Nick Anderson was born in Minnesota in 1989 and moved to Grand Haven, Michigan three years later. He had given thought to joining the military before 9/11 and, during his senior year of high school, decided that he wanted to be a Marine. Nick swore…

Bob Anderson was born in August 1948 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While growing up, his father re-enlisted in the military, meaning Anderson and his family moved constantly, although Anderson's father stayed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland long…

Robert Douglas Anderson, born near Grand Rapids, Michigan. in 1926, was drafted into the Army in 1945 after the war had already ended. After training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and Fort Meade, Maryland, he was sent to Yokohama, Japan to identify and…

Wayne Anderson served as an armorer in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. He was based in England and serviced fighter planes, primarily P-51 Mustangs, that escorted bombing missions. At the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he was assigned to…

Larry Armstrong was born in Livingston, Tennessee. He joined the Marines and attended boot camp at Camp LeJeune. After boot camp, he was sent to the Marshall Islands to do clean up work such as clearing roads and standing guard. He was sent to Maui,…

Bob Arntz was born in 1944 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school Bob worked in a factory for a while before enlisting in the Army in 1968. Bob went through basic training in February of 1968 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After…

Richard Astrauckas served with the Merchant Marines from 1943 to 1948 during World War II and with the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean War. He discusses his pre-enlistment years, enlistment and training in the U.S. and sea voyages…

Jack Austhof, born on September 15, 1948, enlisted in the US Army in 1967 during the Vietnam War with a friend under the Army's buddy system. He spent a year and a half in Germany as a repair parts specialist in a supply company. He did not see…

Randy Austin was born in Paw Paw, Michigan on December 30, 1945 and was drafted shortly after graduating high school in 1965. He was not happy about being drafted and expected to be sent to Vietnam. Instead he began training in aviation electronics…

Robert Austin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up on a farm. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June, 1941 and trained first for the Marine Air Corps and then for the Marine Paratroopers. He eventually was assigned to the 5th Marine…

Steve Avgerinos was born in Chicago in 1949. He enlisted late in 1968 to stay ahead of the draft. He took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then AIT at Fort Lewis, and then went on to NCO school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then sent…

John joined the United States Army and spent nine months in training. He became a fuel truck driver, and eventually spent two weeks in Panama in support of Operation Just Cause in 1989.