Palmer, Donnally (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: Donnally Palmer was born in 1918 in South Dakota. Growing up he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1936 and was drafted into the Army in mid-1941. He received basic training and intelligence gathering training at Camp Roberts, California. At the end of his training Pearl Harbor was bombed and he was sent to Camp Haan, California and was transferred to the Army Signal Corps. He was placed in the unit that would eventually become the 582nd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion. His initial duty was to oversee supplies, but that duty was changed overseas to guide ships and aircraft that were damaged, as well as keep track of Allied and enemy aircraft, and targets. He sailed overseas aboard the Queen Mary and saw the sinking of the HMS Curacao. He took part in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France. In fall 1944 he was sent back to the United States for Stateside duty and was discharged from the Army in September 1945.
creator: Palmer, Donnally
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-03-31
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Pack, Thomas Arthur (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Tom Pack was born on December 12, 1949 in Kansas City, Kansas. He was drafted in June, 1969 and completed his training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. When he arrived in Vietnam, Tom was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. His battery (battery B) was positioned on Firebase O'Reilly, Firebase Jack, and was one of the first batteries on Firebase Ripcord in April, 1970. In July, 1970, Tom was transferred out of the 101st due to major hearing loss
description: he spent the remainder of his tour driving trucks and guarding the headquarters of the 1st Cavalry Division.
creator: Pack, Thomas Arthur
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-10-08
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Oudbier, Jessica (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: Jessica Oudbier was born on April 6, 1989 in Fort Ord, California. Her father was in the Air Force and she grew up in various military communities, even after her parents divorced. After graduating from high school she enlisted in the Navy on August 15, 2007. She received basic training and communications training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. She was assigned to Tactical Air Control Squadron 12 in San Diego, California. During her time there she withstood repeated sexual assaults as well as verbal harassment from fellow sailors. She was assigned to the USS Bonhomme Richard and took part in RIMPAC 2009 as well as a deployment to the Gulf of Aden for air strikes in Yemen. During her time in the Navy she got pregnant and got married and was assigned to FACSFAC in San Diego. She reenlisted in 2012 and was assigned to the USS New Orleans. After a nervous breakdown she was medically discharged from the Navy in February 2014 and moved to Michigan with her husband and children.
creator: Oudbier, Jessica
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-02-19
contributor: Jones, Adam (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Oracz, John (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
description: John Oracz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925. He was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and went to basic training at Farragut Naval Station, Idaho and then went to the University of Chicago for radio training. In late 1943 he was sent to Shoemaker Navy Base, California to wait for his next orders, and in early 1944 he finally received orders to join the Pacific Theatre. After doing a few weeks of supply work on various liberated Pacific islands he finally boarded the USS Hoel, a destroyer, in early 1944 in the Solomon Islands. Aboard the Hoel he saw action during the Invasion of Peleliu and at Leyte Gulf, where his ship was sunk. He was rescued after three days in the water, and served on several other ships without seeing further action until he returned home in 1946.
creator: Oracz, John
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-08-12
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: video/x-m4v
format: application/pdf
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Oosterbaan, George (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
description: George Oosterbaan was born on May 17, 1926 in Ellsworth, Michigan. In 1942 (or 1943) he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and in May 1944 he enlisted in the Navy. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois then went to Camp Bradford, Virginia for Amphibious Training. He went to Jeffersonville, Indiana and joined the crew of LST 720 and sailed to the Gulf of Mexico for the ship's shakedown cruise. In late 1944 they sailed to the Pacific Theatre and operated around the New Hebrides until sailing to the Philippines in 1945. He took part in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945 and supply operations around the Philippines until the surrender of Japan in August 1945. After the war he stayed with crew of LST 720 and sailed around China, Korea, and Japan helping transport liberated Chinese slave laborers and Japanese soldiers back to their home countries. In spring 1946 they sailed for the U.S. and arrived in Bremerton, Washington in May 1946. The ship was decommissioned in June 1946 and he was sent back to Great Lakes Naval Station in late June and got discharged there.
creator: Oosterbaan, George
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015
contributor: Jones, Adam (Interviewer
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

O'Brien, Robert F. (Interview outline and video)
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: Robert O'Brien was born on October 31, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan. His family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan when he was a baby and he grew up there. In the spring of 1942 he enlisted in the Navy with the intention of becoming a pilot for the Navy. After receiving training in Ohio and Iowa he was commissioned as an officer (receiving the rank of ensign) in Corpus Christi, Texas and then went on to receive further training in Florida and California before being assigned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. He was assigned to a land based squadron, VP 199, while at Whidbey Island where he flew a Curtiss Helldiver and patrolled the waters off the northwestern coast for Japanese submarines. After the war was over he received orders to go to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois to be discharged and left the Navy in November 1945 with the rank of lieutenant junior grade.
creator: O'Brien, Robert F.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-05-22
contributor: Jones, Adam (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Norton, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2008
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: 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 from 1940 to 1943, engaging mostly in convoy escorts and antisubmarine patrols in the Pacific (including visits to China before Pearl Harbor) and Atlantic (sinking two U-Boats). He then transferred to the destroyer escort USS Henry R. Kenyon, and again served in the Atlantic and Pacific, witnessing a kamakaze attack at Okinawa and ending the war in the Philippines.
creator: Norton, Jack
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2008-12-15
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: video/x-m4v
format: application/pdf
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

North, Buford (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Navy
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: 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 New Orleans, Louisiana for further training and his assignment to a ship. From New Orleans he went to Orange, Texas to board the USS William D. Porter as an Electrician's Mate 3rd Class. The USS William D. Porter participated in escorting President Roosevelt to Allied conferences in Africa and the Middle East as well as campaigns in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, the Philippines, and finally at Okinawa supporting the invasion there. On June 10, 1945 the USS William D. Porter was struck by a Japanese kamikaze plane and sank off the coast of Okinawa. Buford, along with the rest of the crew, was successfully rescued and returned to the United States.
creator: North, Buford
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-09-04
contributor: Erichsen, Wallace (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: video/x-m4v
format: application/pdf
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Neal, Jack (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: 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 received training at Camp Lee, Virginia
description: Fort Belvoir, Virginia
description: and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. In late 1945 he was sent over to Europe and was stationed in Rome, Italy as part of a Military Police unit there. During his time in Rome he helped keep order in the city, worked with German prisoners of war, and got to travel around Italy. His time in Italy ended in early 1947 and he was sent back to the United States. He was discharged from the Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
creator: Neal, Jack
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-11-13
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
contributor: WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Mulder, Chuck (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: Chuck Mulder was born in September 1925 in Grand Haven, Michigan. He grew up there and in the fall of 1943 he was drafted into the Army. He reported for duty on December 21, 1943 and was sent to Camp Crowder, Missouri for basic training and Signal Corps training. In the summer of 1944 he was assigned to an antitank platoon in the Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion of the 302nd Infantry Regiment of the 94th Infantry Division. He was sent over to Europe in August 1944 and was sent to France on September 8, 1944. He saw action around Lorient and Saint-Nazaire, France and then in January 1945 saw action in the Battle of the Bulge around the Saar-Moselle Triangle. In the spring of 1945 the 94th Infantry Division advanced into Germany and from the end of the war on May 8, 1945 through the summer of 1945 he was stationed in Czechoslovakia as part of the occupation force. He was sent back to the United States in late 1945 and was discharged from the Army at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
creator: Mulder, Chuck
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-05-07
contributor: Childress, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Muir, Richard V (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Dr. Richard Muir was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 2, 1939. After graduating from high school in 1957 he attended Northwestern University, Albion College, and Wayne State University studying medicine. After completing his internship in 1966 he was drafted in spring 1966 and reported for active duty in August 1966. He received training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and volunteered to be deployed to Vietnam. He reported to Travis Air Force Base, California on November 2, 1966 to be deployed to Vietnam. He was stationed in Pleiku where he worked at a provincial civilian hospital treating civilians and training Vietnamese medical personnel. He also would go into the hills and villages of Vietnam to treat the Montagnards as well as rural Vietnamese. He was sent back to the United States in November 1967. He was stationed at Fort MacArthur, California for nine months and was discharged from there.
creator: Muir, Richard V.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-05-04
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Minias, Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: Joseph Minias was born in Bockhorn, Germany in 1945
description: his family moved to the United States when he was five years old. He grew up in Buffalo, New York and graduated from high school in 1964. He was drafted by the Army for the Vietnam War in 1969. He was ordered to the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Evans in Vietnam. He served in the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry, and participated in the Ripcord campaign in 1970.
creator: Minias, Joseph
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-10-11
contributor: McGregor, Michael (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: video/x-m4v
format: application/pdf
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Merritt, Lawrence (Interview outline and video), 2009
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Lawrence Merritt was born in Oak Park, Illinois, although when he enlisted, Merritt's family lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attending Purdue University and completing the university's ROTC program, Merritt received a commission in the Army Corps of Engineers and went to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for his training. From Fort Belvoir, Merritt initially received an assignment to Fort Carson, Colorado but soon received assignment to MACV. Once he deployed to Vietnam, Merritt worked as an engineering advisor in a province populated largely by Montagnards. Merritt stayed in the same province his entire tour and returned to the United States once his tour was complete.
creator: Merritt, Lawrence
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2009-11-10
contributor: Serafino, Meg (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

McGregor, Madelaine (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Madeline McGregor was born in 1946 in South Bend Indiana. She married her husband Mike McGregor in 1965, at age 19, and her husband was drafted the next year. Around the same time she became pregnant, and had her son Mike Jr shortly before her husband left for Vietnam. While her husband was training but before her son was born Madeline sold typewriters at a store. After he served his two years Mike returned and they had another child named Melissa.
creator: McGregor, Madelaine
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-10-09
contributor: Coryell, Janet (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Matt, John (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
subject: Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Marine Corps
subject: United States. National Guard
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: John Matt in 1984 in Marquette, Michigan. He grew up in Marquette and attended high school there and graduated in 2003. In November 2005 he enlisted in the Marines and attended boot camp at San Diego/Camp Pendleton and the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton specializing as an infantryman. In the spring of 2006 he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marines. In mid-May 2007 he and his unit left for an international training mission in Thailand, on the second day of sailing they were rerouted and deployed to Iraq. They arrived in Iraq in late June/early July 2007 and were stationed in a village south of the city of Al-Karmah near Combat Outpost Golden in the Al-Anbar Province. During his time in Iraq he went on patrols and took part in the humanitarian mission to improve the lives of the Iraqis. Around Christmas/New Year's Eve of 2008 he and his unit returned home. In 2008 and 2009 he went with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea to carry out training missions with the allied forces in those countries. After leaving the Marines in late 2009 he enlisted in the National Guard in March 2010 and was assigned to the 1431st Combat Engineers Company in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan based out of Kingsford Armory where he could be near his wife and children. He volunteered to help the 1433rd Combat Engineers based in the Lower Peninsula and wound up getting deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2012. His unit operated out of Forward Operating Base Pasab helping to clear the road of improvised explosive devices and other explosive materials.
creator: Matt, John
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-09-27
contributor: Jones, Adam (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: video/x-m4v
format: application/pdf
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Lehmann, Maurice (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Maurice Lehmann was born on March 23, 1924 in Chicago. In March 1943 he was drafted and was processed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois then went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. He was accepted into the Army Specialized Training Program and went to Ohio State University and Muskingum College for ASTP. After graduating from ASTP he was reassigned to the infantry and received infantry training at Camp Swift, Texas. He was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 405th Infantry Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division to serve as a rifleman and a scout. In September 1944 he sailed out of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and arrived in Cherbourg, France on September 23, 1944. After further training in France they entered combat in early November 1944. He saw fighting during the Battle of the Bulge then advanced into Germany. He crossed the Rhine River in April 1945 and fought with the 102nd Infantry Division up to the Elbe River and made contact with Soviet troops. At the end of the war he was present for the discovery of the atrocity at Gardelegen. After the war he trained for the invasion of Japan in Tangermunde, then with Japan's surrender he was stationed at Camp Chesterfield, France and studied at Shrivenham American University in England. In March 1946 he returned to the U.S. and was discharged at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
creator: Lehmann, Maurice
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-08-25
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Lancaster, Dale G (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Dale Lancaster was born in Wyoming, Michigan on June 6, 1931. After graduating from college with a degree in social studies and getting married in 1954, he was drafted in December of that year. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic training and engineering training. Upon completing those twelve weeks of training he volunteered for a deployment in Europe. He was assigned to a duty station in West Germany, and after reporting for duty in Heidelberg, he was sent to Karlsruhe to work with the U.S. Army Historical Division due to his college education in history. His primary duty there was to work with former German generals to prepare a strategy to deal with the Soviet Union in case it ever attacked Western Europe. In November 1956 he left West Germany and was discharged from the Army at Fort Hamilton, New York.
creator: Lancaster, Dale G.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-02-12
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
contributor: WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Kuennen, John (Interview outline and video), 2014
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: John Kuennen was born in New Hampton, Iowa, in 1950. After graduating from high school in 1968 he attended college for one year before volunteering for the draft. He trained as an infantryman at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and went to Vietnam in November, 1969. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division and patrolled the Mekong River Delta area as a radioman. In mid-March 1970 the 1st Infantry Division was sent back to the United States and he was reassigned to C Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division based out of Camp Evans as an infantryman and then as a radioman. He took part in the establishment of Firebase Ripcord on the edge of the A Shau Valley and later in the Battle of Firebase Ripcord specifically on Hill 902 on July 2nd and then on Hill 1000 on July 7th and 8th. After the fall of Firebase Ripcord on July 23rd, 1970 he was reassigned to the Battalion Tactical Operations Center at Camp Evans as a radio operator. In the fall of 1970 he returned to the United States and completed his service in the Army at Fort Hood, Texas in April 1971.
creator: Kuennen, John
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2014-10-09
contributor: McGregor, Michael (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Kraker, Alvin (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Al Kraker was born in Allendale, Michigan on June 26, 1924. He grew up there and when he was older learned about engines at a local automotive garage. After graduating from high school in 1942 he was drafted in December of that year and reported for basic training in March 1943. He was sent to Camp Crowder, Missouri where he spent three months working on trucks. In July 1943 he was sent to North Africa and arrived in Oran, Algeria. He was assigned to the 591st Signal Depot Company in a repair section working on generators. He was stationed there for a year until he applied for Airborne Training. He trained in Italy until he suffered a severe back injury on a training jump. After recovering he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, but was unable to see action with them due to a case of appendicitis. He was eventually reassigned to the 591st and went to the Pacific Theatre with them in the summer of 1945. He was briefly stationed in the Philippines, but contracted dysentery and had to be sent back to the United States after Japan surrendered. He was sent to a hospital in Galesburg, Illinois to recover and was discharged from the Army in early spring 1946.
creator: Kraker, Alvin
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-04-09
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

King, Keith C (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Keith King was born on April 5, 1921 in Greenville, Michigan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the Army in 1942. He was processed at Camp Custer, Michigan then went to Camp Roberts, California for three months of infantry training and vehicle maintenance training. From Camp Roberts he was sent to Camp Butner, North Carolina and was assigned to a Service Company in the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division. He went on maneuvres, got married, and worked at Camp Butner until the division was deployed in fall 1944. They crossed into France in late November 1944 and took up positions in the Hurtgen Forest on the Belgian-German border. He took part in the Battle of the Bulge then the advance into Germany, crossing the Rhine River in March 1945 and fighting in the Ruhr Pocket until Germany surrendered in May 1945. He stayed in Germany until September 1945 when he was sent back to the United States and discharged at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.
creator: King, Kieth C.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-08-03
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Kennedy, Jack W (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Jack Kennedy was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 17, 1924. He grew up there and in the summer of 1942 was drafted into the Army Air Force. He received basic training at Bowman Field, Kentucky and was then sent to Salt Lake City, Utah for medic training. He was eventually transferred to a regular medical battalion in the Army and was stationed in Indiana. In early 1945 he shipped out of the United States and arrived in France. His unit followed Patton's Third Army across northern France and over the Rhine River into Germany. After the war ended his unit established a field hospital and stayed for the rest of 1945. In 1946 he was shipped back to the United States and was discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
creator: Kennedy, Jack W.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-06-28
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Huyser, William (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Michigan--History, Military
subject: Veterans
description: William Huyser was born in1924 in Pella, Iowa. He grew up there and graduated from high school in summer 1941. He was deferred from the draft because he worked on his parents' farm, but gave up his deferment in 1945. On April 14, 1945 he received his draft notice and he began basic training at Camp Hood, Texas in early May, 1945. After basic training he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas and was then sent to Japan as part of the occupation force in October 1945. He was stationed in Utsunomiya and Yokohama and returned to the United States in November 1946. He was then sent back to Illinois and was discharged from the Army there in December 1946.
creator: Huyser, William
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-04-16
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Huizenga, Nicholas J (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Nicholas Huizenga was born in Munster, Indiana in 1925. He graduated from high school in 1943 and was given a draft deferment so that he could work on his uncle's farm to provide food to the country and the troops during the Second World War. In 1945 his deferment expired and he was drafted into the Army in October 1945. He served for seven months at Camp Atterbury, Indiana processing returning soldiers, then four months at Fort Knox, Kentucky handling records there. He received his basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama and his final duty station was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was discharged from the Army in late 1946.
creator: Huizenga, Nicholas J.
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-07-07
contributor: Smither, James (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image

Hopkins, Gerald (Interview outline and video), 2015
subject: Oral history
subject: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
subject: United States--History, Military
subject: Veterans
subject: Video recordings
subject: World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
subject: United States. Army
description: Gerald Hopkins was born in Blanchester, Ohio in 1927. He was drafted on June 19, 1945 and was processed in Ohio and Indiana before going to Camp Walters, Texas for basic training to prepare for the invasion of Japan. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and Japan surrendered the invasion plans changed and he was assigned to occupation duty in Germany. He was deployed to Germany in December 1945 and arrived in Le Havre, France. He was stationed in Marburg, Germany for a month working as a special orders clerk (processing soldiers being sent home) before applying for the 3rd Special Services as a performer. He traveled around Germany with the GI song and dance troupe "Script and Score" performing in German cities all around West Germany. In November 1946 he took a ship back to the United States and was discharged in New Jersey in December 1946.
creator: Hopkins, Gerald
source: Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
publisher: Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
date: 2015-07-16
contributor: Jones, Adam (Interviewer)
rights: In Copyright
relation: Veterans History Project (U.S.)
format: application/pdf
format: video/mp4
language: eng
type: Text
type: Moving Image