732 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/169226bf749fed62cb67a682b2130c87.pdf a6c81f81d0b9014a54f07baa13e07f13 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Chuck O’Conner (4:22) Background Information (00:02)    Chuck served in the Marines during the Vietnam War (00:03) He received the 3 purple hearts and was awarded the Silver Star for his service. (00:12) He enlisted in the Marines. He served for a total of 3.5 years. His highest rank was staff sergeant. (00:26) Overview of Service (00:50)    The largest battle Chuck was evolved in was Khe Sanh. (00:50) He was missing in action for 4 months. (00:57) He saw a lot of action in Vietnam. (1:12) Background Information (cont) (1:25)  He enlisted right out of high school in Illinois. (1:28) Return from service (1:40)        He was spit on when he returned from Vietnam to the U.S. (1:40) He was very happy and honored when the Vietnam memorial was constructed in Washington D.C. He would serve again if he had the choice to. (2:10) He made many close friends while in Vietnam. (2:40) He still attends reunions. He is a member of the American Legion, and the VFW. (3:05) Chuck was frightened his first day of service. (3:30) Chuck did see napalm but was luckily never exposed to Agent Orange. (4:00) � 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/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OConnerCT Title A name given to the resource O'Conner, Charles (Interview outline), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Conner, Charles Description An account of the resource Chuck O'Conner enlisted in the U.S. Marines while living in Illinois and served 3.5 years in the service. During his service Chuck obtained the rank of Staff Sergeant and fought in the field during the Vietnam War. He was involved in the battle at Khe Sanh, but does not say much about it. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Skrijelj, Sanel (Interviewer) Snyder, Zachary (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 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 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 2010-05-15 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/1f39d09c91fda9f7464146ea7fdab897.m4v 62854e5bedda8fad4df04af09e117c0b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/78cb98fbfdcff1b0ff86220ecc9f606c.pdf 556289ff7ac13bbaf15ff349a4947d5c PDF Text Text O’Dowd, Annie Grand Valley State University All American Girls Professional Baseball League Veterans History Project Interviewee’s Name: Annie O’Dowd Length of Interview: (41:09) Interviewed by: James Smither Transcribed by: Chelsea Chandler Interviewer: “Okay, now start us out with some background on yourself, and to begin with, where and when were you born?” Okay, I was born in Chicago in 1929, which is ages ago. Interviewer: “Sure, it was. Now did you grow up in Chicago, or did you move around?” I grew up in Chicago and moved out, well, when I started playing ball. Interviewer: “Okay. What neighborhood of Chicago were you living in?” I was on the south side of Chicago. Interviewer: “Okay, that’s still a pretty big area. Is there a particular neighborhood within that that had a name that you remember?” I don’t remember the name, but it was around 59th and Kedzie. Interviewer: “Okay, so it’s not all the way west of Hyde Park and places like that.” Oh, yes, west of Hyde Park. Kedzie was 3200, I think. West. Interviewer: “Okay, so it’s kind of southwest side of the city.” Right. (1:06) Interviewer: “All right, and what did your family do for a living when you were growing up?” Well, my dad was the only one that worked. Mom stayed home. He was a driver for the Chicago Tribune, and that was all the income we had until I started playing ball. And then I got my paychecks playing ball. I sent them right home to Mom. 1 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay. How did you learn how to play baseball?” Well, my brother was fairly athletic, and we used to, you know, throw the ball back and forth, back and forth. And we’d run up and down the street, and of course I played with all the boys on the street. And that’s how I learned to play ball. Interviewer: “Okay, now did the boys just let you do all the same things they did, or did they make you only do certain things?” Well, I was kind of the boss. Whether they liked it or not, I really don’t know, but I was kind of the leader of our street, which was Troy Street, Chicago. (2:11) And I became kind of a leader when I played professional ball. Interviewer: “Okay, now you’re growing up, you’re playing in the street...Now were there organized sports for girls in the schools or churches or parks?” Well, when I was growing up, there wasn’t any organized ballplaying. You’d go to the park and play and play in those games, but there wasn’t any really organized ballplaying. Interviewer: “Okay, now there were kind of semi-pro softball teams. There were teams that women played on in Chicago in that period.” Yes, there were. The Chicago Bloomer Girls and the Bluebirds, I think, and I don’t know. Can’t remember the name of the other teams that they had there, but I did go to some of the ball games, and they had—I don’t know. A team like bigger, bigger women than we were. I remember the Savona Sisters, and they were big and broad and tall and heavy. I mean, they were heavy. They were sturdy women. And yeah, I used to go to watch them play. Interviewer: “Okay, now you’re growing up in the period of the Depression and World War II. Do you know if your father had sort of steady work through the ‘30s?” Oh, yes, he had steady work, and I remember getting food stamps during the wartime for sugar and meats. Interviewer: “Oh, yeah, because you had the ration cards and all of that.” Right, right, right. I remember going to the butcher store, you know, handing over my little tickets. 2 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Right. Okay, now did you finish high school?” Oh, yes. Interviewer: “And what year did you graduate?” Oh, 1947. Interviewer: “Okay, and what did you do after you graduated?” (4:11) After I graduated, a friend of mine—You know, we’re looking for jobs, and we weren’t skilled at anything that would be—take place in an office. So we had to work in a factory. Worked in a box factory, which was—It was pretty hard work, but that’s what I did for how many years. Don’t remember that, but then I did get a job in an office for Campbell’s Soup. Interviewer: “Okay, so how did you wind up becoming a professional baseball player?” Well, I read in the paper that there were tryouts at this Marquette Park, which I lived probably a mile, and so I thought, “I think I’ll go over and try out.” I wanted to be a first baseman, but the gentleman that was running the tryouts said, “I think you have the stature of being a catcher.” So I became a catcher, which I loved. Interviewer: “Okay, now had you played catcher periodically?” Oh, no, never. Never in my life. Interviewer: “Okay, now had you continued to play those pickup games even after high school? So were you still actively playing at the time you tried out?” Oh, sure. With the boys. Interviewer: “Okay, so that was going on even though you’re getting to be close to twenty years old. But there’s still people out there playing.” Right, right. Interviewer: “Okay, and your preferred position was first base.” That’s what I wanted to be. Yeah, first baseman. 3 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay, now did you have some experience in other positions?” No, none. None at all. Interviewer: “Okay, so you never played outfield, or…?” (6:05) No, you played wherever you needed to be, and that’s the position I would play. Interviewer: “Okay, so why did you like first base?” It was full of action, and I wanted to be in on everything. But being a catcher, you’re in on everything. Everything, everything. Interviewer: “Yeah, now you’re calling the game.” Right, and you’re in charge. I guess I like being in charge. Interviewer: “All right, so the scout there or whatever—the person running this—they’ve seen that. Unless it was just exactly how tall you were or something, and said, ‘Oh, you should be a catcher.’” Yes, because I had that sturdy build. I was a little heavier than I am now, and he looked at me and said, “Oh, no, you’re going to be a catcher.” So then I was. Interviewer: “Okay, now when you went to this tryout, about how many women do you think were there?” Good question. I would say between twenty-five and fifty. Interviewer: “Okay, so a reasonable number of people. Now were a lot of them softball players, or do you not know?” Probably all of us were softball players. Interviewer: “Okay, so were you playing softball, too?” Oh, yes. Interviewer: “Okay, and was that still just the unorganized games?” 4 �O’Dowd, Annie Right, unorganized games. Interviewer: “All right, but when you were playing with the guys, were you sometimes playing baseball rather than softball?” No, mostly softball. Interviewer: “Okay, so your experience is in softball, but—So when you were actually trying out for the baseball, were they using now regulation sized baseballs, or was the league all the way there yet, or…?” No, the size of the ball was ten inches when I played, and you get used to playing with whatever size it is. (8:02) Interviewer: “Sure, because I think a standard baseball is nine inches, but softball in Chicago was as big as sixteen.” Oh, yes, and that was Chicago ball. They called it Chicago ball, which was what my brother played on, and he was very good. But that was a great game, Chicago ball. Interviewer: “Yep. All right, so this is spring of ‘49 now that you’re trying out?” Mm-hmm. Interviewer: “Okay, and do they tell you right away that they’re taking you, or do you have to wait?” I think they said I made the team, and I was very excited and went home and told my parents. And I waited until whatever was coming next. Interviewer: “So what does come next?” Well, next they said, “We’re going to go to spring training.” And I can’t remember exactly where that was, but I had to go away. It was out of town. Interviewer: “Did you go south for spring training?” It wasn’t very, very far away. I believe it was south. Interviewer: “But it wasn’t like North Carolina or Florida or some place like that.” 5 �O’Dowd, Annie No, no, no. No, no, no. Interviewer: “Okay. Well, that’s the kind of thing that gets looked up because it did move around quite a bit, and it was done different ways in different years.” Yes, right. I never got—When I saw the film, there were a lot of ballplayers. Everybody was in one place. When I went to spring training, it wasn’t that way. There were, you know, just a couple of teams. Interviewer: “Okay, so what team were you assigned to, or did you not have a team yet?” Well, when I first started, it was the traveling team, and I was on the Chicago Colleens. Interviewer: “Okay, now explain a little bit what the traveling teams were.” Oh, that was so much fun. It was really a lot of fun. You get in the bus, and you go to your destination. And we traveled to twenty-seven states in all, but it was fun riding the bus. (10:10) You’d sing and try to sleep and stop to go to the bathroom, and it was just a load of fun. Interviewer: “Okay, and what was the purpose of these teams? Because these are not the regular league teams.” No, this was like a—What do they call it in real baseball? Interviewer: “Minor League?” Minor League. Thank you. Minor League, and, you know, you just play ball, and when they thought you were good enough, they’d send you up to the big leagues. Interviewer: “All right, because you had to kind of make the transition to playing, essentially, baseball rather than softball. Now were you older than a lot of the other players on those traveling teams?” Maybe a year or two. Interviewer: “Okay, because some of them talk about joining when they’re in their midteens.” Oh, no, I wasn’t that young. 6 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Yeah, but some of them, you know, may have been. Okay, but you didn’t feel like you were a whole bunch older than they were.” Oh, no, not at all. Interviewer: “All right, now you’d go to a particular town on this tour, and then what happens?” Well, they put us up in a hotel. You’d go to your room, and then they’d tell you what time we were going to play ball the next day, and we would prepare for that. And the rest of it was, you know, do what you want, but you have to be back in your room by such and such time because, you know, there was a curfew. Interviewer: “Right, yeah. Now the league is sort of famous for having a lot of rules and regulations to govern what the player did, so which of those rules were still in place when you joined?” Well, the rules were you had to be in your room by such and such time. You could never wear slacks or anything. You always had to be in a skirt, which was not much fun, because today’s day and age, everybody wears long pants. (12:07) And the skirts were pretty hard to play in because, you know, you would get slide, and you would get strawberries, and that wasn’t any fun. But if your arm was sore or anything, the chaperone would come and give you a nice rubdown. And there were times when you didn’t have a sore arm, but you still wanted a rubdown, and that was the good part. Interviewer: “And then were there rules about—Did you have to wear makeup when you were out in public or that kind of thing?” Well, we didn’t have to wear makeup, but we had to be ladylike, and I did go to charm school. Interviewer: “I thought that the charm school had ended. It goes out at some point, but now were they doing the charm school when you were doing spring training, or…?” Yes, they had charm school when it was spring training. And yeah, you had to walk around with the book on top of your head. You had to learn to sit like a lady and walk like a lady. It was very good for you. Yeah. Interviewer: “All right, now did you have any troubles transitioning from softball to baseball, or was that easy?” 7 �O’Dowd, Annie Well, at that age it would be easy. Yeah, you didn’t even think about it. You just did it. It came automatically, really. Interviewer: “Okay, and what about learning to play catcher?” Well, that was something altogether new to me, and it wasn’t easy. The hardest part was keeping your eyes open when a bat was coming into sight. You know, you’d go like this, and if they popped it up, you didn’t know where the ball was. So you learned how to keep your eyes open. (14:01) Interviewer: “Okay, now did they have you calling pitches, or…?” Oh, yes. There weren’t that many pitches as there are today, but there were some. Interviewer: “Well, what would pitchers normally throw?” Fastballs. Normally they would throw fastballs. They would throw curves. Interviewer: “So at that level, it was—Normally they would just throw fastballs, and then would you call for location, or…?” Oh, yes, you’d call for location. And they did have curveballs and changeups and knuckleballs, but there weren’t any sliders or those types. We didn’t have that. Interviewer: “Okay, and was there more variety of pitches when you actually got to play with the regular teams? Did you now have pitchers who could do more things?” No, I don’t think so. I think it was what you learned at spring training is what you brought to the big leagues. Interviewer: “Okay, now how long did you stay with the traveling team? Was it a full season?” Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yeah, that was a full season, which the seasons weren’t that long. Interviewer: “And what part of the country were you traveling around in?” Mostly Midwest and east. Oh, we’d go south, too. We were in South Carolina, and east, we were in New York, and then the Midwest. (16:03) 8 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay, and what kind of audiences did you attract?” Oh, there were good, good audiences. There were—I don’t know. I would say maybe five thousand people per game. Interviewer: “Which is pretty good even today for a lot of Minor League teams, so...Okay, and you were getting that back then. All right, and did you get local press coverage at all? Did you ever get interviewed?” Yes. No, I didn’t get interviewed, but they did take a lot of pictures. And I was on one of the brochures that they’d put up for a game, and that was nice. Interviewer: “All right, now when you’re thinking about the time that you spent with the traveling team, are there any particular memories or things that stand out for you?” On the traveling team? For myself? Interviewer: “Yeah.” Yes, there was one day I was playing, and it was very hot. And it was a doubleheader, and I had to catch both games. And somebody hit a popup, and I went for it. And I lost it in the sun, and the ball came right down on my eye. And I had a big shiner, but I continued to play. Interviewer: “Yeah, they might have taken you out today, but you stayed in.” No concussion. Interviewer: “Okay, that’s good anyway. All right, so you did one season essentially with the traveling team.” You would say that, maybe. I think maybe a year and a half. Interviewer: “Okay, because we have your dates recorded as sort of ‘49 through ‘51. That includes the time with the traveling teams?” Yes. (18:08) Interviewer: “Okay, so what were they paying you at that point? Do you remember?” 9 �O’Dowd, Annie It was...God, I can’t remember these things. I think I got a salary of $105 a week, and traveling money...Oh my god. Three dollars a day for food. And I thought, “Three dollars a day for food? That’s a lot of money.” Interviewer: “What would that buy?” Oh, you could go to a restaurant—twenty-five cents for a hamburger, five cents for a Coke—and it was cheap back then. Interviewer: “Okay, now eventually you go to the big leagues, basically, and what team did you play for first?” The Rockford Peaches. Interviewer: “Okay, and when you got there, were you a reserved player, or did you start catching right away?” No, I was second string—reserved—because I was a rookie. And I didn’t like sitting on the bench. For sure. But, you know, I did my sitting out and finally got to catch on a regular basis. Interviewer: “Okay, now who was pitching for that team at that time?” Oh, too hard of a question. Interviewer: “All right. How was life different when you’re playing on one of the regular teams than it was on the traveling team?” Well, actually the traveling team was more fun, and we were closer together. And when I went up to the big leagues as they call it, I didn’t really know anyone. (20:03) So it’s kind of hard. Interviewer: “And what kind of living situation did you have?” They arranged for us to stay in people’s homes, and so we had, you know, our own little bedroom and bathroom, which was very nice. Interviewer: “Now were there other women from your team staying at the same place you were, or…?” No, I was the only one. 10 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay, and what was the family like that you were staying with?” Oh, they were as sweet as can be, you know. “Everything okay?” “Oh, yeah, everything is fine. Thank you.” And they didn’t bother you if you didn’t want to be bothered, but they were very sweet. Interviewer: “Okay, and so did they live close to the ballpark, or could you walk there, or did you have some other way to get there?” You know what? I don’t recall. I don’t recall that. I probably walked there. Interviewer: “All right, and do you have a sense of how well the team was playing? I mean, do they have a winning record while you’re with them, or…?” Too hard of a question. Interviewer: “Okay, now when you had to go and play road games, how would you get there?” On a bus that they got. Everywhere we traveled it was on a bus. Interviewer: “And how long were those bus rides?” Oh, sometimes they were very long. Eight hours, ten hours. Yeah, they were—But not in the big leagues because all the teams were in the Midwest, so that didn’t take long at all. Interviewer: “Okay. Well, Rockford to Grand Rapids at that point might have been four hours or something like that.” Right. Yeah, that was probably one of the longest rides. Interviewer: “Okay, and at that point—Do you remember some of the places you played? I mean, there was Grand Rapids…” Oh, yeah. Muskegon. (22:01) Racine. Interviewer: “I guess Fort Wayne and South Bend, maybe.” Oh, yeah, Fort Wayne, South Bend. You know, the memory button’s not too good anymore. 11 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay, now were you a good defensive catcher?” I thought I was. I don’t know what the team thought, but I thought I was good at it. Interviewer: “Okay, well, one of the things the league is famous for is having women steal bases. It was one of the first things that separated you from women’s softball. So could you throw runners out?” Oh, yes. I would catch them leaning on first base and get them out. Interviewer: “Okay, so you do pick off a thrower first.” Right, and one of the things I used to do is I’d look at the pitcher and throw to first base. And that’s the way I caught them off base. Interviewer: “Okay, and did you have much success throwing them out at second?” Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I had a fairly good arm. Interviewer: “Okay, now in the league, did the baserunners—Did they have a sense of who the good catchers were?” Oh, I think so. Interviewer: “So they were a little more careful about who they would run on.” I would think so. Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, and were you a good hitter?” You know, I was a fair hitter. I don’t like to say I was excellent. I was decent. Interviewer: “Okay. Do you remember what your batting average was overall, or…?” Well, overall I think I was around 270. Interviewer: “Okay. And even today that’s pretty good for a catcher.” 12 �O’Dowd, Annie Yes. It’s not on the back of the card, though, that I hit that well. But it seemed to me I was always in cleanup, and I don’t think cleanup hitters are, you know, 240, 250. And on the back of the baseball card that’s what it was, and I know I was a better hitter than that. (24:08) Interviewer: “Well, some kind of hitters are power hitters. Did people hit a lot of home runs in that league, or were there not very many?” Some of the women, yes. There were some very, very good hitters that hit home runs. I was not a home run hitter. I was kind of line drives—left, center, and right—and I could hit to any field. I feel like I’m bragging about myself. Interviewer: “No, no. Our problem in doing these interviews is that people don’t want to say enough about themselves. They’re too modest. But we want to know this stuff. All right, now catchers are supposed to be slow.” Oh, and I was slow. Interviewer: “Okay, so you’ve got that one down.” I was as slow as a catcher usually is. Interviewer: “Now would you steal some bases anyway?” No, I was never a base stealer. I’d run as hard as I could, but I wasn’t a base stealer. Interviewer: “All right, now you started out playing for Rockford. And did you start playing catcher regularly for them, or did you do that at other teams later?” As I said before, I was on the bench when I first came out, but then to be a regular later. Interviewer: “But you were a regular for Rockford for a while?” Maybe the last part. The last month I was there. Interviewer: “Okay, now did you play a full season for Rockford, or did they trade you somewhere else?” No, I think I played a half a season for Rockford, and then they so-called traded me to Racine, and there I became first string. 13 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “Okay, and that all may have been designed. The league, I think, assigned people. They tried to get them…” Right. They wanted the teams to be even, and that’s why you got traded more than once. Interviewer: “Okay, now did you have pretty much the same experience in Racine as in Rockford, or did you like it better there, or…?” (26:15) It was about the same. I got to know a few of those players a little bit, Sophie Kurys being one. The base stealer of all times. Yeah, I got to know her a little bit then. That was nice. She was a nice lady. Interviewer: “All right, now how long did you stay with Racine?” Oh, you ask these hard questions all the time. Interviewer: “Well, was it sort of the rest of one season and then on somewhere else, or…?” I probably played there for a season, and, as I said, I don’t remember. I think it was Kalamazoo, but I’m not sure about that. Interviewer: “Okay, but the last team you played for was the Lassies regardless of where you were.” Right, right, and then I thought, “Well, I better stop having all this fun and get a real job.” So I stopped playing ball and got a real job. Interviewer: “Okay. I mean, it was a real job in the sense that it paid pretty well.” Right. I don’t think it paid as well as playing ball, though. Interviewer: “Well, no. That’s actually what I was saying. So why wasn’t playing ball a real job?” It was too much fun. I mean, it wasn’t like a job at all. I mean, it was just fun. Fun, fun, fun. Interviewer: “Okay, now while you were playing—this was kind of through ‘51—were the teams still getting good attendance?” 14 �O’Dowd, Annie Yes, they were. You know, I couldn’t tell you what the attendance was, but there were a lot of people out there. Interviewer: “Okay, but you didn’t have a sense yourself that the league was in trouble, or…?” No, not at all. No sense of that whatsoever. (28:03) Interviewer: “Okay, so for you...was maybe just going and getting maybe a grown-up job, or…?” Well, I thought it was a grown-up job where you had to get up at seven in the morning and go to work. Interviewer: “Okay, now did you go back to Chicago to work, or did you go somewhere else?” Oh, back to Chicago. Interviewer: “Okay, and what kind of job did you take?” Well, I worked in the factory, and, you know, it was eight to four whatever. And it was not fun. It wasn’t as much fun as playing ball. Interviewer: “Okay, and so how long did you stay with that?” Let’s see. I worked in the box factory probably a couple of years, and then I went to Campbell’s Soup. And I was in the offices. A clerk. And then in my mid-20s, late 20s, I became a supervisor, an office supervisor. And from there on I got a job as a buyer for Ameritech Communications, and I ended up pretty high on the bracket. Interviewer: “Okay, so after you left the league, I mean, did you talk to people about having played baseball, or did they even know you did that?” People didn’t know I did it, and I didn’t talk about it because I thought people back then would think, “Oh my god, she’s so boyish or mannish.” I didn’t want to talk about it because they didn’t look up to people then or to women then. (30:02) It was all, you know. “Oh, you did that?” Interviewer: “Women weren’t supposed to do what men were doing.” 15 �O’Dowd, Annie Exactly. So never ever talked about it until 1992 when the movie came out, and that was excellent. Interviewer: “Okay, now when they made the movie, you know, they brought in some of the former players, and some of them helped train them, and they had events and things like that. Did you get invited to participate in any of that?” Well, I was there when they were shooting in Cooperstown, and you participated a little, you know. But I never really consulted or anything like that on the movie. Interviewer: “Okay, so how did they know to contact you? Had you stayed in touch with any of the players, or did the league have an organization that you were a part of by then?” I think the league… Interviewer: “Okay, so basically the league—They’re organized on some level. They’re trying to find people. So they find you at that point, and then you kind of get reconnected with them at that point. And so what do you think was sort of different from your experience to what’s in the movie?” (32:21) I think the movie was fairly correct except we didn’t have a pitcher or catcher that were sisters. They made that part up. Interviewer: “Yeah, but that was also supposed to be the first season, and you weren’t there yet. But yes, they made that up.” Yeah, but the good part of the movie was when the catcher went to get a foul ball. She did the splits. Well, I did the splits, and I was proud of that. Interviewer: “Okay. Do you remember who you had for managers?” All I can remember is Lenny, and I can’t remember his last name. And Max Carey. And I can’t remember the name of the Rockford Peaches coach. Can’t remember. Interviewer: “Okay. Did the managers do a good job?” As far as I was concerned, they did a fairly good job. I did not get to know a lot of pointers, which I thought I would get, but I didn’t get that many pointers on how to catch. I just kind of self-taught myself. 16 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “All right, and then I guess the other thing I wanted to ask about and hadn’t throw in here yet—I mean, you mentioned the chaperones briefly. You know, what did their duties consist of, and what did you think of them?” Oh, I liked the chaperones. Well, you know, they told you when to go to bed and what the schedule was for the next day, and they weren’t really too bad. They weren’t too tough on me. Of course, I never did anything wrong. Interviewer: “Well, you were also old enough and principled to kind of look after yourself anyway.” Right. Interviewer: “Okay, now the movie kind of depicts them as more sort of schoolmarmish or something like that. Well, do you think that part was fair?” (34:31) I think some of the chaperones were that way, yeah. I didn’t run into those. Interviewer: “All right, so once the movie comes out, now did you get people starting to contact you or get you to go places or do things or sign autographs or that kind of thing?” No, but—Not to sign autographs, but I did—And I still get mail to sign, you know. Baseball cards. Interviewer: “Right. So you’re on the list.” Yes, I’m on the list. Yeah. I get what? Maybe two a week, which is astonishing to me that people are still looking for autographs from 1949. Amazing. Interviewer: “All right. Now we’re doing the league’s reunion in Sarasota in 2016. Have you been to many of their events or reunions or…?” The only one I was—that I attended was probably one of the first ones in 1986 in Chicago. Interviewer: “Okay, so you were connected to them. That’s well before the movie.” Yes, yes, yes, yes. 17 �O’Dowd, Annie Interviewer: “So that would be how they find you at that point. Okay, so why did you come this year?” Because I live in the Villages, and this is only a couple hours away. So I can get a friend to drive me down here, so I thought this would be a good time to come. (36:13) I am going to Florida— Miami—for the next one. Is it the reunion? Interviewer: “The FanFest.” FanFest. Interviewer: “The big baseball FanFest. Okay, now after the movie came out, did you tell anybody at that point?” Oh, yeah. Then I was very proud of what I did. And yeah, I said, “Did you see the movie A League of their Own?” “Oh, yeah.” “Well, I was one of the original ballplayers.” Yes, I was very proud of that. Interviewer: “Oh, good. All right, to think back at the time then that you spent playing ball, I mean, what do you think you took out of that, or what did you learn from it?” Well, I learned to be patient and be more truthful with people. Not that I was not truthful, but I feel like I was more truthful then. And what else? I don’t know. Interviewer: “Well, do you think it helped you at all—your career afterward, especially as you sort of moved up and got more responsibility?” Well, as I said, I was kind of a team leader, and that’s how I was when I got into the office work. And I became, you know, a manager. And people like me because I was fair. I was hard when I had to be, but I was very fair. And I think I got that from playing ball. Interviewer: “All right, now if you think back over your playing career, and you think back just to that time, is there anything else that kind of stands out in your memory there that you haven’t brought into the story yet? (38:19) Events or people or impressions of things?” Well, I was very impressed when I went to Yankee Stadium. Interviewer: “Talk about that. Why did you go to Yankee Stadium?” 18 �O’Dowd, Annie Well, there was the traveling team then, and it was just amazing to see all the old ball players up there. Just—It was—I can’t explain how I felt. Interviewer: “Now did you play a game there?” Yes, played a game in Yankee Stadium. And don’t remember if I got any hits or anything like that, but it was... Interviewer: “All right, now were you doing your game as like an exhibition before a regular game, or were the Yankees not there that day, or…?” I don’t think the Yankees were in town that week. Interviewer: “Okay, so you don’t remember meeting any of them or anything like that?” No, I don’t. Interviewer: “Okay. Do you remember if you went to any other Major League stadiums? Went to Washington or someplace else?” I think it was the Washington Senators then, and Connie Mack, I think, was still managing then. Did I meet him? Don’t recall. It’s awful. I don’t recall a lot of things. Interviewer: “All right. Well, he would have been kind of old by then.” Yes, he was pretty old. Interviewer: “But he did that a long time. Yeah, I guess we normally associate him with Philadelphia, but if you were going up the East coast, you might have gone there, too.” (40:08) Well, didn’t he—Wasn’t he a manager for the Washington Senators? Interviewer: “He might have been. I’m too young to remember Connie Mack.” Oh, now you’re bragging. You’re too young. Interviewer: “Yeah, yeah, I know. All right, but I had heard of him in association with Philadelphia Athletics, but anyway. Okay, so yeah, you got to see a good chunk of the country along the way there.” 19 �O’Dowd, Annie Twenty-seven states. Interviewer: “All right. I think we have pretty much covered what I had in mind. Anything else we ought to be talking about?” I think you should interview Jill. Interviewer: “All right. Anyway, I would just like to close this by thanking you for taking the time to talk to me today.” Oh, you’re entirely welcome. 20 � 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 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, during World War II to fill the void left by the departure of most of the best male baseball players for military service. Players were recruited from across the country, and the league was successful enough to be able to continue on after the war. The league had teams based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and operated between 1943 and 1954. The 1954 season ended with only the Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Rockford teams remaining. The League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball. Many of the players went on to successful careers, and the league itself provided an important precedent for later efforts to promote women's sports. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/484">All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-58)</a> 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 Sports for women World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives Oral history Baseball players--Minnesota Baseball players--Indiana Baseball players--Wisconsin Baseball players--Michigan Baseball players--Illinois Baseball for women--United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-58 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-10-02 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) 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 RHC-58_ODowdA1971BB Title A name given to the resource O'Dowd, Anna (Interview transcript and video), 2016 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Dowd, Anna Mae Description An account of the resource Annie O’Dowd was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1929. She graduated from high school in 1947 and worked in a box factory before trying out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1949. She was initially placed in the Chicago Colleens, a travelling team (similar to a minor-league team), and played with them for a season. After the Colleens, she joined the Rockford Peaches and played with them for half of a season. The final team she played with was the Kalamazoo Lassies in the early 1950s before leaving the League. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Baseball players--Michigan Baseball players--Wisconsin 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 2016-10-21 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/484">All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-55)</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/f4b802c46459e9b6a2ec916b0c6fb9b1.jpg ec192b35a14b9f38a5079cee235a59e8 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-O_Leary-02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Wave Breaker Description An account of the resource A photo of the water with hills in the background. On the right side of the image, there is what appears to be a wave breaker. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/a2de23cc0100e8b80483a9ff12801c6c.jpg b93e86e1b95f37b007c53a2ef929665a 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-O_Leary-03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Dock Description An account of the resource A photo of the water. There are cattails and other water plants in the front of the photo. In the top left corner, there is part of a dock. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/5d35f901ccc07c2d23e8017a7f46deec.jpg 5318555f158a6b88b06a0e040145b3ca 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-O_Leary-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Houses on the Water Description An account of the resource A wide shot of the water. Across the water from where the photo is taken, there are several houses. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/9a440f2384f588b37fd5b75fa511402c.jpg e2c6b91af2aad687681baf1b2ae6102f 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-O_Leary-05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Wave Breaker and Shore Description An account of the resource A wide photo of where the water meets land. Several feet from the shore and running parallel to it is a long wave breaker. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/dd714c7658ada1f625cbff373014f6c1.jpg 72eedfa6cf17169c85a1552d6bfca0d7 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-O_Leary-06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Houses on the Water Description An account of the resource A photo of five houses on the water in what appears to be fall due to the color of the leaves in the trees around the houses. It is taken from across the body of water. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/062c4deeb2ae0c6cc098ca29dc850119.jpg 45253800a1ff67fc117059ff587dbd76 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-O_Leary-07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Houses on the Water Description An account of the resource A photo of seven houses on the water in what appears to be fall due to the color of the leaves in the trees around the houses. It is taken from across the body of water. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/e5a3526e14b6bb9701b076262412f139.jpg eb823492ffc79793c8e8e14fbdff7cba 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-O_Leary-08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Wave Breaker and Shore Description An account of the resource A photo of the shoreline as it leads to a hill in the background. A few feet into the water, there is a smaller wave breaker. Several feet beyond that, there is a second, larger wave breaker. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/6244dbf026efc549f2b5a2e182bb064d.jpg 0f9d3ecf1306f3df30ffb7e2e812ba2e 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-O_Leary-09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Boat Docks Description An account of the resource A photo of the boat docks taken from the water. There is a large structure on the water, and in the forefront of the frame, there is a blue flag with a white design. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/8ac70c94d75672195eb9038fe5ffcb4b.jpg e0d341be94455b8f2af5fe86f2fa665f 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-O_Leary-10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Fallen Trees Description An account of the resource A photo of land that meets the water. In the forefront of the frame, there are several trees that appear to have fallen or been chopped down at odd angles. Closer to the water, there are other trees, and the wave breaker is visible from the shot. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for 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 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/d4efd1569c575b6dde612149cfa8bbed.m4v a1f17016b739860bc9f092dcbc95e013 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c3041d5fccba1e526ab69c2375c0463e.pdf a4566188417be7a6015f2632efac67b1 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project James O’Malley Korean War 1 hour 19 minutes 47 seconds (00:00:13) Early Life -Born in Chicago in October 1932 -After nine years, his family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin -Father ran a nightclub -Lived there until he joined the military -Parents lived there until he returned from the military -Moved back to Chicago -Uncle had owned the club and convinced James’s father to move to Appleton -Lied and told James’s father that he could become the owner of the club -His father had worked as a car salesman before the Great Depression -During the Great Depression, the milkman delivered milk regardless of pay -Believes that the milkman’s kindness probably kept him from starving as a baby (00:02:02) World War II -Remembers hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor -Heard the news on the radio -He was nine years old and didn’t fully understand the level of devastation -Played “war” with his friends -One side was American, the other German, and the Americans always won -The older he got, the more attention he paid to the war -The war dominated the news and movies (00:03:10) Enlisting in the Navy -Graduated from high school in 1950 -Received a football scholarship for St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin -Studied there for a semester -Played as a defensive specialist, but was too small to be effective -Lost his scholarship -The Korean War had begun in June 1950, and the draft was active -Didn’t want to get drafted into the Army -Decided to enlist in the Navy in early 1951 -Inducted in April 1951 (00:04:37) Basic Training -Sent to Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, for basic training -Not as strict or difficult as Army or the Marine Corps �-Did a lot of marching -A lot of classroom instruction -Knot tying -Navigation -Received rifle training with the M1 Garand rifle -Received some Morse code training -Everybody got basic instruction with it -Adjusted well to life in the Navy -Didn’t get homesick -High emphasis on discipline and following orders -A lot of men were destined for smaller units where obedience was key -More interaction with officers -Basic training lasted about six (or eight) weeks (00:07:55) Pre-Flight School -No choice given to select advanced training, just went where you were ordered -At the beginning of basic training, he took a series of aptitude tests -Designed to figure out intellectual strengths for a good assignment -Didn’t always work out that way, though -For example, he got an assignment for heavy mechanical training -Received orders for Pre-Flight School at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida -Learned about flight regulations, Morse code, and some physics courses -Emphasized the importance of safety around aircraft -Told that a running propeller on an airplane would kill a man -Received some radar training -Learned about flight operations, specifically how to use the radio -Not taught how to fly an airplane -Taught how and when to abandon an aircraft -Only abandon the plane if it was on fire -Try to avoid ditching a plane over water -In the P2V-5 Neptune, you had seven minutes before it sank -Fuselage was thin enough to cut through with a knife -Allowed to go off the base on liberty -Had classes in the day and most nights off -Pre-Flight School lasted three months (00:13:08) Aviation Electronics School -Sent to Aviation Electronics School at Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee -Learned how to operate and repair electronics equipment -Training lasted three months -Grew more confident with technical work as he did it -Using simple electronics at the time �-Learned about radar, radio, general electronics operation and repair (00:15:16) Segregation -Noticed the segregation in the South -Went into Memphis for USO Shows -He and a friend were on a bus and they took a seat in the back -Driver stopped the bus and told them to move to the front -Back seats were only for black passengers -James and his friend refused to move -Driver got a police officer who told them to move, leave, or go to jail -James and his friend decided to just walk -Noticed the “white” and “colored” drinking fountains and business entrances -Difficult for him to understand segregation -The armed forces were technically integrated -Segregation and discrimination still existed -For example, black servicemen were given menial roles -It took a while for segregation to practically come to an end (00:18:30) Stationed in Hawaii & Assignment to Squadron VP-22 -Given a choice: be stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, or Hawaii -Heard that the community in Norfolk was anti-Navy and knew Hawaii was beautiful -Decided to go to Hawaii -Sailed to Hawaii -First time on a large ship -Assigned to Squadron VP-22 at Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, Hawaii -He was assigned to an aircrew on a P2V-5 Neptune -Served as the radar operator -The P2V-5 Neptune served as an anti-submarine patrol bomber -Twin-engine, land-based aircraft -Had two, 20mm cannons, two .50 caliber machineguns, and other turrets -11-man crew for longer missions, and 7-man crew for shorter missions -Had radar, sonar-buoys, and sonar on the plane (inaccurate at the time) -Had a 500-pound magnetic mine -Stationed at Naval Air Station Barbers Point for five months -Did training flights every third day -Each one lasted one to three hours -The rest of the time on duty he helped maintain aircraft and the base -Allowed to go on liberty -Hawaii was the best place for liberty -Half-hour drive to Honolulu -Flew to, and over, Hawaiian Islands -Saw the Mauna Loa volcano from the air �-Went to the resort on Waikiki Beach -Remembers spending Sunday mornings watching the ocean, drink in hand -Some civilians didn’t like the military personnel because they caused trouble sometimes (00:25:24) Stationed on Okinawa Pt. 1 & Recon Missions -Sent to Okinawa and flew missions off that island -Patrolled the Chinese coast -Acted as a spy plane because neither China or North Korea had submarines -Reported shipping and troop movements -Chinese had antiaircraft batteries along the coast -Learned to fly out of range of Chinese .50 caliber machineguns -Chinese replaced those guns with 37mm cannons -His aircraft came under fire, but was never hit -Regularly took antiaircraft fire on missions -On one night patrol, they wound up deep inland -Flying without visuals because light would have given away their position -Avoided Chinese MiG-15s and YAKs (Soviet version of the P-51 Mustang) -Antiaircraft was more of a threat -Chinese pilots usually just taunted them and made obscene gestures at them -Seldom flew over land, and when they did it was by mistake -On the night patrol, they got blown off course -Had to fly at 500 feet to stay below Chinese radar -Got 50 or 70 miles inland -It was pitch dark and they were in a mountainous area -He used his bomb radar to help guide the plane out of the region -45 minutes later they were back over ocean and out of Chinese airspace -Scariest patrol even without enemy contact -Saw the runs along the coast as more adventurous than threatening (00:34:16) Casualties -Lost some planes during patrols -Missed one patrol, and the plane he was supposed to be on was shot down -Lost two or three planes due to antiaircraft fire -He was supposed to be on the plane that was shot down -Saved by going to the Philippines and having too much fun there -Punished by flying back to Okinawa in the cramped nose turret -Activated a cyst in his spine -Stayed in the hospital for a bit, but nobody talked to him -Nobody wanted to tell him the plane had been shot down (00:37:38) Taiwan -Flew around Taiwan, and landed there one time -The Taiwanese didn’t trust Americans �-Ordered to stay by their aircraft -Placed under guard by Taiwanese soldiers -Flew patrols looking for signs of hostility between China and Taiwan -Supposed to stop an invasion if the Communists or Nationalists tried to attack the other -He felt their chances of stopping an invasion were slim to none (00:39:58) The Korean War -Followed the course of the Korean War -If something happened in Korea, it affected them -Remembers President Truman firing General MacArthur -Servicemen were either disappointed or jubilant -The World War II veteran were happy with the decision -Still on Okinawa when the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 -Tension decreased -Chinese stopped shooting at American aircraft -Shortly after the armistice, his squadron returned to Hawaii (00:41:48) Downtime on Okinawa Pt. 1 -Spent eight months on Okinawa -There wasn’t a lot to do when they weren’t flying missions -There were brothels outside the base, but he didn’t partake -Whiskey only cost $5 a gallon -Beer was available too -Had some theatres on the island -There were post-exchanges (PXs) to buy simple luxury goods (candy, cigarettes, etc.) (00:42:48) Civilians on Okinawa -Had civilians working on the base at Okinawa -Worked in the mess hall as servers, dish washers, and janitors -Cut the grass -Long lines of people using shears to cut the grass -The Ryukyuans were like the Japanese, but considered themselves different people -They were hardworking people -The Okinawans liked the Americans -Remembered the brutality of the Japanese occupation -Okinawans were massacred by Japanese soldiers near the end of WWII -Americans were viewed as liberators by the Okinawans (00:45:11) Stationed on Okinawa Pt. 2 -Did a lot of training on Okinawa -Did gunnery training on Okinawa with riot guns (modified shotguns) -Shot skeet and had perfect scores because of the widespread of shot -He and two other friends got lost returning from gunnery training -Walked through a village and the villagers lined the street to watch them walk through �-Learned later that it was the only communist village on Okinawa -Villagers were afraid of armed Americans coming through their village (00:46:54) Downtime on Okinawa Pt. 2 -Saw one USO Show during his time on Okinawa -Tennessee Ernie Ford with Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich (famous drummers) (00:47:38) Reassignment to Naval Air Station Glenview -Retuned to Hawaii after the Korean War -Stayed there for a couple months -Father wrote to him to say that his mother was dying -His father petitioned the Red Cross to get him reassigned -Would have taken six months to get reassigned -His father wrote to a friend, which led to contacting the Chief of Naval Operations -James received transfer orders to Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois -Signed by Senator Joseph McCarthy -Good to Wisconsinites, bad for America -Worked in the electronics shop at NAS Glenview and also stood guard -Sometimes worked as the chauffeur for Admiral Daniel Gallery -Remembers Admiral Gallery giving orders to the fleet from the backseat of the car -James completed 24 combat missions qualifying him for an Air Medal -Other members of Squadron VP-22 were simply handed their Air Medals -James was awarded his Air Medal by Admiral Gallery during a ceremony -While at NAS Glenview, he realized that he was ready to be done with the Navy -He was one of the few regular Navy personnel stationed at NAS Glenview -Near the end of his time there, Chicago was hit by a bad snowstorm -Navy personnel were used to plow the streets of Chicago (00:53:40) Stationed at Naval Air Station Glynco & End of Service -Sent to Naval Air Station Glynco near Brunswick, Georgia, as his final duty station -Checked in at NAS Glynco and the personnel officer reviewed his record -He was the only serviceman qualified to operate a snowplow in Georgia -There were only two aircraft at NAS Glynco and only two pilots -One was a regular plane and the other was a helicopter -He added some electronics to the helicopter and to the headquarters building -Played a lot of football -NAS Glynco was a LORAN base -Primitive version of a global communications network developed in WWII -The LORAN transmitter was on a ten story-high blimp hangar -One of his jobs was checking on the transmitter -Had to climb a ladder to get to the roof -Worst job that he had in the Navy, since he hated heights -Navy occasionally brought out the blimps for missions �-Had been used as antisubmarine aircraft -NAS Glynco was in a beautiful part of the country -Near Jekyll Island and places popular with millionaires -Fifty miles north of the Florida border -Easy to drive down to Florida and enjoy the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico (00:57:35) End of Service -There wasn’t a lot of pressure to reenlist -When he was being discharged, he was asked about his plans after the Navy -Said that he wanted to return to college, which ended discussion about reenlisting (00:58:20) Life after Service -Returned to Chicago to study at Loyola University -Studied English and intended on becoming a teacher -At the end of his course work, he was told he would need to stay another year -This would have been to get his teaching certificate -Was married, had one child, and had another child on the way -Decided that he didn’t want to spend any more time in school -Moved to Michigan and worked for a variety of companies -Did sales management and advertising management -In 1996, he visited a friend who was the principal at Lake Michigan Catholic School -Secretary asked if James would teach, but he explained he didn’t have a certificate -Told he could be a substitute teacher for 90 hours, then become permanent -Eventually became a permanent teacher at Lake Michigan Catholic -He also coached track and football (01:00:27) Reflections on Service -Felt that the Navy was good for him -Believes that it helped him mature -Learned there were more serious things than being good at football -It was a positive experience for him -Learned that the harder he worked, the better off he was -Didn’t change his core personality (01:01:15) Maneuver Accident -In Hawaii, the Navy wanted to create a plan to prevent being caught off guard again -Memories of Pearl Harbor were still fresh -Plan was to send three American submarines out to sea, then sneak into Pearl Harbor -The 7th Fleet was tasked with finding and “destroying” the “enemy” subs -Squadron VP-22 was to lead the maneuver since they were an antisubmarine unit -James was on radar when he saw a blip on the screen -No “friendly” ships supposed to be at the blip’s location -Asked the plane commander to verify the target, which he did -They then began circling the target �-The copilot had an extremely bright searchlight -Once they got low enough, he turned on the light -Discovered it was the SS Lurline, flagship of the Matson Line -All the people on deck were temporarily blinded by the searchlight -They had wandered into the maneuver zone by accident -When they returned to base they were greeted by very unhappy high-ranking officers -Expected to be sent to prison -Matson Line clarified that they had made a mistake, not James’s plane -Saved James and the rest of his crew from being punished (01:05:25) Misidentified Targets -One night, a military cargo plane spotted a possible enemy submarine near Hawaii -James and the rest of the crew got out of bed around 3 a.m. then took off to investigate -Once they had a visual, they discovered that it was a whale -Cargo crew was sufficiently embarrassed -Would’ve found the situation funny if he hadn’t been so tired -On another patrol, they found an actual submarine -Discovered it by pure luck -Contacted the submarine on radio and ordered them to identify themselves -Came back as an American ship (01:07:42) Supply Drop Mission -There was a troopship bound for Japan when it experienced a cholera outbreak -James’s plane was tasked with flying the medicine out to the ship -The flight was so long they had to stop at Midway to refuel -Successfully dropped off the medicine and returned to base (01:08:45) Flight Specifics -On regular, non-recon flights, they flew higher than 500 feet -Usually flew at about 1,000 – 2,000 feet, and sometimes even higher (01:09:30) Getting a New Plane in Oakland -Sent to Oakland, California, to get a new P2V-5 Neptune -Flew to California in a Martin JRM Mars seaplane -The officers got to be in the passenger area, and the enlisted men stayed in the hold -Cold, couldn’t smoke, and didn’t have regular seats -Halfway through the flight, their pilot came down to tell them about the passenger area -James decided to go up to see if the radar operator wanted a break -Gave James a chance to have a smoke and sit in an actual seat -Radar operator came back so James could nap in a bunk -Returned to the hold and was greeted by disgruntled crewmates -Angry that he left them in the hold, but eventually forgave him -Once they got to Oakland they had to test the plane -He was smaller, so he was placed in the nose turret for the test flight �-He rotated the turret down, and it felt like he was going forward off the plane -Thought it hadn’t been tethered to the aircraft and he was falling -Turned out the pilot had put the plane in a shallow dive -James then went up and told the pilot to never do that again -This pilot wasn’t very good, anyway -On another flight, he landed a plane without landing gear (01:13:46) Pilots, Officers & Enlisted Men -Most of the pilots he worked with were good and competent men -Some of the officers were egotistical and let it get in the way of their service -One night, James was placed on guard duty to watch over the aircraft -Out of the dark, a jeep races up to an aircraft, a man gets out and gets in the plane -James ran over, cocked his pistol, and ordered the man out of the plane -Man handed over his ID and James inspected it -He was a pilot, but didn’t have the right to do that -James told him to leave -Pilot wanted to prosecute, but couldn’t because he was wrong -Had to fly with that pilot once and it was very tense -Remembers a friend of his setting fire to a dumpster -Walked around the building to call in the fire -Received a commendation for spotting the fire and reporting it -One of his jobs at the end of a flight was to get out of the plane and lock the landing gear -This was to prevent them folding under the aircraft’s weight -One night, he flew with the egotistical pilot who tried to take a plane -They landed and James jumped out of the plane -Blinded by bright, white headlights -He almost stumbled into a running propeller -Pilot had left his jeep parked with the lights on facing the landing area -James got back on the plane and berated the pilot for the mistake -Could’ve gotten killed -The pilot he usually flew with was a good man -He was a lieutenant junior grade -Most respected pilot in VP-22 -His regular copilot had served in WWII -His regular pilot was extremely calm, even in tense situations -During the mission in the Chinese mountains he stayed cool and collected -On one flight at Hawaii they lost an engine -Remained calm and casual as he requested an emergency landing � 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 RHC-27_OMalleyJ2096V Title A name given to the resource O'Malley, James M (Interview outline and video), 2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-01-24 Description An account of the resource James O'Malley was born in Chicago in October 1932. In April 1951, he enlisted in the Navy. He received his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, then went to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, for Pre-Flight School. He then went to Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee, for Aviation Electronics School. James was sent to Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, Hawaii, and joined Squadron VP-22, an antisubmarine patrol squadron. He served aboard a P2V-5 Neptune and conducted antisubmarine patrols around Hawaii. In spring 1952, Squadron VP-22 was sent to Okinawa to fly reconnaissance missions along the Chinese coast as part of the Korean War. His plane took antiaircraft fire on multiple occasions and they encountered Chinese fighter planes. After the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, he returned to Hawaii and was then reassigned to Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois. His final duty station was at Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia, and he was discharged from there. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Malley, James M. 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 Veterans Video recordings Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text 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> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/69c0eec712275fa5f158d6dfa06b5e19.m4v 2474cf52e618daf68182a74ecff884c5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5e96e06d6348ece2cbe26ce861da9553.pdf 8c76cbc7719ee28ba4c799eb3607e8be PDF Text Text O’Rear, Nancy Grand Valley State University All American Girls Professional Baseball League Veterans History Project Interviewee’s Name: Nancy O’Rear Length of Interview: (46:51) Interviewed by: Frank Boring Transcribed by: Chelsea Chandler Interviewer: “If we could begin, what is your name, where were you born—” Nancy Kellogg O’Rear. Interviewer: “And when and where were you born?” Ivanrest, Grandville. Really it’s part of Grandville, but in Ivanrest. They used to call it that. (1:03) Interviewer: “Okay, and am I going to get a date of the birth by any chance?” Sure. 1/7 of ‘38. Interviewer: “Okay. What was your early childhood like growing up in that area?” It was great. It was great. My father worked for the railroad. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. I had just one sister a year older than I, so we had a wonderful, wonderful growing up. Interviewer: “Were you in a farm area, or where you had people around you? Or what was the environment? Give us an idea visually of what it was like to be growing up in that area.” Well, in that area—My father had chickens, but that’s about it. Just chickens. He made a little doll—a little house out there on the chicken feed. My mom, Wendy, would take—after the feed is gone—would make us girls blouses. But nothing else. 28th Street at that time—Of course, it wasn’t 28th Street, but it was busy. It was busy, but there was a great, big field in front of us. The house. And the main—The big 28th Street. (2:15) Interviewer: “Did your father get the newspaper? Did you have a radio?” We had a radio. Yes. And my father had newspaper. Interviewer: “Okay. So he kept up on at least the local and what was going on around and…?” Yes, yes. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “Okay. Did you get a chance to listen to the radio as well?” Us girls—He would let us girls hear a few programs. Sure, sure. Interviewer: “Okay, and where did you go to school?” Well, after we lived in there, my father moved into town, and we moved up to Burton Heights. And us girls went to the elementary school there. Burton Elementary. Then we went to South High. Interviewer: “Okay. Now what were the types of things you were studying?” Well, geography. I loved that. My sister loved history. But math and all your kind of common grades, you know. Interviewer: “Yeah. This is a trick question. We’ll get to it later, too. Any sports?” Oh, brother. Sports. I was my dad’s boy, and my sister was all girly. But for Christmas I wanted nothing but a mitt and a ball and a basketball. And ever since I can remember. Interviewer: “Wow. But at school were you able to play any sports?” No. Nope. They didn’t have any—They had no sports in school. No summer sports. Once in a while out for recess us girls would get in a—like a kickball, and we’d run the bases. But that’s far as that would—that is. (4:07) Interviewer: “Okay. Now did you get a mitt at all?” Oh, certainly. My father made sure on Christmas I got a mitt. A small mitt because I was younger then and a small ball. And my dad would play catch with me. He didn’t have a mitt, but—Until later that I got a nice, big mitt, you know. Interviewer: “Sure. But your first introduction was, as a very young girl, you’re playing catch with your dad.” Right, right. Interviewer: “Okay. Did your—Your sister wasn’t interested in doing this?” No, no. Interviewer: “Okay. Were there other girls in the neighborhood that you played with?” There was one. Just one girl that—But she kind of lived a little far away, so she didn’t come over too often. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “Okay. All right. Was there any boys’ teams around you?” As I got older there were but not that I remember. There was any boys’ teams neither. Interviewer: “Okay. When did you first hear about this group of women baseball players?” Well, I got an uncle that—He tried out for Tigers. Detroit Tigers. And we were at my grandparents’ house, and him and I were playing catch. And he was throwing the ball pretty hard. And my grandfather says, “How come, Nancy, you never went down to a Chick game?” “A Chick game?” I says. “Wow. Yeah.” And he says, “And it’s right down the street from me but not far from you.” He says, “Would you like to go tonight?” And I said, “Oh, you betcha.” Interviewer: “So tell me how the day went.” So we went that night. My recollection, they lost, but oh my gosh, my world is opened up. I wanted to play with them. I wanted to be a ballplayer like them. (6:08) And so that’s when we started going every single night. I wouldn’t miss a night. Away games. At first I had to read it through the newspaper, but it wasn’t long that I could—I got on the buses with the girls. Interviewer: “Okay. We’re getting ahead of ourselves here. All right. So you go to your first game, and when you came home, what was your…?” Oh, I was just lit up like a candle. My dad said, “How did you like that?” And I went, “Oh, Dad. How come you never told me about the Chicks?” Well, he’s busy working at the railroad, and that night, you know, you come home. And he just never thought of it, I guess. And he says, “Is that something you like?” And I—“Oh my goodness. That’s something I love.” I loved to play the ball. Interviewer: “Well, it’s wonderful your father encouraged you. So from that point on, he made it a point to let you know that they were going to play somewhere?” Yes, yes. Yes, he did. And my grandfather. They’d say, you know, “Got a game tonight.” “Okay, Grandpa.” And Dad would say, “Yep. You can go.” You know. So we would meet every home game and then away games. And my dad would say, “Better read this in the paper, Nancy.” You know. “See what they did.” And oh, I—That’s what got me started reading. I read that sports section every single day. Interviewer: “Wow. So let’s walk through this slowly. Your first game and then you started going at first to the home games because you’re not traveling yet. I don’t want to travel yet. We’ll get to that. Okay? So your first home game. Then, roughly, when was the next home game? Within a month? Within a week?” (8:10) No, I think it was the next night. It was the next night, but I think they played three games if I can remember. Three games home. I went to every one of them. Yep. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “And this was the Chicks playing against—Do you remember who they were playing against?” No, I can’t remember back there. I don’t remember. Interviewer: “That’s okay. About what year was this?” I think 1951. Well, I started—I think Grandpa took me in ‘50, but I really think it was the end of the—going towards the end of the season. So it was ‘51 that I really made sure I was there every day. Every game. And yeah, I thought that was really fantastic. “We’ve got a girls baseball team right here that close.” Interviewer: “And how old were you? You’re already a teenager by this time?” I might have been thirteen, fourteen. Fourteen. And then I asked my dad if I could watch them practice because it wasn’t far from school. And I said, you know, “I’ll get my homework done when I get home, but could I go down and watch the girls play practice? During, you know, their practice?” Well, he—“Sure.” He encouraged all of that. Yes. So then I started going down from school and watching the girls practice and kind of got close to the field and kind of start talking with them a little bit. Interviewer: “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. Okay. So let’s try to remember what you’re feeling like when you actually made that first—” (10:06) Oh, that was—That was just—It was just fantastic, you know. It was fantastic. Interviewer: “Well, what happened? You were sitting there in the bleachers. They’re playing.” And they were playing. They’re practicing. Now they’re practicing, you know, and they’d come in after a while. And I’ve got to get a little bit closer to the game, and I, you know. You get down by the field and, you know. “Hey, Ziggy. That was a pretty good catch you had out there.” And Sadie Satterfield, you know. I’d say, “Boy, you’re doing great out there in that field, you know. Let’s get a home run tonight.” You know. So they got to know, you know—And then they, you know—Pretty soon it was, you know. “What’s your name?” And I told them my name. Just a couple of them, you know, and it was—It was just—Oh, gosh. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to stay right there with them, you know, which I did. I did see the game that night and the next night. Interviewer: “Was there a point where—You’re going to the practices now. That they started to recognize you?” Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, they, you know—I don’t remember if there was a shortage or what happened, but they invited me out on the field. And, of course, I took my glove to school every day, so I could have it ready in case there was a ball come my way, you know. Yeah, I liked to �O’Rear, Nancy play catch, you know. I think I wanted—“Can I play catch with you?” And I—They said, “Why, sure.” I can’t remember why, but—“Yeah, you can play catch.” Interviewer: “Were there more people in the stands during practice?” There were a few. Interviewer: “Okay. So you kind of stood out.” (12:01) Yeah, yeah. There was a few that come down to watch the practice, you know. That’s—So that, you know— Interviewer: “But they were adults?” Oh, yeah. Mostly adults. Yeah, mostly all adults. Interviewer: “Okay, so you pretty much stuck out because you were the young kid.” Oh, yeah. Young kid, you know. “What’s she doing?” And it seemed to me that I can really— Liked it was—I don’t know if it was Ricketts. I know it was one of the girls threw, and I jumped as high as my little legs would jump. And they had said, “Wow.” You know. “You ought to play with us tonight.” And I said, “Boy.” I wished I could, you know. Well, then after that night and the next night, you know, and then it was—I’d go down by the field again, and then it was like, “You coming out here, or are you going to sit in the bleachers?” Well, I thought, “Boy. Come on, Dad. You ought to come down just to practice to watch your daughter.” You know. But I knew that I couldn’t play with them. It was off the field when the game started. But I played catch with quite a few of them. I kind of watched how they did their things. And yeah, one day the manager, you know, he says, “Oh, why don’t you—Kid.” I think he called me “kid” for a while. “Why don’t you get out in outfield?” Well, I liked third base and catching, and going out in outfield was like, “Oh my gosh.” And, of course, the first one I missed, and I’m thinking, “Oh my goodness.” Well, then he hit a couple more, and pretty soon then I caught them just like the girls did. You caught them, you know. And I’m thinking, “Oh my goodness. I’m out here playing catch with the big girls.” You know. (14:03) So that’s—I really—How I really got to go there, to get in with them, and then at—My dad—They asked me if I wanted to go to some of their away games, which my father kind of frowned at first. But I think it was the next year he said, “If you want to go, you can go.” So I went to Kalamazoo. I went to Muskegon. South Bend, Indiana. Interviewer: “Well, what was it like—All right. First of all, they’re all in uniform. They’ve got those skirts and all that. What were you wearing?” Well, I took shorts to school. Yeah. Just put on some shorts at the end of school when I—After school. Put on my shorts and just a top and walk down there. Begged my dad for some cleats, you know. But the first year he didn’t say anything, but pretty soon I’d say, “Dad, I’ve got to have some cleats when I’m out there.” And you know. And I think he was a little proud, too, you know. So I got cleats. I got a bigger glove, and then I had to oil it and get it all fixed up so I could get out there on the field with those girls. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “Now we found out—Dr. Smither and I found out in our interviews with the All-Americans that several of them started out fairly young—as early as their teens—and they were recruited in different ways as you know. Okay. Was there any talk about your being recruited?” Well, the manager had said to me, you know—He asked me my age and what—And had I been graduated from high school. No, I wasn’t graduated yet. “Well, as soon as you graduate, you’ll be on the field. You come down here.” But that doesn’t really mean I was going to be with the Chicks. (16:01) Of course, that was my preference. But he said, you know, “You be here.” He said, “As soon as you graduate from high school.” Of course, that made me so happy. So—Oh my goodness. Couldn’t wait to tell Mom and Dad about that, you know. Interviewer: “What was their reaction?” Oh, they were thrilled. Yeah. Even Mom, and Mom never went to a game. But then Dad started going more to games with Grandpa, and, of course, Grandpa was on cloud nine. And they were—They were happy about that. They were really happy. Interviewer: “I’m just curious. Because they made good money. In some cases, some of these women were making more than their own father was making. Was that at all part of the discussion, or was there…?” There wasn’t nothing really discussion about money to me. I didn’t need any money. If I could just play, that was the big thing. No, nothing was really mentioned about—Just the manager, you know, asking me all the questions, and he said he’s been watching me. And a couple times he’d say, you know, “Get down here.” If I’m just getting back there from school, I had things I had to set down, but—“Get out here on this field.” Which it surprised me because—Of course, there wasn’t any other young girls, or there wasn’t—I don’t even think there was young boys that were out there, but I thought, “Gosh. Here I stood out with all these—” There was—A lot of elderly would, you know, come there to watch the game, but I was happy. Oh my gosh, was I happy. Interviewer: “What were the crowds like at the actual game, not the practice?” Oh, they had four to five thousand people. They had a big crowd. They had a big crowd. (18:02) Interviewer: “And there’s a lot of sense of excitement.” Oh, definitely, definitely. Interviewer: “So, as a kid, you’re in the middle of all that yelling and that noise and you knew that you’d actually been practicing out there. Now you’re standing—sitting there in the stands with all of them.” Yes. Right. And then you had some of these guys come out, you know. “Well, when are you going to get a chance to play?” You know, they had been there watching the practice. “Well, I �O’Rear, Nancy haven’t graduated from high school yet, so I will be there as soon as I graduate.” Well, then they start asking, “Well, how old are you?” You know. And you get to kind of meet some of the people that were out in the crowd, you know. Interviewer: “At that point—Let’s take you to the point where these things are happening. People are asking you questions like this. The managers have. Did you seriously think that you could actually make a career?” Oh, certainly, certainly. Interviewer: “So you wanted to be a professional ballplayer?” Ballplayer. You betcha. I took balls on the dime. I did everything. Yes, I was going to be a professional baseball player. Girls baseball player. You betcha. Interviewer: “Now your father finally agreed to let you go on a road trip. You mentioned Kalamazoo as an example. What was that like? I don’t want just, ‘I got on the bus, and they were talking.’ I want—Bring us to that little girl getting on that bus. What was that like?” Oh, that was such a thrill. You don’t care if you eat, drink. And there was some of them—And maybe I did, too. Complained about the heat because they weren’t air-conditioned in those days. And I would sit with maybe this one, you know, and we’d yak away. And then I’d go across the—If there was a seat across there, I’d go over there and talk to them. And I says—I wanted to get their ideas about the ball games and about—and a little bit about them, too, because I know a lot of them come from farms from different places. And we talked a lot, you know, about them. And yeah, it was a—It was a thrill. Oh my goodness. (20:15) Interviewer: “What was their reaction to you? You’re not a ballplayer.” Right. At first, I was—I wondered the same thing, you know. “What are they going to say?” Because I had this girlfriend. She went once in a while with me, too. And, you know, none of them—Couple of them asked me, “Are you going to play someday?” “Why, certainly.” “What positions do you like?” They didn’t seem to mind that I was in—I figured interfering with them getting on the bus while they’re, you know, going to their ball game that—And a few asked me my age and positions I like. And, “Did you ever try outfield?” And, “If you’re catching, you know, and you see this girl coming towards you, you know, it’s like—Do you get nervous? You going to get her out?” And, you know, and then—Just baseball talk, really. And I didn’t see any of them—If they did, they didn’t show it. Interviewer: “Do you remember any in particular that you kind of got a special liking to?” Well, yes, I did. I did. I kind of think I favored Renae Youngberg, third base. Gabby— Interviewer: “Because you wanted to be a third base person. Aha! Yeah, yeah, yeah.” �O’Rear, Nancy Yeah, right. Yeah. I wanted all the pointers, you know. Gabby Ziegler was a second baseman, Lefty Voyce was on first base, and—But Gabby Ziegler and Connie Wisniewski out in the field and Sadie Satterfield out in the field, you know. You kind of—Renae and Gabby I think were a little bit, but I tried to talk to all of them, you know. I wanted to be—hear from all of them. (22:04) Interviewer: “Well, you mentioned that there’s no air conditioning on the bus. What else? What else was going on on the bus? Was there singing? Was there talking? I mean, there’s talking, obviously, but—” Lot of talking, and there were some that were napping. And there were some that were just kind of peeling an apple and kind of eating a snack or whatever, you know. Interviewer: “What was the bus driver like?” Oh, he was fun. Funny. He was funny. He was—He was great. Interviewer: “Do you remember who he was?” And I don’t remember. Yeah, I don’t remember his name. Nope. Interviewer: “But he was just part of the group?” Oh, yes. Right. Yeah. And he made sure all the baseballs and the bats and their uniforms all got out of the bus and everything, you know. Interviewer: “So once you arrived at a field, whether it was in Kalamazoo, what was the procedure? When we did the interviews with the different girls, we were so much concentrating on the games, but the bus trips they talked about. But what was it like for you to—You’ve arrived. You’re going to go play—They’re going to go play a game. You’re going to be part of it. What was—What were you thinking when you were getting off the bus, and what did you expect?” Well, just, you know, to see the different fields is one thing you learn right away, and some of the fields you knew that the Chicks liked better than the others, of course, you know. Interviewer: “And they would talk about that?” Oh, yeah. They would talk about that. Interviewer: “‘Oh, we’re at Kalamazoo.’ Or, ‘We’re at—’ Okay. Yeah.” Yeah. “Oh, goodness. We’re going to have to play there in Fort Wayne.” And, you know. And, “They got those slugger sisters on there.” And oh, yeah. You could hear all them talking. We’d get to the field, and, of course, I’d always get my pop. And I always could sit as close to the— Actually, there weren’t even seats. We kind of sat on the ground to the bleacher that the girls �O’Rear, Nancy were on, and there was never any complaints about that. (24:10) I always thought, “Boy, I hope I don’t get hit with a ball because then they’ll probably kick me out of here.” But yeah. It was. It was a thrill, you know. And I’d run right out on that field after the game if they had won, and I’m thinking, “Oh, boy. Is this going to be allowed? Because I’m not even a player yet.” You know. But they didn’t complain much. No, nothing. None of them did, you know. Just—I guess they just figured I was a girl learning how to play baseball and come along with them, you know. Interviewer: “Well, some of them started out at the same age you were at, you know. We were surprised. Dr. Smither and I were surprised to find that some of them were thirteen, fourteen years old. I mean, that’s—Had no idea.” Yeah, that was quite a few years before I was in that. Interviewer: “Now these away games in Kalamazoo, for example, did you just drive back to Grand Rapids?” They did. They would drive back to Grand Rapids. South Field. My dad would kind of know, listening to the game if he could, that—about what time we’d get back. And then he’d pick us up. He’d pick me up. Make sure I didn’t walk home. Interviewer: “Would he know—Well, he would listen to the radio, so he knew how the game turned out, right? But could he tell by the way you looked whether you won, or…?” Oh, certainly. Oh, certainly. I’d jump all over the place, you know. “Okay. Calm down, Nancy. We know they won the game today.” Definitely. Interviewer: “So what happened if they lost?” Well, he didn’t really say a whole lot. I’d get in the car, you know, and—“Well, they didn’t do so good tonight.” “Yeah, I know, Nancy. I hear they lost, but there’s always another game.” You know. He alway said there was always another game. Interviewer: “Your dad sounds like quite a guy.” (26:02) Oh, he was, he was, he was. He didn’t get married until he was thirty-six, you know, and then by—In his forties, they had my sister and I. And oh, yeah, we were his pride and joy. Interviewer: “Yeah. My grandfather worked for the railroad. I still have his watch.” Oh, yeah. I had his watch, but I turned it over to our oldest son. Interviewer: “Ah, okay. Yeah, yeah. Did you go to any away games that required overnight?” No. No, I couldn’t. If they did, I couldn’t have gone. My dad wouldn’t allow that. No. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “Because we got great stories about how they stayed with other people and whatnot. Yeah, it makes sense that your dad wouldn’t want you to do that.” Yeah, my dad wouldn’t like that. No. Interviewer: “So you’re going to these games now. You’re considered almost like their mascot. You’re the one that—You’re always allowed on the team, and so when they do the practice and whatnot, you could play with them as well. Did you get any sense—We’re talking ‘51 now, right? ‘51, ‘52. We know that it ended in ‘54. Were you going with them all the way through that period? ‘51, ‘52, ‘53?” Yes. Oh, yes. Interviewer: “Did you notice any sense either through them talking or just a sense? Because people—When you’re in a bus together, or you’re on a field together, there’s a sense you feel. That things were changing?” Well, no, I can’t really say I did. Maybe it was because I didn’t want it to happen, so you just kind of—“Oh, that’s just talk.” You know. “That’s just talk.” No, I didn’t until my mom said, “You’ve got to hear the radio this morning.” Interviewer: “Okay, but you said, ‘Talk.’ There was talk.” There was talk, but it’s something that you—“Oh, yeah. That’s way down the line. Way down the line.” You just—Something you didn’t believe. You didn’t believe it. (28:06) Interviewer: “One of the things that the women told us—the girls told us—was that there was a point where they noticed that not as many people were coming to the games. Did you notice that?” Yes, yes. Yes, we did. Yes, they did. Interviewer: “And so what was your—I know we’re going back a long ways, but can you remember your emotions? You went to a game, and you knew there’s a lot of people there. You’re going to a game, and there’s a lot of people. And at some point there’s not as many people. Did you notice that?” Yes, we did, and we kind of talked about it, too. What was going on that there wasn’t as many spectators in the seats, you know? Well, no, we—You talked about it, but that was, you know—I didn’t really put it that there was anything coming to an end to it. Interviewer: “Yeah, yeah. Did you follow Major League male baseball?” I did as I got—Last couple years as I was with them. Oh, definitely. Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay. Because you had newspaper, and you had radio.” �O’Rear, Nancy Yes, my dad always was listening to the Tigers. Always. Interviewer: “All right. So at what point did you realize that things were not going to be the way you thought it was?” Well, that last year a couple of girls had said something, and I says—And I think it was Renae, too. Said something about—“You know, we’re not going to be playing much longer.” “Well, why not? I want to keep playing.” “Well, the war’s ending, you know, and there’s been talk that the girls will be done.” Oh my gosh, that broke my heart. Oh my goodness. What could we do now? “I’m not even on there yet. Don’t tell me that.” You know, I—“That ain’t what I want to hear.” Broke my heart. (30:08) Interviewer: “You were convinced—from what you’re saying—that—And you had a better reason to believe you could actually get on the team. Some of the girls that we talked to knew about girls that wanted to get on the team but couldn’t get on the team. But they didn’t have that kind of intimate relationship. So I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to realize—Because you really thought that at some point you were going to get hired, and you’re going to get your uniform, and you’re going to actually play.” Right, right, right. I even talked to some of the girls about—“What number could I—am I getting? You girls got this number, and you got that number. I wonder what number—You know, do they just give them out? Do they ask you?” I didn’t even think about money because money—I didn’t care, right? I wanted to play ball. That was my big—My main thing was to play ball. Interviewer: “Yeah, yeah. So when did it actually come to an end?” Well, my mom said one morning, “Nancy, you’ve got to listen to the radio.” And at that time for some reason I thought it was about the Chicks. It was about the girls playing ball because otherwise she never really pointed out anything on radio. And I heard it, and I cried. And I cried. And I went to the ballfield, and I wasn’t the only one. There were some of them that were crying, too, you know. But that was the way it was going to be. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t—I think I cried a week. My mom or father—One of them said, “There’s other things.” “What other things is there than playing baseball? I can’t go join the men’s team.” Well, you know. “What can I do?” (32:05) “Well, you can, you know—You’re going to graduate from high school, and then you’ll figure on from there.” That was our— Interviewer: “Yeah. Was there a goodbye to the team? Did you get a chance to say goodbye?” Well, we—We had a—what the ladies called a—What did they call it? Where we got together at one of the ladies I met there. To her house. Like a slumber party more or less. To her house. And the Chicks. Pretty near all of them were there. And we all hugged. We all cried. I think some even cried because I didn’t make the team. I had a feeling that they’re thinking, “Nancy, you didn’t even get on our team, and look at—Now it’s ending. And you would’ve been such a good �O’Rear, Nancy player.” And you know. And I think that even the manager had even mentioned that, you know, he was going to make sure he got me on the team. I felt I would have made that team. I knew I was going to make that team. But we had a farewell. We had a—what we kind of called it a slumber party. It was a—Everybody was there. And we had a luncheon. We ate, and then we cried. And that was it. They still had a few more games to play, but it was hard going after knowing there wasn’t going to be anymore ball—girls’ ball games. It was hard going. I went naturally because that’s where I lived. That’s where—My mom used to say, “Nancy lives at the ballpark.” My sister, Donna, lives home, but Nancy lives at the ballpark. And it was true because you know. (34:05) Interviewer: “So once the league ended, and there was no more games there, did you still play ball with anybody?” Mostly just catch with my girlfriend. We’d get out in the street. Play catch. If we’d seen some boys over at school playing, we just went in and started playing. I don’t know if they liked it that we did, but we did. Interviewer: “You probably were better than they were.” Yeah, yeah. Some of them—“Get home. Get out of here.” They used to call me Muscles when I was younger, you know. I don’t know why, but—“Oh, Muscles. What are you doing over here? Get on home.” Yeah. Better than some of them that were playing. But we wanted to play. But we’d just end up playing catch out in the streets, you know. That’s all we could do. There was nothing else. I wrote to a lot of the girls. After the end of the season, I got all of their addresses. I’d write letters. I would receive letters. For a long time. Of course, that gradually stopped after a while. I even know who bought that bus. I don’t even know her name. From Jenison. I’ve got her letter with me yet. Interviewer: “You have the letters?” Letter from her. She bought the Chick bus, you know. And I was always going to go over there, or ask her if I could. But, you know, would that bring back too many memories? I just didn’t go. Didn’t go. Interviewer: “Do you know if that bus still exists?” Well, this has only been maybe four or five years ago that she wrote me. It was after—I had that article in the paper that she wrote me and said that they had bought the bus. But I don’t recall— I’d have to read it again—if she still had it, or they had just bought it after the Chicks sold it. I don’t know. (36:17) Interviewer: “Okay. Yeah. So what did you do after it was all over with?” Well, started dating, you know. You don’t date when you’re in there. And there were a few that had husbands, and their husbands would come to the games, you know. Some had children. I started working at Oven Fresh Bakery there on 28th Street, and later on I met my husband. He �O’Rear, Nancy was my foreman, so I probably shouldn’t say that. But I met him, and we started dating. And pretty soon after a few years we got married. Had our children. Watch every one of our children play ball. Watched all of our grandchildren play ball. And living out in Jamestown, so that’s— They went to Hudsonville High School. All the kids. I’ve got a grandson that right now—He’s— He just got married a year ago, but he calls me when there’s any change in the Tigers. “Oh, Grandma. Have you heard this? Did you know they traded away this one?” And him and his wife—I know they go to every game. And he used to take me to a lot of the opening day games. Lagging grandma along with them. I was the slow one behind, but he would wait for me. He was a wonderful kid. He still is. Interviewer: “My father was a very good baseball player, and he taught me in Little League to do something that most little kids didn’t know how to do, and that was to lift your leg and actually throw it like a professional. So I became very good. Did your kids know your passion and your love for baseball?” (38:14) The older ones. I think they did. Now our oldest one—He played all through, and he was even coach to one of my younger sons. And then he moved up. Got married and moved up to East Jordan, and he was a coach of the eighth graders. And for quite a few years. And then now he lives in Alaska, and he’s still coaching the grandkids. Interviewer: “One of the things we found out from several of the girls that we interviewed is they never even told their kids they played professional ball. Did you tell your kids early on that you actually played?” I don’t remember. I don’t remember. I do remember one time we were at a picnic, and the kids were playing ball in the field. And the ball came to me. Well, it rolled over by me. And I picked that ball up, and I threw it back to the field. And my kids was like, “Where did you learn to throw a ball like that, Mom?” “Well, you know, I’ve got a story I’ve got to tell you.” And then that’s when the kids learned that—Most of it. That I played ball. And then I started showing my craft books to the kids and everything, and they were very interested. And you know. “Boy, I didn’t know—” Some of them didn’t even know they had a girls’ team. “Baseball?” You know. And softball like at school. “But baseball?” You know, and, “Like the Tigers?” And, “Baseball.” You know. And, “What were they wearing?” “Well, these are the uniforms. Your mom would have had one.” You know. “Oh, Mom. Would you have worn one?” I said, “You betcha. You betcha. I would have worn one in a minute.” (40:09) Brings tears to my eyes. You don’t know what number you might have had. You don’t know your uniform, you know. You knew the colors and that sort of thing, but yeah. You don’t know if you would’ve played for a year or two and been traded. Yeah, those are things that is a question in my mind for quite a few years, you know. Interviewer: “Yeah, but you got the opportunity to play with them, though, and that’s very unique.” Right, and that was—Oh, that was such a thrill then. And to be right—rubbing shoulders with them in the buses and you know. “Oh, we’re going to get a hamburger.” Well, you know, when you’re on a bus, you know. “I’m going to stop and get a hamburger.” “I’m going to get one, too.” �O’Rear, Nancy You know. “Hey, I’m one of you.” You know. And they didn’t treat me any different. They just knew I was too young, but they just—They didn’t really treat me any different except when a game came, I had to get off the field. Interviewer: “Did you have any idea that this was something historic at the time?” No, no. Interviewer: “They didn’t either.” No, no. Did you know that they moved from South Field out to Bigelow Field and then had a fire? Had a big fire? And gosh. My dad then did take us out there because we couldn’t walk there. And I got all the pictures of that and going over the gloves and everything, and it was so sad. But then they got to come back to South Field, so that was really good for me. But I felt sorry for the girls, you know. Their gloves, their shoes. Everything was there. Yep. (42:10) Interviewer: “And you actually were there when they saw all that devastation?” Oh, definitely. Yes. Yep. I helped them kind of go through the debris and stuff, you know, that they had there, you know. And you couldn’t see the sizes of shoes, so you don’t—Or some would recognize that— “That’s my shoe there, but I don’t know where the other one is.” Or something like that, you know. And I tried what I could, and yes. Oh, yes. I was part of them. I was them. I was them until that day. Until that day. Interviewer: “When did you first realize that you were part of something really quite extraordinary in American history?” Well, I guess I didn’t. I didn’t know. Interviewer: “What about when the movie came out?” Oh, that was one thing. Gosh. I picked up my girlfriend in Grandville, and we went and seen that. And oh, we couldn’t wait until that movie came out. And we went, and I picked her up. Went down there. And I think since then I’ve seen it about twelve times. Interviewer: “I’m up to about fifteen, so I’ve a couple on you.” Yeah, and you’ve got some on me. Look at there. But yes, it was awesome. God, they got— “They’re going to make a movie out of that. Oh my gosh.” You know. That was phenomenal. That was great. I thought it was great. Interviewer: “What did you think of the movie?” I thought it was pretty good. Yeah, I thought it was—You know, it was good. �O’Rear, Nancy Interviewer: “Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Once we started—Once Dr. Smither and my—you know, our team started working on the project, we realized how many historical inaccuracies were in it, but it didn’t matter. I mean, they didn’t start off with hardball and—But it still captured the spirit of it.” Yes. Of the girls and of the playing and of the—Yes, yes. Yep. (44:07) Interviewer: “I really enjoyed it, too.” Yeah, I enjoyed it. I just wish my dad would have lived long enough to have seen it, but he didn’t. But all my kids did, and I’m sure most of all the grandkids. Oh, yes. Interviewer: “Did you find out at some point that they’d been finally inducted into the Hall of Fame?” I heard they were. Yep. I would like to go down there. I’ve never been there. Gosh, I’ve been to Alaska, but I haven’t been down there. Interviewer: “Oh, you should go.” Oh, I want to go so bad. I’ve told my husband, and then when we start vacations, we kind of forget that. And we shouldn’t. And we shouldn’t. I want to go down there so bad. Interviewer: “Well, now you have this on tape. You can show it to him, and say, ‘Look. Wait until the last part. I got something here at the last part I want you to see.’” You’re right. “Fred, you can’t turn it off now. I want to go down there.” Interviewer: “Yeah. Looking back on that experience—And I want you to know from me personally that whether or not you played or not, the fact of the matter is you were there.” I was there. Interviewer: “You were there in a way that very few—I don’t even know of any other girl that I know of that actually had that kind of experience. Looking back now, what was that experience like to you?” Oh, it was wonderful. It was wonderful. We talk a lot about at the house now and with the kids, and now they’re asking questions, you know, and different things. And it was wonderful. It was just wonderful. I just wish it could’ve went a couple more years, but it didn’t. I’m happy that you’re doing this. I really am, and I’m so happy for that. That you’re doing it. Interviewer: “Well, we’re happy that you’re doing it, too. It takes a lot, and I just want you to know that I’ve interviewed several of the girls myself. And the things that they said, the passion they had for the game, how much they loved it, and how much it affected it. And I don’t know how you’re going to take this, but I can tell you from my own personal �O’Rear, Nancy experience of dealing with an interview—with Dolly Konwinski and all the different girls that I interviewed—you have the same passion. You have the same, exact—Everything that you’ve been talking about is very much the same as what I got from talking to the other girls. Yeah. I think you were part of them.” I was. Thank you. Thank you. I was. Interviewer: “Thank you so much for coming in.” Thank you so much. Grand Rapids Chicks. � 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 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, during World War II to fill the void left by the departure of most of the best male baseball players for military service. Players were recruited from across the country, and the league was successful enough to be able to continue on after the war. The league had teams based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and operated between 1943 and 1954. The 1954 season ended with only the Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Rockford teams remaining. The League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball. Many of the players went on to successful careers, and the league itself provided an important precedent for later efforts to promote women's sports. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/484">All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-58)</a> 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 Sports for women World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives Oral history Baseball players--Minnesota Baseball players--Indiana Baseball players--Wisconsin Baseball players--Michigan Baseball players--Illinois Baseball for women--United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-58 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-10-02 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) 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 RHC-27_ORearN1915V Title A name given to the resource O'Rear, Nancy Kellogg (Interview transcript and video), 2016 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-01-21 Description An account of the resource Nancy O'Rear was born on January 7, 1938 in Grandville, Michigan. She grew up in Grandville and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in 1951 she started following the Grand Rapids Chicks, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team. From the 1951 season through the 1954 season she practiced with the Chicks, befriended the players, and traveled with the team to away games in Michigan and Indiana. There were plans for Nancy to join the team once she graduated from high school, but with the team's disbanding in 1954 those plans were scrapped. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Rear, Nancy Kellogg 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 Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Baseball players--Michigan Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text 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> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1efe82d36b9ffd69eff6268176282c7.pdf 3a68089e728e38d2f8d05079aa7f2a7f PDF Text Text '!'lit.: WAStuNtil'UN POST By Thomas O'Toolc Soon after Dutch resistance fighter Teengs Gerritsen was put in the concentration camp at Natzweil~r by the Gestapo in 1943, he fell ill with pneumonia and was placed in a hospital with five members of the French Maquis who had just been caught by the SS. "One of them was already dead and two of the others had bullets in their lungs but they began to softly sing the 'Marseillaise' together," Gerritsen recalled recently at Washington's Army and Navy Club. "When the Gestapo guards heard them, they filled hypodermic needles with gasoline and injected and murdered · each one of the Frenchmen on the spot. I never got the injection and to' this day I don't know why. I would have liked to have met that Gestapo fellow after the war and ask him why he didn't inject me." Another time, Gerritsen said he hid himself in a toolshed when the concentration camp commandant ordered the prisoners to appear at roll call on Christmas Day. Gerritsen remembers that the commandant was drunk and picked out six prisoners to be hanged that night. "One of them was the man standing in my place," Gerritsen said. "They never noticed that I was missing and that is why I am alive today." Gerritsen, a legend in The Netherlands because of such stories, came to the United States to help. celebrate the 200th anniversary of Dutch-American friendship and to honor the members of the Dutch resistance and the U.S. Office of Strategic Services who lost their lives in Holland during World War II. Gerritsen wasn't the only Dutch resistance fighter to make the trip. Men with names like van den Heuvel, Hofmeester, Hergarden, Zeegers, ( Peijnenburg and van Lamichot also came and told their storiei1. Among the many listeners were Prince Bernhard, Dutch Amhasi1ador J.H. Lubbers and Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Casey, who had been liaison chief between the OSS in London and the Dutch resistance during the war. Dutch resistance was stronger than most of the rest of occupied Europe. Three inonths after the war began, Queen Wilhelmina, from exile in London, ordered the Dutch to resist. More than · 10,000 Dutch resistance fighters were captured and killed by the Germans, fully half the Dutch resistance force. Gerritsen was caught in a scene that could have come right out of the movie "Casablanca." Two men wearing black leather overcoats showed up one day at his office in the Ministry of Import and Export, showed him their papers and took him off to prison. "Most of my friends were already there when I was brought into the prison," Ger~ ritsen said. "We had a traitor in our ranks. I suppose you can't avoid it." But one Dutchman who managed to avoid the Gestapo all through the war was Cees (pronounced Case) van den Heuvel, who was the intelligence chief for the Dutch resistance during the war. While Gerritsen worked in The Hague until he was caught, van den Heuvel did his job in Rotter• dam. "Rotterdam was the best place to be in Holland during the war because it was the most chaotic," van den Heuvel said. "The Hague was a company town like Washington where everybody was recognizable and Amsterdam was overrun with Gestapo because that's where they thought all the Dutch spies would be." Van den Heuvel escaped capture by changing his identity and disguis- ~" 1n.:-n ,, A 1 Thumlav, Oeleler 28, l98Z Visions of the ~ars of Danger Dutch Resistance Members Recall the Nightmare , ing himself. Only 25 when the war · Channel to Great Britain. "We soon discovered we couldn't began, van den Heuvel said he managed to look 40 by never being clean- start the boat's engine without its shaven, wearing old people's clothes distributor," van den Heuvel said. and his hair a little long, and walk- ''The 10 sailors who'd left the boat to ing stooped, with his coat collar up. go to lunch on shore had taken it "Nature helped me, too," he said. with them." To this day, van den Heuvel "I never had too much to eat and if you look thin you look older." thinks he's alive because the tied-up His job was estimating German sentry told his comrades he'd been military strength and movement in attacked by a squad of British comHolland. He had 600 agents scat- mandos. At least, that was the story tered across the country, watching that circulated through Rotterdam the roads and the railways. The all the next day. agents checked the repair shops Like van den Heuvel, Gerritsen where the Germans took their tanks had some good fortune. Captain of and trucks when they broke down. the Dutch ice hockey team before Among the agents were young the war, Gerritsen took his entire women who took advantage of Ger- team with him into the resistance. man soldiers drinking in the pubs. He decided to go to work for the Van den Heuvel discovered that Ministry of Import and Export, as any time a German soldier died, he . he put it, because there had to be a was buried in a local Dutch lot of good information there. Said graveyard with his rank, company, Gerritsen: "Only Germans came in battalion, regiment and army group and only Dutch goods went out. The marked ·on his cross. Into the Germans were so organized they put graveyards at night went van den lists out through the ministry of exHeuvel's agents, for fresh intelli- actly how many troops, how many gence on German troop movements. tanks and how much petrol they "That stopped when one of our brought into the country." couriers was arrested and his How did Gerritsen get that inforgraveyard report confiscated," van mation? He asked the director to den Heuvel said. "The next day, all give it to him. Gerritsen said the dithe German crosses were gone from rector told him: "Every Friday, I will the graveyards." leave the papers in my desk drawer, Van den Heuvel had his share of give you the key to my office and close calls. Once, he and four other drawer before I leave and you may resistance fighters stormed aboard a .come in and copy what you wish." German "schnell" boat at the enGerritsen and his hockey players trance to Rotterdam harbor, killed used to meet every Friday in a hotel one of the sentries left on board and bar across the street from what is tied up the other before preparing to now Holland's Disneyland. Charlie, run the boat across the English the barman, would see to it that the From left: Kees van den Heuvel, Teengs Gerritsen, Gerard Peijnenburg " 1 · & William Casey; by Lucian Perkins-The Washington Post , 1· bar would close down for an hour every Friday evening between 6 and 7 o'clpck. German officers frequented the bar but Gerritsen said that was an advantage. "It was good cover," he recalled. "The Gestapo would never check out a bar that German field officers drank in." It all ended when Gerritsen was arrested in May 1942 and locked up for five months in a tiger cage by himself. Twice transferred to Dutch prisons, he was finally sent the next year to the concentration camp at Natzweiler, which had the reputation of being the worst camp in occupied Europe. Gerritsen said that when he got there, 150 people a day were being murdered by the Gestapo guards. 1He was almost in tears as he told the story. "You have no idea, you have no idea of how they killed people there," he said. "People were being shot and hanged and killed by dogs. If you've ever seen a man with his hands and legs tied together and being killed by dQgs, it's the most horrible sight you can see." When the war ended, Gerritsen .· and van den Heuvel went to work for the Dutch Federal Bureau of'Investigation hunting down Dutchmen who collaborated with the Nazis and :1 Germans who served in Holland with the Gestapo. Gerritsen was· . questioning one former S.S. officer ·. . in a Dutch prison when he was told ' Hanns Rauter, the one-time German general who had been S.S. chief. in Holland during the war and who ..yas in the same prison, wanted to see him. . Rauter had saved Gerritsen's ~ife when he was first taken prisoner because Rauter had played in the 1936 Olympic Games for Germany and had met Gerritsen in Berlin where ' the games were played that year. . "He was a fearful bastard, 6-foot,6 and murderous," Gerritsen recalled. "Do you know what he said to me? He said, 'I'll tell you, Gerritsen, the only way to stop Germany · is ·to shoot us and disarm us for the rest of time. Germany will one day try to . win a war, they want someday to ·win , a war. That is what Germany is .all . about.'" · � 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_NWS_1982-10-28-Washington-Post-Years-of-Resistance-Danger Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Toole, Thomas Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-10-28 Title A name given to the resource Visions of the Years of Danger: Dutch Resistance Members Recall the Nightmare Description An account of the resource Article about the Dutch Resistance Movement in The Washington Post. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource The Washington Post Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- 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 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/0c6b2a00dfeec16ce575c08cb034b723.jpg 1df87211996cba182394983d377929e9 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080717-0002 Title A name given to the resource Corpsman attending to wounded soldier Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Corpsman attending to wounded soldier who had tripped a booby-trapped hand grenade in the 3/27th Marine's area. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/9917bc544919f52ae16207a3582018d4.jpg fc88b96963a6bf6358be1ddd14ccdd33 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0004 Title A name given to the resource Booby-trapped U.S. 105 mm howitzer round that Oakes stepped on Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Booby-trapped U.S. 105 mm howitzer round that Oakes stepped on. The round failed to detonate because the dirt around it gave way. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/6c5056eab51e98176b33cd00df3d2534.jpg f36c194215e150dbcbb1b035b36661b9 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0006 Title A name given to the resource Patrol during Operation Allen Brook Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Patrol during Operation Allen Brook. Right after Oakes took the picture, North Vietnamese machine guns began firing from the opposite bank. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/5652de18970c97604d2140605c297196.jpg 3cfad00c6155b68e8be8d25fb64e37b2 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0011 Title A name given to the resource Engineers placing C-4 around the bobby-trapped U.S. 105 mm howitzer round that Oakes stepped on Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Engineers placing C-4 around the bobby-trapped U.S. 105 mm howitzer round that Oakes stepped on. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/1e0791e50679767de2b5a00b646fc76f.jpg 7390efcb166bce4be5701d0b6aac1d21 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0017 Title A name given to the resource Live 81 mm round Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource White object in the center-right of the photo is a live 81 mm illumination round that went through Oakes' poncho and landed between his head and the Gunnery Sgt's head during a night firing in a rain storm. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/6331fc51689a351c372ccbd7082aa4a3.jpg 93d77c3b283424a938259d9f026ab821 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0018 Title A name given to the resource 122 mm rockets captured in the rocket belt south of Da Nang Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Da Nang, Spring 1968. 122 mm rockets captured in the rocket belt south of Da Nang transported on a mule motorized cart to Camp Dong Son. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Relation A related resource 1968 Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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 1968 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/4005385e4dab4c0a0df5f9860ab5130d.jpg e1ba446c4e2a17c97bde153e935e9ead 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0020 Title A name given to the resource Platoon ordnance load for a single patrol Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Platoon ordnance load for a single patrol. Consists of: machine gun ammo, hand grenades, M-16 ammo, M-79 ammo, smoke grenades, LAWs (Light Anti-Tank Weapons), and claymore mines. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/467e84283e23c560d3559ba63b5d8fe0.jpg 08f48e5c508af6a9f425f255be4edf4c 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0042 Title A name given to the resource LZ Gurkha artillery emplacement of 105 mm howitzers Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource LZ Gurkha artillery emplacement of 105 mm howitzers. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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/29403cf618e6c0e989f1ccdb63fa874f.jpg adf4a9bff3698976b447a61388930945 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0055 Title A name given to the resource Rear area at LZ Stud, Vandergrift Combat Base Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Rear area at LZ Stud, Vandergrift Combat Base. The jumping off point for the relief of Khe Sanh, October 1968. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Relation A related resource 1968 Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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 1968-10 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/310bdcd762a1c92b77ecdbcdd519b62f.jpg 38c06db9656bf03363cb863c46b6a80a 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 Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng 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 RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080729-0004 Title A name given to the resource Two U.S. Army dusters, 40mm tracked AA vehicles, south of Hue on Route 1 Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Two U.S. Army dusters, 40mm tracked AA vehicles, south of Hue on Route 1. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War 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> 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