Bowers, Susan (Interview outline and video), 2014
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
United States. Navy
Susan Ryan Bowers is the widow of Vietnam War veteran Steven Ryan. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee and then grew up in Florida. She met Steven in 1963 after a deployment to Europe. He was in the Navy as a bombardier/navigator for an A5 Vigilante in RVAH 5 Squadron (reconnaissance). They were married in January 1964 and in June of that year he was deployed to Vietnam where he saw action flying bombing missions along the coast of Vietnam. During his time in the service she was an active member of the Sanford Naval Air Station community in Florida and ardently supported his involvement with the military and with the Vietnam War. After his tour ended in June 1965 he decided to leave the Navy and they moved up to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he worked for Lear-Siegler, an aerospace company, which allowed him to still be involved with the military, specifically the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Bowers, Susan
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
In Copyright
Bouwkamp, Wilbur (Interview outline and video), 2007
United States. Army
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Video recordings
Wilbur Bouwkamp served in the US Army between 1941 and 1945. After basic training, he was assigned to the 10 Armored Division, where he served on a recovery vehicle, a tank adapted to tow damaged tanks back to friendly lines where they could be repaired. He was wounded in action in Europe but returned to his unit, and received orders to ship home shortly before V-E Day.
Bouwkamp, Wilbur
Bouchard, Wallace Joseph (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Army Air Corps
Wallace Bouchard was born on July 1, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve in 1944, but was ejected from that in spring 1945 due to the Second World War ending. Shortly after his eighteenth birthday on July 1, 1945 he received his draft notice and reported to Fort Sheridan, Illinois in mid-August 1945. He went to Keesler Field, Mississippi for basic training and stayed there for Aircraft & Engine Mechanic Training. He was sent up to Chanute Field, Illinois for Specialist Training with the P-47 Thunderbolt then was assigned to Biggs Army Airfield, Texas. While in Texas he was assigned to Headquarters Squadron of the 9th Air Force and worked on the squadron's C-47 as well as the 9th Air Force's P-51s. In November 1946 he was discharged from the Army.
Bouchard, Wallace Joseph
Bosserman, Willard (Interview outline and video), 2010
Willard Bosserman served in World War II as a mechanic in the Army. He was drafted in 1943 and worked in a maintenance company attached to the 87th Division, and then to the 66th Division. His company shipped to Europe in December, 1944, and took part in the final campaign in Germany.
Bosserman, Willard
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Borey, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2014
United States. Marine Corps
Robert Borey was born in Flint, Michigan in 1920. He finished high school in 1938 and went to work, and enlisted in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor. He trained at Great Lakes, Illinois, and became a hospital corpsman. He was assigned first to a Navy hospital in San Francisco, and then went to San Diego to train with the Marines. he deployed to Guadalcanal in 1943, and then his hospital moved into the Northern Solomon Islands. He served as a surgeon's assistant and helped treat many sick and wounded soldiers. He got leave home in 1945, and was on his way back when the war ended. After a brief stay in Sasebo, Japan, he came home and was discharged.
Borey, Robert
Bond, Bruce (Interview outline and video), 2014
Bruce Bond was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1950 and grew up there and attended high school there. After graduating from high school in 1969 he enlisted in the Army. He trained at Fort Gordon, Georgia, as an infantryman, but when he went to Vietnam he trained as a scout dog handler and was assigned to the 58th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog), which was part of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. He and his scout dog, Jim Dandy, served on patrols with different units of the brigade, and took part in the actions around Firebase Ripcord in 1970. Bruce was wounded on June 30, 1970, and was sent to the US for treatment. He requested reassignment to Vietnam, but wound up as a scout dog instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia, for the remainder of his enlistment.
Bond, Bruce
Boersma, Bert A (Interview outline and video), 2015
Bert Boersma was born in Moline, Michigan in 1925. He graduated from high school in 1942 and was drafted in early 1943. He reported at Fort Custer, Michigan on February 26, 1943 for processing, and was then sent to Camp Roberts, California for basic training. His training lasted ninety days, and after that he went to join the 130th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Infantry Division. He was stationed with that unit in Hawaii for nine months receiving jungle training before moving on to New Guinea in May 1944 where he stayed for six months conducting patrols and handling cargo from ships. He moved on to the island of Morotai in December 1944 where he saw his first action routing the remaining Japanese troops. He moved on to the island of Luzon in February 1945 and saw major action there at Hill 1802 and Mount Bilbil where he received a Bronze Star. After the war ended he was part of the occupation force in Japan in Nagoya and Himeji. He stayed in Japan until November 1945 and was sent home and got discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois in December 1945.
Boersma, Bert A.
Boerman, Clyde Allan (Interview outline and video), 2005
Clyde Boerman served in the Navy in World War II. He was part of a Torpedo Boat that served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. He worked manning the torpedoes on the boat. He participated in D-Day as part of the Naval team that assisted with the landings and he also served in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies.
Boerman, Clyde Allan
Blough, Lloyd H. (Interview outline and outline), 2005
Lloyd Blough was born in Michigan on August 25, 1915 and drafted into the Army in 1941 when he was 26 years old. He went through training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan and was transferred to Virginia two weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked. In Virginia, Lloyd went through advanced training to become an airplane mechanic, working with P-39s. Once he was finished training, Lloyd was sent to Africa where he worked on different planes in Algeria and Tunisia. He spent a total of two years overseas and also worked in France, Italy, and Ireland before he was sent back to the United States to finish the other two years of his service.
Blough, Lloyd H.
Beukema, Duane "Duke" (Interview outline and video), 2015
Duane Beukema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1928. After graduating from high school in 1946, he and his best friend enlisted in the Army. They both received basic and field artillery training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and completed that training in November 1946. They were both scheduled for deployment to Japan, but got separated in California. Duane wound up being sent to Japan in January 1947 and assigned to H Company in the 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division in Sasebo, Japan. He received infantry training in Japan, regularly pulled guard duty, spent a considerable amount of time traveling (getting to see Hiroshima and Nagasaki only two years after the atomic bombs were dropped), and also getting to meet many Japanese civilians. In December 1947 he received orders to go home, and on the return voyage reconnected with his best friend. They were both discharged in Seattle and back in Grand Rapids by Christmas Eve 1947.
Beukema, Duane
Berles, Robert A. (Interview outline and video), 2007
Robert Berles was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was drafted in 1943 during his sophomore year at Aquinas College. Robert volunteered for a Navy program after receiving his draft notice that would allow him to finish his sophomore year before his time in the service, and also allow him to finish up college afterwards. Robert began officer training at Western Michigan University, where he attended classes all day long and physically trained. He served on a troop transport ship in the Pacific, and his ship was hit by a kamikaze off Luzon, the aftermath of which he describes in detail.
Berles, Robert A.
Bajema, Melvin (Interview outline and video), 2014
United States. Air Force
Mel Bajema was born in England in 1946. His father was in the Army Air Corps (later the Air Force once it became its own branch) and his mother was an English "war-bride." His family soon moved to the US and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After high school, Mel enlisted in the Air Force, and served between 1964 and 1968. He trained in supply, and served between 1965 and 1967 at Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, and then requested assignment to Southeast Asia. He went to South Vietnam and was based at Da Nang, where he eventually switched from supply to ground control work. While there, he witnessed the attack on the base during the Tet Offensive.
Bajema, Melvin
Aronson, Marc (Interview outline and video), 2014
Marc Aronson was born in 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended a military academy in Virginia and graduated in 1968. In September 1968 he enlisted in the Army in Pittsburgh and soon after he began basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina where he also completed Army Driver's Training. After the eight weeks of basic training he attended artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma beginning in December 1968 where he received training on the 105mm howitzer and also attended Noncommissioned Officer School there making him a sergeant and also making him the crew chief for a gun. In September 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam where he served with the 1st Infantry Division operating out of Di An. After four months of service he was transferred to B Battery of the 319th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division. During his time with the 101st he was transferred to Firebase Ripcord where he witnessed the battle and eventual fall of Ripcord. After his time with the 101st he was transferred to the 25th Infantry Division where he worked with 8 inch and 175mm self-propelled artillery tanks near the demilitarized zone, and returned home and was discharged in 1971.
Aronson, Marc
Alverson, Willard (Interview outline and video), 2014
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
United States--History
Bill Alverson was born in 1929 in Olympia, Washington and grew up there. He completed ROTC training in college and was commissioned in the Army in 1951. He went to Japan in January, 1952 and trained for service in Korea. He served as a platoon leader in E Company, 15th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea during the last year of the war. He left Korea on May 1, 1953 and began a career in the Army serving at Fort Lewis, Washington
completing paratrooper training, being a trainer for the ROTC at Washington State University, and completing Army Ranger School in the fall of 1960. He served in Germany during the time of the Berlin Wall and Cuban Missile crises and studied at the Command General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1965 he volunteered to go to Vietnam and was sent over in January 1966 to be an Army Ranger advisor for the South Vietnamese Rangers in Pleiku, South Vietnam. He helped carry out raids against the Viet Cong during his time there. After his deployment to Vietnam he returned to the United States and served at the Command General Staff College and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina helping train Special Forces. In 1972 he was redeployed to Vietnam and arrived there in August 1972. He was assigned to the Army Airbase near Can Tho in the Mekong Delta commanding the Air Cavalry Squadron and South Vietnamese Division there. The second tour ended in March 1973. He returned to the U.S. and served as an ROTC instructor at Idaho State University until his retirement in 1978 retiring with the rank of colonel.
Alverson, Willard
Allen, Paul (Interview outline and video), 2014
Paul Allen was born in 1926 in South Boston. His father served in World War I for the US Navy. Paul graduated high school at the age of 15 in 1942. Although he wanted to go to Harvard, Paul knew he would end up in the military
he wound up being stationed to the battleship New Jersey as a dispersing officer where he would be the youngest officer on the ship at age 19. After a few years on a few different ships, Paul would arrive to the Eastern theater during the Korean War as he was primarily based out of Yokusuka Japan in late 1950. He later served assignments at the Pentagon and aboard the carrier USS Essex (1954-56), and later had assignments in the Philippines and at the naval base in Da Nang during the Vietnam War.
Allen, Paul
David Rivera Reyes video interview and transcript, interview 1
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Oral history of David Rivera Reyes, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 01/12/2011 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Reyes, David Rivera
Young Lords collection (RHC-65)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Celso Rivera video interview and transcript
Oral history of Celso Rivera, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 03/28/2011 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Rivera, Celso
Maria Aviles video interview and transcript
Oral history of Maria Aviles, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 09/27/2018 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Aviles, Maria
Wilfredo Aviles video interview and transcript
Oral history of Wilfredo Aviles, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 09/27/2018 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park. Wilfredo Aviles was Born in Manati, Puerto Rico. He arrived in the US on July 1955 to Chicago, IL at Clark and Division Streets or La Clark Neighborhood. His Parents were Angelina Tirado Aviles & Sixto Aviles, and he has three siblings. He lived in old town/Lincoln Park for about 10 years, then moved to the Lake View area. His work experience included the U.S. Army, and retail in the family owned business, The Gaslight Men's Shop, and eventually became the owner (43 years). He retired in 2008. Wilfredo was also a civic leader. He was the first Latino President of Erie Family Health Center Board (2 years); Treasurer of the Puerto Rican Parade committee (5 years); Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce- Treasurer (5 years); and the Chicago Avenue Business Association-President (5 years). He was a member of the Caballeros de San Juan. During his youth he belonged to one of the many sports clubs which often played baseball in Lincoln Park. A few times members of his group joined with other Puerto Rican youth to protect themselves from roving white ethnic gangs which had existed in Lincoln Park previous to Puerto Ricans arriving there.
Aviles, Wilfredo
P.G. Walter First Grade promotion certificate
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Certificates
Certificate of promotion to the first grade at Saugatuck Public Schools for P.G. Walter, 1948
Walter, P. G.
Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project.
Copyright Undetermined
Ballrooms
Photograph of the interior of Big Pavilion, advertised as the largest dance floor East of the Mississippi River. In the photograph there are two men in a dome like room. A orchestra is in the distance.
Fishtown and Lighthouse near Kalamazoo River
Kalamazoo River (Mich.)
Copy of a foldout photograph of a lighthouse and a few houses near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River.
Fold-out with historic Saugatuck, Michigan photographs
Copy of a fold-out with three images: "Indians of the Area," "Famous Sand Dune, Mt. Baldhead," and "Singapore - the Buried City, 1863."
Florence Sewers American Legion Auxiliary membership card copy
American Legion
White and black copy of American Legion Auxiliary membership card of Florence Sewers issued in Saugatuck, Michigan. 1974