Kooyers, Catherine (Interview outline and video), 2012
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Catherine Kooyers was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and comes from a family of veterans. After she got married, she was working at a local fair when she first encountered Vietnam veterans. From her experiences, Catherine quickly realized that work needed to be done in veteran organizations and that work needed to be done in the field of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Catherine was part of a PTSD committee that formed and fought for the VA (Veterans Affairs) to provide services to veterans that they had not previously received.
Kooyers, Catherine
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
In Copyright
Kooyman, Harry (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Navy
Harry Kooyman was born in the Netherlands in 1944 and his family moved to the United States when he was four years old. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and after high school he enlisted in the Navy in 1962. He received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and naval aviation electronics training in Memphis, Tennessee and Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia. He was assigned to a patrol squadron at Naval Air Station Barber Point, Hawaii from June 1963 to March/April 1965 where he flew patrols from Midway to the Aleutian Islands in search of Soviet aircraft. In April 1965 he was assigned to the USS Bennington (CVS-20) and served with VS-38 an antisubmarine patrol squadron. He flew observation missions over the Mekong Delta and along the Vietnamese coast until he was discharged from the Navy in August 1965.
Kooyman, Harry
Grand Valley State University – History
College teachers
Universities and colleges – Faculty
Michigan
Grand Valley State University. University Communications
University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03)
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives
Koshork, Duane (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2008
United States. Air Force
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Duane Koshork was born in Wisconsin in 1925 and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and did sheet metal training. After about 10 months of training in the US Duane went to Bombay, India on a troopship and then travelled by train across India. They got to Calcutta, India and loaded their trucks on to a train. Then they unloaded their trucks and hauled plane fuel from the Ledo Road to the Burma Road. Duane ended up in Kung Ming, China where he worked at a radiator repair shop on an airbase until the war was over. He was then sent to Shanghai to be a MP and sent home in April, 1946 to be discharged. Newspaper clipping about Koshork is appended to interview outline.
Koshork, Duane
Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Koster, Lawrence R (Interview outline and video), 2015
United States. Army
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.
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Kotchka, Nickoli (Interview outline and video), 2007
Nickoli Kotchka is a World War II Veteran who served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945 in Africa, Italy, France, and Austria as a member of the 15th Infantry 3rd Division. Soon after Pearl Harbor, Kotchka was drafted into the Army and sent to Europe. Kotchka discusses his time in Europe and some of the fighting in Italy, as well as his life after the war.
Kotchka, Nickoli
Richard Kovach, Seidman College of Business
Kowalewski, Alfred Eugene (Interview outline and video), 2015
Alfred Kowalewski was born on Memorial Day, 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In July 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for basic training. He went into Chicago for Diesel School then on to Little Creek, Virginia to receive amphibious training. In March 1944 he boarded the USS Cheboygan County (LST-533) and sailed to England. En route he witnessed the sinking of multiple ships in their convoy. He trained in England preparing for the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 and on D-Day took part in the invasion. He served aboard a Higgins boat as an engineer and helped land troops at Easy Red Sector at Omaha Beach. He helped with supplies on Omaha Beach after the beachhead was secured and then operated out of England helping transport supplies and troops to mainland Europe and also bringing German prisoners of war, and freed Allied prisoners of war back to England. During the Battle of the Bulge he transported supplies to Allied forces in Belgium. In late May 1945 he returned to the U.S. and prepared for the invasion of Japan. After Japan surrendered in August 1945 he was stationed on the East Coast until he returned to Great Lakes Naval Station in March 1946 and got discharged there.
Kowalewski, Alfred Eugene
Kraai, Bernard (Interview outline and video), 2008
Bernard Kraai was drafted into the US Army in 1944, and served in Europe with the 80th Division in late 1944 and 1945. His unit participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the advance into Germany. He was wounded twice, but rejoined his unit each time, and at the end of the war his unit marched into Austria, to the Yugoslav frontier, and eventually into Czechoslovakia. After the war ended, he joined a choir recruited from his unit and toured the region with them until he was discharged.
Kraai, Bernard
Kraker, Alvin (Interview outline and video), 2015
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.
Kraker, Alvin
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State College
Allendale (Mich.)
Universities and colleges
Students
International students
Poland
In August 1975, Grand Valley, in collaboration with the Grand Rapids Polish Heritage Society and the Grand Rapids School System, sponsored a study tour to the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted
Kramer, Donald M. (Interview outline and video, 1 of 2), 2006
Don Kramer was born in Gary, Indiana on April 3, 1943. Don got his GED when he was 17, got married, and also joined the Navy. Don worked in the Caribbean, Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. Don was involved in many fire fights while in Vietnam and was often under heavy attack. After being badly wounded in a mortar attack in 1972, Don was discharged from the Navy 6 months short of retirement and spent 2 years in military hospitals receiving physical therapy. He retired from his job in 2005 and now spends most of his time at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Kramer, Donald M.
Kramer, Donald M. (Interview outline and video, 2 of 2), 2006
Kramer, Louis (Interview outline and video), 2008
Louis Kramer served in the 42nd Infantry Division in the US Army during World War II. His unit was shipped to France late in 1944, and joined the 7th Army in Alsace. Kramer's unit fought near Strasbourg during the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind, and participated in the counterattacks that followed and in the campaign into Germany. Kramer was wounded in March 1945, and out of action for the rest of the war.
Kramer, Louis
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Kranenberg, Richard (Interview outline), 2012
Richard Kranenberg, born on January 6th 1944 in Grand Rapids Michigan, served in the U.S. Navy as a supply man between 1962 and 1966. Richard served in ROTC in high school which prepared him for service. Throughout the course of his service, Richard served aboard the USS Midway as well as the USS Enterprise.
Kranenberg, Richard
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Kransy Kavkaz Russian CA aircraft carrier/heavy cruiser
World War, 1939-1945
Russia
Military education
Warships--Recognition
Slides
Kransy Kavkaz Russian CA aircraft carrier/heavy cruiser, December 1, 1949.
Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)
No Copyright - United States
Krasny Kavkaz Russian CA (heavy cruiser), October 1, 1947.
Krasnykrim Russian CL (light cruiser), October 1, 1947.