885 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/63300c646c1a1d5d8370ebd3186c51d0.jpg 4243441508d204f383a8bb91ef123385 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 Mathias J. Alten Collection Subject The topic of the resource Grand Rapids (Mich.) Artists--Michigan Painters Photographs Description An account of the resource Digitized photographs, artworks, and diary transcript from the papers of West Michigan painter, Mathias J. Alten (1871-1938) represent one of the most important collections in the holdings of both the University Library's Special Collections and the University Art Gallery. Alten, a German native who came to Grand Rapids as a youth, is a celebrated American regionalist often referred to as the Dean of Michigan Painters. The photographs and papers document his family life and career and support the collection of Alten paintings owned by the University. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alten, M. (Mathias), 1871-1938 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/456">Mathias J. Alten papers (RHC-28)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-28 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1893 - 1929 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/456">Mathias J. Alten papers, RHC-28</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-28_MAlten_00046 Title A name given to the resource Sketch of drawing class by Mathias Alten Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alten, M. (Mathias), 1871-1938 Description An account of the resource Sketch of drawing class by Mathias Alten. captioned ""Mr. Alten's life class at work, with well draped model posing, from a sketch by Alten."" Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Subject The topic of the resource Alten, M. (Mathias), 1871-1938 Grand Rapids (Mich.) Artists--Michigan Painters Photographs 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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7108a84d19728028bc87bb7fb2c7c1a1.jpg ff8446d1f8608a4be28ed2f9ed77bcd3 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 Mathias J. Alten Collection Subject The topic of the resource Grand Rapids (Mich.) Artists--Michigan Painters Photographs Description An account of the resource Digitized photographs, artworks, and diary transcript from the papers of West Michigan painter, Mathias J. Alten (1871-1938) represent one of the most important collections in the holdings of both the University Library's Special Collections and the University Art Gallery. Alten, a German native who came to Grand Rapids as a youth, is a celebrated American regionalist often referred to as the Dean of Michigan Painters. The photographs and papers document his family life and career and support the collection of Alten paintings owned by the University. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alten, M. (Mathias), 1871-1938 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/456">Mathias J. Alten papers (RHC-28)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-28 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1893 - 1929 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/456">Mathias J. Alten papers, RHC-28</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-28_MAlten_00045_by_Barnes_GRP Title A name given to the resource Sketch of Mathias Alten by Ray Barnes Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Barnes, Ray (Illustrator) Description An account of the resource Sketch of Mathias Alten by Ray Barnes, published in the Grand Rapids Press. One illustration used in article, ""G.R. artist began his notable career near inspiring German miracle spring."" Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Subject The topic of the resource Alten, M. (Mathias), 1871-1938 Grand Rapids (Mich.) Artists--Michigan Painters Photographs 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 Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d0942be7f50de8eb70eb420f26bed36d.jpg a41f4266ad5d93148e09e445b2970bb6 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 Platte Red Arrow Division collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Platte, Richard Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs and a scrapbook pertaining to the 126th Infantry, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division of the U.S. Army. Sgt. Richard "Dick" Platte, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, served in the U.S. Army, 32nd Infantry "Red Arrow" Division, 126th 3rd Battalion, Headquarters Company. The company trained for the war in Europe at Camp Livingston, Louisiana in 1941 and conducted maneuvers near Camp Beauregard. In the spring of 1942 the 32nd Division sailed to the South Pacific and settled in Australia. The 126th Regiment was organized into a combat team and was the first of U.S. forces dispatched to Port Moresby in New Guinea. 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 1941-1945 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Richard Platte Red Arrow Division collection (RHC-99) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army United States. Army. Infantry Division, 32nd United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 126th World War, 1939-1945 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-99 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Text 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-99_Platte_014_1942_sketch Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hillraid, F. John 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 Sketch of Richard Platte, 1942 Description An account of the resource Sketch of Richard "Dick" Platte by F. John Hillraid in Boston Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army World War, 1939-1945 United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/635">Richard Platte Red Arrow Division Collection, (RHC-99)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401 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/jpg Language A language of the resource eng 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4f9d16d04d43ebcf236f73d556a9a843.jpg 53860e9e335d4b2eec99422bb53b10aa 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 1980s 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_000884 Title A name given to the resource Sketching scenery for a Stage 3 performance Description An account of the resource Sketching scenery for a Stage 3 performace. 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 black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6d1bc83cc2fe150a0eb67d616f51d52a.jpg 18c29dfb2dd32c5f90a9b59fd168eeb1 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_000769 Title A name given to the resource Ski chalet Description An account of the resource Student walking by the ski chalet on the Allendale campus. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Facilities 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 black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c3886d57e5620a610905cba9cb7ff4a0.jpg bf2c49c50f2ac3806c35b25ce89c8fe7 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_000331 Title A name given to the resource Ski chalet on Allendale campus Description An account of the resource Ski chalet on Allendale campus. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Facilities 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 black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bb2dcedd658d492569dca6bf4af6fd65.jpg 02ea0d1079c4111df3a0c7dd5d004c16 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_X002-0013 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 1983-01-17/1983-01-19 Title A name given to the resource Skinner Chapel, Holyoke, Massachusetts Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph featuring an exterior view of Skinner Chapel during the winter in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Churches--Massachusetts--Holyoke Holyoke (Mass.)--Churches 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 1980s 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/d1a40545f77924763d29322219e42c8b.jpg bdec370b34dc1af4b6326fbd2c59f3e8 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_X002-0027 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 1983-01-17/1983-01-19 Title A name given to the resource Skinner Chapel, Holyoke, Massachusetts Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph featuring an interior view of Skinner Chapel's entrance and stained glass windows in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Churches--Massachusetts--Holyoke Holyoke (Mass.)--Churches 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 1980s 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/a7808a5ce3553559ab0fa94d9880462c.jpg e1484c7ea69489049cef06d4f179e4da 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_X006-0012 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 1983-01-17/1983-01-19 Title A name given to the resource Skinner Chapel, Holyoke, Massachusetts Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph featuring an interior view of Skinner Chapel's nave in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Churches--Massachusetts--Holyoke Holyoke (Mass.)--Churches 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 1980s 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/31012a76c097d9d5cdc8f15d7f45984d.m4v bbf224827662f9c0776b9e5a58b7cbc9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/22b3d496a8e0e0caba0720c40699ca36.pdf a06ab61e72c6765c2b797fa71afd29bb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Marc Skinner Vietnam War 51 minutes 36 seconds (00:00:20) Early Life -Born in Richmond, Indiana in 1948 -Grew up in Richmond, Indiana and graduated from high school there in 1966 -Went to Ball State University -Stayed for a year and a half -Being in college protected him from getting drafted -His father was a printer -His mother was a beautician -She was a French war-bride from when his father fought in WWII -He had a younger brother and younger sister (00:01:41) Awareness of the Vietnam War -In his junior year of high school a teacher’s brother was killed in action in Vietnam -In high school that was the most exposure he had to the war -In Richmond they didn’t receive a lot of national news -Once he went to college he was able to find out more about the war (00:02:19) College and Dropping Out -At Ball State he majored in political science with a minor in physical education -For the first semester he lived in the dorms -In his second semester he joined a fraternity -He went from having a C+ average to a C- average -With his grades slipping he decided to drop out and try again after taking a semester off -He worked at a Burger King and prepared to go back to college (00:03:57) Getting Drafted -Because he dropped out he was eligible for the draft -He was drafted in late January (or February) 1968 (00:04:24) Basic Training -He was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey for basic training -It was shocking to get rapidly immersed into Army living -Especially coming from a small town -For the first six weeks of training the trainees had to stay on the base -The physical training was challenging, but not impossible for him -He had an athletic background, so the training took some adjusting, but not too much -The toughest part of basic training was the psychological adjusting that had to take place -Trained with a mix of enlisted men and draftees -Everyone had their own story as to why they were in the Army -Trained with men from all over the northeastern U.S. and the northeastern Midwest -Basic training lasted eight weeks -During last week of basic training received orders for advanced infantry training �(00:07:28) Leadership Course -Before he went to advanced infantry training he took a two week leadership course -He had served as his squad leader while in basic training -Felt that being in a leadership position would allow for greater survivability in Vietnam (00:08:01) Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) -He took his advanced infantry training at Fort Dix -He was made a squad leader during AIT -They had been introduced to weapons and tactics in basic training, but AIT built on that -Began working with the M-16 assault rifle and grenade launchers -Learning how to build bunkers -Learning how to carry out field maneuvers -He also received land navigation training and map reading training -AIT lasted another eight weeks (00:10:04) Noncommissioned Officers Training (NCO Training) -At the end of AIT there were three possible routes that could be taken: -Go to Vietnam, Officers’ Candidate School, or Noncommissioned Officers’ School -Because he showed some leadership potential, he went to the NCO School -It was a twelve week course on how to be a squad leader -Land navigation training was heavily stressed -Had to go out at night and reach a destination with a compass in a limited amount time -Did team building exercise with other NCO trainees -Mostly involved obstacle puzzles and how to solve it with your team -Also received further hand to hand combat training -He received his NCO training at Fort Benning, Georgia -Learned how to rappel out of helicopters -The NCO training ended with him being promoted to the rank of E5 (sergeant) (00:14:25) AIT as an NCO -After NCO training he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington to work with an AIT training unit -His task at Fort Lewis was to lead soldiers through AIT -Throughout his training experience the instructors had been Vietnam veterans -They mostly relied on scare tactics to train the recruits -He stayed at Fort Lewis for eight weeks (one training cycle) -By the end of all of his training he had already satisfied one year of his two year commitment -He just had to survive one year in Vietnam and then he would be discharged (00:16:00) Deployment to Vietnam -He left for Vietnam on March 31, 1970 and arrived in country on April 1, 1970 -He had been sent over as a replacement for a unit that needed a sergeant -Arrived in Cam Ranh Bay -From there went to Da Nang and spent a couple days there -His first impression of Vietnam was that it stunk -When he arrived he and the other replacements were greeted by soldiers that were leaving -The veterans greeted them with insults and slurs -Upon arriving he didn’t have any specific unit orders (00:17:50) Assignment to the 101st Airborne Division -In Da Nang he received orders to join the 101st Airborne Division -The 101st was based out of Camp Evans, so he went there to join them �-Upon arriving at Camp Evans he received Screaming Eagle Replacement Training Section -The course lasted about one week -It consisted of learning how to survive in Vietnam -One of their tasks during SERTS was to guard the camp’s perimeter -They also received an introduction to booby traps and how to recognize them -This also included a minor introduction to rural Vietnamese culture -The locals used primitive snares to catch animals (not booby traps) (00:19:55) Assignment to Delta Company -Before he arrived the 101st had already established Firebase Ripcord -In the process, Brave Company and Delta Company had taken heavy losses -His initial assignment was to Bravo Company, but then it was changed to Delta -At Camp Evans he was instructed to put together a rucksack -A rucksack usually weighed about seventy pounds after all supplies were loaded -Carried 3, or 4, inflatable one gallon rubber bladders for carrying water -Ammunition -Rifle cleaning supplies -Eating utensils and food -Water proof containers for documents and personal effects -From Camp Evans he was picked up by a helicopter and sent into the field -He was going to be a replacement sergeant for a squad in Delta Company -Specifically serving as an assistant squad leader -There were initially eight to ten men in each squad (00:23:05) Introduction to 3rd Platoon -The third platoon of Delta Company was the platoon that he was assigned to serve with -The introduction of him into his specific squad happened fairly seamlessly -He was placed in charge of five men out of his squad to help set up ambushes -He paid close attention and learned from the veteran soldiers in his command -The first thing they taught him was to not walk on the trails -The other thing they taught him was to always stay quiet, and always stay aware -Always made sure to settle disputes without having to rely on pulling rank (00:26:24) Operating Around Firebase Ripcord -Around every firebase there was what was called an area of operations -Companies would go out and patrol the surrounding area to keep the enemy away -Firebase Ripcord was located on the edge of the A Shau Valley (divided Vietnam & Cambodia) -Ripcord’s primary mission was to disrupt the movement of the North Vietnamese -One company would stay at Ripcord and the other four would go out into the field -While patrolling the Ripcord area they would generally run into small enemy patrols or bunkers -It was a mountainous region -Usually covered 1200 to 1500 meters a day in a straight line -In reality they covered roughly 5000 meters a day due to going up hills/mountains -They made sure to never camp in the same place for two nights in a row -They would leave their camp at 7/7:30 AM -Move to a new position and establish a camp site there -From there they would send out patrols -Squads were sent for a couple hours, or platoons for the whole day �(00:30:50) Enemy Presence around Ripcord -Routinely discovered North Vietnamese bunker complexes -If they did they would gather intelligence and look for signs of enemy activity -Never carried enough explosives to actually destroy a bunker -Instead they would throw tear gas canisters into the bunker -This would make it so that no one could truly live inside the bunker -One time they found a 500 pound unexploded American bomb -Checked it for booby traps and decided that it was still safe -Called in a team and a few days later it was destroyed by a U.S. team -In the field they kept track of any enemy positions they found -Once they were clear they would call in artillery on those coordinates -Not only to destroy the positions, but to send a clear warning to the North Vietnamese (00:34:02) The Battle of Ripcord -As the Ripcord Campaign continued enemy activity continued to increase -Eventually there were 10,000 North Vietnamese soldiers against 1,000 U.S. troops -It became clear that it would be physically impossible to hold Ripcord -At times they would be routinely cut off from being resupplied or getting help -The help that they did get was in the way of helicopters -Eventually the North Vietnamese could time when helicopters arrived at the base -Once the helicopter landed they would fire mortars at the landing pad -If a helicopter was destroyed as it landed they would lose those supplies -From mid-April to July 1970 he had been stationed at Ripcord without going to Camp Evans -This meant that you couldn’t get clean, or get fresh fatigues -Also meant that you had to use what was available in the way of supplies on base -Because of the lack of hygiene he wound up getting a parasitic infection in both legs -He was evacuated back to Camp Evans for treatment -Spent ten days in the hospital receiving antibiotics and special washes -Wound up missing the fighting on Hill 1000 (part of the Battle of Ripcord) -One of his best friends was killed in the fighting on Hill 1000 (00:39:46) The Fall of Firebase Ripcord -Returned to Delta Company the day of the first attempt to rescue Alpha Company -Alpha Company of the 2nd/506th of the 101st Division was trapped on Hill 902 [805] -The first attempt was not carried out because the landing zone wasn’t secure -The next day Delta Company was sent out and was finally able to rescue Alpha Company -He was on the first helicopter into the landing zone (LZ) -Alpha Company had been pinned for three days and had 80% wounded -When they reached the LZ he watched as Cobra attack helicopters bombarded the NVA -When he got on the ground he was able to disable a NVA machine gun nest -In the process he wounded in the leg and was evacuated -It turned out the wound had been minor and he was able to rejoin his company the next day -The day he rejoined Delta Company Ripcord was abandoned and destroyed by the U.S. -Firebase Ripcord fell on July 23, 1970 (00:44:38) End of Service with Delta Company -After Ripcord fell his company was able to go for a stand down at Camp Evans -Lasted five, or six, days -Men were starting to get into fights �-Racial tensions flared -His company was sent up to Firebase Kathryn which was in the hills near Camp Evans -It was a quieter area of operations than Ripcord had been -From Kathryn they continued patrols in the field -He received an R&R in mid-October 1970 to Sydney, Australia -Celebrated his twenty second birthday in Australia -When he returned from R&R Delta Company had a new commander -More inept than their old commander which made him uncomfortable (00:47:35) Serving at Camp Evans and End of Tour -He was able to get a reassignment to Camp Evans until his tour was up in mid-June 1971 -He worked with the S5 section (military-civilians relations) of Headquarters Company -He would go out with doctors to local villages to give aid to the people there -Basically acting as a security detail for the doctors -Never had any problems with the villages that they went to -Saw that the Vietnamese were just people trying to live their lives too (00:48:44) Coming Home and Life after the War -He left Vietnam out of Da Nang and returned to the United States -Upon returning to the United States he was honorably discharged from the Army -Returned to his hometown of Richmond, Indiana -After Vietnam, it felt like a very small town -He got a job in Indianapolis as a bill collector for a while -Returned to college for another year and a half, but never graduated -After Indiana changed its liquor laws women were more acceptable at bars -He got a job at the first singles bar that opened in Indianapolis -Worked in the alcohol service sector for thirty five years until he retired � 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_SkinnerM1686V Title A name given to the resource Skinner, Marc (Interview outline and video), 2014 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-10-11 Description An account of the resource Marc Skinner was born in 1948 in Richmond, Indiana. He grew up in Richmond and graduated from high school there in 1966, and then went to Ball State University for a year and a half until he dropped out. He was eventually drafted into the Army, and opted for NCO training, which delayed kept him in the US for a full year before he was sent to Vietnam in the spring of 1970. He was assigned to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Camp Evans. His company fought in the battles around Firebase Ripcord, April-July 1970. He later served in the battalion's headquarters company before returning to the US and getting discharged. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Skinner, Marc Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/048612c846fd483c1dd454599f83e5f2.mp4 87974356147a5e1ddd2c88b8072fdaeb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1c88fe6418709defa015a9db22cf2f4e.pdf df3fddc5e18129de56b6e874d3d6cf82 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] SA: I flew for Eastern Airlines for a while, got out of that and I was doing - there were a hundred things to do up there. I told you I went to the University of South Carolina. I had a pretty good athletic background. The thing that really got me interested in flying was an engineer I was working with on the roads. I had one of those easy, so-so jobs, $100 a month which was a lot of money in those days. But this guy says, "You know I have this book here you might want to read," and I says, "Sure". That was a book about the early days of World War I, by Elliot Springs who later became a [?]. People kept asking me one after the other. I said one time, I said to this engineer, I said, "I read this book and I've contacted a friend of mine who has gone through this things, and he said it's a real tough deal to get into flying these days because there's no money and this is the words depression we've ever had, and all that stuff, and I just happened to get in, and to get in wasn't just a simple thing. You had to go to your Congressman, write to so and so and so and so, and I did all this and the guy in – I joined a bunch of other people about ten people down at Montgomery Alabama for a test, final test, examination and if you passed that, they had some pretty good … So I …you don't mind me saying "hell" do you? Sure enough, I was two of the ten who got through - I was on my way then. I had a friend who owned the [?] and he was a fine person, lived in a little, small town, his son was going to Tulane and he said, "Skipper, I know you from way back and you're the kind of guy that will go to a dance and get drunk and everything else and teach Sunday School next morning. If you pass this thing, come on down to New Orleans and we'll help you celebrate and he'd pay the bill. And he did, and I did. And that was a great idea - and Mardi Gras, that was really something, something fine, and for a man who likes to eat as much as I do, and occasionally drink - but I thought it was a good idea, and I got in. [?] …it wasn't easy in those days, but I got in. And the first thing you know, the Commandant, pulled out a long list of names, A-A-A, obviously he's going to start with 1 �the names [?] this little fellow was - I've forgotten his name but he was ahead of me …all right Mr. so-and-so, you're designated. He started hemming and hawing and said, "I can't do that and do this", and he went down the second name, "Skip Adair, Brian Adair, are you willing to accept the responsibility in this, you'll be the top dog in this whole class?" I said, "Yes sir" because I never turn down an opportunity to prove myself, and that's what it amounted to, I understand. I was looking at the best line instructor in the air force to teach me. He did a good job of teaching. FB: Once you followed through with that… SA: What do you want to put in the year book? I said, "Travel" because that's what I wanted to do, and I said "Okay". What was the original thing we were talking about, I've forgotten. FB: After you were finished up, you were training under one of the best trainers in the air corps. What happened after that? I got through class, two of them, and after graduation, I was sent to this place in Virginia - Chesapeake Bay, a fine place to start out for a young officer. I did that and Chennault came by one day and he just came in - he was visiting. I didn't know him from anything, and he had a couple of friends - that I had - joint friends with him. He said, "Come on Skip, we're going out on Chesapeake on my boat, and Chennault's coming along too." So we did, and that's the only time I met him so I doubt very much whether he'd remember meeting me. But things were different when we got into China, very different. For some reason he seemed to take a … he said, "This is the kind of guy I want to do this and that and the other". He never told me about it, we'd go hunting together, shoot those …drink bourbon, not to any excess but we did. That was pretty good, good deal. What else do you want? SA: FB: When did you - the first time that you went to the Gulf? SA: [?] Stratton, a good friend of mine from Texas, the classmate of mine, I wrote him a letter that I would like to come out there - they don't have a job at the moment and what do you think? He wrote back immediately and said, "Yes, you'll be perfect for this job." So, we'll send $1,000 check from the Bank of China for this thing and you just come on out here when you want to. So I went. 2 �FB: What were they asking you to do? What were your duties to be for this $1,000? What were you supposed to do? SA: Teach the Chinese, as simple as that, that was the only thing. Not a fighting deal or anything like that, that's all it was. What else? FB: Why did you want to go to China to begin with? SA: Because I got $500 a month. Was that a good reason? In a time when I never made more than $100 a month. Okay? FB: What did you know about China at that time? SA: What did I know about it? What I learned in school and studying. I'm pretty good on geology and geography. I had no particular preparation for it. I couldn't speak Chinese, nobody could. We all had to use interpreters. FB: Where did you go in China? Where were you actually stationed to teach these Chinese? SA: Kunming, Kunming was the first place I went to. They sent me up to a little place called Yunanyi and they had about six Americans there. Some of them had been there two years. I'd been there ten days before Chennault flew up from Kunming to Yunanyi and said, "Skip, the Chinese want you to be the boss of this outfit," I didn't know whether that was true or not - whether he wanted me to do it, I don't know. He said, "Are you willing to take it? It won't be any more money." I said, "Yes sir". I'm the kind of guy that - I've always done that - opportunity to take responsibility, I took it. In this case, it worked out pretty good. FB: What did you find at first in Kunming and then later on? What was the state of the Chinese Air force at that time? SA: Practically non-existent. We had one outfit with about ten bombers in it. They had a long history of being taught by Russians and by the Germans and one thing and another, but Chennault went over there about first two years before I did, and he was unbeatable in a fighter plane, he shot down half a dozen of those things - just like shooting ducks in a pond or something. What he was doing was running an outfit and improve the character 3 �of the Chinese pilots. We were not supposed to teach Chinese students, instruct and check on them, and be sure they were worth having, which is what we did. So that was that. Now what? FB: The Chinese Air Force at that time, what kind of airplanes were you training in? What were the facilities like? SA: Very obsolete planes, one seaters, as a matter of fact, the same type of plane that some of the classmates of mine flew. I didn't ever fly them except as occasionally out of interest. What I had was the best planes, newest ones, and I was taught in that. We were the subject of a lot of derision by other students, who said, "You've got it easy! You're pushbutton pilots. That kind of stuff. Well, that's baloney. But I did get to fly the best planes they had at that time. FB: Had you decided to ask your wife to come out to China, or was that later? SA: A lot of pilots had wives out there already and I said, well, I may as well have too, so I go to Chennault and he says, "Yes, go ahead, bring her out". Well, she came out - and out of Hong Kong, and one of my friends, Madam Chiang, - personal airplane, - she flew in from one place into Kunming up to the place where I was. By the way [?] which was the first and most lovely home and nobody in China had a home like that, the rest of them were just junk. You'd pull out the gun and shoot rats off the rafters and things like that. This was a good place and my wife was flown up in this beautiful C43 by an American pilot with the permission of Chiang Kai Shek, isn't that so? Anything else you want to know? FB: We're going to change the tape now… 4 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 1 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses his background before becoming involved with the American Volunteer Group and his first meeting with Claire Chennault in Chesapeake Bay. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1512ee98c41af140741c3444d053fa5f.mp4 19f645a4bd9bf113c640644559fb0b0f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e7abf957ae3c9216db82932f4b7bd7d0.pdf b5007fc480f6e5de532070199ae4f55d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FB: Did you ever witness him (Chennault) fighting the Japanese? SA: No, I never witnessed - but I've seen and read so much about him, and I knew so much as a matter of fact, he was head of the air force, fighter division, down in Montgomery and when he first went out to China, he took off and did a one man air force. According to what I've heard, I didn't see it and I didn't see it, but I know he shot down at least a half a dozen of them. But when I arrived on the scene, he said - I don't remember now - I'll tell you he - there are so many things, I'm trying to pick out the important things, the things that will be interesting to you. FB: Whatever you want to talk about is fine, but what you're talking about I think, is what we were talking about in the kitchen, when he said, "Skip do you want to fight in airplanes? SA: Yeah, that's one of the things. I asked him point blank what that was - "Are you and I are going to fight in this war," and he said, "No, nobody, not you or I either. We've got our own jobs and somebody's got to run this outfit." The implication was that either one of us got hurt, it would be a blow, which it would be. FB: Let's go back to the early days in Kunming in China, can you tell us about your observations of the Japanese bombings? SA: Yeah. We'd go out and sit on a hilltop somewhere and watch them. We always had this warnings, we knew they were coming, then we'd spot them in the sky. They'd be up maybe 20,000 ft., something like that, and they'd start dropping these bombs and boy, when they hit you could see them hit, big explosions all over town and it kind of made us 1 �mad, naturally. Chennault and myself and everybody else connected with this thing wanted to see what could be done. I guess the most harrowing experience I've had was, I was up in a brand new little fighter plane, we'd just got it into China. I was trying it out, sat in it and one thing and another for half an hour. I had sense enough to come on back then, pulled the plane up and went along into town where my house was, and you know what? The Japanese came on that thing and just [?] the hell out of that airplane I'd been in just a few minutes ago. I was just lucky that I wasn't sitting - there was nothing I could do about it but hide and run. That was the closest I've ever been. FB: Why would you say the Chinese were not able to defend themselves against the Japanese? SA: That's a leading question I would prefer not to answer. FB: At this time, the Japanese had a lot of airplanes, they had a lot of investment into the military. They also had pilots that were very well trained. You were just training the instructors who then had to go out and train - it was a long process just to learn how to fight. SA: You might say that until the AVG days - we're talking about before the AVG - that's nothing, there was absolutely nothing you could do about those Japanese. They had a field day. It's simple! I can't think of anything easier. Nobody shooting at them. We had a few pilots, some outstanding fighter pilots - they were capable of doing something, but they didn't have the equipment or anything else. FB: Skip, my intention was not to give you a leading question - I'll tell you why I asked that we've already interviewed some of the Chinese that were those pilots and they basically said that there was no way of stopping them. SA: I don't remember that, but I have never known any of them to shoot one of them down. I'm sure it must have happened, but I'm not aware of it, certainly not while I was there. FB: Were you a part of the discussions with Chennault about the difficulties he was having in training the Chinese and what alternatives you had to fight against the Japanese? 2 �SA: To a certain extent. I don't think I had a great deal. He had his own ideas made up and there was nothing I could say or do to him about it. FB: When did you first hear that he was going to start up an American Volunteer Group? SA: I guess it was about the time I left China, somewhere along about that time. We knew it was going to happen, and the reason we knew it, he and I in the States had made a $50 million loan and that was the purpose of getting some airplanes. It was all a secret thing, nobody ever put in the paper or said anything. No. Everything I did was quiet and absolutely no ………I got on the boat to China, you think I said I was going over there to fight? Hell, no! I was a newspaper writer I think, yeah, that's what I was. Later on, when I was recruiting these boys, we all gave them a sign, some kind of identification. That's the way we did that - we were very quiet. So, one day, all hell broke loose as far as I'm concerned when this joker from Florida who was probably a pretty good friend of Roosevelt, Franklin D. Anyway, he was testing the wings, when he said, "This AVG is going to be …Blah, blah, blah, let the whole goddam thing go". Well, before that we had nothing, absolutely nothing. We kept it shut and quiet, the whole way, that's what we were supposed to do, otherwise the Japanese would sink every goddam boat [?]. We signed nothing. So even then I was mad at Chennault and everybody else the matter had become public, that it was going to happen. Everybody I hired, and I hired a lot of them to everyone I said, "Don't say anything about this". FB: Let's get to that point then. You returned back to the United States after training the Chinese - you decided to return to the United States - why did you then decide to go back to China? SA: I was going back I think because everybody knew the whole deal was over. When I got back - Chennault and I, besides playing a few rounds of golf on the course there, he said, "I want you to meet somebody," and I met T.V. Soong, Dr. T.V. Soong. He was the money man of [?] at that time and Mr. Chennault said, "This is Mr. Adair and we're going to use him to recruit," and he just nodded his head. That's about all there was to it. He didn't ask me any questions. Chennault wanted it. That was it. FB: What were you told to tell, or what were you looking for when you went out to recruit these various people for the AVG? What were you told to tell them and what did you actually find when you went out looking for them? 3 �SA: I wasn't so much told what to tell them, but in general I said, "We're building up a group of fighter pilots to defend the Burma Road." The Burma Road was the only lifeline, you understand that? All right, that was the whole deal. That's about it. Anything else you'd like to know about it, I'd be glad to answer it. FB: Of these men that you were going to recruit, when they came in to see you, can you give us some idea of some of the personalities of some of the people who [?] you or …? SA: That's a – of what I thought, and I had had enough experience all the way in the air force one way and another, about 5,000 miles in the air. I had all this [?] I didn't have to do anything. I didn't make up any lies or anything, I told the truth. As a matter of fact when I got back, I said, "One of these guys told me, he surprised me, he said, "You're a soft sell". I don't know if I was a soft sell or not but I got two or three hundred people, and I got a few bums in there, but most of them were good. Anything else? FB: Once you had done the recruiting, give us an idea of how you went from base to base looking for - you were travelling across the country looking for people? SA: Yeah - a list, and bases, eight or nine air force bases, and most of them had P-40's or something like that they trained on. I was given a letter identifying me, a very simple thing. "This will introduce Mr. C.B. Adair who will explain the nature of his business." That doesn't say much does it, but that's exactly the way it was. So I went. A lot of these guys that walked into the base were classmates of mine. They all said, "I'm not gonna let this guy go." I said, "You have nothing to say about it." He picked up the telephone and "call Personnel right now if you want to." Some of them did call. I was given the freewheel to go ahead, they didn't cooperate and get a group of them together - I talked to the group. I didn't go one by one or anything like that. I had a long list of requirements Chennault had put up. He wanted a [?] of the so-and-so, all different mechanics. Different phases of it he would go through and spell it out, how much they would get in salary. I didn't much like that but I was innocent more than the pilots. FB: In terms of the pilots themselves, you were looking specifically for pilots that had P-40 experience, is that correct? SA: Yeah. 4 �FB: What did you actually find in terms of pilots? SA: Some of them had P-40 experience and some of them didn't. When I got down to San Antonio when this R.T. Smith and P.J. Green - they were there - they had never been in a fighter plane in their life. They knew what the hell it was all about, they were the kind of guy that I wanted, and I hired them. You know something? They're both aces. You know what an ace is? Five or more. 5 � 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 2 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the early days working with General Chennault in Kunming, China and the early discussions of the American Volunteer Group and their recruitment efforts. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1d62b95fb0fd3ac5f68505115be35ee6.mp4 4849d5010c18ea8bed33885f423d6604 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb0178f6bdd9d4b2a0c34c3d92c983b9.pdf 1d4010a295bcc84361fb9159831fcc7c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] SA: … maybe someone in administration, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he was a man of his own, he knew what he wanted to do, I'd never make any criticism of him, but guys like the Senator who shoots his mouth off, nobody else did. He might have for some reason in administration wanted to have affirmation to get out, but he leaped out, isn't that what they say? What it was, it was a bad deal for us and them. He was later, can't remember the gentlemen's name, but he was lot's older than I am, and I'm old enough. He just was told to do it - I think that's what happened. But he would never say that, he says, "Do it as a [?].” I know so much about it – this is going to happen – he would never have been fool enough to do that. So I think that's what it was, the way it was. They didn't want all of a sudden this thing to fall on them like a ton of bricks. You know what I mean? That's the way it was, exactly. FB: Once you had completed the recruitment process, what was the next thing that was asked of you? What was the next thing that you did? SA: To be frank I got in one of these airplanes that land on water, Pan American [?]. I got on one - incidentally, I had a card I could fly anywhere I wanted. I went to Hawaii. Gave myself another ten days’ vacation [?] "I'm gonna do it, nobody else can ever - I'm could stay there a month if I wanted to. But I did see a lot of my classmates out there, in the air force. They were concerned, they knew that the Japanese were getting - and I did too. I said, "Jesus, you'd better watch 'em because…" I didn't predict that Pearl Harbor, but that's what happened. I stayed there and this friend of mine took me all over the island, which is a good thing. Then I got back on the Pan American Clipper - that's what it was they take off and land on water. You've seen them I'm sure. I flew all the way in the Hong Kong area. 1 �FB: At this time of the organization, were there ships going over to take them over? Did you get involved in that at all? SA: I had nothing to do with that. CAMCO, which is the Central American Manufacturing Co., run by the Pawley brothers, there were two or three of them and they did a good job of doing what they were supposed to do. Chennault never got along with them very well. I got along with them a lot better than Chennault did. Pawley, Gene Pawley was a good friend of mine. I was walking down the street in Times Square and bumped into him and he said, "Let's have a drink." We were that way and I used his office which was up there in the RCA building - I think it was about the 70th floor, it was way up there I can tell you that. I'd never do all the paperwork for him, I'd send it in to this and that and so and so and so. FB: Once you had completed the recruitment process, what was your next duty? What else did you do for the AVG? SA: I got to Rangoon which was the place where we started. Above Rangoon about 120 miles was a little British airport that the British weren't using. We got permission to use it as a training center, which we did. What else do you want to know about it? FB: What was the next responsibility? You'd finished with the recruitment part, now what did you do for the AVG? What was the next step? SA: The next thing? Just about what I told you, except for the time before. Chennault and I were just like this. I didn't have to ask him a damn thing, I just went on and did it, and so forth and so on. Only upsetting thing about the whole process as far as I was concerned was, I got malaria. Now malaria over there is a killing process. It was a good thing we had a couple of nurses, two females and another male, a doctor and everything else and they were using the finest things in the world on me. I was 104 temperature. They put me on a slab, bald naked and ice all over me. These nurses all got very familiar with me. They didn't really think much of me because I'd [?] One morning, while I was there, still in the hospital, Chennault came by - he usually came by in the morning to tell me what was going on [?] I said, "What's new this morning?" He says, "Nothing much. The Japs have bombed Pearl Harbor. They're next door to us and they could be here in another twenty minutes." I said, "Nurse, bring my pants." That's exactly what I said. So, I got 2 �the hell out of there and he said, "I want you go on up, when you get the chance -after you get through - send these people and all these spare parts, motors and everything else we've got to go. I didn't go with the experts. I had a little guy that was a supply clerk, and I says, "Listen, you have a responsibility. You've got ten trucks, new trucks, and millions of dollars’ worth of things. You know who's going to be responsible for it, who's running that thing? You! That usually set him up and they did it, like I did a lot of things. So that's the way it was. We've got to give them credit for moving more material in the fastest time than anybody else - it had been routine army joke that it "had taken forever", but they didn't do it that way. He just said, "You, that's your job and you're not taking off tomorrow, you're taking off today." FB: That leads me to another question. What would you say were the differences between the way the military did things and the way the AVG did things? SA: A big difference - based on the same thing, but I would say we had more freedom, we could do it if we wanted to. We didn't have to go right down the line and do everything one, two, three and so forth. We could use our own discretion and do things like that. The army could never do that. They'd take a month to get ready, and we'd be already up there. Did that get through you? FB: Part of the energy process - sometimes we have to ask you - but the part that you talked about when you had malaria, and you were laid out and Chennault came in to tell you about Pearl Harbor? Could we have you repeat that again? If you could start with the fact that you got down with malaria and they had to lay you out on the ice and then Chennault came in as he usually did and then …? SA: While I was in the hospital, we had a good medical staff of our own. I'd had nothing to do with hiring them, Chennault did most of that. There was a doctor and nurses and they were very good. They kept me alive because that type of malaria they had over in Burma, that was a killer. Our doctors had as good a knowledge of it as anybody, better than most. I didn't have no trouble out there. I got out, and that's it. After sending a few more people up, we had a little transport [?] by ten people, two engine airplane, I'd flow in one a lot of times. We just moved on up to Chunking with that. These pilots had been trained down there in this place, and they had done a pretty good job of doing it. They had to land on real short runways, some of them were busted up. But in general, they were pretty good. We saw three organizations, squadrons, many [?]. 3 �FB: Could we get back to …? SA: He never was kicked out, he [?] or nothing, he didn't get that way, he wasn't that kind of a guy. He said, "How are you feeling"? I said, "I'm feeling better, I'd better get out of here." He said, "I hope so, I want you to go on up to Kunming because the Japanese have done just what I said - bombed Pearl Harbor." And what's the name of that little kingdom - the Japanese could go anywhere they wanted to go - they were there. And that's about it. I got out and never had any recurrence of that thing, malaria. FB: How long did you stay in Burma? You went almost immediately to Kunming, didn't you? SA: I don't know how long, but it wasn't a short period of time, it was a matter of a month or so. FB: So you were there during the training period? SA: Yeah, that's right. It doesn't sound like much, but that's exactly what it was. Do you know what "supplies" meant? Everything! They couldn't move without it - can't do anything. So, I hated the darn thing. I told him "I don't know a damn thing about supplies, and you know it." It doesn't take that kind of a thing, it takes someone with a few brains to do it, to take advantage of opportunities, and go ahead and do it with limited facilities." Got it? FB: Could you tell us a little bit more about what the supply situation was like. What kind of problems did you run into? What did you have to do? SA: The guy, as I told you, was a tough man. He walked into the room and you wanted to walk out the other side, because he had a body odor that'd kill you. But he was the best I had. You couldn't tell him to go back to the United States and send over somebody else like that. So, you've got to go. I had about three or four others, we had clerks who had probably more experience in supplies that I had, but I couldn't have gotten to where I was in the air force without knowing a lot about supplies. Does that answer your question? FB: What we're looking for is - as if we know nothing about this. I know the supply situation was very difficult, that you were running out of supplies, it was a constant problem. 4 �SA: We didn't have any corner drug-store or anything like that. FB: This is what we need on camera. We need to know what kind of problems you ran into and what the supplies situation was like. SA: I'd pick a telephone and I'd call Rangoon - I'm way up there about 120 miles away, and I say, "Send down a box, we just lost another pilot," or something like that. I had to do things like that all the time. I'd use the telephone, and who would I call? CAMCO. A lot of people don't know anything about CAMCO, but they were pretty important. 5 � 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 3 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses hearing the news of Pearl Harbor while being treated for malaria, in addition to the supply situation during the training period in Kunming. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f6d59698cb93f6a01e27ebcb6e3e32e7.mp4 744bdee38daafbf216237eae1a1dad47 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84b13ce4f8f02d0e9e5a25f29187f9e9.pdf cb76b13ce4185f1598c7b9f97e784a22 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FB: Can you give us an idea of what it took to get equipment, and to get it to the crews? SA: I'm going to say that that was something that CAMCO did - airplanes, spare parts, they would do it. All that stuff was arriving in Rangoon, and one of the brothers - I've forgotten whether it was Gene - but we would receive these crates, a shipment. I'd open them up and - they were P-40 airplanes - we'd put them together the way it has to be done. In case you don't know, a crate comes in, it's not an airplane, they put it all together and a lot of people spend a lot of time working on it. Once it gets together, then they call somebody - maybe me - and say, "We've two or three more planes ready", so we'd send down some pilots and they'd fly them back, just like that. That was supply. We weren't in the business of buying things, but you've probably heard of a guy named Joe Alsop. He came out there and got in the organization, and we were getting to be friends. We would send him on [?] and one time when he was - some guns and some small side arms you might call them. He went all the way to the Philippines and bought a bunch of them and came back. Another trip he was out there getting something like that for us, is when the Japanese folded up Hong Kong, and so what he had to do was claim he was a pilot at the embassy, not a part of AVG, his life wouldn't have been worth a nickel if he was that way. You understand that? Well, that happened. Joe Alsop was later friends later on after the war in Tex Hill, and I used to go up to that place and have dinner. He'd apologize because he didn't have so much money, but all these people would bring him delicious fish and stuff like that, and he'd say, "I apologize for the fish," but it was real good stuff. That's the way Joe Alsop was. 1 �FB: It was once stated that you and Chennault had a conversation in which they said he'd never last 15 days - that the AVG would never last 15 days without parts. Do you remember that conversation? SA: Uh, Uh. But it could be very true. I'm not part of that, but anybody that knew anything about military, knows damn well that supply is - without it, you're dead. Even though I thought, "To hell with it," I didn't want the damn job, but it seems it hounded me later on. [?] said, "That's the only job I've got open, supply". I said, I don't know a damn thing about it but I'll take it. That's about the way you learn. FB: We need you to give us your personal opinion, your personal observations about some of the people that were in the AVG. We have a pretty good idea about the pilots, the mechanics, but none of them knew the staff. You're the only one we've been able to talk to that actually had real contact with the staff. So I'll just ask you a few questions about people, and if you could just comment on those people. Chennault had an interpreter the whole time he was out there named P.Y. Shu. Did you ever have any contact with him or do you have any …? SA: I just freewheeled, just as I … I'm 82 years, I don't remember things like I used to, hells bells! But these Chinese were indispensable, as interpreters and otherwise. I'll tell you one thing, these Chinese people - I don't know how to put it but they'd do the best they can with what they've got, but you can't stack them up against Americans who were educated, and that's the truth, no way. I had lots of things that astound me. I'm just like you or anybody else. You know what? This Tiananmen Square, where all the massacres of students took place? I don't know whether it took place or not but that's beside the point. In China, you can't come out and say offhand that somebody's bad, somebody's good - you can't do it. FB: Let's talk about some of the people on the staff. SA: Williams - that's a good one to start with. Williams was a [?] officer, and I had problems with him. One time, we moved out from Kunming? up to Chung King, and as much as we may dislike it, we had no niggers in this outfit, that's one thing, and another thing what the hell did I start to talk about? FB: Williams. 2 �SA: He was a radio man, he was very important to us because he set up this bunch of radio stations and early warning things - it was very [?] but we had to have it. You couldn't sit on the ground and wait for them to [?] you had to know they were coming - did it by airplane communications. We did it that way. We didn't take anything from him, he was never an officer. Our system was based on what the navy had. We had different bars, different dining rooms. You might say, how can you be so snooty. Chennault set it up that way originally and I had to carry it out, and I didn't like it that way but I did it. For example, we moved up to Kunming and I sent Williams ahead to prepare, to do certain things before I came up and the rest of it. I got up there and I got so goddam mad, I went and blew my top. He had set everything all together, strewn everything out the window, and that wasn't the way we operated. His mentality and the way he went - he said he couldn't see anything different about it, but goddam it, I could and everybody else could I gave him hell and immediately changed it myself, but he called me a "son of a bitch" and everything else. I didn't give a damn. He goofed and he didn't ask anybody for information, he'd just go ahead and do it that way. Now Williams, I like, he's older than I am, but that doesn't mean he was in the AVG so long. I don't know where the hell he was before that but all I know is, he's older. And the one reason I know he's older, one day I was talking about someone - how old I was - and he say, "I'm older than you," I says, "You are?" It surprised me, but he was. But Williams was a tremendous person. It just so happened he never was an officer, and we had so damn many good'uns - crew chiefs and [?] personnel - no use laboring the point, but in this case - I could have gone along with it, with the same damn thing, you see. But it was absolutely - didn't jibe at all with what we'd set up. FB: How about Harvey Greenlaw? SA: He was a no-no. I don't know why Chennault ever brought him over there but he was an old friend of his. He hadn't been in the army or anything else as far as I know, but he was supposed to know China, but he didn't know much. He had a wife who didn't know much either, so I heard. FB: Can you comment any further about his duties or what she was supposed to be doing? SA: He didn't do much of anything. They got credit for that [?] but he wasn't. 3 �FB: How about Boatner Carney? SA: He left for the [?] Another thing, Chennault always told me, if you want to get rid of somebody, you do it. Well, I had to, I said to him "That's a tough job but one of the things I have to do." [?] FB: Can you comment on that - on reasons why some of the AVG were fired, or any in particular that you remember? SA: I was having lunch with some friends of mine - I don't want to say friends, maybe officers - a Chinese waitress came up and said, "Somebody at the door wants to speak to Mr. so-and-so. Mr. so-and-so was one of our pilots, a good pilot, but he'd had an operation, a double hernia, so we'd taken him off until he'd gotten over that and somebody - I didn't do it, but I guess somebody had sent him to inspect the barracks, so to speak and look for drugs and things like that. He went round and he must have upset somebody but they came - two of them - big s.o.b.'s - big boys - and this pilot went back to the door to find out what they wanted, and they started pounding on him right and left, and boy, you're talking about somebody getting mad. I let them both have it! Right and left! I let them know I was there. I didn't knock them out but they were so goddarned [?] that I couldn't do a damn thing else. My reputation was made! They went, "Christ, that Skip can really do it"! But I'm not the kind of a guy that can sit aside and watch somebody be slaughtered. Are you? What else? FB: You were talking in the kitchen about the incident in which Boyington, Pappy Boyington. SA: Pappy! Chennault hired him, he can't blame that on me, I didn't hire him, but Chennault did. It was a mistake and he'd admit it. I like whiskey, but I'm not a drunk, [?] but this guy did. He was a good pilot but, hell, who wants a good pilot, someone who's drunk and going to taxi around and crack up some of the airplanes. That's what he did, one after another, that's a bad damn thing. He'd do that and he'd ignore it. He was supposed to be such a hotshot - I don't know how many he shot down, if any, I don't know. I'd like to repeat it, I don't care who knows it, when Madam Chiang Kai Shek was on my arm - I was escorting her and showing her what a fine set-up the Chinese had provided, the Chinese had always provided these things, we didn't do it. Things like hotels and food and whatnot, [?] going through and there was this Boyington, goddam! I had no idea he was there or I wouldn't have took her in there, but he staggered up to - drunk himself and 4 �that's what - he had done, he had busted into the van, the liquor van and which is safer than ??? Nobody thought he would do a thing like that. I told Chennault, I said, "Listen, you probably know what happened, but this is what happened, I'd bash the hell out of - I don't see why the hell we need a guy like that around." And he said, "Skip, get rid of him." Even though he hired him. So I called him in, I says, "Boyington, you're such a nice boy, really nice, I like you, but things the way they are, we're just going to have to let you go". I let him down as easy as I could, that's the truth. He left and he went and got to Hollywood and started making films and whatnot. In my opinion, he was a no-no. 5 � 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 4 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the supply situation for the AVG and his personal observations of some of his fellow members including Harvey Greenlaw, Boatner Carney, and Pappy Boyington. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8417780cf02f38072ab639b010d03d98.mp4 07149302a0ac09c3838759e4b53399e3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/36de568561fef919c189c128ea19a7ed.pdf 2b800fbf4c463a8a6ca22d3a99b6b0bb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] FB: In the kitchen, you had talked about that incident where you were escorting Madam Chiang Kai Shek and then Boyington was in the - you sort of set it up in the beginning fine, and you told the ending fine, what we need to edit it in, is what you said … you hurried her past? We need a little more detail on that? SA: There was a table with a sort of [?] on it. This guy was sitting at a table but when he saw us enter the room he realized that he was in the presence of somebody important - she was certainly important, she was chief of the air force. So I just maneuvered her away from that and I didn't stop or make a comment. She probably knew exactly what was going on, just as I did. But things like that are upsetting. When the President of the United States should come down and give the one squadron outfit like we had in S. Carolina a party or something like that and you don't even bother to go? What kind of a guy are you? FB: Let's talk about somebody that you liked a lot more. Give us your impressions from your personal perspective, your impressions of Claire Chennault. SA: He was a maverick. He had infinite skill as a fighter, he knew exactly - he was perfect with the Chinese, and that was one of the smart things they did, to get him out there. That's true. I had numerous occasions to know him. As I told you, I went down to [?] way ahead of home, and he had nine children down there, and that's enough for a baseball team. He didn't ask me down there just because he liked me, a lot of people that way, he just probably wanted to tell me something, I don't know. I'm not just saying, but afterwards, after the AVG, he would come right here - he would send me a telegram saying, "I want to stop here for a few minutes, come out and see me again." We did, and 1 �left when this was going through. Another time, I was in a pretty good position and General Haynes had been good enough to give me a job on his staff, and we had a house on ??, a beautiful house, and all that stuff, and Chennault came through one day, and came in and he said, "Skip, I'm going to be here - I'd like to see you." Once the General said I could use his table to eat on. And I said, "That’s something else, something more important than that. General, some people back in New York have been badgering me over and over again, saying that I should get Chennault to come to this celebration and whatnot, so he could be the fall guy and I had this worked out - and I told Chennault, and [?] on my part because he wouldn't like it. I said to him everybody's going to be there, what are you going to have, everybody's going to be there, the mayor and - and a lot of AVG people are going to be there so we want you to show up and they'll get up and say the usual bad things about you and funny things too, and he'd just take it with a grin and let it go at that. And that's what happens. What's the name of that governor - the mayor of New York, Italian gentleman, everybody know him …………and then we got a baseball guy from - one of the [?] club. He said, "Get get a good game on this afternoon, I'll get everybody in that wants to", and [?] said, "The only problem is getting there and I'll have all the motorcycle policeman and escorts and everything else, and I was sitting next to General Haynes, in the same car with him, we were going out to the - we were going so fast and screaming, you'd think that we'd be killed ten times, it would go through everything [?]. We all got there, but I said to Haynes, "I've never been through a god dammed thing like this before, in China or any place else, because it scared the hell out of me.” FB: SA: Let's go to China again with Chennault, what was your impression of Chennault during the AVG period of time, what was your own personal observation? He was my boss, he was the best boss I've ever had. He was a guy who knew airplanes and I had a tremendous respect for him and I don't think there's anything I can say that in my opinion he was one of the finest people I've ever known. FB: If he was in the room when you walked into a room and Chennault was there, what did you see? SA: When I walked in the room - what room? FB: Any time when you walked into a room - if I was there, what would I see? 2 �SA: I don't know exactly what you mean by that? FB: Just in terms of his look. How did his looks strike you? Some people talk about his piercing black eyes, or his leather face. What was your impression? When you looked at Chennault, what did you see? SA: He was an individual and it was a hard thing for him to get anywhere in the military because as I said before, I always thought of him as a maverick. So many generals get to be generals by smoothing in this and that situation but I don't think he had an idea of going back to the United States and becoming a general. He got to be a general because Madam Chiang Kai Shek put the heat on with [?]. The regular people out there, Stilwell and his group were telling a lot of people that they don't understand this AVG, Flying Tigers and stuff, didn't understand that at all. One of them called me, waked me up in the middle of the night, one of the colonels, waked me up and got me out of bed. He said, "Have you got an airplane you can send down to rescue General so-and-so." I said, "I don't have one but there's one here. I'll tell him that you want it done and if he does, that's fine, but I can't order him, because he's an American, not an air pilot and I'm reserve officer and out of it." So that's the way it happened. And you know what? This guy got to the airplane down there and landed at dawn and General Stilwell decided, that no, he was going to walk out. He was going to walk out, that we could take the nurses he had and put them on an airplane, but he was going to walk out. That saved his neck I think. He walked out. There were a lot of things like that. FB: Did you ever meet Stilwell? SA: Yeah, I just told you. Not only that but Madam Sun Ya Tsen invited him and his aide and me and her secretary to play bridge, not once but twice. I had respect for him as a general and all that be had was not my idea of Chennault. Now Chennault and Stilwell would get together and say, period. Stilwell - Chennault, the guys in the trenches are going to win this war. Chennault - there ain't no damn trenches. That's about the way they got along. That's the truth I think. FB: How about Stilwell's aide, Bissell? SA: Bissell was just the opposite of what I said. He was an over the line military man. Nobody liked him, not particularly me. He was the kind of a guy that didn't give a damn 3 �about anybody. He would say, "I guess we've got to adhere to the line and do exactly what the army says. He couldn't really last for a minute the way we could. So why in the hell would he have to call me, a guy that wasn't even in the army, middle of the night, to bail out Stilwell from his own goddam stupidity? I don't know. I think Mrs. Stilwell must be gone too. I don't think any of my friends are still alive, not many of them. Some of those pictures you showed me - but they're younger. I took one of them - this is a good story. I think one of them came from Las Vegas and I met him in the lobby at one of those conventions we had, and I said, "I understand you've been raising horses. Come up to the room and have a drink of scotch or something, I've got some good stuff up there." He said, "Okay, we'll do that." He gets up there and he says, "Skip, when I first saw you, I thought you were as old as hell. Now I don't think so any more." Now things are different, he wasn't a kid any more either. FB: We really need to get better understanding - for the documentary … SA: You might say it was nil. When I started to do something when Chennault wasn't there, I did it - that was a staff meeting. Did I call everybody together and say, "Can I do this?" No. We didn't have staff meetings as the army and air force has them. Didn't do it, or anything. So we used the word "staff" - I've got a book here somewhere that lists all the names over everybody, what they did. But it's the best book that's ever been written. There have been a hundred or so of them written. Half of them are spurious. FB: In terms of Chennault, he had a very bad case of bronchitis, give us an idea of he would get sick, who would take over and how did he communicate with the pilots? SA: I don't think he was eve to that point. He had this throat condition but it didn't amount to anything. He never said anything about who was going to take over if he died - I don't know, I suppose I'll have to. 4 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 5 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses his impressions of General Chennault as a maverick and admirable boss, in addition to General Stilwell and General Bissell. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/635f460a791a12ac6ec75a73a9a74913.mp4 17925ae6d9930a4882ed50ecb4b5691e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/533f0d56e8890057a8ac3f95722706bb.pdf 1644e4a6671822c7d2040d95568cecd0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] FB: I'd like to ask you about the bombing of Kunming and the AVG on the 20th of December fought against the Japanese and was successful, and actually the Japanese never even came back again. What was your reaction and what were you doing while that battle was going on? SA: There wasn't any big deal about what I was going to do. It was a difficult thing to pick out these Japanese as they came in. Although we were getting information on the radio they were so-and-so and at such and such a time. Also our pilots in the air found them took advantage of it and knocked down a few. We had some other places too, small places, it wasn't just Kunming - down the road - I know I was down there one time, my teeth were bothering me and - you'd never believe it - we had a dentist, Milt Wilton. He said, "You've got an impacted wisdom tooth. I can do it but it's not going to be pleasant because I don't have the proper elevators - you know what that is?" I said, "Go ahead and do it." While that was going on, the Japanese were swarming in from nowhere and we had guys like Tex Hill - as a matter of fact, it was Tex Hill and his outfit were there, and they had a battle pretty much, all over the damn place they were. I went out to see these Japanese airplanes that had come down - Tex Hill had shot them down - and Tex Hill jumped out of his airplane and walked over there to him, kicked the corpse - I think it was a corpse "Hey, you son of a bitch." He did something he didn't like, anyway, he didn't feel sorry for the guy one bit. That's what you've got to do, I think. I've never shot one down though. FB: I guess what I was looking for in the question, Skip, was - before December 20th, the AVG had never encountered the Japanese. They had been training but had never encountered the Japanese. Kunming had been bombed without - as you said before, there 1 �was no defense, so when they actually shot down those airplanes, what was the reaction from you, from Chennault? SA: That was tremendous, you can't describe it. The Chinese all were - something from heaven - they just couldn't - it was just one after another - these AVG people are just tremendous. We had a Governor out there in that province - did I ever tell you about him? Long Yuen. He put on a party for us out there [?] and all that stuff and wines of all kinds, and I had to get up and respond and do this and that - I hated it that stuff, but I still had to do it. But it was a beautiful place. The Chinese - I don't want to get into anything about what I think of them and all that, but the governors had unlimited power. You can't say "Chiang Kai Shek" - but each local governor - they're the ones that are - and of course, they all pretty much think Chiang Kai Shek is one too, but you can't on that. They never liked him at all. FB: What was your reaction and Chennault's reaction to the success? Because Chennault's name in a sense was on the line. He'd been training these guys - what was the reaction you had and what was the reaction that Chennault had to the success over Kunming? SA: I don't know about success - as you say, I can't recall any of us jumping up and down like some people seem to do. We expected it. You go to all the trouble and get the airplanes and get the equipment and get the best mechanics and the best pilots, you got to expect some good things, and it happened. Of course, we were glad. One guy - you probably never heard of Neale? You don't know? Neale was one of the squadron commanders. He's alive now - he lives up off Oregon, one of those islands up the west coast up there. Chennault made him his air commander, as he called him, because he'd shot down about 18 or 20 planes himself, tremendous. I sat next to his wife and talked to him - I never thought he liked me, I don't know why. I never did anything overtly or anything else, but I guess he just didn't express himself too much, he kept quiet.. Incidentally, can I say one more - we had loads of newspaper writers and whatnot come in there, and they would ask one question after another. "How can you tell which is the fighter and which is the ace and which is not?" And I said, "The best way is going and look in the bar and they've got the smallest little guy you could see, and the quietest guy, he's the [?], and that's about the way it was. Don't listen to his bad mouth. Am I on camera or am I not? I am. 2 �FB: What would you say the Chinese role was in the defense of Kunming? The Tigers were fighting in the air. What would you say the Chinese role was in the defense of Kunming? Did they have ground [?] over there? SA: Their role was very important. Just because we had the pilots - every airplane had a bunch of Chinese - if you looked at the airplanes, there was always one American maybe - they had three or four others - but they were tremendous. FB: What was your relationship - this is during the AVG period - how did you work with the Chinese? Were they involved in the supply at all? Were they involved with ……? SA: No, I don't think we did a damn thing with the Chinese. [?] They did a marvelous job, the Chinese, of supply us - a place to stay, the finest quarters, we took over places that had been in the past, probably, schools, houses and whatnot. We had otherwise - we had been dodging it really but [?] one thing that bugged me about our own people - they didn't realize how good this damn service they were getting was - it was nothing like as good as they were getting back home, that kind of stuff, you know. Hells bells, I think it was damn good. How do I know it? Because I had lived in China before and we were damn lucky to have any kind of thing. The only way I looked at it, was - to build it myself or have it built, pay for it, and get a beautiful woman out there to man it! FB: When did you first hear that the AVG was going to be incorporated into the army air corps? SA: It was pretty obvious that. I think I heard it some time, I wouldn't know exactly when but that was - no way we could make a [?] which we did on July 4th. These men could go home if they wanted to go home or they could stay in the army. I was one of the few who stayed, as a major. I went back to the United States, to the Pentagon and some friends got me a job, and that's about the way it was. FB: Skip, what was your reaction to the military now about to come in and take over the AVG? What was your personal reaction? SA: The communists? 3 �FB: No, the American military was about to take over the AVG, what was your personal reaction? SA: It was just one of the things that was going to happen. You don't have to worry about it, whether it was going to happen or not. This was a long plan and we had a long time to figure out - they had an apartment of four or five military officers who had [?] and anybody who wanted to stay in the army could stay and they would consider what they were - so a lot of them stayed in. You know what I mean by that? Everybody knew it was going to happen, and it did happen. FB: What would you say the morale was like amongst the AVG during this period of time? SA: The AVG in general were stupid to always say that the army was a terrible place. They didn't like the idea of getting back in the army, that kind of stuff, on the other hand, they didn't like the way - a lot of the things we did in the AVG. FB: Do you think that Bissell's speech had something to do with that? Were you present? SA: Some people say so - that's the kind of speech I'd expect from him. FB: Were you present at the Bissell speech? SA: I don't think so. FB: …observation at that time. Why do you think most of the AVG did not rejoin with the army air corps? SA: I don't know. I think a lot of them had been in before - a lot of them were navy people and navy people said, "Why in hell should I join the army", - something like that. Tex Hill, for instance, was a navy man, but he came back in. He got a job as a general. FB: What was your personal decision? What were you going to do after July 4th? What did you decide to do? SA: I decided to stay for a while, which wasn't too long, when I went back. 4 �FB: The AVG was promised passage back home in their original contract. They were supposed to be brought to China and returned back to the United States. What was your observation of what really happened? SA: Some of them they did send back, some of them they didn't. Some of these people, I didn't know much about, but they just went out for the ride. As soon as they got out there, they wanted to turn back, and they said, "We ain't gonna pay their way back, hell no. Somebody we fire, we'll see that they get transportation and we'll pay for it." That's the way it was. 5 � 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 6 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the reaction to the AVG's first combat with the Japanese pilots after the bombing in Kunming, in addition to the final days of the AVG and the arrival of the American military. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eda1ec9bdf158decc3dfcd101f505953.mp4 111855ad61c8ca873b1a610fbbead85d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/158a68fc1ecd0921ee2f0ce92abb4dfe.pdf b8ea7738c91093c363c82fda4785d90b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] FB: ……volunteered to stay on for the two weeks had difficulty getting back to the States, can you tell us anything about…? SA: I don't know anything about that, I don't know. We had no control over the - going into the air force - most of the got away. FB: What did you think the AVG accomplished in that one year? What would you say, from your own personal observation? SA: I think it's a proven fact that they are not just a simple bunch of people together, but they are really unspeakable in the way they accomplished what they did, and I would say they were entirely 100% successful all the way through, and I'm proud of being connected with it. I consider it the best thing that ever happened to me, to be in that organization. Does that answer you? FB: My next question is, what do you personally feel you accomplished during that year, and what effect did it have on your life? SA: I don't think I accomplished much. I might have accomplished a few things but I don't - I can't have missed much. For instance, some friends of mine gave me a job inspecting the problem and I was immediately one of the people to send out all over the United States in a short period of time, say one month, it was terrific. You'd think I was God, because I'd go from one place to another and write a report on the combat people and that, over and over. I didn't like that business of being an inspector, but I had to. Then I got out and with General Haynes and Mitchell Steele? And it was a bomber command, that's what it 1 �was. I was just happy to be - that was a happy thing, I guess. We had this house - we had to lease it. We bought it in '40. FB: Somewhere inside there, is all those friends of yours that I showed you pictures of [?] 5th anniversary, so instead of talking to me, I'd like you to talk to them. Because we will show this - I need you to look right into the camera - get yourself comfortable and look right into the camera. SA: Ladies and Gentlemen: I'm extremely sorry that I'm unable to be with you on this historic occasion, the 50th anniversary of the AVG, but I would like to say, being a part of this organization is something in my life - I'm proud of it, and always will be. There's one thing I would like all of you to know, that I have done the best I could, and I wish that my learned friends would tell me that I was right to go ahead with it. I also would like you to know that I think Dick Rossi has done a tremendous amount of good for the AVG and nobody forced him to do it. I have read a lot of books, met a lot of people, but I have nothing to be ashamed of, anything that I've done. The one thing that I do and hope that you will understand is my tremendous admiration for Chennault while he lived and everything. I also have some friends, best friends I've ever had - still are my friends, and one of them was good enough to say after writing a book, "Skip, I never heard anybody say an unkind word to you." I don't believe that. You can't take on a job like I had without making enemies, and I just want to say, "Hullo and goodbye to all of you." FB: That was beautiful. I want to ask one more question over again, and I realize that perhaps it's a difficult question to answer, but if you could try. We're doing these interviews with each person to get - what do you personally feel you accomplished in the AVG, and how did that affect the rest of your life? SA: I don't know that it affected the rest of my life, I don't know that. It's a question that's difficult to say - but I'll say this, and I mean every word of this. I have never made more than $10,000 in my life. I attended a party recently with a tycoon and at home, and he said, "That old so-and-so never made more than $10,000 in his life," and I said, "You're talking to one right now." Well, I don't still make that much, but I can't complain about my luck at all. I've got everything I want. I've got three children, put them all through college. They've all done much better than I ever did. My wife has been extremely important to me. She's had many, many friends in the upper echelons. I don't know of 2 �anything I can say except I appreciate you fellows coming by here to do this. I hope it hasn't been a bust. Goodbye. FB: I know it’s somewhat difficult to talk about yourself, but if you hadn’t gone around and recruited those people – there would be no AVG. And I guess, what we’re looking for… SA: They probably could’ve gotten somebody else… I don’t know… FB: Skip, we’ve heard what the guys have said about YOU! You haven’t heard that and I’ll tell you something – you’re pretty high up on the ladder in terms of people that they respect. And I know it’s kind of difficult, but this is for the record. There’s gotta be a certain amount of pride in what you did. SA: I have… FB: Please tell us about it. SA: Well, I have a tremendous amount of pride… I've said repeatedly, I think it was the most important thing I've ever done in my life, and I have done, on the other hand, some very significant things. I'm very much impressed - I don't anybody, that I know who has three children who have grown up and been so successful and I even have two great grandchildren, and what kind of life do you think I've done? Do you think I've been busted all the way? No. I don't think so either, and I'm just proud of everything I've got now. There's one little thing. This little house cost us $7,500. Now it's a hundred and some - way up there. They come by every goddam year and say, "That son of a bitch is worth more than that, let's raise his taxes up. He's so and so." Well, I bought it to live in, not trade off and make money out of. But that's what they're doing. They just keep on. I don't know what the hell's going to happen in death. If they keep on raising the damn taxes - I paid $20 a year for taxes when I bought it, now - thousands. That's just the house tax. 3 � 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 RHC-88_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 7 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses the major accomplishments of the AVG during their historic year and the tremendous pride he has for being a part of the Flying Tigers. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu 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, American 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. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/43c59f0ad1a8254ded207d9c70a8225b.m4v d37319e237978a50bae431f29ae54592 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f3768665b25429d50fa4869ae4ce68a9.pdf 317467e7d2634b15a8860b7f7fbef0a6 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Otto Skoppek World War II (Germany Army) 1 hour 48 minutes 40 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life on the Farm -Born in the country near Treuberg in East Prussia on December 15, 1916 -Family owned a large farm -Had orchards, grew corn, clover and potatoes, and owned cows and pigs -Local butcher came to them with a horse drawn cart -Their farm was in the “Land of 1,000 Lakes,” known as the Masurian Lake District -Produced a lot of rye -Hs father grew a wide variety of potatoes -Yellow, blue, white, red and a larger type that were fed to the livestock -Had enough livestock that they could sell some and keep some to feed the family -No electricity on the farm, and everything was powered by either kerosene or petroleum -Had a smokehouse for meats, and his father made an assortment of sausages -Mother baked homemade bread -Walked three to four miles to school -His family made their own butter and chilled it in their cellar -Only had to buy salt, sugar, and other things they couldn’t produce on the farm -Used roots and homemade remedies to treat sicknesses -Able to fish on their farm -Father used a homemade trap fashioned out of animal bones and wood -Had a pure creek that ran through their property and connected two lakes -Caught fish that weighed five to seven pounds -There was also a pond on the farm’s land -Father hunted rabbits in the winter with a hunting dog -Dozens of spruce trees grew on their property -His mother gathered mushrooms and cooked them in butter -His father used a small tractor and some horses to work the land -There were red elk in the area, and his father and other farmers hunted them -If you got one, you brought the meat to the butcher to be sold to the other people -Allowed to keep the antlers and two of the elk’s teeth -His father brought the teeth to a jeweler -Embedded in a necklace made out of African gold -Inherited the necklace from his father (00:21:38) Early Life & Education -In the 1920s, things were bad for Germany -There was hyperinflation, then it stabilized, only to be upset by the Great Depression -Throughout the 1920s, the Nazis began their rise to power �-Father made enough money to afford to send his children to high school and college -Education was free, but had to pay for additional expenses -He attended high school in Treuberg, but had to live in an apartment -Had to prove to his teachers that he wanted an education, so he could go to college -Visited his family on the weekends -Chance to get homemade food -On some weekends his mother made cakes and preserved fruits -Had a huge basement in which to store crops and food for livestock -Father had a hand operated machine in the basement -Used it to make sauerkraut out of cabbage grown on the farm -Grew cucumbers around the house and used them to make pickles -Paired the homemade pickles and sauerkraut with the homemade meats -Had 25 fruit trees in their yard -Especially remembers the pear trees and winter apple trees -Mother candied the fruit -Finished high school when he was 13 and went to college -Only way to become an officer in the German Army was by attending college (00:34:00) Paratrooper in North Africa Pt. 1 -He served as a paratrooper in North Africa -Went on missions behind enemy lines -Learned to land with both feet to avoid breaking a leg -Used a parachute that opened near the ground -Allowed for rapid and stealthy insertion (00:35:50) College & Forestry Work Pt. 1 -Went to college in Konigsberg, also in East Prussia -Famous for its historic German leaders -Rich, food producing area -Good for Stalin when it was ceded to the Soviet Union -He studied science in college with an emphasis on forestry work -Did that because he came from a wooded area -Remembers there being a dance hall and beer garden in the woods -Popular with the people -Had a variety of beers and meat (00:44:20) War Reparations -After World War I, the Germans had to surrender gold jewelry to pay for war reparations -After World War II, the Germans had to pay with land and agriculture -Eastern Germans were forced off their lands and had to move to West Germany (00:45:58) Forestry Work Pt. 2 -After college, he started receiving practical forestry training in Treuberg -Worked with a forester in the field and in the office -Managed land and wood being used by farmers -Some of the foresters only had a high school education, but were still educated men -Managed forest consumption for firewood and housing �-Had a sawmill -Worked as a forester through the 1930s (00:50:30) Nazism -Never felt like he was under the control of the Nazi Party -Soldiers didn’t use the Nazi salute, they used the regular salute -While in North Africa, under Field Marshal Rommel, they were just soldiers and not Nazis -Didn’t know about the Nazi atrocities being committed in Europe (00:51:55) Stationed in North Africa -Had a good relationship with the Arabs in North Africa -Ate rations that were lacking in vitamins -Soldiers lost their teeth because of the lack in nutrients (00:52:30) Start of World War II -He was working as a forester in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland (00:52:50) Stationed in Tunis Pt. 1 -He had a good office position in Tunis, Tunisia -Investigated a bicycle theft -It was a beautiful city -People were a mix of Italian and Arabic descent -Made silver jewelry -Wonderful people -Brought local cuisine to Otto and the other German soldiers in the city -Very friendly people -Remembers being on guard duty and seeing the silhouette of a large dog -Someone told him it was a hyena, so he shot it -The next day, a farmer came to them and told them that someone shot his dog (00:56:45) Surrendering to the Americans Pt. 1 -He had been drafted into the German Army and was assigned to Rommel’s Afrika Korps -By the end of the North African Campaign, they had run out of food, ammunition, and weapons -German supply lines had been cut -Forced to surrender because there was no way they could fight -Captured by American forces and told they would be brought to the U.S. as prisoners-of-war -*Note: Based on outside information, Otto was captured in 1943 -An American general applauded the behavior of the Afrika Korps -Under strict orders from Rommel to treat Allied prisoners with humanity -Never killed them, and always tried to feed them (01:00:07) Assignment to the Afrika Korps -He went into the German Army because he had spent almost his entire life in Treuberg -Wanted to do something different -Army was a chance at personal progress and a better future -Selected for service in North Africa in Rommel’s Afrika Korps (01:01:38) Prisoner-of-War -He and other German prisoners-of-war were brought to the United States -Put to work on a cotton plantation in Texas near the Mexican border �-Given a burlap sack and ordered to fill the sack -He was the first of his group to fill the sack -Picked cotton with both hands -Stayed at the prisoner-of-war camp in Texas until the war’s end -Treated well by the Americans -Moved to a green bean canning factory in Wyoming -American workers needed a vacation -In one month, the Germans produced 20,000 more cans than the American workers -American overseers rewarded them with a big box of cigars -Stayed in America for one year longer after World War II’s end -Issued tickets to buy goods at the factory store in Wyoming -Able to buy cigarettes and cigars that were unavailable in postwar Germany -Allowed to bring them back to Germany with them (01:06:36) Returning to Germany -Flown back to Europe and landed at a field near Amsterdam -Brought to a transit camp under British authority -British troops seized everything that the Germans had bought in America -Later that night, he and some others snuck over and stole back their goods -Flown from the Netherlands to Germany -By now, Germany had been divided into East and West Germany -Soviets had taken as much as they could from the Germans in East Germany -Visited his parents who were living in East Germany -Had to go through a border checkpoint manned by Soviet troops -He had terrible teeth due to the nutritional deprivation he experienced in North Africa -Went to a local dentist, but didn’t have any money to pay him -Still had a few cartons of cigarettes and a box of cigars -Dentist accepted the American tobacco as payment-in-kind -Gave Otto gold teeth replacements for the ones he lost -Not allowed to return to East Prussia since it was directly under Russian control -Parents lost everything and had to move to East Germany -He settled in West Germany and worked around there (01:12:13) Moving to America -Decided to return to America -During his time in West Germany he would send some goods to his parents in East Germany -Bits of food and clothing that he could get to them -Felt that Germany was too crowded and he wanted to return to the United States -Went to the American consulate in Hamburg to get approval -The decision was made by an American official -Explained that he’d had a good experience in America and wanted to return -Told the official that he had been in the Afrika Korps under Rommel -Immediately granted approval to immigrate to the U.S. -Americans had a deep respect for Rommel and his soldiers �(01:15:25) Airborne Mission in Tunisia -There was a memorable airborne mission behind French and Moroccan lines -*Note: Based on this information, he was most likely in the Ramcke Parachute Brigade -Landed behind enemy lines at midnight, and tasked with destroying enemy artillery -Went up against French and Moroccan troops -French and Moroccan artillery had been harassing nearby German infantry and tanks -Preventing the German tanks from advancing -Caught the French and Moroccans while they were sleeping -Told the guards not to sound the alarm or they would all be killed -Had a special explosive charge that would render the artillery pieces unusable -Ignited the charge, placed it in the breech, and 30 seconds later destroyed the gun -This mission happened in Tunisia -He was in a team of 16 paratroopers up against hundreds, or thousands, of Allied troops -Fired a flare to signal to the German tanks the artillery had been destroyed -German infantry and tanks advanced and linked up with Otto’s team (01:18:30) Stationed in Tunis Pt. 2 -Took over a consulate in Tunis -Had a cook -It was good duty -Needed to find bicycles for German soldiers -Transferred to office duty because he’d spent enough time on the frontline -People in Tunis were friendly (01:21:40) Surrendering to the Americans Pt. 2 -Pulled out of office duty because more Allied troops were coming into North Africa -Sent back to the frontline -Eventually ran out of ammunition and weapons -Saw American troops on the waterfront and knew they had to surrender -Decided it would be better to surrender to the Americans than keep fighting -Placed on a large ship bound for the United States -U-Boats had discovered that the ship was transporting German prisoners-of-war -POWs were afraid because they didn’t know the U-Boats knew that -Had good food on the ship -Sailed to Texas where their prisoner-of-war camp was located (01:24:30) Fighting in North Africa -Fought in Libya and Egypt -Found out that they couldn’t win the war like they thought they would -By early 1943, German forces on the southern Eastern Front had collapsed -Fought at El Alamein, Tobruk, and Sollum -His unit was sent to help regular infantry when they got in a tough situation -Usually inserted behind enemy lines to disrupt enemy forces -Then had to work back to the German line -He made a total of 16 jumps as a paratrooper -Did six combat jumps in North Africa �-Most combat jumps were against French forces, but did a couple against the British -Moroccans were vicious fighters -Had taken three German soldiers prisoner and executed them (0:31:22) Life in America -Sponsored by Peter Cook when Otto moved to the U.S. with his wife and son -*Note: Based on outside information, Otto and his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1957 -Got a job with Volkswagen since he’d had automotive experience in Germany -Became a manager -Stayed with the company when it became Mazda Great Lakes -Bought a car for $950 and had a home -When he worked for Volkswagen, then Mazda, he got a new car every year -Sold to a dedicated buyer and never had to spend more than $100 on a new car -The worst thing was when he had to relinquish his driver’s license -On doctor’s recommendation, due to sight trouble in his right eye -Able to drive until he was 98 years old (01:44:32) Reflections on Service -People lost so much in the war, and in a way, he counts himself as fortunate -He lost his brothers in the fighting on the Eastern Front -He wonders if he would have survived the war if he hadn’t been in North Africa Main interview ends <At various points throughout the interview, Otto mentions that he can play the harmonica and has memorized about 500 songs of German, French, Russian, and South American origin. From (01:47:25) – (01:48:37) he plays a song as conclusion to his interview.> � 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_SkoppekO2099V Title A name given to the resource Skoppek, Otto (Interview outline and video), 2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-02-07 Description An account of the resource Otto Skoppek was born near Treuberg, East Prussia, on December 15, 1916. Sometime in the early 1940s, he enlisted in the German Army and was assigned to Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps. He served as a paratrooper and went behind British and French lines to disrupt their forces so the Germans could advance. Based on this information, he was most likely in the Ramcke Parachute Brigade. He saw fighting across North Africa in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, and was stationed in Tunis for a time. He did six combat jumps, and fought at El Alamein, Tobruk, and Sollum. In 1943, due to dire supply shortages, he and the other German forces surrendered to American forces. Due to being under Rommel's command, they were treated with great respect and civility. Otto was brought to America and spent the rest of the war at a prisoner-of-war camp in Texas near the Mexican border picking cotton, then briefly at a canning factory in Wyoming. He returned to Germany (most likely in 1946 or 1947), and lived in West Germany until 1957 when he and his wife and child moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Skoppek, Otto 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 Germany. Army. Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/65546dab0505b2984ffdb15ae33ed3db.jpg fa46a57b3150b3b4ea02514cdf8c9e9a 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_K265-0009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970-11-19 Title A name given to the resource Sky's Reflection in St. Charles, Illinois Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a reflection of the sky as seen in a body of water in St. Charles, Illinois. In the photograph, the treeline view up in the sky is reflected in the mirror image from the waters below. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Saint Charles (Ill.) Reflections Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7b994da3f9c10be3759e1f3e9c796c7d.jpg dace5566ecf5d1d3d38c726b00574792 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_M160-0002 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 1972-06/1972-08 Title A name given to the resource Skyline in Oxford, England Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph featuring a bird's-eye view of the skyline in Oxford, England. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Oxford (England) Architecture--England--Oxford Skylines--England--Oxford Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/040bf32adbf4ee470d5fba01834ac6db.jpg 46176bbd0290be85690ba0486aaa042e 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_M160-0042 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 1972-06/1972-08 Title A name given to the resource Skyline in Oxford, England Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph featuring a bird's-eye view of the skyline in Oxford, England. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Oxford (England) Architecture--England--Oxford Skylines--England--Oxford Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a23412047c04440b704a1d9c774f321a.jpg abd06011d795ecd8a920c5cccb7fe839 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_M561 Title A name given to the resource Skytrain US Army transport C-47 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource C-47 Skytrain US Army transport, January 1, 1944. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Military education Airplanes, Military--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 1944-01-01 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/6047d0e3342a839288b688f3c5468c81.mp4 7a7347c5a3837d8f9df0316e01dc29b1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/88707897ccffc54fe45b6782e416358c.pdf b27ee2365bab6550dd7fd1d1c30605ed PDF Text Text Slager, Kenneth Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee’s Name: Kenneth Slager Length of Interview: Interviewed by: Wallace Erichsen Transcribed by: Hokulani Buhlman INTERVIEWER: Today is March 15, 2019 and we are at Ray Brooke Retirement home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We’ll be interviewing Reverend Kenneth Ray Slager who served in the US Marine Corps in World War II. Kenneth Ray Slager was born on June 11, 1925 and his residence is: 2111 Raybrook Avenue Southeast Apartment 1006 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 And I, as the videographer and interviewer and also the audio person, my name is Wallace Erikson, and I’m a volunteer interviewer with the history department at Grand Vallery State University, Allendale, Michigan. And this interview is being done as part of the Veterans History Project at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Now Ken, what is your full name and your date of birth? (1:48) My full name is Kenneth Ray Slager, I was born in June 11th, 1925. INTERVIEWER: And where is your place of birth, city and state? Kalamazoo, Michigan. INTERVIEWER: Okay, thank you. Which war did you serve in? World War II. Second world war. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And what branch of service and what was your highest rank? I was in the Marine Corps and I became a Corporal. INTERVIEWER: Okay thank you. Where did you serve? What theater of the war? What theater? �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: What theater. Pacific. INTERVIEWER: Pacific, okay. Island hopping. INTERVIEWER: Well if you’re born in Kalamazoo then, Ken, where did you grow up? Just east of Kalamazoo in a community called Comstock. INTERVIEWER: I see and what did your father do for a living there? He did a variety of jobs but he ended up working for Upjohn Company. (2:55) INTERVIEWER: Oh I see, what did he do for that? He worked in the lab where they ran their first run to see how it would work in the production. INTERVIEWER: Sure. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Biological laboratory then, I assume. Something like that. INTERVIEWER: Yeah. How many siblings did you have, brothers and sisters? I had 2 sisters and 1 brother. INTERVIEWER: Okay. I was the oldest. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And where did you go to high school then? Well after graduating from Christian school in Comstock I went forward to Kalamazoo Christian High School. We rode our bicycles four miles. INTERVIEWER: Oh my. To and from. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: You also went to Comstock Christian Elementary School, is that right? Mmhm. INTERVIEWER: I see. Mmhm. Two room school. INTERVIEWER: Oh my, was it out in the country or in the little village of Comstock? It was part of the community. INTERVIEWER: I see. Went to church there too of course. INTERVIEWER: What church did you go to in Comstock? Comstock CRC. INTERVIEWER: Christian Reform Church? Right. INTERVIEWER: I see. (Long pause) Did you have any employment when you were in grade school or high school? (4:38) Well when I was in my early teens I was working for my uncle in the celery field. INTERVIEWER: I see, what was his name? Jacob Slager. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Okay. And then were you draft into the military? Yes. INTERVIEWER: I see. So you got a draft notice I assume? I just signed up for the draft on my birthday in June and in early September I was sent to Detroit for physical. INTERVIEWER: I see. How long after high school was that when you were drafted? �Slager, Kenneth Three months. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yup. INTERVIEWER: Did you go to Detroit then, did you take a train or how did you get there, do you remember? I think by train. INTERVIEWER: Okay. I don’t remember but I’m pretty sure that’s the way alright. INTERVIEWER: And that was the entrance station then at the draft station there for the military. And what happened there, then? Well as I was being processed they asked for volunteers for the Marine Corps, they needed a few extra men and if you would volunteer you could go back home for two weeks and that sounded pretty good to me so I signed up. INTERVIEWER: Do they give you any assurance of any sort of military occupation or MOS or at all? No, no. INTERVIEWER: The drafting at the draft board there. No. INTERVIEWER: So you had two more weeks of the civilian life, is that right? Right back to work. (6:27) INTERVIEWER: Okay. Did you go back then to Detroit after the two weeks or did you go someplace else? No, no. We boarded a bus for Chicago and in Chicago they put us in the Pullman car. I had an upper berth which was pretty nice and we clickety-clacked across the country to Los Angeles. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Where did you go through basic training then? �Slager, Kenneth San Diego. INTERVIEWER: San Diego. Marine Corps Recruit Depot then. Right. (7:03) INTERVIEWER: Okay. How long were you there at the basic training? About four months. Two months in boot camp and two months in infantry training. INTERVIEWER: I see… where was the infantry training, was that at San Diego also? The what? INTERVIEWER: The Infantry training? Was that at San Diego? Right. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any of your drill instructors, what they were like or what they were named or anything by chance? Well I know he had a strong voice. I’m trying to recall his name but I can’t recall his name now. He put us through our paces, he was an excellent DI. INTERVIEWER: You could hear him across the drill deck I bet. That’s right. INTERVIEWER: You could probably still hear that voice sometimes. Yeah well I… when we were in the rifle range, we were returning from an evening program, four or five platoons and he was calling the cadence for all five platoons. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, haha.. What were the first few days of your service, and your training your basic training, what were they like? What do you remember about them? I really don’t remember much at all. Nope. I’m drawing much of a blank there I know I got rid of my civilian closed and got GI clothes, sent the other clothes back home. That was it. INTERVIEWER: But any particular instances that come back to your mind as far as, you know the drill instructor yelling at you or hollering at everybody trying to get you to line up? �Slager, Kenneth Yup He was very strict and one fella, instead of washing his clothes he would just take one of his briefs and get it wet and hang it up and he got caught at it, so the DI told him to throw it on the ground which is red clay. Then he marched the platoon back and forth over it, he said “Now you get it clean.” INTERVIEWER: So you had to wash your own clothing in it? Oh yeah, every evening. INTERVIEWER: I expected you to use soap and water I suppose. Yeah, whatever they had there. At least our underwear, yeah. (9:55) INTERVIEWER: What did it feel like, then, the first few days in basic training? I probably felt lost. I wasn’t at home and I wasn’t completely comfortable there either, I guess. Took a while to adjust. INTERVIEWER: Yeah you weren’t really used to it yet. Yup. But they didn’t give you a lot of time to think about it. INTERVIEWER: That helps, probably. Woke you up early in the morning and kept you busy all the time til it was time to get back in the sack. INTERVIEWER: Even the evenings, was that pretty much regimented as far as the trainings with the drill instructor? The what? INTERVIEWER: The evenings after the evening meal? Were you busy at that time also with the drill instructor? During the infantry training you mean? INTERVIEWER: Well in basic training after the evening meal or did you have these evenings to yourself? Oh they found things to do, yeah. INTERVIEWER: They kept you busy, yeah. �Slager, Kenneth Polish your rifle or polish your shoes. INTERVIEWER: Right, yeah. Clean your rifle as you would say, polish your shoes. INTERVIEWER: Well how did you get through the basic training then? How did I get through it? INTERVIEWER: How did you get through it, yeah. I did what I was told! INTERVIEWER: You followed instructions, right? (11:19) (Slager laughs) INTERVIEWER: Okay. Your rifle training then? Where? INTERVIEWER: Where. I don’t remember where, I know it was up in the higher elevation and it got very cold at night. INTERVIEWER: But near San Diego, is that right? Not too far from San Diego, nice general area. When we’d go out to the rifle range in the morning we had to have plenty of clothes on to stay warm. But the time we came back at noon we had most of it off, it was pretty warm. INTERVIEWER: And how long were you there? Three weeks of rifle training. INTERVIEWER: Three weeks, okay. And the first full week was only the snapping and we never did any firing. INTERVIEWER: But they taught you how to hold a rifle and adjust the swing properly and all that? Right. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: It’s an interesting turn, snapping in. They still use it in the Marine Corps. I suppose. INTERVIEWER: One of those things. Yup. INTERVIEWER: Yeah… where did you go after basic training? Did you go to advanced training after that? Infantry training, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Oh I see. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: And that was also at San Diego? Mmhm. INTERVIEWER: How long were you at infantry training? Two months. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yup. We were… INTERVIEWER: Backing up just a bit here, Ken, when did you enter the military then or when were you drafted, what date? September… let’s see… two weeks after the 9th, anyways. INTERVIEWER: Okay, so you were at the entrance station there. About 23 I guess. INTERVIEWER: On the 9th. September 23. INTERVIEWER: On the 23rd, what year then was that? �Slager, Kenneth 1943. INTERVIEWER: ‘43, okay. Okay. What did you do in infantry training when you went to infantry training in San Diego. Well, um… INTERVIEWER: What sort of things did you learn? Mostly just… do as your told, I guess. INTERVIEWER: Did you learn about specific weapons like machine guns or? Oh yeah, several. INTERVIEWER: Bazookas and that kind of thing? (14:07) Yeah that was on the rifle range. INTERVIEWER: Oh I see. Oh, the rifle range was part of the infantry training is that right? Mhm. INTERVIEWER: I see. Yeah. Three weeks. INTERVIEWER: And then at the end and infantry training thats, I assume, when you graduated is that right? Yeah you had, after the near the end of the three weeks they had you fire four a record and the fella next to me his target didn’t have any holes and mine had a lot of ‘em so… I think I got his shots, credit for his shots. INTERVIEWER: You had more holes in your target then you had bullet casings is that right? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: That would give you a good high score. It did, unfortunately. I was qualified as a BARman, Browning Automatic Rifle. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Oh I see. When did you graduate though from basic training, do you remember that? It’s usually a big parade isn’t it? I don’t think it was that much for us. It was war time and they were just interested in getting us overseas. INTERVIEWER: I see. I suppose there was some kind of ceremony but I don’t remember it at all. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Where did you go after San Diego then? Well we got aboard the SS President Tyler, 2700 of us, and took a 28-day trip to Guadalcanal. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Stopping at New Caledonia on the way, we crossed the pacific all by ourselves, no escort, no protection. INTERVIEWER: What sort of ship had the SS President Tyler been? Had that been a passenger ship? I guess so, and probably retired. INTERVIEWER: What was your—did you have a regular stateroom? Oh no no no, we had about 4 bunks in a tier. INTERVIEWER: Four bunks stacked up one on top of the other? Right. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And I was not on the top but I was not on the bottom either, thankfully. INTERVIEWER: So you went to Guadalcanal and you mentioned you stopped on what island? Actually went over as a replacement of a battalion. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yeah. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Do you remember what your battalion designation was? The battalion or regiment that you were in? No I don’t. INTERVIEWER: Okay. No… it was just a replacement battalion I don’t remember the number. INTERVIEWER: And you eventually went to guadalcanal, but I thought you mentioned you had also stopped at another island? (17:09) New Caledonia. INTERVIEWER: New Caledonia, okay… What did you do in New Caledonia? You know, they unloaded some fresh fruit which we never had. INTERVIEWER: Well that was a treat I’ll bet, at least for a few days anyway. Right. INTERVIEWER: Yeah… They managed to break a crate or two I think while they were unloading. INTERVIEWER: And at this point as you’re going overseas what was your military specialty there, were you a BAR? Yeah. Browning Automatic Rifleman. INTERVIEWER: A Browning Automatic Rifleman, okay, so Infantry then, right? Yeah, that was my [specialty]. INTERVIEWER: Okay… and when you’ve got to Guadalcanal what sort of a situation did you encounter there then? When you got to Guadalcanal? Well… we just were assigned to a particular place where they had tents set up for us and we were waiting to be assigned to specific units. INTERVIEWER: You were replacement personnel then. �Slager, Kenneth Right, and after a few days they put up a notice that everyone 6 feet or more tall to fall out at such and such a date and I did of course. And a short captain came and asked a few questions, and a day or two later I was assigned to an MP company. INTERVIEWER: I see… when you first arrived on Guadalcanal, Ken, was the fighting still going on? No, no, it’s secure. INTERVIEWER: The island was fairly secure? Yup. Yup. (18:54) INTERVIEWER: Okay… So you joined the MPs then, what was your unit designation at that point? It was MP Company and H&S Battalion, 3rd Amphibious Corps. INTERVIEWER: Okay. General Geiger was Commander. Roy S. Geiger. INTERVIEWER: That’s a famous name from… Yes! INTERVIEWER: World War II, yeah. Okay. Did you go through specific training at all to be an MP? I don’t remember, I suppose they taught us a few things. I remember one thing they said, “When you’re wearing that Brizard you’re just like Jesus Christ.” I didn’t quite agree with that, but what they meant was you were in charge. INTERVIEWER: Yeah that’s probably why they wanted people 6 feet or over. Right. INTERVIEWER: So that you could be in charge, you would look like you’re in charge. What was your actual job assignment then as a military policeman? Well, we did various things during invasions. We would sometimes escort admirals and generals who would come to view things, we would take care of the main gate if there was such a thing, we’d raise and lower the colors every day as part of our tasks. Supervise work in the brig, make sure everybody stayed there. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: The brig or jail, right? There’s no place to go if they got out, so, wasn’t too much of a problem but… and direct traffic. INTERVIEWER: We’re you broken up into—the company, were you broken up into platoons or did you have squads? No, not in the MP Company, no. I suppose we fall out in formation but they didn’t have us working separately as platoons or anything. INTERVIEWER: Would you be assigned like two, three, or four to a detail like the main gate, or? Yeah, they give us assignments every day or so. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, yo wouldn’t be on your own specifically you probably would have two or three other MPs helping ya. Yeah, very often. (21:48) INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Did you see combat when you were in the Marine Corps? Well yes and no. I was not involved in combat as such. We were close to the front lines more than one occasion, once we were close enough that the cook was killed by a… I had the word and now I forgot. INTERVIEWER: Mortar round? Mortar dropped right in his fox hole. INTERVIEWER: Oh. Yeah. But for the most part we were behind the lines cause we were headquarters battalion. INTERVIEWER: No other than the cook you just mentioned, were there any other casualties in your unit like in H&S Company here? No, nothing too serious. The only thing I can remember is there was a fella by the name of Joe Sokolowski and he always walked with a rudy sticking out of his chest, and going through the line to get a shots and he keeled over. He wasn’t such a… INTERVIEWER: He wasn’t such a He-Man at that point. �Slager, Kenneth No. INTERVIEWER: What was Joe’s last name—what was Joe’s last name again? Sokolowski. S-o-k-o-l-o-w-s-k-i, I think something like that. INTERVIEWER: S-K-I… you recall where he was from? I think Chicago area. INTERVIEWER: Oh, I see. Yeah… did he eventually revive himself? I don’t remember. INTERVIEWER: Okay. He stayed. INTERVIEWER: He stayed dead, okay… Can you tell me about any other memorable experiences you had there? (23:55) Yes. INTERVIEWER: Maybe in policing the other Marines or other Navy personnel or whatever. I remember when I was on guard duty guarding the general's tent and about six o’clock in the morning he came out of the tent and his question was “How did the boys do during the night?” Which, in reflecting on that told me he was concerned about the personnel and their safety. Of course I had no idea how they had… but there had not been much firing that I had heard. INTERVIEWER: That’s probably a surprise question to you. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: As if he thought you had just come from the intelligence tent or something. Right. INTERVIEWER: Yeah. And another outstanding thing in my mind on Okinawa was I was directing traffic after… well let me get back up a bit. We had a season of rain, almost three weeks of continuous rain where they couldn’t get through on the roads, they had to bring things up to the front on the beach �Slager, Kenneth using amphibious tractors. So once it dried up they had to remove lots of bodies, and I remember a truck—a four by six truck coming by loaded with bodies on it like cordwood taking them from the front, and that was quite traumatic of course. INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Some kind of stock and trade questions here then, Ken. Were you ever a prisoner of war? Was I a prisoner of war? No. INTERVIEWER: Okay… I guarded a few prisoners but I was never a prisoner of war. INTERVIEWER: Were you ever wounded in action? No. INTERVIEWER: Okay. No. INTERVIEWER: Were you awarded any individual medals or citations for individual bravery or anything like that? No, nothing like that either. INTERVIEWER: Okay… We stop— (Tape is changed.) Okay Ken, how long did you stay on Guadalcanal before moving on? I don’t know, it was not very long before we went on our first push which was Guam. INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.. So after Guadalcanal you went to Guam then, is that right? Well that was the invasion of Guam. INTERVIEWER: Okay, okay. Then we went back to Guadalcanal and then was the invasion of Okinawa. INTERVIEWER: How long were you on Guam? I don’t recall. INTERVIEWER: Okay, and again that— �Slager, Kenneth It didn’t take long because it was a small island and the people there knew what the American troops were like and so they gladly welcomed us. (27:22) INTERVIEWER: So they welcomed you ashore? The Okinawan Japanese had told them we were terrible people but on Guam they knew better. INTERVIEWER: Surprise, that wasn’t the case. Because of the US position. INTERVIEWER: So you went to Guam and then you went back to— Okinawa. INTERVIEWER: Guadalcanal? Back to Guadalcanal. INTERVIEWER: For a time. And then from Guadalcanal a second time where did you go after that? Then we did an invasion of Okinawa. INTERVIEWER: Okay Did you actually participate in the invasion or was that shortly after the invasion? Well, part of the invasion, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay. You know, we went in D-Day plus one or two. INTERVIEWER: Okay… How was that? What was that like once you got ashore in Okinawa? Well… INTERVIEWER: Cause you were quite close at the time of the invasion. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Only a day or two after. �Slager, Kenneth Nothing comes to mind right now except what we talked about earlier of course, some of the things we talked about were on Okinawa. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what part of the island on Okinawa that you landed on? No I don’t. INTERVIEWER: Okay. I know that the Marines landed next to the Army and we swept north but there was no opposition and in just a few days we were back on the line on the south end of the island. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: But again at that point you were still, you were in the military policemen then at that point. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So you’re directing traffic… Yeah. INTERVIEWER: And guarding the main gate and things like that to the compound. Guarding generals and admirals. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Escorting them. (29:23) INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Let me ask you a little bit about that then, Ken, escorting the generals and the bigwigs. Did they travel around a lot or just some? They would come just to see how things were going I guess, get fairly close to the front lines, check things out. Our job was to protect them, they didn’t get fired on by any enemies. INTERVIEWER: I assume they were in a Jeep. Yeah. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Most of the time, and did you have a convoy, did you have other Jeeps? Yeah usually. INTERVIEWER: Or trucks that you had? We had one Jeep ahead with several of us in it. INTERVIEWER: And then probably a Jeep or a truck in the back? Yeah, right. INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Okay. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So they would at least get to the front line and did they visit other commands with other units? Well I imagine that was the idea, we didn’t get involved in that, we were just there to make sure they were kept safe. INTERVIEWER: You just went wherever they told you to go, right? (Long pause) So I’m assuming you guarded the Commanding General for the 3rd Amphibious Corps. Mmhm. INTERVIEWER: And that was General Geiger, is that right? Roy S. Geiger. (31:01) INTERVIEWER: What was he like? What kind of a General was he? Pleasant? Was he a hardnose or? No, he wasn’t hard nosed, no at least as far as I didn’t see that much of him, but what I did see of him he was… pretty much of a personal person, I guess I would say. INTERVIEWER: Personable? Personable. INTERVIEWER: Now that's a famous name, what was he really known for? Did he go on to command and Army or? �Slager, Kenneth He became Commandant, I think, of the Marine Corps. INTERVIEWER: Okay, and would that have been after the war then? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Vandegrift was Commandant during the war. INTERVIEWER: Okay… And he had been Commandant of the 3rd Amphibious Corps as well. INTERVIEWER: Was General Vandergrift, was he commanding general during the invasion of Guadalcanal, do you remember? Geiger was. INTERVIEWER: Oh Geigar was, okay. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So at that point then— Oh, no, at Guadalcanal? I think Vandergrift was it. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yeah, yeah. INTERVIEWER: And then he became the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and then after the war General Geiger became Commandant. That’s where I recall the name from, I guess. Yup. INTERVIEWER: The list of Commandants. He was Commander of the 3rd Amphibious Corps. (32:36) INTERVIEWER: Lemme just ask you then, how did you keep in touch with your family then? By letter or telephone or what? �Slager, Kenneth No telephone, just by what they called Vmail. INTERVIEWER: Oh, I’ve heard of that. You’d write it and they would— INTERVIEWER: What was that like, the Vmail? Take a picture of it and they could get it on film on a very small space and then when they got to the states they would… INTERVIEWER: Develop it and print it. Enlarge it again, send it to the family. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Yeah… Then were you able to get mail back then from the states, too? Oh yeah? INTERVIEWER: In the same way, by Vmail? Mhmm. Or regular mail too. INTERVIEWER: Yeah? Took awhile, often, to catch up with us. INTERVIEWER: What was the food like overseas? What kinda food did you have? Rations most of the time. Good cereal the time, I should say, but for the most part we had good warm meals. INTERVIEWER: So hot meals and… did you have like, mess halls? Not the first few days of an invasion but after you got set up, set up the kitchen, we had pretty good meals. INTERVIEWER: Did you have like, a regular mess hall or a vehicle or like a tent? Probably a tent, yes. A large tent. INTERVIEWER: Yeah. �Slager, Kenneth Yeah. INTERVIEWER: But the important thing was at least the meal was hot, right? Right. INTERVIEWER: And did you have plenty—or did you have enough supplies I should say? Oh yeah. INTERVIEWER: As far as clothing? When we were on MP duty we could go to the front of the chow line. INTERVIEWER: Oh, I see. That was nice for us but the other guys didn’t appreciate it. INTERVIEWER: Yeah but if you go through the chow line real quick then you gotta go back on duty, isn’t that right? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yup, that was the idea. Probably get a half hour for meal time. INTERVIEWER: Did you feel any stressful situations when you were deployed overseas? No. I suppose at times I did but the most difficult experience for me was… right after Okinawa was secured my cousin was in the Army and was assigned to Okinawa, he came to shore a day or two about the time it was secure, and he was standing guard duty two days after the island was declared secure and a sniper shot him. My folks sent me a letter telling me he was on Okinawa and where he was and asked me to look him up, which I did. I did, I caught a ride detail to the other side of the island and found his Sergeant and I said “Do you have a Jim Slager here?” and he said “We had a Jim Slager.” INTERVIEWER: He was killed in action? Yeah, by a sniper while he was standing guard duty, like I said just a couple days after he was on Okinawa and the island was supposedly secure. INTERVIEWER: Secured at that point. �Slager, Kenneth But I could not write that home. INTERVIEWER: Yup. If I had it would have been blacked out INTERVIEWER: They would have deleted it out of it. So my folks kept writing me, “Do you know anything about Jim, do you know anything about Jim?” and I couldn’t answer til about… I suppose 30 days they notified the parents. INTERVIEWER: So eventually—Jim’s parents eventually were notified by the military. You’re right. INTERVIEWER: And the word probably got back to your folks. Oh yeah. INTERVIEWER: That he’d been killed. They lived a few blocks from each other. INTERVIEWER: Oh. Oh my, no… (pause) How did you and your fellow Marines entertain yourselves overseas? Oh, well we played a lot of volleyball. Which makes sense with everybody 6 feet tall or taller. That was one way. (37:48) INTERVIEWER: It must of been games of the MPs verses the Infantry, right? No, usually just among ourselves. INTERVIEWER: Oh! Yeah, and usually once the island was secured you’d have a day on and a day off of duty, and the day off you could play volleyball, polish your shoes… INTERVIEWER: Rest a little bit. Whatever, wash your clothes. And they often had programs in the evening—movies of some sort, take those in. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Did you have entertainers like the Bob Hope Troupe that visited you guys? We never had the Bob Hope, no. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Any other entertainer groups? Not that I can recall, no. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Okay…. Okay, after Okinawa where did you go then, Ken? After Okinawa was secured we went to Guam, back to Guam. INTERVIEWER: Back to Guam. And we were preparing to invade Tokyo Bay, that was our next assignment. INTERVIEWER: And that would have been Japan, then. Right. INTERVIEWER: What happened to stop that? Well, President Truman, Harry Truman, decided to drop the Atomic Bomb and subsequently the Japanese surrendered. INTERVIEWER: Were you on Guam at the time that happened? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: When the bombs were dropped and the Japanese surrendered? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Then after V-J Day, where did you go after that? Then we went to Tientsin, China. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And we were there four months. INTERVIEWER: Were you on duty there then or was that? �Slager, Kenneth Oh yeah. INTERVIEWER: On duty? Okay. Yeah. I guess they were afraid that the Russians were going to invade China, and we were there to see that didn’t happen. (40:13) INTERVIEWER: Were you posted at a military base or? Well we had… no it was not a military base. It was converted into a military base but it was just a large building, what it had been before I don’t recall, but we were—the headquarters were right in the downtown area in another building which we had to… INTERVIEWER: You guarded that, then, as an MP, too? Make sure that was secure. And, uh… INTERVIEWER: Okay… Were you there with other large infantry units, too? I mean a lot of other military personnel in China? Tientsin? Well that I don’t really know. I’m sure there were but we didn’t really see many of them. We had, basically, Marine Corps and Navy personnel on our base and they… some of them would see the town in the evening, we had to make sure they got the right treatment after they came in, if they were obviously had taken too much alcohol. INTERVIEWER: Get them to their barracks. Directly to the sick bay. (41:45) INTERVIEWER: Were you able to travel at all in China on your own or on leave or anything? Not on my own. They did give us one week where our unit, or a good share of our unit, went to Beijing for a week. INTERVIEWER: I see. Did a lot of looking around the city. INTERVIEWER: It was like a period of R&R, of rest and recuperation? Right. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Okay, yup. And then after your four months in China, where did you go from there? Then we boarded the USS Roi and sailed for San Diego. We stopped in Pearl Harbor for 12 hours. Nobody got off ship but we saw our first Coke-a-Cola truck in 2 years which was kind of interesting, and then we went right into San Diego. INTERVIEWER: And how long did you spend in San Diego, then? Not too long, just a few days and then they shipped me to Great Lakes Naval Training Station for discharge. INTERVIEWER: Okay. So that’s where you were discharged was in Great Lakes, Illinois, then. Right. INTERVIEWER: Okay. What date was that, do you remember? The date? INTERVIEWER: Or even the month and year. Early March, I think I got home about March 5th or something. INTERVIEWER: And what year was that? That would be… ‘46. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And after that did you come back to Comstock, Kalamazoo? Went home. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Gladly, haha. Yup. INTERVIEWER: What do you remember about your first few days out of the Marine Corps and out of the military? Anything particular there? No, I don’t have any recollection. I guess I went back to work? INTERVIEWER: Okay. �Slager, Kenneth For my uncle, on the celery farm. And then in the fall, September, I enrolled at Calvin College. INTERVIEWER: In what college? In Calvin College? Mhmm. INTERVIEWER: I see. Yeah. Pre-sem course, pre-seminary. I decided while I was overseas—well actually, while overseas that I became a committed Christan and decided to go into the Ministry. INTERVIEWER: What sort of a conversion experience did you have there when you were overseas, anything specific about that? No, I just know that when it happened I was… well, just, there were other fellas who were also committed Christians and we soon worked together at different times when we were off duty, especially in China we went to different Youth for Christ meetings that they had there. That’s where we met a lady by the name of Mrs. Fan. INTERVIEWER: Mrss Fan? Mrs. Fan, F-A-N. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And she had us for dinner several times. Didn’t hurt that she had two or three young daughters, but it was a very nice family. She had been in the states for a while so she spoke very good English. INTERVIEWER: So that was a connection, then. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, the language. Her husband was in South China overseeing some mining operation and we never met him but. Anyway, she even wrote a letter to my mother, to my folks, yeah. A very nice lady and… (46:23) INTERVIEWER: Did you take any photographs when you were overseas? I did not, no. INTERVIEWER: No photographs, okay. �Slager, Kenneth I did get pictures from other people but I didn’t have a camera myself. INTERVIEWER: Ken, when you enrolled in Calvin College as an undergrad did you know at that point that you wanted to go on and go through Seminary and become a pastor? Oh yeah, I was—my course was a Pre-seminary course, along with a lot of other vets. INTERVIEWER: Did you have the GI bill to help pay for it? Yes I did. INTERVIEWER: To help pay for that? Okay. For all the seven years except for one semester and then my wife was teaching so we could live on her, quote-unquote, “salary”. INTERVIEWER: I see. And you went through Calvin Seminary also, is that about right? Right. INTERVIEWER: Okay. For three years. INTERVIEWER: And you became an ordained Christian Reform Minister? Right. INTERVIEWER: Alright. Willmar, Minnesota. W-I-L-L-M-A-R. INTERVIEWER: Minnesota, that was your first church then, am I right? Right. INTERVIEWER: And was Willmar CRC? Christian Reform Church? Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay. It was just a new congregation, I was a new resident pastor. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: Let me back up, you gave me a little clue here that you were married. When did you marry and what was her name? My wife’s maiden name was Alice Klein, K-L-E-I-N. INTERVIEWER: I see, and when? And we were married August 26th, 1949. INTERVIEWER: ‘49… was she a fellow student? Yes. INTERVIEWER: At Calvin, that’s how you met her? We met on the first day I was on campus. She had grown up in Detroit and had worked for Sanders Candy Company for several years and then came to Calvin, she had been there about a week I think, helping out with enrollment and so-on, working in the office and… another fella from Kalamazoo and I were walking together, we had just signed up for the GI Bill and I was telling him they had to—they were gonna send our applications to Detroit, as she was coming down the steps. And she said “Detroit, Detroit, did you say Detroit?” Well, that’s when we met. INTERVIEWER: That’s how you met, talk about Detroit. But I—we didn’t date until the following March. INTERVIEWER: I see. And then I had asked Mike Harvey Bulchum, my roommate, exactly who she was I couldn’t recall which gal it was, I knew I wanted to meet her but I couldn’t remember who she was. He told me. INTERVIEWER: Yeah…Well, backing up just a second here back to your time after the military then, Ken, did you make any lasting relationships with the people that you served with in the Marine Corps? For a year or two we did, and I don’t remember how many years it was afterwards we had a gather in the Illinois area, but that was the only time I did keep in touch with the few individuals. INTERVIEWER: Oh, do you remember their names? Especially one in California… The name won’t come to me now, but… INTERVIEWER: That’s alright. �Slager, Kenneth Russ Carver. INTERVIEWER: Ross Carter? Russ Carver. INTERVIEWER: C-A-R-V-E-R? Mmhm. INTERVIEWER: Okay… and he was in California then, right? He lived in Northern California. INTERVIEWER: Okay… Did you join any veterans organizations? No. INTERVIEWER: Okay. No, I was busy enough without. (50:58) INTERVIEWER: Alright. Then you get the church affiliated organizations keeping you going. Okay. I kinda thought I would have you speak a little then about where you served as a minister in the Christian Reform Church. You mentioned Willmar, Minnesota as your first church, where did you go after Willmar? A church called Lincoln Center which was in Grundy Center, Iowa. INTERVIEWER: I see. And then to the northwest Iowa town called Sibley. INTERVIEWER: Okay. And from there I went to Vancouver, Washington where I was an initial pastor of a new congregation. And then— INTERVIEWER: Was that Vancouver, Trinity? Vancouver, Washington. INTERVIEWER: Was that Trinity Christian Reform Church? �Slager, Kenneth Yes. INTERVIEWER: I see, okay, in Vancouver, Washington? Yeah. It’s right on the Columbia River across from Portland, Oregon. And then we went to Monroe, Washington which is northeast of Seattle. INTERVIEWER: Okay… was that New Hope Fellowship? That’s what they call it now. INTERVIEWER: Okay. That’s the name now then, I understand. When did you retire, then? INTERVIEWER: 1983. Or, 19… my pension began in January 1 of 1983. I see. INTERVIEWER: Did you retire in 1988 then? Pardon? INTERVIEWER: Was it actually 1988 when you stopped working? Well, it was actually just November of ‘87. INTERVIEWER: Oh, I see. For as far as Social Security was concerned. INTERVIEWER: Okay. As far as the pension it was January 1 of ‘88, so. INTERVIEWER: Okay. After you served your last church and retired from the Christian Reform Church as a minister, Ken, where did you move from there? We moved back to Michigan to my hometown into the house I grew up in and we were there about 19 years, then we moved to Grand Rapids. INTERVIEWER: I see. Did your parents lived in the house when you first moved back? �Slager, Kenneth No. My father had died and my mother was in assisted living and the house was vacant. INTERVIEWER: Oh, I see. So, I retired a little bit early and moved in and kinda helped take care of my mother. INTERVIEWER: Right. Ken, let me just ask you about your military experience and how that might have influenced your thinking about war and about the military in general. And let me also add your later experience as a minister—either of those things, you know, the experience the military, any particular thing. (54:11) Well, I think the one thing that I got into because of my military experience was chaplain for the Civil Air Patrol. INTERVIEWER: I see. And that was for… ended up being about 35 years in different locations, including Vancouver and Monroe; Everett, Washington and Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, Michigan after I moved back here. INTERVIEWER: Were you able to fly with some of the pilots with civil air patrol? One time. INTERVIEWER: One time, okay. You were mainly a chaplain, then. And my wife and the youngest daughter went along, too. INTERVIEWER: Oh, good. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Good, yeah. But then did your experience in the military and later as a minister, that particularly affect your thinking about the military and the war in general. Probably. I don’t recall that it, you know that I specifically applied military experience, but I’m sure that it affected me. INTERVIEWER: Okay. (The camera view changes to show a patch and three medals on a white background, from left to right. The patch is red and shaped like a shield, with the numeral III and what looks like snake or dragon embroidered in yellow. From left to right, the medals appear as: navy, yellow, white, and red stripes with a medallion with the image of a woman; yellow, white, and dark red stripes �Slager, Kenneth with a medallion featuring [UNKNOWN]; yellow and two thin red strips with a medallion featuring [UNKNOWN]. Erikson is pointing at the items individually with a pen.) INTERVIEWER: Now, Ken, we have several medals and a patch here. What is this patch? That’s the designation of 3rd Amphibious Corps. INTERVIEWER: And you wore that on your uniform? Yes. INTERVIEWER: Is that right? On our sleeve. INTERVIEWER: Right. And what is this medal? World War II medal. INTERVIEWER: World War II medal, right. (Erikson points to the second medal.) This is the Asia-Pacific campaign? Yes. (Erikson points to the third medal.) And China. INTERVIEWER: And China service, okay. Mhmm. (56:02) (The scene changes. On a white piece of paper are two objects: a religious service brochure for the III Amphibious Corps (left) and a booklet detailing the activities of the III Amphibious Corps in World War II (right).) INTERVIEWER: Okay, this brochure looks like a religious service Order of Worship, is that right? Yes, at the conclusion of the war, gratitude for peace. INTERVIEWER: I see. That the war was over. �Slager, Kenneth INTERVIEWER: And this booklet here, what is that? That’s just telling about the first activities of the 3rd Amphibious Corps. INTERVIEWER: I see. Up until the Invasion of Guam. INTERVIEWER: Okay. (56:40) (The scene changes. A garrison cap sits on a white sheet of paper.) INTERVIEWER: Now the garrison cover here, again, was that yours during the war? Yes it was. INTERVIEWER: Okay. Yes. INTERVIEWER: With the— Part of my uniform. INTERVIEWER: —Eagle, globe and anchor here. That’s right. Eagle, globe and anchor. INTERVIEWER: Alright. (The camera view changes. It is a headshot of Slager, but the background has changed.) INTERVIEWER: Well Ken we’re about at the end here, let me just ask you is there anything else you would like to add to the interview? That I’d like to add? INTERVIEWER: Yeah, right. Not that I can think of right now. INTERVIEWER: Okay. �Slager, Kenneth Thankfully got home safely. INTERVIEWER: Well we’re glad that came about. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: And we’re glad the Lord watched over you while you were overseas. Right. INTERVIEWER: Watched over your family throughout your career as a minister here in the United States. Yup. INTERVIEWER: Well I wanna thank you about your sharing your recollections with us about your military service, and I want to add that the interview is going to be part of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and also will be part of the archive at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Again I want to thank you for participating in the Veterans History Interview. No, thank you for asking me. INTERVIEWER: You’re quite welcome. Including me. INTERVIEWER: Thank you, Ken. (58:25) � 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 SlagerK1767V Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Slager, Kenneth Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05 Title A name given to the resource Slager, Kenneth (Interview transcript and video), 2015 Description An account of the resource Kenneth Slager was born on June 11, 1925 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where his father worked for Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company. Slager was the oldest of four children in his deeply religious family, attended Kalamazoo Christian High School, and worked for his uncle’s celery field during his early teenage years. He received a draft notice in the summer of 1943 and opted to volunteer for the Marine Corps. He underwent Basic Training in San Diego and spent two months in Marine Boot Camp before graduating onto two months of Advanced Infantry Training. He was then shipped to New Caledonia and then Guadalcanal aboard the USS President Tyler, without escort, in a Replacement Battalion. Slager arrived at Guadalcanal after the fighting had receded and was assigned to a Military Police Company in the Headquarters Battalion, Third Amphibious Corps. As an MP, he escorted Admirals and Generals, guarded gates and entrances, directed traffic, guarded the Corps’ Brigg, as well as raised and lowered the American flag each day. From Guadalcanal, Slager was involved in the invasion of Guam in the summer of 1944 and was also allocated towards the invasion of Okinawa where he escorted high-ranking personnel. Slager’s cousin was also serving in Okinawa in the Army, but he was killed by an enemy sniper while on guard duty, which was devastating for Slager. From Okinawa, he was transferred back to Guam in preparation for the proposed invasion of Tokyo Bay, Japan. However, the invasion was called off after the use of the atomic bombs leading to its unconditional surrender. Slager was then sent to China for four months under fears that the Soviet Union would stage an invasion of China. Afterwards, he was shipped back to the San Diego aboard the USS Roi and was transferred to Great Lakes Naval Station for discharge in March of 1946. Slager then returned home to Kalamazoo, enrolled into Calvin College, became an Ordained Christian Reformed Minister out of Willmar, Minnesota, and married his wife in August of 1949. He fully retired by January of 1988 and decided to move back to his childhood home to take care of his elderly mother before moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan and partaking in the Civil Air Patrol. Reflecting upon his service, Slager did not believe that the Corps left a lasting impression on his character other than exposing him to a personal religious awakening in China. 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 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401. Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e12fe26d95a109438d5499362288ec74.mp4 d149a59509eaae6e7e030a05ba619f07 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4bc4d8e128d73967b372fc4059a5e325.pdf 5268c119337d65f9ba4de1757e7a9184 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ralph Slager World War II-Post War 28 minutes 52 seconds (00:00:10) Early Life -Born in Comstock, Michigan on January 9, 1928 -Grew up in Comstock and lived there until he got married -His father worked in a lumberyard then for the Upjohn Company during World War II -He had steady work during the Great Depression -The pay wasn’t good, but it was consistent -He had one brother and two sisters -He was the third child (00:01:19) World War II -Remembers hearing President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech -Remembers the paperboys hawking newspapers after Pearl Harbor was bombed -The attack came as surprise to him because he didn’t know about Japan’s ambitions -Remembers the rationing of tires, gasoline, and sugar going into effect -He became involved with local paper drives where he would meet his future wife -Seemed that the war would go on long enough that he would have to serve (00:02:50) Enlisting in the Army -He graduated in June 1945 while the war was still on -He was seventeen at the time though which meant he was safe from getting drafted -He had worked on celery farms growing up but knew he didn’t want to do that as a career -Prior to receiving his draft notice he worked at an ice cream factory -Even after hostilities ceased the draft was still in effect -This was because the war wasn’t declared officially over until 1951 -He received his draft notice and reported to the local draft office -Told that if he accepted the draft he could be in for an indefinite amount of time -Went to an Army recruiter and was told about the perks of enlisting -He could sign up for an eighteen month commitment -He enlisted in the Army on March 8, 1946 -Reported to Fort Custer, Michigan for his Army physical -Reported to Fort Sheridan, Illinois to be inducted (00:05:37) Basic Training and Artillery Training -He was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and artillery training -Processing involved getting a haircut, being given a uniform, and being assigned to a barracks -Trained by World War Two veterans that weren’t too hard on the new recruits -Trained with the 105mm howitzer and the M1 Carbine -There was a lot of marching and a heavy emphasis on discipline -If a recruit didn’t follow orders they would be assigned to kitchen patrol duty -Artillery training began with getting acquainted with the howitzer -Learning about the parts of the gun and how it worked -Received field training with the 105mm howitzer, learning how to load and fire it �-Remembers pulling the lanyard and watching the shell being shot -Learned how to calculate coordinates for the gun -Using wind speed and how to adjust the elevation of the gun -Went out to the firing range for training with the M1 Carbine -He was accurate up to one hundred meters -He went on five mile marches around the base -Trained with men from Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania -Spent three months at Fort Knox (00:10:30) Stationed at Camp Campbell -From Fort Knox he was sent to Camp Campbell (now Fort Campbell), Kentucky -Assigned to a signal company in the 5th Division -He doing general duty at the camp because he had no signal corps training -He stayed there for the rest of the summer of 1946 -He visited Clarksville, Tennessee a lot -Attended the Cumberland Presbyterian Church there -There were also bars to go to off base, but most of the men in the unit were more reserved -Remembers that it was hotter at Camp Campbell than it was at Fort Knox (00:13:00) Radio Training -He was sent up to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey for high speed radio operator training -Learning how to receive and translate Morse code -He had to be able to receive and type twenty five words per minute -He took typing in high school which helped him with that -It was still a challenging process and took some getting used to -There was a morning session and an afternoon session that he attended -The school was one mile from his barracks -Every day he and the other men would march there and back -Stayed at Fort Monmouth for five months -He was allowed to go off base there -Visited Long Branch, New Jersey and found a church to attend there -Visited New York City with a friend from Kalamazoo -Travelled there via bus -Got to visit the Empire State Building th -The 5 Division was deactivated so he was reassigned to the 3rd Division (00:16:48) Stationed at Fort Meade -The 3rd Division was based out of Fort George Gordon Meade, Maryland -He reported to Fort Meade in late February (or early March) 1947 -He was assigned to a signal company there -There were roughly 160 men in the signal company -At that time the Ohio River would flood every spring -Mobile units would be sent out to the flooded banks of the Ohio River -During that time he would report to the Army Headquarters in Baltimore -Travelled there by bus from Fort Meade -He was the chief radio operator, maintaining contact with the mobile units -Had to deal with a tremendous amount of static due to being in the city -The mobile units were looking for any emergency situations or people that needed help -Similar to things that the National Guard would do �-After flood season he was assigned to the Army hospital at Fort Meade -Working as one of the announcers and disc jockeys for the hospital’s radio network -His job was to read the news, make announcements, and play music -Did that duty until he was discharged -Enjoyed that duty -He would take requests for music and would play a wide variety of music -Fort Meade was twenty five miles from Baltimore so he pretty much stayed on base (00:22:48) Beginning of the Cold War -Remembers when the Marshall Plan began and thought it was right to help the Europeans -Provision of aid to help the recovery of allies and former enemies -Remembers hearing about the Berlin Airlift -Provision of food to Berlin after the Soviets blockaded the city -Would have been after he got discharged, but it was still a moment of tension -As the Cold War began there was fear that his time in the Army might be lengthened -China was still fighting a civil war and tensions were rising with the Soviets (00:23:56) End of Service -There was an offer for him to reenlist -There was no chance that he could be promoted though -Decided that if there was no career it would be best to get out -Got discharged on September 7, 1947 (00:24:56) Life after the War -Came home and joined the Christian Male Chorus on September 17, 1947 -Organization that one of his wife’s relatives had started -He is still active in it today and still performs -Attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan for one semester -Decided that college just wasn’t for him -He went to work as a buffer for Gibson Guitars -After Gibson he worked for Atlas Press which made home tools -He was given an assignment to design a tool and enjoyed doing that -Began taking night classes to get shop training and got a job in the tool room -Wanted to learn how to make tools that people would like using -Spent two years in the tool room and became an apprentice tool maker -Gradually worked into engineering -He was later hired into Brunswick School Furniture -Worked there for twelve years as a tool designer until he was laid off -Went to work for Pemco Wheel Company in Kalamazoo -Worked there for eight years as a tool designer until he got laid off in 1982 -Went to work for Lear Siegler Inc. Plastics in Mendon, Michigan -Worked there for twelve years and then retired (00:28:08) Reflections on Service -Learned how to pick and choose what to say and when to say it -Taught him how to be disciplined -Got to meet a lot of good people -Got the chance to travel around part of the United States -Enjoyed his time in the service, but was ready to go home when it was done � 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_SlagerR1767V Title A name given to the resource Slager, Ralph (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-18 Description An account of the resource Ralph Slager was born in Comstock, Michigan on January 9, 1928. He grew up in Comstock during the Great Depression and World War Two and graduated in June 1945. The draft was still in effect after the war ended, and after turning eighteen in January 1946 he was susceptible to being drafted. He decided to enlist in the Army for an eighteen month commitment on March 8, 1946. He reported to Fort Custer, Michigan and Fort Sheridan, Illinois for his physical and getting inducted, and was then sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and artillery training. He was then stationed at Camp Campbell, Kentucky with a signal company in the 5th Division, and then was sent to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey for high speed radio operator training. After that training he was reassigned to a signal company in the 3rd Division at Fort Meade, Maryland where he worked as a radio operator in Baltimore, Maryland and at a hospital on base. He was discharged on September 7, 1947. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Slager, Ralph Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4