Willie Saddler is an African American veteran who grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II where he helped clean up and retrieve casualties from towns in Germany and Italy that were attacked during…

Bob Romig was born and raised in Ohio, attended Ohio State University and completed the ROTC program there, receiving his commission in the Army in 1967. He was allowed to attend graduate school for a year, and then took infantry officer training and…

Butch Romans is a Vietnam War veteran who was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1945. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and in 1966 he volunteered for the draft. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, advanced infantry training at Fort Dix,…

Dr. Larry Robson is a Vietnam War veteran who was born on June 27, 1937 in Almont, Michigan. He attended Albion College and the University of Michigan completing surgical training in 1968. He enlisted in the Navy in June 1968 to fulfill his…

Alvin Rippen was born in 1917 in Franklin County, Nebraska. He finished high school in 1935, went to college and graduate school and took a job in the dairy industry in Chicago. In 1942, he enlisted in the Navy and qualified for pilot training. He…

Bob Rimmer was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1923. He grew up in Minnesota, Michigan, and Kansas before enlisting in the Coast Guard in March 1942. After basic training he was stationed at Bay City, Michigan as a truck driver then aboard the USS…

Sam Rawlinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1948 and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After graduating from high school in 1967 he decided to join the Army. He did his basic training at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. He then went to…

Richard Rafferty was born on October 31, 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Grand Rapids and in the December 1942 he enlisted in the Navy Reserve as an Aviation Cadet. He was called up for active service in April 1943 and received training…

Duane Quigg was born in 1925 in Albion, Michigan. He grew up there and after graduating from high school was drafted in July 1943. He was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training and then to the University of Pennsylvania for the Army…

Bob Prins was born in Holland, Michigan on April 10, 1948. He reported for his draft physical in March 1968 and went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He completed Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He deployed to South…

Stanley Poloski was born in 1948 in Richmond, Virginia. He lived in Richmond, Virginia until his family moved to central Florida. He grew up in Florida and attended high school and community college there until he was drafted. In the summer of 1969…

Gerard Platte was born on December 30, 1921 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the United States dragged into the Second World War he enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 8, 1942 and was officially sworn in on January 20, 1942 at San Diego. He…

James Pittman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943. He grew up in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park and graduated from high school there in 1961. He went to work and got married, but lost his marriage deferment when he divorced in 1966 and was…

Chris Petty was born October 1969 in Cedar City, Utah, and was raised in Salt Lake City. He graduated high school in 1988 and enlisted in the Army a year later. He received advanced communications training and completed Airborne School. Chris was…

Ben Peters was born in 1941. He grew up on a farm in Holmes County, Florida and enlisted in the Navy in 1958. He served for four years on the carrier USS Bennington. After leaving the Navy, he enlisted in the Army in 1962. He served with the 82nd…

Monica Allen Périn was born October 2nd, 1953 at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland her father was in the Navy at the time of her birth. She finished high school in 1971 after transferring from five different high schools. She had trouble…

Henry J. Pelak was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1924. He grew up and finished high school there and was drafted in 1942. He chose to enter the Navy, and trained at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then did amphibious craft training in Virginia and…

Gene Pasma was born on August 28, 1923 in Moline, Michigan. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was drafted in January 1943. He received basic training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland as well as went to a technical school to learn how to be…

Philip Palmer was born on May 23, 1933 in Lansing, Michigan. After high school he joined the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps and studied at the University of Wisconsin, receiving training aboard the USS Roanoke, USS William R Rush, and at…

Donnally Palmer was born in 1918 in South Dakota. Growing up he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1936 and was drafted into the Army in mid-1941. He received basic training and intelligence…

Tom Pack was born on December 12, 1949 in Kansas City, Kansas. He was drafted in June, 1969 and completed his training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. When he arrived in Vietnam, Tom was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment…

Jessica Oudbier was born on April 6, 1989 in Fort Ord, California. Her father was in the Air Force and she grew up in various military communities, even after her parents divorced. After graduating from high school she enlisted in the Navy on August…

John Oracz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925. He was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and went to basic training at Farragut Naval Station, Idaho and then went to the University of Chicago for radio training. In late 1943 he was sent to…

George Oosterbaan was born on May 17, 1926 in Ellsworth, Michigan. In 1942 (or 1943) he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and in May 1944 he enlisted in the Navy. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois then went to Camp…