783 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b391f145181636b11bd52c0b6128c099.mp4 7652c20df4defae8aa7081adf1b73444 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dfe3054c6cb1b7ec6bd19cfcb985ed81.pdf 8e28d3a635eda19986054e19310c2e51 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Dr. Robert Pearson (1:43:48) (00:02) Introduction • Born in Toledo, Ohio. • His father was a CPA who traveled a lot. • Remembers being poor during the depression but not really noticing it. • Graduated from Northern High School in Detroit, Michigan. • Was able to graduate in January instead of June, in order to go into the service. • Feels that people generally felt the United States were going to war, however they felt it would be against Germany. • His first response when Pearl Harbor was attacked was to ask “Where is Pearl Harbor?” • He had about a year in the service when Pearl Harbor was attacked. • Most men got into the military before any conflict occurred to rise in rank so they would not be sent to war as just a G.I. • Although he was told by the physician at his physical that his colorblindness would prevent him from becoming both and officer and a pilot, he became both. (04:40) Enlistment Process • Pearson and his father went to the federal building to sign the papers guaranteeing he was both eighteen years old and wanted to be in the Army. • The next day he was send on a streetcar and was sat in a room with other men until they could memorize their serial number. • He was then sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan for two days where he received his uniform. • He was then sent to St. Louis, Missouri. • Pearson signed up for work with aerial photography, and was sent to Denver, Colorado to attend aerial photography instruction. • His main amount of basic training occurred in St. Louis. • Pearson was at the aerial photography school in Denver when Pearl Harbor happened. (07:43) Aerial Photography School • Learned basic camera work. • There was also a fair amount of academic work. • The men were then allowed to fly with aircraft that were leaving the area to practice their photography skills. • He was then sent to Montgomery, Alabama to work in the photo laboratory. • The cameras were mounted in the airplanes. • The photographs taken aerially would then be used to create maps, which was his work in Montgomery. (09:08) After Pearl Harbor �All of the Army training was sped up after the advent of war. A lot of men were shipped to the Philippines. Remembers helping stamp away the discharge dates of the men serving with a new stamp saying “Duration of hostilities plus six months.” • Men were being shipped to the Philippines before the attack on Pearl Harbor. (11:00) Montgomery, Alabama and Waco, Texas • He took a course in camera repair. • The army was in such a hurry to get men out of training, his final examination was to look at a piece of metal and describe it. When he did accurately, his commanding officer told him that it was “good enough” and he passed. • While in Montgomery, he heard there was an active recruitment for men to be glider pilots. • His first flight was with his father and Charles Lindbergh. • He wanted to become a glider pilot and passed the physical examination. • He was then sent from Montgomery to Waco, Texas for glider school. • The men flew a number of different small gliders, and each made two landings in the larger glider. • By the time he completed his training, the military had too many glider pilots to use and the men were sent to a camp. • While in camp, everyone but Master Sergeants and Technical Sergeants did the mundane tasks, such as KP and guard duty. • Pearson learned one day the artillery was looking for liaison pilots, and signed up. • He passed the physical for this duty and was sent to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. • His first time flying as a pilot was in Spencer, Iowa, during a ten week training before he attended glider school in Waco, Texas. (15:10) Fort Sill • He obtained additional flight training as well as artillery training at Fort Sill. • 65 horsepower Piper Cubs were used for flight training. • 500 feet was a long enough runway to land the Cubs. • The weather had to be relatively fair, because the Cubs did not have any instruments in order to navigate without seeing the ground. • In addition to flight training, he learned to tell where the actual shots fired by the artillery landed compared to where they were supposed to land. • He was taught to land on curved roads, and take off from fields that were too short to take off from (18:04) Mohave Desert and Camp Bullis • He was stationed just north of Needles, California. • Member of the 4th Armored Division, 22nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion. • He feels that serving with this group was one of the best things that happened to him while in the service. • Each battalion had two airplanes. • The entire division, except for tanks and heavy material, was moved to Camp Bullis, Texas. • They continued the training they had been doing while in the desert. • • • �He was the first pilot assigned to the division, and therefore was senior and chief of the air division. • The radios in the planes used for communication only had two channels. • He would communicate with the fire direction center, and rarely with the battalion commander. • Pearson got to know many of the men in the battalion very well. There were 35 officers including himself, and he knew them all. As far as he knows, there are three remaining. • He was the only officer without college education. At the time they were all Sergeants and at Camp Bullis they learned they could become officers by going through artillery officers basic school. • After becoming an officer, small tasks were taken care of by other people for them. (23:00) England • Shipped from Boston on the Oriente to Europe in January 1944. • He went home on leave for a few days before leaving for Europe. • None of the heavy equipment went with the men to Europe, when they arrived they had all new equipment. • There were no U-boat scares on the trip overseas. • He landed in Bath, England and took a train to Devizes England. • The battalion had its own conclave while in Devizes. • There were aircraft waiting for the men when they arrived. • The men were able to fly quite regularly despite the English weather. • There was very little interaction with the local civilians. • He took his plane to London on several occasions, including having a personal tour of Westminster Abbey. • He was one of the few men who knew when the invasion of Normandy was to happen, but he did not know until the night before. • He told a group of senior officers that he knew when the invasion was to be, none of them believed him and they all placed their bets. • He knew the invasion was going to happen when he was flying past an RAF airfield and saw the men painting invasion stripes on the gliders. • Very rarely did the Germans carry out air reconnaissance around his area. • His division did not go into Normandy early in the invasion. • They stayed in England for about a month after the invasion began, and carried out maneuvers daily. • Patton noted his division as a fine division, and they received the first unit citation for an entire division. • He would take the division commander with him in the aircraft to watch the artillery do their maneuvers. (33:33) France • He landed on Utah Beach. • He began flying in combat roles three or four days after landing in France. • The pilots would fly above their own lines and look ahead into enemy territory. Pearson remembers seeing all of the horses the Germans used in combat. • �As they got ready for Operation Cobra [breakout from Normandy], the entire division was only 1000 yards away from the enemy. (36:35) Memory of Patton • There was a division officers call while still in England. • The men were all gathered into an auditorium when Patton walked onto the stage. • Pearson notes that there was no large flag behind him like in the movie Patton. • Patton told the men he was going to command the Third Army. • He also spoke of his experiences in Africa, including making sure that an officer was in a jeep while in a convoy, so he can look around. A second lieutenant was in the jeep keeping watch, at one point he decided there were no enemies in the area so he did not continue his watch. His jeep was then hit by an 88 and blew up. • After hearing the story, the entire auditorium was silent. Patton then said “Gentlemen, I’m glad that son of a bitch is dead.” • Pearson felt that Patton was an impressive character and really the only famous commander the men had heard of at that point. (39:56) Break out of Normandy • He remembers watching numerous bombers leave to bomb the German troops. • This bombing is when General McNair was killed. • He felt that he had a lot of training and experience flying. • The danger for the Liaison pilots was the divisions would follow the roads, so any space between the roads were dangerous to fly over. • On the advent of breakout, the liaison planes were grounded until the division began to move. • The pilots went wherever the division went, on average using two different airfields a day. • The task of the chief mechanic was to look at fields and figure out which ones were suitable for the planes to land at night. • One night, while the planes were situated on the front, they came under heavy artillery fire and had to evacuate their vehicles and aircraft from the area to divert losing their equipment. • The divisional artillery was shooting from side to side to prevent attacks while moving. • There was a lot of German anti-aircraft fire aimed at the liaison pilots. • The pilots would fly around 500-600 feet and up to 1500 feet in the air. • A large number of the aircraft sustained damage, 7 out of 9 pilots were missing or killed during conflict. • Pearson compiled over 9000 hours combat hours. • They would fly around 1.5 hours at a time while on artillery patrol. • Describes the breakout period as chaos. • After the breakout, they crossed the Brittany peninsula and stopped in Vannes, France. • A lot of casualties occurred on route to Vannes. • There was a fight between General Wood, who wanted to turn left instead of crossing the Brittany Peninsula, and Patton, who wanted to go to Vannes. 51:10 Impression of France: • �Usually, the French people would come out to the troops and offer them wine and food. • When in Vannes, members of the Free French of the Interior met him at his plane and marched him to a church nearby. Where they had captured collaborators and killed them. Pearson describes this as the moment he lost his “moral virginity.” It was also the first time he vomited in France. • He believes they wanted to show the American military how helpful they were being to the cause. (54:36) France and Germany • They were sent Eastward. • They served on the southern flank of the gap. • He had no knowledge of the “big picture” of the war, they very rarely knew where they were heading. • He describes the movement across France as “racing across France” to the German frontier. • The most important mission of the 4th division was the relief of Bastogne, Belgium, in the Battle of the Bulge. (01:00:00) The German Front • While waiting on the German line, they pilots would still fly every day. • The men would stay in sleeping bags, usually in abandoned farmhouses and barns to sleep in. • The only time the planes were replaced was when they were shot down. Pearson was shot down three times. • The first time he was shot down, he had learned that once a German aircraft fires at you once, they will not come back because they will lure the ground fire at them. However, this time the German aircraft firing at Pearson did come back and shot his tail off. • They would burn the plane if it was too badly damaged to repair. • There was a unit with the division whose only job was to manufacture the planes needed for liaison purposes. (01:05:55) Battle of the Bulge and Germany • His division was to the south of the Bulge. • He was in the commander’s office when the orders were handed down to prepare to move that night. • Because he could not fly at night, he watched the division move until daylight. • He had no idea where his division was all day while he flew, until he found someone who had an inkling of their position. He finally found them. • He could see the unit’s markings and the shape of tank turrets while flying to meet with the division. • He flew every day around the time of the battle, despite the weather. • He was told to register each of the battalions and an 8-inch howitzer on a small town south of Bastogne, in order to TOT. So the shells will arrive on the town at the same time. • He was farther south of Bastogne, and never actually reached the town. • He then traveled east from the area. • �They crossed the Siegfried line east of the Bastogne area. He describes it as a rat chase, but no major battles with the Germans. Once inside Germany, they were not allowed to have any contact with any German civilians. • The United States military would be fined $65 for talking with a German citizen. • The men would sleep on the ground in the German countryside. • There was a lot of damage throughout the countryside. (01:19:45) Concentration Camp • Remembers the exact date, April 4th 1945. • He was flying over it back from a mission. • He couldn’t figure out what the enclosure was. • He landed on the road and walked up to the gate. It was camp Ohrdruf. • Pearson walked in. Other 4th division men were there, the Germans had abandoned it. • Several days later, Patton and Eisenhower arrived to see it. • Before landing at Ohrdruf, he had heard of the Death Camps, but most wrote them off as nonsense. • After the war, he learned the Russians had discovered a death camp but had never told the United States. • He was dropping leaflets to help refugees get away from the Soviets. (01:24:54) After Europe • The men had a party for Pearson and then he left. • The army was going to discharge him, but he did not feel comfortable leaving the military until the war was over. • He went to Fort Sill to be a flight instructor. • He told the men in charge of Fort Sill that he felt he should be a captain. • However, when someone returned from Washington DC he found out that there were no promotions to be given. (1:28:00) After the Service • He attended Wayne State University and attended medical school there. • He spent 13 years as a general practitioner. • He then moved to Traverse City and became the director of Adult Services as a psychiatrist. • After he retired, the hospital closed. (01:30:30) Other memories of the service • He had a friend who lived in Houston and was speaking about the war with him. Who said one day that there is no bond that is stronger between two people other than serving in a war together. • He also served as a member of the board for the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas. • While in Houston serving as a psychotherapist, he met a woman who was a prisoner in a concentration camp during the war. • A lot of survivors said they would not speak of their experiences in the war until they met the people on the board. • • • �One man he spoke with frequently was in a concentration camp for over six months until his wife bribed his way out. (01:35:35) How the Military affected him • He began writing about how his experiences affected him after his wife asked him about it. • He is not a pacifist, and is proud of his time in the service. • He also believes that Germans hate World War II, not because they lost, but because it was such a horrific time for everyone. • � 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 PearsonR Title A name given to the resource Pearson, Dr. Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pearson, Dr. Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Pearson served as an artillery liaison pilot with the 4th Armored Division in WW II. He describes his reasons for enlisting prior to the start of the war, his training first in gliders and then in observation planes, and his service in France, Belgium and Germany. His experiences include action in the breakout from Normandy, the relief of Bastogne and the invasion of Germany. He also discusses an encounter with the French Resistance and his spotting of the Ohrdruf death camp in Germany. After the war, he became a physician and a psychiatrist, and helped to found the Holocaust museum in Houston, Texas. 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 United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-02-12 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/5e4abca39e678a955afa65487b0b967f.jpg 06c46426a933be96e27915b560bc62a9 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_LS00192 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 Pech Merle cavern painting of dappled horses Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of Paleolithic cave paintings of dappled horses and hand prints from Pech Merle cavern. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Drawings Cave paintings Archaeology 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/70ffa54a6f2997e8e97c7e275f0c9d37.jpg c546f1596fe234f90cb4b3ca8998fffc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080729-0016 Title A name given to the resource Pedicab in the city of Da Nang Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource Pedicab in the city of Da Nang. Taken after Oakes had been released from the hospital and is on his way back to his unit. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/136aebe17b9adbb33362618e32ce9d03.pdf a24d36534d35cff5503f5d9eb3e122cf PDF Text Text Young Lords In Lincoln Park Interviewee: Pedro J. Mateo Interviewers: José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez Location: Grand Valley State University Special Collections Date: 3/8/2012 Biography and Description English Pedro Mateo is from Salinas, Puerto and now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He first came to Grand Rapids in the 1950s, but quickly moved to Indiana Harbor to work in the steel mills alongside many other Puerto Rican immigrants of that era. Mr. Mateo describes the steel mill culture and the Puerto Rican community that developed in Indiana Harbor beginning in the 1940s. After a short time in Indiana Harbor, Mr. Mateo moved with his family to Van Buren Street near Ashland Avenue in Chicago, in the barrio area then known to Puerto Ricans as La Madison. La Madison and La Clark were two Puerto Rican barrios carved out of two high density neighborhoods where old, dilapidated hotel rooms were converted into low rent apartments. These areas attracted large numbers of Puerto Rican immigrants because most saw their move to Chicago as temporary, offering the possibility of making higher wages so they could return to the island. In the 1960s, Mr. Mateo moved to Addison Ave. and Wilson Street, next to Wrigley Field. It was here that he first met the Young Lords. Mr. Mateo describes his daily travels by train to La Clark to work at “Las Gomas,” or a rubber factory, by New Orleans and Chicago Avenue. He ultimately returned to Grand Rapids, where his large, extended family plays a prominent role in the city’s Latino community. �Spanish Pedro Matea es de Salinas, Puerto Rico y ahora vive en Grand Rapids, Michigan. El primero vino a Grand Rapids en los 1950s pero decidió mudarse a Indiana Harbor para trabar en la acería con otros inmigrantes Puertorriqueños en esa aria. Aquí Señor Mateo describe como era la cultura de la acería y la comunidad que desarrollo en Indiana Harbor (empezando en 1940). Después do un tiempo en Indian Harbor, Señor Mateo se mudo con su familia a Van Buren Street cerca de Ashland Avenue en Chicago en el barrio que llaman, La Madison. La Madison y La Clark eran dos barrios Puertorriqueños en donde hoteles fueron convertidos ah apartamentos alquilados bajo. Estas arias atrajeron muchos Puertorriqueños porque muchos vieron este mudo a Chicago como temporario y hacia la posibilidad de juntar más dinero para regresar a Puerto Rico. En los 1960s, Señor Mateo se mudo a Addison Ave y Wilson Street, alado de Wrigley Field. Aquí fue donde conoció a los Young Lords. Señor Mateo también habla sobre sus viajes diarios a La Clark por tren para trabajar en “Las Gomas” la factoría por New Orleans y Chicago Avenue. Pedro Mateo finalmente regreso a Grand Rapids donde la mayoría de su familia jugo una parte grande de la comunidad Latina. � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6bb098876e9e13dd4e48be0a77b221d1.mp4 e87f9e4c058c76b2e634cbfed48e75ca 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 Young Lords in Lincoln Park Collection Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Puerto Ricans--United States Civil Rights--United States--History Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Personal narratives Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Description An account of the resource Collection of oral history interviews and digitized materials documenting the history of the Young Lords Organization in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Interviews were conducted by Young Lords' founder, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, and documents were digitized from Mr. Jiménez' archives. The Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection grows out of the ongoing struggle for fair housing, self-determination, and human rights that was launched by Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords Movement. This project is dedicated to documenting the history of the displacement of Puerto Ricans, Mejicanos, other Latinos, and the poor from Lincoln Park, as well as the history of the Young Lords nationwide. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jiménez, José, 1948- Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng spa Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-65 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 2012-2017 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Título Spanish language Title entry Pedro J. Mateo vídeo entrevista y biografía Descripción Spanish language Description entry Pedro Matea es de Salinas, Puerto Rico y ahora vive en Grand Rapids, Michigan. El primero vino a Grand Rapids en los 1950s pero decidió mudarse a Indiana Harbor para trabar en la acería con otros inmigrantes Puertorriqueños en esa aria. Aquí Señor Mateo describe como era la cultura de la acería y la comunidad que desarrollo en Indiana Harbor (empezando en 1940). Después do un tiempo en Indian Harbor, Señor Mateo se mudo con su familia a Van Buren Street cerca de Ashland Avenue en Chicago en el barrio que llaman, La Madison. La Madison y La Clark eran dos barrios Puertorriqueños en donde hoteles fueron convertidos ah apartamentos alquilados bajo. Estas arias atrajeron muchos Puertorriqueños porque muchos vieron este mudo a Chicago como temporario y hacia la posibilidad de juntar más dinero para regresar a Puerto Rico. En los 1960s, Señor Mateo se mudo a Addison Ave y Wilson Street, alado de Wrigley Field. Aquí fue donde conoció a los Young Lords. Señor Mateo también habla sobre sus viajes diarios a La Clark por tren para trabajar en “Las Gomas” la factoría por New Orleans y Chicago Avenue. Pedro Mateo finalmente regreso a Grand Rapids donde la mayoría de su familia jugo una parte grande de la comunidad Latina. Sujetos Spanish language Subject terms Young Lords (Organización) Puertorriqueños--Estados Unidos Derechos civiles--Estados Unidos--Historia Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Puertorriqueños--Relatos personales Idioma español--Relatos personales Justicia social Activistas comunitarios--Illinois--Chicago Puertorriqueños--Illinois--Chicago--Condiciones sociales Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park (RHC-65)</a> 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-65_Mateo_Pedro Title A name given to the resource Pedro J. Mateo video interview and biography Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mateo, Pedro Description An account of the resource Pedro Mateo is from Salinas, Puerto Rico and now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He first came to Grand Rapids in the 1950s, but quickly moved to Indiana Harbor to work in the steel mills alongside many other Puerto Rican immigrants of that era. Mr. Mateo describes the steel mill culture and the Puerto Rican community that developed in Indiana Harbor beginning in the 1940s. After a short time in Indiana Harbor, Mr. Mateo moved with his family to Van Buren Street near Ashland Avenue in Chicago, in the barrio area then known to Puerto Ricans as La Madison. In the 1960s, Mr. Mateo moved to Addison Ave. and Wilson Street, next to Wrigley Field. It was here that he first met the Young Lords. Mr. Mateo describes his daily travels by train to La Clark to work at “Las Gomas,” or a rubber factory, by New Orleans and Chicago Avenue. He ultimately returned to Grand Rapids, where his large, extended family plays a prominent role in the city’s Latino community. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José, 1948- Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Puerto Ricans--United States Civil Rights--United States--History Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives Spanish language--Personal narratives Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Puerto Ricans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions Language A language of the resource spa Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-03-08 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/6a961983d21e06be19f8cc3553b01141.jpg 44cb9aae035f416f526bed39cc287ee3 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_62_1926_018 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1926 Title A name given to the resource Pedro Miguel Station Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a crowd of people on the platform of a train station, likely taken in either Pedro Miquel, Panama or in Cuba. "Pedro Miguel Station." is written on the bottom of the image. Subject The topic of the resource Railroad stations 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/603853c940d1d713801faf73d64071de.jpg b65fa1ed3cc71acc742d92abd6c972e0 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 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. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR5214 .P4 1899 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-01_Bindings0098 Title A name given to the resource Peg Woffington Description An account of the resource Binding of Peg Woffington, by Charles Reade, published by Doubleday & McClure, 1899. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1899 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/851e8c04bb6b1941cdc62f8301bfb270.jpg 2e87a02e108c3b1be22d79cddee3f66f 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 PegelTony Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Pegel, Tony Description An account of the resource Tony Pegel Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History 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/3544423da97070dbf57805f7dc181897.mp4 f6a6cd0718aff86254128bf8b523c6de https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ef83d090ed82e4cfc738301ce8f992a1.pdf fb7454f9543db4295e0068510b2bfec6 PDF Text Text Living With PFAS Interviewee: Peggy Merrill Interviewer: Dani DeVasto Date: June 3, 2021 DD: I’m Dani DeVasto and today June 3rd, 2021, I have the pleasure of chatting with Peggy Merrill. Hi Peggy. PM: Good morning. DD: Peggy can you tell me about where you’re from and where you currently live? PM: I am from, originally, the east side of the state, and moved here after I got out of college and lived outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan for the past 30 years. And now I just recently moved to the Hastings area which is just south of Grand Rapids. DD: And how long have you been in Hastings? PM: Lived here physically for 4 months but I’ve worked here for 3 years, and my husband is originally from here so very familiar with the area. DD: Wow, so you just moved. [chuckles] PM: Yeah. [chuckles] DD: I’m sure you maybe still have some boxes and things. PM: Oh yeah, and dirt for the yard. DD and PM: [Both chuckle] DD: Can you tell me a story about your experience with PFAS, or with PFAS in your community? PM: I can. PFAS, I had no clue what PFAS was until my sister-in-law- am I able to share her name? DD: Yes. PM: Sandy Wynn-Stelt called me, this was, what, 2017, and said something about her water was being tested because they had found something near her house at a- what was it? Airport? Some kind of reserved site, or training site, for the army, I think. Anyway, and said that’s really weird. And then about, I don’t even know how much longer, she called me one day and said, “I’ve got all this PFAS in my soil!” and that is when I learned what PFAS was, had no clue what it was. 1 �Basically, it’s on everything, I think. And I think it was at that point, oh, then she had her blood drawn and her level came back higher than any blood level of PFAS in someone’s system, I think, ever that they’ve had recorded. And that is when I said to her, “that’s what killed my brother.” Because my brother had been diagnosed, about a year before all this started, pretty much of the blue with liver cancer. We- I went with her when he had to go in and get his hernia taken care of at the hospital, and you know the doctor came out and everything looked good and blah, blah, blah, and then she called me a couple of days later said she’d gotten a call saying that he had liver cancer. And so, within a span of about 2½, 3 weeks, he ended up on hospice and he died, [cries] [sniffles] and to this day they say there’s no relationship that they can correlate to his liver cancer but a lot of the tests that she has shared with me as far as the studies and stuff show that it does cause various cancers and who knows what his level was. DD: Mhm. PM: Because they lived there for 25, 30 years, almost, and he drank water every day, you know, and subsequently my sister-in-law was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and luckily that was taken care of and she has no traces of it in her system now. But this whole PFAS thing, I mean, we spent every holiday there so, drank their water. My children, when they were little, they would be babysat and spend the night and they had bottles made out of that water. It just really makes you wonder down the road, you know, what’s gonna be the effects? And my sister-in-law, I mean, I’m in the medical field, and if I were her, and I know her very well, it would be like every ache and pain or bump or lump you know “What is this? What is this?” Because, you know who knows? And so, I have just stood behind her, to this day and till the day I die will contribute that to my brother’s death. Because it was just, I’ve never, I mean I’ve seen death, I work in health care. But to see someone go from being a vibrant person to sitting in a bed at University of Michigan hospital and the doctor saying there’s nothing they can do, going home on hospice and dying a week later. I mean I know it happens to people without PFAS in their blood system but that’s my story and I’m gonna stick to it. And I’ve often wondered about getting my own blood tested and my children, I mean I know they’re not children anymore, they’re young adults, but you wonder. Everybody has it in their system, I mean I've read- my sister-in-law forwards me articles all the time- I mean you probably do Dani, but you wonder, like, gee I wonder what my level is because it’s this forever chemical and I’ve drank their water for 25+ years every time I was there. Wha-whats the level in my blood? But on the same breath, it’s kinda like, eh, [chuckles] if I find out it’s really high, there is nothing you can do about it. So that's kinda a moot point but again I’m kinda scientific so I would- I am curious in some ways, and I’m curious for my sons and my husband. So, I mean that's the story I wanted to share because I think they need to regulate it, and it just leaves me I can't talk about certain shoe distribution companies because I refuse to wear their shoes [chuckles] because of, you know, I- we’d been to my sisterin-law’s house, you know, numerous times and when she told me the stuff that was buried there I’m like, “oh yeah I remember seeing that stuff.” and since then, you know, we’ve walked around and you can see pieces of tanned leather, you know, all that concrete- or excuse me, metal barrels that were buried there and it’s just, you know, their home was a haven for them both, it still is but it’s a polluted haven in the ground. [chuckles] I remember they tried to grow a garden one year, and they did not have much success. [chuckles] [moderator chuckles] Makes you wonder why. You know you wouldn’t wanna eat the vegetables anyway I guess, but- so I mean that's kinda what I wanted to share, I will stand behind my sister-in-law forever and ever 2 �because I think she’s been a huge voice in this whole thing and I think it's important that it be shared with everybody and, again, regulated as far as PFAS goes and anything, so. DD: Yeah, well I do so appreciate you sharing it, and I’m sorry for the loss of your brother. PM: [Cries] It’s weird, you miss him, I mean we all have people die in our families, but we were very, very close, and it’s just hard. Even, what, 5 years later, 6 years later? DD: Yeah. It’s hard. PM: Yeah, and I guess one other thing, heck, as long as I’m crying I might as well cry! You know, my mom lost a daughter, my sister, and then she lost my dad, and a year after we lost my dad is when Joel became sick and, she was there when he passed away [cries] and she knew about the PFAS and it was so hard on her and until she passed away a year ago she was worried about Sandy all the time, I mean she started to get somewhat forgetful like you do when you’re 89, and she’d- “How’s Sandy? Is she really sick yet from that PFAS?” [sighs] So. [sniffles] DD: And Joel, Joel is your brother? PM: Yeah, yeah, my mom had 2 sets of twins: Joel and my brother Paul, who’s still alive, were about three years older than me, and yeah. [deep sigh] DD: What concerns- What concerns do you have about PFAS contamination moving forward, Peggy? PM: Well, I have a concern that, you know, I know this house that we built, my sister-in-law said, “get your water tested.” She said, “you will be surprised where it is and where it isn’t.” and, you know, she’s right because we live by fields where farmers know, but we didn’t get it tested cause it cost too much [chuckles], and that’s kinda sad, I mean, that is a test that if people wanna have done whether it's on their water or whether it’s a blood test, it shouldn’t be some astronomical cost. I mean again, there’s nothing they would be able to do right now, althoughwe, you know, we had it in our water we’d know to get a better filter, but the tests I think when I asked a local water conditioner place was like $300+ to get it tested for that. DD: Wow. PM: So. So, I think that’s one of my big concerns, hopefully to see it phased out and not be used on stuff or- you know. I don't know if you’ve seen some of the movies that are out there, I think once they stopped manufacturing this, now there’s some other chemical that they’ve found, you know [?] it’s kinda the same thing [nervous chuckle]. DD: Mhmm. Mhmm. Yes, yeah, I’ve heard that, you know just for some, in some cases they’ve just shortened the- the chain, the carbon chain so it’s very similar but not, not technically the same. 3 �PM: It makes you wonder down the road, are they gonna find that this is similar to the lead poisoning that they dealt with, with the kids from, you know, paint and dirt and stuff? And in 40 or 50 years, who knows? DD: Mhmm. Yeah. Do you find that your experience as a medical, someone who works in the medical field has, played a role in this or impacted your- your [?] PM: I think it’s impacted my thought process. I mean I- I honestly think the general population that isn’t interested in this or doesn’t have much knowledge of it doesn’t really realize, you know, how bad it can be. DD: Mhmm. PM: That, that movie that Mark Ruffalo did about that that was such a powerful movie, and I took friends of mine when we went to the screening with Sandy, who had no, you know, knowledge of it and they just went as support people, they were blown away by the movie and, you know, it was a good movie overall, but the information in it, and, you know. So yeah, I don't think the general public really realizes, you know, unless it’s directly affected them. DD: Mhmm, yeah. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add that we haven't touched on today or anything you’d like to go back to? PM: I don't think so, I- I really think down the road anybody that is in an area where they question PFAS being in the soil or in the water, it would be nice to just make that a blood test that people could get their blood checked, just to see. Again, you can't do anything about it right now, but it would be interesting. So, I think that’s it. And I appreciate you sharing the story with whoever hears it, because I think knowledge is power and the more people that know the better. DD: Yeah, I agree. Well, thank you so much Peggy for taking the time to share your story today. PM: Thank you. 4 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Living with PFAS Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Devasto, Danielle Description An account of the resource Beginning in 2021, the Living with PFAS interviews were recorded to gather the personal stories of individuals impacted by PFAS contamination. PFAS, or per- and polyflourinated substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used widely since the 1940s to make coatings and products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They can be found in countless household items, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-resistant clothing. These chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily, can move through soils and contaminate drinking water sources, and build up in animals, plants, and people. PFAS have been linked to increased incidences of various cancers, increased cholesterol, decreased fertility, birth defects, kidney and liver disease, and immune system suppression, and thyroid dysfunction. It is estimated that PFAS are in the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans (Andrews & Naidenko, 2020). In Michigan alone, over 280 sites have PFAS contamination exceeding maximum contamination levels for groundwater (MPART, 2024). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In copyright Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Motion Picture Text Sound Language A language of the resource eng Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PFAS0009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Peggy Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-06-03 Title A name given to the resource Peggy Merrill, 2021 (Interview video and transcript) Description An account of the resource Peggy Merrill moved to the Grand Rapids area since the 1990s. In this interview, she discusses the discovery of PFAS in the water at the home of her brother, who passed away from liver cancer in 2017. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource DeVasto, Danielle (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/62dd3d6c2ce9fa51aab7b956b1614727.jpg fabd770654c61131b996b3fa34561b8e 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_3_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937-03-01 Title A name given to the resource Pegli Beach Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of Pegli Beach. People are seen walking along on a boardwalk on the left of the frame, and buildings and mountains are visible in the background. Subject The topic of the resource Beaches Pegli (Italy) 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/64f99ac883f49618048d37247bf8530a.jpg 5bfa8dadcaad532bf10879cf82fcd089 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_003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1920-08-15 Title A name given to the resource Pei-tai-ho cottages looking south Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a town in the distance with several cottages between the town and the photographer. A pile of stones is stacked near one of the cottages in the foreground. 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 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/df0af1fdc690be039a5fbad35d47190a.jpg 518be2342943424b986486920f04663f 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_011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1920-08-16 Title A name given to the resource Pei-tai-ho from train looking south Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Chinese coastal resort area of Beidaihe Qu. The images shows cottages scattered across a countryside in front of a mountain. Subject The topic of the resource Beidaihe Qu (Qinhuangdao Shi, China) China 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/8514da8c5987cb6c1c5921786e4322a4.jpg 8d62b5f05cf881844fcd627c0178e42c 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_LS00066 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1919 Title A name given to the resource Peking grounds American Embassy Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of the grounds of the American Embassy in Peking (Beijing), China. In the image, a neat lawn with a circular pathway is flanked by two lines of hanging paper lanterns leading to a group of chairs set up as for an event. Several people stand near the chairs. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides China Beijing (China) 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/6d4b6b6a286ec3351f8f621de93e87fb.jpg 049fde211bc313f7eef238d3c3e0ae24 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_LS00067 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1919 Title A name given to the resource Peking house Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of a two story house in Peking (Beijing), China. In front of the house hangs a line of paper lanterns. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides China Beijing (China) Buildings 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/033ccc483cf86ac3cbcb4b3aabce8fe1.jpg 49dd449292113c5e663d0dc268306330 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_LS00065 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1919-07-04 Title A name given to the resource Peking house of Harry Paine Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of Robert (right) and Lena Merrill (left) sitting with Harry Paine in wicker chairs at a table in the courtyard of Paine's house in Peking (Beijing), China. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides China Beijing (China) 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/37c289b40444b2dd6aac456783b26aae.jpg 072508f113d07956b0b4907a3adb0f3a 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_LS00068 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1919-07-04 Title A name given to the resource Peking polo game of American Marines Description An account of the resource Black and white lantern slide of a polo match played by American marines in Peking (Beijing), China. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides China Beijing (China) Polo 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/ac4654a7ca939dc03208f90232fd924b.m4v 88383e499b3edcce23f439bc741e6b02 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/20ca87c095728223dd063e6ab438157a.pdf 1c6bcb0f79c83e5b47aab50c23b8ddee PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Henry J. Pelak World War II 1 hour 9 minutes 19 seconds (00:00:04) Early Life -Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 24, 1924 -He attended elementary school at Sacred Heart in Grand Rapids -He was taught discipline by the nuns -He attended Union High School, also in Grand Rapids -Graduated from there in 1942 -Loved to work with machines -He took machine shop in high school -He aspired to be a machinist -At times he would go to local factories and watch machinists do their work -Prior to his service he had a job washing trucks -Paid $0.40 per hour -Came home smelling like gasoline -He used the job to buy a used bicycle (00:02:30) Start of the War and Getting Drafted -He heard about the attack at Pearl Harbor on the news -There was a noticeable change in society following that -He saddened, because they knew that America had finally entered the war -He was drafted at the same time as his friend from high school -They both wound up in the same training -They eventually wound up in different units once training was complete -When he was drafted he received a letter ordering him to report for a military physical -Had to report to an induction center in Grand Rapids -He was allowed to choose the branch that he would go into -He decided to go into the Navy -He enjoyed the water and was never bothered being on a ship (00:04:40) Basic Training -Sent to Green Bay, Wisconsin for basic training -Travelled by train to Wisconsin with other draftees -The base that he was at was large -He and the other recruits were given assignments and expectations immediately -He didn’t find training to be too difficult -His mother had died when he was ten, so he was used to having responsibilities -Upon arrival to Green Bay they were processed and issued fatigues -They would rise early every day and make sure that everything was in order -Afterwards they would assemble in front of the barracks -They would march and do physical training in basic training -The focus was on discipline and making sure that the recruits were fit for service -Once basic training was over they were given a formal graduation from it �(00:07:40) Amphibious Training -After basic training he was sent to Virginia for the beginning of amphibious training -He was assigned that duty, and wasn’t allowed to choose his duty -From Virginia he was sent to Fort Pierce, Florida for advanced amphibious training -Training lasted a few months -One of the first things that they were trained to do was successfully land on a beach -If a landing craft didn’t hit the beach evenly it could flip over -There were forty to fifty men per barracks in Fort Pierce -They were given more physical training at Fort Pierce beginning at 6 AM every day -He found the food to be good in the Navy -He came from a single parent, Depression household, so he had to cook his own food -He began to learn how to serve aboard a landing craft as part of the crew -He served as a motor machinist aboard a landing craft -This meant that he tended to the landing craft’s engines -The amphibious craft that they used was the LCM (landing craft, mechanized) -Big enough to carry a tank, but could carry supplies and infantry as well -Because of this they had an extended ramp -Similar to, but larger than, the iconic Higgins Boat -Their purpose was to get up onto a beach and successfully unload a vehicle -There were originally three-four crewmen, but that eventually became five crewmen -One signalman (semaphore communications) -Two seamen -One coxswain (similar to a captain, drove the craft and gave orders) -One motor machinist (Henry’s job) -He never thought about the danger that he was in until combat began (00:14:57) Deployment to Europe -He and the other sailors were sent to New York City to assemble there -This indicated that they were going to the European Theatre -For Henry, it was slightly culturally shocking to go from Grand Rapids to New York City -He got to see the Statue of Liberty -They basically had to sit around and wait for their deployment orders -When he was in New York he was allowed to go on leave in New York -Noticed that there was a large amount of servicemen in the city -He enjoyed getting to see the sights of downtown New York -From New York they boarded a troopship and sailed to Scotland -It was a rough voyage -A lot of the men onboard got viciously seasick -He was able to avoid getting seasick (00:18:55) Arrival and Training in England -They arrived in Scotland and from Scotland drove down to Teignmouth, England -That served as their main training base -Permanent five man crews were established there -This is where they began to train for the Normandy Invasion -His unit was kept separate from the other units for their own specialized training -The routine at Teignmouth was similar to the one at Fort Pierce -Rose early for morning training, given lunch, then more training in the afternoon �-The focus during the initial training was to make accurate beach landings -They were given R&R to see the surrounding countryside and nearby cities -English civilians were very welcoming towards the Americans -There was no evidence of German bombing in the countryside -While he was in England he got a chance to see London -Found it similar to New York City -Didn’t see any damage from the Blitzkrieg while he was there (00:21:55) Operation Tiger -When they were in England he took part in Operation Tiger -The D-Day amphibious training exercise that took place on the English Coast -Took place on April 28, 1944 -They left and sailed towards the staging area early in the morning -En route they heard explosions in the distance -Knew that that probably wasn’t a good sign -Upon arriving at the staging area his landing craft was turned away -Not told what had happened, it was top secret at the time -He didn’t learn about what had happened at Operation Tiger until fifty years later -A German submarine had stumbled onto the staging area and attacked it -Torpedoed and sank two LSTs (landing ship, tank) -His high school friend was one of the survivors from one of the LSTs -He learned that 749 servicemen had been killed in the attack (00:25:04) Preparing for the Normandy Invasion -After the Operation Tiger fiasco his landing craft returned to Teignmouth, England -At this point he knew that his unit would be part of the first wave into Normandy -His craft would be carrying twelve combat demolition soldiers -Six from the Navy and six from the Army -Knew that it would be a difficult landing to make -At the time he didn’t know how big the invasion force really was -On the morning of June 5, 1944 they were getting the landing craft ready to go -Original date for D-Day -At the last minute the invasion was cancelled and postponed -A storm had blown in and made the English Channel too dangerous to cross -The invasion date was rescheduled for June 6, 1944 -Knew that the weather wouldn’t be perfect, but the storms would at least be gone (00:29:00) D-Day-Going to the Staging Area -Early on the morning of June 6 they received orders to go to the staging area -They boarded their landing craft and travelled across the English Channel to the Allied ships -When they arrived at the staging area they still couldn’t see the Normandy coast -His entire unit of twelve landing craft went to the staging area together -His craft rendezvoused with a ship that had the demolition team onboard -The demolition troops boarded without incident -Heard stories of infantrymen falling from ships into the sea trying to board the crafts -After their demolition team boarded they lined up with the other landing craft at 6:30 AM -The demolition team was carrying nothing but explosives and markers (smoke grenades) -Their objective was to blow up German beach obstacles -Henry was always astounded at the amount of courage it took do that job �(00:34:39) D-Day-The Invasion -Being in the first wave they started to receive intense German fire from the coast -Allied battleships had been firing consistently on the coast before the invasion began -Unfortunately the bombardment had been largely ineffective -This was because the Germans were so well entrenched in the coast -Their landing craft hit the beach successfully and started taking heavy fire -They began to unload their demolition team -A shell hit one of their craft’s machine guns and disabled it -He saw two sailors from a sunken landing craft swimming towards his craft -German machine gun fire was following them as they swam -They were able to reach Henry’s craft and board it safely -At this point infantry started to storm the beaches now too -A shell exploded in front of their landing craft -The crew panicked because they thought the ramp was disabled -This would have meant they couldn’t leave the beach and were sitting ducks -One of the demolition troops had been hit by the shell and was wounded on the ramp -Henry had to go out and pull the wounded soldier into the craft -They were able to pull up the ramp and get off the beach -Went to a hospital ship to unload the sailors and the wounded demolition soldier -From the hospital ship he was able to watch the invasion unfolding -His craft stayed in the area while the invasion commenced aiding in any way that they could -Out of the twelve ships in his unit his was only one of two that survived the invasion (00:43:42) Post-Invasion Pt. 1 -After the invasion a massive storm rolled in two weeks later and they pulled up to the beach -The storm was so powerful they were pushed up onto the beach and got stuck there -From that point on they had to live in their boat until they could contact command -Prior to the storm his landing craft helped ferry personnel between ships -The battle to secure the coast was still going on at this point -While they were ferrying personnel he realized just how big the invasion force was -Before going to the beach they had to sleep on their landing craft -There was a harbor off the coast that was made from scrapped ships (Mulberry Harbor) -It was used as a resupply and loading station for landing craft -Storm destroyed the structure -This indicates that Henry was most likely at Omaha Beach (00:47:48) Post-Invasion Pt. 2 -When they went up to the beach during the storm the beach had finally been secured -When they returned to the beach he saw that the staging area on the beach was huge -There was a massive amount of supplies and personnel being assembled on the beach -After the storm thy had to stay near their boat because minefields hadn’t been cleared yet -They lived off of Army K Rations -Spent two weeks living on the beach -Couldn’t tell their command in England that they had survived -Eventually an Army major came over to their boat and figured out who they were -He was able to contact naval command in England -Informed them that Henry’s crew had survived the invasion �-After contacting command a boat was sent over to retrieve the crew -Only a total of ten survivors from Henry’s unit -They returned to England briefly to receive new orders (00:51:33) Following the British Army in Europe -After England he was attached to a unit following the British through northern Europe -Specifically through Holland, Belgium and northern Germany -In England he was placed on another troopship bound for Europe -He and the other sailors were tasked with building an American port -Final destination was Bremerhaven, Germany -They arrived in Holland and began following the British Army -Had to sleep in warehouses on the route -Travelled by truck -Henry’s job was to do anything that might involve machine work (00:54:57) Reassignment, Going Home and End of War -After Europe he was sent home to be reassigned to go to the Pacific Theatre -He was allowed to go home from Europe for leave before going to California -He visited his family in Grand Rapids -His father was happy to see him -Knew that his son had been part of the D-Day Invasion -He was able to spend a month in Grand Rapids on leave -While he was home he kept up with the progress of the war -While he was on leave the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and the war ended -He was happy to have avoided further warfare -Saddened by how the war had to end -In Grand Rapids there wasn’t much celebrating, just a general sense of relief among people (00:58:47) Post-War Service -After the war was over he returned for further service in the Navy -He was placed on a patrol craft in the Caribbean Sea -They were decommissioning the ship (removing it from service) -After his stint in the Caribbean Sea the ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia -His service was over, but he decided to reenlist for more two years in the Navy -He was promoted to the rank of 2nd Class Motor Machinist -He was single at the time, so he didn’t feel obliged to go home -He wanted to wait for the American job market to normalize after the war -During his reenlistment he went to Bremerhaven, Germany -He didn’t much enjoy his time at Bremerhaven -He was transferred from Bremerhaven to the SS Europa -A German passenger liner that was being given to France as part of war reparations -He was going to sail with them to France and work onboard as a motor machinist -Before departing for France he was offered a job with a captain in Vienna, Austria -The day the ship was supposed to leave he was accepted for the job -He spent the rest of his time in Vienna serving as the subordinate to the captain there -They would survey factories to insure that the region was complying with disarmament (01:04:26) Personal Relationships in the Navy -During his reenlistment in the Navy he met his wife in Vienna -She was working for the Army at the time �-When he was in Vienna he was assigned to sleep in the Army quarters -He got to know the men that lived and served there and bonded with them -His captain would give him free hard liquor (a rarity in the area) -He wasn’t a drinker, so he would take it back to the soldiers and give it to them (01:06:40) Reflections on Service -He feels that his service made him a more tolerant person -Serving with people of different types he learned to just get along with people -He is happy to have been able to do his part in helping to make D-Day successful -When he sees Americans happy and free he feels that that makes his service worthwhile -Essentially to have helped safeguard the American way of life and freedom � 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_PelakH638V Title A name given to the resource Pelak, Henry (Interview outline and video), 2004 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-12-01 Description An account of the resource Henry J. Pelak was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1924. He grew up and finished high school there and was drafted in 1942. He chose to enter the Navy, and trained at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then did amphibious craft training in Virginia and Florida. He was assigned to be the motor machinist on an LCM (landing craft, mechanized). He was deployed to Europe and went over to England to prepare for the Normandy Invasion. In April 1944 he witnessed a U-Boat attack during a training exercise. On June 6, 1944 his craft transported a demolition team to the beach to aid in the Allied invasion. After dropping off the team his craft continued to aid the invasion force by ferrying personnel between ships. After Normandy he was reassigned to a unit that was following the British Army through northern Europe to establish an American Naval base at Bremerhaven, Germany. When the war ended he concluded his service with the Navy decommissioning a ship in the Caribbean Sea. He reenlisted for two more years and was stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany first and then in Vienna, Austria. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pelak, Henry Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Michigan Military Preservation Society (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy 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 video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/90a29cb65d5ceab0602bf5c0b2da99ec.mp4 c5cd4545b9aac42c397fac66a5a1fb36 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e6ae7e9f184c6d29ef52f91a7d961abc.pdf 5d5f44c987bb621d1244847e4ea95242 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Justin Pelham Length: 52:09 (00:20) Background Information • • • • Justin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 23, 1983 His father worked in manufacturing in Byron Center, Michigan and his mother stayed at home Justin went to Baker Elementary and then Lakewood High School He grew up on a farm, rode horses often, got involved in rodeos, and played football (7:00) Enlistment • Justin had been not sure what to do with his life after high school and worked on a lot of odd jobs • He was in the Army from February 2005-May 2008 • Justin went through basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma for 7 weeks • When he first arrived at the fort, it was not at all what he had expected • The men had to get up every day at 4:00 a.m. and work on exercises for 3 hours before they could have breakfast • They then spent time in classrooms until lunch around noon (14:15) Advanced Individual Training • Justin went through AIT in Texas • He was not sure what to choose for his occupation, but eventually chose truck driving because he would receive a larger bonus • Justin spent 6 weeks in AIT and then was allowed to return to Michigan because he had been in the National Guard • About 10 months later he was called up to go to Iraq in May 2006 (18:40) Truck Driving • Justin drove a HET, heavy equipment transporter and hauled tanks, trucks, and trailers • The HET was so large and heavy, it could not go faster than 25 miles per hour • He drove at night from one base to another • He had before seen only a few road side bombs go off, but no one ever got hurt • Justin was driving a HET with his officer in the passenger side when a bomb went off under them • The HET caught on fire and his door would not open • He had to crawl across the truck and jump out of the passenger door �• Medics worked on Justin in a Humvee; he had shrapnel in his leg and hand (29:00) Hospitals • Justin was brought in a medivac to Mosul in Northern Iraq where he stayed for 24 hours while they performed surgery on him • He was visited from other men in his unit and his commanding officer • Justin received a purple heart and was told that he would soon be going back to the US • He was sent to a hospital in Germany for 4 days and then flown to Walter Reed • Justin spent one month in Walter Reed and then 5 months in out-patient, where he stayed in a hotel • Justin then moved back to Michigan and began working in the armory • He was flown to Illinois about once a month for more physical therapy (43:30) After Service • In February 2008 Justin began going through medical exams to determine whether he could be discharged • He retired with 70% disability and his last day was on May 2, 2008 • Justin got married on May 4, 2007 and now has a 14 month old son • His wife is a stay at home mom, but they both want to go to college when their son is a little older � 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 PelhamJ Title A name given to the resource Pelham, Justin (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pelham, Justin Description An account of the resource Justin Pelham was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 23, 1983. After high school he was not really sure as to what he wanted to do with his life, so he decided to join the Army National Guard in February of 2005. Justin was allowed to return home after training, but called up to serve in Iraq in May 2006. In Iraq, Justin drove Heavy Equipment Transporters, but was injured by a road side bomb. After his injury Justin went through a few different hospitals in Iraq and eventually ended up at Walter Reed. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-09-08 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/3b1d06eedcea9530b6faf70712b3a349.pdf a6a39b46457d6536954c996a77a6bc54 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ray Pell World War II 17 minutes 15 seconds (00:00:01) Early Life -Born on March 20, 1927 in Fremont, Michigan -Parents were farmers in Fremont -He had one sister -She died in 2001 -Attended high school until he was seventeen (00:01:14) Enlisting in the Navy Pt. 1 -Completed all of his necessary high school work before he enlisted -That way he was able to receive his high school diploma before graduation -Mother collected his diploma on graduation day -He felt a duty to help stop the Germans and the Japanese (00:02:17) Training Pt. 1 -Received basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois -Sent to San Bruno, California for Marine training -Trained with the Browning Automatic Rifle -His job would have been to give covering fire as troops advanced or retreated -Received landing craft training -The California coast was set up like the coast of Japan -Preparing for the planned invasion of Japan -Did amphibious assault training every day -After the amphibious training was complete he returned to San Bruno -Preparing to ship out for the invasion of Japan -The atomic bombs were dropped and the invasion was called off (00:03:30) End of the War Pt. 1 -When the war ended he and a few other men went to San Francisco to celebrate -The city was in chaos -Remembers seeing sailors smashing windows -Saw a woman walking around naked (00:04:29) Enlisting in the Navy Pt. 2 -Decided to enlist in the Navy because he liked it better than the Army -Felt that he had a better chance of surviving in the Navy than in the Army (00:04:44) Friendships in the Military -He made one good friend from Muskegon while he was in the Navy -Became lifelong friends -His best friend from Fremont was serving in the Army (00:06:00) Contact with Home -Maintained contact with home by way of letters -Still has the letters he wrote to his future wife and to his family �(00:07:22) Training Pt. 2 -While he was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station he remembers tow target training -A plane would tow a target and antiaircraft gunners would shoot at the target (00:08:05) Life after the War Pt. 1 -He had dated his future wife for three months before he went into the Navy -After he returned from the Navy he got married to her -After returning from the service he tried to get into the Michigan 52/20 Program -Gave veterans $20 for fifty two weeks -When he went to sign up the process was so long that he decided not to do it -Attended college at Ferris State University -Graduated with a degree in watch repair -Worked at a jewelry shop as a watch repairman for a year and a half -Went on to work at a used furniture store in Fremont for nine years -Moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1957 -Daughter was blind and mentally handicapped and needed specialized care -Went on to have three more children: two daughters and a son -Youngest daughter died when she was thirty nine from a massive heart attack (00:12:36) Cruises in the Navy -He wound up being assigned to a hospital ship -On the first cruise they were sent to Guam to pick up patients -Wound up not having a full load and were sent to the city of Manila in the Philippines -On the way back from the first cruise they ran into a storm in the South China Sea -One of the lieutenants he served under had been at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked -Returned to San Pedro Harbor in Los Angeles, California -Delivered the patients and repainted the ship -Went on a second cruise, that time just to Guam -Picked up a full load of patients there -Saw men with severe injuries, including amputees (00:16:53) End of the War Pt. 2 -Remembers feeling good about the war’s end and not having to invade Japan � 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_PellR1637V Title A name given to the resource Pell, Ray (Interview outline), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-05-21 Description An account of the resource Ray Pell was born in Fremont, Michigan on March 20, 1927. He grew up there and completed high school when he was seventeen and enlisted in the Navy prior to graduating. He received training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and amphibious training in San Bruno, California. When the war ended due to the atomic bombs being dropped, he was assigned to a hospital ship. He went on two cruises aboard the hospital ship, the first one to Guam and the Philippines and the second just to Guam. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pell, Ray Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Dewitt, Riley (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7a2e0154089ee437ef49c5ddb6d0f2a9.mp4 83a3452e886c9780e53cfef93cbf339f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/762ffaa7411bfa830e2fb171f82f54f8.pdf d32206f30698a72a3c303c4ec08a520e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Scott Pellerito (24:59) Background Information (00:11)  Joined the U.S. Air Force in February of 1995. (00:14)  He had some college and work experience prior to entering the military. (00:22)  The prospects of having different experiences, learning a new trade, attracted Scott to the military. (00:40) Training (1:19)  Scott attended basic training in San Antonio, Texas.  He was next sent to Goodfellow Air Force Base for imagery analysis school. Here the men trained to be imagery interpreters. This training took 6 months. (1:32)  Next Scott was sent to California to deploy to Travis Air Force Base and the 13th Intelligence Squadron. (2:20) Overview of Service  At the time when Scott was assigned to the 13th intelligence Squadron (approx. 1995) the Bosnian Conflict was occuring. The men were assigned to do date verification for the peace accords (2:40)  Scott worked in California for 1 year. (3:16)  There were a lot of younger men in the 13th Intelligence Squadron. Scott made some very good friends in this unit who is still in contact with. (4:40)  The men Scott is still in contact with are very successful at what they do whether it is in a civilian job or a military job. (5:26)  He was ten sent to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Here Scott worked with over head pictures that were of higher quality and easier to read than on his previous missions. (6:30)  During this new placement at MacDill, Scott was able to work with men from all branches of the military. He was also able to work with weapons inspectors.(7:04)  Scott and his team had to identify targets to attack using the intelligence and also weigh the coasts such as the risk of civilian targets. (9:00)  Scott liked being able to take part in active missions without ever leaving state side. (10:16)  While working in Florida, Scott met his future wife in the service. (11:28)  He returned to Michigan after his service as a result of a job offer. He currently works in IT. (12:23)  Scott served for 4 years. He moved very often. (14:08) Thoughts on Service (14:23)  He very much appreciates the value of the discipline he received in the military, even if he did not like it at the time. (14:25)  His fondest memories were supporting Desert Fox in 1998 while working intelligence in Florida. (15:08)  Unless the men were called in for special cases, men worked 30 days on the night shift and 30 days on the day shift. (16:30) � When analyzing photographs, Scott often looked for building large enough to house weapons he also looked for strategic threats such as radar or activated S.A.M.s. (17:20) Discharge (19:21)  He was asked to stay in the Military. He declined. (19:30)  Scott thought that any more time in the military may have been counterproductive for him. (20:00)  The military is a good avenue to take if the person is meant for it. The military isn’t for everyone. (20:40)  Scott considered going back into the military. (22:45)  Scott does some work for the VFW but he is not an official member of any veterans' organizations. (24:03) � 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 PelleritoS1363V Title A name given to the resource Pellerito, Scott (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pellerito, Scott Description An account of the resource Scott Pellerito served in the US Air Force between 1995 and 1999. Scott was trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base to become an imagery interpreter. Upon his graduation, Scott was placed in the 13th Intelligent Squadron where he worked on images relating to the Bosnian Conflict. In approx. 1996 Scott began his work in Florida. Here he assisted in Operation Desert Fox in 1998. After his discharge he began IT work in Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tobias, Corwin (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Air Force Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-02-14 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/9128a43dceb27f752f89f9e19f8a89a8.jpg b8133192d32165489ea7d5e8954cc0ab 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_EastmanAlbum_1_1909_019 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909-07-05 Title A name given to the resource Penetanguishene Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the town of Penetanguishene in Ontario, Canada, Several buildings are visible along a waterfront. Subject The topic of the resource Ontario Penetanguishene (Ont.) 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/bc2e59ebccb05f4324a08ba6d9273593.mp4 a2b49dfdf8e485ba79a475f7f770687b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/160f109ffb3d6a1376a67e14744f91d8.pdf 5f213de80ce39e0c42e890bc2f59e4b9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Civilian, Airline Dispatcher Interviewee: John Penning Length of Interview: 01:03:01 Background      Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 8th, 1921. He was born in his home on Sheridan Ave. His dad had a hardware store, and his mother would help out there. He learned a lot about different hardware and a lot about interaction between people. It would serve him well later on. His parents would have loved it if he had taken over the store, but he wanted to go to college. He went to Calvin College for 2 years after Catholic High School. He started out thinking he would be pre-med, but that wasn’t for him. After he went to college, in 1941, he went with his friend Valparaiso Tech to learn about radio technician. Training (2:55)             When the war started, he had many thoughts about what to do. He knew he could be a ship radio officer for the cargo ships headed to England. American Airlines would approach him looking for a radio operator. He would go to Chicago to pass a couple of tests to get his license and then applied to American. They would accept his application in 1942. They assigned him to Fort Worth for a temporary basis as there were no openings for him in the military at the time. He would instead be used for commercial use. He was in Fort Worth a bit and then he would go to El Paso. Both good experiences for him. He job would be to communicate with the plane for the dispatcher. The technology was not as good as it is today and they would often have trouble hearing the plane crew if there were storms interfering He would do this job for about a year. Despite his work, he was still subject to the draft. He was living in Valparaiso at the time the war was declared and signed up for it there. He would work for American Airlines waiting for the draft. They would give him a training program while waiting. There was no direct relationship between American and the Military. But they got the idea from the British experience with their airlines. Eventually American Airlines said that they did not need him for a radio operator, so he contacted other airlines to see if he could go there. 3 said they did not need him, 3 ignored him. And while he was in Grand Rapids, he was contacted by an airline there. � From there he had a choice to go to Alaska, or go into the military. Alaska (13:50)                    When he got to Alaska, the based him Anchorage. Although he would be paid almost one-third more than his other job, the cost of living in Alaska would be higher as well. Nothing was home grown and everything had to be shipped. But he did not mind, he felt the pay was adequate. They were in the process of gathering more radio operators and other such people who were looking for such certification. They would help run commercial airlines at first and did a lot of bush flying. He would often arrange flights for people. Some situations would be hazardous. While he was in Alaska, the war was going on. There was especially fighting in the Aleutians. This would be strategically beneficial for the United States Military. He would be part of a back-up plan that the military would have when fighting in the Aleutians. They would use the airlines to move troops and supplies if the Japanese got too close. At first they stayed in an apartment building, but they were struggling with money. So they looked at another apartment building where his wife could do some work that would help pay the rent. Eventually he ended up in a shack just above the mud at the edge of the city. It was really bad, so they found a different house to live in eventually. The city itself was nice, but not much civilization there. There was one traffic light in the whole city and about five blocks of paved roads. It was basically primitive. The people there were very friendly and always willing to help each other. He felt that Februarys in Anchorage were sometimes better than the ones in Grand Rapids. The coldest he could recall when living in Anchorage was -20 degrees. Storms there were not significantly bad most of the time. There was no shortage of snow. He relished it, especially as he was a young man. At first his wife looked forward to moving to Alaska, but when they got there she was extremely lonely. Mail came once a day, at most. His wife would often go to the post office 3 or 4 times a day and the lady at the post office was kind enough to give her a job, to keep her mind busy. Her working ultimately helped in his becoming a dispatcher. When she was gone to work, he would study in his free time. She did make friends while she was there, and even made friends with a sort of mother up in Alaska. He was grateful for that. His job would entail being driven by a company vehicle to and from the office to the airport. The office was a rather humble shack. It contained a radio and a desk for people to work as a dispatcher. There were two machines that would give him the hourly weather. Rarely did they see past 10 miles, but when they saw Mount McKinley, the visibility was at 100 miles. It was a unique experience for him. There would be a US weather bureau office was there too. When they needed a report on the weather they would call the military and they would cooperate quite well. They catered to them. Never said they were too busy for him. �      At the time, there were weather maps available. It would be good old fashioned forecasting done by the weathermen. It would be forecasters from all around, not just Alaska in order to predict the weather. When the military personnel took leave, they would often go to Anchorage. He would see them there and it would bother him because he was a civilian and they were military people. He rationalized and felt better about it. There was a man who had worked in the military, who had combated the Japanese hand to hand, who had become the operations manager. He does not know if he was still in the military or not. He would ask the colonel if he did wrong by not joining the military. The guy told him that at the beginning of the war in 1941, yes, he would have been more useful in the military as they needed all the manpower they could get. Now, however, he would not be in the wrong. It was more beneficial for him to be serving as a civilian radio operator. While he was working at the airline, there was no visible benefit that he was doing for the government. He was merely one cog in a big wheel. Pan American World Airways (29:45)        After the war, he would move around a lot. He would eventually get a job at the Pan American World Airways. For now though, he would remain on the Alaskan Airlines. He would write to a professor with the predicament that he was in: should he stay in the airline business, or go to radio school? If he went to school, he saw bills just mounting and a lot more problems showing up. The professor would answer with a 3 page typed letter. The professor told him that he might as well stay where he was and not go to school. So he did. On one of his days off, he would go to Pan American Airlines and put in an application for a position. He would be accepted and then work there instead. He chose them because they were a fully scheduled and accredited airline. He would later find that many of their aircrafts would be used in the Pacific. He was ultimately assigned to Fairbanks, his first assignment. He would have a 40 year career in the airline business, 36 of them would be with Pan Am. Fairbanks and others (32:05)     Fairbanks seemed like a bigger city to him. There may have been a few more blocks of pavement, but still only one traffic signal. It did get colder there. The average temperature was between -30 and -40, but for one winter there were six weeks when it was below -40 and he remembers the coldest day being -64 degrees. Flying as a passenger in a plane, he saw a lot of Alaska, but not all of it. It’s a big place. Back then, Alaska was known as the “Last Frontier” He would stay for 2 sessions. The first was two years. �         He would then find no permanent positions and would spend 6 months in San Francisco, 3 months in Hong Kong, 3 months in Bangkok. He would then take the second tour in Fairbanks for another 3 years. His experience in Hong Kong was just as scary as Anchorage when the war was going on. The communists had taken Canton and were headed toward Hong Kong, but they were stopped. He said living there was a wonderful experience. His wife would join him on all of his permanent assignments, which Hong Kong was his only temporary assignment. She would join him in Bangkok for his 2 years there. He would have 2 daughters born in Fairbanks and had a son born in Bangkok. He had a daughter born in Honolulu. He would then transfer from Honolulu to San Francisco and then to New York. There he would keep the airline operational when there was a problem, he would solve it. He would have a daughter there as well. His wife would actually be the one to encourage him to change jobs. When he was on temporary assignment, she went back to Grand Rapids. She liked Bangkok, although it took a bit to get used to, especially the servants. From New York, he would go to Africa, Liberia to be specific, for two years. His wife was also behind that decision. Liberia (38:55)       He would handle running the whole airport while he was there, not just Pan Am. That was the most unique assignment. It was a relatively stable time in the country. As long as they lived by their rules, you were ok. He was somewhat like the government in a way. When he needed something it was given to him, no questions asked. He would live in Liberia for 2 years. His kids would go to school there. Two teachers would teach up to 6th grade. He would homeschool them too. When they got back to the states, they were not behind academically at all. After Liberia, he was sent to Hilo, Hawaii to open up a station there. He had to find a building, find staff, and really build a station up from nothing. He would be there for about two years. Pakistan (49:30)     His wife decided it was time to find a place in the US, but it did not work out. From Hilo, he spent 10 years in Karachi, Pakistan. While there, the common thought of the American was ok, politically speaking, it was not so calm. His car was stolen, his office was stoned, and there were many problems that he had to deal with. If you said anything derogatory about their religion, or were rude to them in any way, you would be subject to their punishment. This would be his last major assignment. �Back to America (54:40)         He still had one daughter who lived with him, and he wanted her to live in the American culture the last few years of high school. He would then open a station in Tennessee and closed one in Georgia. He would retire, technically in 1982, physically in 1981. At that point he moved back to Michigan, and here he remains. He worries about his kids and how they moved around their whole life, but they all indicated that they were happy to experience the different cultures. While he was back in college, he had no clue about what he was going to be doing. Looking back, he was happy it turned out the way it did. He remembers that when he was in Anchorage, his wife was in the hospital. While she was there, he would go exploring to Rainy Pass. The weather would keep him a couple of days. When she got out, he wasn’t back. The community would come together to help her until he got back. � 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 PenningJ Title A name given to the resource Penning, John (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Penning, John Description An account of the resource John Penning was a civilian who had a career in the airline business. He contributed to military operations from WWII to Vietnam by helping to traffic and guide commercial planes that were used for military use. His job took all around the world, from North American, to Asia, and even to Africa. 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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 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/026f25b085b154332521139f2a9d12df.mp4 1cf1bcdaaca761f867fb7f1d249d7e1e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d915ddd1f9e67bebdd344183e4c59d8f.pdf abae82477801722c35ccc2188e2f4065 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: Paul Penno Length of Interview: 51 minutes 59 seconds Pre-Enlistment (00:37)  Childhood (00:40) o Penno was born in Watkins County, Montana on July 19, 1918. (00:54) o Originally, his parents were from St. Louis, Missouri and had heard about some homesteading property in Montana and decided to try it out. (01:23) Penno’s mother couldn’t handle the hardships of Montana life and so returned with him to St. Louis where he grew up. (02:05) o While he was growing up, his dad worked as a Federal barge line operator on the Missouri River, (03:21) while his mother was a stay-at-home mom and taught piano lessons. (03:43)  Education (04:11) o Penno, while attending church and public school, attempted to find himself. (04:41) o Remembers the Great Depression and relates how it was embarrassing to say that his mother had to wait in a welfare line. (05:36) o Meanwhile with his schooling, he did not make it through the 8th Grade because he dropped out. (06:10)  His Jobs (06:37) o Worked as a teenager doing wire-fan making for 25 cents a day in St. Louis. (07:01) o While news circulated widely about the war he did not think much of the war. (08:20) He was a conscious objector, someone who refused to bear arms. (08:43) Eventually he worked with an Army chaplain to put pressure on the Army to let him join the Medical Corps and not have to bear arms. (09:11) Enlistment/Training (09:39)  Background (09:40) �o Made it clear to the army that he wanted to join the medical teams and would do so without taking the suggested rifle training because he was a conscientious objector. (09:21) He volunteered to do other things such as wash dishes. (09:50) o On Saturdays he attended church (10:05) and would work with his commander to work out a workable schedule to make up for his missed duty despite the inconvenience it presented to his commander. (10:49) o Penno mentions that he was the only one in the 302nd Inf. Reg. of the 94th Division to do this. (11:23) o Before being drafted, Penno discusses a trip he took from St. Louis to Kansas City with his newlywed in their ‘39 Ford car. (12:13) Remembers hearing the voice of President Roosevelt over the radio as he announced the attack on Pearl Harbor. (12:40) The news of the attack shook him up but knew that it would take much more to take the U.S. down. (13:15) o Was able to spend a year with his wife before being drafted. (14:27) o Briefly outlines the various places he trained throughout the U.S. (15:19)  Where he trained and what company he served with (15:56) o Penno mentions that he was drafted and inducted in Jackson, Missouri. (15:57) From there he was sent to Salina, Kansas; McCain, Mississippi, and finally to New York where he boarded the Queen Elizabeth. (15:12) o Briefly mentions that he had some medical training. (16:30) Basic training for him was between 6 to 9 months. (17:17) o After basic training, he was shipped aboard the Queen Elizabeth with 15,000 others from around the U.S. to Europe. (17:48)  Voyage over the Atlantic (18:03) o Briefly mentions that it took a week and switching course every 7 minutes to avoid submarine detection to finally arrive at their destination. (18:23) o Landing at Glasgow, Scotland (19:22) and then they were transported to Southampton, England and from there across the channel to Normandy at about 90 days after D-Day (20:07) Active Duty (20:17)  Normandy (20:26) �o Penno mentions that German resistance was limited to heavy fighting in various pockets. At about this time, the Germans were manning coastal guns and fighting in pockets. (20:40) o Upon landing, his unit was assigned to an apple orchard where there was heavy fighting. (21:20) As a medical aid man his duties included transporting wounded to the dispensary where medical supplies were fairly basic. (21:58) o Penno mentions that he stayed in France for only a few weeks and encountering heavy German resistance in the way of the Germans firing their 88-mm guns and in one instance killing a messenger boy. (23:43) o Much of the time, Penno would hear men calling out to the aid men for help. Being an aid man he would have to scramble out of his fox hole and get the wounded out of the danger zone as fast as possible (24:26) o At one point he was recommended for the Silver Star which he did not feel he was qualified to receive because he was just doing his duty. (24:52)  In response to his award, one Medical-detachment major said he should be killed because he was sick of Penno making up his Saturdays on Sundays instead. (26:10) o Penno describes his time under the jurisdiction of General Patton and his push towards Germany. (28:30)  Czechoslovakia – occupational duty (29:06) o Before long he was doing occupational duty with many Soviet soldiers. Penno relates seeing German prisoners-of-war. His contact with Soviet soldiers was nothing out of the ordinary. (29:39) o For him, occupational duty was nothing more than waiting to go home. (30:15) He mentions that he never had to enter combat that he was close enough to see artillery shells going off. (30:32) o He mentions that the sound of artillery shells exploding affected him greatly years later. Mentions that he could relate with Vietnam veteran’s experiences. (31:37)  Other facts (31:55) o Mentions that following World War II he suffered from nightmares and reliving his war years for a long time. (32:11) o Briefly describes what the local Czech women were like after the war. (33:23) �o In Dusseldorf, Penno describes how there was not much left of the city except a few houses when they were there. (35:03) o Further mentions that he did not follow much news from the Pacific except for the dropping of the Atomic bomb. (35:25) From this experience, he could not help but feel sad but at the same time relief about the end of the war. (35:51)  Returning home (37:03) o Penno mentions that he returned home on December 7th, 1945. (37:09) He was honorably discharged at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri. (37:44) o Describes his journey from Czechoslovakia back to the U.S. aboard a Liberty ship and the ocean voyage home. (39:37) o Briefly shares his thoughts upon entering New York Harbor. (40:10) After the Service (40:20) o Adjusting to Home (40:30) o Mentions that he maintained a continual correspondence with his wife while he was in Europe. (40:31) o Upon returning to St. Louis, and spending less than a week at home (41:06), he decided to go back and finish school. He went to Lincoln, Nebraska where a school of his own denomination was located. (41:45) o Attended Union College where he took general courses. (43:04) He relates how back in those days how people took piety on returning uneducated veterans. Spent 5 years: summer and the full year going to school. (43:25) o While doing this, he describes his extracurricular activities. (44:13) o Graduated from Union College in 1951 and afterwards got a job working with a denominational conference in a musical capacity. (44:48) o Life after school (44:55) o Briefly describes the various places he moved too around the U.S. and then finally to Michigan. He discusses his ministerial involvement in these places briefly. (46:40) o Retired in March 1984 and today is still involved in a limited capacity in the ministry. (48:05) �o Reflection (48:27) o Penno discusses how his Army experience impacted him and how he prayed to God that if he survived that he would go back and prepare for whatever. (49:12) o Briefly discusses his opinion on the current Iraq war, and what he thought of World War II movies. (51:59) � 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 PennoP Title A name given to the resource Penno, Paul (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Penno, Paul Description An account of the resource Paul Penno was a World War II veteran who served in the Army as a medical aid from 1942 to December 1945. In this account, Penno discusses his pre-enlistment and his enlistment and training years in the U.S. He further discusses his part as a medical aid in France and occupational officer in Czechoslovakia. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.) 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 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 2007-12-17 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/e2ccde757f90d1d39a97cc6c60756f06.jpg 121967d395871dc4840fbb50a4b440c6 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_PlainwellFilms_1923_007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1923-10-22 Title A name given to the resource Pennsylvania Mountains looking east Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a truck parked on a dirt road on the side of a mountain. Two people are leaning against the stone wall, looking out at the countryside below. A crew of seven men are clearing a rockslide covering part of the road. Subject The topic of the resource Pennsylvania Rockslides 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/1db8c1723f5b5cceafae04fed7d10cfb.jpg f4e89d27691e7a57c78b7c293e92500c 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 D.J. Angus Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography—United States Mexico Engineering Indiana Michigan Description An account of the resource An extensive photographic record of Angus’ work and travels throughout the U.S. and Mexico. The images of manmade and natural phenomenon often reflect his interest in engineering projects that include dams, bridges, mines, power plants, cliff dwellings, and quarries. Indiana resident and entrepreneur, D. J. Angus produced an extensive photographic record of his work and travels throughout the U.S. and Mexico, during the late 1920s -1940s. The images of manmade and natural phenomenon often reflect his interest in engineering projects that include dams, bridges, mines, power plants, cliff dwellings, and quarries. Over 10,000 still images from 1903-1966 document Angus’ family, friends, business, and travels. Over 12,000 ft. of 16mm movie film complete this collection. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Angus, Donald James (D.J.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/437">D.J. Angus Photographs (RHC-04)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-04 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1900-1960 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-21 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. Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/437">D.J. Angus photographs and films, RHC-04</a> 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-04-A6--1342 Title A name given to the resource Pennsylvania. Independence Hall Description An account of the resource Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Subject The topic of the resource Pennsylvania Photographs Photography Philadelphia (Pa.) Independence Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Angus, Donald James (D. J.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1915 Type The nature or genre of the resource Image