120 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bbafb427fb3c41eb5631521fafe37ba2.jpg a1efd871c6d676dc744d79fb25b03e52 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0137 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource Beech-Hurst driveway entrance Description An account of the resource Photograph of the old beech and old maple at Beech-Hurst. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-05-31 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/720131855784ef9cf0ecea35386052c0.jpg 55e5c88904659fdb0e7e64926de7b6ee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0138 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource South field of Beech-Hurst with lodge in trees Description An account of the resource The Beech-Hurst lodge from the south field next to the factory. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-05-31 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/87b461bdaca12d8d880a721dcd837b37.jpg bf469fa00dcde83bf0fe800451ab6cf3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0141 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07 Title A name given to the resource Jan and Geoff Brigham on beach Description An account of the resource Sepia-toned photograph of Jan sitting in the shade of a tent on a beach towel with son Geoff running into the sand. Circa 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Outdoor recreation Children Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/31af19d7cf91c146c20c467d0dfce9e3.jpg b8aaa3ac8cfdaedaafbfeb3499ea50f6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0142 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07-04 Title A name given to the resource Kyle & Geoff Brigham holding American flags Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of Kyle & Geoff holding small American flags at Beech-Hurst. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Children Flags (United States) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/13b1b1e28e7b619d03ec7646914fe578.jpg f3d28b27a8aa3071424741dd69c969af Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0143 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07-04 Title A name given to the resource The Brighams raising the American flag Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a family raising the American flag and saluting the flag at Beech-Hurst. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Families Children Flags (United States) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85a1323e9ef780a5068176b37a8ded98.jpg 86dcefd902a36bd8074f1578152360a2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0144 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07 Title A name given to the resource The Brighams raising the American flag Description An account of the resource Photograph of Joan and Jan raising a flag on a flagpole while Kyle & Geoff stand nearby holding small flags. At Beech-Hurst. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Families Children Flags (United States) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/13a88f2457ff4d4ea474a87551ceae02.jpg 6167242f1aad479a6d7e352067af7b8e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0147 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990 Title A name given to the resource Young boy on the beach Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a young boy walking on the beach smiling, behind him stands an adult man. Circa 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Outdoor recreation Children Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb141af9ea8f550f0169d26c4a42a322.jpg 32f6c6416a3e925e9fbb16d76d1b0692 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0148 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07 Title A name given to the resource Jan and Geoff Brigham in beach tent Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of Jan and Geoff in the shade of a 3-sided beach tent. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Outdoor recreation Children Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/92d6f65e8be7111f4fb776f531d2290f.jpg 8a56d60503f3749450780e1c6e7df955 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0149 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1949 Title A name given to the resource Barbara Eddy Crandell on Gay Ribbon Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of Barb in a white shirt, riding pants and boots, riding Gay Ribbon at Beech-Hurst. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Horses Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3405728d9212c96db197a4df9f61836b.jpg a9a323144478bf0101f7c69ec55ecc22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0150 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource Kalamazoo River lighthouse pier Description An account of the resource Color photograph of a man standing in front of a red lighthouse on a pier on the Kalamazoo River. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Piers Lighthouses Kalamazoo River (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dbc9f1a9bcba68574a9262c5190c2800.jpg 0ef6a3e78ee384a910f668c0c28f7e9a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0151 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1961 Title A name given to the resource Keith Plummer and R.G. Eddy Description An account of the resource Color slide of Raymond Grimes Eddy holding his grand nephew Keith Plummer dressed in a blue jacket on the hood of a car. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Families Children Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c72110f7d011d7cca4264929daa80fd.jpg 83203d2f2e7e0aa1078973a7a6a6d127 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0152 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1957 Title A name given to the resource Old Road to Holland Description An account of the resource Color slide of a narrow country road lined with trees, with a white mailbox on the left. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f0a9b597e2f8204b7ba72b8e3cb4e72a.jpg 7133ef3c185e2c5ce501de53db6044c1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0153 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Title A name given to the resource Autumn pond Description An account of the resource Color slide of a pond surrounded by autumn-colored trees. Circa 1960 Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Autumn Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ed4bad41c9f95de80866f60685ccb51b.jpg 0644a18d582259ea6ae16a47b368b08f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0154 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Title A name given to the resource Pat and Frank Woods Description An account of the resource Photograph Pat and Frank in swimming suits holding their son Mike who is standing on a wooden railing on the beach. Behind them are four other people sitting or laying out towels. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Outdoor recreation Families Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1259e0592b340754f598d500f699348.pdf c3508c46b4cc671b453b92b8519b0d7b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Jarvis Brink Cold War Interview Length: 11 minutes 9 seconds (00:00:04) Early Life and Overview of Service -From Zeeland, Michigan -Attended Holland High School -Graduated in 1953 -Joined the Army in 1954 -Served for two years -It was a whole new experience serving in the Army -Strange experience to leave the small town environment for the first time -Feels that it is, in some ways, emotionally similar to leaving for college -Surviving basic training relied on learning how to follow orders and accept the rules -Initially difficult for him to adjust to that -Spent a few months training in Kentucky -Stationed at Fort Hood, Texas for eighteen months -Worked as a mechanic in the motor pool of one of the Armored Divisions -Service made him mature and taught him how to accept authority (00:02:07) Volunteering for the Draft -After graduating from high school he had a job -Not a very good job though -Better jobs refused to hire someone if they hadn’t completed draft service yet -He went to the local draft board and volunteered for the draft -Meant that he would be drafted sooner as opposed to later (00:03:03) Basic and Advanced Training -He was trained to be a gun mechanic after he completed basic training -Trained how to repair the .30 and .50 caliber machine guns mounted on tanks -Training for that was in Kentucky and lasted eight weeks -Difficult to adjust to military living while in basic training -Lived in cramped, older barracks at Fort Knox, Kentucky -Had to live by the Army’s schedule -No personal time during two months of basic training -Had no money during basic training -Only got paid $78 a month -Eventually was granted some weekend leave while being trained to be a gun mechanic (00:05:09) Deployments while in the Army -Took basic and advanced training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for four months -Stationed at Fort Hood, Texas for eighteen months -Returned to Fort Knox for further training on being a gun mechanic -He wanted to have an overseas deployment -Wanted to visit Germany -He would have had to reenlist to be granted that and was not interested in that �(00:05:48) Personal Relationships While in the Army -He formed temporary friendships while he was in the Army -They were not long lasting friendships and faded after he was discharged -Wrote his parents a letter once a week -Wrote letters to, and received letters from, his friends back home -Only used the telephone a handful of times during his two years of service -Used it to call his parents -Calls were expensive -Telephones were generally reserved for special occasions and emergencies (00:06:56) Peacetime and Returning Home -He wanted to do his service while there was no warfare -The Korean War had ended about six months prior to his joining the Army -Had to use trains to get across the country -Took a train from Fort Hood to Chicago -Eighteen hour trip -Had to sleep in the seat because there were no beds on the train -He was allowed to return home on leave every six months -He was treated more like an adult by his friends and family whenever he came home (00:08:22) Involvement with Other Veterans -He has made connections with other veterans -Not the people that he served with though -Feels that having a connection with other veterans has been good for reminiscing -Also good because they understand and experienced the same things he did (00:08:46) Reflections on Service -Feels that it made him a better person in terms of loyalty -Instilled in him a sense of commitment to his nation and his fellow countrymen -Taught him that there is more to life than making money -Instilled in him life values -Honesty, integrity, self-reliance, and confidence (00:09:48) Parents’ Reaction to His Service -He was the first in his family to serve in any branch of the military -His induction into the Army was difficult for his parents -He was an only child -They wanted him to wait as long as he could to get drafted (00:10:37) Final Thoughts on Veterans -Glad that we now show respect for our veterans and current members of the military -Feels that combat veterans especially deserve respect -Especially those that suffered greatly in combat Interview ends at 00:11:09 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brink, Jarvis (Interview outline), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brink, Jarvis Description An account of the resource Jarvis Brink is a Cold War veteran from Zeeland, Michigan where he attended Holland High School and graduated from there in 1953. In 1954 he joined the Army and served for two years. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas for eighteen months working as a machine gun mechanic on tanks in the motor pool for one of the armored tank divisions stationed there. During his time at Fort Hood he returned to Fort Knox and received more training on how to repair the .30 and .50 caliber mounted machine guns. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Scholl, Amanda (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-25 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrinkJ1497V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3f9b66295c878766a365a4464cb051b4.mp4 09830d68f8fd117e86451715014637e8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd6132aee608b287479b698d83675ce5.pdf 8241e847b9021d044a98729cabe2bcf0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Korean War Era William Brinkman Length of Interview (00:18:40) Background Served in the U.S. Army during Korean War; highest rank: Captain Born in Los Angeles, California, November 11, 1930 Mother died when he was 5, raised by his father; has one sister Has been married for 48 years, has a large family Father served in WWI Training (00:01:15) Attended a military school, a recruitment officer spoke to his father about Officer’s Candidate School  Had graduated from the honors military academy as Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel the Honor Cadet  Tested for Officer’s Candidate School, given a contract by the Government  Was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant  Served at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Benning, Georgia The Korean War started two days after he entered training in 1950 (00:02:15) Went to Fort Riley for basic training and leadership training Transferred to Fort Benning for Infantry Officer training school Didn’t have difficulty with military life, military school helped immensely  Used to discipline Was a part of the first class of officer’s training since WWII, 180-day Wonders After receiving his commission, sent to Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania (00:03:20) Had to have a commission for six months before going into combat �Taught classes for night patrolling and patrolling Germany (00:03:50) There for three weeks, sent to Germany instead of Korea Shipped with 43rd Infantry (his division), 28th Infantry and 4th Armor Divisions to Germany Berlin Airlift situation [crisis was in 1948], had to stop the Russians from taking over Europe From Indiantown Gap to Camp Pickett, Virginia; there for seven days, paraded through Norfolk to the troop ship Ship called General M.B. Stewart, sailed for 10 days from Norfolk to Germany (00:04:50)  Landed in Bremerhaven, Germany; was a beautiful day, had a band greet them with the song “I Wonder Who She’s Kissing” From Bremerhaven to Y-69, near Heidelberg; waited for their heavy equipment to arrive (tanks, heavy artillery, etc.) Division was split up in Augsburg, put into the 102nd Infantry Regiment; other two regiments sent to other major cities nearby Major objective was to protect the cities and split up the Russians; had certain defenses (00:06:00)  Had to continue doing this until the Russians reached the Rhine River where NATO troops would come in  Final line of defense at the Rhine, were prepared  Didn’t have to go to war 102nd Infantry Regiment is the oldest in the Army; first commanded in Quebec against the French during the French and Indian War Primarily stayed in Augsburg with the 102nd Never had any major incidents, no one killed Some of the training they went through was dangerous; Infiltration Course: crawl under machine gun fire that was shooting 18 inches above the ground, had to crawl (00:08:00)  Would climb through barbwire, sometimes shells would go off � One kid was killed when he jumped up after seeing a rattlesnake Mostly did patrolling in Germany, very sporadic hours  When a alert happened would have to move to the assembly area Doc O’Donnell (00:09:40) Had a friend in Officer’s Training name Doc O’Donnell who had difficulty with the physical training  40% of the men washed out during OSC  Doc went to the West Coast, then was sent to Korea  Had a platoon of infantry, had 40 men under him  Were patrolling when hit by a Chinese company; 4:1 against  Doc took machine gun fire against both his legs, one of the men were killed; pinned down by enemy fire  Called the Platoon Sergeant for Browning Automatic Rifles and hand grenades to disperse the enemy and cover the men  Covered their retreat, never heard from him again; saved 38 men’s lives  Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously After Service (00:12:45) Stayed in touch with his family by letter mostly, sometimes phone (expensive); had no problems receiving mail For recreation: German bars, opera, visited places Would attend clubs: Officer’s Club, NCO Clubs, Servicemen’s Clubs Returned home in 1954, talked into attending school for a degree Was able to readjust to civilian life easily; studied a lot, received 2 degrees in 4 years (lots of study and no social life) A part of the American Legion (25 years); Finance Officer of his post; keeps in touch with a lot of veterans, but none that he served with His service gave him a higher sense of patriotism, provided him with an education �Graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson, got a job with Martin Marietta in the Aerospace Division, assigned to the Gemini Launch Vehicle Team (00:15:20)  Got to go to Cape Canaveral, met all of the astronauts there  Great friend with Gus Grissom; met Chaffee, Gordon Cooper, Ed White While in Germany, the Regimental Commander signed him up for taking the Honor Guard down for the retirement parade for the general of NATO (00:16:15)  Had 150 men, job was to train them and get them ready  Required a height of 6ft, had new uniforms  Retirement parade for General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Frankfurt, Germany  Place where the 1936 Olympics were held  Had all of the Allies there, given a 21-gun salute  Marched in groups of 5,000 men each Had a good experience with the military; if you do your job and have discipline, you can do well in military and life � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brinkman, William (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brinkman, William Description An account of the resource After graduating from a military academy, William Brinkman attended Officer's Candidate School where he was given a commission as 2nd Lieutenant. He served during the Korean War, but his division, and a couple of others, were sent to Germany, instead, to guard against the Russians. He served in the 102nd Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. He also tells the story of his OCS classmate, Doc O'Donnell, who was killed in Korea. After the war, he worked for Martin Marietta and was involved with the space program. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jenkins, Sara (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource 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. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-11-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrinkmanW Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/95bc5e2ce1cce409723437486c8651b8.mp4 2847111c65c59bbd76389e60cb7726e1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b54521dd324c29223715f49d24ba13a.pdf 3b23af45a1a76cc6a87e6f99a7f3e35e PDF Text Text Living With PFAS Interviewee: Senator Winnie Brinks Interviewer: Dani DeVasto Date: May 24, 2021 DD: I’m Dani DeVasto and today, May 24th, I have the pleasure of chatting with Senator Winnie Brinks. Winnie, thank you so much for talking with me today. WB: You’re welcome, I’m happy to join you. DD:Can you tell me about where you’re from and where you currently live? WB: Yes, I currently live in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have lived here since I came to the city to attend college. Before that, I was born and raised in Washington State. DD:Oh wow, what a beautiful place. WB: Yeah. DD: Can you tell me please a story about your experience with PFAS [Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] or with PFAS in your community? WB: So, I first became aware of PFAS in our community here in Grand Rapids, or in the Grand Rapids area when news stories started hitting in the summer of 2017, and they were talking about contamination in the Northern part of the county that was due to use of the chemical to waterproof shoes that had been in use for a couple of decades, several decades even, and the community was completely unaware of the dangers of the chemical, and even that it was in their water. So, I took great interest in that, in part because it was close to home, but also because I started getting phone calls from people in that community and they were telling me their stories and some of them were just tragic. And I just started to really dig in because there's really nothing more important as a foundation of health than having water that you can trust and that is not contaminated. DD: And so you started to dig in and what did you - what kind of transpired from there? WB: So, we realized how pervasive PFAS in water is, not just in Michigan. I think we know a lot about the prevalence of this chemical or this family of chemicals in Michigan because we bothered to take a look, now. But I’m certain it is quite widespread throughout the nation, certainly wherever we have industrial sites, a lot of plating, or anything that requires waterproofing. And a number of other uses so we just kind of started getting more and more information, understanding some of the health impacts, understanding government response to it - from a township level all the way up to the state and federal levels. And just realized that there was a lot of work to be done to address it, to ensure our constituents that this was �something that we’re paying attention to and that it’s important and that we would help remedy it and, very importantly, prevent it from happening again in other communities if at all possible. DD: Can you say a little more about the kinds of options that are available to you as a political leader from remedying or taking action? WB: Yeah, I think the first and most obvious thing that we have tried to do, and it has now been accomplished, is to institute permissible levels of any contaminant in drinking water, right, we all know that there’s a tiny bit of lead, and there’s a tiny bit of different things that are harmful to us, but they are in our water in very small amounts. And the reason they are in very small amounts often is because we detected them in higher amounts and decided to regulate them and treat water for them to remove things like lead from our drinking water. And we just didn't have a rule for PFAS, for any of the chemicals in that family of compounds, to guide water systems and what they needed to do, but also to ensure that there was only small amounts or none of those PFAS compounds in drinking water, so I proposed a bill to do that. Really, a better tool to do that would be through the department to go through a rule-making process with public comment and scientific study and to establish those standards, and since I started proposing it in 2017, in law, the department has, with the change of political control in the governor's office, the new governor decided to continue that process and to expedite the rule-making process to ensure that those chemicals were adequately addressed in the protection of water systems and the requirements placed on them to remove certain quantities of certain compounds. I think there’s seven of them that are currently regulated, so I think that’s the most important and significant thing that we’ve done to date. Also establishing a body within a state government to actually take a look at the PFAS problem throughout this state from various sources and I think another thing that is certainly incredibly important is when they identified PFAS in lakes or rivers, they would go upstream and basically try to figure out where that was coming from and to address it, to reduce the flow of that - of those chemicals into our water systems and when we test for water in wells to be able to know if it’s present. If it is present, then try to figure out where it’s coming from and, occasionally, the departments are incredibly effective at limiting the discharge of those chemicals from various sources. So being able to identify the sources before it's identified as a contaminant is sometimes an incredible way to stop further contamination. DD: Just to clarify, is the department, for you, EGLE when you say WB: Um, so it’s a little bit of both EGLE and DHHS. DD: All right, thank you. WB: So a lot of healthwork and health studies have gone on through the DHHS, and I think in part had representation. The Michigan PFAS action response team - they had representation from different departments as well working with them, but the regulatory aspect happened through EGLE. �DD: Okay, thank you, I just on - on maybe a side note - were you aware of PFAS before people started to come to you and tell you their stories at all, or was this something WB: I was not, I was not. And you know part of the reason people came to me was because they were talking to other elected officials that represented them in the northern part of the county and they were unresponsive. They just kinda kept saying: “yeah, we’ll take care of it,” and didn’t really do much about it, and so there were lots of folks who either lived there, in the northern part of the county currently, or previously for many years and now lived in my legislative district, so they now started coming to me because they felt were being listened to. And that's a constant refrain from lots of folks whenever there's the initial information that is coming out of a chemical in their water and so, to me, it's just really important to make sure that when new information becomes available about something this important, that we make sure that we are taking a moment to listen to those, those constituents are impacted - they are often the most well-informed about what's going on and what they’ve attempted to do to remedy the matter, but until significant attention from people in the halls of power, it just doesn’t get addressed. DD:Yeah. It’s a collaboration, isn’t it? WB: Yeah. DD: So as someone who wasn’t familiar with it, it sounds like one way you were learning about it was by listening to people. Are there other things that you do as a political leader to learn about PFAS that you did learn, because I know people bring all sorts of concerns to you - as government folk, you have to know lots of things about lots of things, so I'm just kinda curious. Beyond listening was there anything else that you did to begin to understand this so that you could move it forward in the legislature? WB: Yes, yes absolutely. I started doing a lot of research, so, you know, initially, just kinda scouring the internet and making sure that I understood exactly what PFAS is, how it originated, how widespread the use is and for what kinds of industries, so I did a lot of just kinda digging around as an individual, just kinda getting out there and seeing what I could see. We saw a lot of great coverage from reporters throughout the state on PFAS issues, so that was really helpful too - it kept it in front of not just me, but of constituency other policy makers so that was really incredibly helpful. But I also reached out to GVSU, to the Annis water institute, and spoke with I’m gonna say it wrong - Rich Rediske, and he was incredibly helpful and very instrumental in helping me understand what tools were available in terms of constituency and how to address this issue in our community in ways that have been effective in the past with other contamination and communities in west Michigan, so it was really helpful and I would say lastly seeking information from the department and importantly folks in Oscoda. So, Oscoda is the site of a military base and they had significant contamination there of PFAS and they had been fighting with the military on cleanup of a number of other chem for many years, and having little success, and it was then discovered in addition to all those other chemicals, there was PFAS present as well in very large quantities, and its having a huge impact still on their community, �but there have been people who have been fighting this fight for many years, trying to understand what's in their water and how to address it and how to respond, so that really helped me put together the pieces of what needed to happen - not just at a local level and the state level, but also at the federal level. DD: Is there anything on your plate right now in terms of PFAS work? WB: So yes, we’re constantly being vigilant about ensuring that water systems are responding and that they have the resources to do so, and the state can be really instrumental in ensuring that states - that water systems remain as policies, that water systems have the resources to add the filters they need to remove from the water. We also have to ensure that EAGLE is adequately resourced so that they can do that upstream work to locate areas of contamination, so that’s always something we’re keeping an eye out for. I think on the horizon as we learn more and more about additional compounds in this family of chemicals, that we will need to add chemicals or add certain additional compounds to the list of regulated PFAS compounds in our drinking water. Part of the flaws in our systems, in some ways, is that we’re very reactive, so we wait ‘til we have all kinds of information about chemicals that we think are probably harmful and we have a good amount of evidence that points to the direction that they are likely to be harmful, but we wait ‘til we have lots and lots of proof until we actually take action on them as governments. And I think that’s to the detriment of the health of our constituents, in many cases, so I think that as we see these chemicals replaced by industry with quote on quote “less harmful alternatives”, we’re really just seeing a shorter chain molecule of the same substance being used. It’s highly effective in achieving the purposes that they would like to achieve; it can be incredibly useful in making our lives better in some shape, but we are then exposed to continued health impacts and environmental impacts because we are unwilling to respond proactively to the wealth of information we see in the direction that it’s pointing. So I think that we’ll have to keep an eye on adding those additional compounds to the regulatory framework, and as soon as we have information to do so, we should take action on that and, frankly, I think it would be really important to help support industries to find alternatives that are not harmful that don't contaminate our water or impact our health long-term. And that may require some research scholars, it may require some assistance to ensure that we're moving in a direction that won't harm us. DD: So, you kind of, I think, anticipated my next question a little bit, but do you have any - what concerns do you have about PFAS contamination moving forward? WB: Yeah, I'm really concerned that as we see more and more people who understand what they've been exposed to in various communities, now that we know how to test for it, we understand some of the harmful impacts. We’ll start to link health issues with that exposure in a more true way. I think in the past we’ve seen lots of people with inexplicable health issues from certain communities and we haven't really been able to pin it down, so I think as we go forward, we’ll get the benefit of that information, but it's also unfortunate, of course, because we’ll do so by learning more about the harms it has caused. �DD: Absolutely. Before we wrap up today, is there anything that you would like to add that we haven't touched on, or anything that you would like to go back to to say more about? WB: I think one big thing that is hard to wrap our heads around and really grab onto is the necessity for this to be regulated at the federal level and even at a worldwide level. It’s a compound that now we are finding literally everywhere in water. It’s incredibly difficult to destroy or get rid of. You can filter it out of drinking water, but then you have to do something with it, you know there is research on incinerating it, which we’re not sure is completely safe yet. You can basically isolate it and put it in a special landfill, but this is an enduring chemical in a way that we haven't seen in most other chemicals that we have identified as problems, and I think it has real potential to do incredibly widespread harm unless we interrupt this cycle of using it. And you know we already have a massive challenge just containing what we know exists out there, and so it can be daunting. But I think it’s one of those things that really deserves worldwide attention and international cooperation and I'm not sure we're really seeing that yet, but I think in the future those conversations are going to be really important. DD: Have you had any conversation or outreach yet with federal or global levels? I mean, I know Michigan is kind of leading the way on this, so I imagine that if you haven’t, you will. WB: Yes, yes, certainly a significant amount of conversation with our congressional members and our two US senators - they’ve been really great at identifying this as an issue and understanding that Michigan is poised to be a leader in responding to this, so making sure that we are talking about what policy changes can happen at the federal level - that would be helpful not just to Michigan, but to all of our states, is something that we've had significant conversation about. And I think that, you know, there's a lot of work to be done on this, so those conversations will continue for many years I think, but they've been really productive partners in terms of trying to pull all the levers that they have at their disposal at the federal level, and then various states responding at the state level in supporting them and being a model for them. But internationally, no, not much, you know, I'm aware of some things that are happening elsewhere but no, certainly no cooperation or significant conversation. Not sure head of state would take a call from a little state senator [laughter], but there’s certainly opportunities there and I hope that we take advantage of any opportunity we have conversation about - this and to deal with this in a much more productive way. DD: Yeah, I mean, it’s like you said, it’s likely in so many more places than just Michigan, we just haven't looked yet, but it seems- not - exciting might not be the right word, but hopeful for Michigan that we as a state could be a leader in this forefront - like a positive that we are making those steps, so I find that encouraging. Maybe that's the right word. WB: I think there’s one other thing I would like to bring up. In Michigan, the state laws- there's not really a setup incredibly well to sort of hold polluters accountable and to get them to participate in making things right when something is discovered. And part of that has to do with time frames, and statutes of limitation - when someone can bring a lawsuit it is harmful to individuals or harm to communities, so I have also proposed bills that would address that. So far �they've gotten no legislative attention to move toward being passed, but I think that's also going to be a piece of this moving forward. We’re going to need to help the industries that have used this to understand that they do play a role in remedying the damage that was caused, and the harm that is being caused to people's health, and they're going to have to participate in that. There's certainly a huge role for government, but there's going to be a role for private industry to pay and I think to be responsible, they're going to have to step up to the plate as well. And currently, we don't have the tools to obligate them to do so, and to take responsibility for their actions, and so I would like to see some changes there too. DD: That seems important there are lots of stakeholders in this situation. [ both speaking ] Yeah. DD :Well, thank you so much, Senator Brinks, for taking the time to share your story and your work today. I appreciate it so much. WB: Yes, you're very welcome. I look forward to viewing some of the other interviews, and thank you for bringing the voices of not just me, but all the folks that you're talking to to the public record and hopefully together we can make some progress. DD: My pleasure. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Living with PFAS Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Devasto, Danielle Description An account of the resource Beginning in 2021, the Living with PFAS interviews were recorded to gather the personal stories of individuals impacted by PFAS contamination. PFAS, or per- and polyflourinated substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used widely since the 1940s to make coatings and products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They can be found in countless household items, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-resistant clothing. These chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily, can move through soils and contaminate drinking water sources, and build up in animals, plants, and people. PFAS have been linked to increased incidences of various cancers, increased cholesterol, decreased fertility, birth defects, kidney and liver disease, and immune system suppression, and thyroid dysfunction. It is estimated that PFAS are in the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans (Andrews & Naidenko, 2020). In Michigan alone, over 280 sites have PFAS contamination exceeding maximum contamination levels for groundwater (MPART, 2024). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In copyright Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Motion Picture Text Sound Language A language of the resource eng Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PFAS0007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brinks, Winnie Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-05-24 Title A name given to the resource Winnie Brinks, 2021 (Interview video and transcript) Description An account of the resource Michigan State Senator Winnie Brinks currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan but was born and raised in Washington. In this interview, Brinks discusses her role in advocating on behalf of her consituents for clean water and a healthy environment in the state government. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource DeVasto, Danielle (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f94fb7ed75d8c69ff25eed70394df60e.mp4 f7465cfab8ad257a765b8f9792277b41 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/089e0a3fa9d1419975942ccb50293d39.pdf 21839a2c15d20099afb07fc46e3c3b2a PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW JOE BRINN Born: Portsmouth, Virginia Resides: Interviewed by: James Smither PhD, GVSU Veterans History Project, Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, February 23, 2013 Interviewer: Now Mr. Brinn, can you begin by giving us a little basic background on yourself? To start with, where and when were you born? I was born February 17th 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Interviewer: What did your family do at that time? My dad just got out of the service, he was in the Merchant Marines during WWII and my uncle was living in Michigan and proposed to him to move to Michigan to seek work in the automotive industry, which was obviously flourishing back then. I was two years old and we relocated to Ithaca, Michigan, and I resided there until I was about fourteen years old. Interviewer: Where did you move after that? We lived on a farm and my dad did odd things. He worked at a steel mill almost his entire life, plus we had a full time farm, and then about, like I said, the age of fourteen they decided it was time to move on and we moved to the Rochester area, they bought a home and relocated there. 1:15 Interviewer: What kind of work was he doing then? He was still working in a steel mill. Interviewer: Did you finish high school? 1 �I did not, I actually quit school at sixteen years old, and I met, at the time, the girl that was going to be my wife, we were fifteen and due to unusual circumstances we decided we wanted to get married and we got married at sixteen. We both quit school and started a life. Interviewer: What kind of work did you do then? At sixteen it was tough, I did odd jobs, worked for contractors, did tire work, made pizzas, anything you could do at sixteen years old to make a living for your family. Interviewer: How long did you continue on that before you went into the military? 2:02 I was seventeen when I decided to enter into the military, so basically I worked for about a year and then I needed to have something where I had steady income coming in. The Vietnam War was going on and I anticipated that I‟d be going to Vietnam as soon as I applied for the military, but it was something that I was willing to do. Interviewer: What year was that? I went into the service in March of 1967. Interviewer: At that time, what did you know about Vietnam and the Vietnam War? I knew very little, to be honest with you, other than what was portrayed on TV. I‟d catch a few newscasts, but I really didn‟t know anything about it. Growing up as this kind of farm boy, I was kind of backwoods and didn‟t understand a lot about the real world. So, I thought going into the military, or even going to Vietnam, was an adventurous thing, because I‟d never been away from home and this was going to be unique and different and it was. 3:08 2 �Interviewer: What did your family think of this idea? They were not too keen on me going into the service, especially my mother, she was very upset. She understood what was going on in Vietnam from what she saw on TV and was deathly afraid that I was not going to return. Interviewer: Where did they send you then for basic training? I went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. Interviewer: How would you describe that facility and the training experience of basic? It was so much different than what it is now. It was a rough time, and I‟d never been so mistreated in my life. Yelled and cussed at, name called, and up at the crack of dawn, which I was used to anyway. 4:00 But, I would have to go run three or four miles every morning carrying packs, and it didn‟t matter what the weather was like outside, you were still out there doing your marches and drills and training. I was a little taken aback, I was a little worried that I was not going to be able to complete it. Interviewer: What kind of physical shape were you in at the time? Actually, I was in pretty good shape, being a farm boy, although I never worked out and never went to gyms. When you get up at five o‟clock to feed the chickens and the hogs and you work for two or three hours before going to school and getting back from school you go right back to the farm to work. I was actually in pretty good shape, and I was definitely thinner, I was about a hundred and thirty five pounds. Interviewer: Did you have much trouble adjusting to the discipline and all the stuff that goes with army life? 3 �Actually no, the discipline, I thought, was good, actually, for me. I was fairly disciplined anyway. 5:00 My mother and father taught me well, they believed in discipline and back then it was a stick and a whip, so I knew not to backtalk, or do anything wrong, and to treat people as they should be treated. So, that actually did fairly well for me in the service and, actually, throughout my entire career in the service. Interviewer: Was there a point in basic training when you began to feel you were getting the hang of this and you could do it? Yeah, actually about three or four weeks in, I had a very tall, muscular, black drill sergeant and he seemed to take a liking to me, I guess because of my backwoods thinking. I didn‟t smoke and I didn‟t drink, so he kind of took me aside and would give me hints after hours. “You need to look at this, you need to try this and this is what you need to work on”. 6:01 I guess that one on one experience from him, even though he was one mean SOB during the drills; he treated me kindly and with respect and that gave me a new focus on it. I realized this was not going to be as hard as I thought it was. Interviewer: Where did they send you after basic? What did you do then? I thought I was going to Vietnam, but I was told, at that time, you had to be eighteen years old to go to Vietnam. My aptitude test, showed very well, mechanical ability, so they sent me to Fort Rucker to train as a crew chief on helicopters. Interviewer: Where is Fort Rucker? Fort Rucker, Alabama Interviewer: Crew chief on helicopters, what does that kind of job consist of? Well, that was performing the day to day maintenance. Keeping the helicopters in tip top shape, and it was, actually, a good part of all the maintenance that was required, even to 4 �the point of what they call depot maintenance, going into the third echelon of maintenance. 7:06 Your sole purpose in life was to maintain that helicopter daily and then fly with it when it flew. Helping the pilots land and take off safely, and then if you had mechanical problems, take care of those as soon as possible. Interviewer: Now, what type, or types, of helicopters did you train in? At that time, they were UH-1 Delta models. Interviewer: Can you describe that for a lay person? What did it look like and what does it do? It was a standard helicopter that was used during Vietnam. It was made by Bell Helicopters, it carried, roughly, eight to ten passengers in the back, it had bench row seats, and then tow cubby holes, one on each that the gunner and crew chief would sit in, and then the pilot and co-pilot, both of them having control of the aircraft. It was a single rotor, fully articulated system, with a tail rotor. 8:02 Interviewer: They would have fifty caliber machine guns on each side? M-60 machine guns Interviewer: M-60, fifty calibers? No, 7.62 M-60 machine guns [.30 caliber] Interviewer: So basically, in addition to being the repair man, you also do double duty as a gunner if the occasion arises? Not in non-war time, or in flying CONUS [continental US] or in Europe, but in Vietnam, that is again, your primary function is to be the crew chief, but when you flew, you reverted to being a gunner. Interviewer: How long of a process was that for you? 5 �That was about two and a half month training after basic training. Then after I came out of what they call AIT, Advanced Infantry Training, I picked up the MOS and I stayed at Fort Rucker until I was—no actually—I‟m sorry, we moved—no, I stayed at Fort Rucker after AIT. 9:12 I continued to do training and flying as a crew chief only. Interviewer: Did they send you to Vietnam from there? What happened? Yeah, I got orders about a month after my eighteenth birthday, which was kind of unique. I assumed it was going to be coming. Crew chiefs and gunners were in high demand because of the high fatality and injury rate in Vietnam. You‟re in the direct line of fire, so they rotated those out fairly quickly and needed replacements, so within two and a half or three weeks after my eighteenth birthday, I received notification that I was going to Vietnam and had my orders to deploy in my hand, probably, a week later. Interviewer: Did they let you go home before they sent you overseas? 10:01 No, and actually the last thing they wanted to have you do is to leave their control at that time because there were still a lot of people that were in the military for other reasons and had no intentions of going to Vietnam, or when the time came they had to go were going AWOL, so once you had your orders for Vietnam they took tight control. Interviewer: Now what’s the physical process by which they get you out to Vietnam, how do they get you there? My case was rather unique. Instead of going as an individual where they deploy, where you actually report to duty station, they would load you up with your equipment and then put you on a plane and send you over there; they sent me to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for thirty days as a deployment unit. They were building up a brand new unit and they were bringing in troops, some with experience, and some like myself with only a year 6 �experience, some straight out of AIT. 11:03 After they got as many people as they needed to fill the positions, they packed us all up on a C-141 with our duffle bags on our backs, rifles in hand , helmets on our heads, and packed just like sardines in a 141 and flew us straight to Vietnam. Interviewer: Was this the unit then that you served with while you were over there? Actually no, it‟s—what they were doing in Vietnam when these new units had been activated and arrived in Vietnam, the last thing they wanted was to have an entire unit of brand new soldiers that never served any time in Vietnam whatsoever, so as soon as you arrived you‟d go to “in processing”, and they would basically take about three quarters of those new people and scatter them around the country to the existing units, and then rotate those troops that had already been there for five, six, eight months, and put them in the new unit that was arriving, so they could help train. 12:08 Interviewer: They’re doing the best they can to combine the experience with the new resources however well they wanted to work it. Exactly Interviewer: Where did you first land in Vietnam? We landed in—actually we landed in Pleiku, which was unusual. Normally troops would arrive in Saigon and be bused, or trucked, to their unit. Our unit, since we were a complete unit, we landed right in Pleiku, which was an army airfield large enough to handle C-141‟s easily. They off loaded us there and again, with our duffle bags, and rifles, and helmets in tow, we went right over to an in briefing, in a bleacher setting, and from there went right into three days of Vietnam orientation. 13:00 7 �Interviewer: What was your first impression of Vietnam when you get off the plane? Did you notice anything distinctive or not? Landing at an army airfield really didn‟t look a whole lot different other than you realize the instead of concrete or asphalt runways, they were what they call PSP, or metal runways, and bunkers everywhere, sandbags, so you immediately realize that you‟re in hostile territory. It was hot and humid, and growing up mostly in Michigan I was not ready for that immediate temperature change. It kind of sucked the breath right out of you as soon as you open the door and step on the ground. Interviewer: What kind of information, or orientation, did you get those first three days, what did they do at that point? That was pretty intense, and we actually received training on the--even though we‟d had basic training on how to fire the M-60. 14:06 They now gave you a little more detailed weapon knowledge and how to use a weapon in combat. The actually ran us through a combat scenario. They went through medical emergencies, how to handle bullet wounds, and then what to expect in Vietnam from when you get to your unit, when you plan to leave, what your rotation date would be, and all in all it was pretty good information. I don‟t think a lot of troops received that because I was coming direct to a unit and we were an entire unit, the training was pretty intense and pretty knowledgeable. Interviewer: What specific unit were you assigned to when you got through that process? The unit I went to was--it was actually called the 480th TC, which was a transportation corps, depot maintenance, so instead of being a crew chief, I was actually being sent over there to perform engine overhauls and transmission overhauls. 15:11 But again, 8 �because they needed crew chiefs, as soon as they looked at my MOS, when I arrived there, they realized that not only do I have a maintenance background, but I was also a crew chief engineer, so they immediately plucked me out of that and put me in a, at that time it was A Troop 77th Air Cav, assigned to, or attached to, the 4th Infantry Division. Interviewer: What was your experience like once you joined that unit? It was very unique and I had never been in that kind of environment before, very cliquish, people—they looked at newbies as unusual characters, and they didn‟t really want to associate with you when you first came out there. 16:00 Again, it‟s that mentality as I picked that up again later on, that you don‟t want to make too good of friends because that friend might not be around too long, whether it be from an injury or death, or rotation. So, you develop very short term relationships, and then you find yourself finding one or two guys that would become close to you, but the rest of the group, you just kind of stood off and weren‟t that close with them. Interviewer: Physically were they placed at Pleiku or were they out in the field? We were placed out of Pleiku, actually at Camp Enari. There were three base camps at Pleiku and the 4th Infantry Division was headquartered at Camp Enari and our unit was kind of a--whatever the worst place was at Camp Enari, that‟s where they put this unit, you know. We weren‟t really part of the 4th Division, so what the division personnel looked at us as, “We really don‟t want them, but we gotta have them type of thing, so put them over here away from us”. 17:08 So, we lived in an almost swampy condition, and it was constantly under water and a sandbag with a wooden hooch, which was out billets where we slept. It actually, they put this up just before we got there, so they had wood sides with a tent top and sandbags all around, but a miserable location. I think I saw a 9 �shower once every week, week and a half and even though we were in base camp you‟re fortunate to get a shower. Interviewer: What did you actually do for the 4th Infantry you were assigned to? What was your job? I was again a kind of unique thing. The 4th Infantry division was a—they had a grid of areas they were responsible for and they would assign us what they call a “hunt, kill mission”. We were an Air Cav unit, so we had our own infantry assigned to our unit, which was—so we would carry our own infantry with us wherever we went. 18:10 We had a scout platoon, which was the 0-86 Scout Birds, we had our own gunships and at the time they were C model gunships and later replaced with Cobras. Then the lift platoon, which I was assigned to as a gunner crew chief, were the UH-1, at that time, D model Hueys to, basically, carry the infantry to the locations and drop them off. The 4th Infantry Division would give us several grids and we would work those grids doing hunt and search and when we would locate the enemy, insert our ground troops and use the gunships to suppress fire and kill the enemy. Interviewer: If you were air mobile and the rest of the 4th Division was not, did they give you guys the worst jobs, or the ones that were the farthest out? 19:04 We worked further away. We would sometimes go and spend thirty to forty-five days at firebases, because where we needed to work the grid, we needed to do the hunt, kill, and search teams, would be too far remote for us to get fuel. They would relocate us to firebases and we would work out of those firebases where we could have some security, get our fuel, eat meals, and fly out to our grid, to work those grids during the day and 10 �come back, sometimes at night, sometimes we‟d find other areas that we could spend the night at and provide our own security with our own infantry. Interviewer: Now, when you get to where you—were you assigned to a specific helicopter with a specific crew or did they move you around? How did that work? Pilots would, in most cases, rotate around to different birds. A crew chief was assigned to a helicopter and that was your helicopter for the length of your tour. 20:01 I remember the last three of my aircraft. It‟s pretty much what you remembered, everybody remembered, the last of the three was 017, and that‟s the bird I flew every day, and it was almost every day, very seldom did you get a day off. Then I had a gunner assigned to me. Even though I was a gunner, you needed to have a gunner on the other side and he would maintain and take care of your guns for you while I would do the maintenance on the aircraft. You would go out to the aircraft, do all the maintenance, prepare for flight, the pilots would come out, and some pilots would try to stick with the bird because they would get to know it. Every aircraft had unusual characteristics that were unique to that aircraft, some had a lot of power, and some were underpowered, some maneuvered rather well, some had vibrations that nobody wanted to fly, so sometimes the luck of the draw, the pilots, when they would get there, their mission commander would assign them their aircraft, so sometimes we‟d get the same pilots several days in a row and sometimes we‟d get a new pilot. 21:06 Interviewer: Do you remember the first time you went out on a combat mission? Vaguely, it—again the first thirty to forty-five days went real, real quick. I didn‟t— again I wasn‟t real sure of what was going on, I still had my country background and I wasn‟t used to doing the things they did and how they did them, so the first thirty to 11 �forty-five days I don‟t remember a whole lot about it. It just seemed like you were just lying down and going to sleep and they were getting you up, or you were listening to rockets coming in at night, and I just wasn‟t prepared for that. You couldn‟t get to sleep, you, again, didn‟t have any friendships, so it took a while, almost two months, before I developed some good friendships, and then we started, for lack of a better term, fun with the assignment. 22:06 It wasn‟t any fun the first couple of months. Interviewer: You really, kind of, had to learn the ropes and figure out what exactly was going on, what you had to do, and that kind of thing? Yeah, it was—they really, as a crew chief, they pretty much threw you to the wolves. Here‟s an aircraft, you‟re a crew chief, here‟s a log book, do your thing. Interviewer: So, you were supposed to know what to do and go and do it? Pretty much so, because you were flying in combat, and I was, after my initial three days of training, and then upon reassignment, they went through a kind of a basic “what you need to do for the unit, this is where you sign in, this is the mess hall”, and the next day I was on a mission. Interviewer: Now, were the missions themselves, were they dangerous, where you getting shot at and shot down? Constantly, and I brought back pictures of my tour and I‟ve got pictures where we were riddled with bullet holes. 23:07 There was almost as many patches on an aircraft as there was the initial sheet metal for the aircraft. Interviewer: Now, the helicopters that you would fly, did they ever actually get shot down? 12 �A number of them primarily scout birds, which were—their sole mission in life was to go out there and be a flying target. There would be two small helicopters, room for four people, but you‟d only have a pilot and then a scout in the right seat, and some of those had mini guns, and some of them wouldn‟t have mini guns, the scout would use a M-16. But, they would fly around, low level, by the top of the trees, very slow, intentionally to draw fire. As a scout you‟re hoping to identify hostiles before they identify you, but obviously, they can hear you coming for several miles around. 24:04 So, when tracers would come up towards you that‟s the first idea that you‟ve identified the enemy, when you‟d see the red tracers coming at you. They would pop smoke and get out of the area as fast as possible and call in the gunships to suppress fire, and then we‟d be at basecamp somewhere, our infantry, we‟d carry as many as thirteen in an aircraft, fully loaded with their packs and guns, when it was really only rates for nine or ten people, not including their packs, so we were usually flying with overweight conditions all of the time, again with high humidity, high altitudes, and we‟d get a call from the commanding control aircraft that they hit a hot spot and call in the infantry. 25:00 We‟d actually find a LZ, go in and land and let the infantry off and report back to basecamp and wait for them to call us back to pick them up. Interviewer: Were you basically with the same unit for the full tour or did you rotate out to a different unit at some point, or was this pretty much what you did for the full year? I did that for one year, yeah, same unit, same guys other than what they call deros, people were—because they staggered them, putting new people, old people, and some people 13 �who had extended their tours remained in those units, so you‟re constantly having people rotate in and out, but I stayed in that unit for the entire year. Interviewer: How would you generally characterize the morale of the unit? The kinds of attitudes the men take toward what they were doing and that sort of thing. Surprisingly, our unit, because we were a small unit and we had a mission and everybody had a pretty good idea of what they needed to do, and we had to watch our own backs, it was pretty good for the most sake. 26:10 Some of our infantry, I think, were a little upset they didn‟t—most of the infantry were your draftees, and most of the people that were pilots or crew chiefs either volunteered for the service or had little better jobs than the infantry where you‟re out there ground pounding and in the direct line of fire whenever they insert you until the time they pick you up, but overall the morale was pretty good. Interviewer: Were some phases of that year more intense than others in terms of the amount, and kind, of fighting going on? At times—there was one time we went to Ban Me Thuot, which was a basecamp in the central highlands and it was a hot bed, the entire area. 27:00 there were a lot of Vietcong coming across the border from Laos and, at that time, we were not allowed to fly into Laos or Cambodia, so there was no way to prevent these Vietcong from coming in, so they dispatched us down to a base camp and we stayed there for almost ninety days working out of tents, and cold meals and no showers, sour milk, the whole gambit. It seemed like every day we were flying into hot areas. When we came back almost every aircraft would have bullet holes, we had a number of people wounded, primarily the infantry. A couple of pilots had been wounded, several scout birds had been shot down , 14 �and that ninety days was pretty tough and then on top of that they [North Vietnamese sappers] actually came in and infiltrated out camp at night and while we were sleeping in tents, were throwing satchel charges into our tents. 28:01 Being a base camp, this was actually being run by the Air Force instead of the army and security was a little lax, so they actually came in and ran through the areas throwing--satchel charges are, basically, bags filled with C-4 or explosives and the would pull the pin or light the fuse and throw them into the tents where everybody was sleeping. Interviewer: Did the people at the base figure that the Cavalry guys would provide the security for them? No, we were usually gone all the time. The air force provided their own security, it‟s just that this was a fairly new base camp and nothing was really set up very well. Nothing against the Air Force, but they intended to do things a little different than the Army. The Army would go in and set up an airfield, set up security and start working, where the air force would come in and set up their officers club, their NCO club and their showers, and later down the road they would, maybe, get to security and the other things that were necessary. 29:05 Interviewer: Now, were you ever actually in the camp when one of these attacks took place? At night, yeah Interviewer: So, what do you do when that starts? Run for cover, run for cover—I mean they‟re going off—fortunately for me I was third tent in the line, so the first two tents, the satchel charges had already gone off and by the time they got to ours we were already running for cover. You just—there wasn‟t a whole 15 �lot you could do, because you didn‟t know—it‟s dark time and you don‟t know who the enemy is, you can‟t see anything, just find some bunkers or sand bags to get behind and lay low and wait for the all clear. Interviewer: Were they generally making trouble or were they trying to get to the helicopters? They were trying to blow up the helicopters, yeah. Interviewer: Did that ever work? Not while I was there, no, we were pretty fortunate. After I left the unit they did. My unit relocated and they were able to go in and actually destroy about fifty percent of the helicopters one evening. 30:02 But, while we were there, at that time, there were—our infantry actually caught the infiltrators after about the fourth or fifth satchel charge, and they had already caught the ones, and killed the ones that were going towards the aircraft, so they had, basically, three or four teams go after ammo bunkers, go after personnel, and go after aircraft. Interviewer: We’re talking about some of the actual experiences and you had a phase where you spent about ninety days away from the base at Pleiku, and faced some intense activity. Was this a—now you’re there, during your serving over there, that’s when the Tet offensive took place. Correct Interviewer: Were you in Pleiku or were you in some other area? No, actually we were assigned a couple of areas. Actually, shortly after I arrived in Vietnam, it was probably within thirty days, we were called in at night, probably about midnight, or one o‟clock in the morning, that a base camp not far from us was overrun. 16 �31:10 We loaded up, of course you always carried weapons and ammunition ready to go, so we loaded up even more because they said that the base camp wasn‟t going to last more than an hour and we had to get there, and we had a thirty minute flight to get there, a place called Dak To. We arrived there and we had a couple of aircraft put what they call firelights, they were twenty-seven landing lights all pooled together in a big circle and they would mount these inside of a helicopter and it was like a huge search light. So, we flew those out there and lit the area. They were shooting flares off, but you can‟t have flares going off into the artillery rounds with helicopters coming in for support. 32:00 We lit up that area as we made our approaches in to see what the problem was and there were literally thousands of Vietcong rushing the side of this base camp, which was actually on the side of a tall hill with strands of barbed wire, actually eight strands at different levels, claymore mines, trip flares, and everything you could think of there to protect them, and there were literally over a thousand, if not more, Vietcong rushing them and they had already rushed onto the fifth strand of barbed wire by the time we got there, with only three to go before they had actually overrun the basecamp. We lit that area up with the lights because we could see that—later on I realized that this was a tactic the Vietcong had done much like Chinese and the Koreans had done during previous wars, sacrificing their bodies to go further up the hill, laying themselves on top of barbed wire, knowing full well that they were to be pummeled with machine gun fire. 33:07 They would, basically, just throw themselves until the next group, or next wave, could go the next leg up the hill. We laid down suppressive fire for four to six hours, constantly go back and refuel, reload and go back and continue to lay fire until daylight and then it just seemed to disappear, and that was my first actual gun battle. I realized if I encountered 17 �these Vietcong as a single soldier, they impressed me as somebody willing to do anything, whether there was a cause, or their country, or whatever; it was going to be a touch year ahead. Interviewer: Did you see much of the South Vietnamese military personnel? We had several imbedded with us, both as interrogators and some as interpreters. 34:04 We did a lot with the Montagnards, which was a group of tribesmen, I mean as backwoods as you‟ll ever get, loincloths, using crossbows and bow and arrows to hunt with. The Vietcong hated them and were killing them, so the military realized that early on in the war and would go in and befriend them, and provide them with weapons, and they were true hunters. They also hated the Vietcong because they realized their lives were at stake if they did not try to wipe them out. Because we were a small unit, we could work with them, and they would actually go flying with us and point out suspected Vietcong areas. For the most part they were very helpful and you could trust them, but the South Vietnamese soldiers weren‟t as trustworthy. 35:07 Interviewer: Did you have any kind of firsthand experience of that, or awareness of things that happened with the unit as far as that? Not actually, just what everybody talked about. They would give us intel and by the time you got there, there was absolutely nothing there, so the intel wasn‟t as great as it should have been. They weren‟t as dedicated, I don‟t think, to the cause as the Americans were. But, on the other hand, the actual—and those, I think, were more the inline troops. Many of them were drafted and put into service, and they didn‟t want to be there any more than some of the U.S. military. There was one occasion, our infantry had captured a couple of Vietcong and they were being interrogated by the Vietnamese regulars, and some of those 18 �could be extremely tough. 36:08 I mean, they would go to the extreme on occasion and the interrogations were pretty extreme. They got one of the Vietcong to say he knew where an ammo stash was where they could find a bunch of weapons, and some Vietcong were hiding out. They dispatched my aircraft and put me on board as the gunner to go locate this guy, with this guy‟s help, but to be honest, I think this guy was just saying whatever he could say, because we didn‟t every really find anything. I was over in the cubby hole manning my gun and I looked back and the Vietnamese regular was interrogating rather intensely. I looked back to patrol my area and the last thing I remember was the Vietcong coming out of the side of the aircraft. 37:04 They say he jumped, but I‟m not sure that was the case, but there was no proof to that matter. That was how the nationals sometimes treated the enemy in combat. Interviewer: Kind of a reminder of what a nasty business war can sometimes be, especially a civil war, and that’s somewhat what that was. Now, over the course of that year that you’re serving there with your Cavalry, did the aircraft that you were serving with, or the crew you were serving with, did they take casualties, or were you mostly the machine guys? No, many of our aircraft were damaged or—I‟ve got pictures of bullet holes coming through—I had an M-60 machine gun and, of course, we‟d man that and we‟d go into a hot LZ and we‟d fire, lay suppressive fire, and taking hits. 38:07 You could actually hear them popping into the side of the aircraft, whizzing by your head and, again, being a backwood young kid I thought I was invincible, so—they would provide you with what they called at that time “chicken plates”, or armor plating, but I never wore that, I just felt invincible and nothing was going to harm me. I would go out there and I would stand on 19 �the side of the skids going into hot LZ‟s because I thought I could do a better job of finding the enemy and laying down suppressive fire with using Thompson sub-machine guns or a grease gun, or just my M-16 with bullets whizzing all around me. One time I locked my M-60 into place and six rounds came up through where my head would have been over as I was firing the M-60, and I‟d locked it and laid back and six rounds came right through that, right through our fuel tank, right through—I mean there was a pattern of six bullet holes right there. 39:00 There were a number of occasions where troops were injured and we had to go in a pick up our infantry in hot LZ‟s. It seemed like most of the time, especially that time of the war, we seemed to be taking a lot more casualties and more hits than some of the other units further south. Interviewer: Now, did you, yourself, ever get hit? I never got hurt and I guess that‟s why I thought I was invincible. I had many close calls, but—we landed on one LZ to pick up our troops, a hot LZ, they were being fired at, we knew it was hot, we came in and we touched down on the ground, the troops were jumping in and a mortar landed about four feet in front of us. It took out all the windshields, the glass, the side doors were all buckled, the front of the aircraft was completely buckled, we had shrapnel everywhere, yet the aircraft was still running. 40:01 We were still--I was actually hanging onto guys that were hanging on to the skids trying to get into the aircraft to get out of there, it was such a hot LZ. Rounds were going off everywhere, Willie Pete [white phosphorous] grenades, and that mortar went off, and even wearing a, at that time it was called an SPH-4 helmet, which was supposed to be an anti-ballistic helmet for flying, the noise was so loud that I couldn‟t hear anything. The pilots took off even when the windshields were gone and the nose buckled, we knew we 20 �had to get out of there because other aircraft were coming in behind us to pick up their troops, and as soon as we took off the aircraft shuddered and shook like we thought we were going to fall right out of the sky. It was all we could do to get in the air, and I‟m hanging on to, actually one guy, I‟m hanging onto his ammo belt to keep him from falling out of the aircraft. 41:00 They were just hanging everywhere to get out of there. We probably had fourteen or fifteen troops on board and, again, we never carried more than thirteen, and even that was a tough go. I think we got about fifty-five knots the aircraft was shaking so bad we thought it was just going to fly apart. Cobras had been laying down suppressive fire as we took off and one of those cobras came up alongside of us and said, “Guys we need to set down somewhere, there‟s pieces flying everywhere”, so they went ahead and found a spot that we could actually set down in, even though we knew it still could—we weren‟t that far away, maybe three or four clicks away and the Vietcong were so heavily into that last LZ that it would take them no time to reach us. But, we sat down, set up a perimeter and we shut the aircraft down and realized we were missing three feet of both blades. 42:04 The mortar had landed just about four or five feet in front of us, with the blades turning, and the impact took rocks and shrapnel right up and just took off three feet of both blades. We were flying—I mean we needed all the blade to fly with that many troops and missing three feet, it was hard to imagine we were still flying, but we knew we had to get out of there, so I got up there with a pair of pliers and—rotor blades are, basically, a honeycomb interior with aluminum and magnesium skin on the outside, and it was all jagged, so I got up there with pliers and cut away and straightened as much as I could. One blade had more missing than the other, so it was completely out of balance, so I took ”thousand miles an hour” tape which was basically, 21 �duct tape, but with a little bit better adhesive power, and I wrapped that around the blades, trying to visibly watch it until I got it close enough to level with the winds of tape on that blade to get it so it was somewhat balanced. 43:10 Then we took off again and tried to get back to basecamp, which we succeeded in doing, but we could still only do about sixty or sixty-five knots with the gunships flying around us, giving us cover and protection until we got back to basecamp. Interviewer: Was that sort of your scariest event, or most dangerous, in your flying? No, I was really not that scared. I guess with the immaturity and the back woods life style, I really wasn‟t scared, a lot of adrenalin, actually more excitement, you know, we‟d had a lot of close encounters, had a lot of fire, but to have that come that close, it actually, I wanted more, to be honest with you, I was ready to go back out. 44:00 When we landed at base camp I asked if there was any aircraft available so I could continue to fly while mine was being repaired. Interviewer: Over the course of that year, while you were out there, did you get any R&R time, or time away from the front line? There was time available, but I didn‟t take any. Basically again, being very young, I had a family, a new daughter and money was what we needed more than anything, so we pretty much—to go on R&R would mean you were going to have to spend money to do that, so I stayed there almost the entire year without any time off other than local time. They actually required me to take four or five days off and I stay right there in base camp and listen to music, I‟d listen to music and go to the NCO club. 45:00 22 �Interviewer: One of the sort of standard critiques, largely cliché, about the soldiers in Vietnam, and so forth, is they were drinking, doing drugs and doing all sorts of things especially if they were off duty, or not actually in anything combat. On the other hand, a lot of people said that did not happen a lot when you’re up on the front lines, or anywhere near them. What would go on in basecamp during quiet times, what would people actually do? Most of the time it was drinking that was your release you know. Of course the military made it very inexpensive for you to buy alcohol. A case of beer, I think, was three dollars and twenty-five cents for a case of beer, cigarettes were free, alcohol was three or four dollars for a quart of alcohol, so they made that, unfortunately, readily available, and fairly inexpensive. 46:02 Being so young I did not drink, I did pick up smoking only because everybody else seemed to do that, and I thought, “Well, it must be the in thing”, and cigarettes were free, and that was something I didn‟t have to pay for, so I did take up smoking. But, the guys I hung around with, again everybody found their little cliques, there were groups that tended to smoke a lot of hashish and marijuana, other groups tended to drink a lot when they were free. I had three or four guys I hung around with and we‟d just sit around and listen to music and talk about things back home and we‟d go out and work on aircraft, that was out off time. People couldn‟t believe that I‟d actually go out there and wash and wax my helicopter during my down days. I took pride in it, it was my pride and joy, and I wanted that thing to be the best of all the aircraft, so I spent, even my free time during the day, out in the airfield. 47:08 I went through that aircraft, every safe wire, every nut and bolt to make sure that nothing was going to come off and nothing was going to go wrong. 23 �Interviewer: Do you think, for you that was a good way to keep your head on straight or stay focused? Yeah, it gave me purpose. Again, I‟ve always had this thing about doing the best no matter what it is, being the top of whatever I can do, making sure that what I‟m responsible for no one‟s going to come back and say, “Well, that didn‟t work, that wasn‟t any good”, so I‟d very seldom would—I‟d be out there all day long, I‟d sit with my crew chief buddies and we‟d go out there and just hang out in the aircraft, going through our log books, reading manuals, and we‟d actually quiz each other on test questions out of manuals just to keep ourselves sharp. 48:04 Sometimes we would take apart components that weren‟t necessarily needing to be cleaned or repaired or replaced, but just to make sure that there was nothing wrong with them and we would do that in pairs or two or three of together would go over to one of the other guys' aircraft and just scour it and work it over. Interviewer: Did you also have a sense that a lot of other people depended you and what you did affected a lot of people beyond just yourselves? I think that was one of the things that caused us to, aside from wanting to be the best, it was knowing that my aircraft, if it failed with ten to thirteen troops beside the pilot, copilot and gunner, could perish or what if it broke down at basecamp and we couldn‟t pick these guys up when they‟re calling us in, so I felt that my aircraft was instrumental, it needed to be tops and I needed to be with it where it went. 49:08 My aircraft never flew without me. It‟s very unusual for helicopters, sometimes when guys would go on leave or R&R, somebody else would crew their aircraft or they‟d bring in—you‟d have a second crew chief in some cases, so you‟d crew it on odd days and they‟d crew it on even 24 �days, but my aircraft never flew without me, I always flew on it every day, or almost every day. There would be three or four days where we would be in for depot maintenance, repairing sheet metal, or twice we actually had a tailbone replaced because we landed in a fresh new LZ where they used a daisy picker to cut an area, which would knock down trees and leave them about three to five feet high, which were actually stumps, and we had a band new pilot come in, fresh in Vietnam and he was flying with us and I told him to flare, flare, and I told him to pick up and he misunderstood my communication and we landed right on a stump. 50:13 Right on the tailbone, and I told him to lift up and he pulled forward and ripped the whole bottom of the tailbone off. Luckily no control damage, but twice the same pilot, we had to have tailbones replaced because of him, so then it would be down for four or five days, but again, I would never leave the aircraft, even when it was doing depot maintenance, I was actually in there wrenching with the civilian contractors who were doing transmission overhauls and replacing tailbones, I wanted to see everything they did to make sure it was done the right way. Interviewer: How much contact did you have with home during that year you were over there? Other than letters, none Interviewer: So, you didn’t get a chance to make a phone call or anything else like that? No 51:00 It was one of those things where we were gone so much and when you did come back to base camp they did have a radio set up and you could do radio phone calls, but you had to put your name on the list and wait for that and sometimes it could be three, 25 �four or five days before your name would come up and I‟d already be gone on another mission. Interviewer: How regular were the letters? It would vary and you‟d get stacks of them at a time because they‟d get held up and all of a sudden you‟d get three or four letters in a batch and then you wouldn‟t have anything for a week to ten days. A lot of times, because we were in other base camps, we‟d have to wait another week to ten days before they‟d fly in our mail and our sundry packets with our candy and cigarettes and stuff in them. We wouldn‟t get those everyday like a lot of the other units. Interviewer: Now, did you have much of a sense, during that year when you were there, how the larger war was actually going, or whether or not what you were doing was accomplishing much? 52:05 I thought we were doing everything we could do, overall, not just our unit, but the military, until we were sitting waiting to extract our unit, our infantry, and occasionally we would go and sit around an aircraft and turn the radios on and listen to the chatter that was going on around us. We‟d hear some radio communications from base camps to headquarters, actually back to the units that were actually—usually the infantry themselves, and some of the things that would transpire over the radio I started to get disheartened with the way things, in some cases, were being handled where units were being overrun and calling for extraction or assistance, and headquarters saying, “Just nam it up, man it up, fight it out, can‟t help you”. 53:03 Here we‟d sit, within a matter of fifteen, twenty minutes from the location where we could provide support, but we would call and let them know that we were available, and they refused to take assistance. I 26 �couldn‟t understand why some of those cases would take place, but again, not knowing the workings of some of those commanders and how they would do things and what those units were supposed to do, but I just felt like, in many cases, some of these units would phone in wolves and when they needed assistance it wouldn‟t arrive. Interviewer: Was that more likely to happen at the latter part of your tour, or early, or just periodically? About midway through we seemed to hear more of that, about early 1969. Interviewer: So, now you’re after Tet and all of that? Yes Interviewer: But, the fighting was still very intense and there was a lot of fighting still going on in that phase of the war. Yes 54:00 Interviewer: What sort of a toll did your year out there in the field have on you? Did you wear down at all physically or mentally, or do you think, as far as you could tell, you were in as good a condition to operate effectively eleven month in? I think missing home, the stress of not having decent meals, eating C rations, and it seemed to me we were eating more C rations than we should have had to at times, and sometimes not getting proper hygiene. I‟m, I think to this day, I have to have a shower every day and I think it‟s because of Vietnam. Having to wear wet clothes—clean— when we were back at basecamp we did have maid service. 55:04 They would have hooch maids come in while you were gone. You would set your clothes in a corner and they would go out and wash your clothes and fold them for you, and when you came back shine your boots. We always had two pair of boots and they would be setting there and 27 �when we came back they would be shined, back in basecamp, but most of the time your clothes were always wet, so you were always putting on wet clothes. I just wanted dry clothes so bad. I wanted to take a shower, and we did have hot showers at base camp, but again, you stood in line for those and they weren‟t always hot and you just never felt clean, even after a shower. So, when I came back from Vietnam I got to have clean clothes every day and I got to shower every day. I got to feel like I‟m clean all the time. Interviewer: Now, as your year in Vietnam sort of got towards the end, did they change your assignment, did you do anything differently than a month or so earlier? 56:06 Yeah, the last couple of months seemed to be like we were getting less and less heavy combat requirements and were doing a lot more BS. Again, I think it was, at the time, the infantry commander, the 4th Division commander, didn‟t really understand the role of an air cav unit and we seemed to be going back and reworking areas that we already worked, and go out and spend a week and a half, two weeks, working the grid knowing there was absolutely nothing going to be in there. People were starting to get the idea like, “They want us here wasting our time and what are we doing?” They didn‟t want to go out and fly missions and they were actually calling in sick and saying, “I got a sick stomach, I can‟t fly today”, and for a while there, there would be times when we need two scouts with two in reserve, two guns with two in reserve, a command control helicopter and then all the lift perks, and we were going out with fifty percent of our capability because people were finding excuses not to go out. 57:15 Interviewer: So, at some point there is a certain morale cost or something that hit the unit. 28 �I think a lot of that, and I believe this because of later on having been a detachment commander and being in charge of units, it all goes back to that commander, you know, how he treats his troops and the kind of information they get. When we would get information about a particular mission and they would detail what the suspected enemy was and what we needed to do, about what we had in reserve, what units were going to be follow up and back up to us, you felt the purpose and you could go out there and do your job, but when you just—they come out and say, “Ok, were going today”, “Where we going?” “Don‟t know, they‟ll brief us in air”, “What are we going to do?” “Don‟t know, when we get there they‟ll tell us”. There‟s no purpose in it, you needed to have that reason for going to begin with. 58:12 Then having pieces of information along the way just wasn‟t adequate. Interviewer: Are there other particular incidents that happened to you during that year in Vietnam that kind of stand out in your memory that you haven’t brought up here yet? There was one time I was flying—I did a lot of command and control--I would volunteer my aircraft for command and control and I had a—about three months in they changed engines and I got one of the brand new H model engines that had more power, so my aircraft had more power than most. Everyone wanted to fly it, but the air mission commander—platoon leaders particularly--wanted my aircraft, so the air mission commander would usually fly command and control, and that would be the aircraft that basically fly a little above everybody else, control the other aircraft they needed to go work this grid, keep an eye on the other aircraft and call in the gunships when you saw fire. 59:11 We had two scout birds working an area, we didn‟t have a lot of information 29 �about it other than there were some known Vietcong in the area. We took some small arms fire, but it was very sporadic, nothing intense, we didn‟t think it was any large units in there and my job at that time was to keep track of the aircraft. The air mission commander would be flying around and they‟re busy looking at maps and doing everything, and my job was to keep an eye on the two scout birds, and they would fly, basically, over the top of the trees. I lost track of one and I told the air mission commander, “I‟ve lost one of the birds and we need to circle back to the left”, and we circled back to the left and kept circling and finally we saw a wisp of smoke coming up through the trees and this was a very, very dense jungle. 00:07 You couldn‟t see the ground at all no matter where you hovered to. We flew right over the smoke and occasionally we‟d get some small arms fire going on and some tracers coming at us, but we could not see where the smoke was coming from, but there was definitely one scout bird missing. Our infantry were still, probably thirty minutes away, so the air mission commander asked me if I would volunteer to repel down into the jungle and go in and see what had happened. Again, being young and immature I thought, „Repel that, yeah, I‟ll do that”. The problem was, we needed to find a place, that wasn‟t as dense, that I could get through the jungle, through the trees. So, I repelled down with a M-16 and two bandoliers of ammunition and got into the top of the trees and lowered myself down through the trees. 1:11 You have no radio contact, so I repelled down and I got within about five feet of the ground, which I was at the end of the rope and again, the pilots above cannot see through the trees, they have no idea and I can‟t tell them. I have no radio contact and can‟t tell them to lower me a little further, so I just went off the end of the rope and landed on my rear end on the ground and once they realized the rope was 30 �free they rolled it back up and continued to circle around the area. 2:05 Unfortunately the only area they could find less dense for me to repel into was about a mile and a half, maybe, from the smoke, so I had to hump it through the dense jungle on foot, on ground, M-16 in hand knowing that the enemy was there, but I needed to get over to find that scout bird to see if there was any survivors. I was not a ground pounder, so I was— during my entire tour that was the one time that made my heart jump the most. I was the most scared and the unsure of what to do. Again, because it was so dense I couldn‟t really—I couldn‟t see the smoke, so I just had to take my bearings from when I repelled about where I needed to go, 3:02 So, I worked my way toward the downed aircraft and when I got there I realized there was no survivors. The aircraft actually impacted a tree and it was a very huge tree, it was about twenty feet in diameter and the aircraft had impacted it. I don‟t know if it was shot down, had an engine fire or what happened. Scout birds carry a lot of ammunition with them, a lot of Willie Pete grenades and phosphorus grenades, hand grenades, and the aircraft was on fire and all this ammunition was going off around me, but I had to get up close enough to make sure that there were no survivors, so I worked my way up there with rounds whizzing by me from this aircraft fire that sparked off the ammunition. I got up to the scout on the right side and he had impacted the tree so hard that his helmet had split in half and half his helmet was stuck in the tree. 4:06 I pulled him out of the aircraft, laid him down and went around to the other side and the cyclic stick of the aircraft had impacted into the pilots chest, so it took me some while to get him off of that and I pulled him out and I covered him with their ponchos and went back to the aircraft and popped a smoke so they could—at that time they had gone back and got a rope ladder and had another control and command bird 31 �come in and take their place. They got a rope ladder and lowered the rope ladder and I climbed back up and let them know that I secured the two bodies and they did not survive and the aircraft was totaled. 5:00 So, they asked me to go back down , get the dog tags, to secure any weapons, make sure, if they were still functionable, to destroy those. So, I did that, got the dog tags, came back and went up the rope ladder again. Then we located an LZ big enough that an aircraft could actually land in. It was an LZ about five or six clicks away and we brought in the infantry so they could go in and retrieve the bodies. Surprisingly, the air mission commander now decides that we‟re going to go back to Pleiku, not to the basecamp that we were working out of, right to Pleiku. Instead of landing in---they always had areas where aircraft would park and there were sandbags and fifty-five gallon drums and you would land between those, and this time instead of landing in the place for my aircraft, we landed up by the headquarters building. 6:06 I‟m assuming for the air mission commander to get out and report what happened. When we landed we shut the aircraft down and the air mission commander looked back at me and said, “Joe, you need to get out and go see that guy standing out there”, so I decided, “I‟m probably going to give an air mission report”, and I get over there and realize—and I was so taken back I don‟t remember the General's name. At the time it was the Fourth Infantry Division General that was standing there, a two star General. He called me up and called me to attention and read off an award and gave me a Bronze Star with a V and pinned it on my chest at that time. That was the first time I‟d gotten an award and I had no idea what that meant and I guess to get an impact award in Vietnam is pretty unique and to get it from a two star General is even more unique. 7:03 To this day, I don‟t 32 �think I did anything out of the ordinary. I did what was asked of me and I probably would have felt better if I could have pulled them out alive. Interviewer: Still that was a pretty challenging mission assignment that you had there. You weren’t trained to drop through the jungle or anything else like that, but you managed to keep your bearings, physically get there, and do that particular job and that’s pretty far beyond the conventional call of duty. Of course, another thing about that duration a lot of people didn’t think that you probably could deal with it, but you did and that was just in placed where the right people were not watching and here, at least, the officers could see, and experienced officers knew how to report stuff, “Okay, you really did step up and do something exceptional”, and I think anybody listening to that story can tell, “I wonder if I would have done that well?” That certainly seems to be a case where you did the right thing. 8:03 Finally, you get to the end of your year in Vietnam. Did you get sent directly back to the states, or what happened when that year tour was over? Yeah, I rotated out, on my normal deros, left the unit and was reassigned as a crew chief on a helicopter at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Interviewer: Did they let you go home? Yeah, yeah, they did, we actually got thirty days‟ vacation, so the great thing about the military was you got thirty days a year and I always took advantage of those, and that was the first thirty days I ever actually had entirely and we took all thirty days in a row. Interviewer: Did things seem different than they were when you left? Yeah, coming back was—I thought we were doing the right thing over there and I thought, for the most part—they shielded us in Vietnam and you don‟t know exactly 33 �what‟s going on. 9:06 New troops would come over and tell you it was a nightmare back in the United States, you‟re not going to like it, things are—it‟s not a happy environment, you know, but you shoved it under the rug as being unimportant or not really true, or just somebody making a story up and I guess I got the rude awakening when I came back. They flew me into Oakland and they huddled us into a little room and said, “You need to get out of your military clothes”. “Why?” “Just trust me, you don‟t— dress in your civilian clothes, you don‟t want to be in your military clothes, and we‟re going to rush you out of this building and you‟re going to sit here and wait until your aircraft is ready to take off, and you‟re going to run out to your aircraft”. I thought, “That‟s really weird, I wonder what‟s going on?” 10:00 Then we could hear all the demonstrators out in the hallway yelling. Some troops were going to go get taxis to go home and stuff, and some were still in their uniforms. I walked out the door and stood in the hallway and watched the demonstrators calling soldiers that I‟d come back with “baby killers‟ and all kids of names, throwing blood, if it was fake or not I don‟t know, but it was red in color and they were throwing it on them and hitting them with signs. It was very disheartening, so I actually rushed back in the building and shut the door because I didn‟t want to be any part of that and I didn‟t know what was going on and to me it didn‟t make any sense what was happening, so I wasn‟t sure, I didn‟t know what to think of it. When it came time for my plane to leave they opened the side door under the tarmac and they said, „That‟s your aircraft”, and it was a civilian aircraft, “Run out there”, and they actually had a staircase you walked up to get in the plane, it wasn‟t a skywalk or anything. 11:10 I brought back a souvenir from Vietnam. There was a time where we actually went in and we caught a lot of Vietcong, actually they were NVA 34 �regulars, brand new troops in the open, and our gunships had caught them in the open and we killed them all. There were roughly about two platoons, roughly twenty individuals there. We killed them all in the open, so we landed our infantry down in there to make sure they were all dead. I got out, I was with the air mission commander, flying with the air mission commander so I got to walk around and the bird stayed there on the LZ. We went around inspecting the bodies and I was collecting stuff from them that I thought was unique, so I picked up a weapon, SKS, brand new with a pack and some other stuff. 12:08 so, I was bringing that stuff back with me and low and behold they, of all things, when you think about it now, to bring back a weapon from Vietnam all you need to do is get an import, export license and it costs you seven dollars and you can actually carry it with you on the plane. So, I‟ve got an SKS on my shoulder and my duffle bag and people aren‟t supposed to know I‟m in the military and I‟m rushing to an aircraft to get on board. Actually, I climbed up the ladder and got inside the aircraft and they said, “You can‟t take that back to your seat, give me your weapon”, and they put it in the stewardesses clothes closet right up in front, so there‟s my—a rifle loaded right in the aircraft and to think that you could do that then compared to now days. There was one seat on the airplane empty and I sat down in that seat. The guy next to me, I could tell, was military, just from his look, he‟s in civilian clothes, but we never looked at each other. 13:00 We sat there and taxied off and finally he looked my way and I looked his. I didn‟t tell this story earlier, but I actually went in the service under the buddy plan. One of my buddies from my home town and I, at that time, both decided to go in the service together and we were promised we‟d be in a buddy plan, and we went to basic training together. But, they don‟t tell you that buddy plan means that‟s as far as you go. We went 35 �off different paths after that and I never spoke to him and we never had any letters going back and forth and I don‟t know what happened to him, but here he was sitting in the seat next to me. Of all things, he was coming back from Korea and I was coming back from Vietnam. Of all things, to sit down next to him and both of us ending our tours of duty, his in Korea and mine in Vietnam and being on the same plane going home, it was something. Interviewer: How much time did you have left in your enlistment when you got back? I had a year. 14:02 I enlisted for three years, I‟d spent a year in it and going through basic training and almost a year prior to going to Vietnam, and then a year in Vietnam, so I still had a year left. When I came back, again money was tight, we had a child and at the time they were offering a bonus if you reenlisted, but you had to have so much—you couldn‟t just reenlist, you had to wait so long, so I had to wait about five or six months and then I reenlisted for the maximum at that time, which was six years. They gave me ten thousand dollars cash, which after taxes and everything ended up to be about eighty five hundred dollars. To me that was a ton of money back then, so I did it just for that money. 15:00 I didn‟t have any idea whether or not I wanted to stay in the military. I kind of figured I did, I kind of liked what I was doing being a crew chief and I liked being associated with the military even though Vietnam was still negative and there was still a lot going on about Vietnam, I still thought the military had done well by me and I owed them something, especially since they were going to pay me to stay in. Interviewer: Now, you said you went to Fort Bragg. Was that the only place you were stationed or did they move you around? 36 �No, after Fort Bragg, I spent three years at Fort Bragg, and a common thing after twenty years in the military, we pretty much moved every three years, we could bank on that. In the army you could assume that three years was the maximum of anyplace you were ever going to be, so we never unpacked everything fully. You go somewhere and you‟d stay there two or two and a half years, and you‟d get orders. After Fort Bragg I went to Germany and spent three years in Germany. 16:02 Interviewer: Which three years were those? It was 1972-1975 Interviewer: In that period of time, what was the atmosphere like over there as far as how the Germans and Europeans viewed the American servicemen, and what life was like in the military there? Overall we enjoyed the tour in Germany. I now had a son besides a daughter, so I had two children and we looked at it as a learning experience in Germany. We toured, and took our kids everywhere we went, loved Germany and for the most part, loved the people in Germany. Unfortunately we were in—I was assigned to another Cav unit and the Cav unit's role, this Cav unit's role, and at the time the cold war is still going on and we‟re still, basically, enemies with Russia and East Germany, and we were responsible for what was known as Fulda Gap. 17:03 It was an area where, if there was going to be a war, the Russians and the East Germans were going to come through what was known as Fulda Gap. Our role in life was to delay them coming through the Fulda Gap. We actually had tank killers, an air Cav unit assigned to an armor unit, an armored squadron that was an air Cav troop. We were the only aviation unit so our M-60 tanks and our tank killers would—and we trained for this, we‟d go up there and spend thirty to forty-five 37 �days training every three months on how to stop the enemy from coming through there. The tank killers would—there goal was to blow up the tanks in the front of the formation, just assume how they would be coming across with their heavy tanks and artillery, and knock those out to stop or slow down the traffic coming through and then our aircraft would go in and do strafing runs on the enemy, 18:05 smaller vehicles and the infantry, you know, and they told us when we first got there, if something was to happen, we had a life expectancy of three minutes, so it‟s something you just live with, and again, I never thought that ever was going to happen. I could not see a war with Russia, but we still trained for it every day. Interviewer: Now, while you’re stationed over there, in the Middle East war with Israel was going on, and did that affect you in terms of works or anything like that? Not for us because our primary mission was the Fulda Gap. We were constantly going to Graff or Hohenfels to do armor training and it seemed to me I spent more time in the field training for war than I ever spent back in base camp. A little different, they would actually go in and set up tents and they had a mess hall, so it was a little bit different environment than what you had it Vietnam, but it was a lot of time training. 19:10 That was actually a good thing because you didn‟t have idle time and we were a well-honed fighting machine. Our troop was, and I was proud of everybody there and everybody respected that. They all—we‟d have parties when we came back and we partied together and I got a lot of unique experience out of that. I actually went back to school, first I got my GED and then went back after I got my GED and said, “that‟s just a piece of paper, I need to actually get my education”, so I went back and finished my high school and go my diploma and then we actually had we actually had Embry Riddle Aeronautical 38 �University and they would have professors attached to us. We‟d go out for training and they would set up a tent and we‟d go in to college classes at night or early morning. 20:07 They would have these set up in between training missions, so I got a two year degree going to night school. I look at it as they afforded me that—the capability of doing that, so I was going to take full opportunity of that and get my degree. Interviewer: After Germany where did you go? Back stateside, back to Fort Rucker, because I had so much experience as a crew chief and maintenance background. They actually assigned me as an instructor for aircraft maintenance training; it was actually AIT training for OH-58s at the time. They got rid of the OH-6‟s. They have since been replaced with scout birds with OH-58s and I had been crewing both of those, UH-1s and OH-58s, so they assigned me as an instructor. Interviewer: At a certain point you kind of change your specialization don’t you? You get new training? 21:06 Well, I went to a lot of different training of a lot of things. I was always wanting to take that next level. I volunteered; I took instructor training courses, higher maintenance courses, I was also, like I said, working at night getting my college degree. I was always looking for that little extra edge, you know, to get that next rank because rank was really required education training. “What did you do over and above the next guy to be promoted over him?” Both of you, just because you had five years in the service, you had to have points, and points came from extra training. So, I volunteered for a lot of extra training and extra-curricular activities to get that extra edge. 22:03 I was actually m85 and m86 ahead of my peers. Interviewer: At some point you also trained to be a pilot. 39 �While I was at Fort Rucker training, enlisted to be helicopter mechanics, I realized that the only thing for me, and the rest of my career, was going to be an enlisted person and that was very limiting. Once you become a first sergeant, E7s, there wasn‟t much to that and I wanted to fly. I‟d been in the back being a crew chief and there had been a number of occasions where they actually let me fly the aircraft, and I felt pretty confident, and maybe cocky, that I could actually fly this thing. So, while I was at Fort Rucker, the warrant officer training was at Fort Rucker, so I approached them about going to flight school. Well, they had a rule at that time, they didn‟t want prior enlisted. Vietnam had wound down; they had an overabundance of warrant officers that they were actually getting rid of. 23:04 So to go to flight school at that time as a prior enlisted, they‟d rather have fresh people coming out of college that didn‟t have any bad habits as enlisted members. After about three months I was actually approached. They were putting together a pilot program, something the military decided to do, and they actually put together an entire class of all prior enlisted, so they asked me to join this group if I wanted to go through this test pilot and if we succeeded we‟d become pilots and we‟d be W-1s at the end of that. It was pretty unique, I went to—we had thirty four students all going to flight school together. All of us were E5s or E6‟s with anywhere from seven to ten years of prior enlisted experience. The test, actually, went rather well, mostly because of our military background and knew the training that was involved. 24:08 We weren‟t bothered by people telling us that our boots weren‟t shined enough or that we had to roll our socks tighter, or our underwear weren‟t in line, or our name tags weren‟t straight, so we, actually, fared rather well in the training to be an officer, and in the flight training we were even better because most of us, again, had been prior enlisted and had 40 �been around helicopters. We started off with thirty four and we graduated thirty two. Typical warrant officer classes, when they‟d have all new students fresh out of college, or maybe they were ROTC graduates [during Vietnam, warrant officers who flew helicopters were often even younger and had little or no college experience], they would start with a class of thirty three to thirty five and by the time they would graduate they would have twelve to fifteen, because of the dropout rate. 25:02 Interviewer: You guys knew a whole lot about what it was like to actually be in a helicopter and what it felt like and an awful lot about what’s happening and being that close to the pilots you’re going to know a fair amount anyway. It wasn‟t so much about the aircraft; it was knowing that—because unlike officers that went to flight school, they‟d already gone to officer training. Officer training was only three months, flight training was nine months, so the first six months of your nine month period, was actually intense officer training. Attention to detail, formation at five thirty in the morning and go run for five miles, everything that had to do with learning to be an officer. In my eyes it was not learning to be an officer, it was learning a regiment, learning the details, knowing what to expect and how to handle people. 26:03 So we would have to do that and when as soon as that was done, go in and shower and rush to classes and do our aviation training that officers were doing. They were home with their wives, get up in the morning, shower, and go have a nice meal, and then go to flight school classes and sit in a classroom. We were competing with them, basically, as warrant officer candidates after being up for four or five hours in a strict physical and mental regiment. We‟d actually—they‟d get us out in the morning in formation and say, “You got five minutes to empty your locker out”, and we‟d have to rush up there and 41 �throw everything out of our locker onto the floor and come back out in formation. They‟d say, “You go three minutes to put it back in place”, so we‟d have to rush back up there and put everything back in place and then they‟d come through and do an inspection. It was just mind games, you know, but it was all something to influence your training. 27:00 but, we had to now contend with all the school work and learning. Learning how to fly an aircraft, learning meteorology, learning instrument flying, all the things that a pilot needed to know, while officers that were taking the flight school portion of it would do the training, go home at night to their wives and a nice home cooked meal. My wife was living on base and I didn‟t see her for almost the first six months. Occasionally she would come out to where we were in formation and wave and the kids would come out and say, “Hi”, but we pretty much didn‟t see them, we lived in a barracks, like basic training, only worse. Interviewer: Once you got through that, what kind of an assignment did you get? Rather unique and I guess based on my background and my experience level, I graduated as a W1, which was where you start out at, and they immediately assigned me to Hunter Army Airfield, which is in Savannah, Georgia. 28:09 It was a new aviation unit. The air force had just moved out of Hunter Airfield and turned it over to the army, so a new unit was assigned there, and they gave me an assignment to go into Hunter Army Airfield. I had never been there and I had no idea, except I heard good things about that assignment was going to be really, really nice and you‟re imagine—I‟ve never seen an army base before, actually, in town. This was neat and right in the town of Savannah, on the outskirts of Savannah. When I got there as a W1—typically you report to CW3s and CW4s or you report to Lieutenants or Captains, and you‟re just going to be a pilot and , 42 �basically, that‟s all you‟re going to do. They looked at my ten years of aviation maintenance background and as a W1 I was thrust into a command position as a platoon leader in charge of aircraft maintenance and about thirty six crew chiefs as a W1. 29:06 Of course, it didn‟t really bother me, I‟d been a staff sergeant, I handled it the same as I did the staff sergeant, so I ran the maintenance platoon for about a year and a half as a W1 and then as a W2, which is very unusual to have a W1, or even a W2 hold a command position. Interviewer: I’m watching a little bit our time here and so forth, but basically you stay in and you become a pilot. How long did you stay in? I retired after twenty years. I had another tour in Germany, a couple stateside assignments, had envisioned myself as getting a fixed wing transition, I‟d always been rotary wing and I wanted to go to fly regular aircraft. While I was in Germany, my career manager, back in the Pentagon, I knew rather well, was going to assign me to Hawaii with a fixed wing transition in route and as we got ready to leave Germany he ended up being reassigned and I got a career manager who said, “No, no, you‟re background‟, and I later on became a safety officer too. 30:13 I did safety and accident investigation, actually, aircraft crash investigation and because of my background I was required to be at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Hawaii was out. I get to Fort Knox and I said, “My twenty years are in, I‟m putting in my retirement papers”. Interviewer: Now we’re doing this interview in conjunction with the LZ Michigan here in West Michigan, and part of that purpose there is to kind of give a belated welcome back to Vietnam veterans and the like, and one of the things we’re interested in was the reception you got when you came back and you talked about 43 �that and the protesters and activist and that sort of thing. The other side of it, after you came back did you talk to anybody about what you experienced? 31:05 Are there military people or family or anything like that? Not really, no, not until my reunion two years ago. I spoke very little about Vietnam, what had happened and what had transpired over there. It was—I felt it was something in me that no one else needed to do. For the most part there was still a lot of negativity about Vietnam, even years later. It was as though you don‟t really want to let people know you‟re a veteran from Vietnam, you know, just keep it quiet. It wasn‟t until my reunion a couple of years ago, I was invited to that, I went down there and everybody there, we all had a common cause, a common goal and a common thread and we spoke openly about our tour. Interviewer: We were talking about your experience of actually starting to talk a little bit about the experiences, and so forth. 32:01 How did you wind up meeting up with the other veterans of the unit? I guess they had done a web search and found my name, my name popped up and they called me and asked me if I‟d be interested in coming to the reunion. They, actually, had six or seven of them and were still locating people, so I decided to go there have a reunion. It was, actually, held at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, which is the—our unit was deactivated after Vietnam and they reactivated the unit for Iraq and Afghanistan, so they‟re located out of Fort Campbell, so not only was it our old troops, but we got to mix and talk to all the new troops of our unit, so that was a unique experience. Interviewer: What sort of response did the present day soldiers have to you guys? 44 �Actually, like—I thought they would be kind of like, “Oh yeah, these old guys, what do they know?” No, they actually respected us. 33:03 They—it‟s pretty amazing, they would ask us questions about what happened, how things went over there, how things are different now, they treated us with a lot of respect. I was really impressed and they still do, from the unit commanders on down to the soldiers, they, actually, wear old Vietnam fatigues and at the reunions for us, and come to the dinners and celebrations. It‟s very heartwarming to know that there are young guys out there that still respect the old guys for what they did. Interviewer: What do you think, now, of the way in which our culture and society today kind of treats the men and women that were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan? I think it‟s great, I really do, and I utilize my ability as an owner of a magazine and also, as a motor cycle rider, to go to a lot of events, primarily military or veteran oriented. 34:07 The outpouring of support and love by the American people is—It‟s something I wish we‟d of had when we came back for Vietnam, but you can‟t go back and do that, but what they‟re doing now is unprecedented. I guess the overflow from that is, because of the support that they are giving to the Iraq and Afghanistan troops that are returning, there‟s a lot more presents, there‟s a lot more thought going into the fact that Vietnam troo9ps didn‟t get that, so we have a lot of people come up to us, come up to me, and I wear a symbol that I was a veteran and that I was in Vietnam because I‟m proud of that fact now, and people come up and shake my hand and thank me for my service. Apologizing for how things were handled back then even though many of them were not even born, so that‟s very heartwarming. To have people come up and thank you for what we did in Vietnam over forty years ago. 35:03 45 �Interviewer: Finally recognizing at some level to detach the war, which is largely a political thing, from the people that have to go and fight it. Yeah, that‟s what I explain. I do some radio segments and I write a veterans corner in my magazine, explaining veterans‟ benefits, where to go to get things. There are a ton of homeless veterans out there, a lot of them from Vietnam, that there‟s services, places for them to go, so I use that veterans corner to—as a release for me, and to help my fellow soldiers. To let them know that there are things out there, and there are people out there that do care and understand what they went through, also what I went through, but again, I don‟t feel that it was as negative for me as-- when I listen to some other soldiers stories and I feel that they might have had a worse time and a harder time than I did. Interviewer: That makes for a very good story and I would just like to close by thanking you for coming in and telling it today. Thank you for having me, I appreciate it. 36:05 46 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brinn, Joseph (Interview transcript and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brinn, Joseph Description An account of the resource Joe Brinn was born in 1950 in Virginia and eventually moved with his family to Michigan, where he grew up. He got married at age 16 and dropped out of high school, and a year later decided to join the military. He received basic training at Ft. Knox, and then Ft. Rucker to train as a Helicopter Crew Chief. He landed in Pleiku, Vietnam, in 1968 and was assigned to the 77th Air Cavalry which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and worked as a crew chief. His unit did "hunt/kill" missions and he did maintenance on the aircraft as well. During his time in Vietnam, he flew many combat missions, notably over Dak To, but he was never wounded; although there were many close calls. Mr. Brinn was awarded a Bronze Star after for repelling down from a helicopter to recover a lost aircraft, which he found out crashed; and even though there were no survivors he secured the bodies. After Vietnam, he continued his military career, eventually becoming a warrant officer and helicopter pilot, and retired after twenty years. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-06-30 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrinnJ0032V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e388dbf5ba707bf0252fb8e2ee6321c4.m4v da057ebb392dc4257d53f8089b85556a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ffbeb09f6117bc8528fa3cf8db381896.pdf c61bc32ff4cce3fde3298dc845537bdc PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Willard Brock Cold War/Post-Korean War 22 minutes 3 seconds (00:00:23) Early Life -Born on June 8, 1936 in Gaines Township, Michigan -There were nine children in his family -Active household -Remembers every family had a garden to raise food for the family -Stored the extra food in the cellar -Attended Grand Rapids Christian High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan (00:01:49) Enlisting in the Army -Considered enlisting because the draft was still in effect when he turned 18 (c. 1954) -Enlisted with friends from high school -Wanted to serve his country, but also knew there was a likelihood he would get drafted -Always assumed he would have to do service for the country -Enlisted in the Army -He and his friends all enlisted and got discharged at the same time -Had his physical exam and his induction in Detroit (00:03:29) Basic Training -Received basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri -He and his friends all received their training at Fort Leonard Wood -It was difficult -Army wanted to figure out what kind of person you were, and how you acted under pressure -All of his friends made it through basic training -Went on the infiltration course at night and was the most difficult part of basic training -Crawling under barbed wire while a machine gun fired live rounds over his head -Not too physically challenging -Difficult for heavier men -Mental and physical strength were important traits -Drill sergeants had fought in the Korean War -Tried to be imposing -Had to be tough on recruits to prepare them for the possibility of combat (00:06:17) Medical Training -Sent to Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas -Received 12 weeks of medical training there -Had volunteered for medical training and received his position of choice -Family members working in medicine prompted him to volunteer for medical training -After Fort Sam Houston he went to Fort Riley, Kansas for practical training -Worked in all of the different wards of the hospital on the base -Getting different medical experience -Not much to do outside of Fort Riley -Final part of training (00:08:00) Deployment to West Germany -He was assigned to duty West Germany -Went to Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1956 to wait for transportation �-Assignment was based on need -Flew to Germany -Flight took 18 hours -Stopped in Newfoundland, Canada to refuel -Not allowed to get off the plane -Landed at Frankfurt, Germany -Taken to Nuremberg and was stationed there for 18 months -Flew to Germany on a Navy plane -Comfortable flight (00:10:14) Stationed in Nuremberg & the Cold War -Had drills every so often to prepare in the event of a Soviet attack -Remembers soldiers being sent to the Middle East due to trouble in Lebanon -1958 Lebanon Crisis -Served as the ward master in a hospital -Meant he stayed on the base when the troops went abroad -Stationed at the 20th Station Hospital -Military hospital in Nuremberg -Treated soldiers injured in field exercises -Took care of servicemen from other branches outside of the Army (00:12:16) German Civilians -A lot of German civilians worked for the American government -Thought every American was rich -Got along well with the German people -Saw the Nazi party rally grounds where Hitler had held rallies in the 1930s -Planned to rule the world from that location (00:13:21) Travel in Europe -Got to travel around Europe -Visited the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy -Italy was a wonderful country -Food was great -Saw a lot of Italy -Spent two weeks there -Met relatives for the first time when he visited the Netherlands -Visited his mother's old home (00:14:45) Duties at the Hospital -He was in charge of the maternity ward supplies -In charge of linens in the maternity ward -Helped with labor and delivery rooms -German ambulances delivered pregnant women to the hospital -Remembers one woman gave birth before she got to a room -Always busy and enjoyed his work -Stationed at the 20th Station Hospital for 18 months (00:16:10) End of Service & Coming Home -At the end of his time in Germany he returned to the United States via troop transport -Took six days to get back to America, and it was a rough trip -Landed at New York City -Sent to Fort Sheridan, Illinois to be discharged -Involuntarily placed in the Reserves for two years -Able to serve out of Grand Rapids, Michigan �-Attended classes on medical issues -Went on training exercises for two weeks in the summer -Received that assignment because of his occupation in the Army -Achieved the rank of Specialist 3rd Class (equivalent to corporal) -Happy with that rank (00:17:54) Friendships in the Army -Kept in touch with some of his friends -One was stationed in West Germany and another was stationed in France -They were able to meet up a few times (00:18:10) Life after Service -Had to start over in terms of personal relationships -Old friends had moved on with their lives -Went back to his old job in a furniture factory -Good for readjusting to civilian life -Lost touch with most of his friends that he made in the Army (00:19:30) Reflections on Service -Realized that it was time to leave the Army when he did -Learned that there are rules and regulations in life that you have to abide by -Taught him to obey authority -Time in the Army taught him leadership and responsibility -Good experience and a good educational opportunity -Happy that he served his country � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrockW1842V Title A name given to the resource Brock, Willard M (Interview outline and video), 2015 Description An account of the resource Willard Brock was born on June 8, 1936 in Gaines Township, Michigan. Around the time that he turned 18 years old he enlisted in the Army. He received basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and medical training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and Fort Riley, Kansas. He was deployed to West Germany in 1956 and served 18 months at the 20th Station Hospital in Nuremberg, Germany for 18 months where he worked in the maternity ward. At the end of his time in Germany he returned to the United States and was discharged from active duty at Fort Sheridan, Illinois and served for two years in the Reserves. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brock, Willard M. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Pattison, Jordan (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-16 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/608d346d90886e39000eb865b69d7ef8.mp4 d6155e87765d8da09ca94b1112f17b19 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/848abae08aee24479888300df927140b.pdf a33ec2fc769fbf309dcd49472996c7be PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Phil Brockschmidt (01:24:36) (00:25) Background Information • Phil played football a lot in school and did not enjoy studying • He also liked hunting, fishing, and working on the farm • He was also involved in track, basketball, and the student council (6:05) Pearl Harbor • Phil heard news of the attack on the radio from Franklin Roosevelt • He was only 14 years old and already wanted to join the service • His mother was petrified by news of the attack (7:15) Joining the Service • Phil was only 15 years old and passed all the necessary tests • They told him he would need his father’s signature to join at such a young age • He chose the Navy because his father had been in the Navy during World War I • Indoctrination took place in Detroit (9:00) Boot Camp • Phil attended boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago • He was in detention camp for six weeks • They had to get up every day at 4:00am and spend hours marching • Phil continued with weapons training in Virginia (16:20) Waiting to go Overseas • Phil took a train to Brooklyn • He waited along with about 10,000 other men to be assigned to a ship (21:15) Russia • Phil was a gunner on a large merchant ship that traveled in a convoy • They were hit by a torpedo from a U-boat and had to transfer onto a different ship • Soon after, the other ship was hit also • They were traveling to Russia to deliver oil • He thought that the Russians were mean, ugly, and unpleasant • There were many Merchant Marines on his ship • It took about 80 days for a round trip to Russia • There were no duties on the ship and the trip was very boring (33:45) Brooklyn • After dropping off the oil, they would always return to Brooklyn to reload • The men got about 5 days off for liberty �• Phil said he spent his time off “chasing women” in New York (34:50) SS Terrain • They loaded up this oil tanker and headed for Rio De Janeiro • Then they got an emergency call from North Africa • They turned near Brazil and headed for North Africa • The Queen Elizabeth was near the Rock of Gibraltar and desperately needed oil • The ship had been stranded and carrying thousands of men (42:20) US Navy Air Corps • Phil took a train from New York to Main and was transferred in the Navy Air Corps • They were working on boxes of parts for building airplanes that would eventually be shipped all over the world • He then began building lockers for various bunkers • None of the men from the Navy enjoyed their new position in the Air Corps (47:20) Aviation Ordinance Squadron • Phil did not like his position so he volunteered to be a striker in the Aviation Ordinance Squadron • They built practice targets for those training on planes and also helped them to practice shooting • Phil found flying to be boring because they often did nothing for three hours on the plane • Phil was called for detachment duty in Bermuda (58:30) Rhode Island • Phil was transferred back to the US from Bermuda • His girlfriend in Michigan was murdered and he had time off to go to her funeral • He was called to testify in a trial, but the Navy would not allow him to do so • He was then transferred back to Maine and then went on to Massachusetts where he worked as an ordinance man for three different aircraft (01:00:03) Cuba • Phil had been on his way to Cuba for an assignment, but the ship had stopped in Miami for a few days • Phil witnessed a bar fight in which a man died • He then had to testify in a court martial trial while the other men continued on to Cuba • Afterwards Phil took a plane to Cuba, but found he was weeks behind the other men who had left before him (01:05:35) Puerto Rico • Phil was transferred to Puerto Rico because he was behind on training • Here he was a senior ordinance man �• • The other men there in the Navy were scared to fly, but they were required to do so four hours a month Phil took on their hours in exchange for more time off when he was not flying (01:08:50) Discharge Points • Phil had received enough points to be discharged from service • It was the end of the war and his squadron was disbanded • He went back to Miami and was told that he had to make his own travel arrangements back to Chicago to be discharged � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brockschmidt, Philip E. (Interview outline and video), 2004 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brockschmidt, Philip E. Description An account of the resource Phil Brockschmidt knew that he wanted to join the armed service after Pearl Harbor was attacked and joined the Navy when he was only 15 years old. He took many long trips traveling in a convoy to Russia to deliver oil. Phil was eventually transferred into the Navy Air Corps and was disappointed with the transfer. In the Navy Air Corps Phil traveled to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Africa, Miami, Cuba, and Puerto Rico working as an ordinance man. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-10-18 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrockschmidtP Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0fbdade44209e7d49e51ddbf886d6541.mp4 bdaad1afe7ac7efbd794887dce4ca865 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ee6b3b93ffa5e8e4d911ba0204afa3dd.pdf 22f692aa01d7c4acafba20aad6ca331e PDF Text Text Brockway, Lyle Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee’s Name: Lyle Brockway Length of Interview: (1:28:47) Interviewed by: Wallace Erichsen Transcribed by: Maluhia Buhlman Interviewer: “Today is August the 7th, 2019 and we are at Clark home on Franklin, we’ll be interviewing Lyle Jean Brockway. Lyle was born April 15, 1924 at Vicksburg, Michigan, he served in World War II in the U.S Army Air Corps as a B-17 pilot. Lyle lives at the Clark home on Franklin, his address is 1551 Franklin Street Southeast, room 4060 or 4-06-0 Grand Rapids Michigan, 49506. (1:10) The recording is being made at the Clark home, this interview is part of the Veterans History Project at the library of Congress and is being also done in the auspices of the history department at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan and I as the interviewer my name is Wallace Erichsen and I’m a volunteer interviewer with the history department at Grand Valley State University. Well, can you give us your full name?” Lyle Jean Brockway, 4-15-24. Interviewer: “And your place of birth?” Near Vicksburg, Michigan. Interviewer: “Okay, and how do you spell your last name?” Capital B-r-o-c-k-w-a-y. Interviewer: “Very good, thank you. Let me ask you, where did you grow up or where did you go to high school, that sort of thing?” �Brockway, Lyle I grew up in rural Vicksburg, various farm settings and I went to Vicksburg High School, before that I went to a one room school Brady Number Five. Interviewer: “In Vicksburg also?” Near Vicksburg. Interviewer: “Did it have a town?” Yes, Vicksburg is a town. Interviewer: “But where the public school was where you went to school.” No, it was out in the country it’s– (3:03) Interviewer: “I see, okay.” And you walked. Interviewer: “No buses?” No buses, no– Dad didn’t have an extra car, you walked. Interviewer: “What did your father do?” He done various things, repair, carpentry, built a couple cabins, worked for a railroad manufacturing company, worked in a grain mill, and he worked for Lee Paper Company for a while. So he done various things, the greatest thing was about 1929 or 30 they rejoiced because he got a job 25 cents an hour driving truck for the Kalamazoo County Road Commission. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “And I assume he stayed with the job for a while.” Yeah, several years. Interviewer: “How many brothers and sisters did you have?” I had four sisters and one brother, three sisters deceased, one brother deceased. Interviewer: “Where were you in the birth order then?” I was number four, I had three older sisters then I came along then I had a younger brother three and a half years younger than my sister is ten years younger. Interviewer: “I see. When did you graduate from high school then?” It’d be May for ‘4– (4:59) Interviewer: “Again when did you graduate from high school in?” I graduated in May of 1942. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you do after high school?” Naturally we lived on a farm and I had a little scholarship to Michigan State, $50 a quarter. Interviewer: “So you went to East Lansing then.” East Lansing. Interviewer: “Right, do you remember what the name of Michigan State was at that time?” �Brockway, Lyle Not particularly, it was always Michigan State to me. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you study?” Agriculture. Interviewer: “Okay, and how long were you there at Michigan State?” How old? Interviewer: “How long, when did you attend?” Well I started in the fall and during the fall season President Hannah promised we would get the chance to take the written test if we want to get in the Air Force and I, farm kid, took the test, passed it, a couple months later he raised to have us go down to Mount Clemens for a physical, passed that. (6:29) I took the term exams for the fall, I had enlisted for the next term but I went in the service. Interviewer: “Was it mandatory that you go in, were you drafted into the service at that point?” No, in the process you start Michigan State’s ROTC then I enlisted reserves unassigned and then somehow I passed these tests for the Air Force and we went to went off. Interviewer: “So that ended your schooling then anyway at the end of the fall term was the end of your schooling at Michigan State.” Basically yes, right. Interviewer: “Okay.” �Brockway, Lyle After Christmas I had to report to 156 Van Buren Street, Chicago. Interviewer: “So that started your active duty then with the–” That’s where I started right there. Interviewer: “Okay, where did you go for basic training then?” Well it’s on one of those sheets but the train I got on in Chicago that night, troop train so we went over to the Mississippi and went alongside that and went down to Biloxi. Interviewer: “Okay, and that’s where you spent several months I’m assuming at basic training?” Few weeks. (8:12) Interviewer: “Just a few weeks?” Yes. Interviewer: “I see, what do you remember about your drill instructors?” Well you’re just– Interviewer: “Anything in particular?” Nothing in particular, I started and your drilling is ROTC so I had some elementary, rudimentary things picked up from ROTC. Interviewer: “So the training continued on basically from–” �Brockway, Lyle Yes. Interviewer: “Your initial ROTC instruction.” That’s one– The first time I remember fainting, you get into the service they got to give you your shots and they don’t care they might be giving you your shot in the left arm and right arm at the same time and it was right after lunch, we went out for drill and got lined up and all at once I fainted and went down in a pile and they said “You better go back and lay in your cot in the barracks and we’ll be back for supper, so that’s the first time, I fainted from all the shots. Interviewer: “It probably was fairly hot down there in Mississippi also right?” Well it wasn’t bad, see that was right in early January probably or late December. Interviewer: “Let me backup a little here Lyle, why did you join the ROTC at Michigan State?” (9:54) Because I was a boy and that’s required. Interviewer: “It was at that time?” Yes. Interviewer: “I see, so you really didn’t have much choice in that then right?” That’s right, no choice [unintelligible] Interviewer: “What did– Can you tell me about any of your experiences in– Your experiences in basic training, anything in particular that stands on your mind? Is something difficult or interesting?” �Brockway, Lyle Nothing, nothing in Biloxi there was just routine, get your shots, get your physical, get your– From your civvies into Army uniform and get ready to go and we went to classification Birmingham I think. The only thing outstanding there was they had what they called– Some trail, it was a physical education thing, a mile and six or seven tenths and you had to jog that or run it or trot it, whatever you want to call it pace. Interviewer: “Was that with your–” We were in the winter time so we got by good but later on two or three people were overcome with exhaustion and one of them died so they altered their training, outlawed that long hot trail. Interviewer: “It was a little bit more than a mile in length then is that right?” Yes. Interviewer: “So after Biloxi you went to Birmingham for classification, now does that mean you got your military special at that point or what do they do in Birmingham?” (12:12) It kind of weeded you out, whether you was gonna be a rifleman or a pilot, navigator, bombardier. Interviewer: “So you really didn’t have your military specialty until you got there.” Oh no. Interviewer: “I see, how did they determine that you would be in the Army Air Corps or as a pilot?” Well you, from this classification, you just progressed on and I think you progressed on until you failed, then you went back to something else. I mean you had your goal– �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “What were you doing though as far as you know proceeding to the next goal?” Nothing special just you’re active and you’re doing the physical training and there’s no speciality yet. Interviewer: “Was it like basic training at the same time physical and–” Yeah, basic training. Interviewer: “Okay, how long were you in Birmingham?” Two or three months. Interviewer: “Okay, so several weeks in Biloxi and then–” (13:33) About same length of time, you’d go there and you’d serve block things and then you’d move on. Interviewer: “Okay, so before you left Birmingham you knew that you would be a pilot, is that right?” No you kept going, in Birmingham you went to– Well I went to a waiting station, Elon College, North Carolina that was just a holding tank because the corps was filled ahead so that you just done your basic things, little homework and things like that. Interviewer: “Where was this in North Carolina?” Elon College. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, again that was kind of an extension of the classification training.” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay.” And then I think we went to Nashville. Interviewer: “Okay, again as part of classification [unintelligible]” Yeah. Interviewer: “Nashville, Tennessee. After Nashville where did you go then Lyle?” I don’t know, from Nashville I assume maybe we went right to Avon Park, Florida. (15:10) Interviewer: “Okay, was that for flight training there?” Started our flight training, PT-17 Stearman, same one that President– Flew– What the heck was his name? Bush! Was it Bush that got shot down over in the islands? Same type of plane, that’s what we– Interviewer: “The first President Bush?” Yeah. Interviewer: “George Bush? How long were you there doing–” Basic training I’d say three months. Interviewer: “Okay, basic flight school then right?” �Brockway, Lyle You learned the basic things, take offs, landings, turns, navigate little– Navigation, most basic maneuvers. Interviewer: “Did you have any prior flight training at all, some home training?” Negative, I’d never stepped in an airplane before. Interviewer: “I see, did you start with like the Piper Cub or–” The Stearman. Interviewer: “The Stearman, that was the first–” First one. (16:33) Interviewer: “First plane you learned in then, okay.” That picture shows the five guys that are assigned to Jefferies, he was a civilian pilot and he was to train us in it. Interviewer: “We’ll stop here to– So really again the first plane you flew was the Stearman.” The Stearman, right. Interviewer: “And so like you mentioned you did maneuvers and take offs and landings–” Yeah I just– Interviewer: “In that airplane. Did you progress to any other airplane?” �Brockway, Lyle Not there, no. Interviewer: “Not at Avon Park.” When you graduated from basic training you went to Macon, Georgia, we did. Interviewer: “Now were you commissioned at that point?” Pardon me? Interviewer: “Were you commissioned, did you receive your commission then at Avon Park? Commission is–” No, you just went there and if you graduated from there you get primary basic training and you was there you’d get variable speed propellers and flaps and wheels up and down, things like that. (17:54) Interviewer: “That was at Avon Park also?” No, no, no that’s Macon, Georgia. Interviewer: “Macon, Georgia okay. What rank were you at that point then?” Just a cadet. Interviewer: “Okay, okay what type of aircraft were you flying at Macon was it AT-6 or still the Stearman?” Yeah BT-13 I think, or did we use that number before, I forgot those numbers years past. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “How long were you in Macon Georgia then Lyle?” Oh I’d say three months, etc. Interviewer: “Okay, and again you’re still training in single engine planes at that point? The single engine airplane?” Single engine, right. Interviewer: “Okay, the BT-13 and also the Stearman too at all?” No, the Stearmans are strictly Avon Park. Interviewer: “You had graduated from that, okay. Did you have instructors flying with you on each of your missions– Or each of your training missions?” For just a period of time, he would fly with you until you was familiar with the aircraft and then– And the navigation and the rigamarole in the area and then he had you maybe go with another cadet. (19:26) Give you a little cross country from this little town to that little town to another town and back and land and– Interviewer: “So you’d have some solo time to just practice on your own or with another cadet.” You’d have flight training say in the morning and you’d have ground school in the afternoon and maybe next week you’d reverse it, you’d be in the morning and they’d be in the afternoon. Interviewer: “So that way they’d get– You would have enough aircraft to go around if they split you up to ground school and in flight training.” �Brockway, Lyle And maybe there’d be four people signed to that instructor and he’d take one up and fly with him for a while and come and land and you knew they was coming in you would get your parachute and get out there ready to train– Change so there was no lost motion. Interviewer: “Did you also fly the AT-10 at Macon, Georgia?” No, no, no. Interviewer: “That was later?” Yes, you got to go to advance to go to AT-10s. AT-10 is twin engine, twin engine advanced. Interviewer: “Okay, where did you go after Macon, Georgia then?” Columbus, Mississippi. (20:59) Interviewer: “Columbus, okay.” AT-10s. Interviewer: “That was a two person crew, a pilot and co-pilot with that aircraft?” Right, that’s what we did, yes. Interviewer: “And you also would have an instructor–” Yeah. Interviewer: “I’m assuming with you. Okay, how long were you in Columbus?” Oh nine weeks, three months, whatever it took there to get through there. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, and again you were still an aviation cadet at that point, is that right?” That’s where– When I graduated from AT-10s I got my commission there on the 15th of April, 19– Interviewer: “At age 20, on your 20th birthday is that right?” On my 20th birthday. Interviewer: “Okay so you’re commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant on your 20th birthday, April 15th, 1944. Correct. (22:07) Interviewer: “We gotta back up chronologically a little bit here Lyle, ask you about, I think what they call the civilian pilot training course where civilians were taught at local flight schools and flying a J-3 cub, you know a smaller single engine airplane, but you did have that sort of training at all?” Negative, nothing. Interviewer: “Nothing of that–” The Stearman, to the AT-10, to the– No it was the Stearman to the BT-13. Interviewer: “BT-13” To the AT-10. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “AT-10. Okay, do you remember any of your instructors, your flight instructors at any point along your flight training?” I just have the picture of the one, of Jeffries of the Stearman of basic. Interviewer: “Okay, well we’ll get to that later, maybe make a recording of that. Okay, after commissioning, where did you go?” I had three or four days to get to Pyote, Texas. Interviewer: “Okay, now were you going to like an Army air field there or Army Air Corps field Plano?” It’s a regular base, they were just short of being ready to go overseas and their copilot went in the hospital. Well they can’t hold up nine guys so here’s a good green cadet graduated, let’s get him. We went there– (23:54) Interviewer: “So you joined an existing crew then right?” Right. Interviewer: “Yeah, was there actually a name for the air base there at Plano?” Pyote? Interviewer: “Just Plano, Plano Air Base right?” Well they called it the capital– Rattlesnake capital of the Air Force now. Interviewer: “Is there an Air Force base there now in Plano?” �Brockway, Lyle Yes, yes that’s where I received my extensive training as a co-pilot. Interviewer: “Okay.” We– The second or third day I was there we were assigned to take a Major Gibson who had just completed his 25 missions, he wanted a ride back to Fort Worth. So we were the ones that was designated to take him back to Fort Worth. Interviewer: “Now was this in a B-17?” Yes, and just a few minutes after our take off and headed for Fort Worth and altitude and everything, he says to the regular pilot you better let him in there and all he’s gotta do is keep this thing on a heading and altitude and so I got my first experience of the wheel of a B-17. Interviewer: “So you were actually a pilot flying then with a major on board right?” (25:35) Right, and then as we approached Fort Worth he told me to get out of the seat and he took over the pilot seat and our ordinary pilot took over the co-pilot’s seat, we landed, and I don’t think we even stopped our engines. Major Gibson got out with his duffle bag, whatever he had, and we were cleared to go back to Pyote and we took off and went to Pyote. Now I’m a full fledged trained co-pilot, why that story is relevant is Wally’s movie and everything and the extensive training a co-pilot gets, makes me chuckle. Interviewer: “With just one flight, one landing right?” Well take off and part way to keep our own altitude and– Interviewer: “Sure.” �Brockway, Lyle Sure it’s heading, got out of there and when we took of from Fort Worth I was in the co-pilot seat, if anything had happened to the pilot I’d have been– Interviewer: “You were in charge, would’ve been in charge. So with that one flight from Plano to Fort Worth and back you were fully qualified.” That’s what they said. Interviewer: “Okay.” Fortunately I never had the occasion to put that expertise to use. Interviewer: “Well at Plano, Texas then Lyle did you do other calibration training?” That’s what we did in Pyote, flew around brand new aircraft, flew it around and checked the various instruments so if they were a problem the flight crew could get them changed. (27:40) Interviewer: “Make sure they also check fuel consumption.” Well we saved fuel consumption because we were going from Pyote to Kearney, Nebraska. Brand new B-17 and we checked out all the instruments there and they said, you know, check out your gas consumption flying from Kearney, Nebraska to Manchester, New Hampshire to see if one plane– One engine gobbles up more gas than the rest and see if it needs any adjustment or anything like that. Interviewer: “The flight to New Hampshire then was that just a flight within the U.S was that on the way to Europe?” Oh yeah you know from Kearney, Nebraska to New Hampshire and then we was there, I don’t know, three or four days, five days and we were on our way to England. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, so it wasn’t a return flight to Plano or anything like that?” No, no, no. Interviewer: “How long were you in Plano then?” What? Interviewer: “How long were you in Plano, Texas before departing from Europe?” We was just a short time in Pyote, Texas then we went to Kearney, Nebraska we was there probably– Maybe two or three weeks? I don’t know. Interviewer: “Did you fly elsewhere around the U.S?” (29:25) Just from Kearney, Nebraska around, getting used to the aircraft and flight instruments. Interviewer: “Okay, and then from New Hampshire you flew over the Atlantic.” Well we went to– I think we went to Iceland and then we made one other stop but I don’t know where. Interviewer: “Would that have been in Ireland at all?” I don’t know, I don’t have the least recollection but the next one was Kearney, Nebraska– I mean Kimbolton. Interviewer: “Kimbolton, that’s RAF Kimbolton in the U.K.” England. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Now was that near Bedford, England, Kimbolton?” 60 miles north of London, I don’t know where Bedford is. Interviewer: “Okay, how many other airplanes were there at Kimbolton or how many– Was it a squat part of the squadron?” Well it was the 379th Bomb Group, that’s where we were headquartered. Interviewer: “I’m sorry what was the name of the bomb– Number of the bomb group?” 379th bomb group. Interviewer: “Okay.” Then about four aircraft per squadron, then we had– One, two, three, four, about four we’d fly out of there with, about four squadrons. (31:05) Interviewer: “Okay, so the four squadrons made a group then, is that right?” Well that made one element of the group. Interviewer: “Oh, I see.” Just up the road a ways is another aircraft, Moultrie which was another fully equipped B-17 field. Interviewer: “Mhmm, similar– About similar in size then to Kimbolton where Moultrie was?” What? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Moultrie was about the same size–” Oh yeah. Interviewer: “As Kimbolton.” No contact with them except when you might have to take off and gain altitude in a cloud cover and you’d be circling the air base with your instruments and then all at once you feel a violent interruption– Disturbance in the air and you know someone just passed through there, fortunately no one tried to pass at the same time. Interviewer: “If they were there at the same time you were it’d be a little more than just a little bit of turbulence, you’d have little aluminum flying around. When did you arrive then at– Remember roughly when you arrived at Kimbolton?” No I don’t but we can look at the list of missions and I was probably there two, three days before we flew the first mission. (32:49) Yeah, Interviewer: “Okay Lyle you arrived in England and two or three days later you were scheduled for a mission.” 7-16-44 was the first one. Interviewer: “Where did you go on that mission?” Munich it says, Munich, Germany, nine hours and ten minutes. Interviewer: “And again you were a co-pilot on that mission, is that right?” Yes, I was a co-pilot, I never flew a mission as first pilot. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Oh, I see.” We never had any incidents, never needed. Interviewer: “So you’re a 2nd lieutenant then you eventually got promoted to 1st lieutenant.” Yeah, somewhere along the line, I don’t know where. Interviewer: “But you remained a co-pilot though even after that. Okay, how many missions would you fly in a week? You didn’t fly every day did you?” Sometimes we did, like July we flew six– July 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20, and 21. So that would be daily, that would be six, then we got four days off 21 to 25, then we got three days off to the 28th, and then eight– Three, four, five, six, seven, eight they were consecutive missions. (34:30) Interviewer: “Now each of these missions was over Germany, is that right?” Well depending– Let me see, all those were. Interviewer: “How many hours average were the missions then, I mean were they eight, nine hours or more or less?” I don’t know the average but the 35 missions would equal out to 254 hours. Interviewer: “And this was between July 16th and October 19th, 1944 right?” Yes, October 19th. Interviewer: “Lyle is referring to his listed missions that the operations officer at the time gave to you and the other crew members right?” �Brockway, Lyle Pardon me? Interviewer: “That’s the list of missions– Or tour of operations is the subject line dated October 19, 1944 listing 35 missions.” First one is so and so and the last 35th one is so and so. Interviewer: “On October 19, ‘44. The average is six, seven, eight hours, here’s one to Orleans, France five and a half hours.” Yeah that’s just across the channel. Interviewer: “One of the shorter ones. There’s Caen, France, Rouen, France which is basically over the channel. Now you mentioned the most of your missions were some what uneventful, your navigator got you over the target and–” (36:24) Yeah. Interviewer: “The bombardier–” We never was really assaulted by Messerschmitt wolfpack. Interviewer: “Did you encounter flak very often?” Flak? Practically every time [overlapping chatter] A few there in France when they was liberating that area, they didn’t have time to set their flak guns up, the 3rd Army was wiping them off. Interviewer: “Now you mentioned at one point the flak got pretty close to your airplane right?” �Brockway, Lyle What? Interviewer: “At one point flak got pretty close and actually damaged your aircraft wing.” Yeah, well one time one of the pieces of flak shot up and come right through the wing, fortunately it did not hit a gas tank or a structural member of the wing so all we done is fly with a damaged air foil, hole in the wing. Interviewer: “How big was the hole in the wing, about as big as a desk or a table?” Yeah, about one and half times a cushion of them chairs. Interviewer: “So maybe four feet square, something like that?” I wouldn’t say four feet, three foot. (37:47) Interviewer: “Three foot square?” Say two and a half to three feet. Interviewer: “Okay, and again as you mentioned it didn’t hit a structural member or a gas tank, it didn’t hurt the engine or anything at all.” No, just went through and ruined that airfoil wings, create a rough pattern around that torn wing. Interviewer: “So the wing kind of dropped a little bit probably?” No not the wing, no just the air going over it because that’s the wing of stable. Interviewer: “So you’d have some drag going on that side.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, you have to put it opposite rudder. So what– Okay you have a hole in the wing, what did you– What did you do then, where did you go?” Well the 3rd Army had just taken over the Brussels area and so the airfield was ready for use and rather than chance it in the English channel we headed for the airfield there. Interviewer: “At Brussels?” Yes. Interviewer: “So you landed there at [unintelligible] with a damaged wing.” Yeah, successful. (39:05) Interviewer: “Yeah.” Successful landing– Interviewer: “Let me ask you, did you have– Did you use radios like radio control, did you have a control tower that you called or anything like that?” Well evidently we had control contact with the Brussels towers. Interviewer: “But generally you operated under radio silence I assume.” Silence right, yeah you didn’t talk much. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “But I assumed you would’ve had maps or whatever would’ve shown where the airfield was and probably the frequency of the control tower.” Navigator, bombardier would have maps and have that all down. Interviewer: “I see, so you successfully landed, how long did you spend in Brussels at the airfield there?” Well we landed and then we went through interrogation and supper and was assigned a sleeping quarters and next day about noon they said C-54 will be in not long after a while and pick you up and take you back to England. Interviewer: “C-54 or C-37?” (40:13) C-47, just a passenger plane. Interviewer: “DC-3.” Yeah there you go DC-3. Interviewer: “Yeah, okay so you got a free ride, I say free ride, got passenger ride back to England.” Yes. Interviewer: “Back to– They take you right back to Kimbolton then?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, what happened then did your commanding officer get mad at you for ruining the wing?” �Brockway, Lyle No, we just got the night off and went flying the next day. Interviewer: “Got a new airplane.” Well a different airplane yeah. Interviewer: “Different airplane. Okay, so next day you had another mission there to fly.” Yeah. Interviewer: “Do you remember what mission that was where you got the hole in the wing?” I can’t– I’m looking at it and I can’t tell which one. (41:10) Interviewer: “Okay, when was the only time you didn’t get back to Kimbolton?” That was the only time, when that bomb went off in the wing– Or that aircraft went off in the wing it was the only time we didn’t return to Kimbolton from a mission. Interviewer: “What was interesting about the Peter Monday [Peenemunde] mission?” Well the length of it and then the route going over the North Sea and north of Kiel– Keeve, is it Kiel or Keeve? [it’s Kiel] We went north of there and crossed a little piece of land and back down to the Black [Baltic] Sea and the thing that makes you stick out and the thing that makes you stick out in our mind is the converter burning out, creating smoke in a cockpit. Interviewer: “Just smoke not flame though right?” No, never flame. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “No burning.” Electrical apparatus. Interviewer: “Where was your flight engineer at that time when you noticed the smoke?” Where was he? Interviewer: “Where was the flight engineer?” Who or where? Interviewer: “No, where was he in the airplane?” In the ball turret. (42:30) Interviewer: “Down below in the–” Yeah, yeah he was a shorter compact little guy and he frequently got in the ball turret and traded with the other guy to be upstairs gunner. Interviewer: “Was he able to get the diverter?” Well he just cut it loose like you would and he sat there. Interviewer: “So they literally snip the wires then is that what you mean?” Yeah I think that’s what he did. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, the mission to Peter Monday what shortage– What was the target on that mission, do you recall?” Well that’d be the buzz bomb, Peter Monday [Peenemunde] that’s why we went up there to get the buzz bomb shot. Interviewer: “The V2 plant, buzz bomb plant. Okay, any other missions you particularly recall were of interest?” Basically routine. Interviewer: “Did you ever lose an engine or have an engine shut down?” No, we never had to feather an engine and come in. Interviewer: “Yeah, well at least you had four of them.” (43:47) Four, they had excellent excellent ground crew so that aircraft was ready to go in the morning and when we landed they wanted a report and they got right on if there was any repair and that plane was generally ready for the next day. Interviewer: “Let me ask you, now your ground crew how many members would be on the ground crew, would that vary?” I would guess around five, maybe six. Interviewer: “Okay, and how many crew members did you have in the aircraft?” I think we had a full complement of ten. Interviewer: “Ten? Would be pilot, co-pilot–” �Brockway, Lyle Engineer, pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, engineer, radio operator, tail gunner and two side gunners. Interviewer: “Waist gunners, is that what they call them?” Yeah. Interviewer: “And then a ball turret and then did you have a top turret?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well the commissioned officers then would be the pilot, co-pilot–” Navigator, and bombardier. (44:58) Interviewer: “So we’d have just four commissioned officers on board?” Right. Interviewer: “And the rest were enlisted–” Noncommissioned. Interviewer: “Crew members. Okay, let me ask you what was the unit you were with, the squadron number and bomb group?” 379th bomb group, 526 squadron. Interviewer: “526?” �Brockway, Lyle 526. Interviewer: “Okay, how many– You had four airplanes in a squadron?” Yes I think that was it. Interviewer: “Okay, even your squadron then was– Well even in your bomb group but I would say squadrons roughly the size of like an infantry company I assume as far as the number of personnel.” Well I think we had a lead and a right and a left and a low. Interviewer: “Did you have any casualties among your squadron?” Not that I’m aware of. (46:18) Interviewer: “Okay, no aircraft were lost or people had to bail out?” No, we brought them back, nobody bailed out. Interviewer: “Okay, and you had mentioned earlier that you had never encountered any Messerschmitts or German fighters or anything like that.” No, we never had a direct attack by the German aircraft. Interviewer: “Okay, a couple of other kinds of perfunctory questions here Lyle, were you ever wounded in combat?” Negative. Interviewer: “Were you ever taken prisoner?” �Brockway, Lyle Negative. Interviewer: “Okay, did– Well let me ask you this, did your turret gunners or tail gunner or anything like that, did they ever have to fire at the enemy, do you recall?” Not that I’m aware of. Interviewer: “Okay, yeah if you didn’t have Messerschmitts coming at you–” No. Interviewer: “Probably not.” We were a replacement crew so the heavy fighting had been already completed out over Germany. (47:45) Interviewer: “I see. Were you awarded any individual medals or citations?” Well Air Force medal, things like that had practically all the crew that was on it, consistently received the Air Medal and Bronze Star and a good, whatever the other one was. Interviewer: “The award was the Distinguished Flying Cross right?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Now did that go to all members of the crew or was that specifically awarded to you?” I think if you flew all those missions you got the award. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay.” I think– Interviewer: “But to be awarded a– Like the Bronze Star that would be for an individual.” That– We didn’t get any bronze stars. Interviewer: “Okay, so basically just Distinguished Flying Cross to keep your airplane and crew safe and complete the missions and return.” At Avon Park they told us if anything went wrong to take our feet off the rudder and let loose of the aileron and sit back, the little plane will ride itself and we had one case for one cadet, did practicing spins solo and for some reason he got excited and bailed out and the plane righted itself and flew out to the Atlantic. (49:35) Then the basic training at Macon the biggest thing we was practicing night take off and landings and we were lined up to clear the runway and go and all at once over the top of us comes a big ‘ole C-47 with a plane that kind of lost his way and he was supposed to go to a neighboring field. Interviewer: “So the aircraft landed over the top of you right?” Well we were just about ready to give it our gas and go down a highway– Runway and he was right on top of us, if we had simultaneously give it the gas to go we’d have been right under him, squashed. I can’t remember anything happening exciting, it advanced AT-10s, that was just getting used to twin engines dual controls a few things like that. Interviewer: “I’m assuming an instructor would like pull the throttle back on one of the engines.” Yeah. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “You had to identify which engine was out and–” Yeah. Interviewer: “He’d correct you.” Yeah, he’d be going along and all at once something’s wrong and you started looking around and– You reach down quickly turn that back on. Interviewer: “Okay, let me ask you a little bit about life in the Army Air Corps, for instance how did you keep in touch with your family?” Well back then my folks didn’t even have a phone, you had to just postal, write a letter, write a card, Interviewer: “Okay, did you use what they called “v-mail” where they took a photograph of your mail?” (51:38) I don’t recall having v-mail. Interviewer: “Okay, so you sent letters and you got letters from your family?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, what was the food like in the Army Air Corps?” As I recall, for me it was very adequate. Interviewer: “Okay, did you have a regular mess hall then for each squadron did they have one for the group?” �Brockway, Lyle Oh yeah, you had a regular place to go eat and time. Interviewer: “What were your quarters like then, your living quarters there Lyle at Kimbolton?” Oh I think they were just a quonset hut. Interviewer: “Was it a quonset hut or a nissen hut?” Assigned different beds, different little areas, you had your own bed and you had a place to put your personal items and change of clothes and that was it. Interviewer: “Do they call it a nissen hut or a quonset hut?” Well we all just called it a quonset hut. (52:50) Interviewer: “Did you have adequate supplies as far as ammunition I guess, bombs?” Far as I know. Far as I know we had plenty of everything. Interviewer: “Okay, did you feel any pressure or stress like before or during the missions or even between missions?” No, I didn’t personally, just it was a great experience, things that was happening and you was just a part of it and you’d go to bed at night and they’d wake you up in the morning and your assignment for today is and you’d go and complete that and come back and have your meal and go to bed and they’d come and call you in the morning if you was going to go. Interviewer: “Let me ask you about these missions, a lot of them are– Many are eight, nine hours and that kind of thing, what time of day would you– What time in the morning would you get up for instance for a long mission like that.” �Brockway, Lyle Oh seemed like to me anywhere from two to six, two o’clock in the morning till six. Interviewer: “0200 to 0600 up then, and then would you have a meal right away– I mean your breakfast right away and then have meteorology briefing?” Well it was the breakfast is so and so, interrogation is so and so, and– Interviewer: “Now you mention the word interrogation, do you mean briefing are they debriefing you on the mission?” Yeah, briefing is– Interviewer: “Okay, the briefing would be–” [unintelligible] And your whole squadron would be there and everybody would know who was leading, who was flight, and where your position was in the flight formation and– (54:47) Interviewer: “Would that be the first time at the briefing, the first time they would tell you where the mission was or did you know that in advance?” No, that would be the closest to any information of where you was going and if it was a particularly known anti-aircraft stuff like that there’d be a moan going across that room when they said we were going to this area. Interviewer: “I assume at the same time you’d be briefed as to the weather, meteorology.” Oh yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well was there anything you did specifically for good luck, you know before your missions, after the missions, whatever?” �Brockway, Lyle I’m not aware of any, you just had confidence in your other crew member, fortunately our first pilot on the majority of our missions was very good. Straight guy, never come in drunk or didn’t smoke and all that sort of stuff so very dependable. Interviewer: “So you could count on him then.” Yeah, after the war he said– Talking about it and he said “Well I prayed for you all the time.” Interviewer: “Let’s see, did you have any of like entertainment there at your air base? Did you have like USO shows come through or anything like that?” I only recall one, one or two USO shows, one of them the next morning was a disaster because evidently someone imbibed it too heavy and one of the gals, a British gal, got thrown into a cesspool and they were trying to weed out who could find her. That’s blinking, is it supposed to blink? (57:05) Interviewer: “I think it’s getting toward the end of the tape.” Good? Interviewer: “You said the MPs were looking for suspects?” Suspects, yeah you should’ve been there you could’ve got a job. Interviewer: “Did you do anything to entertain yourselves– Among yourselves?” Pardon me? Interviewer: “I mean did you do anything to entertain yourselves as crewman, I mean did you play basketball or–” �Brockway, Lyle Well you always had the card games going, now and then some of them– A very small majority that I know of, had dice but I never got involved in any of those. Interviewer: “Did you get a chance to go on leave, like R&R like to London or any other cities?” We went down to London and we had a three day leave. Interviewer: “How often were you able to do that?” I recall only once. Interviewer: “Okay, and that was after the main part of the blitz then is that right? In London, was London being bombed at the time by Germany?” (58:23) Oh that was– That really calmed down by then. Interviewer: “Oh yeah, did you– Were you able to do any other travel while you were in England?” I didn’t, no and I’m not aware our crew did. Interviewer: “Your missions end here in– Well that last one was October 19th, 1944. What happened after that, did you fly back to the United States?” Well you went through the necessary paperwork, I was on a boat– Ship. Interviewer: “Came back by ship, I see. Remember the name of the ship you were on?” No I do not. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, where did you come ashore then in the United States, where’d you come into port?” Well I figure on Staten Island, somewhere along there. Interviewer: “So New York and that was after 35 missions, was that the number of missions you needed before you could come back to the United States?” 35 was your tour duty. Interviewer: “I see, so they didn’t extend you I mean you didn’t get to 32 or 33 missions and–” I suppose you could volunteer for extra, that would be where that case was, the goal was 35 missions and you was done and this captain come around with the enticement if you sign on for, as I recall, ten more missions or more missions he said “I’ll see that you get promoted to captain.” (59:55) Well after going through that no big problem why should I stick my neck out for ten more missions? Interviewer: “And I assume if you’d made captain you would have been the aircraft commander then is that right?” Probably yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, so you declined that specific offer. Yeah, what did you do when you got back to the United States, what kind of assignment did you have then?” Well went to California for assignment and then went to the training command. Interviewer: “Where did you go in California, what city?” �Brockway, Lyle Just south of Burbank, Santa Ana. Interviewer: “So this is the beginning of tape two in the interview of Lyle Brockway for the Veteran History Project interview being recorded on August 7, 2019. Lyle let me ask you during your time particularly in England and you know, I suppose flying over Germany and France, did you take any photographs during your tour duty?” I never had a camera, I never took one, I didn’t keep a log like somebody did. Interviewer: “Okay, no photos and shouldn’t have kept– Did you keep a log book then of your flying time?” I didn’t, no. Interviewer: “I see.” (1:02:00) Our radio operator had a log of everything. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” He was just that type of guy. Interviewer: “What did you think of your fellow officers and soldiers or airmen that you flew with as far as their ability as crewmen?” Well our– That would be influenced by your interactions and I had a first rate pilot strong and he flew all those missions and he was still a 1st lieutenant and the navigator he was good at his profession but I don’t know otherwise and then towards the end they started putting an extra gunner in the front and taking the navigator out unless you were a lead aircraft. So the actual contact with the other personnel I thought was very satisfactory all the way. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “So you and the enlisted members that were the waist gunner and ball gunner and tail gunner that’s your thing. Yeah they’ve done their signed duty and that’s all you really can ask. Interviewer: “Did your aircraft have a nose gun installed?” Yeah, we had a nose gun. Interviewer: “Okay, was that normally manned by the navigator or engineer?” Well the guns in front were generally bombardier and navigator handled those. Interviewer: “I see.” (1:03:44) Until later on when things got less hectic, then they replaced the navigator or could replace the bombardier but if you’re gonna do a group bombing all you gotta do is have someone to coordinate, open the bomb doors, and drop them out. Interviewer: “Was the bombardier and the navigator, was that one position or two positions?” Two positions. Interviewer: “I see, okay. Okay you’re back in California you mentioned you know after arriving back in the U.S. Were you at a training command at that point, where you were doing training?” Well California was just reassignment there under a very short space of time. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Oh I see.” Go there, check in, stall around for a few days and get your papers to go back to Macon, Georgia, come in at Staten Island, go to Santa Ana, California and get reassigned to Macon, Georgia. Interviewer: “What did you do in Macon then on the second tour of Macon.” Well I started in the training command and was there a few days and then I got sent down to Waco, Texas for contact flying instructor. Interviewer: “Contact flying?” Contact, no instrument, no hoods, no anything like that just contact so you– Interviewer: Visualize.” (1:05:21) Visual yeah, you could take a cadet out and fly around with him. Interviewer: “Were you at McConnell Air Force Base in Waco? [unintelligible]” Name, I don’t– The name don’t sound familiar, all I knew was Waco. Interviewer: “So you’re at Waco, Texas, how long did you spend there in Waco?” About nine weeks. Interviewer: “I see, okay and you’re an instructor then for contact visual.” �Brockway, Lyle Then I– Yeah instructor I go into training command and give instructions and I just got back in good shape, two or three weeks and I signed to go to Bryan, Texas for instrument flying instructor. Interviewer: “Now was the multi engine instrument or were you–” Well they did pull the hood down over the guy’s face and he’d have to do various things relying on the instruments in the aircraft. Interviewer: “How long were you Bryan then?” About nine weeks I guess. Interviewer: “About nine weeks. Okay, where did you go after that then?” I don’t really know where I went but it was the Air Transport Command. Interviewer: “I’m sorry, Air Transport Command you said?” (1:06:47) Air Transport, yeah. Interviewer: “I see.” And like I went to Walnut Ridge, I went down to Savanna and got a P-47 and flew it to Walnut Ridge in Arkansas and then we took a PQ– No, ugly duckling aircraft C, I was assigned co-pilot on that flight we went from Miami to L.A with an old civilian seasoned pilot that knew all about that aircraft and– Interviewer: “So what kind of aircraft was that?” I can’t think of it. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay I’m sorry what kind of aircraft?” PBY. Interviewer: “The Catalina?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Made by Consolidated Aircraft?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, you flew that from Miami you said to Los Angeles?” Yeah, we stopped in New Orleans and somewhere else and we flew PQ-14s from various little fields up to Oklahoma City for storage and then I was called in to be relieved of duty. Interviewer: “That’s the end of your term of service for the Army Air Corps then?” (1:08:34) Yeah that’s it. Interviewer: “Okay, when was that then that you were discharged?” Oh about November of– ‘41, ‘42 I guess, it’s on one of them sheets. Interviewer: “Well then about November ‘45 after V-J day that you were discharged.” Yeah. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “About in there. Okay, and then I’m assuming you returned back to Kalamazoo or Vicksburg is that right?” Yeah, went home. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you do when you initially got home then Lyle?” Well not– Didn’t do anything right away till I got interested in a young lady, then I had money– Had to have money for dates and I got– Knocked on doors and got a job at Consumers Power. Interviewer: “Did you go back to college at all?” No, no I did not. Interviewer: “Okay, so several months later you came on with Consumers Power?” Consumers Power. Interviewer: “Okay, and that turned out to be your lifelong occupation right?” (1:09:55) There it was and I kept going up the ladder, there was no use going to college, I couldn’t have bettered myself by going to college. I was getting a daily, weekly, whatever you want to say salary and promotions and all the good stuff that long term employment. Interviewer: “What was your position initially then with Consumers Power?” Initially? Interviewer: “Yeah, initially.” Ground man. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Ground man or–” Ground man, you dug the holes, put the poles in, set the anchors down, helped load the truck, and do everything but climb the poles and drive. Then I got to be a truck driver and then you got to be a truck driver– What’d they call it, I forget what the next classification was anyway you could use the winch line. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” Before you couldn’t use the winch line because you was just a truck driver, and then went to B lineman which is you done all the below things and worked with low voltage, up to 480 volts. Interviewer: “What did the B stand for?” Just you were– You weren’t the top lineman so you was a B, at one place at one time they had what they call C linemen and you’d go out and build lines– Not energized, didn’t have to. B linemen could work on those things like come to the house and different things like that. (1:11:50) Interviewer: “How many years did you have with Consumers Power, which became Consumers Energy right?” Get out in ‘48 or ‘49? Oh roughly, I don’t know 40 years. Interviewer: “40 years? Okay, what year did you retire?” ‘83 I think. Interviewer: “I’m sorry, ‘83?” �Brockway, Lyle ‘83. Interviewer: “1983, okay about 40 years or so. What was your final position then with Consumers Power?” I was a district superintendent stationed in Cadillac, Michigan, got charged with the maintenance and construction of electrical equipment in Cadillac, Claire, Prudenville, and– Cadillac… I guess I need a state map I’m forgetting these things, Cadillac– Interviewer: “Well that’s alright, what were some of your other duty stations, you mentioned you’re in Traverse City and what other duty stations were you in with Consumers Power throughout the state?” Well, Kalamazoo, Flint, Manistee, Traverse City, and Cadillac. Interviewer: “Now you mentioned earlier just briefly that you came back, got out of the Army Air Corps and you said you met a young lady, when were you married then?” (1:14:08) July 5th about ‘40– I don’t know, ‘47? Interviewer: “1947, okay.” Something like that. Interviewer: “What was your wife’s name then?” My wife’s name is Roberta Mae. Interviewer: “M-A-E?” �Brockway, Lyle M-A-E. Interviewer: “Okay, Brockway then right. Yeah, and then she’s still living in your family home, is that right?” She and her first husband started building that house in 1953, moved in in 1954. Interviewer: “Here in Grand Rapids?” Right, he died later on with cancer and she was a single widowed lady for about five to six years, I came along in 22–23 years ago, that’d be 23 years ago. Interviewer: “Your first wife’s name?” Maria M-A-R-I-A-M. Interviewer: “M-A-R-I-A-M?” (1:15:45) M-A-R-I-A middle initial M. Interviewer: “Okay, Maria M. Brockway. Okay, and how many children did you have?” We had five. Interviewer: “Okay Lyle, how many children did you and Maria have?” We had four, Kenneth, Robert, Michael, and Ann. Interviewer: “Okay, and how many grandchildren do you have?” Kenneth has two, Robert has two, Michael has four, and Ann has two. Ten? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “We can do the math. Okay, life after the service to back up a little bit you told me you did not return to college because you really didn’t need it with Consumers Energy.” I got a job for 87 and a half cents an hour. Interviewer: “That’s big money at that time right?” Absolutely, when you’re worried about a pair of shoes for the kids and then you’d stand by, the phone would ring “Hey can you come into work? We got a transformer that burnt out.” Or car hit a pole or– So you’d go in, get a little overtime and then all at once on the paycheck day you had the money for the shoes. Interviewer: “Did you make any close friends when you were in the service, people you would’ve stayed in touch with after?” (1:17:52) The only one I would– Till Strom died, Robert Strom in St.Paul Minnesota, he was a pilot. Interviewer: “His last name is Strong?” Strom S-T-R-O-M, and the other one was Barney Willis– Willis, Barney radio operator Bath, New York. Interviewer: “Okay I’m sorry, Willis is his last name?” Barney B-A-R-N-E-Y, now he might have just died on me, I don’t know I haven’t heard from him. I should try to call him up but this rigamarole of getting exiled over here to his Clark home is– Interviewer: “So Robert Strom then was your–” �Brockway, Lyle Pilot, 1st pilot. Interviewer: “Pilot in command then during the time that you were over there. Okay and Willis is also in your crew is that right?” He was a radio operator. Interviewer: “Yeah, you kept in touch with him then throughout the years?” Yeah well there was a period of time then that we had to go to Colorado Springs, my boy and wife were gonna go or a 20th anniversary or something, Hawaiian Islands, and grandpa and grandma went out to babysit and then we, while we was there somehow we got in touch with a retiree and he got us the numbers and we got going to the 379th bomb group reunion group and I went down– Went to a few of their reunions. (1:19:44) Interviewer: How many– I mean several reunions you went to?” San Antonio, and Indianapolis, and a few more I can’t think of, few more. Interviewer: “Did you join any veterans organizations after the war?” Negative. Interviewer: “Let me just ask you Lyle, how did your experiences in the service affect your life after the war and you know you’re thinking of the military and military service in general?” How did my military service affect my civilian life? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Well civilian life and also your views of the military and military service in general?” Which one is having the effect, work or military? Interviewer: “Well either or.” Well I don’t know the effect of any of it, you was born and raised from your home background, you’re taught to work, honesty, beyond time and all those things and you use them right on through all your years of labor. You’re there in the morning with your lunch pail eight o’clock, and cooperate as much as you could and– Interviewer: “Did it affect your views of war at all, I mean just generally your views of war, you know the wars we went through later in Korea, Vietnam, or you know even the Persian Gulf?” I don’t think we’ve ever discussed anything like that, it was just an experience and this farm boy was just another farm boy and his number, if I hadn’t have been in the B-17 I’d have in the infantry or been here or there, just like other young unmarried 20 year olds. (1:22:08) Interviewer: “I think you’re saying basically where you were needed.” Where we were– Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well is there anything else you would like to cover or talk about before we conclude the interview?” I guess not, we’ve covered families and we’ve covered work and we covered the uneventful military thing, 25– 35 missions and things exploding in the wing for excitement where people had– Were– They– That’s the same as being shot at in the ground. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “That’s right.” Except they didn’t have them to hit our aircraft and– Interviewer: “You really did have a puncture wound.” You just got up in the morning and you didn’t have any choice, you got up in the morning and went again. Interviewer: “Okay, hey Lyle what is this document then? It says it’s an Army of the United States separation qualification record. I don’t want to move it, I just want to leave it.” Well I can’t see it, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Interviewer: “So this document then shows your– The type of qualifications you had as far as a multi engine pilot, B-17 pilot, and also well single engine aircraft pilot and aircraft maintenance officer then, and this is page two of your separation qualification record. (1:24:10) It shows your various duty assignments throughout your time in the Army Air Corps. Now this document is from the operations officer and it shows your list of missions, 35 missions over Germany and France between July 16, 1944 and October 19, 1944. Total of 35 missions, 254 hours 40 minutes. Lyle this appears to be a newspaper article when you were awarded the Distinguished Flying Crosses right?” Yes. Interviewer: “Was this from the local newspaper in Kalamazoo?” Yes, I believe it. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “I see, and you mentioned earlier that this, this Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded to all the crew members is that right?” More or less, as far as I know. Interviewer: “Okay, and Lyle you mentioned this photograph was taken at Avon Park, Florida. What kind of aircraft is this in the background?” That’s a Stearman. Interviewer: “Stearman.” Biplane. Interviewer: “Okay, and this is you is that right?” That’s right, instructor is the little guy. Interviewer: “And these are other cadets then?” (1:25:50) The third one in from my side is the instructor, Jeffries. Interviewer: “I see.” So he had five kids, five young guys to teach. Interviewer: “And everybody else including yourself were cadets at that point.” Yeah, yep. Interviewer: “And this photograph you said is your crew.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah, B-17 crew. Interviewer: “And this is you, is that right Lyle?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, this is your pilot.” Pilot. Interviewer: “What was his name?” Robert Strom. Interviewer: “Strom.” St.Paul. Interviewer: “Any other members you recall specifically?” (1:26:37) Well I know on the left Louie Ness and then the next guy was Marty Neilson but outside of that picture he was in the hospital, he didn’t go with us. Interviewer: “I see.” The other guys did. Interviewer: “This is the reverse of the photograph of your crew in front of your B-17 with the names listed.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah. I got a book home or I did have before– Interviewer: “Okay, here are some photographs of you in training, is this you in the cockpit?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, and a trainer single engine training aircraft, and this is after commissioning?” That’s returning from overseas. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” That’s when I was assigned to Santa Ana for that short space. Interviewer: “And that’s your B-17 and Brussels. (1:27:46) Yep. Interviewer: “With a hole in the wing.” Right. Interviewer: “And a little bit of, it looks like scrap metal above and below it after being shot with flak.” Right. Interviewer: “We’ve been interviewing Lyle Brockway as a Veterans History Project interview, Lyle served in the U.S Army Air Corps during World War II as a B-17 pilot �Brockway, Lyle over Europe during the latter part of the war. Lyle I want to thank you for your participation in the Veterans History Project which is being put together also by the history department at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan. I thank you for your participation and also thank you for your service during World War II. �Brockway, Lyle � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrockwayL2335V Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brockway, Lyle Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019-08 Title A name given to the resource Brockway, Lyle (Interview transcript and video), 2019 Description An account of the resource Lyle Brockway was born near Vicksburg, Michigan in 1924 and graduated from high school in May of 1942. After graduating high school, Brockway attended Michigan State to study agriculture and was enlisted in ROTC. During his first fall semester, he enlisted in the Air Force. Lyle went to basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi that fall after which he went to Birmingham, Alabama for classification for several weeks, and then left to attend Elon College in North Carolina as an extension of his classification training. Following North Carolina, Brockway made a brief stop in Nashville, Tennessee and then continued to Avon Park, Florida for flight training on the PT-17 Stearman. He then went to Macon, Georgia to receive training on the BT-13, and then to Columbus, Mississippi to receive training on the AT-10s and receive his commission. Brockway was then sent to Pyote, Texas to receive extensive training as a co-pilot, from that base Brockway made several flights around the United States and then flew to Kimbolton in Europe as part of the 379th bomb group. From Kimbolton, Brockway flew 35 missions over Germany during which he made a brief landing in Brussels, Germany after a piece of flak pierced the wing of his aircraft. After returning to Kimbolton for most of his missions, Brockway returned to Staten Island in the U.S. by ship. Brockway was sent to Santa Ana, California for reassignment, briefly assigned again to Macon, Georgia, and then assigned to Waco, Texas to be a contact flying instructor. Following Waco, Brockway was sent to Air Transport Command where he was discharged in November of 1945. After service Brockway was employed by Consumers Power as a ground man and spent 40 years there receiving various promotions. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace J. (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States—History, Military Veterans Video recordings Afghan War, 2001-2021—Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401. Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7d67bc24aa2e4c65b2bb9e273879dee8.mp4 0f4472dcc106a3f6d70ff86065400ec8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/91a250f36734fa6ccf55eb40eb7ac0d7.pdf 5c4393a50db841a6244e7118ac1ff428 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Craig Brodie Cold War, Vietnam War 1 hour 25 minutes 10 seconds (00:00:35) Early Life -Born in Plattsburgh, New York in August of 1941 -Father was an insurance adjuster for GM -He enlisted in the Army to fight in WWII -Moved to mother’s hometown Newtown, Connecticut while father fought -Grew up in Newtown, Connecticut (00:01:19) College & ROTC -Attended the University of Vermont -Joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps -Two years were mandatory, stayed on for voluntary four years -Graduated from college on June 9, 1963 -Got commissioned by the Army on the same day -First two years of ROTC consisted of marching and classwork -Second two years of ROTC was more based on leadership -Got to lead a training platoon -Executive officer of his corps during his senior year -Had one summer camp at Fort Devens, Massachusetts -Very similar experience to boot camp (00:04:16) Armored Officer Training -Went to New Jersey to meet with his brother -Brother was a warrant officer -Got him (Craig) his first uniforms for training -From New Jersey went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for Armored Officer Basic School -Being around a tank for the first time was stunning -Training consisted of two primary focuses -How to properly fight with, and against, tanks -Physical conditioning -Ran three to four miles every morning -Last training course was a combination of physical and academic endurance -Adjusted quickly and easily to military living -Training lasted five months -Had very little downtime in those five months -Spent most of their time in the classroom or in the field -Had been trained by other officers -First day there had to teach a class on fire prevention (00:07:14) Deployment to Germany -Went to Brooklyn Naval Yard -Boarded the Rose (a troop transport) that was bound for Germany -While en route he placed was in charge of educating other soldiers about Germany �-Had to create a lesson plan that was approved by a colonel (00:08:51) Serving in Germany -Arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany -Greeted by a band -Got assigned to be the train commander -In charge of maintaining order and discipline en route to deployment -Went to Heidelberg, Germany -Got assigned to the 4th Medium Tank Battalion 68th Armored Regiment -First day there they went into the field for training maneuvers -Got put in charge of a tank platoon -Used M60 tanks -Listened to experienced soldiers on how to properly command -By now it was early 1964 -Large number of drills dealt with repelling a Russian invasion -Wanted to be prepared for any eventuality (00:13:26) German Civilians -Visited Mannheim, Germany fairly often -Treated very well by the Germans there -Later was able to move in with a German family -Knew very little German -Eventually learned some basic phrases -Most Germans that lived around bases picked up some English (00:14:53) Leaving Germany -Stayed in Germany until 1966 -Had been reassigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Cavalry -Patrolled the East/West German border -Focused on possible invasion routes -Worked in conjunction with the West German military -Good morale in Germany -Units were being drawn out for redeployment to Vietnam -Met the woman he would marry while in Germany -They got married in April of 1966 -In June 1966 he received orders to return to the United States (00:18:43) Aberdeen Proving Ground -Assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland -Became an original member of the Officer Candidate School Brigade -New duty was to train soldiers about maintenance and supplies -Still worked with vehicles -Also was placed in charge of record keeping -Worked there for two years as a teacher -While at Aberdeen he was promoted to captain -Did not plan on becoming a career soldier -Not many jobs in the civilian world though (00:22:13) Deployment to Vietnam -Wanted to go to Vietnam -Wanted to prove his merit as an officer �-Received orders to leave for Vietnam in the fall of 1968 -Found out that his wife was pregnant two days before he left -Flew to California and took a TWA chartered flight out of Travis Air Force Base -Stopped in Hawaii and Okinawa before reaching Vietnam (00:25:35) Arriving in Vietnam -Landed in Bien Hoa -Greeted by soldiers that were ecstatic about leaving Vietnam -Traveled by bus to the 93rd Replacement Battalion -Thought that Vietnam was hot and sticky -Received very little orientation upon arriving -Received orders to go to the 29th General Support Group -Located at Long Binh -Primary focus there was logistics -Told deputy commander there that he wanted to be a commander -Received the position (00:28:02) Bearcat-Leadership Position -The next day he was sent to Bearcat -Placed in command of the 590th Maintenance Company -Replacing the former company commander -Located fifteen kilometers south of Long Binh -Inland location -Previous base of the 9th Infantry Division -Well defended by U.S. and Thai soldiers -3000 troops as well as helicopter units -Got harassed by enemy fire -Low level artillery strikes and minor sapper raids -Received a formal introduction to the company he would be commanding -Planned on getting to know the soldiers better -Interviewed the NCOs and officers under his command -Learned that the supply system was broken -Started to repair the supply system at Bearcat -Moved soldiers into different positions to promote efficiency -Worked with the company for six months (00:35:54) Enemy Contact -Remembers an incident on February 23, 1969 -A movie had gotten over at 10 PM -Twenty minutes later a Vietnamese rocket barrage started -Rocket hit the movie theatre -Would have killed everyone in there -Didn’t take a single casualty that night -Remembers a rocket strike killing four troops in a jeep at once -Only got shot at once or twice -Later learned that one of his OCS trainers had been killed in action outside of Bearcat (00:39:19) Operating Outside of Bearcat -Went to multiple places outside of Bearcat -Long Binh, firebases, Saigon (rarely) �-Had to go off the base to coordinate supplies and inspect the conditions of supplies -Part of insuring that supplies were being maintained properly -Also went out with Thai troops to recover damaged, or destroyed, vehicles (00:41:50) Relationship with Thai Soldiers -Met with Thai soldiers once a week -Language gap made communicating difficult -Good workers and good soldiers -Biggest issue involved their lack of familiarity with electronics and howitzers -Thai soldiers were respected -Worked hard to keep the surrounding area free of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong -They patrolled between Bearcat and another base known as Blackhorse (00:45:19) Going to Saigon -Had to go into Saigon to call his wife -No international telephones outside of Saigon -Was only able to talk to her twice during his deployment -Also went to Saigon to gather specific parts for vehicles -Once was able to find thirteen extremely rare Dodge truck engines -You could find almost anything in Saigon -Suspects that there was a vibrant black market of stolen goods -Once scrounged up a portable officer hut, steaks, and miscellaneous vehicles (00:49:32) Relationship with Vietnamese Civilians -Remembers firing Vietnamese mess hall workers -Had been allowing for unsanitary conditions -Replaced them with American soldiers -Lots of Vietnamese civilians worked at Bearcat -Five to six civilians were used per unit -Cleaned living areas, mess halls, and latrines -Had a young orphaned boy work for him for about three months -Knew that Viet Cong infiltration was a possibility, but never witnessed it himself -Soldiers under his command got along with the Vietnamese -Good relationship as long as the civilians followed orders -Structure of their relationship didn’t allow for mistreatment -U.S. soldiers would routinely go off base to pick up Vietnamese prostitutes (00:54:38) Drugs & Race Relations -Biggest discipline problem involved psychologically unstable soldiers using drugs -Some soldiers attempted to kill their officers while they were high -He always felt that the stable, responsible soldiers could handle their drugs -Opium and weed were common -Had to deal with the results of drug use -One soldier under his command developed a drug habit -Drugs weren’t a major problem for him -There were black soldiers in leadership positions -Black and white soldiers got along well and would willingly integrate (00:58:05) Bearcat-Staff Position -After leading for six months he was moved to staff at Bearcat -Continued to be responsible for maintenance and supply �-Worked with the Armored Cavalry units at Bearcat and Blackhorse -Mostly office work -Tried to maintain a presence with his troops at Bearcat -Didn’t enjoy being behind a desk -Tried to avoid having conflicts with company commanders -Had an OK relationship with his commanding officer -Not a bad person, just a bad listener -Didn’t always see eye to eye with each other (01:01:20) Reflecting on Vietnam -Never thought about the war’s progress during his deployment -Was always under the impression that they were winning -Felt that they did better under Abe Abrams as opposed to Westmoreland -Heart wrenching to see Saigon fall to North Vietnam in 1975 -Thought they would return to a hero’s welcome -Shocked by the negativity upon returning home -Felt that they had handled the dead well at Blackhorse -Dignified and respectful -Also had been impressed by how well their triage system worked (01:03:41) Leaving Vietnam and Coming Home -Went through the 93rd Replacement Battalion before leaving Vietnam -Was able to take a shower and put on a clean uniform -Went to Bien Hoa to board a “Freedom Bird” (a chartered TWA airliner) -Flew to Alaska and was received well there -From Alaska flew back to Travis Air Force Base -Took a bus from Travis AFB to San Francisco -Advised by their superiors to change out of their uniforms -Decided to wear his uniform on the flight home -Never was harassed because of being a veteran -Returned to his wife in Michigan -Was finally able to see his five month old son (01:05:56) Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency -Next assignment was to the Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency -Located in Joliet, Illinois -Had to train at Fort Lee, Virginia to learn how to be a procurement officer -Got promoted to major -Did office work in Joliet, Illinois for two years -Worked in ammunition sales for eight months (01:07:04) Deployed to Hawaii -Got assigned to Hawaii as a materiel officer for the 725th Maintenance Battalion -Did office work for a year and a half -Eventually worked in materiel -Duty was to insure that supplies were moved to Guam to be moved to Vietnam -Stayed in Hawaii until the fall of Saigon in 1975 -Discouraged by how quickly Vietnam fell -Enjoyed the deployment to Hawaii �(01:10:10) Military Colleges -After Hawaii he was sent to the Command and General Staff College -Graduated fifth in his class -Performance as an officer had significantly improved -Had received a bronze star for supply leadership in Vietnam -Sent by the Army to study at Babson College outside of Boston -Spent eighteen months there (01:11:03) Tank Automotive Command -Sent to Detroit as part of the Tank Automotive Command to oversee supply -Wound up taking over the M48 tank upgrading project -Successfully finished that program -Worked in integrated logistics support for a couple years (01:12:55) Deployment to Korea -Sent to South Korea -Placed in command of General Support Maintenance for all of South Korea -Allowed him to overhaul the computerized supply system -Served in Korea from 1981 to 1982 -Helped streamline and improve the efficiency there -Mostly worked with Koreans -Thought that they were good workers -Life was different in Korea -Totally foreign experience and took some time adjusting to it -North/South Korean demilitarized zone was a very active border (01:17:23) Tank Automotive Command Pt. 2 -Got assigned to be the Inspector General for Tank Automotive Command in Detroit -Post-Korea -Assignment would last four years -Took part in major investigation concerning efficiency of tank production -Got assigned to be Director of Systems Engineering -Still in Detroit -In charge of field engineering -Duty was to reorganize Tank Automotive Command into two parts -Eventually got promoted to colonel -Heavily involved in the modernization effort of tanks during the 1980s (01:21:17) Career Post-Army -Retired from the Army as soon as he could get a job -Got employed through GTE in Massachusetts through a friend -Did satellite communications work for the military -Eventually became the project manager for the whole program -The regional support center at Fort Hood under his command participated in the Gulf War -Retired from that at the age of sixty (01:24:08) Life after Service -Prompted him to have a deep interest in American military history -Collects Civil War artifacts -Letters, orders, photos, and weapons -Has deeply, independently studied WWII due to family’s involvement �Vietnam Experiences by Craig E. Brodie (Colonel USA RET.) Feb 2014 Version Preface This paper addresses some of the details of my tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968-1969. Sources of my story are personal notes, official records and memory. There is no possible way to capture and record all that has become a part of what I now refer to as my Vietnam Experience. This is my best effort. I have tried to be a good historian. This paper has been a work in progress since 1970 when I started to document my story for future generations. Some of the story comes from notes and documents kept all these years. Some of course comes from memory. Where unsure of events, I have tried to identify the uncertainty. Getting Started Orders to report for duty in Vietnam arrived early in August of 1968 while I was a student at the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course at Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD. They were not unexpected. I entered the twenty-week course with an understanding that I would go to Vietnam upon graduation in the fall. My orders for assignment to Vietnam were published in Headquarters Department of the Army Special Orders No. 144 dated 24 July 1968. As was the common practice, the orders were general in nature and directed assignment to a major in-theater command. In my case the major command was the US Army Support Command Saigon (USASSUPCOM SGN) APO San Francisco 96491. My Availability Date was 4 November 1968. My Estimated Date for Change of Station Assigned (EDCSA) was 7 November 1968. My Overseas arrival date was identified as no later than (NLT) 8 November 1968. Everyone understood that a specific duty assignment would be determined after arrival in Vietnam. My assignment orders authorized up to 134lbs of personal effects. They specifically directed that I arrive in Vietnam wearing khaki (tan) trousers with a short sleeved khaki (tan) shirt and that I take with me one complete “work uniform “ which is the uniform aptly, affectionately and better known as fatigues. I was allowed up to 30 days of leave prior to departure. Prior to finishing the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course, I received all required shots had an eye exam and received two pair of regular glasses and one pair of sunglasses. I was also fitted with special prescription glasses that fit into a standard issue M17 protective mask. The M17, was designed to protect against chemical and biological attacks which was a standard issue item for the Army worldwide, including Vietnam. I never carried or put the mask on during my entire tour of duty.I graduated from the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course on 19 September 1968 but remained assigned to the student detachment providing temporary support to training courses until I was ready to go on leave. �Lil and I packed out of our second home which was a small second floor two bedroom apartment we rented in Havre de Grace, Maryland, upon our arrival at Aberdeen in June of 1966. My notes indicate Lil and I departed Aberdeen at 1000 hrs on 27 September 1968. We drove to Newtown, Connecticut to see Dee Dee (My Aunt Alice) and then drove to Northport, Michigan, to visit with Mom and Dad Johnson. While on leave I learned that on October 10, 1968 the US Army Ordnance Center and School had published Special Order #220 which amended Department of Army Special Order #144 directing that I report to Travis Air Force Base, Oakland, California by no later than (NLT) 1900 hours on 4 November 1968 for Flight TKPT 2B3 for transport to Vietnam. On October 12th we arrived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to settle Lil into our new townhouse at 3485 Kenbrook Court. I don’t recall renting the apartment, but we certainly went to Kalamazoo to do that somewhere along the way. Once Lil was settled in our new home we flew to visit my folks in Orlando, Florida. While in Florida we took a trip with my parents over to the Gulf coast at Ft. Meyer and then down to through the Everglades to Miami then back to Orlando. When back in Kalamazoo, Lil went to see a doctor and learned she was pregnant. I picked her up at the sidewalk and she gave me a card telling me I was going to be a father. It was just a few days before I had to leave. After lunch on 2 November 1968 Lil and I got ready to say good-by for a year. I put on my Green uniform and Lil put on a tan suit I just loved. I had to wear my Green uniform because the summer uniform I would wear into Vietnam was not authorized for wear in November in Michigan. We took some pictures in the back yard. I said goodbye to our dog Tanza and then we drove our gold 1967 Plymouth over to Barb and Dick Hughey’s. We spent some time at the Hughey’s talking and sharing some wine. I remember I did not want to sit down. Barb and Dick drove us to the Kalamazoo airport. There was no indoor ramp leading to the plane. We had to walk outside to get to the gate area. Passengers had to pass through a fence, walk some distance to the plane and then climb the stairs to the door. I held Lil for the last time at the fence. I remember I could not then look back until I was up the steps and at the door of the plane because if I had I would not have been able to keep going. Saying goodbye to Lil who I knew was pregnant and to all that I loved most in the world on that day was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. The empty feeling was worse than the death of any loved one I have ever lived through. I will never forget it. We flew out at about1630 hours on a North Central Airlines flight headed to O’Hare airport in Chicago. I remember I sat next to a young Private who was also heading to Vietnam. We smoked and talked about what might lie ahead. He had never been outside of the United States. We both felt alone. I changed planes at O’Hare and got on a direct flight to San Francisco, California. I don’t recall the airline. I was met at the airport in San Francisco by Lil’s sister Carol Johnson, who at that time was single and teaching school in San Jose, California. We spent the next day (3 November) visiting San Francisco and on the morning of the 4th drove out to the beach at Santa Cruze. On the afternoon of the 4th I put on my khaki uniform, left my Green uniform with Carol and she drove me up to Travis Air Force Base. We got �there at about 5 in the afternoon. I said good-by to Carol, checked in my duffle bag, and placed a call to Lil from a phone booth just before we were called to board the plane. On the Way The aircraft we flew into Vietnam was operated by TWA under contract with the government. It was full to capacity. The higher the rank the further front one got to sit. I sat on the aisle 8-10 rows back. We loaded quietly. It was dark. There was not much talking. Everyone’s mind was on what they were leaving. Almost as soon as we were airborne they started to feed us, and they kept on feeding us regularly throughout the flight to help us adjust to the time changes. All the stewardesses and crew had worked such flights many times. They all wore vests covered with medals given to them by soldiers on the way home from the war. We were soldiers on the way in – we would not be the same on the way out. I have often wondered how many on our flight never returned alive. Our first stop was Hawaii were we took on fuel. I don’t recall if we were allowed off of the plane or not. I do remember it was dark. The next stop was at Kadina Air Base in Okinawa where once again we took on fuel and were allowed off to stretch our legs. At that time the terminal where we deplaned was built of tin buildings. It was still dark in Kadina. From Kadina we flew directly into Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam. Between Kadina and Bien Hoa night became day. We arrived at Bien Hoa in bright morning sunlight. It was November 6, 1968 in Vietnam. As our plane descended to lower altitudes, everyone was trying to look out the windows. It was very green and the brown colored military camps, and bomb craters stood out in the jungle and were clearly visible. As we touched down, the first impression was one of a reddish-brown dust that seemed to be everywhere. Then, when they opened the plane door there was a blast of very hot air and sounds of clapping and cheering. I did not understand the clapping and cheering until I got to the door. To our right front as we walked down the stairs from the plane there was a tin roofed open - sided building. Gathered in under the roof was a large group of soldiers delighted to see us because our plane was about to become their “Freedom Bird.” As soon as we got off they would load-up and be on their way home. It would be a long time and many things would happen before I would be doing the cheering. My notes record the time as 1015 hours. We were directed to a seating area with backless benches covered by a tin roof next to where the leaving soldiers were located. It was very hot and it was very noisy. There was noise from those about to get on the plane, there was the noise of forklifts moving cargo around the area where we were sitting, and there was noise from military aircraft taking off and landing. In a short time our baggage was brought up and we loaded on busses. There were wire mess screens welded over all the bus windows. I would come to understand such screens were installed on all US �busses in Vietnam to keep someone from lobbing a hand grenade through an open window. We were on our way to the 90th Replacement Detachment. The First Few Days The drive to the Replacement Detachment was not long. It might have taken about 15 minutes. The Replacement Detachment was located at the edge of the Long Binh installation near the intersection of route15 and route 316. The facility was basically a city of canvas topped sleeping huts set up to process new arrivals to units of assignment and to process those bound for home out of country. Here I received my unit assignment. The replacement detachment was a busy place. I clearly recall the Headquarters, Supply, PX, Mess Hall and the Officers Club buildings. There were others, but I was never inside of them. All the buildings were constructed on concrete pads with wood walls that were slatted and screened partway up. Many had tin roofs. Others had canvas roofs. The inside board was the outside board. Nothing was finished. They were set up in rows with narrow walkways down each side and between each one. The walkways were framed by sandbags stacked along the sides of the huts almost to where the roof met the wall. Showers and latrines were located at the end of each row of tents in tin covered wood framed shelters with concrete floors. There were drainage ditches about 3 feet deep dug throughout the area to handle rain run-off. Most walkways were metal. I think this type of construction existed on nearly all Base Camps in country – at least at all those I visited. I was assigned a bunk, told to change into the fatigues I was required to bring with me --- and to await further instructions. I did not know anyone. There were at least four double-decked bunks in each hut but there could have been more. I drew some towels and bedding from a central issue point, showered, and changed out of my travel uniform. As there was nothing to do right away I went to the Officer’s Club which was located near the main gate. This building at least had air conditioning so it was a good place to be. There was a jute box which was constantly playing and one could buy drinks and snacks. This club was also used by Officers stationed at, or passing through, Long Binh so for the first time I got to see soldiers close up with steel pots, flack jackets and weapons. It was a strange new world. Later I was issued jungle fatigues and combat boots at the Supply Building. The next day, 7 November 1968, I was notified over the loudspeaker system to report to receive my assignment. My new orders, (USARV Transient Detachment Special Order 312 dated 7 November 1968) formally assigned me to the US Army Support Command Saigon, but I was told I would be going to the 29th General Support Group. The 29th General Support Group was a major subordinate command of the US Army Support Command Saigon. Its headquarters were located at Long Binh. �In the early afternoon, a Captain from the 29th General Support Group staff came by to pick me up in a jeep. We drove to the Group Headquarters on Long Binh post. I cannot recall the Captain’s name. I do remember being impressed by how much he seemed to know about what was going on. It was a short ride and as you might imagine I was soaking up information from the unit signs and the facilities we passed on the way. After being shown to a bunk and parking my gear I was given a brief orientation on the Group Headquarters area. The next major event of this day was that I met with the 29th General Support Group Deputy Commander, LTC Holady C. Neafus Jr. I told LTC Neafus I very much wanted to command a company. I explained that I was already a fairly senior Captain and that the time available to get a command was passing me by. (I n fact I had another motivation for wanting a command which I did not share. The Ordnance Branch had informed me during the Advanced Course that because my Officer Efficiency Ratings were not so hot when I was a young officer I was ranked in the lower third of my peers and it was extremely important for my career to demonstrate I could do well in a company command position in combat.) LTC Neafus and I talked for about 30 minutes most of which was a discussion about my past military assignments. At the end of the interview LTC Neafus informed me that after talking with some of his staff he would, by the next day, finalize his recommendation regarding my assignment for the 29th Support Group Commander. He never gave a hint about my chances for getting a command. At that time I did not know, but would later learn, that Major Donald Simpson who was then the Commander of the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (LSA) (Provisional) at Camp Bearcat was looking for an officer to take command of the 590th Light Maintenance Company (Direct Support) (Divisional). Major Simpson had already received approval from the Commander of the 29th General Support Group to relieve the current company commander (Captain Charles O’Conner) who had not been performing well. Major Simpson needed a replacement. I was provided a bunk and spent the night of 7and 8 November in Long Binh at the Group Headquarters. Here I met several officers from the 29th General Support Group Materiel Office staff and for the first time I felt like I was somewhere I belonged. I spoke their language and understood their mission, but as you might imagine, I spent most of my time listening. In mid-morning of 8 November while I was in the 29th General Support Group Material Office area soaking up as much information as possible about Group operations, I was called to the Group Commander’s office. Here I met the 29th Support Group Commander, a Colonel McDonald and Major Donald Simpson. They informed me that I was going to get a command and was being assigned to the 590th Light Maintenance Company at Camp Bearcat. Major Simpson would be my commanding officer. They did not tell me the current 590th commander was being relieved. As soon as the meeting was over, I got my gear, was given a steel pot and a flack jacket they had brought along for my use, and we loaded in Major Simpson’s jeep for my first drive down Route 15 to “Bearcat”. Major Simpson drove the jeep himself and his Sergeant Major George McCoy rode in the front right seat with an M16 in his lap. This arrangement left room for me along with my gear in the back seat. The jeep had armor and sandbags on �the floor for protection against a possible mine explosion. I had no weapon and this is the only time in my entire tour I drove Route 15 unarmed. The drive down to “Bearcat” was eye opening. Route 15 was basically a two lane road that ran South out of Long Binh to the village of Long Than which was near “Bearcat” and then continued down to the coast at Vung Tau. The road was dusty and nearly all the vehicles on it were military. There were a few civilian villages but mostly rice fields. I would learn that his road was ours during the day but it pretty much belonged to the VC at night. When we arrived at the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (LSA) Headquarters I, I, was again provided with a temporary bunk and was introduced to some of the LSA staff officers and officers from the 1011th S&S Company. The 1011th troop living area was co-located with the LSA Headquarters living area. I met no one from the 590th Maintenance Company. Late in the day I was asked over to Major Simpson’s living quarters (“hooch”) to talk privately with him and his Sgt Major George McCoy about my new command. It was here I first learned the present commander of the 590th was being relieved. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that Captain O’Connor got as little notice of his change in command as I did --maybe even less. On the morning of 9 November 1968 I rode down to the 590th with Major Simpson. As soon as I arrived, I was introduced to the First Sergeant (Lewis Ellis) and signed Unit Order 54 assuming command. The Company was formed up in the area between the street and the company headquarters building. It was a beautiful clear hot day. Captain O’Conner spoke to the troops and Major Simpson then spoke thanking Captain O’Conner for his service and introducing and welcoming me. The order was read, the Company Guidon was passed and I was Commander of the 590th Maintenance Company (Direct Support) (Divisional) at APO San Francisco 96530. I said a few words about being honored to lead such a fine unit. I had never met a single person in the 590th prior to this Change of Command. I don’t think the entire Change of Command ceremony took 20 minutes. Captain O’Connor got in Major Simpson’s jeep and they drove off. I never saw Captain O’Connor again. That afternoon I moved into my hooch which was my first private quarters since arriving in-country. I drew company issue gear to include an M-16 rifle and a 45 pistol, a steel pot, a flack jacket, and then took my first tour of the Company area and started to get to know some folks. 590th History The 590 Maintenance Company traces its history back to World War Two. It was originally activated on 16 August 1944 in England as the 3055th Ordnance Service Composite Company. It served in France, Belgium and Germany. It was inactivated at Camp Shanks New York, in November 1945 and reactivated on13 December 1946 as the 3055th Ordnance Service Company in Japan. On 30 June 1947 the unit it was redesignated the 590th Ordnance Service Company. On 15 March 1950 it was again deactivated. On March 1, 1967 reactivation occurred under Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) 29-138F at Fort Lewis, Washington. On 1 September 1967 the unit deployed to Vietnam on USNS General John Pope. The unit arrived at Bearcat (Camp Martin Cox) on 21 September 1967 and was attached to the 185th Maintenance Battalion, which was located in Long Binh. The executive officer of the 185th was my �immediate boss when I was an instructor in the Ordnance Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Aberdeen, Proving Ground prior to my attending the Advanced Course at Aberdeen. His name was Major Ralph Wight. He was killed on Route 15 between Bearcat and Long Binh several months before I finished the Advanced Course. I will say more of this later. On 25 July 1968 the 590th was released from the 185th Maintenance Battalion and was attached to the 266th Supply and Services Battalion (DS). On 11 September 1968 the 590th was released from the 266th and attached to the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (Provisional) under the 29th General Support Group. The mission of the 590th under TOE 29-138F was to provide back-up Direct Support level maintenance and limited evacuation services to a Division and non-divisional units where no other Corps support is available. Primary items of equipment supported for repair and repair parts are armored and wheeled vehicles, small arms and artillery and communications equipment.( Medical, cryptographic, ADP/EAM, aircraft, and air delivery equipment are not supported.) 590th Mission in Vietnam At the time I assumed command the primary mission of the company was to provide support to US and any other Free World forces operating within the Thai Infantry Division’s tactical area of operations and to other forces as directed.(The Thai Division, known as the “Panthers”, was commonly referred to as the ”RTVF” or Royal Thai Volunteer Force. Their Division headquarters and many of their logistics support units were stationed at Bearcat. The Thai Division had replaced the US 9th Infantry Division as the major ground combat unit operating out of Bearcat not long before my arrival. Bearcat was a base camp carved out of the jungle near the town of Long Than which is on Route 15 about 10 miles Southeast of Long Binh. There were about 5,000 US forces plus the Thai Division stationed in the area. The camp was about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. The entire edge of the camp was circled by a plowed up earth berm topped by bunkers and sandbags. The jungle was cleared back from the berm for several hundred meters, and in places the area between the berm and the jungle was mined with Claymore anti-personnel mines, which were protected with strands of barbed wire. The bunkers were positioned so that there were interlocking fields of fire to protect the perimeter. There were two gates to the west or Route 15 side. The Gate to the south opened to a short dirt road leading to an airbase called K5 and then proceeded to Long Than village. The next gate to the North opened to a longer dirt road that joined Route 15 North of Long Than village. The gate to the far North was a back road to Long Binh that was usually closed. The talk on base was that the area the road passed through was not safe for non-combat troops because of the VC or VC supporters. I don’t know the truth of the talk. I never used that gate or traveled on the road. Generally, the jungle was cleared back from these roads. (Insert: The intersection where the Northern road from Bearcat met Route 15 was locally referred to as “Whore’s Corner”. It was a spot more dangerous than friendly. If out too late one might occasionally receive small arms fire from the trees. �One of the first things a new commander is sign for the Unit Fund. In my case this turned out to be a very emotional experience. One of the signatures in the records was that of Major Ralph Wright , who was my immediate boss for well over a year when I was teaching OCS at Aberdeen. He went to Vietnam before I did and was assigned to a Maintenance Bn. in Long Binh to which the 590th was then assigned. Major Wright had reviewed and approved the Unit Fund records on the day he was ambushed on the road on his way back to Long Binh. A charge was detonated by the VC as his Jeep passed. It killed him. He left the 590th too late in the day. He was a good mentor and friend. It was not until 16 November 1968 that the Saigon Support Command finally got around to issuing Special Order 321 officially directing me to report to the 590th by NLT 18 November 1968. Things did not always follow the normal path. It soon became apparent to me I had a tiger by the tail and as a result Major Simpson and I spent considerable time talking about things in the early going. One evening soon after assuming command I was at his hooch and after a discussion and a few drinks was walking back to my jeep in the dark and managed to step off into one of those 3 foot drainage ditches for rain run-off which were so common in base camps throughout Vietnam. When I stepped out into space and hit solid ground on the bottom or other side of the ditch, it felt like I led with my chin. The blow nearly knocked me out and opened a large cut in my chin that bled profusely. Sgt Major McCoy heard me cry out and led me to his hooch where he helped to stop the bleeding and clean the cut. I still have a scar on my chin from this injury. I may have had one too many drinks of Scotch, but the bigger problem was that I was a Vietnam rookie not yet used to finding ditches on flat surfaces. What a welcome!!! . Thankfully, this was my only injury during my entire tour. The 590th was a challenge from the start. Almost nothing worked, as it should. It was not that the men or NCOs were poorly trained – most were average or above average. They simply were not focused on the tasks before them and on making things happen. The Property Book maintained in the Unit Supply section of the Company which accounts for all the government property in the unit has like tools, trucks, trailers, test equipment, desks and personal equipment had not been updated for months. No inventories had been held. No hand receipts updated. No adjustments made. It was a disaster. It took us six months to clean it up. The mess hall didn’t work. During the first week there I went back in the kitchen area of the mess hall to check the sanitation. I was horrified. They had hired some Vietnamese women to scrub the dirty pots and trays and they were doing it in greasy water with dirty hands and little soap because the soap made rinsing too hard and used too much water. I told the Mess Sgt (Sgt Foshe) I was going to fire the Vietnamese and put Soldiers on a KP roster to clean up the dishes. He told me we were required to use the Vietnamese by some outfit in Long Binh and that he thought we would have a riot on our hands if we put soldiers on KP. I talked to the 1st Sgt (Sgt Lewis Ellis) about it and he agreed that something should change but cited the same concerns the Mess Sgt had shared. They had talked. I thought about it for a few days and then told the Mess Sgt to tell the women at the end of the day that they would no longer be required. After we let them go, the soldiers initially griped about it but there was no riot. �When they got to see how things were being done and the word got out, complaints about having to do KP settled right down. I did receive a call from a Colonel in Long Binh whose name I no longer recall who told me I had no authority to fire the women and directed me to hire them back. I told him how bad it was and that once I got something official in writing I would get the doctor and everyone in the chain of command involved if necessary to make my decision stick. He told me I would be hearing from him. I never did. One part of the mess hall team who was great was our baker. He was a drunk but oh how he could bake. Every evening about 1800 he would get started on his bottle and on the dough that would become wonderful muffins and pies and cakes. We protected him from himself and he helped the unit’s morale. I certainly could have disciplined him and should have helped him with his drinking problem but there was not enough time and the need for his good skills kept me from doing either. He was not a problem. I have forgotten his name. He provided a great service for his nation. Sgt Foshe ran the Mess Hall. He was from the south and at Christmas time his wife sent him bags of black-eyed-peas, which he prepared for us all on New Years Day. He and I had a hard time. I was very tough on him about sanitation because it seemed to me he was lax in this area. I had designated myself as the Unit Mess Officer so he had no other officer to deal with in regards to his duties. I remember I got on him one day about something fairly minor and he just broke down and cried telling me he was doing all he could for the men and I was too hard on him. He was right. I was hard him. The men deserved it. He was a great cook and a good man with a caring heart, but he had a hard time getting others to do their part. I awarded him the Bronze Star when he left to go home. He was astounded. This was the only Bronze Star I gave to an NCO while I was commander. Maintenance operations in the company were the strong suit. The Armament Section was run by Chief Warrant Officer William Ray. He was a crusty old soldier who had fought in Korea from start to finish – retired and had come back for the Vietnam fight. There was not a howitzer or small arms weapon he could not fix. He ran a tight section and trained his men well. He used to scare me half to death because he always carried hand grenades when on the road and he used to just keep them in his room. My fear was he would blow himself up or that someone might lose control from too much to drink or drugs and then go to get them to do something stupid. It never happened. The Service and Evacuation Section was run by CWO Will Horn and the Maintenance section by Sgt Jackson. Both were seasoned leaders and technically sound. They knew their men and led them strongly. Sgt Jackson was a black NCO who had come up the hard way. I really liked him. He used to call me “The Beaver” because he said I really knew how “chew” someone out. The Signal Section was run by CWO Smith. He knew his hardware cold but he was young. He was not as strong a leader as the others, but his people were more senior and did not require much in way of control. �I had two other Warrant Officers who held CWO Horn and Smith’s positions but they left for CONUS soon after I arrived and I never really got to know them. I do not recall their names. The biggest problem area in the company was our Technical Supply Section. This is a key organization for a maintenance unit because it provides repair parts not only to customer units but also to the other company direct support repair sections. When I took command the officer in charge was 1LT Paul F Lundgren. He was weak in supply knowledge and not a strong leader. To make matters worse, he had a weak NCO working for him. I do not recall the NCO’s name. When I was assigned 2nd LT John Harb as a Maintenance Platoon Leader, I relieved both1LT Lundgren and his NCO, and 2LT Harb became Technical Supply Officer. He was a quick study. The words in the written Justification for the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement, that I received at the end of my command time, pretty well describes the condition of customer support when I assumed and when I left command of the 590th. The focus of the narrative is the major changes made in support operations between October and April. The text of the Justification approved by the Group Commander and written by the 29th General Support Group staff is quoted below in its entirety. It says I studied harder than I really did and makes me appear to be the “doer” when in truth the troops made it happen. The facts about what we accomplished together are right. Bronze Star for Achievement Justification - Start _______________________________________________________________ “1. CPT Craig E. Brodie, 097421, Ordnance Corps, United States Army, distinguished himself through an exceptionally meritorious achievement not involving participation in aerial flight in connection with military operations against the hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam during the period of 9 November 1968 to 10 April 1969 2. CPT Brodie assumed command of the 590th Maintenance Company (DS) (DIV) on 9 November 1968. The previous unit commander had been relieved of command, primarily due to the condition of the mechanized technical supply activity. Numerous deficiencies persisted for some time despite frequent Group staff visits and daily intensive management interests on the part of the Group commander. Specifically, the following deficiencies existed: (1) A growing backlog of about 37 multipack receipts, some of which were more than 40 days old; (2) Many of the NCR 500 programs required to update ledgers were not in use and others were being run out of sequence causing frustration to machine logic and multiplication of errors posted to the stock ledgers; (3) The physical storage locations were so inconsistent with the stock locator deck that an inventory accuracy check could not even be conducted (A 1st Log Command Project Count 1 �inventory accuracy check team arriving in late October at the 590th rescheduled that visit due to inability to locate sufficient stock to count for a statistical sample); (4) Specific procedures for conducting location surveys and inventories published by Group were being violated; (5) Customers of the 590th Maintenance Company were complaining directly to Group about their lack of support from the 590th; (6) No action had been taken to retrograde approximately 50 tons of serviceable excesses declared in July 1968; (7) No action had been taken to implement the nine digit location system as was directed in September; (8) During staff visits the number of personnel physically on hand working in the tech supply activity and the number of personnel assigned to company details could not be reconciled with the number assigned. 3. During the first 10 days after assuming command CPT Brodie corrected and completed the processing of the entire receipts backlog of 37 multipacks. After requesting a technical assistance visit from the Group staff , he developed a plan and established priorities for a technical supply activity improvement plan. At this time the 590th Maintenance Company received a 1st Log Command Instruct/Inspect team visit. This inspection came approximately two weeks after CPT Brodie assumed command. The team remained in the unit for seven days. The I/I team report was comprehensive and the general conclusion was that the effectiveness of the 590th technical supply activity was marginal. CPT Brodie used this report as a supplementary management tool making his improvement program more detailed. 4. CPT Brodie found it necessary to relieve the Tech Supply officer and NCO. He replaced the officer with a new 2nd LT who had no supply training or experience. No trained NCO could be obtained. CPT Brodie worked extensively with the new 2LT who became proficient under CPT Brodie’s experience and skill. All personnel in the tech supply activity became more proficient and motivated as a result of CPT Brodie’s leadership, interest and instruction. CPT Brodie provided detailed instructions to all personnel in the Tech Supply activity. He was able to do this because he spent many hours late at night studying the TMs and regulations governing the operation of the mechanized (NCR 500) DSU supply activity. By applying knowledge gained from this study and staff and I/I team visits combined with his experience and leadership ability, he was able to instruct and motivate each man in the activity. �5. By December 1968, with less than a month in Command, CPT Brodie had succeeded in retrograding the more than 50 tons of serviceable excess that had been on hand since July 1968l During this same time he directed a complete location survey implementing the nine digit location system in the process. 6. CPT Brodie placed the stock control section on strict computer program sequence making each update cycle complete and accurate. He reorganized the document flow through the receiving storage and stock control sections and established controls to preclude the loss of documents and accounting errors resulting from faulty sequence of document processing. As soon as all sections of the Technical Supply activity were using the current procedures, CPT Brodie directed another complete location survey and inventory to screen out errors occurring during the process of implementing correct procedures. 7. With his technical supply running activity smoothly, CPT Brodie turned his attention to managing his ASL stockage position. Concentrating on zero balances with dues out, he developed an aggressive program using RBX procedures on critical repair parts at zero balance with dues out. The results of this project combined with a tightly controlled and compressed program cycle was an increase in the rate of receipts from 180 in October 1968 to 2,200 in April 1969. The number of issues to customers improved during this period from 390 in October to 1,300 in April. The demand satisfaction rose from 16% in October to 49% in April 1969 while demand accommodation was increased from 61% to 80% during this same period. CPT Brodie increased the number of operational hours on the NCR 500 from 51 per week to 114 per week average. 8. The heavy lift yard was expanded and the warehouse bins were reconstructed under CPT Brodie’s direction to accommodate the increased amount of stock receipts and to provide more efficient utilization of storage space. 9. When CPT Brodie had his technical supply activity stockage position in shape, he initiated an aggressive customer assistance program. This has been manifested in visits to customer units and instruction provided by the 590th editing section. CPT Brodie brought the 590th Maintenance Company technical supply activity from a rated seventh and last in the Group in October 1968 to first and best of the 11 operating in April 1969. The I/I team from the 1st Log Command conducted a return visit to the 590th Maintenance Company in April. The I/I team declared the 590th technical supply activity the most improved in Vietnam, one of the best in country. CPT Brodie achieved this remarkable success in his Technical Supply activity while at the same time improving and maintaining all other sections of his company. This is evidenced in the maintenance portion of the April 1969 1ST Log Command I/I team report, the highly satisfactory grade received by the 590th on the annual 1st Log Command CMMI and the satisfactory mark on the AGI and the SSC maintenance survey team reports. 10. Through his professional knowledge outstanding managerial ability, untiring diligence, and his especially perceptive leadership, CPT Brodie has wrought achievements reflecting great credit upon himself, his unit, the 29th GS group and the U.S. Army.” �Bronze Star for Achievement Justification – End Other Events and Happenings Rocket Attacks – There were several rocket attacks but thankfully no one in the Company was injured. Everyone had an assigned bunker to go to when attacked. Sometimes we would get warning of a pending attack and sometimes it was a surprise. We would feed in small groups when warned of or under attack. One surprise attack I clearly recall. On nights when LSA Operations declared “all clear” many soldiers would gather to watch movies. February 23, 1969, was thought to “clear” so we had a movie in our company outdoor theater. When the movie ended, the men dispersed . About 10 minutes later a 107 MM rocket landed right in the center of the place they had been gathered. There was no prior warning of attack. No one was hurt. We were lucky and blessed. I have pictures of rocket warhead parts found following this attack. The next day a rocket landed in the 1011th S&S Company area killing two 1011th soldiers, wounding others and causing considerable damage. There were other rocket and mortar attacks but no soldier from the 590th was wounded or killed when I was the commander. Animals –One day I was walking through a troop bunk area when a monkey leaped on my shoulder and bit me. I grabbed his neck – he had a collar—got my driver and drove to the Vet. It turned out my skin was not broken and Monkey did not have rabies. Thankfully, it was only scary. Rabies were a very real problem on Bearcat.. About once every three months or so all loose animals inside the camp were hunted down and killed. A funny --- A soldier bought what he thought was a very special dog with leopard spots from a Vietnamese boy. He paid a high price. It turned out the dog was not so special. The spots were a paint job. On May 10th 1969 I ended my time as commander of the 590th in a change of command much like the one when I assumed command. As usual orders followed later. I was in command for 6 Months and 1 day. This was a normal company command tour in Vietnam. They tried to make changes every six months so that as many officers as possible would get a chance to command during a time of war. My first award of the Bronze Star was for Meritorious Achievement and it was announced on 9 June 1969 in US Army Support Command, Saigon Special Orders 653 for the period of duty extending from 9 November 1689 to 10 April 1968. The specific accomplishments were those identified in the Jjustification for the award included above. �Material Officer Bearcat LSA Once again my reassignment orders do not reflect what actually happened. US Army Support Command Special Orders 150 dated 30 May 1969 reassigned me from the 590th to Headquarters 29th General Support Group in Long Binh. There had been considerable discussion about my moving to the Materiel Office staff in Long Binh and I thought it was going to happen but in fact I never went there. I think Colonel Carter who was then commanding Bearcat LSA (Provisional) prevailed with the Group to keep me. In any case Special Orders 168 issued by the US Army Support Command Saigon dated 16 June 1969 officially assigned me as a Material Officer at Bearcat LSA with an effective date of 20 May 1969. Nature of the new job My time as Material Officer on the Bearcat LSA staff seemed anticlimactic after having commanded the 590th . Duties were more mundane. Responsibilities involved visiting units, data collection, report writing, working with the 29th Support Group on maintenance and supply issues, writing directives for the LSA commander and units and of course preparing briefings. Except for unit visits the responsibilities were fairly “dull stuff “ after command. My duties were further complicated by the fact that the LSA Commander, LTC Carter, did not want me messing around in actions involving the 590th. . This was a tough restriction because the 590th was performing about half of the LSA maintenance and related supply support mission. As a result I was only in the 590th company area a few times after leaving command. Social contact initiated by 590th folks did take place and softened the isolation. There was another Maintenance Company in the LSA with which I could ,and did, work with freely and often. That helped. This section of my story is much less detailed because the majority of my time was spent gathering, analyzing and presenting data and /or pushing paper. There were, however, some events I clearly remember. One that stands out is my first trip to Blackhorse Base Camp to visit the 551st LT Maintenance Company. We flew in Huey and because enemy fire was common between Bearcat and Blackhorse the pilot flew just above the treetops. This particular pilot had been up North where he had been shot at often. It was only my second or third ride in a chopper and none in the past were even close to being as scary. At the time I remember thinking it might be less risky to take a chance with the enemy than the top of some trees.--- but the choice was not mine.. In any case we made it safely but I was scared enough to look for another ride back to Bearcat and found one. It was not scary. In addition to maintenance and supply he 551st also supported a Graves Registration section assigned to the LSA which was regularly visited by LSA staff going to Black Horse. My first staff visit was my first experience with how the remains of those who fall in battle are handled. To this day I remain impressed with the respect shown and the careful and gentle processing of the bodies and personal effects I witnessed during visits. After initial processing , the bodies were flown out – I think to either Saigon or Bien Hoa for transport home. �Another experience I had involving operations at Blackhorse was the time we drove rather than take a chopper. I no longer recall the reason we had to drive but it was not normal to do that as there was VC activity all around Blackhorse. We went in a Jeep. I was the only officer. There were three NCOs whose names I do not recall. We left from Bearcat, went through Long Binh, to Xuan Loc, and then to Blackhorse. The trip up was uneventful as I have no memory other than stopping in Xuan Loc to see where an artillery unit had fired 105MM Howitzers at point blank range with “beehive” rounds and still were overrun. It was the return trip that was scary. It was getting late in the day and we were pushing the Jeep along when the engine cut out – and we were stopped dead in the road in the middle of a rubber plantation. No other vehicles were nearby and it was too late and too far to walk to where we knew there were troops. One NCO went to working on the engine and three of us set up a perimeter in case some VC showed up. It was so quiet . I will never forget it. Finally , after about 20 minutes , the Jeep engine started and we were out of there!!! A wire in the distributer turned out to be the problem. We were very, very lucky. I took an R&R to Hong Kong in September of 1969. I called Lil at home after staying in a warm shower for about an hour. It was during this phone call that I learned of her Dad’s battle with cancer and the expectation of his death. Hard stuff for both of us. Mostly I did some sightseeing and shopping and resting. I bought Lil some lovely cloth which she would make into a dress after I got home. My second award (First Oak Leaf Cluster) of the Bronze Star medal was announced on 26 September 1969 in US Army Support Command, Saigon General Orders 1252. This award for Meritorious Service covered the period November 1968 – October 1969. This was a standard award given to Officers who performed well in support of combat operations throughout their tour of duty in Vietnam. Coming Home On 9 September 1969 US Army Support Command, Saigon issued Special Orders 252 directing my reassignment from Vietnam to the US Army Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency in Joliet, Illinois. My date for leaving Vietnam was established as 3 November 1969 with a reporting date in Joliet of NLT 8 December 1969. These orders allowed me 66 lbs of air baggage and an additional 134 lbs of excess baggage. I was to report to the Replacement Detachment NLT 24 hours prior to aircraft departure with my ID Card, ID Tags, shot record and 8 malaria pills. US Army Support Command modified my original reassignment orders: Saigon Special Orders 281 dated 8 October 1969. These orders adjusted my Vietnam departure date to 27 October 1969 and my Joliet, Illinois reporting date to 1 December 1969. �I left Bearcat for the last time at 0900 hrs on October 26, 1969. We went by jeep to the USARV Replacement Detachment. We got there about 1000 hrs. I was back where I had started. I was wearing my combat uniform. My weapon and steel pot and flack jacket were taken back to the supply room at Bearcat. I processed out and spent the night. The next day, October 27, 1969, I took a shower in the afternoon. I threw out all my fatigue clothes - my hat, uniform, boots – everything -- and put on the uniform I wore on the way in to Vietnam. I had not worn it in a year except to try it on to be sure it still fit. We got on the bus and at about 1600 hrs we got to the airfield at Bien Hoa. Same building and the same distractions as when I arrived, only this time the focus was on the plane approaching the departure point. My freedom bird! We cheered the new arrivals and boarded. We lifted off about 1700 hrs. Our flight this time went to Kyota Japan and then to Anchorage Alaska, where we were greeted in the gate area by of group of women who also provided home-made cookies and coffee for all. What a kindness. Then we were off to Travis Air Force Base. We arrived in Travis just before midnight on 27 October 1969. I called Lil and Carol and a group of us took a Taxi to San Francisco International Airport. Carol and her new husband Greg met me and we went to their apartment in San Jose. I again called Lil and had a short rest. We arose early and I put on civilian clothes because at Travis we were told flying in uniform might result in harassment by members of the peace movement. By 0800 Greg, Carol and I were back in San Francisco at the airport to catch my flight bound for Chicago. I arrived at O’Hare at about 1400 in the afternoon, Called Li, and put on my uniform. I flew out of Chicago at about 1530 and arrived in Kalazamoo at about 1615 in the afternoon. Lil met me and drove me to our apartment at 3485 Kenbrook Court where I saw my son Keith for the first time. He was then 5 ?? months old. My first words to him were ”aren’t you something.” I had made the journey. It is a part of my life forever. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brodie, Craig (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brodie, Craig Description An account of the resource Craig Brodie was born in Plattsburgh, New York in 1941 and grew up Newtown, Connecticut. He attended the University of Vermont and Army ROTC there and received his commission in 1963 He served in Germany with the 4th Medium Tank Battalion of the 68th Armored Regiment as well as the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Cavalry participating in training maneuvers and border patrol of the East/West German border. He then served at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He commanded the 590th Maintenance Company at Bearcat, a base outside of Saigon. After Vietnam he served in different positions in the US and Korea, and retired at the rank of colonel. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-03-06 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrodieC1577V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd26a8eebad9c1a801f4c2ff663ac5c2.mp4 367337c47e54a228642ebe05d13520aa https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6745d91fac51381f83baa2cec55fd397.pdf 3effc2275a751c36a7bcf2a4e4631f13 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Daniel Broe Vietnam War Interview Length: (02:33:14:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:18:00)  Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949 and has spent most of his life living in the West Michigan area; in fact, Broe’s service time was the only extended period where he did not live in West Michigan (00:00:18:00) o Broe’s parents divorced when he was very young and his mother re-married in 1955, with her new husband owning a forty-acre farm (00:00:41:00) o However, with the addition of Broe’s mother plus Broe and his brother, the farm could not longer provide for the family, so their step-father took a job working at a factory in Holland, Michigan (00:01:02:00)  Broe’s step-father eventually left the factory and found work as a truck driver (00:01:15:00)  In the meantime, Broe’s mother stayed at home (00:01:20:00) o Broe completed high school, although very reluctantly; Broe was disillusioned with high school very early on, which made it difficult for Broe to keep up with his classmates or to do anything (00:01:27:00)  While Broe was attending high school, he also had a job working at a grocery store, a job he held for about nine or ten months after he graduated from high school (00:01:43:00)  However, Broe eventually wanted to earn more money, so he took up welding and went to work for a company in Holland that made ½-ton military trailers (00:02:06:00)  Broe eventually moved on from the company that made the military trailers to a company making luxury yachts and he was working at the yacht company when he finally received his draft notice (00:02:32:00) o Broe’s draft notice came around February/March of 1969 (00:02:53:00)  When he received his draft notice, Broe had been keeping up to date on the Vietnam war via the nightly six o’clock news casts (00:03:04:00) o While Broe was still in high school, two men from Allegan went over to Vietnam and were both killed in action; because Allegan was a small town at the time, having two men killed brought the attention of every in the town (00:03:20:00) o Although not everyone in the town openly talked about the war, they were all acutely aware that there was a draft and that the young men in the town were become eligible for it (00:03:52:00) o Broe himself did not have an extensive personal view of the war or what he would do when he received his own draft notice (00:04:19:00)  The thought of going to war was, at the same time, both scary and romanticized for Broe (00:04:22:00)  Broe knew it was coming and he had determined that at the very least, he was not going to run from it (00:04:42:00) �   As well, part of Broe viewed his being drafted as one less person being drafted from Allegan who might have leanings towards family; Broe himself had always been a loner, so leaving for the military was not a problem (00:04:54:00) o On the other hand, Broe did not know too much about why exactly the United States was in Vietnam to begin with; he would see the rumors in the newspaper and hear about them from the news casts that said the United Stated was stopping the spread of communism or protecting financial interests, etc. (00:05:19:00)  Deep down, Broe knew it was probably a combination of all those things but which rumor he heard depended on which speech was being given that particular day (00:05:45:00) o At the time, the young men were all looking for different ways to avoid the draft and when Broe looked at them for himself, they did not seem practical; things such as moving to Canada did not seem reasonable, especially with the stories that the government would eventually come after them (00:06:05:00) When Broe first turned eighteen, he had to go to a physical a couple of weeks after he registered for the draft; for the physical, Broe had to go to Detroit, Michigan for two or three days (00:06:51:00) o The night before the physical, all the young men went out on the town and the bars in Detroit were not shy about allowing them to drink, even though they were underage (00:07:28:00) o Several of the men tried to get their blood pressure to the correct level so that they would not have to serve (00:07:40:00) Once Broe received his draft notice, he returned to Detroit and joined a group of around forty or fifty other men who were being screened in on that particular day (00:08:03:00) o The men were told to line up and start counting off by five, which started the biggest scramble, with everybody trying to do a really quick count and cut into the line (00:08:33:00)  Broe thought the whole sequence was ridiculous, so he stood his ground and was the number five in the line (00:08:54:00) o After everyone had counted off, the men were told to sit down and then, the names of individual recruits were called out and those recruits went into rooms that surround the large room where the group was (00:09:01:00)  Then, a group of eight names was called out at the same time, with Broe’s name being the first (00:09:25:00) o The group of eight recruits were taking from the main room into a smaller conference room, where an Army PFC (Private, First Class) eventually came in and said the eight had been selected for the Marine Corps (00:09:30:00)  The PFC asked if any of the men had a serious objection to serving in the Marine Corps and Broe, being a smart-ass, raised his hand and said, because he did not want to (00:09:51:00)  The PFC gave the men a rundown of what was going to happen and what the men would be doing for the rest of the day (00:10:10:00)  All the Army recruits were waiting for their transportation and Broe remembers looking outside and seeing a couple of other men � from Allegan outside, policing the area surrounding the building for used cigarette butts (00:10:17:00)  Broe’s group kept together and moved from room to room, where they did things such as being officially sworn into the Marines (00:10:35:00)  The one selection that the men did have was choosing between going through training at Parris Island, South Carolina or at San Diego, California (00:10:49:00)  There was a black man in the group and he said he wanted to go to Parris Island because it was closer to home; however, Broe told the man that he figured the Marines did it differently than the Army and they would not be coming home as much (00:10:57:00)  The PFC backed up Broe but said he could not split the group up; when Broe said he wanted to nice weather in San Diego, the other men in the group agreed (00:11:13:00) After they finished the initial stages, the group of eight boarded a bus that took them to the Detroit Metro airport, where they first flew to Chicago then on to San Diego, where they arrived late in the evening (00:11:38:00) o When the group first arrived at the airport, either a first sergeant or a master sergeant was there to greet the men; the sergeant ordered the men into a line, told them that when they were given the order to move, they would step off with their right foot, and they would not speak unless spoken to (00:12:27:00)  There were other people in the airport who were watching the entire sequence in awe of what was happening (00:13:01:00)  Although the sergeant did not yell, he was very firm in his orders and the men knew he meant business (00:13:10:00) o The men were marched aboard a bus and were driven to their final destination; however, it was getting dark and the men had no way of knowing where they had been or where they were going (00:13:20:00) o Once the bus arrived, another Marine stood in the doorway of the bus and told the men that when he gave the order, they would all get off the bus and woe be to the last man off the bus (00:13:53:00)  As well, any man who touched the Marine would get in trouble; however, the Marine was as wide as the doors, so there was some creative twisting by the men but inevitably, some of the men touched him (00:14:20:00)  The entire sequence was a prelude of what was going to come; no matter what the orders were, the men could follow them perfectly but there would still be something wrong (00:14:39:00) o Once the men were off the bus, they lined up and went into a building were they took off all their civilian clothes and were assigned three sets of the basic trousers, sweatshirts, and underwear; as well, the men all received the traditional Marine Corps haircut (00:14:55:00)  The whole time, the men had been instructed that they were not supposed to talk unless something was wrong, and then, they were supposed to bring it to the attention of the instructors (00:15:28:00)  Every time the men completed something, they returned to the parking lot where they had been dropped off (00:16:10:00) � o The orientation process continued through the first night and until around midday of the following day, when the decision was made that the men could have something to eat (00:16:15:00)  The men were taken to a mess hall to eat with all their equipment, although one of the men had to stand guard over it (00:16:32:00)  The men had to go through the ritual of everyone doing things as a unit, so once they had gotten their food and set their trays on the table, the men all had to sit down at the same time (00:17:12:00)  However, all the men were tired from having gone through the orientation the previous night and they ended up having to go through the process of sitting down as a group about twenty times, trying to get it right (00:17:28:00)  Once seated, the men had to sit at attention, looking straight ahead and at nothing else; then, when the orders was given to eat, the men got about one fork-full of food before being told to get out (00:17:54:00) o After “eating”, the men went back to the formation and back to the barracks to continue going through orientation, which lasted through the remainder of the afternoon (00:18:26:00)  Eventually, the men were issued linens, which made Broe suspect they would getting near beds sooner rather than later (00:18:42:00)  The men were taken to an area filled with Quonset huts; the huts were well-used and the men could tell that thousands of people had gone in and out of them (00:18:55:00)  Once in the huts, the men divided into squads and were assigned to different squad bays (00:19:23:00)  After the squads had their individual squad bays, the men received instruction about how to properly make their beds (00:19:34:00)  After they made their beds, the men went through more things, going in and out of their Quonset huts (00:19:48:00)  The men ended up going to sleep in the huts around one o’clock in the morning, the following day; apart from the “meal” they had had at midday, the men did not eat anything until breakfast (00:20:01:00) o At the time, the men were questioning why they were doing so much but there was a purpose behind every bit of it; if the men can survive the ordeal and grasp those purposes, then they were successful (00:20:31:00) At that point, the recruits’ boot camp lasted for thirteen weeks, which included two weeks spent at nearby Camp Pendleton on the rifle range, where the men went through live-fire training to qualify with their weapons (00:21:17:00) o Everyone had to qualify with the weapons; every Marine was a rifleman and their other assignments were secondary (00:21:35:00) o The daily routine of the recruits was broken down into a morning run, followed by breakfast then either doing drills and exercises or going to classes on everything from maintaining their rifles to Marine Corps history (00:21:59:00)  In the classes, the recruits were taught everything they needed to know how to do; in some cases, the recruits would be taught something but would not know the reasoning behind the lesson until later (00:22:45:00) �   Every day, the men did some form of physical training, which were usually calisthenics before the morning run; the first couple of weeks, the runs were shorter but they eventually reached their normal length of three miles (00:23:10:00) Broe believes he adjusted to life in the military better than some of the other recruits did; however, he had no illusions about what military life would be like (00:23:41:00) o Going in, Broe knew it was going to be a different experience, more physical and more demanding (00:24:09:00)  Deep down, Broe also knew that his only real purpose for going through the training was to become the rifleman that every Marine recruit eventually became (00:24:18:00)  Broe had no illusions of what his experiences would be like and many of the things he expected would eventually happen ended up actually happening (00:24:28:00) During his time in boot camp, Broe actually ended up training with two different platoons and in one of the platoons, there was a particular recruit who felt the full wrath of the drill instructors; everything the recruit did was wrong and he would always be singled out for ridicule by the drill instructors (00:24:45:00) o The platoon commander was very extreme in the training and would constantly pick out the single recruit and it eventually reached the point that the commander caused the recruit to be physically hurt (00:25:46:00) o At one point, the recruits were using stamps to stamp their names into their uniforms; the way the ink pads were set up, it was possible to get ink along the sides of the stamp, which would leave lines on the uniform and cause trouble for any recruit who did that (00:26:22:00)  While they were doing the stamping, the recruits were sitting on their foot lockers on the road outside their Quonset hut, with a 3’ or 4’ platform off to the side where the instructor would sit (00:27:02:00)  The one recruit screwed up the stamp and got lines, so he was called up to the platform to have his uniform examined and the drill instructor ended up kicking the recruit in the chest (00:27:21:00)  At night, just before the recruits went to bed, they would stand on their foot lockers and a drill instructors would walk behind them and tap their lower backs; if a recruit felt he needed to go to sick bay the next morning, he would say “yes sir” when the instructor touched his back (00:27:58:00)  The one recruit was in another Quonset hut but on the night of the stamping incident, the other recruits knew he was hurting from the drill instructor’s kick (00:28:37:00)  The recruit went to the sick bay the next morning and although the other men did not know exactly what happened, the rumors were that the drill instructor’s kick had cracked the recruit’s breastplate and that a Navy doctor was investigating the incident (00:28:46:00) o About two weeks later, the drill instructor who had kicked the recruit disappeared as well (00:29:13:00)  Broe ran into the drill instructor later, while in his staging unit to go overseas, and the instructor was also on his way to Vietnam (00:29:28:00) �    Although the other drill instructors never let up on the recruits, they were not allowed to physically touch the recruits; however, there was no way anyone could really enforce that type of a rule (00:29:58:00) o The instructors would get right in the recruit’s face to yell at them; if they looked both ways before hand, then the recruit knew that the instructor was going to hit them and most of the time, it was only a punch in the stomach (00:30:16:00)  However, if a recruit tightened up when the instructor was about to hit him, then things got real bad of the recruit (00:30:35:00) There were a couple of recruits who thought they were harder than the drill instructors; however, there is nothing harder than a Marine Corps drill instructor (00:31:01:00) o The instructors would not tell the recruits to do anything that they themselves could not do ten times better and if the recruits butted heads with them, the recruits were going to lose (00:31:23:00) o For some of the recruits, it took a long time to get that lesson through their skull and most of the time, it took the intervention of the rest of the recruits to tell the individual to stop; whenever one recruit would need punishment, the rest of the platoon was punished as well (00:31:34:00) At one point during the training, each recruit would either spend a week doing guard duty around the San Diego depot or they would be on mess duty (00:32:08:00) o Broe’s squad pulled mess duty and one day, the recruits were eating spaghetti for their evening meal; the spaghetti sauce was cooked in massive containers and then carried up to the line and dumped into serving vessels, where it was handed out to the recruits going through line (00:32:20:00)  Broe was serving sauce to the recruits and did not know a new container of sauce had been brought up; he turned around, fell, his back arched over the container and he pulled something in his lower back (00:32:52:00)  Broe was sent to the sick bay, where doctors took x-rays and determined that Broe needed to take it easy for a couple of weeks (00:33:13:00) o Broe did not know how he was going to be able to do that because after the week of either mess duty or guard duty, the recruits were headed up to the rifle range at Camp Pendleton (00:33:26:00)  The rest of the platoon continued on to the rifle range but Broe had to stay in the medical rehab platoon in San Diego for two weeks (00:33:40:00) o While with the rehab platoon, Broe was assigned to stand guard in the motivational platoon barracks every night; although he was supposed to be rehabilitating, Broe had to stand in a doorway every night and watch the ten to twelve recruits in the platoon, the hard to crack cases (00:34:01:00)  Broe was given a night stick and told that if anyone escaped, despite having a back injury, he was supposed to chase after them (00:34:40:00)  However, standing guard showed Broe all the stuff the recruits in the motivational platoon went through; until then, Broe thought he had a good idea what the disciplinary aspect of the Marine Corps was but when he finished the guard duty, he was convinced the best thing to get back to the training, regardless of how his back felt (00:34:55:00) Once he had healed, Broe was assigned to another training platoon, who he stayed with until he finished his training (00:35:30:00) � o For the most part, the drill instructors kept the training similar for all the training platoons (00:35:52:00) o Broe believes that when he joined the new training platoon, he had a fresher attitude (00:36:11:00) In order to officially graduate from boot camp, all the recruits had to go through a standardized physical training test and Broe did a lot better during the test than he had done while training with his previous training platoon (00:36:24:00) o The various drill instructors were rated based on how well their training platoon did as a whole; however, not every recruit could do every part of the training to a high degree (00:36:44:00)  Broe held his own in most every part of the training but excelled in the 30’ rope climb and sit-ups, at least in repetitions per minute (00:37:01:00)  During the standardized test, clerks would keep track of the recruit’s progress and during his platoon’s test, there were apparently some recruits who were weak at the rope climb, because Broe ended up climbing three times, once for himself and once each for two other recruits (00:37:19:00) o The same thing, recruits qualifying for other recruits, happened on the rifle range, which amazed Broe and was the first time he noticed that there was a slight illusion regarding the training; the drill instructors were not actually doing what they said they were doing (00:39:01:00)  Yes, all of the recruits would be riflemen but in some cases, the recruits were not earning that distinction (00:39:20:00)  Fortunately, Broe did well and qualified as “expert” on both the prequalification tests and the actual qualification tests (00:39:30:00)  Out of a possible two-hundred-and-twenty-five points, Broe scored two-hundred-and-twenty-two; the only deductions came on the seated portion of the test, where Broe did not have himself positioned correctly, which caused him to rock back and he could not recover fast enough (00:40:03:00)  Once Broe got back to the 500 meter line was when he did the test for three other recruits (00:40:35:00)  Broe fired his own series and hit them all accurately; then, he was told to fire for another recruit, who barely had any points and needed Broe to fire “expert” from 500 meters just to qualify at the basic level (00:40:42:00)  Although Broe was not sure if he could continue firing at the “expert”-level, he did and managed to qualify all three recruits, who were extremely grateful and made Broe a valuable pick-up for the platoon (00:41:06:00) o In boot camp, if a platoon picked up an individual recruit. such as Broe, there was often suspicion about the new recruit and in Broe’s case, he never really connected with the other recruits until they finished qualifying at the rifle range (00:41:24:00) �   When Broe arrived at the new platoon, the other recruits came right out and said they did not want any troublemakers in the platoon (00:41:57:00)  Although Broe knew why the recruits said that, he would have suspected that they at least give him a little bit of time to prove himself (00:42:05:00)  When the recruits were qualifying on the rifle range, they used the M-14 rifle; Broe did not fire an M-16 rifle until just before he went into staging for deployment to Vietnam (00:42:27:00)  However, even that brief period with the M-16 was only meant to somewhat familiarize the recruits with the rifle (00:42:35:00) Once they finished their training at San Diego, Broe and the other recruits went to Camp Pendleton and were placed in an Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) (00:42:54:00) o The training with the ITR consisted of field exercises and training in basic infantry maneuvers (00:43:09:00) o Nothing really exceptional happened until the very end of the training, when Broe, having qualified expert, was given the choice of being able to go to either sniper school or recon training (00:43:23:00)  During the ITR training, Broe had seen the training at the recon school and it looked like all it consisted of was running and carrying heavy equipment; instead, he opted for the sniper training, although that training turned out to be nearly the same thing (00:43:42:00) o The one major difference was that the sniper training concentrated more on the specific weapon, a Remington 700 sniper rifle with a 3x9 Redfield scope mounted on it (00:44:08:00)  Broe qualified “expert” with the rifle from 600 meters in the prone position and earned his sniper rating (00:44:23:00) The sniper training lasted for an additional thirty days; the actual name of the training was scout/sniper school and the recruits learned how to be a forward observer to call in artillery and air strikes, how to do field first aid, land navigation and all the critical things the recruits needed to do to effective work by themselves (00:44:38:00) o During the training, Broe was fortunate because the instructors were receiving information from Vietnam about the situations scout/snipers were facing; as the recruits went through a specific aspect of training, the instructors would tell them what situations happened in Vietnam and how the training applied (00:45:28:00) o As well, most of the instructors themselves had already served in Vietnam; if the instructor held a higher rank, such as an E-8 or and E-9, then the recruits were not certain what exactly the instructor’s assignment had been in Vietnam but when the recruits would break down into small groups, those instructors were often E4s who had just returned from Vietnam (00:46:19:00) o By working with the veteran instructors, the recruits gained a lot of confidence; they became attune to the situations (00:47:18:00)  Although the recruits knew there was a chance someone might not come back, that was something they never dwelled on or even thought about to a large extent (00:47:39:00) �   When situations developed in the field, Broe could quickly analyze what was happening, decide what the possible outcomes might be and make a decision based off his analysis (00:47:55:00)  As well, training with the instructors made the recruits acutely aware of what would be expected of them and how they needed to perform when things happened (00:48:11:00) Once he finished the training at Camp Pendleton, Broe returned home on a thirty-day leave in October 1969; however, Broe was antsy and by the time the thirty days were over, he was ready to go back (00:48:28:00) o It really was a love-hate relationship with the Marines; the whole time he was in training, Broe kept thinking about how he wanted to go home on leave but once he was on leave, he was ready to go back (00:48:46:00) o For the most part, it was hard for Broe to re-connect with the people back home in Allegan (00:48:59:00)  As it just so happened, there was another man from Allegan who enlisted just after Broe was drafted and Broe met up with the man while he was with the ITR at Camp Pendleton (00:49:03:00)  Broe did not talk too much with the man after encountering him in the mess hall but when Broe returned home on leave, the other man came back around the same time (00:49:50:00) Before actually deploying over to Vietnam, when Broe returned to California, he was placed back in the group of scout/snipers he had trained with (00:50:28:00) o At the time, the Americans were trying to institute the process of Vietnaminization, where the South Vietnamese military would have greater responsibility for the fighting, so there was a question of whether or not Broe’s group would even deploy to Vietnam (00:50:52:00)  However, the men had been through the training and although they were headed for something hazardous, they still wanted to go (00:51:15:00) o There was a delay in the deployment of the men, which made it Christmas and Broe went to visit his brother, who he had not seen since Broe was a freshman in high school; Broe’s brother had been a sophomore but decided to quit school and enlist in the Navy (00:51:32:00)  However, the brother was stationed in Vallejo, California, which was well outside the five-hundred mile limit the men were allowed to travel in while on leave (00:51:56:00)  Nevertheless, Broe went to Vallejo for Christmas and still managed to make it back in time for formation (00:52:04:00) o When the men formed formation after Christmas, they had news that they would deploy to Vietnam, although it was still two weeks off (00:52:14:00)  They actually started the process of deploying Broe’s group around the second or third week of January (00:52:28:00)  During the twenty or so days that the men were waiting in January, there was very little for them to do; every day, the men would fall out for a headcount then immediately go to the bulletin board to see whether anything had been posted (00:53:33:00) �  If nothing had been posted, the men were allowed to go off the base and into town (00:53:50:00) When the day finally came where they did deploy, Broe and the other Marines were loaded on a chartered commercial airplane (00:54:10:00) o After leaving California, the flight first went to Hawaii for half-an-hour as the airplane re-fueled before flying to Okinawa; in Okinawa, the men packed all their equipment into duffle bags (00:54:40:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:55:33:00)  The Marines stayed in Okinawa for about four days before flying into Da Nang, where they were taken off the airplane and herded into an in-processing center (00:55:33:00) o When they arrived at the in-processing center, it was reminiscent of that first day in Detroit for Broe; someone was calling off names and other Marines in the group started going in different directions (00:56:10:00)  Broe’s group of scout/snipers was split up and assigned to several different units; everyone’s name but Broe and another sniper were called and at the end, those two were called up and told they were joined the 1st Recon, which Broe had tried to avoid (00:56:17:00) o Broe was official assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (1st Recon) as a scout/sniper (00:56:52:00)  When Broe arrived in Vietnam, 1st Recon was stationed on Camp Reasoner, which was located at the base of a mountainous ridgeline to the west of Da Nang (00:57:07:00) o Later, Broe found out the reason the camp was built where it was, tucked in close to the ridgeline, was because the Americans controlled the ridgeline and if the enemy tried to launch a mortar or rocket against the base, the mortars or rockets impacted along the ridgeline (00:57:26:00) o 1st Recon consisted of five combat infantry companies, each with four platoons, and a headquarters company; each company was self-sufficient and supplied its own support and medical services (00:57:45:00) o To get to Reasoner, Broe rode out from Da Nang in the back of an open deuceand-a-half truck (00:58:28:00)  The whole experience was somewhat surreal for Broe; he was going into a combat environment and he did not know what to expect (00:58:39:00)  When Broe and the other Marines first got off the plane in Da Nang, there was a long line leading around the airplane and the men were told to walk on the outside of the line (00:58:45:00) o The men figured that it was a war zone and that any moment, they would be given a rifle and dragged off the a battle (00:58:56:00)  When catching the ride out to Reasoner, the truck Broe rode in drove down the center of the road and the driver drove the truck like there was no tomorrow (00:59:11:00)  Getting from the airport in Da Nang out to Reasoner took about twenty minutes to half-an-hour (01:00:01:00) o Reasoner had a perimeter surrounding it consisting of concertina wire and guard bunkers, with Marines standing watch day and night (01:00:16:00) � However, most of the guards came out of the headquarters unit because the commanders wanted the men in the actual recon companies to be able to go on combat patrols and perform operations (01:00:29:00) o Surprisingly, when Broe arrived at Reasoner, everyone on the base was very open, albeit, a little guard; the others wanted to know where Broe was from and whether he had a critical MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) (01:00:43:00)  At that point, Broe spent most of his time watching the Marines who were already on the base; he watched how they put stuff together, how they organized their equipment, etc. (01:01:12:00)  When Broe first arrived at the camp, he did not have a weapon; he had to go to the armory and draw one (01:01:31:00)  It was late afternoon when Broe arrived at Reasoner and the first thing he was assigned was a sleeping area; he organized everything in his area, including being assigned bed linens, before going to the armory for his weapon (01:01:37:00) o Once Broe arrived at the camp, the commanders assigned him to 2nd Platoon, Delta Company (01:02:13:00)  Once he had his assignment, Broe went into the platoon’s assigned area and inside his hooch, there were ten or twelve cots arranged so that each Marine had some personal space (01:02:25:00)  For Broe, it was difficult to initially set up his personal space because most everything that had belonged the previous Marines had been taken out (01:02:54:00)  Broe never asked what happened to the previous Marine; everyone just acted as if the Marine had rotated home (01:03:06:00) o If there was more to the story, then that would come out at a later time (01:03:16:00)  The first day was spent walking around, getting to know the other personnel and the layout of the camp (01:03:27:00)  Both Broe and the Marine he arrived with went to the battalion aid station to register; that, in the event something happened to either man, the personnel at the aid station would have all the relevant information to treat them (01:03:48:00) o On the second day, Broe and all the other Marines who had just arrived at the company within the past day or two were taken to an area below the hill the camp was built and started a session of training in how to properly operate a radio in the field (01:04:09:00)  Broe assumes the session was to make sure all the new arrivals were on the same page when it came to operating the radios; having gone through radio training extensively at the scout/sniper school, Broe already knew everything he needed to do (01:04:37:00)  Some of the other Marines, those who had just gone through the regular training, had seen a radio operate but they did not know how exactly everything worked (01:04:57:00) � During the session, each Marine got on the radio to call in practice fire missions; as well, they were shown the correct sequence for properly encrypting their messages (01:05:07:00)  The encryption capabilities amazed Broe; every day, the same encryptions were used throughout the entire country and by every branch of the military (01:05:28:00)  When Broe first learned how to encrypt the message, the military was using one method but halfway through Broe’s tour, the military changed the method (01:06:04:00) o For the second method, military personnel used a small device with a letter wheel and a legend beneath that; the way the wheel would be set determined the encryption of the message (01:06:20:00)  Personnel would line up the letters for a specific day and setting those letters would set corresponding letters for all the letters and numbers that the personnel might need to use (01:06:40:00)  Using the wheel method was easy once the method was explained to the men (01:06:57:00)  The radio training session lasted for about four or five days (01:07:03:00)  One thing Broe observed once he had arrived at the base was the weeks were no longer something they kept track off (01:07:08:00)  There were no breaks granted for certain days; for example, although there were religious services offered on the weekend, more often than not, there was something else that the Marines needed to do or wanted to do (01:07:20:00) o It took about four weeks after Broe arrived at the camp be he went into the field for the first time (01:07:47:00)  When he finally did go into the field, being the new guy, Broe had to carry the back-up radio and extra batteries for the primary radio (01:07:56:00)  Broe had to set up carrying the radio and spare batteries first; then he could determine where he would carry his own supplies, such as food and ammunition (01:08:06:00)  However, there was someone there who helped Broe and showed him the best way to set everything up (01:08:18:00)  One problem the men encountered was that the pouches on their web gear were meant to carry M-14 magazines but by that point, the men were carrying M-16s (01:08:28:00) o Because the M-16 magazines were so small compared to the M-14 magazines, the men were able to care four M-16 magazines per pouch, as well as another one tucked under the pouch’s flap (01:08:35:00)  For the most part, any developments in equipment went to the Army first; however, from what Broe understands, the Army is mainly responsible for said developments (01:08:57:00) �  During the first month, before he went into the field, Broe pulled a couple of bunker watches; however, once he actively started going on patrol, pulling watch stopped (01:09:36:00)  Broe’s unit would go into the field anywhere from six to seven days and most of the time, the unit operated in teams of around five Marines (01:09:46:00) o This meant Marines were constantly subbing in and out of the teams, with the only constant usually being the squad leader and the primary radioman (01:10:03:00) For the moment he was told he was going into the field for the first time, Broe was on edge; he kept thinking about whether he had his equipment organized properly in case something went wrong (01:10:37:00) o Broe kept going through the equipment, re-arranging different parts, making sure there were not pinch points, etc. (01:10:55:00) o Before being sent out, the men on the patrol would go to the mess hall but the first time Broe was set to go on a patrol, he was not able to eat anything (01:11:14:00) o The patrol needed to move quickly, which meant the Marines traveled light and two hours into his first patrol, it was evident to Broe why 1st Recon trained the way they did (01:11:32:00)  The men were trained to stay out of sight and avoid contact with the enemy at all costs (01:11:54:00)  If the men did encounter something, they would normally move away from it, not to retreat but to get to a position where they could observe the situation and figure out what the enemy was doing (01:12:03:00)  Ideally, if the enemy grouped in a area, the patrol would call an artillery or air strike on the area (01:12:15:00) o For the most part, the patrols would be flown into an area by helicopter because the areas where they would operate, mostly looking for enemy re-supply routes, were some distance away from Reasoner (01:12:35:00)  Where the actual re-supply routes, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, were was anybody’s guess because the routes were all over the place; it was a very complex system and it was amazing to Broe how the enemy were able to do it (01:12:50:00)  For the most part, most of the things the enemy did looked like they were from the stone age yet the re-supply routes were very well coordinated; the enemy knew what their capabilities were and what they could and could not do (01:13:04:00) o During Broe’s first patrol, everything was pretty much quiet (01:13:13:00)  However, the commanders wanted the new men to become acclimated to the various situations, so Broe suspects that his first patrol was sent to an area where another patrol had been through recently and found nothing of significance (01:13:23:00)  Broe and the new Marines were expected to observe and pick up what they needed to do on a day-in/day-out basis (01:13:42:00) o However, it did not take long, probably Broe’s third patrol, before things went askew from the moment the patrol arrived in the designated area (01:13:58:00) �o A patrol’s method for moving around in the field usually depended on the route the point man picked out (01:14:17:00)  If the point man felt secure enough to work on a trail, then the patrol would use the trail for a little bit; however, most of the time, the men would stay off the trails and would move parallel to them (01:14:21:00)  However, considerations also had to be taken by the men when moving parallel to a trail; for example, that method tended to be a lot noisier than moving on the trail (01:14:43:00) o During the patrols, the men were forced to carry their own food; however, the food they carried often tended to be very simple (01:15:02:00)  The C-Rations usually consisted of a 4oz can containing an “entrée”, a 4oz can of fruit, an a small tin of pound cake (01:15:07:00)  For the most part, the men on the patrols would carry food that did not need to be heated up (01:15:25:00)  As Broe’s tour progressed, the military started experimenting more with the use of dehydrated rations for the personnel; carrying a single pack of dehydrated rations for each day was a lot lighter than carrying around a bunch of can goods (01:15:34:00)  However, by and large, the physical conditioning of the Marines who went on the patrols was so high that the Marines could go all day without eating, have a can of peaches at night, and be perfectly fine (01:15:56:00)  Once they were finished with whatever they ate for the meal, the men would bury the empty cans and garbage, mostly to make sure the enemy did not know where they were and because carrying around and empty came tended to make noise (01:16:06:00)  The men also had to learn how to eat out of the can without hitting the side of the can with their utensil, which would often make a dull, “clunking” sound (01:16:17:00) o Being stealthy was of the utmost importance for the Marines when they were out on patrol; however, there were some men who tended to go a little bit overboard in that regard (01:16:28:00)  Broe remembers that one of the Marines was so noise conscious that he would not turn his head because he thought it would make a noise; instead, the Marine just rolled his eyes from side to side (01:16:38:00) o On occasion, because he was a sniper, Broe would stay in a specific place for a short period of time to watch a specific target; however, this only happened a couple of times (01:17:21:00)  There were several other times when Broe was part of a patrol and was armed with a sniper rifle but never had to use said rifle in a traditional sniper role (01:17:43:00)  When Broe was armed with a sniper rifle on a patrol, he was told that the patrol was looking for a specific individual; intelligence would say a specific NVA officer would be in a certain area at a certain time and the patrol would happen to be in the same area (01:18:04:00)  The men were supposed to keep their eyes open for the NVA officer and if an opportunity presented itself and it was practical, � Broe had orders to engage; however, the decision of whether Broe might engage the target ultimately remained with the squad leader commanding the patrol (01:18:28:00)  Sometimes, the patrol was under specific orders to find someone and other times, it was a target of opportunity and if the men felt they could take it, then they could take it (01:18:55:00)  During the sniper patrols, Broe would only carry the sniper rifle and a lot of the rifle ammunition (01:19:06:00)  Before Broe would take the shot at the target, the other Marines on the patrol would be strategically positioned; the other Marines would know the shot was coming and their only assignment was watching their assigned sector (01:19:35:00) When Broe went out on his third patrol, he was carrying the secondary radio, plus an M16 (01:20:02:00) o During the patrol, the men ended up accidentally walking right into the middle of enemy base camp, not realizing they were in a base camp until they walked into the middle of it (01:20:09:00) o When the men realized they were in the base camp, they hit the ground and began crawling along the trail (01:20:23:00)  As the men crawled down the trail, Broe remembers looking up and seeing fresh dirt bordering the bunkers the enemy had dug along a ridgeline further up the trail (01:20:28:00) o Strangely, there was nobody in the base camp, so the men crept through very slowly and eventually reached the other side (01:20:40:00) o Once the men were far enough away from the camp, they plotted the entire camp and prepared to call in a fire mission (01:20:58:00) o However, as the men were waiting for the squad leader and radioman to call in the fire mission, they heard the sound of voices coming down the trail; the two enemy were talking quite loudly, which indicated that they had no idea the Marines were in the area (01:21:06:00) o When one of the Marines in the platoon started getting short-time, the platoon sergeant started messing with him, suggesting they do things that could potentially end badly (01:21:37:00)  As the two enemy soldiers walked past, the platoon sergeant suggested they grab one as a prisoner (01:21:53:00)  However, although the short-timer said it was a bad idea, both men moved like they were going to grab one of the enemy; meanwhile, Broe moved to a position further down to trail to block it off in case the other two did make a move to grab one of the soldiers (01:21:03:00)  All of a sudden, everybody was whispering for Broe to come back, which he did (01:22:07:00) o Broe does not know if the two enemy soldiers on the trail heard the platoon talking or saw movement but all of sudden, the base camp became very active; from where the men sat, it almost looked as if the enemy was trying to move forces to flank their position (01:22:16:00) � The men were not certain if the enemy knew the men were there but they were sure something was up (01:22:39:00) o The men waited until it was almost night before the platoon sergeant called in and requested and extraction, if at all possible; the terrain around the Marines’ position made landing a helicopter impossible but the area overhead was open, making a ladder extraction possible (01:22:44:00)  As the men climbed up the ladder, they took fire from all the surrounding enemy forces (01:23:23:00)  Climbing the ladder was a bit nerve-wracking for the men because it was a long climb to reach the helicopter (01:23:45:00)  To do a rope extraction, a rope ladder is rolled up in the back of a CH-46 helicopter and once the helicopter is hovering over the extraction area, the ladder is kicked out (01:23:57:00)  Once the ladder is on the ground, the helicopter slowly pulls up, so there is just enough ladder left on the ground for all the men to hook onto; as soon as all the men were hooked on, the helicopter lifted the ladder up (01:24:11:00)  Broe has a lot of admiration for the pilots, who hovered in the area, which made them a perfect target for anyone on the ground as the men hooked onto the ladder (01:24:40:00)  The harness the men used to hook to the ladder with was the first thing they put on over their uniform; once the ladder was there, it was only a matter of getting the D-ring out to hook on (01:25:08:00)  From the time the helicopter arrived until it finally pulled out, it was around four minutes, if not more (01:25:29:00)  Although that may not seem like a long time, it was an eternity for the pilots to be hover there (01:25:33:00)  There were machine gunners on the helicopter and they were peppering the area while the helicopter hovered over the extraction site; a .50-caliber had a way of keeping the enemy’s head down (01:25:45:00) o Broe’s first thought when the platoon sergeant suggested a ladder extraction was apprehension; not only was the helicopter exposed while hovering but then, the enemy knew where the men were (01:26:27:00) Battalion Re-structuring (01:27:10:00)  During Broe’s tour with 1st Recon, he started with Delta Company but around September 1970, there were more rumors of a down-sizing of the combat forces in Vietnam and the five combat companies were reconstructed to two re-enforced companies, while any Marine who was short-timer, along with the remaining parts of the battalion, rotated back to the United States (01:27:10:00) o Back in the United States, it was reported that a battalion had been withdrawn when in reality, the majority of the Marines in the unit remained in Vietnam (01:28:07:00)  During several times, the Marines became involved in firefights and skirmishes with enemy forces (01:28:51:00) �o Around mid-July, Broe was part of a mission into Laos and from the moment the men set down, the enemy knew the men were there (01:28:54:00)  The mission devolved into a constant run, with the men moving fast, trying to get away from the LZ, and avoiding open area because the enemy assumed that is where the men would go for extraction (01:29:07:00)  The men knew within a couple of hours that the patrol was not going to last for six or seven days, so they kept moving at a steady pace; however, they kept encounter different pockets of enemy soldiers (01:29:28:00)  The patrol was just before Broe’s 21st birthday and for a while during the patrol, he was not sure if he would live to see it (01:30:04:00)  The men ran for three days steady before they finally reached an area where they could be extracted (01:30:10:00)  This extraction was the men’s first interaction with a helicopter squadron nicknamed “the Purple Foxes” (01:30:23:00)  The pilots in the squadron were very good; during the extraction, the pilot came in so fast that when the helicopter landed, it bounced, but the tail was open, Broe and the other men were waiting, and they were able to hustle on (01:30:29:00)  The men did not know what the helicopters would encounter when the came in because they knew there was enemy in the surrounding area, so as one of the helicopters came in, another hovered around the extraction zone while a pair of Cobra gunships fired into the ground around the extraction zone (01:30:47:00)  When the men would look for a possible extraction zone, they would first look at their map for a possible location then head towards it; however, in most of the cases, the possible locations did not work because of the terrain (01:31:40:00)  Over the three days, the men scoped out six or eight different places that could have worked (01:32:03:00)  During the night, the men slept in shifts, with there always being at least to men awake at all times (01:32:14:00)  On the second night, the enemy launched a probing action against the men’s position; however, the men did not want to have to move in the dark, so they made believe they were not there (01:32:27:00) o The enemy was making so much noise that the men knew exactly where they were (01:33:01:00) o During the patrols where the men did have contact with the enemy, the men were not able to gather much in the way of usable information (01:33:26:00)  They did not want to risk the enemy getting too close just foe the sake of being able to identify uniform markings; as well, the enemy would often stop whatever they were doing to chase the men (01:33:26:00) o During one patrol, the men could hear an enemy convoy in the distance but by the time they got into the area, there was nothing around (01:33:57:00)  In those situations, it did make the men wondering in they were being the ones who were checked out (01:34:20:00) �  o Although his official records say Broe went on twenty-seven different patrols, over time, he lost count of how many he did while on his tour (01:34:48:00) o During Broe’s entire tour, his squad never took a single casualty; however, other sections of the unit did lose some men (01:35:02:00)  In November 1970, an entire fire team was lost during an extraction accident (01:35:12:00)  A helicopter came and in successfully extracted the team but accidentally flew into the side of a mountain (01:35:17:00)  For the next six to eight days, teams would go out and try to get into the area where the helicopter crashed (01:35:24:00) o The weather had initially caused the crash and it hampered efforts by the other teams to get into the area (01:35:35:00) o Eventually two teams were prepped to go into the area; although the odds of there being survivors was small, the men had no way of knowing for sure (01:35:52:00) o The men in the hooch next to Broe’s were the ones who actually found the fire team; Broe’s team had followed in another helicopter in case there needed to be a bigger perimeter while the other men worked (01:36:20:00) o The men carried black and white cameras with them on patrols to take pictures of any interesting intelligence; the commanders insisted the men take the pictures using a black and white camera and if someone took pictures with a color camera, the commanders did not want them (01:37:01:00) o Although he was near the same place multiple times, as far as Broe can remember, his team was never sent to the same place twice (01:37:28:00)  However, that does not mean someone else had been there before because on several occasions, it felt to Broe like someone else had already been through an area (01:37:44:00) o For the most part, the North Vietnamese soldiers that Broe and his team saw were from a distance; however, the team was close enough to identify markings on the soldiers’ uniforms (01:37:58:00) o It was impressive how much firepower could be put into a specific area but it was equally impressive when someone would stick their head out off the ground once the attack had stopped (01:38:29:00) Over the course of Broe’s tour, there was a fairly steady turnover amongst the other Marines in the unit (01:38:47:00) o Between the normal rotations and the restructuring of the unit, Broe ended up finishing his tour with a different group of Marines than who he had started his tour with (01:38:51:00) o The Marines who he had started his tour with had either already rotated home or ended up in one of the other fire teams after the unit’s restructuring (01:39:05:00) Apart from Reasoner, the Marines from the battalion were also stationed on a hill to the south of Da Nang to provide security for an NOD (Night Observation Device) team also stationed on the hill (01:39:37:00) �o The NOD team used a bulky device that mounted an early, primitive version of a night vision scope, called a “Starlight” scope; the team had the assignment of watching the territory surrounding the hilltop (01:39:50:00) o To the west of the hilltop were the Que Son mountains and on several occasions, while his team was stationed on the NOD hill to provide security, Broe would go into the mountains for a day or two to do traditional sniper mission (01:40:07:00)  Because people lived in those areas, there was constant movement and picking out movement that represented an actual military target was difficult to do (01:40:27:00)  As well, Broe had mixed emotions about doing the missions as a result of the first time his team was stationed on the hill (01:40:37:00)  Before that first mission, Broe had checked out a sniper rifle and before the team left, the lieutenant leading the mission decided he wanted to fire the sniper rifle (01:40:46:00) o The rifle had yet to be sighted in but Broe figured he could get the sight in the ballpark (01:41:11:00)  Below the hill, there were people in what the men had been told was a free fire zone and the lieutenant, with Broe beside him using a spotter scope, eventually picked a target somewhere at the bottom of the hill and fired (01:41:17:00)  Broe saw the round hit and he asked the lieutenant if the lieutenant knew what he had been aiming at; however, the lieutenant said he had not see the round hit (01:41:35:00)  Bore had a rough idea of where the lieutenant was aiming, a small clump of black dirt, so Broe began readjusting the rifle’s sights from where he saw the bullet land to clump of dirt (01:41:50:00)  There were three Vietnamese near the clump of dirt and they alternated between waving frantically and squatting down to do something (01:42:15:00) o Squads had gone off the hill before and run into enemy booby-traps, so the team did not know what exactly the Vietnamese individuals were doing (01:42:24:00)  Meanwhile, the lieutenant was trying to fire warning shots to try and push the Vietnamese away from the area (01:42:35:00)  With the last bullet he fired, the lieutenant ended up shooting one of the Vietnamese, a woman, and killing her (01:43:25:00) o When the round hit the woman, Broe had been watching through the spotter scope and he said, “got one”; however, the lieutenant said that he had not trying to hit anyone (01:43:41:00)  The exchange conflicted Broe; he had gone through all the training and was even good enough to get the rifle to work without even shooting but the lieutenant made it seem as though it was a bad thing (01:43:50:00)  As it turned out, some ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) soldiers were stationed on the hill at the same time, they reported the � incident, there was a trial during July and August, and the lieutenant was acquitted after he convinced the tribunal that he had not been intentionally aiming at the Vietnamese (01:44:15:00) o However, the lieutenant was the type of officer where he did not tell the tribunal that Broe had been adjusting the sights on the rifle after every shot (01:44:52:00) o Broe was eventually called to the witness stand and the lieutenant’s defense team tried to get Broe to tell what he had been doing while spotting the rounds (01:45:08:00)  Although he did not realize it at the time, the one defense lawyer was trying to get Broe to admit that he had been adjusting the sights (01:45:28:00) o Although the lieutenant ended up being acquitted, Broe later found out that the defense team had been trying to get Broe to take the blame, but the lieutenant did not want that to happen (01:45:48:00)  Whenever the defense of prosecution asked Broe a question, Broe would look at the lieutenant, who would slight nod if Broe could continue (01:46:01:00)  The entire situation was hard on Broe because he had been sent to Vietnam to do a specific job but was then told he would not be able to do said job (01:46:42:00)  There was a sergeant stationed on the hill at the time who called Broe bloodthirsty and tried to demonize Broe to the rest of the men; Broe does believe that some of the men had a distrust of him as a result of the whole incident (01:47:04:00)  When the men went on patrols, it was strictly business but Broe always wondered in the back of his mind, if all the chips were laid down, how many men would actually help him (01:47:34:00) Toward the end of Broe’s tour, after the battalion had been restructured, the men began doing more patrols near populated areas, especially in the western part of the Que Son mountains (01:48:19:00) o From what Broe observed, the enemy re-supply efforts that the men had seen on earlier patrols had been and was being used by the enemy to help fortify the mountains (01:48:50:00)  Actually catching the enemy re-supply was difficult because the re-supply trails came in from all directions and it was very sporadic timing for when the re-supplies would be brought in (01:49:04:00) o The men would be inserted into the mountains, patrol around for a time, then walk to one of the Marine units that had occupied nearby positions for a re-supply; once re-supplied, the men went back into the filed (01:49:24:00) o Although there were Vietnamese civilians working in the valleys and the men knew the Vietnamese civilians were coming into the mountains, they never encountered any civilians (01:49:50:00) �   Broe went on an R&R in September; while he was gone, that was when the battalion reorganized, so when Broe came back, his old hooch was empty and all his stuff had been moved to another hooch (01:50:23:00) o For the R&R, Broe ended up going to Taiwan for seven days; Broe went to Taiwan because it was one of the only places that was available when he came in for his R&R (01:50:38:00)  Prior to the R&R, the men had known that when the rides came in, if the men were in the field, then the Marines serving at the base had first pick and often chose the prime destinations, such as Australia (01:51:03:00)  Broe had no desire to take his R&R to Bangkok in Thailand because it did not sound interesting to him; Taiwan, on the other hand, did sound interesting to Broe (01:51:18:00)  Broe had a very good time in Taiwan and spent most of the time with a young lady he was hooked up with; the young lady turned out to be a very intelligent individual (01:51:34:00)  Prior to going on the R&R, Broe drew all the money he could from the books in terms of pay, around $750, and when he arrived in Taiwan, the young lady asked if Broe trusted her; Broe said he did and she told him to give her the money (01:51:49:00)  By the end of the seven days, all Broe’s money was gone, which he knew would happen, but the young lady had set up an entire itinerary for herself and Broe, places to go and things to see (01:52:07:00)  During the seven days on leave, although Broe was in a place where there was not the possibility that people would be shooting at him, he still worried about it (01:52:38:00)  He was still checking around himself all the time because even in Taiwan, he was in a land of short, oriental people who he did not know (01:52:41:00) On Reasoner, there were some South Vietnamese civilians who came and went each day from the camp (01:53:01:00) o However, Broe had very little interaction with the civilians because he was going on and off the camp so much and whenever he was actually on the camp, he was either sleeping, grabbing some food, or getting his equipment squared away for the next mission (01:53:13:00) o Broe himself never had too much in the way of interaction with the civilian population (01:53:41:00) There was not really any tension between the men who went out on the patrols and the men who stayed behind on the camp (01:54:22:00) o Everyone who stayed behind on the camp had a job to do and how well they did their job determined how well the patrols did (01:54:27:00)  At one point, Broe heard a statistic that for every one man in the field, it took ten to twelve men in the rear to support him; from what Broe observed, of all the men who deployed to Vietnam, only a relatively small portion of the men were actually in combat (01:54:37:00) �    o All the men in the battalion were very professional and very good at doing their jobs properly (01:55:05:00)  The other men were always willing to answer questions that the other men might have; Broe has seen the movies where the older men pushed away the younger men but he personally never saw that happen (01:55:12:00)  Everyone seemed more than willing to answer a question or help another person do something that would help the others (01:55:36:00) There were some black men and Hispanic men in Broe’s unit (01:55:56:00) o For the most part, Broe’s unit did not have the racial tensions that others talked about happening in other units (01:56:26:00) o The minorities in the unit knew their job, were eager and willing to help if possible, and wanted to be able to depend on the other men when needed and vice versa (01:56:33:00) When Broe first joined the unit, there was a young Marine already there who was into using speed, a clear liquid drug in a bottle, and was high all the time (01:57:10:00) o The Marine was never used in any type of a combat situation, nor did he ever have to pull guard duty (01:57:28:00) o To Broe, it looked as though everyone knew the Marine was a drug addict but instead of doing something about him, the other Marines just avoided interacting with him (01:57:45:00) o As far as drug use amongst the other soldiers, although Bore figures there was some, he did not deal with it and nobody in his hooch dealt with it; if somebody in the hooch did use drugs, then he went away from the hooch (01:57:53:00) The unit Broe belonged to was very good and the men were a very tight-knit group, even if they did not work together all the time (01:58:49:00) o Any time another fire team got shot up and needed to be brought back at night, the man in charge of the mess hall had his whole crew in the mess hall, ready with hot food for the fire team (01:59:06:00)  Nobody openly ordered the man to do this and it was not something required to be done; the man just did it and none of his men complained, even if they had gone to sleep only an hour before (01:59:24:00) During his tour, Broe wrote to his family on occasion but it was very hard to do so, given the nature of the missions he was doing; he could not say a lot about what was going on during the fighting (01:59:58:00) o At one point, Broe was able to call home using a system consisting of the field phone in the company headquarters plus a series of HAM radios (02:00:12:00)  The conversation was just like talking on a normal radio for Broe, although it was difficult for his parents because they did not understand the reason why they needed to say “over” every time they finished saying something (02:00:34:00)  When Broe called home, he found out his father had been let go from him job, so he tried to figure out if his parents wanted him to re-route his Army pay to them (02:00:50:00)  However, his parents did not want him to do that and by the time Broe rotated home, his father had already established himself in a new job (02:01:12:00) �  During the tour, Bore had a bout of jungle rot across his lower back where his equipment kept rubbing all the time; the equipment would rub against the jungle rot and open up the wounds (02:01:45:00) o Broe would go to the senior corpsman before a patrol and the corpsman would take Broe to an aid station, where the staff covered the wounds with bandages (02:01:54:00)  However, once Broe was in the field and began sweating, the bandages inevitably fell off (02:02:18:00) o When Broe first arrived, he and the other men were given malaria pills and salt pills but all of a sudden, the pills were stopped (02:02:35:00)  The salt pills were meant to be taken by the soldiers who were in the field and sweating a lot but for some reason, the philosophy regarding the use of the pills changed (02:02:52:00) The men in Broe’s unit heard about the shooting at Kent State from a man who joined the unit after the shooting (02:03:48:00) o However, Bore does not recall every hearing about the shooting on the Armed Forces radio; however, he very seldom listened to it regardless (02:04:07:00) o Broe did not know about the Apollo 13 disaster until 1974, when he just happened to hear the story; he ended up having to go and look for information about the disaster because he had heard nothing about it (02:04:16:00) o When he read about Apollo 13 and other stories, Bore sarcastically understands why people were not paying attention to what was happening with the men fighting in Vietnam (02:04:43:00) End of Tour / Post-Military Life / Reflections (02:04:56:00)  When it got to the end of his tour, Broe had a short-timer's calendar and he was counting down the days until he could go home; as Broe’s tour wound down to a close, the duties and assignment he had to do changed (02:04:56:00) o In January 1971, Broe mainly did radio relay work, although the re-assignment was largely due to a patrol Broe had been on around Christmastime (02:05:28:00)  During the patrol, the men came under enemy fire from across a nearby rice paddy; the men hit the ground and started looking in different directions to see if they could spot where exactly the enemy fire had come from (02:05:42:00)  As Broe was laying on the ground with the bullets flying over his head, he lamented the fact that he had come under fire so close to the end of his tour (02:05:54:00)  Broe is not sure whether it was the lieutenant leading the patrol or a sergeant who was also on the patrol, but one of them asked that Broe be pulled out of the field (02:06:21:00)  However, whoever made the suggestion also knew Broe would not like not being in the field at all, so he was placed on a hill in the middle of nowhere as part of a radio relay team (02:06:33:00)  While with the radio relay team, other men in the team stood watch while Broe operated the radios for eight hours (02:06:48:00) �  A couple of times, Broe’s old fire team in 1st Recon was out in the field and they would give a sit-rep (situation report) to Broe, who then relayed the information to the command post (02:07:05:00)  The radios that the fire teams used had a limited range but Broe’s radio was within range of both the fire teams’ radio and the radios at the command post (02:07:27:00)  Working with the radios was interesting because it gave Broe a refresher course in the complexity of supporting units who were in the field (02:07:38:00) o At times, it was frustrating for Broe because in his case, whenever something would happen to a fire team in the field, he knew what the men were going through and how they were constantly running while still trying to keep track of where they were (02:07:49:00) o However, Broe is now the person constantly asking for an update, although he knew full well that was the last thing the men wanted to hear (02:08:08:00)  As far as Broe knows, there was never any problem with the enemy intercepting the messages (02:08:28:00) o The men were told that there was always the possibility that the enemy were listening; however, the encryption codes for the messages changed every day (02:08:33:00)  From what Broe believes, the NVA and Viet Cong had their own set plan and they only attacked the Americans when the Americans happened to get in the way of those plans (02:08:51:00)  Broe believes it became less important for the NVA and Viet Cong to probe the large bases to find information (02:09:14:00)  Broe thinks that although the enemy continued building up their soldiers, they did it in the back, out of the way of the Americans, who were on their way out of the Vietnam (02:10:01:00) As it turned out, Broe’s tour ended up being a week short of the normal twelve months a tour lasted; during his last week, although Broe was still considered overseas, he was in transit back to the United States and was on Okinawa (02:10:27:00) o When the time came for him to actually leave Vietnam, Broe was given a threeday notice beforehand as to when exactly he would be leaving (02:10:49:00)  Broe knew his year was coming up and he knew that his commander knew, mostly because he kept reminding them (02:10:58:00) o Once the day finally came, Broe was driven from Reasoner back to Da Nang so he could catch a flight out (02:11:13:00)  During the out-processing, all the men were allowed to go through “amnesty”; each man was allowed to go into a private booth with a pair of �  barrels inside and throw any contraband they wanted into the barrels, no questions asked (02:11:18:00)  However, once a man got past the booth, if he was caught with any contraband on him, he was in trouble (02:11:38:00)  Contraband consisted of any weapons, drugs being trafficked out, certain types of souvenirs, ammunition, etc. (02:11:51:00)  It had already been made clear to the men what was contraband and the amnesty booths was their last chance to get rid of any contraband items (02:12:18:00)  When Broe left Reasoner, he left most of his stuff behind in his hooch to begin with (02:12:22:00)  He physically did go to turn in his M-16 at the armory; he had turned in the sniper rifle about a month before, when he had been placed on the radio relay team (02:12:30:00) o After leaving Vietnam, Broe went Okinawa and spent another three or four days getting all the equipment he had left there when he first went into Vietnam at the beginning of his tour (02:12:51:00)  However, a typhoon had come through and soaked the equipment that had been left behind, so it was packed into cardboard boxes; when the men opened up the boxes, everything was a mess (02:12:58:00)  All the men were issued new dress uniforms and the whole time, Broe is wondering why he has to receive the uniforms because he was getting out when he got back to the United States (02:13:19:00)  The military was offering an early-out to anyone who had less than one-hundred-and-twenty days remaining on his enlistment when he returned to the United States; Broe figured when he got back, he would have ninety-one days remaining on his tour (02:13:38:00)  Ultimately, Broe was able to return home with some souvenirs he thought were important, such as a couple of papers (02:14:13:00) All in all, Vietnam was a very weird country; it was hot, but the men were always cold, it rained constantly but it was always dry, the whole country had a smell that, thankfully, Broe has been unable to find duplicated in the United States (02:14:17:00) o The minute the door opened on the airplane in Da Nang when Broe first arrived, the air became thick and heavy and there was an odor in the air that was noticeable but the men could not figure out what was causing it (02:14:45:00)  Nevertheless, to a certain extent, all the men eventually became used to the odor; however, the further the men moved into the field, the more the odor was replaced by the smell of vegetation (02:15:05:00)  While in the field, as the men would approach a village, they could smell the burning wood from the fires (02:15:31:00) The flight home from Vietnam to Okinawa and then to the United States was aboard another commercial airplane (02:16:25:00) o When the men were first boarding the airplane in Vietnam, everyone was quiet and everyone was sweating; everyone tensed up when the door of the airplane closed and there was a “thump” sound (02:16:31:00) �   o Everyone sat quietly until the wheels of the airplane left the ground; after that, everyone let out a cheer and went nuts (02:16:55:00) Once back in the United States, Broe was taken to an area of Camp Pendleton, although he is not positive where on the camp it was (02:17:26:00) o Broe and the other men spent four days in the area as they went through the procedure of out-processing paperwork (02:17:45:00)  The whole process was very loose; when the men first went into their barracks, they tried to store their gear in an orderly manner, out of fear of an inspection, but none ever happened (02:18:13:00) o Re-enlisting was talked about to the degree that if someone was thinking about reenlisting, they were told who they needed to go see; for a couple of days, Broe himself seriously considered re-enlisting (02:18:46:00)  At one point, he asked a staff sergeant what the possibilities were that Broe would go back to 1st Recon and the staff sergeant said it was highly unlikely Broe would be assigned to the same unit (02:19:04:00)  When he heard he would probably not rejoin 1st Recon, Broe became more hesitant about re-enlisting (02:19:19:00)  At first, Broe asked the staff sergeant the likelihood he would be sent back to Vietnam regardless and the staff sergeant said it was very high; although the Americans were pulling out, because Broe was an E-4 with combat experience, he was a sought after commodity (02:19:25:00) o What the sergeant did not tell Broe and what Broe found out later was he gone back, he likely would have been given a relatively safe, non-combat position (02:19:43:00)  However, Broe would have not cared for a non-combat position, so he is glad he ultimately decided not to re-enlist (02:19:51:00) After he finished out-processing and left Camp Pendleton, Broe returned to Michigan by way of Chicago, which was experiencing a series of bad snow storms (02:20:05:00) Once he got home, Broe did nothing for about a week-and-a-half before he went to try and get his job back at the yacht-making company (02:21:04:00)  However, the manager in charge of personnel told him the company was going through severe cut backs and even if Broe had stayed, he would have been let go already (02:21:17:00)  However, the manager told Bore to wait because he knew another man at a furnace company; the manager called the other man, explained the situation, asked if the other man had an opening, and the other man told the manager to send Broe over (02:21:35:00) o Broe went to the furnace company and got a job working on a production line, assembling furnaces for house trailers; however, Broe hated the job and hated being inside on an assembly line (02:21:57:00) o One day, he was in Allegan when he ran into an old friend who worked for the local telephone company; the friend told Broe that the telephone company was looking to hire a new lineman and told Broe to put in an application (02:22:11:00) �    Broe got the job at the telephone company and worked there for a while, until one night, he got into a car accident (02:22:27:00) o The car accident screwed Broe up because he had been toying with the idea of reenlisting in the military (02:22:48:00)  The accident laid Broe up for over a year, spending six months in a body cast and the next six to eight months on crutches (02:23:56:00)  Once he started using the crutches, Broe decided to use the G.I. Bill to go to school (02:24:09:00) o Broe spent two terms at Western Michigan University studying aviation engineering, with the hopes of becoming an airplane mechanic (02:24:17:00)  However, the experience did not work out too well for Broe, who did not fit into the regimentation of school life; he was used to doing things because there was a reason, not because somebody thought it was a good idea (02:24:35:00) o Broe eventually got a job working in South Haven, Michigan building blueberry shakers (02:25:04:00) o However, the company started losing business, so Broe found a job working in the Lifesaver candy factory in 1974, where he stayed for twenty-five years (02:25:12:00) The time Broe spent in the military were definitely his formative years, akin to the years when a student is in college (02:25:36:00) o Broe’s time in the military gave him a different outlook on situations as compared to what other people’s outlooks were (02:25:47:00)  Broe has evidence of this, thanks to the brief time he spent at Western Michigan (02:26:01:00) o Broe believes his military service gave him a high degree of self-discipline and the drive to go after things he felt were worth going after (02:26:16:00) Broe held a variety of jobs working at the Lifesaver factory, eventually reaching the point where, during third shifts, he was the only person working in the factory (02:26:47:00) o However, the lack of human interaction began to cause trouble for Broe and he began fighting with some personal demons (02:27:05:00) o Eventually, the parent company planned to sell the factory and Broe, who was by then a production supervisor, grew tired of waiting for the sale to happen and quit the company (02:27:26:00) After he left Lifesavers, Broe went to work with his brother, who owned a local gravel business; Broe stayed at the business but his inner problems continued, up to the point that one some nights, he could not sleep (02:28:09:00) o At the time, Broe belonged to the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans association in Holland and at one point, he got to talking with one of the other members and other member told Broe to come with him (02:28:23:00)  The other member took Broe to the VA center in Grand Rapids and right into the mental health section (02:28:37:00)  The woman at the section said that Broe needed to talk with a psychiatrist; although she knew what his problem was, she was not able to make any diagnosis (02:28:54:00) �  Within in an hour, Broe was enrolled in the system and the psychiatrist explained PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) to Broe, something he had heard very little about (02:29:08:00) o Since his diagnosis, Broe has been learning more about the disorder and has been spending more time interacting with other veterans (02:29:37:00) o Following the diagnosis, Broe has gone through a re-adjustment period; there were things in his mind that were fighting to get out but Broe was fighting just as hard to keep them locked inside (02:30:20:00) o A lot of the reason why Broe kept things locked away was because of other people, who often irritated or annoyed him; however, looking back, often the dislike Broe had for the people stemmed from disagreements he had with them about what things were important and how things should be done (02:31:19:00) Broe’s time in the military was a very character building experience for him; although there were probably some things he should not have done, he does not regret serving in the military (02:31:58:00) o He encourages any veteran who feels he or she is battling uphill to contact with VA and to not be ashamed about their service (02:32:22:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Broe, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Broe, Daniel Description An account of the resource Daniel Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949, and grew up there and in Holland, Michigan. He went to work after high school, and was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1969. He did well enough in rifle training at Camp Pendleton to be put into scout/sniper training, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. Assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, he spent most of his tour on patrols in the northern part of South Vietnam, with occasional forays into Laos. The patrols were intended to find the enemy without being seen, and for the most part they avoided firefights, and took no casualties while Broe was in the field, despite a number of scares. While trained as a sniper, he never had occasion to carry out a sniper assignment, and instead operated his squad's radio. Toward the end of his tour, his unit shifted its area of operations away from the Laotion border and closer to Da Nang, and he was eventually assigned to a radio relay station, where he communicated between the units in the field and the rear area headquarters. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Marine Corps Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-01-25 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BroeD1340V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/26e7bc6c40d7f2708db194c8296b85c3.pdf 8d60bae0c3cca2f38e8e3122341b176e PDF Text Text GEMEENTE LANGEDIJK . Algemeene aanw11z1ngen voor afvoer der burgerbevolking in het geval van een evacuatie. U behoort (met uw gezin) tot. wijk BROEK OP LANGENDIJK groep: ..... /..~ ···De naam van uw wijkcommandant is H. VAN ZUYLEN, adres BR. OP LANGENDIJK nr. 417, die van uw groepsleider · · · · ·-!: . . .~ .. ,adres . F ef Bij vertrek moet uw huis, nadat gas", water• en electriciteitsgelei" dingen zijn af gesloten en uitgschakeld, gesloten worden en de slew tel met daaraan gehechte schriftelijke vermelding van naam, straat en huisnummer aan een nader door den groepsleider aan te geven persoon worden af gegeven. Zooveel moglijk wordt voor bewaking der huizen gezorgd. U moet medenemen: a. Papieren. Persoonsbewijzen, distributiestamkaarten en ,bescheiden, trouw• boekje, geboorte• en huwelijksakten, spaarbankboekjes, geld en waardepapieren, verzekeringspolissen, belastingbiljetten enz. b. Mondvoorraad. Mondvoorraad voor twee dagen. c. Kleeding en uitrusting. Overkleeding, reserve"ondergoed, dekens (liefst gerold), ledige bedzakken en kussenzakken (eventueel als bergingsmateriaal te gebruiken), waschgerei, eetgerei, veldflesch en drinkbekers. De aandacht wordt er op gevestigd dat U slechts het strikt nood" zakelijke kunt medenemen. Om de gedachte te bepalen, moet per volwassen persoon worden rekening gehouden met een totaal mede te voeren gewicht van ten hoogste 35 kg. z.o.z. �d. Algemeen. Eenig verbandmateriaal en ev.entueel geneesmiddelen uit huis~ apotheek. Voor wat betreft mede te nemen huisdieren, zullen hoofdzakelijk honden en katten in aanmerking komen. Elk pak mede te nemen bagage moet voorzien zijn van een etiket of label met duidelijke àanwijzing van naam en adres van den eigenaar. Labels worden door den groepsleider verstrekt. e. Mede te nemen transportmiddelen. Aanbeveling verdient het medenemen van kleine wagentjes, spottkarretjes, kinderwagens en rijwielen, in welk geval de moge• lijkheid om meer bagage per persoon mede te-nemen wordt ver• groot. In te dienen opgaven. Reeds nu moet aan uw groepsleider opgave worden gedaan van de te uwen huize aanwezige: a. niet,marschvaardige zieken; b. gebrekkige.Il; c. andere, in bijzondere omstandigheden verkeerende personen. f. Wijziging hie:rvan moet steeds aan den groepsleider worden me=< de gedeeld. Door het bevoegd gezag wordt aangewezen welke personen (met hun gezin) moeten achterblijven. Alle overige personen moeten in het geval van een evacuatie vertrekken. K 28'/tl � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144_Termaat_DOC_1940s-Evacuation-instructions Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Broek op Langendijk (Neth.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1940 Title A name given to the resource Evacuation instructions Description An account of the resource Detailed instructions in the case of an evacuation for the town of Broek op Langendijk, North Holland, Netherlands, circa 1940. In Dutch. Subject The topic of the resource Dutch Netherlands World War, 1939-1945 -- Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource nl Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives