776 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5200d898a56def29421d667c65f30781.jpg f653cd0e9a83a784a53dad180af8739c 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00344 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937-04-03 Title A name given to the resource Paestum Basilica Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of columns at the Paestum Basilica ruins in Italy. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Archaeology Paestum (Extinct city) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/edfcfdf88e7c4b60845e55554911833b.jpg 7a83439352e2238ddea55c110ab0707d 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00345 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1937 Title A name given to the resource Paestum Basilica Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of columns at the Paestum Basilica ruins in Italy. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Archaeology Paestum (Extinct city) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/d56df3c5cc9f44e2f3e4c7f5a5eaa114.jpg 9a235f44f3e097668e4d6906db9f54e2 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_FilmPacks_6_007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937-04-03 Title A name given to the resource Paestum Basilica South Wall Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the south wall of the Paestum Basilica. Mountains are visible in the background. Subject The topic of the resource Archaeology Archaeological sites Italy Paestum (Extinct city) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/5e43d3deb1ae052cbfa01fe3136af913.jpg 32cdab6932dbc5989259ea8026779541 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00346 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937-04-03 Title A name given to the resource Paestum Temple of Neptune Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of the Paestum Temple of Neptune ruins in Italy. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Archaeology Paestum (Extinct city) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/15f16554c0bccacbd372cf60b2a39e0d.jpg d08ed36c91466337b1259311d1e69f64 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00347 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1937 Title A name given to the resource Paestum Temple of Neptune Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of the Paestum Temple of Neptune ruins in Italy. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Archaeology Paestum (Extinct city) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/75f15f45e4b16da6d69f5537940f585f.jpg edcc06ded60e324d8913c2ca2e13543b 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_FilmPacks_V_16_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938-08-16 Title A name given to the resource Page and Chase stones, Hampton founders Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Hampton Founders Memorial showing the stones representing Page and Chase. The stone on the left side of the frame reads "PAGE 1639 - 1925." The stone on the right side of the frame reads "CHASE 1640 - 1920" Subject The topic of the resource Massachusetts Gravestones Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/6d1e861d77695a0001b5c7b2c8716888.jpg 4f126660a6faa7f834651da1c5380543 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image 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 PageGary Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982 Title A name given to the resource Page, Gary Description An account of the resource Gary Page, Hospitality and Tourism Management Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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 1982s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1bad9a350fd38a18e6e43a39826af444.m4v 6e1f0a6564a8011dda6815d06824aeaf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a83e9fc513b74561cd7f8ecb60c726c0.pdf 4ab7547daba494b30dabae4b488171f6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II Gerald Page Length of Interview (01:29:50) Background (00:00:00) Born October 1, 1925; Reed City, MI U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II Enlisted in 1942 during his last year of high school; graduated in 1943 Sworn in August 3, 1943 at Fort Custer, Battle Creek Active Duty on November 1943 Went into Fort Sheridan, Chicago, didn’t stay there long Sent to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, for basic training  Went through physical examination, medical exams (eye tests, specifically), testing of intelligence; training lasted until January His father owned businesses Decided to join the Army Air Corps, a romantic inclination (wanted to be a pilot)  Most of his friends went into the Navy, which didn’t appeal to Page Gunnery School/Training (00:05:00) After finishing in St. Louis, given options of doing odd-jobs around air bases or going to Gunnery School Did a lot of running, hiking, physical tests during basic training Left St. Louis and was sent to a Mechanic’s School in Amarillo, Texas doing grunt work Sent to Salt Lake City, then to Curry, Nebraska  Stayed for a week or two and was then sent to Gunnery School in Las Vegas, Nevada  There until summer  Given a small break to go back to Reed City �Went to Lincoln, Nebraska where he was put into a crew Sent to Ardmore, Oklahoma to do phase training Three or four months in Gunnery School (00:07:35) Shot everything that had a bullet, a lot of training with all types of weapons  Moving targets, air targets  Used colored bullets when hitting from the air  Was miserable training because they were out in the desert near Las Vegas during the summer  A lot of men washed out during this time  Flew in B-17’s  Three men in a plane, taking turns shooting; lots of smoke and incredible heat (100 degrees) Lived and flew with his crew in Lincoln, Nebraska (00:09:20)  Did camera missions, sometimes shot actual bullets at targets  There for three months; camp was named Gene Autry, but was called Ardmore (Oklahoma)  Doing more gunnery training here while the pilots, navigators, and bombardiers did theirs On a pilot mission when the propeller started ‘windmilling’ and they had to feather it (00:10:35)  Couldn’t get it feather and everyone was told to get their parachutes on and get ready to bail out  Eventually got the engine to feather and landed in Ardmore  The next day in class, Page was called and taken to the area where a parachute was laid out  It was the parachute he was using the day before  It had been burned because it had been laying near a socket, very lucky they didn’t bailout the day before � One the mission, had to shut off the engine because the vibrations from the propeller made the plane unbalanced Southern Italy (00:13:05) Supposed to fly to England to pick up a plane in Nebraska  The night before this mission, had a navigational mission  The navigator had led them to the wrong place, supposed to be heading for Kansas City  Had to use the radio to get direction to land at an airport  The substitute pilot had already flown 25 missions in the 8th Air Force and said he was not flying with this navigator across the ocean Page’s crew went over in a boat; went by train to Norfolk, Virginia, onto Liberty Ship in a convoy (00:14:28)  German submarines had attacked them on the way over (hadn’t known it at the time)  Towed to Azores Islands and were told by men in the Navy that they were very lucky  A torpedo had shot their ship’s propeller off Stayed on the Azores until their propeller could be fixed  The town had no room for them, so they stayed on a patrolling Destroyer, then a Tanker Eventually made it to Italy (00:16:00) 15th Air Force, took a couple days of training Came ashore in Naples, Italy  Drove a truck from the other side of Italy to Naples; very flat plains that were taken over by the US, and then to the air base at Foggia, Italy; assigned to an aircraft as a ball turret gunner (00:17:25)  Started flying out with different crews to get orientated then began flying with their original crew  Page flew more missions due to his size since only smaller men could fit in the ball turret  Ball turret was in the belly of the aircraft � Couldn’t have his chute with him A week after arriving, in his first combat Flew missions mostly in Southern Germany, Northern Italy, and some near the Alps  Had to bomb German supply routes, bridges, and towns (a lot of towns around Vienna for oil refineries)  8-10 hours of flight for missions The Average Day (00:19:45) Would be shaken awake at 1AM in the morning  Taken down to the mess hall and given a good breakfast  Get dressed and go to Group HQ for debriefing  Whole crew took the general briefing (weather briefing, as well)  Would be excused and go to the airport which was about two miles away  Pilots, Navigators, and Bombardiers would go to their respective meetings  Given electric flying suits and guns, Page was given two since he was a ball turret  Also given side arms only during missions Some men who had been shot down and taken prisoner before gave this advice: ‘take that .45 and throw it as far as you can throw it’ If captured with the sidearm, would be accused of killing, whether it was true or not Had 50 caliber machine guns in the ball turret; 16 overall on the plane  Waist gunners on each side, one gun each; the rest had two Given K-rations for lunch (little boxes) (00:23:30)  Breakfast had eggs; Lunch had cheese; Dinner had a meat dish  Given any one of these choices after debriefings  Would usually keep these until they were flying back Have to be 25,000 to 30,000 feet to begin flying in formation � Supposed to be on oxygen at 10,000 feet but they didn’t always do that, didn’t start feeling effects until 11,000 or 12,000 feet Never ran into Italian fighters because they had already surrendered before Page arrived (00:25:10) Encountered German fighters, initially ME 109s, but later jet powered ME 262s  Couldn’t compete with them, would go 500 mph versus the US fighters 200 and 300mph  Didn’t see these planes until later missions Encountered flak all the time, every time; very frightening, a ‘great big black boom’  None of Page’s crew was ever seriously injured by flak Last mission (00:27:05) Going over an oil refinery east of Vienna Out of 27 planes, nine were shot down Would see six or seven men get out of the plane, some with and without parachutes, then watch the plane spiral down and explode Glad he didn’t have to fly again after that Recently read a book that explained the reason why so many planes were shot down at the end of the war: they had a lot more guns and flak from Russia (00:28:08) Had a total of 15 missions There always was someone in the unit who got injured during missions due to flak mainly Page then describes a particularly gory accident with a mechanic and a turret (in Page’s aircraft) Scheduled to fly the next, but it was cancelled, their final mission (00:30:16) The War ended May 6, 1945  The next morning, woke up and never saw so many people so drunk; a celebration Stayed in Italy until November, hadn’t been in the service as long � Some of the ground crew had been there for over three years, some four Sent to Russia after being assigned smaller crews, still given missions (00:32:00) Most of the men from the ground crew were gone on their 30-day leave in the U.S. The Japanese were still fighting, so the ground crew’s leave was cut down to ten days Living Conditions (00:33:15) Six men to a tent, all the crew together  Had to pitch it themselves, theirs had been burnt in some places  Had to build their own furnaces, a lot of empty gas barrels to use  When Page first came there, had to eat outside, no dining hall  No toilet facilities  The food was decent until the War ended Stayed in touch with he family through V-mail (00:35:50) Took sixty days to get from the U.S. to Europe (due to the Azores incident)  Letters from the States were also in V-mail; photograph, to make it faster Had PX’s to buy basic things like toothpaste, socks, etc. Eventually a building was made as a mess hall  After the War was over, a club house was built, but they never got to use Given a pack of cigarettes, cost a dollar Nobody ever drank before a mission, wouldn’t be allowed to go up (00:39:00)  Beer was also rationed, two a week  The men would go to town to get wine, cognac, etc.  Could go into town, but it wasn’t safe; one of Page’s mechanics was attacked Discharge (00:40:50) The Radio Operator in Page’s crew managed to get hold of six sidearms before he left �First thing they did when they arrived in the U.S. was stand in a line, then strip and hand over their packs  Given back their belongings back, but not their flight jackets among other things  The next stop, given steaks in a mess hall Came back through Norfolk, on an aircraft carrier, a converted cruise ship  Went through the Northern Atlantic, very rocky journey back Rest Camps (00:43:00) Doesn’t recall anyone doing anything for good luck (before missions), maybe some praying  When Page’s crew got into the plane, they would flip to see who got what K-ration meal Could smoke in the planes, but not when they had to oxygen masks on The money made by the PX would go to getting entertainment from traveling shows every few months Remembers an Indian man piercing himself with needles Bob Hope had come to Foggia once, but too many people so Page didn’t attend After five missions, went to rest camp in Capri (an island off of Italy) for a week (00:45:40)  Would go to rest camp after every five missions  Didn’t always go with his crew, got separated from them  Had rest camps in Rome, as well  Took quite a few tours around, very beautiful place  In Capri, young boys would take a boat out and dive for octopi without masks or gear  Beautiful caves, a lot of nice scenery (a particular church on a hill) Bombing Missions (00:50:20) Page’s squadron was separated during a mission  If a squadron is ever separated, the commander selects the ‘Target of Opportunity’ �Flying lower than they should have been and see a marshalling yard full of cars (rail yard) with red crosses on them Deciding whether or not to bomb the field Someone argued that cars bound for hospitals would not be put here Commander gives the order to bomb it; created a large explosion, all ammunition trains Did a lot of missions bombing marshalling yards, but their General (Sparks) got the idea of bombing Berlin (00:52:00)  800-900 miles away from where they were  10-11 hours, extra fuel Bombed Berlin, lost a lot of planes coming back (would run out of gas and have to land) Stationed South of Rome, east of Naples (Foggia Flats) Had three groups use the airport, one was British (Bombers- Lancaster) Would send only one plane at a time, continuous bombing (may have had larger gas tanks as they could stay in the air longer) Later, when Page visited Germany, would hear soldiers complaining how the British bombings kept them up all night (00:54:24) Had a good crew, strong, young (oldest was 23) (00:55:00)  Remembers one particular pilot (substitute) who would go crazy whenever they flew into flak, ‘We’re gonna get killed!’ Flew north over Europe, would land in Munich (00:57:00) Could see the roads filled with people who didn’t know where to go (after VE Day) Stayed in Munich for a couple days Remembers going to a bar where a black GI was drinking and when he left, a barmaid asked Page whether or not his skin tone can ‘rub off’ After Service (00:58:30) Got back to the US on an aircraft carrier to Norfolk, VA Went to Indianapolis, Indiana (Camp Atterbury) where he was discharged � On the base for two days, only; during December Took the train back to Michigan, hadn’t told his folks  But his dad was already there with tears in his eyes; may have been waiting for every train for Reeds City, Page never asked him Had been let out earlier, many of his friends were not out (01:00:30) Would visit the bar with the few discharged (except Page was only 20)  A friend of his, who worked for the paper, managed to make him an identification card (police were cracking down on underage drinking) First summer back, state was offering to pay any Veteran $20 a week pension check Went back to college in the winter (February 1946) to Western (Kalamazoo) joined the football team Took accounting, had awful English (his whole class was made to use 8th Grade Grammar books) Attended on the GI Bill, covered most expenses Didn’t keep in touch with his friends in the Army (01:05:00)  Had been contacted by the former Radio Operator in his crew (1956) Has gone to some State Organizations, VFW After college, wanted to work for an oil company Eventually his father went into his own business with Page He and his wife then decided to buy a small resort, Page’s Resort Also became a teacher in Middleville (1953) also did administration Had reenlisted for Reserves; Korean War began, but wasn’t called up (01:16:32) � 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 PageG Title A name given to the resource Page, Gerald (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Page, Gerald Description An account of the resource Gerald Page served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II as a ball turret gunner on a B-17. Page served from 1943 until 1946 and flew a total of 15 missions in the 15th Air Force, mostly over Germany and Austria. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace J. (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-05-25 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/81cbeb073b2c0b53e290bb2bf92a2f53.jpg 72996ae3d7ecba29975f7594ec55a060 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00116 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1918-1921 Title A name given to the resource Pagoda of Lin Ching Chow Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of the Lin Ching Chow pagoda, a nine-story tower. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides China Pagodas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/ba8b67a7c006fde88b412890d473f46f.m4v 6d8661f34c740f1c88c15a495d5d1bda https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1475fae1b23bf7710d0d680eff31ecc.pdf b588e5d723fe7b08d943884dcea7a462 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II / Korean War John Pahl Interview Length: (02:23:12:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:18:00)  Born in Fennville, Michigan (00:00:18:00) o His family lived in Fennville for ten years then moved to Allegan, Michigan just in time for the Great Depression (00:00:23:00)  His father was a rural mail carrier, which was why Pahl’s family lived in Fennville (00:00:34:00) o His father had been gassed in World War I and his health gave out in 1930, so the family moved to Allegan, where Pahl’s father was trying to get other employment (00:00:38:00) o Pahl has lived in Allegan for the rest of his life (00:01:02:00)  Pahl has the equivalent of two years of college; at the time, someone could teach in rural schools with a special certificate that counted as one year of college (00:01:16:00) o They would have to renew the certificate every two years until they finally got a degree (00:01:31:00)  Pahl was just starting to teach when the war started in 1939 and he taught four years before he got in the war (00:01:50:00) o A rural school teacher taught everything and in class, Pahl would have a map on the blackboard and he and his class would follow the progress of the war as part of their schoolwork (00:02:13:00) o It was a good way to teach the students how to spell the names of all foreign locations (00:02:41:00)  He was not enthusiastic about the war but Pahl knew sooner or later that he would become involved in the war because, one time, he looked at himself in the mirror and told himself that he could not let other people fight his battles for him (00:03:02:00) o He was not disappointed when he was drafted (00:03:24:00)  He was immediately registered for the draft when the war started because he was twenty-one at the time (00:03:33:00) o In October 1942, he was declared 1A and ordered to report to duty January 13, 1943 (00:03:51:00)  From Allegan, Pahl went to Kalamazoo, Michigan then to Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois, where all the draftees were sorted, screened and checked for shots (00:04:13:00) o He got a series of shots seven different times (00:04:32:00) o The military decided at Camp Grant where the draftees would go based on their skill set; they decided that Pahl should take infantry basic training and quartermaster schooling at Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming (00:04:40:00) o The wind blew all the time at Fort Warren and Pahl remembers walking guard duty at twenty-eight degrees below zero (00:05:03:00)  Basic training was three months and the men were trained with World War I equipment because World War II equipment was being rushed to the Allies (00:05:24:00) o The men did get proper uniforms and Pahl ended up becoming a “sharpshooter”, a fact he is proud of (00:05:59:00) o Pahl was a fisherman growing up but he occasionally went hunting with his father; however, they never used rifles, only shotguns (00:06:20:00) �The canteen that the Army issued Pahl was aluminum and had a name, address and date from 1917 scratched (00:06:45:00)  Still, the canteen still held water, which was what it was supposed to do (00:07:03:00) o Infantry basic was tougher than regular basic because the Army wanted the men to be strong; this was easier in the winter because it was way below zero and the men got strong fast (00:07:25:00) o The men did calisthenics, practiced close-order drills and marches and received a good thorough basic; Pahl was glad he got the training because the information came in handy later (00:07:47:00) o As part of their discipline, the men learned that they had to salute not only the general, but also the general’s horse if it ever got loose (00:08:12:00) Following basic training, Pahl was accepted for the quartermaster officer’s school at Camp Lee, Virginia (00:08:33:00) o This course also involved rigorous training; however, the quartermasters did not have to be as hardy as the infantry (00:08:49:00) o The quartermasters were the record-keepers for the Army; they kept the records on the supplies: where they went, how they got there, which railroad lines handled them, etc. (00:09:14:00) o They also had to keep the records of all the troops and they also had to learn how to do things such as: run a military cemetery and a mess hall (00:09:38:00) Pahl completed the quartermaster training and on the very last day before graduation, a representative from the War Department came down and said that he had a special opportunity that the men could volunteer for be given a direct commission in the Air Corps instead of the Quartermaster Corps (00:10:09:00) o The offer sounded rather tempting because Pahl had noticed that at all the social gatherings, the girls tended to like seeing the wings on a uniform much better than the quartermaster cart wheel (00:10:51:00) o Pahl still did not know what they wanted; but the volunteers had to be either a teacher, lawyer, or stockbroker in civilian live because they had to be able to do arithmetic quickly and accurately (00:11:08:00) o The offer was strictly volunteer and after Pahl thought about it, he decided that he would go down to the orderly room that day and volunteer (00:11:57:00)  He noticed on the bulletin board that day that there was a list of all the officers volunteering for the Air Corps and Pahl’s name was on it, although he had not yet volunteered (00:12:09:00) o The next day, the men who volunteered graduated with their class and were then immediately commissioned in the Air Force and ordered to radar school in Orlando, Florida (00:12:27:00) Whenever the men had to move from one location to another, they went by railroad; one good thing that Pahl learned in quartermaster school was all the different rail lines and which ones had the best trains (00:12:54:00) During radar training, the men had British instructors who had been sent over to teach the men how to be radar controllers (00:13:34:00) o Up until that time, the United States had only a few, isolated radar stations, mostly around larger cities like New York and Boston (00:13:46:00) o Radar was basically a British invention and they were not too cozy about letting the United States have it: eventually, they decided that they needed more radar controllers than they had (00:14:18:00) o     �The men studied both the capabilities of radars and the capabilities of all the Allied and Axis aircraft (00:14:17:00) o While they were training, the men had some airplanes that they could maneuver around; the pilots were airmen who had been involved in the Battle of Britain, which meant that they knew their stuff, but they were not gracious to the radar trainees (00:14:54:00)  The men maneuvered the planes around so that they could get used to giving orders and seeing them executed (00:15:25:00) o One time, while in training, Pahl ended up talking to the President by accident (00:15:34:00)  The pilots of the airplanes that the men used for maneuvering needed airtime as well, so they would go over bomber range in the Gulf of Mexico and would drop marker bombs (00:15:44:00)  Florida has a deadly fog at around four in the afternoon and all the pilots were supposed to be done by then; they could not land with the test bombs still attached (00:16:19:00)  One pilot was late getting up and had not dropped his bombs in the bombing range when the fog came in (00:16:44:00)  The men knew where the pilot was and when he was returning to the shore, the men’s instructor took over and tried to talk the pilot into going back out to unload his bombs (00:17:07:00)  The pilot ended up dropping his two bombs in the town square in Dunedin, Florida; one made a crater in the public square and the other hit a house that was on the square (00:17:47:00)  That particular afternoon, the man who owned the house, who normally sat on the porch at four and read the paper, got a call and went inside just before the bomb sheared off the porch (00:18:13:00)  Immediately, the phone at the radar center started ringing; they had a directly line to the White House and the President wanted to know what happened because they assumed that a German submarine had fired on the city (00:18:33:00)  Pahl learned many years later on television program that the only overt action that the Nazis took against the United States were the two shells that a submarine fired in Florida (00:19:21:00)  The men were asked if they had any records of the submarine and everyone was calling to find out where the submarine was; the men just told the truth, saying that they had no records of a submarine in the Gulf (00:19:52:00) o The incident taught the men that they had to be careful where they told planes to dump their ordinance (00:20:44:00) Pahl spent three months at the radar school; the men graduated in September 1943 and were immediately ordered to various radar centers that were being set up all around the East and West coastlines (00:20:57:00) o The men spent a month at these stations learning from more experienced radar operators (00:21:16:00) o Pahl was sent to Mitchell Field, which meant that he was stationed in the radar center on Manhattan Island for a month, which was interesting; if he had been there for more than a month, he would have faced bankruptcy (00:21:26:00)  The men called it the “land of palms” because everybody that did something for them had his palm stuck out and expected a generous tip (00:21:44:00) o The men did more training in New York and from Mitchell Field, they could spot submarines at night off of New York Harbor waiting for convoys to come out (00:22:00:00) o  �    The area was a happy hunting ground for the submarines and there was a ship sunk off the New Jersey coast practically every night (00:22:18:00)  Because the submarines had to come up at night to recharge it batteries, the men in the center could distinguish the submarines; they would call the Coast Guard on Long Island and report that they had spotted a submarine and about an hour later, the men would receive a call back saying that they had taken care of the problem (00:22:28:00) Whenever the men went from base to base, they had a week of leave time that they could use to go home (00:23:47:00) When the men left New York, the Army was creating units and once the men had their week of leave, they were told to report to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri (00:23:51:00) o Jefferson Barracks was interesting because the unit could be sent either east or west and the place was an old building where the units were formed (00:24:06:00) o This was the first time that Pahl’s unit, that would eventually go overseas together, met, although the men still had no idea where they were going or when (00:24:21:00)  While at Jefferson Barracks, the men had marching and other things to keep them busy while they waited (00:24:41:00) o While at the Barracks, Pahl learned that he had a weekend pass and if he left early on Friday, then he could be in Kalamazoo by Saturday morning; he only needed to be back by midnight Sunday, so he had a weekend home (00:24:57:00) Pahl got to St. Louis in the middle of October and his unit received its shipping orders on December 29th to go to Camp Patrick Henry in Newport News, Virginia (00:25:31:00) o The Air Force had tried to screen the men because the radar operators were given somewhat special treatment; they laid out a map of all the theaters where the operators were desperately needed and the operators listed where they wanted to go, first come, first serve (00:26:11:00) o Pahl knew that he did not want to go to North Africa because that theater was still active and he did not like the desert, he knew that he had no chance of getting to England because everyone wanted to go there, and he did not want the Southeast Asian theater because he did not like jungles (00:26:40:00)  None of the men had heard of India or the Tenth Air Force (00:27:06:00) o He ended up putting down Iceland because, although they had a radar station there, no one wanted to go there because it was cold (00:27:16:00) o Pahl had a friend at headquarters who assured Pahl that his station started with “I”, so he was safe for Iceland and suggested that he and his unit go and get warm clothes (00:27:39:00)  The men did that, although they still did not know where they were going; they never did know until they got to the location (00:28:18:00) o The men were at Camp Patrick Henry from January 1, 1944 until January 11, 1944 getting their overseas shots and papers in order (00:28:29:00) Deployment to India (00:29:01:00)  To get to their new assignment, the men sailed on a converted sea liner, the Empress of Scotland (00:29:01:00) o Pahl was stationed in a former card-room with thirty-two other officers; the bunks were stacked six high and the fellow on the top bunk, to save time in the morning, would fill his helmet with water (00:29:10:00)  However, if the sea was ever rough, then the water would slop out of the helmet and hit the men in the lower bunks (00:29:38:00) �The ship left January 11th and went to sea; the men expected the ship to zigzag because it was only sensible (00:30:10:00) o Pahl was adept at reading maps and geography and whenever the ship changed direction, he marked it down in a little notebook; the men did not know the distance and Pahl had to estimate that, was well as speed (00:30:28:00)  He kept a day by day account of the voyage and they never sighted land once they left Virginia (00:30:52:00)  Pahl eventually figured out that they were making more zigs to the south than zags to the north, so he assumed that they were headed south (00:31:03:00)  In his luggage, he had a little atlas and he charted where he thought the ship was (00:31:15:00) o The men were eventually told when they had passed but Cuba; they could not see the island, only a large smudge on the horizon (00:31:27:00) o Once they got into the Southern Atlantic, the ship had deck guns on it, manned by British soldiers from the Battle of Britain who decided to have gunnery practice (00:31:50:00)  Incidentally, because of his training, Pahl was qualified to fire everything up to the 75 mm cannon (00:32:03:00)  Eventually, the British told the men that they were passing the island of St. Helena, although the men could not see it (00:32:32:00) o The men passed the Equator on January 19th and were all inducted into the seaman’s union (00:33:05:00) o For gunnery practice, they dumped some empty oil drums in the sea; the ship had deck guns and rocket racks for use against aircraft and the men had direct hits on the very first shot, which was comforting for the other men on board (00:33:21:00)  On the same day, the men got to the point that they were ready to make a landing and they spotted a submarine periscope to the rear of the ship (00:34:03:00)  The periscope cut across the whitecaps, which was how the men could tell it was there; Pahl was on submarine watch that day and when he called the bridge, the “captain put his foot down on the gas” and the ship shuddered when it went full speed ahead (00:34:41:00)  The area that they were sailing through, off of Cape Town, South Africa, was a happy-hunting ground for the U-Boats because all of the supplies going to India had to go through there (00:35:14:00)  The submarine might have been out of torpedoes or the captain might have not wanted to get into a fight with the ship’s deck guns (00:35:38:00) The ship made land at Cape Town and the men had a three-day layover in the city (00:35:56:00) o The city was the most beautiful that Pahl had seen in his life; the people were cordial to the soldiers and they threw a party for all of the officers (00:36:02:00) o The civilians arranged for a party at the country club for all of the officers and arranged it so that all the officers had dates with young ladies from Cape Town (00:36:24:00)  Pahl’s date was an Irish lady poet; they were dancing and the band was trying American pop music when they finally hit a polka (00:36:39:00)  Pahl had never done a polka in his life; when his date asked if he wanted to try it; Pahl did and he ended up following her because she did know how (00:37:03:00)  The couple gave an exhibition and someone yelled “to clear the floor and let them go” (00:37:25:00)  That was the first and only time that he danced a polka up until his daughter married a Polish boy and Pahl had to learn more about them (00:37:33:00) o The ship stayed in Cape Town for three days to take on oil and water and by this time, the men had it figured out that they were not going to Iceland (00:37:50:00) o  �     The ship went up the Indian Ocean and the men did not know if they were going up to join the British forces in Egypt or where they were going; no one had heard of any other place to go (00:38:19:00) o Finally, on February 8th, the men found out where they were going, when they landed in Bombay, India and were ordered to the Air Defense Wing (00:38:51:00) o On the ship, apart from their men, there several hundred other men, including all the chaplains for the entire China-India-Burma theater (00:39:16:00) The Tenth Air Force had been formed in the later 1942 with remnants of the forces that had been kicked out of Burma; they had a few planes and some ground crews, but it was still a skeletal organization (00:40:03:00) o Pahl’s group had enough stuff to flesh the unit out, although they did not have pilots, who came later (00:40:25:00) Pahl’s unit was ordered into a British camp in Bombay, where they discovered that the ChinaIndia-Burma theater was a British theater and they would be under a British commander, Lord Mountbatten (00:40:43:00) o The British were holding their breath and hoping that the Japanese would not have sufficient strength to break through the mountain chain that separated them from Burma (00:41:16:00) o There were passes in the mountains, which was how Stilwell and the ground forces escaped into Burma; they simply walked out (00:41:28:00) Pahl’s unit stayed at the British camp for a month; what the men did not know was that the other units were not ready for them where the men needed to be (00:41:48:00) o Finally, they received orders to report to the Air Defense wing at Calcutta, which was organizing there (00:42:00:00) o The men went by rail, which was an interesting journey; the Indian railroads were the best that Pahl had ever seen because they were on time and ran correctly (00:42:18:00)  For the trip, they had a long train and it took them from February 26th until March 2nd to go across India, even with a top-notch railroad (00:42:39:00)  The train was not making good time at first, so the men tried to see what they could do to help; they cornered the conductor and asked what they could do to help (00:43:02:00)  The conductor said that the train was too long and that if they removed one car, then they would make better time; the men put their heads together and found out that they had loaded their musette bags wrong, with fresh produce instead of rations (00:43:23:00)  The men could get food from the mess car but they had no way to wash their mess kits, so they arranged that the engineer would give a shot of steam to sterilize the mess kits; however, the next thing they knew, the train did not have enough steam to get out of the siding (00:44:31:00)  The men discovered the next day that they were not going to be getting anymore hot rations because the car that the conductor had decided to remove was the mess car (00:45:16:00) o During the trip, they were going through a region that was under a severe famine; Pahl and his friend had been hoarding and a teacher asked Pahl to take her baby and give it to the orphanage and another time, Pahl gave a little girl an orange he had been saving (00:45:38:00) The train finally got to Calcutta on March 2nd, where the men stayed for ten days waiting for transportation to take them to their base in Siam (00:47:40:00) o The actually unit, the 5320th Air Defense wing, was headquartered in Calcutta but the men were told that they had to report to the actually base in Siam (00:48:08:00) �The men got on another railroad and went north; they stayed on the train for two days and reached the north part of India (00:48:30:00)  While they were waiting in camp, the men occupied themselves at the supply dump loading supplies onto railcars; even the officers had to go out and load supplies (00:48:46:00) o Eventually, the train came to a railroad with a different size gauge, meaning that it could not go any further, so the men had to unload all the supplies and put it onto another train (00:49:25:00) o Then, the men were on the new train for two days following the Brahmaputra river; they had crossed the Ganges river while on the previous train (00:49:43:00)  It turned out that they were on the wrong side of the river; they wanted to be on the north side (00:50:05:00) Finally, on March 13th they had to unload all the supplies from the train; apart from the regular supplies, there was also a number of jeeps, trucks, and ambulances which the men unloaded and placed the other supplies in (00:50:25:00) o They were then ferried across the river and formed a truck convoy (00:50:48:00) o On March 15th, the men arrived at the base, Chabwa, which was a huge air base; there were warehouses there that were miles long and filled with every kind of supply that they needed in China (00:50:58:00) o Chabwa was the last big air base for the planes; from there, they have to cross into Burma, which was hostile territory (00:51:24:00) Pahl’s unit left all the other supplies behind and went up to their main base camp at Kanjikoah, which was about five miles down the road from the main base (00:51:41:00) o Kanjikoah was built in Sir Thomas Lipton’s tea garden with the hopes that it would be disguised; the tea plants needed shade from taller trees and the military assumed that the tall trees would disguise the radar center from the Japanese (00:51:55:00) o The men were filthy when they got to Kanjikoah in the late afternoon, where they were still building the main radar center; they were using a temporary radar center in the planter’s bungalow (00:52:54:00) o The men were assigned temporary quarters and the next morning, the men had not been assigned any duties, so they went over and decided to take a shower (00:53:22:00)  The men were all naked and taking their showers when a Japanese air raid occurred (00:53:55:00)  The Japanese were actually raiding a air base about three miles away from Kanjikoah but the men discovered fairly early that a radar center is like a bull’seye on a target; it was the center of communication for the entire area and if it was knocked out, then the entire area was paralyzed (00:54:07:00)  The Japanese had hit the air base and come over; the men were all naked and no weapons except for their carbine rifles, which had no ammunition (00:54:56:00)  All the men ran over to the supply tent asking for ammo and were told that it had not arrived yet; the supply tent did have rifles and ammunition, but the rifles could not be assigned to the men because they were officers, who were not allowed to carry rifles (00:55:35:00)  The men waited the air raid out and then took appropriate methods to get ammunition (00:56:13:00) The primary job of Pahl’s unit at Kanjikoah was protecting the main supply base at Chabwa; there were millions of dollars worth of supplies at the base and Kanjikoah was the sole piece of protection (00:56:38:00) o    �       There were three other air fields around the radar center; the radar would work but it was spasmodic, which was when men with arithmetic came in handy, guessing whether a plane was in the air (00:56:58:00) o At the time, the Air Force only had P-40 Warhawks, which was the best that they had to offer; they were using the P-40s in China and Chennault had managed to save some (00:57:12:00) o The trouble was that at this point, the Japanese were using Zeros, which flew in at two thousand feet above the ground, meaning that the radar could not pick them up to engage them (00:57:34:00) o To solve the problem, the radar operators would vector their planes out and directly under the target; once under the target, the pilots would intentionally stall out and try to shoot the Zeros in the belly (00:57:51:00) A second duty of Pahl’s unit was protecting the air lift across Burma from Japanese interruptions (00:58:10:00) o The air lift went close enough to the main Japanese base that they could interrupt the air lift; finally, the Allies changed the route and took it up through northern Burma, which was in friendly hands (00:58:26:00) o However, the new route was several hundred miles longer and it took a longer time to complete the journey (00:58:40:00) o The men knew that sooner or later, if the air lift was going to be successful, then they had to capture the Japanese base at Myitkyina, which was heavily fortified (00:58:47:00) The radar controllers worked in eight hour shifts, with three controllers to a shift; there was the senior controller, who had supreme authority over the radar because he knew the instructions and the operations being conducted (00:59:25:00) o Sitting next to the senior controller was an air identification officer, whose job was to identify all the planes on the ops board; if it was green, it was friendly, if it was red, it was the enemy and if it was not identified, it was this officers job to do so (01:00:08:00) o Another officer was in charge of anti-aircraft fire and would send alerts to all the locations that needed alerting; however, this officer had to wait until a controller gave him the go-ahead (01:00:37:00) o There was also a civilian in the control room who would give the warning to the civilian population in the area (01:01:13:00) o At first, the three radar controllers were only necessary during the day (01:01:35:00) o Controllers were on duty twenty-four hours a day but only worked eight hour shifts and they got rest in between as best they could; during the day, the general would think up different jobs that needed doing, such as running the kitchen or working in the supply office (01:01:48:00) At one point, Pahl learned to speak Wakahindi for the unlike situation that if plane he was on was shot down in a region where the natives did not speak English, then he could explain that he was friendly (01:02:21:00) The men did the best they could with the P-40s, which they had for a while (01:03:02:00) o When the Middle East situation cleared up in mid-1943, then they were able to fly supplies across North Africa, which eliminated shipment time and allowed them to bring in new planes (01:03:09:00) When they first got to India, Tenth Air Force headquarters was in Calcutta but by May, the headquarters had moved and Pahl’s radar center was in full swing (01:04:11:00) Air Force personnel were not intended to be combat troops; however, in an air raid, the control center had foxholes dug around it with machine guns and any personnel not actively engaged in the control center had to go out and use the machine guns for fifteen minutes (01:04:34:00) �As it happened, because it was a British theater, down the road from Kanjikoah was a regiment of Highland troops who wore kilts and played bagpipes (01:05:18:00) When they sent the warning out that a raid would be happening, a few things would happen (01:05:47:00) o The men found out that a lot of the native population tended to be pro-Japanese and six hours before a raid would happen, the phone lines went dead; however, what the natives did not realize that the men also had radio connections to all the bases, which the natives failed to knock out (01:06:01:00) o When the phones went dead, the men knew that within six hours that they would be raided; that was SOP (standard operating procedure) for the Japanese, as well as attacking around ten in the morning (01:06:42:00) o All of the labor at the camp was native people and before a raid, they would all go hide in the woods (01:07:03:00) o The men were concerned that the radios would not get to the Highlanders, who had to come up and man the guns at the base; they men always knew when their call got through because they could hear the highlanders playing their war pipe coming down the road (01:07:51:00) At the beginning, the Japanese raids were small; the first raid on the base was only ten planes, meant to recon the area (01:08:39:00) o Every morning a Japanese reconnaissance plane would fly over the area taking pictures; however, the Americans could not reach him and he would get down right nasty, he would get on the American wavelengths and laugh at them (01:08:53:00) o In terms of supplies, the Tenth Air Force was the lowest priority of all the theaters, but they eventually began to receive some P-47s, P-51s, and P-39s (01:09:49:00)  The pilots did not like the P-39s, which they called “widow-makers”; in actuality, the Tenth did not need them except for ground support (01:10:13:00)  The P-47s were very good; they were slow to gain altitude but once they gain the altitude, they were able to dive and attack, which meant putting bombs into pillboxes and things like that (01:10:33:00)  The P-51s were “the best thing that anyone ever invented”; the men only received a few at first but they received more in due time (01:10:52:00) o One day, the Japanese recon aircraft came over and was mocking the men and a P-51 shot him down; that was the last Japanese recon plane they had (01:11:13:00) The Japanese also interfered with their radio connections, which was serious because when there was a raid, the Americans could not afford radio jamming (01:11:43:00) o The men eventually found a way to stop the jamming; all they had to do was sing a few bars from the Mikado (the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta ) on the radio (01:11:55:00)  The Japanese could not listen to anything disrespectful of the Mikado, so they got right off the radio (01:12:26:00) o Pahl also bought some records in Calcutta and he managed to get a full opera of the Mikado operetta so that anyone could learn it (01:12:38:00) In May 1944, the headquarters of the Tenth Air Force moved up to Kanjikoah and took over a large number of the buildings (01:13:14:00) o The men had lived in tents until that time; the tents were the English variety that slept up to six men but soaked up water, which was a detriment during the rainy season (01:13:26:00) o When the Tenth Air Force came in, they got some buildings built for their staff and moved Pahl’s unit out of their tents and into native buildings made out of bamboo and mud (01:13:49:00) o     �    The only disadvantage to the native buildings was that they had thatched roofs; the roofs kept out water but when the rainy season started in April and ended in September, it rained steadily and animals climb into thatch, so that if a man was reading or listening to a record, something might fall on him (01:14:17:00)  If any of the snakes bit a man, then he had very little chance of survival; however, they had one man who was bitten by a sidewinder and instead of putting a tourniquet on the wound, he sat on it and survived (01:15:44:00)  There were also larger snakes, including cobras, which were extremely nasty; all the officers and some of the enlisted men carried a cane while in the area to fight back against the cobras, they would try to side step the cobra and hit it in the head with the cane to break its neck then shoot it with a gun (01:16:30:00) Living in India was not all peaches and cream; the climate was hot in the summer off-season and in the winter monsoon season, it was cool (01:18:06:00) o When the breeze came down from the mountains, it was cool and the men had to be fairly adept as controllers in weather; they ended up having to take a course in weather forecasting because they had to be aware of the weather (01:18:30:00) o Another facet of their work involved mounting raids of their own against the Japanese and they had to know the weather in order for the raid to be successful (01:18:53:00) In addition to the radar, they had something up in the mountains that was of great helpfulness (01:19:12:00) o Whenever the Japanese attacked, they came in a low altitude and the men could not pick them up on radar until they came over the mountain range, which was within thirty miles of the first American position (01:19:20:00) o The Americans had ground spotters up in the hills, some native, some American, and they could spot enemy planes coming and notify the radar controllers in plenty of time (01:19:40:00)  Some of the native ground spotters were actually set up by the Japanese Air Force (01:20:06:00) o When the Japanese planes were gaining altitude to attack, the Americans would turn the AA guns loose against them, which forced the Japanese to get higher than they want to be (01:20:56:00) Toward the end of the war, when the Japanese were getting forced back in Burma, they had what Pahl considers a banzai charge (01:21:26:00) o In the last months of the war, the Japanese planes continued to move south and the Americans continued to maintain air superiority (01:21:49:00) o During this time, the most planes that Pahl had in the air at one time was seventy-five American and the Japanese had about seventy-five coming in, which was an interesting day for several reasons (01:22:17:00)  The Japanese had everything that they had that could fly equipped to shoot (01:22:32:00)  Pahl had his three squadrons, which totaled seventy-five planes; it was usually twenty-planes from each squadron and five at each squadron being serviced, but when an air raid came in, the planes seemed to be serviced faster (01:22:43:00)  As well, there was a squadron from the Fourteenth Air Force in India that had come back to replace their planes with P-51s; they were all gassed up and waiting to take-off and go back to China (01:23:10:00)  The radar controllers did not want all seventy-five planes crashing at once, so they took a squadron at a time and sent them in (01:23:36:00)  Pahl sent his first squadron in and was on the radio getting ready to send the second squadron in when he heard a voice on his radio saying “Klondike, this is �     Tiger-1, can we come to your party please”; “Klondike” was Pahl’s radio callsign (01:23:49:00)  It was the Flying Tigers squadron and Pahl said that they surely could (01:24:20:00) Pahl ordered the Flying Tigers to orbit at a checkpoint and wait for his instructions, which they did (01:24:40:00) Pahl sent in his second wave and ended up entirely forgetting about the Flying Tigers; eventually, a voice cut through his radio saying “thank you, they are headed right for us, we’ll take it from here” (01:24:55:00) Pahl received credit for the attack but he never planned on it (01:25:33:00) By the end of the day and the next day, the Americans down every Japanese plane at the loss of only a few American planes (01:25:53:00)  By that time in the war, the Japanese pilots were lousy (01:26:06:00) The next day, before the Flying Tigers squadron went back to China, their commander came in and thanked Pahl for sending them in and for the entertainment; Pahl replied that they were very happy to have them (01:26:10:00)  Pahl can proudly say that he commanded a squadron of Flying Tigers, if only by accident (01:26:37:00) Merrill’s Marauders and the Advance Down Burma (01:27:07:00)  The American commando group “Merrill’s Marauders” ended up camping right next to Pahl’s location; by that time, they were awaiting orders to go into Burma (01:27:07:00) o The Japanese at that point were trying to break through the mountain chain, which they did, only further to the south and against General Slim’s British Eighteenth Army (01:27:20:00)  At times, the front lines were the size of a tennis court; some of the American soldiers took their leave time and went down and fought with the British soldiers (01:27:33:00) o Merrill’s Marauders came in and stayed in temporary tents while getting their shots because they were pretty well infected with malaria; at the time, they were not a top class unit and Pahl believes that they never should have been sent (01:27:50:00) o General Merrill was a perfect gentleman and he and Pahl ended up having lunch together; the General had to eat with Pahl because the officers all ate in one mess (01:28:17:00)  The Marauders knew what they were doing and General Stilwell needed combat troops but could not get any from the British, so he made a deal with Chiang Kai-Shek and borrowed two Chinese divisions trained by American officers (01:28:58:00) o Stilwell started going into Burma over mountain trails that American combat engineers had widened into a road (01:29:40:00)  Once they got the road finished, the troops were actually able to be moved in; this was when the Americans decided to attack, at the beginning of the rainy season (01:30:00:00)  Stilwell had figured the attack out and he would send in some Air Force men as well to set up a radar station (01:30:12:00) o The Marauders would go over the road with the Chinese divisions and the entire force came within sixty miles of Myitkyina but were blocked by retreating Japanese soldiers (01:30:34:00) o Myitkyina was not heavily guarded because the Japanese did not expect an attack, so the Marauders wanted to march down to attack, which they did (01:31:00:00) �The Marauders figured that it would take them three days to get over the mountains and into position to attack, but General Stilwell and the meteorologists figured it wrong; they figured that the rainy season was going to be late, making the attack possible on foot and as it turned out that the rainy season was not late (01:31:43:00) o On the first day, there was going to be a force that would go in partly by glider and partly by truck and land on the Myitkyina airport and secure it, where Stilwell intended the radar station to be (01:32:09:00) o They managed to secure the airport in a very short time and Pahl ended up going with that first group; however, he had jungle rot in his right foot and they only took half of his unit, the other half stayed behind and worked at Kanjikoah (01:32:34:00)  There was a temporary radar center put up but it did not do much at first because Japanese snipers shot out all of the equipment (01:33:01:00) o The Japanese were not expecting an attack, so the Americans were able to secure the airport and set up a perimeter; however, the Japanese mounted a counter-attack (01:33:13:00) o All in all, the rainy season started the next day, so the Americans were unable to land anymore supplies at the airport (01:33:26:00)  The engineers had filled in all the bomb craters so that the runways could be used when the weather cleared (01:33:36:00)  There were days when the monsoons were not heavy and the ground was not too muddy and they could bring in more supplies (01:33:48:00) o However, the Marauders who were walking over the mountains were rained on and it took them a day longer than they figured (01:34:02:00)  However, they still managed to push the Japanese back to the point that supplies could be parachuted in (01:34:25:00) o In due time, Stilwell got his two Chinese divisions in and broke the stalemate with the Japanese (01:34:36:00) The Tenth Air Force also supplied ground support, which was when their ground attack aircraft came in handy (01:35:17:00) o It took them three months to completely capture Myitkyina; they had to take it pillbox by pillbox because bombing would not hurt them (01:35:24:00) o The only way to hurt the pillboxes was to come in and skip bomb them because they needed a slot for their machine guns and if they slid a bomb through that slot, then the bombing run worked (01:35:37:00) o The ground forces also had bazookas but not artillery because the artillery was too heavy for the makeshift road over the mountains (01:35:54:00) o Pahl’s unit had its makeshift control center that helped steer the planes on the bombing runs and Pahl used to listen to the radio chatter between the pilots and the ground controllers (01:36:15:00) o All the way down Burma, the Tenth was backing up the ground forces, including Merrill’s Marauders, who they supplied with back-up and regular supplies (01:36:53:00) o Because there were no M*A*S*H units, only aid stations, they used flying boats to transport wounded back to the large hospital at Chabwa (01:37:23:00) They did all their fighting during the day; at night, the crew in the control room was reduced; however, they still kept positions of all the planes because of the air lift into China (01:37:59:00) o Pahl eventually discovered that planes were going into China, one every five minutes, twenty-four hours a day, rain or shine, filled to the brim (01:38:24:00) Pahl earned two Bronze Stars, something that he did not earn by just fighting in the radar center (01:39:20:00) o    �     Once Myitkyina was secure, the forces immediately started down the road to Maungmoo; if Maungmoo could be captured, then it was a short distance until they could link up with the old Burma Road at Lashio (01:39:31:00) o The Burma Road represented a land-link to China that would save six hundred miles on the journey to China (01:39:46:00) o Pahl ended up going down to Maungmoo directly, although he did receive a Bronze Star for his actions during the Myitkyina campaign (01:39:58:00) o However, he had to stay back in Kanjikoah with a detachment because they still had work to do in that area (01:40:15:00) o He ended up going down to Maungmoo for a few months where he received another Bronze Star; the men actually did have occasions to do some shooting to protect themselves (01:40:35:00)  The Japanese had snipers in the jungle and all sorts of things; the men never knew when something would happen (01:41:10:00)  The men were advancing in force along the roads but sometimes, they would still be attacked, even by air (01:41:19:00)  Pahl never actually went into the jungle and hunted for the Japanese; he was protecting the radar units (01:41:30:00) Pahl’s unit stayed at Myitkyina for three months and it took another couple of months to capture Maungmoo, after which the unit went down and installed a radar center there (01:41:47:00) o They had gotten a few extra radar controllers but the advance was still making it so that they only had three controllers at a base, although they could not run much of a base with only three controllers (01:42:01:00) Eventually, Pahl got over his jungle rot after about three months; as it turned out, Pahl’s roommate at Kanjikoah was the unit’s surgeon and he wanted to amputate the foot to save Pahl but Pahl said no (01:42:13:00) o He was born with two feet and he wanted to be buried with two feet (01:42:29:00) o To cure the jungle rot, Pahl had to bathe his foot twice a day for fifteen minutes in the strongest disinfectant he could find to kill the fungus (01:42:43:00) o Jungle rot was a serious disease and a lot of men ended up losing limbs because of it; Pahl had trimmed his toe nail to closely and cut himself, which gave him the fungus (01:42:57:00) The men on the base also had trouble with malaria; when the unit first got to India, their malaria rate was one hundred and fourteen percent (01:43:23:00) o Pahl never had malaria which meant that some unlike man got the disease twice (01:43:34:00) o The men developed several ways to combat the disease: before the engineers became too involved in rebuilding the roads, they went around and sprayed for mosquitoes and the malaria rate went down; if the men took their atabrine tablets everyday, it also helped (01:43:40:00) o Some of the men never recovered from the disease and they were sent back to the United States (01:44:24:00) When it got down to three controllers per shift, the men had eight hour shifts plus their extra duties; Pahl served as the supply officer, transportation officer and mess officer at different times (01:44:32:00) o As the mess officer, Pahl hade to make a menu that worked for Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and his quartermaster training came in at this point because he was able to squeeze out some extra items that were not on the menu (01:45:05:00) o They had a mess sergeant who was American but did not speak Hindi; the sergeant wrote out the menu, Pahl translated for the cooks and the Hindus follow it (01:45:48:00) �    Because he spoke Hindi, several other jobs opened up for Pahl (01:46:13:00) o One job involved going to get the rations every day at nine in the morning, including fresh fruits; while he was waiting, Pahl would listen to the conversations of the merchants (01:46:18:00) Pahl was also involved in counter-espionage and he would report to intelligence what the people in the market were saying (01:46:39:00) o For the counter-espionage, Pahl had one other man assigned to help him; he did not know any of the other men involved in counter-espionage in case he was captured (01:47:05:00) o Pahl did not know what the other men were doing until after the war; in any case, he was having fun doing the job (01:47:14:00)  On occasion, Pahl would drop a select piece of information deliberately to offset the enemy intelligence (01:47:33:00)  Saigon Sal and Tokyo Rose would broadcast everyday and tell the soldiers what they were going to do (01:47:46:00) o The mess sergeant that Pahl worked with could not cook but he could forge orders and pick locks and he would help Pahl in his counter-espionage (01:47:57:00)  On occasion, Pahl would remark that they had to get back to the base early to go bomb Mandalay; someone would pick up on the intelligence, take it to the Japanese and soon, the Americans would hear Saigon Sal talking about the mission, although the actual mission was not even near Mandalay (01:48:20:00) o Whatever information Pahl heard, he turned in; for example, the civilians would tip him off to troop movements happening in the area, especially once they got down into Burma (01:49:09:00) When the war ended, Pahl was at Myitkyina (01:49:47:00) o He had managed to get an impacted wisdom tooth which moved him back; once he finished up a Maungmoo, his CO decided that he should go back to Myitkyina where they had a dental unit, the only one in Burma (01:49:53:00) o When Pahl’s CO ordered him back to Myitkyina, there was a supply convoy leaving from Maungmoo to go to Myitkyina, so he order Pahl to lead the convoy (01:50:33:00)  The journey was not easy because it was only a two lane road; about half way to Myitkyina, Pahl’s convoy meet a Chinese convoy that had the side of the road towards the mountain and was playing chicken with Pahl’s convoy (01:50:58:00)  Pahl was in the front jeep and the Chinese were bumping the jeep with their trucks; luckily, Pahl’s driver was good and when he realized what they were doing, Pahl aimed his carbine at the Chinese driver and they did not bother him any more (01:51:34:00)  The Chinese driver did not know it, but the soldiers did not have any ammo with them when they were traveling (01:52:13:00) o Pahl eventually went back to Myitkyina for about six weeks to get his tooth fixed; he could not get the tooth fixed right away (01:52:45:00) Just after he got back to Myitkyina, his unit received orders to reassemble because another radar unit had come to relieve them (01:53:09:00) o They had a unit at Myitkyina, a unit at Maungmoo, and at unit at Kanjikoah (01:53:34:00) o The unit was supposed to get back together and go to China, although the men did not understand what was going on; they received the order to go to China at the end of July 1945 (01:53:43:00) o The men did not realize it, but the Air Force had been building airfields in India and Burma for B-29s that were doing heavy bombing in Burma and Siam (01:53:57:00) �They were equipped to handle the “A”-Bomb so that if the situation on Iwo Jima did not work out, then they could use the bases in Burma (01:54:25:00)  The men did not know about the “A”-bomb until after it had happened (01:54:46:00) Pahl’s unit returned to the United States by ship (01:55:00:00) o It initially took them a few weeks to get from Myitkyina to Kanjikoah to be signed out; all the supplies that the unit was issued had to be accounted for (01:55:04:00) o From Kanjikoah, they went to an airbase in India, where they stayed for a couple of weeks and managed to pick up dysentery (01:55:31:00) o The men eventually sailed on December 10, 1945 from Karachi on the General Ballou, a large hospital ship (01:56:05:00)  The ship had a couple thousand men on it and it went through the Suez Canal and a path that had been cleared through the mine fields (01:56:27:00) o It was a delightful ride back until they reached Gibraltar; once they reached Gibraltar, a massive storm kicked up on the Atlantic, so large that even the aircraft carriers were sent back to port (01:56:45:00)  However, the Scotch captain of the ship wanted to get home, so the ship kept going; they managed at one point to get a hole in the bow, so on one of the quieter days of the storm, they lowered some welders over the side to fix it (01:57:07:00) o The ship arrived in New York on the evening of December 31st and they had to lay on the outside of the harbor; at the time, there was a pilot strike and they could not bring the large ships in without a harbor pilot (01:57:43:00) o On January 1st, the captain steamed into the outer harbor and as part of a tradition, every boat signaled to it as part of the new year (01:58:07:00)  As a result of the signaling, the ship lost all of its steam before it reached the inner harbor, so it had to wait to build up steam; in the end, the captain brought the ship in and docked on Manhattan island by himself (01:58:37:00) o If they had to wait for the strike to end, then bodily harm might have come from the soldiers towards the striking harbor pilots (01:58:55:00) As soon as the men got off of the ship, they were sent to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey and from there, each man was sent to the camp nearest his home, which for Pahl meant Camp Atterbury in Indiana (01:59:25:00) o Pahl’s actual discharge is dated March 12, 1946 when in actuality, he was already home by January; he got home fairly early on, just three days after the ship had docked in New York (01:59:54:00) o When he got home, Pahl discovered that they had on-leave promotions, so he came home a captain, which was the rank he had when he went into the Korean War (02:00:22:00) o   The Korean War (02:00:45:00)  During the Korean War, Pahl was a senior controller and at the time, the military was very concerned that Russia would aid the North Koreans (02:00:45:00) o If Russia did help the North, then the military knew that the Russians had planes that could reach the United States (02:01:01:00) o Pahl was recalled immediately, he did not even have a two-week notice (02:01:14:00)  Because he was a senior controller and former teacher, Pahl was in the 752nd ACNW squadron and was sent to Empire, Michigan, which was twenty-two miles from Traverse City, Michigan (02:01:24:00) �At Empire, he was training radar controllers and units; the military sent them doublestrengthed units, which meant that they were giving both basic training and instruction for radar crews going to Korea (02:01:42:00) Pahl never actually went to Korea, he was just and instructor; during the war, he served a little over twelve months, from 1950 to 1951 (02:01:59:00) o Pahl’s wife was very angry at the time (02:02:18:00) Pahl and his wife married in 1948 and Pahl says that he got his license to fight twice on the same day, July 28th; that date was when he got his officers commission and when he got married (02:02:21:00) o Pahl’s wife disliked the phrase so she made a deal with him (02:02:42:00) o When he was originally recalled, Pahl reported to Selfridge Air Force Base because that was where his unit was formed; after that, the unit was ordered to Empire and they ended up helping to finish constructing the base (02:03:25:00) Pahl and his wife had an argument because Pahl had been in the reserves when he was recalled (02:03:37:00) o Pahl’s wife drank coffee and Pahl did not, he did not like it, so in the middle of August, she meet Pahl at the door with a yellow piece of paper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other and she told Pahl to drink the coffee; Pahl had lost the bet (02:03:55:00) All the officers in the unit were reservists, except the colonel; all the other men were controllers from different parts of the world (02:04:23:00) For the training, Pahl and the other men had to give the trainees basic training; Pahl and the other instructors were all captains and apart from the basic training, they also had to calibrate the radar center (02:04:49:00) o At one point, Pahl was giving some of the enlisted men march orders on the lower level because most the men were not cleared to go to the top level (02:05:47:00) o Finally, Pahl decided he had to do something because he kept hearing some men behind him complaining, so he marched them to the base of a large dune and told them that they were going to run up the hill, he was going to time them, and he was going to lead them (02:06:11:00) o When they got to the top of the hill, Pahl looked at his watch and said that they could do five seconds faster and they were going to march down and do it again (02:06:53:00)  It was barely five years after he was discharged and Pahl was still in top physical shape (02:07:11:00) The communists were very active in trying to find out the capabilities of the radar stations; the Americans had great radar but the communists had no idea what its qualifications were nor how accurate it was (02:07:37:00) o The spies also wanted to learn about the size of the base and the range of the radar (02:08:05:00) o The FBI told the men which bars the spies hung out in and the men eventually found locations where the spies attempted to sneak into the base; the men eventually made daily walks around the perimeter looking for the locations but as far as they know, no one got in (02:08:17:00) o They thought one did because one night, one of the officers was walking home from his duties in winter and as he was walking home half-asleep, a man wearing a fur coat and hat was walking beside him (02:08:51:00)  The officer tried to talk to the man, but the man would not talk back and eventually the man walked into the woods; the officer reported the incident the next day to the colonel and the men went out and looked for tracks (02:09:34:00)  As it turned out, the man had been walking with a bear (02:09:53:00) o       �Post-Military Life (02:10:27:00)  When he got back after World War II, Pahl’s teaching certificate was still valid and he had signed a contract to teach, but at that time, teachers only worked for nine months out of the year and they did odd jobs in the summer (02:10:27:00) o In Pahl’s summer, he worked at a land-title business and at the court house in the register’s office, so he was familiar with land-title work (02:10:46:00)  After the war, Pahl had three months of terminal leave when he did not have to work but one day, the owner of the land-title office came and asked Pahl if he would come down and manage the officer (02:11:00:00) o Pahl originally said no, he was just resting and enjoying it; the owner said that everything was a mess because during the war, they could not get trained help and there was a large backlog (02:11:28:00) o The man said that Pahl had been a captain, which meant that he had some executive ability; Pahl wavered and said that it would be nice to earn a little extra money, but that he had a contract to teach the following September (02:11:57:00)  Pahl was supposed to teach history, which had been his major and was the job he wanted (02:12:25:00) o The man said that he understood but that September was seven months away and Pahl could at least get the office straightened around by then (02:12:51:00) o Pahl finally agreed but said that come September, he was going to leave; when September did come, Pahl’s nerves were in a jangle and he did not want to be in an enclosed classroom with kids because order had disappeared (02:13:06:00) o The man said that he would not hold it against Pahl if he left and maybe he could come down for the summers, but the man said that he would like Pahl to be there all the time and he would give Pahl an option to buy the office in the future (02:13:45:00)  Pahl said that he would give the job a try and he ended up working in the land-title business for sixty-seven years; he was the oldest land-title man still working when he retired in 2005 (02:14:24:00)  Occasionally, they still have to call Pahl because some pieces of information were not put into the computer (02:14:53:00) o At one point a while back, some men were planning to build a jail and they were discussing whether the county actually owned the title to a certain bog; they went to the register-of-deed’s office, which Pahl knew inside and out, and one of the girls called and asked if there was a recorded deed to the courthouse (02:15:03:00) o Pahl said that there was and the girl asked him where she could find it; Pahl told her exactly where to look for the deeds to both the village and the county (02:15:40:00)  The clock on Pahl’s only tells the time in military time (02:16:39:00)  There are certain things that Pahl does that are because of the military; for example, the only time Pahl struck his wife was one time (02:16:50:00) o There is a certain clap of thunder that when it goes off, it sounds exactly like a 109 gun; he and his wife were sleeping one night and the thunder clapped; Pahl sat right up in bed and asked who was shooting (02:17:11:00) o Pahl’s wife sat up, asked what he had said and Pahl hit her with the back of his hand and told her to get down because they were being shelled (02:17:41:00) o There were certain things that reminded Pahl of being in the service (02:17:55:00) o Another time, there was an alarm signal on the fire station that was the exact same as the air raid siren in India and every time they sounded the siren, Pahl would start count: one, �   two, three, four, five, six, “FIRE THE GUN”; after six seconds, they fired a minute gun to warn to civilian population (02:18:03:00) When he had time off, Pahl would go and work occasionally with the AA and it was then that he could hear artillery (02:18:59:00) Another one of his jobs while in India was acting as a liaison between the British Highland unit and Pahl’s unit (02:19:16:00) o At one point, Pahl’s commander, a general, called Pahl in and appointed him to be the American liaison to the British headquarters; Pahl and the British liaison become good friends (02:19:35:00) o The British unit was manning the AA and Pahl and the British liaison would go out and listen to the guns; Pahl got to the point that he could identify the caliber of the gun just by hearing it fire (02:20:35:00) o One time, the Highland unit had received some replacements from the British Military Academy at Sandhurst and one of the new officers was directing men who had been in India for three years on how the build a gun emplacement (02:20:50:00)  After a while, the officer came up to the British liaison and said that he wanted the liaison to court-marshal the gun crew; the liaison officer was skeptical and asked what the gun crew had done (02:21:33:00)  The officer said that he was explaining how to build the gun emplacement when the gun crew’s sergeant stood up and told him to go to hell, which was derogatory to the officer’s rank; the liaison officer thought for minute and told the officer to calm down, he did not have to go (02:22:03:00) Pahl tried to learn as much as he could because he knew that he could never afford to go to all the other locations or that he might not be asked to do certain things again (02:22:36:00) � 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 PahlJ Title A name given to the resource Pahl, John (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pahl, John Description An account of the resource John Pahl was born in Fennville, Michigan and grew up in Allegan, Michigan. As a teacher during the early parts of World War II, he and his class would follow the war on a map. When the Army drafted him, Pahl received training as a quartermaster. Following graduation, Pahl volunteered for the Air Force, where he received a commission and training as a radar controller. Following his deployment to India, Pahl served as a radar controller for the Tenth Air Force in India and Burma. After the war, Pahl returned to the United States, but the Air Force recalled him during the Korean War. During the Korean War, Pahl trained younger men in how to be radar controllers. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Forces Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-07-09 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f8736a140650bca8ab658db1a92365ce.jpg 4bcf2020819e3278c503045e0665ee51 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_Peitaiho_1920_unlabeled_008 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1920 Title A name given to the resource Paifang with Horses Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of three people on an automobile parked on a dirt road next to a paifang flanked by statues of horses. Photograph was taken by Robert Merrill in the Chinese coastal resort area of Beidaihe Qu. Subject The topic of the resource Beidaihe Qu (Qinhuangdao Shi, China) China Arches Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/a747ed0e64a63603571f7cb1b74dcdd8.jpg 18e95b79407bb04a9ad735bccce76962 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 Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg 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-183_L007-0012a Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971-01-25 Title A name given to the resource Painted Brick Sign in Chicago, Illinois Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a promotional sign for the city of Chicago painted on the side of a brick wall in Chicago, Illinois. In the photograph, the sign reads, "Chicago, 'The Friendliest City in the World,' Richard J. Daley, Mayor." Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Chicago (Ill.) Billboards--Illinois--Chicago Daley, Richard J., 1902-1976 Chicago (Ill.). Mayor (1955-1976 : Daley) Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s 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/f1299170b8e63956fe5072a4054100b8.jpg 0d114f77797b77a92fe1a23c6f67bee1 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 Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg 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-183_O317-0035a Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974-11-29 Title A name given to the resource Painted Totem Pole, Detroit Suburbs, Michigan Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a painted totem pole structure located in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Totem poles in art Livonia (Mich.) Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s 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/63bd13b91d04b933edfccc216b068d1b.jpg 0ba1acdbe36bef8ece72cc358655fe61 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/801a543fe894b2285f41b7df38cc60c8.jpg f0897f2eb93e65549fa099fe9ca8c73f 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-Misc_Painting-the-Old-Hospital Title A name given to the resource Painting the old hospital Description An account of the resource Black and white photo of a large group of people. Seven individuals sit on the steps of a porch, six stand on the porch, and one man stands next to the porch with his hand on the railing. On the reverse: "Painting the Old Hospital." Names are also written on the back in cursive. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Families Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09da5ccca578337f309cb22d6c14fcb9.pdf 195b5db25ca4563e9b2d41f7d6aa839e PDF Text Text GRAND RAPIDS Pair honored as resistance fighters ,, The Israeli government has honored a Grand Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch resistance during World War II and helped Jews flee the Nazis. Adriana and Peter Termaat have been named recipients of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles for their work in the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years in the resistance movement printing underground newsletters, forging ration and iden~ tificatlon cards and hiding people from the Nazis. "So many times, your life hung by a thread," said Peter Termaat, 72. Adriana Termaat, 70, said, "It's something you never f et." ) GRAND RAPIDS Pair honored as resistance fighters _ • ~ The Israeli government has honored a Grand Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch resistance during World War II and helped Jews flee the Nazis. Adriana and Peter Termaat have been named recipients of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles for their work in the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years in the resistance movement, printing underground newsletters, forging ration and identifi~tlon cards and hiding people from the Nazis. So many times, your life hung by a thread," said Peter Termaat, 72. Adriana Termaat, 70, said, "It's something you never forget." GRAND RAPIDS Pair honored as resistance fighters The Israeli government has hon~red a Gr~d Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch res1;Stance dunng World War II and helped Jews flee the Nazis. . . Adriana and Peter Termaat have ~n named rec1~1ents of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles for their work m the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years in the resistanc~ movef!lent, printing underground newsletters, forging ratio~ and identification cards and hiding people from the N11;1s .. "So many times your life hung by a thread, Sal~ Peter • Termaat, 72. Adria~a Termaat, 70, said, "It's somethmg you !i never forget." ,Y, APRIL 1, 1986 DETROIT FREE PRESS $3 TO UNLOCK CAR .Police propose J STURGIS - Police would charge $3 to unlock a car and $25 to escort a funeral under a proposal by city officials. Police Chief Lyle Hopkins and City Manager John Brand have suggested a schedule of fees for services they consider outside the Police Department's regular law enforcement duties. Hopkins said about 20 percent of police time is spent on non-police duties. Hopkins and Brand said the fees woul~ increase re~enues, discourage unnecessary calls and mcreas~ police efficiency. Hopkins said one car owner asked police four times in one week to unlock his vehicle after he locked the keys inside. Last year police unlocked 729 vehicles, escorted 87 funerals and 1,515 money deliveries and answered 385 burglar alarms, 96 caused by malfunction~. The proposal has been assigned to a City Council committee. GRAND RAPIDS Pair honored as resistance fighters The Israeli government has honored a Grand Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch resistance during World War II and helped Jews flee the Nazis. Adriana and Peter Termaat have been named recipients of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles for their work in the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years in the resistance movement, printing underground n!wsletters, forging ratio~ and identification cards and hldmg people from the Nazis. · "So many times, your life hung by a thread," said Peter • Tennaat, 72. Adriana Termaat, 70, said, "It's something you i never forget." �~;;..A~Y,~A;;_P;;_R;;_IL;;.1;;_, 1iiiiiiiiiiii9iiiiiiiiiiii86 . . . . .;;.DETR;;_OITii i i i i iFREii i i i PR;.;-ESS i iE , $3 TO UNLOCKCAR Ay, APRIL 1, ·.·Police propose f GRAND RAPIDS DETROIT FREE PRESS $3 TO UNLOCK CAR ' . 1 STURGIS - Police would charge $3 to unlock a car and $25 to escort a funeral under a proposal by city officials. Police Chief Lyle Hopkins and City Manager John Brand have suggested a schedule of fees for services they consider outside the Police Department's regular law enforcement duties. Hopkins said about 20 percent of police time is spent on non-police duties. Hopkins and Brand said the f~ would increase revenues, discourage unneceasary calls and Increase police efficiency. Hopkins said one car owner asked police four times in one week to unlock his vehicle after he locked the keys inside. Last year police unlocked 729 vehicles, escorted 87 funerals and 1,515 money deliveries and answered 385 burglar alarms, 96 caused by malfunctions. The proposal has been assigned to a City C~ncll committee. 1986 ·.·Police propose f · STURGIS - Police would charge $3 to unlock a car and $25 to escort a funeral under a proposal by city officials. Police Chief Lyle Hopkins and aty Manager John Br~nd have suggested a schedule of fees for aervices they consider outside the Police Department's regular la_w e~for~ement duties. Hopkins said about 20 percent of police time 1s spent on non-police duties. Hopkins and Brand said the fees would Increase revenues discourage unneceasary calls and increase police efficiency. Hopkins said one car owner asked police four times in one week to unlock his vehicle after he locked the keys inside. Last year police unlocked 729 vehicles, escorted 87 funerals and 1,515 money deliveries and answered 385 burglar alarms, 96 caused by malfunction~. The proposal has been assigned to a City Council committee. GRAND RAPIDS Pair honored as resistance fighters Pair honored as resistance fighters The Israeli government has honored a Grand Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch resistance during World War II and helped Jews flee the Nazis. · Adriana and Peter Termaat have been named recipients of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles for their work in the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years In the resistance movement, printing underground newsletters, forging ration and identification cards and hiding people from the Nazis. "So many times, your life hung by a thread," said Peter Termaat, 72. Adriana Termaat, 70, said, "It's something you never forget." The Israeli government has honored a Gra~d Rapids couple who worked in the Dutch resistance dunng World War II an<l helped Jews flee the Nazis. . . · Adriana and Peter Termaat have been named rec1p1ents of the Medal of the Righteous Gentiles (or their work in the Netherlands under German occupation. The couple spent five years in the resistance movement, printing underground newsletters, forging ratio~ and identification cards and hiding people from the Nazis. "So many times, your life hung by a thread," said Peter Termaat, 72. Adriana Termaat, 70, said, "It's something you never forget." � 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_AWD_1986-04-01-Yad-Vashem-Newspaper-clippings-392 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Detroit Free Press Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-04-01 Title A name given to the resource Pair honored as reistance fighters Description An account of the resource Newspaper clippings from Detroit Free Press, April 1, 1986. Subject The topic of the resource Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust 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/d8c0564acc1cb38b3e7e0af0a2e69d7d.jpg 51bb656b599eba532c0dda00085685cf 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 Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg 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-183_I055-0005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968-04-19 Title A name given to the resource Palacio Interiors, New York City Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the boutique displays at Palacio in New York, New York. In the photograph, various blouses, scarves, and jewelry can be seen on display in the New York City store. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Fashion--New York (N.Y.) Interior decoration--New York (State)--New York New York (N.Y.) Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s 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/ba86123b0a5c3161b56415993a579cdc.jpg 316dea24de7a75e8c439c0e786232631 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 Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg 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-183_I055-0009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968-04-19 Title A name given to the resource Palacio Interiors, New York City Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of Palacio in New York, New York. In the photograph, the "Palacio" businessname can be seen printed and repeated across an exterior glass doorway. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Fashion--New York (N.Y.) Interior decoration--New York (State)--New York New York (N.Y.) Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s 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/652580ddddbf8084df0a4d2a98bf3f0b.jpg 988475a87038ec96eaf3e45861a62eea 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_NE_54_1917_006 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1917-11-03 Title A name given to the resource Palenville Gorge Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a mountain gorge covered with trees with another mountain visible in the distance. Subject The topic of the resource Palenville (N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/c42990a60e86b7dbe4c108c04c63ad47.m4v fa659475ddcb289600fe23ea8a2316ee https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f56e382575eb4a2579dcb68f799e8216.pdf 72a3ca60a73aaccde475c16f7454ebf0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University All American Girls Professional Baseball League Veterans History Project Interviewee’s Name: Toni Palermo Length of Interview: (01:00:14) Interviewed by: Gordon Olson GVSU Veterans History Project, September 26, 2009, Milwaukee, WI at the All American Girls Professional Baseball League reunion. Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, September 7, 2010 Interviewer: “Let’s start with some easy stuff, just some background, tell me a little bit about your family and where you grew up before professional baseball?” Yes, I grew up in Forest Park, Illinois and my parents were from Italy and I spoke no English when I went to school, so it took some doing. I had a lot of speech practice with speech in college to eradicate all the Italian mispronunciations and accent, but yes our family background was very poor and the other thing that I thought was very interesting—I never had to get permission from my parents to play ball. Today you almost have to have the legal system supporting you, so I thought that was quite interesting. Interviewer: “Did you play ball as a child?” 1:11 Yes, Interviewer: “With brothers and sisters?” No, I just played with the boys all the time; there were no you know. In Forest Park there was a “Parishey Bloomers Girls” professional softball team and they had a farm team and when I was, I think, ten years old my physical education teacher, who was a “Parishey Bloomer Girl” professional, retired, told me to try out for their farm team and then to eventually be on their team and I did and I made it. I was so small and everything that they had a special uniform for me. The others were black and white and they had a blue and gold thing that they could find to fit me, but I was strong and mighty, very strong. Small, but mighty. 1:58 Interviewer: “You looked more like their mascot than one of their players.” I know it, the glove was bigger than I was. Interviewer: “Now Parishey, was that a company?” He owned a construction company and then he owned the professional team. They were thee professional team, they were the champions of all champions. Interviewer: “To be selected that young to be trained for that.” 1 �I practiced, I shagged balls, I was out there all the time and it’s just I learned the game between being with the boys and the Parishey Bloomer girls, I learned the game and I was very fast, which was nice, so that was a big help too. I could shag more than the others 2:43 Interviewer: “As they say, and it’s said over and over in all levels of baseball or other sports, “you can’t teach speed”. If you’re fast--” You can work on it and improve it, yeah I agree. Interviewer: “It’s a great asset. How did you learn about, how did you get involved with the professional baseball league?” Well, they were scouting and they saw me play, I think when I was eleven, and they came up and asked me to go to Cuba to do spring training. I really thought they had—I just thought that they weren’t for real, truly. I was so young and I thought, “why would they want me to go to Cuba?” And to think that I was good enough. I knew I loved it, but I had no concept if I was good, bad or different, I just loved the game. They said they would get tutors for me and this, that and the other and that’s where “Lefty” came from, I didn’t know if you know Alvarez, Lefty Alvarez and Maita, they all came from Cuba. 3:50 I opt not to do it, I don’t know, just because I didn’t believe it and it would have been nice to go and I would have found out that I actually belonged there too. Interviewer: “But they kept watching you.” They kept pursuing me and then Mr. Parishey pursued me when I was thirteen, so I was with them before that in what they called the farm team and then he signed me when I was thirteen, then the league got in touch with me and I got excited about it and on my own at age fourteen, I can’t believe I did this, got off, got onto the El, got off at Canal Street, got on that train, went to South Bend, Indiana, nobody caring anything or babying anybody, got there and then found the ball park you know and I can’t—I think back and then I went to New York and met the team in New York on the flight, got on the plane and I look back at all that and I don’t know how I had courage and not been afraid. 4:53 You had a goal and I guess my goal was to get to the team and that took care of all the problems. Interviewer: “ You had to have some trust in where you were going and the people all around that you were going to make it ok?” Yeah, they gave the directions, here’s how you get there and I just used my brain and on I went. Interviewer: “Did you have a contract at that point?” Not yet, but I—when I went to South Bend, that was a training, and then when I went to, I think I must have signed the contract wither just before or when I got to New York. 5:27 2 �Interviewer: “When you signed there because, there are a couple of things here that are very interesting. The fact that you’re fourteen years old and your parents knew you were doing this.” Yes, but I never asked permission. Interviewer: “You just took off?” No, I think I just said that they wanted me to play and I was going to go. It wasn’t like today you know. It’s so legalistic today, but yeah, and I think that they were happy that I was happy and of course I really sent all my money back home, so I think that made them happy after the fact. 6:06 Interviewer: “How many brothers and sisters in your family?” I had one sister. Interviewer: “Before we abandon this line, what did your father—what was the line of work?” He was a salesman and my mother a stay at home, but he taught collage classes and that, he had a university degree, but he never questioned, he just—he saw that I was skilled and we were poor and he bought me a bike because I said I wanted a bike so I could go riding with the boys, so he bought me a boys bike and things like that. He just kind of supported what I wanted and must have thought I had some kind of skill or talent. 6:51 Interviewer: “And he had confidence that you would find your way to south Bend.” I don’t think that even bothered them and I think because I wasn’t afraid. Interviewer: “What do you recall about the tryout and the training that you did there?” Oh, I loved it, just loved it and again I wasn’t apprehensive. I had confidence and I guess I didn’t realize that they were going to test me out and decide whether to take me or not. I just assumed that I was in. You know, I went there, they were going to take me, and it wasn’t like a question, so I just loved it and they gave tips. For a while there I was being hit all the time, hit in the arm by the pitches and one time I lost my temper and I threw the bat and angry that they’re just killing me and then the coach came up and said, “be angry with yourself, you’re the one stepping into the ball”, he said, “you’re supposed to avoid the pitch”. 7:49 He said, “you’re running right into the ball”, and he told me that you have to hit ahead because if you wait for that pitch and it’s curving it’s going to hit you every time. He said, “I don’t want to see that anger at all again or that temper or whatever it was, you find a way of keeping out of the way of the ball”. That was a good lesson learned. Interviewer: “How many were there at this tryout? It was a tryout and you just didn’t know it.” It was packed all over the field and I don’t recall how many. 3 �Interviewer: “A lot.” Yes, and I know we were at Wrigley Field also. For whatever reason, I remember either working out or trying out there a lot in that Chicago area. 8:35 Interviewer: “Ultimately you’re selected?” Yes Interviewer: “At this point it’s not to play in the all American Girls League. They had another—they had a barnstorming team.” Yes, that’s correct. Interviewer: “Tell me about that.” That was something else and I didn’t know the difference anyhow whatever it was. It was called the touring team and we were to be the P.R. people to like introducing it all over the United States and also kind of finding talent, so in every state that we played there were tryouts. And that’s how Sue Kidd got in, I don’t know if she’s been interviewed, but she was picked up in Arkansas and the caliber—there were a lot of players who had been in the leagues and a few of the teams had broken up or they weren’t making it financially, so they then came on the touring teams, so we had these veterans with us and ourselves. We had--Max Carey came out and he showed me how to initiate a double play like everybody to this day if I were out in the field people are like in awe and it’s beautiful, how to time it, hit the corner of the bad and get off, and people would just awe you know. 9:50 That all came from Max Carey and how to—at first, you know the people who field the grounders, kids are fielding them down here and they don’t reach out and get them, and he said to all of us, “none of you know how to field a grounder”, and evidently we were all doing that and I took offense to that inside and thought, “uh, I’m playing all this time and he’s telling me I don’t know how to field a grounder”, and I never committed errors, but I took it to heart and it made sense to reach out, and I use to say, “reach out and touch someone”, you know, reach out and get it. Then you get to the ball earlier and you have more time to get them and so his help was very helpful and you know, batting, bunting, we practiced in the sand, sliding in the sand, you know sliding in the sand. They would time our bat swing, so you’re up there and they had a flashlight, and they would flash the light and you would swing and the timing of that, so everybody after the league ended, I would play in the summer leagues in Madison, they would say, “oh you have the fastest swing, the fastest swing”, and I thought that all came from the coaching and the training. 11:00 Interviewer: “You’re talking of things that youngsters playing and getting to the majors too quick don’t know. They talk about young people with what they call the long swing and it’s the opposite of what you’re describing. It’s a big looping swing and a good pitcher will take advantage of it, but a short quick swing is not nearly as easy to get the ball past.” Yes, and it’s extending, It’s not just a little thing like this, you really are extending, but it did the job because, see you had more time to adjust the pitches too. If you had a quick 4 �swing, it’s a curve you can reach out, if it’s a fastball you’re not going to be that late on it, where the slower swing people were caught all the time. 11:46 It was an advantage and we had all these coaches and managers that really taught—if you were coachable, and throughout my life I’ve been coachable, and that’s the key. I really love learning. Interviewer: “It’s about attitude.” Yes, attitude. Interviewer: “Now, this is—you were obviously very naturally skilled and what you’re talking about it the first time you were really formally taught the game, so you spent how many years with the barnstorming team?” Two, Two years with the barnstorming team. The interesting thing too is being the P.R. people, every state we had all these parades and we would be on the fire trucks, we would be in the airplanes, we were all over and they would have big bands and we would go into the town. 12:45 We also played Yankee Stadium and Ebbets Field, those two places and I was in the dugout with Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto and he let me use his glove and we were on theirs and then the Eagles, no not the Eagles, the Phillies, I think they were called the Phillies, Connie Mack’s team, they were in the other dugout and so we had a lot of plus opportunities. Interviewer: “Who were your opponents?” Each other, we had—it was Chicago Colleens and Springfield Sallies and there was a bonus, whoever won at the end, the most games, got a higher percentage of the money. It was a big incentive. We played against each other and then we rode on the bus together, played against each other and we were tough against each other, but we really respected each other after the fact. 13:34 Interviewer: “Did they come out pretty even at the end of the year?” Yes, The first we won, I was a Chicago Colleen, then the next year I came back as a Chicago Colleen and the teams were unbalanced, we were winning too much, so the coach came up to me and said, “Toni, I don’t want to spoil your game or your rhythm and you’re doing so well, but we need to put you on the other team, on the Springfield Sallyies, so that we can balance it better”. It was just too lopsided, so I agreed to it and It’s interesting because the shortstop on the other team, who I thought was excellent, she had long arms and she could—I thought to myself, I had to run ten steps to her one and she had a beautiful throwing arm, so it was interesting in my mind I thought, “why would—what difference does it make when she’s so good?” I didn’t think that I was that much better, but I got to thinking afterwards, “I have an attitude and a spirit that she didn’t have”. We may have been comparable in skill, I was faster and sometimes when you have these long—but she was excellent, and I got to thinking that I was inspired more because I would just dive for every ball and I had kind of an energy and she was laid back kind of from the south you know. 14:58 That was my assessment because I couldn’t reconcile why I was going to make a difference and it did make a difference. I 5 �think the team got together and we won. We won by two games at the end. Came from way back behind and it was nice, it was nice. Interviewer: “Very satisfying. Did they take then some players from each year from the barnstorming teams up to the--?” Yes, and even during this. They were going to take me the first year and then just as I was about to leave they decided they—not thinking age, decided, “We’ll give her another year”, but at that time, I stole the most bases and I had the highest on base batting average, says the coach to me you know, and I was leadoff batter, so I don’t know, it would have been interesting to see how I would have kind of compared when I got there. 15:55 Were they stronger women because they were they older and more experience? Twice I was supposed to go up and twice it was rescinded and I think basically it was they wanted to give me more age time. Interviewer: “After two years you’re only sixteen or seventeen years old.” Yes, fourteen, fifteen, just going on sixteen, yeah. Interviewer: “Just reaching the point where—“ It’s interesting because they knew I was going to steal and I got to steal every time I got on and I got on a lot because I had a very good eye, so I seldom struck out and I hit with authority. It seemed like when I hit it was a bullet. They weren’t big home runs, but I hit really strong, so they had a hard time handling my ball and then I was fast, so the steal and I said to the coach, “they’re all waiting for me”. I was so tired of sliding and you know they had lye on the bases and lye on the base and I was just raw all the time, hook sliding, hook sliding, and he said, “never mind, never mind”, and the other thing is when I got on first, if there was a hit and run, I had better get to third. 17:03 That was a given, you just don’t stop you just swish and get all the way to third, so there were challenges, you know it was exciting, but heart throbbing. Interviewer: “It sound like you had a coach who was he?” At that time I think it was Lenny, Lenny Lesnick and then Mitch, Mitch was the second year. Interviewer: “It sounds like these were guys whose idea was to take the game to the opposition to push them all the time.” Yeah, you had--a lot with the mind, when you were--say a runner on first, what do you do when the runners on first? Before the ball’s even pitched, what are you saying to yourself? Well, you had to say to yourself, “well, if it’s a fast runner on first, you have to know your pitcher, outside, inside, whatever they normally pitch, so you keep that in mind. If that’s a fast runner, “will there be a double play?” You have to instinctively prepare that if it’s a ball hit fast to you, you have a chance, if it’s a slow roller, you’re not going to get her at second, if she’s a slow runner then you have more options. 18:11 That went through my mind every pitch. I don’t know if the kids do that today, I don’t 6 �know if ball players do that. You had to think every pitch and you had to know your pitcher. I remember one of the older players and she said, “I can’t get over”, and I was telling her where to be on the field, over there, over there, move in, move out and I never thought that I was a little shrimp bossing anybody around or whatever, it just—I was in the game and I would see she was not playing where she should have been and positioned and I would just say—and one time she came over and said, “I can’t get over, how do you know where they’re going to hit?” It was the studying of the pitchers, some pitchers pitch outside a lot, so then obviously they’re not going to zing them right to you, they’re going to skew away from you, so all those things were on my brain and age fourteen and fifteen. 19:05 Well, I’m grateful that God endowed me with a great mind, but you know, it was exciting. Interviewer: “I think I’m getting a clue as to why they moved you to the other team. It had to do, not only with your ability, but what you were going to bring to the other player. You’re right a little bit of a spark plug, but also you were going to set an example.” The coach, Mitch, he said, “Toni came here to play ball”, so evidently, I have a feeling, there were a few slacking a little just because he said, “she’s out there and she came to play ball, and what about the rest of you?” I t was quite a challenge. 19:46 Interviewer: “Once again, attitude. You mentioned a couple of the managers, any other coaches or managers that come to mind that you remember yet?” Yeah, our chaperones were really good, yeah and contrary to the movie, you know how they went out drinking and this and that, we were so protected. I don’t know if anybody went out drinking and I don’t know how they could have, but the example—you had to be setting an example, set an example, you’re out here introducing baseball to people and they have never seen women play and it’s very important our image to them. We had to be ladylike, always in the skirts even though you finish the game and shower and always with the skirts though hardly anyone would see us that hour of the night you know. Everything was important as to how we presented and their image of women in sports or women in baseball. 20:42 Interviewer: “I know that in some cases there were actually classes or a bit of training for the girls on how to comport themselves, even up to how to fix their hair and everything else. Did you encounter any of that?” No, I’m glad—that would have been something, but I think I would have gone with the flow too and would have been part of it. We had to have our hair a little longer, now mine was never long, but they didn’t want us looking masculine. Everything was important to look feminine and still be ball players. Interviewer: “Not always easy.” Once I was out there, who thought of it right? With the little skirt, sliding into the bases, skirts flying up, it must have been quite exciting. 7 �Interviewer: “It sold tickets. Now, I keep thinking of that particular image, sliding into the bases. Now, what did those uniforms look like? You had shorts on underneath and then a skirt, but there was bare skin and the fields you were playing on sometimes had some pebbles and things?” 21:50 Oh yeah, except when we toured and played in the stadiums, which was really nice, we played in the minor league stadiums that was good, but yeah, other places there were pebbles and you really--it’s interesting, you really adjust to the ground like a golfer does. Interviewer: “Go out and groom your area a little bit if there’s stones out there, get them out of there.” Yeah, and you know they said, “there’s no crying in baseball”, but I have to say, we wouldn’t have thought to cry. I never saw a woman cry there ever, but I’m going to tell you, those strawberries and reopening them, because I was on base every night, that was not an easy thing, but it’s interesting, you didn’t think of it until after you slid and “oww”, you could hardly get up, but you took it , you toughened. 22:46 In fact, when I had my knee surgery five weeks ago the doctor said, “you are really tough Toni, you are tough”, and it all carries through from all that time of being—taking pain and learning to take pain, you’re not born taking it. 23:00 Being a strong person and adversity. Interviewer: “You were athletes and if your teammates are dealing with pain, you better too.” There was no complaining, moaning, groaning, and no gossiping. For women, think of all those women together, it could be men too, they could be talkers too, but when I think of it, with the conditions, no air conditioning, you’re on the bus sweltering, clothes hanging in your face drying out, and trying to sleep on the bus, taking turns using one another’s laps as head rests, feet up in the air and then switching off and not being crabby, that’s amazing, and we would play at night, games over, shower, back into the bus all dressed, back into the bus and then we would travel all night, get up at eight. 24:01 Probably come in about 2:00 or 3:00 o’clock in the morning and get up at 8:00 and we were practicing on the field until noon. And practicing, running the bases, let me tell you, they stood on the base path, you know were you make the cut, well, God help you if you—they were there and they weren’t going to move and you learned to make that cut. Interviewer: “Hit the inside of the base and cross over.” That’s right, and they stood there, they stood there protecting themselves, but you would get the worst end of it and that was all before the game. You did that until noon and then we had a little respite time, get dressed and off to the game and when we had double headers it was nice because you had an extra night to stay, you know to stay. We traveled sometimes—the bus all the time and then trains. We went to Canada that was by train then back to the U.S. We were in thirty-three states in the summer the whole time and then I would go off to high school and come back. 25:03 8 �Interviewer: ‘Very few days off I would think.” Only when it rained, it was wonderful in Florida; it loves to rain, and pour, pour, pour then we would have that day off. It was nice because you had a little rest. Interviewer: “Did you ever play, like a local team or even a men’s team as an exhibition?” No, I think they were trying to do a men’s team, but I don’t think—they wouldn’t have women’s teams at that level, so it would be men, but that seemed to fall through. 25:45 Interviewer: “No men’s team wanted to get beat.” That could be, yeah. Interviewer: “How about some of the opposition, are there specific players that stand out that you either respected or didn’t like in some cases for their attitude toward the game?” I think the interesting thing is , I was, I don’t know about the others, I was so involved in the game that I didn’t have a problem—I didn’t see like imperfections or if they didn’t have a good attitude or this, that, or the other thing, because on my team they seemed to—when the coach said to them, ”Toni’s here to play ball and she has a great attitude”, I didn’t spot them as not having a good attitude and I think he was thinking at a deeper level, they didn’t have that extra that you need to win. There was this one that I didn’t like and I dearly love today, but I think I was a jealous little kid, I truly do, and it wasn’t anything to do with the game itself, she just was more outspoken and kind of so self assured and I thought she was cocky and you know, you’re raised to be kind of simple and humble and I just didn’t like that in her. 27:02 She reminded me one time and she said, “you got mad at me”. I use to set her hair, I use to set everybody’s hair, I was like a little cosmetologist, cut hair and set them, I just taught myself and one time I was so angry with her I wouldn’t set her hair and she told me that, reminded me. Interviewer: “I think I know who that was.” You’d like her. She’s brilliant and really, I look back and I know it was a jealousy of— she was do self assured and what I thought was cocky was not and to this day she’s creative and out there doing things. Interviewer: “Did you ever set her hair again?” Oh yes, the day after, the day after, but I don’t know if there were people that didn’t like one another because you didn’t feel it in tensions or the like. 27:54 More respect and very close to one another, it’s amazing on both teams. Interviewer: “How about the fans, what’s your recollection of the fans?” 9 �Oh, they were wonderful, they were wonderful, they were concerned sometimes—there was a boy that liked me and he followed to different towns. Oh my little heart, and he held my hand one time and then the bus driver said, “you better watch your step Toni the ones that are here and fly out, that are here today and then gone tomorrow”, and I didn’t know what he was talking about. I was so innocent and I was just ignorant of anything and I was just so flattered that he liked me. They kind of had to watch that because you know we were young and they were followers of that. I just remember that incident and he kind of followed, followed, followed and then would write to the hotel and things like that. 28:57 But he was a nice kid and he wasn’t aggressive, but I think of this of our bus driver, I was so lean and tiny and he would say, “tiny little waistline you have there Toni, tiny little waistline”, and I often think today Oh Harold you should see me now. It’s better now, but when I was injured I—you do gain once in a while. Interviewer: “They do follow the game and they do follow the players and they do want to get close to the players.” Yeah, the fans really, really liked us and I think they were in awe because before the game they would announce us and our ages and I think it just kind of floored them you know that most of us—like half were—I was probably—two of us were fourteen I think and the rest were older, but it was still relatively young if they were up to twenty and then the older ball players that had been in the league and back and forth were older, twentyfive or whatever. 30:00 The fans were impressed and, I think, very, very floored that we were as good as we were. We were very tough out there, I mean cleats and all, I mean the game was played tough. I think they saw that and we didn’t throw like little girls or whatever they say, in fact they filmed my throw at the University of Wisconsin and I had one of the fastest women’s throw and that’s after the league. I still have that little film. Interviewer: “I have to tell you, I played on a co-ed team at one point and one of the best shortstops I ever played with was a young woman an incredible thrower and exceptionally good fielder, so you learn to respect after you watch and see how well they can play and that’s what your fans were seeing as well.” 30:50 Yeah, they did and I think they were just floored. They came out of curiosity and they went away—we had just a lot of positive feedback in the newspapers and then more fans came, they seemed to tell other towns, we had big crowds and they came. Interviewer: “Did you have thousands?” I’m not sure, I just know it was filled, so I don’t know what the capacity was and I noticed to in the south, I was so ignorant, I grew up with a father who had such equal respect for people and so we had—when my mother died we had a woman named Queenie and she took care of us and we loved her, we loved her like our own mother and she was African, so I’m in the south now and I went and sat, god forbid, on the bus I don’t remember if they sat in the back, probably, and I went to sit in the back. Immediately the bus driver stops the bus and said, “you have to come up here”, and I didn’t. I did not budge, I just thought it was not right in my heart and finally he just 10 �moved the bus and I sat there and moved on. 32:01 That bothered me and the other thing that bothered me, and I can see how prejudice is learned, the drinking fountains— there was one for the whites and one for the and I don’t know if at that time they were called Negroes, but it made you think that they had some disease or something and that really bothered me because it was like teaching something that was very foreign to me, so that’s what I noticed in the south. I also notice that we had no black players either. Interviewer: “I was going to ask you about that?” I didn’t see the tryouts, but obviously there were some excellent players around and I think it was just not open. Interviewer: “As far as I know the league never had any African American women players. It’s interesting to me because this is just at the time that Jackie Robinson is breaking the major league color line for the first time.” 32.57 He came right after— Interviewer: “forty-seven he came.” Yeah ok and I was in forty-nine, all right. Yeah see, that should have helped, but not women probably and it wasn’t easy for him, you read those stories and you know, nobody liking him and the fans, but that hit me, that really struck me. If you come from the north and I was raised so respectful, I just had so much love in my heart, I went to a school that was all white, Negro’s weren’t allowed in the grade school, but in my high school there were. I remember giving a picture, my picture, to one of the black men and oh, the repercussion, all my friends would come up to me and say, ”do you realize he’s going to show it to all his friends and they’re going to thing you’re boy friend and girl friend”, and blah, blah blah, so those things were eye openers and I’m glad that I had my positive experience because maybe I stood for something in the south at that one bus thing and once in the hotel too. 34:10 I remember taking some of my money and giving money to the maid that was there because I appreciated what she did and those things bothered me. Interviewer: “It was a time when the United States was going through a transition and it was not going to be an easy one we know that and we’re still grappling with the issue, quite frankly to this day.” Yeah, yeah Interviewer: “Two years in the instructional league we’ll call it, or better the barnstorming.” No, no, instructional in a sense that they had that throughout the league. No, I think we were sent there on a mission, a P.R. promotion, introducing it and they were selective. It wasn’t just little nobodies, it was the cream of the crop of players and you had to be chosen for that. The ones from the league, where they disbanded and that, they brought special people there that would be an example and were excellent players, so it wasn’t 11 �minor. 35:10 I think we could have played against anybody in the leagues at south and given them a run for their money. Interviewer: “You never got a chance to play against any of the other teams?” No, no Interviewer: “That would have been fun. Two years and you decided--at this time you’re just about ready to graduate from high school?” Yes, then Parishey Bloomer Girls were knocking on the door again, so I went to play with them and then I was on several professional softball teams I remember at the time. I don’t know if one was named the Chicks or what, but they were trying to build, they were trying to build their teams, so they asked Mr. Parishey if I could go on loan because they needed to build more players, so I did that and then I was called, South Bend wanted me, I think to play with South Bend. I think it was a team that had won one of the championships and I don’t know if it was the South Bend Blue Sox or whatever, but it was in South Bend. 36:13 At the time, I went for spring training and I was going at it and I was going to enter the convent that September. Interviewer: “You had made that decision already?” Oh yeah, I had made that decision two years prior to that, but I was wanting to help my father financially and do things, so I waited and did my thing and anyhow, while I was playing out there it was like a haunting feeling that if I stayed I was not going to enter because I had such a love for that game. All of a sudden out of the clear blue sky, I was tormented, I was tortured there, I decided that I had to go home because if I stayed I never would have left baseball. I didn’t know it was on its way out in the next two years after that or one year really. I feel I signed a contract, but I at least was close or had signed it and informed them that I had to go because I was afraid I would not enter the convent and I made a commitment and that’s one thing I think I learned young on, when you’re in sports, if you’re truly involved and committed, your word is your bond. 37:21 You don’t mess around, if you say you’re going to do something you do it. I said, “I’m doing it and I felt I needed to keep my word and I didn’t think I could if I stayed on because my heart was—I ate, slept and drank baseball. Interviewer: “You had two loves and they weren’t compatible.” Yeah, they wouldn’t have been at that time, so then I entered the convent. Interviewer: “Where?” Right in Milwaukee, St. Joseph’s Convent and I’m in fifty-five years now believe it or not. Interviewer: “And along the way you picked up additional education, additional degrees.” 12 �I got a degree from Alverno College in English, history, math and education, minor with math; they kind of mixed that in. That arose out of need, I was supposed to be a high school teacher, so that was the English, history, and math. 38.13 Then there was a shortage of elementary, first grade, so they sent me back to get the educational for primary and I was sent to first grade instead of high school and spent six years doing that. Then I went on, I wanted to do physical ed and finally they allowed me to do summer school physical ed. I was going to get a doctorate in physical ed and back tracked on that and completed a masters in that and then completed a doctorate in six departments and meanwhile I got the masters, the doctorate and another masters and got all three almost simultaneously. 38:57 That comes too in baseball, not only did I have intelligence, but I had—they said they couldn’t keep up with my energy, so you really had work ethic, so I completed three things, I did the two masters, I did my prelims for my PhD, and three chapters, all kind of together and the professor said I had too much energy and too much blah, blah, or something for them to keep up with me, but they were happy to have me. 39:25 From there I completed a masters in psychiatric social work and mental health and ended up with three masters, the doctorate, the bachelors, and I could have had four masters, but I decided not to do it because If I had to take another test it would have been comps again, but I still might do that one. What I really want to do is study law and help the cause, save the poor. Interviewer: “I have a feeling you’ll do it.” 39:52 Yeah, I will Interviewer: “Now, for you’re your PhD you went to the University of Wisconsin?” Yes, the three masters and the PhD all from Wisconsin and I also taught there. I taught there for four years. Interviewer: “Did you—what was your involvement in sports during this time? Did you stay involved in some way, coaching or playing at some point?” Yes, in Madison they had all these leagues and I was in the league called the Major Major, so I played in that and what was interesting, there were two all American professional ball players that had been observing and they had to choose, they had to choose one player for recognition and I forgot, it was an all Madison bla, bla, bla and it was quite an honor and these two, Rusty was one of their names, and they chose me, which was interesting because they didn’t know I had played. 40:51 They saw my playing ability and then was honored and the Mayor was there and all the politicians played, we had two teams, and I got to play out there and was helping them with how to bat, some of them. Those things happened in Madison and I played every year and then I was in a serious car accident and I was a passenger. While rehabbing, for three years my back was in a brace and I had no use of this right leg, all of a sudden this tennis coach from China came up to me and said, “Toni, Toni, I teach you tennis”, and I said, “Oh, Mr. Chung”, and I was still in my brace you know, “I can’t” and he said, “Oh, no, no, no, I teach you tennis”, and I picked it up and I was so good at it that—I tried taking beginning classes and they kept putting me in advanced classes and what it was, was my hand eye coordination and I was very fast. 41:43 I just could outrun anything. 13 �Technically I didn’t think I was that great, but I would enter all kinds of tournaments and I would end up winning some of them, I mean I beat some number one people that were so skilled and so beautiful, they would hit the ball and pose and while they’re posing I’m running like some maniac hacking away keeping the ball in play. Anyhow, I got to love tennis and then I worked so hard at it and ended up being ranked in the state, 2nd in singles, 2nd in doubles, and 3rd in singles also, thought the years. Then I played national tennis tournaments and loved it, loved it, loved it and I never got ranked nationally because, even like Billie Jean King the retired pros enter that, so I played some of the pros that had been at Wimbledon and that and I can still see myself, I said, “Toni you have the reputation, your job is to wait, they would always say “good wheels, good wheels Toni”, your job is to be the retriever, the Golden Retriever, for all the balls they hit and to build them up”, anyhow they knew I was out there. 42:57 Interviewer: “If there’s anything another player hates, it’s the opponent that won’t give up.” That’s right, that’s true and one time the man observing and he said, my deportment was exemplary, he said anyone else would have run off the tennis court. I playing the number one seed and said, “you would have thought she was losing”, my attitude was so—I mean I was out there and if she lost a point to me, I hardly won a point I kid you not, if she lost a point she was devastated and here I was this happy little thing—people walking by, they thought I was winning half the time and here—I learned something, she was so miserable after the thing was over I said, “maybe you ought to think about not playing tennis for a while”, because she was just an unhappy person. Yeah, people couldn’t tell if I was winning or losing, but I never gave up. 43:55 Interviewer: “While you’re doing all this, getting your degrees, continuing to play softball, playing other sports, people didn’t know that you had been a professional baseball player at one point. Was it the movie that changed the recognition?” It was after the movie. Interviewer: “the movie we’re talking about is “A League of Their Own”.” “A League of Their Own”, and I did not see the movie until in the year 2000. I didn’t even know it existed. Like you said, “what had I done?” I was busy like really teaching a lot of children, helping anywhere I could help, in all kinds of things, sports, everything and also, did a lot with the poor, conducted workshops all over the country, I was flying all over the place giving talks and this and that, so I didn’t keep up with watching TV or anything and one day I’m watching this TV and I see this movie and I hear them singing our song and I thought, “my God that’s our group”, and I recognized some of the people, our players, at the end who were in the movie. 44:58 That was my first inkling of it and that was like in 2000 and they hadn’t found me, they didn’t know where I was. Interviewer: “Your name was different, you were a Sister.” 14 �Yes, Toni Ann Palermo and Sister—I think those who knew I entered probably thought that I could never come out and you know, come to anything and that I was gone forever Interviewer: “Incarceration” Yeah, so that first experience was, I think it might be seven years now that I was really found, found, but I forgot, was there a part of a question that I missed? Interviewer: “I’m asking, and you’re talking about it, that the movie end up changing your life thereafter. Once you were found.” Yes, all of a sudden one time on television, I saw this Mary O’Meara. Mary O’Meara was Mary Froning, who was a ball player on the, I think, the Blue Sox, a South Bend team, and she was in Madison and I was in Madison. 45.14 I played on her co-ed team and she had about seven or eight children, so that comprised her co-ed team, plus Mary, plus myself. I think there were nine or ten plus her husband and that was the team. I recognized her in tournaments, she was not on the same team I was on, in fact she was in a lower league. I don’t know how she managed to be down there, but she was in a lower league. We played against her and I recognized how smart she was out there and we just took to each other, but never, never sharing that we had played, so I played on her co-ed team, I taught her some tennis, she got involved in tennis and years go by. One day at church she sees me, Rockford was having a mini-reunion, she seed me and said,” Toni have you ever played professional ball?” I said, “yes”, and she said, “well, they’re looking for you”, and I said, “oh”. All those years we knew each other and she was going to all these reunions and never said a word because she didn’t connect it. 47:04 Interviewer: “Never put it all together.” Excuse me for scratching my nose, but that’s how and once they found me—so that’s how and I’m so grateful to be here with you and this beautiful group and have this privilege. Interviewer: “You get, I’m sure you get invitations now to speak?” Yeah Interviewer: “And a chance to teach?” Yes, yes and Jackie Baumgart and I were just honored at Alverno College because she graduated from Alverno and I graduated from Alverno and we were both in A League of Their Own or The American Girls Professional League and it was a sports orientation or fundraiser and we were honored and it was just about maybe a month ago or two months ago. Interviewer: “Do you get requests for autographs or stuff in the mail?” Oh, signing all the time, yes a lot. People are in awe, which it really touches you because it’s I don’t know, I’m humbled by it. I’m really humbled by it because it touches my heart that they think enough to want our autographs at something that we love so and we 15 �were privileged to do. 48:09 I grew up where women didn’t have the opportunities. However, in Forest Park, Chicago we had more opportunities than all these other states. Wisconsin was way behind, so I never felt the stigma that I was a girl and couldn’t do this and couldn’t do that. I was at every sport possible and anything I did I always succeeded. Swimming, number three in the state and half drowning some of the time you know, I was in everything and that’s because we had no limitations set on us and we were privileged, but other places were not. 48:52 Interviewer: “Women had a lot of limitations, that’s for sure. As you look now from the time you began as a professional athlete and you have a chance now to see the changes that have gone on in sports and in women professional athletes, do have some thoughts that you would like to share with us on what’s happened and where we are today?” Yeah, I’m in awe at the quality, the quality of, say in all sports, with the women. In awe with it, because when I came up to Wisconsin I was shocked at the level, it was so bad. I would go to the women’s basketball and it was so bad. I played before the Harlem Globe Trotters, that’s how good we were. We had the same teams that were during the summer, we played basketball and men’s rules at that time was, and girls rules were half court, and we played men’s rules and we played in front of all these crowds before the Harlem Globe Trotters. 49:57 Interviewer: “So you were a traveling basketball team?” Yeah, and we were quality you know, nothing bad. But I came up here and I would go to the games and I could hardly take it, it was bad, they shot poorly, they didn’t have that technique, nothing was there, and I have watched them through the years. I am in awe; I mean they are skilled today. I came up in 1970 and then 1970 to 1980 it wasn’t good and yet I could see them improving, improving and I see the volleyball the same, the basketball, softball, it is outstanding, I mean they are excellent and tough. I watch all the time, I watch all the top teams, Tennessee and all and UConn and the women, the level you know and I am really—I—they wouldn’t be there, something was lifted for them you know. 50:56 Interviewer: “I’m going to ask you the question I’ve asked others and you’re kind of leading into it, it is this. At the time, did you have an awareness that you were pioneering as a feminist in a sense, or a female athlete and now that you have a chance to look back, do you see that you were?” I don’t know how many thought that because we were put into it, we were focused and we loved it and we were so happy to be doing it that I don’t—maybe those that did not have as much as I did in Forest Park, I had no limitations, they maybe felt like they were pioneering, I did not think I was pioneering because I always did it, but as I look back now it absolutely opened doors and I think and the movie, even though it was 1992, it should have come a lot sooner to help some of the causes and I think it helped men to. 51:56 It helped young men, I think, believe in themselves and do more than they have 16 �ever done and help those that were skilled enough to get to a higher level. Now I see us as pioneers and definitely inspired some people. I get letters from young women and it’s touching, it’s touching and then when I meet someone and I’m signing up and it’s a little thirteen year old and say, “you know I was playing professional softball when I was thirteen. Now, I’m going to put a challenge to you bla, bla, bla,”, because let them see, let them hear--here’s this little person, tiny little thing and they’re coming and I was playing ball and I was getting at one time $75.00 a week, that was big-time. Interviewer: “At that time it was good money and you sent most of that home?” Oh yeah, and the coach, Norma Whitney and I, she was the second baseman and I was shortstop, she and I were, and I don’t know if there were others, but we would send our monies home and the coach said, “you know Toni I have to tell you, while you’re eating hot dogs and burgers, all the others are eating steaks and why aren’t you spending money on yourself?” 53.09 First of all I grew up with the mentality of poverty, so I didn’t think I was starving and it was important for me to send that home. My mother had died, my father was so distraught, and I just—it was not an issue. Yes, that was big money, seventy-five a week for a little fourteen, fifteen year old was very respectable. All and all the experience in the league and what it did for us personally, also, the women that you see here, they’re tough cookies you know, so they had that mentality. A lot of them went into professions, they were teachers, many of them were teachers, so can you imagine what people all got? 53:56 I had that same mentality, never do things by halves, not to be a quitter. There’s nothing like winning, I know they all say “put your guts into it “, but if you have been in sports there is nothing like winning, I’m telling you. Like you play three sets in tennis, killing yourself and then they say, ”well you got to the finals and went three sets”, but I’ll tell you, losing as opposed to winning, there’s nothing like winning that and I use to say, “why not, why not be able to win it?” What I did learn is, in softball too when I was coaching that, don’t say, “oh, if I can only get a hit”, I said say, “I’m going four for four tonight”, you know, shoot high. If you go four for four mentally, you might get three hits, but if you say, “if I only get one hit”, you’re lucky if you get a hit and that’s the same way—you know they say in tennis and in other sports, people, play not to lose, play to win, and when you play not to lose it’s a different game. 55:05 It’s too careful, and I remember, I was in this tennis tournament and I was winning, 5-2 and I only had two more sets to go and I remember saying, “Toni, only two more, one at a time, only two more”, and I lost 7-5 because I altered my game. I played not to lose and I thought just play one at a time and no, I had to have that same drive, that same intensity. What it teaches you in life, and it’s really interesting to me, is you have to maintain that intensity. If you watch football games and that, they can’t go four quarters, they fade out in the fourth quarter, so the name of the game is, you have to consistently hold it. I remember one time a ref was watching me play tennis and I was out against the number one player in a big national tournament and running my behinder off and I remember so distinctly that I wanted a point and it was spectacular, bam, bam, bam, and I won the point and then afterwards the referee said, “Toni, you know what? You have the ability to really be a winner in this, but what happens, you don’t consistently play every point the way you played that one point”. 56:26 So, I play that one point and maybe lose the next three and then zoom in there, so it teaches you 17 �discipline, and it really is a lost art today. The discipline of keeping going, keeping going, not settling for less and not giving in to that, you know, that’s life. All those principles that—you know life is not easy, right? Basically if you have the attitude and you have the consistency of discipline, life is a lot easier and you can take the bumps and you can kind of take the hard things and survive them and you move on, you move on. 57:02 Say, “I’ve been given this much time in life and I’m not going to let it drain me”, we move on. Interviewer: “I was just thinking, as an athlete, as someone who did succeed, you can say that to others and they will listen and in that sense the league helped you, it gave you credentials that you could use.” Yes, yes, that’s well said. It gave me the credentials and gave this belief that we are special and it’s imparted to the people, so we are recipients of that wonderful, wonderful gift that people have given to us. Interviewer: “And then you can pass it on.” I can pass it on. Interviewer: “Now, I think I have run out of questions, do any of the rest of you have thoughts or areas we should cover?” We want to give a standing ovation, clap, clap, and clap. Interviewer: “A wonderful job, a tremendous job.” I feel so privileged that I got to do this, really. 58:11 Interviewer: “I thought of one thing, I haven’t asked anybody about the umpires. Do you have some thoughts on umpiring?” Oh, let me think a minute. Of course you’re never too happy with umpping. Interviewer: “Who were the umpires?” They were always from the minor leagues. Interviewer: “The umpires traveled with you?” No, they were there. Interviewer: “They were from the neighborhood?” Yeah, I don’t think at that time—we were so disciplined at keeping your mouth shut that we didn’t—you know the chaperones could do the arguing, but I do remember one time they called a—I thought it was a balk, so I’m hollering balk, balk and thinking I should be awarded second base and meanwhile at the fourth they called me out because they’re tagging me out and I’m calling bla, bla, bla, I was so upset and that was the one and only time and I really argued. 59:00 I really had an I and I just knew and I called it. Well, you can’t call it the ump has to call it, so while I’m calling it their tagging me out and I’m 18 �just not about to move because they were in the wrong and there wasn’t a lot of arguing, I think because we were just like a—I was thinking, Jackie Robinson, he was told to zip it and we were told like that too because people would not have liked us if we were combative. I think they would have liked a spirit of maybe once and a while, but it’s a good question. Interviewer: “I’ve seen a couple pictures-- there where a couple at the league level that went after the umpires pretty good.” Yeah, and I believe they did. I think we just had to for the P.R. Interviewer: “You were ambassadors.” 60:00 Ambassadors, yeah, truly Interviewer: “Ok” Think of us highly now. Interviewer: “I will never say instructional again.” Never again and thank you so much Interviewer: “Thank you” 19 �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_TPalermo Title A name given to the resource Palermo, Toni (Interview transcript and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Palermo, Toni Description An account of the resource Toni Palermo was born and grew up in Forest Park, Illinois. When she was ten, her P.E. teacher encouraged her to try out for a professional softball league in Chicago. She played for a farm team until she turned fourteen when she joined the professional team. She was recruited into the All American Girls Professional Baseball League shortly afterward, and played two years with their barnstorming teams, the Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies. Over the next several years she alternated between playing on AAGPBL teams and a Chicago softball team. She played shortstop throughout her career. She went on to become a nun as well as a teacher, and remained active in competitive sports. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Olson, Gordon (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives Baseball for women--United States Baseball Sports for women World War, 1939-1945 Baseball players--Illinois Women Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-09-26 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/f94f84002d4fb204cf210db2771687a4.jpg c4ecd1857c4195a9c7fdc623a10c65c1 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image 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 PalmateerKenneth_Photo01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Palmateer, Kenneth Description An account of the resource Kenneth Palmateer, Football Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Football coaches Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9cbc56e7f814bacbf91fad6b7f24659b.jpg 722a138478e7b9f9856d6c7ec65ceffc 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image 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 PalmateerKenneth_Photo02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Palmateer, Kenneth Description An account of the resource Kenneth Palmateer, Football Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Football coaches Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5da76090163deecf8c2d83d698d0be95.mp4 555850c3d945b8dbceefa674b40406cf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d94419efba90b7ab0b1f90dac4d6b40c.pdf 84897d45463a877fd018e8aafc44500f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Donnally Palmer World War II 1 hour 46 seconds (00:00:10) Early Life -Born on June 6, 1918 in South Dakota -Lived there until he was ten years old -His father was a rancher -Had to change jobs when drought hit the area -Family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and his father got a manufacturing job -Eventually got assigned to Grand Rapids, Michigan -His father had work throughout the Great Depression -Things went well until the mid-1930s -Eventually went to work in a factory and own a farm on the edge of Grand Rapids -He was thirteen when his family moved to Grand Rapids -Graduated from high school in 1936 -Worked at Grand Rapids Metalcraft for three years before getting drafted -He worked in the paint department then was promoted to engineering -He was doing drafting and design -Learned how to do this on his own (00:03:08) Getting Drafted and Basic Training -He received his draft notice in 1941 prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor -He had paid attention to the news about the war in Europe -He didn’t think about the war, just thought about doing service to his country -He was sent to Camp Roberts by train -He was originally placed in the intelligence unit -He had been screened and tested and was selected to go into intelligence -His training for intelligence gathering was done at night -Learning how to work undercover behind enemy lines -He received some of the basic discipline training and rifle training -Training lasted thirteen weeks (00:06:44) Start of the War and Transfer to Signal Corps -Pearl Harbor happened after basic training was completed -He was placed on a train and was sent to Camp Haan, California -He was transferred to the Signal Corps -He was made the company clerk at first and didn’t enjoy that -Was assigned to be the corporal in charge of supplies -His unit became the 582nd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion near the end of the war -He was in the Headquarters Company -His job was to make sure that everyone was supplied (00:09:35) Deployment Pt. 1 -From Camp Haan they were sent to Tampa, Florida -Continued supply operations there �-Taken by trucks to a warehouse -Believes that some material was being sent home to soldiers’ families -Understood that because people were still suffering from the Depression (00:10:38) Downtime in the United States -He got to see Los Angeles and visit his aunt and uncle while in California -He didn’t get much downtime when he was in Florida (00:11:40) Organization of the Unit -By the time they got overseas they had full companies with clear duties -Wire company, HQ Company, plotting company, and a radar company -Job was to help guide planes and assist in communication -Did this by coordinating information with the Army Air Force -They developed this duty after they went overseas (00:12:46) Deployment Pt. 2 -Some of their equipment was lost at sea -When they got to England they were attached to a British company -He was impressed by the British troops -They left the United States in September 1942 out of Tampa -Sailed to Ireland, then to England -Stayed on the English Isles for three weeks -Sailed aboard the Queen Mary -The voyage was rough -They sailed alone until they reached Greenland -At that point four escort ships joined them -After the ships joined them there was a collision with the HMS Curacao -The ship sank and 239 men were lost at sea -A lot of men got seasick (00:15:43) Stationed in England -There were blackouts every night while they were in England -They bivouacked in Ireland and England -They were equipped with light clothing, heavy clothing, and impregnated clothing -Impregnated clothing: specialized clothing in the event of a gas attack -Had to wear this type of clothing during the invasion of North Africa -They were stationed in the countryside of Ireland and England (00:17:56) Invasion of North Africa -Boarded the Batory (a Polish ship) -Stayed on it for forty days sailing towards North Africa -They were fed mutton, bread, butter, and marmalade -He was assigned to an actual room aboard the ship because he was a supply sergeant -He had signed up for Officer’s Training in the States -Didn’t receive the approval letter until he was sailing towards North Africa -Landed at Oran, Algeria at night in November 1942 -Passed through the Straits of Gibraltar -Had a few U-Boat scares on the way to North Africa -They landed at Oran a few days after the invasion had begun -There were still snipers in the area that posed a threat to them �(00:20:49) Stationed in Algeria -From Oran they traveled to a nearby airport -He didn’t see any of the Vichy French forces -A friend of his accidentally killed a French pedestrian and was arrested by the French -He was placed in a prison run by the Vichy French -He was in squalid conditions, looked like an animal in a cage -By now they were guiding back ships that were damaged to the port -German aircraft were strafing their positions -They were living in tents and make-shift shelters -The nights were cold -Stayed in Oran for a couple months (00:24:47) Advancing across North Africa -They moved forward, and then had to fall back in February 1943 -This was because of the German offensive at the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia -He had finally gotten to meet his commanding officer while he was in Oran -From Oran they had moved to Tebessa, Algeria -As they advanced they had to wait for the majority of the supplies to catch up with them -The radar was mounted on trucks and could advance with them -Even in 1942/1943 there was a sense that the Allies would win the war -The question was just how long it would actually take to reach victory -They weren’t taking many casualties at this time -During his time in Africa he encountered Arabs -They had been treated like second class citizens under the French -They were friendly and regularly traded with the Americans -His unit was moved around as needed -From Tebessa they moved to Bizerte, Tunisia near Carthage -This would become the staging area for their next invasion (00:30:54) Invasion of Sicily -The next step was the invasion of Sicily -He prepared his jeep for driving underwater -Thought that he would have to drive from the landing craft to the beachhead -Had to wait another day after the invasion before going ashore -The Germans tried to repel the invasion by strafing and bombing the beachhead -The Allies and the Germans were exchanging artillery fire when he landed -He was only about ½ mile from the frontline (00:32:37) Stationed in Sicily -Established operations radar and communication -They were beginning to take casualties, but not many -He had a few close calls while in Sicily -He and a friend had confiscated some German cots to sleep in -That night a bomb landed close to them -During the advance tanks were moving towards the front -At one point tanks rolled by him and missed him by only a few feet -They followed units as they advanced -They were following the 7th Army, and possibly the 1st Infantry Division -He remembers seeing Patton’s tank and saluting it �-It was mountainous and hilly, but there were few signs of damage from the war -The Sicilians were happy to see them -Slept in tents and foxholes -He saw Mount Etna -He remembers hearing a BBC broadcast that Italy surrendered and troops were celebrating -There were no celebrations that he knew of (00:37:32) Invasion of Italy -Despite Italy surrendering there were still large numbers of Germans resisting the invasion -At Salerno, German tanks were advancing toward his position -All he had to defend his position was a Thompson submachine gun -Fortunately the tanks never came -The Germans were bombing the Allied ships during the invasion of Italy -He landed within a day or two of the initial invasion -The German aircraft were still strafing and bombing the area -Job was to get communications established -It took three weeks for the fighting to stop near the beachhead (00:39:53) Stationed in Italy -Eventually the British linked up with them and helped advance towards Rome -He was set up in a schoolyard -There was a period when they weren’t advancing too much -Coordinating with air units to plot movements and targets -During the invasion some of their wire was lost -He later found a warehouse full of wire and reported it back to his colonel -Given a truck and told to collect the wire and had to do this at night -Also had to do this while tanks were fighting in the area -He stayed in the schoolyard through the winter of 1943 -One of his lieutenants was dating an Italian girl from a nearby town -The Italians seemed grateful that the Americans had driven out the Germans -He didn’t see any problems with black market trading -Got close to the Cassino Line near Monte Cassino -His duties remained the same -Heard the news of the invasion at Anzio -The battalion was supporting the entire 5th Army -By the end of May/early June 1944 the German line was broken and Rome was liberated -Rome was liberated on June 4, 1944 -He got to see the Coliseum and the Vatican (00:49:10) Invasion of Southern France and Returning Home -He was allowed an R&R at the island of Capri for one week -He participated in the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 -It was an easy invasion and there was very little resistance from the Germans -By his time in Europe ended he was near the German border -In the fall of 1944 he was sent back to the United States for Stateside duty (00:51:57) Loss of Position -During his time in Sicily he got sick and was eventually placed in a medical tent in Italy -He lost his command because a subordinate sergeant usurped his authority -Became the supply sergeant instead of Donnally �-His commanding officer was not aware of the insubordination -This sergeant was new, but the rest of the men were good (00:54:34) Serving in the United States -There wasn’t much fighting in France while he was there -He was picked to go home because he had enough “points” to leave Europe -He was placed on a ship and taken back to the United States -Remembers seeing the Statue of Liberty -Still moves him to tears to think about that moment -His job was to start Supply Schools around the United States for the Army -He kept getting moved without ever getting a chance to accomplish his task -He had gotten married while he was in the Army -Wife was able to stay with him in Geneva, Nebraska when he was stationed there -He was stationed in Geneva, Nebraska; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; other parts of the country -Wasn’t concerned about getting sent to Japan or the Pacific Theatre -Spent most of his time in Geneva in charge of supplies -While living in Geneva he and his wife lived with four other Army couples (00:59:08) End of the War -He was in Geneva when Japan surrendered -Remembers that there were celebrations all over the country -They celebrated with a bonfire -He was sent to Chicago and was discharged in September 1945 (00:59:54) Life after the War -He went to the University of Michigan on the GI Bill and studied architecture -He had an architecture office in Grand Rapids -He retired from architecture and went on to develop two large pieces of land -After architecture and land development he pursued painting � 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_PalmerD1738V Title A name given to the resource Palmer, Donnally (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-03-31 Description An account of the resource Donnally Palmer was born in 1918 in South Dakota. Growing up he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1936 and was drafted into the Army in mid-1941. He received basic training and intelligence gathering training at Camp Roberts, California. At the end of his training Pearl Harbor was bombed and he was sent to Camp Haan, California and was transferred to the Army Signal Corps. He was placed in the unit that would eventually become the 582nd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion. His initial duty was to oversee supplies, but that duty was changed overseas to guide ships and aircraft that were damaged, as well as keep track of Allied and enemy aircraft, and targets. He sailed overseas aboard the Queen Mary and saw the sinking of the HMS Curacao. He took part in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France. In fall 1944 he was sent back to the United States for Stateside duty and was discharged from the Army in September 1945. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Palmer, Donnally Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image 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 application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c021a0c5f4af0b17d117e6ae25a1da66.mp4 a2049261506de5583abb3e29b8705e72 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3973b5635237019ab95b29091d871cf7.pdf d2919ffb462479ebccb883184f118da3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Philip Palmer Cold War and Vietnam War 2 hours 24 minutes 33 seconds (00:00:09) Early Life -Born on May 23, 1933 in Lansing, Michigan -Grew up in Lansing -His father collected utility bills from companies and brought them downtown to be paid -Father had steady work during the Great Depression -Everyone was equally poor, so poverty wasn't noticed -Considered rich if you had a job, so his family was considered rich (00:01:12) World War II -He was eight years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese -Knew something important had happened, but didn't understand it -Remembers that there were a lot of war movies -In gas stations they had aircraft identification cards -Taught civilians how to recognize friendly and enemy aircraft -Started to understand the war more after he read Guadalcanal Diary (Richard Tregaskis) -Saw the newsreels in the movies that told about the progress of the war -Remembers Victory in Europe Day and Victory in Japan Day (00:02:34) Joining Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps -Graduated from high school in June 1951 -Korean War had started by now -During his senior year there was a memorial for the male students killed in WWII -In 1951 his father and principal both talked to him about his future -Neither one wanted him to go work for General Motors -He didn't have the money for college though -Had a four year scholarship for Michigan Tech, but it still would've been difficult -Assistant principal was a commander in the Naval Reserve -Said that there was a Navy ROTC scholarship available if you qualified -Took the Competitive Entrance Exam and qualified (00:05:00) University of Wisconsin Naval ROTC Pt. 1 -Didn't think that he would be drafted for the Korean War since he was going to college -When he got to college he met a lot of men that went to college to avoid the draft -Attended the University of Wisconsin -Part of the University of Wisconsin Navy ROTC -Had drills twice a week if the weather was good enough -Had classroom work during the winter -Three days each week of formal classes -Graduated with two degrees -Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering �-Bachelor's degree in naval science -If he got the bachelor's degree in naval science he may have been called to duty -Meaning he would not have been allowed to finish his other degree (00:07:00) Summer Training -During the summers between each year he would go on summer cruises -First cruise was aboard the light cruiser the USS Roanoke -Went to Lisbon, Portugal and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -Third cruise was aboard the USS William R Rush -Went to Dublin, Ireland -Got sick and had a high fever so he missed out on seeing Paris, France -Second "cruise" was actually training in Virginia and Texas -Went to Little Creek, Virginia first for amphibious training -Went to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas -Half of the nation wide ROTC class went to Virginia, then the other half went to Texas -The half that went to Texas was en route to Virginia from Florida -One plane crashed shortly after take off killing 38 ROTC, and 5 crewmen -At Little Creek he got to climb down a cargo net into a landing craft -Flew in the SNJ in Corpus Christi as part of the naval aviation program -One of those planes crashed killing a Naval ROTC midshipman -This was shortly after hearing that the plane was impossible to crash -On the USS Roanoke he stood watch with other enlisted men -Rotated through the watch stations -Slept in the cramped enlisted quarters -On the USS William R Rush he followed an officer around -Helping assign watches to enlisted men -Both cruises were excellent for training (00:12:10) University of Wisconsin Naval ROTC Pt. 2 -Learned how to march -Learned about the Manual of the Sword -Got to be the Officer of the Deck during a commissioning ceremony for a ship -Graduated from college and was commissioned on September 22, 1955 (00:13:15) First Assignment-USS Strickland -He was allowed to request his first assignment -Navy only gave it to you if they thought you were ready for that assignment -He attended a ten week training course to prepare for his assignment -Atomic, Biological, and Chemical (ABC) Damage Control -Took the course at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard -Sent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard -Helping to put destroyer escorts into commission to patrol the North Atlantic Ocean �-Eventually assigned to the USS Strickland -The ten week long training course proved to be very useful coupled with his two degrees -Got to see Eugene Ormandy conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia -At the time of joining the USS Strickland it was being overhauled -Took about one month for the process to be completed -When the ship was ready they sailed to Goat Island, Newport, Rhode Island -There was a ferry that you could take to the mainland -Newport was fascinating -Went to the Tennis Museum and toured the mansions (00:16:51) USS Strickland-Distant Early Warning Line -Went out to take their station on the Distant Early Warning Line -Fifty mile diameter area in the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean -Saw icebergs and ice floes -It was terribly cold in the winter -There was little protection from the wind and cold on the bridge -Had a canvas "roof" and some windshields set up -A destroyer escort like the Strickland was about 300 feet long and had been used in WWII -It had been overhauled to have modern electronics -Top heavy and rolled from side to side in rough seas -The cruise aboard the Strickland was not enjoyable -Looking for Soviet bombers and submarines -Never saw any -Had drills with friendly bombers and submarines to test their preparedness -Ships were graded on their performance -Would go out for three weeks and then come back to port for two weeks -Difficult for the married men -Knew that there was a possible Soviet threat, but wasn't too concerned -They had an excellent, long range detection system to look for Soviet aircraft -Also had radar information coming in from American aircraft on patrol -Would have noticed Soviet planes or subs long before they reached America -His first job was given to him by the executive officer -Told that he was to take command of the ship fitter operation -In charge of the men that were supposed to be laying down new deck -They were older and more experienced, but lower in rank than he was -Won them over by showing them respect and leadership (00:23:12) Assignment to the USS Hissem -He received orders to go to the USS Hissem -Named after a torpedo pilot that was killed in action in WWII -He was made the damage control assistant and did paperwork for the ship in Boston -Recommissioned the ship at the Boston Navy Yard -Part of the recommissioning ceremony -Parents were allowed to attend the ceremony -He eventually became the chief engineer -Went on to work in the Combat Information Center (CIC) �-Became the third officer in charge -Got promoted quickly aboard the ship -This was due to a high turnover rate as crewmen left the ship -Went on a shakedown cruise in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -Graded by fleet officials on performance -Went up to Goat Island, Newport, Rhode Island -Went out on the Distant Early Warning Line again in the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean -Got to see Santiago, Cuba where the Cuban Revolution began -Saw the slogan, "Yankee Go Home!" everywhere -Soon after the visit, the revolution grew in the mountains -The Hissem had been electronically upgraded like the Strickland -He was also sent to New London, Connecticut to learn more about diesel engines -It was a submarine base, but they used the same diesel engines as the Hissem (00:28:46) Assignment to the University of Michigan -After a year and a half his obligated service had been completed -Could stay in, or go on inactive reserve -Requested Naval ROTC instructor duty -Could still be a reserve officer without having to go on cruises -Wanted to go back to the University of Wisconsin -Naval ROTC policy did not allow for him to go back to where he trained though -Instead, he chose the University of Michigan so he could be close to his parents -Sent to the University of Michigan for two years -Made an assistant professor so that he could be on the teacher committee -Not allowed to draw pay from the school due to Navy policy though -It was a difficult job -Exhausted by the end of the week -He was teaching naval engineering and damage control -Also got selected to teach a course on leadership and justice -American prisoners had collaborated with their captors during the Korean War -In response to that, the Navy created General Order 21 -Part of establishing moral leadership in the Navy -One of the first to teach the class -Audited a course on leadership at the University of Michigan -Eventually made it into an ethics course -Created theoretical case studies that dealt with ethical decisions -Assigned to the University of Michigan from 1958-1960 -Civilian life resumed at this point -Wanted a wife and a family -Married a schoolteacher and they have been married for 53 years (as of 2015) (00:35:31) Return to Active Duty -In 1959 he applied to return to active duty -Marine officer saw that he had a bright future in the Navy �-Encouraged him to go back on active duty -The executive officer of the Naval ROTC at Michigan also motivated him -He was able to get him command at sea duty (00:37:03) Assignment to the USS Meadowlark -His next assignment was as a commanding officer aboard the USS Meadowlark -A minesweeper based out of Charleston, South Carolina -It was an amazing experience -He was in command of the ship and the crew -Most of the crew was on independent duty most of the time -Only did formation maneuvers for training purposes -The officers aboard were adept -Also had experience enlisted men working for him -The crew had been put together by the Bureau of Naval Personnel -Assigned to the ship based on experience and skills -Had two different tours aboard the Meadowlark -One year they did a lot of training -Also took part in the Swan Island Patrol off the coast of Honduras -Trained for a competition involving several other ships -Motivation to be a better crow -The Swan Island Patrol was very interesting -It was part of the 1961 Bay of Pigs operation -Sailed to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico -From there sailed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to receive orders -Orders were in a sealed envelope -Ordered to repel an invasion by any means necessary -Only armed with a 20mm cannon and a few automatic rifles -From Cuba they sailed to Swan Island and went ashore to greet the personnel -Told that it was a radio station for Gibraltar Steamship Company -Later learned that it was a CIA radio station -Using it to broadcast anti-communist propaganda to Cuba -Inspire the Cubans to aid in the Bay of Pigs invasion -Returned from that tour and got married in Ann Arbor, Michigan -Honeymoon was driving back to Charleston -Stopped in Stratford, Ontario, Canada for the Shakespeare Festival -His wife was able to get a teaching job in Charleston -Teaching the children of personnel at a nearby base -He began to do more work in Charleston as opposed to going to sea (00:47:51) US Naval Postgraduate School/Ohio State University -Got assigned to go to the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California -Studied there for a year -Wanted to learn more about how to prevent corrosion on ships -Applied to MIT and Ohio State University -Got accepted by both �-Offered a stipend by MIT if he attended -Wouldn't have been allowed to take it though due to Navy protocol -Decided to attend Ohio State University -Meant that he would be closer to family in Michigan -In Monterrey he studied the weapons systems curriculum -Also received language training -Initially took German, but had trouble with it -Moved on to studying scientific Russian -Also read Russian literature (ex. The Queen of Spades) -All of the speakers had to be native speakers -One speaker had been in the Red Army, but defected -Another speaker had lost his arm as a child during a pre-Soviet uprising -At Ohio State he chose to challenge a scientific article about static electricity -Developed a device to prove his claim -Allowed to have his own lab space and all the materials that he needed -He was asked to submit his work to the Journal of Polymer Science -Rejected because one of the peer reviewers was the author of that article -Also learned more about corrosion and why ships were structurally weakened at sea -By now it was 1965 (00:56:14) Cold War Developments -Very aware of what was happening with the Cold War -Aware that he could become involved in a conflict -Frustrated that he wasn't able to be at sea more (00:57:07) Nuclear Reactor Training -Ordered to report for an interview with Admiral Rickover -There was a need for personnel for the Navy's nuclear power program -Allowed to complete his degree at Ohio State first -Received the order while he was on a fishing trip with his father in northern Michigan -Reported for the interview and briefed by the Chief of Naval Personnel -From there he was interviewed by Admiral Rickover -Remembers that he was a unique, larger than life man -He wasn't eligible to work on a submarine which disappointed the admiral -Could work on the USS Truxtun, Enterprise, or Bainbridge -Interview didn't go well, but he was selected for the program anyway -Sent to the Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland -Eight hours of school a day, five days a week -Also expected to study on the weekends -Studied with intelligent and driven personnel -Remembers one classmate went on to become a doctor -Remarked that medical school was boring and easy after that -Studied physics, chemistry, metallurgy, and engineering -Learning how to safely operate a nuclear reactor �-Course lasted six months -Sent to one of three different nuclear reactor sites -There was one for destroyers, one for subs, and one for aircraft carriers and cruisers -He was sent to Idaho Falls, Idaho -Prototype reactor for the USS Enterprise and USS Long Beach -The reactors were called A1W and A2W -He qualified on both of them -The reactors were fifty miles from the city -Training there lasted six months -Allowed to have his own room -Would stay at the reactors for three days at a time -Had to learn everything about the reactors and how they worked on the ships -Once he was qualified with the reactors he was allowed to stand watch -The dangers of radiation were known and safeguarded against -Closely monitored the amount of radiation that he was exposed to -Wife travelled with him and taught wherever they went -Eventually got out of teaching due to union politics (01:11:23) Assignment to the USS Enterprise -Received orders to go aboard the USS Enterprise (aircraft carrier) -There was no other type of ship at the time which meant very little career mobility -He was assigned to be the main propulsion assistant -Responsible for the main propulsion plant aboard the ship -Part of the nuclear department, but not in the reactor -Aboard the Enterprise he would work for more than fourteen hours a day -Stood watches, oversaw maintenance, train personnel, and receive training -First two thirds of his first deployment was spent on training -Joined the Enterprise at Alameda, California -Spent a lot of time at Subic Bay, Philippines (01:14:02) Vietnam War -Sent to the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin at Yankee Station -Off the coast of North Vietnam -He was aboard the Enterprise from 1966-1968 -Had one eight month deployment -Had a six month deployment -There was a third deployment scheduled that wound up getting cancelled -Would have gone from Thanksgiving through Independence Day -They would sail out to Yankee Station for thirty days then return to Subic Bay -Visited Hong Kong and Sasebo, Japan during his time aboard the Enterprise -Would go to Subic Bay to get resupplied -The aircraft on the Enterprise were flying bombing missions into North Vietnam -Knew that a lot of the naval aviators weren't going to return -Tried not to make friends with them because of this -Had a Marine offficer detachment aboard �-Their job was to guard nuclear weapons that may, or may not have, been aboard -Knew one of those officers that used his leave to go ashore in Vietnam and fight -He was aware of the Tet Offensive in early 1968 -Received daily reports about the progress of the war -Flew over Vietnam during the war with his wife -Confident that America had achieved near total air superiority (01:19:56) Visiting Ports on the Enterprise -Subic Bay was not just for the supplies, but a place for the crew to rest and relax -There were a lot of prostitutes as well as local girls -Some of the sailors would fall in love and want to get married -Venereal disease was common -Went to Hong Kong for sightseeing, shopping, and eating -Had custom made uniforms made -Bought gifts for family members -Went to the border and looked across the fence into the People's Republic of China -Wasn't impressive to him -Anything bought in Hong Kong could not have come from China -Visited Sasebo, Japan on his second tour -Had to anchor off shore because the harbor wasn't big enough -Allowed to go ashore -Not much to do there though -The Japanese weren't welcoming and did not want the Americans there -There were protests about the U.S. presence -When he went to shore he got tear gassed (01:25:02) USS Pueblo Incident -They were en route to Singapore and got orders to go to the Sea of Japan -The USS Pueblo had been captured by North Korean ships -The Enterprise was ordered to go into North Korean waters -Could prompt an attack from North Korean air craft -Something the Enterprise was not equipped to handle -The captain requested the ship to be transferred -His request went unanswered -In response to that he ordered the ship to sail to Yankee Station (01:27:11) Life aboard the USS Enterprise -The Enterprise was effectively a small city of 5,500 sailors -Most of the crew being eighteen to twenty two years old -Some accidents happened -In the tire shop a tire was over inflated which caused it to explode -Led to a sailor needing both of his hands amputated -There was a firefighting detachment to battle fires -There was fire somewhere on the ship every day -Morale was great -Had great respect for Commanding Office James Holloway III -Commanding Officer Kent Lee was also an excellent leader �-Both of the commanding officers managed the ship differently -Holloway was more personable and took time to be with the enlisted men -Lee was efficient, but more distant -There were no race problems while he was aboard the ship (01:31:45) Office of Naval Research -After his time aboard the Enterprise ended in 1968 he took the Reactor Safeguard Exam -He was sent to the Office of Naval Research in Washington D.C. -Managed university research contracts -Also using research funds to boost engineering programs at universities -Enjoyed his assignment to the Office of Naval Research -Worked with great people, especially those from Scripps Research Institute -Also worked with personnel from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution -Worked with a young Robert Ballard -Later made famous for finding shipwrecks, namely, the RMS Titanic -He made the rank of commander while he was there -Stationed there for three years -His wife got involved with the officers' wives' club -Able to go to the theatre and to the Kennedy Center -While he was stationed there the ARPANET project was underway -The goal was to create a computer network for universities to use to communicate -ARPANET would eventually evolve and become the internet -By now it was 1971 (01:35:45) WestPac Assignment Pt. 1 -He received a call concerning his next assignment -Thought that after his time at the Office of Naval Research he would retire -Offered an assignment that was equivalent to command at sea aboard a destroyer -In other words, the assignment would be similar to commanding a destroyer -It was a WestPac assignment and it would be overseas -Could bring his family with him -He and his wife had just adopted their seven month old son -The assignment was for Naval Magazine Subic, Subic Bay, Philippines (01:39:29) Social Unrest in the U.S. -Anti-war protests and racial violence was flaring in the United States -While stationed in Washington D.C. he would have to cross the Potomac Bridge -There were machine gun emplacements on the bridge and on the capitol steps -There were civilian snipers at housing projects shooting at Marines (01:41:17) WestPac Assignment Pt. 2 -Had to report for duty in the Philippines in June 1971 -Wife and son were able to join him in July 1971 -It was a three year tour and a challenging one -The first two years he could get any supplies that he needed to fight the war -With the U.S. involvement in Vietnam ending in 1973 his supplies were cut -Living in the Philippines wasn't difficult �-Had a live-in maid, a nurse, and a groundskeeper -It was like being royalty -Supplied the mines for the mining of Haiphong -During that time they were hit with a rain storm that lasted 103 days -Able to move 103,000 tons of sea mines and other ordnance -Had a request from an Air Force commander for bombs for the bombing of Cambodia -He refused to give him the bombs -They were bombs designed for Navy aircraft, not Air Force aircraft -He received a medal, and the base received a commendation, for his leadership in 1973 (01:47:12) Naval Surface Warfare Center -In 1974 he was selected to go to Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center -Located in Potomac, Maryland -Bought a home in Calverton, Maryland -Lived there with his family until family quarters became available at the Center -He became the Ordnance Application Officer -Working with civilian researchers -If they had a question about how their idea could be applied to the Navy they asked him -Very rarely got asked any questions though -Tended to be a dead end for a career in the Navy -He wasn't ready to retire, and didn't want to sit in an office for two years doing nothing -He convinced his commanding officer that he (the CO) should have some oversight -Approved to create a review process for projects -He held the first review and selected the project that seemed to be the best -Wound up being a failure and the project lead getting fired -Got passed over to be promoted to captain -Dissapointing, but not surprising -Offered a few options for his next assignment -Decided to stay there and continue trying to do the best that he could (01:53:58) Naval Sea Systems Command -Eventually asked by one of his old executive officers to join him at Naval Sea Systems Command -Needed someone to be a Weapons Systems Acquisition Manager -Would buy the weapons systems being produced in New Jersey -Outfitting ships with the Aegis Combat System -Made ships capable of handling numerous targets simultaneously -Fully integrated, computerized weapons system -First ships were cruisers -Subsequent class of ships were destroyers -Many of them are still in service today as of 2015 -Capable of defending against land based and air based missiles -Based in Washington D.C. -Did that from 1977-1979 (01:57:45) Naval Weapons Station Earle �-There was a need for a commanding officer at Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey -Accepted that position -Essentially doing the same thing that he had done in Subic Bay -Had a one mile long pier, and two three mile long piers being built -This was to keep munitions laden ships away from civilians in case anything happened -Piers had been built in response to the SS El Estero incident in 1943 -A ship carrying Hedgehogs (anti-submarine weapons) caught fire at a civilian pier -Had they exploded it would have caused a massive loss of life -During WWII had been the main staging area for munitions for the Normandy invasion -Stationed there from 1979-1982 -Found New Jersey to be a very welcoming state -Met a lot of good people, both Navy and civilian -Went to New York City with his wife and saw Broadway shows -Visited museums -Went to the top of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center -Saw the Statue of Liberty -The post-Vietnam atmosphere didn't have much of an effect on him -The Navy had better personnel management than the Army -But believes that this is because the Navy was smaller than the Army -Didn't see any officers being forced into retirement like in the Army -Completed that assignment in 1982 (02:07:18) John Hopkins University -Requested to be assigned to Washington D.C. -Wanted to be assigned to the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University -Granted that assignment -Had to get different resources from different sponsors from projects -The sponsors would always ask to see the projects before they gave further resources (02:09:59) Retirement -Retired one year early -Bothered by the culture of the Navy where certain stations were left neglected -Ex. Inland stations were treated better than waterfront stations -Wanted the final assignment to John Hopkins so he didn't become irrelevant over night -Saw a lot of officers retire from a good station, and then be forgotten -While at Naval Weapons Station Earle he was trying to change the aforementioned Naval culture -Ex. had the change of command ceremony at the waterfront station -Not in front of the Officers' Club -This required an old train station to be refurbished for the ceremony -While at John Hopkins University he was told that charges were being filed against him -Believes that it was disgruntled civilian employees complaining about him �-Didn't give them paid leave whenever they wanted it, for frivolous reasons -He was charged with dereliction of duty and misappropriation of funds -Went before a non-judicial board of captains for his administrative punishment -The admiral dismissed the charges and allowed him to resume his job -Although the charges were dropped it motivated him to retire from the Navy (02:17:42) Life after the Navy -Took his retirement trip with his family to New Orleans for the 1984 Louisiana World Expo -Toured the South -Visited his parents who had retired to Florida -Visited Disney World -Went back up to Bay View, Michigan for the rest of the summer -Put in his application to work for the Vitro Corporation -Defense contractor that worked with the Navy -Had dealt with them before while he was at John Hopkins University -Worked for them for about twelve and a half years -Eventually returned to the Lansing/Ann Arbor area to be closer to family (02:19:20) Reflections on Service and the Navy -Believes that it was beneficial to him in every way as a person -Helped him get a career after he retired from the Navy -Believes that the Navy has improved since he left -When he entered the Navy it had low morale and poor funding -Improved during the Vietnam years, but then faltered due to low public support -Believes that a draft would be beneficial -Would curb military adventurism -Came to the conclusion that the Vietnam War was largely an effort in futility -Attended commissioning ceremonies for ships and met some new junior officers -Impressed by how motivated and dedicated the new officers were � 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_PalmerP1724V Title A name given to the resource Palmer, Philip Maynard (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-01-22 Description An account of the resource Philip Palmer was born on May 23, 1933 in Lansing, Michigan. After high school he joined the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps and studied at the University of Wisconsin, receiving training aboard the USS Roanoke, USS William R Rush, and at Little Creek, Virginia and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. He graduated and was commissioned in 1955 with a degree in chemical engineering and a degree in naval science. He served aboard the USS Strickland and the USS Hissem and served as a Navy ROTC instructor at the University of Michigan. He served aboard the USS Meadowlark during the Bay of Pigs invasion. He studied at the US Naval Postgraduate School and at Ohio State University and received nuclear reactor training in Bainbridge, Maryland and Idaho Falls, Idaho. He served aboard the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam War from 1966-1968, afterwards being assigned to the Office of Naval Research. In 1971 he reported for duty at Naval Magazine Subic in Subic Bay, Philippines and served there until 1974 when he was reassigned to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Potomac, Maryland. He then served at Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington D.C. and then at Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey. His final assignment was at the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University and he retired from that in 1984. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Palmer, Philip Maynard 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 Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image 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 application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/19d9364da2138310d6bd81a012ff0896.jpg 85b47f6a09c16b4f5f54ac18b63fd66d 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00271 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1930 Title A name given to the resource Pan American Ford trimotor 10 passenger plane leaves Brownsville Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of a Pan American Ford trimotor 10 passenger plane on an airport runway. The plan has "X-ABCF" written on its tail. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Brownsville (Texas) Airplanes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives