47 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/547ca3919a0de70e42182b0e97bcd6d9.mp4 cf86423dcdc93ad55ba4f2b40002fda8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/125d7b5e995639b32f7bdfc3735c4497.pdf 105bc3693841efd7cf7067d9ebb58e82 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview George Hyslop Korean War Total Time: 18:15 Childhood and Pre-Enlistment (00:23) • • • Grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan. Decided to join the National Guard, and was drafted into the Army in 1951. Had graduated high school and was working when he was drafted. Training (02:41) • Once he was drafted, he was sent to Battle Creek, MI and then to Fort Riley, Kansas for 8 weeks of basic training and 8 weeks of field wiring school, which was training for being a telephone and telegraph operator and cable/line layer. Active Duty (05:45) • • • • • • • • • • • When he landed in Korea, he thought he had gone back in time 300 years. He was generally in the area North of Seoul. The weather there varied by time of the year. His duties involved doing electrical and wiring work. For instance, he had to wire a generator while he was there. (08:30) His work often put him in the direct line of fire, and sometimes even behind enemy lines. Recalls one episode where they were rebuilding a bunker, and they were shelled. Wrote letters home to his family to stay in touch. He remembers the food as being good. (12:05) They were positioned 20 miles behind the DMZ, so they had very little contact with the civilians. For entertainment, they would have movies that would be played at their base. (14:16) He was sent home after the hostilities had ceased, and he got his points to head home. Post-War (14:53) • • Got a job and went back to work when he got back working at a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Joined the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion when he got back. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hyslop, George (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hyslop, George Description An account of the resource George Hyslop grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan and was drafted into the Army to serve in the Korean War. He did basic training as a wiring specialist and worked in this capacity while he was in Korea. He returned to the United States at the conclusion of the war and worked in a factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maul, Katie (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings 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 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 2004-12-06 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HyslopG 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/20cd048daea9ace23b821e6b498e3a96.mp4 29239880b7eece70e7ba256263885b31 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8c1a6b03138432a3bff83b9952163d2e.pdf 759ab29fe52e8d9390499a919a8a6227 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ron Hutson Vietnam War 1 hour 6 minutes 37 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life -Born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1950 -Moved at the age of two to the town of Temperance, Michigan -Father worked for Consumers Energy -Lived ten years in Temperance through the sixth grade -Beginning of seventh grade they moved to Holland, Michigan -Wound up graduating from Holland schools -Had an older sister named Irene and a younger sister named Denise (00:01:23) Awareness of Vietnam War -Didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was happening in Vietnam -Other priorities in his life took precedence -Heard and saw some of the news about it (00:01:47) Enlisting in the Marines -Graduated from high school when he was seventeen -Sick of going to school -Didn’t think he could make it in college -Decided to enlist -Father helped him by signing paperwork that allowed for seventeen year olds to enlist -Joined the Marines -Wanted to be tough for Vietnam if he was going to go there because of the draft (00:02:40) Basic Training -Began basic training on August 28, 1968 -San Diego, California -Flown there out of Detroit after military physical -Given only a two year enlistment as opposed to a four year enlistment -Draftees and enlistees had been in the physical -Physical examination took two days, very thorough -After arriving in San Diego they were taken to the San Diego Depot by bus -Ordered to stand at attention when they got to the depot -Taken to San Diego Base in the middle of the night -Given a haircut -Had to give up civilian clothes for fatigues -Started to have second thoughts about joining -Didn’t know a lot about the Marines prior to enlisting -Given bunks at 2 AM, and at 3:30 AM they were woken up by drill instructors -Training started immediately -Drill instructors wanted to break down the recruits and rebuild them through training �(00:06:57) Adjusting to Military Life -Homesick at first but accepted it -Father had advised him to say tough -Father had been an Army Sergeant in the Philippines and a truck driver in WWII -There was some resistance from some of the recruits -They were disciplined or simply dishonorably discharged -Majority of recruits were able to graduate (00:08:35) Basic Training-Details about Training -Woken up before daylight every day -Went on ten mile runs -After ten mile runs they were allowed to eat breakfast -Only given thirty seconds to eat -After breakfast they were subjected to more training -Physical training, drills, or base duties (cleaning, maintenance) -Drill sergeants were intimidating -Thirty year olds that had been in peak physical and combat conditions for years -Basic training lasted about thirteen weeks (00:11:16) Basic Training-Drill Instructors -Everyone got harassed pretty equally -All three of his drill sergeants had already been to Vietnam -A lot of propaganda, and not a lot of actual advice was given to the recruits (00:12:41) Camp Pendleton-Infantry Training -Went to Camp Pendleton after receiving job designation -Assigned to be a truck driver -Welcomed the job position because of it supposedly being easier -Went through infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California -Firearms training in the mountains, hiking, forced marches -After infantry training was allowed leave for thirty days (00:14:28) Camp Pendleton-Truck Driver Training -Went to truck driver training at Camp Pendleton -Had some experience with mechanical work from working on his own car -At Camp Pendleton they were given pragmatic advice about Vietnam -Truck driver training lasted about six weeks -After training he was sent to the staging area’s motor pool -No leave was given after truck driver training was complete (00:16:30) Deployment to Vietnam -Loaded onto chartered commercial plane -Stopped in Hawaii to refuel after flying out of Norton Air Force Base, California -Landed in Da Nang, Vietnam -Extremely hot and humid during the day -Almost difficult to breathe -Arrived in April 1969 -Stood in line and issued camouflaged fatigues, boots, and firearm -Because he was a truck driver he was issued the M1911 .45 pistol -Later requested an M16 rifle after getting caught in an ambush �(00:19:48) Assignment to Unit in Vietnam -Assigned to M105 Battery (self-propelled artillery unit) -Went on minesweeping operations and did other jobs besides driving the trucks -Stationed at the “Rockpile” north of Dong Ha -Dong Ha was eighteen miles south of the demilitarized zone -The Rockpile was three miles south of the demilitarized zone -Occasionally the North Vietnamese would try to attack the Rockpile (00:22:55) Main Duty in Vietnam -Main duty was to bring in supplies to the Rockpile -Food, clothing, ammunition, etc. -Either went to Dong Ha or Khe Sanh for supplies -Unit had five, five ton trucks -Would go to the mess hall in the morning -If food was needed a small convoy of three trucks would be sent for food -No escorts were given to the trucks -Sometimes had to go by himself -Only one man was in the cab of the truck -No heavier defenses than the drivers’ firearms (00:25:46) Conditions in Vietnam -Got picked on for being the new guy -Indicated that you were in a war zone and were in for something -Benign harassment -Harassment lasted until other new soldiers showed up -There wasn’t a lot of instruction given when he got to Vietnam -Roads were rough which meant slow travelling -Driving fast on the roads usually led to damaging the trucks in some way -At the Rockpile they lived in earthen bunkers -At Dong Ha they lived in wood and metal huts (00:29:34) Contact with the Enemy -Never recalls ever actually seeing the North Vietnamese or the Viet Cong -They got shot at by them, but never actually saw them -Rapid engagements whenever they happened -The NVA and Viet Cong avoided the DMZ and stuck to the Ho Chi Minh Trail -Easier to cross into South Vietnam via the Trail -Sappers would occasionally hit Khe Sanh -Dong Ha and the Rockpile were never targeted by the sappers during his stay -Both positions were too fortified and not important enough -Army would camp out on their perimeter at the Rockpile and guard them -Fairly safe to drive the roads -Ninety percent of the time it was safe -Harassing gun fire and landmines were always a threat though -Remembers a truck in front of him hitting a landmine -Disabled the truck, but didn’t hurt the driver (00:34:48) Minesweeping -Pulled minesweeping duty a few times -Main job was to protect the minesweepers while they looked for and detonated mines �(00:35:23) Leadership in the Marines -Captain wasn’t very personable, but he didn’t have a lot of contact with the captain -Most of the corporals and the sergeants were good leaders -Wouldn’t ask you to do anything they wouldn’t do -Some of the leaders that he encountered were cowardly or foolish -Would order soldiers to do risky things, or things they wouldn’t do themselves (00:36:38) Vietnamese Civilians -No civilian presence around the Rockpile -Most civilians had moved out to avoid the DMZ -Civilians were present at Dong Ha -Worked for the military doing menial labor (00:38:29) Drugs and Entertainment -The only drug present was weed -No hard drugs were present during his deployment -No one smoked while they were on duty, only off duty -Given a nightly beer ration -Two beers a night -Hid a case in his truck one time and pulled it out as a surprise when they ran out of beer -At the Rockpile the only “entertaining” building they had was the mess hall -Used it to watch second run movies -Went to a USO show in Dong Ha featuring a Filipino entertainment group (00:41:14) Leaving Vietnam -Deployed to Vietnam from April 1969 to November 1969 -Eight month deployment as opposed to twelve month deployment -He was about to get R&R before they left -Wanted to go to Thailand or Hawaii -3rd Marines were pulled out before he could go on R&R (00:42:02) Race Relations in Vietnam -Served with a diverse group of soldiers -Most of the time the races stuck together out of comfort, but not out of animosity -No problems when it came to integration -Was best friends with a black soldier (00:43:06) Artillery Duty -Trained how to work with the artillery crews on the guns -Usually only fired when they were given specific orders to harass the NVA -Once or twice “fired for effect” (rapid bombardment) to support troops in the field -Recoil from the guns made their fortifications slightly unstable -Helped with handling ammo for the artillery -Mostly focused on firing on NVA as they crossed the DMZ -Wanted to quarantine NVA movements around the border (00:46:40) Typhoon -Got hit by a typhoon soon after his arrival to Vietnam -Never experienced severe weather like that before -Winds were strong enough to rip apart buildings and cause flooding -One soldier was cut in half by corrugated roof getting torn off by the wind �(00:47:48) Threats in Vietnam -Considers himself blessed for never having to go into the jungle -Was never wounded by accidents or in combat -Remembers having run-ins with Vietnamese water buffalo -One charged their line at the Rockpile -Took fifty eight shots to finally kill it -Water buffalo were friendly with Vietnamese -Did not like Americans -Ran into a water buffalo standing in the middle of the road -Tried to nudge it with the truck to get it to move -Buffalo ripped off the fender before clearing the path -Once saw a giant snake cross the road -Didn’t want to take any risk by running it over and just let it pass (00:51:25) Leaving Vietnam and Japanese Deployment -Whole unit was moved out together -Took a whole month to clean off vehicles before boarding LST (landing craft transport) -Went to Okinawa, Japan -Stayed there for a month -Deployed to Mt. Fuji, Japan for cold weather training -Everyone got sick with colds and flu because of rapid temperature change -Went to Yokohama for leave -Men that weren’t from northern U.S. couldn’t adjust to the cold -After Mt. Fuji they returned to Okinawa via jet helicopter -Did manual labor for the rest of the time he was at Okinawa (00:54:56) Returning to the States and Camp Lejeune -Shipped home individually on an airliner -Overseas deployment was finished -Okinawa had felt like a vacation after Vietnam -Went back to Camp Lejeune outside of Jacksonville, North Carolina -Spent last three months of his enlistment at Camp Lejeune -Did manual labor there, worked in the motor pool, and pulled guard duty -Given thirty days of leave before having to report to Camp Lejeune -Never ran into harassment from civilians while on leave (00:58:32) Going Home -After Camp Lejeune returned to Michigan -Still had four years of Reserve duty left -Never got called up for anything -Staying in for the full two years made him eligible for VA (Veterans Affairs) benefits -Pressured by the Marines to reenlist -Offered monetary and rank promotions -Declined (00:59:45) Post Military Career -Wasn’t aware of how Vietnam veterans were viewed -Difficult to get a job because of the stigma attached to them -Wound up getting a job with the Zeeland Black Top Company -Drove a dump truck for them �(01:00:54) Reflections on Service -Felt a little angry coming out of the Marines -Had to relax and watch his language -Learning how to drive trucks in the Marines gave him job training -Took a while to figure out that he had PTSD -Army friend helped him realize it -Began to attend VA Clinic after -Learned that anyone, military and civilian, can have PTSD without knowing it -Being in the Marines helped him to mature -Learned how to handle different things -Taught him how to know himself � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hutson, Ron (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hutson, Ron Description An account of the resource Ron Hutson born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1950 and enlisted in the Marines in 1968. He trained as a truck driver and was assigned to a 105mm self-propelled artillery unit in the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. His unit was based at the Rockpile, just south of the DMZ. He served there between April and November, 1969, when the division left Vietnam. After spending several months in Japan, his unit returned to the US, and he completed his enlistment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-01-30 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HutsonR1566V 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/771bd645ff9a33d15b5660b2dc63b74d.mp4 b833251c58f97ce796dac21370e18763 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/988882c8c6a166db4bf202428f082f7e.pdf fefcf5724de8d32f8cd41b3f334eaca4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Jay Huston (54:18) (00:15) Background Information • • • • Jay was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on August 25, 1925 In high school Jay had wanted to work as a railroad postal clerk Many of Jay’s friends began being drafted and he did not want to be drafted into the Army Jay graduated from high school in May of 1943 and enlisted in the Navy that August (04:00) Training • • • • • • • Jay took a bus to Pittsburgh and was sworn into the Navy He then took a train to the Great Lakes naval base in Chicago, Illinois The base was huge with many barracks, a parade ground for drilling, and a large supply building They got up every day at 6, had breakfast and then began training, which consisted of drilling, gunnery, orientation, commands, and marching Basic training lasted for 8 weeks and then he was interviewed to determine what his future course would be Jay had wanted to be a radio operator and his second choice was to be an electrician They decided that he would be going to hospital corps school (14:30) Specialized Training • Jay had nine days on leave and was waiting to be assigned to a school • Jay went to the main side hospital at Great Lakes • He went to hospital corps school for anatomy, physiology, field medicine, pharmacology, and other general nursing essentials • After 6 weeks Jay was a hospital corpsman 2nd class and attended a graduation ceremony • Jay remained working at the same hospital for 3 weeks on his first assignment • He was working in the contagious ward (22:50) SNAG 56 • Jay was assigned to the Special Naval Advanced Group #56 • Jay was shipped out to Long Island for the staging point • Jay was commissioned and boarded ship with 500 other hospital staff in January of 1944 (27:45) Overseas �• • • • • Jay crossed the North Atlantic in very cold weather headed for Greenock, Scotland There was 10,000 men on the ship and most of them were in the Army They were only allowed on the deck once a day for some fresh air They disembarked in Scotland, took a train to Ireland, crossed the Irish Sea, and then took another train to London They were taken by Marine trucks to a base for more training, unaware that they were preparing for the invasion of Normandy (34:50) Victorian Hospital • Jay and others began working in an old Victorian hospital preparing for D Day, but were not told any specific details • The hospital consisted of a surgery area, burn ward, 1,000 beds, and an isolation area • Jay felt very well prepared for the patients that would come in after the invasion • Jay was assigned to the neuropsychiatric area (39:20) Invasion • Many casualties began coming in after the third day of the invasion • The patients would start in the sorting area to be evaluated and assigned to a care unit • Patients came in by the hundreds at first and some surgeons were working 24 hours a day • Psychiatric patients that could be “trusted” were put in the open ward and others were put in isolation for further observation (50:30) Treatments • Some psychiatric patients were put to sleep by medication • It was a very deep sleep that lasted 48 hours while their vitals were checked every hour • They were slowly brought back awake while a psychiatrist interviewed them to try to find a historical point that caused them to “break” • Manic depressives and others that were self-destructive went through shock treatment Disc Two (54:30) (3:05) Patients • Most of the patients were British and American, but after the invasion there were men coming in from Holland and France • There were some German POWs that were kept separate under special guard • Also there were some British that had been fighting in North Africa • There was a steady flow of patients after the invasion for about one month (8:40) Leaving the Hospital • The Army had started to establish other hospitals in France and Belgium �• • • • • Many patients were being transferred to hospitals back in the United States In October of 1944 they received orders to ship the medical personnel back to the US They first went to Liverpool to pick up more people to bring back On the ship they carried back German POWs and others with psychiatric problems Jay worked with German POWs that had mental problems; most of them spoke English and were very submissive (16:20) Back in the US • They landed at a receiving station in Boston • Jay went to Tennessee on leave for three weeks and was waiting for his next assignment • He boarded a troop train to San Pedro in December of 1944, but did not know what his assignment was • They took a ship to Seattle to pick up more troops and supplies • They had to stop the ship because it was flooded with four feet of water • They launched an investigation and missed the convoy they were going to travel with (21:30) Guadalcanal • On the way to Guadalcanal they stopped in Hawaii for fuel and supplies • Then they headed to the Philippines in February • Jay was initiated with the King Neptune ceremony after they crossed the equator (28:20) Liberty in Manila • The area had been invaded 1.5 years [months?] ago, but some of it was still devastated • The locals were burning Japanese weapons and many service men were selling supplies to the civilians • Jay and others went through amphibious training, preparing for the invasion of Okinawa • At the time, Iwo Jima was being attacked • The hospitals that Jay worked at in the Pacific were not as safe as those in Europe (35:45) Okinawa • Jay went to the west side of the island in April of 1945 and landed near Buckner Bay • They landed with the 2nd Marine Division and set up an aid center on the shore • There were not very many casualties at first because the Japanese were not fighting back with such force • Jay was there for 9 days before kamikazes began attacking (41:17) Back to the US • They left from Guam and refueled in Pearl Harbor, where they also worked on more training maneuvers • Then they went to Maui to continue training for the invasion of Japan �• They stopped by the states to pick up more trips and then headed to Okinawa (42:30) Okinawa • A ship near them was attacked by kamikazes and they were almost attacked also • They left again to go back to the US to pick up more troops for the battle • They stopped back in the Philippines to pick up a division for the occupation of Japan after the war had ended (46:20) Bombs Dropped • Jay heard the news of the bombs being dropped on Japan on the radio • They went to China and back to the Philippines, continuing to transfer troops • Many people in the Philippines did not even know that the war was over • Jay was back in the US and done with his service in December of 1945 � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Huston, Jay (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huston, Jay Description An account of the resource Jay Huston was born in Erie Pennsylvania on August 25, 1925. He graduated in 1943 and then enlisted in the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. Jay went through basic training at Great Lakes in Chicago and went through advanced training there to be a hospital corpsman. He was then stationed in London and preparing a hospital for the incoming patients after the D Day invasion. After working in Europe, Jay also worked in hospitals in the Pacific, including on Okinawa, during the war with Japan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Naval Reserve 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 2009-02-12 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HustonJ 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/10381c9cdbd4a2d2d10818d8b5d97ce6.mp4 c2737087c62c6ddbf97301af29b677e4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be067db4c3e032244f7f2778f58f5064.pdf 372d34b8f3aef93f044caca2b3802142 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Jim Hunter Total Time – (1:36:10) Background (00:00:13) • Jim Hunter grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was born in July of 1946 as he attended St. James grade school and West Catholic High School (00:00:28) ◦ His family included his mother who was a stay at home mom while his father sold motor oil for for 50 years (00:00:42) ▪ His family stayed in the Grand Rapids area the whole time; He has three siblings total, two sisters and one brother (00:00:52) ◦ Jim graduated West Catholic in 1964, the first graduating class for West Catholic at the time (00:01:11) ▪ He decided to enroll at Grand Valley State University [College] in 1965; He took German, Philosophy, Western Civilization (the latter course was particularly tough) (00:02:24) ▪ Jim and his best friend decided to not pursue Grand Valley State University after their freshman year and chose the Marines; Jim never doubted his decision, but caught flak from his mother for his decision (00:03:05) Enlistment / Training Camp (00:03:21) • Jim and his best friend enlisted in the Marine Corps of February, 1966; (00:03:21) ◦ Jim knew a bit about Vietnam at the time but was more intrigued by the pride and tradition of the Marines than the thought of going to war (00:03:54) ◦ He started basic training in the spring of 1966 in San Diego, California and stayed there for advanced infantry training (00:04:17) ▪ Jim flew out to San Diego by himself and quickly noticed life was going to change as upon his arrival, the Marines began their orders and profane yelling as soon as Jim boarded the bus to training camp (00:05:36) ▪ The physical training with drill sergeants banging on garbage cans to wake the recruits up; although most of the training was physical work, there was classroom training as well as this provided a breather from physical workouts (Jim still has his note book with tradition and terminology) (00:08:46) ▪ Although most of the men made it through training camp, some were sent to motivational platoons while some others were discharged (00:09:51) • For Jim, the pride of being in bootcamp started to show up as drill sergeants respected the recruits near the end of training (00:10:04) ◦ Nearly all the men were enlistees at the time although there were a few two-year reservists who were headed home after bootcamp (00:10:38) ◦ Bootcamp lasted about 10 weeks and ended with a transition to Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) which produced mostly infantry units (00:11:13) • Jim and the men of ITR knew quite well that they were headed Vietnam (00:13:32) ◦ Training for ITR lasted about 6 weeks, a few weeks less than bootcamp; the physical work was quite grueling and more demanding than bootcamp but Jim and the men were stronger and did things they never thought they could do (00:14:20) ▪ Jim and the men of ITR were treated much better than in bootcamp and were viewed as �Marines; the drill instructors were mostly Vietnam veterans by that time (00:14:47) • At the end of ITR, Jim received his orders to go to the “Staging Battalion” which was two weeks of processing (medical clearance and signing wills and paperwork) followed by a move to a Marine air facility in El Toro, California (00:16:40) ◦ From El Toro, Jim and the men of ITR flew to Hawaii via a commercial airliner to Vietnam (00:16:48) ▪ Before going to Vietnam Jim was allowed a leave back home as it was a quiet, somber time more than a fun leave (00:18:02) • Jim's parents were proud of his decision and his father was even part of the local draft board in Grand Rapids (00:18:22) Arrival in Vietnam (00:19:21) • Jim arrived in Da Nang in the daytime to the heat and smells of Vietnam after he walked off the plane to meet the other men from the army and marines (00:20:00) ◦ About every ten minutes or so Jim experienced a F4 plane taking off for a bombing run or air support for marines which caused immense noise (00:20:23) ◦ Jim was lined up with a few hundred other men where he was assigned, like every third man, to the 9th Marines, 2nd Battalion; this unit in particular took many casualties and needed many replacements (The unit became known as “The Walking Dead”) (00:21:29) ▪ When he arrived Dong Ha, Jim had to pick his gear and weapons from a pile of marines who had recently departed to go home, or recently deceased marines; the weapons and gear were all relatively new (00:23:25) • To get acquainted with the area and scenery, Jim worked on patrol in Dong Ha; as a new guy, he unloaded ammunition and bodies (00:25:09) ◦ When Jim joined his company, they had just finished a rather lengthy move around Dong Ha which enabled them a few days rest until they moved by foot to Cam Lo to do patrol, man perimeters, combat and ambush patrols (between Dong Ha and North Vietnam) (00:27:03) ▪ At first, there wasn't too much enemy activity (a few mortar shells here and there), some contact with enemy combat patrols, a few ambushes but nothing big although the listening post was tough because you could hear absolutely everything – bugs, animals, foreign noises; the listening post was critical as he had to stay awake and listen for the radio (00:28:43) ▪ The listening post was anywhere from 100 meters to 150 yards out from the rest of the unit- depending on the terrain (00:29:09) ▪ Although the climate was quite warm, the constant rain throughout the day and the temperature drop at night along with the newness and being constantly wet made sleeping at night a difficult task for Jim (00:31:28) Combat (00:32:50) • Between moves from Dong Ha to Cam Lo, Jim got into a pretty bad firefight; It was his first time seeing marines being ripped apart- the 1st sergeant was killed along with a couple of other guys as well (00:33:58) ◦ Jim and the other men had to get the dead and wounded together while they blew a hole in the jungle with C4 explosives just to get the medevac in; It was the most traumatic thing he seen since his arrival in Vietnam- this experience was the beginning of the war for Jim (00:35:02) ▪ Militarily, the men were in position and prepared to respond to the incoming attacks as they had cover to some extent but Jim and the men were not prepared for the fifty �• caliber machine gun as it was shredding down trees; Jim remembers shooting back for the first time (00:36:49) ▪ Lower members of the military were treated better by the senior members after intense fighting happened- Jim quickly learned that they were there to keep each other's backs as they had to depend on one another (00:37:48) ▪ Camp Carroll was one of Jim's assignments as part of his duty; their location was a strategic military base where Jim had to secure and defend the perimeter as this location had massive guns that could reach North Vietnam (00:39:39) There wasn't a platoon or squadron for the US forces that was at full strength while in Vietnam; a platoon was lucky to have 30 men (00:41:02) ◦ Air support and artillery was one of the things that saved many lives for the marines; the support was mostly there when they needed it (00:41:28) ▪ From May til December of 1966, Jim used a M-14 rifle and was happy with that for the most part; Jim was mailed packages of dry slide from his father (who worked for a motor oil company) to help maintain his weapons (00:43:34) ▪ Jim didn't see or use bazookas but used LAW's (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) but he never saw any tanks- they used the weapons to blow up bunkers (00:45:18) • Most of the bunkers Jim saw were unoccupied but well constructed and concealed; some were quite big and carried hospital gear- the enemy bunkers were better than their bunkers of foxholes and sandbags (00:45:09) ◦ Booby-traps were quite common and a lot of the injuries were booby-trap related rather than gun fire (00:47:07) ▪ The booby-traps were probably put in by the locals rather than the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) (00:47:34) • Encountering civilian locals was a hit or miss situation as they villages were mostly controlled by the Vietcong and NVA (00:48:54) ▪ In Jim's location, he never really knew who the locals were loyal to so he tried to steer clear of them (00:49:42) ◦ If the company had to move, which was a noisy operation, they tried to move by being spread apart from one another just in case of an enemy attack (00:51:42) ▪ Sometimes being spread out was a scary thing, especially for the tail end person as there was a chance to not keep up with the rest of the company and head the wrong way on a trail (00:51:58) ▪ To prevent the enemy from trying to get into their foxhole areas, Jim and the others would set claymore mines and have two men (one always awake while the other tried to rest) in a foxhole every 8-10 yards from each other (00:53:00) • Jim never faced an attack where their foxhole areas would be overrun as they always had artillery and air strikes- which were quite good as they were very close and accurate (00:54:12) ◦ Downtime in Vietnam for Jim consisted of being able to take his boots off and stretch out a bit, getting new clothes as they would rot out sometimes, visiting medical centers (Jim had an infection on his hand at one point), and being able to write letters (00:55:02) ▪ Jim wrote letters to receive items which sometimes arrived rather quickly (10 days) and sometimes not; he got cookies, fudge, fruitcake, sardine cans, can hams, socks, foot powder, mailing supplies- the handiest items he got were the dry slide lubricant and socks- the most important things were the ammunition and mail from home (00:57:28) �• • Jim was quite fortunate as his girlfriend wrote him at least once a day, his mother got involved in the Marine Corps league- he always got quite a stack of mail and felt bad for some guys who didn't get any mail- other than the ammunition, the mail kept him going (00:57:47) ▪ Overall the morale in Jim's unit was good although rumors did surface at times but they learned to toughen up quick and do your job to cover the guys with you (00:58:31) • The lowest points for the group was when they had to deal with injuries and casualties (00:58:43) ◦ Jim never had a 2nd lieutenant for more than a month or two at a time which was tough to deal with; they were either killed off pretty quickly or rotated elsewhere -captains as well, the leadership was always in change which resulted in a lack of cohesion (01:00:05) ◦ On the other hand, his lieutenants were gung-ho and he never dealt with a bad lieutenant or captain (01:00:31) Jim remembers a few particularly unpleasant experiences: Con Thien, Thon Khe Tri (Rockpile), being told he was in the crossing the sea into North Vietnam, the rain, climbing, the bugs, and snakes, pulling leaches from his private parts, soreness from the cold, carrying ammunition and others' ammunition that got hit- the tough training was nothing what he faced while in Vietnam (01:04:11) End of Tour / Injuries (01:05:38) • Jim heard a rumor that the company was heading to Phu Bai on foot- it took all of November and into December- it was the southern most base in Vietnam (01:06:19) ◦ On December 14th, 1966, Jim was sleeping under a tank and went to set up and ambush: on the way they were set up by a booby-trap and ambushed, a big firefight for a small group ensued and Jim ended up being injured (01:08:30) ▪ Jim's injuries blurred his vision and impaired his use of his rifle- his arm was hurt and his stomach was burning up; Jim received morphine in his leg as a medevac arrived to pick him up (01:09:41) • Jim laid in the helicopter between dead and wounded- the ride seemed like forever and was very cold (at 01:10:35) Jim shows part of his shrapnel wound on his arm) • He was taken to Charlie Med in Da Nang to be offloaded on a stretcher- his clothes were cut away and was being kept stable; he clearly remembers the talks of the medical staff debating whether to amputate his arm- he was taken into surgery and learned he was shot through his stomach as well (01:11:34) • After he woke up, he didn't know where he was and was told he was on the USS Repose on the China Sea- there were other wounded around him as well and he remembers the screaming from the others (01:12:42) ◦ The medical staff tried to graft skin of Jim's legs to put on his arm which was then soaked in a liquid penicillin- the grafts didn't take to Jim's arm so there are gaps of skin on his arm (01:13:17) ◦ Towards the end of Jim's time on the USS Repose, he was able to walk around a bit- a picture was taken of him holding onto a railing while catching some fresh air- before he was let go the medical team wrapped him up in a bundle as a pretty nurse gave him a kiss and away he went (01:14:30) ▪ Jim reveals his father sent him a .38 caliber snub nose pistol- this was one of the items Jim received in the mail- he didn't want to be captured and the weapon was illegal to have and the night Jim was hurt a gunnery sergeant confiscated it (01:15:18) �• • On the USS Repose, Jim was too hurt to open a wooden box sent to him so the team on the ship did it and there was .38 caliber ammo in the box- he jokingly told them to throw it over the side of the ship as he no longer needed it- (01:16:08) ▪ Jim received his last rights from a Catholic priest while in Da Nang; while injured, Jim remembers a voice telling him “I'll talk to your parents”, the colonel's driver was a marine by the name of Mazzarelli who had communication with Jim's parents in Grand Rapids (01:18:38) • Jim's father took him to see the Mazzarelli family (who owned a bowling alley on Plainfield in Grand Rapids); they ended up being connected by a friend of a friend but the marine was found dead in Grand Rapids before Jim could reconnect with him and thank him (01:19:37) Jim received the purple heart from General Lewis Walt; while General Walt was on the USS Repose, Bob Hope was as well too (01:20:08) Recovery (01:21:44) • From Yokohama Japan to Clark air-force base, it was a long road home for Jim; he roomed with an army lieutenant at Clark and went on to Andrews air-force base via Elmendorf air-force base in Alaska for refueling (01:22:20) • From there, Jim went to Glenview naval air-station in Chicago and then taken to Great Lakes Naval Hospital just north of Chicago; Jim spent seven months at Great Lakes recuperating while having surgeries on his eye and arm (01:23:10) • Jim had a three year enlistment and wanted to stay in, but with his eye problem he was unable to shoot properly- something that the marines were much harder on back then; nevertheless they wanted to put Jim on light duty and he was given three choices: 1. Key West, Florida 2. Stay at Great Lakes 3. Quantico, Virginia (01:25:22) ◦ Jim chose Quantico because his friend that he went into the Marines with was in Anacostia (in Washington D.C.) which was across the river from Quantico (01:25:32) ▪ Jim worked in Quantico at the Amphibious Warfare School as a light duty worker and was involved in training foreign officers and tactical issues as well; To work there, Jim needed top secret clearance to work with some of the new equipment (01:26:48) ▪ Jim was in charge of using transparencies on a project and remembers getting yelled at because of his impaired vision from being injured- his depth perception wasn't great and he couldn't focus the projector the way the instructors wanted (01:27:20) ◦ Jim's enlistment in the Marines had to be reviewed by the naval review board- the board decided to discharge Jim from the Marine Corps because of his limitations (01:29:14) Reflection / Post Marine Corps (01:29:51) • Even to this day, when Jim reflects upon his time in the Marine Corps, the word 'pride' sticks out to him; there were no regrets on his decisions- he understood his discharge but still knew the downside of his trying to find employment and there were times when he had doubts about himself (01:30:40) • Jim was put on partial disability; he receives a check every month along with free medical care through TRICARE For Life from his honorable and medical discharge- but he feels the compensation is small compared to the partial loss of his eyesight (01:31:47) ◦ Even though Jim had developed cancer and went through two years of chemotherapy he feels lucky that it was not related to cancer caused by Agent Orange (01:32:22) • Jim signed up for the Michigan Rehabilitation Agency and although some interviewers told him his limitations would impair his ability to work he ultimately applied for a position with the Michigan Interstate Motor Freight System in Grand Rapids; he want from being a claims clerk �• to a director of loss prevention (01:33:19) ◦ After his company was bought out and went out of business, Jim went to the Grand Rapids Federal Court House and through a connection from his sister, he became the 1st administrative officer in West Michigan (01:35:10) Jim has recently retired and although he misses the people he doesn't miss the work and is excited to be able to do things such as this interview (01:35:53) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hunter, James (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunter, James Description An account of the resource Jim Hunter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in July 1946. After briefly trying college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in February, 1966. After training in San Diego, he deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; this unit took many casualties and became known as "The Walking Dead." His unit operated close to the DMZ, around Dong Ha, Cam Lo, and Camp Carroll. He was badly wounded in December, 1966, and upon recovery was sent to the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia until he received a medical discharge in 1968. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-03-13 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HunterJ1584V 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/059228b4f40b589f634167b746c67152.pdf b4d7fd161a58394f4fe63377d9194179 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Korean War Clarence Hunter Total Time – (10:01) Background                He was born in London, Arkansas on September 1, 1935 (00:17) He served in the Army and the Navy (00:30) o He was an E7 in the Navy and an E6 in the Army (00:36) He served in Korea He was a farmer before he joined the military There were five members of his family that served in the military before him (01:16) o All of them were his brothers He joined the military through enlistment o He chose to enter the military because he knew that he would get drafted (01:41) o That is why he chose the Navy Basic training was extremely difficult (01:49) o The training was sixteen weeks long o The food in training was not bad “as long as you like slop” (02:07) o He received basic mechanic training He served all along the Korean peninsula (03:01) o In the Army the soldiers were always stuck in one spot, but in the Navy it was much different He was able to make friends in the military o During that time there were not easy ways to stay in contact with friends from the military (03:52) There were some points where he would spend two years overseas before he was able to go home (04:44) He was not on shore for Christmas for four straight years He only made sixty-eight dollars a month (05:43) His family was extremely happy when he came home from the war The war helped him to learn how to be away from home (06:06) A lot of the jobs that he had did not carry over to civilian life – soldiers never use many of the things they learn in the military �     He saw twelve year old children with their ears cut off (07:05) He believes that Communism is meant to keep people dumb and it tries to kill all intelligent people (07:24) The Americans were fighting Communism (08:27) He saw some people in China that used so many drugs that their life expectancy was twenty-eight years old He saw fourteen year old prostitutes (09:02) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hunter, Clarence (Interview outline), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hunter, Clarence Description An account of the resource Clarence Hunter was born in London, Arkansas in 1935. He enlisted into the military and served in the Army and Navy. During his time with the Navy, Clarence spent a lot of time traveling up and down the coast of Korea during the Korean War. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bush, Kyle (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Navy United States. Army Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05-28 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HunterC1419V 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/ff4d943bb0e50c58ef705ee46b17623f.mp4 af3300d63aa64de949256fb9737f17cc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7b18d106b433ee3509115da384c04214.pdf 6d81ada9f79c1e841c8ab3c8b238924c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Robert Huizenga Vietnam War Interview Length: (01:11:08:00) Pre-enlistment life / Training (00:00:14:00)  Huizenga was in Portland, Michigan, in 1948 (00:00:14:00) o While Huizenga was growing up, his father worked on a farm; Huizenga himself worked on the farm until he was fourteen, at which point his family moved to Hudsonville, Michigan (00:00:22:00) o The family moved because Huizenga’s father had reached the age where working on the farm was too much for him (00:00:34:00) o Huizenga had five older sisters, meaning that there were six children in Huizenga’s family total (00:00:47:00)  After the family moved, Huizenga attended Hudsonville High School and graduated from there in 1966 (00:00:55:00)  Huizenga graduated on June 2nd, on June 10th he turned eighteen and by June 16th, he was in the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego (00:01:02:00) o Huizenga had originally signed up for the Marine Corps in March 1966 on a delayed program (00:01:17:00) o Because Huizenga was seventeen when he signed up for the Marines, he needed a parent to sign as well; Huizenga’s father signed under the stipulation that Huizenga graduate from high school (00:01:25:00) o All his life, Huizenga had wanted to make a career out of being in the military (00:01:44:00)  Huizenga chose the Marine Corps in particular partially because of their uniforms and because he figured that he was going to be drafted regardless, he wanted to go to the best, which at the time, he considered was the Marine Corps (00:02:05:00)  Another motivation Huizenga had for joined the Marine Corps was that he wanted to go to Vietnam (00:02:31:00) o During his final year in high school, Huizenga immersed himself in newspaper articles and television reports about what was happening in Vietnam (00:03:01:00)  At the time, Huizenga remembers a more positive attitude regarding the war, although he figures that might have been because he only read the stories that he wanted to see (00:03:30:00) o In March 1966, Huizenga went through a physical in Detroit at the same time he signed the paperwork to join the Marines (00:04:32:00)  By the time he actually went to boot camp in June, Huizenga was ready to go (00:04:39:00)  In order to get to boot camp, Huizenga and sixty other men flew on a commercial flight from Detroit to San Diego (00:04:54:00) �   o When the flight landed in San Diego, the men were all joking around as they walked down a hallway but when they reached the end of the hallway and went outside, there was a group of men yelling at them to get at attention with their toes on the curb (00:05:10:00) o As the men stood at attention, cars were driving past with children in them who waved at the men (00:05:32:00)  The only thing Huizenga could think was that he had screwed up but on the bright side, he only had three more years of it (00:05:43:00) From the airport, the men boarded Marine Corps buses and were taken to the base, where they were made to stand on yellow footprints painted on the ground outside the bus; as the men stood on the footprints, they were called back to receive a haircut before returning to the footprints (00:06:08:00) o After the haircuts were done, the men walked to a large room where they received a yellow t-shirt, red shorts and white shoes, while placing all their civilian clothes, save for their lighters, cigarettes, and wallets, into a box that the Marines then shipped back to the men’s homes (00:06:29:00) The first week of the training was mostly the men running back and forth to receive shots and getting their records straightened out; when the men started out, they had already been assigned to a training platoon (00:06:56:00) o It is hard for Huizenga to remember the backgrounds of the other men in his training platoon because everything happened so fast; however, Huizenga does remember that there was a large diversity amongst the platoon, with men from all over the country (00:07:24:00)  Huizenga remembers there being a lot of farm boys and men like himself, from smaller towns and cities (00:07:34:00)  The men did not really talk about their backgrounds because they did not really have time to talk about them (00:07:53:00) Once the men made it through the first week of processing, the drill instructors had a schedule already set up for them (00:08:08:00) o After the in-processing, the instructors taught the men how to drill, how to march, the manual of arms, etc. (00:08:16:00) o The men woke up around five o’clock in the morning and went to bed around nine o’clock at night; the instructors had it set up so that the men did not have too much time to think (00:08:24:00)  On Sunday morning, the men were allowed to attend church services and were given a couple hours off until lunch; however, once lunch was over, they went right back to training (00:08:37:00)  At least with Huizenga’s platoon, the instructors never woke the men up in the middle of the night to do training (00:08:56:00) o Every so often, the instructors gave the men an hour break to read letters from home and to write letters in response (00:08:59:00) o The drill instructors had regimented the entire situation with the premise of keeping the men’s minds focused on the primary task at hand, completing their boot camp (00:09:07:00) �       Huizenga would describe the drill instructors for his platoon as “big, mean, and ugly”; at first, the drill instructors fit that description, but once the men reached the end of the training, they viewed the drill instructors as just regular Marines (00:09:24:00) o The drill instructors had to be hard on the men so that the men would respect the instructors; therefore, if a man screwed up, the drill instructors often came down hard on him (00:09:37:00) At first, it was not hard for Huizenga to adjust to life in Marines, although on one night, everything came together and he broke down (00:09:58:00) o Huizenga sat in the duty office and cried while the instructors gave him a cup of coffee and a little sympathy before sending him back to the barracks; nevertheless, the next day, Huizenga was fine (00:10:07:00) When he joined the Marines, Huizenga weighed around one-hundred-fifty-five / onehundred-and-sixty pounds and could do all the physical aspects of the training (running, push ups, etc.) (00:10:32:00) o Nevertheless, Huizenga was in even better shape by the time he left boot camp (00:11:02:00) The boot camp was supposed to last for eight weeks but the men actually spent around ten weeks because of the processing (00:11:06:00) o For two weeks, the men went to the rifle range and trained using M-14 rifles, learning how to sight the rifles, as well as use the sights, check for windage, and basic infantry tactics (00:11:24:00)  Having grown up on a farm, Huizenga had used rifles before but he could not wait to get his first “military” rifle; however, when he was made to sleep with the rifle in his bunk, he found out it was not so much fun to have as he originally thought (00:11:45:00) Some of the other men who started the training with Huizenga were “let go” (00:12:06:00) o One man cut his wrists but luckily, the drill instructors managed to reach the man before he bleed to death; after the incident, the drill instructors had the man stand in front of a billboard daily and read the Marine Corps manual but the man eventually left regardless (00:12:12:00) o Another man had flat feet and the drill instructors let him out as well even through he wanted to stay (00:12:29:00) o Huizenga believes that for the most part, the overwhelming majority of the men who enlisted were in for the duration (00:12:39:00) Two of Huizenga’s drill instructors had already served in Vietnam (00:12:53:00) After he completed boot camp, Huizenga joined an Infantry Training Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California, for an additional four to six weeks (00:13:02:00) o While with the regiment, Huizenga and the other Marines learned basic infantry tactics; the instructors stressed that every Marine was an infantryman, so the men needed to learn infantry tactics (00:13:12:00) o The men received additional, more diversified weapons training, everything from a 106mm recoilless rifle to the B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle) to a .45 caliber pistol (00:13:40:00)  Ultimately, the men received short, individual instruction period with all the weapons that were available at the time (00:14:05:00) �  o All the men stayed together through the Infantry Training Regiment and once that was finished, they all received leave before reporting to whatever school the Marines had chosen for them (00:14:24:00) Huizenga received orders for motor transport school at Montford Point, North Carolina, which was located near the larger Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune (00:14:35:00) o The base at Montford Point consisted of wooden barracks with two big fuelburning stoves in them (00:15:06:00)  When the wind blew, it blew right through the barracks because there was no insulation to stop it; because there was nothing behind it, the men could see the siding from the inside of the barracks (00:15:20:00) o On a day-to-day basis, Huizenga was learning how to work on deuce-and-a-half trucks (two-and-a-half ton trucks) in second echelon maintenance, which meant he was essentially a glorified parts changer (00:15:44:00)  Huizenga and the other men did not really get into working in the engines or components because that work was reserved for the third echelon (00:15:58:00)  Apart from the deuce-and-a-halfs, Huizenga and the other men also worked on personnel carriers and jeeps; whatever vehicles the unit had at the time were the vehicles the men worked on (00:16:14:00) o By this time, the men were allowed to get weekends passes to go off base, after dinner, they had the evenings free unless they were assigned to guard duty, there were movies on the base for the men to watch, and there were places where they could buy beer and pop (00:16:37:00) o Huizenga’s training at Montford Point lasted for another six weeks (00:17:04:00) o At one point during their earlier training, Huizenga and the other men filled out aptitude tests and the Marines used those tests in determining where the soldiers were assigned for their advanced training (00:17:16:00)  Huizenga had grown up working with farm equipment and a friend’s dad had a gas station in Hudsonville and Huizenga would help the dad repair cars (00:17:26:00) After he finished the training at Montford Point, Huizenga went onto Camp Lejeune proper and was placed into a motor transport battalion, where he began working in the battalion’s motor shop (00:17:48:00) o Huizenga stayed with the motor transport battalion for three or four months before he received his orders to deploy to Vietnam (00:18:04:00)  The men had always been told that they were Marines, which meant that at some point, they were going to Vietnam (00:18:23:00) o One day, the officers called the men to formation and said they needed two volunteers for Vietnam; naturally, all the men raised their hands (00:18:33:00)  The officers picked two men, Huizenga was not one, but two weeks later, Huizenga heard his name along with several other names read over the intercom, telling him to report to the CO (Commanding Officer) (00:18:41:00)  Huizenga and the other men reported to the CO and he told them that they had just volunteered to go to Vietnam, which is what Huizenga had always wanted to do (00:18:54:00) �  In the time he had already been in the Marines, Huizenga had not had too much contact with Marines who had already been to Vietnam; Huizenga and the younger Marines were more rambunctious while the older Marines who had already been to Vietnam kept to themselves wanted nothing to do with the younger Marines (00:19:11:00) Huizenga was given a three-week leave before having to report to El Toro Naval Air Station in California for an additional two weeks of paperwork and shots (00:19:34:00) o While at El Toro, Huizenga and the other Marines who were deploying did not receive too much in the way of additional information about what was happening in Vietnam at the time (00:20:04:00) o In order to actually get to Vietnam, Huizenga and the other Marines flew aboard a commercial airliner that the military had chartered; the only civilians on the flight were the pilots and the stewardesses (00:20:12:00)  As the flight approached Da Nang, the pilot came over the intercom and said that the temperature was 89º and the wind was coming out of the north, northwest with light to moderate ground fire (00:20:28:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:21:01:00)  Huizenga’s first impression of Vietnam was that it was hot and stinky; when he stepped off the airplane, they both just hit him (00:21:01:00)  When they got off the plane, Huizenga and the other men were placed on the back of a semi-truck with an open-top trailer covered with chicken wire; when someone asked what the chicken wire was for, they were told it was meant to keep the Vietnamese from throwing hand grenades into the trailer (00:21:14:00) o The men were eventually taken to a spot, dropped off and told where the hooches were to spend the night in, and if necessary, where the nearest trenches were in case of an enemy rocket attack (00:21:41:00) o The first night the men were in Vietnam was quiet; although there were not any enemy mortar or rocket attacks, it was the fear of those attacks, plus the sound of artillery firing in the distance, kept the men awake and alert (00:22:03:00)  The following morning, someone showed up at eight o’clock and began assigning men to different units according to what each individual Marine’s job status was (00:22:28:00) o Huizenga was with another Marine who he had gone through boot camp and the other training with and eventually, both men received an assignment to the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion, although Huizenga had no idea what that was (00:22:44:00)  Eventually, someone came and picked up Huizenga and the other Marine and took them to where the battalion was stationed, on a hill just outside Da Nang (00:23:04:00)  Huizenga remembers the first night he and the other Marine were with the battalion, being told by the staff sergeant that eventually, they had to do interior guard duty in their shop, which meant spending the night walking around the inside of the compound with their rifles (00:23:31:00)  Huizenga remembers the first time he did the interior guard duty, he only had a rifle and five magazines of ammunition; he did not �    have a helmet or flak jacket because the battalion did not have a spare one to give him (00:24:05:00)  At midnight, someone woke Huizenga up and told him he had to do guard duty; although he had no idea about the camp, Huizenga still had to walk guard duty and it was on that night that he learned what fear really was (00:24:18:00) When Huizenga had been at El Toro prior to flying to Vietnam, the Marines tried to give Huizenga and the other men some information about Vietnam; however, the information was like reading a book and once the men arrived in Vietnam, the book did not mean anything because it was totally different (00:25:02:00) The base where the 1st Anti-Tank was stationed was fortified, with barbed wire surrounding the entire perimeter and mines placed within the barbed wire (00:25:28:00) o The base was located on a hill overlooking the Da Nang river and there were bunkers at set intervals all around the top of the hill that were manned at night, with three Marines per bunker (00:25:36:00) o Apart from Huizenga’s battalion, there was also the 1st Motor Transport Battalion and a tank battalion located on the base (00:26:01:00) The primary weapon of Huizenga’s battalion was the Ontos, a tracked vehicle with six 106mm recoilless rifles mounted on the outside (00:26:22:00) o Although the six recoilless rifles represented a lot of firepower, the Ontos was not a very safe vehicle for the crew because the loaders had to get out in order to load the rifles; as well, the armor plating was only one inch thick, which an armor piercing round could penetrate (00:26:32:00) st The 1 Anti-Tank Battalion eventually disbanded, about five to six months after Huizenga joined it, with the entire battalion being condensed into a single company, which then moved north, to the Quang Tri area; when the battalion condensed, Huizenga transferred to the 1st Motor Battalion (00:27:07:00) o In the time Huizenga was with the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion, the Ontos would regularly join convoys as support vehicles as well as offer support to infantry units in the field (00:27:42:00)  The Ontos would often return damaged and in some cases, were towed back behind wreckers, in which case, they were used for parts to repair the other vehicles (00:28:01:00)  The Ontos was a weapon the North Vietnamese hated because of the Ontos’ firepower, so the North Vietnamese would specifically attack Ontos (00:28:14:00) o During his time with the 1st Anti-Tank, Huizenga worked in the headquarters/supply company doing mechanical work on the company’s jeeps and personnel carriers (00:28:37:00)  On a typical day, Huizenga would wake up, go to breakfast, complete whatever assignments needed to be done, go to lunch, finish any remaining work, then go to dinner; after dinner, if he did not had guardduty, the he had the evening off to do whatever (00:28:48:00)  Every once in awhile, Huizenga left the base to go into Da Nang to pick someone up as well as take home the Vietnamese girls who worked in the bar on the base (00:29:12:00) �  Although he had opportunities to get off the base, there were not any reasons for Huizenga to go off the base (00:29:33:00) o Apart from the Vietnamese girls working in bar, other Vietnamese civilians worked in the mess hall, as barbers, and two worked in the mechanic’s shop doing general clean-up (00:29:43:00)  Although there were concerns about the Vietnamese working on the base being VC (Viet Cong), the men tended to overlook those concerns (00:30:07:00)  Huizenga was never made aware of anyone on the base being picked up for being a member of the VC (00:30:20:00) o After Huizenga had been on the base for about three weeks, he experienced his first enemy mortar attack, which was another rude awakening because it was also the time he saw his first dead Marine (00:30:39:00)  Huizenga remembers the whistling sounds the mortar rounds made as they came into the base and he remembers someone getting onto the intercom to tell the rest of the men to get into trenches (00:31:13:00)  Although the attack seemed like it lasted all night, Huizenga figures it did not last for more than fifteen or twenty minutes (00:31:26:00)  During the attack, Huizenga believes the enemy were just lobbing mortar rounds onto the base, trying to hit whatever they could (00:31:40:00)  From the base, the men could see the glow of the mortar rounds as they left the mortar tubes and whenever the men saw the glow, they would fire their weapons in that direction (00:31:50:00)  A small Vietnamese village was located at the bottom of the hill the base was situated on but Huizenga is not sure if the mortar attack came from that direction; during the attack, he was lying face first in the trench and wanted nothing more than to pull the ground over the top of him (00:32:12:00)  There were two more enemy mortar attacks on the base while Huizenga was stationed there (00:32:44:00) o Although there were no enemy sapper attacks on the base, there would be periodic sniper fire (00:32:53:00) Huizenga left the first base around September/October 1967, when he was assigned to “Bravo” Company, 1st Transport Battalion; although the battalion headquarters was located at the old base, Bravo Company was deployed at Quang Tri (00:33:17:00) o After Huizenga transferred to the new battalion, he spent a couple of days at the battalion headquarters waiting for a staff sergeant; once the staff sergeant arrived, he and Huizenga flew to Quang Tri aboard a helicopter (00:33:57:00) o Brave Company was a traditional truck company that the Marines labeled as a “field motor transport” and the company supported the infantry, hauling both the infantry and their supplies around (00:34:17:00) o The camp where the company was stationed was a hodge-podge of tents thrown together and surrounded by barbed wire, with an ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) camp across the road (00:34:51:00) �  Huizenga saw a fair amount of ARVN soldiers but in all honesty, did not think too much of them; to Huizenga, it seemed to like the Americans were doing the job for the ARVNs (00:35:24:00)  However, looking back, Huizenga believes his first impression might be unfair because the ARVN soldiers were fighting for their country (00:35:52:00)  Nevertheless, Huizenga did not pay too much attention to the ARVN camp adjacent to Bravo Company’s camp (00:36:17:00) o Before Huizenga’s arrival, the previous mechanics had set up at tent on the base and whichever vehicle needed repairs, the men would work on it (00:36:39:00)  The company lost a fair amount of trucks, with enemy landmines causing the most damage (00:36:44:00) Bravo Company stayed at the base outside Quang Tri for another three months after Huizenga joined the company before pulling back the another base to the south of Quang Tri, Camp Carroll, just before the beginning of the Tet Offensive (00:36:55:00) o The company stayed at Camp Carroll for about two weeks before moving to a camp in the Gia Le province (00:37:14:00)  The Gia Le camp was circular and the 1st Motor Battalion shared the camp with an engineer battalion, a tank battalion and a SeaBee battalion; the camp resembled a giant pie, with each battalion having a quarter slice for itself (00:37:21:00)  A couple of days after the battalion arrived at the camp in Gia Le was when the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive began (00:37:35:00) o While Bravo Company was still located outside Quang Tri, Huizenga began going out on the convoys, manning a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the top of the deuce-and-a-half (00:37:50:00)  Although the convoys occasionally came under fire, most of the time, it was only harassing sniper fire because the enemy knew that the convoys were always in contact with helicopters and if they came under heavy fire, the convoys would call in the helicopters (00:38:05:00)  On some occasions, the convoy would go all the way from Quang Tri to Da Nang, which was a good day's drive (00:38:35:00)  However, part of the reason for the long drives was because the roads between the two cities were not always in the best condition and in some spots, were only gravel (00:38:43:00)  Although mine clearing was supposed to be done on a road before the convoy got there, it was not always done; therefore, every once in a while, a truck would hit a mine (00:38:55:00)  Fortunately, most of the time, the trucks only hit smaller mines; that, plus that fact that the men had lined the beds of the trucks with sandbags helped protect the truck’s driver and the assistant driver (00:39:09:00)  Over time, going on the convoys became part of everyday life for Huizenga; he never thought about what kind of target he made for enemy soldiers while manning the machine gun (00:39:32:00) � o The base outside Quang Tri was pretty quiet, although Huizenga saw not stationed there for too long (00:40:17:00) When the company moved to Gia Le, it was because the battalion commanders were trying to pull the entire battalion back together (00:40:35:00) o Bravo Company was the first unit on the base and when the Tet Offensive began, they provided a large amount of support to the infantry fighting in Hue, bringing supplies and fresh troops while carrying out wounded (00:40:44:00)  It was daily and eventually, nightly convoys for the first couple weeks of the offensive (00:41:02:00) o The camp itself came under enemy attack in the opening rounds of the offensive; however, because the attack was more of a diversion away from Hue, the enemy did not hit the base too hard and the men stationed on the base were able to stop the enemy at the wire (00:41:19:00) o The really intense fighting and convoys lasted for about the first week-and-a-half / two weeks; as more infantry poured into Hue and the commanders figured out how to effectively deal with the enemy, everything came together (00:42:04:00)  Nevertheless, it still took between a month and five weeks for everything to be taken care of in Hue (00:42:28:00) o The convoys running in and out of the city came under enemy fire a lot, everything from snipers to mortar rounds (00:42:44:00)  By this time, Huizenga was no longer manning a .50 caliber but was acting as an assistant driver; although Huizenga believes nothing ever really got close to him, rounds were still hitting the truck (00:43:08:00)  Huizenga’s truck was never disabled but there were trucks that were disable by the enemy; the standard procedure for dealing with a disabled truck depended on the condition of the disabled truck (00:43:30:00)  The company had a wrecker and if the men could get the disabled truck on the wrecker and back to the camp in a fair amount of time, then they did that (00:43:44:00)  Other times, the men would hook a cable from the disabled truck to a working truck and have the working truck tow the disabled truck back to the camp (00:43:52:00)  However, if a truck was too damaged for either method, the men would push it off to the side of the road and would worry about getting it later (00:44:00:00) o Later, the enemy made another, more serious attempt at attacking the camp in Gia Le (00:44:16:00)  The 101st Airborne Division was moving into a camp adjacent to the original camp and during the second attack, the enemy managed to make it inside the wire of the Gia Le camp (00:44:21:00)  Estimates of the size of the enemy force ranged from a company to a battalion and they ended up destroying a couple of bunkers and a single hooch (00:44:32:00)  Following the second enemy attack on the base was when Huizenga began questioning the media regarding the war (00:45:23:00) �   According to the media, during the attack, the 1st Motor Battalion alone killed eighty-two enemy soldiers while the 101st Airborne killed eighty-two soldiers as well while the SeaBee battalion also killed eighty-two soldiers; as far as Huizenga knew, only eightytwo enemy soldiers were killed total but three different units claimed all eighty-two (00:45:38:00)  During the second enemy attack, none of the men in the 1st Motor were killed and although a couple were wounded, the wounds were not serious (00:46:01:00) Following the Gia Le camp, the battalion moved further south, to a camp outside Da Nang (00:46:32:00) o Once in the new camp, the routine changed and now, five trucks with a mechanic in support would be sent out to an infantry battalion; a lot of the time, Huizenga would now be in the field, supporting the trucks (00:46:35:00) o At one point, Huizenga was assigned to an infantry battalion located at one of the bases that surrounded Da Nang; that base in particular was the closest of the three bases to the South China Sea (00:46:51:00)  There was a lot of enemy harassment fire on the base, with the enemy periodically launching several mortar rounds into the base three or four nights a week; as well, there was also sniper fire coming from the tree line during the day (00:47:03:00)  Huizenga and the other men would periodically laugh at the sniper fire because the snipers would never hit anything and the men would watch for half an hour as jets dropped bombs all along the tree line (00:47:27:00)  However, half an hour after that, the base would come under more sniper fire (00:47:44:00)  One night, the mortars rounds seemed to be coming onto the base heavier than normal (00:47:51:00)  Huizenga and the other men from Bravo Company had been told that they were not part of the unit stationed on the base, so they were to go to a bunker to wait and if they were needed, then somebody would come to get them (00:47:59:00)  That night, Huizenga was smoking a cigarette in the doorway of the hooch wearing only his underwear when a man ran past him; Huizenga thought the man looked funny then realized it was a Viet Cong (00:48:09:00)  The enemy managed to blow up a number of bunkers that night, killing a large number of Marines (00:48:32:00) o One of the men from Bravo Company was wounded by a piece of shrapnel and after that night, Huizenga and the other men kept to the bunker (00:48:44:00) While Bravo Company was still stationed at the camp in Gia Le, Huizenga still had a year remaining on his enlistment and the Marines wanted to send him back to Camp Lejeune (00:49:21:00) �o However, Huizenga did not like Camp Lejeune because he did not have any vehicle to move around in and his impression of the people living around the base was that they hated Marines (00:49:36:00) o Huizenga knew that he would be going back to the United States for a couple of months then returning to Vietnam because he would volunteer for another tour of duty (00:49:53:00)  Therefore, he came to the conclusion that he should just stay in Vietnam because he would be with people he knew, in a place he knew, doing a job and having a routine that he knew (00:50:01:00) o Huizenga chose to extend for an additional nine-month tour and was granted a thirty-day leave; the leave did not start until Huizenga arrived home and did not end until he left his home (00:50:08:00)  The feelings Huizenga felt when he went home on the leave were very weird and difficult to explain because the people at home did not have a clue about what was going on (00:50:35:00)  Huizenga would try to start a conversation with someone he knew from high school but would have to walk away fifteen minutes later because in his mind, the other person did not have a clue about what life was really like (00:50:48:00)  His parents expected Huizenga to act just like he had during high school but Huizenga had moved beyond that (00:51:05:00)  Huizenga had to guard against the language he used while at home; the first time he used foul language was at the dinner table when he asked his mother to pass the f****** salt (00:51:24:00) o Huizenga’s father just kept eating and his mother did pass him the salt but told him to watch his language (00:51:35:00)  Huizenga noticed criticism and opposition to the war but he made an effort to avoid them because he knew he was going back to Vietnam (00:51:55:00)  At that point, Huizenga did not want to get around any demonstrators because he was afraid of what he might do (00:52:02:00)  By the time the leave ended, Huizenga was ready to go back to Vietnam (00:52:24:00) Vietnam Extension(s) / Post Military Life (00:52:32:00)  When he returned to Vietnam following his leave, Huizenga went back to Brave Company, 1st Motor Battalion (00:52:32:00) o Both in the time Huizenga was with the battalion and when he was on leave, there was a regular turnover of soldiers in the battalion (00:52:39:00)  At one point, there were eight Marines working in the shop, including Huizenga, and they grew into a tight-knit group; however, some of the older men eventually rotated home and replacements were brought in to fill the holes (00:52:44:00) �        The idea of the older Marines teaching the younger Marines what the younger Marines needed to know and once the “younger” Marines become the older Marines, they too would teach a new batch of younger Marines worked well in Huizenga’s unit (00:53:12:00) Bravo Company was originally commanded by a captain, then by a lieutenant; however, Huizenga and the other men in the shop normally reported to a sergeant who worked in the shop, keeping track of everything the went on and doing all the paperwork (00:53:24:00) o One of the sergeants who Huizenga worked under had been a sergeant for eighteen years (00:53:46:00) Pretty much all the other Marines in the shop with Huizenga were around the same age as him, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years old (00:54:02:00) After Huizenga finished his nine-month extension, the Marines were going to give him orders to Camp Lejuene, where he would finish the remaining five or six months on his enlistment (00:54:17:00) o However, Huizenga had heard of the early out program, so he calculated that if he stayed in Vietnam for another three months, then he would get out of the Marines three months early (00:54:26:00) o When Huizenga returned to El Toro following the additional three months, they were calling out the different MOSs (Military Occupational Specialty) with the time remaining; when they reached Huizenga’s MOS, there was 30 days and Huizenga had 29 days, so he had done his math correctly (00:54:39:00) When Huizenga returned to Vietnam for his first extension, 1st Motor was still stationed at the camp in Gia Le (00:55:16:00) o A few months after he returned was when the battalion moved south to around Da Nang and Huizenga spent the remainder of his tour in that area (00:55:21:00) By the time Huizenga left Vietnam, everything had become so “screwy” that Huizenga thought it was time for the United States to get out and end the war (00:55:45:00) o Huizenga did not want to become a protestor; he would protest the war, not the warriors who fought it (00:55:52:00) o While Huizenga was in Vietnam, the process of Vietnaminization began but from Huizenga’s perspective, the entire process was not going to work; instead, in his mind, it would have been better for the United States to simply pull out because the war was going no place (00:56:03:00) Although Huizenga and the other men working in the shop did not have much in the way of contact with the truck drivers, on the whole, the morale of the unit was pretty good (00:56:39:00) o The men had to rely on each other to keep their morale up, so they would tell stories about girlfriends and family and life back home (00:56:49:00) Huizenga saw enough drug use by different men throughout his tours (00:57:22:00) o When the battalion had pulled back to Da Nang, there was one specific bunker known as the “druggies' bunker” (00:57:27:00) o Marijuana was fairly well-used in the battalion because the men did not have to go out into the field (00:57:36:00) o Although smoking marijuana was accepted for the most part, akin to drinking a beer, there were some men who could not handle the effects (00:58:05:00) �      At one point, one of the men was shipped to Japan for thirty days to get “clean” and dry out; the man had OD and had to be medieaced from the base (00:58:22:00)  About two weeks after the man returned, he was part of a convoy that Huizenga was also on; when the convoy had stopped, the men went along the entire convoy asking for marijuana (00:58:40:00)  When no one had any marijuana, the man took a rag, dipped the rag into one of the truck’s fuel tanks, which was filled with diesel, held the rag to his face, and inhaled (00:58:57:00) Towards the end of his deployment in Vietnam, Huizenga noticed more racial tension on the bases between the men (00:59:16:00) o According to the story that Huizenga heard, one night when the unit was in Da Nang, a black man and a white man were both going after the same Vietnamese bar maid (00:59:36:00)  Later that night, three or four black men ended up jumping the white man and put the man in the hospital (00:59:53:00)  One of the hooches was used primarily by black men and following the incident, the officers disbanded the hooch (01:00:01:00) o Although the racial tension was not always too bad, Huizenga and the other men could still feel it (01:00:12:00) o Huizenga figures around twenty to thirty percent of the truck drivers were black but all the mechanics he worked with in the shop were white (01:00:20:00) o The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. did not do any good for the racial problems in the unit (01:00:41:00) o When there was fighting, there were not any racial problems; it was when all the men were back at base camp that it got worse, especially if there were drugs and/or alcohol involved (01:00:51:00) At one point, Huizenga had to identify the body of one of his good friends (01:01:34:00) o It was December 1968, a drunk Marine walked into the hooch where the friend was and shot the friend, killing him (01:01:47:00) o For years afterwards, Huizenga and a group of Marines would meet with the parents of the friend, spending weekends at their home (01:02:05:00) o This was one of the harshest memories that Huizenga has of being Vietnam (01:02:11:00) Huizenga kept in contact with the other men in the unit for awhile after he was out of the service; however, over the years, he has lost touch with them (01:02:32:00) It was not long after Huizenga joined the Marines that he realized he was not going to make a career out of being in the military; as Huizenga got out of boot camp and saw other Marines, he gradually realized that he did not want twenty years of that (01:03:01:00) o However, if he had not gone at all, Huizenga would have regretted the decision because joining the Marines was something he wanted to do and something he had to do (01:03:35:00) It is hard for Huizenga to say what he learned from serving in the Marines that he could not have learned somewhere else (01:03:58:00) �      During his tour(s), Huizenga twice went to Hawaii on R&R to visit a friend from high school who was in the Navy and stationed on Hawaii (01:04:18:00) o While Huizenga was in Hawaii, other people could tell that he was in the military, mostly because he had a short haircut (01:04:44:00)  At one point, Huizenga and his friend were walking down Waikiki Beach Blvd. when someone dropped a string of firecrackers behind them; Huizenga immediately hit the ground then looked around before realizing it was a prank (01:04:52:00)  Nevertheless, the people in Hawaii were very hospitable (01:05:18:00) Huizenga’s goals once he was out of the military were to get a job, let his hair grown long, and go out drinking and chasing women (01:05:34:00) o Huizenga felt he had missed doing that because the time between his being in high school and being in the military was only two weeks and he did not know where he belonged at that point (01:05:52:00) o To that end, Huizenga was getting drunk six nights a week and drinking away his pay check from his job working in construction while also getting into fights with his parents until he finally moved out (01:06:10:00) Huizenga eventually grew out of the initial phase of his post-military life, met and married a beautiful woman, and had two sons (01:06:28:00) o It eventually reached the point where Huizenga’s wife gave him an ultimatum, either the bottle or his family and Huizenga decided he wanted his family (01:06:38:00) On the bases where Huizenga served, there were screens put up so the men could watch movies; apart from the screens, there were “sloop shoots”, where the men could get a cold beer or pop and hamburger or hot dog and some potato chips (01:07:13:00) o As well, every so often, there was a USO show on the base; at one point, Bob Hope was in Da Nang and although Huizenga and some other men tried to get tickets to the show, there were too many other men in front of them (01:07:29:00)  Sometimes, the show was a Filipino rock band and other times, it was an American rock band (01:08:06:00) Once he returned to the United States permanently, Huizenga tried to avoid and ignore the anti-war sentiment as much as he possibly could (01:08:46:00) o He did not leave his house for the first month until his hair had grown out because he did not want people to know where he had been (01:08:54:00) Huizenga initially did not talk with others about his experiences in the war but after he quit drinking, he became involved in the VA (01:09:05:00) o Huizenga remembers the first time he went to the VA, the nurse was asking him a series of questions and in the middle, the nurse stopped and based on the answers Huizenga had given, recommended Huizenga see a psychiatrist (01:09:23:00) o When the nurse made the recommendation, Huizenga knew he needed to do something, so he started with a psychiatrist, who helped Huizenga reach the point where he is able to talk about his experiences with his wife and his family (01:09:49:00)  For a lot of years, Huizenga’s wife did not fully know what Huizenga had gone through and Huizenga is able to take his sons onto Google Earth and show them exactly where he served in Vietnam (01:10:08:00) � Huizenga is proud to have served his country and worn the uniform of the Marines (01:10:54:00) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Huizenga, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huizenga, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Huizenga was born in Portland, Michigan in 1948 and grew up on a farmhouse near the town until he was fourteen, when his family moved to Hudsonville, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1966, Huizenga enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following boot camp in San Diego, California and infantry training at Camp Pendleton, California, Huizenga received orders for motor transport school at Montford Point, North Carolina. Once he completed the school, Huizenga briefly served in the motor pool at nearby Camp Lejeune before deploying to Vietnam. When Huizenga arrived in Vietnam, he received an assignment to the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion. However, only a few months after Huizenga arrived, the battalion contracted to a company-sized unit and Huizenga transferred to the former battalion's sister unit, the 1st Motor Battalion. While with the 1st Motor, Huizenga worked in the battalion's shop repairing vehicles and rode in convoys, first as a machine gunner then as an assistant driver. While Huizenga was with the battalion, it transferred to base at Gia Le outside of Hue just prior to the start of the Tet Offensive in 1968. During the offensive, the battalion helped transport men and supplies into the forces stationed inside Hue. He chose to extend his tour by a total of nine months rather than be posted back at Camp Lejeune, preferring to stay with his unit, which eventually moved to the Da Nang area, where it remained for the rest of his tour. 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. Marine Corps 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 2012-01-05 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuizengaR1333V 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/01c2bcf343703db6508a5213000208cb.mp4 68d2d132941340b1542a929cf80556a4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/efe66a7d1471d2b4ad332b96384e288d.pdf d003f58ca01ca6c117b14a2726695d01 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Korean War Interviewee name: Bernard J. Huizenga Length of Interview: (00:29:15) (00:00:25)Pre-Enlistment  Childhood/Education o Served in the Korean War, Navy. o Born in July 20, 1929, Grand Rapids, MI. o Went to a Catholic grade school and graduated from Catholic Central High School. o Used to build sailboats with his friends and sail on Reeds Lake.  Family o Father was a mechanic, mother was a housewife. o Both were Dutch, came over from Holland. (00:01:42)Enlistment and Training  Background o Joined the service right after graduating from high school. o Joined with two of his friends and went to Great Lakes (Illinois) for Boot Camp  Learned a lot about rules and regulations, military.  Three months of Boot Camp. o (00:02:30)Continued at Great Lakes for Machinist Mate School  (00:02:44) Served in the early „50‟s. Active Duty  Duty placements before and during Korean War o After graduating from Machinist‟s Mate School/Engineering School, went aboard the U.S.S Missouri, a battleship. o One of the largest ever built; 880ft. long, weighed 45,000 tons. o The ship had 3000 men on board during wartime and 1500 men aboard during peacetime. o (00:03:50)First cruise was to Panama Canal to Cuba then back to Norfolk, VA. o During the Korean War, was assigned to bombardment up and down Korea. o (00:04:22)In charge of Engineering Office on the battleship; paper work for Main Propulsion Division.  Definitions o Main Propulsion- power for the ship; had four propellers (solid brass), 18ft in diameter. o Two End board Propellers (Power Blades) had five blades. o Two Outside Propellers (Maneuver Blades) had four blades.  Experiences o Had four engine rooms, Huizenga only dealt with the Main Propulsion Division. o (00:5:30) The ship was a like a floating city. o Mess halls, bunks, bathrooms, butcher shops, barber shop, ice cream bar, etc. �  o Made quite a few friends, but didn‟t keep in touch with them after serving. (00:07:00)Peacetime o When arriving in Norfolk, Pier 7, was astounded when first seeing a battleship, “floating gray metal.” o Assigned to the M division. o (00:07:40)Went to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side the next day. o Other duty locations  Guantanamo Bay, Cuba  Went up and down the East Coast of the U.S., also up to Halifax, Canada.  Has been to seaports in Norway, France, and England.  During the war, went to Korea by the way of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  (00:08:48)Before going to Korea, had a new captain; Captain Brown.  Came from a Destroyer which has a more shallow depth compared to the U.S.S. Missouri.  Out of Norfolk, VA there is a deep channel, for aircraft carriers and battleships, and shallow channel, for destroyers.  Somehow got the channels mixed up and the U.S.S. Missouri went out the shallow channel and ran aground.  There for about one month.  Corp. of Army Engineers had to dig one mile channel behind it to get the Battleship out.  Had to go to Dry-dock and fix the propeller blades and patch a 15ft. hole at the bottom of the ship.  (00:10:41)When first going on the ship, Huizenga saw two airplanes on catapults; motor driven.  The helicopter, which was first introduced during the War, replaced these planes.  Helicopters used to spot targets; knock out bridges.  (00:12:00)Went to Japan, as well (00:12:19)Onboard o Played a lot of cards o During peacetime, would go to port. o Sometimes, the port was too shallow for the ship so had to go on land by Cruisers or 30ft. ships (held about eight) that were at the back of the ship. o Drank a lot of coffee, smoked a lot of cigarettes. o (00:14:03) Never carried a gun aboard; was given a flak helmet and life jacket. o (00:14:28) Sometimes didn‟t see daylight for a couple weeks due to the ship‟s enormity. o From the main deck down, held seven stories; from the main deck up, it was about fourteen stories. o (00:15:00) When going to Korea, went through a lot of mine fields. o When going into a war zone, had to shut the doors securely to prevent flooding of the ship, “water tight.” o Pure quiet when going through a mine field. � o (00:16:18) The ship had [anti?] Armor Piercing Steel, 16in. thick; void area filled with air, then another four inches of steel wall with a void area filled with water; beyond that there was another void filled with air. o Would take about three torpedoes in one spot to pierce it. o The only problem, the bottom of the ship wasn‟t 16in. thick, so a mine could pierce it. o (00:17:18) Stayed in contact with family through letters. Korean War o (00:17:46)During the Korean War, the only “mental strain” Huiszenga ever experienced was during bombardment; the guns on the ship could reach up to 30mi. inland to aid troops. o Would also destroy towns or bridges; had 16in. guns, “block busting/destroying guns.” o (00:18:44) No casualties on Huizenga‟s ship; no wounds from enemies, mainly from work. o (00:19:06) Did not go into Korea, no land action. (00:19:30)After the Service  Adjusting to Home o Was very happy to get out of the service and be home. o When first coming back, went to look for a job. o Became an insurance investigator, then took a job at Nabisco after two months, instead; retired after 40 years. o (00:22:57)The War was still on when he was discharged. o Married six months after coming back. o (00:23:45)The problem Huizenga had adjusting was his equilibrium, getting his “land legs” back.  Reflection o (00:24:29)In the Navy, Huizenga learned how to appreciate people and get along with them; lots of team work.  (00:24:54)U.S.S. Missouri o The surrender of the Japanese was made on the U.S.S. Missouri at Tokyo Bay.  Was the Flagship of the 7th Fleet.  Famous for never being attacked.  (00:25:30)One night, Koreans attempted to board the ship by climbing the anchor chains; the ship had a detachment of Marines patrolling the deck who heard them.  Ship called to General Quarters and the Koreans ran, no shots fired  If given the choice to do it over again, would still go into the Navy; very patriotic.  Was in the service for about three 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/. Title A name given to the resource Huizenga, Burney (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huizenga, Burney Description An account of the resource Burney Huizenga served in the Navy during the Korean War. His main job on the U.S.S. Missouri, the battleship he served on, was in the Main Propulsion Division where he dealt with running the engines of the ship. He served in the Navy for three years and was discharged before the war ended. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Dalton, Trevor (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. 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 2008-06-05 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuizengaB 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/58024e835a654ddc75fbeecbecab14a5.mp4 de713e6611206473eeba0d4693329299 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d17d7f9f5cbc63f7206cd3d58520fd5.pdf 6ffccc57899f6fd0e51aaf0409a2fe8b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Tom Huis Interview Length: (00:00:21:00) Early Life/ (00:00:14:00)  Was attending Kellogg Community College before joining the army (00:00:19:00) o Had a draft deferment while taking classes, and after dropping a class, received a draft notice (00:00:20:00)  Received draft notice on Christmas Eve of 1968, at age 21 (00:00:34:00) o Had to decide whether or not to join the service (00:00:43:00)  Parents were Dutch (00:00:01:09) o Became United States citizens and had a great deal of national pride afterward (00:00:01:12) o Felt it was an obligation for their son to serve the country in Vietnam (00:00:01:20) o Being foreigners, parents “had a different outlook on things” (00:00:01:30)  Was not planning on joining the military at the time of recruitment, but originally intended to someday (00:00:01:40)  Very short window of time, only 10 days, between draft notice and entrance into the military (00:00:01:54)  At first, several physicals banned him from entering the military (00:00:02:06)  Branch of service was not a choice (00:00:02:40) o Some volunteered for the Navy to avoid lack of control over where you end up, but most simply got drafted (00:00:03:09) Military Experience (00:00:03:35)  First days in training “was a real rude awakening” (00:00:03:42)  First, was taken to the barber shop, where it costed 25 cents to get the standard “buzzcut” (00:00:03:47)  Did not think it was as bad as many people make it out to be (00:00:04:30) o Did what was asked, and you would not be punished (00:00:04:44) o Those that “made waves” had a hard time (00:00:04:55)  Change in wardrobe was “unusual” (00:00:05:10) o Used to wearing colorful clothing, now must wear “drab green” (00:00:05:14)  Did training in Fort Knox, Kentucky (00:00:05:26) o Was supposed to have 8 weeks of basic training, but the time frame was cut down to 7 in order to supply more men to Vietnam (00:00:05:32)  Traveled from Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas for medical training, but was instead asked to consider being a noncommissioned officer as well (00:00:06:00) o Did not intend on being in the military for more than the required two years, and declined the request (00:00:06:38) o After being asked several times to commit to medical and non- commission officer positions, was asked to consider military leadership (00:00:06:48) o As it turns out, there is very little difference between the training involved for a noncommissioned officer and leadership training (basically for corporals rather �              than sergeants), with the exception of not having to sign up for an extra year in service for the latter (00:00:06:58) Decided to train for leadership (00:00:07:05) Was part of the human resources system, which involved keeping personal records and other related documents (00:00:07:30) While stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, saw many wounded soldiers brought back from Vietnam (00:00:08:10) o Was one of the men in charge of overseeing the wounded men as they were unloaded (00:00:08:40) (00:00:09:05) Was supposed to go to Vietnam, but at the last minute, had a change of orders and went on leave instead. In the six days at home, was married and had gone on the honeymoon (00:00:09:31) Spent a great deal of time traveling (00:00:10:10) o Traveled much of Europe and was able to explore the various countries they went through (00:00:10:15) Communicated with those back home in the United States by letter (00:00:10:38) o All family information was conveyed through written letters, even serious matters such as deaths in the family (00:00:11:15) Because location was so confined, in a mountainous region, received isolation pay (00:00:11:30) o Got very close to the other men stationed in the mountains because of how few people were there (00:00:11:56) o Would spend holidays together (00:00:12:03) o “There was never a dull moment” (00:00:12:39) o It was still a difficult environment to get use to (00:00:13:10) Traditions of foreign peoples were much different, especially popular American holidays such as Christmas and Easter (00:00:13:25) o There were many different religions as well (00:00:13:35) o Religion was dichotomized between rural and urban areas, especially amongst protestants and Catholics (00:00:13:45) Transportation was also very different in Europe (00:00:14:28) o Many took trains, which was the primary mode of transportation (00:00:14:30) o Had a vehicle that the men could use, which made travel much easier (00:00:14:40) Was discharged from service on December 31st, 1970 (00:00:15:01) o Took two days to travel back to the United States from Europe plus one day to “process out” of service (00:00:15:15) o The “process out” portion of duty is supposed to take three days, but knew the paperwork well and was able to finish earlier than most, in fact, was able to do paperwork for all the men that were on the plane back home (00:00:15:31) Arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 12 A.M. on January 1st, 1971 (00:00:16:50) Still keeps in touch with some people from the days of service (00:00:17:05) Joining the military is a compatible choice for some, but not all people (00:00:17:28) o Is a “younger man’s type of position” (00:00:17:57) o Older people “never really readjust” to life after service (00:00:18:09) �  “If you don’t love the country you’re in… how can you say that you’re American?” (00:00:19:10) While in a Chicago airport, was harassed by several anti- war activists (00:00:19:48) o Was called names (00:00:20:20) o “I never really got over that” (00:00:20:30) o “Why is he spitting on me when I’m the one protecting him?” (00:00:20:40) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Huis, Tom (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huis, Tom Description An account of the resource Tom Huis was drafted into the United States Army at the age of 21. He had, until this time, been deferred from the draft because he was attending Kellogg Community College as a full time student. After dropping a class, he was no longer eligible for deferment and received a draft notice on December 24th, 1968 to serve in the ongoing Vietnam War. Huis was first sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training, and then Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for specialized medical training. He expected to go to Vietnam, but his orders were changed at the last minute and he went to Europe instead. He was discharged at the end of 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Davis, Emily (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 2010-10-20 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuisT1224V 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/344ed46fa86eed32d47c29c51b12467b.mp4 94e6c05cc2b518a8814b25cce6a793f7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7d6f0b7acacdb4082925464dc90b4970.pdf fbca2a8e47f63749781cfbe108f4d1ce PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Other veterans & civilians Interviewee name: Robert Lee Hughes Length of Interview: (00:31:25) Background (00:00:20) Born on June 17, 1956 in Detroit, MI Was a shy child and was held back in kindergarten because of that  Lived in Leonard, MI at that time (northeast of Detroit) Went Oxford High School His father had bone marrow cancer, so he passed away at 42, 1970 Hughes’ mother then had to move back to Reed, MI for work  She had been going to college to get a degree in psychology, but had to quit after her husband was diagnosed Hughes had a half brother that fought in the Vietnam War (drove with “The Crazy Eights”)  At age 27, Hughes’ half brother was in an accident when fixing a truck (1977)  Hughes had just been married when this happened When going to Oxford, in 7th grade, he was in a ½ day program  Ran track, played softball, was a cub scout  In Reed, MI, was a part of the wrestling team (8th grade) His mother was remarried in 1973 After his father’s death, they moved to his grandfather’s horse farm Did vocational education (outdoor education) in school Graduated in 1975 Service (00:12:02) Enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1978 �Was in there for three years Enlisted at in Reed City, went to Detroit for the physical Went to San Diego for basic training Was overweight when he arrived there (300lbs.) Arrived for training in March and graduated in August weighing 170lbs. Training (00:14:01) Every day was physical conditioning; a part of the Physical Conditioning Platoon  Trained with Bugle Sticks Awoke at 5 AM everyday Kept everything in his footlocker Was treated like the overweight man in “Full Metal Jacket” Went to Fort Lee, Virginia for Laundry/Bath training (field sanitation) (00:16:20)  Was there for about 3 months Went to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina (00:17:27) Continued 11-71 Field Sanitation Engineer  Had additional duties, a part of the Motor Pool End of Service (00:18:43) Stayed there until he left the service in 1981 Lived off base with his wife and child Had also done Beach Detachment Duty for 6 weeks  When in the service, his hours were 7 AM to 10 PM (00:20:30) Discharged from Lejeune and went back to Reed, MI where he worked at the Yoplait factory Did not see much action because he was in the service during the Cold War (00:29:23)  If he had stayed on until 1982, he would have been sent into Lebanon �Feels like he was matured due to his time in the service � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hughes, Robert Lee (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hughes, Robert Lee Description An account of the resource Robert Lee Hughes served his time in the Marine Corp. from 1979 until 1981. He trained mainly in Field Sanitation (Laundry/Bath Training) in Fort Lee, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He did not see combat due to his time being served during the Cold War. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-04-07 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HughesR 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/e281e3846623774bdbe1cbe612c32c8a.mp4 bce4286b3a75828efcb7323ab5663aac https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6636b9988bb5308e269590f8073fa836.pdf 451062c7ef8642ab7076ed064afe3ae9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Korean War Octavio Huerta Interview Total Time: (45:42) Background  (00:09) Born in Crystal City, Texas in 1931 o Lived here until he was almost six o Accidentally found a cigar box full of money, gave it to parents o They used the money to get to Michigan o They heard that Michigan residents were making money  (1:23) Went to school o Potter’s Street School  (1:59) Remembers one winter they went to school out in the country o Parents couldn’t afford to go back to the city after summer  (2:45) Remembers a teacher telling him to answer when she calls him “Tommy” o Was confused by this o In 2nd grade when this happened  (3:19) Moved to Saginaw, Michigan, the year after  (4:10) Remembers that other teenagers his age enjoyed hanging out with him because of his spirituality o Contributed to his choice to not drink or do drugs o They made a baseball team  (6:10) Says the white kids didn’t ever pick on him in school, but black kids did o Mr. Huerta said he always won fights o Word got around “not to pick on Tom” o This was just because he enjoyed boxing, not anything serious  (7:45) Was three weeks into the 10th grade, he wanted to quit school o Graduated early  (8:10) Mr. Huerta got a job at a co-op supermarket  (10:58) Eventually got another job that he really wanted  (17:49) Eventually got his own office at this job Drafted  (19:07) Got married, and got his draft notice in the mail shortly after  (19:20) Had to go to Detroit for a physical  (19:47) He and all the others were lined up and had to undress � (20:08) Remembers that his blood pressure was high because he was very nervous o He didn’t pass because of this o A couple months later was called back and passed the second time o Was drafted into the Army Training  (20:40) Told that he would be sent to Ft. Knox, Kentucky  (21:20) Taught how to use many different guns  (21:40) Remembers being the only Mexican in his company – which was large sized o This put pressure on him to do very well because he wanted others to think well of Mexicans  (22:11) There were inspections often  (23:45) Mr. Huerta and some other guys were asked if they wanted to go to a more specialized military training course o This lasted a few months o They were taught to train other soldiers  (24:37) Eventually asked to go to reconnaissance military training o Here, they learned how to get behind enemy territory and how to find out where the enemy was, what they had, etc. o Felt good about receiving this diploma and the other one  (25:52) Had to wait for orders  (26:11) Told the guy in charge of mail that next time he got orders to send someone to Korea, etc. to replace his name with Mr. Huerta Shipped to Korea  (27:09) Remembers how huge the ship was with all the equipment o Canadians were with them as well o 13 days to cross the ocean o Never got seasick, but saw many others get seasick  (27:51) Had to wait to receive orders o While waiting, made some friends and played baseball  (29:18) Got assigned to be a mechanic  (29:29) He and the others got five tanks to take care of o Had to change oil, spark plugs, grease it, oil it, etc o Had to learn how to tighten the tracks  (30:55) Remembers once that the last tank stopped at the gate o Didn’t make it because a belt was thrown, had to be replaced  (31:22) Enjoyed being in the service; learned a lot about working with people �          (31:35) About three times in the military he was supposed to get a stripe, but didn’t receive it o This was because of prejudice against Mexicans o Tried not to let it bother him, Mr. Huerta went above and beyond expectations because of this (33:14) Mr. Huerta and a group of guys cleaned a ping-pong table and played with it (34:30) Remembers the food being very good (35:40) The highest rank Mr. Huerta received was Private First Class (37:50) Remembers during the next inspection, his platoon passed everything with flying colors (38:20) Recalls another man earning a stripe that was supposed to go to Mr. Huerta (39:00) At one point, got a jeep with a driver and a gunner o Had a black driver and a white gunner o Mr. Huerta was the chief o These three men got along very well (40:15) They once had a break and went to Kobe, Japan o Big hotel – everyone got their own room, free food, etc. o The food was excellent o Lots of places to shop, etc. o Here for about a week (42:14) Mr. Huerta says that he wanted to come home at this point because his wife just had a baby o If he hadn’t been married, Mr. Huerta would have stayed and had a military career (44:45) Proud of military service; learned a lot o Found it very enjoyable � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Huerta, Octavio (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huerta, Octavio Description An account of the resource Octavio Huerta was born in 1931 in Crystal City, Texas. His family eventually moved to Michigan to find work. After graduating from high school early, Mr. Huerta worked for a couple of years before getting drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He received training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and did well enough to stay on for reconnaissance training. He volunteered for duty in Korea, and when he got there, he was assigned as a mechanic for a tank platoon. Despite encountering prejudice that kept him from receiving promotion, he found his military experience to be very enjoyable. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Short, Mike (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 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 2011-02-21 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HuertaO1208V 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/99bd3032b6fd6bab3b14d7be368ede04.mp4 728784ffce5e762efdbf2fb9ddb5aff6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3e2c5d895a29aa14f6912c331a658c89.pdf 11191d7be5ef4da6aa09a45055ead003 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ron Hudson Vietnam War Time: 1:50:42 (00:00:21) Early Life -Born in Three Rivers, Michigan on February 8, 1950 -Father was a commercial pilot -Had flown a bomber in WWII -Mother had grown up in Texas -Met Hudson’s father there during WWII -Moved up to Michigan after the war -Has two older siblings -Sherry Anne Hudson -C. Gilbert Hudson -Grew up in Sturgis, Michigan -Went to high school there -Wrestled, played football, and played baseball -Graduated in 1969 (00:03:15) Pre-enlisting and Enlisting -Knew a lot about Vietnam -Father followed it very closely -All the neighborhood men had served in WWII or Korea, so they followed the war -Father had arranged for him (Ron) to get a pilot’s license -Looked for jobs within the military that involved piloting -All branches needed a college degree -Army did not need a college degree -Enlisted in the Army for Warrant Officer Flight School -Enlisted in February or March of 1969 -Told to report for duty on August 20, 1969 (00:07:15) Fort Polk, Louisiana for Basic Training -Alpha 3-1 training company -Not very grueling training, but it was aggressive -Had “Tigerland” training course -Good basic training -Almost all of the drill sergeants were from Vietnam -His had been with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and seen extensive combat in 1965-66 -Discipline, team effort, and weapons qualifications were stressed -A wide array of people were there -Some were from the country; others were from the city, National Guardsmen as well -Spent ten weeks there, eight of which was dedicated to actual training �(00:11:35) Fort Walters, Texas -Assigned to Fort Walters, Texas -Given thirteen day delayed route -Made destination: Michigan -Spent time with his fiancée from high school -Time went by very quickly -Went to Fort Walters for primary helicopter training -It was meant to be 6-8 weeks of training -Given snowbird status: too many troops to be trained -Never actually got into a training helicopter -Army strongly encouraged people to go into infantry -Specifically infantry officer training -Opted out of that -At least a few companies worth of soldiers left in waiting -Mandatory physicals were done to thin the numbers of prospective pilots -Warrant officer training -Conducted by graduated, not yet warranted, officers -Had to “pre-flight” uniforms the night before -Part of discipline -Deemed physically unfit to fly due to a perforated eardrum -Took part in multiple interviews -Officers wanted him to go into officer training -Declined again -Had to pick a new MOS -Wanted to go into computers -Picked a computer related MOS: 13 Echo 20 (00:20:15) Fort Sill, Oklahoma -Deployed to Fort Sill, Oklahoma -Learned that 13 Echo 20 is Field Artillery and Intelligence Assistance -Computers are involved, but not the primary focus -Learned how to conduct recon, calculate firing data, and engage in fire exercises -Lots of classroom instruction -Heavily mathematic focused on geometry Finally told they would be given two days of orientation with FADAC -Field Artillery Digital Analytic Computer -Roughly the size of a stereo -Came inside a big, plastic box -It was essentially a giant graphing calculator -Could do automatically what they had been taught to do manually -Plot the target, determine elevation -Manually involved the use of instruments and a map with a grid -Spent eight weeks at Fort Sill plus a Christmas break -One of the best Christmases that he can remember �(00:27:45) Deployment -Went back to Fort Sill to graduate -Sent to Oakland to get ready to go to Vietnam -Did not know where he was being sent specifically in Vietnam -Only knew that he was being sent to Long Binh -Given less than two weeks to report to Oakland -Father flew with him to San Francisco -Drove him to Oakland Army Terminal -Mother was not present (parents had divorced early on in life) -Doesn’t believe that she understood the gravity of the situation -Flew commercially to get to Vietnam -It was a long flight -Stopped in Hawaii then Wake Island, then Japan before Vietnam (00:39:35) Arrival in Vietnam -Opened the door and was blasted by the heat, humidity, and smell -Placed on buses -Taken up to Long Binh -In Long Binh they assembled in a gravel parking lot -Assigned to numbered poles for organization purposes -Mostly free rein on the base -Stayed there longer than most did -After four days his group was called into formation and given their assignment -He was being sent to Dong Ha -Located just below the demilitarized zone -Took four days to get there (00:47:30) Dong Ha and LZ Nancy -Attached to the 108th Artillery Group supporting 24th Corps -Specifically assigned to HQ Company 1st Battalion 39th Field Artillery -Taken to LZ Nancy on a small truck -Past Quang Tri City -Went down a dirt road about one kilometer -LZ Nancy -Not a very large base -Heavily fortified artillery -Given the task of being a clerk for a few days -LZ had four guns to a battery: 8 inch howitzers and 175 millimeter howitzers -Also had a M577 command vehicle (00:51:23) Attack on April 13 -At 2:30 in the morning on April 13th LZ Nancy was attacked by NVA sappers -Grabbed essentials (rifle, helmet, flak jacket, and boots without socks) -Ran outside and saw a hut explode in front of him -Thrown ten feet -Ran to a designated bunker -Decided that the bunker was not safe and laid behind the dirt mound that covered it -Assault lasted until 7:00 AM -Was picked up by an officer to clear headquarters of sappers �-Identified three sappers -One was captured and the other two were killed -After the fighting he was tasked with putting dead NVA in cargo nets (00:59:04) General Zais Arrives -After the fighting on the 13th General Zais showed up to survey things -Three star general commanding 24th Corps -Basically ignores the officers and talks with the infantry -Asks if they have any requests -One soldier asks for a PX (military store), hadn’t seen one in 6 months -Four to six hours later a CH47 Chinook lands -Temporary PX was made with fifty five gallon drums and a cash register -Loaded with candy, soda, etc. -Soldiers were mostly allowed to take what they wanted in that case -Stayed on LZ Nancy until the 28th of April (01:04:10) Camp Evans -Went from LZ Nancy to Camp Evans -Massive base in the north -Battery was located on the southwest portion of perimeter -Given M79 grenade launcher and a .45 pistol and assigned to M577 communications vehicle -Worked as a chart operator -Pulled twelve hour shifts -Told he would be the first up to be RTO (radio telephone operator) for forward observers -Got comfortable with call signs, long shifts, various codes, securing communications -Conducted raids -Cross open plain to the jungle line with artillery and ammo to Firebase Jack -Provide added range for support in the jungle -8 inch gun: 10 mile range for pinpoint support (accurate) -175mm gun: 18 mile range for harassment (inaccurate) -Went out with a Lieutenant Drennen to be a forward observer -Originally went out as RTO -Helped with adjusting a myriad of other batteries (01:11:03) Firebase Rakkasan -In May was told they would be sent to Firebase Rakkasan -Inaccessible due to jungle -Airborne firebase -Had to cut a road deep into the jungle to reach them -Extremely vulnerable -Only five miles from Firebase Ripcord -Desperately needed artillery support -Had to manually carry shells to the guns -He carried powder canisters because they were lighter and more humanly possible to carry -Fired all serious missions from Firebase Rakkasan -Was concerned they would be targeted after the NVA was through with Ripcord -Created bunkers and dug in as best as they could �(1:19:00) Pulling out of Firebase Ripcord -Helped with the retreat from Firebase Ripcord -Was acting as station chief at the time -Had to conduct a TOT (time on target) mission -Mask the fire of other units with your own fire and hope for a synchronized strike -Needed clearance from everyone at Ripcord before it was safe to fire -Filled an 8.5 x 11 in piece of paper with call sign initials approving clearance -Gave the order of Tango Oscar Tango: All batteries clear to fire at their appropriate time -Had to stay in FDC (fire direction center) during initial barrage -Was able to go out and see Firebase Ripcord engulfed in flames afterward -Kept barrage going until the B-52 bombers arrived -Most likely were able to wipe out two battalions of NVA troops (01:24:39) R&R and a Wedding in Hawaii -Was granted leave after Ripcord -Went to Hawaii and wanted to meet fiancée there -She was not allowed to go because her religious parents didn’t approve -Asked to marry her -She agreed and planned to meet him in Hawaii -Got married in Hawaii -Only together for a week (Tapes are changed at (01:27:10) story of wedding picks up again at (01:27:50)) -Got married in Fort DeRussy Army Chapel -Last remaining structure from base today -Remembers meeting her at R&R center -Went from orderly to chaotic as families reunited -At first they didn’t recognize each other -He had lost weight, gotten tan, and grown a moustache -She had cut her hair and had lost weight (01:32:35) Camp JJ Carroll -Returned to duty after leave -Battery had been relocated to Camp JJ Carroll -Far western part of Quang Tri Province -A few kilometers south of the DMZ -Had to support the 1st Brigade, 5th Mechanized Infantry -Engaged in artillery duels with the NVA -Had missions to fire into the A Shau Valley and the Ho Chi Minh Trail -Would split off guns to support other groups -FDC remained stationary -Had to document fire missions with clearance from forward observers and commanders -One type was “political clearance” -Usually got “negative clearance” from these -Usually took the longest to receive clearance from (15-20 minutes) -Left them vulnerable and unable to return fire -First experience with “political clearance” was at Camp JJ Carroll �(01:40:05) More on the DMZ -Spent the rest of his tour on the DMZ -Supported South Vietnam’s invasion of Laos during Lam Son 719 -Went up to old Khe Sanh base for increased range with the 1st and 5th Mechanized - Worked with two APC’s (armored personnel carriers) and a platoon of troops for security -Artillery raids were either very short or very long -Half a day to five days -Operational involvement was eight weeks (01:44:25) Leaving the DMZ -From Camp JJ Carroll was sent back to LZ Nancy -Monsoons had made roads ineffective for moving artillery -Troops on Firebase Barbara needed to be cycled out -Took essential gear and flew out to Firebase Barbara to relieve the troops there -Firebase Barbara was always in cloud cover due to its 800 meters of elevation -Last station of duty in Vietnam (01:46:50) Leaving Vietnam and Coming Home -Left Vietnam in March 1971 -Went to Cam Ranh Bay to depart for the United States -Went from there to Japan, then to Hawaii, then to San Francisco -Was processed in Oakland, California -Released from active duty there -Went to college on the GI Bill -Got a degree in public finance and administration from Ferris College -Relocated to Virginia because of stagnant economy -Worked in local government and banking (01:49:15) National Guard Reserve -Went into the National Guard Reserve -Became a 2nd Lieutenant -Served twenty seven years of active duty -Called up for duty in Desert Storm -Given command of a battery -Didn’t even leave Fort Bragg before the war was over -Told young soldiers who were disappointed it was a good thing � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hudson, Ronald (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hudson, Ronald Description An account of the resource Ron Hudson was born in Three Rivers, Michigan in 1950. In the spring of 1969 he enlisted in the Army and after training in Fort Polk, Fort Walters, and Fort Sill he became a field artillery specialist. He was attached to the HQ Company 1st Battalion 39th Field Artillery which was a part of the 108th Artillery Group 24th Corps. He conducted fire missions predominantly on the DMZ and his unit helped provide covering fire during the pullout from Firebase Ripcord. After getting married to his high school sweetheart in Hawaii and finishing his tour in 1971 he returned to Michigan for college at Ferris, relocated to Virginia, and eventually served with the National Guard Reserve for twenty seven years up to and including Operation Desert Storm. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-10 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HudsonR1537V 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/2492bb380411c7367d45cde80fd4c6c2.mp4 815f5401c92cb289414b7c74f5ec4ef2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9c250a9d44c970ab12697958944a2b7f.pdf 8aa765b134644954807a83f4df1a7192 PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW GABE HUDSON Born: April 3, 1942 St. Joseph County, Michigan Resides: Grand Rapids, Michigan Interviewed by: James Smither PhD, GVSU Veterans History Project, Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, March 27, 2012 Interviewer: Gabe, can we start by you giving us a little bit of background on yourself? Where and when were you born? I was born down in St. Joseph County, down in a little town called Sturgis, in 1942, April 3rd 1942. Interviewer: What was your family doing at that time? Well, my father was working in the war machine for Kirsch drapery hardware, and they were making war parts, airplane parts and the like, and he was a tool and die maker. My mother was a homemaker—I had six brothers, no, one brother and four sisters, so there were six of us. When I was six we moved to a farm in Michigan, and we were there until I was fifteen. Great, great, growing up on a farm, and I wish everybody had the opportunities I had when I was growing up because we had eighty-three acres that was ours, and then we had the run of several sections, my brother and I. 1:20 We could hunt, and we worked the land, and milked cows, and did all those good things, it was just a great time growing up. We moved back into Sturgis in 1956, and I graduated from high school in 1960. I went to Western Michigan, went up there, and I was going to become a businessman since farmers were out of the question now. I was going to be a businessman, and of course the Vietnam War was just kind of kicking up in 1960, and one thing led to another. I met a lovely lady there in 1962, and her and I were married in 1 �1965, so that makes it forty-five years this year. 2:06 In November of 1965 I should have graduated already, but my majors the first couple of years were kind of “wine, women, and song”. By the time I got married I said, “I’ve got to crack down and go to work, and get a degree”. I was going to school full time and working full time, and I came home one day and my wife was working, she had completed her degree requirements, but was working an internship at Borgess Hospital. I walked in the door, and she said, “You have a funny letter here from a draft board in St. Joseph County. We don’t live in St. Joseph County do we?” I said, “no, but that’s where I registered for the draft at”. I opened it up and it said, “congratulations Mr. Hudson”, so what are we going to do? We talked it over and--all right, we're going to get drafted, we’ll go for two years, come back, and pick-up our lives and go. 3:07 So, I went to basic training-Interviewer: Let’s back up here a little bit from all of that. Now how was it, did you have a deferment while you were in school, or how did that work? I was—you’re—that’s an excellent question. I had a deferment, I was 2F or F2, 2F it was, I think, deferment, and that deferment expired at four years. But, with four years plus, I got married at the time they weren’t taking married people. So, I told my wife we didn’t have to worry about the draft, so when I got the letter I called St. Joseph County and said, “Hey, what’s going on? I’m a married guy and I’m a student, and I’ve been a student for a long time, I don’t want to be a soldier, and I’m married”. They said, “we don’t care, were out of single guys, and St. Joseph County is just a small little county, and your number’s up, good luck”. 4:07 Interviewer: That was it for you, all right That’s how I ended up. 2 �Interviewer: Now, were you drafted into the Army? Well, the Army, yes sir, and the funny thing about that is that in 1968 I was in the middle of Camp Eagle, I was part of the 1st Airborne Division, and I got a letter from our draft board in Centerville, Michigan that said, “If you do not report your status, you will be immediately drafted in the United States Army”, so the government was just as screwed up then as it is now. Interviewer: So, let’s go back to 1965, the end of the year you get your draft notice, and then where do you report for basic training? Well, I went to a lovely place called Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Interviewer: How would you describe or characterize that place? Well, they called it “little Korea”, but there’s other ways of describing that we probably shouldn’t want to talk about on tape here for somebody to listen to. 5:05 But, basic training was relatively easy, I wasn’t in really bad shape, and got in and got kind of lucky on a couple of occasions. I was the first sergeants driver and had a great basic training. We finished basic training—well, now when I got into basic, I had to do a bunch of testing and all this other stuff. Well, the master sergeant, Fackus was his name, I’ll never forget him, I’m still looking for him, he called us in this little room, five or six of us, and said, “all you people, you’re all college kids, you’ve all scored very, very highly, and you can do anything you want to do in the United States Army”. 6:00 I thought, “that’s kind of neat”, but I said, “sergeant, you get two years, and we’re all going home”, “yeah, yeah, yeah”, and they all applaud. He said, “that’s ok guys, you’re all going to be “eleven bushes”, which is combat infantry, and most of you will be dead in six months”. I said, “Can we talk?”, and he said, “sure we can talk”. I started going through this book, and 3 �said, “this is a kind of interesting thing here, what’s this photo interpreter's job?” He said, “man, that’s a great job, you wear a suit and go to foreign lands, and they give you a camera and you take pictures”. That lying bastard, I said, “ man, I’d like to do that, just like James Bond, you know, I want to be like James Bond, you know”. He said, “sign the papers”, so I signed the papers, and I became a photo interpreter, but you sit at a light table with ten thousand feet of film going through it looking at jungle. 7:02 That was rather boring, but I came home from basic training, I picked up my lovely wife, and reported to Baltimore, Maryland, that school was at Fort Holabird, which no longer is. As we were packing up to leave Kalamazoo she said, “you know, the couple of years will be an adventure, Gabe, we’ll have an adventure, let’s look at it as an adventure, all right?” Twenty-seven years later we came home. It all was an adventure. Interviewer: Tell me a little more about the photo interpreter’s school. I got there and the very first thing that happened—and that was very instrumental in my whole career, because I got there and read the school rosters, and my name was not on the rosters, so, of course, you go over to your NCO, and say, “my name's not on there”, and he said, “what’s your name kid?” 8:06 I tell him, and he said, “oh, hell, yeah, you can’t start school yet, go talk to that sergeant over there”, so I do and he said, “you can’t start school, your wife doesn’t have a clearance”, and I said, “my wife’s not in the Army”, and he said, “it doesn’t make any difference, your wife needs clearance”, and I said, “How do we do that?” He said, “fill out this paperwork”, so I take it home that night, and her and I—she said, “I’m not going to fill out that paperwork”, and I said, “you have to, if I want to go to school you have to fill out that paperwork”, and she said, “I’m not in the Army”, and I said, “never mind, don’t argue about that, that’s the government”, 4 �and she said, “all right”, so we filled it out, it was submitted, and they said, “this is going to take somewhere between three and four months to complete, so you’re going to just hang around”. “I don’t want to hang around, you know”, and they said, “well, that’s it you’re going to hang around”, and this guy said, “Do you know how to type?” I said, “yeah”, and he said, “all right , go to work in that office over there”, so I went to work for that office, and I was working for a Sergeant Major. 9:05 He kind of liked me because I got there at 6:30 in the morning, and the office was opened at 7:30 in the morning, and after I worked there two or three days I said, “you know, if you give me a key I can open up, clean the ash trays, make the coffee, and kind of do all the cleaning and things like that, and we won’t have to do it at 7:30 when the office opens”. He gave me a key and I started doing all that, and he thought, “that’s the cat's meow, you’re a good kid, man”, so he kind of took me under his wing, and in the process of a couple of months he got me promoted a couple of times. Then he came in with a piece of paper and he showed me how in 1966, I could make thirty-five hundred good dollars by going to OCS and extending my three years about five months. Thirty-five hundred dollars, you’re not old enough to remember 1966, but that was a new Corvette. 10:05 I told my wife, “Man we could, wow”, and she said, “whatever you want to do, “, and I said, “that’s a new Corvette, and all I have to do is go to school”, so I put my hand up and I said, “yeah, I’ll go to Officers Candidate School”, and they said, “great, great, great”. I went to OCS, down at Fort Benning, Georgia, and got there in March of 1967, and graduated in August of 1967. Hot, jeez, Fort Benning—like Fort Leonard Wood, I had my own words for Fort Benning, but I graduated from OCS on the 31st of August, and immediately went to airborne school and became a paratrooper, because I was being assigned to the 101st 5 �Airborne Division as a military intelligence officer out of the infantry school at Fort Benning. They said, “If you want to go and get jump qualified, all you need to do is sign this paper. 11:03 “Sure, I’ll go, I might as well, I belong to the division”, well that was worth $110.00 a month jump pay, so I went to jump school and finished jump school. They said, “hey, you’re going to get at least thirty days leave, you go home and you guys are all going to go to Vietnam. The 101st had been over in Vietnam, but we had two cars by that time, not a Corvette, not a Corvette, I was saving the Corvette. I said, “look, we could leave one car at Fort Campbell, we’ll take the other car back home to Michigan, we’ll enjoy the family, and spend thirty days up there, it’s going to be autumn and it’s going to be really, really great”. So, I went to Fort Campbell, I found out that unit, went in and said, “hey, I would like to leave a car”, and they said, “You’re not Hudson by any chance are you? I said, “yeah, I’m Hudson”, and they said, “The old man wants to see you”. Man, I don’t have a uniform on, I’m in civilian clothes, you know, I probably need a haircut, nah, nah”, and they said, “that’s all right, he understands what you look like in uniform, go on”. 12:08 So, I interrupt this Major, and this Major says, “am I ever glad to see you, we’ve got a kind of special job for you”, and I said, “Oh, you do, what is this special job?” He said, “Were you planning on going on leave?” I said, “yes sir, I haven’t had any leave in about a year, you know, and my wife and I, thirty days”, and he said, “Will you take five?” I said, “wait a minute”, and he said, “you’re going to take a boat to Vietnam”, “A boat?” “A boat”, and I said, “I don’t know anything about a boat, and he said, “you don’t need to, all you need to do is ride in the boat”. Interviewer: Before we go on to the boat and discuss what was going on with that. I want to go back a little bit to some of this training that you did. When you did the 6 �standard OCS at Fort Benning, what was the atmosphere there like? I mean, do you have a bunch of guy, who expect, probably, are going to go off and be platoon leaders in Vietnam or something? 13:05 Absolutely, we all knew that, we all knew that, our morale was high, feeling were good, you know, none of us were going to get greased, we’re all going to make it. Interviewer: Were the people who were training you, ones who had been there already? "Son, if you don’t learn this you’re going to die in Vietnam”, that was their thing. “You got to learn this or you’re going to die in Vietnam, don’t go to sleep on us here, or you’re going to die in Vietnam”, and of course we started duty day about 4:30 AM, and went to bed sometime between 11:00 and 12:00 PM, you know. We would go into airconditioned classrooms at Fort Benning, and immediately the sleep machine would come on. The atmosphere was good, the morale was high, I had a good bunch of people that I trained with, and some of them I still correspond with. We email, and that makes it so easy now. We lost, probably forty percent in Vietnam. 14:06 We had a very high attrition rate of people that got killed over there. Interviewer: In 1967, even much of the news reporting etc., was still fairly positive. The military’s expectations were still pretty positive at that stage. Yes they were, of course, that was the build-up—LBJ was just sending division after division over there, and the build-up was going on very, very rapidly. Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about how jump school worked. What did you do there? 7 �It was a three-week school, and the first week you run, that’s all you do. You run and you learn how to put on a parachute, and you learn how to put on a harness, and you do training on how to get out of your harness, how to get into your harness, you go through the jump commands. The second week you go to tower week, which you jump out of a thirty-four foot tower with you harness on and you ride a wire down to the ground. 15:07 That’s basically a lot of fun, and I was in absolutely phenomenal shape—I had just finished OCS, and your “charging airborne”, they all wore black hats, and that’s what you called the sergeants, “charging airborne”, and they were really on the Second Lieutenants. There were a couple of us there, I was a little short guy, and I went through jump school with another guy, Flaherty, who was four foot nine, and they use to accuse us of looking for thermals, so we could stay up in the air longer and wouldn’t have to run, during our jump break. Interviewer: Right You went through tower week, and then on Monday morning you went to jump week, and jump week was a five-day week. We finished on Wednesday, two jumps on Monday, two jumps on Tuesday, and one jump on Wednesday morning. 16:11 We graduated on the drop zone, and we were done. Interviewer: Now, what proportion of the people who started the jump school finished with you? About ninety-nine percent, ninety-eight percent, and most of them were was due to injuries. If you got hurt or something like that, they would push you back, or drop you out, but there weren’t a lot of dropouts. 8 �Interviewer: Now, the people in jump school were you just with other officers or were there others? No, there were all ranks, all ranks, and in fact, my stick buddy on the airplane, was a Marine private, and on our fifth jump we were riding in a C119, an old twin engine, rattle trap of an airplane. We finally got airborne after a couple of tries, and he said, “Sir, have you ever landed in an airplane?” 17:05 “Sure”, and he said, “Is it like taking off, or is it more fun?” He was a Marine, and he was our soldier—he was a Soldier of the Cycle, because he was a good kid, and it was very unusual for a Marine, but he was a good kid and the officers, and NICO’s that were in the class, we voted him “Soldier of the Cycle”, and we all voted for that Marine, and I can’t remember his name anymore. He was on his way to Vietnam, and he going recondo, to a recondo unit over there, and I said, “Are you going to jump over there?” and he said, “oh, yeah sir, yes sir, I want to jump, recondo, recondo, great, great”. Interviewer: Now, recondo, is that a version of reconnaissance or something else? It’s a Marine version of reconnaissance. 18:05 They were good, they were very, very, very good, and on my second trip I got to support them a little bit. Interviewer: Is that a cross between reconnaissance and commando? Is that what the-do-part would be do you suppose? Like the Rangers or Special Forces? Yeah, I don’t know, but they would drop them in somewhere and pick them up in five or six days. We did that with our LRPS, Long Range Patrol Special Forces, I’m not exactly sure what it was. He was a good soldier, a good Marine. I’d say, “you’re a good soldier”, and he would say, “No sir, I’m a Marine”. 9 �Interviewer: So, that kind of fills in some of the blanks. Go back, and you’re informed that you’re going to go ride a boat. Ride a boat—you know, there’s one thing I want to throw in here. As a high school kid I was not the Valedictorian, I had a lot of fun in high school. 19:08 I played sports, had a little part time job, had a couple of girl friends, but I started a typing class, I think it was my junior year, and the first semester went well. I was getting B’s and C’s, you know, and the girls were typing fast, so the second semester the girls just pushed the throttles home, you know, they were doing seventy words a minute, and I’m still over there at ten and eleven words. I said to myself, “I’m going to fail this class”, and I never failed anything in my life, so I went to the teacher, the teachers name was DeHaven, Cecil DeHaven, a little bit taller than I was, and I said, “Mr. DeHaven, I want to drop this class”, and he said, “no, you’re not”, and I said, “you don’t understand, I’m going to fail, and I want to go to college, and I don’t want that failure on my records when I apply to college”. 20:10 He said, “I don’t care, you’re going to complete this class”, and I said, “I’m going to go and see the principal”, and he said, “sure, come on”, so we went up there to see Mr. Miller, Bob Miller, and I said, “I want to drop this typing”, “Why?” I said, “I’m going to fail it”, and he said, “So what?” I said, “listen, I’ve never failed anything in my life Mr. Principal, I don’t want to do that, I don’t want a failure”, and he said, “well, I’m sorry son, you’re going to hang in there, so I won’t let you drop it”, and he was God, all right? So, we walked out of there and DeHaven told me, when we got back to the typing room, “Gabe, just learn the keyboard, you’re going to fail the course, and I don’t care if you write papers for the class, write letters to your girlfriends, I don’t care what you do, but when you come in, sit there and learn the keyboard and learn to 10 �type”. 21:06 Well, it was because I knew how to type that I got the job that I did when I got to Fort Holabird. I found that Sergeant Major that said, “hey son, you can do a little bit better than the average Joe”, and it was because of that guy. I went back a couple of years ago, and of course, he’s dead, but I found his son, and he had married a classmate of mine. I told him the story, and he said, “you know Gabe, as I get older, once or twice a year somebody will grab me and say, “your dad really did something””, and it’s a little anecdote, but those teachers, and it’s today because I taught for a while, those teachers really do care about kids, and they do the very, very best that you want, you know, that they think that they’re going to do for you. 22:00 Anyway, that’s another thing, you’re question was? Interviewer: We’re back to the boat. Yeah, yeah, I got on this boat, and we went to Mobile, Alabama, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and if you steer from Fort Campbell, Kentucky about 180, you're bound to run into Mobile. We got down there, and there were sixteen of us, and twelve were going to go in one boat, and then four of us were going to go on another boat. “All right, we’ll go”, and one of the Majors told me as we were going down there, he said, “now you watch them how they load that equipment, and make sure that they don’t bang it up or anything else”. I said, “Al lright, yes sir, we can do that, we’re Lieutenants, you know”. Well, the other Lieutenant outranked me by maybe a week, you know, we were both brand new green Lieutenants. We got down there, and the very first morning we were there, we were sleeping on these ships, or boats, or freighters, freighters is what they were, and they were hauling, putting all this equipment on there. 23:02 They didn’t handle it with chains or anything else, they would put a truck on there, and then they 11 �would cut logs and timbers and lodge those things into place. Now it’s all chains, and they can load a ship in a few hours, where it took days to load that thing. Anyway, they banged a deuce and a half against this wall and put a big dent in it, so this guy said, “we better go over and talk to that operator”, and I said, “maybe we aught to just let him do his job”, and he said, “no, we’ve got to go talk to that guy”, so we went over and said, “you better be careful with that”, and of course that operator, a big teamster you know, he kind of told us where we could take the truck, and the ship, and his crane. So, I said, “you know Tony, we ought to go downtown and have a beer, I think they can do this by themselves”. They left in about a day or two days, and thry said, “all right Hudson, you and those three guys, two sergeants and a black kid, Reggie Pruitt, you guys are going to come later when they get that ship loaded”. 24:08 “Ok”, so a day or two went by and nothing happened, so I went and found this Major and said, “What’s going on?” He said, “were missing a train”, and I said, “Wait a minute, how can you lose a train?” And he said, “We don’t know where it’s at. It left Fort Campbell”, and I thought, “Wait a minute, what kind of government operation is this?” Now I know about those things, now that I’m older, but how can you lose a train? A couple of days later I tell this guy, “we're doing nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing”, so this Major comes, and he finds us, and said to me, “we found the train it’s in Chicago”, and I said, “Wait a minute, how did it get to Chicago?” “Don’t ask questions, Hudson, it’s going to be here in two or three days, and they’re going to work around the clock to get it loaded, and you’ll probably be leaving in seven or eight days”. “Ok”, and I went and got my people together and told them. 25:06 This one NCO said, “you know we got rent-a-car on our orders, we ought to rent a car so we can get around Mobile”, and I said, “I don’t know anything about 12 �that”, and he said, “It’s on there, do you have a credit card?” I said, “yeah, I got a credit card”, and he said, “you can rent it, Lieutenant”, and I said, “all right, I guess that’s all right, it says so on the orders”, so we rented a Camaro convertible, and had a ball with it. This Reggie Pruitt came to me and he said—he was an artilleryman—“I haven’t been home, and I’d like to go home and see my children before I go to Vietnam”, and I said, “I can’t grant you a leave”. He lived in Alabama, and we were in Mobile, and I said, “I can’t grant you a leave, you’ve got to... I don’t know what to do”, and he said, “I’m going to Vietnam, I know that, and if you let me go home—I’m not doing anything here”. 26:08 I said, “Well, will you promise to come back?’ He said, “oh yes sir, I promise I’ll come back”, so I said, “all right, here’s the telephone number of that office in there, and you call every two or three days, so you go one home”. He called his parents, and they came down, and it was like four families came down to pick him up, and they took him home. He kept calling, and finally I said, “you need to come back because we’re loading the ship and getting ready to go”, so they all came back, all the families, and his father came up and thanked me. He said, “it was very nice to see Reginald before he goes to war, he had a chance to see his kids, and see all us, and we appreciate it, and we would kind of like to do something for you”. 27:03 I said, “you can’t do anything for me”, and he said, “we’ll say a prayer, we’ll say a prayer for you, that’s good”, but Reggie never came home, he was killed over there, as did the two NCOs, one was a medic and he took it in Bien Hoa when we were at Bien Hoa with the 101st, and the other one died in an airplane accident. Out of the four, I was the only one that came back home. That weighs heavy on my mind sometimes, of why I came home. We had a great time going over there on the ship. The very first or second day I was up on the bridge and was 13 �sitting in the Captain's chair, and I found out that I shouldn’t sit in the Captain's chair. Just before we got into Panama, we were in some really, really, rough seas there, in the gulf, and we sat down for breakfast, and I kept looking out this porthole—up and down, up and down, popping Dramamine. 28:10 I was taking Dramamine by the handful, and one of the cooks, we all ate in the officers galley, that was a decision, whether we were going to eat with the men, or whether we were going to eat in the officers galley, and I made that—I said, “look, were all going to war, let’s take a table for four in the officers galley”, and they said, “wherever you want to be, that’s fine with us”. So, that morning I cut into my eggs, and they were just a little bit raw, and that was it. I said, “man, I’ve got to get out of here”, and I started running for the door. I knew if I got to the door, I could get right to the side, because I was going to throw up. Just as I opened the door and started in, this great big Captain Brown was coming in, and he was probably 10 foot 5, and I ran into him, looked right at his belt buckle, said, “I’m sorry sir”, and threw up all over his leg. 29:09 Oh, I felt so bad, I threw up things I ate as a baby, and they helped me upstairs, I laid down in my room, and we had this old black steward that came up about a half an hour later and he gave me some water, and told me to just lay down and rest. He said, “if you feel like throwing up, throw up, just keep on throwing up”, and about lunch time the same guy came back, and he had been at sea for two hundred years, or something like that, and he had a plate of raw onions and soda crackers, and said, “eat these”. I thought, “you’re out of your mind”, “eat them”, and I ate them, and I was never seasick after that, not a bit. 30:04 We get in and start up the Saigon River, and I drew a 45 out of the arms room, the supply room, we didn’t have an arms room, and I had to buy my own ammunition for it because all the ammunition was packed. I thought, “if we’re 14 �going up this river we ought to get a 45, at least you have some kind of arms, you know, going on the river”, so I went and got a 45. I don’t know if you ever shot a 45 before, but the 1911 army 45, in my capabilities with a weapon, could maybe hit that wall. So, I got this thing and I stuck it in my belt, I walked out on the deck and some guy said, “What the hell are you doing with that?” I said, “What happens if we get attacked?” He said, “put that thing away before you hurt somebody”, and I said, “yes sir”, and I tucked it back in my duffle bag. We rode up river, got there and started to unload the boat. 31:01 Interviewer: Had you stopped anyplace along the way? No, no, we took thirty-seven days, thirty-seven days. My wife said, “let’s go on a cruise”, and I said, “I’ve been on a cruise, and I don’t care to go on any more”. The food was outstanding, the people that were on the ship were outstanding, they were all—they knew we were going to war. The cook, he was a guy named Pierre, and it was a good trip. It was really, just a fantastic trip. 32:02 Interviewer: So, basically, at this point, we have gotten to Vietnam, your on the boat, you’re heading up the Saigon River, now do you unload yet at Saigon, or outside of it? We unloaded at Saigon, and they motored all of that equipment through the streets up to Bien Hoa, which was about twenty to twenty-five miles to the north. Interviewer: What was your first impression of Vietnam when you got there? It stunk, diesel oil and heavy in the diesel oil and diesel fumes. Around all the military installations they mixed human waste with diesel oil and burned that, so that was always a very appetizing thing wake up to in the morning. Very, very crowed streets, and I didn’t expect anything like that. It was a real eye opener. We were there two or three 15 �days, and we finally decided we were going to go see of we could get something to eat other than on the ship, and everything else. 33:09 We wandered into a, like a French coffee house and had some French espresso, and I determined right there that I didn’t like French espresso at all. But, there was some great food over there, and I found my way around Saigon a little bit, and learned my way around. I got to go back to Saigon quite a bit while we there the first couple of months at Bien Hoa. Then right after Tet in 1968, which was late January 30 or 31 of January, the division moved north, and we move up to Hue Phu Bai, which later became Camp Eagle. Interviewer: What were you doing while you at Bien Hoa? I was a military intelligence officer, and we were working in the imagery interpretation section of the 101st military intelligence detachment. 34:04 There were about twenty of us that worked in that section. Interviewer: Were you there when the Tet offensive started? Yes, yes Interviewer: So, what, if anything, happened around, to your unit, or around it? Well, we were on Bien Hoa army base, which was right next door to Bien Hoa air base, and the Bien Hoa air base was attacked by a sapper battalion, and after the attack we found—after the fact, we found our barber we use to go to, Fred the barber we called him, and he had a little barber shop, he was in the wire with a satchel charge on him, so I guess he had cased it pretty well, you know. Anyway, he was dead in the wire. They hit us pretty hard with a lot of rockets, and a lot of mortars. My wife, and of course, she was home here, and she heard on the radio that Bien Hoa army and Bien Hoa airbase had been overrun, and there were hundreds of casualties, which is not true, but we had a hell of a 16 �battle there. 35:11 We were not overrun, and I don’t think any, except for a couple of them, even got inside the wire. They did do something that really hurt us though, they blew up a class six store, that’s a booze store, they blew that up and they hurt one of the clubs. The army in Vietnam was a little bit different than the army in Iraq and Afghanistan now, where they shy away from alcohol and everything else. It was pretty readily available, like a dime a beer, you know, and a dime a mixed drink, they had clubs for everybody. Interviewer: Was the army base under attack for just a short amount of time? It lasted about a day and a half. Interviewer: What were you doing during that day? 36:02 We were inside the wire enough that we continued our mission, but we put a sentry outside to kind of keep an eye on what was going on, but we were also at division headquarters, so we were pretty well protected. Nothing other than bullets fling over your head every so often, or a mortar going off, we continued to do our work. We were pretty busy and you try to do—they were taking some photos of what was going on that day, and some of that stuff was coming back and was pretty hot, and we were taking a look at that, and putting reports out on that. Interviewer: So you were looking at pictures of the Saigon area and what was going on there? We were looking at pictures of the Bien Hoa area, and that was kind of interesting. That all died down and you kind of went back to business as usual. We also started flying a little bit over there. 37:07 We had a—it was very hard for us to get imagery, photographs, or negatives, or whatever it was. The priority that the 101st had was not 17 �real, real high, so we decided among us in the imagery and interpretation shop, that if we got some cameras, we could go out and shoot some sites ourselves, on points of interest to the division, and we could build those inks or photo maps, or whatever we needed to do, from that hand held stuff. We ended up with three or four Pentex cameras, and that’s how most of us started flying over there, laying on the floor of a helicopter, or hanging out the window of a Bird Dog, and snapping pictures. We opened our own development center where we would develop our own film, and we did that, and that was a lot of fun. 38:09 Very, very interesting, and then you begin to fly with the same people again, and again, and they would say, “hey, if you’re going to fly with me, and if something happens to me, you better be able to take that stick in the back and at least put us on the ground, you know”. “Do you think I could fly? Put that stick back in there”. Puts the stick back and were out of the Bird Dogs, you know, and “hey man, this is great”, and I thought, “I’d really like to do this”, and I fell in love with flying over there. When we moved up north to Camp Eagle, we had flew by, and we had four hours, like four hours of Bird Dog a day, and we normally had two hours of helicopter first and last hour of the day. Interviewer: Can you explain what Bird Dog refers to? 39:00 It was an L-1, it was a little single engine old Piper Cub, starch wing, not a lot of power, but we hung a couple rockets on each wing and go looking. It was aerial reconnaissance, recon; we would do some aerial recon, visual recon, and it was a good mission, we did a lot of good work, and wasted a lot of fuel too, wasted a lot of fuel. We got up north and I was with the division until July, and then they sent me down to a brigade, 2nd Brigade, I was doing the same thing at the brigade as I was doing at the division, and ended up getting a couple of aircraft hours every day, and we’d take a look at prints of interest that 18 �the old man, the brigade commander wanted, or targets that we thought might be worthwhile, and also, some helicopter time. 40:05 Flying the helicopter, I began flying with the same kid day after day, after day, and a young kid, both about the same age, and he was a warrant officer and I was a Lieutenant. I said, “Can I fly this thing?” He said, “Do you think you know how?” We would trade off and the more I flew, I just really, really loved it, so I told my wife, “one thing I would like to do when I get back to the states, I’d like to go to flight school and learn how to fly”. Interviewer: Did you spend a full year over there doing this kind of work? Fifteen months Interviewer: Fifteen months? Yeah, I had the pleasure of being extended. When we first got there, of course we were all aware of the “Screaming Eagle”, we’re all tough as nails, and the boss, the detachment commander said, “some of you guys, you know we’re not all going home the same week, so some of you guys have gotta leave and go to other units”, “not me, not me, not me, not me”, so the boss did, he left, and he went to another unit. 41:13 We get this new guy in, and this new guy said, “All right, you guys gonna hang around? You can hang around all you want. Draw straws, some of you are going to go home early, and some of you are going home late”, and I got to go home late. Interviewer: so, they were setting it up so they could rotate in replacements, and not move the whole group out at the same time? Right, you could lose a couple of people a month and never lose any kind of continuity, or mission accomplishment, or anything like that. You could keep everything on the up and up, and keep on moving. 19 �Interviewer: How dangerous was the work you were doing at this point? What was the risk of getting shot down? They shot at you quite a bit. They weren’t very good shots, but they shot at you, and they didn’t like you taking pictures. If you shot at them they would normally shoot at you. 42:05 We carried an M16, and a 38 in your survival vest, so we didn’t have a lot of fire power, but we did have a couple of rockets. Normally with white phosphorus, which we called “Willie Pete” for marking targets on the wings, and it was on a regular basis, those gommers didn’t like you shooting at them. We got our helicopter shot up one time, and we had to put it down on the ground because they hit the transmission, and “psst”, sixty pounds of pressure in there and all the oil was coming out. Later I learned later that the immediate reaction is “land now”, so we set it on the ground, and the little gomers were not too far away, and another bird came in and picked us up. There was no way we were going to get that out of there, so the guys called some Cobras in and they blew the machine in place. 43:01 We got the radio heads, the radio heads we got--the pilots did that, they had the radios, they pulled those out of there, and the machine was destroyed on the ground. Interviewer: You didn’t want to leave anything behind that the enemy could use? No, because they used everything, they used whatever you left behind they used, and we had an incident in—it must have been August or September of 1968, and I was out with this kid in this chopper, Hughes 500 helicopter, and we found an artillery shell, a 175, pretty good size shell, and it was laying beside a trail, and somebody had moved it. It’s not unlikely, when you shoot a artillery barrage, that some of those rounds don’t go off, so what those clowns would do, they would go and dig those things up and make booby 20 �traps out of them. 44:01 We found this thing, it was laying—obviously somebody had carried it, because it just didn’t roll there, and we tried—it was right on the division—the boundaries between the 1st Cavalry, the cavalry was still there at Camp Evans, and the 101st Second Brigade. We laid there for a fuel load, trying to get somebody to blow it up, give us some artillery, do something in there to blow that thing up. They said, “It’s not our responsibility, no, we don’t have this—we gotta get clearance from this”, and finally my buddy, Bill said, “Hey, we got enough fuel to get home on, we’re going home”, and he said, “we’re not going to shoot at that with an M16”, so we went home, and I was angry, talked to my boss, “eh”, and I’m “yeah, yeah, yeah”, and he said, “settle down Lieutenant, things like that happen, you know”. 45:03 Well, five days later a 175 blew up and took out five guys from the 101st on a patrol, and I don’t’ know if it was the same shell or not, but it happened within a kilometer of where that thing was at, and you really carry anger. I still carry anger about that, that was so dumb—a couple of rounds could blow it up, you know. Interviewer: When you flew your missions, did you—were you coordinating closely with the units that were on the ground, scouting out things for them, or were you doing more reconnaissance for sort of longer distance planning? Most of ours was for long range planning, but if somebody got into trouble, we would lend them as much support as we possibly could, and they appreciated it, they always appreciated it. “Hey, you got some eyes overhead, you know”. “What’s in that brush line over there?” “You don’t want to know”. 46:02. There was—we had Marines up there us north of where the 101st was at. There was a Marine platoon that got into a hell of a firefight one afternoon, and they were requesting air support. We were in a Bird 21 �Dog, single engine, fixed wing, and the pilot said, “hey Gabe, we could go up there and at least take a look, you know”, because the guy was on guard talking to us, and we said, “we’ll come up and take a look”, so we went up there and made a couple of passes, and threw a couple smoke grenades out, and I told the Marine officer on the ground, I assume he was an officer, and I said, “you got heavy machine guns up there you know, don’t’ do anything until you get some air or something up here to take care of those things. Where’s you fire support?” Where’s this where’s that, and he said, “we don’t have any, we don’t have any”, and they ended up charging them, and it was slaughter, absolute slaughter, and another thing that made me very, very angry. 47:10 When I came back from Vietnam I was ready to get out, and just throw the whole thing to the side. I was so dumb, some of the things. Of course there were no fly zones, free fire zones, you go here you can’t shoot, you go here you can shoot anybody that’s in the area, disgusting. One story—we were up at, the Bo River ran through there, where we were at,--I think it was—I think the Bo was down—I don’t remember—I’m getting old. There was a river anyway, we went up there, and we were at LZ Sally with the 2nd Brigade, and we get a report that there’s pink elephants up at a certain coordinate, and they’re carrying ammunition, and carrying equipment. 48:12 My boss, he threw the thing over to me, and he said, “Have you got an airplane today?” I said, “yes dir”, and he said, “go look for the pink elephants. You know, the brigade commander wants to know where the pink elephants are”. “Jesus, don’t these people—ok, I’ll go look for pink elephants”. Well, we flew up there, and sure enough, there were some elephants, and they had rolled in that red clay over there, and they looked half way pink. “They’re really pink elephants”, “What are you smoking?” “That’s enough, there are pink elephants up here, you know”. 22 �So they called the air force team in, and killed a whole bunch of them. 49:02 Well, we got some rains that night, and got four or five days of rain, and those elephants floated down the river, bloated up and floated down the river, and one of them got stuck just outside our gate, at a bridge, well, you could smell that elephant for miles away down wing, and the people from the village were out carving that elephant up, and it took like two hours and it was gone. They took all of that meat and took it away—an interesting little story. Interviewer: while you were there, on that first tour, did you get any R&R time, or leave time, or anything like that? I met my lovely wife in Hong Kong. 50:01 She was living here in Grand Rapids, working at St. Mary’s Hospital, and I said, “we got five to seven days of R&R, and why don’t you come, and we’ll meet each other in Hong Kong?” We did that at eight months. I was there for eight months before that happened, and she came over there, and we met in Hong Kong, and we had a really great time. Hong Kong is a beautiful, beautiful city. I was supposed to get up and leave at two o’clock in the morning to meet my flight back, and I didn’t go. My wife left the next day about eleven o’clock, or something like that, so I put her on an airplane, and she was flying to Seoul, Korea, we had friends in Seoul. I went to the R&R center, and I said, “I missed the flight”, and they screamed, “LIEUTENANT”, and they screamed, and screamed, and screamed at me. 51:02 Well, there was a navy Lieutenant over there and he said, “Why did you miss the flight?” I said, “my wife was here, I met my wife here, came time for me to go, and we were snuggling and snuggling, and I said, “screw it, I’m not going to go””. He said, “I’m going to get you a ride, and if you miss this ride, I’m going to Court Martial you” and I 23 �said, “don’t worry, I won’t miss the ride”, so I was walking out of there, and you’ve heard of Air America? I went to the Air America thing over there and said, “Hey, you guys going anywhere near Da Nang soon?” They said, “yeah, were going over there tonight”, and I said, “Mind if I ride along?” And they said, “no”, no orders, no nothing, so I ride to Da Nang, catch a helicopter the next day and fly up to Camp Eagle. 52:05 I go in there, sign in, and tell the old man I’m back, and everything else, and he said, “Gabe, you’re a day early”, and I said, “yeah, well, I went into Da Nang rather than—“, so about three months later they get a report that I had missed the airplane. The old man comes down and says, “What is this? You missed the airplane”, and I said, “No, I came home a day early remember?” He said, “ah, stupid Army”, and he threw it down. That was a great trip that was a great, great trip when I met the wife, a great R&R, a great R&R. Interviewer: Are there other things that happened in that first tour that kind of stand out in your memory that we haven’t covered here? No, not particularly. When I came home I landed out here at the airport, and met my lovely wife, I had my first encounter with the “Peaceniks”, because I got spit at walking down the ramp, so I said, “baby killer and the like”, and spit back. 53:10 Interviewer: Was this late 1968 or 1969 then? This was late 1968. My wife pacified me, and she said, “let it go”, and I said, “ok”. Interviewer: Now were you coming down, at this point, in uniform? Oh yeah, you had to travel in uniform, and a little story about that—we—I was being assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, and I knew that, but my wife was in Michigan. When I went over to start filling out the paper work they said, “we’ll send you to some 24 �place in California and then you can just go to Fort Lewis”, and I said, “I don’t want to do that, I would rather go back to Fort Dix, to the air force base there, that’s where I want to go”, and the guy said, “sir, were supposed to sent you the closest to wherever you’re going”. 54:04 I had just come from the class six store and I had a case of Budweiser on my shoulder, and he said, “of course, we may be able to fix that “, and I set it over on his desk, and he typed it in, and said, “that’s where you’re going”. We get over there and we get home, of course we’re traveling in khakis, we didn’t have any greens with us, so they process us, and we get all the way through customs, you know, and everything else, walk out into the terminal, and run over to—there’s two warrant officers and another Lieutenant, and we kind of paired up together. We walked over to a ticket desk, and I told them I needed to go to Detroit and this guy was going someplace, and we were kind of going all over the place, and she said, “well, there’s a ride out of the Philadelphia airport at eight o’clock for Detroit, but I don’t know how you’re going to make it”. 55:05 I said, “Well, how do we get there?” She said, “well, you’re going to have to go out there and probably catch a limo, and they’ll take you over there”, so these other guys, were all going to go about the same time, but we got to get to Philadelphia. The first limo we got to, we opened the door, and said, “we need to go to Philadelphia”, and the guys said, “well, I normally go with twelve”, and I said, “you have twelve”, and he said, “Right, get in”. Of course you’ve just been paid and you have a pocket full of money, and you don’t even remember what money is. As we started out the door, this little skinny airman, he was maybe ninety pounds, stepped in front of me and said, “Sir, before you leave, you must report to Fort Dix in an army green uniform”, and I said something like, “I’m going to stuff his head somewhere”, and to get out of the way, and he said, “yes, sir”, and he 25 �stepped aside. 56:05 I always kind of felt sorry for that little kid because we weren’t very kind to him, and he was just doing his job. We came home and then I started—we went to Fort Lewis, Washington, we had our first child out there, I started looking for a job, and I had no college degree, because I was drafted. Ok, I want to do something with the training I had, which was photo interpreter, and oil companies, and all of that, were supposed to really be hot on that thing right now. Well, I sent out fifty resumes, and I got two answers. One from the CIA, and one from Defense Intelligence, and I thought, “I don’t want—oh man, what am I going to do?” I was with an aviation unit out at Fort Lewis, and the old man out there was a Lieutenant Colonel, and he really liked me. I used to fly with him a lot in the evenings, because the only time he could really fly, was in the evenings. 57:05 He said, “Why don’t you go to school? Why don’t you?” I said, “well yeah, yeah, I don’t know”, and he said, “Why don’t you go to flight school?” I was sitting at my desk one day, the phone rang, it was the Military Intelligence branch, and a major up there said, “Gabe, you expressed an interest at one time in going to flight school, I can put you in an OV-1”, that’s a twin reconnaissance airplane, which was state of the art at that time, and I said, “you’re kidding”, and he said, “no, I can do it, do you want to go?” “Yes”, “talk to your wife”, “no, I know she’ll approve”, so I hung up, got in my car, left the hangar, drove over to where the headquarters was, and walked in, and had just gotten my boss, and I said, “hey, branch just called and they can get me an OV-1 slot”. 58:01 He opened his desk drawer, and he had all my paper work filled out, he had everything all filled out, and he said, “I knew it, I knew it, sign here”. The next day I went and got a physical, and that afternoon I got on an airplane and we flew it to 26 �Washington, flew the application to Washington, and I left there with orders to go to flight school, and I was very, very happy. Interviewer: Where did they do flight school? Well, we left Fort Lewis, and we were determined that we were going to save money, we were not going to call home. We had to go over to Fort Stewart, Georgia, opposite end of the country. The baby was like three or four weeks old or something like that little baby Carl. We stopped one night in a driving snowstorm in Pueblo, Colorado. 59:00 Pulled off the road and found a place, and we thought we would go over and get a bite to eat, and there were two little old ladies in there, in this restaurant, and they came over and said, “Why do you have a little child like that, out on a night like this? You should be at home.” “We don’t have a home, were in the military and were on our way to school”. Those ladies just shook their heads and walked off, but ok, we get to Fort Stewart, now that’s like five or six days that we were driving, stopped to see one friend along the way, never bothered to call home—we’re going to save money. So, we walk into Fort Stewart, it’s Friday afternoon, I’m supposed to sign in on Monday, but to save a couple days leave, I signed in on Friday afternoon, it’s late and they can’t screw with you. By this time I’m a Captain, I walked in and said, “hey, I’m here for school, I just want to sign in to save some leave”, and this sergeant looks up and said, “You wouldn’t be Hudson would you?” 0:04 “yes”, “Where in the hell have you been?” I said, “driving here”, and he said, “Do you realize that the whole army is looking for you?” I said, “What do you mean, the whole army is looking for me?” He said, “here, a list of messages, 1, call your mother, 2, call this guy before five o’clock at branch, call him first”, so I called him, the same guy that sent me to school, so I called him and he said, “Where are you?” I 27 �said, “I’m at Fort Stewart”, and he said, “Why?”, and I said, “because that’s what the orders say, Fort Stewart, Georgia”, and he said, “the fixed wing course is closed, you’re going to helicopter school”, and I said, “Where’s that?” He said, “Fort Wolters, Texas”, and I said, “oh no”, and he said, “yes”. 1:04 I told my wife, I said, “ok”, when I was going into the building, I said, “at least our travels are over for a while”. And I walked out, and I got in the car, I sat down, and she said, “What’s the matter?” I said, “we’re in the wrong place”, and she said, “What building do we go to?” I said, “Texas”, and only a wife can go off on the army like that. “Hey, it’s not my fault”, so I called my mom, my mom, and dad, and my dad said, “Where have you been?” I said, “traveling”, and he said, “Gabe, the whole army’s looking for you, and they call here every day. Are you in trouble?” “No, I’m not in trouble, I had a change of orders”, and he said, “Why didn’t you call home?” “Saving money, ok?” So we go to Fort Wolters, Texas, get involved in helicopter training, and fell in love—just fell in love with it. Every day was something new and exciting, I had a new baby, and a wife that understood. 2:08 We were in a class of officers, I think there were twelve Captains or so, and we all had Vietnam experience. We're all at least one time losers, sometimes two, a bunch of young kids, and we’re going to learn how to fly army airplanes, and we’re going to contribute to the war effort. Morale was high, we had a great time—we only lost, out of the class, we didn’t lose any of the Captains, we should have lost one Captain, but we didn’t, we didn’t lose the Captain. He couldn’t fly, and he ended up going to Vietnam, and he flew into a mountain with a loaded Huey, and that makes me mad, too. We went through training, had a lot of fun, all of us knew—as soon as you finish you’re going to go right back to Vietnam. 3:02 When I finished helicopter training, I went back to Fort Stewart for a 28 �transition to fixed wing airplanes, and flew the single engine T-41, learned on that, and I was there for eight or nine weeks, and went back to Rucker, and went through a multiengine instrument course. Then I went through a combat surveillance course with the OV-1, and that was just a—what a neat airplane. I’d had a little time in there anyway, stick time, and I knew I was going to an OV-1 unit, and it was a great airplane. I knew I was going to go to an OV-1 unit in Vietnam-Interviewer: You were training to be a pilot? Yes, I was training to be a pilot at that point. The OV-1, we had a bunch of cameras, radar systems, side looking airborne radar, an infra-red system that kind of like low light TV, and all of it was, almost all of it was real time except for the photography. Interviewer: Did a plane like that have a crew, or was it just the pilot? 4:02 The pilot, and he had a tech observer on the other side, and he ran the equipment. He ran the cameras and IR systems, and everything else, but you were aware of what was going on because you had been through the same classes that he did, and you could troubleshoot it. You flew it every day, and they would rotate two or three times a week, so there were just the two of you. A great airplane, fully acrobatic, and the older models had enough power to fly. I got to Vietnam, got assigned to a unit and flew for two or three weeks, and they made me a platoon leader, because of my rank. I was a Captain with a little more seniority than a lot of the guys, so I became a platoon leader, and flew in the mornings, and normally flew at four o’clock. 5:03 Interviewer: Where were you flying out from? We were flying out of Phu Bai first, which is back in I Corps, and we were there for three or four weeks and then we moved down to a place called Marble Mountain, a little 29 �Marble Mountain air field, about a 3500 PSP strip, perforated steel plate, and it was a great, great air strip, kind of short. You’ve got an old airplane ready to gross out at about nineteen thousand pounds, a full load of fuel, and in the afternoon you’re trying to get that thing off at density altitude, you know, and it’s bouncing along, and you’re pulling up, suck up the gears, and get it up, and that’s not altogether true, but it was hard to get off there sometimes with the density altitude, and short runway like that, but it was a lot of fun. Interviewer: Now, were you doing missions similar to what you had done before, just with a better plane? 6:01 No, no, we weren’t doing any of that. We were working mostly for the Embassy down in Saigon, and sending a lot of the stuff back to the states. The mission that I few a lot over there, we had radar, and we would fly off the north coast. We would fly out about fifteen to twenty clicks, we were feet wet, and with side looking radar we looked over to North Vietnam, and we flew up just north of Vinh, and turned around because we couldn’t go any further because we were slow movers. With the radar mission that I had you could pick-up convoys and things like that, and we did a lot at night. Then you would go through a controlling agency, and say, “hey, I got moving targets over here”, and so, and so, and nothing was supposed to be moving. They would say, “ok”, and for a couple of months I worked with a navy call sign “streetcar”, and they loved us because we would pass those targets to them. 7:06 They would go in and—of course you’re sitting there at fifteen thousand feet, and put it on auto pilot, and sit there and looking over there, and “yeah, yeah” listening to the net, you know, how they were going to roll in, and “boom”, you see an explosion, so we did some good work there. 30 �Interviewer: So, were you shooting at a— We didn’t shoot Interviewer: No, but the people who were doing the shooting, you were observing? Yeah, we were observing Interviewer: Were they firing at naval targets or were they on land? They were from a carrier, working the coastal highways. Interviewer: All right, so they were areas where the enemy was not supposed to be moving thing, so they were targets? So, the whole North Vietnam was—you weren’t supposed to move anything. If it was in a big long—if got a long stretch of moving target indicators, it was a convoy, you know it’s a convoy, so you call that in and somebody would go look at it, and it’s a convoy. 8:00 Unfortunately those convoys could shoot back. Interviewer: Now, were you flying mostly at night? I did a lot of the nighttime, but early morning, and then I could do my platoon leader job during the day, and I also was a tech supply officer over there, with the maintenance. Interviewer: Now, did the North Vietnamese have any aircraft they were using in that area? They had MIGs, and I was just north of Vinh one time and we had a MIG call, and I rogered the MIG call, and I probably had ten miles to go, and I was going to go the ten miles and then turn around. Chugging along, fat and happy, and I hear the MIG call, controlling agency came up and our call sigh was “spud”, and they said, “spud, did you get the MIG call?” “Roger, got the MIG call, I got it, I got the call”. 9:05 “Well, he’s about fifty clicks, and moving, at you”, I pull the throttles back and turn that thing over 31 �and got out of there and back on the deck, and learned a lesson that day. Then we flew out of Thailand for a while, and I was over there for ten weeks, and we worked for the Laotian military attaché, we were flying over the Plain of Jars, mostly low light TV or infra-red, and photography, and we did all of that at night. We would take off about ten or eleven o’clock and fly a fuel load, because we did not have capability of in flight refueling, so four hours was a fuel load. You could get—squeeze three and a half out of it, and we did a lot of good work up there, working with the air force in finding targets. 10:06 That was a fun mission, and it was very, very rewarding. I had an incident that happened, and I had a kid come over, and he was running up the system while you were running up the airplane, he said, “I got a problem here, I got a problem”, so I stopped and went back, and fixed his problem with the system, we worked through it, and went back. I always use my book, always use my checklist, and an old friend of mine, he got me into flight school, and he was this guy that said, “Always use your book Gabe”. I picked up the book, and did the whole thing, and we went out and got shot at, not hit, but we were shot at several times, came back landed, we were at Udorn, on roll out, and once you put your gear on the ground, you know, you’d steer with your feet, so you reach up and undo your riser. We had an ejection seat in the airplane and I’m messing with it, and I turn around and the risers were still connected to the seat—I had never connected them. 11:17 I had my lap belt on. We got over to taxi, taxi, shut it down, and I could hardly get out of the airplane. What a dumb thing, what a dumb, dumb thing to do, and that ate on me for five or six days—just really ate on me. Interviewer: So, what could have happened to you? 32 �You pull the handle, read the prayer, and go out of the airplane. The seat went one way and your chutes gone another way. Oh, geeze, you know—nobody else to blame except me. I interrupted my book, and I did not go back to a point that I should have. 12:02 Interviewer: You mentioned that you’re flying over Laos, and the plane is going farther into the country, were you also flying over the Ho Chi Minh Trail area, or the areas along it? No, we did not fly the trail. We were a slow mover, and no, that was left up to the navy and the air force with the fast movers. We did not fly the trail. There were some lucrative targets right in there that we had a lot of fun at. Interviewer: You mentioned there, that you were working with the Laotian Military Attaché. He was American Interviewer: Oh, he was American? He was a military attaché in Vientiane. Interviewer: Ok That was quite a trip. They invited us up there a couple of times for dinner. “Come up and have dinner”, you know, and we would go up there and travel on classified orders with Air America. 13:03 They would tell you what to wear. Wear this color shirt and this color pants. The first time I went to Vientiane, we landed at the airport, on Air America, and I got off, and I met my counterpart, you know, and he said, “Do you want to get any kip?” Kip is there money, and I said, “ yeah, while we’re here I want to get some gold for my wife, you know. I want to go gold shopping and everything else. He said, “ok, they got an exchange booth right over here”, so, I went over there, and a cute 33 �little girl in that booth, and she said, “You want to exchange money?” I said, “yeah, I think I’ll get fifty dollars worth of Kip”, and she said, “How much”, and I said, “fifty dollars”. “Fifty dollars?” “Sure, fifty dollars”, and she said, “just a moment please”, and she went in the back, and when she came out, she had a paper bag full of money. 14:05 She said, “here”, and there were big bill like this, and little bills like this, and I thought, “What is this?” I walk over there with this paper bad, and the guy said, “What did you do?” I said, “I got fifty dollars worth of Kip”, and he said, “Gabe, what are you going to spend fifty dollars worth of Kip on, nobody wants it?” So, we spent as much as we could, and I tried to buy gold with it, but they didn’t want any kip, they wanted a credit card. They wanted a credit card. I went to a gold thing in Vientiane, and I got some gold for my wife, and I said, “I got this Kip”, and they said, “No, you have credit card? You have credit card?” I said, “yes, I have a credit card”, “you give us credit card, and don’t worry, we won’t cheat”, “ok”. That was a good mission over there. 15:00 Interviewer: How long did you spend, then, in Southeast Asia, total in that? I had another fifteen-month tour, because I got back from Thailand, and went back to Da Nang. The unit had moved to Da Nang main at that time, and we were flying out of Da Nang Main, and that was probably late September. Interviewer. What year? 1972, and then we got orders, we were going to stand the unit down, and send it home, so everybody was, “hey, we get to go home, we get to go home”. So, there were four of us in the unit, we’re all doing our jobs, and everything else, and the group commander walked over and asked to see us. Stan Cass, Lieutenant Colonel Stan Cass, he went over there—he and I had done some things together, and I had flown him a couple of times, 34 �and everything else, and he said, “you guys are really lucky”. 16:04 “Colonel, what do you mean?” “Well, you’re all dual rated, right?” “Yes”. “Hudson, you’re going to be my logistics officer”. “I want to go home”, “you can’t go home, I’ve got your body, and you’ve been reassigned. As soon as you get this unit stood down over here, packed up and sent home, come on over, I got a job for you”. So, you sit down and write a letter to the wife, “Not coming home with the unit, you know, I’m being reassigned”. “Why?” When I told her, when we got ready to go, when we were at the airport, I said, “at least they can only get 365 days out of me”. It was a bad thing to say, because I got another fifteen months. Ok, all right, I went over with the 11th Combat Aviation Group, started flying with them, got checked out in helicopters again, and was working for a Major. 17:02 The Major came in one day and said, “listen Gabe, I got to run to the states for just a couple of days, and I’ll be right back”, “yeah”, and he never came back, so Cass said, “your turn in my unit, you’re my fourth”, and I said, “oh man, I want to go home”, and he said, “you can, you and I will go home together”, so we were on the last airplane out of Da Nang. I can truthfully said, I can truthfully say, sir, that I turned the lights off at Da Nang. When we got ready to leave the compound that morning, we turned over the last of the equipment, and everything else, turned it over to a Vietnamese unit, and I said, “Colonel, are you ready to go to the airport?” He said, “I’m, ready to go to the airport” and he flipped the switch. I said, “I turned the lights off at Da Nang”. We went to the airport on 28 March of 1973. Interviewer: So, you were in Vietnam at a time there was—the North Vietnamese lost a major offensive in the spring of 1972, and were you there during that? 18:07 Yes, yes 35 �Interviewer: Did that offensive affect the kind of work you were doing? We did a lot of photo work when they were—they had actually open tanks, at that point, and they had tanks up north, and somebody said, “hey, there’s tanks up there, you know”. “Go up there and look around, and see if you can find any tanks”. Well, they didn’t appreciate us looking around, and they shot up some airplanes. Didn’t hurt anybody, but they shot some of our airplanes up really, really bad. Went back and said, “they have tanks, they have tanks, I have pictures”. “Oh, they don’t’ have tanks”, and I said, “They have tanks. I developed the pictures of tanks”. “Damn, tanks, the North Vietnamese got tanks, right there”. “Sir, we told you that for a long time”, so that was—we worked very hard during that thing there, and there were some very long hours and days. We were just trying to keep them up there in the Dong Ha area. 19:05 Quang Tri, they leveled those areas there. Interviewer: In that second tour then, did you have much of a sense as to what was going on with the war, or how well it was going, or was there a different atmosphere than the first time you were over? Morale wasn’t as good with the soldiers. Aviation units, the morale is usually quite a bit higher than it is with the ground pounders out there. Yeah, you kind of knew what was going on, and of course, you got mail from home, and read the Stars and Stripes, and you kind of felt like we were getting our buts kicked, and we’re going to get out of there, because the politicians at home were just dead set against everything. Washington and the White House were running the war at that point. 20:02 Interviewer: Did you have a sense of how well the South Vietnamese were going to be able to do on their own? 36 �Oh yes, we had—that’s why we were feeling so bad. They were infiltrated so heavily, as we found out, hindsight was twenty-twenty, but we were pretty sure that once we left, once we pulled our combat troops out of there, it was going to just be a matter of time until it fell, from 1973 to 1975, 30th of April. Interviewer: Did you have much contact with the Vietnamese military personnel, especially when you were turning things over to them? Yes, we were on a regular basis, once they got to the camp. We were turning airplanes over to them, and they would come and look at an airplane, and they would want us to change the windshield from Plexiglas to glass, because that was a new thing they were adding to the UH-1 at that time. 21:00 We couldn’t get glass for helicopters, but we were putting glass in their machines, and it really, really made a lot of people angry. Because you fly at night, and you got all this Plexiglas that’s been rubbed raw with thirty thousand rags trying to keep it clean, and all you got is circles and haze, and everything else, and you’re trying to see at night, or during a rain storm and it was just a—“These helicopters, you put glass in windshield? Tomorrow I come back, I take that”. I had a unit, a Cavalry unit that was up north, and they were standing down, and they owed me six airplanes, which we were going to take, and you turn them into the maintenance facility, and they fix them up, and they turn it over to the Vietnamese. 22:01 So, we got this thing all straightened out, they’re going to bring these six airplanes down, set them on the ground, they’re going to do it early in the morning, the Major talked to me and said, “now look, were going to bring these things in, were going to crews and everything else, we’ve got a ten o’clock flight out of Da Nang, were all going home, I don’t want any B.S, I don’t want anything done, I want to come in, get the paperwork done, and 37 �leave”. I said, “as long as your paperwork is done sir, we can do all of that in fifteen or twenty minutes, you know. Check some tail numbers, check a couple of things out, and I’m counting on you to be straight”. “I’m straight”, and he got in there about twenty minutes later, “all done”, and I said, “Major, that machine you flew in over there”, and he said, “What machine?” I said, “that machine over there”, and he said, “I didn’t fly that in”, and I said, “sure you did, you flew that machine in”, and he said, “I didn’t fly that machine in. What’s the matter with you Captain?” I said, “you flew that machine in here”, and he said, “no, I didn’t do that, were leaving, I don’t know, it was here, it was on the pad”, and I said, “sir, there was nothing on the pad when you guys came in here”. 23:05 He said, “look, I owe you six helicopters, and there’s six helicopters”, and I said, “there’s seven helicopters”, and he said, “I don’t know what that one is, that’s your problem Captain, not mine”, and he took his people and left. So, my buddy and I went to take a look at it, and it was a pretty nice machine, a B model, and not one serial number on it anywhere, and no book. John McGee said, “Do you think it will start?” I said, “it flew in here, see if it will start”. Hmm, hmm, a smooth machine, man, we flew that thing for a month and a half, we had our own airplane. We were getting ready to leave, and he got notice that he was going to leave two days before I was, and he called me and he said, “hey I’m going home tomorrow morning at five o’clock”, and I said, “Why are you calling?” He said, “I’m not going to be there anymore”, and I said, “What am I going to do with that airplane?” He said, “come on over and we’ll drive it over and park it in the ARVN POL point”, and I said, “That’s a great idea”. 24:09 We drove it over to the POL point, filled it up full of fuel, got out, had a driver pick us up, and were gone> Interviewer: So, you made your own donation? 38 �It’s probably still sitting there, still sitting there. Interviewer: while you were there, how much contact did you have with any of the civilians in Vietnam? Did you see much of the civilian population? Yeah, when I got to be with the 11th CAG, Combat Aviation Group, we made a regular run downtown for a couple of good restaurants, and we would have dinner once or twice a week, and got to know several of them there. I had a very close relationship with a Vietnamese orphanage, and I adopted a daughter from Vietnam, who just gave us our ninth grandchild a week ago, a week ago yesterday, so I did quite a bit with the civilian population, selectively, selectively. 25:08 Interviewer: Did you have any sense of what their attitude towards Americans was, or was it just kind of where you were, or when? They didn’t want us to leave because they didn’t know what was going to happen, and many of those people supported the effort, the Vietnamese, the effort of us being there, and they knew they couldn’t hang on to it, and they all wanted to get out. They said, “Will you help me go to the states? Help me go to the states?” “Sure, I’ll help you”, but you just couldn’t do it. Interviewer: How complicated was it to arrange to adopt a child from there? Well, I went to the orphanage one morning because I was with the 131st, the OV-1 company, and I was the orphanage officer. 25:59 It was up to me, at the end of the day, to divide the spoils of the mess hall into three different piles, so that the Buddhist orphanage, the protestant orphanage, and the Catholic orphanage all got the same amount. If they didn’t get the same amount they would complain, so it took an officer to do that. In the process of doing that, I got to know the nuns, I’m a Catholic, and I got to 39 �know the nuns fairly well, in the Catholic orphanage. I went in there one day, and I said, “sister”, Sister Rose was her name, and she was about three feet high, I think. I said, “I’d really like—my wife and I want to adopt a little baby out of Vietnam and take it to the states”, and she said, “wait, wait, wait”, and she left, it was just that fast, and she came out carrying this baby. “Here’s your baby”, and I said, “wait a minute, no, not now, I can’t take a baby now”. 27:04 She said, “I know, this is your baby, this is your baby, this is your baby”, and I said, “I thought maybe I would get to choose”, and she said, “no, you don’t get to choose, this is your baby, I know this is your baby”, and I said, “ok, I guess so”. And there was a—she had a contact; there was an American worker over there that helped with some of the paperwork in the Da Nang area. I had to hire a lawyer here in the states and he worked pretty cheap, almost gratis. My wife found him, she was at Lewis at the time, Fort Lewis, and he did most of his work for nothing. A lot of the paperwork—all it needed was a red stamp and a lot of the red stamp was done in Saigon, they couldn’t do it locally, you had to go down to Saigon. 27:59 So, of course, I had an airplane at my disposal, and Saigon was two and a half hours away, so I said, “I’ll fly it down”. You go to these ministries down there, all these different ministries and everybody wanted a bribe, everybody wanted ten buck, or twenty bucks. Well, when I got ready to leave country the said, “oh no, you—baby? Baby go? Two hundred”. At that point---I said, “I ain’t paying”, and they said, “all right”, so she didn’t come home with me, and I got home, and my wife said, “Where’s the baby?” I said, “still there”, and I explained the situation, and she said, “you should have paid”, and I thought, “oh, God”. You had to be there, you know, everybody had their hand out, everybody, and you get to the point where you say, “I’m not going to do this anymore”. So, that was March, and in 40 �about June, I think, we got a letter from this girl over there, to send six hundred dollars for plane fare. 29:08 They wanted a cashier’s check, or something, not a personal check, so we sent six hundred dollars, and never heard another word. In august, about this time, right around this time of the month, one Sunday evening, we had already gotten to bed, two boys, and the phone rang. They said, “this is so, and so, and I’m in Los Angeles, and I’ll be in Phoenix tomorrow morning at nine. I have your baby”, and we said, “What? What?” they said, “yeah, I have your baby, and we’ll be in Phoenix at nine”. So, I was at school, and called my class leader, and said, “I got to go and pick up my baby”, and he said, “most people do at the hospital, Gabe”, but we drove to Phoenix, and she was one sick, she was one sick puppy. 30:03 She got taken care of and she turned out to be a delight. She graduated from high school Summa Cum Laude, graduated from college Summa Cum Laude, and she has worked, almost since 1994 for Delta Airlines. She’s a special education teacher, she works two jobs, and she’s married to a Marine Lieutenant Colonel who’s in Iraq for his sixth tour. She’s the one that just had a baby, and she ended up—it was a delight. She came and proved to be a very worthwhile young lady. Interviewer: So, you kind of—what was it like to come home the second time from Nam? You talked a little bit about the reception the first time, was it different? It was a little bit different, you came home, and the war effort had died down considerably. We changed clothes in Hawaii, so we were traveling in civilian clothes, we weren’t carrying anything like that, and you’re just glad to get back home. 31:10 Glad to get back home, and spend a couple weeks before you go back to the army. 41 �Interviewer: By this time, had you basically decided you were going to have a career in the military, or were you looking to get out? No, it was already—you know, with each school you learn fixed wing, you learn rotary wing, each of those carry an obligation, you know, so by the time the obligations going to be up, it’s going to be eight or nine years in the service, and it’s not too bad. I could have gotten out, gotten out, and a lot of my friend did. They said, “hey, you know, you’ve got some skills, go with the airlines”, but I had a bunch of kids at home, and military life wasn’t that good, but it wasn’t that bad either, so I said, “we’ll hang around for a while”. 32:06 I just decided that was going to be it, and after—I came back from Vietnam, went to school, advanced course, military advanced course, and then the Department of Army said I needed a degree, and they sent me to college for a year to St. Benedict's out in Atchison, Kansas. That was a good year, full pay, full benefits, they picked up everything, and all I had to do was go to school, and that was a fun year that was a great family year. So, then it was to Fort Bragg, we went to Fort Bragg, and I got a company there, I commanded a company there for a while. I was at Bragg for three years and we went with the reserve components up to Wisconsin, and I got a chance to really learn how to fly helicopters up there. I was with an attack unit, and was an advisor. 33:06 I had never—I was flying an attack machine like ten hours, but I was an advisor, and I told the people at DA, I said, “Why are you sending me, a fixed wing pilot, I’ve got 300 hours in a UH-1, 0 hours in a Cobra, and you’re sending me there?” They said, “you’ll learn, you’ll be all right”, and it was a great tour, it was a great, great tour. From there we went to Korea and we were in Korea three and a half years--three years. Interviewer: When was that? 42 �We got to Korea--went to Korean language course in 1981, so we went to Korea in 1982. We spent a year out in Monterey, in the language course, and learned to speak Korean. 33:58 A difficult language, and now I’m thirty-five years old or something like that, and maybe even older than that, and I’m not too good at language anyway, and can barely speak English. So, they sent me to language school, complete the whole thing, get my diploma, and go to Korea. End up over there, my first night in Korea, they put me up in this hotel, well, the flight from Seattle to Seoul was seventeen hours, or something like that, and I got to Seoul, and got to this hotel, so now you’re running at about twenty-one to twenty-two hours that you’ve been up, and all I really wanted was a cool beer, and something to eat. They put us in a hotel, Korean hotel, U.S., supposedly U.S., so I go down to the bar with my very, very best Korean, and ask for one beer in Korean, and this cute little thing said, “What?” 35:07 I said it again, and she said, “What? You speak English?” “Yes”, and she said, “Do you want a beer?” I said, “that’s what I would like”, but the rest of the tour I worked in a combined headquarters over there with Koreans, and it was a great tour. The Korean people are absolutely outstanding people, and they like Americans. All you need to do is show a little bit of interest in their culture and their country, and they love you, and they’ll do just about anything for you, so we had a great time. By this time we had some kids, and had little blond haired, blue-eyed girls, and take them to a market, and the mamasans would just go absolutely crazy. 35:59 They would come over there and pull on their hair, and my wife was a blond, and they would sneak up behind, and pull their hair, feel of their hair, and they would turn around and look in your eyes, you know, and they were yak, yak, yak’n, and someone would look at your eyes. I told my wife, I said, “don’t worry, they’re not going to hurt 43 �you, they’re interested in you, and they don’t see very many blond babies”. We had a baby in Korea, and that was very interesting because we had a maid, and the maid assumed that it was her baby, and my wife and her use to fight “cat and dog” over who’s going to get that baby. She loved it, she loved the family, and she was just like another mom. The kids would come home from school and walk in there, “take shoes off, you no walk in this house with shoes on, take your shoes off”. 36:54 I would come home, “hi Mrs. Kim, bring me a beer”, you know, and she would say, “daddy’s home, daddy’s home”, and never said anything to me—she treated me like a king, and I loved it. Interviewer: What impression did you have of the South Korean military officers that you dealt with? South Korean? Outstanding, they were—they all wanted to speak English, they all worked very, very, very hard, and all of them very dedicated to their country. Interviewer: This was a period when South Korea was sort of in transition toward a more democratic kind of state, or that kind of thing. To what extent were you aware of that? Not at all, we didn’t get involved in the political thing at all. You hear about it, and the Korean counterparts would talk about it, and they tell you what’s going on downtown, and what was happening to who, and then they would say, “don’t go in this section, stay away from here”. 37:54 For one year over there, I was out at a Korean headquarters, I spent a year at a Korean headquarters, and that was very, very interesting there, because the guy that I worked for didn’t like Koreans. It took them about ten minutes to figure that out , and he told me, he said, “you’ve got, Colonel, you’ve got all the social issues, I don’t want to hang with these people”, and they basically, just shut him out of the net, but 44 �boy, I had some great, great times. They were very, very dedicated, and when a Korean officers says, ”this is where we die, North Korea come, we die here, kill me some before we go”, very dedicated, and all proficient, they’re Korean, and their culture is different. 38:54 A couple of times, the chief of staff out there, who was a graduate of the University of Kansas, him and his wife both, Park e-Doh, the Lieutenant General, the commanding General, who was a graduate of the University of Kansas, a graduate of the Army General Staff School, the Army War College, spoke fluent English, his wife had her masters from somewhere in the states, spoke fluent English until they got with their Korean counterparts, and then it was totally Korean and nothing else, but they were great people, they were great people. I was very, very happy to have worked with them, and the night before we left, we had dinner with Park e-Doh, General Park e-Doh, and his wife, and just a great guy. The chief of staff would call me, and say, “tomorrow’s holiday, American holiday?” “No, colonel, we don’t have a holiday tomorrow”, “I think maybe American have holiday tomorrow, don’t come to compound, we have Korean things to do”. 40:04 “Yes sir, I understand”, so I hang up the phone and say, “holiday tomorrow, nobody work tomorrow, Sunday”. It was always on Saturday, so they had normally discipline time, and they had to discipline soldiers, and they didn’t want us around, you know. They would shoot them or whatever it was, but it was always public, beat them—you go back on Monday and somebody would say, “three deserters, we shoot them dead”, “ok, I don’t want to know that”. It was a good tour. Interviewer: So what was your next step after that? I came back to Forces Command—I went back to Atlanta, and when I left Korea they wanted to send me to the Pentagon. I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and they said 45 �I needed a tour at the Pentagon, and my wife said, “no”, and I said, “no, we're not going to the Pentagon”. 41:08 And they said, “then you’re going to retire”, and I said, “if need be”, I was right at twenty years and I said, “ if need be, I’ll retire”, so we were negotiating back and forth what I was going to do, and they called me, and they said, “alright, were going to send you to Fort Gillem, Georgia, you’re going back to the reserve components”, and I said, “ok”, and they said, “don’t ever expect another good assignment”, and I said, “I wasn’t really expecting a good assignment this time, you know”, “alright”. So, I go to Fort Gillem with a readiness group down there, and I walk in. The full Colonel was in command there, Dan Campbell, and he looked at me and he said, “Are you an aviator?” I said, “yes sir”, and he said, “What do you fly?” I said, “both fixed and rotors”, and he said, “You got any OV-1 time?” 42:05 I said, “I do”, and he said, “they have an OV-1 unit here in Georgia, and they need an advisor, do you want to be on flight status?” I said, “yes sir”, so I spent five years with that unit, on flight status, and it was a very, very rewarding time. You’re almost two years into the tour, and the commander had a heart attack and died on a track, and I was a deputy, so we did all the things, got him planted, and all that taken care of. I was working for a General Betkey, and he came down—we were in the 2nd Army together at Fort Gillem, and he walked into the office unannounced. Normally, general officers will always call and say, “hey were coming, we’ll be in your area”. 42:59 He walked in unannounced, and the secretary said, “General Betkey what are you...?” And he said, “Where’s Hudson? I want to see Gabe”. “Well, he’s back in his office”, and he said, “Why isn’t he in this office? He’s the commander and he should be in that office there”. He was very loud, a very loud—he was a good man, a Major General, so he comes walking down the hall, 46 �“Hudson, where the hell is Hudson?” So, I stuck my head out and said, “General, what are you doing—why didn’t you call?” He said, “I don’t need to call, I’m a General. What are you doing down here?” I said, “I’m doing my work”, and he said, “listen, I want to talk to you, let’s go up to the office”, so we walk into the commanders office, and he sits down at the desk, and I pulled up a chair, and got him some coffee. He said, “you did a good job putting Dan in the ground, excellent, excellent job. You really like this don’t you?” I said, “Like this?” And he said, “like being the commander”, and I said, “absolutely, sir”. 44:03 He said, “ You know, it’s an O-6 position, and were going to start looking for one, and in the meantime take acting off of that commander, and we’ll let you know”, so I had it for a year, they gave me a year, and I was in “hog heaven”, I was commander, and still flying. A commander called and said they needed a helicopter to go visit a unit, and we said, “whatever you need, sir”, and he said, “we need a crew too”, and we said, “whatever you need”, so it was a great tour. Interviewer: You did that for a year, and after that were you back to second in command again? Yes, I went back to second in command for a year, and then I had an eye problem, and I lost part of this right eye, and lost my flying seat, so I was supposed to go to Turkey, and take an aviation unit over there. 45:01 Well, I had a medical problem, and I also had a bunch of kids, so they said, “we can’t take you, or we can’t take the kids, and we can’t take you at all”, so they gave me a battalion at Forces Command, and I became a battalion commander with a security battalion at Forces Command. We took care of special intelligence, and I did that until I retired. 1993, it was—we went through the Gulf War, it wasn’t fun, and not being able to fly anymore. 47 �Interviewer: So, what were you doing while the Gulf War was going on? We were working with special intelligence, and it was our job as a security battalion commander, I had something like thirty-seven different detachments, and our job was to secure special intelligence. Interviewer: Where was that? Was that everywhere” We were all over CONUS, we had one in Panama, and one in Alaska, we had a detachment, and we were headquarters out of Forces Command. 46:02 Interviewer: Where is that? In Atlanta, at Fort McPherson, we stayed right there, so the kids—to the younger kids, that was home. We lived in Atlanta for about eight years. “This is home, I don’t remember moving, this is home”. Then in 1993 I just said, “I know I’m never going to get promoted, I’ve got an eye problem, I’m getting out”. I retired, and we retired for—I had two jobs, and I was working for the state of Georgia, and then Ken Scott from here in Grand Rapids called me, and said, “I got a job opening as a ROTC instructor, do you want to do that?” I said, “What does it pay?” He said, “not much”, and I said, “How are the hours?” He said, “not good”, and I said, “When are you interviewing?” 47:05 He said, “Thursday”, and I said, “Are you paying for the ticket?” He said, “no”, so I called the wife, and I said, “What do you think?” She said, “well, if we get to go back to Michigan”, and I had a mother here, my mom was still alive, and I had a brother who was over in the Detroit area, and he was sick, he had cancer, and I said, “let’s do it”, so I flew up, and was here fifteen minutes or so in the interview, and they offered me the job, and I said, “yeah, I’ll come back to Grand Rapids”, and it was a very rewarding time. Regardless of what they say on the news about Union High School right now, we had a 48 �good program over there. We did a lot for the school, a lot for kids that were in my program. About fifteen, sixteen hundred of them went through my program the thirteen years that I was there. Interviewer: What did the ROTC do for them, and what did the kids get out of it generally? 47:57 Leadership, citizenship, kids got to do—kids who couldn’t be a jock because they were too small, or they’re—they just didn’t want to be a jock or something, but they learned a little bit of leadership skills, you give them a project to do and, “hey man”, and they do one or two of those little things, and we competed. We had some drill teams, and we competed in a three or four state area here. Of course, they took their competition very, very seriously, and then we took all of our military duties. Whenever we moved the colors or anything like that, it was very meaning, and we did a lot of volunteer work for the school. The principal would call and say, “I need this done”, and we always said, “yes”. Interviewer: Did it sort of encourage the students to stay in school, and finish, and go on from there? A couple of them it did, sometimes it didn’t have a great effect. We weren’t recruiters, we couldn’t teach tactics, or anything like that, but I’ve still got probably ten students that are in the military, that e-mail me, and I got two in Iraq right now. 49:10 Interviewer: Just in terms of encouraging them to just finish school, and actually graduate, and that kind of thing? A couple of them, yes, but you don’t touch everybody, you don’t touch everybody, but if you get two or three a year that you can change around. One kid came in there one time, 49 �and he had a couple of piercing, like one of these “metal” freaks that you see, and by mid year, he had gotten rid of all his piercing, had gotten a real good haircut, and he was—“I want to do it, this is fun, Colonel, this is fun, and I feel important”, and I said, “hey, have at it”. Interviewer: Your wife followed you through this extended military career, and all these moves and changes etc, in a basic level, what did she think of our army life, or military life? How did she respond to it? 50:07 She hated it—a lot of traditions she didn’t, she did not like to follow the traditions. “I’m not putting on white gloves to go visit the battalion commander”. “Yes you are honey”. “Ok”. She was an excellent military wife, absolutely superb. I don’t know if I told you this the last time or not, but for twenty-seven years, airplanes, mission, and then came family, and my career was in there too, and that was all-and now we’re trying to make up on that. She understood that, the kids understood that, and I’m not particularly proud of that, but that’s the way it was. She was one hundred percent supportive of anything I ever wanted to do. 51:01 Interviewer: How much of the tradition sort of stuff did she actually have to deal with? Was that mostly early in your career? Early, earlier in my career, and once I became a battalion commander, and things, we didn’t do a lot of those things. We were always kind of laid back. We had a house with a nice pool, and you invited everybody over. “We’re going to have the pool, well have some beers, we’ll throw some burgers and brats on the grill, we’re going to relax. We’re not here for white gloves and hats”. Early in the career, during Vietnam, we got invited to a thing on New Year's day, at Fort Lewis, and we arrived, and the Mrs. opened the 50 �door and said, “There are some very important guests here right now, so just wait outside”, and it was raining. We were probably there ten minutes, and she opened the door and said, “Come in, see the colonel, and leave. Don’t eat anything because we have very important people coming later”, and I said, “Yes ma'am”. 52:06 As we were leaving she said, “I’ll never do that again”. She was drenched, and one couple went home. He had some very choice words, and he turned around and went home. Interviewer: Another thing, somewhere in the course— near the end of your career, you worked with Colin Powell? He was, he was—yes, Colin Powell was CinC Forces commander, commander in chief, forces command, and he came down to forces command. Just a superb man, a superb man, regardless of his politics, you know. One thing about Colin Powell, he had a 1967 Dart, that’s what he drove, and his first day on the job, he drove that, drove it over to forces command. 53:04 He was one to get to work fairly early, and he parked his Dart, and went upstairs to go to work. The M.P.’s that were out in front of the building, you know, were saying, “Whose car, whose car?” And they towed it away. Powell looked around and said, “Where’s my car?” “What kind of a car was it sir?” “A 1967 Dart”, and they said, “oh God, we towed it away”. Powell, he was—he’d get in the elevator, and other command staff, the commanders, they all had their own elevators, you know the important VIP elevator, two or three times a week he would just get on board with us, and say, “Good morning guys, how are you all doing today?” He was just very, very, personable, and very easy to talk to, and he was a great guy, a great guy. 54:00 Interviewer: Now, we’ve covered quite a bit of material, and had it for the better part of two hours, and we’ve done pretty well here, and hey, tape is cheap. I’m not 51 �here to think for BCTV, but that’s the basic rule on this. Now, if you look back on the course of your military career, I guess first of all—are there particular episodes, or things that kind of stand out in your mind about that, that we managed to leave out of the story at this point? Whether it was in Vietnam or in the states, or other stuff that would be good to get on the record? You could talk for three days, four days because there’s—I know when I get home I’ll say, “jeez, I should have done this, I should have done that”. There are a lot of very, very personal things that I don’t share, and I probably should someday, but I don’t. It was just—my time that I spent with the U.S. Army was all very, very rewarding. I never asked for the moon. 55:03 I always asked for a job rather than a location, and the people that I worked with, the people I worked for, and the people that worked for me, were all outstanding people. There was—well, one or two along the way, but across the board, outstanding, outstanding American citizens. Hard working, dedicated, with one thing in mind, you know, we’re here to protect the country, and at any time we could have been called upon, you know, “call in the check, we’re going to cash your check”, you know, up to, and including, one life for the country, because every vet wrote that check, and I was just very, very glad, and very happy to serve, and I had an excellent time doing it, it was fun. 56:03 I really was fun. Interviewer: do you see a different attitude, in this country, these days toward people in the service, as opposed to back in the Vietnam era? Oh absolutely, absolutely, you know when you come through an airport now, or something, and five or six service men get off of an airplane, it’s not unusual to have a bunch of people stand up and applaud them, you know. You see one serviceman get on 52 �an airplane and the captain will say, “move him to first class”, “move that guy to first class”. It’s a lot different than the Vietnam days, and I’m glad of that. You tell people now, “What did you do?” “Spent some time in the military”, and they say, “thank you for your service”, and you don’t know how much that means. It really helps you right there in the heart when somebody says, “thank you for your service”. 57:06 “Were you ever in Vietnam?” “Yes sir, I was”, and they say, “thank you”, and I think, “Where the hell were you thirty or forty years ago, you know”. Interviewer: Sometimes we learn something from history. Yes, and it’s so great for the military to have that change in attitude. People deployed overseas now, and you’ve got these people sending them pillows and bears, and sending them treats, and things like that. It’s really, really great. Interviewer: I think that makes a pretty good note to close on, and I want to thank you for coming in and talking with me today. Again, my pleasure, I totally enjoyed it. 57:44 53 � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hudson, Gabriel (Interview transcript and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hudson, Gabriel Description An account of the resource Born in Sturgis, Michigan in 1942, Gabe Hudson joined the U.S. Army in 1967 following several years of college. After completing training as a photo interpreter, Hudson deployed to Vietnam served with 101st Airborne Division for fifteen months. After returning to the United States, Hudson continued in the military, training with the OV-1 reconnaissance aircraft. Once he completed that training, Hudson redeployed to Vietnam for another fifteen months and was on the last flight of American troops out of Da Nang. Following Vietnam, Hudson served at a variety of different posts, including in Korea and several throughout the United States before finally retiring after twenty-seven years of service. 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 Persian Gulf War, 1991--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 2010-02-09 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HudsonG 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/47fd51af2fdf8a44d9a575f4c8c2d586.mp4 9547efe3308bdbe197271dc642226563 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/97c31c5b38bbdcea82a9e2eb670481f5.pdf 37a0a61ee2472fc0a124b9808263c11f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ron Howell (1:35:54) Background Information (00:15) • • • • • • Born in Flint, Michigan on May 15th 1948. (00:18) His father worked for AT&T. His job required them to move to Indianapolis where Ron registered for the draft and graduated high school. (00:28) His family moved back to Detroit and Ron got a job as a cable splicer. His frustrations with life lead him to join the Marines. (1:24) Ron enlisted in 1966. (2:21) Ron was told by a man he worked with who was in the marines that Ron’s choice was fine but he would break his legs unless he signed up for only a 2 year stint. (3:24) In August of 1967 Ron sighed papers and took a physical. He did not get sent to Fort Wayne in December of 1967. (4:42) Basic Training (5:15) • • • • • • • • • • When he arrived at the San Diego training center in a bus, the men were shocked by a drill sergeant who came on and yelled at them. As they were ordered out of the bus and told to stand at attention, those who did not do so were punched. (5:39) Shaving of the head, issuing of cloths, shots, and the establishment of unity were all done with in the first couple of weeks. (6:42) Boot camp conditioned the men to military discipline. If a soldier said “can’t” they were sent to motivation school. This consisted of moving a pile of sand by buckets. (7:20) Whenever someone in the group messed up, the meanest member of the platoon was beaten by the drill sergeant. (8:35) Ron had played sports through high school so the physical training was not too difficult. The weapons’ training was more difficult. (9:21) There were some people who struggled understanding orders or the intensity needed to show that they were giving 110%.(11:36) The men who enlisted were separated initially form those who were drafted. (12:44) One drill instructor had been to Vietnam already. (13:06) Boot camp lasted 12-16 weeks with 4 weeks at Pendleton rifle range. (15:12) Ron was very rebellious as a child and joining the military was defiant and not a surprise to his parents. (16:13) Radio School (17:50) • • • • Ron was trained on larger radios to start then smaller back pack ones. (18:00) Radio school lasted 4 weeks. (18:05) He was given leave before being sent to Vietnam. (18:58) During his 30 day leave Ron worked downtown during a strike in Detroit, Michigan. (19:45) Arrival in Vietnam (20:33) �• • • • • • • Ron landed in Da Nang Vietnam. The heat was very overbearing. Ron was assigned to the 27th Marines. (20:35) He arrived in Vietnam in July of 1968. (21:05) Ron sat at a radio and received radios with a team, would decode it, and then would give them to his officer. (22:15) Ron didn’t stay at HQ for very long because he was frustrated with not serving out in the bush. (23:09) The base at Quang Tri was a massive bunker complex with lager tents housing 8-10 people. (23:46) Ron received a report that VC were moving up a river but it was difficult to get the message to the officers that needed it in a timely matter. (25:02) Ron asked to be transferred to a field unit. He was assigned to Company C of the 3rd Shore Party. A Shore party where he worked as the field radio operator assigned to a unit and called in helicopter support. (26:51) Service in the 3rd Shore Party (29:40) • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ron was taken to his assigned company by truck. (29:46) He was assigned to an artillery unit at one point. At the base he was stationed in the bunkers the men used were constructed by the French. (31:00) Though he was there to protect the people from communism when he arrived, at the end he didn’t trust any civilian in Vietnam. (32:24) Marines had liquor crossed out on their ration card and could not obtain it. (33:35) Ron was given three days leave to register for a college entry exam in Da Nang. (34:24) While Ron was staying in Da Nang during his three days later he met a man who was part of the Phoenix Team. (36:01) Ron felt like the men in his unit looked out for him and others. (38:26) When shooting opened up while Ron was in the field he was able to react using his training. His first big action was with Alpha Company in the DMZ. The unit was constantly mortared. After taking a hill, the unit was engaged. (40:16) He recalls the Navy Corpsman of the unit running in to the fire to take care of the unit. Ron had a high respect for these men. (42:17) Ron had to call in helicopters to evacuate casualties. (43:40) Ron was able to call in airstrikes or gun strikes but he did not have the training to properly give coordinates. (46:10) Ron often had problems calling in helicopters unless the area was cleared. There was a particular concern about having aircraft shot down in the DMZ. (48:00) Men spent a week in the read before being sent back out to the bush. During the monsoon seasons, men often spent more time in the rear. (50:12) Life in Vietnam (51:30) • • Ron was never with the same platoon twice. (51:35) There was about 6-8 people that Ran was able to get close with and even wrote a little bit after he was out of the service. (52:18) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • Ron was very aware of the anti war movement. He was a big fan of Motown and made friends with some black soldiers. They were later unable to talk to Ron due to the Black Power movement. (54:06) Marijuana was a problem in the bush. In fact, men would wear gas masks with marijuana in it while in the bush. (56:20) There was a general understanding that while on an operation the men were not to spoke. (57:55) There was great fear for being captured. (59:25) The people in Da Nang often had very exotic dress. (1:00:22) Ron was sent to China beach on a three day R&R. much of this time was spent drinking. (1:01:19) Ron waited to use his R&R until the end of his service. When he heard that he had a chance to go home in mid 1969, he tried to go to Hong Kong. However, if he took his R&R he would have been sent home later than original so he decided to give it up all together. (1:02:12) Ron was on hill 950 which served as a large communications area. Ron was assigned to a company protecting the hill. (1:04:24) Ron did receive some mortar fragment in his left leg. It did not strike his bone but was immobilized. (1:05:54) The men who flew the helicopters often varied in characters. Somewhere very professional and businesslike when delivering supplies. Others were wilder when coming into an area they knew was hot. (1:06:55) Ron did not encounter helicopters getting shot down too often. (1:08:49) Ron had some experiences that still trouble him psychologically. (1:09:49) After returning home, Ron found that he received his deferment two weeks after he enlisted. (1:10:30) Voyage Home (1:11:20) • • • • • • The Marines stopped at Fort Hanson Okinawa on the way back to the U.S. (1:11:20) One man tried to go AWOL on Okinawa. He was recovered 3 days later. (1:12:40) Ron was then flown from Okinawa to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay to be processed. (1:14:22) Once arriving on California, Ron immediately changed into civilian clothes. (1:15:11) Ron was required to serve 5 more years in the reserve after being discharged. (1:15:45) Ron arrived back home to Michigan in August of 1969. (1:16:45) Life after Service (1:17:45) • • • • He did claim his cable splicer job back until the January of 1970 when Ron attended Northern Michigan University. (1:17:50) He received a bachelor of science with heavy emphasis on administration. (1:19:22) The Dean of Students addressed the men directly at Northern Michigan University and said no female was to be in the dorms past 10. A Vietnam veteran spoke up against this. They did not like being told what to do. (1:19:40) Ron spoke out publicly against the war on one occasion. Another Vietnam Veteran who heard this detested Ron as a result. (1:21:15) �• • • • • Ron did have some trouble readjusting. Joining school helped with his ability to adjust to normal life. (1:22:30) To this day when it is hot and there is a warm rain at night, Ron has a heightened sense of alertness. (1:24:04) His is thankful for his wife for staying with him and for staying busy and driven in order to distract himself from his troubles. (1:25:00) Ron still has difficulty seeing small children, particularly if they are oriental. (1:26:41) He feels sympathy for the men who go to the Middle East and experience a very similar situation as to what Ron experienced in Vietnam. (1:30:08) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Howell, Ron (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Howell, Ron Description An account of the resource Ron Howell, born in Flint, Michigan in 1948 He enlisted in the Marine Corps and served from 1967 to 1969. Trained at San Diego as a radio operator, he was sent to Vietnam in June, 1968 and assigned to a headquarters unit in Da Nang. He later requested duty in the field, and became a radio operator with the 3rd Shore Party near the DMZ, and went out with different combat units to call in helicopter support. 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. Marine Corps 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 2012-09-13 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HowellR1439V 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/9e3060ad3c9817949db93065812beaab.mp4 04bb307c429a360ba2897474fc57673f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd1f2332f77263d074293ffb1bf63627.pdf c1c8c401bc2679806abe0336d635c008 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Other veterans & civilians Interviewee name: Robert Hotelling Length of Interview: (00:25:26) Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Robert Hotelling Length: 25:26 (00:25) Background Information      Robert was born in Hollywood, Florida on February 19, 1958 He lived with his grandmother until he was 9 years old and then moved to Michigan In high school Robert was in the marching band and played basketball and football Robert graduated from high school in 1976 and then went to a recruiter station in Alpena to learn more about the Marines He entered into an open contract with the Marines in April 1977, signing on for 4 years of active duty (4:25) Marines  Robert was told he could go through boot camp in New York or California and he chose the latter  He went through boot camp in San Diego for 7 weeks and it was very rough  The men had to get up every day at 5:30 a.m. to go running before they had breakfast  The food was “nasty,” with powdered eggs for breakfast  Robert’s platoon had started out with 80 men and about half of them washed out  He had gone through infantry training and became an expert marksman (8:30) Administration School  After boot camp Robert had remained in California for an additional 30 days  He went through administration school to learn how to type  Robert was then assigned to a base in Hawaii; he thought Hawaii was a very nice and enjoyed the change in scenery  Robert was in Hawaii for four years working as a clerk  He had top secret security clearance, working with secret documents and delivering them to superiors (11:30) Average Days �      Usually Robert got up at 7:30 for breakfast and was to work by 8 in the administrative G1 Office They had 1 hour off for lunch at noon and they usually watched soap operas at that time The men would be out of work by 4:30 and then either go to the bar or the beach At one point a group of MPs had searched their barracks for suspected marijuana Everyone had known who the suspect was, but no one would speak up, so they were all reduced in rank Robert was reduced from corporal to lance corporal, but eventually made it back up in rank (15:55) End of Service  Robert received a free ticket to go back to Michigan  He decided to go live at his grandma’s house in Lansing and began looking for work in 1981  Robert found work in truck driving, but eventually moved to Northern Michigan to work on a sawmill  He later worked for Meijer in Grand Rapids, MI as a semi driver  Robert now lives at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hotelling, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hotelling, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Hotelling was born in Hollywood, Florida on February 19, 1958. He moved to Michigan when he was 9 years old and graduated from high school in 1976. Shortly after graduating Robert signed on for active duty with the Marines for 4 years in 1977. Robert went through boot camp in California and then through administrative school in the same area. After training, Robert was stationed in Hawaii for about four years working as a clerk with top secret security clearance. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-07-21 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HotellingR 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/7ac15f7a54127d1052b5a10da21da2ea.mp4 3dcf65c5d550298dc1069aef3884dce4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/69d6e5fefc17dbcb22981a893c8e0598.pdf 69d5a7ca8c7c55707791e1173b323ebd PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Arthur Hotchkiss Cold War/Vietnam Era (39:26) Entrance into the Military (00:40)        At the age of 17 Arthur had an interest in going into the military. (00:44) He joined the Naval Reserve. A year later he was placed on a 2 year active duty stint. (00:48) Due to his love for the Navy, Arthur enlisted for another 6 years after his 2 year active duty was up. (1:10) While in the Navy Arthur was involved in the Cuban Messily Crises as well as President Kennedy’s flight to Europe. (1:16) After he enlisted, Arthur was sent to 2 weeks of reserve boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois in 1958. (1:39) In 1959 when he was placed on active duty, he was required to take 4 more weeks of training at Great Lakes. In June of 1959 Arthur was placed in active duty aboard the destroyer USS Charles P. Cecil. (2:00) Active service (2:20)   Being a new sailor, Arthur was often questioned as well as put through initiations. (2:25) He was made a 3rd class radio man and then a petty officer. (3:38) Life on the Destroyer (3:14)    Men woke up at 6 AM.(3:16) If not on duty during the day, men were assigned to clean the ship or chip paint. (4:10) The destroyer had approx. 200 crew members. (5:14) The Cuban Missile Crisis (5:50)        Arthur recalls receiving many messages via radio about the buildup of missiles in Cuba. (6:21) In September/October of 1962 the men were told the ship was going near Cuba for training excises. The men knew that this was not entirely true. (7:36) Arthur recalled hearing several low flying planes. These planes carried marines to Guantanamo Bay. (8:35) In mid-October, the ship was to patrol Guantanamo Bay. The ship had lights placed on it at night. (11:24) When moving out of Guantanamo Bay harbor, he witnessed a ship collision between a military vessel and a wooden ship. It was rumored that the wooden ship was taking pictures of Guantanamo Naval base. (12:50) While in the blockade, his ship picked up a Russian freighter. (14:05) Arthur sent a call out to the Russian freighter. After 5 minutes the Russian ship responded. So the destroyer did not fire upon her. (15:23) �Kennedy’s Flight to Europe (17:54)         The ship was then sent to the North Atlantic to put out a homing beacon for when President Kennedy flew to Europe in June 1963. Arthur’s ship was placed near Ireland. The ship was part of a string of destroyers placed across the Atlantic to track President Kennedy’s flight to Europe. (18:40) During Kennedy’s flight, the waves were said to be 100 ft. (19:13) It was not uncommon for the splash from the waves to knock sailors off their feet. (20:33) Pumps on the ship had to be running 24 hours a day on the destroyer so that it would not flood too quickly. (21:20) The ship was ordered to go back to Virginia after Air Force One flew over so that it could be repaired. (22:54) Due to the speed of Arthur’s destroyer, the ship was the first to arrive in the U.S. (24:26) Due to the extent of needed repairs on the ship, Arthur was transferred to the USS Murray. (25:20) Service on the Murray (25:50)    In February of 1964 he was placed in the Mediterranean. (25:52) One of the petty officers on the USS Murray began to drink and was an alcoholic. This man one time played a prank on an officer that involved the man being hit in the rear with a broom. (26:35) While at Guantanamo Bay, one of the men thought they saw a body in the water. It was actually a garbage bag full of water. (31:00) End of Service (33:00)    Arthur was discharged in June of 1967. He later received a job in a radio shop. (33:10) He decided to leave the Navy due to the need to make a change in his life. (33:30) Arthur received a job at the post office in Muskegon where he was born and worked there for 45 years. (34:00) Map (34:09) Pictures (34:52)    Arthur with a high frequency receiver. (35:37) Author transmitting mores code. (36:18) Picture from Life Magazine. (37:06) Medals (37:57)  Arthur received medals of the blockade, good conduct, Cuban Missile Crisis. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hotchkiss, Arthur (Interview outline and video), 2006 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hotchkiss, Arthur Description An account of the resource Arthur Hotchkiss, born in Muskegon, Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy from approx. 1961-1967. During his service, Arthur served in both the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as President Kennedy's flight to Europe. Arthur served as a radio operator on 3 ships while in the Navy, and went on cruises in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Mediterranean. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Huffman, Dave (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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2006-06-06 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HotchkissA1258V 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/31f5bde6706b1691f21d606fc6afa0ae.mp4 dd1d696f083a056a738bf0146f8d48f9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c665ae4490434dfeabbe9bacd9f8721a.pdf 62b2f2b7ec42d873dd4e2b852d06ce5e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans Project Interview Melvin E. Hospital (01:35:00) [Note on time coding: Mr. Hospital jumped around quite a bit between topics, and the outline below presents some parts of the interview out of order so as to make more sense to the reader. The time codings preserve the original order of the interview.] Pre-Enlistment (00:05) • Early life (01:10) o Hospital gives background as to how he was adopted. (01:30) Was dropped off at Harmon Keeper Hospital; kept for 2 weeks by an adapted family & then was sent to live in a Catholic orphanage in New Boston, MI. (02:23) o Hospital then moves on to mention the conditions faced by boys and girls in Germany living in orphanages and the type of work they were expected to do. (05:02) o Melvin Hospital, finally mentions, that he was born on Sept. 24th, 1920. (06:03) • Enlistment/Training (42:03) o Why did they join/influences (42:05) •  When he went down to the draft board he received an eligibility form which made him eligible to join. (42:25)  Hospital first joined the Navy, 21 days after the invasion of Poland. (48:44) Doesn’t mention anything about basic training. (48:44) Served for a year in the Navy and then came back and was transferred to the Navy Reserve. (51:56)  Hospital goes on to mention that he served with the Naval Reserve for 4 yrs, 4 months, & 14 days.  When Pearl Harbor was bombed he was coming back from Carolina To L.A. (53:20)  Briefly mentions that his POW camp was liberated by an English general. (55:44) Active Duty (06:35) �o Prison Camp Experience (06:40)  Approximately 3,000 prisoners dug potatoes and defenses for the Germans. After this the Germans loaded them onto trucks. Once they had done so they stuck a pipe coming from the muffler into the truck and then gassed all 3,000 and then burned their bodies. (06:43)  Hospital tells this experience because he was responsible in helping dispose of the bodies. After his experience here, his job was to organize soldier’s shoes which were then sent to neutral countries like Switzerland (08:05)  He relates several experiences where he played tricks on his German captors. (09:17) • In one instance, Hospital received cigarettes which he gave to a German commander but didn’t give him any matches. (11:16) • In another instance he intentionally started a fire and called the Germans to put it out. (12:55)  In one instance, Hospital finds eggs in someone’s lawn and shares them with a German solider. Meanwhile, some German kids come to the fence and start speaking German to Hospital. Eventually he learns the German language. (15:33)  The commander of the German camp calls him into his office and tells him in German that these kids like him and within 10 minutes writes something in Latin which Hospital cannot understand. (17:10) From then on, the Germans use Hospital as a means to find out about America. (18:07)  Eventually, Hospital and the other prisoners go down to an international trade center island in Spain. (19:10)  Hospital eventually ended up back near Frankfurt. While here, he performs a variety of tasks such burial of soldiers and cutting of twigs which the Germans then put together in bundles and use them to float across rivers. In contrast, the Americans used pontoon bridges to get men & equipment across rivers. (21:38)  When American forces crossed rivers they used bailey bridges. The Germans would hide in nearby farmhouses and would open up on the approaching Americans from their machine gun emplacements. (22:20) � Hospital briefly describes a hill called the Berchtesgaden where Hitler stayed. Also, mentions that the Germans told him about the Panzetta. (25:13)  Hospital briefly describes how the Germans would hide and disguise their tanks so that when the Americans walked by all they would see would be unsalvageable tank parts. (27:02)  Hospital mentions Rommel’s failures in Africa and then goes into how Rommel committed suicide since Hitler had fired him. (28:02) Also describes how Rommel’s strategy to repair his tanks during nighttime met with failure when American efforts disrupted this process because of previous intel provided to the Americans by local peoples. (29:45)  Hospital goes on to mention that Rommel used apricot [cyanide] to commit suicide upon Hitler’s request. (30:51)  He briefly mentions German women who trained hundreds of dogs to catch escaped prisoners. To avoid them, a prisoner could open a car door, let them in, & then exit on the car on the other side so as to trap the dog. (31:43)  Hospital briefly describes the German health system. (33:44) Afterwards, he goes on to talk about various cooking techniques incorporated by the Germans to prepare prison food. (36:40) Briefly discusses what food was like in the 22 countries he traveled through. (37:05)  Makes reference to some of the various poisons employed by the Germans and that trains in Germany were exclusively used by German troops. (40:10)   Hospital then makes reference to how Germany’s food production worked. (48:17) Making brief mention of the Monarchy 12-pound chicken whose egg helped to feed the German people. (46:59)  Upon landing in Algiers he was captured by the Germans and sent to a POW camp. (49:44) Doesn’t make mention to how it happened. (49:44)  In reference to his POW experience, Hospital mentions that he was in/out of various prison camps in Russia, Poland, and Germany. (50:05) Spent 4 months in Russia. After that he was sent to one where his job was to burn the dead bodies. (50:13) � Hospital mentions that an English general liberated his prison camp. (55:30) His job at the time of his liberation was to sort different pairs of shoes. (56:17)  Describes that the prison rations usually received by POWs included cabbage, hard-bread, and potatoes. (56:59) o Other Relevant Information (40:55)  Briefly mentions that Hitler got his power from a Volkswagen Union and afterwards invaded Poland. Following this, Hospital mentions that Hitler stole the Lipizzaner Stallions. (40:55)  Briefly describes a variety of assortment of facts regarding American bombing campaigns & ways the Germans employed to protect their weaponry. (59:10) After the Service (1:00:43) • After being discharged, Hospital discusses in great detail his part in helping with the construction of the Mackinac Bridge. (1:01:24) Working as a ribbet heater, he describes what his job entailed. (1:01:37) Worked on the bridge until they closed the project down due to their being no safety groups and the loss of 11-crewmen working. (1:02:56) • Went on to work as a personal secretary for Henry Ford. Worked 3-5 hours a day for him. Further mentions his responsibilities & many encounters with Ford. (1:12:27) Worked a year for Ford and briefly mentions that Ford died of pneumonia. (1:14:29) • Hospital reiterates, first how he was hired to be part of the Mackinac Bridge crew and then his work with Henry Ford. (1:15:10) After working for Ford, he served in a variety of roles first as a ticket holder at a local township park and then later as a firefighter. (1:23:16) • Hospital then briefly discusses how he came to the nursing home. (1:29:41) • Briefly retells his story of escape and near-encounter of being recaptured by a German squad looking for escaped POWs, mainly him. Mentions how he hid under pine needles and foliage to evade detection for several days. (1:35:12) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hospital, Melvin (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hospital, Melvin Description An account of the resource Melvin Hospital enlisted in the US Navy in 1939, and was captured by the Germans during the initial allied naval attack on Algiers in 1942. He spent the rest of the war in different German prison camps in Russia, Poland and Germany before being liberated by British forces. After the war, he helped build the Mackinac bridge. 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 Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-06-29 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HospitalM 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/20124f715cd4c4d0fa9dfde36e2aa9c3.mp4 7de9d0caf9156cb836fbe178a36008ff https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8568a8e18db2d5416f474f382702eedc.pdf 8a2871766d43d6fa4cf136989281e9e7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Cold War Name of Interviewee: Daniel Horon Length of Interview: 00:56:10 Background:             He lives in Sparta, MI. He was born in Chicago, in 1939, in February. He lived in the south side of Chicago. At the age of 6, his dad moved them to Bridgman, Michigan. His dad had a job near there, working as a machinist and then in a laundry company, setting up washing machines. He would attend Bridgman High School and would graduate in 1957. In 1956, he joined the Navy Reserve and would go to meeting in Benton Harbor. He had a few uncles in the Navy in WWII. He figured he would go in because he had always wanted to. He and his friends would spend a lot of time together. They would take speed boats out on Lake Michigan, they would go hiking and look for arrowheads and other things. He was expected to serve 2 years of active duty. He would join in November 1957. He would take his first airplane to Washington D.C. and got in just at sunset. It was a very beautiful sight. He would train at Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois. Training (3:30)         During training, they instructors were really tough on them. They trained a lot in a pool. Before they were allowed in, however, they had to scrub their feet really well to get any fungus they may have had off of them. The instructors would then have them get onto a diving board almost 15 feet above the water. Some of the guys there had never been in water before and had to be thrown off. He and an officer had come to the barracks one night to make inspection rounds when he had found a bucket with someone’s clothes in it. He made them all get up and gave them 10 minutes to clean everything up. When the officer came back in and said that that was better, one of the men said “Goodnight Daddy!” He thought they were all done for, but the officer just grinned and walked away. He and the others were eventually put into a gas chamber, making sure that they had their masks on tight. And his was on very well. After making sure that everyone had it on, they had them take it off to take a good whiff of the tear gas was in there. They were not allowed to leave until the last man took his mask off. When they did get out, they couldn’t see anything. �                  There was a lot of marching and pushups, carrying those antique rifles that weighed about 15 pounds. They also did a fire drill where they were put into a building and the building was set on fire. You had to go and put that fire out. They also set an outdoor tent on fire and had them put it out. He would also have some classwork during basic training as well. In these classes he would learn how to fire a 5-inch naval gun. (9:30) He would practice loading those things and it was a lot of work. He came out of basic about 25 pounds heavier. Boot camp lasted about 2 weeks. From there he was flown out to Washington D.C. In Washington, he was put right into mess cooking. It was an old barracks and there were a lot of cockroaches around. They would make bets on which was faster and so on. It was a temporary duty. For the most part he would stay in the barracks and on weekends he would go down and see the capital. He bought his first camera when he was down there and he took lots of pictures. He had a great time looking around. The next thing he did was to put him on an overnight train to Brooklyn, New York. And then they sent him to Newfoundland. It was very cold there. At first he thought he was going to Argentia, but it was actually a city in Newfoundland. The trip to Newfoundland was not very nice in the North Atlantic during the winter. It was very breezy and you could not be out there very long. But if you got sea sick, you had to go up on deck, and he got seasick. He did not get seasick at first, but then they gave him the job of moping the front head, which is the frontward toilet area. It was really bad. Newfoundland (15:00)         When they finally reached the harbor, some tugboats had come out to meet them to help bring them into the harbor. All you could see were snow covered hills. The barracks there were very old. He would be assigned to work at the post office. At midnight they would wake you up to get mail off a plane. The DEW Line, or Distant Early Warning Line, would be placed there. It was a series of aircraft with radar on them that would fly out to the Azores, and make a 12 hour run. Below them were radar picket ships. They would come back with ice almost 2 feet thick and they would have to chip it away in order to keep their radar working properly. He got into the Air Intelligence Office by going to school for it in Norfolk for 4 weeks. He ended up hitching a ride back earlier than he had originally planned and was put on fire watch. He walked up and down the hallway, and he heard a plane come in and crash. That was the original flight he was supposed to be on. 13 men were lost that day, and he knew of one of them. �                         This crash was about 1200 ft off the runway in the water. They had sent more people out to go and try to find survivors. 12 or so were rescued. While they were there, they wore these fleece coats, with an inch of fleece in the middle. It was always breezy and cold there. The snow would hit your eyes and you would almost need safety glasses, it would cut them. One time he was trying to find his way to a barracks, but he missed the door. The wind had blown him down a ways and he had to go towards the wind in order to find the door again. They lost guys who would just get lost outside and freeze to death because of the weather there. Especially guys who got drunk. They recommended that at least three people travel together there during the winter time. The Air Intelligence Training he received in Washington D.C. was all about secret rockets and stuff like that. We kept wire recordings of the Russians, and had to patch them up. He became quite a graphic artist, taking pictures of ships and aircraft, and making a presentation. One of the presentations was for the lieutenant governor of Newfoundland. They showed slideshows of aircraft and things like that. One time the Russians cut the Atlantic cable with a fishing boat, or somehow. So he was sent out to go take pictures of it. They put him in a rubber suit that would allow him to live 30 minutes in the water; otherwise it was only 10 minutes. They wanted him to take pictures of the Russian trawlers. He would also get pictures of icebergs and other ships out there. He would go out in a plane that would have a bubble on it for him to take pictures. The suit was for in case they crashed in the water. At first, the maneuvering of the plane would cause him to drop his camera equipment and he would miss his shots. But after some time he finally got used to it and was able to anticipate the moves of the plane. One time while they were developing some photos, some guys from LIFE magazine had come in and taken some photos of their own. They had it really easy. Each had their own camera with different lenses and about 100 rolls of film, open and ready to go. There was a secret report on the cable that had got cut, and there was still debate on whether it was an accident or not. (27:30) The Russian trawlers were suspected to try and spy on the radar of the Americans. They had radar on their ships that was not necessary to fish. Instead they may have wanted to keep track of the different carriers and such. The Grand Banks were there. A picture that he got shows the mountains there and such. They would use the radar there to keep an eye on the ships that come and go. It was a dangerous time. Everyone kept missiles prepare in case they were needed. One of the guys who were flying him around had to dodge something, though he doesn’t know what it was. No one had the capability of firing a missile in the middle of the ocean. People at home were digging bomb shelters. The guy who started the Hungarian Revolution was executed by Russian in 1958. There was a lot of talk of war. �                     During that time there were troubles in Lebanon, and some small military aircraft stopped at their base en route to Lebanon A Soviet ship put in at the port because a crewman had appendicitis, and one of the officers from the base put on civilian clothing managed to get aboard and look around. There were a lot of spies and things going on. They did find some spies in Newfoundland. He had a top secret clearance for the base, but mostly to keep things regulated and under control, people did not talk about what they were doing. There was a town nearby where he and others would go. There was a bar there where he and some of the guys would go and drink some English ale. (33:00) It was not very strong, and the bar owners would make a lot of money if someone was going there to get drunk. There would be fights between the natives and the soldiers. There would be fights between the sailors and the Marines. It was a dark and dreary place. In the summer, you had to be in bed by 9pm and the sun would be shining. In the winter, you were up and to work by 8am and it would still be black outside. Around noon, the sun would come up for an hour or two, and by the time you got out at 4pm, it was dark again. It was cold, miserable, and rainy and there were lots of blizzards. Although it did hit 60 degrees, maybe twice while he was there. One time he was walking back into the barracks and he walked up a mound of snow and fell into a hole where a care had been parked. The snow came up to his shoulders and the guys in the barracks had to pull him out. When the weather was better he could get out and see a little more. There was silver mine a few miles out and he and the others would hike around and go up there. There was an 8-inch gun left over from WWII that would help to protect the bay from Submarines. Behind them were the steel doors that mostly likely held the ammunition for the gun. They thought about exploring more, but decided not to. While they were in the silver mine, they grabbed a few rock samples. While they were there, they had a chance to go to St. Johns, the capitol. It was 80 miles by gravel road. The gravel was really sharp and they had a really old vehicle. A stone had come up and shot through the radiator hose. Luckily one of the guys had said he could fix it. The guy had ended up creating his own radiator hose and building it from scratch. It was very creative. (37:15) St. Johns had little rooms in the house and small doors. The houses there were painted strange colors. He thinks it was to find them in the winter. There were a lot of different people up there, from all different nations. He met a man called Jim Crowe who worked on the base for a while, but was a native. He gave a pretty rock and would introduce him more into the ways of their culture. He even showed him an anti-American song, but it was really funny. He remembers that you could buy a whole pot of tea for a nickel, but a cup of coffee was a quarter. They didn’t drink coffee, so it was kind of rare. �                     When the natives would go out fishing, they would have to bring fog horns in order to find their way back to the land. They would go out in little dories and hand line codfish. He remembers that one man took a spoon and made it into a fishing lure and caught a codfish with it. Another guy went in with a diving suit and got a lobster. One time when he was getting food, his tray had held a lobster that hung off of either end. The man handed him a napkin full of tools to help him in his mission to get the meat from that thing. He had plier, pincher, and a couple of picks. It was good but scary. He would also have a couple of other people to land on the secret base as well. One of the soviet government officials would land there and it made quite a stir with the soldiers there. If you had a car out there it was a challenge. One time one of the officers had parked his car, and the water had come up to the bottom of the frame of the car and froze. He had to haul buckets of water out there in order to get it unfrozen from the ground. They had snow blowers that you would not believe. These things would throw snow almost 200 feet. They had to keep the runways clear and it was difficult to keep them clear. It was dangerous being there because the weather was so unpredictable. One minute the wind would be coming from one direction, the next hour it would come from another. He was surprised there weren’t more casualties. There were 29 men who died altogether while he was there. One time a plane had crashed and gone up in flames right on the runway. He would go to the mess hall the next day and see some of the guys from the crash. They had worn flame protective gear under their coats, but they looked pretty roughed up. A few ships were lost as well. There was a tower there to help guide the ships into the harbor, so there were not so many problems there. When he was working at the post office he had to go aboard the ships to deliver mail (47:00) He went aboard a couple icebreakers, a supply ship, the auxiliary repair ships and a submarine once. The guys in the sub had been running under water for 40 days and they were all on deck and breathing air. He finally got his mail pouch down the hatch, and he explored the ship. It was a pretty happy bunch of guys. As his time in the service was running out, he wanted to go to college. So when they asked, it was tempting, but he still said no. They even offered him to go to nuclear training school. But he still said no. After he worked in the post office, he worked for the Admiral who ran the base. Admiral Martin was a quiet man. He had a sword and stuff. One day he had left it in the office and he got a picture of it. When his time was up, the Admiral stopped his car and gave him a ride to the airport. While he was there, they did not get anyone get away with anything. It was a strict base. All the formalities of the barracks were supposed to be followed. �  You learn how to get along with people and you get into fights along the way. You learn how to fight your own battles as well. He learned how to judge people a little better and you learn how to go on your own. Post Duty (54:05)  When he got out he went right into college at the University of Detroit. It was quite a shock.  He was on his own; he had little money and no GI benefits.  He finished 2 years of college and worked as an engineering technician for about 8 years.  He would move around to Newaygo and finally end up in Sparta. CD 1  Contains images of the harbor, broken pipeline, ships, architecture and scenery from Newfoundland. CD2  Contains images of different aircraft, him up in the plane, crew and visitors and their aircraft, different ships, overhead views of the scenery and harbor. CD3  Contains images of a town, architecture in the town, different statues, scenery, flowers, and different parts of the town. CD4  Contains images of people, ships, aircraft, paper cuttings, cars buried in snow, equipment, icebergs, a hangar, scenery, sunset, the town, plant life, buildings, statues, architecture, the old gun from WWII, more people. CD5  Contains images of people, ships, scenery, aircraft, equipment, the runway, paper cuttings, ice covered planes, the Admiral’s sword, the town architecture, statues, more people, plants, � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Horon, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Horon, Daniel Description An account of the resource Daniel Horon served in the Navy during the Cold War, from 1957 to 1961. He trained in communications and photographic intelligence and was sent to an air base in Newfoundland. He performed a variety of duties, including aerial reconnaissance, and provides detailed accounts of both life on the base and of the assorted tensions brought on by the Cold War as they played out in Newfoundland. He also took large quantities of pictures while there, and many of these are included in his file. 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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-11-12 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HoronD 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/70d8198873bb96c2d1fc55039dd34cc1.mp4 945acac6c87052d294def57f51c9026c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8ee8377bbcc30bb65d5693ab6e28ca58.pdf c6cb445c93c386f8da84a869117112ee PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Robert Hood (17:36) (00:13) Background Information • • • Robert was born in Detroit, MI He went to South High School in Grand Rapids, MI He joined the Marines in October of 1945 (1:40) Boot Camp and Deployment • • • In boot camp they would “work or beat the daylights out of you, and make you shape up” The first time Robert went overseas he went to China from 1945 to 1948 He then came back to the US until 1950 and then spent a year in Korea (3:10) Feelings upon Arrival • • In China they transferred the Japanese back to Japan and it was new operation for everyone; they were all a little bit confused on how it worked It was also chaotic when they got to Korea (3:56) Duty in the Marines • • Robert was in the Rifle Platoon Altogether he saw about 6 months of combat and there were a lot of casualties in his unit (4:34) Memorable Experiences • • • • • They got put on the wrong beach in Korea His unit was put on point while crossing the Han River on an old bridge He received a Purple Heart for being wounded He got C rations and got sick of having the same thing all of the time and they were hard to break open and eat in the winter They played cards and swam during their free time (9:12) Discharged • • Robert was discharged in San Diego, CA He then went home and started looking for a job �• • • • He started a job as a pressman on a printing press and worked up to a Graphic Manager, which is what he did for 36 years until he retired After retiring Robert joined the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) club Robert thinks that liberals should spend some time as infantry He advises people to look around and say to themselves “who got me all of this, and what price did they pay”. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hood, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hood, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Hood was born in Detroit, MI and moved to Grand Rapids, MI where he attended high school. After high school Robert joined the Marines shortly after World War II ended. He was sent to China, where he helped to repatriate Japanese soldiers. He continued to serve until 1951, and spent six months on the front lines in Korea before being wounded. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Hamrich, Richard (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Marine Corps Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-12-02 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HoodR 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/b59dd5db3abdb09038d7c83323688d85.mp4 2772061620a2b490499b66e625325ef5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1153ba7f5b57b7d7d7d2e871d19e9b89.pdf 52ab4dc5c9729057635bd910730727d7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Marvin Honderd (00:45:18) (00:25) Background Information • • • • • • • Marv was born in Byron Center, Michigan and still lives there today His father was a furniture/cabinet maker in Grand Rapids, Michigan During WWII Marv was too young and his father was too old to be drafted Marv graduated from high school in 1945 and went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids for 2 years He took pre-med classes and then transferred to Ferris State University when he decided that he wanted to be a pharmacist Marv dropped out of school after a while and went to work at the furniture factory with his father for three years Marv felt that he would soon be drafted and did not want to be drafted into the Army, so he enlisted in the Air Force (4:10) Basic Training in Texas • Marv had basic training for 6 weeks and then went to radio school in Illinois • After going through radio school, there was no room for advancement so Marv went through basic training a second time • He was then sent to Columbus, Mississippi for flight training • He was sent to the very deep South and it was a very different environment • They sometimes trained through cotton fields and pastures • Marv would go to ground school in the morning and flew in the afternoons • He spent 6 months in Mississippi and was then transferred to another base in Texas • Marv trained with T-6 planes in advanced training and went through acrobatics, longer flights dealing with different weather conditions; this lasted another 6 months • Most of the people he was training with wanted to be fighter pilots, but Marv wanted to work in transportation so that he would not get shot at; his lieutenant told him that he had to be a fighter pilot (9:45) Kansas • Marv began training with F-80 jets, flying with an instructor for about 6 weeks • The jets were very quiet and fast compared to other planes • Marv was then sent to Las Vegas, Nevada to train for 6 months with advanced F-86 jets • Each has 6-50 caliber machines guns and they were supersonic • They focused mostly on air to air combat and dive bombings �(12:10) Korea 1953 • Marv had a 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Hawaii, another 12 hours to Wake Island, and then another to Tokyo • They stayed in Tokyo for 2 weeks and the area was hard to get used to, but Marv found that he really liked Japanese people and that they were very family oriented • They were briefed on what was going to happen in Korea; basically they were supposed to keep the enemy away from the DMZ • They were sent to a camp near Seoul where they practiced runs for about a month (15:20) Air Fights • US jets could reach about 45,000 feet and North Korean jets got to about 50,000 feet • The Koreans were a little faster but the US had better armament • Korean jets had 2-23 mm guns and a cannon while the US had 6-50 caliber machine guns • Marv worked as a wingman, protecting a shooter that was watching over dive bombers • The US pilots were trained better and had a 10-1 ratio in kills • They later found out that many of the Korean fighter pilots had actually been Russians • They were all supposed to fly 100 missions, but the rules were later changed that stated if you were married, you only had to fly 70 and Marv was married (21:30) Average Days • The men all wore G-suits so that if they had to dive, it would fill up air and keep their blood above their waist • Every day they had tons of scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee • They had briefing every morning after breakfast, were told their next mission, and assigned a plane • Some days men would not be assigned a mission, but would sit on alert in case of an emergency • They focused on attacking the supply lines of the Chinese near the Yalu River • They did not actually attack the Chinese because they did not want to antagonize them and pull them further into the war • Marv liked to wander around in the country side on his time off and learn about Korean culture • There were many orphans and most of the people worked on rice paddies, living in shacks; the weather was similar to that of Michigan (31:30) Ohio • Marv arrived back in the US the same day that a good friend had gotten back from Korea as well • Marv was sent to an Air Force base [Wright-Patterson] in Dayton, Ohio and trained with advanced models of F-86s �• • • • They flew them as much as possible to work out all the problems with the new jets Sometimes they would have “air alerts” where they would have to be ready to fly 4 minutes after waking up in case of a Russian attack They could fly anywhere they wanted and Marv often traveled back to Byron Center [where he’s famous locally for buzzing the town] They had many night alerts of UFOs, but found nothing once they were in the air (41:50) Discharged • Once Marv was discharged, he received job offers from three different major airlines, but his wife wanted to go back to Byron Center • He used the GI Bill to go back to school in Michigan • Marv now thinks that everyone should be in the military for at least one year to learn some discipline �Page I 01'2 II1<U V Marv Honderd Approximately March of 1950, I peeked in my mailbox and saw a draft notice for the Army. I quickly shut it, knowing what it meant. After thinking it over, I had some years at Calvin Collage, which meant I had a chance of getting into the pilot program in the Air Force. They took me in the regular Air Force with no promises. The Korean war was very intense at this time. I was sent to Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training. Everyone goes to basic training to teach us farm boys how to march and take orders. I was on my way to radio school and SUddenly ordered to flight school. I was then sent to Columbus, Mississippi for six months of basic flight training. Our days consisted of Y2 classes and Y2 flying. I had never even been in a plane before. Our practice fields were usually in grass fields between cotton fields. We had a large audience of cotton pickers on all sides most of the time. I was then transferred to Lubbock, Texas for advanced pilot training for six months. This involved much navigation. weather, acrobatics, and instrument training. I graduated from here and received my wings and a 2 nd Lieutenant commission. I was then transferred to Wichita. Kansas for jet training. Here we flew the F-80 Shooting Star. This was a whole new ballgame. The F-80 was much faster, quieter and flew higher. From now on we always breathed oxygen in flight. We then transferred to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. Nevada to learn to fly the super-sonic F-86 Sabre Jet. Here we practiced gunnery, air to air, and air to ground, aerial combat, close formation flying and more instrument and navigation flying. It was so hot here we could only fly in the early morning, so ground school was held in the afternoons. It was here that they picked who was to be a fighter pilot. About one in three pilots where picked for this. After graduation, I was sent to Seoul, Korea. There I received about three more months of combat training and the sent into action. By this time, we were ready! This is where I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. After completing 100 combat mission, you could go home to a safer flying job. These combat mission were spread out over roughly one year, depending on how the war was going. Every two monlhs we went to Japan to replace lost aircraft. This was a very hectic, intense time when a person's faith was very important to him. There were numerous close calls and at times you say "This can't be happening to mel" More then once I came back with a crippled jet, but always made it back safely. Lew Kerkstra was down below us allhis time as a P.O.W. These prisoner of war camps were not visible to us. r ..""1,...." ..... ~ h~;,..-:-...-- ••. _ ... __ .11 I' •• _.-~--- •..·_·"".·~(i'> �Page 2 or 2 Finally, our mission came to an end and I was spared. It was a long pleasant ride back to the states. Also at time the North Koreans released Lew Kerkstra. Most POWs didn't come home. Lew and I were furloughed together and we decided to go fishing for a day and talk over our experiences. We went to Swan Lake in Allegan County. We didn't even care that the fish weren't biting. That was the most enjoyable fishing day we ever had. Lew was sent to an Army Hospital for recovery. (He was skin and bones) His experience in Korea was much more traumatic then mine. After the war, I was assigned for two years to the Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio to tile Air Defense Command. These new fighter planes had 36 rockets instead of six guns. We also had radar scanners in the nose of our jets to see enemy planes in bad weather. Our squadron had armed and on five minute alert at all times. This was my job, and numerous times we were scrambled during the night to intercept Unidentified Flying Objects. And last but not least, Dayton was only 30 minutes from Byron Center and some people say they saw a jet, flying low over Byron a few times. The Pilot had a nose like mine. This rumor just won't go away. This closes on big chapter on my life. Marvin Honderd. Home email UC 1st C RC � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Honderd, Marvin (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Honderd, Marvin Description An account of the resource Marv Honderd was born in Byron Center, Michigan and enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 to avoid being drafted into the army. After starting out in radio school, he switched to pilot training and became a fighter pilot. He flew 70 missions over Korea in F-86 fighters in 1953, before he was sent back the US. Afterwards he continued flying more advanced F-86 jets in Dayton Ohio. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.) BCTV Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Air Force Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-10-16 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HonderdM 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/37da505303bdf2473f2ee1ea702a926c.mp4 c03e32f8211cad8162927dc803a96ab5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e86a951f8384632ec6445b264223b1e1.pdf 87104b474837c5478ca04ccb0c6c1e0a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Leo Homrich World War II Total Time: 1:02:00 Childhood and Pre-Enlistment (0:00:12) • • • • Born in Wyoming, MI in January, 1925 Wanted to join the army at 17, but his father would not let him. Father was a farmer Drafted into the Army at 18, but this time he didn’t want to go. Training and Deployment(0:04:40) • Completed basic training at Camp Robinson, AR. • Went then to Camp Fanning in Tyler, TX where he completed advanced basic training. • During basic, they wore World War I style legging uniforms. • He was trained to carry the Browning Automatic Rifle. • He was trained as a replacement, and he was supposed to go to Europe. • He was then allowed leave, and then after leave reported to Maryland and then to Camp Shanks, NY. Was at Camp Shanks for a couple of weeks. • He was sent to the harbor, and then was sent to the harbor, however he was taken off the ship and away from all of the men that he trained with. • He sat around for a further couple of weeks, then was put on a ship in New York for the Pacific. Active Duty (0:19:18) • • • • • • • • • • He was transported on a converted cattle ship through the Panama Canal. He slept a lot during the crossing, and the weather was rough at times. They went across in a very small convoy. (0:23:40) He landed in New Caledonia after 43 days on the ship. Was in New Caledonia for training in jungle fighting. He also worked for a time as an orderly of sorts for his platoon leader. He was assigned with training units at this time. (0:26:50) Was shipped to New Guinea from New Caledonia. He was an Infantryman with the 43rd Division. While in New Guinea he went on patrols and was under sniper fire quite often. (0:29:44) He got Malaria and Dengue Fever in New Guinea, and was sent to a field hospital to recover. They patrolled in the Jungle for the most part. �• (0:31:40) Mentions incident in which Indian soldiers, who had been captured by the Japanese at Singapore and were put into the Japanese army, came into their lines and surrendered. • After his sickness he rejoined his unit while they were in the Philippines. • (0:34:35) He was involved in fighting in the Philippines, and he got wounded there. • (0:37:30) His unit landed at Lingayen Gulf, taking the beachhead. • He was wounded by a shell that exploded and gave him a shrapnel wound in the legs and back. He was in the hospital for this for about 2 months. • (0:41:40) They liberated Clark Field in the Philippines, which was where the Japanese kept American prisoners. • Had some interaction with the local population. • Was in the Philippines for the end of the War. • After the war ended, he was sent home but he was not fully discharged until December 1945. • Earned three bronze stars for his service. • He also worked as a radio man during his service in the Philippines. • He only fired his BAR if it was necessary. • Their unit took very few prisoners, but he did have to guard some of the prisoners. • (0:57:40) Even after the war ended they were still doing some fighting in the Philippines, but for the most part the Filipinos took care of that duty • Also spent some time in New Zealand. Post War (0:58:05) • • Developed a case of malaria when he got back from the Philippines. Worked in a factory upon his return. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Homrich, Leo (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Homrich, Leo Description An account of the resource Leo Homrich served in the Army during World War II. He was born in 1925 to a family of farmers, and was drafted into the Army at 18. After training, he was shipped to the Pacific, where he served in New Guinea and the Philippines. He worked as a both a radio man and as an operator of the Browning Automatic Rifle while he was in the Pacific theatre. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.) BCTV Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings 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 2009-03-10 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HomrichL 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/00742d554ecb1e06c73453d387786ed7.mp4 bdc4845edd6d0a8f3de374328cacd2f1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/93f182a123748898654f086d776105f1.pdf d7bcef247e919e26f1cad5adb0f49dcf PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: Wellington Francis Homminga Length of Interview: (01:20:15) Background (00:00:10) Wellington Francis Homminga Born in Cadillac, MI; April 7, 1923 Raised in Grand Rapids 32nd Division, 126th Infantry, Company I, 3rd Battalion; a machine gunner (00:01:35) Started off in the National Guard Training (00:02:02) Went from Boston, Massachusetts to California for Cow Palace  One of the greatest train rides of his life Arrived in San Francisco where they stayed at the Army Post for 3 or 4 days Cow Palace was a giant arena, similar to a baseball stadium (00:03:50)  Slept in the bleachers; stayed there for two weeks Homminga had been ordered to Europe, but was sent to San Francisco instead (00:05:12)  Didn’t know or even think about where he was going; considered it an adventure One morning, was sent out to an unknown destination Boarded the S.S. Lurline, a luxury ship converted into a troop ship Sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, where the waters become rough  Caused a lot of seasickness for others Knew he was heading out into the South Pacific (00:07:30)  Sailed for three or four days � Crossed the Equator, King Neptune’s Ceremony (came down with the German measles during this celebration)  After recovering, went up on deck only to see ships surrounding them Was now a part of a convoy with hundreds of ships (7 days into the voyage) (00:08:27) Off to the North, could see land, the Hawaiian Islands, but did not visit them (00:09:38) Australia (00:10:06) One week later, it was announced that they were going to Australia  Took three weeks to land in Adelaide, South Australia  Rode a train into Sandy Creek, a small village  Did this at night in complete secrecy In Sandy Creek for two months (00:11:11)  Did training everyday  Everyone was given train passes into Adelaide one week in When arriving in Adelaide, Homminga met a girl there who took him to meet her family in Port Noarlunga (00:12:25)  Homminga used her home as a “base of operations” whenever he was in town Training: rifle fire, rifle range, machine gun range, practice throwing hand grenades, “mock war”, battle situations (00:14:40) Brisbane (00:15:17) After leaving, they went by train to Brisbane  In Australia, every state has a different gauge railroad, so they had to go through Melbourne and Sydney to get to Brisbane Jungle Training began in Brisbane (00:16:08) Stayed in Fort Tambourine, in the Tambourine Mountains, a wooded area outside of Brisbane Had to clear the area of gum trees and jungle to make camp  This was during July of 1941, Homminga was 18 years old (00:17:03) � Was 17 when he joined the National Guard; some of his group were only 16 years old when they joined For Jungle Warfare Training, they would be given compass readings after being put somewhere in the middle of the jungle, only certain number of paces were allowed (00:17:34)  If done correctly, someone would be at the designated point to meet you  If done incorrectly, you would have to “wander the jungle all night long” No Artillery Training; worked with their own guns, dug fox holes, held “mock wars” (00:18:28) The camp was like being dumped in the middle of a pine forest in which you had to make into your home (00:19:23)  Dug their own latrines and wells, set-up kitchens and tents; like a Unit on its own  Weather was cool in the winter and, when they left Brisbane in the summer, it was hot Port Moresby, New Guinea (00:21:00) Stayed in Brisbane until the end of October, then was shipped off to New Guinea  Was not aware New Guinea was their destination at the time  Put on landing ships, LST’s, “Victory Ships”; all steel, loaded with 500lb bombs, trucks  10 ton cruiser in the back for the Australians to use when patrolling New Guinea border  Not allowed to be on the deck at night   One night, Homminga snuck up on deck to sleep between life boats, due to the heat; next morning, it was one of the only things on the deck. A hurricane had hit during the night which he was completely unaware of (00:22:24) He went from a Private to a Corporal overnight (00:23:19) Was on the ship about 10 days (00:23:41)  Pulled into the harbor of Port Moresby, New Guinea; full of ships that had sunk  Had been bombed by the Japanese Brought to camp next to the ocean by trucks (00:24:16)  Completely different landscape to Brisbane; jungle, mountains, an airfield �The Japanese would sometimes fly over and shoot (00:25:37)  First casualties happened because of this; Japanese were trying to bomb the air field but overshot it and hit some men There for three or four weeks doing Jungle Training (00:26:04)  One night, they attempted to get a man out from the trees, but it was actually a branch. Had it riddled with bullets from machine guns  Had been told by Americans that the Japanese would climb trees and shoot from there (00:27:09) No contact with the Australian Soldiers One morning, troops from E Company passed by their camp to go over the mountains Two days later, his troop was flown over the mountains Jungle (00:28:26) Brisbane jungle was easier to navigate while New Guinea jungle was easy to get lost in  Never met any wildlife besides a 15ft. Rock Python  Saw a lot of natives who would bargain with them  Interacted with the natives with “sign language”  Did not encounter much Kunai Grass in Port Moresby until Buna (00:32:00) Popondetta (00:32:10) The flight over the mountains was 40 minutes long, landed in a cleared field of Kunai Grass  Was put on a trail called Popondetta-Pongani Trail near the village of Pongani  At noon started on the trail Had on khaki uniforms, full field packs, helmets, ammunition, guns, rations; each man had a sack of rice and corn beef at night and C-rations in the day (00:33:07)  C-rations: candy bar, instant coffee they would chew (because there was no hot water) Trail made by the natives for traveling between Popondetta and Pongani (00:34:40) Did not know where they were going, but knew they were going into combat (00:35:22) � Took 13 days of walking, did not hear any sounds of battle, no Japanese encountered Reached the village of Popondetta where there were American Troops and some Australian Troops (00:35:52) Australians had captured one Japanese Soldier, they shot him and buried him (00:36:58) Next morning, set out into the jungle and swamps (00:37:16)  Water was up to their knees or their chest; there for three of four days  Slept where they could, sometimes slept in the mangrove trees  Didn’t eat, no place to stop and prepare food, maybe eat some C-rations  Drank swamp water by putting chlorine tablets in their canteens  In the swamps for about week Started running into the Japanese in the swamps (00:39:51)  Japanese would shell them with mortar and artillery fire  Once, while tending to his feet, Japanese opened fire; so Homminga ran barefoot  Jungle Rot- when you don’t take your shoes and socks off when walking in water you get a disease that “rots” your skin off (00:40:43) Went to a staging area where the troops gathered, a couple hundred (00:41:23)  There for three of four days, went on patrol and ran into some Japanese  Never took prisoners because it took five men to watch one prisoner  Never set up tents, always out in the open or in the swamps Arrived at the Sanananda Road between Popondetta and Buna (00:42:46)  Capturing Buna was their mission  Drove into the road that was in the middle of a Japanese hospital � Flushed the Japanese out of there and used it as a base, there for 21 days  Acted as a road block behind Japanese lines to prevent supplies from crossing The Japanese would try to cross over at night, but were shot by Homminga’s troop (00:43:54)  A couple times, they found a Japanese soldier in only their undershorts but they shot them; may have been trying to surrender One morning, 300 natives from Buna had come in, without being heard (00:45:07)  Japanese had taken their village, Buna  The natives were going to Popondetta Australians had a contract with the natives that for every Japanese head they brought in, they received $5 (00:45:41)  They had to make them start bringing ears, instead, because of so many heads being brought in  There were some head hunting tribes in the mountains  Met some hunters that tried to make one soldier laugh so they could see his gold teeth, the soldier was told not to do this because of the danger it posed (00:46:21) On the 21st day of being on the trail, Australians relieved them (00:47:23)  Went back to staging area to be fed  Threw up most of the food because they hadn’t eaten in 21 days  Next morning, Homminga went to the first aid tent; had a fever of 104, Malaria Recuperation (00:48:25) Sent back to Port Moresby by plane Malaria (00:48:32) A disease transmitted by anopheles mosquito, which settles in your liver and kidney; severe fever and chills; takes about 15 days of intensive care to treat it; will always have it in your system (dormant)  Very disabling and everyone had it � Were given Quinine (old remedy) and Atabrine (can turn complexion yellow) (49:40)  Eventually ran out of these supplies  Took a lot of troops out of commission, more than injuries  Couldn’t go back to the Med Station during those 21 days; when they could, people with 5 consecutive days of 104 fever were sent to the hospital (00:50:47) Homminga was sent to Port Moresby by plane from Popondetta (00:51:24)  Hadn’t bathed in a month until reaching the hospital  There for a week, then loaded on an A-20, Combat Bomber, to go to Townsville, Australia (00:52:10)  During his weeklong convalescence, Homminga rested and ate “extremely good” food  He once sleepwalked into an ammunition dump, 2 miles away from the hospital; was in the middle of an air raid, ambulance took him back Flight in the bomber took about two hours, flew extremely low to avoid detection (00:54:08)  Flew so low that the water from the ocean hit the plane’s nose Loaded onto trains upon arrival, ended up in Brisbane (00:54:52)  Taken to the hospital to treat his Malaria; still had a fever, also developed sores on his full back (since the road block on the Sanananda Road) Got hold of a doctor in Brisbane who biopsied a sore on his side (00:56:04)  Diagnosis: had larvae, similar to the dog and cat tapeworm, colonizing causing the sores  Doctor decided to freeze them off his back, sprayed twice a day; was really painful  Took two weeks to get rid of the sores  Played cards, ran a cigarette store one day during his recovery Coolangatta (01:00:00) �Was in the hospital for about one month Sent to Coolangatta, near Brisbane, on the coast; a small village with a rest camp  The camp had soldiers from the Red Arrow Division who were recuperating  Homminga swam often until spotting sharks in the reef when whale watching  Would go into the village to “romance” the girls Coolangatta now-a-days is very populated with many attraction, then, it was mainly beaches and houses; lots for $25 per acre After Coolangatta, he was sent back to his outfit in Camp Cable (01:02:46) There for a couple weeks then was sent to Newcastle to train for beach landing (01:03:02)  The first night, Homminga had an attack of Malaria so he was put in the Navy hospital Sent to a hospital in Sydney by truck from Newcastle, then flew from there (01:03:30)  Had a temp. of 103; avg. temp., when afflicted with Malaria, is 104 or 105  In Sydney for about one month then was sent back to the U.S.  Was given Atabrine to treat his Malaria, but no Quinine (01:05:05)  Australian soldiers had Malaria, too; especially those in New Guinea  Could go out into town; more like a recover center  Lost a lot of weight in New Guinea, 180lbs.-106lbs (01:06:27)  Had been in New Guinea from late October to early January, celebrated Christmas there U.S. (01:07:11) Sent back to United States through Brisbane to board the S.S. Mauretania  Had made his own hammock, learned from a sailor onboard Took about two weeks, then landed in Panama and went through the Panama Canal (01:08:41) �Had to dock on the Atlantic side of the canal, Panama City, because of German Subs in the Gulf of Mexico  Stayed in the hospital there for three weeks, still had bouts of Malaria  Couldn’t go out on pass, but could go on tours during this time (01:10:01)  Got to see many churches; saw the Church of the Golden Altar Went back through the Canal up to San Francisco (01:11:05)  Went to Letterman General Hospital  Was given quite a greeting and celebration  At the hospital for three or four days Sent to a hospital in Temple, Texas (01:11:55)  Went back home, in Michigan, for Christmas by train  Had been gone for about three years and six months (01:12:35)   Parents were glad and excited, had six siblings, as well  Never met his two younger brothers Went back to the hospital after two weeks (01:14:32) Went to a rehab center in Waco, Texas then was assigned to 99th Division, in Company A 393rd Infantry (01:14:45)  His clothes didn’t arrive with him  There for two weeks  Was a part of the K.P. (Kitchen Police)  His captain came back from the South Pacific and wanted to put Homminga in a Training Cadre but he had another attack of Malaria (01:16:10) � Had applied for the Air Corps to get out of the Infantry (01:16:58) Had gone back to the hospital Was given the choice of transferring into the Air Corps or a discharge; chose to be discharged (01:17:28)  Waited 24 hours to be discharged, went by bus  After arriving home, Homminga met his wife in May; proposed on the first date Will always remember and have dreams of what he did during the war (01:19:23) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Homminga, Wellington Francis (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Homminga, Wellington Francis Description An account of the resource Wellington "Bill" Homminga served in the 126th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division during World War II. After training in Australia for Jungle Warfare, his unit served in New Guinea in the Buna campaign, where his company spent 21 days isolated at a roadblock behind Japanese lines. After his unit was relieved, he came down with malaria, and continued to suffer from malaria and other tropical diseases until his discharge in 1944. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-02-19 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HommingaW 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/4510c6ebff405ecab268db61e04eb1bd.mp4 7b4f6556dcb3dd8bf4aab4501ec12526 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b3776c3b2aa92dddc9ac60eadba295f3.pdf a9ea3f770e1b5fe7c7bf99f607fe29f7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam War Donald Holthausen 43:44 Introduction (00:50)      Don was born in South Amboy, New Jersey on April 6, 1949. He has a brother that is three years younger. Don’s father worked as an electrician and his mother was a registered nurse as well as being a housewife and a mom. He took many industrial type classes in high school, and later worked for Johnson and Johnson for twenty four years after he got out of the army. (02:30) During his senior year of high school, Don remembers hearing about Vietnam from one of his teachers. He did not pay too much attention to it until he got his draft notice. He graduated from high school in June 1967. Don was working as a machinist for Lockheed Electronics, and in January or February 1969 he received his draft notice. Military Training (04:23)             Don reported to the draft board office in Newark, New Jersey on June 2, 1969. They were sworn in there at the office and then bussed down to Fort Dix for basic training. The first day of training they all got their hair shaved off, plus they were issued all their military clothing and boots. After their fourth or fifth week of training, they were given a weekend pass; which Don used to go home for a couple of days since his house was only an hour’s drive from base. Don was the first member of his family to be in the military except one uncle that served at Fort Dix in the forties as the fire chief. Basic training was very physical, which was to get everyone in shape. They marched to the rifle range and gained some familiarity with shooting. Don was a hunter and was already familiar with guns and shooting. (06:20) Basic training was two months long, followed by a one week leave before being shipped to Fort Lewis, Washington for AIT (Advanced Infantry Training). Out of his entire training platoon in basic, only ten to fifteen percent were sent to the infantry. The majority were sent to military police or made cooks. Just about all of the instructors at basic training were Vietnam veterans. Most of the training was also geared towards their coming experience. Overall, Don’s training experience was positive. At the end of basic training they asked if anyone wanted to go to jump school, which Don did not. That school lasted for two weeks. (08:36) Don qualified with the M-14 rifle in basic and did not see his first M-16 until AIT. They arrived in Washington during the middle of August, and training began immediately. AIT lasted for another two months. Once AIT was completed, Don was given a thirty day leave. AIT was more infantry training that included lots of weapons training. �    They fired M-60 machine guns, rockets, M-16’s and .50 caliber rifles. They also threw hand grenades and took escape and evasion courses. One of these courses lasted twenty hours. (10:34) This consisted of land navigation with a map and compass to a point about 15 miles away, with instructors running around trying to capture the soldiers. Instructors were armed with balloons filled with flour, which they threw at the men. At the end, if you had flour on your uniform you were considered captured. Don and only a few others made it to the finish without being captured. He was given orders to Vietnam during the last week of AIT telling him to report to McChord Air Force Base. Vietnam (12:35)                The flight over was very solemn because they knew they were not going to a nice place. His family was upset and they always told him that they would be praying for him. To this day, Don believes that those prayers are the reason he made it home. When he left for Vietnam, he was engaged, and he received letters from his fiancé everyday. They landed in Cam Ranh Bay and stayed for one week pulling guard duty along the bunker line at night. After that, he was told that he was being sent to the 101st Airborne. When he first got off the plane in Vietnam it was around 1 or 2 am so the whole town was asleep. Don and about four others were loaded into the back of a deuce and a half truck and transported to the reception center. (14:55) When he was sent up north to join the 101st, they boarded a small plane and flew into Da Nang. From there they were trucked to Camp Evans. Upon arrival, he was signed in to the company and he again pulled guard duty for another week. He was received well, everyone was helpful and friendly. After a couple of days he was able to get to know everybody; several guys were more helpful than others, but they were all like brothers after a few months. (17:12) Before he joined his unit, he did not have any special training besides zeroing his rifle. Don met up with his unit at Firebase Birmingham, the mud was two feet deep and it rained everyday. He operated out of Birmingham and Firebase Bastogne, which were located in the lowlands on the edge of the mountains. During the monsoon season, they spent most of the time in the field. It would rain all day and at night they would curl up in their poncho to sleep. When morning came, they were all dry. (19:07) Many men caught jungle rot and developed painful sores from being wet all the time, but Don never did. Captain Hale was the company commander when Don first arrived, but around Christmas Captain Vazquez took over. Out of all the men he met in Vietnam, the unit received the best training from him. He made all the men do things by the book, which helped the men protect themselves. Don believes that he saved a lot of lives because of it. (21:18) They made no enemy contact from November till April, and once the monsoon season was over, they started making contact with the enemy, followed by another month of lull. It wasn’t until Ripcord did they make significant contact with the enemy. �Ripcord (22:10)             They moved into the mountains around Ripcord after the monsoon season. The first couple of months on Firebase Ripcord were pretty quiet with only a few incoming mortar rounds. Don was apart of Charlie Company and they were in charge of pulling security for the artillery batteries at Ripcord. At night they watched to make sure no sappers got through the wire. A couple of weeks before the battle on Hill 902 Captain Vazquez was replaced by Captain Hewitt. They were ordered to stay on 902 for two nights, which was questioned by the men who knew that it was not good to stay in the same location for two nights in a row. (25:42) During 902, Don was in a foxhole that was about five and a half feet deep. Once the enemy breached their perimeter that night, sappers began throwing satchel charges in their foxholes. About a half hour of being attacked seemed like hours and hours. After that, things began to settle down. Don was the radio operator and he later learned he had the only working radio. (27:30) He keyed his microphone using their call sign, and got a response from someone at Camp Evans. Don asked for gunships to come and help them. After twenty minutes two Cobra helicopters came out and began to circle their position. Don and another soldier fired flares above their position to let the gunships know where to fire. They used mini-guns and rockets to help clear the area. Each chopper fired about a dozen rockets and used all their mini-gun ammo. (29:15) The next morning they were extracted and relieved by another company. After that battle, they were pulled back to the rear because they were under company strength and had to regroup. They were given many new men to fill in the ranks. After 902, another big battle happened on Hill 1000. Captain Wilcox was in charge then. (32:39) The top of Hill 1000 was very rocky with large boulders. The enemy dug in under these which protected them from the airstrikes and artillery that were used to prep the hill for the infantry. After the failed first attempt, they were ordered to try again to take the hill. Captain Wilcox refused to send his men up another time and lost his command because of it. Don later found out that the Battalion intelligence knew they were going to be hit that second night on Hill 902 and did not pull them out. (35:45) After Hill 1000, Don was only in the field for a month before he was called back to Camp Evans. He then pulled bunker duty for a few weeks before being sent home fourteen days early. Don spent a total of fifty weeks in Vietnam. Back in the States (37:08)  All the men going home celebrated as they flew home on either Southwest or Frontier Airlines. They flew out of Da Nang, which was a pretty nice town in 1970. They stopped at Guam to refuel and while there men went to the PX and bought drinks. The stewardesses were all happy that they were coming home as well. �     They flew into McChord Air Force Base and were given a steak dinner at 1 am. From there, they were given a new set of Class A uniforms. They did not arrive to the Seattle Airport until about 10 or 11 the next morning to go home. Don received orders to report to Fort Riley, Kansas after a fourteen day leave at home. (39:36) While there, he had to make the 7 am formation, and then if they did not have guard duty they just went home in the evening. Don got married when he first arrived home from Vietnam and had his wife, Linda, move back to Kansas with him. (41:04) Don was at Fort Riley for six months and was discharged from there. He was promoted to sergeant while there, and asked to re-enlist several times but he always turned them down. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Holthausen, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Holthausen, Donald Description An account of the resource Don was born in South Amboy, New Jersey on April 6, 1949. He graduated from high school in 1967 and worked for two years as a machinist before being drafted into the United States Army in 1969. He attended basic training at Fort Dix and AIT at Fort Lewis. Don was sent to Vietnam in 1969 and was assigned to Charlie Company, 101st Airborne. He was in the battle of Hill 902 and Hill 1000 and operated around Firebase Ripcord. Don spent a total of 50 weeks in Vietnam. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-10-10 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HolthausenD1536V 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/b7d22fa595e80eac986512249167761f.mp4 941b4df7b60939020aa3faaa944ba388 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84236a5645f804f7ae4848fba521fa3c.pdf b4e1698232b600a95b3c5604cf40e1e8 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: William Holl Length of Interview: (00:14:25) Childhood and Pre-enlistment (00:00)      Born in Orange, NJ in 1927. Mother was a homemaker and father owned an ice company and worked at General Motors He had 3 brothers and sisters. (01:25) He had taken courses and had just graduated High School when he enlisted. He enlisted in the Navy at an early age because of his brother’s service in the Air Force. Training (02:59)   Remembers boot camp involving basic military procedures (03:20) He was part of the Naval training program for Naval Aviation Electronics. The program took a year, and took place in Gulfport, MS and Corpus Christi, TX. Active Duty (05:10)      He was stationed at Banana River, FL after training, where they practiced blind landings for carrier aircraft on the beach. (06:26) They would be on the beach controlling the aircraft by electronics. He made a number of friends while he was in the service. (07:55) When he was off duty, he would surf in the Atlantic Ocean. (08:35) He was stationed in Corpus Christi, TX when the war ended. Post-Service (10:20)  He attended college after the war to become an engineer. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Holl, William H. (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Holl, William H. Description An account of the resource William Holl was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1927 and served in the Navy during World War II. He worked in Naval Aviation Electronics for the war, and served in the United States for the duration of the war. He did a number of tasks, primarily involving electronics. He attended college after the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Babcock, Nicholas (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06-01 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HollW 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/54c416bd4bac87e967d635d79dded21c.mp4 cd0e6c3ec664469ed89d0a4be6531d28 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7d5e780391ab26d0cfd940d1e48e546d.pdf 9e706a6c9e98054259c1d135b7a20102 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Robert Hogue Interview Length: (00:52:09:00) Pre-Enlistment / Training (00:00:26:00)  Hogue was born on October 12th, 1950 in Salem, Ohio where his father was a farmer and his mother worked as a paraprofessional in the local school district (00:00:26:00)  After Hogue graduated from high school, there was nothing in the area job wise apart from coal mining and steel mills, but those all went down and the family farm was not big enough to supply both Hogue and his father, so Hogue went to live with an uncle in Detroit, Michigan (00:00:37:00) o Hogue’s uncle was an executive for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Hogue went to work for him (00:00:52:00)  Hogue eventually ended up working in Lansing, Michigan, for Goodyear when he became eligible for the draft and in 1969, he was drafted (00:01:01:00) o Hogue was officially drafted through Ohio because he had been born in Salem; although the military drafted him while he lived in Michigan, Hogue had to go through the Ohio draft boards (00:01:18:00)  Hogue remembers that everyone who was drafted with him were trying to get out of their obligations but Hogue was young at the time and he did not understand why they did not want to serve their country (00:01:30:00) o The biggest method draftees used was taking a bottle of Pepsi and putting a lot of sugar in it to intentionally fail the tests (00:01:42:00) o There were a lot of draftees who did not want to go and they tried all sorts of methods to try and get out of the obligation, including get girls pregnant and several others (00:01:52:00)  Hogue went to serve his country and out of his entire family, including his own children, as well as his father, his brother and his brother’s children, Hogue is the only one who served in the military (00:02:02:00) o Although Hogue was willing to go, it was still a hard time for him and he believes that it was only through the grace of God that he managed to make it through the experience (00:02:17:00)  When he was drafted, Hogue’s only information about the fighting in Vietnam came from the news and what he heard from different people (00:02:41:00)  Hogue was the twelfth in line to be drafted and when he was, he was ticketed to go through infantry training and on to Vietnam; within four months of being drafted, Hogue was nineteen years old and in Vietnam (00:02:51:00)  Hogue went through basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for eight weeks; the training was hard, strenuous, and all geared towards the infantry, such as how to kill others, how to defend yourself, etc. (00:03:09:00) o The soldiers received weapons training but fortunately for Hogue, he had been raised on a farm and he had done a lot of shooting on his own; while most kids �o o o o were spending their allowance in candy stores, Hogue was spending his allowance in ammunition stores (00:03:24:00)  Not a single day passed in training when Hogue did not shoot and he even attempted to get onto the Army’s marksmanship team; however, the Army needed infantry, not shooters, in Vietnam at the time (00:03:46:00) The instructors were very strict towards the trainees; they would tell them in the face that if the soldiers did not pay attention, then they probably would not come back from Vietnam alive (00:04:07:00)  Adjusting to military life was not that bad for Hogue because his parents were very strong people and he had been taught to obey and do the best he could do; he had been raised in a Christian home, which helped instill these values in him (00:04:26:00)  On the other hand, the service was awful because they had different rules and tasks the soldiers had to do; for example, the soldiers would go on fifteen miles hikes with fifty pound backpacks (00:04:39:00)  At that time, Hogue only weighed one hundred and thirty pounds, although he was in pretty good shape from growing up on the family farm (00:04:56:00)  Hogue does not want to speak ill of the service and the instructors because they were only doing their job, but that did not make the experience any less difficult (00:05:11:00) The rest of the men Hogue trained with were split about fifty/fifty between draftees and enlistees (00:05:47:00)  At the time, there was a lot of money for people joining the service; for example, the standard enlistment was four years but someone could sign up for a six year enlistment and receive ten thousand dollars (00:05:59:00)  Upwards of seventy-five percent of the soldiers in training did not want to be there and they did everything they could to get out; Hogue had never heard of some many conscientious objectors in his life (00:06:23:00)  There were people who did not believe in carrying guns or fighting and they came out of the woodwork (00:06:35:00)  Around sixty percent of the people who started training with Hogue actually finished (00:06:59:00) The training was rigorous, strenuous, and Hogue would dare say it was one of the most difficult things he had ever been through (00:07:10:00)  The soldiers knew they were lined up to go to Vietnam and if they did not know how to fire a weapon or how to use their senses, then they were not going to survive (00:07:15:00)  Hogue knew some of the soldiers were from the city and they did not even try to complete the training; instead most ended up simply using drugs (00:07:30:00)  Hogue never used marijuana and he never had any use for the drugs because he was there every day to make sure that he was going to be able to come home (00:07:46:00) The drill instructors were lifers in the military and they had served in Vietnam already (00:08:02:00) �   Although they were only doing their job, the instructors were still hard people to understand or deal with (00:08:12:00)  The instructors knew they had a job to do and some of them got their jollies out of bossing the other people around, making it seem like they were in charge; although they were in charge, the instructors sometimes did go overboard (00:08:22:00)  The instructors tended to pick on the soldiers who put up the most fight and they knew how to buffalo the soldiers in an effort to get under their skin (00:08:46:00) After completing basic training, the Army sent Hogue to Fort Polk, Louisiana for another eight weeks (00:09:12:00) o The experience at Fort Polk was totally different from the experience Hogue had at Fort Campbell, although training was still rigorous and difficult; instead of carrying fifty pound backpacks, the soldiers had to carry one hundred pound backpacks (00:09:22:00)  It was more of a setting that the soldiers knew their next stop was going to be in Vietnam and in fighting (00:09:33:00) o During the training, the soldiers had to go into the Louisiana swamps, where the instructors had set up silhouettes to simulate what the soldiers would be experiencing once they got into Vietnam (00:10:22:00)  Hogue remembers between six and eight different courses set up for training and although the instructors did everything they could to protect the soldiers, at a certain point, it was expected that a soldier’s senses would click on and make him ready (00:10:46:00) o While he was in Fort Polk, all the instructors told Hogue to watch the children and civilians because they would be the worst enemy, more so than the people Hogue was actually fighting and ultimately, the advice rang true (00:11:06:00)  The children were trained starting at five or six years old to know how to kill Americans; they would have their hands out and simultaneously try to stab the soldiers in the back (00:11:25:00) o Hogue knew that if he did not survive the training at Fort Polk, then he would not be coming home, although Hogue feels his prior experience with firearms greatly helped prepare him for the task of killing the enemy (00:11:49:00)  The training in Louisiana prepared the soldiers as much as possible for the task of fighting the enemy (00:12:20:00) o All the instructors at Fort Polk had been in Vietnam as part of the infantry, they had all been leaders in the infantry, and they all had a large period of experience, which Hogue estimates around ten and twenty years for all of them (00:12:27:00)  The instructors were good at their job but were hard and the soldiers had to decided whether or not they were going to listen to the instructor’s lessons or risk being on their bad list, something Hogue did not desire to be on (00:12:41:00) After completing the eight weeks of training at Fort Polk, Hogue was not allowed to go home (00:13:06:00) �o There was a ceremony marking the completion of the eight weeks and within seven days, he was out of the country, although he does remember his parents coming down to see him (00:13:10:00) Deployment (00:13:37:00)  From Louisiana, the soldiers went to Fort Lewis, Washington, where they boarded airplanes, with around one hundred soldiers to a plane, and from Fort Lewis, the soldiers flew directly to Vietnam (00:13:37:00) o Hogue’s first impression of Vietnam was that it bore some similarities to Fort Polk, in the sense that it was extremely hot and dry (00:14:21:00)  As a nineteen year old who did not fully understand the politics of why he needed to be in Vietnam, Hogue simply followed whatever directions he was given (00:14:34:00)  Although he had been trained in infantry, Hogue had an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) for mortars and long-range shooting (00:14:51:00) o However, although he had a mortarman MOS, Hogue almost right away became a platoon leader; while as a platoon leader, Hogue walked both point at the front of column and drag, at the rear of a column (00:15:14:00) o He remembers seeing soldiers wounded by claymore mines, which forced a constant shuffling of soldiers in and out of the platoon because the Army tired to keep each platoon’s compliment around fifteen soldiers (00:15:33:00) o For those first six months in Vietnam, Hogue went with out a bath or a shower (00:15:54:00)  When the soldiers first arrived in Da Nang, they were all brought into a large room and their individual assignments were pointed out on a map; the Army had between six and eight different locations to divide the newly arrived soldiers amongst (00:16:07:00) o Hogue ended up shipping directly into the field to join his unit, 434th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division (00:16:22:00)  From Da Nang, Hogue traveled to the Vietnamese settlement of Chu Lai and the surrounding area, which was where the 434th was positioned (00:16:37:00) o While the soldiers were in the field, their commanders would periodically call and tell them to move a certain distance or to a certain location; the soldiers would be scared whenever they received these calls because they did not know what exactly was going on (00:16:57:00)  Whenever a soldier would use drugs, the smell would get into the air and Hogue had a hard time with the soldiers using it; at one point, Hogue even caught his commander smoking (00:17:11:00) o The commander was supposed to be their leader but he justified his smoke as it did not hurt anyone and it was merely a stress reliever (00:17:33:00) o The soldiers who smoked marijuana tended to do so whenever the unit was encamped at a location for the night (00:17:42:00)  When the soldiers had encamped at a location, they would go out for a couple of hours then return to the main camp and they repeated this process several times during any given night (00:17:45:00) o There would be bombs flying overhead and the soldiers would dig foxholes for protection and the defend themselves from any attack (00:17:54:00) �       o Whenever Hogue dug a foxhole, he knew never to dig one only as deep as his hands would go; he wanted one that was six to eight feet deep (00:18:01:00) There was a large firebase a Chu Lai that acted as the command center for the regiment and from there, Hogue and his men were assigned patrols or to smaller bases in the region (00:18:22:00) o During Hogue’s first patrol, the soldiers were expected to do some scouting in the area and it was an experience to see the culture and the different kinds of people the soldiers would have to deal with (00:18:38:00)  It was probably one of the scariest times of Hogue’s life because he did not know what was going on or what exactly the soldiers were supposed to be doing; they were supposed to listen to their sergeant or platoon leader but the soldiers did not know whether to trust them or not (00:19:00:00)  When somebody was smoking drugs or doing this and that, their minds were not always there and ready for action (00:19:15:00)  In Hogue’s opinion, a lot of the people who died in Vietnam died as a result of stupidity and doing dumb things (00:19:47:00) When he first joined his platoon, no one made an effort to show Hogue what to do; he was told they were to going on a patrol and to get in line and he had to do it (00:20:05:00) o They expected Hogue and the other newly-arrived soldiers to watch the more experienced soldiers and imitate whatever they happened to do; the newly-arrived soldiers caught on pretty quick because if they did not, then they going home on their backs (00:20:18:00) o A lot of people did not want to do the right tasks while in the field and they were either sent home or killed; however, Hogue was determined to get an honorable discharge, so he stuck it out (00:20:37:00) The first time he came under fire, Hogue was in a Vietnamese village and the first time the enemy started shooting, there were kids everywhere (00:20:53:00) o The Viet Cong came out of a house and began firing while everyone else took cover (00:21:04:00) o The entire experience was horrible all the way around and Hogue remembers two or three of the soldiers in his platoon were killed in that first fight (00:21:14:00) Often, the soldiers would be in the field somewhere and the enemy would be coming out of the trees and everywhere else to attack the soldiers (00:21:40:00) o From what Hogue saw, the enemy soldiers were mostly kids and younger people, meaning they were skinny and able to move around easily (00:21:48:00) During his entire year-long tour in Vietnam, Hogue had thirty-three conformed kills to his name and although he is not proud of them, he did so to defend himself (00:22:05:00) While in Vietnam, Hogue was armed with a machine gun and he ended up purchasing another gun while he was over there; the soldiers could buy anything they wanted to so long as they had the money (00:22:25:00) o The Army issued Hogue an M-16 but he purchased a .22 pistol because it was something he was familiar with; although the .22 was a light-weight weapon, it was good enough to do the job at close range (00:22:41:00) Most of the fighting occurred at close range; Hogue estimates that there were no more than thirty feet dividing the fighters (00:23:01:00) �       o Nevertheless, it was terrible to see people die; they might see a soldier who needed help but there was nothing the other soldiers could do and although help might eventually arrive, it would be six hours later (00:23:12:00) o The length of the fights Hogue was involved in tended to vary; some were quick and some would drag on for days (00:23:33:00)  During the longer battles, the unit was told to move a certain distance and the enemy would fight them the entire way; once the unit had covered the distance, then they were expected to turn and out-smart the enemy (00:23:50:00) One of the soldiers in the platoon had lived off the land before joining the military and was a self-professed “mountain man”; between he and Hogue, they felt that they could conquer the world (00:24:05:00) It was a terrible war and although a lot of people died, Hogue does not believe it was senseless; it was just a series of small, depressed villages full of people trying to merely survive (00:24:42:00) o People worked in the rice paddies but Hogue remembers not being able to differentiate between the people who were allied with the Americans and people who were the enemy (00:25:05:00) Hogue’s platoon did not have any South Vietnamese soldiers or interpreters in it; they were strictly an American unit (00:25:32:00) As far as Hogue could tell, the majority of the enemy combatants were the local Viet Cong; the soldiers did have some encounters with North Vietnamese regulars but not much (00:25:44:00) o It was mostly villagers fighting against the Americans; on occasion, the soldiers would believe they had secured an area but when they would travel through a couple of days later, villagers would be fighting again (00:25:58:00) Hogue’s platoon went through the usually rounds of replacement and as far as he can remember, the platoon leader and sergeants stayed with the platoon until they were either injured or something else happened (00:26:22:00) o Hogue tended to stay near the platoon leader and so long as he stayed off the drugs at night, he was a pretty good leader; the platoon leader knew what he was doing and the different stuff (00:26:49:00) During some operations, the platoon would be dropped off at a location around fifty miles away from the primary base (00:27:33:00) o At one point, Hogue went six months without see the inside of the main base and during that time, he never had a shower or anything (00:27:44:00) Whenever the platoon stopped for the night, they would set up a perimeter with guards in the four different areas to watch for the enemy and the guards would work in two-hour shifts (00:27:59:00) o Although they tried to keep the platoon around fifteen soldiers, Hogue recalls a time when there were only six soldiers in the platoon due to the number of casualties (00:28:12:00)  New soldiers would come in from the United States and sometimes they listened to the older soldiers and sometimes they did not listen (00:28:26:00) �    When the platoon had only six members, the soldiers returned to the base but only for a day or so before going back out into the field (00:28:43:00) o When the soldiers stopped at night, they came under enemy fire and on some occasions, the soldier on guard duty had either fallen asleep or did not hear the enemy, which made the attack more effective (00:29:04:00) o The other soldiers would sleep under tents, although sometimes it was nice enough that they did not need the tents; on the other, there were times it rained constantly and Hogue remembers many times being soaking wet for several days, often a week, because of the rain (00:29:16:00) o Although it was dangerous to smoke at night because the enemy would be able to see the glow, soldiers did it anyway; they would put their hand over the glow and cup it, but they forgot about the smell (00:29:33:00)  They could tell the soldiers not to do something but if they were going to do it, then they were going to do it (00:29:47:00) When the platoon was on the extended patrols, the Army would have to helicopter supplies in for the soldiers (00:30:30:00) o The re-supplies took placed during the day and they often contained packages of the soldiers’ mail, although it still took anywhere from two weeks to a month for a soldier to get a letter (00:30:38:00) o The food was all K-rations, meaning everything was dry and they had to cook it with water they gathered from a stream (00:30:47:00) o Those six months in the field were an experience and by the end of them, the soldiers were very experienced in fending for themselves (00:31:06:00) During the patrols, the area the soldiers operated in was a mixture of jungles, rice paddies, and hill country; the soldiers went wherever they needed to go to fund the enemy (00:31:28:00) o Hogue remembers one firefight in the jungle when although it was raining, the temperature still made it a hot, sweaty day, akin to the weather in Florida; at some point, people started shooting and it caused a total mess, with the platoon lose two or three soldiers (00:31:35:00) o The enemy would come from all directions when attacking the soldiers and on some occasions, the soldiers were killed by enemy mines (00:32:11:00)  The children tended to be the ones responsible for setting the mines; the soldiers would see children in the field and believe they were good but in reality, they tended to be the soldiers’ worst enemy (00:32:24:00) o On the other hand, when the soldiers would set up a perimeter for the night, they would use claymore mines and booby-traps as part of the defense (00:32:47:00)  Sometimes, it was just a terrible thing to see what could happen because of the mines (00:33:03:00) One time, Hogue’s platoon got called back to the main base; the commanders felt they had the enemy in a good position, so they called the units in the field back and began attacking with mortars (00:33:18:00) o Hogue remembers there being a large number of mortars going of for hours on end; the mortarmen had different grids where they would shot and the next day, the soldiers would hear reports that people had been killed at a specific location on the grid (00:33:32:00) �      The commanders would then send a patrol out to see how many people had been killed (00:34:00:00)  The mortars used had a range of twenty to thirty miles and the mortarmen needed to receive special training to use them (00:34:06:00) When Hogue’s platoon went into the field, it tended to be the platoon by itself and they would have smaller mortars with them (00:34:38:00) o Hogue had both his .22 pistol and M-16 rifle but he tended to do more shooting with the .22 because he felt more secure with it (00:34:45:00) For the entire year he was in Vietnam, Hogue did not receive any R&R; he was in the field for ten and a half months before being pulled back because he had received the designation of a “short timer”, meaning he had less than forty-five days until his tour ended (00:35:10:00) o Hogue was scheduled to come in and the helicopter was waiting when a fight broke out and Hogue was left behind in the field (00:35:31:00) o Another twenty days passed before they came around again to pick Hogue up; by that point, Hogue only had twenty days left in Vietnam and he was pretty scared (00:35:49:00) o The theme of a soldiers staying with the unit until he got hurt or finished his tour was commonplace in Hogue’s unit (00:36:11:00)  From what Hogue could tell, R&R consisted of a soldier receiving a twenty-four or forty-eight hour pass and being able to do what he wanted, so long as he stayed on base (00:36:15:00) o Hogue’s platoon was either in the field for six months straight or they would return to the base, spend a day or two, at the most three, in the base before returning to the field (00:36:49:00) The year-long service was hard but it helped open Hogue’s mind to the experiences of death, survival, and anything else related to combat (00:36:55:00) On the occasions when Hogue was on the larger bases, such as the base at Chu Lai, there were Vietnamese civilians working on the base, although in his opinion, they were attempting to do a lot of underhanded things (00:37:15:00) o The Vietnamese civilians were doing dishes or cleaning the soldiers’ hooches where they slept (00:37:38:00) o There was a lot of stealing going on; the soldiers would set down their money to take a shower and the money would be gone (00:37:58:00) o By that time, Hogue just simply had a hard time trusting the Vietnamese, feelings which had lingered to this day (00:38:09:00) o Overall, Hogue did not have positive interactions with the South Vietnamese because he saw all different underhanded things they did (00:39:14:00)  He did not understand why they allowed a Vietnamese onto an American base when they were fighting the enemy, who were often the relatives of the people working on the base (00:39:22:00) With around twenty-five days left on his tour, Hogue came in from the field and returned to the rear area, where he worked as a CQ runner and did any other tasks that his commanders had for him (00:40:11:00) o Around fifteen days to go, the Army placed Hogue in a room and tried to get him to re-up his enlistment with an offer of ten thousand dollars (00:40:22:00) �   They kept pressuring Hogue to re-enlist but Hogue eventually said that he did not want to stay in the service; he was tired of fighting but he would stay in if he could be an MP (00:40:40:00) o Hogue eventually traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he continued to work as a CQ runner for a general; for two months, Hogue acted as the general’s quasimaid, including picking up the general’s dog’s droppings (00:41:11:00) Hogue finally got out of the service the week after Thanksgiving, 1971 (00:41:59:00) Hogue got back from Vietnam in August 1971 and he and his wife married in September, after which they went to Fort Benning so Hogue could finish his enlistment (00:42:23:00) o While Hogue was in Vietnam, he received a letter from his fiancé about once a month (00:42:42:00) Post-Military Service / Reflections (00:43:02:00)  After getting out of the service, Hogue went back to Michigan and began working for the same company he had worked with before being drafted (00:43:02:00) o The company soon transferred Hogue to work in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which he did until 1973; however, a recession hit the United States and Hogue ended up losing his job (00:43:18:00) o Eventually, Hogue overheard that the school district in Byron Center, Michigan was hiring while he had been shopping, so he got a job working as a janitor for the school district in October 1973 and still has the job (00:44:04:00)  Overall, the experience in the military was good for Hogue; however, like he told his own son, if someone wanted to go into the service, then chose an occupation that the person would like (00:44:29:00) o Hogue believes that the only reasons he survived his service was because he had some experience with weapons and through the sheer will of God (00:44:43:00) o Hogue rolled the dice when he enlisted and although they worked out well for him, it was still a difficult experience; it was hard trying to get through the experience (00:44:57:00)  The Army was great and the instructors were great but sometimes, they would go overboard with authority; the instructors knew how to get into people’s minds and mess with them (00:45:15:00)  When he returned home, Hogue did tell people that he had served in Vietnam and the most common reaction was that “Hogue was smarter than that” and he should have tried to get out of serving (00:45:45:00) o Hogue remembers people point out that their son or someone else son did not have to go and Hogue remembers he being one of the few, if not the only, man from Salem, Ohio who served during the war (00:45:54:00)  All of Hogue’s friends either got girls pregnant or did something else in order to get out of serving (00:46:12:00) o Hogue remembers taking his physical in Detroit and while others tried to get out of serving, Hogue did not because he felt it was dishonest to do so (00:46:36:00) o The anti-war protest also had a tremendous impact on Hogue; the protestors considered Hogue a killer and when he only said he was defending the country, they somehow managed to get a hold of his service record (00:47:03:00) �  Hogue still remembers that they made signs calling him a “baby killer” or a “child killer”; while Hogue admits that is true, he did so to defend himself and his fellow soldiers (00:47:14:00)  While he was in the service, it was not about being a higher rank, it was about surviving; Hogue cannot remember anyone that enlisted with him signing up for more time (00:47:30:00) o Hogue’s parents did not fully understand what he had gone through, so he took them to see a movie about the war (00:48:19:00) Hogue did not have much understand of why he was in Vietnam to begin with; the commanders tried to explain the situation as best they could but even today, forty years later, Hogue still has a hard time understanding why (00:48:50:00) o The older Hogue got, the prouder he was that he served his country; while he is not proud of the people he killed or specific episodes that occurred, it is what he had been trained to do (00:49:55:00)  Hogue recalls walking during a patrol one time and the situation did not feel right; he stopped and had he not, his entire platoon probably would have died (00:50:28:00)  The enemy had set out a string of claymore mines in an ambush and the mines would have decimated the platoon (00:50:38:00)  Had Hogue gone another step further, he would have blown up everybody (00:51:01:00)  The common saying is that a person has five senses but in Vietnam, a person needed twelve senses because they did not often know who to trust or what to do (00:51:12:00)  Hogue recalls many a night during the six months he was in the field sleeping under the stars (00:51:21:00) o While people say that just the Vietnam War was senseless, Hogue believes that any wars is senseless (00:51:52:00) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Hogue, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hogue, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Hogue was born on October 12th, 1950 in Salem, Ohio. After graduating from high school, Hogue moved to Michigan to work of the Goodyear Tire Company because there were no jobs in the Salem area. In 1969, Hogue received his draft notice and after completing basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Hogue deployed to Vietnam to serve with the Americal Division. He served as an infantryman in a rifle platoon and spent most of his tour in the jungle engaged in patrols and small unit actions. Following a yearlong tour in Vietnam, Hogue returned to the United States in August 1971 and received his discharge. 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 2011-03-15 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context HogueR 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