Mike Davis joined the Air Force in 1973 after completing the 4-year ROTC program in college. He served in Active Duty as a Pilot Instructor and later went into the Air National Guard during the Cold War. He retired from the Guard in 2000 but still…

Phil Davis served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force because of his low draft number, and he was sent to Vietnam and served in the I Corps sector as a pilot.

Roy Davis was born in Hartford, Michigan in 1924. He grew up in Hartford and after graduating from high school in 1942 enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet. He reported for duty on June 1, 1943 and began training at Sheppard Field,…

Shaun Davis served in the U.S. Air Force.

Wayne Keith Davis is a Veteran who served in the United States Army during peacetime from the late 1970s to the late 1980s in Germany and in the United States. Born in 1957, Davis talks about his childhood growing up in Benton Harbor and his summers…

Harold was born in Ava, Missouri on June 26, 1949. He worked for General Motors in Kansas City before being drafted into the United States Army in 1969. After basic training, Harold was made a crewman on armored vehicles such as M114 APC's and M48…

Mike Day was a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who is currently serving in the National Guard. His recent term of deployment lasted about 11 ½ months. In this account, Day discusses his pre-enlistment year, his enlistment and training in the U.S.…

Edward de Blécourt was born in Arizona in 1981 and later moved to Michigan. He joined the Army Reserve in 2000 and was called to active duty after 9/11. He was sent to Kuwait in March of 2003 and served as a machine gunner on trucks that delivered…

Cornelius "Casey" De Jonge was born in the Netherlands, became a US citizen in 1935, and served in the Merchant Marines between 1943 and 1943. He tells of a series of voyages in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific, including some difficult trips…

James de la Cruz was born in Texas in 1945 and moved to Michigan when he was one year old. James spent 3 years in the ROTC while going to school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. James enlisted in the Air Force in 1965 and was sent to Texas for basic…

Walter de Leeuw was born in the Netherlands in 1937 and lived there during the German occupation of the country. He later emigrated to the US, and served in the US Army between 1959 and 1961. He trained at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and served in…

Arnold De Loof grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. After training, he was sent to Alaska and Korea, where he did supply work and eventually became a fireman.

Harvey De Vries was born on a farm in Michigan in 1922. He was drafted in 1943 started training as a tank destroyer gunner, but then switched to the paratroops. He arrived in England immediately before D-Day and did not take part in that action, but…

Richard De Young was born on September 2, 1944 in Petoskey, Michigan. He volunteered for the Air Force because he had a cousin who was a brigadier general and De Young assumed that that fact would somehow benefit him. After basic training at Lackland…

Douglas G. Dean who served in the Army from 1966 to 1968. In this account, he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S. and combat experiences abroad in Vietnam and Korea. He served in a grave registration unit and was…

Lawrence L. Dean served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1957 to 1959 in the U.S. In this account he discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S., and his service. Dean concludes by discussing his life after the war and…

Ollie Dean is a World War II veteran that was born in 1927 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In early 1945 at the age of seventeen he joined the U.S. Navy and after training at Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago was…

William Deary, born in Pontiac, Michigan in July 31st 1925. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943, and was sent first to Miami Beach for basic training, and then to Laredo, Texas, and Boise, Idaho, for training as a gunner. He was sent to Italy…

George DeBaar was born in Grand Rapids, MI, and was drafted in January of 1943. He served at Fort Brady at Sault St. Marie, as part of the 131st Infantry (later the 156th). His unit served as guards at the base, and near the Soo Locks and the…

John DeBoer was born in 1924 in Paterson New Jersey and before the war he worked as tool and die apprentice. He enlisted in 1943 and trained in Sampson New York. He was sent to radio school and was assigned to the destroyer USS John D. Edwards as a…

Loren DeGroot was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1935. While he was still in high school, he enlisted in the Naval Reserves. After he graduated high school in 1953, he began classes as Grand Rapids Junior College and then went to the University of…

Merle Delagrange was born in 1950 in Grantwood, Indiana. He was newly married and living in Ohio when he was drafted in 1969. After training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado until he…

Jeff DeLange served in the Army for a total of five years as an infantryman and toured in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2006 and 2009 where he conducted patrols and later helped with the turnover of operations to the Iraqis.

Frank was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 21, 1949. He graduated from high school in June 1966 and had two unsuccessful attempts at college. He worked for the United States Postal Service and received his draft notice on his twentieth…