883 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3f5a54a14a15ac3c2babd494c53cb10f.jpg fff1a1a184d10e8fe8d262df388d1427 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_J055-0007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1969-03-08 Title A name given to the resource Sidewalk view in East Harlem, New York City Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a city sidewalk in East Harlem, New York. In the photograph, a row of cars are parked along a busy city sidewalk and boxes of floral arrangements are gathered around the vehicles. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource East Harlem (New York, N.Y.) Sidewalks--New York (State)--New York Flower arrangement--New York (State)--New York Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5f7d597eb2a7f56097d548de21afcd0f.jpg ec967526dec9b299f8258adc57ac847e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Walsh-J_0100 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Walsh, Jerri Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966-09 Title A name given to the resource Sidewalk view of 'Round the Corner Ice Cream Shoppe Description An account of the resource Photograph of two young people walking toward the 'Round the Corner Ice Cream Shoppe, located in Saugatuck, Michigan. The photo is taken from the sidewalk at a distance with the left side of the building and its hand-painted sign in view. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Central business districts Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by Jerri Walsh as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg 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/4982af0c9e1190fd2cb06dc57de38944.mp4 92de29df4ccbae1ce33ec1b17497bd59 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bb9d5d73f2b20e58882e5b2610f66f3d.pdf 12649dc391ab3f2cc3964d6cbee63051 PDF Text Text Miller Siegel (1:05:31) (00:01) Background Information • Miller was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1917 • His father and grandfather were in the jewelry business • He went to Ottawa Hills High School • Miller went to Grand Rapids Junior College for 2 years then the University of Michigan • In 1939 he received his Masters Degree in business administration • He went to work in Chicago for an accounting firm until he was drafted • Miller took the CPA exam in Ann Arbor and while he was there he went on a blind date with the girl he would eventually marry • He got deferred for a couple months because of work • Miller was inducted on February 22nd and sent to Camp Grant (3:36) Training • He was assigned to the Air Corps and sent to Sheppard Field in Texas for basic training • Miller was then accepted to OCS in Miami Beach, Florida • It was miserable because of the hot and humid weather • He then went to Harvard University’s new Statistical Officer School to learn a new system using Statistic Officers, either personnel or operations • Miller served mostly in operations and graduated on September 13th as a 2nd Lieutenant • He was assigned to Fort George Wright in Spokane, Washington • They stopped and got married on the way out to Washington • Miller was assigned to heavy bombers and sent to a base in Casper, Wyoming • They flew missions with the B-17 bomber and his job was to keep track of the planes • In April he was sent to Air Force Strategic Planning • He was sent with a B-25 group to the “boon docks” for a couple weeks and didn’t really do much �• Miller then took a week long leave back home in Grand Rapids, Michigan • When he got back he was sent to Wendover, UT and flew B-17s with the 317th Bomb Group • He was transferred to Sioux City, Iowa and his wife got pregnant • Then Miller went to Mountain Home, Idaho for a month • In January he was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey (16:32) Deployment • Miller was shipped overseas in a large convoy • The converted freighter broke down and they lost the convoy for a while • They landed at Glasgow, Scotland and then went to England with a B-25 group • His job was to write a report for every mission • They lost a lot of planes in the beginning • He went to Cambridge for some pilot funerals and got to go to London afterwards for 2 days • While in London a German Buzz Bomb hit 4 or 5 blocks away and he fell out of bed • Millers mission reports contained fuel consumption reports, injury and death reports, whether there was flack or fire, how many planes went out, and how many came back • He worked from about 10pm to 4am • Miller stayed there until spring of 1944 • When the weather was bad they would fly to “no ball” targets which, were the launching pads for the V-1 and V-2 ballistic missiles; there was little enemy fire on these missions • They closed the base 10 days before D-Day and on D-Day they flew 3 sets of missions to help out • He then put in for a transfer and got sent to the HQ of Air Force Service Command at Milton-Earnest for 2 weeks (34:15) Eisenhower’s HQ �• Miller got sent to Eisenhower’s HQ and figured out the lend-lease program for the British and the French • It was Miller’s job to try and put a dollar figure on the lend-lease • He stayed with a family in Paris until the war was over • Miller was transferred to the lend-lease office in London • In August of 1945 he was sent to Marseilles to transfer a load of money on a DC-3 • From there he took a week long leave in Cannes • When he got back to London he had some vacation time so he went to Edinburgh, Scotland • Miller had to audit the officers’ books when he got back • He had lots of points built up from the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Bulge, so he asked to go home • Miller boarded the Santa Rosa, a converted passenger ship, and went home (54:56) Back Home • He hadn’t seen his daughter in 18 months • Miller went to Camp Atterbury, Indiana for discharge • While he was overseas he was in little danger and really missed home • Miller went to work with the family’s business until he retired • He felt that being in the Military was a good experience � 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 SiegelM Title A name given to the resource Siegel, Miller (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Siegel, Miller Description An account of the resource Miller Siegel was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1917. He received a Masters Degree in Business Administration and was drafted shortly after. Miller was assigned to the Air Corps and became an officer in Florida. He then graduated from Harvard University's new Statistical Officer School. Miller was assigned to heavy bombers and did flight reports at a few air fields before being sent overseas. His job in England was to write a report after each mission regarding injuries, deaths, fuel consumption, how many planes were lost, and then send the reports to HQ. After the war Miller was moved to Eisenhower's HQ and had to figure out dollar amounts for the lend-lease program with France and Britain. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army. Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-11-06 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/9b9ac65c2eaed5585d3f3d71251af9cf.mp4 0c639a377775bd52b68f75c64fe1d933 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c4fec516bd3ba89b80ff9394fcdb8fc6.pdf fbe9c1f4cd3cb51ed8c140760e781e2a PDF Text Text GrandValleyStateUniversity Veteran’s History Project World War II Richard Sieglw Interview Total Time () Background  (2:40) Parents were William and Mary Siegle of BostonMassachusetts o Father’s family immigrated from Russia o Grandfather wasn’t married at the time; came to America because he didn’t want to serve in the tsar’s army  Had to marry, so he married his niece o Grandmother had relatives in Pittsburgh, so they stayed there awhile before going to Aliquippa  (4:13) Dr. Siegle’s grandfather escaped on a wagon in a haystack o Paid someone to take him to the border so he could escape from Russia o Grandmother was with him at the time  (4:45) Mentions that the Jewish people had a lot of trouble in Russia, and this was the main reason that his grandfather didn’t want to serve in the tsar’s army  (4:59) Dr. Siegle’s father was born in AliquippaPennsylvania, in May of 1889 o One of 11 children o Grandparents eventually moved to Boston o Grandfather opened up a dry goods store  (5:58) Dr. Siegle’s mother’s parents were also from Russia o His grandfather was a widower left w/6 children o His grandmother was a widow left with 1 child o They had 6 more children  (6:58) Dr. Siegle was an adult before he heard of “stepbrother/stepsister” o Family was cohesive  (7:45) Remembers walking to grandmother’s house with another young boy as a child to see her dog  (9:24) Began his schooling in Dorchester o Went to Hebrew school after day school  (10:58) Mentions that Leonard Bernstein was one of his classmates o His mother and Dr. Siegle’s mother were good friends  (11:40) Talks about his Bar Mitzvah o He was the oldest and the first in his family to be confirmed �            (12:44) Says his father had a high school education; parents couldn’t afford to send him to college o Sold encyclopedias o Became a great salesmen (13:59) The community he grew up in was mixed o At the time, the Catholic church was very anti-Semitic (14:37) Dr. Siegle went to college in the Bronx o New YorkUniversity for his first year o Was a pre-med here (17:20) Applied to transfer to MichiganState in 1933 o Sent a letter to the dean of the VeterinarySchool (18:31) Went to MichiganState for 4 years o Graduated in 1939 (19:00) Before he graduated high school [veterinary school?], he went to the Army Reserve and signed up as a 1st Lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps (19:20) While he was in school, his brother also started veterinary medicine o They lived with someone named Mrs. Alice Depper o Her late husband started the canoe service o Her son was a veterinarian and wanted them to meet o Ended up living with this guy (22:38) Heard about the death of Dr. Thorndyke in Alto o He and Dr. Depper took a ride up there o Considers Dr. Depper to be a mentor  He also worked as an attorney also (25:25) Dr. Siegle’s first job as a veterinarian was fixing a draft horse’s leg o Also took care of a cow who had milk fever (28:57) Lived with the family who bought the Thorndyke’s house; The Rankins o Then lived with a couple named Frank and Linny Klein (29:22) Dr. Siegle used to spay dogs for $4 o Mentioned that his barber was also his anesthesiologist o He had ether at the time for the anesthesia (30:35) Remembers taking care of a colt that couldn’t stand up o There was a fracture o Bandaged it and molded a little cast from a coat hanger, peg, strap iron and some leather belts o Remembers that when he came back from the war, this horse was grown up and plowing the fields �  (33:25) Mrs. Siegle worked in a bank in Alto when Dr. Siegle met her o There was a roller skating party every week o This was where they met o They got married in May of 1941 (35:10) Dr. Siegle also got his draft papers in 1941 during the fall Draft/Military Service  (36:42) After getting the draft notice, Dr. Siegle went to Chicago at the Quartermaster Depot o Stayed here for a year o He was a captain at this point o The colonel said he wanted him to go to England and watch a packing company  (37:26) At this time he had a daughter o Looked for an apartment o Found a home with an elderly lady in south Milwaukee o She was an English older lady  (39:30) Dr. Siegle went by train to PittsburghCalifornia o Got here in early February and didn’t leave until March 7th, 1943 o Then shipped on an ocean liner to New Guinea o Mentions that he was associated with a variety of chaplains  (42:48) In New Guinea, Dr. Siegle worked in food inspection o Lived in a Bachelor Officers Quarters o Said in this part of New Guinea, it was either very hot, or monsoon season o There was one morning where he woke up and his cot was touching the water  (44:20) Dr. Siegle talked about the local people, said some of them were nomads  (45:25) While in New Guinea, he had a jeep o This was one of the things he could do as an officer  (47:31) He could also commandeer a boat that went off the island o Found “cat eye” stones, made jewelry for his wife  (48:55) Mrs. Siegle has many letters to and from her husband while he was overseas o While he was overseas, she spent 6 months at her parents’ house, then another 6 months at his parents’ house, and so on  (50:26) Dr. Siegle also spent time in the Philippines o The natives here were happy to be free from Japanese occupation o But there was a lot of hunger and devastation where he was  (51:50) Met a bacteriologist who taught at a university �         o They went to a leprosarium; said it was a very revealing experience (53:45) Worked in a hospital laboratory here o Hired natives, they also had to screen them o Dr. Siegle said he microscopically screened them (56:12) He was able to ride over to some of the islands (56:32) One time he was a passenger on the General’s DC3 o The pilot made his call, and on the way back, Dr. Siegle asked him to slow down so he could get a good look o Dr. Siegle got to use the joystick o Saw an inactive volcano and other things (58:35) Remembers beautiful sunsets on the island (59:27) One time as they were leaving the mess hall, there were children holding buckets o Dr. Siegle and the others gave them whatever they had left o He said it was so bad, that the food they threw into dumps was scavenged by the people  This was food that was condemned (1:00:40) Talked about the New Guinea natives o Didn’t wear shoes o Believes there was cannibalism many years ago o Natives wore loincloths and grass skirts; upper bodies and heads weren’t covered o By walking barefoot, they developed strong calluses that allowed them to walk over many things (1:01:56) The Filipino natives were dressed differently o More modern o Says they were educated; met some doctors there o They would hire a Filipino lady to do their washing and ironing in the BOQ o Barefoot o Darker skin (1:03:16) November 1945, Dr. Siegle had accumulated points for his 4 years in the military o His wife’s birthday, November 4th, he was told to go on a Liberty Ship o It was full of machinery to take back to the states o About 6-8 of them rode for one month o They landed in Long BeachCalifornia, on December 5th, 1945 (1:06:05) He said the only time his Jewish background had any bearing was just with his �            group as an officer o The other officers only spoke to him once in the Philippines; disliked him because he was Jewish (1:08:35) Came by train to Ft. SheridanIllinois o His wife came up to Ft.Sheridan o Spent time with friends from Minnesota (1:12:12) Dr. Siegle said his time in the service gave him a better appreciation of being an American (1:13:04) He said he’s glad that he didn’t have a combatant job in the army; was away from danger o He had a brother who was in the infantry in the Aleutian Islands o His brother was responsible for opening up an officer’s club; made great food (1:15:35) Lived with his wife’s parents when he got back o Dr. Depper wanted them to stay with them for awhile o Practiced for awhile with Dr. Depper in Grand Ledge (1:17:11) Was invited to go back to Alto o Wasn’t sure if he could make a living there or not (1:19:05) They bought a barn (1:20:05) The interviewer mentions that Dr. Siegle used to take care of their cows (1:20:30) Started to remodel the garage so farmers would have an office to come into o Started to make a hospital for the animals (1:21:50) Father died in 1954 (1:24:20) Had a son who practiced veterinary medicine as well o Gave him his business and it turned out excellent (1:26:00) His son eventually built a new hospital o Got an award for hospital of the year in 1983 (1:27:00) The rest of Dr. and Mrs. Siegle’s children were successful as well � 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 SiegleR1314V Title A name given to the resource Siegle, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2005 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Siegle, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Siegel grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, in a Russian-Jewish family. He attended college and veterinary school at Michigan State University and enlisted in the Army Reserve as a 1st Lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps. After receiving his draft papers in 1941, he went to Chicago and stayed there for a year at the Quartermaster Depot. He then went to England to inspect a packing company. He spent time in New Guinea and the Philippines and inspected various things working in a laboratory. After coming back to the US in 1945, he had a successful life as a veterinarian. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Blough, Ivan (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 World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Lowell Area Historical Museum (Lowell, Mich.) 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 2005-07-17 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/4430e8935008efab15184a77897dd8fc.m4v 56bf3dfd71da984d5d06bf8bad9b4699 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e076eea5d8b8ef8f5517fadb572817a9.pdf 8e1da8773f7a1218df1fb0d377b951fd PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Gordon Siggins World War II 1 hour 40 minutes 27 seconds (00:00:13) Early Life -Born in Highland Park, Michigan -Moved to Lansing, Michigan -Quit school after the ninth grade -Wanted to see what work was like before he joined the military -Born in 1925 -Father worked for Lansing Lithograph -Steady work during the Great Depression -Made good money, but he drank a lot -Had two sisters (00:01:26) Start of the War Pt. 1 -Remembers a lot of young men quitting school to enlist in the military -Went down to the train station and saw pine boxes being unloaded from the train -Bodies of soldiers coming home after being killed in the Pacific Theater (00:02:18) War Work Pt. 1 -Worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant outside of Detroit -Made good money -Went to work at Willow Run in the summer of 1942 (00:03:25) Start of the War Pt. 2 -Learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio -Mother called him inside and told him the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor -Saw newsreels at the movie theaters -Informing citizens about the fighting in Europe and Asia (00:04:52) War Work Pt. 2 -Went to Ypsilanti, Michigan to work at the Willow Run Bomber Plant -Found a room for rent in Ypsilanti -Lived with 22 other people in the boarding house -Had to share his room -A lot of young women lived in the boarding house, which was good -Worked at Willow Run for a year -Remembers the first day he went into the factory -Had a dreamlike quality; the building was so long he couldn't see the end of it -Worked mostly with women -He worked as a 'bucker' on the bomber assembly line -Bucked rivets (reinforcing the bombers so as to absorb vibration and increase expansion) -Had to take a bus back to Lansing to visit his family due to gas rationing -Too expensive to drive a car from Ypsilanti to Lansing -Able to build a new B-24 bomber every hour -Once a bomber was complete, three or four men would test fly the bomber -If it passed, two Women Air Force Service Pilots flew the bomber to a base -Worked eight hours a day -Able to work days as opposed to nights �-Good place to work -He was 17 years old at the time, so he wasn't at risk of being drafted yet -Could have gotten a deferment by working at Willow Run -His roommate took up the offer and did his service by working at the factory (00�:10:07) Getting Drafted -Registered for the draft when he turned 18 years old -Recruiters from all of the service branches tried to convince him to join their branch -He picked the Marine Corps -In retrospect wishes he joined the Navy instead -Would have avoided harsh living conditions -Felt the Marines had the best to offer him (00�:11:15) Basic Training -Training began in October 1943 -Sent to San Diego, California for basic training -Took a train to San Diego -Four days from Michigan to California -On the first day the recruits were told what they should do, and what they would do -Also told that Marines always washed their own clothes -On the second day they were assembled for another meeting -Saw a Navy Grumman fighter plane flying overhead -A P-38 Army Air Force fighter plane roared over their heads -The two planes did acrobatics until they suffered a midair collision -The Navy pilot bailed out, but the P-38 pilot died when his plane hit the ocean -Basic training was fairly tough, but the average person could keep up with the rigor -One heavier man had trouble climbing over obstacles -Drill sergeant solved that by kicking him in the butt -Went to the rifle range -Four categories: qualifying, marksman, sharpshooter, and expert -10% scored expert, 20% sharpshooter, 40% marksman, and 10-20% qualifying -Didn't feel basic training was too bad -If you received a package from home you had to open it in front of a drill sergeant -Allowed to keep letters and other personal effects, but no cookies or candies -Drill sergeants confiscated the sweets, and most likely ate them -Noticed the drill sergeants got heavier when packages started arriving -Whatever the drill sergeants said, you did -Had no trouble adjusting to the discipline of the Marines -Some men couldn't take orders and received a court-martial -Lasted six weeks (00:17:50) Joining the Marine Raiders -Made the rank of private first class -Meant he was eligible to apply for the Marine Raiders -The Marine Raiders were the special forces of the Marine Corps in World War II -Note: Became the Marine Special Operations Regiment and renamed the Marine Raider Regiment in 2015 -Used the Raiders for advance raids on Japanese positions in “hit and run” style attacks -For example: knock out a small Japanese outpost and destroy the radio station -He was accepted into the Raiders -Issued special gear including a Marine Raider Stiletto -Sent to Camp Elliott, California for more training �(00:19:48) Deployment to the Pacific Theater -Boarded the USS President Polk (AP-103) -Remembers a sergeant being incredibly seasick during the voyage -There were 40 Marines in a 20 foot long room -Bunks were stacked six high -No porthole and not much (if any) artificial light -Knew that if the ship was torpedoed he would probably drown -Hundreds of Marines on the ship -Pulled out of San Diego as part of a convoy -Took three and a half weeks to reach their destination -Had to be towed back to San Diego due to engine trouble -After the engine repairs they sailed alone -Crossed the Equator and took part in the King Neptune Ceremony -Paddled by “Shellbacks” (men that have crossed the equator) -Those that had not crossed the Equator were considered “Pollywogs” -Shortly after the Ceremony they noticed a periscope to the ship's left -Called to general quarters -Ordered to put on life vests and never mind putting on uniforms -Periscope vanished -After the submarine scare they zig-zagged the rest of the way (00:24:30) New Caledonia -Reached a large island called New Caledonia -Island to the west of Australia, French possession -Got to the docks and unloaded -Felt good to be back on dry land -Went up into the hills -Island looked like paradise -Lush foliage, clear and cold streams -The Natives were dark-skinned people, but they had red hair and blonde hair -Combination of sunlight and mixing with the French -Spent a month at New Caledonia -Received more Raider training -Went in small rubber boats with outboard motors -Half of the motors never worked -Climbed over walls and learned how to move through foliage (00:28:14) Battle of Peleliu-Prelude -Went to Peleliu (modern day Palau) in September 1944 to liberate it from Japanese control -The Battle of Peleliu was a terrible fight and he knew from the start it was going to be bad -Prior to the Battle of Peleliu he was in the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion -The Raiders were disbanded in early 1944 -He was transferred to C Battery of the 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division -He was assigned to be a machine gunner defending the 75mm howitzers -Had no idea where they were going -A day before they got to Peleliu, Tokyo Rose told the Marines they were going to Peleliu -Note: Tokyo Rose (mentioned later as well) was an English speaking propaganda organ of Japan to demoralize American soldiers during WWII (00:31:02) Battle of Peleliu-Invasion -On 7 AM on September 15, 1944 he and the other Marines climbed down the ship into landing craft -Climbed into the landing craft and the seas were rough �-A lot of men fell and broke their legs and ankles -The Navy bombarded the island before the invasion, and it was nothing but fire and smoke -Couldn't believe anyone survived the bombardment -Landing craft advanced toward shore, but got stuck on underwater barbed wire -Japanese artillery opened fire on the landing craft -Marines jumped overboard and got caught in the barbed wire -Remembers the men screaming for help, but no one could save them -Only 100 Marines made it to shore -His landing craft returned to the larger ship and waited for their orders -While the landing craft bobbed in the rough seas he got seasick with the other Marines -Combination of the rolling motion, heat, and nerves -Alligator (LVT) and Buffalo (LVT-2) tracked landing craft approached the ships -Had to go from the regular landing craft into the tracked landing craft -The amphibious vehicle he entered was towing an ammunition trailer -When they reached the shore the trailer got stuck on the barbed wire -While taking fire, a few sailors managed to get the trailer off the barbed wire -Got onto the beachhead at Peleliu in the late afternoon -Went ashore near the landing strip -Moved along of the landing strip and staying low to avoid enemy fire -Found a destroyed Japanese pickup truck and crawled under it for cover -Spent the night there -Longest night he ever experienced -Took artillery and mortar fire as well as sporadic small arms fire throughout the night -Morning broke and he saw a dead, mangled Japanese soldiers -Learned that it was an Imperial Marine -Marines were disorganized and there were no officers around -Took more fire from the Japanese throughout the second day -Sat in a bomb crater and ate C Rations (00:42:20) Battle of Peleliu – Battle -On the third of fourth day he rejoined his unit -Saw Japanese tanks torn apart by the bombardment -The island was a mix of coral and sand, flat, save for the mountains -A third of C Battery was killed or wounded in the battle -8,500 Marines went ashore -4,000 Marines survived -Set up machine guns around the howitzers -One night, a few Japanese soldiers tried to attack the artillery positions -He killed four or five stragglers trying to attack his position -During the battle the artillery had it a little better than the infantrymen -Artillery fired day and night -Moved often because they had the smaller 75mm howitzers as opposed to the larger 105mm howitzers -Knew the battle wasn't going well -After two weeks Japanese resistance hadn't broken -Took a month to capture the island -Note: Battle went from September 15, 1944 to November 27, 1944, so over two months -In the second week of the battle Army units arrived to assist the Marines -The Japanese had artillery pieces hidden in the mountains behind thick, steel doors -Rolled out on tracks to fire on the infantry, then retreated into the mountains during air strikes -Sailors went into the mountains with acetylene torches to seal the steel doors �-American forces advanced across the island neutralizing pockets of Japanese resistance -A third of the soldiers were killed because they weren't prepared for combat (00:53:00) Rest on Pavuvu -After the Japanese were routed on Peleliu the 1st Marine Division was pulled off the island -Went to a rest camp on Pavuvu -Expected beer and milkshakes -It was a former French colony filled with coconut groves -They were, basically, the only humans on the island -It was muddy and infested with rats -Some rats were as big as cats -Used rubber bags to store fresh water, but the heat caused the rubber to leech into the water -Made the water taste like rubber -Trucks and Marines got stuck in the mud as they tried to move around the island -Stayed there for a month -The French proprietors charged the US government $125 for every tree damaged by the Marines -A 2nd lieutenant wanted the Marines to clean up the island and put the coconuts into neat piles -French proprietors wanted the coconuts scattered -If they were in piles then the piles attracted rats -Japanese had occupied the island, but abandoned it -American Navy used it briefly as a supply depot, but also abandoned it -The Navy turned the island over to the Marines to use as a rest area (00:58:29) Battle of Okinawa-Invasion -Went to Guadalcanal to receive more training -Also rebuild the unit after losses incurred on Peleliu -Boarded another trip -When they were two or three days away from Okinawa, Tokyo Rose made another broadcast -Told the Marines to expect an easy invasion compared to Peleliu -Went ashore and faced minimal resistance from the Japanese -On the third day the Japanese unleashed everything they had on the American forces -Couldn't believe the number of ships used for the invasion of Okinawa (01:01:08) Battle of Okinawa-Battle Pt. 1 -As they moved inland the Japanese resistance got worse -Set up the howitzers and machine guns on a small knoll overlooking the ocean -Hundreds of American ships and the sky was filled with antiaircraft fire -Remembers a Japanese Zero flying so low over his position that he could see the pilot in the cockpit -Zero passed over his position and attacked the American ships -The pilot strafed the ships then passed over the howitzers -Returned to ships and strafed again -Dodged antiaircraft fire -On the Zero's last pass a 20mm round hit the plane -Turned into a fireball and fell into the ocean -One of 15 Japanese planes he saw during the Battle of Okinawa -Never saw any kamikazes -The 7th Marine Regiment got stuck on one part of the island -After the third day of the battle Japanese resistance increased -His unit was on the move, but had to move slow because they were an artillery unit -Never had enough flares during the battle -One night a flare went up and he saw bushes moving just beyond the perimeter -He told the lieutenant to fire another flare to illuminate the area �-Lieutenant informed him they only had three flares until the next day -Another flare went up and he and the automatic rifle gunner opened fire -All he could see was laser-like red tracers cutting through the darkness -The next morning there were 14 dead Japanese soldiers near his position -Japanese soldiers put foliage on their helmets and uniforms as camouflage (01:08:08) Battle of Okinawa-Typhoon -Experienced a typhoon during the Battle of Okinawa -There were concrete docks offshore tethered with massive steel chains -The storm caused the steel chains to snap -The winds blew away their tents and their newly built latrine -The latrine blew into the ocean -Remembers that all he could see were tents and materiel blowing in the wind -Had foxholes to hunker down in during the storm (01�:10:12) Battle of Okinawa-Battle Pt. 2 -Told no information about the progress of the battle -Remembers eight days before they moved to a new position they got a “mail call” -One of the men in his unit loved his wife and always talked about her -On that mail call he received a 'Dear John' letter from her (breaking up with him) -She also included a photograph of herself, eight or nine months pregnant -He had been overseas for at least a year and a half -Remembers seeing some of the dead Japanese soldiers -Committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner -Three weeks before the battle ended he was clearing brush -Marine with the cheating wife offered to help him -A Japanese soldier popped out of a spider hole and threw a grenade at them -Gordon dropped and covered himself while the Marine took the full brunt of the blast -The grenade blew him apart and put an end to his suffering -Japanese forces on Okinawa surrendered on June 22, 1945 (01:13:16) Post-War Duty in China-Deployment -Received word that he would be sent back to the United States -Too many troops on Okinawa -Made sure to get rid of any contraband before he boarded the ship -Sold a beautiful pistol for only $12 so it wasn't on him -Later learned that that was unnecessary -Soldiers with 50 points were being sent back to the United States -He had 58 points -Points awarded on length of service, rank, dependents, and combat -Assigned to a ship to return home -Thought he was finally going home after a year and a half overseas -Learned that the ship was going to China before he could go home -Wound up spending six months in China -Didn't get back to the United States until February 27, 1946 -Had gone overseas on February 28, 1944 (01:16:26) Post-War Duty in China-Police Duty -Worked on the ship as a Shore Patrolman -Went ashore in China and was assigned to the Military Police -Spent a lot of time just wandering around -Stationed in a town outside of Tientsin (now Tianjin) -Moved around China on trains �-Loading Japanese soldiers onto trains to be taken back to ports and loaded onto ships -Did that for three months -In the winter temperatures dropped to zero degrees -Chinese Communists were taking control of China from the Nationalists -Heard bullets snapping past him -One Marine fired back at a communist soldier -Apparently hit the soldier -Informed that they were not allowed to return fire with rifles -Issued shotguns and buckshot -Totally ineffective except in close combat -Only had summer clothing during the winter -Quartered in the old French barracks in Tientsin -Traveled all over China on trains -Thought the Japanese soldiers he encountered were nice men -Some of the Marines took personal items from the Japanese soldiers -He never did that because he empathized with them and saw them as equals (01:22:10) Post-War Duty in China-Chinese Civilians, Crime, and Commerce -Remembers the Chinese civilians were smart people -Remembers an old Chinese man doing magic tricks for the Marines -On guard duty one night and an old man approached him -Wanted to sell his ring for only $1 -$1 was the equivalent of 3800 yuan -It was a 14 karat gold ring with a jade stone -Everything was cheap in China -Aunt sent him a diamond, onyx, and 14 karat gold ring and a beautiful money clip -Someone stole both things -Saw Chinese families in long boats on the river -Most likely lived in the boats -Marines did get in trouble in China, but not as much trouble as they could have -Only issued $12 a month while in China -Kept prices low and the Marines out of trouble (01:27:38) Coming Home -Completed his duty in China and was placed on another ship -Sailed to California -Took only a week and a half to get back to the United States -Landed at San Diego -Took a train to Chicago -Parents had moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan while he was in the Marines -Took a bus from Chicago to Grand Rapids (01:29:55) Working for Oldsmobile (Prior to Marines) -Before reporting for basic training he got a job working for Oldsmobile -Worked for Oldsmobile for a month -Worked third shift -Remembers going to the Westgate Tavern after work -Served beer despite being 17 years old -There was a girl he worked with that was 20 years old, but was turning 21 years old soon -He brought her to the Westgate after work and she tried to order a glass of wine -Turned away even though she was turning 21 the next day �(01:31:54) Life after the War -Got to Grand Rapids and wanted to go back to work at Oldsmobile -Bought a used car that frequently broke down -Wasn't able to get over to Oldsmobile to reapply for the job -Got a job at Dickinson Lithograph -Same shop his father worked at -Got a better job at Michigan Lithograph -Worked there for 40 years (01:33:13) Reflections on Service -There were a lot of bad times, but there were also really good times too -Some things were terrible, but he's able to look back on it as an overall positive experience -Especially his time in China after the war ended -Doesn't feel that the war changed him -Able to retain his personality despite everything he saw (01:35:10) Spirit of Grand Rapids Honor Flight -Went on the Spirit of Grand Rapids Honor Flight on May 16, 2015 -Chance for local veterans to be treated to a flight to Washington DC -Toured the capitol and honored for their service -Talked with Dick DeVos on the flight to Washington DC -Got back to Grand Rapids at 11 PM -Completely worn out, but agreed to go to the final part of the event -Went to East Kentwood High School for the conclusion of the day -Couldn't believe how many people were there to greet the returning veterans -Greeted by firefighters and police officers -Thousands of people welcoming them home and thanking them for their service -His wife, daughter, and grandson were there to greet him -It was a long day, but a good day � 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_SigginsG1920V Title A name given to the resource Siggins, Gordon Donald (Interview outline and video), 2016 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-02-11 Description An account of the resource Gordon Siggins was born in Highland Park, Michigan in 1925. Prior to serving he worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant outside of Detroit from summer 1942 to summer 1943. He registered for the draft when he turned 18 and joined the Marine Corps. He took basic training in San Diego which began in October 1943. Upon completion of basic training he joined the Marine Raiders and trained at Camp Elliot, California. On February 28, 1944 he deployed to the Pacific Theater with the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and trained at New Caledonia for a month. The Raiders were disbanded and he was assigned to C Battery of the 11th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. He took part in the invasion and battle of Peleliu from September 15, 1944 to November 27, 1944. After resting on Puvavu and training on Guadalcanal he took part in the invasion of Okinawa and the battle for that island from April 1, 1945 to June 22, 1945. After Japan surrendered in August 1945 he went to Tientsin, China in September 1945. From China he returned to the United States, landing in San Diego, California on February 27, 1946. Shortly after getting back to the U.S. he was discharged from the Marines. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Siggins, Gordon Donald Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5dff9bccdff97420cff4064d6ea20ead.mp4 a14c341cf5db7d3038829699c1fc6922 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 Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</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 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu 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 English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. 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 Meisenheimer-34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Misenheimer, Charles V. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942 Title A name given to the resource Sightseeing in Toungoo, circa 1942 Description An account of the resource Film taken by American Volunteer Group (AVG) 1st Squadron Crew Chief Chuck Misenheimer, wtih color and black and white sections (no sound). The footage documents the training and flight activities of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers," servicemen organized by the U.S. Government to aid in the defense of China during the Second Sino-Japanese war. Time-stamped scene list: 00:00 Snake charming act. 01:48 Monkeys at Toungoo barracks. Burmese cooks. AVG with monkeys. AVG play acting. 03:12 Church. Elephant. 3:30 Snake charming act. 07:12 Elephants. AVG riding elepant. Sightseeing AVG in Toungoo. Jungle views. Monkeys. 12:55 Waterfall. 13:13 South Africa monument close-up. 14:00 View from plane in flight. Wing, clouds, land, waterfall. 15:10 Arrival at Livingstone Tourist Capital of the Federation. Rhodes-Livingstone Museum Craft Village. 15:35 African dancers and drummers. Subject The topic of the resource China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945 Air pilots Toungoo (Burma) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp10 Language A language of the resource eng chi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II 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/84fa79dffa30507e01b96386d97f393b.jpg bcbf19c84ad5c13e36324c331e3f7d9f 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 Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</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 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s 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. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection 1960s Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">University photographs, GV012-01</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 GV012-01_UAPhotos_000123 Title A name given to the resource Sign at entrance to Grand Valley State College Description An account of the resource Sign at the entrance to Grand Valley State College, ca. 1962. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Signs (Notices) Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 1962 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b1f184caa9db3f8062f0d778abe0bff.jpg 56c05e09b830571e49f3d68fb16d85bf 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 Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</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 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s 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. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection 1960s Grey House Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">University photographs, GV012-01</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 GV012-01_UAPhotos_000122 Title A name given to the resource Sign in front of the Office of Administration Description An account of the resource Sign in front of the Office of Administration at Grand Valley State College, flanked by Philip W. Buchen, Vice President of Business Affairs, on the left and Senator Frank D. Beadle on the right, 1962. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Buchen, Philip W. (Philip William), 1916- Signs (Notices) Office buildings Universities and colleges College administrators Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 1962 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b907f7bdc7cff6afbcf7031e500140ca.jpg 292b39a3d0b240d3460e945d35214b1e 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 Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</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 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s 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. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection 1960s Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">University photographs, GV012-01</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 GV012-01_UAPhotos_000752 Title A name given to the resource Sign in front of the Office of Administration Description An account of the resource Sign in front of the first Office of Administration in the Grey House at Grand Valley State College. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Facilities Signs (Notices) Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 1962 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d7afdd14d2976edbb55f600ae714c917.jpg 01f7875a0959ac280262d250cc2abe54 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_A025-0813 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-07 Title A name given to the resource Sign Posting for "The Little Theater" Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a young gentleman nailing a sign for "The Little Theater" to a wooden post while a boy wearing a boldly striped shirt and glasses looks on. Photograph by Douglas R. Gilbert. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Community theater Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bf944897541c509debfd497255f23cb8.jpg 0a57597543dcfe5c75f05bf4d9506b23 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 James Ochs collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ochs, James W. Description An account of the resource Collection includes a photo album of images taken by Ochs, 16 photos taken by the Army Signal Corps of the 26th Infantry Division, and document his tour of duty in France with the 26th Division, friends he acquired in France, and his leisure time activities Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942/1945 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/482">James W. Ochs World War II collection (RHC-55)</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 World War, 1939-1945 United States. Army France Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-55 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-55_JWO006 Title A name given to the resource Signal Officer Clapper speaking to troops at US base Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945 United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military United States. Army. Signal Photo Company, 166th United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th Soldiers Military life Photographs Description An account of the resource 26th Infantry Division Signal Officer Clapper speaking to troops at US base, 1944. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ochs, James W. United States. Army Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944 Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived James W. Ochs WWII collection, RHC-55 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II 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/765d56d62a30733fbdc50bb76bab99f3.jpg 93651a1f61ccc8189e26462a3f0b9b61 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 Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</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 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</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 GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s 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. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection 2000s Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">University photographs, GV012-01</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 GV012-01_UAPhotos_000482 Title A name given to the resource Signing with the University of Michigan Description An account of the resource Signing with the University of Michigan. Left to right Doug Kinchi, 2 represenatives from the University of Michigan, President Murray. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives color photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c24690df83d4f9b5c82cfdb37b555f53.mp3 b83824cd6f03f562c0fde5715aaed3e8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ed4e7b3731eb7d8b6476db8fe6655557.pdf 2d3307c16813d8b2dcd0105d121b1794 PDF Text Text Signs of Community Pentecost XI Deuteronomy 6:4-12, 20-25; March 14:22-25 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 12, 2001 Transcription of the spoken sermon Reflect with me for just a few moments what we have experienced together in this community of faith where we have celebrated the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. If you were raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, you would expect that there would be seven sacraments, but it doesn't really matter how we name these particular rites and ceremonies and rituals. In our Protestant tradition, it has been Baptism and the Lord's Supper that have been designated as the sacraments of the Church, sacraments which we have understood to be visible signs of invisible grace. Or, we have spoken of them as means of grace, conveyors of grace, the grace of God, through the participation in the sacraments. Someone has called the sacrament the visible Word and, if we were true to our tradition, we would have pulpit and table at every service, for the Word explicates the action, and the action embodies and symbolizes the Word. We do it backwards here; we really should have the reflection first, so that when you came to participate, you would know what you were doing. But, now you are going to have to hear what you just did and then go home and think about it, you see. That is liturgically incorrect, but we do it this way so that the children can be a part of it, as well. It is important for us, on occasion, to think about the sacraments of the Church, which I like to call the signs of community. I intentionally named Baptism in the liturgy the Rite of Initiation, because that is what it is. It is the marking, the signing of a child as belonging to the community. We only baptize once. You can only come into the community once, and once you are in that community, signed and sealed by the Spirit of God, you are marked forever. This rite of the Table is a rite of commemoration, and we do it again and again in order that we may go back and be reminded of our founding story, of that font from which our tradition has arisen. We go back to the table and we remember Jesus, we think about his life and his death and his resurrection, and we remember what has constituted us as a people. We remember and we find hope, and in the experience, we do sense that presence, that grace. © Grand Valley State University �Signs of Community Richard A. Rhem Page 2 I find in this congregation, and it may be true generally, that Baptism is so very strong. Someone suggested one time that when we do baptisms here, there really ought to be Kleenex in the hymnal rack. We have before us a beautiful child, and there are parents full of awe and wonder, feeling the gift and also the responsibility. There is the extended family, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, as well as the extended community, and we all take responsibility for these little ones. I find that the celebration of Baptism here is deeply appreciated and is strongly observed. I find the Eucharist that we have just celebrated is less so. If you were raised in the Catholic tradition or the Anglican tradition, you would be hungry for the sacrament. In the 16th century, at the time of the Reformation, in order to rescue the sacrament of the Lord's Supper from some abuses, the Reformers decided to celebrate it only four times a year, and then to celebrate it with great solemnity and to have a service of preparation beforehand. Actually, what happened was, rather than elevating and lifting the sacrament in its importance and centrality, what really happened to those of us who grew up on quarterly communion was that we lost the appetite for it. At the 8:30 service, two-thirds of the people leave every week instead of participating at the rail. They are not hungry or thirsty and that is not any criticism, it’s just a fact. The sacrament, for them, is not such that mediates a grace that makes them want to come every week to the rail. So, we are all conditioned and determined much by our experience and our practice and our observance. But, nonetheless, one way or another, we celebrate Baptism in great joy, and some of us are very hungry for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and others less-so; it's still enough to do it maybe a half a dozen times a year. These are signs of community, the marks of belonging, the coming-in, initiation. And then the remembrance, the repetition, the re-presentation, so that we remember that past act, that hopefully becomes for us a present moment of experience, instilling hope in our hearts. We are not a sacramentarian church. A sacramentarian communion, such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican Church or high Lutheran, invests the sacrament with far more power or mystery than we do. For example, the panic about getting a baby baptized in a sacramentarian tradition is that, if a child is not baptized, the original sin is not removed, and so there is that immediacy about it, and there is a fear lest the sacrament should fail to be celebrated, because in a sacramentarian tradition, the grace is attached to the act. No act, no grace. In the Lord's Supper, the priest has an indelible gift through ordination by which the transformation of bread and cup into body and blood, that miracle of the mass, can be transacted. Now, I don't have any such power. But, in the sacramentarian tradition, that bread and cup become body and blood, and Christ is received in the sacrament. If you weren't raised in those traditions, I doubt that you can ever fully appreciate what someone who was nurtured in that tradition © Grand Valley State University �Signs of Community Richard A. Rhem Page 3 experiences at the communion rail. That is the central act of worship for a good Roman Catholic in their worship observance. It is to receive bread and cup, thus receiving Christ, literally. Our understanding of it is more difficult to explain. We don't want to say they are just empty signs, and yet, how do you find that in-between that says one communes spiritually on these physical elements? That is what we try to say. But, in any case, we are not sacramentarian in seeing the grace attached to the action. We pray over the action for the Spirit to make that which is symbolized in the act spiritually present to us. I think sometimes it works, and certainly sometimes it doesn't. But, for us, these are signs of community. There is no magic here; there is no superstition connected with it. Last week I suggested that religion was that search for meaning, a very natural and normal, human activity, universal human activity before the Mystery of Life. What does it mean? Who am I? From whence have I come and whither am I going - these are the religious questions that we wrestle with. Our respective religions are the human imaginative constructs that we have put together. Someone had a vision, someone had a story, a founding story that found resonance in the lives of a community of people who formed a tradition so that here we are, two thousand years after the table experience, the death and resurrection of Jesus, still telling that story. We are a community that has a sign reminding us of our founding. And we continue to observe this, even though we don't believe that it fell out of heaven. The early community came finally to this practice and then the institutional Church, as it took shape and form, formalized those practices. We are not a sacramentarian church that believes somehow or other that the act and the grace are synonymous. We recognize that, in the birth and maturing of the Church, these ritual actions became significant as the identity of the community is that which helps us to understand who we are, as signs that keep us going, keep us being reminded, keep us encouraged and inspired and giving us hope. These are signs of community. They could be other than they are, and certainly they are going to have to be understood differently than when they were first initiated, because the whole religious, cultural, historical situation of this community is so far different from that original community. The whole life experience is so strikingly different. And yet, what was really needed there, that mystery, that experience of the holy and the sacred, it is for that same experience that we long. That is why we come; that is why we have gathered. And so, we could change these sacraments, but it would take a long, long time for another action to be invested with all of the emotional binding of our present stories and our present sacraments. We don't baptize out of some panicky feeling that if the child were not baptized, the child would be lost We baptize because we believe the child is born into a covenant of faith and a family of faith. It is a community sign. © Grand Valley State University �Signs of Community Richard A. Rhem Page 4 So, we have taken the bread, the cup and we have remembered, but we have not had some kind of mystical experience with the literal body and blood, but these signs are that which bind us together as a community and give us that sense of identity that makes us one family gathered around Jesus, around the story of Jesus' life, around his death. When body and blood are separated, there is violence, there is death. We remember that Jesus died the way he died because he lived the way he lived, and in his death he set us free from that bondage to the darkness. And so, we have been reminded of our story, that which is the center of our life together. Signs of community are those mediators of grace, vehicles by which the presence of the holy and the sacred become tangible, bringing into our experience that dimension of the sacred or of God. Certainly that is why we continue in a community of faith to celebrate rites of passage, surrounding them with holy moments. How can you celebrate a birth without standing in awe before the fountain of life? How can you speak vows to each other for life without the sense of the presence of the Other? How can you possibly bury one whom you have dearly loved without that sense that God is there? And so, as a community of faith, we have signs of community that bind us together, that help us to understand who we are and to bring to us those moments which are simply holy. This past week I performed perhaps the most unusual ceremony of my life on a beautiful sailboat out in the middle of Lake Michigan. The groom, one whom I have known for a long time, the bride Russian. As we went out on the sail, the bride's daughter, seventeen years old, multi-lingual, able to go from Russian to English, dialed her grandparents, the parents of the bride, in Russia, and somewhere in the middle of Russia, the parents of the bride tuned in to the ceremony which was translated by their granddaughter so that they could enter into the celebration with us. So, when I spoke about the two rosebuds that represented those Russian parents, they were told. And when I mentioned the ring which was gold melted from a bracelet that the father had given the mother on the day that the bride was born, they could remember. And when the vows were spoken, I gave the English translation to the daughter who read the vows in Russian so that the bride could respond in Russian, and her parents listening all the while. And when I spoke the meditation from I Corinthians 13, because we were literally bridging two worlds, I spoke of love that transcends all differences and all distance, and the granddaughter preached my little sermon. And when I concluded the declaration – knowing that they were Eastern Orthodox for whom the Trinity is important – in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I doubt that there were not tears in Russia for what was being transacted in the middle of Lake Michigan. Why do we do such things? Why do we go through all that fuss? They are no more married than if they had gone to the Justice of the Peace. They are no more married, than if they had gone to City Hall in Red Square, Moscow. We do it because we know that we are meaning-seeking animals, aware of what we are © Grand Valley State University �Signs of Community Richard A. Rhem Page 5 doing, conscious of our actions and our decisions, and knowing that there is a Mystery before which or before Whom we live which we cannot fathom, which will never be dissected rationally or set forth in intellectual discourse, but which can be felt now and again, when grace brushes us and the dimension of the sacred encompasses us, and all we can say is, "My God! © Grand Valley State University � 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> 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 Kaufman Interfaith Institute 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 English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XI Scripture Text Deuteronomy 6:4-12, 12:20-25, Mark 14:22-25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-20010812 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-08-12 Title A name given to the resource Signs of Community Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem 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 Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 12, 2001 entitled "Signs of Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Deuteronomy 6:4-12, 12:20-25, Mark 14:22-25. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Baptism Community of Faith Experience of Sacred Lord's Supper Sacraments https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b7d0c6675b77625985ba6f041d71e276.pdf 934524a445d56c645d7c04c912156b92 PDF Text Text Young Lords In Lincoln Park Interviewee(s): Sijisfredo Avilés Interviewer(s): José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez Location: Grand Valley State University Special Collections Date: 3/1/2012 Biography and Description English Sijisfredo Avilés is the first Puerto Rican in Chicago to publicly oppose the Vietnam War draft during the middle 1960s. He quietly served three years in jail for refusing induction in 1968 and later and became a member of the Communist Party USA. Born in Puerto Rico, Mr. Avilés’s family moved to Chicago in the early 1950s, settling around Chicago Avenue and Noble Avenue, just west of Ogden Avenue and downtown. Mr. Avilés has been a lifelong advocate for the poor, Latino self-determination, and human rights. He has been a member of the Latin American Defense Organization (LADO), the Puerto Rican Socialist Party of Chicago (PSP), and the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in Chicago. All of these groups worked closely with the Young Lords. Spanish Sijisfredo Avilés es el primer Puertorriqueño en Chicago que públicamente opongo el recluto para la guerra de Vietnam en los 1960s. Silenciamiento sirvió 3 años en la cárcel por rechazar inducción en 1968 y mas tarde se hizo mimbré del parte comunista en USA. Nacido en Puerto rico, La familia de Avilés so movió a Chicago en los 1950s, estabilizándose en Chicago Avenue y Noble Avenue, que esta oeste de Ogden Avenue y el centro. Señor Avilés a soportado los pobres, los Latino auto determinados y los derechos humanos. Avilés ha sido un miembro de Latín American Defense Organization (LADO), el �Puerto Rican Socialist Party of Chicago (PSP), y el Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center en Chicago. Todos estos grupos han trabajado juntos con los Young Lords. �Transcripts JOSE JIMINEZ: Anytime you want. It’s rolling, so anytime you want. SIJISFREDO AVILES: Let me take some deep breaths. JJ: You can take some deep breaths. No problem. SA: Okay, I’m ready. JJ: So if you can tell me what your name is, what you’re doing now, and then we will start backwards and (inaudible). SA: Okay. This will be in English, right? JJ: Yeah, it’s better English, because (inaudible). SA: Okay. Sijisfredo Avilés. JJ: Could you (inaudible) [sorry?]. SA: Okay. I was born in Moca, Puerto Rico in 1941. I’m sorry, 1942. February 13, 1942. And I came to Chicago in 1951. One of the things about this trip was that it was my mother and my brother’s sister, my aunt, my grandparents, we all came together [00:01:00] to Chicago because at that time, my father asked my mother to come in, and then my father was very close to my smallest brother. So he says, “If he goes, I’m going with you.” And then he had his son, my grandfather’s son, or my uncle who also live in Chicago. So we came here, and I remember that the first place we lived in was a hotel on Halsted and Grand owned by a couple of Japanese people. And basically, there was a little Puerto Rican community at that time over there because I think the people moved there because there was a store called [Sam Wise?] Grocery Store. This is a Jewish 1 �per son. And all Puerto Ricans went to the store to buy arroz con gandule, all the Puerto Rican products, the fruits that we eat. So that was our focus. And [00:02:00] I lived there a number of years until we moved to Racine and Chicago Avenue. And the building doesn’t exist because it was torn to build the Kennedy -- no, the Kennedy Expressway. Oh, whatever it is. It’s one of those expressway that runs the 94. And I went to grammar school. JJ: So this was before the Kennedy was there, the Dan Ryan Kennedy? SA: Yeah. JJ: Now was the Cabrini-Green Housing Project, were they up when you came in? SA: I was a little kid, so I don’t know. I was ten years old. JJ: But you know that there was a Puerto Rican community? SA: There was a Puerto Rican community because I saw it every time we went to the store, and I thought that I knew my way. And then I went to the store and my uncle said, “Go to the store.” I got to the store, when I went home, I couldn’t remember which way to turn, so I ended up on Halsted here, the other [00:03:00] South Side (inaudible) to return. And then I said, “Oh, there’s the house.” And I made it back. But it was a small Puerto Rican community. The other Puerto Rican communities were on Madison and Ashland, around there. I knew about that. And then the one on Clark Street. But I had no contact with those community because like I said, I was a little kid wondering, what is going to be my life in this new country, where people spoke English and all that kind of stuff. JJ: Now, where is Moca in terms of Puerto Rico? Is that (inaudible)? 2 �SA: Moca is a little town on the west part of the island near Aguadilla, which used to be a big Air Force base. I think Air Force or Navy base for United States, not Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is not a free country, but a colony of [00:04:00] United States, invaded by the US in 1898, where the main city, San Juan, was bombarded. People don’t know that. JJ: What do you mean it was bombarded? SA: They dropped bombs on San Juan. JJ: In 1898? SA: 1898. Yeah. JJ: So where did you go to school? SA: I went to a grammar school, Carpenter School on Racine and Erie. And there, I went to-- they closed that school because they had closed another school. JJ: How was that school? What do you remember? SA: Well, let me explain. First of all, there was a school near Sam Wise store, near there, and it was mostly a Black school. So they, the city, decided to tear that school up and move everybody from that school to Carpenter School. [00:05:00] And Carpenter School was mostly at that moment, as I can recollect, pretty much mixed. But primarily, many Italian immigrants and Polish immigrants went to the school, and we, Puerto Rican were just a tiny minority at that time. Then when that school closed, a number of years later, because it was rebuilt, we were sent to Motley School on Chicago Avenue and Throop. I went to Wells High School. I graduated from there. I was number three. In terms of class standing, I was number three. 3 �JJ: What year was this? You were about? SA: I think it was 1956 or something. I’m not sure. And then from there, I went to a community college on South Side [00:06:00] because my father worked most of his life at the cement company, US Steel, but their cement section in Buffington, Indiana. So he traveled all week, every day from Chicago, taking Route 41, all the way to Indiana. And he worked three shifts. One week, he worked from 8:00 to 12:00, 8:00 to 4:00, then four o’clock to 12:00, and then 12:00 to 7:00 or something like that. I never knew until big what kind of sacrifice he did to help us maintain a steady life, which is very unlike other people that I met who used to work in smaller factories in Chicago. And so I lived a pretty stable life. I didn’t know [00:07:00] extreme poverty. JJ: Now how many siblings? SA: We are five brothers and sister, actually, one sister and four brothers. I’m the oldest one. And when I came here, I was nine years old or eight years old. JJ: They all grew up here too? SA: All of us grew up here. But to us, I don’t know how or why, our culture was very important. So we all speak Spanish. My brothers, following my father’s footsteps, became musicians. My father was a guitar-- great guitar player. And he even built his own guitars in Chicago. There was a program where they showed him building on guitar on Channel 26 when it was a small station. And my brothers play in little [00:08:00] bands, salsa bands. One was La Mafia Band. JJ: What year was this? Do you remember (inaudible)? SA: I think it was like late ’50s. 4 �JJ: Late ’50s? SA: Maybe It was early ’60s. JJ: Early ’60s? SA: Yeah. JJ: So there was a group called La Mafia? SA: La Mafia, yes. They played salsa music. And my smaller brother liked to sing rock and roll song, but you know. JJ: Because actually, there’s several bands during that time they came around. (inaudible) SA: Well, that was a very, very young band. I know about the other salsa bands that were sponsored by (Spanish) [00:08:41]? JJ: (Spanish) [00:08:41]. SA: (Spanish) [00:08:41]. JJ: What about your mom? What did she do? SA: Oh, my mother worked here and there, but most of the time, she was a full-time mother. JJ: Full-time mother? SA: A strong woman. If she saw [00:09:01] someone-- something was wrong, she will fight a man, really. That was my mother. A strong woman who had a sense of what’s right and wrong. And I think I learned this from her because I say, “Why did you become involved parties?” I think it was my mother influence on standing up for what is right no matter what. Although she was not politically involved, but she had that sense. 5 �JJ: What do you mean? (inaudible). SA: Well, she was never involved in any political group. That’s what I mean. She might have voted in regular elections, and that’s it. JJ: But she would just talk to you about that? SA: Not per se. It was her actions. They say actions speak louder than words, but the fact that she stood for what is right had a great influence on [00:10:00] me and I think on my other brothers and sister. We were not religious except one person. My sister was the religious one in the family, went to church every Sunday, who joined the (Spanish) [00:10:18] St. Mary’s Daughters. So she was, you know. JJ: Now, do you know what church she joined? SA: Oh my God. Santa Maria Addolorata. JJ: Addolorata, and where would that -- ? SA: That would be on Ohio Street and near Racine. JJ: Near Racine? SA: Yeah. JJ: By Ogden there and all that intersection? SA: Correct. JJ: There was a (Spanish) [00:10:45] used to be over there. SA: I don’t know about (Spanish) [00:10:49]. JJ: They were kind of connected with the church there. So those are -- ? SA: Not the Catholic Church because we were Catholic, and Casa (Spanish) [00:10:56]. 6 �JJ: (Spanish) [00:10:57] is more Protestant. SA: It’s a Protestant church. [00:11:00] JJ: But at that time, they were a service center or something. They were connected- SA: Oh, maybe there was that thing. JJ: But I don’t know. (inaudible). So Santa? SA: Santa Maria Addolorata. JJ: Addolorata. (Spanish) [00:11:13]? SA: Yeah, (Spanish) [00:11:17] Maria. JJ: Los Caballeros de San Juan? SA: Yes, there was a Los Caballeros de San Juan. In fact, they were pretty active. For some time, they were very active. And a lot of things that happened in Chicago, among the Puerto Rican community’s sense of identity, as a community, came from the fact that there was such a group as the Los Caballeros de San Juan, where people got together, did social things. JJ: What kind of things did they do? SA: We celebrate usually religious holidays together, pray in Spanish, sponsor (Spanish) [00:11:54] de Maria. Sometimes they sponsor trips to different parts of the city. [00:12:00] And at that time, Los Caballeros de San Juan were very much trying, in trying to get the Puerto Ricans involved in political-like action. And that was under Cardinal Stritch. And when he saw this, he didn’t like it. So what he did, disbanded the Los Caballeros de San Juan. JJ: He disbanded them? 7 �SA: Oh, yeah. That’s what I think he did. Well, anyway, the Los Caballeros de San Juan were no longer meeting in churches. They were sort of like floated in and out. But the main leadership, the nuns and the priests were involved in this. He sent them to Panama because the archdiocese here has something in Panama. And that was the way he broke that potential organization. JJ: This was years later? SA: No, during that, about 1956. JJ: 1956? [00:13:00] SA: Around there. Yeah. JJ: So they were like the organization (inaudible)? SA: Yeah. In fact, they did something like the -- we formed a credit union. Caballeros de San Juan Credit Union. JJ: You said “we.” Were you part of this (inaudible)? SA: Well, I mean, as a community. JJ: As a community? SA: Yeah. That way, I was -- JJ: So the community felt connected to the Los Caballeros de San Juan? SA: That’s right. And it lasted to about -- JJ: It’s still there. It’s still here. SA: Well, but you see, it was taken over by Credit Union One because there were problems administering in the Credit Union. We had to have so much money in order to continue being a credit. So it was either that or close so Caballeros 8 �merged with Credit Union one, which is a nationwide credit union. And I’m still a member of that. JJ: So the Los Caballeros de San Juan [00:14:00] organized the (inaudible) de Maria? SA: Yeah. JJ: And so was it the same typical -- was it a? SA: It was a strict religious organization, but with the idea -- JJ: I mean would women have some form of liberation like you were talking about? SA: Well, I don’t think women, at that time, it was liberation to talk about women. Women did what they were expected, to be wives and clean the husband’s dirt in the house, and raise the children, and work outside of the house in order to make ends meet. But there was no question, no liberation theology of feminism at that time. No. Women did what was expected of them. JJ: But they participated in the church? SA: They participate in the church, very actively. Took leadership position in some activities that were done in the church. That’s because Puerto Rican men don’t go to church basically. [00:15:00] It’s mostly women who drag in their children. But they did have an influence. They organized baseball teams. So each church had its own baseball team in the Caballeros de San Juan, and they play against each other. JJ: Were a lot of people involved? 9 �SA: Yeah. I think there was the social active life of Puerto Ricans. But to be involved in Los Caballeros de San Juan or in the activities of Caballeros, like the baseball teams and stuff like that, and later become involved with the credit union. JJ: What do you remember, since this is about you, what do you remember when you were young growing up in that area? SA: Oh, I tell you my thing. I remember the racism that I encountered. We used to live on, like [00:16:00] I said before, on Racine and Chicago Avenue. And we live on a four-floor apartment building. And then behind us was the police station. And I didn’t know what it was. We used to call a spic. Eh, spic. JJ: Did the police say this? SA: The police were the ones who instigated this kind of thing. I don’t think we knew what a spic was, but they found out that that’s what speak was a term referred to Italians before. But since we speak English, like that, so they started calling us spics. And we, watching from our four-floor apartment porch, we saw what was going on in the cells. And I remember beatings that went on in the cells by the police. But one thing that really [00:17:00] got me was that one time, we were in the home and lightning hit the building. And the lightning went from the chimneys of the fourth floor and ended up on the first-floor apartment. But it was such a big mess. Everybody got scared. Everybody grabbed their children running out of the building, and the policemen were just standing there outside of the building, laughing at us. “Look at those Puerto Ricans.” Oh, I hated them. I hated them for that. Making fun of us and laughing. And we lived there until we moved to another place. And I think we moved out because of the possibility that the 10 �building will be torn down. And so the police station would be torn down for the expressway. JJ: Because I don’t recall that part, [00:18:00] so the expressway didn’t exist there. Was there a major road or something in there? SA: No, it was just like, “Tear all these buildings and make this highway.” If you take that highway going to the airport, you will see that it was residential area that was strictly torn down to build the highway. So a lot of people were moved out other homes for that purpose. The school, I don’t think there was much racism at all against Puerto Ricans, because we were a small minority or Mexicans. It was small, like I said it. JJ: And this was Wells? SA: No, this is Carpenter School. JJ: Carpenter School. SA: When we went to Wells High School, later when I graduated -- JJ: But Carpenter Elementary? SA: Yeah. JJ: And so you said there was only a small percentage of -- ? SA: Oh, very small. I remember there were four Latinos, basically Puerto Ricans. JJ: And what were the other populations? SA: Italians, Polish. JJ: Italian, Polish? SA: As I recollect, they were being Irish, but to us, anybody who was blonde, we used to call them Polish. 11 �JJ: So did you see the neighborhood change, or did you move before that? SA: I saw change. I saw a lot of Puerto Ricans moving into the area around this Carpenter School. JJ: Around what time was that about? What year is it? SA: 1958. 1959. JJ: 1958, 1959? SA: Yeah. JJ: So more Puerto Ricans were moving into the area. Were they coming from Puerto Rico or from other areas? SA: I think some of them were moving from Madison to [00:20:00] that area. JJ: From Madison to that area? SA: And perhaps some people were moving already from Clark too, to the area. JJ: So from Clark and Madison? SA: Yeah. I know one thing that there was a huge increase of Puerto Ricans that migrated to what’s called West Town Division Street. I mean, a huge number of Puerto Ricans. JJ: So before that, there weren’t any Puerto Ricans (inaudible)? SA: No, that I recall. JJ: So they (inaudible)? SA: Yeah, I think once the other areas were changed. JJ: So Clark and from Madison? SA: Yeah. There were still many Puerto Ricans coming from Puerto Rico in the ’50s. Some of them came because they were in the US Army during the Korean War. 12 �So when they came out, there’s no jobs in Puerto Rico, so they found ways of surviving in Chicago in the area. JJ: Now, some people came and [00:21:00] went to the country also. But your family came right to the Chicago area? SA: Let me tell you, my father came to the United States. The first place he lived was in Utah because there were the gold mines. So he went to work in the gold mine. JJ: What year was that? SA: 1950, probably. Or 1949. JJ: 1949? (inaudible). SA: So he went to Utah. And then from there -- JJ: And he stayed there a few years working in the gold mines? SA: Yes. Perhaps, he came to work in the tomato fields in the northeastern part of United States, New England area. Then he found work at Utah. And then from Utah, he moved to Chicago to work in the steel mills. JJ: Were there other family here already? SA: Well, there was my uncle and a few [00:22:00] young people at that time who all came basically at the same time to live in Chicago. And some of them ended up in (inaudible) because there was work at the steel mills. Some of them stayed with -- many of them moved back to Chicago, my father being one. My uncle also moved here. Two uncles because I have an uncle from my father’s side that my father sent to him -- he came here when he was eighteen or something like that. Was also a musician. I’m glad my parents were musician because that got us to love our music and our culture. They used to meet in my house and plays 13 �music and dance. So that was very important to us, to our family, conserving our Spanish tradition, Puerto Rican tradition. JJ: So what type of music? SA: [00:23:00] Oh, popular, mostly popular boleros, guarachas. Some country music, but during Christmas time, which is still the tradition to sing those kind of songs during Christmas time. So that was the (inaudible). JJ: So did he sing too? Was he a singer or just play together? SA: Oh, me? JJ: Your father. SA: My father played guitar, and so his brother played first guitar, and they used to sit down and sing. And then my uncle from my mother’s side, he thought he was a great singer, so they used to sing together with my other, his brother, singing popular songs of that era. Augustin Lara was Mexican composer. Rafael Hernández was very popular and favorite. Pedro Flores, El Quarteto Americano, [00:24:00] other the people who played music. So he played like (inaudible) music, some country-western, some country, Puerto Rican music. It was mostly the popular type music that you hear. JJ: So now, to what grade did you go to Carpenter? From what grade to what? SA: I graduated from eighth grade from Carpenter School. (overlapping dialogue; inaudible) Actually, I graduated from Motley because the last year, they closed Carpenter School to build a new building, to make a new building. (inaudible). So I graduated from Motley, who later became an all-(inaudible) girls school. And they said, “Oh, you went to Motley.” I used to kid and I went to an all-girls’ 14 �school. Then from there, I went to Wells High School. And I [00:25:00] spent four years at the Wells High School. At that time -JJ: Before that, now, you’re growing up in an era where the youth started getting into gangs, gang problems and that. Did you get in any (inaudible)? SA: At that time, there weren’t gangs. JJ: There weren’t any gangs? SA: Gangs came later, after I graduated from eighth grade. JJ: So we’re talking about the ’50s? SA: The late ’50s, yeah. JJ: The late ’50s, there were no Puerto Rican gangs? SA: No Puerto Rican gangs or something. Oh, there was a lot of animosity, though, let me tell you, between the Puerto Rican community and the Italian community on Halsted Street. Now, I know that because there was a building that was set on fire in that area. JJ: By who? SA: People think -- Puerto Rican think it was Italian. Some people think it just was an accident. We never know. But I know that it came out in the newspapers, and they [00:26:00] took this photograph of this young Puerto Rican who went up to save his little radio. And in the process, he fell and got killed. So there was a lot of -- JJ: And they think that the Italians might’ve started the (inaudible)? SA: Yeah, I mean, it’s not. Nobody ever really think. It was just the idea that, perhaps, they did. 15 �JJ: So there was some animosity, though? SA: There was some really animosity. Basically, it was the teenagers because we were competing for the girls. The Puerto Rican guys went after the Italian girls. And you see the result of this. You see in Chicago, lots of marriages between Puerto Ricans and Italian. Many, many. JJ: So this was before there were any Puerto Rican gangs there? SA: No. I think the gangs came -- JJ: Were there Italian gangs? SA: If there were Italian gangs, we didn’t know. I didn’t know. It wasn’t organized. JJ: You [00:27:00] didn’t know anything about gangs? SA: No. JJ: Did you ever join any gangs then, or your brothers or sisters or anybody? SA: I never had the misfortune of joining a gang. No. I was a good kid. JJ: No, that’s good. I’m not saying it’s bad. SA: My mother would have killed us. JJ: Just trying to figure out when the gangs came in. (inaudible). SA: Oh, the gangs came in later. We were not involved. I think some of my brothers and sisters were attacked by gangs. A little gang called Gaylords, which was basically Italian, who had accepted also a number of Mexican kids in their gang. And they went against Puerto Ricans because they said that Puerto Ricans and Blacks were always together. And the Mexicans thought they were white at that time, which is not true. But anyway, this was [00:28:00] the perception. So the 16 �gangs came later. I think it was probably, they started the first year of high school when I was there. But there wasn’t any gang activity. JJ: In the area around Chicago Avenue and in Ashland, I’m saying they began to go -- ? SA: No. Or at Wells High School, either. JJ: But I’m saying they began to go after (inaudible). SA: In fact, I remember my gym teacher -- JJ: Oh, no (inaudible). (overlapping dialogue; inaudible) SA: My gym teacher. JJ: Again, it’s at Wells? SA: He said that Wells High School was very calm because there were no fights between Puerto Ricans and other groups. He said the biggest fights occurred before we Puerto Ricans came to this area, when Italians and Polish had huge riots at Wells High School. He said, I don’t know what people complaining. This campus is calm now. JJ: So they’re saying it was calm because [00:29:00] there were Puerto Ricans there? SA: Well, it was calm because there was no gang activity. JJ: No gang. No gang activity. SA: Nobody was against any other group. Overtly, physically. There might be some comments or something, but no, nothing like that. 17 �JJ: So how was your high school years at Wells? Did you complete all four years there? SA: Like I said, I completed my four years. I was number three, student number three in the standings of the whole school. JJ: So was it just normal or not normal? SA: Well, I was a homebody. I went from school to my house and read and listened to the novellas with my grandfather. Regular soap operas. My father was one of those people who loved soap operas. I think I took that. I think I have it from him. JJ: Actually, they like that in Puerto Rico. Every time I go, there was a lot of people into [00:30:00] soap operas. SA: Oh, yes. So from Chicago. JJ: From Chicago? SA: In Chicago. JJ: In Chicago. (inaudible) Oh, yeah. SA: Gang fights were not that big at all. There was the beginning, like Young Lords versus the Latin Kings and stuff like this. But this was the early years. I don’t think they were really -- JJ: No, but you were studious, right? You were studying at school. Were your brothers and sisters the same way? SA: The only brother that seemed to have some kind of a connection with friends that were not approved by my mother was my two smaller brothers because we were 18 �older than them, and we were almost grownups when we went to high school, and they were small. JJ: [00:31:00] Who were your friends? Were they Puerto Ricans or Americans? SA: Basically, our parents say, “You just visit your cousins, play around with your cousins. No friends in the house.” We live a very close, secure life, protective life, protected life. But I think unfortunately, one of my brothers did get involved with a little bit of a gang issue, but Mexican. He got involved with some use of drugs. JJ: Use of drugs. So it sounds like your mother was running the show or your father? SA: Oh both. It was a team. JJ: What do you mean by that? SA: Oh, they both expect us to do certain things. For example, my mother worked. [00:32:00] I was in charge because I was the oldest one. I had to make sure that dinner was started. I did the beans; my sister did the rice, all that kind of stuff. The meat, my mother did. But every one of us had something to do before my mother got there. We were expected to do homework. That kind of stuff. And so were my cousins. Since I was the oldest of the cousins, I was in charge of them, disciplining them. They all think I’m the oldest brother or something. So we were a very close family, mega family. My aunts, my cousins, we all live in this building. We had the whole fourth floor. JJ: And this was on Chicago Avenue? 19 �SA: Yeah. The whole fourth floor was our family: my aunts, my grandparents, my mother and father. There was no stranger [00:33:00] in that floor except us. The little village of Moca on the fourth floor. Then later on, more Puerto Ricans moving to this building. It was owned by the Wise brothers. The ones who owned that store that I told you. JJ: They owned the building and the store? So was the store there? SA: No, the store was on Milwaukee Avenue. JJ: Oh, so they owned the store and the building? SA: And the building that was just about a couple of blocks away from them. JJ: So they were all family. You don’t remember any other families that were there at that time? SA: Oh, yes, some people who live on the third floor, second floor. Remember I told you about the first floor when the lightning hit? We were friends to those people. And we felt so bad when this poor lady was cooking something. The food was all black with [00:34:00] soot that came down the chimney. There was no damage. But the thing I remember most about that was the fact, we were taught to believe that police were supposed to be respectful. And here they are laughing at us under this crisis saying, “Look at those Puerto Ricans. Ha ha ha ha ha.” I hated that time. The fact they called us spics and then the fact that they laughed. JJ: Were there any incidents, any other incidents that you recall in that neighborhood? Because that was the Gaylord neighborhood then. SA: No, I don’t think the Gaylords were very organized in that immediate community. JJ: Later on, that was their neighborhood gang. 20 �SA: Yeah, I know. JJ: So you’re graduating from Wells? SA: Correct. JJ: And then was you working anywhere at all? SA: Oh, my mother and father said, “You don’t work until you finish school.” JJ: [00:35:00] Well, your father had good income from the steel mill? SA: That’s right. So we never worked. JJ: Now, had your father gone to school? SA: My father went as far as high school, but my mother went in sixth grade. And that was because she was, like I said, she stood up for what she thought was right, and one teacher in Puerto Rico hit her, and she said, she told the teacher, “Wait until you have your own children, then you won’t want to spank me.” And she called her all the kinds of names. So they called my grandfather, and they say, “We don’t want your daughter in school.” There was no student rights, so she was dismissed from returning to school. So she never finished. But she used to read a lot, though. JJ: So now you’re graduating. You’re in Wells; you’re graduating. Where did you go after that? SA: Well, the last year, [00:36:00] my father and mother had moved to the South Side on 61st Street and Stony Island. There was a pretty good size Puerto Rican community there. So we moved to a building there. JJ: 61st Street and Stony Island? 21 �SA: Yeah, it was 63rd and -- Do you don’t remember that big church on the South Side that became the headquarters of the Blackstone Rangers or something? JJ: Right. I remember that. SA: Well, that’s what it -- JJ: That’s where it’s around Blackstone. That street. SA: But there were no Blackstones, because when we moved there, there were no gangs. JJ: No, the street. The street was called Blackstone. SA: No. JJ: Not that (inaudible)? SA: It was 63rd. And I think Woodland. I don’t know the name of it. I don’t recollect. JJ: Actually, the Caballeros de San Juan had their council (inaudible) in that area. SA: That’s right. JJ: Was that the same place. Was that the same church? SA: I think. What was the name of that? [00:37:00] Saint (inaudible) Church? I don’t know what the name was. JJ: I think that’s what it was. Caballeros de San Juan had a strong (inaudible). SA: Well, the Caballeros de San Juan were in many communities. So it was a disaster to the American community when Cardinal Stritch sent the leadership to Panama. JJ: And that was because they were getting out of hand or what were they doing? 22 �SA: Helping the Puerto Rican community, trying to awaken them to the fact of what the political system is and what are the [rights?]. He thought that was, you didn’t do that. You don’t question the city. JJ: They were questioning the city? SA: That’s right. And the laws. JJ: See, I thought that they were more conservative. SA: No, they were not conservative. I’m telling you, because of this radical Catholic group in [00:38:00] the Chicago area that stood for other things besides bridging. They actually went on and tried to help Puerto Ricans manage some of their political -- well, economic problems and difficulties when it came to housing or whatever. When there was a police problem, they came out and tried to help. Because there was already police insensitivities to Puerto Rican community. I don’t think it was police brutality yet. That came later. So we -- JJ: Insensitivity? SA: Insensitivity. Yeah. I mean, the same kind of insensitivity of the police laughing at us, but they never attack us or -- JJ: Verbal. A lot of verbal abuse? SA: That’s right. So then I moved to the South Side the last year. I decided -- JJ: What year was this that you moved, about? I’m just trying to get a -- SA: I think it was [00:39:00] like early ’60s. JJ: Early ’60s? SA: Yeah. JJ: So early ’60s, you were on 63rd Street? 23 �SA: Yeah. For my fourth year of high school. And I used to stay at my mother’s house. JJ: So you went to high school there? What school did you go there? SA: No, I went to Wells High School. But I continue going to Wells High while I live on the South Side on the weekends, because I stay over here with my grandmother and my aunt in front of St. Boniface Church. JJ: Okay. SA: So I traveled back and forth. JJ: Anything that you remember while you were in high school, and what do you remember? SA: Well, I remember fighting with an Italian kid and that really frightened me, because suddenly I realized that I was not fighting to fight and protect. I was fighting to kill somebody. [00:40:00] I remember hitting the kid in the stomach because I knew that was the big effect. Oh my God, I said, “This is it.” And the idea that I could kill somebody took over my life, really. JJ: Why were you so angry? What did he do to make you so angry? SA: We were playing soccer or something. Soccer. When you throw the ball and try to hit each other at the gym. JJ: Dodge ball. SA: Dodge ball. For some reason, he came up to me. That’s how I perceive it. He started fighting. I fought with him, and I remember he was trying to fight a little while. He wasn’t the expert fighter, nor was I, but I was fighting. I was thinking, I’m going hit him in the stomach. [laughs] And I say, “Oh my God, I’m capable of 24 �doing this kind of reasoning.” So I tried to stay away from difficult promise of fighting because suddenly, [00:41:00] so then I realized that I could be -- I was not fighting just to defend myself or to get rid of (inaudible) me. Well, anyway, it was young guys. JJ: You got really angry. You got really angry? SA: I wasn’t angry. That’s the whole thing. I was calculating. JJ: Calculating. SA: And that really frightened me. JJ: But you actually wanted to hurt him? (inaudible)? SA: Yes. I wanted to hit him in the stomach to kill him, because I told that if you hit him in the stomach -- JJ: You were how old? You were already a killer at what age? SA: Fifteen, sixteen? JJ: I’m just kidding. Just kidding. SA: But after that, I never had any encounter, any other fight. JJ: So basically, you didn’t get into a lot of fist fights? SA: No. I eventually kept to myself. I had some Puerto Rican friends, one or two of the other [00:42:00] white kids. JJ: And you said basically, because you were more studious and your family wanted to make sure that you went to school and right back home? SA: Yeah. JJ: Is that what kept you away from the gang? SA: That’s right. And they expected that from my brothers and sisters also. 25 �JJ: Except the younger ones started getting into trouble? SA: Yeah. I think at that time, the older ones were in high school. JJ: And you said also that had to do with that there weren’t that many Puerto Rican gangs that (inaudible). SA: No, there were really -- like I said -- JJ: When you were growing up. So when your younger brothers were growing up, there were gangs? SA: They were gangs. JJ: So that environment, violent? SA: It was beginning to change. JJ: It was beginning to change. Why do you think that was changing at that time? SA: I never really thought about why. I think it was because the number of Puerto Ricans was higher, and that also causes a lot of difficulty, when suddenly you’re not the majority in that area, and [00:43:00] you think that that area is mine by right. So that was it. JJ: So the neighborhood was changing. SA: The neighborhood began to change. JJ: And Puerto Ricans were just saying, “This is my neighborhood now.” And the other -- and I’m putting words (inaudible). SA: No, no, no. I don’t think there was overt saying, “This is my neighborhood.” We don’t want to. It’s just that -- JJ: There was (inaudible)? 26 �SA: It seemed like a natural growth without anybody planning this kind of activity later on. JJ: So there was no urban renewal? It was just natural? Natural change. But that natural change contributed to the gangs? SA: Yeah. JJ: Is that correct, or am I putting words in your mouth? SA: I think it has something to do with it, but I don’t think -- the gang situation at that time wasn’t that strong or open. JJ: So you were not working. [00:44:00] Now, you’re out of high school. And you’re going to college? SA: Yes. I found a job at the post office. JJ: You worked at the post office? What (inaudible)? SA: I was what they call a substitute clerk. JJ: That’s a pretty good job. Did you have any connections to get the job? SA: No. I just took a test and passed it, and you know. (inaudible) They gave me the job. It was like a part-time position to work at night, finishing all the sorting of mail or filling up trucks, whatever. We did everything. That’s what they call it substitute. Whatever they need, we went over there. And we got hours for eleven o’clock, 11:15 to 7:45 in the morning or something like that. Sometimes they only kept us four hours. But if there was too much work, then they asked us to stay until the following morning. JJ: You were still living in that same area, same neighborhood? 27 �SA: [00:45:00] I was living -- at that time, we had moved back to Chicago, North Side of Chicago. JJ: So you went from the South Side back to the -- ? SA: Yeah, we did because -- JJ: Back to Chicago Avenue? SA: Yeah, we did. But let me tell you one of the things that impressed me. When I was going to live on the weekdays in my neighborhood, I did encounter this whole question of racism against the Black community, because I remember a group of white people knocking at the door, our door and say, “Oh, we come here to let you know that the Blacks are moving in.” JJ: This was where? On the South Side or the North Side? SA: The South Side. Jefferson Park. The street was Jefferson. “The Blacks were moving in, and we’re creating a [00:46:00] welcoming reception committee.” That was one way of scaring people that the Blacks were coming in. And I said, “Oh no, we just fine.” We were not thinking of moving. But I remember coming one weekend, because this is the time when leases are due, right. I came in, and suddenly, the whole neighborhood had changed from white to Black. And what happened was the rents went up real high. The services that the buildings were receiving, like yard clean up, the cleaning of the hallways, all that stopped. But the prices went higher for the Blacks. So they were thinking already of urban renewal at least this company, McKey-Poague was the company. I remember that name. McKey-Poague. [00:47:00] JJ: McKey-Poague? 28 �SA: McKey-Poague, P-O-A-G-U-E. It was a big real estate company. They had control of these buildings. I don’t know if they own or whatever, but they were the ones who came out and -- JJ: Isn’t the University of Chicago there or something like that? SA: A little bit farther. JJ: What is it? SA: South. University of Chicago is 59th or something. This is 69th and Jeffrey. They came in when I went there on the weekend because Wells High School, the weekend to spend with my parents. I was shocked. Everybody in the community, except for my family and other two Latino families that stayed there, were all Black. It was overnight, I’m telling you. What is going on here? I didn’t realize what was going on. Then the rents went up. JJ: [00:48:00] And where were the Blacks coming from? Maybe they were being pushed into that area? SA: I think they were coming from University of Chicago. JJ: Oh, so (inaudible). SA: Because at that time, university was expanding. JJ: Expanding. And so the Black community from there was pushed into that area? SA: Right. They were welcomed by McKey-Poague, supposedly. They moved there. JJ: So you said there was some prejudice? What do you mean by that? SA: Well, I thought it was awkward that this neighborhood moved. Since I was in college, I knew something about racial stuff. And I said, “Oh my God.” So the neighborhood changed overnight. They would stay there-- a few months later, 29 �we moved back because the rent was just too high. So we decided to move back to the area on Chicago Avenue and Noble Street, in front of [00:49:00] the swimming pool there, and that’s where we lived until we grew up. JJ: So mostly, the Blacks who lived there was the area where you lived? SA: Chicago Avenue and Noble Street. Eckhart Park. JJ: Eckhart Park. SA: Eckhart Park was right in front of the house, from my house. So we lived there. We got married. My sisters and brothers got married there, and so on. JJ: So that was right in the middle between Clark and Division Street, that area, the Chicago Avenue and Division Street area and stuff? SA: So that area was pretty -- the Puerto Rican community, the Latino community was pretty big by then because we got rentals on Racine, on (inaudible) Street, [00:50:00] and all the streets in between. Throop, Elizabeth, were pretty much Latinized [sic]. JJ: That was like that connection between both those areas. SA: Pretty much that Latino. JJ: And Division Street, that area. SA: I never asked people if they came from Clark Avenue. Just -- JJ: No. You just didn’t know. SA: But that’s where they moved. JJ: People didn’t say it yet, but that’s where they moved into. SA: Right. 30 �JJ: I just only know from the research and stuff. But that community is old. The Noble, Madison Street (inaudible), definitely and older community in Chicago for Puerto Ricans. SA: That’s right. JJ: Also Italian. SA: When we moved there, it was not Puerto Rican. It was a lot of Polish. St. Boniface Church was a Polish church right there. But Santa Maria Addolorata, which is where they had (Spanish) [00:50:53] de Maria, which is on Ohio, near Racine there, that was Italian. [00:51:00] So these two communities for moving out of the city or whatever, moving farther north west. JJ: And the Puerto Ricans were moving in. SA: That’s right. JJ: Created some friction a little bit there. So now you’re in college. What college was that? SA: I went to Southeast Community College. JJ: Where’s that? SA: Oh my God, I think it was South Chicago Street? JJ: Was it South Chicago? SA: Yeah. JJ: So it’s not in Chicago, you said? SA: No, it’s in Chicago. But South Chicago. JJ: Hyde Park? SA: No. Farther. 31 �JJ: Farther, further south? SA: Southeast. JJ: Oh, the Southeast. Towards Hammond and stuff like that? SA: Well, Hammond, no. It was right in Chicago. JJ: 95th Street? SA: Yeah, around there. JJ: Around 95th and Commercial (inaudible)? SA: Commercial. I think the school was in Commercial. JJ: Was that? SA: Commercial? JJ: Actually, there were some Spanish people there. SA: Oh, yeah. [00:52:00] There were some Puerto Ricans living there. JJ: They had Puerto Ricans living there (inaudible). SA: But when I went to that community college, as I can recollect, I was the only Puerto Rican or Latino there. And I don’t remember. It was highly Jewish. JJ: (inaudible) neighborhood. They just didn’t have a lot of Puerto Ricans going to college at that time. SA: Yeah. JJ: Is that correct? Or am I incorrect? SA: Yeah. I don’t think we, very few families thought of their kids going to college at that time. There were a lot of Jewish. That used to be a Jewish community on Jeffrey/Jackson Park area, until the Blacks moved in that area, especially the huge chunk of people who moved. 32 �JJ: The Caballeros de San Juan played in Jackson Park for a while. They used to play softball, I think. SA: Well, yes. Part of the Caballeros de San Juan, like I told you, they organized baseball games and stuff like this. [00:53:00] So I was, as I recollect, I think I was the only Puerto Rican. There were a couple of Mexican American, but they came from the South Chicago area, who went to the community college. And I don’t think people knew Latinos or Puerto Ricans. They thought I was Jewish. What’s a Puerto Rican doing here? So I had friends. My friends there were Jewish and Black. JJ: In the college? SA: Yeah. JJ: And what were you studying at the time? SA: Oh, just the regular first two years of, you know. JJ: Core classes? SA: Yeah. Ended up with an AA degree. JJ: An AA degree? What is that? SA: AA. It’s like a two-year degree you get. JJ: Oh, an associate. [00:54:00] An associate? SA: Associate of Arts. Yeah, that’s what I got. JJ: But what major? What were you majoring in? Basic general? SA: Basic general because I was thinking of law. Actually, political education. I was really interested in political education (inaudible). JJ: What got you interested in political education? 33 �SA: Because I saw some group of people in the area of Ashland and Augusta, the Northwest Community Organization? And when there was that so-called Puerto Rican Riot. JJ: The NCO? SA: That’s right. NCO. I went out at my house, and we talk about it, and they were talking. JJ: So this was 1966? You’re talking about the Puerto Rican Riot of 1966? SA: Yeah. I came across that kind of activity. I got involved with [00:55:00] NCO. JJ: So the riot kind of affected your thinking? SA: Well, I was in the middle of the riot. I was caught in there. JJ: You can describe what riot? SA: I’ll tell you what, it was the most fearsome thing that I -- my brother and I were visiting a friend of ours on Division Street, and then we saw all these group of people coming, and the police. We actually asked the police to escort us out of the area. So I was interested in that kind of politics. JJ: What do you mean that kind of politics? SA: Community organizing, defending your rights, that kind of stuff. Because I have been exposed to the whole question of, to my own readings, to discussion with other people about the lack of rights that Puerto Rico had as a nation. JJ: Was it Wells School or at [00:56:00] the college? SA: No, this was in Wells High School. JJ: So you were in high school. SA: I became interested in that, and I became interested in knowing more about -- 34 �JJ: What year was this? What year? SA: Oh, you always (inaudible). JJ: This was before this riot, though, right? It was before ’66? SA: I was caught in the middle of the riots. JJ: So this was before the riot that you were interested in the politics? SA: Yeah. I was mostly interested in the whole question of Puerto Rican independence because I remember as a kid, in the 1950s, when Albizu Campos got his group of people together, and I was already living in Chicago. And I said, “Oh, wow, Puerto Ricans are fighting for something.” I was impressed by that. And I always admired Pedro Albizu Campo because I saw in him somebody who stood up for what he said was right and was able to put his life. JJ: So you’re talking about the Truman thing in 1953? SA: Yes. Right. JJ: 1953 when (inaudible)? [00:57:00] SA: I was already living in Chicago. Yes. I was living in Chicago, and as a young kid, I remember that. And I got so mad when Channel 7, Flynn, that was the guy who spent fifty years in the station as their main reporter, came out, and then he said, “Nice going, Puerto Ricans.” This is what happened. This is the story that he said, a comment that wasn’t written, “Nice going, Puerto Ricans.” And I was just doubly upset. I couldn’t stand that man ever since I heard him say that. So I was always interested in the question of Puerto Rican -- JJ: About how old were you that time -- about? SA: Perhaps eleven years old. 35 �JJ: So you were already eleven in 1953? SA: Yeah. I remember, and that had a whole impact on me. I don’t know why. JJ: You’re Puerto Rican, I mean, [00:58:00] it was a -- SA: Yeah, but, you know. So there were other many Puerto Ricans, and they were so embarrassed that the Puerto Ricans did that. And I felt proud that Albizu Campos did that. Just the opposite of those people in my community. And then I started reading about political situation in other countries. Later on, when I took history, a lot of history courses in high school, and I used to read about the Soviet Union. I remember a class where I was defending the right of the Soviets to defend their airspace when Eisenhower sent spy planes. And I remember that. I was arguing. I remember saying, “What about if the Russians sent their planes here to spy on United States?” I remember arguing [00:59:00] with the class and the teachers, and there were some visitors. And then they were trying to show (Spanish) [00:59:08] the kind of thing that is going on. I don’t think the visitors were expecting some kid to defend the Soviet Union’s right to shoot down a US plane because it was fighting over their airspace. So for some reason, I have become very much interested in politics. JJ: But this was you, not your father or mother? SA: Oh my God, I hate to say this, but my father always claimed to have been an admirer of Adolph Hitler. I said, “Oh my God, how can you say this?” I don’t know if he was doing it to spite me, but I just could never understand why a hardworking man like him [01:00:00] with a sense of justice, felt that way. My 36 �mother felt that I was a little bit crazy because of these thoughts that came to my mind. I remember when Governor Muñoz came to Chicago. JJ: Muñoz Marin? SA: Yeah, Muñoz Marin. JJ: Luis Muñoz Marin. SA: And I went, came visited the city of Chicago. And I remember going to the places hearing him talk. Anyway, I don’t understand how I became interested in this. I think some people are born with this idea. JJ: When you were in high school, did you join any organization or anything like that? SA: Spanish club, basically [01:01:00] because of culture kind of things. I think I -- JJ: Like social club? SA: We just met socially, to discuss. JJ: Because I know they had a lot of social clubs in the neighborhood. Were you in one of those? SA: No, it was a high school club. JJ: Oh, a high school club. SA: There were the -- JJ: Oh, like at (inaudible) or something like that? SA: (inaudible) didn’t exist yet. JJ: (inaudible). SA: (inaudible) came later, much later. But I did go to some of the groups that already existed, like El Congreso Puerto Rican. I remember going. 37 �JJ: What was that like? El Congreso Puerto Rican, that’s an important part of our history. SA: Well, it was a social club. It was a social club with emphasis on trying to get the different town clubs to come together and form an organization. JJ: So there was town clubs, different social clubs that -- SA: No, each town, might have [01:02:00] its own social club. JJ: In Chicago? SA: Like Moca. (Spanish) [01:02:02]. And then (Spanish) [01:02:11] tried to get all these clubs together. JJ: Puerto Rican Congress was it like (inaudible)? SA: That’s right. That’s what it’s called congress. JJ: An association of all these social clubs that existed within the Puerto Rican community? SA: Correct. So that was the attempt. JJ: Now, they were located at Larrabee and North Avenue in Lincoln Park? SA: I know at one time -- they moved quite a bit. I remember that one time, I had to take the Ogden bus down to North Avenue or something because that’s where -- JJ: That’s where they were located on Ogden and North Avenue? SA: Oh, but I remember going there. JJ: That’s Lincoln Park. SA: Yes. I remember going there. JJ: So you went to those activities. SA: Well, to all of them, but I knew about the thing. 38 �JJ: So what were some of the activities? What did they do? SA: Dominos was a huge way of meeting people. [01:03:00] So I went to the Domino tournaments. I went to the parties. They organized dances for Christmas and celebrations. At that time, I think they were trying to form the idea of having a Puerto Rican parade. JJ: I believe that’s who started the Puerto Rican parade. For them and Council Number Three. SA: Whatever. JJ: San Marcos. SA: But then I noticed one thing. JJ: So the Puerto Rican (inaudible), I believe, was elected there. SA: Oh, was it? I’m not sure. I wasn’t that involved, but I knew about them (inaudible). JJ: But there were activities like that (inaudible)? SA: Yeah. So I went to go there. I went over there. And since my brothers used to play or my -- JJ: So they played there too? SA: Well, just little bands, play anywhere. So whenever they called their services, they were there. So my father and [01:04:00] my uncle usually had some kind of musical group, especially my uncle, used to have trios. He usually ended up playing in all those places. JJ: And Puerto Rican Congress? SA: Puerto Rican didn’t have bars to go to. 39 �JJ: Oh, they didn’t have bars? SA: No. JJ: But they had the social clubs, weren’t they (inaudible)? SA: They had the social club. JJ: (inaudible) clubs and bars. SA: Oh, yeah. Well, they were clubs where they sold soda -- JJ: Beer. SA: Beer and rum. JJ: But they were more family oriented. SA: It was strictly family oriented. JJ: So actually, that was good (inaudible)? SA: It wasn’t like the (Spanish) [01:04:37] in the neighborhood where men, women, usually the prostitutes came around it. No, it was family oriented. And that’s where I came. But going back, I did become -- those were the reasons why I came interested in political situations. Then [01:05:00] after the riot, I saw this group, NCO, trying to organize the -- into some kind of organized group to defend our rights and the rights that we as Puerto Ricans have in this country, according to the Constitution. Now I’m adding this later on, but at that time, I just felt angry because -- and this offered a way of doing (inaudible) in the community. So we ended up doing, helping people with buildings, that was NCO. Going around asking people if they (inaudible) and trying to get the city involved, harassing the neighborhood, that kind of thing. JJ: (inaudible) any building problems in that (inaudible)? 40 �SA: Yeah. JJ: So you would go door to door or something like that? SA: Yeah, we went door to door and knocked on people. JJ: And they were located where? SA: NCO at that time was on Ashland Avenue. JJ: So not too far from where (inaudible) was? SA: I think close to Augusta. [01:06:00] I think they stayed there until they folded out as an organization. So I was interested in that. JJ: What about other groups that you were members of? SA: Well -- JJ: Or did they (inaudible)? SA: It was strictly NCO. JJ: It was strictly NCO? SA: Yeah. And then later, many years after, I was involved in organizing the Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition, which we found. JJ: Before that, when did you -- didn’t you go to jail or something for (inaudible)? SA: That was many years before. JJ: When was that? And what year was that about? SA: Well, I was in junior college. It was the beginning of the Vietnam War. JJ: What year about? SA: 1960s, probably? JJ: Early 1960s? 41 �SA: Early ’50s. I don’t remember. To me, days are not that important. It’s actually, anyway. JJ: (inaudible). SA: But you always come back, “Well, what year?” [01:07:00] It was around the 1960s that I – JJ: You’ve (inaudible) the Vietnam War? SA: Yeah, Vietnam War. JJ: And were you working with any group at that time? Were you a member of any groups? SA: No, it was strictly an individual action that I took. JJ: An individual action? SA: Yeah. JJ: What was the action? SA: I just refused to go to Vietnam when I was drafted. JJ: So you were drafted, and you refused to go, but did someone support you, endorse you? SA: No. Wait a minute, let me -- no. I did it. And then I went out and searched for people who were involved I guess (inaudible) that war in Vietnam. So I came across a little group of college students called CADRE, Chicago Area Draft Resisters. JJ: But hold on, if you can hold on. Chicago Area Draft Resisters, you mean to tell me that without any backup or anything like that -- SA: I made a decision that I was not -- 42 �JJ: You made a decision on your own crazy self -- ? SA: That I was not going to serve United States. JJ: Your own crazy self that you were not going to serve in the United States Army? SA: This is my reasoning. [01:08:00] I don’t want Vietnam to go to what my people have gone through in Puerto Rico when the United States took over. That was my reason. I’m not going to help United States -- JJ: So you got (Spanish) [01:08:10]? SA: Yes. JJ: In your mind? SA: In my mind, I was independent. JJ: You were already just happy that, about the attack on Blair House and Albizu Campos and that. So in your head you (inaudible). SA: I had the feelings towards (inaudible) and independent and that we were a Latino country. JJ: And that Puerto Rico was a nation. SA: That’s right. JJ: So you were already feeling that already? SA: I always felt that. Like I said, since I was eleven years old, whatever. JJ: That’s what I can see. So you weren’t actually that crazy. You already -- SA: I was following my own ideas. Political -- JJ: Your own idealism. SA: Yeah. So then I heard about this group -- JJ: But you went on your own. 43 �SA: I went on my own and then -- JJ: With no backup or anything. And basically, what did you do and then what happened? SA: When they called me, I said, “No.” JJ: And then what happened? SA: Well, [01:09:00] they threatened me, blah, blah, blah. JJ: They sent letters? SA: They said, the process was, they send you a letter. “Welcome. You have been selected to join the US Army. [laughs] Please report on this date.” And I say, “I’m not going to go.” JJ: So you didn’t report, or did you call them? SA: No, I went. I said I’m going to -- JJ: Oh, you went there? SA: I went there, and I said, “No.” When they asked, you said no. Are you sure you know what you did? No. You’re going to end up in prison, blah, blah. No, no, no, no. JJ: Did they arrest you right there? SA: No, they didn’t arrest me there. They just sent me home. And then a couple of weeks later, I got a letter to report to court. But I heard about the CADRE, the Chicago Area Draft Resisters. JJ: So you reported to court. What court? And where did you go? SA: To the federal building in Chicago. JJ: So you reported to the federal court in Chicago? 44 �SA: Right. Because (inaudible). JJ: Were you arrested there? [01:10:00] SA: I spent one day in jail until they did a trial on me. JJ: In one day, or you got bonded out? SA: I went out on my own. JJ: Recognizance? SA: Recognizance. And then I went home. JJ: And then a few weeks later, you went to court? SA: Yeah. Well maybe a couple of months later. A week. JJ: And so you still hadn’t changed your mind? SA: No, I haven’t changed my mind. But let me tell you, I learned about the Chicago Area Draft Resisters. I went for help and we got together. Then I got to meet the American Friends Service Committee. And I said, to please my mother, I tried to get a -- what you call it, conscientious objection, which I knew I was not going to get anyway, because I knew that after reading that for political reasons they wouldn’t give conscientious objection. Basically, it was for religious purposes. But I went anyway to please my mother, appease her. But no. JJ: Because your mother didn’t want you to go to jail? SA: No. I think no. My mother never. [01:11:00] JJ: She basically said, “This is (inaudible).” SA: And my father didn’t want me to go either. JJ: And you had never been in any trouble before? 45 �SA: Never. So I went, and I got to meet Chicago Area Draft Resisters, and then I began to participate in many activities. JJ: This was before you went to court? SA: Yeah. Against the war. And I met some great people who were involved in all kinds of social -- activities for change. The anti-war people I met at the -- JJ: Were there any other Puerto Ricans in Chicago that had refused to go? SA: As far as I know, I was the first one, and I came out on the picture. JJ: (inaudible). SA: Let me see. They took a picture of me when I went to a community hearing to declare my -- reported it at an organization. I don’t remember the organization, if it was NCO or what. [01:12:00] That little mag, Black Jet, came to this thing and they took my picture. JJ: And that was it? That (inaudible)? SA: Black Jet. JJ: So you came out in Black Jet? (inaudible). SA: So when I went to prison, “Oh, here’s the guy that was in the -- ” JJ: So you went to prison via the Black Jet? SA: Some (inaudible) Black guy has a copy of the Jet magazine where my picture is there, and I’m pointing out to the statistics of Latinos versus -- JJ: So you went to federal prison then? SA: Yeah. Because refusing to be drafted is a federal offense. So you had to go to a federal offender (inaudible). I was sent out to Southern Illinois. Let me see. Oh 46 �my God. Sometimes I erase from my mind back in my place. I went to the prison. JJ: Marion is in -- SA: Marion, [01:13:00] thank you. I went to Marion. They put me in the trustee prison. I forgot what they call those people. JJ: Trustee. Because it was the first time (inaudible). SA: Right. And then I was surprised to have seen so many -- all the people who have refused to draft before religious people. JJ: How much time where you given? How much sentence? SA: I was sentenced three years. JJ: Three years? So how many months did you do on three years? SA: I spent two years. JJ: (inaudible). SA: And then the last year was on recognizance. JJ: Like on parole. SA: Right. On parole as in probation. So I was probation one year. JJ: So now you are going to jail for the very first time in your life, and you never did anything. SA: I did one thing. JJ: How did you feel? SA: I thought I was going to be put wearing those stripe things like you see in the movies. This is how naive I was. That I had a chain with a big ball dragging. 47 �[01:14:00] It wasn’t that at all. Then they put me for a couple of weeks in isolation to acclimatize me to the rules of the prison. JJ: But by that time, you’ve gotten some support from this Chicago Area Draft Resisters? SA: Yeah. JJ: So when you felt a little at least you had somebody there (inaudible)? SA: They came out to my trial. JJ: So that gave you a little bit morale or something like that? SA: Yeah. And there was support from people from AFSC, American Friends Service Committee. One of the ministers came and visited me and all that kind of stuff. JJ: And at that time -- SA: In fact, Greg-- the committee -- Gregory, Dick Gregory. JJ: Dick Gregory. SA: Came to my house and talked to my mother and father about what a great thing I have done. It feels (inaudible) to go in. Dick Gregory went to my house. [01:15:00] I didn’t even know that until I came out of prison that he had talked to my mother and to my father. JJ: Because that was way before the Young Lords started as a political group and we were a gang at that time. SA: Really? When Dick Gregory -- JJ: Right, because later on, we started in ’68, in September of ’68, and that was way before that. But we did hear about you at that time. (inaudible). 48 �SA: Well, like I said, I was in the newspaper, whatever it was, in a Black magazine, Black Jet. I didn’t know I was making such an impact. And this is where LADO came in. JJ: And LADO is how we heard about you (inaudible). SA: Well, because I was -- JJ: Because we started working with Latin American Defense Organization. SA: I started working with LADO and the whole question of peace. JJ: What happened? While you’re in jail, what are you doing? Are you reading? SA: I’m reading, basically, poetry, writing stuff, [01:16:00] putting songs together. JJ: Were you into poetry? Is that why you were reading poetry or just (inaudible)? SA: I loved poetry all the time. Even when I was going to community college and when I was going to Roosevelt University, the idea of reading poetry always fascinated me. Reading Spanish stories and Spanish books and all that (Spanish) [01:16:23]. All that thing always attracted, culture. JJ: So you came out of jail. Did you have any -- I mean, you’re in jail. I know it’s a federal penitentiary, it’s not a state prison. And those are supposed to be a little bit more easier they say than the state prison. SA: Well, yes. JJ: Did you have a hard time? SA: No, I never had any hard time. I had some -- JJ: Challenges. SA: Big challenges. I think it was basically to see how far I would stand for myself. JJ: People do that in jail. 49 �SA: Yeah. I know a group of people try to [01:17:00] make me have sex with them. When I said, “No, you better kill me.” And they just back away. And then I practice some psychology recently, say “You do this.” (inaudible) this guy believe in basically, “You do this, you kill me, but I won’t let you sleep or leave you in peace because I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.” And he was terrified. He let me alone. Then everybody -- JJ: But usually there’s other Puerto Ricans there too? SA: No, there weren’t many. No. JJ: In federal, yeah. They don’t send them to federal yet. SA: No. Puerto Ricans were not -- JJ: It’s a luxury. So they don’t send -- SA: Puerto Ricans were not there. The only large group of people who were not criminals were the Jehovah Witnesses because they refused to go into the -- JJ: So you had some other people that refused also? SA: Yeah, there were a lot of them. JJ: A lot of them? SA: Jehovah Witnesses, large numbers of them, [01:18:00] thirty to forty or more who refused to go because it was against their religion because they all claim to be ministers, and they felt that since they were ministers, they should get an exemption. JJ: Did you make friends with them? SA: Oh, yeah. I made some friends. I think they felt that, “Why don’t you join us?” JJ: They’re saying (inaudible). 50 �SA: Yeah, they thought I was true to my word. And they felt this is the kind of people we need in Jehovah Witnesses. They wanted me to join their group. JJ: How did your mom and dad feel that when you were in there? SA: Oh, they came to visit me. Even my father who was against the whole idea came to visit with (inaudible). JJ: Because they were proud, no, that you were taking an action? SA: My mother supported me, my father, but I don’t think they were proud. They thought I was crazy. Let me tell you. When I said [01:19:00] that I had said no, I remember my mother going to an tirade. She took all the books and threw it on the floor. “This is what books have done to you. They made you crazy.” Then she threw all the books and she said, “I want to burn them. I want to burn them.” That was my mother screaming. Upset what I had done. JJ: You never did give your mom and dad’s name. SA: Oh, my father’s name is Domingo [Aviles?] Aviles, and my mother’s name is (Spanish) [01:19:32]. JJ: Sorry about that. SA: My father was born in Moca, but a little barrio called (Spanish) [01:19:44] at that time. JJ: And your mom was from Moca also? SA: Yeah, she’s from the central part of Moca. JJ: Now, did you get a lot of visitors or a lot of letters or anything like that? SA: I got -- JJ: From your family? 51 �SA: My mother and father were the only ones who [01:20:00] showed up. I don’t even know if my sister visited. JJ: And then did you get letters from strangers or that (inaudible) supported (inaudible)? SA: Not many, but some friend wrote me all the time just because we had a crush on each other. And she was actively politically involved with American Friends Service Committee. And she went out with a group of people, burned the draft board, and then they said -- JJ: Can you explain? I heard about that. SA: And they said they took all the files. JJ: What was her name? SA: Linda Quint. JJ: Right. I heard that name, Linda. SA: Linda Quint. JJ: So she was the one that burned down the -- ? SA: She and a couple of Catholic prison nuns and some people went at night. You see, they had no security there. Right now, they would have been killed. They went in there and took out all the files out because she knew that my files were there and that (inaudible) service was (inaudible). JJ: So you actually were writing to her. She was your girlfriend at that time? [01:21:00] SA: Huh? JJ: She was your girlfriend at that time? You were writing her, or just a friend? 52 �SA: No, she just visited me. JJ: But she knew that your file was in there? SA: Probably, so. Anyway, so they went to that service board, took out all the files, made a bonfire in the yard, and then they stood around singing songs, and the police came and arrested them. JJ: But I heard they threw red paint or something like that, or to make it look like blood or something, or no? SA: I don’t know if they did. JJ: They just had a bonfire? SA: The only thing I know they burned the things. Then afterwards, they (inaudible), they didn’t stick around and get arrested. So some of them went to Canada, including my friend Linda. She went to Canada. JJ: She’s still alive? Did you see her? SA: I think she’s still alive, but I never heard from her after that. Never communicated with each other. JJ: But she had been visiting you when (inaudible)? SA: Oh, [01:22:00] she visited me with other people from AFSC. And there was a Reverend [Horton?], who came out and made it a point to visit all conscientious objection and people who objected to the war. JJ: Now, were you a member already of American Friends, or that came later? SA: No, I was already involved with American, not as a member, in their activities. JJ: In their activities. 53 �SA: I never joined formally the American Friends Service Committee, but I knew they were -- JJ: You were working with AFSC? SA: I knew them and respected them. Because they were the group that defied United States and took medical supplies to Vietnam at the threat of being fired upon by US Naval. They went that far. So I say this group has a history of defending what they considered right, because they were very much involved in the anti-slavery struggle. [01:23:00] So I knew that they were serious about what they thought was right and fighting for that, not just praying, but actually doing stuff. And I was not a member, but I did go there and used to get material translated into Spanish and pass them out. But I was not a member. There weren’t many Puerto Ricans there. JJ: In the jail in Marion? SA: No. No Puerto Ricans in Marion. Or many Puerto Ricans involved in the antiwar movement in Chicago. Yes. JJ: But you were the first draft resister. SA: That’s right. Like I said, I became, well-known in Chicago and in the Black community. But even Dick Gregory came to my house and visited my mother and father. I think Obed Lopez [Zacarias] had a lot to do with that when he came to my (inaudible). JJ: [01:24:00] Now, so you come out, at what year did you come out of the jail? SA: Oh my God. About 1985 or 1986. 54 �JJ: 1986? That was later. No. No, I mean that you came out of the jail for the drafts. I think it was in the ’60s. Well, I remember -- SA: No, it was ’64 when I graduated from college, Roosevelt. So I was in the 1960s that I came out of prison. JJ: That’s what I mean. It was the ’60s. SA: Not the ’80s. Did I say ’80s? Oh, please. No, no, that was the ’60s. It was 1960. I think it was 1965 or 1966. JJ: 1966? SA: Yes. JJ: Because you came out and you were in the riot. The riot came later, right? SA: Well, there were two riots. JJ: What’s the first riot? SA: [01:25:00] The first one is when I first was there as a young kid, and I asked the policeman to escort me out of this dangerous place on Division Street. Then the second one, I was -- JJ: Because I know there was a riot in North Avenue, but maybe (inaudible). SA: North Avenue? No. JJ: At St. Michaels. SA: No, I wasn’t aware of that. JJ: So there was another one in Division Street before that? SA: Yeah, 1966. Well, I think they approached me when they heard that I refuse induction. JJ: Is this Obed Lopez from -- ? 55 �SA: Obed Lopez from Latin American Development. JJ: Latin American Defense Organization? SA: Latin American Defense Organization. JJ: So they approached you, and did they go to see you in jail? SA: Oh, yes. We want to support you. They say yes. So we got together. JJ: They visited you in jail? SA: No, before that. Before I went to jail, they came out. And I became a [01:26:00] member of LADO supporting the whole idea of trying to develop a bigger conscience of the war in the Puerto Rican community. We used information from the American Friends Service Committee, so I used to go there to get ideas for leaflets. We used to print a newspaper. [Nuestro Pueblo?], I think it was, and I used to write for them. And from there, I used to visit other places in Chicago that dealt with the whole question of Latinos involving social service advocacy and civil rights issues. And Obed saw me there, he approached me and said, “Yes, I’ll work with your organization.” Voluntarily. Because people think you used the word work is that you’re paid. Actually, volunteers pay for volunteering. [01:27:00] That’s my experience. They don’t pay us what we pay to volunteer and work for those organizations. But anyway, so we did a lot of marches against the welfare department that did not want to have people who speak Spanish in the offices and things like that. And Obed, of course, used to get his head cracked once in a while by the police when they invaded social offices that dealt with welfare. And there was a group of women primarily who were involved in that organization. So that’s how, and then we worked together in that issue 56 �and other issues afterwards, after I came out of prison. I continued involvement with LADO, Latin American Defense Organization. JJ: You never went to jail after that or anything like that? SA: I went to jail once, but that was [01:28:00] when I was a member of the Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition. I told you that was a group that grew out of NCO. We felt that we needed an organization strictly Puerto Rico or Latin American. And Peter Earl was an organizer for NCO, and Tyson to come and help us organize Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition. Reverend Morales was an active member of the NCO. We attracted him, and we formed the Coalición Accion Latina. JJ: How was that kind structured? SA: Well, we structured that as a membership organization of other organizations. So I came there representing (Spanish) [01:28:46], and other people came representing other organizations in the Puerto Rican Latino community. [01:29:00] So it was a membership organization made up of members of different organizations. JJ: But not the organization, just members from each organization? SA: Yeah. But we did a lot of action as members of the coalition. JJ: So I understand they used the model of Saul Alinsky type of organization? SA: Well, yes. The people that we attracted were Saul Alinsky people, individuals who worked for NCO. JJ: So NCO was a Saul Alinsky type of -- ? SA: Yes, it was. 57 �JJ: And so you attracted those people into the Westtown Coalition, Concerned Citizens Coalition? SA: Correct. It was -- got funding to continue this organization. JJ: Now, they were pretty active for a number of years. Even after the ’60s, Young Lords, they were pretty active. SA: Yeah. Well, basically -- JJ: Did you know about the Young Lords at the time at all? SA: I knew about the Young Lords as soon as I got out of prison. JJ: [01:30:00] How did you learn about them? SA: Well, I read about you guys. JJ: In the jail or out here? SA: It was outside. It was pretty hard to get information because there was a lot of censorship of material that we could get. I knew about the Young Lords. JJ: So how did you feel about that group? SA: They were nationalists. JJ: (inaudible). SA: Yeah, I related them. JJ: (inaudible) from Puerto Rico. SA: And I was working for volunteering, and I didn’t even want to say working -- JJ: So how did you feel? SA: (inaudible). JJ: (inaudible) somebody else (inaudible)? 58 �SA: And then we felt, oh my God, we wish that the Latin Kings could do the same thing. And we opened a lot of offices for the Latin Kings. And soon, we found out that that was not going to work. JJ: [01:31:00] What do you mean? SA: I mean, we opened up things so they could get there and use the space, and then suddenly, we discovered they were sneaking in drugs. And one time, somebody overdosed, they had to take the person outside of the building to the back door. And we said, “This is not going to work.” So we separated it. JJ: So they didn’t stop their gang activity, or did they try? Were they trying? SA: I think they meant well, but I don’t think they really have an idea of really doing what the Young Lords were trying to do. They just talk about it. And we believed. JJ: You believed them? SA: Yeah. And we soon gave that idea up because it didn’t work. They were interested in other things. JJ: So you’re with the Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition, and you’re working with the (inaudible) Cultural Center? SA: Ah-huh. JJ: And can you explain who they are? SA: [01:32:00] Well -- JJ: And how you got involved. SA: Well, I got involved because I was working for Aspira after I got out of prison as a educational counselor and club organizer. 59 �JJ: Now, you got paid for Aspira, though, did you? SA: No, Aspira was a paid job. And as Aspirante organizer, I went to different high schools throughout the city of Chicago, basically Gage High School? JJ: And the purpose was what? SA: Organize clubs to get people interested in education, getting a high school diploma and going on to college, and bringing in some of the cultural things that seemed to be so important in terms of Puerto Ricans, because there was no real attempt to educate us or ourselves on our [01:33:00] own history. We heard things like in the schools, Puerto Ricans have no history. I remember one person was working, who worked for one of the organizations, I don’t want to mention the name because it’s the husband of somebody who was a leader in one of those. And he argued with me. The Puerto Ricans had no history. And I didn’t even say, “You mean no history? Even a rock has a history.” And I felt that Puerto Ricans needed to know something about themselves in order to feel good about yourself, you have to know something about yourself because if all you hear that you’re just gang members, you’re here because you are too lazy to work. You come from the island to get welfare. That kind of lies. (inaudible) some of us actually believe that. They tell you something, you tend to believe that is true. [01:34:00] But then the people I saw around me, there were some people who live in welfare. But most Puerto Ricans had a job. A few of them did not, that’s true. But that doesn’t make the whole Puerto Rican community a welfare-dependent community. So we talk about those things, and we had cultural events at the schools in which we celebrated Puerto Rican days. In fact, 60 �one time, I went as far as pushing -- not pushing, but convincing our students to join a takeover of North Avenue Beach. It was a takeover, Puerto Rican takeover of North Avenue Beach. JJ: When was this? About when? SA: I think that was around early ’70s. JJ: Early ’70s? SA: Yeah. JJ: And why would they want it? I thought that was already a Puerto Rican area. North Avenue Beach. SA: Well, I don’t know. [01:35:00] But people went there. But we were going to claim North Avenue Beach a -- JJ: A Puerto Rican beach? SA: A piece of Puerto Rico. JJ: A piece of Puerto Rico? SA: So we went and convinced our students to get together, and we brought flags, and we rode in a U-Haul van. And we went over there, and we put the flags, “Lovely Puerto Rico,” blah, blah, blah. And then the FBI actually came out and was trying to find out why we were taking over the beach. It wasn’t like occupied Chicago now in this space, but it was something similar. JJ: What do you mean the FBI came out? How did you know that they were FBI? SA: Because they identified themselves. “Why were you doing this in the beach?” JJ: Were there a lot of people that came? 61 �SA: A lot of people were there because people who used the beaches. The students were very [01:36:00] happy and having a great time. JJ: You were in the Humboldt Park community. Why didn’t you go to Humboldt Park? SA: Because the students were not from Humboldt Park. This was a student from Gage Park High School. And this is what they related, North Avenue Beach, so that’s why we took over North Avenue Beach. JJ: Actually, there were Puerto Ricans going at that time to North Avenue Beach? SA: Yeah. JJ: A few. SA: From different parts of the city. JJ: But it used to be an Italian and Polish and German beach before that. When the Young Lords were gang, we remember us taking it over, but we didn’t do it that way. (inaudible) but there’s another. SA: We have fun here. JJ: So it was a good event and everybody came and (inaudible)? SA: Yeah. (inaudible). JJ: You were under surveillance? SA: Yeah, we were. JJ: One of the things that Westtown -- was it Westtown Concerned Citizens at all [01:37:00] involved in that -- ? 62 �SA: Well, we developed a housing organization called [CHECK?], a guy named [Bash Smith?], which later, this CHECK later developed into LUCHA, Latin United for whatever, something, which is still a housing organization that exists now. JJ: So what are some of the issues that you -- ? SA: We work on employment. I mean we did a whole bunch of marches and taking over lobbies of different post offices because we wanted the place opened to more Latino workers in the different post offices. Of course, a lot of educational stuff we did, including battles against principals who were racist and had a clear anti-Puerto Rican [01:38:00] agenda in the school. So we fought with that. In fact, Reverend Morales got arrested and beat up in one of those schools. JJ: Reverend Morales, Reverend Jose Morales? SA: Yeah, Reverend Morales. He was a great activist at that time. Jobs, I think for the post office. Education, primarily, issues. And housing were the three issues that we -- JJ: You also did police abuse also? No? SA: Well -- JJ: Not a lot? SA: I don’t think we dealt with that much. JJ: So jobs, housing, and education? SA: Yeah. Those were the three main areas of Westtown Concerned Citizen. JJ: Now, did you join any other organizations at that time while in the -- ? SA: Well, later on, [01:39:00] I became member -- not actually become a member of the PSP, but I was one of the travelers. 63 �JJ: What was PSP? SA: Huh? JJ: What’s PSP? SA: What do you mean? JJ: What did it stand for (inaudible)? SA: Puerto Rican Socialist Party. Puerto Rican Independent Socialist Party, something like that. I don’t know. JJ: (inaudible)? SA: PSP, Puerto Rican Socialist -- JJ: In Puerto Rico and it was here also? SA: Yeah, right. So I belonged to them. JJ: And that actually (inaudible)? SA: We did some marches. JJ: (inaudible) Movimiento Pro-Independencia in Puerto Rico? SA: It was here, became the Movimiento Pro-Independencia. But then later, they became -- JJ: The PSP? SA: PSP. But on the MPI, Movimiento Pro-Independencia, we participated in lot of political forums with other organizations. Some of these were left organizations from United States. JJ: Well, I remember the Young Lords were learning a lot from the Movimiento ProIndependencia in Puerto Rico. [01:40:00] (inaudible) started, that’s all we heard. So they were here. (inaudible). 64 �SA: We were bringing Mari Brás, all those people here to Chicago. JJ: They were pretty activists, pretty good activists. SA: And we participated also with coalitions in the area of education. We organized the people’s -- JJ: And this came later? SA: It was -- what is that? JJ: (inaudible)? SA: People part of the Puerto Rican Parade? Contingent. That’s the word we used. The Puerto Rican -- the Socialist Party Contingent of the (Spanish) [01:40:37] of the contingent of the Puerto Rican -- JJ: Puerto Rican Parade? SA: Parade. We marched with them. We had a lot of forums. We even visited churches. I remember (inaudible). (inaudible) was very active in that organization. Later became active in (inaudible). She wanted to address a group here, [01:41:00] Amigos de la Justicia Social, Friends of Social Justice. And it was a Protestant church. And when she said that, all the group of the (inaudible), said, “Amen.” And I said, “Oh my God.” This is when we were working against Plan 21. JJ: Plan 21, a lot of people, they’re hiding that. They don’t want to admit that, City Hall doesn’t want to admit that there was a Plan 21. But everywhere you go, people know that that existed. (inaudible). SA: Plan 21 was the Mayor Daley’s -- I think it was the old Mayor Daley. JJ: The old Mayor Daley? 65 �SA: The idea of separating or getting poor people out of the center of the city. Some of the plans were to make Milwaukee Avenue like a boulevard, with trees in the middle, blah, blah, blah, blah. Close that street for buses and move poor people away from the [01:42:00] center city, away from the -- where the El-lines. JJ: Subway (inaudible). SA: Yeah, the subways. Because it was an easy way to get downtown. And the idea was, “Let’s bring all these people who left the city back to Chicago and build the economic base for a new city for the 21st century.” JJ: So the people that went to the white flight, the white flight to the suburbs, they wanted to bring them back into the city? SA: That’s right. In order to build a strong economic base for the city. JJ: So that was (inaudible). SA: And bring all those people back here and build up a new community. JJ: Did they actually put this in their publicity? SA: Yes, there is that book. I used to have this book. I don’t know who might have it, but I bet there must be in some kind of archives, Plan 21. JJ: So you were fighting them (inaudible) lawsuit? SA: We’re fighting. We even joined other groups and sued the city. JJ: Tell [01:43:00] me about that. About the lawsuit that you did. SA: Well, we stopped for a moment the continuation of that plan. But the plan continued to evolve. And look, you see, this is the 21st century. What’s happened to the Puerto Rican and poor communities that lived in the areas of 66 �Milwaukee Avenue. The area is close to downtown. They’re well developed with condominiums and stuff like this. JJ: So even though there was a court ruling, they still continued? SA: They continued. They (inaudible), they continued. And it has built up to what the city is now, really. JJ: Because it’s expanded to the lakefront? SA: Gentrification. I think we call it now gentrification of Plan 21. But gentrification means removal of the Cabrini-Green homes. They have been removed. Removal of the other public housing in State Street. [01:44:00] They have been removed. And all those areas that were burned after the Martin Luther King murder, those areas have not been developed until now. They’re beginning to be developed into condominiums. Not for working class people, but for people who have wealth, or at least now the working poor. So that plan has been successful by the city of Chicago. JJ: And what were some of the neighborhoods that were destroyed there? SA: Wicker Park, Puerto Rican. JJ: Was primary Puerto Rican? SA: Bucktown. JJ: Bucktown was primary Puerto Rican? SA: Yeah. JJ: It was destroyed? SA: It’s beginning now in what we call Division Street. JJ: Humboldt Park. 67 �SA: Division Street, Humboldt Park. Just look down on the Ashland and -- JJ: What I [01:45:00] heard from -- SA: Ashland and Madison. JJ: Noble and Chicago Avenue. What about that area? SA: Well, that area was taken in consideration, but NCO had a settling plan because they built those co-ops. And we still have many Puerto Ricans and many primarily now African-American people living there. They didn’t turn out to be a white lily. JJ: So that area, there was (inaudible) some organizing then? SA: But now, some of the houses have become condominiums or mansions. JJ: Well, Cabrini-Green housing in -- SA: Cabrini-Green is completely gone now. JJ: So that was also right around here? SA: That was also plan of the 21. JJ: Chicago Plan 21. SA: To take all these poor people, move them out into the city, move them out of the city and bring the other people. JJ: And when you went to the Puerto Rican Congress, how does that area look? Lincoln Park? SA: That area, to me, they look -- [01:46:00] it wasn’t that Puerto Rican. At that time, it was pretty white. JJ: At that time? 68 �SA: Yeah. In fact, they move out almost like a year later from the area and came back to the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park, Westtown. JJ: Oh, yeah, those people got pushed out from that area, but it used to be Puerto Rican (inaudible). SA: But I remember that when I knew that they were going to be moving to Ogden, I found it strange because I didn’t see too many Puerto Rican life there. JJ: Because Ogden came from -- the Puerto Rican Congress was in Ogden in a sense. SA: They were not there that long. Many years. They move out almost immediately, about two years after they organized it. And I think they moved to North Avenue because -- JJ: It spread to North Avenue West. SA: Because that’s where the Puerto Rican Congress built the building. JJ: You’re talking about the Puerto Rican Congress? SA: Yeah. JJ: [01:47:00] They weren’t there that long. SA: Yeah. JJ: They started later. SA: That became actually Caribe Ruiz’s domain. JJ: (inaudible). SA: Who did a good thing in terms of the bands. JJ: Yeah, there was a big movement of the bands at that time (inaudible). SA: That’s right. The salsa bands. 69 �JJ: The Mafia, you said. Your group. (inaudible) SA: No, no, my brothers were not involved. JJ: They were earlier. SA: The bands were actually salsa band. They were not like conjuntos, which is different. They’re not band. They’re a group of people who play guitar, blah, blah, blah, blah, that kind of music. But the salsa bands were -- the salsa bands were trumpets, wind instruments, and percussion. The other group is Puerto Rican, like popular music, but the emphasis was on guitar playing and singing. [01:48:00] Okay, not salsa for dancing. I mean, not that the people didn’t dance the other thing. But it was not like a salsa craze that later developed into what people consider Puerto Rican. Although it’s not strictly Puerto Rican. It also has Cuban influences, but developed in New York City, among most Puerto Ricans who had a great part in developing that music. It’s in bands. JJ: (inaudible). SA: I could come here to talk until twelve o’clock. JJ: No, that’s fine. (inaudible). What are you doing more or less because you’ve been involved with Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, and so what are you doing now? What are you doing today? SA: Well -- JJ: And this was back in the ’60s. SA: That’s right. When I continue working [01:49:00] Ruiz Belvis for years, because to me, culture was very important because it’s the roots of an identity that people live in order to feel strong and defend their personality and defend their 70 �idiosyncrasy as a Puerto Rican community. So I continue working along with Ruiz Belvis, which I’m still a board member now. And I had gone from president to secretary, treasurer to janitor. All the time, janitor, because we always -- the people who organize these groups and work for them had to keep the place clean because lack of funding. So I continue being that -- now I’m just a board member. JJ: Where are they located now? SA: They’re located now on a building that we acquired about four or five years ago near Pulaski and Armitage. JJ: Pulaski and Armitage. And so they’re involved in what? What are some of the groups that [01:50:00] play here (inaudible)? SA: Well, right now, we have changed a little bit of our agenda. We don’t do much bomba and plena because we felt that everybody’s doing bomba and plena now. But when we started that, many Puerto Rican community people felt that that was no Puerto Rican music. That was African music. And we are not African. We’re not Blacks, the idea. So this is not Puerto, this is African music, the bomba and plena. Now, all the -- JJ: Puerto Ricans are three races though, right? SA: Well, we are a mixed group of people. Spanish and other European because there were a lot of Italians who moved to Puerto Rico. French was the second language of Puerto Rico until 1898. Not English -- French. Italians and other people. You look at Puerto Rican’s last name. [01:51:00] There’s some Dutch names; there’s some German names. The Oppenheimers for example, how is 71 �that Puerto Rican? And Irish. A lot of Irish went to Puerto Rico. And then of course, Africans, origin people. And the Italian Indians were not all killed by the Spanish, as history tried to teach us. Actually, what happened is that the Puerto Rican Taínos moved to the central part of the island, and then they married Spanish, and they became the (Spanish) [01:51:40], really. So that’s why we still have like eighty percent of our county genes are Taíno. And the thing is, maybe if they were killed, it was basically the men because the hard work, the mines and stuff. But the women, [01:52:00] they just went to any part of the city, any part of the island, became Puerto Ricans. And now you still can see a lot of fragments of facial features that are Taíno. But they live in the central part of the island. And of course -JJ: Is this part of the (inaudible) do this history also? SA: We do the history, the classes on Spanish and history. But right now we’re doing a lot of events in the schools in which we’re bringing the whole salsa -- not the whole salsa, the question of African-oriented Puerto Rican music into the schools, with young kids. That’s our main focus now. (Spanish) [01:52:47] which was ours for many, many, many years, as all organizations, got into troubles, internal issues, they sort of like split. And that [01:53:00] one group, some of them continue to work with us, but some of them, they felt that would betray them. Those kinds of things just happen to many groups and organizations, especially cultural groups. They say cultural groups don’t last too long. And people were amazed that we were able to keep this group for twenty-five years or something like that. So I’m still involved in that. Now we do the celebration of 72 �the freedom of slavery in Puerto Rico, which is very important. People don’t know about the history of that in Puerto Rico. Even teachers, I was surprised one time I mentioned this. I was doing group (inaudible) came to the center. We discussed about the history, and one said, “Why do you have so many people here?” And I said, “No, there was no slaves in Puerto Rico.” He said, “What are you talking about?” [01:54:00] That’s why we celebrate the birth of Ruiz Belvis because we have Puerto Rican -- he was responsible for freeing the AfricanPuerto Ricans and other Caribbean Puerto Ricans from slavery. And she said, “Ah.” She went like that. She couldn’t believe that there were Puerto Ricans who were slaves. And this was a bilingual teacher. And I said, “What is this woman teaching Puerto Rican kids?” So we celebrate the freedom of AfricanPuerto Rican people by the Spanish in April, 1872. So we still have that program going on. But we bought a building, and it came [01:55:00] very difficult to rehab it because now with this situation, where are you going to get mortgages? Where are you going to get loans to fix a building? So we’re going through some difficulty, financial. And of course, with the opposition of where we were, we had to sell our building because one day, we woke up, there was no Puerto Rican community there. JJ: So you were in Wicker Park? SA: That’s right. There was no Puerto Rican community there. JJ: So you had this displaced. (inaudible) organization. SA: So we had to find another place. JJ: And you had been there for how many years before you got this place? 73 �SA: Thirty years. JJ: Thirty years? And then you got this place? SA: Yeah. So we continue working that, trying to get the members involved also in social issues. This is a new group of people who have no idea of the struggles that we went trying to get an organization like Ruiz Belvis. [01:56:00] They think Ruiz Belvis might be just singing thing. It’s not considered by many new people as a cornerstone of Puerto Rican identity and defense. And that’s what we used to involve ourselves in housing problem, work problem. Now they say, “Oh, we do this. You lose your 501(c)3.” I said, “Oh my God.” But anyway, most of our people are grown old. JJ: This is (inaudible) the new board? SA: This is the new young people who are interested. They’re slowly developing the sense of -- but it’s difficult. JJ: Anything you think that we need to add to close? Any message that you think we should tell our community? SA: We have to continue to fight for our identity and defend those things that make us who we are. A Puerto Rican nation closely tied to Latin America. [01:57:00] Many people think that we’re not Latin Americans, you know. And unfortunately, people in Latin America think that we are just Americans. They think that we have it so easy here because we are American citizens. And I just want to say, it doesn’t make a difference if you are a citizen or not. Just look at the AfricanAmericans. They’re citizens. What have they acquired? What they have acquired is going to struggle. What the Americans here have done is to struggle. 74 �A group -- people that doesn’t struggle for what they think is just is bound to die. And I don’t want our community to be considered one of those groups that came here and died up or disappeared within the mainstream of the United States. I think this is not a melting pot. This country is actually -- some people like to say a salad, different groups of people together, [01:58:00] but with their own idiosyncrasies, their own roots and their own ideas of who they are. And we also feel that as Puerto Ricans, we need to join the struggles of other organizations or group of people like us who are fighting for justice, who are fighting for freedom, who are fighting for a better life for their children and for themselves and their community. And this is what African Americans have done. This is what American Indians have done. This is what other groups in the United States have done, including the Irish, and other groups that were Americanized at one time or another. I hope we don’t fall into the trap that because we’ve been here so many years, that we feel we’re better than other groups that are just coming in and treat them as bad as we have been treated. So I believe in freedom, justice. I believe definitely, [01:59:00] you have to struggle to get what you want because nobody’s going to give it to us. We have to fight the enemies that don’t believe in those traits of justice, equality, and freedom. Then we lost. We have to join those people, be part of them as they’re part of us in our struggles. The building that we acquired, we didn’t have the money. And it was a Jewish couple who had more money than we do, who gave us close to $60,000 to buy this building. No strings attached. They were going to lend it to us. Then they said, “Just keep it. We’re moving out of Chicago anyway.” They ended up moving to 75 �San Francisco, but they gave us the money, and that’s how we acquired the building. I mean, besides all the contributions in the community. But the majority of the money that we got to buy this building, the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Center [02:00:00] was from other groups who play an important part in our development as an organization and developing our consciousness in terms of we’re people, just like everybody else. Every people has their own culture. Every people has their own idiosyncrasy. We have to accept them the way they are, but learn to live together. JJ: Now, were you able to get any grants at all? SA: We have received grants, but grants usually for our groups are very small. It’s usually the big established organization that get much of the money. So defend what you got and fight for it. That’s what I say. And not oppress others because you’re different and they’re different. JJ: What other organizations [02:01:00] did you become members of? SA: I had become a member of various organizations. Even when I went to Puerto Rico, I founded an organization in Puerto Rico, for (inaudible) I lived and then I moved to Chicago. Another group that I had a lot of influence in me, besides the Puerto Rican Independence Group, was the Communist Party of United States. The reason being that they seem to have fought for the kind of issues that we, Puerto Ricans are interested in—social justice, equality, the end of racism, opportunities for everyone, living together no matter what race you are. We’re working together because we are all workers. And as workers, we deserve to be respected. Because who creates the richness in this country? It’s the people 76 �who work years to build the factories, to build the roads, [02:02:00] to build everything that we have become used to. Who are the ones who invent the idea of social services? It was the communist party with the party members or people like them who struggled for an eight-hour day, who struggled for benefits, from the units like Medicare, who struggled for social security when there was none in this country. It was people like them who talk about workers having rights to defend and organize in order to defend your right or else, they’ll be at the mercy of the owners of the corporations and capitalists. And who formed or was right in this country. Who formed the richness of this country? It’s the working people. So I think -- and that’s why I became a member later of the communist party. JJ: So you felt it important because they work for the [02:03:00] working people, you’re saying, the working men? (inaudible) SA: Right. Yeah. And they were -- JJ: They’re kind of outcasts in the United States, of course, because they’re -- SA: Well, because at one time, they were influential. JJ: (inaudible). SA: The structure of the government made a point to destroy them because they became afraid of what the communists were doing, organizing the working class, getting the AFL-CIO all together. And they forced the unions to kick all communists out. And then anybody who wanted to say something, and if they wanted to punish these people that accused them of being a communist. And the McCarthy era, a lot of people who had nothing to do with communism were destroyed because they couldn’t find jobs. Some of them committed suicide, or 77 �else they changed their names. And especially people who work in the movie industry, who has stories to tell [02:04:00] so they could not get jobs. And this kind of tradition continues. It’s not as much as before, but many people still are afraid that the communists are the devils. JJ: (inaudible) the image that is (inaudible). SA: And you know they work for -- JJ: But actually, they’re in many countries. SA: Oh, yes. It’s a worldwide. JJ: It’s worldwide. SA: Worldwide. They understand their -- JJ: Especially in this country, it is a free speech country that people should not have to worry about that. SA: Well, it’s free when it’s free. But when they decide to shut us up, they would do the (inaudible). JJ: (inaudible)? (inaudible). SA: That here where organizations were infiltrated, where members were putting traps so they could be considered criminals and arrested them. So it’s freedom until [02:05:00] they think that we’re stepping on their toes and then they want to shut us up. And we always have to be aware of that and be careful and not be shut by them because of fear. JJ: And that’s one of the reasons you also joined that organization? SA: Yeah. JJ: Okay, just to (inaudible). 78 �SA: And I saw a lot of people who were in prison, who died in prison, who were punished in prison, like Winston. He was blinded in prison because he was accused of being a communist, and the prison wanted to oppose -- JJ: Who was it? Winston. SA: Henry Winston. JJ: Henry Winston. SA: Yeah. JJ: So he was blinded in the (inaudible)? SA: He lost his eyesight. JJ: He lost his eyesight? SA: Yeah. The people now, from Puerto Rico are there. Oscar Lopez, and people like that who have been terribly -- JJ: Oscar Lopez is a member of the? SA: So-called FLNA. JJ: FLNA? SA: Yeah. JJ: And he’s been in jail for over thirty years? SA: That’s right. JJ: And basically, [02:06:00] there’s no proof that he has done anything except stand up for Puerto Rico, I guess. SA: Yeah. JJ: He believes in that. SA: But he was -- 79 �JJ: He was in his truck. SA: He’s also considered enemy because he had a lot of influence with groups like NCO. He was an organizer for NCO. JJ: Oh. SA: Northwest Community Organization. JJ: He was a paid staff? SA: Yeah, he was paid organizer for NCO. JJ: For the Northwest Community Organization? SA: Correct. Saul Alinsky organization. JJ: Saul Alinsky organization? So I wasn’t aware of that, that he was a member of that. I know that he did something at the University of Illinois. He was in a student group there, I believe. SA: Well, he was not a student there, but he helped organize the student group, (Spanish) [02:06:48], which was basically an organization planning to have Latinos receive scholarships to open the doors so that more Latinos [02:07:00] will enter the University of Illinois. (inaudible) campus at that time, not just the University of Illinois. JJ: (inaudible). SA: So I continued working with them. JJ: (inaudible). SA: I marched for jobs, I marched for -- I take petitions for laws that had to deal with social security, unemployment. We do things, demonstration against abuses of organizations and people. But now, we’re involving occupied US Chicago with 80 �people who are like us and working for getting benefits, recognized in fighting against those people and organizations that try to take all benefits that have been won by struggle, like minimum wage, like social security, like unemployment insurance, you go on and on and on and on. Scholarship for students, [02:08:00] saying that students should not be abused by the loans that they receive. And they had to spend many, many years in debt to get an education for a position. And now what do you see now? Many college students cannot find jobs either, but they’re in debt, thousands and thousands of dollars because the kind of legislation that made possible for banks to get hold of those funds and offer loans to students that they cannot pay for. JJ: Anything else we need to put in there? SA: I think I said it before. We have to stick together. If we want just justice, we got to fight together. Recognize who’s the enemy, and be wise to know who’s your friend and who’s not your friend. [02:09:00] And not be afraid of doing things that you know need to be done because people say it’s dangerous for you. I think if you only think of yourself, nothing’s ever going to change. We have to think for everyone. So that’s why I’m a communist now. Oh my God. He’s always been a communist. Yeah. END OF VIDEO FILE 81 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f91d65c345b36cc8c35e88a72a362124.mp4 90727487e5b06408d1b0a449ee631845 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 Sijisfredo Avilés vídeo entrevista y biografía Descripción Spanish language Description entry Sijisfredo Avilés es el primer Puertorriqueño en Chicago que públicamente opongo el recluto para la guerra de Vietnam en los 1960s. Silenciamiento sirvió 3 años en la cárcel por rechazar inducción en 1968 y mas tarde se hizo mimbré del parte comunista en USA. Nacido en Puerto rico, La familia de Avilés so movió a Chicago en los 1950s, estabilizándose en Chicago Avenue y Noble Avenue, que esta oeste de Ogden Avenue y el centro. Señor Avilés a soportado los pobres, los Latino auto determinados y los derechos humanos. Avilés ha sido un miembro de Latín American Defense Organization (LADO), el Puerto Rican Socialist Party of Chicago (PSP), y el Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center en Chicago. Todos estos grupos han trabajado juntos con los Young Lords. Sujetos Spanish language Subject terms Young Lords (Organización) Puertorriqueños--Estados Unidos Derechos civiles--Estados Unidos--Historia Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Narrativas personales Justicia social Activistas comunitarios--Illinois--Chicago Guerra de Vietnam, 1961-1975--Insumisos--Estados Unidos Puerto Rico--Autonomía y movimientos independentistas 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_Aviles_Sijisfredo Title A name given to the resource Sijisfredo Avilés video interview and transcript Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Avilés, Sijisfredo Description An account of the resource Sijisfredo Avilés is the first Puerto Rican in Chicago to publicly oppose the Vietnam War draft during the middle 1960s. He quietly served three years in jail for refusing induction in 1968. Born in Puerto Rico, Mr. Avilés’ family moved to Chicago in the early 1950s, settling around Chicago Avenue and Noble Avenue, just west of Ogden Avenue and downtown. Mr. Avilés has been a lifelong advocate for the poor, Latino self-determination, and human rights and worked closely with the Young Lords. 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 Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Draft resisters--United States Puerto Rico--Autonomy and independence movements 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 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 2012-03-01 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/95b95e4fd6099356d8083b5b40470f7a.mp4 773b4cd1a1b4dedc09a1e0e4c0b2537b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/34dc23019f55d1647367585c53304adc.pdf 60ebcfcc6d1b9a1cbc1f69a1bc7a460a PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW WILLIAM A. SIKKEL #1 of 2 Transcribed by Joan Raymer May 11, 2007 Birth date: November 25, 1920 :50 I started out as a Private and went through the enlisted rank up to Staff Sergeant. I was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Australia, came home as a Captain and reorganized the Holland, Michigan National Guard Unit and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. 1:10 Interviewer: “When did you join the National Guard?” On my eighteenth birthday. Interviewer: “Why?” Well, I had an uncle that was in at that time and I kind of idolized him. I had a dad who was a WW I veteran and who was a Dutch immigrant. He was red, white and blue and things like Memorial Day and any holiday was sacred. 1:45 I guess it was ingrained and I guess I, for some reason or other, took a liking to the concept of leadership and troop organization. That pretty much motivated me to join. And I imagine the tail end of the depression and a few extra dollars must have factored into it sooner or later. 2:13 My clear and dear preference would have been to fly, but once you’re in the infantry, you’re in the infantry. Interviewer: “Had you ever traveled outside of West Michigan before you joined the service?” Outside. A few trips to Chicago, I remember a group of young men took a bunch of us kids to Detroit to see a Tiger game and then we crossed the Ambassador Bridge into 1 �Canada and that was a biggie, 2:48 other than that, no. I was pretty much restricted to the midwest. Interviewer: “When you joined the 32nd Division of the 126th Infantry [126th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Division], did you understand the history of that division?” Not that division, I understood the history of the local unit, but at that particular point in my life, that was pretty much it. I knew somewhat of the structure, that it was pretty much West Michigan, anchored in Grand Rapids, which was the 126th headquarters. 3:19 A that point in my career I stuck with the basics and that was my local unit. Interviewer: “How many of the 126th Infantry Company “D” did you know personally before you went to Louisiana?” I would suggest that I was quite familiar with at least 50 that I can say I knew quite well. There were several that were considerably older than me and we didn’t have a lot in common, plus the fact that most of them had significant amount of rank and I was just a lowly Private. 3:57 You didn’t get too familiar with Sergeants in those days. Interviewer: “How did Holland send you off when you went down to Louisiana?” The word is “you” there and I have to qualify that. We left the city in October of 1940. There were, and I am guessing, six of us who were sent early that day. One drove the unit commander’s car, another one, who eventually became my brother-in-law, he drove his car down, my 1st Sergeant drove down with his wife and we were asked to drive someone’s car down, so the six of us left in the morning. 5:00 The rest of them left that evening from the railroad station. Your question was the community, if I recall the question and let’s put it this way, “enthusiastic, emotional support from the time the unit 2 �marched out of the armory until it boarded the train.” That was all information I received from my buddies once we joined each other in Louisiana. Interviewer: “What were the fears and questions you had as you were leaving?” 5:47 That is a good question and in retrospect, I’m not trying to suggest that I am more adventuresome than most, but I must have felt a challenge, so outside of the basic homesickness, I just saw it as an opportunity. 6:13 When you go with a group that you know so well it makes it so much easier. We knew the communication was going to continue once we got there and that pretty much alleviated any anxiety. And quite frankly, from a very personal perspective, I must have seen a challenge. I had a dad who was a perfectionist and I had a very difficult time pleasing him. That doesn’t mean I didn’t respect him, I just had a difficult time appealing to what he was trying to make me and I knew there was no possibility that we were going to be on the same page or the same network. That contributed somewhat because it gave me a comfort zone 6:58 and I had to prove something to myself. Interviewer: “ Where were you when you heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?” I was quite frankly having dinner with a wonderful family in Alexandria, Louisiana. We were treated extremely well down there. Many of us met many, many wonderful families down there who invited us for dinner quite frequently. It happened to be a family that invited me to dinner that particular noon and I was there at their home when we heard it on the radio. 7:11 Interviewer: “What was your initial reaction to that?” 3 �That I had to get back to camp. I happened to have, I think I was at that time a Staff Sergeant, what they call a recon or reconnaissance car, which was a military vehicle and I was smart enough to know that I better get back to camp with that. 8:01 So that is obviously what I did. Your next question might be “What did you experience when you got back to camp?” and I would be happy to answer that question. Interviewer: “How did your training vary for going to the south Pacific?” It didn’t, all of our training up to that point was training for what we call open warfare. 8:33 What I mean by that is typical Michigan terrain. Hills, valleys, woods, open fields, rivers, that’s what we were trained for. We didn’t have a clue to what a jungle was like. Sooner or later you might ask the question “where did you go from Louisiana?” and that will qualify somewhat the answer that I am giving you now. Outside of the fact that we did a lot of training on our individual weapons, like pistols, rifles, mortars and the typical enemy training like chemical warfare, cover concealment, camouflage, anti-tank defense, communications all those little things, those are the things we were taught and most of those you could use no matter where you went. 9:24 Interviewer: “In terms of your training, did you use live ammunition during practice and drills?” If you interviewed many who were in active duty that early, you probably have been told that we faked a lot in those days and by that I mean, we didn’t even have weapons. 9:48 So if we didn’t have weapons, we didn’t have live ammunition. So for example, in my case, by that time I was in the 81-Mortar Battalion and we used fence posts to simulate a 81 mortar. Obviously you can’t shoot out of a fence post, but what you can do is learn the tactical deployment of a mortar because the basic principals are lob it up and lob it in, 4 �so the angle of the angle of the fence post would be proportionate to the angle of what the mortar should be and the reason that’s significant is because the mortar person selects a totally different kind of terrain than artilleryman would for example, because a mortar shell goes up and over where an artillery shell goes in flat. 10:37 Therefore, you have to hide behind a hill and shoot over it, that’s the ideal situation. Interviewer: “when you were stationed in Louisiana, did you have any funny or strange things happen in camp?” Lots of them, some are cultural and some are climatic. Cultural is obvious, a bunch of Yankees out of Holland Michigan and placed in Louisiana, plus remember it was 1940 and there were still people thinking Civil War down there and we were in the eyes and minds of a lot of people “Damn Yankees”. I recognized early on that there were two types of southerners, the rebel southerners and the southern genteel. 11:27 And those southern gentlemen and ladies, they were a fine bunch of people; they made us feel very welcome. That’s the first observation, the second, climatic, going to a football game on Thanksgiving Day in a tee shirts and umbrellas was totally foreign to me because you button up pretty good when you go to a football game in November here generally speaking. Then of course the terrain, if you have ever spent any time in the “boonies” in Louisiana you’ve heard about red clay. 12:08 We had a cliché that went something like this, “Louisiana is the only place in world where you can be up to your rear in mud and have dust in your eyes”. Essentially that’s the way it is and when that mud cakes on your shoes your carrying a few extra pounds around. So that translates into where we lived, we lived in a tent city because there certainly weren’t enough quarters for the rapid expansion of troops, so the only permanent buildings were the mess hall and that had a 5 �sand floor and the latrine or the bath house at the end of the street. In-between there were tents and wooden floorboards and a stove that burned wood, so the funny part of it is that it was not unusual to come in from field training and find two or three tents gone because the sparks would ignite on the tent and that was the end of the tent. 13:08 I could go on and on about all the weird things that happened, but I’ll just give you one quick one. We had been given a course by the doctor on what to be careful of such as Tarantulas, you always move the leaves out of the way and then you sit for a class or whatever and would you believe, I sat right on a Scorpion. 13:33 Needless to say the doctor was right there so I had first aid right now, it was a little humorous. That was a practical explanation of what first aid is, but I never planned it that way. Interviewer: “Did you receive any shots before you left and did you know you were going to the South Pacific?” No we didn’t have a clue we were going to the South Pacific, shots yes, in fact I realized that some of us older people have a crummy sense of humor but it’s not unusual for a veteran to call a nurse a blood sucker. 14:20 You may have heard that before, but we had our blood tested so often and we had so many shots that it gets to be routine. Back in those days particularly because now you get on an airplane and fly to another country and you don’t get immunized or segregated when you get there. Back in those days one way to control disease was, number one with shots and number two, wherever we went into we went in isolation for at least 3 days until we were acclimated to the country we were in or the location we were in. 14:54 Interviewer: “San Francisco, how did you get there and what was it like when you got there?” 6 �Would you mind it I went to Fort Devens Massachusetts before we get to San Francisco? There is a reason for that. The Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard were the 32nd Division and we were sent to Louisiana obviously to train for the event and in that alleged 1 year, it was extended considerably. Therefore, I believe in March of 1942, we were sent to Fort Devens Massachusetts. The obvious question is, “you were going to Australia and New Guinea, what were you doing in Massachusetts?” 15:50 The answer was, our division was sent to replace the 1st Division who were at Fort Deveins Massachusetts at the time. The “Big Red One” you have heard about and we were destined I understand, for Ireland as a staging area. 16:03 If you read in history about the time in Corregidor and General Macarthur’s situation at that time, he was promised an army in Australia by President Roosevelt. Therefore, we were diverted from Fort Devens Massachusetts to San Francisco. We didn’t know where we were going except we were going to San Francisco. My dad died that week so I hitchhiked with the 127th Infantry out of Wisconsin and ended up in California and boarded ship about 6 hours before we left. 16:39 Never the less, we didn’t have a clue as to where we were going except obviously we weren’t going to Europe. Interviewer: “Did you hear anything aboard ship, any rumors or any sort of report as to where you were going and what it was like?” We weren’t told anything and I have a short diary at home, but I think it was the fourth day out of San Francisco when they finally told us where we were going for two reasons, one to satisfy our curiosity and stop the rumors and the other was, that was the time they began our little lectures on the cultural differences between Australia and America. 17:29 You wouldn’t think there were that many cultural differences, but even their slang 7 �language is totally different than ours, so we were prepared to understand what we were getting into once we got to Australia. Where in Australia was a clue and could be a follow up question “did you go where you were intended to or did you go someplace else?” I sent you some suggestions and I don’t know if you want to get into that now or later. 18:00 Interviewer: “In terms of the transport over, what was the experience like waiting?” Good question, and the reason it is a good question is the use of what we are doing now and you are doing now is such that we are trying to convey is the difference in transportation then and now. 18:33 If you were to watch TV tonight you would probably see someone getting on an airplane and flying of to Iraq or someplace. Number one, we went from the east coast to the west coast on a train and that in itself it totally different than hopping on a plane and flying over to San Francisco and getting on a plane. The second thing is getting on a ship because that’s the way troops were shipped in those days. In our case it was a whole division, a whole division which at that time was say the Triangle Division in the neighborhood of say 9,000 – 9,600 men all in one convoy with freighters. 19:13 And slowly, slowly because we had, I guess, 14 ships in our convoy and we could only go as fast as the slowest freighter, so even though we were on the so called flag ship Matson line and she had a sister ship Mansonia, we could only go as fast as the slowest freighter which was something like 14 knots, so that plus zigzagging, it took us 25 days to get from San Francisco to South Australia. 19:50 The reason for going to South Australia, I will share with you right now, is we were headed from [for] Brisbane which is on the North East quarter, however, while we were on that timeline on that map that I showed you earlier, the timeline would suggest that the Coral Sea battle 8 �that was taking place off to the North while our convoy was headed for Australia. 20:19 I don’t recall at that point of us having any Navy escort. 14 ships and no naval escort because they are all committed to the Coral Sea battle and we could see the flashes in the distance. About this time, and this is all speculation, the speculation we all seemed to agree with is that at that point we were diverted to South Australia instead of Brisbane because Brisbane would have been right in line with chaos so we went to South Australia which is considerably farther away. 20:55 Interviewer: “Tell us about the Neptune Ceremony.” Huh! That’s a Navy tradition when you cross the equator funny things happen and I don’t know if it’s a get even time with the cocky characters who need a little extra trimming, I don’t know. I was pretty lucky, I just got thrown in a pool, but there were those should I say, you probably heard about high school freshmen or college freshmen that’s the kind of treatment they got and some of it was pretty raunchy. 21:32 After it was all over you were given a certificate having been honored by King Neptune and that you crossed the equator on such and such a date. Which brings up an interesting point, my wife’s brother at that time, who was a high school buddy of mine, and two other fellows did a lot of singing. And one way to keep from getting sea sick was to get up on deck, so we’d get up there and sing as a quartet just for fun, so we slept on deck one night and when we woke up in the morning we had nothing in our pockets. 22:07 Somebody had stripped our pockets including the certificate I had received from King Neptune, so I have never had one since. I do not have any indelible proof that I went across the equator Interviewer: “Did you carry any personal items with you on your trip over.” 9 �The few dollars we had and our personal luggage, which was in what we called a G.I. bag with all our clothes and whatever and that was it, personal stuff, no. Do you want a little humor interspersed into this, or not necessarily? Interviewer: “Of course.” We had a 1st Sergeant who lived in Holland who was what I would call the epitome of what a soldier should be. 23:03 By that I mean he knew what he was doing, he was a fatherly figure, he was considerably older than most of us, a very kind, judgmental, fair minded individual and he hardly ever, only twice in my personal experience with him, that he violated the law or rules and I was with him both times it happened. The first time was, he had this barracks bag over his shoulder and he was walking off of the gang plank into the ship and he got about the first flight down and he lost his barracks bag and in the bottom of the bag was a bottle of scotch. He sobbed over that bottle of scotch. We weren’t supposed to have personal stuff and he had that personal bottle of scotch. 23:53 Interviewer: “Did he have a name?” VanAndroy, Gordon and I, we must have talked about Sergeant VanAndroy. Interviewer: “What was you impression of the Australian soldiers?” “May I digress for just a minute here?” I’m trying to throw in here what I think is significant and if you don’t want me to do that let me know. 24:23 When we left San Francisco, we were told all about the people in the Pacific, well Gordon might have shared with you, within an hour out of San Francisco the sea sickness set in. Imagine 7400 troops on one ship and once that starts it gets contagious and so much for that, I don’t want to go any further than that. Then we went between Tasmania and Australia and we were in the wildest sea you ever saw and this is a huge ship and to this day, since 10 �I loved to skate, I thought, “wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had roller skates and when the stern came up you could just go down the hull and when it flipped back you could turn around and go back and you could do that all day long.” 25:12 Anyway, I didn’t get sea sick. Now I ducked the question. The Australian people were wonderful. Gordon was there a couple of years ago and he probably shared with you. Anytime I see or talk with anyone who’s been there recently I want to talk to them because I want to find out if my memories are the same as what things are today. I have yet to run into a person who doesn’t love the Australians. The Australian soldiers, that was an interesting case in that not only, if you watch British TV or BBC the Brits have a style of humor that is so dry well, the Aussies are like that, very much like that. 26:08 When you consider who we fought with in New Guinea, we fought with Australian soldiers who had fought in Syria, Libya, Crete, Egypt and haven’t been home. They went straight from Libya and Crete to New Guinea without even having a chance to go home. Can you imagine? Now, not only did they have an Australian, British sense to life, they also had a devil may care attitude and let me qualify that. The American army, we were trained sound discipline, tight discipline to the point where it was just gospel with us. We would even tape our dog tags so we didn’t make noise while on patrol. 26:58 Those Australians, when it came 3:00 in the afternoon, they could care less where they were or under what situation, you’ve heard of billycans, well they had to boil their tea. There were two principles we were taught and one was noise. “How do you boil tea in a tin can without making noise?” and number two “How can you conceal your location by building a fire?” That would scare us and we would avoid them at that time because they could care less. Now I often 11 �wondered if it was their makeup or if they had been in battle so long, they didn’t care. 27:36 I don’t know what the answer to that is, but they are wonderful people. Interviewer: “What training did you receive in Australia, if any?” Pretty much the same as what we had in Louisiana and in Fort Devens, Massachusetts. We were still for some silly reason being trained for open warfare and I am convinced that our leaders didn’t have a clue as to what jungle warfare was like and if they did, it took us quite a while to learn all the nuances because, just for example, coral shells, Coral hardpan, something we didn’t have a clue of and I’ll expand on that a little bit. By this time I was a 2nd Lieutenant in the pre-WWII army and a 2nd Lieutenant was pretty hot stuff. You had a G.I. to do all your grunt work for you and that particular night, the very first night we were in New Guinea, we were bombed and we were told to dig foxholes. 28:51 I figured I was a Lieutenant and somebody would do it for me until the first or second bombing and there was a Lieutenant Colonel with a pick ax digging a hole in the shale and I thought, “if he has to do it, I guess that I have to do it too”. The answer to that is, “How do you make a foxhole deep enough in shale, rock and coral to protect yourself?” That’s the first lesson in tropical warfare. The second is obvious, in addition to climbing, rain, rain, rain, mosquitoes and everything else, but jungle foliage is so thick that unless you see it on TV it’s pretty difficult to explain. 29:33 In fact it’s almost unbelievable when you do try to explain it. And you may or may not get into the story about the airplane I lost . You ask the question,” why sixteen years?” well, I can give you an answer to that. Interviewer: “What were your experiences leaving Australia? How did you reach the island?” 12 �Except for the unit that Gordon was with, Gordon Zuverink is who we are talking about and who you interviewed before, the 2nd Battalion 126th Infantry, which was comprised of 2 units from Muskegon, Grand Haven and Big Rapids, they were close to new Guinea as I think was Gordon’s unit, Cannon Compan, I’m almost certain it was, and an anti-tank company of the 126th. The rest of us went by ship from Brisbane Australia and again, I don’t know when you want to cut this off, but I think this is significant in terms of what I call logistics. 30:39 When we left Adelaide Australia to go to Brisbane Australia, we loaded everything on flat cars and box cars and at that time Australia had 3 railroad gauges. Maybe you heard this before and maybe you didn’t. We got to Melbourne and took everything off the train and re- loaded it on another train because they had a different gauge. Then, I don’t know if we got beyond Sydney or not, when we got into the 3rd gauge. 31:10 We took everything off that train and put it on the next train so that, plus the passenger cars, which were rather antiquated. “Does that answer your question?” Interviewer: “On to New Guinea. Did you understand the mission as you left Australia?” We did, we did because things were crucial at that point. The obvious question is, “what are we doing over here when were supposed to be going to Europe?” The answer is obvious. President Roosevelt had promised MacArthur troops and there weren’t any outside of the Australians so they sent the 32nd Division from the east coast and right behind us was the 41st Division who replaced us in New Guinea, so that would give you roughly 18,000 – 19,000 troops, two divisions and then the Marines. First the Marines were there and they went to Guadalcanal, so we were it as far as New Guinea was 13 �concerned. 32:23 When we left Australia to go to Port Moresby the Japanese were roughly 25 miles from Port Moresby. The significance of that is, number one, it was on the forward slope of the mountain facing Australia and number two, there were two airstrips there that would have given them the capability of taking their fighters and bombers and flying over Australia. 32:56 And whether or not you’ve ever been involved in history to the degree that I am going to share with you, the Australian government at that time had pre-determined that they were willing to give up a portion of their country for a battleground. Therefore, there was a line established from east to west. You’ve heard of the Siegfreid line in Europe, well this was the Brisbane Line and the Brisbane Line was an arbitrary line across the country yet the Japanese landed on north like in Darwin and this is where we put up our defense. Well it didn’t get to that point. They did bomb Darwin, but no one landed in Australia. 33:40 We landed in Port Moresby New Guinea as did the Australian Cavalry in that case and chased them back over the mountains to what became the Buna campaign, so that again precipitates a lot of questions. The first question is “what kind of training did you have?” Well, we didn’t have much training because as it turned out in addition to trying to live under tropical conditions, we were hit with immediate dysentery. Immediately. Plus, if you follow the field manual on leadership you will find there is such a thing as a staging area, then there’s a departure area and then there’s a final line of departure and then you go into combat. 31:31 Well, there wasn’t such a thing in Port Moresby. Port Moresby was the Port and within three miles you were climbing mountains so there was no place to train. So that was it, the disease hit us before we ever started up the mountain and Gordon’s unit as you know from the interview, they took three or four days from Port Moresby 14 �across the mountains chasing the Japanese all the way. The Australians, they took one route and we started on, in our case, November 10, the airplane incident you might want me to talk about and we chased the Japanese all the rest of the way to what became the Buna Campaign. The reason it became the Buna Campaign, we compressed them to a point and they wouldn’t give so that’s why it took them so long to get to the sea. 35:26 Interviewer: “You mentioned a little bit about the disease and terrain, but how did you deal with morale, was there a loss of morale among the men?” Not at this point, not at this point, weakness, but no, I don’t remember seeing any loss of morale until we started seeing our friends getting killed. Then the morale changed, but even then we kept on going because it’s amazing how you condition your mind in a situation like that. Most do, not all , but most do. 36:05 Interviewer: “Tell us what happened aboard the airplane. Were you aboard the airplane?” Well, I was and that is an interesting story, a story in itself. The 1st. and 3rd. Battalions of the 126th Infantry, we were involved in the first airlift into a combat zone in the history of the U.S. Army. The group that Mr.Zuverink was with went up the mountains in advance of us and they, along with the natives I’m sure because I never did find out officially how this happened, but there was a flat area in a native village called Pongani, which was on the side of the mountain and they had to take their machetes and chop grass until it was smooth enough for us to land. There had to be an officer on each airplane and I was assigned two airplanes because my platoon couldn’t possibly fit on one plane plus there were some additional troops for some other reasons that happened to be on those two airplanes. One airplane was called the “Flying Dutchman” and since I’m from Holland 15 �obviously and the pilot was of Dutch extraction, American, but of Dutch extraction, I just made up my mind that I would fly on the “Flying Dutchman.” 37:27 The other plane was called “Golden Eight Ball.” The chaplain and I were standing side by side and I said “Chaplain, I think I am going on the “Flying Dutchman” and he said “why don’t we flip a coin?” We did and he went on the “Flying Dutchman and I went on the “Golden eight Ball” and the “Flying Dutchman crashed about of a half hour after they were airborne into the jungles. 37:50 I don’t think Gordon would have spent any time on that because he was way beyond that point. There is a very, very in depth story about that, that you can embellish at a later date if you want. Out of the original 29, including the crew, there were eventually 6 survivors in two groups. One group of 4, which included my platoon Sergeant out of Jamestown, Michigan and 2 who included the crew chief of the airplane. The rest were either killed on impact or had broken arms and legs. A couple went looking for water or some semblance of a trail and were never heard from again. 38:44 those who did stay near the airplane died one at a time. They kept a diary on the inside of the door of that airplane, which partially had burned in a fire, and the first entry was dated November 10, the date of our operation and the last entry was January 1. For your information that door is on display at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio now and I tried to get it to Holland Memorial Day because I was the speaker there and I thought it would be ideal to get it into our museum, but even our U.S. Congressman couldn’t get them to part with it so I would encourage anyone who ever does go there to be sure and look it up. 39:28 It is on a table encased in glass and there is a printed diary and I have a copy of the diary myself, plus I have a diary of my platoon Sergeant who land navigated for, I think I sent you a copy of the story of he and I in the newspaper. He 16 �took the compass out of the dash of the airplane and he and 5 others land navigated for 30 days over the mountains until they were finally intercepted by some friendly natives who brought them back to Port Moresby. It was incredible. 40:05 The obvious question is, “Why did it take 16 years to find that airplane?” Former president Jerry Ford was our congressman at the time and I was, I don’t know, a Major or a Lieutenant Colonel in the National guard and I had written to him and said “if you hear of any airplanes that are found, because I had been reading about it, named such and such, contact me” and it was a few days later that the AP called me and said that the airplane was had been found. Now this is 16 years after it went down. 21 years after it went down another research team went in and found the airplane, took the door off and brought it to the museum in Papua New Guinea, which is unheard of when we were there, but they did and they in turn gave it to the U.S. Air Force. 41:02 That’s an interesting story, it’s a tragic story, but how they land navigated through that jungle for that many days is, and the interesting thing is that by the time Ed, my platoon Sergeant finally did get back to Port Moresby, I had been pretty much clobbered with malaria and I’m laying in a hospital bed looking out the window in Moresby and he walked by. Needless to say that having been his platoon commander, I had to send a missing in action envelope back to his wife and I said to him, “Ed, get to a cablegram as fast as you can and let your wife know where you are.” He hadn’t even gotten malaria by that time and I just can’t imagine that because 83% of us did and he hadn’t gotten malaria at that time. 41:57 That’s a long way from the airplane ride, but it did save, in our case we only had to walk 11 days through those mountains where Gordon and that group walked 34 days, so it did save us a lot of time, but it was still rough. 17 �Interviewer: “Can you explain your first experience with the enemy or in a combat situation?” I am going to proceed with caution here because the last thing you want to hear is some of the things we really experienced and you’re not going to hear that from very many people. I will tell you this; to psychologically adjust to some of the things that you might run into is a “work in progress” and that is a cliché today. Coming down the mountain, “do you have in your notes the airplane story about shooting down the Japanese Zero?” I’ve got to inject that. Were coming down the mountain now and were heading into combat. We were given absolute instruction, “no fires, do not give your position away, the Japanese are going to be looking for you, they know you’re up in the mountains, so don’t shoot at any airplanes. 43:19 We were on the forward slope of the mountain and by that time this Japanese Zero was harassing us to the point where someone couldn’t take it any longer and he had a clear shot with his rifle at this airplane coming right straight at him straight down the valley and he fired off a round. The hilarious part of it is that he must have hit the gas line because that airplane went down in flames “right now in a second”. If he was up there trying to find out where we were and radio back, he never had a chance, but you would have thought you were at a U of M football game hearing those guys cheer, it was absolutely incredible. 44:02 That’s our first close combat experience although we had been bombed frequently back in Port Moresby. Harassed. Getting back into combat, were coming down the mountain and you begin hearing the rifle shots and machine gun shots and we knew what that was. That’s when it starts getting real and that’s when you start working yourself into, it gets real. The first observation we made is this; the Japanese you may have heard many times, had a way of, 18 �let me put it this way, if your on the offense and their on the defense and they’ve had a series of defensive positions coming down the mountain, pre planned and that’s an interesting story in its self if you want to get back to it. 45:05 Why we didn’t use their locations and there is a good answer to that, anyway, once we can compress them against the sea were not going anyplace very fast. They know were coming, they’ve had lots of time to dig in under coconut logs and bunkers and I’m sure you’ve heard and read all that. They had their fire lanes and by fire lanes I mean their machine guns are tucked across this way, so you’re going to get somebody sooner or later When you’re in grass 68 feet high and you’re trying to get through it, you don’t have a clue when you’re going to be able to get through without being detected. So the Japanese would have fire lanes, pre planned, so if anybody exposed themselves, all they had to do is pull the trigger and so you had to find out where those were. 45:57 The way they operated, they were up in coconut trees and they were observing. They would telegraph who was coming and who they were and that sort of thing. The very first Japanese casualty I saw really set the tone of our attitude because remember, killing is something you’re trained not to do. The very first person that got shot out of a tree, right outside of our headquarters was a Japanese Captain. He had a saber with him and he came out of that tree and landed right in front of us, so we went through his pockets to check and get military information as fast as we could. Would you believe the very first picture I saw was USC, University of Southern California, that’s a turnoff if there ever was one. You’d think that having been in this country in itself would have kept him from doing that. That was the first one. The first experience I had taking out a patrol and I’ll qualify that. When I was commissioned in Australia, just before going to New Guinea, my assignment was to command an anti-tank 19 �platoon. Well, whoopty-do, there are no tanks in New Guinea and there are no tanks to shoot at. So what do they do with me? Well, they made me a patrol leader and that’s not conducive to good health because you never know where you’re going to go and you’re usually in some area that you prefer not to be. 47:36 The very first patrol I took out, and to this day I don’t understand with all that tension why we had so much self control, you should understand that the average trail was no wider than this table and the rest is foliage, were at a curve in the trail and here comes a string of Orientals. Now I don’t know about you but to this day I have a tough time determining who is Japanese, who is Chinese and in some cases Filipino, so when you’re in that kind of situation with that kind of tension and something like that happens, “what do you do?” For some unknown reason or other I said, “don’t shoot” and this guy had no uniform and he held up his hands and said, “don’t shoot, me no Japan boy, me China boy”, and he must have had 14 or 15 with him. Now the Japanese use the Chinese as coolies to do all their grunt work and carry all their stuff like we used the New Guinea natives to carry our rice and all that stuff. So needless to say, if you know anything about military intelligence, if you did capture a Japanese soldier there is no way your going to get any information, no way, if they were alive and they wouldn’t let themselves live and you couldn’t do anything about it. 49:10 These Chinese boys were obviously a good source of intelligence so I sent them back to our intelligence people and they interrogated them and I’m sure they learned a lot. Beyond that a question anyone would ask is “did you kill anybody personally, how many?” and that sort of thing. I’m not going to go there, but I will say this, “one of the peculiarities of jungle warfare is that if the average American, the average person knew how many Japanese they killed, they would be astonished and the 20 �reason is, we had to fire against sound. Most of the time, we didn’t see them. I will give you one example and this is later on about the time that we penetrated through. 50:05 My experience was heavy weapons, machine guns, mortars and that sort of thing. There was a Captain out of Grand Rapids by the name of Russ Wyle, who was a heavy weapons unit commander and he and I got along just famously well for a lot of reasons, but one reason was that he and I understood heavy weapons. When we were in combat, we were at the mercy of ammunition that was kicked out of airplanes. We had no other supply we didn’t have a vehicle. We had nothing, so you can imagine what ammunition looks like when it’s kicked out of an airplane that is flying on its side and food incidentally, that’s a story in itself . 50:38 Anyway we salvaged what we could of the 81MM rounds and we stacked 3 mortars side by side maybe an arm’s length apart and the Japanese were very predictable, I said for example, that as they went down the mountain they had, what I would call, a headquarters base along the trail. They figured those lazy Yankees will just use our base and we did, we went across the trail. Then the Japanese Navy would shell where they had been assuming that we were there and we were just across the trail. Very predictable. They always left stacks of rice, stacks of Sake and a lot of other stuff, which communicated that they weren’t in too healthy condition. 51:35 We didn’t touch and rice or any Sake period. It could have been poisoned or it could have been booby trapped, we don’t know so we left it alone. This Captain and I, we got our heads together one day and decided that since the Japanese had a tendency to get drunk on Sake, if you left them alone long enough. We would do that and then we would stock pile any ammo we could get and when they decided to get drunk, we just poured it to them. 52:10 And if you left them alone for two weeks they would do the same thing again and that’s how 21 �we won the war. Incidentally, I think I sent you a picture of the Japanese Colonel that he and I went to the commanding Generals staff college together. That’s interesting, very interesting. Many may not appreciate it, but I thought it was quite nice. Interviewer: “Do you remember the first casualty you saw?” Yes, I sure do. I had a direct appointment from Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant, which is unusual, as did my wife’s brother and my cousin who became the vice President of Hayworth and died a couple of weeks ago. There were 9 of us, I think, out of 9600 who were commissioned by direct appointment through written and oral examinations and the question, I’m deviating a little bit. What was the question again? 53:16 Interviewer: “What was the first casualty you saw?” The first casualty I saw just happened to be a young Lieutenant that was commissioned the same day we were and this was maybe the second day we were in combat. I was again leading a patrol along the trail and there he was lying off the side of the road. I’m not going to explain the condition he was in, but that was the first one. Every once in a while you would run into one or you would hear about one. You get morning reports telling you who got killed and from what unit and that sort of thing. That’s the tough part. We had again, since my brother in law and I were commissioned, your natural tendency is that your enlisted buddies are your buddies, but in the military there is a line of demarcation between being a buddy and being a leader, so they transferred us out of the Holland unit into the Grand Rapids unit so we could be away from our direct contacts. There was one particular morning, for some reason or other, I just walked across the trail, maybe 100 yards and chatted with some of my buddies from Holland. 54:45 I went back to my unit and within 10 minutes, 12 of them were killed. They just 22 �happened to get hit by a Japanese Navy barrage and I was that close to being there with them. That’s tough. That is really tough. Interviewer: “I have to ask you about MacArthur. How did you view MacArthur?” I don’t think I’m in the minority, I hope I’m not in the minority, and I don’t want to create the impression that I’m a brilliant tactician, but I do think that it’s fair for me to say that one of the reasons my wife’s brother and I were commissioned Lieutenants is that we probably look at the big picture and that’s why we became officers. I heard a lot of guys complaining about MacArthur when we were in combat and we were in combat to the point we were, I think, down to somewhere around 10% of our original troops strength by the time we were replaced. 56:03 I don’t think the average person had a clue as to why and the reason why is there was no alternative. You had to hold the ground with what you had. Therefore, we took a terrible beating physically and many other ways. I personally, the very first time I heard General MacArthur speak was about a week before we went into combat. I would have gone through a brick wall for that man. No question about it. 56:30 Then once I became a casualty, I mean a malaria casualty, the first experience I had with him was, we were outside the combat zone and refresher teaching 81 MM mortar and the army regulations say that “upon a visitation by an inspecting officer, the assisting instructor shall report to the inspector.” Now you heard and seen all about MacArthur with his flag flying and all that stuff and I just happened to look up and there stood MacArthur leaning up against a tree sucking on his corn cob pipe. There wasn’t any evidence of anyone else around, so I sent my assistant instructor over to report to him like your supposed to and he said “just keep doing what your doing, I just want to see what your doing.” 57:24 That was the first time, the second time was, 23 �we were in a casualty area where we were being rehabilitated, in New Guinea and the officers, needless to say, were separated from the enlisted men and some of us, I wasn’t one of them, but some of the officers bought Australian horses. This was back in Australia and we built a corral and we rode horses. The nurses rode horses and we all rode horses. One day MacArthur came showing up and he was death on booze, really death on booze and would you believe where he met us was a junction between the officers quarters and the post and above the post was a sign “Bottle Boulevard”. 58:12 I thought, “boy were going to get chewed here” and he looked up and he said “gentlemen it looks like the morale must be pretty good here”. Now, the man had an ego that wouldn’t quit, no question about it. If you analyze why he was what he was and the condition under which he had to fight, with his arms tied behind him, because if you read history in depth, you find out the first team is in Europe, no question, two reasons, the first reason is obvious, political, the second reason was in terms of distance, the third reason was that right here in this city, you have Polish, you have Jews, you have Catholics, you have protestants, you have Dutch and in those days people could identify with their families, therefore, their families in the Netherlands or wherever were being punished and therefore, we should go and help them no question, but who ever heard of Buna, New Guinea? 59:15 That’s part of the problem. The other part of the problem was that professionally, General Macarthur had some buddies that didn’t like him too well because he bypassed them in a hurry getting promoted and he was, as one person classified him as the American Caesar. I have to throw this in, Senator Fredricks, a state Senator at that time and I were invited to a 100th anniversary celebration of MacArthur’s birthday in Norfolk Virginia and we were personal guests of Mrs. MacArthur at a dinner 24 �and Sunday morning we joined her for “The Memoirs”, the movie, the bio. We were in the bookstore and there were two books there. “Macarthur the American Caesar” and “the Memoirs” or something like that and I said “Mrs. Macarthur would you sign this, autograph this for me?” She said “I will that, but not that one.” She just despised that other book, American Caesar. Past 60 minutes to :21 on the same tape. We had a close relationship. Other than that, because of my long involvement with the military since WWII, it is only natural that I would study the tactics and strategy and when you think of what the man had to do, he did a great job and if you look at his casualty percentages for the real estate he took, he did a commendable job. :50 I wasn’t too comfortable with the Truman firing of MacArthur, but at that time I was a student at Commanding General Staff College and some of the faculty were members of MacArthur’s staff and so I shared with them what my personal feeling was and they said, “you may feel that way, but you must remember the president of the United States is the president of the United States.” MacArthur was insubordinate, no doubt about it he was. 1:21 Interviewer: “In a couple of sentences, how would you sum up your experiences in the Pacific?” The most difficult thing was time and distance. We couldn’t tell our families where we were. “Somewhere in the South Pacific” that’s pretty general, so when your family reads about what’s going on in the Pacific they can come to all kind of assumptions, they don’t have a clue if you are in New Guinea, Guadalcanal, or where you are as compared to today with videos and we have a grandson who is a Calvin student and he is sending us communications through his laptop computer. That’s the most difficult thing, worrying 25 �about the people back home and their worrying about you and your not getting you mail for 30 days, so your disconnected from the world. 2:32 26 � 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 SikkelW1 Title A name given to the resource Sikkel, William (Interview transcript and video, 1 of 2), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sikkel, William Description An account of the resource William A. Sikkel joined the Michigan National Guard before World War II and served in the army on active duty between 1940 and 1945 in the 126th Regiment, 32nd "Red Arrow" Division. He attended Officer Candidate School before the division shipped out to the Pacific and served in Australia and New Guinea as a platoon and company commander and as a staff officer. He remained in the National Guard after the war, and also served as mayor of Holland, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Van Til, Anita (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army 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 2007-06-14 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/2e1db11f86138980e9034c3308866116.mp4 75ee17f6255fe14b132c7f75fe83628d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e7b6a8eb87b6789612c21acd97150d67.pdf 02309b6852ab298074b000f323318430 PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW WILLIAM SIKKEL #2 Interview Date: 11/07/05 Transcribed: May 6, 2007 by Joan Raymer The enlistment was about a hundred. I think the last numbers we had were 104 or about that. They changed it because too many were leaving. I took a patrol one day and I passed out. I don’t have a clue how I got back to port. All I know is when I came to we were a hundred and some miles away and I was loaded on an airplane. I didn’t have a clue as to how it happened. 0:31 The first thing I remember is the nurse told me I had a 105.6° temperature. Interviewer: “You were close to boiling.” That was pretty high. I was wrapped in an ice pack and Cannon towels. 0:44 Interviewer: “Were you ever injured?” That is a joke because we used to kid some individuals as being recipients of a Purple Heart because they cut their finger in a can. I was nicked so little on my leg that it wasn’t worth going to the aid station with, so I didn’t. 1:27 I remember one bullet coming by my head so close that I could feel the heat, but I wasn’t hit. I guess that is a good way to answer the question. “I wasn’t hit.” malaria and the rest of the diseases that came with it, was about all that I could handle. Interviewer: “One of the problems we keep hearing about is supplies and problems getting supplies.” “How did this affect the men?” I think what hurt us most and I’m sure Gordon must have touched on this, when you kick canned food such as corned beef out of an airplane and if it is lucky enough to hit the ground, sometimes it would miss and go into the belly of the airplane, because the 1 �temperature was such that if you didn’t eat it right away it was going to spoil. 2:30 You can imagine what condition those cans were in after they hit. The thing that bothered us the most, at least me was, “have you heard about the rice in the sock? Have you heard that?” You couldn’t cook it. We had no fire, so whatever you did have, you couldn’t cook it so you couldn’t eat it. That bothered more than anything else. 2:52 Try to eat rice that is soaked in a can all night. It doesn’t get very soft. Canned goods, whatever they were, were eaten cold is cold that’s it. Interviewer: “At night in the jungle, what was it like?” Strange, because you never know if your going to make it through the night intact or not. The biggest problem is obvious, it was mosquitoes. 3:47 There was no way to avoid them. We did have some spray cans, but we were either wet from rain or wet from sweat so any spraying you did was almost meaningless. We were given order to keep our pants on. The only clothes we had were what we had on so your hands are bare from your shirt on down and in the morning your hands and wrists were pretty raw from where the mosquitoes went to work on you. 4:21 Because the anopheles mosquito was prevalent, “How do you avoid malaria? There is no way.” That is by far the worst. I sent you a picture of an individual on a rack of branches about a foot above the water. You just can’t comprehend what some of the jungle is like. I did send you a picture of the individual walking in the mud with the boot. Once you walk on the trail with 50, 60 or 100 people, it becomes a quagmire in a hurry. 4:53 So night time, that and the uncertainty of what might happen, but you get so fatigued you get in your little foxhole and you go to sleep. There are exceptions though, I remember we threw cold water on a guy who had a nightmare and then we told him to shut up and we threw some sod at him. 2 �Well in the morning when we got up, he was dead. 5:19 He had a heart attack and died. We didn’t know that, we just tried to shock him out of his delirium. You can’t get away from the rain. There is no way you can get away from the rain and that is difficult. You can’t get away from the hot sun. That is difficult and the humidity is incredible so nighttime was no relief in the jungle. Along the shore it was wonderful. It was wonderful anyplace along the shore. 5:53 There was a nice breeze and that is where you wanted to be. But that was limited to about 2 miles. Interviewer: “How were orders given and received during the Buna Campaign?” Very interesting question and the reason it is interesting is this. How we were trained. We were trained to receive orders by message blanks, arm and hand signals and radio orders. In the jungle the first orders were to take off all of your insignia. So if you met somebody you didn’t have a clue what kind of a rank they had. The second thing we learned was that arm and hand signals were suicide. 6:37 These Japanese, being up in the trees, more often than not would see you coming and all I had to do was give a hand signal and they would know that I was the leader. So you had to think of almost a whispering campaign. I remember a Captain friend of mine, he got so paranoid that it was months after we got out of combat and he still whispered for fear of being hurt. 7:03 I guess that pretty much answers your question. It was a whole different means of communication. I can give you one humorous example, at the time it was pathetic, but it is humorous. We were going into an open field, what I call an open field was a field with 6-7 feet of grass and a trail down the middle and coconut logs here and there. I knew that because I had been through there before. When you’re around the perimeter, you’re in cocoanut trees and you don’t know from now until then if you’re going to be observed. 3 �So you run the chance of running across this open field to get in the grass. I had a guy ahead of me, usually when I had a patrol out you get to know who are the savvy leaders and who are the followers, you can say “you were a Lieutenant why weren’t you up front?”, well you can’t have control when up in front and on the other hand , you don’t want to be a coward and be the last one. 8:02 So you compromise and I would usually compromise by being the second or third one from the front. I would brief them before we went as to what we could expect, if I knew what to expect. Several areas I knew what to expect. This one guy, I don’t know how I could get through to that guy and make him listen, so I said, “when you get on that trail you’re going to see a great big coconut log across the trail.” “Don’t go over it, go around it because if they see you go over it they are going to shoot you.” Would you believe he went over it and they got him right in the rear. Well, I said, “now do you understand what I was talking about?” That’s training the hard way, but I tried to tell them in advance what was going to happen. That is one way of leadership. If you look at arm and hand signals and the mortality rate of 2nd Lieutenants, you’re going to find that percentage wise it is very high. 9:08 The reason is that with arm and hand signals you’re so trained to lead that it is almost a given, “how do you communicate without doing it?” “If you turn around to talk, you’re a dead duck so you have to figure out other ways.” Interviewer: “Were you a man of faith before you went?” “Oh absolutely.” Interviewer: “Has that changed?” “Yes, it has strengthened.” There is a correlation there that I think has some bearing. 9:42 It just so happens that the night before my 22nd birthday, which happened to be 4 �Thanksgiving day, so were coming up on that too, my now brother-in-law, who became my brother-in-law, but at that time my “buddy” who was a 2nd Lieutenant and a machine gunner, said to me “when we get back to Holland, what are you going to do?” 10:02 I said “one, I am going to buy a sailboat and two, I am going to contribute to the community to the best of my ability.” I was 21 years old now. That night I was selected to run the first night patrol on the Sanananda trail. The day patrol was suicide and the night patrol was unheard of, but for some reason or other that’s what the old man said he wanted. 10:25 So I went up to the battalion commander that at that time happened to be Major George Bond out of Adrian Michigan and my company commander and the Chaplain and I emptied my pockets and I handed everything to the Chaplain and I told him that if I don’t come back to send this to my mother. 10:43 I guess that is something that you cannot forget. The next day her brother was clobbered with a mortar shell. I survived that day I don’t know, faith maybe. Therein lies a real question of theology. Her brother was killed in Anzio , but if it hadn’t been that her brother was wounded overseas, I wouldn’t have ended up with his sister. 11:19 You look at fate in so many ways. Temporary conversions, I saw lots of that. We saw lots of that, but faith ran real silent in the individuals. You could just tell by their demeanor how comfortable they were with what was going on. “Did I send you a copy of the diary of this Lieutenant that died?” I have one with me and it is something you should have. This was a friend of mine. He was a 27-year-old Lieutenant at the time out of I Company, which is a Grand Rapids unit, but he was a reserve officer. 11:59 Now you understand that one of the things your going to end up with in this interview is the differences, communication being one, evacuation being another. Here is a man who is wounded by the Japanese; we 5 �can hear him holler for help. Someone sent a Captain, a Lieutenant, a medic and a Sergeant, all out of Grand Rapids and all killed trying to save the Lieutenant. So the order came out “no more”. Not too long after that I was sent out on patrol and on my way back I decided on my own “I’m going to see if I can find Lieutenant Horton”. Well I found Lieutenant Horton, but he had died. 12:43 He wrote a diary while he was dying and it is awesome and I have it here, but the next to the last paragraph says something like this. “I have a pistol and I could kill myself, but for some reason or other I don’t think that God has that plan for me.” Then he said, “I now know how Christ felt on the cross.” That is pretty heavy stuff. Anyway, I did find him and I did take his personal effects and I did turn it in to the next higher command and it’s now history. Interviewer: “When you came back to West Michigan, did you visit any of the families of the men who died over there?” I did, but I don’t know if I should go here. You might want to cut this off. 13:41 I am morally compelled to tell you this story and if you want to follow through on a different interview that’s fine. One of the men that left us in Louisiana, and I think I alluded to that earlier, from Zeeland, a wonderful friend of mine, I talked to you about it before we started taping, ended up as a prisoner of war in Tunisia, spent 2 ½ years in Germany as a prisoner of war and when I came home from overseas his mother called me and said, ”when you go visit him at Percy Jones Hospital”, by this time he is a Captain, he’s sitting on the floor in a hallway at Percy Jones, in a robe, staring off into space. 14:33 I stuck my hand out to shake hands with him and he jerked his hand back and he said, “Bill, for some reason I have an aversion to shaking hands.” His family was thrilled because that was the first time he had talked. He had shock treatments and all that and eventually he 6 �regained his ability, but there is a part of his life that is gone. He later ended up with a Dr. of Divinity degree out of Duke University and had a wonderful family and a wonderful career. He finished a book about two weeks ago and he sent me a copy with honors. 15:06 That’s wrong and there were others naturally. There were 2 brothers killed in one day out of our outfit and naturally I went to see that family and others. Interviewer: “Tell us what kinds of diseases you had other than malaria.” It started out with dysentery and that needless to say weakened us to start with. Then malaria, tropical ulcers, which is external on the legs, typhus, hookworm, ringworm and I don’t know what else. 15:48 Jaundice, I have never gotten a straight answer on that one. We ran out of Quinine because the Japanese had gotten a hold of it in Java so when we ran out of Quinine right about that time they had come up with a formula called Atabrine that you have probably heard about. We are convinced of one of two things, either the product hadn’t been field tested enough or there were rumors that it had been sabotaged. 16:22 We started taking that and two things happened. Number one, we became yellow and really jaundiced and whether that was a product of the yellow tablet, I don’t have any idea to this day. I do know they certainly improved the technique of controlling malaria. Interesting side here as I have shared with you before, our first campaign had 83% malaria and our second campaign, which was the Aitape Campaign, someone conceived the brilliant idea of going over with bombers first and spraying with oil and DDT. 17:06 They reduced the incidence, I am talking replacement troops, down to 6% and the third down to 1% just by going over before and killing off the mosquitoes before going in. I don’t think anything compares with malaria; I never realized how serious it was until I discovered my own personal malaria with 6 months to go and spending time in the 7 �hospital. When you consider the people in foreign countries today who die because of malaria, it is unbelievable. Interviewer: “Considering injuries and sickness, how were people evacuated?” That is a very interesting question and I am very glad you asked it. With today’s mindset of helicopters and medevac and all that stuff, we didn’t even have a Jeep. We had nothing except hand carry. 18:12 What I mean by hand carry, until we were well into the campaign when we finally did get a Jeep that was brought in with an airplane, we had a hand carry. Elaine’s brother for example, he was wounded and operated on in a thatch roof hut with a mud floor and no windows and they used a flashlight for surgery and then carried 6 miles back to another hospital out in an open field, which was bombed incidentally and eventually over the mountain to New Guinea. So most of our medevac was hand carry. Plasma was almost unheard of so the mortality rate compared to today’s combat was very high. 19:01 Interviewer: “We are going to totally change now. Who was there to meet you when you came home to Holland?” Well my dad had died a week before I went overseas so the first thing I did was check in with my mother because I was the oldest of 5 kids. I had a brother in the Air Force at the time. The second thing I did was run over to see my buddy’s family who lived a few blocks away. To greet us when we cam under the San Francisco Bridge and pulled into the dock, the band was playing and of course that was fabulous and other than that I was a troop commander of a train from San Francisco to Fort Sheridan Illinois so we were not a unit, we were all individuals on that train and we went our separate ways from Fort Sheridan home. 20:04 My mother, sisters and younger brother were all happy to see me 8 �as were my grandma and grandpa and the rest and my wife’s mother and dad because I had been friends of the family forever. That was a good homecoming and the people from my church were happy because I was one of the very first people from our church to go on active duty so after 5 years that is quite a while. 20:36 Interviewer: “You said you wanted to buy a sailboat when you returned and you wanted to contribute to your community when you returned.” Well it took me 20 years to get the sailboat, but I did join the Chamber of Commerce and I did join the Salvation Army Advisory board, in fact I’m a life member and still am. I did get involved with the community through the Chamber of Commerce and eventually the Kiwanis Club there and someone came up with the bright idea that I should run for Mayor and that happened. Also, I made U.S. history by being defeated by a youngster fresh out of college. We moved into Allegan County and I became a County Commissioner and I was that for 10 years. 21:27 I guess that I lived up to my promise that I would make a commitment to my community. 9 � 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 SikkelW2 Title A name given to the resource Sikkel, William (Interview transcript and video, 2 of 2), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sikkel, William Description An account of the resource William A. Sikkel joined the Michigan National Guard before World War II and served in the army on active duty between 1940 and 1945 in the 126th Regiment, 32nd "Red Arrow" Division. He attended Officer Candidate School before the division shipped out to the Pacific and served in Australia and New Guinea as a platoon and company commander and as a staff officer. He remained in the National Guard after the war, and also served as mayor of Holland, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Van Til, Anita (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army 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 2007-06-14 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/d93c25724c8e9f2ad50b1ad9e3a665a0.pdf 9d1f762a7201b21d7113da48f64e079e PDF Text Text omestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Month SltENT WITNESS ,~ t. . .... . -. ~ PROGRAM Tuesday, October 2, 2007 12:00pm Grand Valley State University Grand River Room/ Kirkhof Center Join the GVSU community in remembering West Michigan women and their families that have died as a result of domestic violence. Hear their stories and remember their names. Music will be provided by the Voices of GVSU, with opening remarks by Jennifer Markum, Executive Director of Safe Haven Ministries. @ GRANDVALLEY Sponsored by: GVSU Women's Center, Center for Women in Transition, GVSU Women & Gender Studies. and Eyes Wide Open Student Organization. STATE UNIVERSITY For individuals requiring special occomodotions, please coll the Women's Center at 616.3312748 or email at womenctr@gvsuedu WOMEN'S CENTER � 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 GVSU Sexuality and Gender Flyers Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Rainbow Resource Center Women and Gender Studies Department Women's Commission Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity Description An account of the resource Digitized posters, flyers, event notices, and other materials relating to gender expression and sexuality at Grand Valley State University, with materials spanning from 1974 to 2019. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974/2019 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized from collections at the Rainbow Resource Center (formerly the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center), Women and Gender Studies Department, Women's Commission, and Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Gender identity Gender expression Sexual orientation Women's studies Queer theory Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09_SGF_Womens-Center_2007_Silent-Witness-Program-Poster.pdf Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Women's Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-10-02 Title A name given to the resource Silent Witness Program Description An account of the resource Poster with a synopsis of the program and the time and location of it. Subject The topic of the resource Community centers National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Family violence Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Women's Center Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/db57b4a25836096a20016aaca406d925.pdf 23b1ef4a48fbb735edc12377771ce724 PDF Text Text Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Wednesday,October 8, 2008 12:00- l DOpm Grand Valley State University Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center Join the GVSU community in remembering M ichigan women and their families that hove died as a result of both wrthln our own community and ocr= the state. Hee, their stories and remember their domest ic v,olern:e. Following the program. refreshments ond a hme for refleclton will be offered in the Womens Center. No parking passes will be required lor this even! Please park in lat H across from the Kirkhof Cen1er Sponso"'d by, Gl'SUWrnoon', Ceo.le< Ceo"" io, \',bmeo 1o 1rons>hon. GVSU Womer,/!. Gendel Stodie. and Eye, Wide Open Stooont O,gon1Zoli0r, fa, ro,,,«Lais «,qui,ing ,pe,:,ol ocromodolions. ploo.,e cell >he Wome,,'s Cenle< ct 616.331 2748 o, email a, womenc""9v><,~, � 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 GVSU Sexuality and Gender Flyers Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Rainbow Resource Center Women and Gender Studies Department Women's Commission Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity Description An account of the resource Digitized posters, flyers, event notices, and other materials relating to gender expression and sexuality at Grand Valley State University, with materials spanning from 1974 to 2019. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974/2019 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized from collections at the Rainbow Resource Center (formerly the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center), Women and Gender Studies Department, Women's Commission, and Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Gender identity Gender expression Sexual orientation Women's studies Queer theory Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09_SGF_Womens-Center_2008_Silent-Witness-Program.pdf Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Women's Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-10-08 Title A name given to the resource Silent Witness Program Description An account of the resource Poster with a synopsis of the program and the time and location of it. Subject The topic of the resource Community centers National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Family violence Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Women's Center Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/459c7d7fc675f501e28c487d318df76f.pdf e99d8ede0486f64f48f8fda4b46d8b0c PDF Text Text I > OCTOBER IS OMESTIC VIOLENCE ARENESS MONTH Join us for the unveiling of the Silent Witness Project. View the silhouettes, with the names and stories of West Michigan women killed by acts of domestic violence. Please join us for this powerful ceremony as we renew our commitment to stopping violence. Silent Witness Unveiling Tuesday, October 12th; Noon-1 pm Cook DeWitt Plaza. - located by the clock tower (In case of rain the event will be moved to the Kirkhof Center Lobby) Silent Witness Re-Shrouding Friday, October 15th; 10am Cook DeWitt Plaza - located by the clock tower (In case of rain the event will be moved to the Kirkhof Center Lobby) Co-sponsors: Center for Women in Transition, GVSU Women's Center, GVSU Women's Issues Volunteer Corps, GVSU Women & Gender Studies, and Eyes Wide Open Peer Sexual Assault Education Group. For directions and/or questions please call the GVSU Women's Center at 616-331-2748 or check our website at www.gvsu.edu/women_ctr. Community members may park in Lot Hon campus, or obtain a free parking pass through our public safety office located on the north-end of campus. @ GRANo"\AfLEv 5TATElJNivERsrry WOMEN'S CENTER � 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 GVSU Sexuality and Gender Flyers Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Rainbow Resource Center Women and Gender Studies Department Women's Commission Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity Description An account of the resource Digitized posters, flyers, event notices, and other materials relating to gender expression and sexuality at Grand Valley State University, with materials spanning from 1974 to 2019. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974/2019 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized from collections at the Rainbow Resource Center (formerly the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center), Women and Gender Studies Department, Women's Commission, and Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Gender identity Gender expression Sexual orientation Women's studies Queer theory Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09_SGF_Womens-Center_2005_Domestic-Violence-Awareness-Month.pdf Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Women's Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005-10 Title A name given to the resource Silent Witness Unveiling Description An account of the resource Flyer with information on the unveiling which related to Domestic Violence. Date is approximate, according to location found in archive binder. Subject The topic of the resource Community centers National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Family violence Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Women's Center Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9e45119c5473fa43a48bfd579d59c86a.jpg 47688fe3ef1debe958dd44c2b37bdab4 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</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 2017-04-04 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> 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-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</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-50_1739 Title A name given to the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer, March 1, 1954. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Russia Military education Warships--Recognition Slides 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 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954-03-01 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/ecae8c1a003fb63765ce09992106794f.jpg 53728184f832257559fffce623431f05 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</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 2017-04-04 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> 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-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</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-50_1752 Title A name given to the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer, March 1, 1954. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Russia Military education Warships--Recognition Slides 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 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954-03-01 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/f5959ce79b11d8a135e5fef3214646df.jpg ff01c5ce70a8098af6cdf5f0f8afbbd3 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</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 2017-04-04 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> 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-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</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-50_1755 Title A name given to the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Silnyl class Russian destroyer, March 1, 1954. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Russia Military education Warships--Recognition Slides 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 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954-03-01 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/7ee4be74519430e06869981c4a7c377d.jpg 686f3a68a03517797eadcb5aab442b2d 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_45_1916_010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1916-08-19 Title A name given to the resource Silver Cascade Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a rocky waterfall surrounded by trees. Subject The topic of the resource New Hampshire Waterfalls 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/ced69fafd82adc6c79b1f73e9b536f96.jpg 955bb5492d7677b569d77d7f10fd8f9e 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_Graflex_C_1938_003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938-08-20 Title A name given to the resource Silver Cascade Saco River Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a narrow waterfall on a rocky hillside. Trees are visible on either side of the cascade. Subject The topic of the resource Connecticut Waterfalls 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