VanEssen, Willard (Interview outline and video), 2017
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Willard Van Essen was born in Nobles County, Minnesota, in 1927. He was drafted in 1951 and received his basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. At the end of basic training, he was selected to become the new sergeant in charge of the records department at Fort Gordon. During his time at Fort Gordon he processed incoming recruits, sorted recruits into training companies, sorted them into specialized training (radio, military police, or infantry) and ultimately decided where men were sent for their deployments. Many of the men had to be sent to fight in Korea. He was discharged from the Army in 1954, but served in the Army Reserve for an additional eight years going to drill at Battle Creek and Houghton, Michigan.
VanEssen, Willard
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
In Copyright
Swim, Vernon G (Interview outline and video), 2016
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Vernon Swim was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1935. He entered the Army chaplaincy in 1962 and completed his basic chaplain's course at Fort Slocum, New York. His first assignment was in South Korea with the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and he served there from 1964 to early 1965. Upon returning to the United States, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, as the artillery chaplain. After Fort Carson, he served at the 98th General Hospital in West Germany for three years with his wife who was an Army nurse. Vernon served a tour in Vietnam as the chaplain at Long Binh Jail, working with the American soldiers imprisoned there. After his tour in Vietnam he was sent to the American Institute of Family Relations to get his master's degree in marriage and family therapy, which allowed him to be a family and marriage counsellor at Fort Lee, Virginia, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He did a second tour in Germany at a retreat center in Berchtesgaden. He ultimately served in the Army chaplaincy for 24 years (most likely retiring in 1986).
Swim, Vernon G.
Sturim, Harriet (Interview outline and video), 2015
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Harriet Sturim was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York in 1943 to German immigrants that had fled the Nazi persecution of Jewish citizens in the 1930s. She met her husband, Rick Sturim, in a Jewish youth group as teenagers and reconnected while in college. They married on June 12, 1965 and moved to Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois the next day (where Rick was receiving Aircraft Maintenance Training). She moved to Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico with Rick and worked at the Department of Defense school as a speech therapist and was part of the Wives' Club (extension of the Officers' Club). They stayed at Ramey Air Force Base until August 1968 and then moved to Kincheloe Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where she continued to do activities with other officers' wives. Rick was discharged in 1969 and they eventually moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1977. She has been involved with numerous veterans' organizations in the Grand Rapids area including the Cost of Freedom Tribute (Vietnam War memorial movement), the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, the Veterans' Affairs Clinic in Wyoming, Michigan, and the "No Veteran Dies Alone" program at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Sturim, Harriet
Sturim, Frederick P (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Air Force
Rick Sturim was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 21, 1942. He attended college at the Newark College of Engineering and joined the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He graduated in 1964 and was commissioned in that same year as a 2nd lieutenant. He was trained as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois from December 1964 through June 1965. In August 1965 he was assigned to Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico where he helped maintain the nuclear weapon-armed B-52 bombers at that base. In August 1968 he was assigned to Kincheloe Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and stayed there until August 1969 when he was discharged from the Air Force.
Sturim, Frederick P.
Stauffer, Robert J (Interview outline and video), 2015
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States. Navy
Robert Stauffer was born on May 4, 1971 in Lansing, Michigan. After graduating high school in Caledonia, Michigan, he joined the United States Navy. Throughout the majority of his time in the service, he was a payroll clerk on the USS Underwood. He took part in drug operations as well as rescue missions. Robert also discusses the aftermath of the Gulf War, and the various duties he had while at sea.
Stauffer, Robert J.
Siggins, Gordon Donald (Interview outline and video), 2016
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Marine Corps
Gordon Siggins was born in Highland Park, Michigan in 1925. Prior to serving he worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant outside of Detroit from summer 1942 to summer 1943. He registered for the draft when he turned 18 and joined the Marine Corps. He took basic training in San Diego which began in October 1943. Upon completion of basic training he joined the Marine Raiders and trained at Camp Elliot, California. On February 28, 1944 he deployed to the Pacific Theater with the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and trained at New Caledonia for a month. The Raiders were disbanded and he was assigned to C Battery of the 11th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. He took part in the invasion and battle of Peleliu from September 15, 1944 to November 27, 1944. After resting on Puvavu and training on Guadalcanal he took part in the invasion of Okinawa and the battle for that island from April 1, 1945 to June 22, 1945. After Japan surrendered in August 1945 he went to Tientsin, China in September 1945. From China he returned to the United States, landing in San Diego, California on February 27, 1946. Shortly after getting back to the U.S. he was discharged from the Marines.
Siggins, Gordon Donald
Romeyn, Gelmer W (Interview outline and video), 2005
Gelmer Romeyn was born on March 24, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the early 1940s he joined the Michigan State Troops (a state defense force) and in November 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Force. He reported for basic training at Miami Beach, Florida in February 1943 then received college training at Duquesne University, Pennsylvania. He was classified as a pilot and received flight training at Maxwell Field, Alabama
and Moody Field, Georgia. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and a pilot on May 22, 1944. He trained on the C-47 transport plane. He spent six months in Casablanca, Morocco flying transport missions to Italy. He was transferred to Oran, Algeria for the remainder of his time overseas. He returned to the United States in December 1945. He was discharged at Newport News, Virginia and was released from active duty in February 1946. Gelmer remained in the Army Air Force Reserve and then served with the National Guard as a 1st lieutenant for two years.
Romeyn, Gelmer Willis
Reed, Sherman R (Interview outline and video), 2016
Sherman Reed was born in Jasonville, Indiana, on June 24, 1941. He originally served in the Air Force before becoming an Army chaplain. He received his interceptor weapons control training at Keesler Air Force Base, Missouri, then was assigned to the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Norton Air Force Base, California. During his time with the 848th, he was deployed to a base north of Clark Field in the Philippines to assist with the buildup in Vietnam. He decided to become a minister, and he attended the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from there in May 1971. While at seminary he was part of the reserve at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base. He resigned his commission with the Air Force and began the process of becoming a chaplain in the Army in 1977 He served at Fort Carson, Colorado, and worked with the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade in West Germany. Sherman retired from the Army in 2000, and as of 2016 is national chaplain for the Reserve Officers Association.
Reed, Sherman
Rasmussen, John A (Interview outline and video), 2016
John Rasmussen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 24, 1942. He attended Concordia Theological Seminary, enlisted in the Army on February 24, 1968, and graduated from seminary in June 1968. His first assignment was with an Army Reserve engineer battalion in Wallace, Idaho. On July 1, 1973, he volunteered for active duty. He spent a year at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then deployed to Thailand in February 1974. In Thailand, he provided spiritual coverage for the Central Identification Laboratory which worked on identifying the remains and bodies of soldiers lost during the Vietnam War. From Thailand, he went to Madigan Army Medical Center in Fort Lewis, Washington, and after that returned to the civilian ministry for four years. He returned to service at the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Missouri then served at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, for about five years. He was deployed to Middle East during the Gulf War, where he checked on the morale of troops and guards at prisoner-of-war camps. He retired on September 1, 1995, with the rank of colonel.
Rasmussen, John A.
Press, Charles (Interview outline and video), 2017
United States. Army Air Corps
Charles Press was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 12, 1922. He was drafted in 1943 and received his basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He was then transferred to the Army Air Force and was part of a medical unit's headquarters in St. Louis where he helped with administrative duties. After three (or four) months, he took a test and qualified for Meteorology Training at Chanute Field, Illinois. That training lasted two months and he was assigned to Harding Field, Louisiana, where he was stationed for four (or five) months gathering meteorological data and sharing it with other fields in the United States. In September 1944, he was deployed to Saipan, and stayed on the island gathering meteorological information to assist forecasters in planning missions for aircraft. He left Saipan in early December 1945, and was discharged in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on December 17, 1945.
Press, Charles
Powell, Lloyd G (Interview outline and video), 2016
Lloyd Powell was born on February 22, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy in summer 1944 and was called to active duty in fall 1944. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois then went to Camp Little Creek, Virginia and on to Norfolk, Virginia where he boarded the USS LST-509. He worked as a regular sailor, oversaw a work detail of sailors and marines, and pulled shifts on the ship's helm. They sailed up and down the East Coast moving personnel and supplies from New England to Key West, Miami, and Wainwright Shipyard in Florida. Near the end of the war the ship was outfitted for the invasion of Japan, and when Japan surrendered they were in Camp Little Creek, Virginia. Lloyd stayed with the ship until he was discharged in Norfolk in April 1946.
Powell, Lloyd G.
O'Malley, James M (Interview outline and video), 2017
James O'Malley was born in Chicago in October 1932. In April 1951, he enlisted in the Navy. He received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, then went to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, for Pre-Flight School. He then went to Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee, for Aviation Electronics School. James was sent to Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, Hawaii, and joined Squadron VP-22, an antisubmarine patrol squadron. He served aboard a P2V-5 Neptune and conducted antisubmarine patrols around Hawaii. In spring 1952, Squadron VP-22 was sent to Okinawa to fly reconnaissance missions along the Chinese coast as part of the Korean War. His plane took antiaircraft fire on multiple occasions and they encountered Chinese fighter planes. After the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, he returned to Hawaii and was then reassigned to Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois. His final duty station was at Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia, and he was discharged from there.
O'Malley, James M.
Mol, Jacob (Interview outline and video), 2015
Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Jacob Mol was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 15, 1986. In May 2006 he decided to enlist in the Marines and was sworn in on September 11, 2006. He began basic training in San Diego in February 2007 then received Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California. He was designated as a fixed-wing aircraft mechanic and trained on aircraft engines in Pensacola, Florida. He graduated second in his class and volunteered to work on EA-6B Prowlers. He received training with those aircraft at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington then joined Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3 (VMAQ-3) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. He deployed to Iraq in August 2009 and was stationed at Al Asad Air Base until February 2010 then deployed to Afghanistan in fall or winter 2010 and was stationed at Bagram Air Base until May 2011. He completed his enlistment at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and was discharged in February 2012.
Mol, Jacob
Matthews, Marjorie (Interview outline and video), 2016
Marjorie Matthews was born in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1922. Shortly after America's entry into the Second World War she joined the Red Cross and served as a driver in the Motor Corps in Muskegon. Her duties ranged from the transportation of servicemen to delivering magazines to the military hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. She also worked for Seal Power in Muskegon (a company that was part of the war effort) as a switchboard operator. Marjorie left the Red Cross after the war's end in 1945, and she worked for Seal Power for a total of 13 years.
Matthews, Marjorie
Koster, Lawrence R (Interview outline and video), 2015
Lawrence Koster was born on May 13, 1935 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After attending Calvin College for two year, he enlisted in the army with the idea that he would be allowed to finish his degree. Since his test scores were high, he was given special training to maintain the Nike Ajax Missile system. Once he completed his training, he was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas where he trained recruits in the maintenance of the Ajax Missile System. He discusses the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during this time. When he left the military, Lawrence took advantage of his electronics experience and went to work for IBM.
Koster, Lawrence R.
Knight, Robert James (Interview outline and video), 2016
Robert Knight was born in Decatur, Michigan on March 28, 1933. He enlisted in the Air Force on March 3, 1953 and received his basic training at Sampson Air Force Base, New York. He received property accounting and material services training at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming and then went on to Patrick Air Force Base, Florida where he was assigned to the 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron. The squadron was attached to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing and was deployed to Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, in March 1954. He worked in the supply section at the base, went on maneuvers, and went to Wheelus Air Base, Libya for missile testing in the Sahara Desert. He left Bitburg Air Base in December 1956 and was discharged in New York in that same month.
Knight, Robert
Kitchens, Herbert E (Interview outline and video), 2016
Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988--Personal narratives, American
Herb Kitchens was born on October 24, 1940, in Bauxite, Arkansas. Prior to joining the Army, he attended the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas, and served as a pastor for 12 years. He joined the Army as a chaplain in 1974. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, in October 1974, but didn't take his basic chaplain's course at Fort Wadsworth, New York, until January 1975. He spent his first three years in the Army at Fort Hood and served as an assistant chaplain in the division artillery of the 2nd Armored Division. He was sent to West Germany in 1977 and was assigned to the 12th Engineer Battalion at Anderson Barracks near Dexheim, Germany. He returned to the United States in the summer of 1980 and took the advanced chaplain's course at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He returned to Fort Hood and served as the brigade chaplain of 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division for three years. After Fort Hood, he received orders to go to the Chaplain's School and serve as part of the staff and faculty.
Kitchens, Herbert Earl
Keizer, Herman Jr. (Interview outline and video), 2015
Herman Keizer was born in Chicago on May 21, 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1962 and served as a Chaplain's Assistant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia until 1964. He studied at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and also attended the Calvin Theological Seminary in 1968. He was commissioned as a chaplain in the Army and was deployed to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division and operated out of Lai Khe. He went into Cambodia in the spring of 1970, and due to actions there received a Bronze Star for valor. He joined the 4th Infantry Division in An Khe where he developed an amnesty program for soldiers suffering from drug addictions. While at An Khe, he broke both of his arms in a helicopter crash. He recovered at Camp Zama, Japan, and at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Chicago. He served as the hospital chaplain at Fort Carson, Colorado, from 1971 to 1972 where he wrote an essay on Selective Conscientious Objection and wrote the basis for the Army's drug and alcohol program. He also worked on a case dealing with sexual harassment in the Army. He served at the State Department and helped with evacuation of personnel during the September 11th Attacks. After he retired from the Army he has stayed active with support groups for veterans, and helped with the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, and has also written on Moral Injury in War.
Keizer, Herman Jr.
Keegstra, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2016
Robert Keegstra was born on April 20, 1919 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy on August 7, 1941 and received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois. He went to Yeoman School and after 16 weeks graduated as a yeoman in the Navy. He was stationed at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois when the war began. In the summer of 1942 he went to U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen School at Abbott Hall at Northwestern University and graduated from that training on October 30, 1942 with the rank of ensign. He stayed there and worked as an instructor for a little over a year, then was transferred in January 1944 to Hollywood, Florida where he worked as a navigation instructor. In March 1945 he joined the crew of the USS Savannah (CL-42) and trained in the Gulf of Mexico through the summer and early fall of 1945. On October 22, 1945 he left the ship in New Orleans and shortly thereafter was discharged from the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station.
Keegstra, Robert
Johnson, Richard H (Interview outline and video), 2016
Richard Johnson was born in Lincoln, Kansas, in January 1932. He first served in the Army as a draftee and was inducted in October 1953. He served for two years before getting an early discharge to go to seminary. Upon completion of seminary he joined the National Guard and served as a chaplain for three years before deciding to go on active duty. He was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, in October 1965 and originally worked with the 1st Infantry Division then was transferred to the 2nd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division. In January 1967 he was deployed to Vietnam and served with the 9th Infantry Division. He mostly tended to troops in the Mekong River Delta, conducting services in the field and at Bearcat Base. He left Vietnam on January 2, 1968, and was stationed at Fort Ord, California. He was also stationed at the New Cumberland Defense Depot, Pennsylvania, and served as the post chaplain.
Johnson, Richard H
Jansen, Donald J (Interview outline and video), 2016
Donald Jansen was born in Holland, Michigan, on May 6, 1937. He graduated from Western Theological Seminary in June 1967, was ordained in September, and went on active duty at Fort Hamilton, New York, in October 1967. He was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, to serve as the chaplain for a basic training brigade and did that until he was deployed to Vietnam in the fall of 1968. He served with the 184th Ordnance Battalion and operated out of Qui Nhon. He ministered to soldiers in his unit as well as troops in a maintenance battalion and the 84th Combat Engineers. Despite being a chaplain, he experienced ambushes on convoys, rocket and mortar attacks on the base, and sapper attacks. After Vietnam, he was sent to West Germany for three years, then returned to the United States for service at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He also served at Fort Wadsworth, New York, and in South Korea for two years. Donald served at Brooke Army Medical Center then at the main post chapel in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, before doing a final tour in West Germany with the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade. He retired in 1987.
Jansen, Donald J.
Hoogland, John J (Interview outline and video), 2016
John Hoogland was born in Decatur, Michigan, on April 20, 1934. During his first year in seminary he attended the Chaplain School and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant - staff specialist, then returned to Calvin Seminary to complete his seminary work. His first assignment was at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he held regular services and worked with the men on the base. He received orders for West Germany and was placed on active duty as a reserve officer. During his first tour in West Germany, he was stationed at Kitzingen with the 3rd Infantry Division from 1960 through 1963. After his first tour in Germany he applied for, and was granted a regular commission as an officer in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, from 1963 to 1966 and received orders to deploy to Vietnam in 1966. John worked with American special forces advisors in the southernmost part of South Vietnam and operated out of My Tho. After his tour in Vietnam he went to Fort Hood, Texas, and served as a brigade chaplain in the 1st Armored Division for three years.
Hoogland, John J.
Herring, Kyle (Interview outline and video), 2016
United States. National Guard
Kyle Herring was born in Frederick, Maryland on October 11, 1987, but grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He enlisted in the Michigan National Guard when he was 17 years old in spring 2005 and drilled during his senior year. In January 2006 he received basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia then went to Fort Gordon, Georgia for signal training. He joined C Company of the 156th Signal Battalion at the Grand Valley Armory in Wyoming, Michigan. In early 2008 a medic slot opened and he volunteered for it. He received medic training at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area, California. In early 2009 they received deployment orders and spent most of 2009 training in Vermont
and Fort Polk, Louisiana. He was attached to 1st Squadron of the 172nd Cavalry Regiment of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010 and he was stationed at Forward Operating Base Vulcan (Ghazni) for three months working with local police in Waghaz and Qarabagh. He suffered a concussive injury in Ghazni. He was also stationed at FOB Lighting (Gardez) and at the police station in Charikar for six months. In December 2010 the deployment ended and he returned home. After three months he joined the 126th Cavalry Regiment and went on full-time, active duty as the medical readiness non-commissioned officer.
Herring, Kyle
Hayes, Billy M (Interview outline and video), 2016
Billy Hayes deployed to Vietnam with the 27th Surgical Hospital on March 5, 1968, and departed by ship out of San Diego. He arrived at Da Nang on March 26, 1968, then sailed down the coast to Chu Lai. He served at the hospital there until late-November 1968 and was reassigned to Phu Bai. Upon completion of his tour in Vietnam he returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, for 2 1/2 years. Over the course of his career he studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
worked at Fort Lewis, Washington, in the religious education program
attended the Chaplain Advanced Career Course at Fort Wadsworth, New York
served in West Germany with the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. He returned to the United States and served at the Army Chaplain's School as part of the faculty, and completed his 20-year career at Fort Ord, California.
Hayes, Billy M.