William Myers was born in Chicago in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines at the age of 16 and trained as a radio operator on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He sailed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean during the last months of the…

Johnnie Myles, born in Natchez Mississippi in 1929, enlisted in the Army in 1946 at the age of seventeen. He qualified for training as a medic, and did both basic and medical training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. While he was there, the Army began to…

Sherwin Nagelkirk was born in Zeeland, Michigan and lived with his grandparents growing up during the Depression while his father worked on their farm. Sherwin was drafted into the Army shortly after graduating from high school in 1951. He went…

Linda Namenye of Spring Lake, Michigan, tells the story of her mother, Evelyn Tolley Buckingham, who served in The United States Air Force. Buckingham was born in Madison, South Dakota and grew up during the Depression. She graduated in 1949 and…

Joe was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1923. He joined the National Guard when he was fourteen years old and served until his unit was federalized in 1940. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was sent to be an MP at Fort Custer, Michigan. …

Rich Natte was born in 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was forced to quit his schooling at the age of sixteen so that he could provide for his family. Rich found a job at a local furniture store until being drafted in 1943. He spent six weeks at…

Gerald Naughton was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 29, 1931. He moved to Michigan when he was five years old and graduated from high school in 1950. Gerald joined the Navy reserve in 1955 and was later in the Navy full time. He was in the…

Moises Nazario was born in Manila, Philippines, on October 25th, 1936. He recalls his uncle fighting in World War II when he was as young as five years old, and he remembers when Manila was occupied by Japan. Once the Philippines gained independence,…

Moises Nazario finished his tour with his company in Vietnam in July 1967. After helping his captain in the last few months before the captain was to be transferred, Nazario was sent back to the United States in October 1967. He was then transferred…

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…

Duane Neff served in the US Army Air Corps between 1943 and 1946. He served with an air warning unit that worked mostly with fighter squadrons in the Philippines. He discusses encounters with the Japanese and with Filipinos, and incidents that took…

Bruce Nelson was born in Wabasha, Minnesota, in 1949, and graduated high school in 1967. After he graduated, Nelson briefly attended a trade school to become an auto mechanic, but could no longer afford it, so he went to work in a metal foundry.…

Larry Nelson was born in Warren, Ohio in 1924. He grew up there and attended high school there. After graduating from high school he attended Ohio State University, and after Pearl Harbor was bombed he decided to enlist in the Army Air Corps to…

Woodrow Neumann was born in Flint, Michigan on July 8, 1918. He grew up in a large family of 14 children and went to a Catholic school. After graduating high school Woodrow worked for 2 years before being drafted. He went through basic training in…

Peter Newman is a major in the Michigan National Guard and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. He was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois, in 1980 and grew up in Michigan. He took ROTC training in college and was commissioned in the Army in 2002. He…

Tim was born in Buffalo, New York in 1948, and was drafted in the United States Army in 1969. After becoming an infantryman, Tim was sent to Vietnam and was assigned to the 101st Airborne, 2/506th, A Company. He served with his company through the…

Donald Newton was born in Grand Rapids, MI and graduated from high school at age 16. When he was eligible, he joined the Navy and did basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station. He then moved to submarine training at New London, CT. He was then…

Che was born in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1940. After graduating from high school, he joined the army so that he could serve his country. He was sent to officer training school and graduated as a lieutenant. He served in the army from 1962 – 1966. After…

Luc Nguyen's father escaped from North Vietnam when he was a young man and following his service in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN), became a farmer. Nguyen himself grew up on the farms where his father worked before attending the University of…

Trinh Nguyen was born in a rural village in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. After attending a school at a French military outpost, Nguyen went traveled to Saigon to go to college. After a single year of dentistry schooling, Nguyen joined the South…

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…

Mark Northrup was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1957. He graduated high school in 1975 and attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota before opting to enlist into the Coast Guard for its Officer Candidate School. Northrup attended the OCS program in…

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…

Christopher Notestine was born in Charlevoix County, Michigan, in 1980. He joined the Army at the age of 19 and did his basic training at Ft. Benning in Georgia. He became part of the 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry which used Strykers. Christopher and…