Robert O'Brien was born on October 31, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan. His family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan when he was a baby and he grew up there. In the spring of 1942 he enlisted in the Navy with the intention of becoming a pilot for the Navy.…

Jack Norton was born in Ottawa County, Michigan, in 1920. He graduated from high school in 1937 and enlisted in the Navy in 1938. He trained as a machinist's mate and sailed first on a transport ship in the Pacific, then on the destroyer USS Barker…

Buford North was born in Paragould, Arkansas, in 1922. His family later moved to Flint, Michigan where he attended high school. He enlisted in the Navy in June 1942. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and transferred to…

Jack Neal was born in Flint, Michigan in 1927. He grew up in Flint during the Great Depression and World War II and was eventually drafted into the Army in early 1945 shortly after his eighteenth birthday. He reported for duty in late spring 1945 and…

Chuck Mulder was born in September 1925 in Grand Haven, Michigan. He grew up there and in the fall of 1943 he was drafted into the Army. He reported for duty on December 21, 1943 and was sent to Camp Crowder, Missouri for basic training and Signal…

Dr. Richard Muir was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 2, 1939. After graduating from high school in 1957 he attended Northwestern University, Albion College, and Wayne State University studying medicine. After completing his internship in…

Joseph Minias was born in Bockhorn, Germany in 1945

Lawrence Merritt was born in Oak Park, Illinois, although when he enlisted, Merritt's family lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attending Purdue University and completing the university's ROTC program, Merritt received a commission in the…

Madeline McGregor was born in 1946 in South Bend Indiana. She married her husband Mike McGregor in 1965, at age 19, and her husband was drafted the next year. Around the same time she became pregnant, and had her son Mike Jr shortly before her…

John Matt in 1984 in Marquette, Michigan. He grew up in Marquette and attended high school there and graduated in 2003. In November 2005 he enlisted in the Marines and attended boot camp at San Diego/Camp Pendleton and the School of Infantry at Camp…

Maurice Lehmann was born on March 23, 1924 in Chicago. In March 1943 he was drafted and was processed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois then went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He was accepted into the Army Specialized Training Program and went…

Dale Lancaster was born in Wyoming, Michigan on June 6, 1931. After graduating from college with a degree in social studies and getting married in 1954, he was drafted in December of that year. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic…

John Kuennen was born in New Hampton, Iowa, in 1950. After graduating from high school in 1968 he attended college for one year before volunteering for the draft. He trained as an infantryman at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and went to Vietnam in November,…

Al Kraker was born in Allendale, Michigan on June 26, 1924. He grew up there and when he was older learned about engines at a local automotive garage. After graduating from high school in 1942 he was drafted in December of that year and reported for…

Keith King was born on April 5, 1921 in Greenville, Michigan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the Army in 1942. He was processed at Camp Custer, Michigan then went to Camp Roberts, California for three months of infantry training and…

Jack Kennedy was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 17, 1924. He grew up there and in the summer of 1942 was drafted into the Army Air Force. He received basic training at Bowman Field, Kentucky and was then sent to Salt Lake City, Utah for…

William Huyser was born in1924 in Pella, Iowa. He grew up there and graduated from high school in summer 1941. He was deferred from the draft because he worked on his parents' farm, but gave up his deferment in 1945. On April 14, 1945 he received his…

Nicholas Huizenga was born in Munster, Indiana in 1925. He graduated from high school in 1943 and was given a draft deferment so that he could work on his uncle's farm to provide food to the country and the troops during the Second World War. In 1945…

Gerald Hopkins was born in Blanchester, Ohio in 1927. He was drafted on June 19, 1945 and was processed in Ohio and Indiana before going to Camp Walters, Texas for basic training to prepare for the invasion of Japan. When the atomic bombs were…

Robert Hoolsema was born in 1928 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from high school in 1947. He was drafted into the Army in mid-1950 and began training at Camp Carson, Colorado in late October, 1950. He received…

Ralph Hauenstein was working as a newspaper editor in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September 1940 and in the Army Reserved when he was called to active duty was assigned to be the public relations officer for Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In September 1941…

Jack Harris was born in 1933 in Lucas, Ohio to a family of farmers. His family later moved to Michigan where he attended high school in the town of Buckley, graduating in 1951. He later attended Michigan State for a time, but left before finishing a…

George Gordon was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1925. He grew up in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and Winnetka, Illinois and graduated from high school in 1943. In April 1943 he received a draft notice for the Army, but enlisted in the Marine Corps. He trained…

William Gerber was born in 1921 in Menominee, Michigan. He grew up there and attended high school there until he graduated in 1939. In the summer of 1938 he trained with the U.S. Citizens Training Corps in Fort Brady, Michigan for four weeks which…