George Sarros served in the Marine Corps from 1946-1951. He fought as a machine-gunner during the Korean War. He did experience combat with Koreans and the Chinese, but did not talk about much of his experience. He does recall being on the front…

Dr. Sanders entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the United States entered the war. Due to his previous medical training, the Army sent him through accelerated medical school training. However, he did not graduate from medical…

Frank Sanborn served in the 101st Airborne Division during WW II. He joined the division as a replacement prior to the Battle of the Bulge, and fought in that campaign and in Germany in 1945, staying on for some time in Germany as part of the…

Robert Samuels was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1950 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1948. He trained at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he learned water purification processes. When the Korean War…

John Salistian Jr. was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He had a passion for playing his saxophone before the war and during the war. He enlisted to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and wound up being sent there anyway. He has never married…

Brian Sager, born in Brown City, Michigan, in 1978, served in the Marine Corps Reserve starting in 1996. After training in San Diego and at Camp Pendleton, California, he was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to train as a combat engineer, and…

Ralph Hawley Safford entered the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was educated in mechanics and engine work and used this training to work on aircraft from the Army Air Corps. He repaired fighter aircraft in…

Ronald Sabin, Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Air National Guard in 1981. Ronald went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for 8 weeks and then went through advanced firefighter training for another 8…

Tony Urbon was born in Michigan in 1917 and drafted into the army in April 1941. He was sent to train with the 32nd Division, which included the National Guard regiment from his area. He was a musician and served with the division's band. His…

Garry Underwood was born in Jackson, Michigan in March 1946. He started college after high school, but did not do well enough to keep his deferment, and was drafted in 1967. He trained as a mortarman, but when he arrived in Vietnam in the fall of…

Mark Thiel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1950 and served in the Navy/Marines and Army during the Vietnam War Era. He worked for the Navy and Marines as a lab assistant in a number of different locations, including South Carolina and Camp…

George Zysk served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Infantry Division on New Guinea and in the Philippines during WW II fighter. In the Philippines, he was on board a ship that was hit by a kamikaze. He speaks critically of Gen.…

Brian Zwart was born on in 1985 in Grand Haven, Michigan, and grew up in that area. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2002, trained at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, and became a Light Armored Vehicle crewman in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance…

Gordon Zuverink joined his local National Guard unit in Holland, Michigan, after graduating from high school in 1939. His unit was federalized in 1940 and sent to train in Louisiana. In 1942, his division was sent to Australia and then to New Guinea.…

Michael Zulauf reported for duty to the United States Air Force Academy on July 1st 2004, just a month after graduating from high school in Muskegon, Michigan. In his interview, Zulauf offers a detailed description of his experiences as a student…

Leo Zimmerman of Grand Rapids, Michigan, waited to be drafted before joining the Army in 1943 during World War II. Leo received his training in wheeled vehicle maintenance and repair in Camp Worth, Texas. His first deployment was to Italy in 1944…

Myrtle Zietlow was born outside of Chicago in 1921. She attended the University of Illinois, and after graduating she went to work for Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut, where they made aircraft engines. She tells her own story as well as that of…

Bertam Zheutlin served in the medical corps during WW II. Still in medical school when the war broke out, Zheutlin recounts what it was like to be a civilian waiting to go to war, as well as his experiences as a doctor during the war and the training…

James Zegollari was born in 1960 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and served in the Marines during the Cold War. He was trained to operate and command the M-60 tank. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Twenty-Nine Palms, California…

Ray Zeeff served in the National Guard from 1932-1935 and then reenlisted and served from 1937-1942 during World War II. During his service, Ray served as a radio operator for the Regimental Headquarters Company 126th Infantry. His unit was…

Thaddeus Zator grew up in Michigan and was drafted in the Army during World War II. He trained as a communications specialist, first at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and then in Arlington, Virginia, before being sent to England in 1943. He was based in…

Raymond Zandstra was born in Grand Rapids. He served in the US Navy from July 14, 1959 to Sept. 28, 1962. He served in Sicily, and in the San Diego Helicopter Squadron One. Most of his duties revolved around helicopter maintenance and repair. He…

Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on…

Robert Twa was born in Crystal Falls, Michigan in 1922 and served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was trained as a weather forecaster and served in California, Michigan, Greenland, Bermuda, Canada and Georgia. After the war, he worked for…