge to become a platoon leader. (00:07:25:00) � The final course in which Marshall was enrolled was “Ranger School”, which lasted over 60 days. (00:07:40:00) o The program consisted of 3 “phases” which were each about 21 days long. Each featured a different kind of terrain that students would have to work in. (00:07:48:00) o He felt a particular pressure to complete this course because his father had been an army ranger. (00:08:31:00)  He completed Ranger School in January of 2006. (00:09:10:00) First Deployment (00:09:11:00)  Marshall joined his unit- First Battalion 6th infantry- in March of 2006. (00:09:12:00)  When Marshall joined the unit, they had already been deployed to Iraq and were waiting in Kuwait for further instruction. (00:09:54:00) o After a month in Baumholder Germany, Marshall joined the unit in Kuwait after a 1- week “train-up”. (00:09:58:00)  Marshall became a platoon leader on May 1st, 2006 as soon as he arrived in Kuwait with his unit. (00:10:09:00) o After remaining in Kuwait for 1 month, the unit was called to Iraq. (00:11:05:00)  The unit arrived in the city of Ramadi, Iraq. (00:11:12:00) o Ramadi was a “hot spot” at the time of Marshall’s units’ arrival. Al Qaeda had been recruiting people in the Southwest region of the city. (00:11:52:00)  Marshall remained in Ramadi for 6 months. (00:12:03:00) o “I had bullets shot at me”. (00:12:10:00) o Marshall’s unit also encountered roadside bombs. (00:12:15:00) o Nobody in his platoon was killed, but one man was shot. Thanks to a “very well trained medic”, the man’s life was saved. (00:12:20:00) o However, two men were killed: one that was in Marshall’s company and another that had previously been in his company and transferred to another. (00:12:42:00) Second Deployment (00:13:00:00)  After Ramadi, Marshall’s unit was transferred to Baumholder, Germany. (00:13:02:00) o They did another “train- up” for Iraq while there. (00:13:10:00)  After another short period in Germany, Marshall and the others were transferred to Sadr City, Iraq. (00:13:17:00) o “Sadr City was the urban slum in Baghdad”. (00:13:25:00) o This city was only made to fit about 1 million people; however there was about 3 million there when Marshall arrived. (00:13:47:00) o The Mahdi Army had been shooting rockets inside the “green zone”, or “International Zone of Baghdad”. Marshall’s unit was put in charge of constructing a blockade wall for the Green Zone. As a result, the opposition issued a cease fire and rockets were no longer being launched at the protected region. (00:14:03:00) o After the construction of the wall, Marshall’s unit devoted effort to rebuilding the slums of Sadr City. (00:14:34:00) Other Military Experiences (00:15:20:00)  During his first deployment, Marshall and the other men that accompanied him did not have a great amount of provisions. �       o They had to build their own shelter from an abandoned house in Ramadi because the outpost had not yet been constructed when they arrived. (00:15:22:00) o The men used abandoned sleeping pads that Iraqi soldiers had left behind, which were infested with fleas. (00:16:40:00) o Marshall and the others used outhouses and wooden shower stalls. (00:17:05:00) “During the second deployment, living conditions were good”. (00:17:48:00) o The men were able to sleep in bunk beds. (00:17:51:00) o After a month of being there, “trailer stalls” were delivered. These units included bathrooms and showers. (00:17:58:00) o Supplies came in fast enough to permit the men to eat hot meals every day, but “every third meal was the same”. (00:18:55:00) In terms of the civilians, “I’m not really sure how they felt about us”. (00:19:56:00) o Marshall believes that the threatening appearance of the United States army caused locals to be non-receptive. (00:19:58:00) o He doesn’t think the military presence did much good due to the tension between the army and the Iraqi people. (00:20:10:00) o The hostile disposition of those in the United States army because “the enemy” often hid amongst the civilians, disguised as such. Therefore, Marshall and the others had to keep their guard up even when it came to common folk. (00:20:35:00) During the second deployment, “the civilians were not receptive” because the military presence in the Shia community caused conflict amongst the civilians. (00:20:50:00) o Once the U.S. soldiers began to help rebuild Sadr City, the tension diminished as many people were being freed of extortion by the Mahdi Army, community structures were being built, and public services were improved. (00:21:14:00) One of Marshall’s favorite Army memories was playing whiffle ball on Thanksgiving. (00:23:00:00) Marshall handled many different weapons and always carried an M4 Carbine Rifle. (00:23:30:00) o He was also trained on M16 rifles, M240 Bravos, MK 19 Grenade Launchers M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW), and the weapons on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. (00:23:37:00) Marshall earned the Bronze Star Medal for planning an assault. He administered the helicopter route for the soldiers involved. (00:24:22:00) Because he was an officer, Marshall was expected to use communication facilities less than other lower ranked soldiers. Therefore he did not talk to his family and friends back home very often. (00:25:30:00) � 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 MarshallJ1219V Title A name given to the resource Marshall, Justin (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marshall, Justin Description An account of the resource Justin Marshall was born in in New Jersey and later moved to Michigan with his family where he finished high school. Marshall decided to enlist in the United States Army in during his last semester of college at Kettering University. In 2004, he was sent to basic training, after which he took a number of extra courses including Officer Candidate School, Airborne School, a mechanized vehicle course, and Ranger School. In March of 2006, Marshall joined the First Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, as a platoon leader, and later became a captain and company commander. On the first of his two deployments, he was sent to Ramadi, Iraq, which was a "Hot Spot" for Al-Qaeda recruitment. His second deployment was to the Sadr City area of Baghdad, Iraq, where Marshall and his comrades helped rebuild the struggling community and eliminate extortion by the Mahdi Army. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wisdom, Victoria (Interviewer) Murphy, Sydney (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-11-13 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/9de5e2ef7ba7f94ae5ade9aeef1af4d3.mp4 071dd0af0aa407340c7f3c513aafa437 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/78e562f9cf4e78bb06db5bb07d36c17a.pdf 53a8a7ca44f8c61b27caddca7379624f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Frank Marshall Vietnam War 1 hour 0 minutes 50 seconds (00:00:11) Early Life -Born in Philadelphia on February 2, 1949 -Grew up on the north side of Philadelphia -Mother was a seamstress for Alfred Angelo -Father was a truck driver -Witnessed, first hand, the bombing of Pearl Harbor -Served with the famous writer James Jones -Graduated from Dobbins High School in 1966 -Worked in printing and plumbing after high school (00:02:11) Awareness of Vietnam -Paid no attention to Vietnam -He knew that he would be drafted eventually -Instead chose to focus on enjoying life while he still could -Apathetic towards the conflict in Vietnam (00:02:44) Getting Drafted -Received draft notice between Christmas and New Year’s Eve 1968 -Had already completed the draft physical when he had turned eighteen -Everyone had been trying to get out of being drafted -Some men were able to successfully escape the draft (00:03:39) Basic Training -Sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for basic training -Harsh reality set in upon arrival -Considered himself to have been treated well -Everything was fast paced, but he expected that -Credits part of the ease of basic to the attitude he had going in -Believed that it was just something that he had to get through -Trained with other men from Philadelphia -Basic training lasted eight weeks (00:05:35) Advanced Infantry Training -Sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey for advanced infantry training -For him it was easier than basic training -Seemed easier being close to home -Able to go home frequently -Less of a physical training focus -Received weapons training there -Most instructors were Vietnam veterans -Felt that they did a good job preparing the recruits for Vietnam -Mostly taught from the textbook though -AIT lasted eight weeks �(00:08:00) Noncommissioned Officer School -At the end of AIT he was drafted into NCO School -Sent to Fort Benning, Georgia -Training did not go well -He didn’t want to become a noncommissioned officer -Training was difficult for him -He wanted to fail out and get reassigned to Europe -Informed that the Army didn’t send failed NCO’s to Europe any more -Received orders for deployment to Vietnam (00:09:17) Deployment to Vietnam -Given thirty days of leave before being deployed -He wasn’t worried -Seemed to believe that the war would wind down shortly after he arrived -Returned to Fort Dix and flew out of McGuire Air Force Base on October 8, 1969 -Flown to California, then Hawaii, then Guam -Only allowed off the plane for an hour at each stop (00:10:41) Arrival in Vietnam -Landed in Long Binh, Vietnam -The heat in Vietnam was shocking and intimidating -Sent to processing center to be assigned to his unit -Spent a few days there -Got assigned to Alpha Company 2nd Battalion 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division -Sent north to Da Nang on a transport plane -From Da Nang flown to Phu Bai on a Chinook helicopter -From Phu Bai taken to Camp Evans on a truck -Still didn’t have any gear, weaponry, or general equipment (00:12:46) Arriving at Camp Evans -Issued gear, equipment, and a rifle at Camp Evans -Alpha Company was in the field tearing down old firebases in the north -He was given two weeks of introductory training at Camp Evans -Rappelling out of helicopters, patrolling, guard duty, basic information -He was instructed how to make a backpack for the field and was then told to board helicopter (00:14:21) In the Field Pt. 1 -Boarded a helicopter and went into the field to meet up with Alpha Company -Met them at the landing zone -Seeing the battle hardened veterans put the fear in him -Placed in a section on the edge of the landing zone -Told to watch for Vietnamese and to fire on them if necessary -Saw six soldiers get chopped up by a helicopter blade due to a faulty landing -Had to collect and body bag the remains -Assigned to 1st Platoon and they made camp halfway up a hill -Eventually worked their way up to a firebase -Getting to know the other soldiers was tough -Battle hardened -Placed on point and wasn’t good at it which upset the other soldiers -Given the M79 grenade launcher afterwards �(00:19:20) In the Field Pt. 2 -Got into a firefight with a sniper -Fired a few grenades in the sniper’s general direction -Stayed in the field for a couple of weeks and then returned to Camp Evans -There were a lot of new replacements waiting for them -He formed closer bonds with them -Still had no idea how to operate in Vietnam -Stayed at Camp Evans for a few days -Returned to the field and continued tearing down old firebases -Stayed in that area of operations through December -Ran into booby traps and snipers occasionally -Fairly easy missions at that point though -Had faith in the experienced soldiers and his officers (00:23:05) Firebase Jack -Once the monsoons set in they were moved to the flatlands -Used Firebase Jack as their base camp -Moved there in January or February 1970 -He was put on a rappel team -Their mission was to go in first and create a landing zone for helicopters -Enjoyed staying on Firebase Jack -Had time to relax -The only job was to guard the perimeter -Patrolled the flatlands and swamps looking for North Vietnamese Army (NVA) -NVA were trying to move troops down from the Ho Chi Minh Trail -They didn’t find many NVA -Had scattered firefights and no casualties (00:26:07) Establishing Firebase Ripcord -He was on the third helicopter in to establish Firebase Ripcord [March 12, 1970] -The landing zone turned hot upon their arrival -They lost their lieutenant and radio operator and took heavy casualties -En route their designated landing zone had been changed to a different one -Landed in the midst of North Vietnamese troops -They started taking fire immediately -Lost his equipment getting off the helicopter -Moved into position to knock out a visible machine gun nest -Had no ammunition -Had run back up the hill to the landing zone to get ammo -Eventually was able to mark the nest for a Cobra gunship (00:30:05) In the Field at Firebase Ripcord -Continued to operate in that area -Jungle and mountainous region -Tough moving in that area -Stayed on the North Vietnamese trails -They noticed a marked increase in enemy activity as the months went on -Spent most of their time in the field -Didn’t get to spend a lot of time on Firebase Ripcord �-Had sporadic firefights and increasing casualties in the spring of 1970 -Higher presence of NVA -American presence had little, to no, effect on the NVA -He was in a major firefight at Hill 805 -Chuck Norris’s brother was with them when he was killed in action there -Saw a Chinook helicopter crash at Firebase Ripcord -They tapped into a Vietnamese communication line -Learned that they were in the middle of two NVA bases -Ambushed the NVA repairman -Wounded him, but couldn’t track him back to his base -They knew that Firebase Ripcord was getting hit hard and frequently (00:38:13) R&R -Went on R&R and the battalion was sent for a break at Eagle Beach -He went to Taipei, Taiwan -Only available R&R destination -Welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed the respite from combat -Given fifteen days of R&R (00:40:07) Firefight on June 8, 1970 -He and his unit got into a severe firefight on June 8, 1970 -He was wounded in the fighting -Had been sent forward to fire on an enemy bunker -Took some shrapnel in the back as a result -Sent to Da Nang hospital for three days of treatment and recovery (00:41:06) Firefight on July 22, 1970-Overview -On July 22 they were on a hilltop near Ripcord -Ordered to get off the hilltop nd -2 Platoon advanced directly into a North Vietnamese mortar team -Four hundred NVA soldiers were surrounding them -By the end of the day only six Americans weren’t wounded or killed -He was wounded three times during the fighting (00:43:08) Firefight on July 22, 1970-Details -The platoons had been separated moving off the hill -The NVA were able to quickly take the hilltop and get the high ground -They were eventually able to reestablish contact with air support -Cobra gunship was called in to attack the NVA -An F4 Phantom was able to come in and drop a 250 lb. bomb on their position -Drove the NVA back for the night -He was wounded by the concussion of a satchel charge detonating -He was wounded from the shrapnel of an exploding rocket propelled grenade (RPG) -He was wounded by taking shrapnel in the ankle -After the third and final wound he was carried to safety and the bomb was dropped (00:48:24) Firefight on July 22, 1970-Rescue -They stayed awake all night -Delta Company attempted to move in that night and pick them up -The lack of a viable landing zone made it impossible -At first light Delta Company was dropped into a better landing zone �-Delta pushed through the NVA and made it to Alpha Company’s position -Once there Delta created a landing zone at Alpha’s position and evacuated them (00:50:11) Time in the Hospitals -He was taken back to Camp Evans -Spent six weeks in a variety of hospitals -After Camp Evans he was taken to Phu Bai for preliminary examinations -After Phu Bai he was taken back to Da Nang Hospital -After Da Nang he was taken to the 483rd Air Force hospital at Cam Ranh Bay -Felt comfortable and secure there -After a few weeks he was allowed to walk again (00:51:22) End of Deployment -Returned to Camp Evans after the time spent in the hospitals -He was supposed to return home in two weeks -He was supposed to return to the field -His congressman pulled some strings so that he wouldn’t have to -Spent the last two weeks in August 1970 guarding the base and on latrine duty (00:52:19) Coming Home -Flown from Camp Evans to Phu Bai -From Phu Bai went directly back to Fort Lewis, Washington -Received a steak dinner upon arrival -Remembers everyone celebrating when they entered friendly airspace -From Washington he flew home to Philadelphia -Returned home in uniform -There were some protestors at the airports, but nothing dramatic happened (00:53:30) Morale, Race, and Drugs -Received a large amount of mail and care packages while deployed -Received a birthday cake on his 21st birthday while in the field -Had to assemble it in the field -The unit was close knit -Fought together from October to the end of his deployment -If someone was wounded or killed it impacted everyone in the unit -They worked well together in, and out, of the field -Never experienced racial tension while they were in the field -Prevalent issue in the rear -Never dealt with drugs while in the field due to safety concerns -In the rear drugs were used fairly liberally (00:56:21) Life after the War -Returned home and bought a Dodge Charger -Got a printing job -Kept that job for a year until he was laid off -Got into roofing and started a roofing business -Eventually got into real estate in New Jersey and worked in that for a decade -Retired from real estate (00:57:31) Founding of Ripcord Association -When he came home nobody wanted to talk about the Vietnam War -Other veterans didn’t believe that Ripcord happened, or had even heard about it �-Began to get involved with veterans in 1985 -Part of a group that wanted to create a veteran’s memorial in Philadelphia -Got out of that due to controversy surrounding the project -Got in contact with surviving members of the Battle of Ripcord -Started off with twelve veterans and it soon grew to two hundred -Had their first mini-reunion in Seaside heights -Local news picked it up -More Ripcord veterans got involved -Had their first organized reunion in 1986 in Whitney, New Jersey -Now manages the website, newsletter, memberships and other general communications � 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 MarshallF1546V Title A name given to the resource Marshall, Frank (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marshall, Frank Description An account of the resource Frank Marshall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1949. He lived there until he recived his draft notice late in 1968. After basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and advanced training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, he went to NCO school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He quit that program and was sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion 506th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. He participated in shutdown operations in the A Shau Valley late in 1969, then operated closer to the coast in early 1970, and then took part in the campaign around Firebase Ripcord, and was wounded three times. He returned home in August and was discharged. He later became one of the founding members of the Ripcord Association, and remains actively involved with that organization. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-11 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/a179498aa32208fc2612a977fe92cc0d.m4v 6f21eb95b0dc4c41b8d40b4264688558 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/75de438e1b993dcd0173c20623b6aa51.pdf 7d1648d819c01505382c45a49e0c442a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Nick Marrone (00:53:15) Before the war (00:00) Born in Italy in a suburb of Benevento, near Naples (00:15) At the age of five he was brought to the US, in 1929, and became a naturalized citizen (00:30) He grew up in the Bronx (00:45) He moved to the US for financial reasons (00:50) Father worked in Canada (02:15) Father was an automobile mechanic (4:00) Competitive city jobs (04:50) The War (05:00) Received draft notice on December 31 (06:00) He reported to camp Buckton, Alabama, and then went to Ft. McClellan for infantry basic training (06:15) His training was physically demanding (06:45) Went to camp AP Hill in Fredericksburg, Virginia (07:15) Before the war he was working for $1.70 an hour running machines (08:30) He transferred to the air corps because of his mechanical background (09:00) Training for the air corps was about two months long (10:15) Briefly went to Salt Lake City and then to a Point of Embarkation in Antioch, California (10:30) He was shipped to New Caledonia, and sailed in a convoy (10:57) Arrived at Guadalcanal (11:54) Arrived at Guadalcanal in 1943 (12:48) �6 months of training before going to Guadalcanal (13:30) 13th Air force was being assembled (13:50) Air strikes every night on Guadalcanal (14:10) Naval bombardment (14:40) The elements and malaria (15:40) He came down with Jungle Rot but no other diseases (16:05) The Jungle Rot actually came back to him twenty-five years later (16:30) He was sent to Cleveland Clinic were a form of vinegar was used to cure it (17:05) He was crew chief with The 12th Fighter Squadron, which flew strafing missions and provided cover for bombers (18:10) A CO asked if anyone knew anything about radial engines, and so he was recruited to work on radial engines (19:25) They fixed up a radial engine plane and used it to fly everywhere, including R&R, and picked up odds and ends (20:15) While bringing back tomatoes, the tomato cans exploded because of the altitude and he had to write a report on the exploding tomatoes (22:15) Eventually they added cameras to the planes to confirm kills (24:30) Every year the planes would become more advanced (25:00) Currently there are memorial flights (26:40) Japanese would attack from Buin (28:30) Moved base to New Guinea (29:15) Twenty-six land sea invasions in the Pacific (31:35) Japanese atrocities (32:00) His military duties consisted primarily of maintenance (34:00) He remained in the Pacific for three months after the war had ended before shipping back to the US (35:50) Got on a ship in December and went to Antioch California (36:00) �After the war he decided to leave the air force (36:15) He worked in Biscuit Company for a short period (36:35) He became a radial enjoin instructor (37:00) He went to Hawaii and worked as the Civilian Line Chief for the Air Transport Command in Honolulu (37:40) Patients and planes with problems would stop in Honolulu (39:05) The military build the biggest VA Hospital in the area (40:30) He spent nine years in Hawaii (40:25) Portuguese origin of the Ukulele (42:45) After Hawaii, he came back to the US in Willow Run, Michigan (43:50) He went to work for Kaiser Frazer Automobile (45:30) His time in the service and his thoughts (47:00) He was grateful and learned a lot and contributed a lot (47:00) Lots of respect and camaraderie (48:10) Twenty-five years after getting out of the military, he officially became a US citizen (50:00) He has seven sons; some of them became Marines (51:30)   � 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 MarroneN Title A name given to the resource Marrone, Nicholas (Interview outline and video) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marrone, Nicholas Description An account of the resource Nick Marrone was born in Italy in 1924 and came to the United States in 1929. He was drafted into the army, and was assigned to the Army Air Corps as a mechanic. He served with the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1945. H was a crew chief in the 12th Fighter Squadron, which was based on Guadalcanal and New Guinea. 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.) 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/d75a1b6c4ebb5037445bc7485f84d8c5.m4v 7df4400845edb493cdd0623ceff7ffbb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b90e643d9ec11cb7188eb190b283ccaa.pdf 89046e691ec0fe2d7086007bdc84ea90 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Name of Interviewee: Harold Marks Name of War: Korean War Length of Interview: (00:46:00) Pre-Enlistment        Born in Phoenix, AZ in 1931 (2:00) Left AZ in 1936, moved to Detroit, MI (2:20) Graduated from Arthurville High School in Saginaw, MI in 1949 (2:35) Graduated from University of Michigan in 1953 and joined the Army (2:50) Was 10 when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred (3:30) Joined the Army on June 15th, 1953 (3:55) Joined because it was during the Korean War (4:30) Training         Basic Training was at Fort Breckinridge, KY (1:20) Army Intelligence school at Fort Devens, MA for six months (1:25) Enlisted so he could pick his duty rather than be drafted (4:45) Thought Army Intelligence would be more useful because he had gone to college (5:15) Spent three days in Kentucky getting sworn in and eight weeks in Basic Training (6:00) Lost 30 pounds during that time (6:20) Was taught how to shoot, clean and take apart a rifle (6:40) Spent six weeks at Fort Lewis waiting to be shipped out to Alaska (9:50)  Each class had 30 people, and whoever finished at the top would be sent to California to learn Russian and interpret (7:30) Finished at the top of his class, was sent instead to Alaska (7:45)  Army Intelligence School  Enlistment            Was in the Army from June of 1953-June of 1956 (0:45) Honorably discharged from the Army in 1961 (0:50) Discharged as a Specialist Third Class (1:12) Spent a year in Alaska in Anchorage and Nome (1:35) Spent last year at Army Security Agency Headquarters in Arlington Hall Station, VA (1:45) Was a Morse code intercept, and his unit monitored the coast of Siberia (8:15) The UN was monitoring shipping movements from North Korea and the USSR (9:00) Was married prior to being shipped to Alaska, and wife was not allowed to come with because Alaska was considered overseas, as it was not yet a state (11:20) Spent 6 months in Nome, then sent to St. Lawrence Island for 3 months(12:40) Only 12 miles from the International Date Line (13:00) Lived underground, no plumbing or electricity (13:50) �    Was sent to ASA Headquarters in VA for one year, wife was allowed to come with (15:00) Always was a Morse code interceptor at each base (15:20) Describes his job, copying each USSR Morse code, and their style (16:00) Saw no combat during his time in the service (18:45)  Memorable Events            Interacted with the Eskimos on St. Lawrence Island during a whale hunt (19:10) One guy lost his mind on the island, went outside in his fatigues and bare feet (22:45) Everybody had latrine duty at least twice on the island (24:00) Once had to do maneuvers in the middle of the night in winter on the island (26:50) Stayed in touch with family usually by letters, but was able to call home on leave in Fairbanks (28:10) Had cooks on the island and only 200 men, so they were fed well (29:30) Entertained themselves with cards, played ping pong on the island, and played basketball in Nome (30:00) Did not receive any leaves while in Alaska (33:20) Officers were very casual in Alaska. Very informal atmosphere, but disciplined once back in the United States (35:00) Service ended on June 14 1959, but had to serve 5 years in the Army Reserves on inactive status (37:00) Life expectancy for Eskimos on the island was only about 30 years because of the bad water (43:00) Post-Enlistment        Went back to college for a degree in accounting from Aquinas College (3:00) Drove home to Grand Rapids after discharge (37:30) Enjoyed his time in the Army, but enjoyed leaving (38:00) Went into a family business a few days after coming home (38:30) Made friends in the service, but did not keep up with them after he got out (39:00) Proud to serve, but that may have changed if people were shooting at him (40:00) Never attended a reunion for his unit (41:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MarksH Title A name given to the resource Marks, Harold A. (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marks, Harold A. Description An account of the resource Harold Marks was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1931. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Detroit, then to the Saginaw, Michigan area. Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, Harold enlisted in the US Army, and was on Morse Code Intercept duty from 1953-1956. Harold was stationed in Anchorage, Nome and St. Lawrence Island, Alaska before his final station at the Army Security Agency headquarters in Arlington Hall Station, Virginia. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Forton, Lindsey (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 Other veterans & civilians--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 2005-06-02 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/617618c44f4c3fe6420d419698bee4a7.mp4 6265b20da467e6fe5074f2c87a6d2823 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/373382a1431fb6c2c9eabc8e74a972f6.pdf 3a5698f00d956b35653f907aae8a14df PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project World War II Glenn Marks (50:16) Background Information (00:04)      Born July 27th 1925. (00:05) Glenn served in Germany in the medical field. (00:20) Glenn attempted to enlist in high school but was unable to because he was too short. (00:33) His family did not have any electricity growing up. (1:10) Glenn was in bible school practicing ministry when he was drafted in January of 1943. (1:42) Basic training (2:03)        Attended basic at Camp Grant, Illinois. (2:05) Boot camp was quite a shock for Glenn. He recalls scrubbing floors weekly. (2:45) When the soldiers maid their beds the sheets had to be so tight that a quarter could be bounced off of them. (3:25) Because of his ability to type, Glenn was assigned to typist school to be a clerk. This lasted 8 weeks. (3:55) After returning from typing school, Glenn took a 15 mile forced march. He thought he might die. (4:16) On June 6th 1944 Glenn graduated from his training. (5:03) Though Glenn was trained as a typist, he was assigned to a front line medical unit due to demand. (5:31) Service (6:00)        In November of 1944 Glenn was assigned too his unit in Europe. This group consisted of 3 men and a jeep that was used to evacuate casualties from battle. (6:05) While following a unit that was entering into Germany, the men crossed the Siegfried Line. The unit had no casualties. But Glenn did see his first dead German. This image shook Glenn hard. (7:15) In another assignment, German soldiers began assembling in the yard of a castle that American troops were staying in. the Germans later left trying to attack a gasoline dump rather than the soldiers. (9:04) The most intense combat that Glenn saw was when a unit was trying to capture a dam. The Allied forces were afraid to cross the river fearing that the damn would be destroyed to flood them out. (12:25) Glenn followed an infantry unit in to the dam that was assigned to take the area regardless of casualties. (14:32) While picking up casualties from the dam the men ran into a road that had not been cleared of mines. Glenn volunteered to walk ahead of the jeep so that the men could continue on their mission. (15:20) He also assisted the first units to cross the Rhine River. (17:15) �End of Service (18:01)    Glenn, having a low point count, was kept to take care of wounded German soldiers while the Allies were supervising German hospitals. (18:16) Glenn thought the war was needed. He was glad to have served his part of the duty. (19:30) Glenn was awarded the 3 battle stars, and the good conduct medal. (20:56) Life in the Service (21:15)          Glenn wrote letters home consistently. (21:20) He believed the food was fairly good. Although he admits that his expectation of the food was very low. On Thanksgiving Day the men were given turkey. (21:53) While in Europe the men stayed mostly in tents. (22:38) He was surprised at how supplied he and the unit he was with were. Even during the Battle of the Bulge. (24:30) When free time was available, Glenn would often go walk and explore the area. He did this particularly often in England. (25:54) Glenn was awarded a 7 day pass to Switzerland. Here the men saw sights and even went skiing. (26:50) He believed that his officers were fairly good. (28:54) The second lieutenants were the funniest for the enlisted men because they had just got out of officer’s school and were inexperienced. (29:56) Glenn finished his service as a Technician 3rd Grade. (31:22) Life after Service (31:45)        Glenn returned to the U.S. in February, March of 1946. The seas were very rough but Glenn did not get sea sick. (32:05) Glenn was discharged at Camp McCoy Wisconsin. (33:15) After about a month Glenn worked for his father who was builder. He did return back to bible school. (33:44) He transferred to a school in Indiana. He was going to school on the GI bill. (35:33) Glenn and his brother did start a business while he was in school. It was very successful. His senior year of college he made more than the college president. (36:25) He was convinced t stay a minister because of his fiancé and drop the business. (37:51) Glen began getting evolved with making new churches. (38:26) Effects of Service (39:58)     Because Glenn was not around the same men very often he failed to make any long lasting friends from his service. (40:35) He is a member of the VFW. (41:08) Being in the military has made him understand the acceptance of the military. No man likes war but having a military is necessary. (42:10) He once marched in a Memorial Day parade. (44:19) �   His time in the military taught Glenn about discipline. He does not believe it had any negative effect on him as a person. (45:29) Glenn traveled to Omaha Beach for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Prior to this experience Glenn was unable to talk about his military experience and rarely said anything about it. (47:02) While in Europe for the 50th anniversary, Glenn stayed with several other men in a French home. (49:18) � 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 MarksG1310V Title A name given to the resource Marks, Glenn (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marks, Glenn Description An account of the resource Glenn Marks, born July 27th 1925 served in the U.S. Army in the medical field from 1944-1946 in Europe during World War II. While in training at Camp Grant, Illinois, Glenn was sent to clerical school where he was trained to be a typist. However, due to demand, Glenn was assigned to be a field medic recovering fallen casualties. Glenn traveled across Europe following units that were expected to have high casualty counts. At the end of the war, he stayed in Germany caring for German casualties until he was sent home. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fitzpatrick, Shannon (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-06-02 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/711073b2c3442124548a11a9a04d03b8.mp4 aadc6a228b52ed64541269bbbf6ddae1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2cacc587394ec78f22e118d60278d4fc.pdf 0d11cd8145ce42c1fc447802cc47a7c2 PDF Text Text Grand Valley Journal of History Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Steve Manthei Total Time – (01:36:35) Background • • • • • • • • • • • • • He was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on February 13, 1949 (00:31) His father was policeman and security guard and his mother worked as well There were three children (01:00) He grew up in Janesville and spent a lot of time on his grandparents' farm (01:15) He graduated from Janesville High School in 1967 (01:23) At this point he was very aware of Vietnam o He had friends that had already been in Vietnam (01:39) o It was on the news and in the paper (01:48) He knew around the tenth grade that he wanted to join the military o His father had served in the European Theater during World War II He had a love for horses (02:28) o He wanted to get hired at the General Motors plant He got hired at General Motors just out of high school (02:56) o He worked at General Motors for some time before enlisting because he needed to get his time in the union so he would have a job when he returned (03:04) He was drafted in March of 1969 (03:13) His reaction to the draft notice was that he was surprised but excited Men in his family had always “stepped up to the duty” (03:41) He met a girl before he was drafted and married her Enlistment/Training – (04:23) • • • • Once he was drafted he was inducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (04:33) He was then sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky (04:38) He had gone through all of his physicals and testing at Milwaukee o There were some men that would overeat o He had some questions with his height (05:01) o There were some men that did not want to go (05:17) The reception at Fort Campbell was rude �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • o It was a different kind of discipline than when he was a kid (05:46) He was always in good shape and basic training was not that difficult for him Before boot camp, his father told him, “Roll with the flow.” (06:37) The training he received was much more rigorous and harsh than his father's He enjoyed the majority of basic training There were some of the men that had a difficult time adapting to the levels of discipline (07:16) o Those that he knew to only have a single parent were somewhat more unruly The men in his platoon were from all over the country (08:06) o When someone did something out of line, everyone suffered  There was not a lot of tolerance among the men (08:36)  They would talk to the soldiers who would make mistakes and tell them to stop o There were a couple of men that were held back (09:01) o One of the men should not have been there  He was “scared to death” (09:21)  The mental aspect was extremely difficult Basic training lasted for eight weeks (09:45) He hurt himself in one part of training and could not march during graduation Basic training was the roughest discipline and training that he had ever faced (10:36) There were many references to Vietnam during training o The sergeants and trainers had served in Vietnam o He was told that he would be given a machine gun because the enemy would see him from so far away (He was so tall) (10:57)  He laughed at it then, but there was a lot of truth to it o There were some platoon sergeants that actually cared about the men (11:18) o The trainers emphasized the differences between leaders and boys (11:48) He is then sent to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Polk, Louisiana (12:14) He was on limited duty for a month because of his knees o He was a “gofer” for the men because he could not use his knees All of the training was geared for Vietnam (13:23) There were obstacle courses, Escape and Evasion games, and many other activities o He grew up in the country – he felt right at home (14:02) They pressed the men to be able to “take the pain” They were taught how to deal with the Vietnamese (15:05) o Most of this came from talking with the platoon sergeants  His sergeant tried to teach them how to discern who the real enemies are (15:25) • His philosophy was that the Vietnamese were afraid of the NVA �• • • • • • • • He said that the Vietnamese were good people (16:00) There were trainers that actually cared and those that were doing what they needed to do to get out of the service (16:28) He was at Fort Polk during the summer (17:35) o They were told that it would be similar conditions in Vietnam, only worse He was designated as Combat Infantry (18:02) He trained on the M60, 50 Caliber, M14, M16, M45, grenades, and the M39 (18:15) After AIT he was sent home for thirty days o He got married while he was at home (19:12) o He was married on July 31 He was then sent to Fort Lewis, Washington on August 22 (19:41) o There were only three soldiers that were going to the 101st Infantry He was only at Fort Lewis for three days (20:26) Active Duty – Part I – Beginning Experiences and A Shau Valley (20:33) • • • • • • • • From Washington, he traveled to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam o They traveled to Japan before landing in Vietnam (20:51) o The flights were extremely somber – Everyone knew that not everyone would return alive (21:07) They landed at Cam Ranh during the day o It was extremely hot and smelled bad (21:26) o He could tell which men had been in Vietnam for any amount of time because they “looked hard” (21:48) He received an orientation at Cam Ranh Bay and was then sent to Camp Evans (22:26) o Orientation consisted of explaining how operations occurred; they were told that some of them would not return alive, and simply briefed on the war He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and traveled to Camp Evans by a truck (23:13) When they arrived at Camp Evans, they were welcomed by some and some others just stared (24:14) o They were called FNG’s (Fucking New Guys) (24:18) At this point he was a rifleman (25:12) o He was told once again that he would be targeted first by the enemy (25:30) o The enemy would generally go for the M60 and tall men first – he was both He joined the company after two weeks of training – it was roughly September (26:23) The 101st Airborne was in the lowlands at this point (26:41) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • o There were a lot of booby traps (26:52) o His unit was in a firefight twenty-eight days after being there  They were no longer “cherries” or “FNG’s” (27:06) His platoon leader was Sgt. White o His company commander was a wild man  He was battle tested (27:43) The first firefight was an ambush by the Americans o It was extremely short (28:31)  It was surreal to go up and check the dead bodies to see if there is any valuable information on them (28:49) o It was “kill or be killed” o He had gone from being “a religious kid to a killer” (29:14) The first comrade that was wounded was difficult to see (29:40) o Booby traps were extremely dangerous in the lowlands He was then taken to Eagle Beach in Vietnam (30:37) o At Eagle Beach they received hot meals, showers, and had shows at night Captain Hale gave a speech to the men and got them “roarin” (31:02) He was happy to fight with the men in his unit because he knew that they would truly fight The 101st Infantry was notorious for long outings (32:14) He did not notice any of the men slacking when he first arrived at Camp Evans (32:27) Near the end of his tour there was a lot of conflict When he was operating in the lowlands, they would get to their destinations by marching or helicopters (33:08) The 101st Infantry worked its way into the A Shau Valley, Vietnam (33:38) He was on the first chopper into the A Shau Valley (33:49) o They lost two men to booby traps in an ambush When they were moving out, he felt a sniper shot go right past his ear and hit his comrade in the shoulder (34:21) He then became an AG (Assistant Gunner) Before he went to the A Shau Valley, he had been sent home for his grandmother's funeral (35:12) o While he was home he found out that his wife had been doing things that she should not have been and that she squandered all of his money (35:21) o This happened in November of 1969 Lt. Wallace joined [as platoon leader] shortly after he arrived (36:42) o Lt. Wallace was reserved, not very aggressive (could be if he had to be), and he did things more intelligently (36:48) o He did not rush into things and would sometimes fall back into things and progress When they were in the lowlands, they were in control (37:46) o They “brought the heat all the time” o They rarely saw the villagers (38:09) o The ones that he did meet seemed very appreciative of them �• • • • • • • • • • • • o There were some people that would not talk to them (38:44) o When they needed to know where the VC were located, they would simply find the village where the people would not talk to them There were not many opportunities to participate with the local activities (39:45) When he first went into the jungle in March, it was a different kind of area for him (40:31) o The terrain was extremely rough o Some of the terrain was extremely beautiful (40:55) o The soldiers knew that the beautiful scenery was deadly o There was not a tree that did not have a bullet hole in it (41:08) When the soldiers woke up in the morning, the first thing they did was burn the leeches off of their bodies (41:37) His unit was in the field for over a month at a time The company split into platoons for the majority of the operations (41:58) o There were some maneuvers with squads and four man recons (42:19) He would only be on the recon teams for a couple of days at a time (42:37) His job was primarily to find the enemy, observe them, and go relay the information (42:52) There were procedures to remain silent when in the field (43:09) o There was not much the soldiers could do for the smell o The soldiers did not want to make any noise with their materials o They did not want anyone that snored (43:55) o Soldiers that smoked had to do it under something When he joined his platoon there were forty men in it (44:44) o It was a typical platoon size His platoon was hit on March 15, 1970 on a hilltop (45:31) o The next morning a squad was sent over for an ambush o They fought the enemy for a while o One of his good friends, Steve, was shot in the head and killed (46:16)  This incident hit him hard  He was requested to take Steve home (47:12) • They were going to be business partners after the war  When he met his dad, his father wanted to know how his son died (48:03) • He told his father that Steve had died quickly (48:11)  The funeral was extremely surreal (48:45)  His friend's father gave him a ticket home so that he could see his family before returning to Vietnam (49:15) o When he returned home, he and his wife decided to have a child – she became pregnant (49:49) While he was gone, Captain Vazquez became the company commander (50:02) He noticed that his platoon had lost some men while he was gone Active Duty – Part II – Firebase Ripcord, Firebase O’Reilly, and Hill 902 – (51:40) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • He went to Firebase Ripcord three different times (51:47) The views from the firebases were incredible (52:09) When they moved off the firebase and started humping around, the soldiers realized that they were “in for something” (52:27) He rejoined his company on Firebase Ripcord o He was flown in (52:52) o He was on Ripcord for roughly one week before being sent into the field The terrain around Firebase Ripcord had many green mounds around it (53:21) o When he got off of the firebase he realized that it was extremely rugged He carried five hundred rounds with him for the M60 (53:46) o He also carried eight grenades, trip wire, flares, and a claymore (54:04) When they were patrolling they made some contact with the enemy o It seemed like the enemy was trying to avoid them (54:28) o They found a freshly dug enemy bunker complex – “It made the hair stand up on the back of our necks.” (54:33) Vazquez was then replaced by Hewitt He is patrolling around Firebase Ripcord for the majority of May and June of 1970 (56:09) o He is on and off of Ripcord during this time as well His platoon was not taking any losses during this time (56:26) o Some men had been lost to booby traps in other platoons The lifestyle was extremely harsh – the soldiers were in pain every day (57:28) o Soldiers would basically sleep in mud, deal with disease, and they were always wet The night procedures were dictated by the terrain (58:14) o There were sometimes listening posts, circle types, and sometimes three man positions o The soldiers would take turns (58:39) There was one man on guard that stabbed an ape (59:22) They would “dig in” on the nights that they believed something was going to happen (01:00:00) o The NVA had been known to booby trap holes that had already been dug They never went through the same place twice (01:00:35) He remembers the bond and camaraderie that was formed between the soldiers (01:01:50) o They would talk about cars, their plans, girls, etc. He and one another were the oldest men in the platoon (01:02:40) o They made it a point to take the others under their wing o They spent a lot of time with the younger men Prior to occupying Hill 902, his platoon had sent recon up the hill and decided the route that they would take (01:04:00) o They took the hardest way up o When they got to the top, they dug in (01:04:13) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • o It was extremely tense because they knew how many NVA were around (01:04:31) o The enemy was sending mortar rounds in the very next morning (01:04:35)  They were hitting the back side of Hill 902 They shot a LAW (Light Antitank Weapon) rocket onto the enemy mortar position (01:04:49) The shot was “the best shot I have ever seen with a LAWS rocket” The Americans were told that they had to stay on the hill for a second night (01:05:23) o They did not think it was a good idea to stay in the same location for a second night (01:05:34)  It was not a very secure area When the soldiers first arrived on the hill, some were using already dug holes o He dug his own hole (01:05:56) The majority of the men were new and had never been tested (01:06:13) The Americans were strung out o Troops were not being sent to them as they had previously been (01:06:52) For the second night, the soldiers put out claymores, trip flares, and all other weapons ready (01:07:02) o The soldiers did everything they were supposed to do He was on guard duty during the night (01:07:48) o He heard on the radio that the enemy was near o He went and woke up his platoon commanders (01:08:20) When he was waking up his commanders, an explosion went off and threw him down the hill (01:08:26) Explosions were being caused by RPG’s and everyone opened fire (01:08:43) o There were more RPG’s than he had ever seen o He saw a G.I. standing in a spot one second and missing the next second During the fighting, he got on the radio and told the other line that he needed Cobra’s and help (01:09:45) At one point an NVA soldier fell dead beside him – he knew at that moment that the enemy was in the exact same area as the Americans (01:10:04) o He popped a hand flare to see where the enemy was  When he saw where the enemy was, he began throwing grenades in their direction (01:10:44) The area that they covered was in a perimeter formation His platoon was being led by Sgt. Danny Smith (01:12:43) The firefight lasted for a long time Once the Cobras came, they were able to see a perimeter that was made with trip flares (01:13:20) o The Cobras were told to open fire around the perimeter After the Cobras came, most of the fighting died down (01:13:53) Everything was extremely quiet the next morning There were bodies strung out all the way down the hill (01:14:40) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • He realized in the morning that he was not able to hear o He was shipped to the rear where they met up with Bravo Company (01:15:14) He had been hit with smaller pieces of shrapnel during the fighting He was only in the rear for a couple of days He was then sent back out and met his company on Firebase O’Reilly (01:17:09) While on Firebase O’Reilly, they were told to head out to assist Delta Company being defeated by the NVA (01:17:24) o They were being sent to Firebase Ripcord area He was on the last chopper off o They were supposed to stay overnight but were gassed by the enemy and forced to move out immediately (01:17:47) o It was his last combat assault He had only known that there were men who needed help – he did not know much more than that (01:19:20) If the Americans could have received the proper troop replacements and supplies, he believes they could have driven the enemy back (01:19:56) After Ripcord was abandoned, there was a lot less activity There were recon missions where they could see a company go by and they could not do anything about it (01:20:50) o The Americans could not radio back while on the missions o They did not even take a radio on the recon missions (01:21:31) Near the end of his tour, he began counting down the days before he is done His last week was spent watching movies, sleeping, counting the days, reflect, etc (01:22:27) After his week, he was sent to Cam Ranh Bay (01:23:14) o The pilot on the plane home asked the men if they wanted to fly over Vietnam to get one last look o The amount of men on the plane going home was much fewer than when he went to Vietnam (01:23:25) After the Service – (01:23:56) • • • • • • • He landed in Oakland, California (01:24:01) When they landed, they were told to be careful of protestors He wore his uniform the entire time because he was proud On his way home he realized that he had lost his envelope with his five hundred dollars, his pictures, and the addresses of all of his friends (01:24:51) There was a big banner on his families garage when he returned home When he returns home he begins at his old job at General Motors (01:25:31) Before he returned to General Motors, he was forced to finish his service at Fort Carson, Colorado (01:25:41) �• • • • • • • • • • The majority of the time his activities were easy o He had to play war games when he was there o Because of this, he began experiencing flash-back nightmares (01:26:07) o One time he jumped out of bed, swinging and screaming (01:26:13) o He accidentally hit his wife one time o When he went to sick call he was told that he had battle fatigue After Fort Carson, he returned to work at General Motors and owned his own horse business (01:27:30) o He won the International Championship He received a letter from the VA (Veterans Affairs) that denied all of his military wounds (knees, ears, PTSD) (01:28:01) o Because of this, many began mocking him and calling him a liar, lazy, etc. (01:28:29) He then began having flashback nightmares again (01:29:07) o He missed one day at work o When he returned, he was written up o He was told that he was making up stories from Vietnam (01:30:00) He called a psychologist and was told that was not able to be helped His life began falling apart – his marriage was deteriorating, his business was collapsing, filed for bankruptcy, etc. (01:30:43) In April of 1974 he met his future wife and turned his life around (01:31:10) The VA eventually made amends and acknowledged his experiences in Vietnam (01:32:14) He is upset about the VA and government not sticking up for the Vietnam veterans He does not believe that the military should have drafted men during the war (01:34:58) o The Army should be made up of people that want to be there, not just men who need a job (01:35:24) � 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 MantheiS1457V Title A name given to the resource Manthei, Stephen (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manthei, Stephen Description An account of the resource Steve Manthei was born Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1949 and was drafted into the Army in 1969. After training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was sent to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, and served most of his tour as a machine gunner in C Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment. His unit operated in the area around Camp Evans, in the A Shau Valley, and finally on and around Firebase Ripcord in the spring and summer of 1970. On July 2, he was wounded when his company's position was overrun, but he returned to field a few weeks later at the end of the Ripcord campaign, after which there was much less activity. After his tour in Vietnam, he served out the last part of his enlistment at Fort Carson, Colorado. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-10-04 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c0084c90bd30d5512da02dda7f462936.mp4 6d455ebbc72cde5634ee002e39b1cd09 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/71ead171940c0be3eaa0d2d6331f6cb5.pdf 8cf18bb2778c9eb8a8a1b77084d2d38d PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW RANDY MANN Born: July 1949 Battle Creek, Michigan Interviewed by: James Smither PhD, GVSU Veterans History Project, Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, June 25, 2012 Interviewer: Now Randy can you start off with some background on yourself? To begin with, where and when were you born? I was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, Calhoun County, in July of 1949. Interviewer: Now, did you grow up there? No, well actually the first couple of years I lived in Battle Creek with my mother and father and my sister, who was born in 1951. Then my mother and father separated and divorced and we moved in with my grandparents out in Dowling, Michigan on their 160 acre dairy farm. I lived there until 1960. Interviewer: Then after that what did you do? In 1960 my mother remarried and took this farm boy and moved him to Lansing, Michigan, into the city, and where I graduated from high school in 1968 from Everett High School. 1:06 Then in 1969 I went in the service. Interviewer: Now, when you graduated from high school did you go get a job? What were your plans? Actually, when I was in high school, my senior year in high school, I worked for a gas station convenience store. At the time this was kind of a precursor to what convenience stores are now. It was next door and upon graduation from high school I went to work for Zale's Jewelry as a combination stock person, sales, whatever, just kind of general 1 �whatever they had for me to do. I worked for them for almost a year before I went to work for Stover Auto Parts driving a delivery truck. Interviewer: So, you were just kind of looking around for whatever job you could get at that point? 2:01 Yeah, well I put an application in for General Motors and was accepted for a job for General Motors. I had my job all lined up and knew what I was going to be doing. Interviewer: And Uncle Sam called? And I didn‘t pass the physical because they said I had a curvature of the spine. Sixty three days later I was in the United States Army, in perfect health. Interviewer: You didn’t have any problem with your spine at that point? No Interviewer: When did you get your draft notice? Gosh, I got my draft notice, notification of status and stuff, just shortly after I graduated from high school, but it was a good eighteen months after that before I actually went in. Interviewer: Were they doing the draft by the lottery system at that point? No, my—it was basically if you went in and took your physical and stuff, and if you were classified 1-A, you were going, there was no lottery. The lottery didn‘t begin until several years later. 3:05 Interviewer: Not too much longer after that then, they shut the whole thing down entirely. Right Interviewer: Anyway, they were still working with the draft board system at that point? 2 �Yes Interviewer: Before you got drafted, what, if anything, did you know about what was going on in Vietnam? You know, I was pretty naïve about what was going on there. I really didn‘t have any idea as to why we were there, what was going on, and where Vietnam even was. I was really not aware of it. I knew I didn‘t want to go, I was pretty apprehensive about it, but on the same token I was thinking, ―Well, you know, it‘s part of my duty as an American citizen to honor my country and honor my family‖. My father was in WWII, in the Navy. 4:03 Interviewer: So you accept it once it comes? Certainly Interviewer: Take us through the induction process. Once they do call you up, where do you go and what do you do? Well, initially we went to Detroit where we had our pre-induction physicals, and that was quite a daunting deal there. You get in there and they run you through the whole gamut. I mean this is the second time to go to Detroit for a complete physical, and at which time the physical is finished, they bring everybody into a room and they swear you in as being in the United States military, and then they went there and said, ―All right, we need individuals here, x number of individuals, to be in the Marine Corps and the rest of you will be in the Army. Are there any volunteers?‖ Well, when anybody didn‘t volunteer for the Marine Corps, they just went down through the line and picked out—walked through there and said, ―Everybody from here to here step forward. You are now in the Marines. The rest of you are in the Army‖. 5:08 They loaded us up on buses at that 3 �point in time, and all of us that were going into the Army, they took us to Fort Knox, Kentucky where we were given another physical and given our uniforms, our clothing and everything we needed, issued what we call tack, and it was like a pistol belt and stuff—all the gear and stuff we needed, everything but a weapon. We weren‘t issued any kind of weapon yet. Then we were taken to our basic training quarters, buildings, which, for me, our group of guys, was actually quite nice. It wasn‘t one of the old wood barracks, it was a nice three story, large concrete building. 6:06 I mean, that housed everything, the mess hall was there, the offices and stuff were there, all the platoon barracks were there, all the sergeants had their rooms and stuff there, the kitchen, or mess hall, the laundry, the arms room, or armory and everything all in one nice large building. Interviewer: Did you have the impression that it was just built a few years earlier as part of the Vietnam buildup? It was not—yeah, it was relatively modern, it was built in the late sixties, where the wood buildings were built for WWI or WWII. Interviewer: Yeah, you had—with the expansion of the army they processed a lot of guys through Fort Knox. At least we got that part, now how were you treated by the drill sergeants? Actually, the guys in my platoon that I was in, we were treated quite well. 7:05 It was—they were rough, they were—they didn‘t cut you any slack at all. These individuals had been in Vietnam—Sergeant Johnson, I‘ll never forget Sergeant Johnson. Sergeant Johnson stood about five nine and weighed about two hundred and thirty pounds, a black man, kind of reminded you of a gorilla. Strong as an ox and he was not the platoon sergeant, he was an E-6, and the platoon sergeant, Sergeant White, didn‘t live 4 �on the base, he lived off base with his family and he would come in. But, Sergeant Johnson would tell us, ―All right now guys‖, and whoever was on fire guard he‘d make sure you passed it on down the line to wake him up at x time, usually around four o‘clock in the morning, and he would leave in his Chevy Nova that he had, which was all souped up and everything. 8:06 And he would, in the evening, he would take off and go out bar hopping or whatever, and come dragging in about midnight or one o‘clock in the morning and the guys would be—―Make sure somebody wakes me up at four o‘clock‖, and four o‘clock, knock on his door, he‘s up, and he would look like he—I‘m going ―How can this?‖ But, he really treated us quite well. I was quite surprised, you know, they had training things that they did, but at the same time, they were strict, yet understanding. A prime example of that was that your brass, the stuff that you wore on your collars for your dress uniforms and your khaki uniforms, had lacquer on it, but the lacquer had to come off so you could take and polish it with Brasso. Well, taking this lacquer off by hand and rubbing it with a cloth and stuff with the Brasso stuff takes forever. 9:04 Sergeant Johnson comes in with a towel, Brasso, a piece of a cleaning rod from a M14 and he says, ―Gentlemen, this is the way we can take the lacquer off of there quickly‖. He has a drill with him and he puts the rod in the drill, sticks it through the center hole, puts the Brasso on it, sticks it down on that, turns it on and zzzzzt, and it‘s just that quick, and he turns it loose to us. So, where other guys, in other platoons, I found out, would actually have to sit there and clean it by hand. The sergeant, on the other hand, comes in and makes it easy for us, and I‘m thinking, ―Well, this might not be too bad after all. This is somebody that actually has a heart‖. Interviewer: Was there a lot of physical training as part of this? 5 �Oh, physical training, all day every day. I mean it was just—we‘d line up in the platoon formations. 10:04 And to get into the chow hall, when your squad was peeled off, you had to run around the field, in other words, or the parade field was our formation area, you had to make two laps around that and then come through at what they call the horizontal ladder, drop down in front of that, do ten pushups, come up and then a trip through the horizontal ladder, off the end of that, over to a pull up bar, do ten pull ups, and then you could go in and actually have your food. Interviewer: Were you in good shape when you went in? I wasn‘t in bad shape, I mean I was physically in fairly good shape, but nothing compared to what I was by the time—it was just, I went in at five foot nine weighing a hundred and sixty five pounds. Two years later when I‘m discharged, I come out still at five nine weighing a hundred and forty five pounds. 11:04 I mean, I had not an ounce of fat on me, even by the time basic training was over. I mean we had low crawl pits we had to go through, we had forced marches, it just—I mean you had a great deal of very intense physical training. Interviewer: Can you characterize the men who were training alongside you? Where were they from, and what kind of backgrounds did they have, as far as you could see? You know it was basically just a microcosm of the entire country. We had people—the vast majority of the guys from my platoon were from Michigan, but all over Michigan. We had guys from all over the United States that were there for basic training, within our company of two hundred men. I mean, they were from everywhere and with all different types of backgrounds. 12:02 We had one gentleman there, and I kind of chuckled, 6 �Andy Bird, and that‘s going back a ways to remember that guys name, but the reason I remember his name is because he was only five foot and weighed about ninety-five pounds. I‘m thinking, ―Ok, what are you going to do with this guy?‖ When the orders came down for our AIT training and stuff, they sent him to be a cook. He went to be a cook and went to cooking school, so that was cool because I‘m thinking, ―There‘s no way this guy is going to make it in the infantry because he‘s just not big enough‖. Our Rucksacks in Vietnam—mine on average weighed a hundred and forty-seven pounds. This is going to be fifty pounds more than this guy weighs, and it‘s like—no way. Interviewer: Were most of the men draftees, or was it kind of a balance? Yes, we didn‘t have anybody that had enlisted in my company, everybody was drafted. Interviewer: As you kind of went through the induction process at Fort Knox, I mean did you have people who were trying to find ways to get out of the service or get themselves kicked out? 13:09 Yeah, we did, we actually had one guy—the way it was set up was there were two sets of bunk beds with a partition between, so there were actually four of us in this little cubicle type thing, and we had one individual that was in the top bunk across from my bunk, who was—I don‘t remember his name right now, and only because he wasn‘t there very long, who refused to bathe, period. After several excursions in the middle of the night to try to convince him to bathe, they went ahead and rolled him back and put him back, rolled him back to another class and then he—I don‘t know if he was straightened out then or what, I don‘t know, but I‘m going to assume they finally decided he needed to be discharged for mental reasons. 14:08 He wasn‘t, he just wasn‘t too well wrapped. I‘m surprised he made it that far through the process and to even get into basic training. 7 �Interviewer: Some people will tell stories about being at the induction center and going through the tests and having some people load up on sugar and things like that to get themselves labeled as diabetic, or trying to do strange things in terms of tests to get labeled as mentally unstable or whatever. You know, I never—this is the only one I saw and I‘m not sure what the deal was there. He just—he didn‘t—he just wouldn‘t bathe and I don‘t know if this was a ploy of his to get discharged, or to get moved out or labeled as not mentally fit for military service or what, or if it was just a situation. Because I‘ve run across other individuals in my life—a prime example, driving truck, It was a job that I did and there was an individual there that worked with me as a second seat driver for me, who didn‘t bathe or wouldn‘t change his clothes. 15:11 I finally told—I mean there‘s---different individuals have different family upbringing and stuff, and it may have been one of those situations where he A. didn‘t like to get undressed in front of other men because—honestly, you go in here and it‘s not an individual shower, it‘s a shower with eight or ten or a dozen shower heads with walls all around it. I mean it‘s—and it may have been a situation like that where he just wasn‘t comfortable being naked around other men, but ―I‘m sorry dude, that‘s the army‖, that‘s the way it‘s set up. Interviewer: So, on the whole the guys you were training alongside kind of accepted their lot and they were going to go through with doing their job? Surely, absolutely Interviewer: What kind of AIT did you get? 8 �I drew infantry AIT in Fort Polk, Louisiana. 16:02 Very interesting, Tigerland, North Fort, very much, the terrain, everything was very much like being in South Vietnam. I mean there were swampy areas, bamboo and I don‘t know if this is stuff that they had actually brought in and set up the fort like that, some of it, yes it was, but the AIT training was done in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and that was interesting training, very interesting training. Interviewer: Can you describe a little bit what happened there? Well, I‘m—it was hot, because I took my basic training and it started in July and I had eight weeks there, so we‘re in Louisiana in September, and it‘s hot and sticky, muggy, and mosquitoes, and just all kinds of vermin and one thing and another. 17:02 And we were then in the old wood barracks, single story wood barracks and stuff, and some of them might have actually been –no, I think they were two story wood barracks, yeah, they were two story, but it‘s the old buildings. It‘s an interesting deal there because we would have GI inspections and stuff where they would come in—well, they inspected the buildings every day. The sergeants, when you were out doing training stuff, they would inspect every single day of the week and you had to be able to—the floors had to be— you could shave off these linoleum floors, I mean they had to be highly buffed or—I mean everything had to be just so, so. They took us through a lot of our weapons training, we fired weapons that I never saw again, I fired a 90mm recoilless rifle, and I never saw one after training, but again it was just very, very intense infantry training. 18:06 To learn your escape and evasion tactics, learn your camouflage tactics and stuff, how to hide in plain sight, I mean you‘re just—it was very enlightening, but again, very intense training because the vast majority of the guys, as soon as they left AIT, they were 9 �going home for a thirty day leave and then they were going over to Vietnam, and they were going to be out in the jungle. Interviewer: Were you being trained by people who had been to Vietnam already? Yes, everybody that was on the staff had done at least one tour and some of them had done two or even three tours of duty in Vietnam. These individuals, when they talked you paid attention because they have been there and they had done it, and they know what they‘re talking about. Interviewer: Did they talk about things like how to deal with the Vietnamese themselves and that sort of issue? 19:04 Well, they did to a certain degree, but by the same token, when you got to Vietnam it was different because some areas—you had to learn and they did tell you to be very, very cautious, you don‘t—because you never knew when one—it might be a Vietnamese child that is booby trapped, they did that. They would tell you to be very cautious, don‘t mingle around with the, and associate with the Vietnamese in large groups of U.S. troops, stay away and be very, very cautious about where you‘re at and what happens etc. because you never know. It‘s like, this is kind of rough for this individual who‘s a very trusting individual and everybody‘s a friend and all of a sudden you‘re finding out that nobody is your friend. 20:09 The only friends you have are your fellow servicemen and that‘s it, which was kind of hard to deal with and learn to get around, but by the same token I‘m here. Interviewer: So, you get through AIT and are you on the list to go straight to Vietnam or do you go somewhere else? 10 �No, about a third to half of the way through AIT training, they called a large group of us, and it must have been close to a third of the company, very close to between eighty to a hundred of us, well actually about fifty to sixty of us, maybe somewhere—about a third anyway. They brought us into the day room and sat us all down there and they said, ―Now gentlemen, the reason we have brought you in here is because you have all scored high enough on your entrance exams etc. that you are all qualified to go on to NCO school, OCS, or Warrant Officers Flight School, and these are your options. 21:19 You can go ahead and take the NCO school‖, as they refer to the dead as the ―Shake and Bakes‖ if I remember correctly. ―You can go to NCO school and you will retain your status as a US, in other words a draftee, and only a two year commitment in the service. You can go to Warrant Officers flight school, which in turn you have to change and become an RA, a regular army enlistee, and you will be obligated for three years of military active service, but you will become a Warrant Officer helicopter pilot‖. 22:08 ―Or you can go to OCS, which then also means that you have to sign up as a three year regular enlistee and you will come out as a ―Butter Bar‖, ―Whip and Chill‖ lieutenant and be an officer.‖ I chose to go to the NCO school after finishing my AIT training. Interviewer: Were there some people who chose not to go to any of them? Yes, which I thought to myself, ‗Wait a minute, this—there‘s two things going to happen by taking and going to any one of these three, especially the NCO school. You‘re going to stay in the states longer and get more training and more skills before you go to Vietnam‖. 23:02 The bottom line was, we were all going to Vietnam. We were all infantry AIT training, so we were all going to go to Vietnam, there is no question. ―Why not get more training? Spend more time in the states before you go over, be more 11 �confidant with yourself, and then on top of that you‘re going to have a higher rank and you‘re going to make more money, they‘re going to pay you more for this‖. But, some of them just said no, they didn‘t want the responsibility, and that‘s fine you know, but I did. Interviewer: Where did they send you for NCO school? Fort Benning, Georgia, and I went home for a weekend leave and then went to Fort Benning, Georgia for the NCOS, Noncommissioned Officers School, NCOS or CS, I can‘t remember what it was now anyway, and that again was some very intense training. 24:02 Again, the older buildings, the two story buildings and we had, at that point in time they assigned us, within your platoons, each week they rotated it and they actually assigned you different positions and every week they would rotate it through there and somebody would be the sergeant major. You would have platoon sergeants, you would have squad leaders, I mean everybody was given—and we were automatically, as soon as we got there, we were automatically, everybody—you got of AIT—basic training we wore a single stripe, when we came out of AIT we had a—we were a private first class, a ―Rocker‖. At that point in time when you went from there--you went there and they automatically gave you the rank of an E4, corporal. 25:01 It‘s like, ―alright‖, and they would give us these arm bands to wear, you‘re a sergeant, and you‘re an E6, E7 or whatever and rotate that through. Then again, we had some very intense training and a lot of leadership training, and physical training. More physical training and we had—I mean it was very regimented going into the dining hall, into the chow hall, they actually had squares set up on the path that went up to there and you would stand in that square, when the next person moved ahead you would stop forward and stand with, you know, at parade rest and move like that again and when you got up there again the same situation, 12 �dropping down, ten pull-ups or pushups, then onto a bar and do so many pull-ups. 26:03 The officers there, the sergeants, if they saw any little infraction they would pull you out and put you in what they called the ―dying Cockroach position‖, which was laying on your back with your feet and your hands up in the air and you would lay there and you didn‘t dare move or they would get you out and do there what was an eight count or a ten count pushup, which would just absolutely kill you. They would get you down and they‘d count to it and you would squat down and kick your feet out and you‘d get in that position and then they would take you and you would go down and they would count very slowly and they would get you down to where your nose was just barely off the ground and then they would hold you there, and then they would bring you up slowly and then they would do this all over. 27:02 If you had a string hanging off a button you were in trouble, ―get rid of that pull cord, you‘re not a paratrooper‖, so you would have to take and burn that little thread off, and then they would take you out and run you through these pushups and the whole nine yards. They were very, very—the whole thing was to teach you some very strong discipline, to be able to take orders and to be able to withstand torture or mistreatment if you were captured. Interviewer: Did they actually try some of the torture or mistreatment tactics on you? No, I mean they were just; they may have, but not that I remember. 28:09 Interviewer: You weren’t getting water boarded or something like that? Oh, no Interviewer: There were some Special Forces types that got that as part of the training. 13 �That was Special Forces type stuff and that‘s a little different. Interviewer: Still they were—basically they were trying to make you as careful as possible. Right, they wanted to make things rough on you because they don‘t want you—they want you to be strong enough that you‘re not going to break under capture. They want to see what you‘re made out of and these pushups, like they did down there, that‘s just—and we did, we had guys that would break and finally say, ―that‘s it, bag it, I‘m over, I‘m done with this, I quit‖. Interviewer: And then they would just go back to regular infantry status? They would go—they would pull them off to one side and in a matter of two or three days they were headed for Vietnam, you know. Interviewer: How long did the school last? 29:01 It was thirteen weeks Interviewer: So, when did you finish that? It was in the winter, February Interviewer: What year? February of 1970 and again I went home for a weekend pass, and then I went from that weekend pass to Fort Polk, Louisiana for eight weeks of OJT where I was a platoon sergeant in charge of training another group of AIT individuals AIT and that was an interesting deal there. We had, out of that group of individuals, there were two hundred men in the company and out of the two hundred men there were seven of them that were regular army, that had enlisted, and they were all going on to OCS. 30:11 One individual that was in my platoon, I rode him exceptionally hard, he was going to OCS, I 14 �didn‘t cut him any slack, his last name was Hershey, his grandfather was General Hershey, so we kind of rode him. We didn‘t cut anybody any slack in that entire unit because everybody, with the exception of these seven individuals, was National Guard and they were all going back home after their training. Interviewer: So, they—I was kind of wondering about that, because you had mentioned that the people that had been training you in AIT were all guys who were Vietnam veterans etc. and then I think, “Why would they take the “Shake and Bake” sergeant who hasn’t been there yet to train guardsmen?” Because we were—we had to have training in a leadership position. I‘m saying that the guys that were training us, they were not all prior Vietnam veterans; I mean they had not been over to Vietnam. 31:05 We had individuals like myself who were there in the AIT, but they were down the line as far as—they did the actual—a prime example, what I did is I taught in the yard, the company yard, between the barracks and stuff out there, I taught the handling, use, teardown, cleaning, reassembly and stuff of the 45caliber pistol, military pistol. I taught everybody how to tear it down, how to clean it, how to reassemble it etc. I got to the point in time where—and these guys are just like, ―How can you do this?‖ I would disassemble it and reassemble it behind my back in less than two minutes, and they‘re looking at me like, ―How on earth can you possibly do this?‖ 32:01 ―Practice, I‘ve been practicing this, I‘ve been doing this for a long time. I can tear down an M60 machine gun and do it blindfolded and put it back together. I can tear down an M79 grenade launcher and put it back together blindfolded because we‘ve done it over and over, time and time again until it gets to the point where it‘s second nature‖. 15 �You could put one in front of me now and I wouldn‘t know how to put the ammunition in it anymore. I would, but tearing it down, I wouldn‘t have any idea. Interviewer: They really worked this stuff out pretty carefully for a lot of purposes to try to prepare them as best they could for what you were getting on to do next. Well, in fact our last week of NCO school was an interesting week. They called it Ranger week, and where they took us out and we spent the week out in the swamps and stuff just like we were actually in Vietnam. 33:08 Now, it‘s rather unusual because we‘re out here in swampy ground, nasty, wet, having to cross rivers and the whole works, it‘s cold, I didn‘t find any place when I was in Vietnam that when you walked into a wet area, swampy, marshy area, that you actually had to break the skim of ice on top of it to cross it. Still, and it was the same way, they again in the AIT stuff they have—one of the last things they do to you is have you run what they call an E&E course. It‘s an escape and evasion course, which is—they take you out to an area and turn you loose and way, ―all right, we‘ll see you back here in such and such an area and don‘t get caught‖, which is like—ok, and some of the guys got caught. 34:01 It was trying to teach you, after all the training and stuff, that they let you go through a course to see if you‘ve learned anything from what they were teaching you. Interviewer: Now, you’ve made it through—you’ve gone through AIT, you’ve gone through your NCO school, you come back, you’ve been an NCO, and now you’re back at Fort Polk? Are you at the point now where they send you home and then to Vietnam? Yes, I went home, I had a thirty day leave at home and at the end of that thirty days I was to report to Fort Lewis, Washington for my flight to Vietnam, and I was a day late getting 16 �there. I get there and they said, ―Where were you?‖ ―Home‖, ―well, you were supposed to be here yesterday‖, ―yeah‖, my attitude at that time was, ―well, they‘re going to send me to Vietnam anyway, the worst they can do is bust me down to a corporal, give me and Article 15, take me a little money, bust me down one rank, and after thirty days in country I‘m going to have my rank back and my money back, so who cares, I‘m going to Vietnam anyway‖. 35:09 I worked out pretty good, actually, because the guys that went on, were in the group of people that went over when I did, or the day before I got there, several of them were either wounded or killed because of the units they were sent to. So, fortunately it worked out for me. Interviewer: You were on the next planeload that went somewhere else? Yeah Interviewer: Now, when they flew you out, were they doing that in a chartered commercial plane or a military plane? Yes, they were DC7‘s, well they didn‘t have the big planes and stuff like they have today, you know, this was forty years ago, forty two years ago. Interviewer: Was it at least a jet? Yes it was, it wasn‘t a prop plane, but it wasn‘t a big plane, and consequently because it wasn‘t a big plane, it took several hours to get to Vietnam. 36:04 We flew out of the SeaTac Airport, Seattle Tacoma Airport, and we landed in Anchorage, Alaska where they refueled the plane, from there they flew us to Midway where they refueled the plane, from there to Okinawa where they refueled the plane, and from there to Cam Ranh Bay South Vietnam, an eighteen hour flight. Interviewer: And did they let you get off the plane? 17 �No, they didn‘t let us get off the plane; they made us get off the plane. Interviewer: That meant before you got to Cam Ranh? Every time they stopped to refuel they made us get off the plane. They would not refuel it while we were on board. We had to get off the plane and into a waiting area, or waiting room type of thing. When the plane was refueled we got back on the plane. Every time they stopped to refuel we had to get off. Interviewer: They finally get you to Vietnam and what was your first impression of the place once you got off the plane? 37:01 Dirty, smelly, scary, uncomfortable, the first warnings they told us, is if you hear sirens you‘ll watch out and you‘ll see bunkers and stuff, if you hear sirens going off head for one of those bunkers and jump in. There were rocket warnings, in case there was any rocket fire, and within the first twenty-four hours of being there we had six of those warning type things go off and they had rockets fired in six different times. It‘s like, ―man o man, this is not fun, and this is really scary‖. Interviewer: Now, what did they do? You land in Cam Ranh and what happens to you? We went in and we got—of course we‘re in a khaki uniform and that‘s all we have. 38:01 We have no weapons, we have absolutely nothing but the clothes on our back and they take us down and they issue us a set of fatigues and then they start to set up—they‘re going to assign us to different groups, and again they came down through and asked, ―Are there any of you here who would be interested in going to Ranger school?‖ I‘m thinking, ―Maybe‖, so I did go to their Ranger school in Cam Ranh Bay. Actually they sent us up to Chu Lai for the ranger school. We get up to Chu Lai there for their Ranger 18 �school and, it might have been in Cam Ranh, no it was in Chu Lai, I can‘t remember, it was in one of the two. Anyway, the Ranger school is where they really get nasty with you. 39:01 I mean, the school only lasts three weeks, but when you finish that you then become a Ranger working in military intelligence and range recognizance. I completed the training and spent six weeks with them and decided that it wasn‘t what I wanted and asked for a transfer to a straight infantry unit. Interviewer: So, what were you doing in those six weeks that you were with them? It was training, I mean we did training and I went on one mission and that was enough. What they did was basically, G Company 75th Rangers, basically what you did was you collected intelligence. We had no troops in Laos, ok? That‘s the official thing. Officially we did. We would eat nothing but Vietnamese food, we did not bathe, we did not shave, and you didn‘t brush your teeth. 40:08 You wore the same set of—you wore clothing, it was U.S. clothing, but all the tags were removed out of it, you carried captured Vietnamese weaponry, whatever they had, this is what you--because when you actually started to go out on a mission they wanted you to smell just like the Vietnamese. You would actually go out and they would fly us in a helicopter, you would rappel down out of the chopper, set up your area of observation and stuff and generally it was along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, and actually collect data on troop strength and equipment etc. that was brought down through there and then you would hike back out to the extraction zone where they would drop ropes out, you would tie on and they would yank you up out of the jungle and take you back where you would report all this information. 41:06 Interviewer: How large a group were you? 19 �It varied, anywhere from three to a maximum of six guys. Interviewer: So this little group of guys was dumped in the middle of the jungle someplace. How long would you stay out? Three or four days Interviewer: Did you see anything during that time? Did anything happen? Always, always, I mean you‘re sitting along a trail, camouflaged in, I mean it‘s just— yeah, and that‘s what you do and you‘d only go out every six weeks because—you‘d come back in and you‘d get all cleaned up, shave and shower, and the whole nine yards and that was it, you‘d start preparing for the next mission. Interviewer: People have—you hear a lot about, through the Ho Chi Minh Trail you have-- the idea might be, you might have a single little narrow trail through the jungle or something. Is that what it was or was it a wide road or what? A road, a road, it was a dirt road. 42:01 I mean, it was wide, but it was in the jungle and stuff and it was really hard to see it from above, from the air, but it‘s—they‘re moving, I mean, they‘re moving heavy equipment down through there, they‘re moving tanks down through there, trucks, I mean, it‘s-Interviewer: So, you got a lot of business? Oh yes, definitely Interviewer: Would they, the Vietnamese, as they’re moving up and down, would they make any effort to patrol into the jungle a little bit and look around for you? Oh yeah, they‘re always looking around for you because they know they‘re being spied on, they just don‘t know where you‘re at, you know, provided you have done a very good job of camouflaging. I mean, they would drop you in—we didn‘t drop in close, they 20 �would fly us out there in helicopters and drop us into the jungle, and we might be ten thousand meters away and we‘d have to hike these ten thousand meters, these ten clicks, into the area where we‘re actually going to set up, so they knew that we were in the area, but they just didn‘t know where in the area. 43:04 I mean, they might drop us in here, and we‘d hike off in this direction or maybe here and hike us out there, or come right straight in. They just knew we were there, they just didn‘t know where, and it behooved us to make sure that we were camouflaged well enough. That was part of the reason they wanted us to smell like them. Therefore, we ate the same food they did, and the whole nine yards. You didn‘t smoke or nothing, I mean it was-Interviewer: Now, did you have a radio? Did you report back or did you just record or write down what you saw, or just remember it? No identification, no communication Interviewer: So, you just kept the information in your head? Yes, we had a pre-set point where they would come to pick us up and the date and time, you know, they‘d pick us up at 2:00 o‘clock in the afternoon on such and such a day at such and such a point. 44:03 And they would already have it pre-set that you would be there, and to identify that you were there, you would have a smoke grenade that you would pop and they would know that it would be a purple smoke, or a red smoke, or a yellow smoke, and also they would know that you were there and that would—and they would fly over there and they would drop the ropes down and they‘d yank you out of there. Interviewer: did you worry whether or not you were going to get there on time or at the right time? Did you have somebody go— 21 �Yeah, but you made sure that you were going to be there. You might extract yourself from where you‘re at a day ahead of time, so that you would be there. I mean, you‘re going to make sure you‘re there, one way or another. But if you‘re captured the government would have no knowledge that you were there. There was nothing, I mean you didn‘t—you had captured enemy weaponry that you used. 45:04 The only thing that identified you as not being Vietnamese is your skin, I mean you‘re not short with black hair. Interviewer: So, one of those trips was enough for you? One was enough and that‘s when I transferred to the Charlie Company 2d Battalion, 1st Infantry, 196th [Brigade] 23rd Division, Tam Ky. Interviewer: Now, was it sort of common for people to kind of get, the situation you were in, do you think other people were doing the same thing? Thinking, “Oh my God, what have I gotten into?” Yeah, there was and that‘s why they were always looking for people that would volunteer, ―I want to try that‖, you know. There were several guys that didn‘t make it through the training. The training that they put you through was just—I mean it was really, really tough. You never knew what time of night, or day or night, they were going to come and get you and go out and do training. Teach you to do repelling and stuff. 46:00 We actually at that point—we had to be totally self-sufficient if there was medical care and stuff needed. We had to learn by actually working and practicing on other trainees, how to put in IV‘s. We were everything, we had to learn to do it all, and in the final training stuff they would actually take you out over the top of the South China Sea in a helicopter and before they actually started letting, repelling you out over land, 22 �they‘d take you out over the ocean, the South China Sea, and you would repel out of the helicopters into the water, and slide down ropes. The reason they did this, in case you‘ve messed up they wanted you to have something that was a little bit softer to land on than the ground, and believe me, the water‘s not that soft, well it is if you‘re not too far up. Interviewer: So, now you make a switch. Now, what sort of a reception, or whatever, do you get when you come and you go to the 196th Brigade and then get assigned, how does that play out? 47:09 I was just another new sergeant with the company. I was assigned to a platoon and just moved on. Interviewer: Was the platoon at the base camp where you first came in or did they move you out? No, they were actually out in the jungle and when they went on a resupply mission they flew me out. I jumped out with the cases of C rations, laundry and mail, ―Here I am‖. I got assigned to a unit there, to a platoon, and to a squad and they referred to me as, what is called the FNG, and we‘ll leave that at what it is. Interviewer: He’s the new guy, the NG part. Yes, and I basically for the first three weeks, even though I was the sergeant and should have been in control, the spec 4, who was the highest ranking person there, was actually running the show for the first two or three weeks until they got to know me and what was going on etc. 48:15 That was fine with me because I needed to get to know these guys too and what was going on with them. Interviewer: Was that what was recommended to you when you got assigned to a squad? Let them show you first? 23 �Yes, absolutely, absolutely, trust the guys, who have been there, you know. Follow their lead, listen to what they have to say, do what they tell you to do, and after two or three weeks you can start interjecting and working yourself in, and the Lieutenant, the platoon leader and stuff, come in and tell the guys, ―Ok, it‘s time for Sergeant Mann to take over, he‘s been here, he‘s learned all the ropes etc., and we‘ll move on from there‖. So, that can be very interesting because there you are, they don‘t know your background, and as far as they‘re concerned—I told them, I said, ―look, I‘m not new in country, I just didn‘t get off the plane yesterday, I‘ve been here for a couple of months, I‘ve been with the Ranger unit and stuff, I‘ve been out and I‘m a little familiar with it‖. 49:17 That kind of eased their concerns a little bit, but still at the same token, until I‘m there for a while and been on a few short little ops and stuff with them, they are going to be rather reticent about saying, ―well, were going to trust him‖, and do what—and it worked out. Interviewer: So, you were with—was the area you were operating in mostly jungle? It was—actually, where we were at was at when I first started, because I was in LZ Hawk Hill, which is just outside of Tam Ky, and that was mostly lowlands and farmlands and stuff right in there. Then we went on the first major, actual operation we went on, was we flew our whole organization out of Tam Ky to a little place called Cam Duc. 50:07 It was about three or four thousand meters from the Laotian boarder, it was fairly well established forward fire base. Several mountains peaks around that had different units and stuff on top of them. There was a runway, so you could fly airplanes in. During the Tet offensive of 1968 it was overrun, in 1970 we went back in, and for all intents and purposes, took it back. We had one casualty upon going in there and taking it back, the one casualty was a friendly fire casualty and fortunately he was not killed, he was just 24 �wounded. But, while we were there we had—we were there about two months before we moved out of that area again. 51:01 We did several patrols out in there and during that particular point in time we had several people killed, several people injured, wounded, we were constantly attacked by the rockets or mortar fire from the mountains. It was not a pleasant time. Interviewer: I want to go back briefly to the first stint in the area around Tam Ky, when you were in that kind of an area you were patrolling, was that an area with much enemy activity or was it fairly quiet? It was fairly quiet; it was fairly quiet in that general area. I mean, the fire base actually bordered, the fence actually pulled right up to the back side of the village. It was really, it kind of reminded you of a larger version of M.A.S.H. I mean, it was just this huge, huge area on a little hilltop like out there with hundreds of men. 52:01 There were all different types of units there, there was a Cav unit, there were infantry units, I mean there is actually a M.A.S.H. unit there. Helicopter pads, resupply storage and there‘s a NCO club, there‘s an OCS club, there‘s an EM club, enlisted men‘s club, so, I mean they got the bars up there. The NCO club was a little unusual because right outside of it sat a 155 Howitzer Battery. Christmas Eve, sitting there was a little rough because they got a fire mission and they‘re sitting there shooting right over the top of the building, so every time they would shoot off a battery of six guns, you‘d grab your bottle of pop, or whatever, to keep it from bouncing off on the floor. But it was—you had, you had, guard bunkers and stuff all around it and concertina wire and it was set up pretty good and it was patrolled quite well. 53:06 Occasionally we would get rockets or something that would be fired in, but they could take the dog gone mortars and they could sit out there two miles away 25 �and pop mortar rounds in at you, you know. They‘re not very accurate because they don‘t really use site sticks or anything like that, they just got a plate and a tube there and they sit and say, ―It looks pretty good here‖, and drop one in and that‘s the way they would sight them. Interviewer: They hadn’t really registered the targets well enough to really hit things, it’s more harassing fire? Well, they didn‘t have sight sticks or anything like that, so they really couldn‘t –I mean they‘d set a dog gone plate—and all they had was just a plate and a tube, and the mortars. They just would chuck them out there from anywhere they could. They were just harassing you, they never did hit anything. We did have an attempted sapper attack one night when they tried to sneak in and blow up the concertina wire and one thing and another with satchel charges and stuff, but they didn‘t make it. 54:04 Not that they couldn‘t have, they probably could have if they hadn‘t been caught. Interviewer: People on guard were doing their job that night. Exactly, exactly Interviewer: All right, the patrols you made out of there, were those mainly just short one day things? Yeah, usually that‘s all we did. We‘d—they would say, ―We need you to go out and check this area‖, and we‘d load in the helicopters and they would fly us out and set down and we‘d jump out and we‘d check the area out and they‘d come back and pick us up and we‘d fly back in, you know. Interviewer: Did you run into anything? Usually not, just locals 26 �Interviewer: In general, how did the civilian population behave toward you? They were afraid of us to a degree. It depended on how you treated them, you know. If you treated—most of the civilian population that were out there, I mean these people are peasants, they live in grass shacks. 55:01 Grass and bamboo, I mean, and they literally work from sun up to sun down to prepare enough food to feed themselves once a day. I mean, literally work all day long to prepare food to feed themselves once a day. If you go into their village, the area where they‘re at there, and start harassing them and taking stuff away from them, eating their food that they‘ve been cooking, and worked on all day long, you‘re in trouble. I should have brought some pictures up to show you, because I have pictures of some of the villagers and stuff when we were in there. I mean the young kids and stuff; they‘re all coming up to you and wanting this and wanting that etc. and they would, if you gave them some of your C rations and stuff, they would ask you to share a meal with them because you had given them something. It just depended upon what kind of an attitude you had and how you treated them. 56:06 Basically, what we were looking for most of the time when we would go into these villages is caches of stuff that the so called NVA tax collectors that are out there forcing these people to—I think they were actually more afraid of the NVA than they were of us. Because, I mean the NVA would really treat them quite shabbily. We would round everybody up in the village and get them into a central area and I worked, I had what was called a ―Luc Long scout‖, or a Kit Carson Scout, that was Vietnamese that had been captured and was working with me. Therefore, I wanted to speak some Vietnamese, he some English and between the two of us we could do some interviewing and stuff with these individuals. I 27 �would like to find out someday where he‘s at and what happened to him. Interviewer: So, you’re trying to gather information? Basically that‘s what we were doing. Basically we‘ll out there, a combination of a pacification and information, that‘s what we‘re doing generally. 57:10 Sometimes it didn‘t work out that way, but most of the time that‘s what we were doing just patrolling and checking and trying to gather information. Interviewer: Now, was this in an area where you had to worry about booby traps and that sort of thing? Always, always, always, it didn‘t matter where you were at; you had to watch for booby traps. You could kind of—you could kind of sit back and watch the indigenous personnel that were there, the local villagers and stuff, and you‘d watch and look to see where they go, and see what trails and stuff, what rice paddies and dykes and stuff they walk on and which ones they don‘t walk on. You don‘t want to walk on the ones that they don‘t walk on because they‘re booby trapped and they won‘t walk on them. Interviewer: Now, did your unit trip any booby traps while you were with them? Yes, yes Interviewer: What sort of devices were they as far as you can tell? 58:04 Anything, anything, bungee pits, little pits like this, they would be no bigger than this with little bungee stakes in them and you walk through and step forward and step down in it and it breaks loose and your foot goes down and these bamboo stakes run through your foot, and they treated these bamboo stakes quite well. They would actually take them and they would put them in the fire until they got nice and brittle and hard and everything, and then they would dip them in feces and set them up there. Or they would 28 �have—we ran across one, and we got quite fortunate with it. I walked point a lot of the time while I was there, looking specifically, and I saw a trip wire run across and they actually had taken a captured, one of our baseball grenades, and had set it up with a wire across the trail. They had it camouflaged quite well, not well enough, but quite well, and what it was set up for, you come through and you trip that. 59:02 Well, what they do— grenades are set up with a time delay fuse on them and they take and unscrew them and cut the fuse off and screw it back in, so the minute the pin is pulled the spoon comes up, hits it and it goes off instantly. We happened to see it and didn‘t trip it. Yeah, all kinds of booby traps, anything and everything you could possibly think of, I mean these people are very, very, very adept at using anything to make a weapon out of. Whatever is available, whatever they have, it‘s just absolutely astounding. Interviewer: All right, and that was the relatively easy duty before you go up to the Cam Duc strip? The Cam Duc strip, that was not a good trip Interviewer: Did you have kind of a routine or pattern of activity while you were up there? Did you go out on patrol or do certain things? 00:02 Yes Interviewer: How did that play out? They would rotate it throughout the units that were there and send us out in different areas. Most of the time, what we would do, we would fly. They would take us out and they would fly us into an area and we‘d jump out of the choppers, patrol the area, and later that afternoon they‘d pick us up and bring us back to the base camp area and then a 29 �few days later we‘d go back out on another one. It didn‘t always work that way, but most of the time it did. Interviewer: Did you encounter many North Vietnamese while you were out there or were you mostly just shot at with mortars? The vast majority—I only had one—well, I had two operations I went on where we actually encountered enemy combatants, mostly North Vietnamese individuals. The one was, they flew us in to do some reconnaissance, fly us in in the morning, fly in and pick us up in the afternoon, fly us back out. Had a cold LZ, had a cold landing zone, no enemy combatants or troops in the area, fly us in, so therefore we didn‘t take a lot of stuff with us, which was a mistake because as it turned out it wasn‘t what the intelligence people had thought it was. 1:13 Instead of flying into this area where there wasn‘t supposed to be any enemy troops etc. and several days later we found out they had mistakenly dropped us into what they referred to as a North Vietnamese battalion base camp. Interviewer: So, what happened when you got there? We had to shoot our way in, three days later we shot our way out and we had six guys wounded, and one guy killed. The platoon leader, the Lieutenant, was critically wounded, and I had been standing not any farther sway than I am from you, talking to him, and I turned around and stepped away and in just a matter of a fraction of a second after I walked away, he was shot from behind and shot through the shoulder. 2:01 Had I been standing there, I‘d have been hit too. Interviewer: Now, was this just a platoon size operation you were on? Yes, a platoon size operation. 30 �Interviewer: How many men do you think were in the platoon when you went in? Twenty-seven, there were twenty-seven of us and platoon strength normally is forty, and we very seldom had forty men. The highest I can think of that we had was thirty-three. Interviewer: How low would you get? The lowest we got was down to six of us, not even squad strength. Interviewer: So, you were out there for three days? Yeah Interviewer: What happens at night? We set up—we set up at night with a night defensive perimeter, and with the mortars and Howitzers, set up a firing around us. We had pre-designated areas, we called them fire mission Battle Zulu, fire mission whatever. 3:05 You know, different, preset places for them to shoot rounds out throughout the entire night so the enemy wouldn‘t know where , and they would set this stuff off all night long to help keep us from being snuck up on at night and attacked. Interviewer: Did that work? I‘m here and I was never captured, so-Interviewer: Did they still try to come up and attack you anyway? No, because—well I don‘t know because I have no idea, we have no idea if they did or not. The next day we tried to move to a different area and they kept us pinned down in the daylight hours, and the third day, when we actually were able to finally get out of there, we had some fire missions that we had called in and they really didn‘t want to do them because of the proximity of where the enemy was and where we were at, they didn‘t really like to do this. 4:17 But, they used the F4 jets and came in with two hundred and 31 �fifty pound bombs and there 20mm Falcon cannons and we popped the smoke stuff so they‘d know where we were at and they started dropping them and these planes flew so low overhead that you could actually roll up and look and actually watch the hooks on the hangers open up on the bombs when they would release them. And you‘d cover up because when they‘d go off you‘d get pelted with chunks of dirt and everything else when they were blowing up because they were dropping them that close. They don‘t like to drop it that close, but we didn‘t have any choice, we‘re on this side of a valley and on this side of the valley there‘s a river running through there, and we‘re on this side of the river and on the other side is this NVA and we‘re pinned down, we can‘t get out of there. 5:12 Interviewer: Were they blasting a path for you to get out or were they just trying to hit the enemy? Well, they were trying to keep; you know, scatter them out of there, get them out of there so we could actually then move away and then get to an area where they could extract us. Interviewer: Did you still have your casualties with you at that point? Were you still carrying your casualties? The casualties were already gone, they had been medevac‘d out, medevac‘d out. In fact, we had a thing that surprised me was--and they wanted us to wear flak vests and helmets, come on people, it‘s a hundred and twenty three degrees out there with ninety-nine percent humidity. We‘re going to wear a steel helmet and a flak vest, I don‘t think so. It‘s just like—it was bad enough and like I said, I was down to a hundred and forty-five pounds when I came home, give me a break, you know. 6:04 My pack weighs two pounds more than I do and if you put this on there I‘m going to melt away to absolutely 32 �nothing, I‘ll be a hundred and thirty pounds and nothing but bone. But, the last guy that we had wounded, when they came in, the medevac chopper got shot up getting in so, they left. We had the Major, and I can‘t remember his name, but the Major was flying around in his Loach, buzzing around there kind of watching things. He actually flew in, told his pilot, ―take me down there, we‘ll get this guy out of there‖. This guy had been hit in both arms and through his chest. Well, the medic we had, had popped him with two syrettes of Morphine, so he wasn‘t feeling anything, but he‘d been wounded with a tissue wound through this arm, a tissue wound through this other arm. He‘d been carrying a machine gun and the bullet went through this arm, hit the sternum, came through the sternum, out the ribcage, and through the other arm. 7:04 It didn‘t hit bones on either one of his arms, just muscle, and he actually helped pull himself up into the chopper. The Major comes down there and the Major jumps out of the chopper and they load this guy up there and the Major tells the pilot, ―go‖, and he stays with us‖. The Major was kind of an interesting individual, fire engine red hair, a handlebar mustache, bush hat, sleeves cut out of his tee shirt and his pants rolled up above his knees. This is the Major. Interviewer: About how old was he do you think? Thirty-five Interviewer: Ok, had he led men in combat before? Oh yes, oh yes Interviewer: So he wasn’t some guy who trained as a staff officer and came over after six months? Oh no, he came up through the ranks, he‘d moved up and he was an interesting individual. 33 �Interviewer: Did he stay with you any longer? 8:03 He stayed with us until we got--until the very next day when we got out of there, he stayed right with us like, ―ok, you‘ll do‖. He was an interesting individual. The only individual that I—and I had been smart enough that I had packed some food in my pouches in my pants and stuff because I didn‘t know how long before I would be able to eat. If we‘re out here too long I don‘t want to have to eat grubs and stuff, and he asked, ―Anybody got any food?‖ I said, ―Yeah, I do if you want it‖, and he said, ―What have you got?‖ I said, ―Ham and eggs if you want it‖, and he went kind of—and said, ―Ok‖. The ham and eggs was not the favorite item in the C ration foods, but I liked them. Most of the guys didn‘t and that‘s why I usually carried them and I‘d have plenty because they‘d throw them out, they didn‘t want them. Interviewer: You mentioned when you went out on this mission, the expectation was that it wouldn’t be a big deal, so you didn’t bring a lot of supplies. Did you run low on ammunition and other things while you were out there? Yes we did, and they actually flew ammunition in and dropped it out of the choppers to us. 9:03 You wanted to make sure you weren‘t standing underneath it either because if a case of M16 ammunition coming out of the door of a helicopter can hurt you. Interviewer: Was that the probably the most intense firefight that you got into, or did you have another one that was similar? We had one more while we were there and it was really intense. We were being harassed by mortar fire and my platoon took the duty to go up into the mountain and find them. Over a period of several hours, working our way up through, we came across a guard that was sent out and we dispatched him. We kept moving on around and my squad had been 34 �walking point. They would take and rotate you through, you‘d have the point squad, the middle squad and you would have the rear squad and you would rotate back. 10:02 The point squad would rotate to the back and pick up the rear guard and then the middle squad would take up and then you would just move that way and keep everybody fresh. We had just—it was not two minutes since we changed, and we came around the corner there, and my squad has the rear, and we came around this ridge, well, it was not really a ridge, it was kind of a crest of this hillside on the trail and they walked into a booby trap. It wasn‘t really a booby trap, actually it was a Claymore mine that was set up and they detonated it on the guys. That‘s when we went up—we went up with twenty-seven men on that mission and there were six of us that spent the rest of the night because everybody else was medevac‘d out because they had been wounded. Interviewer: If you were down to six why didn’t they just take out all of you? Or did they not tell you that? Because we were on a mission and everyone else had been wounded, and they had to be taken out. 11:01 They resupplied us with ammunition and stuff and then we stayed and we captured the tube. We got them, but it was very costly, a very expensive operation. Interviewer: Do you know how many were actually killed out of that group? Nobody died, nobody died Interviewer: Now, was it the mine that caused all the damage? Yup Interviewer: So, it wasn’t that you walked into an ambush of the conventional sort, so you weren’t in a fire fight at that point? 35 �Right, right—well, it was just—they were set up and they knew we were coming because we had already shot their guard, their outpost, so they knew we were there. They had the high ground and they just come after us, you know. We had several guys that were wounded by rifle fire and machine gun fire. Interviewer: Did they actually—were there men at the mortar tube or had they just disappeared and left that behind? 12:00 They disappeared and left that behind. They couldn‘t take it with them; carry it with them, because it was too heavy. Interviewer: How big of a mortar was it? Was it an 82? 81mm Interviewer: Was it an American 81 or a Soviet built 82? It was an 81, an American, captured American. It was just too heavy to run and take it with them through the jungle, so they just left it, but it‘s one of those things. Out of those six men, the six of us that were actually left and got out of there, I was the only one that stayed in country. The other five guys—I had—we had come back and it was a week or ten days later we were packing everything and getting ready to move everything out, and we were going to actually abandon that Cam Duc area. We had been attacked several times and you couldn‘t land air planes there because the runway had been bombed so heavily. We did have one air plane landed in there, an Australian airplane came in there that had been shot up quite badly, and they came in and they made a crash landing in there and we guarded that until they could come in and extract the aircraft and stuff out of there. 13:12 We had great big JP4 bladders of fuel out there and the enemy kept trying to hit those. Unfortunately we were attacked one night and one of our guys set one of 36 �them on fire with a hand flare. He shot the hand flare and instead of shooting it straight up, he got it on an angle like this and it landed right in the middle of it, burned a hole in it and set it on fire and burned up several thousand gallons of JP4, but ―oops‖ things happen you know. We were packing everything up several days later and getting ready to move out of that area and go back and work in a different area and I had my guys all assigned with the work to do and I‘m going, ―Well, here‘s a pile of trip flares laying here and I‘ll start packing them up and putting them in a crate‖, you know. 14:06 So, I‘m picking them up and one of them, the pin wasn‘t in all the way and it went off and burned my hand quite badly. While I‘m in the hospital, back in Tam Ky, the blisters in my had needed to be cleaned up and stuff, the other five guys in my platoon, were messed up quite badly. One guy was killed, John Melke, they had flown them out and they were at the firebase where they were going to set up and stuff, and they were moving the mortar platoon in there in a Chinook helicopter and had the ammunition hung underneath it in a sling and coming in an enemy combatant fired an RPG and hit the helicopter and it exploded the whole thing and one of the blades came down and caught all five of my guys. It killed John Melke and the other guys were quite severely injured. 15:04 Interviewer: So, you kind of got lucky with the trip flare. On several occasions I can say that I was very fortunate. I‘m a Christian and I believe in God and I know this, that God saved my life on more than one occasion. Interviewer: After that happens, how long had you been in Vietnam by then? Six or seven months Interviewer: Ok, now had you had any R&R or leave time by then? Twice 37 �Interviewer: Where did you go? Hawaii, twice, I went to Hawaii the week before Christmas and met my mother and dad and my fiancée there. Then I went back to Hawaii on a seven day leave over the spring break and I didn‘t meet anybody that week. I‘m still not married. Interviewer: One of the impressions I had, for the most part, was that the leaves to Hawaii were mostly assigned to guys who were married and they would send the unmarried ones other places. 16:09 You chose where you went, you chose, you had your choice. There was a difference between an R&R and a leave. An R&R as long as, you know, you could go wherever you wanted to go. You could go to Australia; you could go to Japan, or Taiwan or Hawaii. I chose Hawaii and it was fine, but then again I was meeting my parents and my fiancée there. When it came time to go on a seven day leave, I wanted to go to Australia, but the flight was already booked and they said I couldn‘t go there, so I asked what was available and they said, ―Hawaii‖, and I said, ―all right‖, so I went to Hawaii again, and I enjoyed myself and had a lot of fun, both times. Interviewer: But you still got several months left in that tour now at that point, so once you get out of the hospital where do you go? 17:11 I stayed, well I say out of the hospital, I was only in the hospital overnight getting that hand fixed, you know, but it‘s all bandaged up and everything, so I‘m working, I do guard duty for six weeks while my hand is getting rehabbed, so I‘m in the base camp stuff and they said, ―As long as you‘re going to be here, we need you—we need to have you doing something‖, so what I did was I worked as the sergeant of the guard, which means I would go out—I‘d—they would drive me around the perimeter and night and 38 �stuff, you know, and I‘d check on the different posts, so that‘s what I would do, or I‘d work in the supply room, or work in the mail room, or work as the—I can‘t even remember what the person is called now, but basically sits in the office at night to answer the phone or whatever. 18:07 That‘s what I would do until they finally got around and part of the deal was, when I got back from Hawaii at Christmas time there in December, is they held me down at Cam Ranh Bay and that‘s where I picked up my Kit Carson Scout, was down there and I went with him for several days. I was fortunate to be in the rear area at that particular time. I got back and was able to go to Da Nang and see the Bob Hope Christmas show, which was quite interesting. I had plenty of pictures of that and they all got stolen on the way home. Somebody broke into my bags and stuff on the flight back from Vietnam to the states and I lost all kinds of stuff that I had, but oh well, ―easy come, easy go‖. It wasn‘t so easy coming. Interviewer: When you spent six weeks at the base camp, did you want to go back to your unit, or would you rather just stay back in the base camp? 19:02 I‘d rather have stayed at the base camp, it‘s quieter and you have more people around you, but hey, you do what you have to do. I finally ended up though, when I was back over there, I went back out and we were walking in a low land area, and I don‘t know if you know what ―Elephant Grass‘ is? Very tall stuff, very big heavy stuff, and I‘m walking forward and I prefer to walk point, and I don‘t know why, but I guess I just didn‘t have that much confidence in the other people. I took a step forward and I put my foot down and I put my foot down on air and I figured I was a dead man right then. Instead of that, I ended up, I went into this foxhole that had been filled back in and I went in and I twisted and landed with my back on top of my pack with my nose touching my 39 �knees and messed my back up quite badly. 20:01 When they were finally able to get me up out of the hole they brought a chopper in and they brought me into Da Nang, flew me in there and put me in traction and stuff there and transferred me from there to Cam Ranh Bay to the convalescent center where I spent two months down there in rehab and stuff, and then they flew me back to Tam Ky at which point in time they were in the process of moving us all up to the Da Nang area and from Chu Lai, which was the 191st headquarters, and they were transferring us all up to Da Nang, and when I got up to Da Nang they put me in charge of the resupply and mail room. At that point in time, every day of the week I would fly into the DMZ, in a helicopter, delivering mail, clothes, and food. 21:02 I was on duty seven days a week making a helicopter flight into the jungle areas and it was not fun. Interviewer: So, you would get shot at as you were doing that? Sometimes, sometimes you did and sometimes you didn‘t. Interviewer: Did they ever have you take anything back out, injured men or bodies, or anything like that? No, because if there were things like that, if people were injured, that was with medevac choppers and stuff, that was done immediately. I‘d fly in--we‘d fly in and they‘d set up a secure perimeter, we‘d land the helicopters, we‘d take everything out, all the clean clothes, the mail, the food, that was all unloaded off the chopper and any outgoing mail was picked up, all the dirty clothes and stuff were picked up, and that was all loaded back on the chopper and was taken back. Interviewer: Now, you were serving over there at a time when they were getting into what they called the Vietnamization process. They were drawing down the size 40 �of American forces and turning things over to the Vietnamese. 22:07 What did you observe of that, or to what extent did you realize that we were pulling back, or taking men out? Well, you know, I mean I was over there in 1970 and 1971, and as far as the drawing down and the more Vietnamization stuff didn‘t really—I mean we‘re just in the beginnings of it and we found a lot of times that the South Vietnamese—I don‘t know, I guess they just didn‘t—to me they didn‘t have the will to want to be able go over there and take over. They wanted the ROK, the Australians, the Americans and stuff, to do this for them. They didn‘t really want to take the responsibility, and by the time we finally got out of there it was—we can understand why, they really didn‘t have the heart to go in there and not come under a communist rule. 23:16 I guess they had been—we have to stop and understand that these people had been fighting for decades. I mean, the French had been in there for crying out loud, and they got their tails whipped, you know. It‘s almost the situation we‘re in with Afghanistan. Come on, the United States thinks we can come in here and do something after the Russians got their tails beaten and left? It‘s really not much difference there, you know. The Vietnamese, they just—they had been at war so long that they were getting disheartened and they just didn‘t care anymore. Interviewer: Now, did you see much of the South Vietnamese military, aside from the occasional scout that was with you? No, I really didn‘t, I really didn‘t. The ones that I was impressed with were the ROC Interviewer: It’s the ROK, the Koreans? 24:03 Yeah, the Rocket soldiers, the Koreans. These boys didn‘t---they were amazing. I‘d never seen anything like them before in my life. 41 �Interviewer: What struck you about them in particular? Fearless, absolutely fearless, and I‘d say, ―Are you crazy? There are six of you and you‘re going to go after a machine gun nest?‖ It didn‘t matter, I mean they just were tough guys, tough guys and just absolutely fearless. Interviewer: You got to serve alongside of them at some point? Yeah, I worked with them a couple times. A couple of times I had the opportunity to work with them. Unbelievable individuals, just-Interviewer: They had been more dedicated to the anti-communist cause for a good reason and that’s why. I think so, I think so, and they still are. I mean with Korea being divided, they still are. 25:01 Interviewer: How would you describe the morale of the company or platoon that you were serving in? Poor, poor, there was a very strong—I mean a strong division racially. The African American members of the unit would keep themselves away from everybody else and wouldn‘t associate with or participate with or even, you know—everybody else that was in the unit seemed to work well together, although we did have two of my real good friends, Robert Taylor, a black guy from Texas, and Fred Contreras, a Mexican American from Modesto, California, two wonderful individuals. 26:10 I‘ve looked up Fred a couple of times when I‘ve been out in California, but I‘ve never been able to find Rob Taylor. Rob Taylor was our barber and he was just—the only thing black about Rob was his skin. I mean, this guy wore a cowboy hat, a bandana tied around his neck, and he was a black cowboy from Texas. He was a wonderful individual. 42 �Interviewer: When you actually went out on patrol. Did the racial division hold up? At that point no, because everybody knew that you had to count on, and depend on the other members to survive, and if you didn‘t have cohesion there, then it was—but when it was in the rear area and stuff, everybody just seemed to divide off into their own little groups. Interviewer: Now, were there fights or things like that? 27:01 No, no fights—it was a situation where your authority as a sergeant, or whatever, was ignored. You‘d be in the rear area and stuff and say, well, I-- corporal so and so or private so and so, or whatever, and actually, I got to the point where I would just say, ―Jim I need you to do this‖, and he would say, ―do it yourself‖, ―excuse me‖, you know. I said, ―Look, we have things we have to do and I need you to do this, and I‘d like you to do this as a member of this unit. I don‘t want to sit here and have to give you a direct order to do it‖, and they would say, ―Well, alright‖, and they would do it. I said, ―I have things that I have to do that I don‘t like, and you have things that you need to do that you don‘t like, so we‘re both going to have to do things that we don‘t want to do‖. Interviewer: So, there was a sense that you had a job to do and just go and do it still? 28:03 Right and I don‘t blame them because there were jobs that I would assign them to do that I didn‘t want to do myself. Because I was a sergeant I didn‘t have to do them, and basically one of them is cleaning the latrine. I don‘t know if you understand what they set up there, you didn‘t dig pits, they used fifty-five gallon steel drums about this tall, that were cut off, and when they got to a certain point of being full they would be dragged out and they would actually mix diesel fuel in them and burn it, and that was a very 43 �distasteful, nasty job. Unfortunately it was a job that had to be done and when it came your turn to do it, you had to do it. Being the sergeant, I wasn‘t obviously going to do it. I‘m going to assign somebody to do that job because I have other things that I have to do. 29:02 Interviewer: Were their people in the unit that were using drugs at that point? You know, I can‘t say that there were, I‘m sure there was, I never personally saw it, so— I‘m quite sure there was, without a doubt, but I never saw it myself. Most of the time—I would say, most of the time the vast majority of the guys would go into the clubs and they‘d sit there and drink beer or hard liquor, or whatever was available. You couldn‘t – at the EM club; you couldn‘t get anything but beer in there. At the NCO club or the OCS, you could get hard liquor in there. Interviewer: So they would drink and smoke cigarettes, but not necessarily much more than that? Not that I ever observed, I never saw them—I never saw anybody using any kind of drugs, you know. 30:06 Interviewer: Now, within the company or battalion, or the area you knew something about, were there attempted officer fragging’s or things like that? Yes Interviewer: What did you learn about those? When I say attempted—threats, it would be a situation where they would wire the pin tight into the grenade and tie a toe tag on it and write on it, ―Next time we keep the pin‖, and throw it into the offers barracks or whatever, you know their quarters. That happened, that happened on occasion when we‘d have an officer that was a real 44 �hardnosed individual, they would do that. I only know about it happening twice within my unit. Interviewer: Would it happen to people who were effective officers who would still take the men in the field, but treat them better? 31:04 Usually what happened is that officer would be transferred to some other unit because at that point in time it was very aware of the fact that the officer‘s ability to be a leader and stuff was compromised and they knew that they couldn‘t—that he wouldn‘t be able to work there and work with the men. They would transfer him somewhere else and bring in a new officer. Interviewer: If an officer came in and did a reasonable job then that would be accepted? I mean, the officers, and they understood, more often than—we had three ―Butter Bar‖ Lieutenants in our unit and as sergeant and stuff, we‘d sit down and we‘d tell them, ―Look, I understand you‘re an officer and we need to treat you as an officer, but we need to also tell you, and remind you, that you are new here and have never been in a combat situation and you need to listen to us, as the sergeants. 32:18 When something is calling, you need to come to us and say, ―we need to do this‖ and so we will then in turn tell you, ―well, we really don‘t want to do it this way, we need to do it this way etc. and you really need listen to us until you have enough time in country where you actually will be where the guys will trust you and understand‖. And the same way with us, I said, ―When we first got here, as sergeants and stuff, we had to count on, depend on, and listen to, the private because he had been here and he knows what he‘s talking about‖. I said, ―As far as being an officer, or whatever, don‘t wear your bars on your uniform or on your 45 �hat or whatever. We know you‘re the Lieutenant, but do not expect us to salute you because we won‘t do it unless you want to die—we don‘t want to die. 33:14 We‘re not disrespecting you as an officer, if were in the rear area we‘ll have no problem saluting you, but if we‘re out here in the jungle, saluting, as proper military protocol, is not going to happen. We want to live, we want to survive‖. Interviewer: Were the lieutenants smart enough to listen to you? Yes, yes they were, they were. It‘s not that the enemy couldn‘t tell who was in charge because they could. Just because of the fact that different individuals would come up to them when they were talking and then they would turn and go—they could tell at that point in time who was who, who were the higher ranking individuals. Interviewer: Certainly they would probably have an RTO along with them wouldn’t they? 34:02 Well, yeah--right Interviewer: Another way of spotting them, who’s talking to the guy with the radio? Yeah, but see—if he had a radio, and I as a sergeant had an RTO, I was a squad leader and each squad leader had an RTO—so, you know, it kind of confused the enemy just a little bit because I‘m walking point and I have my machine gun walking second and my RTO is third—so these poor guys, it wasn‘t normal protocol like that. Usually you got a point man, a machine gun and you and the RTO back in there, you know, and they kind of—because I‘d mess them up, but I still had my radio right there close enough. Interviewer: So, was the mail delivery duty, was that the last assignment you had in Vietnam? 35:01 Yes, I did that for two months. 46 �Interviewer: Are there other things that kind of stand out in your mind about your time in Vietnam that we haven’t quite brought into the story yet? Not a great deal I guess, I just–I guess the one thing that really, really brought it to me was just the abject poverty of the vast majority of the population of the country. Unless you lived down in the southern section of Vietnam, down in the Saigon area, down in the delta area there, or lived in and around one of the smaller villages, Tam Ky, Chu Lai area, Da Nang, and cities like that, these people lived in total—real abject poverty. I mean, the family car was a Water Buffalo. 36:02 They had little bunkers built inside their bamboo and grass shacks that they lived in, that‘s where they would sleep at night. They had no electricity, no refrigeration, to go to the bathroom they would just go out and drop it off the side of a rice paddy dyke. I mean, that‘s what they had. Literally, I mean seriously, work sun up to sun down to gather enough stuff to prepare a meal. I mean, I‘d see the Vietnamese women out there—they‘d actually be out there working with big grass hoop tire like things working the rice, getting the chaff and stuff out of it. Cleaning it like that and then they would sit there with hand cranked millstone that they would take and pour little grains of rice into it and sit there and crank it, grind it, and make flour out of it, and then mix that flour with water and put it over the top of a kettle of boiling water, with like a nylon screen on it, and they would spread it out on there and steam that and make a large rice pancake like thing. 37:19 When it was steamed they would take it out and they would hang it over sticks, like a clothes drying rack to cool, and after it was cooled they would slice that into strips like for noodles, and then they would have fish, one of the other family members had gone out and caught fish, and they would cook the fish and make a fish gravy like, pour this over the noodles to warm them up and that‘s 47 �what they would have for dinner. They would literally work all day long. To irrigate, they would have two people out there and they‘d have a pole and a string and a hoop type thing or a bucket with strings on it and they would actually hand lift the water up and over out of the river into the dykes to fill the rice paddies with water. 38:07 They just—they would do this all day long, day after day, after day, just absolutely—these people, it‘s just unbelievable. I know now why they were skinny; they were living on virtually nothing. I mean, they had gardens and stuff, they‘re not going to eat the Water buffalo obviously, because that‘s the tractor, you know, the family car, the whole works. I absolutely amazed me to see a young Vietnamese child, probably seven or eight years old, with a little stick like this, and this monster Water Buffalo, and he‘s walking down a rice paddy dyke through there, and this kid is walking behind him with a stick keeping him moving. 39:01 I‘m thinking, ok, it‘s just so many different things—their religious beliefs and everything, it‘s just—I saw some rather –the first time I saw the areas I‘m thinking, ―What is this?‖ And there was actually a cemetery that was out there and the graves are round. They dig a round hole in the ground and actually bury the individuals standing up. Like, all right, just so many different thing, so many different things. Individuals living in and around the cities and stuff, the school children—people were actually going to school, they would have electricity there and stuff, and the children would be dressed in the—the girls would be dressed in long white silk pajama type gowns that they would wear, and the boys would be in black and white, but yet, the kids out in the jungle areas and stuff, out of the way, they didn‘t go to school, they had no schooling. 40:15 It was just totally amazing. We came across a, I don‘t know what, I don‘t know exactly what his religious beliefs were, he was a minister of some sort or a 48 �religious individual, a clergyman of some type, I don‘t know exactly what, but an individual, and he had a brick and mortar building, full of bullet hole, I mean you could see where all of the stucco type material on the outside was all just pock market with bullet holes and stuff. An older gentleman, I guess in his eighties, slept on a grass mat, and he invited us into his home for a drink. 41:06 Homemade ―hooch‖, obviously homemade ―hooch‖, and the Vietnamese version of ―white lighting‖. He poured about that much in a glass and six of us took a sip out of it and we still had almost that much in the glass, and he turns around to it, grabs the bottle and he pours himself about that much and he tilts it right back like that, drinks it all, and then he goes over and rolls the grass mat out on a concrete brick floor, and lays down on it and goes to sleep. That‘s what he‘s sleeping on, it like sleeping on this, I mean it wasn‘t even as soft as this carpet. I‘m thinking, ―What a life‖. I would like to go back to Vietnam, I‘m hoping to visit some day and see how it‘s changed and see how the people are doing. 42:08 It just absolutely amazes me sometime to see—and forty years later I‘m still not sure why we were there. Interviewer: Now, as you were getting in the last couple of months or weeks, or whatever, toward the end of your tour, you’re counting down the days before you left? Yes, you always did, I mean the guys would come in and I mean, you had a deros date, which is your rotation date going back and everybody, regardless if you just got there or you were getting close, was always counting down, and counting down, and counting down the days. The closer you got the more apprehensive you got, especially the individuals like myself, who were infantry and were out in the jungle, although the last couple of months I wasn‘t out in the jungle, but I was making these flights every day. 49 �43:04 And it‘s like, ―man, you know, I‘m a sitting duck out here‖. There‘s a pilot a co-pilot and myself and there‘s three of us in this helicopter, well, there was actually five of us because we had a door gunner on each side too, but it‘s just like, ―we‘re right out here in the wide open‖. You‘re counting the days down, you‘re counting the days down until you can actually come back in, especially the guys out in the jungle and stuff out there, they‘re counting the days down, you know, because they would get down within a couple of weeks until their rotation back, they would actually bring them back into the rear area and they wouldn‘t make them stay out in the jungle any longer. It was like, ―these guys are just getting too antsy and too nervous. We don‘t need them back there, we need them back here in the rear area where they can start to wind down a little bit and prepare now. That being said, they messed up on my rotation date back, and they actually pulled me back in off the chopper stuff, that detail, and closed me out of the battalion headquarters and stuff. 44:09 I actually had me out of there and down to Cam Ranh Bay twelve days early. So, I spent twelve days extra at Cam Ranh Bay waiting to get my flight back to the states. Interviewer: What did you do, just sit around? I‘d go to the NCO clubs at night and go to see floor shows or whatever. I did not—they had what were called manifest calls, and I did not, you do not miss a manifest call. You miss a manifest call and if your name is on that manifest list for your flight and you‘re not there to respond, they will give you an Article 15 and take money away from you. It didn‘t matter what time that manifest call was, it might happen at two o‘clock in the morning, it might happen at three o‘clock in the afternoon, you never know. 45:01 Just whenever a flight would come in that was off loaded and was a flight back to the states; 50 �you had to be able to catch that flight whenever your name came up. It‘s like, after several days you‘re getting almost like a Zombie because you‘re afraid to go to sleep for fear that you would sleep through it, so you tell the other guys and stuff, ―hey if they call for a manifest call, be sure you wake me up, I want to be there in case my name comes up‖. Yeah, you count the days down, you really do, I mean it just—the guys, they refer to their deros date, and the thing that was amazing was, we had a dog on the base and it was with our company, and you didn‘t find cats, it was very, very rare to find cats in Vietnam, they ate cats, cats were on the menu. Dogs, not so much, but they would still eat the dogs. 46:10 They didn‘t eat the cows, but they would eat the dogs and the cats. But we had this little dog and the dog‘s name was ―Deros‖, so yeah, you‘re always aware, you‘re always conscious, and the closer you get to your date to be rotated back the more aware you are of it and it‘s like ―I got fourteen days, I got twelve days. I got seven days‖, you know, I never really broke it down to the hour, but it was always on your mind, you know and you refer to it as ―getting short‖. The guys would make comments like, ―I‘m so short I can‘t even get my shoes on, I can‘t climb over into them‖. Interviewer: Wouldn’t that affect their performance in the field at all if they were getting short, would they do things differently? Yes it would because you become more cautious. The closer you got to the time that you were coming in out of the field, you got more tense, more nervous, much more cautious about things, not quite as carefree. 47:08 You could tell and you knew the guys that were—and therefore, as the sergeant, the guys that you had that were approaching there deros date, you would be more hesitant about sending them out on missions. More hesitant about saying, ―Jim, you and so and so are going to go out and set up on an 51 �ambush site tonight‖, and Jim said, ―You know I‘m going home in four days, I‘m rotating back to the rear in four days‖. Well, he didn‘t have to remind you of that, you were aware of that, so therefore you wouldn‘t—you‘d be more hesitant to put these individuals in more dangerous positions. Now, it they wanted to volunteer for it, fine. It was something that everybody was constantly aware of all the time. 48:04 Interviewer: The principle, the way the whole system worked was having everyone on their own individual calendar, rotating individuals in and out of units as replacements, the idea was that you would have a certain level of continuity in performance and that kind of thing, and better maintain the fighting quality of the units without burning out the soldiers. Did that actually work that way, or did that have as many negatives as positives? No, it actually worked for me. I mean, in our unit it seemed to work. You always had—I mean you had new people coming in, the new blood coming in, not attuned to what was going on, but you had the other individuals who had been there and could take the new people under their wing and say, ―Hey look, this is the way we—I know what they taught back in NCO school, or what they taught you back in your AIT and stuff, but this is the way we really do it. Take what you learned there and keep it in mind, but this is the actual way that it gets done‖. 49:09 If the new people would pay attention to that and follow what the old guys do and that have been there for a while, your chances of surviving and coming home are a lot better. Quite often if you did what you were trained to do, it will get you in trouble and could possible get you killed, I mean that‘s just the way it was. 52 �Interviewer: It depends in part, probably then on how willing the older guys are to actually extend some help to the new ones coming in. The older guys were very willing, and the reason for it was because they didn‘t want this new guy out there getting them killed from their stupid moves. 50:00 So, the guys that had been there were very willing, very willing, at least the guys in my unit, to take the new guys under their wing and say, ―Look now, I know this is what you‘ve been taught, but this is the way it‘s been done, and you will do it the way we tell you to do it because we want to go home, and we don‘t want to go home in a body bag. We want to be able to go home and see our kids, we want to be able to go home and see our wives, our moms, and our dads, you know, and we don‘t need you, as the new guy out here messing up and getting one of us killed. If you want to get yourself killed, go for it, but don‘t make me do it, don‘t make me get killed because you want to do something different‖. So, the new guys—and the new guys, quite often, would sit back, and they‘re just, they come out there and they‘re just—and they‘re—they look like a deer in the forest, you know, I mean they‘re scared, they are, they‘re scared to death. I‘m not saying that the older guys weren‘t either, they were too, but it was just that they had been there long enough to hide it better. 51:05 They had learned from the old guys that had been there before them, and they had been, more often than not, so called ―bloodied‖, and they had actually been under fire. The new guys are just like—I mean they are, they‘re just lost, they don‘t know what‘s going on, so the old guys would help them out, and in a few weeks‘ time they were just like—and of course the first time they get fired on then that would be it. I‘ll never forget, I mean I‘ll never forget, a year of training, a year of training, and obviously it paid off because I‘m here. I did not consciously think that I could ever in my 53 �life fire a weapon at another human being. 52:04 The first time I got fired on, I‘m out there, I‘m on the ground, and the guns not firing, and without even realizing it, I had emptied a whole magazine of ammunition not even knowing that I had pulled the trigger. I‘m saying, ―It‘s not working, it‘s not working, oh, ok, that‘s why it‘s not working‖, and I had fired off a full magazine of ammunition and never even realized I had pulled the trigger. So, obviously the training paid off. Interviewer: How long was it before you felt like you had, at least, some idea of what you were doing out in the field? That you’re going out with the unit initially and following them around, was it by the time they said, “Ok, now you’re in charge of the squad”, were you ready to do that, or were you still kind of wondering about that? I wasn‘t ready to do it, but it was there and I had to. 53:03 When I took over, I took over the job as a Lieutenant within a matter of weeks because the Lieutenant had been wounded and we had nobody else. I mean, I, as an E5 sergeant, I was the highest ranking individual in the platoon. I mean, it‘s just one of those things, it‘s there and so ―Ok, so now I am the platoon leader. I‘m not a squad leader; I‘m not the platoon sergeant. I am the platoon leader until they get somebody new in from the rear area to take over‖. You just do it, and I guess that takes in part with all the training. I mean, I‘d had a year of training before I went over and it was just, you know, and then I‘d had a few months there of time, and then I knew the guys and I knew—and you kind of get into the routine of stuff and it‘s just—it was a job and it‘s something that just came along and you did what had to be done. 54:11 It‘s been that way in any war that we‘ve had, any war that the United States has been involved in, the Civil War, the War of Independence, Korea, 54 �WWI, WWII, right on up through. Individuals have stepped up to the plate and done what had to be done. Interviewer: Now, at the point when you left Vietnam, how much time did you have left in the service? Less than ninety days Interviewer: What did they do with you when you got back? Discharged, I was discharged straight from Fort Lewis, Washington. Anything under a hundred and eighty days, they discharged you. If you had more than a hundred and eighty days left, they sent you somewhere else. They might send you to Korea, or they might send you to Alaska or Europe. 55:05 If you had more than six months, they would send you somewhere else. Anything under six months, or a hundred and eighty days, they normally discharged you. I was down under ninety days and it was one thing—and I don‘t know that they‘ve really changed, well I guess they do a little bit here and are a little bit better with it now, but I was in Cam Ranh Bay for several days and Cam Ranh Bay, even though it was a large area and stuff, you‘re still in a combat zone. Roughly an eighteen hour flight from Vietnam to the states, and we were in Fort Lewis , Washington for about seventeen hours when they handed me my discharge papers, and I walked out of there, got into a cab and went to the Seatac Airport, got on a flight, flew to Chicago, where I rented a car and drove the rest of the way home. 56:09 I wasn‘t going to sit in Chicago for seven hours waiting for the flight to come into Michigan. But in less than twenty-four hours from the point in time that we were in a combat zone, I‘m turned loose on the American public with absolutely zero debriefing, nothing. No transition time, nothing, I mean I‘ve gone from being in a combat zone where people could be 55 �dropping rockets at me and shooting at me and bombs and the whole nine yards, being turned loose on the American public. Interviewer: How easy, or hard, was it to make the adjustment back to civilian life then? It was, it was pretty difficult, and I mean I run, I started — I had some really hard times. I started drinking quite heavily. 57:02 I got home the day before Mother‘s Day, and I don‘t remember Mother‘s Day that year, I slept through the whole thing because I hadn‘t been to bed in six days, and I hadn‘t really slept in six days. So, I mean I was tired. That was in May, my father worked in a factory and he invited a bunch of people out, friends and their families, for the 4th of July party and stuff out at the house. He even went down and got permits for fireworks, and the guys would take the little Black Cat firecracker and light them and throw them and the next thing I know, I‘m on the ground and I‘m just—it was difficult. I started drinking quite heavily, I started doing drugs, and it was tough, tough. 58:02 I didn‘t—I drank, and consumed massive quantities of beer and smoked lots of Marijuana. I had never touched Marijuana before I went in the service. I never touched it until after I got out. And I say I drank a lot, I smoked dope, I consumed massive quantities of food, I went from the one hundred and forty-five pounds, that I weighed when I got out of the service, and a year later weighted two hundred and seventy-five pounds, yeah. Interviewer: How did you get stuff back under control? Well, it still isn‘t totally under control, but I don‘t drink anymore, I don‘t smoke anymore, I use to smoke cigarettes and I quit smoking thirty years ago. I quit three things 56 �in ten days, drinking, smoking dope, and well four things, quit chewing my fingernails, and quit smoking. 59:05 I still like to eat, but not as much. Interviewer: Did you just decide at some point you had to change stuff? Yeah, it‘s like, ―I‘m not going down this road anymore‖, so I--Interviewer: What kind of work did you get into then after you got back? I worked at Clark Equipment Co. and I don‘t know if you know who they are, but they built the Clark Forklift. There was kind of a family history of working for the equipment company. My grandfathers, both of my grandfathers worked for them, my father worked for them, cousins, uncles, aunts, and I went to work for them and worked fourteen years before they packed their bags and moved to Korea. Let‘s see, in nineteen—I was kind of working—I was laid off from them, my seniority was gone, but in nineteen eighty three, I started driving a semi and until I retired a couple of years ago, I drove a semi. 0:09 I did almost fifteen years of long haul and ten years of driving local. It‘s been kind of tough, I‘ve worked for five companies since I got out of the service and all, with the exception of Clark Equipment, I mean the Clark Equipment Company just packed their bags and moved out of the country, everybody else has gone bankrupt. The last company I worked for, for ten years, went bankrupt a couple years ago and since then I have not had a job. I have not been able to find a job; they don‘t want an old, diabetic, retired veteran. Interviewer: Now, do you get any help from the VA these days? Yes I do, yes I do, that‘s in fact, the VA is the only medical coverage I have anymore, but they help me out quite well. Because I was in country they considered me in—anybody that was in country, they automatically consider them to have been exposed to Agent Orange. 1:14 And different side effects and different illnesses that are attributed to 57 �Agent Orange, they have quite a list, and on one of them is diabetes. I am a diabetic and because of that I get forty percent disability from the VA, and right now I‘m currently going in there and spending two or three days a week, that I go into the VA for treatment for what they think is a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder, but we‘ll find out. Because I do have what they consider a service related disability, they not only give me the compensation I get from them, but they also pay me my mileage. 2:06 Which is alright, but I‘d still rather not have the diabetes and have to deal with the injuries etc., but they‘re really doing quite well, I‘ve been dealing with the VA for a couple of years now and right now I can‘t complain. They have been very, very nice, very kind and accommodating. Interviewer: To look back over the whole thing and you answered part of this already, what effects do you think your time in the service has had on you? Were there any good sides to it? Yes, yes, I became a world traveler. I got to see and understand peoples of different parts of the world and really realize just how fortunate we are in the United States to have what we have. 3:11 I mean, we as a nation are extremely well off, even in today‘s economic conditions etc. We as people in the United States and the vast majority of the people in the United States do not realize, don‘t understand, the abject poverty that other nations live in. Even today, I‘m sure, I‘ve never been back to Vietnam, but I can almost guarantee you there are still tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese that live a day to day existence out in the jungles out there, and I mean life has not changed for them and life will never change for them, their always going to be this way. 4:02 It makes me happy, proud that I am an American, because I have had the opportunity to see how people live. I‘ve had the opportunity to travel to places that I 58 �probably would never have seen in my life. I mean, I‘ve been to Okinawa, I‘ve been to Guam, I‘ve been to Midway, I‘ve been to Alaska, I‘ve been to Hawaii. These are places that I probably would never have seen in my life, and I‘ve been there, and being a military veteran has afforded me job opportunities that were not available—I mean they were available to other people, but because of my military status, as a veteran, I was probably hired over somebody else that wasn‘t. Interviewer: So, not all of the reception upon getting home was necessarily negative? 5:02 It wasn‘t—I mean, it was—there were some major negative parts coming home. We got to the airport and I took a set of clothing out of my bag, before it was put on the plane, and when I got on the plane, I still had my class A uniform on, I went into the bathroom and changed clothes and put on my civilian clothes before I-Interviewer: Is that something they were advising you to do at that point? No, but I mean, you could—the Vietnam veterans, unfortunately, were really treated quite shabbily when they came back to this country, and I‘m very pleased with the program, the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans program, that was run out at Fifth Third Park last summer, that was wonderful. 6:01 I got to spend the whole day out there, and I was really pleased. Unlike out veterans that are coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq and stuff, today, that are treated like heroes and stuff, the Vietnam veterans were really, they were treated like scum. The less you identified yourself as a Vietnam veteran, as a member, the better off for you, because you—granted they could still tell more or less because I—well, I don‘t have any hair now, but it was—you‘re hair‘s cut short and the whole nine yards, so it‘s just—it was one of those things, but, I mean, you could tell. It 59 �was a bit of a culture shock, to a degree, coming back. I got delayed two days in Vietnam, at the airport, because while we‘re sitting there we had a typhoon come in, and that‘s not something you want to sit through in a corrugated steel building. 7:14 It starts rattling and the whole nine yards and water coming in through it. Anyway, we—the storm cleared, we got on our airplane, and when we got on the plane it was a hundred and seventeen degrees with a ninety-nine percent humidity. We landed in Okinawa to refuel the plane and when we landed in Okinawa the stewardesses and stuff on the plane said, ―There are blankets up above, you may want to grab them and wrap up in them because the current weather condition here at the airport is forty-one degrees and rain‖, and that‘s a little rough on your body. Most flights, and stuff, unless they‘re international flights, you‘re not going to get food on board the plane. 8:15 I paid sixty seven dollars for my plane ticket from Seattle to Chicago, Delta Airlines, a military standby ticket, just barely got out, I mean they were closing the doors when I was coming down the concourse to get on there, and it was in the evening and I rode first class on a dinner flight. But the one nice thing they did for us when I got back to Seattle, when we came in there, they took us into what‘s called the ―Vietnam Returnees Steak House‖, and it was one of the chow halls that had been converted into a restaurant type thing. Now, you still had to go through a line, but you ordered your steak how you wanted it cooked. You went and sat down and they actually had waiters and stuff and they brought a nice steak dinner out to you with the baked potato, tossed salad with the dressing, I mean the whole nine yards, it was really kind of nice. 9:07 Interviewer: I think that pretty well takes care of the story here, so thank you very much for coming in and sharing it with us. 60 � 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 MannR Title A name given to the resource Mann, Randy (Interview transcript and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mann, Randy Description An account of the resource Randy Mann was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in July 1949. Although he received his draft notice following his high school graduation, Mann did not enter the service until eighteen months later. After completing basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Mann went through advanced training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. While at Fort Polk, Mann had the option to go to NCO school, which was located at Fort Benning, Georgia and Mann took the option. Then, while at Fort Benning, Mann had the option of attending Ranger school, which he took as well. Once deployed to Vietnam, Mann received an assignment to a Ranger unit although after one mission, he decided it was not for him and transferred to a regular infantry unit that operated around the village of Tam Ky. After operating with the unit around Tam Ky and at a firebase called Camp Duck and being wounded several times, Mann's commanders pulled him back and placed him in-charge of the re-supply and mail room, which involved flying daily on helicopters to the DMZ to deliver mail and supplies, a job Mann kept until his tour ended. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.) WKTV WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings 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 2011-05-12 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/e63caa51316cfe0db6288d8312cfaa65.mp4 6c0ff9a52efa4442bcb36dbd1c77db1b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/26853f253babb6da43259418b88154aa.pdf 1bc360db13b94a8fe4276aaf3cc962e9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Charles Mangold (01:19:55) (00:20) Background Information • • • • • • • • • Charles was born June 9, 1952 in Saginaw, MI He grew up on a farm in Three Rivers, MI and his dad worked for the county His father sold the farm and divorced his mother They moved to Millington, MI to live on his grandmother’s farm Charles graduated from high school in 1970 and had recently looked into joining the Air Force He couldn’t find a job after high school and tried joining the Army but they told him he weighed too much He started a job in manufacturing, rebuilding water pumps At work he had a few no-shows and got fired, so his father kicked him out and he had to live in a car He checked back with the Air Force but ended up enlisting in the Navy for six years (19:05) December 20, 1970 Boot Camp • • • • • • • Charles was sent to Fort Wayne, IN for induction It was near the end of the Vietnam war and many people were joining the Marine Corps He took a plane to Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago There wasn’t much physical training and they focused on classes Everyone had to get all of their hair cut off and some of the men cried The classes taught basic naval operations, nautical procedure, tying knots, weapons training, and survival Charles lost about 30 pounds during basic training (30:00) Basic Propulsion and Engineering School (BP&E) • • • • • • He attended BP&E for 5 weeks and Machinist Aid School for 7 weeks Then took 2 weeks leave to visit family in MI He then went to submarine school, taking classes and training for one year Charles boarded his first submarine in December, 1971 While training he decided that he did not enjoy classes and did not want to be in the navy for 6 years He purposely got bad grades in the Machinist Aid courses so that he would wash out and not move up to the nuclear power program �• He regrets this now because the training would have helped him get more salary today (34:05) USS James Monroe • • • • Charles boarded the USS James Monroe, which was a fleet ballistic missile submarine headed for Pearl Harbor He spent 3 months in Hawaii as a Machinist Mate on dry dock repairing engines on subs Machinist Mates maintained auxiliary equipment There were 85 men working on the sub in all different shifts (43:20) USS Sablefish • • • • • • • While not at port Charles worked in the engine room He traveled to Korea and Japan on the USS Sablefish There were many North and South Korean ships and subs in the water because they remained enemies after the Korean War He traveled to Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines Every time he was at port he had the liberty to visit different cities Their longest patrol at sea lasted 19 days; they spent most of the time at the surface They spent a lot of time playing cards because there wasn’t much else to do (54:15) Life after the Navy • • • • • • Charles moved to Gaylord, MI and worked with his brother-in-law as a carpenter after the navy He got married and had a daughter, but did not enjoy his job because he thought it was too easy and boring He then moved back to Millington and worked with his father in a scrap yard He moved to Gaylord again and worked at Northern Tank where he worked for 80 to 100 hours a weeks Charles then began driving trucks for Kodiak Construction He then worked at a gas station and builds mini train sets on his free time � 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 MangoldC Title A name given to the resource Mangold, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mangold, Charles Description An account of the resource Charles Mangold was born on June 9, 1952 in Saginaw, Michigan. Charles enlisted in the Navy in December of 1970 and went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He then went through Basic Propulsion Engineering School and Machinist Aid School. Charles trained for submarine service for one year and then boarded his first submarine in 1971. Charles traveled to Hawaii, Japan, and Korea while on active duty and worked as a machinist's mate. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy 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 2008-11-08 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/67066338da5ac18b3ed22aac2c8d21ee.mp4 078f67829b611fc799bd5aed8ad17904 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e84735f255aa209b2d6a9042589a9d07.pdf 63b871b9b90f6ad2b6514667f6fd25ad PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Anthony Mangione Length: 29:38 (00:05) Background Information • • • Anthony was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 26, 1931 He enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves in 1948, which was similar to the National Guard Anthony was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (1:40) Boot Camp • Anthony was sent to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina as well as the Norfolk Navy base for training with men in the regular Marine Corps • They trained with M1Rifles, tanks, jeeps, trucks BARs, and 30 calibers • Every person in the Marine Corps had to qualify as a rifleman or they would not be able to move forward in training • Anthony became a marksman and sharpshooter and began training other men • He later became a corporal with his division was activated (4:35) School Troops • Anthony was part of the 19th Infantry Battalion and sent to Quantico, Virginia to work at the Marine Corps headquarters • They were working with the “school troops,” helping 2nd Lieutenants through their field training in the Blue Ridge Mountains • Anthony worked in Virginia for a little more than 1.5 years in the school troops • They worked in combat training with the 2nd Lieutenants, playing the bad guys and basically trying to make their lives miserable (7:30) Camp Life • They had much nicer barracks than the 2nd Lieutenants, with their own kitchen, cooks, and people to wait on them • Their barracks was next to the air field and a swimming pool • They continued training, marching, and working with weapons • Quantico was also where the FBI workers were trained • Anthony often worked on guard duty at the hospital, on motor vehicles, and on prison chasing • They put on shows for congressmen and foreign dignitaries, detailing on how the Marine Corps worked �(12:25) Living Conditions • They lived in cinder block barracks and he had lived in tents while in North Carolina • The men often performed in parades and had once been called to a parade on Pennsylvania Avenue • For some reason they felt that President Truman did not like the Marine Corps and they did not like him either • They worked with many men that had been fighting in Korea, but were later going through rehabilitation (19:25) After Service • Anthony was asked to sign up for another 6 years of service in 1952, but he declined because he was not interested in fighting in Korea • It was impossible to find a job in New York City after serving in the Marine Corps • Anthony eventually found a job working with his brother at an electrical company • He got married and bought a house in New Jersey with the help of the GI Bill � 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 MangioneA Title A name given to the resource Mangione, Anthony (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mangione, Anthony Description An account of the resource Anthony Mangione was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1936 and enlisted in the Marines Corps reserves in 1948. The Korean War broke out in 1950 and his unit had been activated. Anthony was stationed at the Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Virginia working with the school troops. Their job was to work with the 2nd Lieutenants during their field training. He decided not to re-enlist in 1952 because he did not want to be sent to Korea. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Mangione, Nathaniel (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-01-23 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c45af4682cd8f832715a6f102c453619.m4v 7f8e4f736a9bea86e5e2287a35075f9c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/42968809cd84ffc4d9da0605690ccd2d.pdf 7d2330637df35e76f48665944bb21dd5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Albert Manes Length of interview (01:04:12) (00:06) Background Born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20, 1919. (00:07) Family moved to Pontiac, Michigan when he was two years old. (00:18) Moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1932, in the midst of the Depression. (00:38) Graduated from Central High in 1937 and worked as a shoe salesman for a few years. (00:54) Was inducted on September 19, 1941. (01:07) (01:16) Basic Training Left Grand Rapids for Fort Custer in Battle Creek. After a few weeks there, they were sent to Camp Roberts in California. (03:01) Describes life in barracks. (03:23) Says that basic training “felt like a game” because no one thought that they were really going to war. (05:15) Describes a typical day at Fort Custer. (05:55) Never finished basic training because Pearl Harbor occurred during his ninth week. Describes his experience. (07:26) Was sent to Santa Rosa, California, for three days during December where he was assigned to the 7th Infantry Division. (09:38) His battalion was sent to San Mateo, California, and lived at the Bay Meadows Racetrack. (10:42) Describes becoming a clerk while at Half Moon Bay. Became the assistant in the Orderly Room for the First Sergeant while in San Mateo. (15:34) Took platoons of approximately 35 people to guard the coast for about a week at a time. Describes his duties. (11:33) In April of 1942, division moved down the coast to Camp San Luis Obispo. Describes the more intensive training. (14:00) Had a week of training in the San Joaquin Valley before training for 70 days in the Mojave Desert. Didn’t know it at the time, but they were training against people coming from Louisiana. (17:35) In January of 1943, their motorized equipment was taken away and the division was sent to Fort Ord, California, for several months. (18:32) In April, the division boarded a troop ship in San Francisco and left for the Aleutian Islands. Describes his experience traveling. (19:06) (21:23) Service in Aleutian Islands His division invaded the island of Attu. (21:28) Describes the equipment they were given. (22:00) Each platoon of approximately 30 men was assigned specific jobs. At the time, his job �was administrative. He assisted the First Sergeant seargant and worked as a runner for the Company Commander because the moisture in the air inhibited the walkie talkies that were typically used. (22:16) The landscape and weather made this job difficult. Because the Japanese were above the fog line, they could see the U.S. troops, but the troops couldn’t see them. Although the location was dangerous, he never found himself in danger. (23:55) The troops moved from the ships to the shore by LSTs. Recalls that many of them hit sand bars on the way in, and men jumped off into eight feet of water and were never heard from again. (24:35) His division was not under fire while arriving. Didn’t encounter enemy troops until they were about one or two miles in land. (25:02) The terrain was very soft once they moved past the beach. Recalls that many men were lost due to frostbite. Supposes that frostbite did as much damage as the enemy did. (26:24) He traveled about 50 feet behind the troops with the rest of the administrative group. When the troops encountered combat, he wasn’t very involved. (27:10) The troops were unable to move for apprximately one week because of the incoming Japanese mortars and machine gunfire. After a week, it was decided that they had to move forward. Recalls that a lot of men, including the Company Commander were lost during this particular endeavor. (28:06) Describes his role as a runner during this time. Says that it was a difficult job, but he was fortunate. (29:19) Gradually worked their way through Attu. (30:27) At the end of May when it was still daylight at midnight , the Japanese employed a Banzai attack. Because the U.S. troops had the high ground, they took a lot of Japanese lives. (31:06) Moved to another Aleutian Island called Adak on July 15, 1943. The island had a small air field, a movie theater, and small recreation areas. Stayed in Adak to recuperate from the battle of Attu. (32:29) Troops moved to Kiska on August 15, which was the island that the Japanese were most prominent on. Were told that this would be an especially difficult battle. (33:43) Were not under fire when they arrived by ship. Thought that the Japanese would certainly attack upon arrival because of the landscape. (34:16) Found that the Japanese had evacuated the island. To his knowledge, “the Air Corps got credit for driving them out, the Navy was reprimanded for letting them get away, and the Army got laughed at for going in.” (34:57) (36:05) Service in Hawaii and South Pacific Troops traveled to Hawaii afterwards to recuperate until January. Describes his disappointment upon arrival. (36:05) After January of 1944, the troops boarded ships and traveled to the Mariana Islands. Troops were split up in order to attack the smaller islands. Recalls that they ran into some resistance, but within a week they had “cleared the place out” and sailed back to Hawaii. (37:57) Had little knowledge of the war’s progression at this time. (39:29) Troops left Hawaii in early August and traveled for about a month before arriving in �Eniwetok. Stayed in the harbor for two weeks. (41:13) Troops left again and traveled to Manus Island. Stayed there for a time before leaving again for the Philippines. (43:00) The troops invaded Leyte, which was the first invasion of the Philippines. (43:38) Recalls that the Japanese began attacking once they had a foothold, but by that time they had enough men on shore to handle it. (44:43) At this time, he worked as a radio operator between his company and the batallion’s headquarters, which required him to carry a 50 pound radio. (45:48) Describes the jungle environment and his encounters with gunfire. (46:38) While traveling down the forward slope of a hill, the Company Commander called a meeting of all leutenants and seargants. Despite suggestions to find a better place to meet, the Company Commander insisted that they were safe. Within minutes, three rounds of artillery were fired and three men were killed and many were wounded. Albert was awarded a Bronze Star on December 10, 1944 for calling the medics to the scene. (50:35) The troops hit Okinawa on April 1, 1945. Witnessed a kamikaze plane hit a ship. (55:09) Troops moved across the island and never had any opposition until they reached the other side. (56:01) Because Okanawa was the Japanese Artillery Training Grounds, the Japanese knew the area so well that they simply had to wait for the U.S. troops. Describes the difficulties encountered. (56:34) (58:38) Returning Home Soon after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Albert was sent to Washington to begin being discharged. (58:38) Describes his reaction to the end of the war. (1:00:04) Stayed in Washington for a few days, before being sent to Wisconsin to be discharged. (1:00:52) Called his family once he head reached Milwaulkee. Once he arrived in Muskegon by ferry, his entire extended family of approximately 50 people were there to greet him. Recalls that it was a very emotional event for everyone. (1:01:07) Admits that his military career didn’t impact him very much. Says that he “wouldn’t do it again for a million dollars, but [he] wouldn’t take a million dollars for what he did.” (1:02:21) � 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 ManesA Title A name given to the resource Manes, Albert (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manes, Albert Description An account of the resource Albert Manes was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1919, but grew up in Michigan. He was drafted in 1941 and was assigned to the 7th Infantry Division. He served in the headquarters section of an infantry company. He saw action with his unit in the Aleutian Islands, the Marianas, on Leyte in the Philippines, and on Okinawa. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service on Leyte. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-11-08 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