Ludema, Gordon (Interview outline and video), 2005
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
United States. Air Force
Gordon Ludema served as a staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After high school in August of 1948, he enlisted in the Air Force in order to avoid being drafted into the army. After spending 13 weeks in Texas for basic training, he learned to fly DC-3 planes before his outfit went overseas. He served as a radio operator and at night, his outfit was responsible for dropping flares so that U.S. fighters and bombers could attack enemy convoys. While in Korea and Japan, he flew a total of 104 combat missions.
Ludema, Gordon
Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
In Copyright
Comprehensive plan publications
Ludington (Mich.)
Mason County (Mich.)
The Ludington Comprehensive Plan was prepared by the Ludington Planning Commission with assistance from the West Michigan Regional Planning Commission in 1987.
Ludington Planning Commission, City of Ludington, Mason County, Michigan
Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)
West Michigan Regional Planning Commission (consultant)
No Copyright - United States
Luevano, Estevan (audio interview and transcript)
Oceana County (Mich.)
Migrant agricultural laborers
Farms
Audio recordings
Oral history interview with Estevan Luevano. Interviewed by Andrew Schlewitz on June 18, 2016 in Hart, Michigan. English and Spanish language. Estevan Luevano was born in San Juan, Texas in 1967 as the son of two Mexican parents who migrated to Michigan for work each year. Throughout his life, he and his family were a part of the agricultural heritage of both places, and they settled in Michigan in 1981 and decided to stay. Estevan graduated from Walkerville High School in 1986 and studied diesel engines at the vocational center, which later helped him as he started his career as a semi-truck driver for his family’s business and later working as a mechanic. He ended up moving to Hesperia, Michigan in 1992 where he bought his first home and later started a family.
Luevano, Estevan
Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage)
Lugten, Harvey (Interview outline and video), 2008
United States. Navy
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Harvey Lugten was born in Holland, Michigan in 1922 and graduated from Holland High School in 1940. Harvey was drafted into the service and had his choice of the Army of the Navy. He chose the latter and went through training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago. After basic training Harvey went to machinist school and then submarine school for another 6 months. After training he was shipped to Australia where he later boarded the USS 256. Harvey went on three war patrols throughout the Pacific and was later discharged in February of 1946. After his time in the service, he received his masters degree and later became the superintendent for Byron Center schools in Michigan.
Lugten, Harvey
Byron Area Historic Museum (Byron Center, Mich.)
Lugtigheid, Paul (Interview outline and video), 2009
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Paul Lugtigheid was born in Grand Rapids, MI and served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force at age 17, and became an autopilot and flight controls mechanic. He was based in California and spent some tours of duty in Spain. He also spent a tour of duty in Da Nang, Vietnam on a base working support for aircraft.
Lugtigheid, Paul
Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.)
Luis "Tony" Baez video interview and transcript
Young Lords (Organization)
Puerto Ricans--United States
Civil Rights--United States--History
Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives
Social justice
Community activists--Illinois--Chicago
Puerto Rico--Autonomy and independence movements
Community activists--Wisconsin--Milwaukee
Luis "Tony" Baez arrived in Chicago from Barrio Borinquén of Caguas, Puerto Rico in 1969 and soon became Minister of Education of the Young Lords. In Puerto Rico, Dr. Baez was also active with the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), the electoral component of the broad movement in Puerto Rico, fighting for Puerto Ricans to regain back control of their nation. By 1970, Dr. Baez moved from Chicago to Milwaukee and set up a Young Lords chapter. They maintained a community office and distributed the Young Lords Newspaper (that Dr. Baez had also helped to publish while in Chicago), focusing primarily on neighborhood organizing, community-based programs, and bilingual education.
Baez, Luis
Young Lords collection (RHC-65)
Luis Acosta video interview and transcript
Mexican Americans--Personal narratives
Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
Race relations
Social conflict
Cultural identity
Black Panther Party. Illinois Chapter
Oral history of Luis Acosta, interviewed by Jose “Cha-Cha” Jimenez on October 25, 2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park. In the video, a Latino man in a dark sweater sits in front of a bookshelf facing the camera, while speaking to the interviewer who is off camera.
Acosta, Luis
Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)
Audio Transcription Center (transcriber)
Luis Neris video interview and transcript
Oral history of Luis Neris, interviewed by Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, on 12/14/2012 about the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
Neris, Luis
Lulenski, Gary (Interview transcript and video), 2009
United States. Army
Dr. Gary Lulenski was an ‘obligatory volunteer' and held the rank of captain for the entirety of his service because of his previous medical schooling. He was stationed in Chu Lai, Vietnam as a Medical Company Commander for the Americal Division. Completed a large-scale drug survey which showed interesting trends. His service was from 1970-1971.
Lulenski, Gary
Incunabula
Printing 1450-1500
One leaf from Lumen animae by Berengarius de Landora and edited by Matthias Farinator. Printed in Strassburg by the Printer of the 1481 "Legenda Aurea" on March 22, 1482. Illustrated with red rubricated initials. [GW M16917; ISTC ib00341700]
Berengarius de Landora
Seidman Rare Books Collection
Strassburg: Printer of the 1481 "Legenda Aurea"
Lund, John (Interview outline and video), 2016
John Lund was born in Cadillac, Michigan, in 1950. In the spring of 1969 he enlisted in the Army, and after graduating from high school reported for duty in July 1969. He received Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then received Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He deployed to Vietnam in late 1969. At Camp Sally he was assigned to a Recon unit in the 2nd Battalion, of the 501st Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division. In December 1969 he went on his first recon mission. From January through March 1970 he went on patrols in the A Shau Valley, and was wounded on April 23, 1970. After recovering he rejoined his recon unit and conducted patrols around Firebase Ripcord until its total evacuation on July 23, 1970. After the fall of Firebase Ripcord he went on recon missions around Firebase Bastogne until being reassigned to Phu Bai. His tour ended in late 1970, and in January 1971 he reported to Fort Ord, California. He completed his enlistment at Fort Hunter Liggett, California.
Lund, John
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
Hispanic American women
United States
Photo of Fidencio Vasquez, Jr.'s mother, Lupe Vasquez (left), with her godmother.
Vasquez family
Vasquez, Fidencio Jr.
Copyright Undetermined
Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage Project)
Hart (Mich.)
Photo of Lupe Vasquez, taken shortly after the family's move into their new house on State Street in Hart, Michigan.
Lust, Alan John (Interview outline and video), 2005
Al Lust was born in Ohio in 1950 and enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1971. Al served in Germany, Thailand, and Korea. While in Thailand, Al worked on flight missions against the Viet Cong. Al stated that he was mortared and shot at many times but never experienced any heavy combat. After his time in the Air Force, Al worked on a mission dealing with the homeless for 16 years. He also was a rescue mission chaplain and a substance abuse counselor.
Lust, Alan John
Lutke, Jay (Interview outline and video), 2010
Jay Lutke, born in Michigan in May of 1918, served in the U.S. Army from approximately May 1943-Novmeber 1945 in Europe during World War II. After completing his basic training at Fort Knox Kentucky, Jay was assigned to the 702nd Tank Battalion attached to the 8th Infantry Division in the 3rd Army. Jay spent his service traveling through France and Austria clearing pockets of resistance, and remained in Austria and Germany for about six months after the German surrender.
Lutke, Jay
Lutz, John (Interview transcript and video), 2019
United States—History, Military
Other veterans & civilians—Personal narratives, American
John Lutz was born on May 24, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York, and attended high school in Queens. He graduated high school in 1936 and went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to become an engineer. In 1940, he earned his bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering and eventually went to work for the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in North Carolina. After three years Lutz wanted a more active role in the ongoing Second World War, so he traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he enlisted into the Navy in late 1943. For Basic Training, he was transferred to Officers Training School in Princeton, New Jersey, for three months. He was then sent to Camp Bradford, Virginia, where he practiced operating in an LST (tank landing ship) crew as an Engineering Officer. From there, he and his crew shipped out to the South Pacific. When traveling through Hawaii, Lutz’s ship also took on the cargo of a smaller LCT (tank landing craft) which they transported to Okinawa. For the invasion of Okinawa, Lutz’s LST was outfitted with pontoons, which helped during the unloading of the LCT. Once all the men and gear the ship was carrying had made it ashore, kamikaze pilots became more of a threat as Lutz’s LST began transferring Marines between different beaches and landing points along the island’s coast. Despite a close encounter, his LST was never struck by a kamikaze pilot. While transferring troops to another beach, his ship struck a coral reef, damaging one of its propeller’s blades, and were forced to travel south to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines for repairs. After the Japanese surrender, his LST transferred troops and supplies into mainland Japan to help with the rebuilding process. His ship was also assigned to help transport a Japanese unit, originally stationed in Palau. Lutz was then discharged at Tokyo Bay and took a series of flights back to the United States. In 1946, he went to work for Baldwin Automotive Company and joined the Navy Reserves. After the outbreak of the Korean War, he was called up again and was assigned to the USS Adria. Lutz remained in the Navy reserves for 22 years before retiring in 1964.
Lutz, John
Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
Lux, Melchior (Interview transcript and video), 2016
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, Yugoslavian
Melchior Lux was born in 1935 in Filipowa, an ethnic German community in Yugoslavia, in 1935. When the German military invaded in 1941, Lux and the Germanic townspeople welcomed the incoming soldiers. His brother joined the German Army and, later, his father was forced into the service in early 1944. When the Germans evacuated in October of 1944, along with his brother and father, Serbian partisans took over, instating rations on supplies, but not food. Lux's mother was forced to undergo manual labor for the partisans and his sister was sent to Russia as a forced laborer. The partisans frequently tortured, beat, and abused their German prisoners and local townspeople. Lux remained imprisoned in the town until December of 1946 when his mother paid a guide to help them escape and flee to Hungary. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, he acquired a passport and was eventually permitted into the American Zone, settling into Passau where his uncle lived. He worked as a welder until he earned his Journeyman's Card and filed paperwork for emigration to the United States, leaving Germany in 1956.
Lux, Melchior
Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27
Luznicky, Wayne (Interview outline and video), 2012
United States. Marine Corps
Wayne Luznicky was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He joined the Marines in October of 1964 and took his Basic Training in San Diego and infantry training Camp Pendleton, California. He then went to Memphis, Tennessee, for aviation mechanic training, and was assigned to Cherry Point, North Carolina where he worked on Phantom F4B. In January of 1966, Wayne volunteered to go to Vietnam. He was stationed at the Air Base at Chu Lai. After his first tour of Vietnam, and spending some time at Cherry Point, North Carolina, he volunteered for a second tour, and was again at Chu Lai from April to October of 1968.
Luznicky, Wayne
Kentwood Historic Preservation Commission (Kentwood, Mich.)
Indians of North America -- Michigan -- Periodicals
Indians of North America
Michigan -- Grand Rapids
Lyle James Illustration from an unknown issue of Council Drum News by the Grand Valley American Indian Lodge collected by Edward Gillis included as part of his Native American publication collection.
Grand Valley American Indian Lodge
Lyles, Elbert (Interview outline and video), 2011
Elbert Lyles was born in Mississippi in 1920. After leaving school in 1936, he worked as an iceman and in a cottonseed plant. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served in both North Africa and Italy in an all black engineer battalion. During his time in service, he served as a cook for his battalion who had the task of delivering supplies to the front and setting up more permanent camps. In this interview, Elbert gives an overview of what his cook duties entailed and how being an African American affected his military service.
Lyles, Elbert
Rivers--England--Devon
Lynmouth (England)
Devon (England)
Exmoor National Park (England)
Black-and-white photography
Black and white photograph of the River Lyn flowing through the village of Lynmouth, located in Devon, England, on the northern coast of Exmoor National Park. Scanned from the negative.
Gilbert, Douglas R.
Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)