John Baker III was born in Kalamzoo, Michigan in 1935. He grew up in Kalamazoo and enlisted in the Army in 1954. John received basic training at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and engineer training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Upon completion of his…

Lee Bakker was born in Wellsburg, Iowa on October 14, 1924. After graduating from high school in 1943 he was drafted in fall 1943. He was inducted in Des Moines, Iowa and received basic training at Camp Roberts, California. After basic training he…

Jeff Baldwin was born in Royal Oak, Michigan and grew up in Hartford, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army in 2004, two years after he graduated high school. He went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic training and advanced individual training to…

Ralph Baldwin was an astronomy instructor at Northwestern University in 1941 who volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor. He was initially assigned to teach navigation, but lobbied for a more important assignment. He was sent in 1942 to a secret…

Scott Baldwin Scott joined the Army National Guard in Oklahoma in 1986 and took ROTC training at Oklahoma State University. After a number of years on inactive reserve, he was activated, worked as a trainer at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was later…

Kenneth Ball was born in Byron Center, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1952. After high school he spent a year at community college before going to the University of Michigan for architecture. Kenneth was drafted into the Army in 1956…

Carl Ballard was born on October 16, 1932 in Kent County, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1951 and then enlisted in the Army. Carl trained in Kentucky and went through leadership school after basic. He was then sent to South Korea where…

Dr. Gordon Balyeat was born in Michigan in 1911 and grew up in the small town of Sparta. He graduated from high school in 1928 and went to Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan. Gordon attended college during the prohibition and the…

John Bantjes was born in Illinois in 1929 to Dutch immigrants who decided to move back to the Netherlands during the Depression. John lived through the entirety of World War II in the Netherlands. When the war was over he moved back to the US and…

Scott Barber is a Veteran who served in the United States Navy for five years from the late 1970s until the early 1980s in California, Iran, Thailand, and Panama. Because of skill and good military record, Barber's unit was assigned to the first…

Albert Barker was born in 1925 in Stanton, Michigan. Albert grew up on a farm and was doing farm work when he was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and was then sent to Great Lakes, Illinois where he spent eight weeks in basic training. After his…

Robert Barker was born in 1926 and was drafted into the army early in 1944. He trained in Alabama and Texas with the 13th Armored Division and was shipped to Europe late in the year. He served as an armored infantryman, with his unit serving…

Robert Barrett was born in Ohio in 1925. In 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Gunnery School in Gulfport, Mississippi and received training with pistols, rifles, and larger…

Emerson Barrone was a medic and ambulance driver in World War II. He was drafted in 1942 into the Army and spent time training in Missouri. He was then shipped of to England at the end of 1943. He landed on Utah Beach one day after D-Day. His job was…

Robert Barrowcliff was born in Silverton, Oregon, in 1947. He grew up in Oregon, finished high school, and then got an electrical engineering degree from a two-year school and learned took flying lessons. Once he was out of school, he was drafted…

John Barwacz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1921 and enlisted in the Navy on August 18, 1942. John went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then had advanced engineer training at the University of…

Lin Bashford was born in Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska, on August 20, 1946. He was drafted in April 1969 and went to Fort Ord, California, for basic training and later advanced infantry training. He was selected for Non-Commissioned Officer School and went…

Dennis Bassett was born in 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Bassett decided he wanted a different direction for his life, so he enlisted in the Army. After completing both his basic and advanced training at…

This interview session recaps the first part of Bassett's tour in Vietnam, and then covers the second half, when he was a brigade-level staff officer in the 9th Division. Bassett supervised long range reconnaissance patrols, organized and ran a…

Norman Batch was born in 1925 in Muskegon, Michigan. Since he was raised on a farm, he received 6 months of deferred service, but ended up enlisting on his own. He served in the 80th Division of the 3rd Army under General Patton, and fought at Metz…

Jonathan Richard Bates is a Veteran of the Iraq War and has been serving in the United States Army since 1983. In this interview, Bates discusses his recent tour of duty in Iraq. As an Army Advisor for the Iraqi Army, Bates has unique insight into…

Gerry Bauma lived in the Netherlands during World War II. As a seminary student, he had the opportunity to live in the times without having to go into forced labor as many of his friends did, although he was at one point caught up in a German sweep…

Edwin Baumann was born on June 19, 1923 in Stockton, California. In April 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Force to become a pilot and began training in August 1942. He received training at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas then went on to…

Harry "Bud" Baxter graduated high school near the beginning of WW II. He went to college at the University of Michigan for a year, but feeling that he would soon be drafted, he enlisted in the Army. During WW II he traveled with other men where…