979 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/21727ec38495cafaa9e622dea26f3d24.pdf e9536de8323f00e304423b479c993ea4 PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd8f6da33354af6298057b7530503105.pdf ccee4f697ae0c8a477e16c54e84de783 PDF Text Text [Worthington 055] [Page 1] May 30th, 1945 2:30 P.M. Sweetheart – Im sorry about not writing last night. I mean’t too, honest Dar-lin. No one was home here last night – so I turned off all the lights and was listening to the radio. I dropped off to sleep in the big red chair. Mom and all the kids, did’nt wake me when they come in. Dad, woke me up when he came home from work a little after midnight. I went right upstairs and fell into bed. Don’t know why I was so very tired. Please forgive me Ned???? Its swell out today – but cooler than it has been. I got up at 10:30 this morning. Bobby, woke me up – she was crawling all over me. She miss’s “Tinker”, seems so lonesome. She go’s around the house meow-ing all the time [Page 2] 2 Norma, Jack, Clarence, Connie, a friend of Jacks, and I are going on a picnic this afternoon. Their going to pick me up here anytime now. I made cupcakes last night – and cole slaw this morning. Norma’s making the sandwitches and something to drink, and Connie – made the potato salad. Here they are now Darling – I’ll finish later. 7:45 P.M. We’re on our way home now. Gee its hard to write. Norma, is writing to Joe, so I thought I try and write you a few line’s. (We’ve stopped – Jack went in a little store to get some pop) We really had a swell time. The boys built a fire – and we made our own coffee – and boiled wieners. We took a walk through the woods. Right now Im trying to drink root beer – eat maple sugar – and write. I wish you were here [Page 3] 3 �with me Dearest. Its lonesome with out you. I don’t ever really enjoy myself – because your not with me. I love you Ned, more than you’ll [text strikethrough] ever know. Your so dear to me. “Someday” we’re going to be [text strikethrough] married. We’re going to have our own little home, and we’re going to raise a little family. Oh – I love you so Ned Manley. Norma and I, have [text strikethrough] been looking at the houses – Ive seen some darling places. Im going to close now Ned. Its hard to write. Its going to be just so hard for you to read it. Until tonight – I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie P.S. I love you. � 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_055_19450530 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-05-30 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, May 30, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, May 30, 1945. Worthington notes that she went out with friends to have a picnic. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a26a1c069e0288e69574532f644f8bc3.pdf 301d6e2800b0b31d710aac884ffb78a7 PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84b4ede2bdddeef963522bf44d40348a.pdf ec42eeeb9d310c8e54100e22d3ef5cb5 PDF Text Text [Worthington 056] [Page 1] May 30, 1945 11:45 P.M. My Dearest Ned – Im awfully lonesome tonight, because you are’nt here with me. I miss you Darling, more than you’ll ever know. Im here in my room – lying in bed – listening to the radio. Im very tired tonight. I just can’t take it thats all. Its been five days since Ive had a letter from you – gee do I miss them. They mean so very much to me Dearest. I have your picture here before me. Golly – but your sweet. Your everything I love. I love you Ned Manley, more than anything else in the whole wide world. I always will, always, forever, eternally and everything else. Oh I do hope you can come home soon. I long so to see you, and be near you. I want to hold you close in my arms, and kiss you. I love you so Ned. I want to marry you “Someday” I’ll try ever so hard to make you happy. (over) [Page 2] 2 Im going to close now Sweetheart I have to set my hair yet. Take care of yourself and remember— I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie P.S. “3 or 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_056_19450530 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-05-30 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, May 30, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, May 30, 1945. Worthington notes that it has been five days since she has received a letter from Manley. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9f95e85eed0dc6356525090dd5686e7c.pdf 49eded07e4d70be8443d5ccdf36393b3 PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ab5d57a42ec50c7b132f5dc12a27d529.pdf f0a3481ea8dad13ddb6985899a708981 PDF Text Text [Worthington 057] [Page 1] June 27, 1945 10:35 P.M. Dearest Ned – Received a swell letter from you this morning. Golly, but it made me feel so wonderful all over. Your letters mean so much to me. Your Mother, phoned me today, to tell me you called her yesterday. Today is our “22nd Anniversary”. I was wishing you could be home today. I do hope you get home sometime this week. I want so very much to see you again. Got up at 10:30 this morning. I read your letter – and then had breakfast. Helped Mom, clean the house – and then got dressed. I wrote to Joeie, today – had a letter from him today too. Washed my hair and set it tonight – did a little sewing – and here I am. Its swell out tonight – nice and cool. Only wish you were here with me, because its terribly lonesome. Its nice out on the front porch. Im going to a movie with Norma, tomorrow night. I enjoy going out with her very much, she’s loads of fun. She said something about wanting to see “A Medal For Benny” – but we have’nt decided. Dad’s, home tonight – but he is’nt feeling too good. His face is [text strikethrough] still swollen. Its swell having him around for a change though. Im listening to Kay Kyser – he’s just going off. Darn Ned, I can’t think of a thing to write. Of course I guess I could tell you how much I love you. I do love [Page 2] 2 you Ned, more than anything else in the whole wide world. Your so very wonderful. Norma, and Jocie, are still coming along fine. They plan to be married just as soon as Joe, gets to Cleveland. After their married he want to take her on to N.Y. with him so he can see his Mother. Gee, things sure have happened fast. Norma’s, really happy now – and Joe, is too. I only hope things turn out well for them. �Weather report just come over the radio. It suppose to be cloudy and warm tomorrow. Hope it dos’nt rain. Im going to close now Sweetheart. Take good care of yourself – and be good! I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie P.S. If you do get home I know you’ll receive these letters when you go back. Writing to you every night seems to bring you a little closer – and I hate to miss even one night. I love you Ned. � 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_057_19450627 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-06-27 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 27, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 27, 1945. Worthington notes that it is their twenty second anniversary. Worthington also notes that Norma is planning on marrying Joe as soon as possible. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8c4b18e28f00ba0281e679b5b306b5ef.pdf 814b5cd4431d1e0a883d1d8d45643eb5 PDF Text Text �� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb9acf8f2960af4c0233748dfb7a81ff.pdf e23f1472619d7f14bb8e83f557a35eb9 PDF Text Text [Worthington 058] [Page 1] June 28, 1945 1:15 P.M. Sweetheart – Just finished writing to Joe. Had a letter from him this morning, and also a very super swell letter from you. Golly, but it was wonderful. Its swell out today – but I have’nt been out yet. Im not even dressed – a-hem! Did’nt get up until 10:30 this morning – just in time to see the mail-man and collect my letters. Had my breakfast and played around with some clay the kids have. I read for a while – and then decided to write to Joeie. Im awfully lonesome Ned. Gee, but I wish you were here. What did you say was going to happen when you get me alone? Um-m I wonder? Oh I can handle you Manley. I love you Dearest – oh golly and how I do. Your wonderful – and you belong to me. For the past few days Ive been a nervous wreck. Every time the phone rings I jump – can’t help it. Oh I do hope you can come home soon Ned. I want so very much to see you. want to be held in your arms again – and just be near you. Your Mother said she’d phone me as soon as she heard anything from you. (over) [Page 2] 2 O.K you ask for it Ned Manley – we’ll have our “28”. I guess your gon-na be boss anyway – so I might as well start letting you have your way now. Im going to close now Sweetheart. Im gon-na get dressed – and run a few [text strikethrough] [?] please errands for Mom. Take good care of yourself, for me. I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie � 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_058_19450628 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-06-28 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 28, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 28, 1945. Worthington notes that she is eagerly waiting for information on when Manley will return home. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aea43e686322eedbe0fa8e72e0a26528.pdf 7393a819726556cb9b93a10c97a3e454 PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/580e2632b41de1cfa783b7024f373d17.pdf 8eb65ad4722c27df20cb413a1cfac994 PDF Text Text [Worthington 059] [Page 1] June 30, 1945 5:20 P.M. Dearest Ned – First of all – I love you more than anything else in this whole wide world. Always will too Dearest, always. Received two super wonderful letters from you this morning. Your letter always make me feel so warm and wonderful inside – and very happy. Don’t know what Id ever do with out you. You’re a part of me now Ned, so please don’t ever leave me. Got up at 9:30 this morning. Got dressed and went to the post office on 105th for Dad. Went and saw “Enchanted Cottage”. It was fair – but not as good as I thought it would be. Dad, got home early today for a change. He’s awfully tired – he’s sound asleep now. Won’t be working for two weeks now. Its been terribly warm all day. I think its going to rain – theirs a nice breeze now, but its thundering. Golly, I hope it is’nt too long now, before your home with me again. I want so much to be held close in your arms, and I want to kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before. I miss you so Darling. Just 22 months ago [text strikethrough] {tonight} today, you were with me all afternoon, and then in the evening you came back up to see me again. Must have been love right from the beginning Ned – it was with me – only I did’nt know it. I remember, I liked very much to have you kiss me – and I wanted to be near you all the time. Still do Sweetheart – golly how I wish you were here now. “Someday” I hope I can be with you for always, never to part, [Page 2] 2 I have your picture right here with me. Gee, but your wonderful though. Best looking boy in the whole wide world, and he belongs to me. Oh Ned, I love you so. I only hope and pray you love me always. Im going to close now, may be I’ll write more later. Im going to put my hair up in pin curls – and read a little. Take good care of yourself Ned – for me. �I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie P.S. I love you Sweetheart. � 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_059_19450630 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 30, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, June 30, 1945. Worthington notes that she received two letters from Manley. Worthington also reflects on when she and Manley first started dating. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3cbdb083b0eb8c5a2673b5abc20ad88f.pdf a639acab697d43a87be7a354f6fbe5e0 PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6c1afcc4c684142ea78bbdd092ee54f4.pdf a13b075eb1a90966fbe7fcfa145d1718 PDF Text Text [Worthington 060] [Page 1] July 1, 1945 3:30 P.M. Sweetheart – Called your Mother a short while ago. She said she’d let me know if she heard anything from you. Golly, I do hope you come home soon. I miss you so darling, and oh how I want to see and be near you again. Im sitting out on the front porch now. Its nice and cool – and I would’nt be surprised if we had some more rain today. We had quite a shower about 6 o’clock last night – but it did’nt last long. I went down and got little Johnny, last night. Golly but Ive missed him. He’s sitting here on the banister – singing. I took him down to the park this morning, and let him play in the sand box. He had a lot of fun – wants me to take him swimming tomorrow. Well Dad’s, on his vacation, but he’s been working all day. Darn, he makes me mad!! Called Norma, just before I called your Mother. She’s expecting her brother Bob [text strikethrough] {by} home soon. Bill, has two more weeks left of his furlough. Golly, but Im lonesome Ned. Wish you were here with me now. Bet-cha Id be busy – but not writting letters -- I bet-cha! I love you dearest, more than anything in this whole wide world. I always will too, always, forever, eternally, and everything. Johnny, was just telling me about his girlfriend. Says her name is Carol. He’s starting young – don’t-cha think? Wow – is he going to be a wolf when he’s about twelve years older. Wonder if he’ll be anything like Manley? Johnny, says he loves me too – when I ask him how much – he says – “pretty good”. (over) [Page 2] 2 Guess I’ll write Joeie, a few lines now – and then finish making dinner. I have some ice tea – and potatoe salad made already. Oh Ned, I only wish I were making dinner for you and I, and maybe someone else. I love you Ned, oh so very very much. Im yours forever – if you want me. I’ll close now, but I’ll write later tonight. Take good care of yourself – for me. �I’ll be loving you Always, Jeannie � 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 Edward Manley collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Manley, Edward Arthur, b. 1926 Worthington , Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Description An account of the resource A collection of letters and photographs from Edward "Ned" Manley, a soldier in the U.S. Army, and his girlfriend Jean Worthington, a teenage schoolgirl in Cleveland, Ohio, dating from 1945-1946. The content of Jean's letters describes everyday life of a teenage schoolgirl living in Cleveland, Ohio, with her parents during the war, including frequent mentions of friends, popular songs, movies, pets, and cooking, and visits to Edward's family, and her love for Edward. Edward's letters to Jean mostly concentrate on sentiments of love and the hope of marriage after the war. He also describes experiences and duties as he undergoes training with a variety of weapons and ordnance, his singing with a USO show, requests for transfer to the U.S. Army Air Corps, his volunteering for parachute infantry training, and descriptions of Nagoya during the American occupation of Japan. Both correspondents mention the anniversary of their first meeting (27 August 1943), and often use the word "Someday" in quotation marks which seems to refer to the then-popular song "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You." There is constant good-natured joking from both about the 28 children they will have once they are married. ean ("Jeannie") Allaine Worthington was born on 1 November 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Archibald ("Archie") Augusta Worthington (1896-1979), a tool worker, and Lena L. Fritchell (1904-1985); she had one younger sister, Shirley C. Worthington (1934-2012). In 1945 and 1946 she was living with her parents at 14247 Superior Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She met Edward Manley on 27 August 1943 in Cleveland when she was 14 and he was 16, but it does not seem likely they attended the same school. During 1945 she was attending high school and had a job after school. There is no evidence that they subsequently married; in Cleveland in 1971 or 1972 she married John Krasnicki, Sr. (1906-1986), who was twenty-two years her senior. She died on 8 September 1994 in Garfield Heights and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Edward ("Ned") Arthur Manley was born on 25 December 1926 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Patrick Sanfield Manley (1895-1952), advertising manager for a Cleveland newspaper and Leonarda Gallagher Manley (1896-1970); he had five siblings: Edith Manley McNamara (1928-1958), John Vincent (1930-1988), Narda Patricia Daly (1931-2007), Alicia Ann Gramuglia (1932-2006), and Patrick A. (1934-2011). The family emigrated from Canada to the United States in the 1930s and by 1940 were living in Cleveland. Edward Manley enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private on 15 February 1945 in Cleveland; that same day he entrained for the Army Reception Center at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. In late February he had been assigned to Company B, 30th Battalion, 3rd Regiment at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. A request to be transferred to the Army Air Corps was turned down. After a twelve-day furlough, Edward was transferred in late July to Company B-1-1, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 3 at Fort Riley, Kansas for a few days before being passed on to 3rd Platoon, Company M, 4th Regiment, Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 2 at Fort Ord, California. In early August he was placed in 1st Platoon, Casual Company 12 in preparation for shipping out to Japan for occupation duties. By 13 September he was in Luzon in the Philippines as part of the 666 Replacement Company, A.P.O. 291, shortly to be assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, A.P.O. 25. Edward arrived in Japan in early October and was assigned to an antitank Company in the 27th Infantry Regiment. By the end of June 1946 he was still in Japan, but he repeats a rumor that they would be coming back the United States in October 1946. Manley was discharged in October 1946 and returned to California to find that Jean was engaged to be married to a man named "Shorty." Manley lost contact with Jean shortly thereafter. By 1952 he had moved to Los Angeles, California and at some point married Antoinette T. Manley (born 1940). They had one son, Darren Anthony Manley (born 1984). Edward applied for naturalization on 17 May 1945 in Anniston, Alabama while he was stationed at Fort McClellan, and became a U.S. citizen on 19 May 1945. 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 1945/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 Military education Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-116_Worthington_060_19450711 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Worthington, Jean Allaine , b. 1928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-07-11 Title A name given to the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, July 11, 1945. Description An account of the resource Letter to Edward "Ned" Manley by Jean Worthington, July 11, 1945. Worthington continues to wait for information on when Manley is coming home. She also notes her day out to the park with little Johnny. 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href=" https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/659">Edward Manley and Jean Worthington letters (RHC-116)</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/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Cleveland (Ohio) Correspondence Military education United States. Army. Air Corps World War, 1939-1945 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e16db13263a803837f4eedd221599a80.pdf b374a25752d84fa21371cc21a2c1bffa PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e958d196c0acb395e551701cf9e47278.pdf 9cdd9eb1615071286aa8763d1d7ac54c PDF Text Text [Page 1] Cincinnati, 25th Nov 1840 Dear Sir, If you see the Cin[cinnati] Gazette you will have seen, that I am offered to appointing members of Congress to Office, unless necessary to secure the best talents to the service of the people. What Gen. Harrison’s opinion upon that subject are I do not Know, never having had any conversation with him upon the subject, on that of the individuals likely to be called into service by him. I should think Pennsylvania would be regarded -- and my knowledge of Mr [John] Sergeant, would lead me if I had the appointment to select him for a department if he were not a member of Congress. I cannot speak to Gen. Harrison upon his cabinet, except thru the newspaper publicity unless he should ask me, which I have no reason to suffice he will-- but I feel well assured he will not refer in his appointments the fact that the applicant was or was not among his original friends or preferred, as a first choice, any other man for the Presidency. Mr. Montgomery from your city was �[Page 2] here a few days since, but has left for Louisville --- Gen. Harrison having been some days in Kentucky, and expected to return that way home. I had not the pleasure of an interview with Mr. M. when here, and therefore cannot speak of his objects or views. I should think a greater, and better influence would be exerted upon Gen. Harrison through his medium of letters from well known and discreet friends speaking of general questions than from [afflications?] for particular persons. I think I foresee that much of the new President’s power to do good, and carry forward the work of reform, which he has before him will be frittered away in the scramble for office. I respect this very much. I desire the reform to go forward, and the officers chosen, having a steady eye to carrying that work out. In this, I think you will concur with me. The General’s visit to Kentucky will doubtless bring on an interview between him & Mr. Clay which I dare say will lead the way to a free and frank expression of men and things In great haste Truly your friend, J.C. Wright N. Sargent Esq. �[Cover] � 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 Civil War and Slavery Collection Subject The topic of the resource United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Slavery--United States African Americans United States--Politics and government--19th century Description An account of the resource A selection of correspondence, diaries, official documents, photographs related to the American Civil War and to the institution of slavery, collected by Harvey E. Lemmen. The collection includes a selection of documents from ten states related to the ownership of slaves and abolition, correspondence and documents of soldiers who fought in the war and from family members and officials, diaries and letters of individuals, and a collection of mailing envelopes decorated with patriotic imagery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lemmen, Harvey E. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472">Civil War and Slavery Collection (RHC-45)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/470">John Bennitt Diaries and Correspondence (RHC-43)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent Papers (RHC-44)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/478">Theodore Peticolas Diary (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/476">Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Collection (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/479">Whitely Read Diary (RHC-52)</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 1804-1897 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; application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image; Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1804-1897 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-44_NS1-15483 Title A name given to the resource Nathan Sargent from John Crafts (J.C.) Wright, November 25, 1840 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1840-11-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wright, John C. (John Crafts), 1783-1861 Description An account of the resource Letter discussing the formation of President-elect William Henry Harrison's cabinet. Subject The topic of the resource Sargent, Nathan, 1794-1875 Whig Party (U.S.) United States--Politics and government--19th century United States--Officials and employees Customs administration Washington (D.C.) Pennsylvania 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> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent papers, (RHC-44)</a> 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/f4c56b5ee741d0a9f37ae38a3c8d9a52.pdf 7c00fd0de31ca80e7c815715081cee77 PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f108bdd8b18ad74306e55de333f3a70e.pdf af1aa422cd21e227f180004d554f4503 PDF Text Text [Page 1] Cincinnati, 16 Jan 1841 My Dear Sir, Your’s of Dec. last has remained unanswered in consequence of my absence from home for several weeks, on professional business. As it regards the cabinet you know as much as I do nearly if not quite. Your committees or rather those from your city are rumored to have carried nothing back, but a conviction they had better never left home on the errand they came upon. The Stevens committee returned likewise with the appearance that upon the principles avowed during the canvass office could not be given as a reward for mere partizan service. The Gen. has been strongly urged from your state, by each party represented here not to appoint from any other than their own clique --- better pass over Penna. altogether. Not bad advice, in cases like the present, where there are more suitable men then suitable places. I am satisfied the claim of no one to any place beneath a Cabinet office, can be advance by any application before the inauguration, nor after except through the proper departments. I was very much pleased with your letter declining the Chester Dinner, and published it at length --- it has met general approbation in this region. I concur most heartily with you in the desire of seeing the Standard of Official qualification raised, from the highest to the lowest office; and in the hope that the selecting may rest upon those having some political information! with tact and experience; but there are so many disturbing �[Page 2] causes to a fair administration of public affairs that I am sometimes afraid that we expect too much, more then we even realize, How exceedingly difficult it will be to bring things up from the slough of potent democracy, to what is required to sustain the dignity and honour of the country. It behoves the patriot to hope on, and exert himself to bring the affairs of the country back to the purity of its early time. I thank you for your kind wishes in reference to myself. I want no place --- can’t think of one that I would take --- and do not conceive it probable my country will need require my services in office. In my connection with the press I am disposed to move forward, and keep a look out for the coming four years, lending a helping hand where good can be done, and comprimitting no right to censure what I see amiss. I am satisfied the enemy is already preparing for a rally, and we shall have to fight another and perhaps still another battle before we finally conquer the foes of the country. So soon as Gen. H. is in inaugurated, the elements of party strife we be arranged in new combinations, looking to the future --- to attack and defense. Where shall we old fashioned Whigs be? We must use men as instruments to work out our principles. I am not committed but incline to Mr. Clay. Some judicious arrangements ought to be made, at once, at Washington to promote his interest so far as they are the interest of the country --- that is if he is our man. Let me hear from you confidentially, if you please on this subject and upon any others in which you feel an interest. Shall you go to Washington the 4th? I shall not. The General is here; in very fine health, and will leave us all next week for Washington and Virginia. �[Page 3] I fear your Pennsylvania distractions will keep Mr. Sergeant out of the Cabinet. [?] in the Main approve in Members of Congress. I have abated none in my admiration of Mr. Sergeant. I know his great worth too well for that. Why may he not go to London! In place of Stevenson! Who’s in the way? Webster doubtless would be, had he not unfortunately for himself taken the Treasury Department. But I am spinning too long a yarn, and shall tire you. Be assured, it will at all times give me pleasure to hear from you freely upon any subject. I am, dear sir Truly your friend J.C. Wright N. Sargent Esq N.B. I think E. Whittlesey, will go into the P. Office Department with Mr. Ewing, as first Assistant. A good choice. �[Cover] � 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 Civil War and Slavery Collection Subject The topic of the resource United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Slavery--United States African Americans United States--Politics and government--19th century Description An account of the resource A selection of correspondence, diaries, official documents, photographs related to the American Civil War and to the institution of slavery, collected by Harvey E. Lemmen. The collection includes a selection of documents from ten states related to the ownership of slaves and abolition, correspondence and documents of soldiers who fought in the war and from family members and officials, diaries and letters of individuals, and a collection of mailing envelopes decorated with patriotic imagery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lemmen, Harvey E. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472">Civil War and Slavery Collection (RHC-45)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/470">John Bennitt Diaries and Correspondence (RHC-43)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent Papers (RHC-44)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/478">Theodore Peticolas Diary (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/476">Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Collection (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/479">Whitely Read Diary (RHC-52)</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 1804-1897 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; application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image; Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1804-1897 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-44_NS1-15484 Title A name given to the resource Nathan Sargent from John Crafts (J.C.) Wright, January 16, 1841 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1841-01-16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wright, John C. (John Crafts), 1783-1861 Description An account of the resource Letter discussing the formation of President-elect William Henry Harrison's cabinet. Wright also shows early support for civil service reform. Subject The topic of the resource Sargent, Nathan, 1794-1875 Whig Party (U.S.) United States--Politics and government--19th century United States--Officials and employees Customs administration Washington (D.C.) Pennsylvania 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> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent papers, (RHC-44)</a> 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/0f1df67d32db8e1279d96afd9a99a390.jpg d830f01f7d2537569cd51151a03d740e 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_000171 Title A name given to the resource Student using computer in L.V. Eberhard Center Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wright, Rico Description An account of the resource Student using computer in LV Eberhard Center. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges Students Computers Technology Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988 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/fb6752640ffee6ded69947d77009286e.m4v 46fbf805cf4a8951cd3c8ebb15be92ef https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/929f2ab8353b933b1b3ce3821266258e.pdf 9d169cf716152924a9297f5a667eaed3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Bob Wright Length of interview (49:00) (00:05) Background Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on February 26, 1922. (00:13) Father worked in a company that made looms. (00:37) Family struggled during the Depression. Describes some of the odd jobs his father took. (00:53) Dropped out of school halfway through his senior year of high school. (01:42) Worked as an apprentice [tool and dime maker] in 1940. (02:09) Received deferments because he worked in a defense industry. (02:32) Decided to enlist in the Air Force in Boston, Massachusetts, before leaving to Fort Devens for processing. (02:56) (04:02) Basic Training Traveled by train to New Orleans, Louisiana, for basic training. The train traveled through Canada, Detroit, and Chicago first. (04:05) Describes the uncomfortable living conditions on the train. (04:35) During the drills, he would get nosebleeds. Consequently, he became a ‘gopher’ and delivered messages. (06:01) First went to school there for machine work. During an interview after his schooling, he indicated that he was interested in working on airplances and was sent to the Aircraft Institute in Kansas City, MO. (05:16) Stayed in a hotel while in Kansas City with three other men. Stayed there for six months. (06:30) Worked from 3pm - 11pm. Were allowed to go out to bars for about four hours. (07:33) Worked on electrical and mechanical aspects of aircraft. (08:13) Was sent to school at the Douglass Aircraft plant in Los Angeles where they made A-20s, which was an attack bomber that fit a three person crew. (09:03) Within weeks of graduation, the government was criticized for sending people into action without adequate small arms training. Their outfit was sent back to basic training in Kearns, Utah for two weeks. (10:20) Traveled to Kissimmee, Florida by train to serve guard duty before the decision was made for him to go overseas. (12:03) Traveled to San Francisco, California, by troop train. Stayed there for a couple weeks. Describes his activities during his stay. (13:49) Departed from California by victory ship. The ship traveled alone and traveled in a zig-zag pattern and arrived at Guadalcanal on November 5. (15:14) (16:28) Service Overseas Describes policing the area around Henderson Field. (16:28) One of his friends was a carpenter, so he constructed platforms and frames for their tents. �(17:53) Describes the living and weather conditions. (18:15) Describes Japanese air attacks at this time. At one time, the Japanese had bombed an ammunition depot. (18:44) Their planes arrived in December. (19:12) While serving guard duty on the beaches, he was sleep deprived because he worked all night. When he confronted the first sergeant about it, he was written up for ‘trying to shoot him.’ (19:40) Was transferred to 68th Fighter Squadron. Was supposed to join them in Bougainville which was being taken at the time. Describes staying on the Treasury Islands for three weeks while waiting to meet his squadron. (21:57) Worked on P-39s with a crew chief. (25:06) The plane he had worked on never returned from its mission and he was sent to work in an ordnance unit until another place was ready to be worked on. (26:21) Requested to stay with the ordnance unit. While working there, he helped clean the guns, reload the ammunition and bombs as planes returned. He primarily worked on P-39s and P38s. (26:40) Describes the difficulty of living on Bougainville due to constant Japanese attacks. (27:33) Didn’t lose many men during this time. (29:53) Stayed in Bougainville for a few months before moving to New Guinea. (30:40) Describes accidentally burning his hand while staying in [Hollandia] for a few weeks. (31:00) Outfit traveled to New Guinea. Rarely saw the locals. (32:19) Their main base was on Middleburg Island, New Guinea. (33:10) Was based on Middleburg for quite a while. (35:04) Charles Lindbergh personally taught their P-38 pilots how to conserve gas that allowed them to travel as far as China to drop bombs. (35:16) Traveled to Mindoro Island in the Philippines during the Invasion of Palawan. Signed up to be a truck driver. (36:33) By the time they had arrived, Palawan had already been heavily bombed. There were no Japanese, but they had left several booby traps. (38:48) The natives were very welcoming. (39:28) Describes his reaction to the end of the war. At the time, they had received orders to go to China but never went because of the conclusion of the war. Describes their relief. (40:35) Left Palawan and went to Leyte in September. (41:45) Nine men were sent home on a B-25 which exploded in the sky. Recalls that it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. (42:11) Returned home on a very small boat called an APA. (43:05) (44:49) Life after Service Landed in San Francisco, CA. Recalls that the troops weren’t received well. (44:49) Enjoyed eating real food, especially fresh milk. (45:21) Had to wait for a plane in Oakland for a couple weeks. Finally landed in Texas and had to wait longer due to fog. Returned home two days before Christmas. (46:04) Returned to his old job in February. Regretted that he didn’t go back and finish high �school. (46:59) Has five daughters who are all happily married now. (47:36) Recalls that he “learned how to drink” while in the service. (47:46) � 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 WrightR Title A name given to the resource Wright, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wright, Robert Description An account of the resource Bob Wright was born in Massachusetts in 1922. Enlisted in the Air Force during World War II after dropping out of high school. He was trained to work with the electrical and mechanical aspects of military aircraft in Kansas City and at the Douglass plant in California. Overseas, his service began at Guadalcanal and involved "policing Henderson Field" and guard duty. He was transferred to the 68th Figher Squadron in Bougainville where he worked on P-39s. Eventually, he requested to work with a difference ordinance where he primarily worked on P-39s and P-38s. His subsequent service was in New Guinea and the Philippines. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Forces Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-09-16 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/abb100d30c73b82a187bbf4d334e65cf.mp4 b9bb1b7b937a5a4448554a0f168554ef https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/04b07625422151fcecd8a258aca09db3.pdf b50f9ed446a5081bcadcc81b13b86ef6 PDF Text Text Living with PFAS Interviewee: Cathy Wusterbarth Interviewer: Dani DeVasto Date: September 22, 2021 DD: I’m Dani DeVasto and today July 13th, 2021, I have the pleasure of chatting with Cathy Wusterbarth. Hi Cathy. CW: Hi Dani! DD: Cathy, can you tell me about where you’re from and where you currently live? CW: Sure! I’m from Oscoda, Michigan which is in Northeast Michigan. We’re on Lake Huron and it is a coastal tourist town, and it has a former work smith airport base in the area which was decommissioned in 1993. So, I’m born and raised here. I did move away for about 20 years, went to North Carolina. But now I’m back and this is where my heart and soul is. DD: Can you tell me, Cathy, a story about your experience with PFAS or with PFAS in your community? CW: Well, Dani, that's a tough question [chuckles] because there are so many different experiences I've had since 2016, when I first heard the word or acronym PFAS in our community. We were told that there were community members or residents that were sent a notice that said that they couldn’t – they shouldn't drink their well water. So the state of Michigan held some town halls so that they could educate the community on, first of all, what are PFAS? Not many people know what they are until they are told they have it in their water or it's you know, in their bodies. So, the town halls were created, and we had lots of community members that, that came and had lots of questions, and some were angry because they were unknowingly contaminated with these substances. So, so, I managed to just listen and hear what the concerns were of the community members. I do believe that I was exposed to PFAS while I was growing up in Oscoda this picture that is behind me is an image from the Lake that I was a lifeguard on for three years. And so, we spent lots of time in the water when I was in my, you know, teenage years. And about five years later, I developed breast cancer and an immunological disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, which could possibly be linked to my exposure to PFAS all those years, and possibly it was in our drinking water source for our community, because the Air Force used the PFAS in their firefighting foam. So, [chuckles] that's sort of the beginning of my involvement with PFAS. When the community had questions and they wanted action, of course, because they wanted these things cleaned up and they didn't want to be exposed to PFAS anymore, we looked to the state. We looked, of course, to the polluter, the Air Force, and had some expectations that they clean it up and maybe test us – test our bodies to see if we had PFAS in them. None of those things have really happened, and that was in 2016. So now we're in 2021, and we've had very little remediation or cleanup of these toxic plumes that are going into our surface water, into our 1 �groundwater, and into the drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people in Michigan on Lake Huron. So, we created an action group called Now Need Our Water, and it's comprised of community members, scientists, activists. So, now I'm an activist. Never been one before, but they're called accidental activists. So, that's what I am [chuckles]. We just, we work with legislators, the scientists, the Air Force, the state, the other communities, you know. We've, we’ve joined forces with other impacted communities around the state, around the US and around the world, really. Because PFAS are everywhere, and we will have to deal with them. Everyone will have to deal with them eventually, even though they don't know they're necessarily being exposed. They're produced in such mass quantity and put in so many things that were all being impacted. So that's, that’s just the start of the things that – my experiences with PFAS. We created a 501C3 called Oscoda Citizens for Clean Water, so that we could raise funds and use those for edu[coughs] education, excuse me, and just making sure that everyone knows about the issues. One question I was going to ask you, Dani, was that they’re – we're creating a video, right? Oh gosh. A video so that people can watch this in the future. But we did have a journalist. Her name is a Sara Ganim. She’s a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. She came to Oscoda to hear about our story. She was going to write a little story about what was going on with PFAS. Then she came to one of our meetings with the Air Force, and she saw what was happening and how they were treating us and the – the lack of action that was occurring, and she said to herself, this story needs to be told. So, she produced a movie called No Defense. I can't remember the tagline, but it's like the military's war on water or something like that. But she created this movie and it's been released. But it's about Oscoda and Wurtsmith Air Force Base and the contamination that's occurred from this base. And there are, there are stories told in the movie that are [nervously chuckles] very sad. So, there were many military families that were exposed to these chemicals, of course, because it was in the groundwater [chuckles] underneath their bases. One of the impacted veterans was Craig Meiner. He had a son, Mitchell, who was born in Oscoda at the base hospital. And, subsequently, they found out that he had been affected in Utero by the multiple contaminants, including PFAS. And so, he was severely disabled and just recently passed away. So, Mitchell is a special person for us in [pause], in that we're fighting so that more children are not affected by these chemicals. But Craig continued, Craig and his family continue to work on this cause, and we're hoping that the movie itself will be something that people can look at and learn more about, especially if they’re, they learn about PFAS in their communities. [chuckles] The Meiners are special people. DD: So, you mentioned that you have become an accidental activist. CW: Mhm. DD: Can you tell me more about that? Either how that changed your life or the kinds of things that you've been doing because of coming an accidental activist? CW: [chuckles] Yeah. I started looking into the concerns of my community related to PFAS, because, you know, I just want the best for Oscoda. Again, it's close to my heart, and I think it's a real gem, actually in our state. So, just –I was actually running for office in our community, just 2 �a local elected office. I didn't actually win that election, but it was a blessing in disguise because I probably wouldn't have been able to be an activist in this issue had I won. So, so, I moved my efforts to this issue for our community. So, we, again, I had no activism experience. I didn't know where to turn, or who to ask or who to trust. And over the years have learned, that there are people that you can rely on that are experiencing the same things. So, we have created coalitions and alliances and action networks and all sorts of groups where we can, you know have more power in numbers. So, I've learned a lot. We've met with the activists related to the PBB crisis in Michigan. So, we had a – there was a conference I think it was called PBB to PFAS. So those, those activists were rea helpful in letting us know what their experiences were. It accidentally came about. I'm not an environmentalist. I don’t, you know, I just want the best for my community. And I want these plumes of PFAS that are in our water to be cleaned up. I think it seems pretty simple. DD: Yeah, it does, doesn't it? [chuckles] What is the status of things in Oscoda right now? You mentioned that not a lot of progress has been made? CW: Right. So, in the, let's see... It was reported, I think, in the, in the, the early 2000s that we had these PFAS clones in our groundwater. And so, they implemented a – what's called a filtration system. Granular activated carbon filtration system was placed into one of the most highly contaminated areas on the site. And so, that was implemented in 2013. And they added another filtration system in 2018, maybe 19. So that's two, right, two systems. We need 18 systems. So, we haven't made much progress. And actually, it's been about nine or ten years. Well, no, it's eleven now. The years just keep [both laughing] flying by. So, eleven years now, when we have two filtration systems, we estimate, or it has been estimated that we need about $280,000,000 to address just this one military site. So, you can see why it's been such a problem for the Department of Defense. If they start, and they told us this, if they start with their remediation and with their actions here, they have to be replicated at all of those other military sites. And now we're working on 600 plus sites that have been identified. DD: So, it seems like your situation, Oscoda situation, because of its connection with the former military base, is, is unique or is complicated in that, say, other locations are not. Is that fair to say? CW: No that, that the firefighting foam, the AFFF foam was used, actually at all military bases. So, it's in the ground of ground and groundwater around most military bases. They used it without hesitation, in excess. They used it for practice. They used it to play in. They thought they had foam parties. It's just unbelievable. And unfortunately, the companies that produce this or created these chemicals, knew that they were dangerous and did not stop creating them or selling them. So – so here we are, 4700 PFAS later. So, that's how many there are. DD: What concerns do you have about PFAS contamination moving forward? 3 �CW: Well, I think, like I said, because it's so pervasive in all of our products. It's being used in so many products. And it's so effective. You know, have probably used a Teflon Tan in your life and um, that clothing where the water just like repels. That's great, because you don't get wet! So, what's scary is that it's so effective and we're so attached to using it and so used to using it that we're not going to be able to stop using it because we like it so much. We'll have to be the industry or, you know, companies will have to be forced to stop using it because we are not going to voluntarily do that because we're so used to it. We don't want grease all over our car when we get our fast-food, you know, container and we set it on, we don't want grease, right? So, they fix that for us by using PFAS. So, the industry will have to, it will have to be illegal to use these products. And it's scary to think about that because you just follow the money and that money [chuckles], they're not going to make any money doing that or they'll lose money. DD: Yeah, I've heard a lot lately about how they're finding replacements, but the replacements are also not great. CW: Right, they unfortunately – they're introduced as, you know, there's these long chains. I'm not a scientist. These long chains PFAS. And the short chains and the short chains were initially introduced as a safer alternative, but – but, they're not. They have health effects just like the long chains and we should be very concerned about their use also. DD: Yeah. Before we wrap up today, is there anything else that you'd like to add that we haven't touched on or anything you would want to go back to and say more about? CW: Oh, yes. One of the initiatives or priorities that I personally have is ensuring that PFAS blood testing is available for anyone who wants it. Right now, you are hard pressed to be able to find a physician that will order a PFAS testing, and a lab that will test it. And you certainly aren't going to find an insurance company who's going to pay for it. So, there are rare instances where people are getting their blood tested, maybe for a lawsuit or because they just took on the costs, you know, themselves $900 for testing of about 14 PFAS. So, it's very, very expensive. But these tests should be created and encouraged for anyone in an affected area such as ours. So, we are working, you know – the PFAS leadership throughout the US are working on with the National Academy of Sciences on their guidance to physicians on PFAS. So, I just encourage people, if they want to know what's going on in their body related to this contamination, then they need to ask their physicians about it. They need to get their physicians educated and know that we have a right to know what is in our body and the contaminants that we've been exposed to. DD: That sounds like really important work. [pause] How is it going? CW: [chuckles] Well, six years, I have piles of papers everywhere, and I hold a full-time job. So, you know I, I actually am, I do a community work also unrelated to PFAS. So, I want to be able to contribute, and it – it's just so complex. And we're having such resistance, on so many levels that it can be frustrating and there's some burnout. So, we, we do try to take a break sometimes 4 �and just make sure that we're taking care of ourselves so that, you know, we can fight the good fight. DD: Yeah. What are some of the complexities that you're running into? CW: Well, like I think I said about money, you got to follow the money. So, when you have the Air Force saying, “okay, we need more money”. And then you have the Congress saying, “you just need to tell us how much money that you need”, and they're pointing fingers at each other like you didn't tell us. And it's – it's just amazing at that level of just denial, really, [chuckles] I think on all parties just denying that there's an issue and that these monies need to be diverted to keep people safe, their health safe. So, I find that very complex. Why this would be denied that this issue exists when it's clear [chuckles] from the foam in this picture behind me, that there's a problem. This is not, this is not natural foam. So, there’s just – that part is complex. The chemicals themselves are very complex. We're continuing to study the effects of those, oh gosh, [pause] getting the word out. As someone who doesn't do this full time, I don't work with an environmental group. I'm not paid to do any of this work. So, how to find the time to do these things and then developing the relationships with the people that can help you. So, I can say as a person, I've definitely grown and learned a lot, since I've done this, there are some benefits in terms of my personal growth in learning how things work. So, I've learned a lot, but it's unfortunate it had to be under these circumstances. But – so, yeah, developing the relationships, understanding the issues, just figuring out how to get around the roadblocks, you know, maintaining your sanity. [chuckles] Things that are complex. DD: Is there anything else that you'd like to add that we didn't touch on or anything else that you wanted to go back to? CW: Nope. I do appreciate your – this project's, effort to get our stories out because people do as you can see. I could just talk and talk and talk [chuckles] about this, but I really appreciate you trying to get the stories out there so that anyone who's willing to listen can hear what really is happening. DD: Well, thank you for taking the time to do this. I know you’re very busy and I appreciate you taking the time to share your story today. CW: Sure. Thank you, Dani. 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 Living with PFAS Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Devasto, Danielle Description An account of the resource Beginning in 2021, the Living with PFAS interviews were recorded to gather the personal stories of individuals impacted by PFAS contamination. PFAS, or per- and polyflourinated substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used widely since the 1940s to make coatings and products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They can be found in countless household items, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-resistant clothing. These chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily, can move through soils and contaminate drinking water sources, and build up in animals, plants, and people. PFAS have been linked to increased incidences of various cancers, increased cholesterol, decreased fertility, birth defects, kidney and liver disease, and immune system suppression, and thyroid dysfunction. It is estimated that PFAS are in the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans (Andrews & Naidenko, 2020). In Michigan alone, over 280 sites have PFAS contamination exceeding maximum contamination levels for groundwater (MPART, 2024). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In copyright Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Motion Picture Text Sound Language A language of the resource eng Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PFAS0020 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wusterbar, Cathy Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-07-13 Title A name given to the resource Cathy Wusterbarth, 2021 (Interview video and transcript) Description An account of the resource Cathy Wustarbarth is from Oscoda, Michigan, on the coast of Lake Huron. In this interview, Cathy discusses her exposure to PFAS and its impact on her health. Wusterbarth has also been actively involved with the Oscoda Citizens for Clean Water, advocating for education and awareness about the issue. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource DeVasto, Danielle (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/90b3022c68d9a0ba21369910a09fbee1.m4v f8a717d58c6575186b0faa799d94edbd https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c8dc8e6b24a8d75f3566f3a880e6c1fd.pdf bc69b24a3969107cd08e7bec509a32ef PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project James Wyatt Vietnam War 32 minutes 15 seconds (00:00:06) Early Life, Basic Training and Berlin Wall Crisis -Born December 4th, 1936. -Highest rank achieved was Specialist 4th class. -Drafted into service. -Knowing that drafting was inevitable, he chose to pre-empt the process and enter in 1960. -22 years old at the time of entering military service. -Chosen as a temporary training sergeant during basic training. -Training: 15 mile hikes with a 40lb backpack. -Chose other leaders from the groups. -Encouraged soldiers as their energy waned. -Made friends with squad leaders he worked with. -Flew to Berlin with Military Air Transportation Service (MATS). -Stationed in Mannheim. -Locals were mostly friendly. -During the duration of his time in Berlin, the Berlin Wall was built. -Afterward the locals became noticeably friendlier to their presence. Soldiers became more religious. (00:05:00) -Sent to NATO school. -Dispersed information to troops and trained them in fundamentals. -The Berlin Wall crisis caused extensions on the troop’s service periods. -After his year and a half was up he was extended by a mere few days before he returned to the US. -Communicated with his mother often in the mail during his time abroad. -Limited places to socialize with other English speakers. -Attempted to learn some German. -Due to the Berlin Crisis, there was no ability to take leisurely language classes. -Sent out to the field much more often. -Soviet threat seemed intimidating at the time. -Being somewhat isolated abroad. (00:10:00) -His return from military life was treated by the public with some degree of skepticism and suspicion. -Not anger or derision like some Vietnam veterans. -After returning home he became a police officer. -Had an interest in the job for a long time. -Grand Rapids police were hiring. -Since he was from Grand Rapids he decided to apply. �-Personally believes that the containment in Vietnam was the right thing to do. -In Mannheim he was stationed at what was once a Panzer building. -Remnants of the Polish army were still present at the time. -Due to the fact Russia was present in Poland. (00:16:10) -Believes that Vietnam War was mishandled and hampered by political posturing. -Cuban Missile Crisis was quite scary. -Believes that JFK handled it well. -Thoughts on Watergate scandal: intentions were good, but methods were not. -The fall of the Berlin Wall was emotional and a great moment for him to view on TV. (00:26:00) -His brother was in WWII. -Involved in major battles such as the Philippines -Aboard USS Washington. -Has a rather “military family”. -Older brother in the service. -Uncles and cousins as well. -Father was in Turkey in WWI. � 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_WyattJ1816V Title A name given to the resource Wyatt, James E (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-23 Description An account of the resource James Wyatt was born in 1936. At the age of 22 he pre-empted an inevitable drafting by enlisting in 1960. During his military career his highest rank achieved was Specialist 4th class. Although his service was during the Vietnam War era, he was located in Mannheim, Germany in the time of the Berlin Wall Crisis. Wyatt was also sent to NATO school where he was able to train troops in the fundamentals. After being discharged he returned to the US and became a police officer. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wyatt, James E. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wyatt, Peyton (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army 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> 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/0c0d8b5a697cf67bd04fb3fd86be4325.jpg 0e25936290f44ac029a384caef917012 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS 3503.I67 L36 1907 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0461 Title A name given to the resource Langford of the Three Bars Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wyeth, N.C. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of Langford of the Three Bars, by Kate and Virgil D. Boyles, published by A.C. McClurg & Co., 1907. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1907 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/fae593a2da2fbb7ca50fadd1af553bac.mp4 0d6d1736690d93030db0a5c8d90d225d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2d8f37e7b70682b8a58b225a2fa14164.pdf dccdd4a594971b6394da0f3d16750acb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War James Wykstra Interview Length: (01:32:05:00) Pre-enlistment Life / Training (00:00:09:00)  Born in Cutlerville, Michigan in 1947 (00:00:09:00)  Growing up, Wykstra attended Cutlerville Christian School and South Christian High School and after graduating, decided to attend community college at Grand Rapids Junior College (00:00:20:00)  Wykstra attended junior college for a year and was not doing great and when it looked like he was going to get drafted, he went and enlisted in the Navy Reserves (00:00:45:00)  Growing up, Wykstra mother stayed at home and his father worked at a hospital (00:01:02:00) o There were five children in the family and Wykstra was right in the middle; he had an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister (00:01:10:00)  When he enlisted, Wykstra knew the Vietnam War was going on and figured that he had a duty to enlist and serve in the military (00:01:42:00)  Wykstra finally enlisted in August 1966 (00:01:52:00) o He selected the Navy because he did not want to crawl around in the mud and he wanted nice meals and a good bed to sleep in (00:02:01:00)  While growing up, a friend of Wykstra had a speed boat and Wykstra had a hydroplane, so he had some experience on the water before he joined the Navy (00:02:20:00)  Basic training was two weeks at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago and then two weeks aboard a ship in Chicago (00:02:52:00)  Before he left for basic training, Wykstra wanted no one in his family to know that he was leaving (00:03:11:00) o Wykstra had a little party the night before he left and the next morning, he accidentally slept through his alarm, consequently, missing his bus to Chicago, and woke up when his mother called him to go to church (00:03:16:00) o Wykstra’s brother had just bought a new Mustang and he drove Wykstra to Holland, Michigan, where Wykstra was able to catch the bus (00:03:45:00) o Wykstra finally told his family he was joining the Navy that morning and naturally, they were a little upset that Wykstra had not tell them earlier (00:04:04:00) o He chose not to tell his family because he viewed it that they did not need to know and because he was only going be gone for a month, it was not a very big deal (00:04:24:00)  The training at Great Lakes for Wykstra was strictly for the Navy Reserves (00:04:35:00) o The basic training went well and when Wykstra boarded the ship, he had to get tours of it to orient himself aboard it (00:04:40:00) � o Some of the other men who came aboard the ship with Wykstra had already been in the Navy and they explained different things to him and helped ease the process for him (00:05:04:00) o The ship was a smaller one and the men were supposed to sail it to near Muskegon, Michigan to fire its guns; however, when the ship left port in Chicago and made it past the barriers, it had to turn around because Lake Michigan was too rough (00:05:21:00) o During the training, Wykstra does not recall how much emphasis they placed on discipline, although it was something that he always had trouble with (00:06:01:00) After completing the four weeks of training, Wykstra went back home and continued going to the Reserve meetings (00:06:27:00) o Eventually, he asked if he could go into active duty early or would he have to complete the year of Navy Reserve first (00:06:37:00) o They said Wykstra could get in early and he told them that the end of May, beginning of June would work for him; however, when the middle of June came, Wykstra still had not been called (00:06:46:00)  The Navy eventually wanted to know if Wykstra had gotten some girl pregnant and that was why he wanted to leave early but he explained that he just wanted to get the year done and over with (00:07:04:00) o When the Navy told him they would get him on active duty right away, Wykstra asked for a couple of weeks off from his work before he left, so at the end of June, he basically quit work (00:07:16:00)  He was kicked out of the apartment he living in, so Wykstra took the next month’s rent, bought a tent and lived on the beach (00:07:41:00) o However, after about three weeks, Wykstra still was not in the Navy, so he went back to his old job and asked to come back to work at a print shop (00:07:53:00) o Wykstra only went back to work for a couple of weeks before the Navy placed him on active duty (00:08:08:00) Deployment (00:08:23:00)  Once Wykstra was on active duty, the Navy sent him to San Francisco (00:08:23:00) o While Wykstra was in transit waiting to be assigned in late August, someone woke him at four in the morning, said his father had died and Wykstra was going home on emergency leave (00:08:31:00)  When Wykstra went down to get his orders allowing him to go home, the man said he thought Wykstra was lying, which caused Wykstra to jump across the desk and started beating the man (00:08:57:00)  Wykstra had to go talk with the commanding officer but he did his orders and flew back to Grand Rapids for fifteen days (00:09:23:00) o After the fifteen days, Wykstra flew back to San Francisco and stayed there for another week or two before the Navy flew him to the Philippines (00:09:45:00)  While waiting for his ship, the U.S.S. Davidson, in the Philippines, Wykstra went into a nearby town to drink (00:10:10:00) �      o One time when he went into the town, a dog bit Wykstra in the back of his calf and Wykstra asked the owners to tie to dog up for ten days to make sure it did not have rabies (00:10:32:00) o In those ten days, the Davidson had unfortunately already come in and left but after the ten days, Wykstra checked and the dog did not have rabies (00:11:10:00) The Navy eventually flew Wykstra to Japan to board the Davidson (00:11:46:00) o When he got to Japan, Wykstra checked in on the base and was given bedding and told where to go spend the night; however, as he left, they called his name for him to come back and when he did so, they told him the Davidson was pulling out in two hours and he needed to get aboard (00:11:51:00) The Davidson was a destroyer escort, meaning it was a small ship, only about a football field in length (00:12:35:00) o The ship was armed with depth charges, missiles, two 5 inch guns and torpedo tubes (00:12:41:00) o Different departments on the ship had different sleeping areas (00:13:09:00) o The ship had just been commissioned in 1965, which meant it had air conditioning and other modern amenities (00:13:17:00) Wykstra was put with the deck crew when he first got onboard, which consisted of: painting, sweeping, cleaning and washing walls (00:13:49:00) At one point, a weapons yeoman was leaving the ship and Wykstra and another man applied for the job (00:14:19:00) o While he was home on his emergency leave, Wykstra met a girl who happened to be from the hometown of the weapons yeoman who was leaving, they knew each other, and the yeoman allowed Wykstra to take the typing test three or four times (00:14:44:00)  On the typing test, Wykstra had to type thirty-five words a minute and every mistake was a deduction of ten words (00:15:01:00) o Wykstra took the test three times before he finally passed it and he does not know how the other man faired but he ended up getting the job (00:15:09:00) As a weapons yeoman, Wykstra would type up the orders of the day, what duties the men were supposed to do that day, and any weapon reports, which were logs of how many shells had been fired, etc. (00:15:30:00) o Once he had typed up the weapon reports, a lieutenant would read it, make some slight changes, have Wykstra retype it and then would give it to his superior, who would make other changes (00:16:04:00) o There were no computers and would end up having the type the same report or document around eight times at least because everyone in the chain of command would make changes to a report (00:16:18:00) o When they pulled into ports, Wykstra missed liberty time finishing the reports (00:16:47:00) o There was always something for Wykstra to type (00:17:08:00) When he first got aboard the ship, Wykstra was told who he would report to and who would be giving him orders (00:17:38:00) o There was not much of an introduction or orientation (00:17:43:00) �     o One time, while on the deck crew, one man was painting a yardarm and asked Wykstra if he saw any holidays; not knowing what that meant, Wykstra told him that he did not see any (00:17:49:00)  When the man came down, he yelled at Wykstra for telling him there were no holidays, spots where he had missed, when there were (00:18:14:00) There were a few men on the deck crew that Wykstra fell in with and got along well with (00:18:42:00) o After he became yeoman, Wykstra had his own little office on the ship and in Japan, he bought turntables, speakers, and recording equipment so that when they were at sea, they could listen to music, mainly rock and roll records (00:18:48:00) o When they pulled into port at Formosa, the records were a dime an album and the men came to Wykstra to play them (00:19:33:00) Wykstra got onto the Davidson in October 1967 (00:20:13:00) The Davidson’s home port was in Hawaii, so after Wykstra boarded in Japan, they sailed back to Hawaii (00:20:24:00) Wykstra did not have any major problems adjusting to life at sea even though when the Davidson left Japan, the seas were quite rough (00:20:52:00) o Wykstra only got seasick twice: when the Davidson first left Japan for Hawaii and another time in rough seas, also near Japan (00:21:02:00)  The second time he got seasick, Wykstra was at the helm of the ship when a man on the lean helm said he needed a bucket; a messenger got a bucket and the man threw up in the bucket (00:21:21:00)  The messenger emptied the bucket and when he brought it back, the man working the status board asked for the bucket and ended throwing up in it (00:21:59:00)  The pilothouse was beginning to smell like vomit and the lieutenant in charge of the pilothouse asked Wykstra if any of that bothered him and Wykstra said “not yet sir” (00:22:11:00)  The lieutenant then lit a cigar and blew it in Wykstra’s face, causing him to vomit (00:22:28:00) o When the ship was in rough seas, Wykstra did not worry about it capsizing (00:23:01:00)  One time, a cook had just made fresh donuts when the seas were rough and he came up to the pilothouse to see if he could bring up some of the crew (00:23:06:00)  The men held onto ropes during rough seas and the cook accidentally let go of the rope and slid, head first, into a steel footrest and split his head open (00:23:28:00) When the Davidson arrived in Hawaii, Wykstra was able to go ashore (00:24:03:00) o Although the ship was only a couple of years old, it had to go into dry-dock because one of the boilers was not working properly (00:24:17:00)  They ended up cutting a hole in the side of the ship so they could put in a new boiler (00:24:27:00) o Because of the sheer size of the repair, the men were in Hawaii for quite a long time, all the way until August (00:24:35:00) �    However, even while the ship was in dry-dock, the men stayed aboard it, instead of in barracks on land (00:24:51:00) o A friend of Wykstra from high school was in Hawaii at the same time, so the two met up and went out to drink several times (00:24:56:00)  One time, one of the men went ashore, got extremely drunk, and when he returned to the ship, got the keys for the gun locker room; the man unloaded guns and ammunition, went on the deck, and began firing them before taking off (00:25:23:00)  Shore patrol went looking for him while shining large spotlights and Wykstra friend, who was part of the Shore Patrol, commented on how stupid it was; the Shore Patrol was looking for the man with spotlights but if he wanted to, he would shoot them (00:26:12:00)  They finally caught the man and the others never saw him again (00:26:34:00) Once the repairs on the ship were finished, the ship left Hawaii and sailed to several other locations but Wykstra does not remember them all (00:27:14:00) o The ship would spend thirty days sailing off the coast of Vietnam then a week at some other location, such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, etc. (00:27:21:00) When the ship was sailing off the coast of Vietnam, the men had their regular job but they also worked in a secondary, combat role; the men would normally go six hours on, six hours off for their primary job (00:28:01:00) o Sometimes, Wykstra worked in the fire control room for the ship’s guns relaying orders between the lieutenant stationed in the fire control room and the gun mounts, everything from where to fire to how much to fire (00:28:35:00) o Other times, Wykstra worked in the pilothouse while the ship was off the Vietnamese coast (00:28:51:00) o The ship ended up firing a lot of ammunition onto the shore but as far as Wykstra knows, while in Vietnam, the ship never received any return fire (00:29:10:00)  There were times when the ship had to sail from one location to another quickly past small Vietnamese boats; the men did not know if the boats could possibly be filled with explosives, so they did not slow down for them (00:29:21:00)  If a boat got in the way, the ship kept going (00:29:40:00) At one point, the ship received orders that it had to sail for Korea as fast as it could get there (00:29:59:00) o When the ship arrived, the sonar picked up a submarine; the men told the submarine to identify itself and surface but it did not (00:30:06:00) o The ship followed the submarine for eight days before it finally surfaced and revealed itself to be a Russian submarine (00:30:16:00) o When the submarine surfaced, the men took pictures of it and the Davidson ended up escorting it out of the area (00:30:33:00)  They ended up confiscating all the film taken of the submarine and the next day, Wykstra looked out and saw a torpedo floating in the water (00:30:41:00) �  When divers went to get the torpedo, there were snakes in the water, so sharpshooters were posted before the divers tried again (00:31:00:00)  Once they got the torpedo aboard, it was placed in the hanger bay, covered with a tarp and again, everyone’s film was confiscated (00:31:20:00) o At the time, the men did not know why they were ordered to Korea; all they knew was that there was trouble near Korea (00:32:06:00) The men did not know much about what was going on onshore in Vietnam; the commander would get the orders and the men would follow them (00:32:27:00) o One time, the ship pulled into the naval base at Cam Ranh Bay and the commander and XO went ashore while the ship remained anchored in the bay; when they came back, the two men said the ship was going to pull its anchor and leave the next (00:32:38:00)  However, the next day, the men could not raise the anchor and after trying several different ways to raise the anchor, they finally ended up cutting it off and leaving it in the bay (00:32:57:00) o When Wykstra worked in the fire control room, the lieutenant in charge of firing the guns would receive an order, then tell Wykstra what adjustments needed to be made, and Wykstra would relay the information to the gun crews (00:33:24:00) o One time, the men heard two secondary explosions when they fired the guns, which made them happy, but for the most part, they did not know what their targets were or whether they had hit them (00:33:44:00) o When it was firing, the ship normally worked alone (00:34:06:00)  However, the Davidson was also attached to the U.S.S. Hornet, and aircraft carrier, and at any one time, there was between four and seven destroyer escorts and other ships with the Hornet (00:34:11:00) Aboard the U.S.S. Hornet (00:34:55:00)  At one point, Wykstra did go aboard the aircraft carrier Hornet (00:34:55:00) o Wykstra was having trouble swallowing, so he went and saw the corpsman, who told him it was no big deal and to wait until the ship got into port, then the corpsman would send him to set a doctor (00:35:01:00) o It got so bad that Wykstra went back to the corpsman and explained that it was difficult to talk and he could not longer even swallow water (00:35:20:00) o The aircraft carrier sent over a helicopter, picked Wykstra up, and took him back to the aircraft carrier, where doctor diagnosed the problem as a wisdom tooth (00:35:27:00)  The dentist said they needed to pull the tooth, but they had trouble pulling it because as it turned out, the tooth was hooked around Wykstra’s jawbone (00:35:59:00)  They ended up breaking the tooth apart and taking it out in pieces; once they finished, they took x-rays again, found more pieces, and took those pieces out as well (00:36:12:00)  They had given Wykstra a lot of pain killers and he stayed in the dentist’s office for a long time (00:36:24:00) � o Wykstra wanted to get back to the Davidson and kept complain when the dentist staff would not let him because of the amount of painkillers they used; finally, a messenger came down and brought Wykstra up to the pilot house, where he asked permission from the commander to fly back to the Davidson (00:36:32:00)  The commander checked and told Wykstra that by the time they got a helicopter ready, it would be sunset and they could not transfer personnel after sunset (00:37:15:00)  The commander had the men get Wykstra a bunk and told him to come back the next morning (00:37:36:00) o The next morning, Wykstra again asked permission to return to the Davidson but the commander said he could not; when Wykstra why, the commander explained that the Davidson had sailed for Formosa and the Hornet was sailing to the Philippines (00:37:46:00) The Hornet ended up staying in the Philippines for a week and because it was an aircraft carrier, there were a lot of benefits for the men (00:38:17:00) o Everyday, the men were able to grill hot dogs and hamburgers, they had boats they used to go water skiing, there were women around, etc. (00:38:29:00) o In the Philippines, they did not want the men to go into town because it was dangerous for the men (00:39:03:00)  When the men went into town, they could only go down the main street and between one and three blocks in either direction off that street; everything else was out-of-bounds (00:39:18:00)  It was basically bar on top of bar and there were enlisted men’s clubs, with one playing country music and the other playing rock and roll (00:39:41:00)  Off to one side would be sitting a mamma san and several girls and if a man wanted to dance, he would go talk with the mamma san, sign his name in, pick a girl, and dance with her (00:40:15:00)  The government paid these girls well and when Wykstra ended up meeting a girl whose parents owned the restaurant / bar, she said she wanted that job because it paid the most money (00:40:37:00) o Never the less, the Navy tried to keep the men on the base (00:41:13:00) o One time, Wykstra went ashore because he had the day off and he bought a couple of butterfly knives (00:41:19:00)  Whenever he went into town, Wykstra walked back on the left hand side because when he drank, he back a little loose and on the right hand side were many more prostitutes (00:41:39:00)  This time, he saw two nice looking Filipino women who always tried to get him to go with them and that time, he said okay (00:42:02:00)  The three ended up hopping the back of a converted World War IIera jeep and on the way through the town, they begin fooling around in front of the other people (00:42:24:00)  They ended up in an out-of-bounds area and Wykstra followed them back their house (00:43:11:00) � o After Wykstra finished fooling around with another woman in the house, he put his clothes back on and discovered his knives were gone (00:44:18:00)  Wykstra then looked outside and saw at least three men standing on porch of the house; he cannot see the other side of porch, so Wykstra decides to run and jump out and when he does so, he sees two other men standing on the porch (00:44:33:00) o He assumed that they were going to get him and although they did follow him for a little while, he did eventually lose them (00:45:10:00)  As he was walking down the street back to the base, some kids came out asking for money, which Wykstra did not have (00:45:26:00)  The kids started throwing rocks, causing Wykstra to run again and luckily, a Filipino cop came, causing the kids to scatter (00:45:40:00)  Wykstra eventually made it back to the ship, but it was bad because he should have known better (00:45:54:00) o Before the ship had pulled into port, the men went to a little meeting, where it was explained how dangerous it was for the sailors in the town (00:46:02:00)  There was a river that ran next to the base and the men had to cross it to get into town; the river was filthy and kids would stand next to it, trying to bum cigarettes and other things from the sailors (00:46:15:00)  Just before the ship arrived in port, they had found the body of a sailor floating in the river with no head (00:47:18:00)  The next day, on the desk of the base commander was a box and inside was the head of the sailor (00:47:26:00) o The prostitution outside the base was really bad, although the last time Wykstra was there, there was a female mayor and she was attempting to clean it up (00:47:66:00) Wykstra finally made it back to the Davidson after about six weeks (00:48:46:00) o While aboard the Hornet, Wykstra did not have any duties and although there were movies to watch, he was still bored (00:48:53:00)  He would sit up on the flight deck and watch planes take off and land and he eventually helped the man who was supposed to clean the barracks because he was so bored (00:49:03:00) Travels around the Pacific (00:49:31:00)  Wykstra was also able to go ashore in Japan several times but he did not spend too much time in bars there; mostly, he bought china and other items that he wanted (00:49:31:00)  Going ashore in Hong Kong was fabulous (00:49:54:00) o When he first came aboard the ship, Wykstra hung out with the men in deck crew who he worked with and even when he became a yeoman, he still hung out with them because he worked in his own little office by himself (00:50:07:00) o One time, four of them were in a bar and another man who had just been promoted and was not treating the others fairly walked into the bar (00:50:23:00) �     They invite the man who and he sits between Wykstra and another man; the other men tell him that he has to start straightening up (00:51:04:00)  The man was dismissive and the next thing Wykstra knew, the other three men were beating him (00:51:30:00)  The man who was being beaten was in his late twenties / early thirties, meaning he had been in the Navy a little longer than the other men (00:52:01:00)  The men warned him that if he went back to the ship and reported them, they might go to the brig but they would eventually get out of it and they would find him (00:52:11:00)  Instead, the man reported that he had been jumped by some Chinese people (00:52:23:00) o Where the men were at, the city was clean and nice (00:53:11:00) While Wykstra was aboard, the Davidson spent seven months of the Vietnamese coast and every month, the ship would travel someplace different (00:53:53:00) Going to Bangkok was a different experience (00:54:09:00) o While there, a man would hire a cab for the day, not just one trip because it was cheaper to hire a cab for the day (00:54:20:00) o The Davidson stopped in Bangkok after about six months, making it one the later stops, and it seemed like everyone aboard ship “lost it” around then (00:54:40:00)  Wykstra knows of only one man who did not “screw around” with someone, even the married men who swore they would not cheat on their wives (00:54:59:00) o Wykstra and a friend hired a cab for a day and went touring to different locations while other men from the ship sort of took over a hotel (00:55:17:00)  People who actually lived in the hotel ended up leaving because of how the men were acting (00:55:41:00)  One man was on a second or third floor balcony and decided he was going to jump into the hotel’s swimming pool; the pool was only three feet deep where he wanted to jump but he did it anyway and ended up hurting his head (00:56:30:00)  The man continued to beg the others to let him leave the ship and go ashore again, so the last day they were in city, the men relented and let him go ashore (00:57:04:00)  The man started drinking again and decided he was going to climb a tree and grab the coconuts in it; he had to hop a fence to do so and ended up landing onto of a broken beer bottle and split his foot open (00:57:13:00)  Some other soldiers at the hotel wanted to put a tourniquet on the foot, but the sailor said no and to just call an ambulance; the man did eventually pull through (00:57:49:00) Morale aboard the Davidson was not bad (00:58:19:00) Wykstra did end up getting into serious trouble once (00:58:44:00) o While in the Philippines, he was in a bar drinking and an ensign who had just come aboard the Davidson walked in; Wykstra had introduced himself when the ensign came aboard, so the ensign sat with Wykstra in the bar (00:58:50:00) �o Wykstra questioned the ensign, saying that he was an officer and was not supposed to be in town and not supposed to be seen associating with an enlisted man like Wykstra (00:59:12:00) o The ensign told Wykstra not to worry about it and he continued buy drinks for himself and two Filipino girls, although Wykstra warned him that the girls were not drinking alcohol, they were drinking tea (00:59:24:00) o When they got into the bedroom, the girl Wykstra was with said she was from Manila and Wykstra said he wanted to go there (00:59:51:00)  However, no one on a ship, not even a commander, was allowed an overnight; a sailor’s rank determined what time he had to be back aboard the ship (01:00:08:00)  Wykstra had to be back by ten o’clock, a petty officer by eleven, and a regular officer was midnight (01:00:24:00) o The girl said she would take Wykstra to Manila, so they planned to meet up later and go (01:00:38:00) o Wykstra figured he was going to get in trouble but his brother had been stationed in Manila and Wykstra figured he could go there then tell his brother how much it had changed in eight years (01:00:50:00) o When Wykstra went to the designated spot, the girl was not there, so he had a few drinks and decided to return to the ship; however, on the way back to the ship, Wykstra saw the girl and together, they walked and boarded a bus (01:01:11:00) o When Wykstra and the girl got off the bus, they got into a taxi, which took them through several small villages before stopping in one and the girl explained that that was where she lived (01:01:48:00) o The girl’s house turned out to be a hut made out of bamboo and while Wykstra was sitting there, almost everyone in the village came up to see him; it eventually reached the point that they placed him by a window so everyone could see him (01:02:16:00)  The girl’s father was the chief of police and when they all went to bed, Wykstra could not belief that the father would send his daughter to be a prostitute in order to help the family (01:03:19:00) o The next day, Wykstra and the girl went to the village’s marketplace and when Wykstra saw kids running around the streets naked, he bought a bunch of underwear and handed it out to the kids (01:03:52:00) o The village mayor lived next to the girl’s family and they ended up throwing Wykstra a dinner that all the men in the village showed up to; when the men finished eating, the women could eat while the men drank alcohol (01:04:37:00)  The other villagers wanted Wykstra to sing, so they got a guitar and started playing for him (01:05:52:00) o The next day, they went to a movie before Wykstra said he had to get back to the base and the girl had to take him because he did not know how (01:06:11:00) o The girl eventually took him back and when he boarded the ship, an officer told Wykstra he was in trouble, although Wykstra explained he had paid someone to take his place (01:06:32:00)  The officer said he knew Wykstra had an upcoming liberty leave and he suggested Wykstra stay on the ship, which he did (01:06:56:00) �    The Davidson eventually left the Philippines and headed back to Vietnam; on the way back to port, the commander wanted to talk with Wykstra and hear his story and Wykstra explained that he did more than any ambassador ever did (01:07:11:00) o The commander said he did not care what Wykstra had done, he knew better and as punishment, Wykstra was confined to the ship for the next ninety days (01:07:48:00) o After going to Vietnam for another thirty days, the Davidson sailed to Hawaii, where Wykstra was supposed to get off because his tour was ending (01:08:16:00) o Wykstra knew some of the men in personnel and when they typed up Wykstra’s orders, they left off his punishment, he was supposed to go to the barracks for thirty more days to finish the punishment, and the ship’s XO signed it (01:08:28:00) When he was in, Wykstra did not give any thought to staying in the Navy (01:09:04:00) o To him, if someone wanted to stay in, that was fine but being in the service meant that someone did not think for themselves and if they did so, they got in trouble; the men did what they were told and Wykstra could not continue to do that (01:09:08:00) Wykstra never actually went ashore in Vietnam (01:09:35:00) Off all the men Wykstra served with, he wants to know what happened to one man, who was from Wichita, Kansas, the most (01:09:57:00) o The man suggested when Wykstra and he get out they go and tour the United States together (01:10:10:00) o However, Wykstra said he could not afford it because he needed to save money for college (01:10:17:00) o Wykstra got out of the military in 1969 and in 1972, he and three other men did decide to do a little tour of the country, although one guy eventually dropped out (01:10:25:00)  They were gone for three months and when they stopped in Wichita, Wykstra looked the man up and discovered the man had gone right to hell (01:10:48:00)  He and another man were renting an apartment above a store and delivering cars to car lots (01:11:03:00) o Wykstra and the other man spent a lot of time together while in the service; they would be paid every other weekend, after which the two men would go ashore (01:11:51:00)  The first weekend they were in Hawaii, both men went ashore and the second weekend, they were low on money (01:12:05:00)  If Wykstra had duty on a Friday, he would give what money he had to the man, who would play cards and would usually win, although one time they had to spend the entire weekend aboard the ship because he lost all the money (01:12:23:00) o One time, the two men went to a piano bar and one of the women there was gorgeous; Wykstra said something to her and after her reaction, Wykstra told the other man that they needed to go to church (01:13:31:00) �     After church, the two men went back to the bar and the woman was still there; Wykstra’s friend started playing pool (01:14:27:00)  At some point, Wykstra had bought a car, an old Chevy that almost always had something wrong with it, and Wykstra managed to convince the girl to go with him, his friend, and a man the friend had been shooting pool with (01:14:41:00)  The four went to a beach they thought was deserted and they decided to go skinny-dipping (01:15:23:00)  The girl was so drunk that she passed out on the way back and when the men got her to where she had said she lived, they pulled her out of the car and left her on the sidewalk (01:16:06:00) When Wykstra was first on the deck crew, the lieutenant junior-grade who was his boss did not like him and one time, ordered Wykstra to sandblast part of the deck (01:17:19:00) o Wykstra said he had a liberty leave upcoming but the lieutenant canceled it and made Wykstra do the sandblasting (01:17:49:00) Most of the time, the enlisted men and officers were kept segregated (01:19:04:00) o Wykstra never saw an hostility between the two groups except for one time when the ship was going into port (01:19:12:00)  The commander and XO were both in the pilothouse and at one point, the commander told the XO to take over because the XO needed to learn the stuff; the XO was giving the orders and the commander corrected on him two occasions (01:19:30:00)  After the third time he had to correct a decision, the commander began yelling at the XO in front of the enlisted personnel in the pilothouse (01:19:53:00) o Generally, the officers treated the enlisted personnel okay (01:20:31:00)  The officers tended to throw their weight around and on some occasions, their decisions were questionable but the enlisted crew could do nothing about it (01:20:34:00)  The men could definitely tell that some of the officers were career military (01:20:59:00) When there was a ship’s reunion, it felt somewhat awkward for Wykstra because he had only served for two years whereas many of the others had served longer, often four years and they were much more “gung-ho” for the Navy (01:21:25:00) When Wykstra was nearing the end of his tour, he had the opportunity to take a test and become a yeoman but he declined; when asked why he declined, although he would in all likelihood pass, Wykstra explained that there had been rumors circulating that some of the sailors might get and early discharge and if he passed the test, he would not get an early discharge (01:21:47:00) o Wykstra ended up flunking the test but he did not receive an early discharge (01:22:31:00)  Had he enlisted a month earlier, Wykstra would have gotten the early discharge (01:22:48:00) o When the Davidson sailed back to Vietnam, Wykstra had the opportunity to take the test again but he told the officer he was going to flunk it again (01:23:02:00) �o When the men finally got to San Francisco to be discharged, they were waiting in a large gymnasium when there was an announcement for all the men in personnel and yeomen of a certain rank to stand up, but Wykstra was not high enough (01:23:32:00)  All the men who stood ended up receiving at minimum a month-long extension on their enlistment to help process all the other sailors’ discharges (01:24:34:00) Post-Military Life / Reflections (01:20:31:00)  Once he finally got out of the Navy, Wykstra returned to working full time and attending college (01:25:15:00) o He took as many credits as he could at a local college before transferring to Ferris State University (01:25:28:00) o After taking the required courses at Ferris State, he transferred again, this time to Grand Valley State University, where he took the majority of his elective classes in law enforcement (01:26:01:00) o Wykstra ended up with a two-year degree from the local college and a business degree from Ferris State (01:26:42:00)  After getting his degrees, Wykstra worked as a 2nd shift manager (01:26:52:00) o It eventually reached the point that his children would be going to school, so Wykstra asked to start workings days, even if that meant doing less skilled jobs (01:27:01:00) o The company honored his request and moved him to working during the day (01:27:31:00)  Looking back, Wykstra was glad he was in the Navy, he saw a lot of the world, and if he had to do it again he would, but he still would not enlist for four years (01:28:03:00) o Had he originally go in for four years, he probably would have taken the yeoman tests and passed them (01:28:20:00)  When Wykstra left, he had a going away party at his parent’s house, who were going to visit his brother-in-laws family; everyone knew Wykstra had the party and when his parents got home, they found out (01:29:09:00) o The first letter Wykstra got from his mother said that she was disappointed that he had the party (01:30:19:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context WykstraJ Title A name given to the resource Wykstra, James (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wykstra, James Description An account of the resource James Wykstra was born in 1947 in the town of Cutlerville, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Wykstra felt it was his duty to serve in the military. In August 1966, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Following completion of basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago, Wykstra returned to Cutlerville and regularly attended the reserve meetings until going on active duty in the summer, 1967. Assigned the to destroyer escort U.S.S. Davidson, Wykstra patrolled along the Vietnamese coast and sailed to numerous locales in the Southwest Pacific, including Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and the Philippines. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-01-13 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/299409470e911ab0e443dfaff83ab24b.m4v 00c04b44418a97a9669657d751674274 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b97df8ab4324a1d97bc113c12eec2649.pdf 74e2e97f9a3d6d776295f950089622eb PDF Text Text Interview Notes Interview Length (8:13) David Wyma US Navy Pre-Enlistment Born in South Korea in 1963 (0:15) Adopted by an American soldier and his wife (0:20) Enlisted in the Navy the summer after high school (0:30) Father, 3 brothers and sister have served in the military (0:45) Went to the Navy because the Air Force recruiter never showed up (1:15) Training Boot camp was enjoyable (1:30) Competition between different companies in different areas (1:45) Good physical training (2:25) Not hard to adjust to physical training (2:35) Enlistment Served in Norfolk, Virginia, for 3 years, then Iceland for 2 years (3:00) Flew to Iceland via Iceland Air (3:25) Stayed in touch with family through phone and mail (4:15) Had many opportunities for recreation (4:35) Flew home via commercial airliner (5:25) Post-Enlistment Formed several friendships while in Iceland (3:50) Had no problems adjusting to civilian life (5:40) College began several weeks after he got out of the military (5:50) � 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 WymaD Title A name given to the resource Wyma, David (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wyma, David Description An account of the resource David Wyma was born in 1963 in South Korea. After high school, David enlisted in the US Navy. He served 3 years in Norfolk, Virginia and 2 years in Iceland. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wright, Chelsea (Interviewer) Caledonia High School (Caledonia, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06-01 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d9966a4576d113ffc2a55c2bf4545af.mp4 44859c354bcb41a7cc13cf6b54a2981c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dd0156da8b10354852624702ed938c7b.pdf 10b894a10568ba20daee703f66ab4704 PDF Text Text Living With PFAS Interviewee: Sandy Wynn-Stelts Interviewer: Dani Devasto Date: April 8, 2021 DD: Alright so I am recording now. I am Dani Devasto and today April 8 th, 2021, I had the pleasure of chatting with Sandy Wynn-Stelt. Sandy, can you tell me about where you are from and where you currently live? SWS: I’m originally from the Kalamazoo area, I grew up in Parchment, but right now I live in Belmont, Michigan. DD: And how long have you lived there? SWS: I moved here to Belmont in 1991—1992 I think with my husband Joel. DD: So you are a long-time resident? SWS: I am a longtime resident, yes. DD: So, Sandy, can you tell me a story about your experience with PFAS [Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] or with PFAS in your community? SWS: Sure. So, Joel and I moved to our home in 92’. We’d gotten married in 1991 after dating for 4 years or so. We both loved being outside, we both loved nature and bird watching, and so we found our home in Belmont and it was perfect because it was right across the street from a 100 acre Christmas tree farm. It was — there’s actually Christmas trees to the south of us and so we had kind of this beautiful house in the middle of the woods and we loved it. We lived really boring dull [chuckles] obnoxious lives, really it was so boring. But we were best friends, so it worked out pretty good. Then, in 2016, Joel became ill, and we thought he was having problems with his - with a hernia and he went in for a surgery for that and it turned out that he had stage 4 liver cancer and he died like 3 weeks after that. It was the following year that EGLE had come to my home, which is our Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment, to ask if they could test my water for PFAS and I will be honest, I had never heard of PFAS before that. I wasn’t even saying it right for probably the first 4 months. But they tested my water, and my water came back at 21,000 parts per trillion, and again if you don’t know anything about PFAS you hear these numbers and don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. And it turned out to be a really bad thing, it was pretty high. So that’s how I became involved with this. Turned out that the Christmas tree farm we had fallen in love with was actually a former dumpsite for Wolverine Worldwide which is the manufacturer of Hushpuppy shoes and a lot of other shoes. They had used Scotchgard on all of their products, but had to dump all that tannery waste, so they had dumped it [electronic notification] in the 90 acres or 87 acres across the street 1 �from us for years and years and years in big trenches. When the trenches would start overflowing with the waste, they would punch through the clay lining and let it all drain into the aquifer. That water table then, obviously, traveled to my well, but it also travelled to like the 25 square miles of my community and contaminated all of our water. So, that was how my PFAS journey started. DD: Do you want to say anything about, you mentioned that then you got involved, do you want to say anything about that? SWS: Yes; I got involved because I happened to be the person that lives across the street, and [chuckles] so that, that was a deadlock. I think it also happened that, you know, they tested the first time and it was like 24,000 or whatever. They thought it was an error because it was so high, so when they tested the second time it was like 38,000. They tested again after that, and it was like 80,000 parts per trillion. I eventually got my blood tested and my blood came back at like 5 million parts per trillion, that’s some of the highest that you can find out there. So naturally, the press started coming by and wanting to talk about this because it became a pretty big issue here in Northern Kent County. You know, Wolverine’s is a - had been a really good company in this area and was really valued, but now they’ve contaminated a big part of it, so that becomes a pretty important story to read. And they became very reluctant to take responsibility for this. So, I started by just doing a few news interviews, and one day I was watching television and saw our Senator on TV, Senator Gary Peters talked about doing a hearing in Washington on PFAS. And I thought, and it was open to the public, I remember hearing that, and I said to my two cats: ” well I’m the public, maybe I should go?” [chuckle] - I know a thing or two about PFAS, and low and behold, I did. Eventually it just kind of snowballed from there. So, I went to Washington, and I met with both of our State Senators. I met with our local representative because I thought this is what governments are supposed to do; they’re supposed to step in and make sure this stuff doesn’t happen. So DD: Who was the - who was the local representative at that time? SWS: So, I met with Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow, and Justin Amash was our representative. So, I met with him as well. DD: Did you know that you were going to be such an activist [chuckles] in your earlier life? SWS: No! In fact, I still laugh when people say I'm an activist because I am not active. If you knew me you’d know [chuckles] I’m not — I’m busy, I’m just not really active. You know, it kind of gradually starts creeping into your life and I think what happened was I did that stuff and realized that people really sat down and listened to us. Senators Peters and Stabenow and Representative Amash made time out of their day to meet with us and that was really important to me because it made me realize that they do listen. I mean, when Senator Peters led the senate hearing that day, he talked about that he had just met us the hour before and he talked about it. At that point I realized that you really can make a kind of a difference if you just take a step towards that. DD: What concerns do you have about PFAS contamination moving forward? 2 �SWS: Where to start? Obviously, this is a forever chemical so it’s not going away; it’s not breaking down; it’s not evaporating; it’s not doing any of that. I think every week I hear more and more examples of how ubiquitous this is. I was just, in fact, meeting with someone from EGLE that had come over and we were talking about PFAS contamination near airports, and that every airport in the country has PFAS contamination. So if you have people on private wells that live near airports, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re drinking contaminated water. Every military base, I’ve met people that are dairy farmers that live near military bases, that the cows have drunk PFAS contaminated water, and their milk is now contaminated. We don't test milk for PFAS, in part because we don’t want to know that. So it’s like an onion, the more you start peeling away, the more you realize that this is a problem. This is a slow-rolling pandemic of environmental consequences that we are going to have to deal with quickly to figure it out. DD: Wow, that’s so discouraging. [chuckles] SWS: [chuckles] Now you’ll sleep badly, right? [chuckles] DD: I mean, I’ve been thinking about it for a while probably not quite as long as you but, yeah, you know you hear about it everywhere and— SWS: Yeah, yeah it’s insane that we have done this to ourselves. It’s kind of crazy when you figure out that companies, Chemours is still in North Carolina making these products. That, you know, 3M and those are still making these products. They've tweaked them a little, but they’re still out there and they’re still being disposed of somewhere. So that’s what I worry about. I worry about how much we are all ingesting it, but I also worry that we don’t know what this does to people. Not just to me, right now, today, but what is this going to do for future generations? because I suspect we are going to find that this has got a genetic and ongoing legacy of issues that we haven’t even thought of. DD: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to hearing more from the MiPEHS study [Michigan PFAS Exposure and Health study] and other studies. You know, hopefully other studies that will be like that will get some of that longitudinal data. SWS: Yeah, yeah. DD: So, before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to add that either we haven’t touched on or that you would want to go back to that you’d like to add more about? SWS: I’ve just been rambling on. I can't think of anything else I could say. I mean I could tell you recipes or jokes but that’d be kind of boring. [chuckles] No, I can’t think of anything else. That’s kind of my story in a nutshell. DD: Alright. Well, thank you so much, Sandy, for taking the time to share your story today. SWS: No problem. DD: I’m going to stop the recording. 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 Living with PFAS Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Devasto, Danielle Description An account of the resource Beginning in 2021, the Living with PFAS interviews were recorded to gather the personal stories of individuals impacted by PFAS contamination. PFAS, or per- and polyflourinated substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used widely since the 1940s to make coatings and products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They can be found in countless household items, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-resistant clothing. These chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily, can move through soils and contaminate drinking water sources, and build up in animals, plants, and people. PFAS have been linked to increased incidences of various cancers, increased cholesterol, decreased fertility, birth defects, kidney and liver disease, and immune system suppression, and thyroid dysfunction. It is estimated that PFAS are in the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans (Andrews & Naidenko, 2020). In Michigan alone, over 280 sites have PFAS contamination exceeding maximum contamination levels for groundwater (MPART, 2024). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In copyright Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Motion Picture Text Sound Language A language of the resource eng Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PFAS0002 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wynn-Stelt, Sandy Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-04-08 Title A name given to the resource Sandy Wynn-Stelt, 2021 (Interview video and transcript) Description An account of the resource Sandy Wynn-Stelt moved to Belmont, Michigan in 1992 with her husband Joel. In the interview she discusses her husband's death from liver cancer and the presence of high levels of PFAS in their water. Sandy is now an activist working through legal and political channels to improve PFAS awareness and testing. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource DeVasto, Danielle (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/74a110013c4999eba8bc9e2d1c37d427.pdf 1467e1177ddbe5d4c4bb3d31399b979c PDF Text Text Dt'i ,, n,1:i),1 -1N1t', ,,,,,in r,iv.,, 0,,~,,, YADVASHEM The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority Jerusalem �11,:,t J,itiit~ Commclt\Orative t!ilizens&ip . . . . . _: - :·. · .. . .· . . . ' .. ·. . -·.. -: . . ' . .' . . · .· . ~.: . - . . . . .. : -. . .: . . .- ·:. . . _.. . .. ~ ' . . :. . .. ·.·. . .. . . . . . . . . . ' ... . . _. . . . . - ' :. . .. :: . ; ·--·· · . .' . . .·. .,:.: : . .. .: .. . . - . .. :- ,._ -. :- - . . .- _._ . ·... . - . :. -.- . - ·_"; . .. . . . . . ; . -_ ; . - ·, .. . . . .. . - . . - . . • . ,, ..: . ' .: • . • .. : . .· ·. . . . . - . :· . . . . .- : . . . . . . . . - 1 . . . - -- .:: .. . .. - .: ..: . ... . -. ' -. . . . -- . . . . .. . . . . ·. . �h1N~ :'i1'.t1r'i11 J'11"J'it,t1 j1J'1 'i1N11!1t1 ,t1~1r.m. ttf1t1• J'1~)1i ~jJ i1if71,1 19s, -t1' ~1!(Ji'i1 (11r11) t,tf11i ,. r1,1,~t11 'i1t{1tJt111,,t r1n~ e~Ji71!l 1 ~N'ij!li Jij•i, ~1!1 11,~t J,1ti1t~ lit~ 1ir>JJ1, •> NN~' ,. ,~,1 ;"J, 0~1~71 t11~1~ i-f~tft,~ ,~,t,• 0~ tft,1-itt ~111,1 11,, it:JJi~ \1~~ ½ 111!'1,, •'M~11i~J ~t•~~,11 _t,p1~J, ji~tJt, Ji~ 1'1i~~ ~,~~, itt~ ttOJ71 i,•~~ !n recognition ef the rescue of Jews during fue Holocaust, fully aware of fue dangers and severe risks to ~ d in accordance with llw resolution of lhe Rnes5ef of march 1il.1enty Fifth, Ilinefeen Hundred and Eighty Five Commemorative Cilizensiiip ofthe Slate of Israel is here6~ awarded To't'ctcr s.(~~AA '& ~~ This recognition is an expression of fue esteem and thanlis harGoured 6y the People of Israel for those Rigfiteous t\.mong the Ilalions robo, through their no&le deeds, rekindled the ligftt of humanity during the darliness of the Ila~i era in Europe:-Jerusalem,lsrael ~t{1tJ 1 / t:J•~t,1'1 1'.l. 01 1'i1 \J'liJ June 21, 1995 Avrnui. Sh<\k'(. ~ t:Jtt1 i .n½11m 1 'rad Vasfu~m Dfredorafo... ;-rj~ l11\J yF r,) (v,.O.v,) eJ1 th1,11t1 J"11~1t'l, 111\?h \1 1~1 'i1'f;J1'i1 The Commission for the Righteous � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144_Termaat_AWD_1985-06-21-Yad-Vashem-Commemorative-Citizenship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yad Vashem Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-06-21 Title A name given to the resource Commemorative Citizenship of the State of Israel Description An account of the resource Commemorative Citizenship of the State of Israel, granted to Pieter and Adriana B. Termaat by the Yad Vashem Directorate and The Commission for the Righteous. In English and Hebrew Subject The topic of the resource Citizenship--Israel Dutch Americans Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng he 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/cde9454ea843b5e4cedff7900660fa93.mp4 e59ecdccd91e71b52b4103a3a5c06ace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/20e6ba79c02f49e84f962babbdf8eb6e.pdf ba684b494030b0b88790996a728a3d3b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Clare Yenor (00:56:59) (00:10) Background Information • • • • • Clare was born on a farm in Michigan on March 8, 1921 They later moved to another small town in Michigan where his father was a butcher and owned his own grocery store Clare’s father’s appendix ruptured and he died when Clare was just 7 years old His mother tried to continue running the store for a while, but she was also taking care of four children Clare graduated from high school in 1939 and began working on houses (5:30) Enlistment • • • • • • Clare enlisted in the Army in April of 1942 He was inducted in Detroit and then sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for training They were marching, following orders, and training in rough terrain There were many men there from Michigan and the rest were from the South Clare went through basic training for the first couple of weeks and then went through artillery training They trained altogether for 13 weeks (12:30) Transferred • • • • Clare was later transferred to the 215th Field Artillery Battalion and they began training with gliders at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Clare was part of the first unit to get involved with glider planes during WWII He spent 1.5 years training in North Carolina During that time he only had one week leave to come back to Michigan, but at that point he did meet the woman who would later become his wife (17:25) Nebraska • • • Clare was part of a cadre that was sent to Nebraska to work with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions They were training other officers to work with gliders; how to land and carry supplies Clare worked with C-47 transport planes, loading supplies and jeeps �• He then began working with a heavy artillery unit (22:00) Traveling Overseas • • • • • • • Clare was shipped out of the US right after D-Day in a Liberty Ship from New York The ship was already slow on top of the zig zag course they had to take to avoid submarines They landed in England and then traveled to La Havre, France where they waited for supplies Clare was part of a reserve artillery unity of the 3rd Army, answering to General Patton There were many damaged buildings in France and not many civilians around Clare had some time on leave in Paris; he visited the amusement park and went to a burlesque show He bartered with American cigarettes and stayed in a nice hotel (26:45) Continuously Moving • • • • • Clare’s unit continuously moved all over France and had to sleep in foxholes Three men died the first night because they were not sleeping in their fox holes Clare was the chief of section of a gun section and felt like he was a baby sitter He did not like his job of keeping track of and watching all the other men He was also in charge of watching over the ammunition corporal (32:20) Battle of the Bulge • • • • Clare was working with very large and loud artillery that could blow one’s ears out Sometimes they were ordered to fire at will and others they used a timing device They were working in the Ardennes Forest during the winter and it was very cold; none of the men have been given the proper winter attire They were continuously moving and attacked by Germans, who were very fast and accurate (38:30) Traveling through the Ardennes • • • • • There were many trucks and other vehicles traveling through the Ardennes carrying guns and equipment Many got stuck and could not make it through the icy terrain Their guns would never freeze up, but they did have to be careful cleaning them Clare was with the first group to cross the Rhine after the engineers had built pontoon bridges He expected lots of resistance, but faced almost none �(44:55) German Soldiers • • • • Most of the German soldiers were just ordinary people that had been forced to fight, but the SS were very strict and greedy The SS looked better fed, trained, disciplined, and equipped After the war most of the German citizens avoided the American soldiers Clare traveled around Germany in trucks moving German POWs (49:35) The End of the War • • • • • • • The government was dividing up men to be sent home based upon how many points they had earned Clare had very few points because he had no dependants and did not get wounded Clare was in Austria when he heard that he could finally go home He was sent back to France and left on a ship from Marseille They took a Liberty Ship home and the ride was much nicer than the one to Europe Clare was discharged shortly after arriving back in the US He got married that April and worked for Consumers Energy for 30 years before retiring ������������������������������������� 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_YenorC Title A name given to the resource Yenor, Clare (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2008 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-08-07 Description An account of the resource Clare Yenor was born in 1921 and lived on a farm in Michigan. He enlisted in the Army in April of 1942. Clare went through basic training in Oklahoma, and after that began artillery training with the 215th Field Artillery Battalion. The 125th was one of the first groups to begin training with glider planes during WWII. Yenor later trained the officers of the 182nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to work with the gliders. He was then assigned to a heavy artillery battalion attached to the 3rd Army in Europe, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine, and the occupation of Germany and Austria. Photographs, certificates, and medals are addended to the interview outline. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yenor, Clare Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a0db85737e00ffb02f80331489aca36c.m4v e5c26ebb6dcff7374c46b9fe888e9c7d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9b33d6daf8cdbc15e6adbe490166682.pdf f8f885dea00e4683f2a12def82126be1 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University Veterans History project Interviewee‟s name: Kevin Yeomans Length of Interview: (01:17:25) Date of Interview: November 16, 2017 Interviewed by: James Smither Transcribed by: Madison Vander Lugt Interviewer: “So we're talking today with Kevin Yeomans of Jenison, Michigan, and the interviewer is James Smither of the Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project. I start us off with some background on yourself and to begin with, where and when were you born?” I was born in Grand Rapids on September 30, 1986. I stayed in West Michigan for my childhood, moved around a bit. Comstock Park, Grandville, Wyoming, Kentwood. Interviewer: “What was your family doing for a living when you grew up?” My mom did daycare out of our home pretty much my whole life. The only time she took a break from that was when she was pregnant with my sister and she worked for a company doing some secretarial work. I grew up with the house full of kids and always running around and playing so yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, was your father around, or?” Nope. Interviewer: “Not there, okay.” Single mother… Interviewer: “Just your mom and doing all that, okay. Where did you go to high school?” I ended up going to high school from Grandville and that's where I graduated from in 2004. Interviewer: “Alright, now what do you remember about 9/11?” �Oh man that's…that for me will definitely be something I'll always remember. I mean, I was sitting in... I can't remember if it was my freshman year or my sophomore year. Okay, I was in German class and the principal comes over the intercom and you knew something's up right away and he's like, hey everybody please turn on the TV, go to the news, and like he...news comes on, there's these burning buildings, there‟s smoke billowing out and I didn't know much about the twin towers before then. Um, but just that was definitely a huge, huge moment. Cool, kind of just ground to a halt, you know? You go home and talk to my mom and I was only 11, 12...13? Somewhere around there. I didn't really understand the whole significance of everything. I knew it was big but I didn't understand all of it. Interviewer: “Okay, so when did you graduate from high school then, it was..? (00:02:33) 2004. Interviewer: “2004, alright. At that point had you decided you were going to go into the military or how did you wind up going in the service?” Uh, for me growing up the military was definitely always an option; my great-grandfather served in the Navy during WWII. My grandfather, he served in the Army kind of in between Korea and Vietnam. He served in Germany. He always had great stories to tell. Um, I realize now that he had great stories to tell because he was in a different era of the Army. Interviewer: “Right.” And then between that was just my cousin and I would always talk about growing up. So then the time came, would have been, would've been my junior year. I kind of said like this is where I want to go. I just, I wasn't a good student at all in high school. Um, so my seventeenth birthday I was in MEPS. Sign the paperwork and then my whole senior year, just like ready to get done and go. Interviewer: “You were in maps?” Uh, MEPS so Military Entrance Processing…I can't remember what the acronym was. Interviewer: “So basically you're going at this point, you're taking the test, or...just preparing so that once you graduate then you go in?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay. Now, why the Army?” (00:03:50) �You know. I looked around, I never looked at the Air Force, but Marine recruiters never seemed to be there. It was just different mentality and I thought it had really come down to the Navy and the Army. And then my grandpa had served, my great grandfather had served in the Navy and my grandfather's experience in the army that kind of attracted me to those two. But like I said, I wasn't a great student, I didn't really want to do more school, and that's kind of what the Navy recruiters were pushing. Like, hey so you can come work on nuclear electric reactors. We'll send you to school for the next four years in the Army. I'm like, I want to be an adventurer. I want to be on the ground. They're like, we can do that. So they gave me what I wanted, and that's kind of why I went there. Interviewer: “Alright, so where did they send you for basic training?” Uh, Fort Benning Georgia. Yup, so I did the one station unit training. So instead of doing, because I was infantry, so instead of doing basic training and then another separate training for whatever my specialty was. It was just 15 weeks of getting yelled at and tired and and physical. Interviewer: “Alright, now the whole basic training process is something that's familiar to people of older generations but not necessarily to new ones. I mean, you see things on movies or television here and there so take us through that. What actually happens; you arrive at Fort Benning and what do they do with you?” (00:05:06) Oh goodness, so I got to Fort Benning…I kind of start like leaving home. I remember being thrown up to the security station, saying goodbye to my mom and then…I still wasn't nervous. I still knew the recruiters and knew all that but then bus comes, picks you up and it could be to Lansing or Detroit but I don't remember where. Maybe I'm mistaking that for when I went to Lansing to sign up too. It's been awhile since I've thought about that. Interviewer: “[But they brought you to the airport and walked you down?]” I don't really exactly remember how I got out of Michigan but I remember getting to Atlanta and then Drill Sergeant showing up to pick you up. And like by that time, by myself really served probably the first time in my life really off on this journey by myself. Drill Sergeant come pick you up and they're not mean, but they're not friendly at the same time. They're slowly getting you used to like what it's going to be like. Then you get brought to Fort Benning, sitting there in like a processing center for, I don't remember if it was couple days or for the couple weeks now. And then get to start to know a few guys and then you all split off and go to your training units and then get to your training units and get off the bus there. That's when you start getting really yelled at. �Interviewer: “Okay. So what does the actual, take us through the training process. Would they do it in sections with different things or was it all rolled together pretty much for you?” (00:06:45)` Um, I mean it was definitely like different events that stick out but it was just kind of a progression. I think the biggest part is getting there, getting used to the guys, and then you start slowly getting to know the different things. Then they slowly add another thing like like, okay you've been carrying around this empty rifle for so long, let's go to the firing range today and use it and start to get used to some of those things that are. But just slowly pulled in new things and try to build that unit cohesion, understanding how things work. (00:07:22) Interviewer: “Okay now were you down there in the summer?” Um, I would‟ve been there in the fall. Interviewer: “So you had a few months after you finished high school before you actually report for duty.” Yeah. Interviewer: “Alright, now what kind of physical shape were you in when you went in?” Better than I am now but not as good as I was. I think when I graduated high school I was probably a hundred and sixty pounds, scrawny. And then by the time I got out of basic training, definitely much better shape, put on some weight. I want to say I was probably around 175. So definitely had some muscle where before I was, didn't have much. I could run but that's about it. (00:08:04) Interviewer: “Alright, and how easy or hard was it for you just to adjust to the life of the Army?” Um, I don't really think it was too hard. You know, in the beginning just I opened myself up and said here we go. Um, especially when you're lower enlisted, I mean. You get told where you got to be and you got one uniform to wear. So as long as can show up on time and do what you're told, you don't have to think a lot until you start getting to, you know, other situations and things. (00:08:34) Interviewer: “Alright, now what size unit were you training with; about how many guys were with you?” �Oh goodness um 40, 50 maybe. Interviewer: “Okay, so basically a platoon that you're with. Alright, now among that group, were there people who had a lot of trouble?” There was definitely a few guys that, I wouldn't say a lot of trouble, but definitely came from probably rougher backgrounds than I did and that kind of pushed back on some things and had a little more adjusting to do than I did. Interviewer: “Alright. Now, what level of discipline were they exercising at this point? I mean, you have the stories of, you know, the older eras, you know, that started beating people up and doing all kinds of things like that. I mean, through what level of discipline was really being exercised there?” You know, I think I grew up watching the movies and seeing the Full Metal Jacket and different things like that. I don't know it wasn't, it didn't seem like it was that tough. As long as you did what you're told, showed up, woke up, shaved your face. I never had too many difficulties with it but, I mean, there were separate conversations had when somebody was screwing up. You know like, hey, it's 3 o'clock in the morning and we're still up because of you. We're going to make sure that we adjust.. Interviewer: “Okay, there is that kind of group discipline thing that goes on and you make the other guys - kind of toe the line through it. Okay, so now over the course of your 15 weeks here so what kind of main things do you spend your time doing? (00:10:18) I mean, exercise every morning, training, studying. I feel like the beginning part you had some more classroom stuff for your just getting to learn some of the language. getting to some of the weapon systems, learning basic patrol base techniques, how to set up a patrol base, how to especially how to walk strategically so if something does go happen you don't all die at once. Um, just kind of just pulling in really basic knowledge on how to be an infantryman. Interviewer: “Okay, now the time you're doing this you knowing we were already in Iraq and in Afghanistan did you have a sense of any of that training was sort of geared toward those places? You know, with basic training it was really just basic [reference] task, you know, like how to not be an idiot. You know, keeping your head on a swivel. You know, how to work as a team so that when you showed up to your unit you weren't completely useless. �Interviewer: “Okay, alright. so you get through the training part now what do they do with you? For me, after the basic training period got done I went to airborne school. So that was four weeks long and that was still in Fort Benning, Georgia. Interviewer: “Okay, now, what does that actually consist of?” That was definitely a nice little reprieve; you had a little more freedom. Could leave base after training was done but it was still pretty similar like show up, doing your exercise in the morning, and then for the first few weeks you go to a hangar and they start.to teach basic task of essentially alright if your parachute goes out this is when you pull your reserve and this is how you do a parachute landing fall and kind of basic task and then, I can't remember if it's the last week or the third week that you start doing jumps, but then you get to go up in the airplane and jump out of an airplane. (00:12:23) Interviewer: “Did they do a thing where you were jumping off of the tower or something like that in between because I feel World War II thing…” They still had the towers, we didn't get to do that. I can't remember if it was, I think it was broken or there was something of the day we were going to do it, if I remember correctly, the weather or something was off. so it was like well we're not doing it this time like we're just going to the airplane. Interviewer: “Alright, so what was that first jump out of an airplane like?” Oh man, I don't remember if it was my first time jumping out. I was, I never remember being nervous. I was more excited and I think one of the memories that sticks with me the most is there's only one jump and it was while I was in airborne school that I got to be the first person in the door and you're sitting in the door and you're just a ball of energy and you're looking out and you're looking down at the ground and you can see the ground but you're still somewhat separated from it and it's exhilarating. So like, I couldn't tell you if I got slapped on the butt, or if I just heard the word “go”, if I saw the green light go off, or what it was, but I just remember Like looking and then all of a sudden like I'm out the door and there you go. And then you see the parachute kind of tug open. While you're 800 feet up in the air our basic training was probably a little bit higher. it would seem like it would take a while but there's so much going on in the air that just like, alright don't run into that guy, don't run into that guy, get rid of your rucksack, alright am I tangled. And before you know it, you're hitting the ground. (00:13:48) �Interviewer: “Alright, now, were there problems with people getting hurt when they landed?” Uh, for our basic training we did have a woman die, so. Interviewer: “Wow.” Yeah. That was a tough one. and we had a few guys that kind of stepped out after that. But never heard the final word on the investigation on what happened, if she had gotten a cigarette roll with her parachute; so if her parachute was deploying, if something happens, so if it just kind of, but still a streamer. She never pulled the reserve. So yeah that kind of halted for the rest of that day and then the thing with the military is, I mean the mission has to go on. So the next day those of us that continued were back in the airplanes jumping out again. I think it was like the first time in 20 years that somebody had died in airborne mission. (00:14:46) Interviewer: “Okay, so now you get through all of that. Do you now get assigned to a unit or do you have other training or what happens?” No. After airborne school I was done. I got sent to my unit. I got sent to the 82nd so that was one thing that when I joined up I wanted to do it and wanted to jump out of airplanes. It would be, everybody's, well most people have heard of the 82nd and the 101st airborne and stuff like that. But I didn't have a slot so, um, kind of go back. I remember there's me and one other guy in basic training that had to compete for that slot. I'm thankful that I got it. My knees and my back aren't so appreciative now, but. it was, I mean, it was a different mentality at the 82nd. Interviewer: “Now isn't parachuting kind of an obsolete skill? I mean does the military still use it very much?” I don't know if I'd say obsolete. I mean, I never did a combat jump. I know there's like one or, I shouldn't say numbers. I know there were, there was at least one combat jump that happened in Iraq to secure airfield. I mean it's just a matter of, you know war is definitely changing. You see 101st is a lot more of the, the fast roping things like that, but I don't know. You can definitely see it being abused, be able to get a ton of guys, you know, to an airfield in the middle of somewhere where you can't get ground troops there right away. (00:16:11) Interviewer: “Okay, but in the meantime, when you're with the 82nd, which particular unit within the 82nd were you assigned to? �So I was with, now I'm going to forget my Company now that I got to say it, but I was with the, I believe it was with Bravo Company 2/505, so the 2nd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Interviewer: “Alright, now when you go and join the units, what kind of reception do you get?” Again, it wasn't like what I expected, you see the movie, you get the hazing. That might have been cracked down a little bit, but I don‟t know. But I wasn't welcomed with open arms and hugs and high fives but this is your unit, you get dropped off standing at the CQ desk, and I can‟t remember what that acronym means at the top of my head but you're standing there waiting and they take their time to come get you. I can‟t remember if it was my squad leader or my platoon sergeant that came and got me. I‟m guessing it would have probably been my squad leader, comes gets me, starts showing me around. People will look at you and they look you up and down and kind of measure you up and move on. Don't say hi, here‟s your room, here‟s your roommate, this guy is going to square you away, you know, you be at formation the next day, whatever that is. (00:17:30) Interviewer: “Now what was the unit doing generally, or was its assignment at the time that you joined it? Was it just in-base hanging around, or?” Yeah, so with the 82nd...I‟m probably going to mess things up. It‟s been awhile since I‟ve said it. There was three different training cycles; there was division ready force one, on which we were on call. So one of the things of the 82nd is we could be anywhere in the world in 24 hours. so there was always, I can‟t remember if it was a brigade or a battalion that was always on division force one. So those were always a tough few months because you‟re not supposed to go anywhere, you‟re not supposed to drink (we never drank), and just be ready to go. And then you had a heavy training cycle where you‟d be out in the field a lot and doing missions and training, whatever that may be. And then you kind of have like a slower few months where either you‟re going home on leave or you‟re doing some classroom training or doing some other maintenance stuff within the unit, things like that. (00:18:32) Interviewer: “Okay, now, had your unit before you joined it, deployed either to Iraq or Afghanistan?” Yeah, I‟m trying to remember what the last deployment was before I got there, but there was definitely, some of guys that I had served with had gotten deployed both to Afghanistan and Iraq, I don‟t remember the time frame. I know a couple of my buddies had gotten there at the tail end of the Afghanistan deployment and then had deployed to Iraq…? �Interviewer: “So there were at least some people who had been someplace at that point in the unit.” Yeah Interviewer: “Now, do you think they had gone as a unit or had they been in other units and then just reassigned to your Battalion?” There was definitely a lot of guys that had been in that unit. There was a few that had come from other units Interviewer: “Alright, so now you're with them and then, now, where is the division based?” (00:19:28) So that‟s going to be Fort Bragg, North Carolina. So Fayetteville which, I don‟t know if a lot of people know of Fayetteville, but I think it's relatively in the middle of North Carolina. Interviewer: “So there's not a whole lot of built-up stuff around it otherwise.” No Interviewer: “It‟s a very large base, it‟s got a lot of space. So, now when you're doing the training, is this where you're doing a lot of the practice jumps and this kind of things? Is that a regular thing to do or do they do that just occasionally?” Yeah. I feel like we did a jump every few months to stay proficient. by the time I left the 82nd I had 15 jumps. Yeah I remember getting back from. getting back from Iraq and if you hadn‟t had 15 jumps before the deployment, they were making you do remedial training. So you had to go through this whole like month-long course. So I just squeaked by that I had to go and mess around with that. (00:20:26) Interviewer: “Alright, now, so in that period there, you‟re at Fort Bragg for like a year or so before you deploy?” Yeah Interviewer: “„Cause you go in in „04 and you‟re taking the rest of 04 to train.” Yup, so I got to my unit sometime in „05 and then we deployed in August, September…? Yeah so fall time frame of „06. �Interviewer: “Okay so you got. you‟re still there at Fort Bragg, so what was daily life like at Fort Bragg during that period?” Daily life; I mean, wake up at six, some days you‟re still drunk, some days you‟re hungover. Usually still pretty tired no matter what it is. And you go down, get in formation, do your morning routine and then usually off at around, usually ran every day and then come do push-ups, sit ups, maybe a rough march, whatever it may be. Go back, cleanup, eat breakfast, report to the Headquarters, and then see what the daily tasks were and then go out from there. With the 82nd, when we were in the, when we weren‟t heavily training, I mean, a lot of times we were out there, out of work fairly early so we could go, hang out, relax and then that way when we were in division ready force one or in the heavy training cycles, the men, the guys with families were able to spend some time with them. And then took the younger of us that didn‟t have families were usually started drinking. (00:22:14) Interviewer: “Okay, now was that on-base or off-base, or? Were there clubs on base that enlisted men go to? There wasn‟t really any clubs on base that we went to. I‟m sure, I mean there was the officers‟ club and things, but I mean, we usually just drank in the barracks or we‟d go off post and there's a few little watering holes that we liked to go to. Interviewer: “Okay, now were you paying any attention to kind of what was going on overseas or keeping track of where or when you might go somewhere?” (00:22:44) I figured we‟d just get told, I mean. You know, I was lower enlisted so I just did my job. I showed up in the right uniform and, you know, made sure I had my hair cut and looked the part, and just did what I was told. And they would tell me when I was going to go and what I needed to do. Other than that, I just… Interviewer: “Alright so how much in advance of the deployment do you get notified that you're going to go?” So before our deployment they had told us that, “Alright we‟re going to deploy”. So we kind of started getting ready, then right before we had a leave scheduled, they said, “Nevermind. It‟s cancelled, it‟s off” So that wasn't surprising. Before we deployed to Iraq, we had actually deployed to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina so that's kind of what happened then, they‟re like, “We heard the news that this is happening. Word came that we might go.” So like we were going and then we‟re not going, and then we‟re going again and then we‟re not going. And the news says we‟re going, so like “Hey, we must be going”. (00:23:53) �Interviewer: “Well, talk about the Katrina deployment. So you go to New Orleans after the hurricane, so what did you do there? What did you see?” So for Hurricane Katrina, that‟s definitely another one of those memories that will stick with me for awhile because I had, I haven‟t told my wife this story yet, but I had met a girl, I had gone when I went on leave, one of my buddies from New York had met a girl. So she had come down because we had a four-day weekend scheduled. We were going to see if this was something we wanted to explore or if it was something that “it was nice to meet ya” but she had come down, got there early Friday morning so we help my buddy move and we kind of have the night to ourselves, kind of talking, getting to know each other. Get the call in the morning, “hey, get to work „cause you‟re on division ready force one. We are deploying to New Orleans.” Alright so we grabbed our bags, we go. We‟re gone all day Friday and we have our bags packed. I remember building the pallet of our rucksacks and things like that and watching some of my buddies getting on the airplane to go to New Orleans and sitting there with a couple other NCOs and [things like that]. You‟re just sittin‟, waitin‟ and we‟ll be on the next plane to go. And all of a sudden we see these guys coming off the airplane and we get a call like, “hey, get the rucksacks off. We‟re not going. So we roll back into my buddie‟s apartment late that night, I can‟t remember if it was 11 or 1. So I potentially come home, see this girl, talk for a little bit and the just pass out. And, again the next thing, I mean the next day I think it was like we start doing some things, like. “hey, get back into work, we‟re really going this time.” So that time we really did go. Packed our bags, got on the airplanes, got to Hurricane Katrina. One of the things they kept telling us was like, “Make sure your rucksacks are full of water like we don't care if you got enough clean underwear but we don't know how much good water there is. We don't know when we'll get clean water.” So we‟re carrying around, I mean, ginormous, heavy rucksacks, load up on the plane. As soon as we get off the plane to get to the airport there is just pallet upon pallet upon pallet of clean bottled water–so we were prepared but thankfully we didn‟t have to like ration our water for the next couple weeks. Got from the airport, shuffled around. Ended up getting put up on the Coast Guard base there in New Orleans. Somebody pointed one of our guys, like “that‟s” your building, clean it up, make it your area. So we spent the first couple days just making the area where we could live. Potentially just set up some tents and “alright, this is where we‟re going to live for a while” Did that for a few days, and kind of did the hurry-up and wait for them. We‟re sittin‟ there for a second like alright, now what are we gonna do. Then finally we got connected and like “alright, we‟re going to go out on missions. We‟re going to hook up with…” I think we ended up hooking up with a couple Coast Guard guys. And they keep telling us “don‟t get in the water, the sewage. Don‟t get in the water.” So I remember at that time they had made me a temporary radiotelephone operator for my platoon sergeant. So I‟m following him around, we get the little rubber, zodiac boats. Get that in the water and Coast Guard guys jump in and start pushing it away from the little, low island of actual dirt we had and I look at him cause we‟d just been told for days “don‟t get in the water” he �looks back at me and just goes *shrug*. Starts walking in the water so we got wet right away and then just ended up patrolling on boats for that the first part of the day. (00:27:54) Interviewer: “So what was the point of all that?” We were going out and just looking for people that were stuck in their homes Interviewer: “Okay.” Saying like “hey, we can get you back to dry land and we‟ve got some stuff set up. Some people were like “thanks but no thanks” and then I remember there was a couple other people that we were able to get back and get to dryland get some aid. End of that first day, I remember there was a guy and his dog that we got and that one stuck out for me that day. But, just kind of looking around and, I mean you‟d see just houses flooded. I remember one that will stick in my mind is there was like a wrought iron fence where somebody had left their dog that it looked like the dog had been trying to squeeze through and had got his hind-end stuck in the fence and drowned that way. There was definitely things like that but then after the end of the first day, I mean kind of soggy and wet and tired. We‟d load the zodiac boats back on the trailer and we had one last one to go, bunch of us trying to get it on top of the stack. We couldn't quite do it so I go around the back of boat and I push up and I was just, a wave of the sewage water washes over me. It‟s in my mouth and you're like oh man, but thankfully I was one of the first guys to get shower. I was probably 1 of 2 guys that got shower that night. And then we slept the night, and then kind of went back after the next day. Just kept going through, seeing if we could help people. Another memory that will stick in my mind for that day, or for that week is, I‟ll tell a sad one first and then I‟ll tell the happiest one. I remember going into the, not the Superdome or whatever it was, a big coliseum… (00:30:00) Interviewer: “Well Superdome was yeah that‟s what they used as kind of a big concentration area.” So yeah I remember walking in there, and that it smelled rancid. It was...it looked like a different country. It looked like something you wouldn‟t see in America. I remember seeing like dirty diapers there's crap on the wall, human crap on the walls and there were blood smears on the walls, there‟s like rotting food. It was like something you‟d see in a horror movie. It was just, whatever went on in there wasn't good for those people. So by the time you went through there, it was emptied out, and they had been brought to other aid shelters. And now that I‟m talking about it I‟m remembering more and more memories. So like we went through there, there was nobody still in there, we got out as fast as we could. On another patrol, I mean, one the reasons we were brought in was because of looting and things like that. So, you know, we weren't walking around with loaded guns, but kind of, we were prepared if anything did happen. So we‟re walking �around; we've got our uniforms on, got our berets on, we‟re walking. We‟re not walking in a group, but we‟re walking like a military unit. So there‟s a guy here on this side of the road, a guy here on the other side and staggered the whole way down. I'm in the middle with my platoon sergeant and I‟ve got this huge radio on with a huge antenna sticking out my back. And we start walking up to this checkpoint and I‟ll never remember, I mean I'll never forget, this cop like sees us coming like puts his hand on his gun and like “Stop! Who are you? Stop! Who are you?” and my platoon sergeant looks at me this time and is like “Is this guy serious?”. He didn‟t say that out loud but he kind of looks at me and “We‟re with the Army…?” and like the cop puts his gun away then he gave us, he gave my platoon sergeant and I a little tour of New Orleans and it was one of the most surreal moment of my life. So we‟re driving through and trying to get the lay of the land and he‟s like “Here's this statue” like giving us a tourist like of so-and-so jazz musician and like “Oh, there's the dead body” and keep driving on and kind of just weird stuff like that. It was just tourist things you know like “oh, we got somebody here” and very weird experience. So we got done with that. went back home at the end of the night and kind of just went through that grind over and over again. (00:32:47) Interviewer: “So how long did you stay down there?‟ Months, three weeks? I'm not sure on the time frame. It‟s one of those moments in my life where it's just like the days kind of blended into one another so there's different moments highlighted but I couldn‟t tell you if we were there for...we were there for more than a week but If it was two weeks, three weeks, a month, I don't know. Interviewer: “So you were keeping pretty long days and you're out there walking around a lot so you get kind of pretty well worn out. And did you have, I mean Coast Guard station, did you have actual bunks and things to sleep in or were you just..” No, no bunks they just gave us a little place where we could set up camp and where we set up camp. Interviewer: “And there you were, alright so you come back from that and how much of a gap was there you think between that deployment and actually going to Iraq?” I feel like that was pretty quick turnaround, I mean, I feel like we got back, kind of got a few things done and started to prepare to deploy. So yeah we got back Floyd [?]. “ Hey, you‟re deploying” then getting ready to go home, “oh you‟re not deploying” So I‟d go home, come home. I got my nipples pierced and like “Oh, we‟re not deploying!” Seemed like a great idea at the time. Interviewer: “Okay.” �Um call all my friends, family, tell them I‟m not deploying. Get back to base...oh by the way, we really are deploying so not going to have a fresh wound going into a foreign country so took the nipple rings out, called my family and friends, said “hey, we are deploying some time within the next few months.“ (00:34:38) Interviewer: “Alright, so now what is the actual deployment processing? Do you go anywhere else to train or to prepare you for being in Iraq first or did they just load you up at Fort Bragg can send you overseas?” Oh yeah. We went down to Louisiana to do, I can‟t remember the acronym they used for it but we went down there for like a month and did some training and that was more focused on the situation in Iraq so got some guys that were recently back and talking about different things on like how to look for IED 's. You know, trying to set situations to get used to the different culture which, I mean, you can‟t get used to it until you‟re there but getting used to people walking around and women walking around with their faces covered and just different things like that. Interviewer: “Okay, so there is some [special] orientation or something because you really haven't had any specialized training at this point that was geared toward the Middle East.” No, not especially. I mean like as a weeklong training course a lot of that's just, you know, the guys that been there already trying to teach us what they've learned and building that unit cohesiveness and just. You know, our training activities were definitely more geared towards what was going on in Iraq but, there's nothing like we did in Louisiana before then. Interviewer: “Okay, now do they have people who were sort of playing Iraqis or whatever? Did you get the practice encountering civilians or things like that or were they just telling you about that stuff?” No, in Louisiana they do, I mean...you're interacting with civilians, but I mean, it‟s just another private dressed up in , you know, different type of clothing. So, I mean, some of those guys that were playing the civilians hadn‟t actually been there, so they‟re, you‟re doing your best to create the situation and, you know as best as you can. (00:36:40) Interviewer: “Alright, so now what's the actual process for getting into Iraq?” Get on a plane, fly, I can‟t remember if we stopped in the states, but we flew to Germany, layover there. Get back on the plane; we‟re only there for a hot second. They didn‟t want us there for too long. Back on the plane and then flew into Kuwait. Fom Kuwait we took some tour buses. I can‟t remember...I remember getting on the tour buses like driving through Kuwait and you‟re trying to �take as much as you can in; there‟s light and it‟s dark. But then like driving through the desert on these tour buses and nothing the pictures I‟ll look at occasionally, but we got stuck! Well you‟re driving through a big beach so like this big tour bus gets stuck in the middle of the desert. We all pile off the tour bus and we just sit there and wait till another tour bus comes to pick us up and hopefully that one doesn't get stuck. I don‟t remember how long that trip took but eventually we got to where we needed to be. And yeah, I can‟t remember if we...I doubt we took the tour buses all the way to Tikrit but there's a gap in my memory between the tour bus and how we got to C.O.B. Speicher. I don‟t know if we got into another military base and took a quick flight, but that sounds right. But eventually we ended up at C.O.B. Speicher in Tikrit. Interviewer: “C.O.B. Speicher?” Yeah, command operating base…? Interviewer: “Okay.” Goodness, i don‟t remember what the acronym actually stands for. Something operating base. Interviewer: “Okay, command operating base makes some sense; it has a “c” to start with. And now, were there other units based there that you were joining or was this kind of you were taking it over or what was the deal?” So C.O.B. Speicher was actually a really big base. It‟s actually an airfield, an Iraqi Air Force or Army airfield before the war so it‟s pretty built up. There was all sorts of different units there, but for my company, because we were so far spread that our company was detached and attached to an artillery unit. We‟re not really using, well at that time we weren‟t really using a lot of artillery in Iraq so we were kind of tasked with being the infantry unit for that whole area of operations and doing our best to train the artillery guys on, essentially how to do more infantry tactics. How to, you know; do route secure, how to do security for high-value people and yeah, that‟s kind of what we were tasked with for that area. I don‟t remember the name of the Artillery unit we were attached to but that was a pretty big base. (00:39:45) Interviewer: “Okay so are you going off the base a lot and into the surrounding area, or are you staying on the base, or what's happening?” No, we definitely tried not to stay on the base; too many rules. But we did a few different things. There was the provisional (00:40:05] reconstruction team that was working with the local government and local officials to try to build some stability and structure and then also to negotiate like, this is my understanding so it might not be perfectly clear, I didn‟t get told everything, but “We‟ll give you this money but it's for this” and then kind of following up and �doing our best to make sure they use the money for what it was given to them for. And this would kind of build relationships. And then, for that we just, we‟d convoy out of the base, bring them to the governance building, set up a perimeter and then full security for however long they were going to talk to you for that day. Just sit there and talk and try not to be complacent or take your eyes off them, make sure nothing happens. (00:40:55) Interviewer: “How long was the deployment?” The deployment ended up being 15 months, so we were part of the surge that kind of happened towards the end, so we got extended for three months. Interviewer: “So you initially go out there through the surge, hasn't started yet, now was there much hostile activity going on?” In our area it was relatively quiet, I mean there‟s still guys taking potshots at us and trying to blow us up. But, I mean, I feel like our area was fairly quiet for the time we were there. Interviewer: “What impression did you have of the Iraqis themselves?” I mean, what I tell everybody is, I mean yeah there‟s people that didn‟t like us, it's a different culture but, you know. I am more than. more positive than ever that 98/99% of people, all they want to do is, you know, put a roof over their heads, feed their kids, and have their kids lead a good life. I mean, that was most people that I ran into over there. There was definitely, it's a different, very different culture. Different level of there‟s very open corruption. I guess just... they don't try to hide it very much. And, wasn‟t healthy to become the police chief. I know one of the guys that we were working with at the time got killed in his driveway and like the guy before him got killed in his driveway. There was Iraqi police checkpoints where there was times we would find an IED and we‟d find the wire and we‟d go follow it back and “Oh, it‟s an Iraqi police‟s little checkpoint box” and “Oh! we had no idea!” or it‟d be a house that was 50 feet from where they were stationed, [sure he didn‟t] (00:42:43), so I mean there's mostly good people but there is also some different stuff. Interviewer: “Okay, well did you see much of the Iraqi military or are they someplace else?” Yeah, we did do some interactions with the Iraqi military. One of things is after, I don‟t remember if it was three-months, I don‟t remember if it was six-months into our deployment, but we lost some of our friends. So what we did is after that was one of the areas that we were operating in, to secure the area more, we set up a patrol base. And that patrol base ended up being in the Iraqi Army compound. So they gave us an old warehouse that we set up shop in and then we just kind �of worked with them to do security and do different training missions. That was definitely a big part of our goal was to train these guys so they‟re confident and competent and could kind of takeover their own stuff. (00:43:43) Interviewer: “Okay, and how did that go?” It was a mix. You know, it came, coming from our unit in our military where it was more established and there‟s a different level of discipline. I mean, I don't, it seems like there was some guys that were in the Iraqi Army that were just there because there's no other jobs. There definitely wasn‟t the same level of discipline but there were also some really good guys. The name escapes me at the time, but one of the colonels in the Iraqi Army that we work with was really solid dude and was trying to build it up and like both were kind of men that we looked for to hopefully build on what he was able to do and keep getting them stronger. Interviewer: “Now would you do a lot of patrolling in built-up areas or towns and villages or were you a lot in the countryside, kind of where were you?” I was both so I mean Tikrit was definitely a bigger city and we did definitely patrolling through there and then on the other side of the river there was, I‟m not going to say the names right but Ad Dawr and Hujamah [?](00:44:53). They were two little smaller towns. I don‟t...I think Hujamah was a little bit north and that was kind of, seemed almost like an apartment block and then you got Ad Dawr to the South which had...was more like a small town, small city kind of feel but there‟d be other times where we get some information they say like “There‟s this bad guy out here, gotta go check these houses”. So I‟ll never forget that we had a really good Lt that prior to this said “Yeah, that was really solid”. I remember sitting there and like getting ready to go somewhere and our Lt would point like we gotta go that way. You‟d look that way and you‟d see nothing but desert so you‟d end up driving for “x” amount of hours and all of a sudden you‟d come up to this little compound that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and go knocking on doors. Yup so there was definitely a good mix of being in the city to being in the middle of nowhere. Interviewer: “Ok so just as to reference, “L” “t” refers to lieutenant?” Yes. Interviewer: “Ok so he‟s your platoon leader basically?” Yup. �Interviewer: “Okay and then we go ahead and we‟re knocking on doors. So you're searching houses, you‟re trying to find somebody?” Yeah, so there‟s, I mean there was two kinds knocking on doors that we did where we‟re actually knocking on doors and talking with people or other times where we would do a raid where we were kicking in their doors cause we suspected, you know, some bad guys were there. (00:46:22) Interviewer: “And were there rules for how you went about doing that?” Yeah, there was definitely rules of engagement, so I mean, I served with good guys who didn‟t want to kill anybody unless we had to. So I mean, that‟s the thing, you never know how good your intelligence is. So I mean, there‟s times you‟d be, you‟re going to these homes, I mean, so sometimes you have to be thoughtful because you're going to a home with these kids. There‟s definitely one house in particular I remember going in and the front of the home had this big metal door. So whenever you‟re going to do a raid on a house you want to be in it quick before they know you‟re there, but we didn‟t get in that house very quick. So we got a sledgehammer and a crowbar and hit the door and *gong* like the whole neighborhood had to be awake. So like by the time we got in the house, everybody's just on high alert. We get in to the first room and there‟s one of the older ladies of the house that‟s just, she‟s losing her mind crying, you know she thinks there‟s someone there to take out her family. So we see her and then out of the corner my eye I see somebody come out of her room or something like that so turn and there was just a kid there so I‟m like “What the heck is going on?”. So I mean, you always had to be careful when you did something like that. (00:47:52) Interviewer: “Okay if you're going to a place where you‟re not breaking down the door, what was the procedure? If you actually knock on a door and expect someone to open it, what was going to happen or how would you behave?” Usually for those kinds of ,missions I was more on the periphery like watching, making things happen. Interviewer: “Okay.” It would be my lieutenant with our interpreter that would you know, go knock on the door the interpreter would talk with them and then just like “Hey, we‟re looking for these people or we‟re looking to do this…” you know trying to build some relationships. A lot of the stuff that Iraqis would've been done more through, like groups. So they have the sheikhs (00:48:40) that are overseeing like a group of people. That was really key if you could get the sheikh on your side and work with them. You‟d see a lot less roadside bombs, you‟d see a lot less people shootin‟ at �ya whereas the U.S. (00:48:55) in particular is very friendly that you‟d be a little more laxed on, you know, making sure people weren‟t tryin‟ to kill ya. Interviewer: “Alright and so during the time you were there, there were parts, there were areas in Iraq where there was a lot of violence and there were a lot of IEDs, there was a lot of trouble and Al Qaeda resistance and things like that. And that brought on sort of the whole surge strategy and the idea and principle that involved having small units kind of going out in the community and staying out in the community and securing different areas which would expose you to more attacks but also directly confronted enemy fighters. But another piece of that was also figuring out who the local power brokers were and connecting with the sheikhs and trying to give them things that they wanted in exchange for their help. Now in the area that you were in. how did the surge strategy play out? What aspects of that did you see?” (00:49:50) For us, I didn't see a lot of change. I think we were kind of already doing that so we didn‟t see any more units come into our area at the time but definitely was, you know, it was a lot of work with the local government like, “Hey we‟re nice, we‟re not trying to rule over you. Don‟t blow us up, please.” You know, what are your problems? Just like you said, if we could avoid getting blown up or doing anything like that we really try and do that. So yeah, that was one of the reasons we set up the patrol base too was we realized that being on C.O.B. Speicher we were on the other side of the river and there‟s this whole, you know, whole other area that we had to go into and be a part of that we weren‟t [...] (00:50:36) on the ground, we couldn‟t do security. Just getting over to that area took a day because we drove slow. You‟re not driving at 80 miles an hour, you‟re driving at like 25, 30. So we set up that so we could be in that area and be a part of it. (00:50:51) Interviewer: “Now did your unit take any casualties while you were there?” Yeah, we lost my one buddy that was coming back from the patrol base back to C.O.B. Speicher one day. We were just driving back, saw some different IEDs, some of our guys got out of the trucks, followed the wires back to the shack and just all of a sudden you just hear this *boom* and he was gone. We had another guy that had just got to our unit. He actually shipped over to us in Iraq, I mean he was maybe eight-, he had to be eighteen if he was deployed with us. He‟ll never be the same. He‟s not dead but he‟s not himself anymore. So that was a tough one. He was a kid too that never felt like talking with him and talking with some of the other guys that were with him on the rear deployment, the guys that stayed back to make sure we‟re getting everything we need and stuff they squared away at home. It seems that he was pushed by his dad to go in. So like his dad pushed him, he wasn‟t like “Oh, I‟m ready and happy to be here”. Good guy, would've been happy to serve with him for years but you know for him to be in country for �like maybe a week and that's it. You know, that‟s something that‟s tough to talk about. I‟ve talked about it a few times it's gotten, I don't break down crying anymore but that‟s something I‟ll remember for the rest of my life. That‟s something that pushes me to be better so. Interviewer: “But, on the whole were incidents pretty rare, were you actually hit, or would you hit IED 's that wouldn‟t do very much damage or did you just not get that many?” We definitely got a few, I couldn‟t tell you all the numbers. Personality, I was blown up three times. There‟s definitely a couple that stick in my mind that happened to me personally. One was I just got back from mid-tour leave and we were driving down the service road and, I was driving, and we hit an IED. You know, thought I lost another friend. Thankfully, he was alright. We didn‟t lose anybody but by that time in the war and where we were at we were driving around a normal, small tank. The Humvees had so much armor plating added to them and A big glass armor windows that we could take a lot of damage. But yeah, I remember “Chris, Chris, are you alright?” and finally he‟s like “Yeah” and just... *gestures / sigh of relief* He was fine. Interviewer: “So the IEDs those would normally be while you were in vehicles they would go off or would you get any even while you were on patrol?” We didn't, I mean, we lost my one friend because they had dismounted but a lot of the stuff we‟d hit would be set up to get us on the roads when we were driving. One thing that we had talked about, the Louisiana training, and one of the questions they ask is how would you identify like what would be out of place and I‟d say “well, trash on the road”. And they- I remember the guy stopping us and saying like, “In America, yeah you‟re not going to see a lot of trash in the roads. If you see like a big garbage bag or something it can be out of place. In Iraq, that's not going to be the case”. And it‟s true, I mean, there was trash all up and down side of the road so it wasn't as easy as saying, “Oh, like hey, there‟s this bag of trash, what could that be?” It was, you know, there could‟ve been a pile of trash that was already there that they put something over and the roads had been blown up so many times that there might be a pothole that was fixed and you're used to it. Well, they might pick it up and put a new bomb in that hole and then all of a sudden, “Oh hey, they‟re blowing us up, again”. I don‟t know if I answered your question fully. (00:54:54) Interviewer: “Yeah, so basically there is a certain amount of stress or tension there whenever time you go out. There‟s a prospect that something could happen even if most of the time it doesn't. But you said you got blown up three times so were you just in vehicles that got hit with IEDs each time?” Yeah. yeah the second time, the other time that I really remember was I would‟ve been in the gun. We were driving back after a night raid. Driving back to base and then all of a sudden just...I don‟t remember �hearing the noise. I remember all of a sudden being pushed back and like not being able to see for a second and you‟re like, “What in the hell just happened?” And then I was in the rear of the truck so like I‟m trying to get my gun back in working order in case you're going to try to start shooting at us next. You know. trying to get the gun going, we‟ve got a flat tire, it just happens like that. You know, I remember thankfully we were in the armored humvees because we get back and there‟s a piece of metal that was probably about *gestures* that long and about that thick that was stuck in the glass that had it been a little bit higher, had it been going a little bit stronger, I wouldn‟t be here talking to you today. Interviewer: “Okay aside from IEDs did you, I mean, actually have much other kind of enemy contact or was it just that or did like...were you ever in a base, for instance, that got hit with a mortar round or anything like that?” I mean C.O.B. Speicher was so big that when we were there...if it happened it usually wasn‟t close to us. Patrol base never really got hit. The one benefit of being the only infantry unit in the area was that the guys there are paying attention and watching. So I think that they realize like who was a well-trained infantry and who were the artillery guys. So I mean, they didn‟t seem to mess with us a lot that we had a different mentality that if you shot at us what we were going to do next. I remember the one day that we did kind of have like a little ambush or whatever set up on us. I‟m sittin‟ with a gun in the Humvee and we‟re just doing our normal routine; check in at the different checkpoints and I making a jelly cracker, and we got another guy out pulling security. So I‟m like going to get this ready and snack on it while I‟m watching and get my jelly cracker ready, sit down, my seat breaks, bust my butt and I was kind of sore, trying to like rig up my chair again so I can sit. And I had my little swing or whatever you want to call it and the next thing you know you hear shots coming in and you‟re like “Alright, what‟s going on?” At that moment it seemed like it took a while but same time it's almost over and done. That was the day that we had, I don‟t remember what the guy‟s rank was but, he hadn‟t been outside the wire too many times so he‟s out taking pictures and kind of wandered off by himself a little too far and he got saved by his body armor. That‟s one of the things that we had received before going over, with some little side pouches that protects us and he got hit right there. Another guy we were with, frickin‟ fool, ran out and dragged him back so thankfully neither of them got killed. But yeah, just little stuff like that. Usually they pop shots at us. (00:58:33) Interviewer: “So there was an individual sniper and then fire a couple of shots and then vanish or would you get a more...did you ever get a more extended firefight at all or…?” No they never took us on head-on, I mean, they couldn‟t have. Interviewer: “Okay, now you said that you‟re there, in principle your deployment would've been at most a year, like normally?” Yeah, it‟s supposed to be 12 months. �Interviewer: “Yeah, okay [we know the deployment] (0058:59) gets extended, what‟s the response in the unit when you find out you're staying?” I mean, we weren‟t happy about it but it wasn't a complete morale killer. I think the toughest part were for the guys who had families. They had gone on leave really early. So I had a buddy that, we had only been in country like 3 months before he took his leave so I mean he‟s going to go a year without seeing his wife and kid. That was really tougher for me, I didn't have, I mean I had family but I was a single guy and no kids waiting on me so. And I was one of the last people to take leave so I kind of take the risk on the other end. I mean, I think I was only supposed to be in country three more months by the time we left with them. It worked out for me because I took it at the end so. Interviewer: “Alright, now did you have a sense that you were making any progress or did things seem to be the same when you left as they were when you got there?” You know, as lower enlisted, I didn‟t see everything. Hopefully we made a difference in some people‟s life but it‟s going take more than us staying there for a few months or a few years. And It‟s If we‟re trying to change something- If you want to do big things, it takes a big amount of time. Like we talked about with the surge, to win hearts and minds and to become a part of the communities, can‟t do that here. So I didn‟t feel like we made some big changes. I think we helped hopefully add some stability for hopefully the good people that were in the area to start cleaning things up and put some infrastructure in but, I mean It‟s just you can‟t build relationships in just a year. Especially when they‟ve seen it for the last six. They know that you're going to be gone in “x” amount of months and then somebody else is going to come in and they‟re going to have to restart the conversation. Started to make a big change doing things like that. (01:53:00) Interviewer: “Alright, so now you‟re finishing your deployment kind of late in „07; now how much time did you have left on your enlistment at that point?” So we got back in November-ish and I think I had about a year, a year or so left on my enlistment. So, got back, I was thinking about reenlisting. I enjoyed the infantry, I enjoyed jumping out of airplanes but at that time I realized there was more I wanted to do. I wanted to do some more, thinking kind of stuff, looking at military intelligence or whatever that might be. So I was in the process of getting my security clearance squared away, I found out “Hey you‟re being shipped off to Fort Hood”. I tried to protest. So the difficulty there is I didn‟t want to go. I wanted to start this next phase of my career, but if you decline an order they would‟ve let me stay but then I couldn‟t have reenlisted. So I tried to like “Well I don‟t have the required time”. You‟re supposed to have like two years left on your contract or something like that, and they‟re like “Oh, we‟ll waive it, don't worry about it”, like “okay” so off to Fort Hood I went. And then that's when I realized that, I mean, there‟s a lot of good guys that serve there and I don't want to diminish them or what �they‟ve done but there was a different mentality in the 82nd. There was a different level of discipline and the things that I saw that when I got to Fort Hood that, just my time to be done. Interviewer: “Now what unit was Fort Hood?” That would‟ve been unit of the First Cavalry. I didn‟t get too attached, by that time I was just disillusioned. I realized this wasn't going to be the rest of my career that, you know, I was just a cog in the machine. It‟s a great thing the Army has a overall huge organization that‟s hard to run but it just wasn't for me and I was ready to be done. (01:03:09) Interviewer: “Alright, now let‟s backup again a little bit. Are there other incidents or memories or impressions from the time in Iraq that kind of you...stand out for you that you haven‟t brought into the story here yet?” Oh goodness, no that‟s the one thing, like sittin‟ here today like when we talk about New Orleans or things that kind of you remember then talk about Iraq there‟s different things. There's always different war movies and things like that and I remember seeing Jarhead after I had deployed and not the greatest movie but there's one moment where he‟s talking about his time deployed, the character, and he‟s like “ It‟s like 99% you do nothing and then there‟s just 1% of just craziness” And that‟s exactly what it‟s like, you‟re just...there's so many days and hours and time for just sittin‟ in the middle of the desert staring at nothing I felt like and then there‟s these brief little moments of craziness that get highlighted. You know, there‟s good moments and bad moments you can know the guys that, for me it was all guys that served next to. You know, you‟re sharing memories and you know, just doing little things. Whether it‟s you know, you found a way to sneak a little booze into camp and you know you‟re having a drink and you‟re trying to let loose a little bit but not too crazy and also not get caught so you don't have a whole, you know searchlight on your unit. Just little moments like that. (01:04:39) Interviewer: “What kind of, actually something we should‟ve gotten into earlier, what kind of living facilities do you have, I mean when you're on C.O.B. Speicher for instance? You know are you setting up barracks or things like that or were you just sleeping in bags, or…?” Oh man, by the time we got to C.O.B. Speicher, that place was a resort. They had a Burger King and a whole bunch of other junk that you could go to. A big ol‟ chow hall and that was always nice coming back from our month-long patrols and our whatever it would be and you‟d come back in dirty and you‟d have this chow hall guard telling you you can‟t come into the hall because you‟re dirty. You just look at him like “We will roll through you right now”. We‟ve been out for a week, we‟re dirty, nasty, we understand it but we‟re hungry. We could roll through the chow hall and you‟d get pizza, chicken, and whatever the hell else you wanted, that was definitely a resort. �You‟d go back to, they call them CHUS, I don‟t know if I ever knew what that acronym was, something housing unit. There‟s like a single, wide trailer split in two and three guys were in a half and it had air conditioning and then one of the guys I served with, he was from Guam. So that's definitely a tight knit community that we were able to...I say we, I just followed him around and carried stuff. Santiago, went to some of his family that had been prior [?] deployed. We had a satellite hooked up so we had some TV and we had an Xbox like that was, that was not a hardship duty while we were at C.O.B. Speicher, but then when we did our time out in patrol base Woodcock that, that was definitely a warehouse where we had some showers and we had to, you‟d lose water pressure sometimes. So like you‟d lose power because somebody in the power plant was trying to give us grief. So then our lieutenant would call up to the company command and this company commander would call up and somebody would have to go out and give the guys at the power station a little trouble. (01:06:41) Interviewer: “Did you have contact with home? Did you have e-mail or Internet or anything like that?” Oh yeah, when we were on patrol there on C.O.B Speicher they had a little phone hut set up so we could call and there were Internet stations but because we had Santiago's connections that we had little satellite Internet in our room. Wasn‟t always fastest but I mean you‟d do some emails and certain things like that. I can‟t remember all the different lower restrictions and I don‟t remember emailing a lot while I was over there. I'm just, I think that‟s something they kept a pretty tight lid on just for security reasons. Interviewer: “So little different world from one that involves written letters and that kind of thing” Yeah. Interviewer: “Alright, anything else out of the Iraq period that you want to bring into the story?” No, I think, you know, the biggest things that I wanted, you know I look at and I talk with people about Iraq is that, you know kind of like I mentioned that this long-term change and its a lesson I learned in my life that if you want to do big things you got to dedicate a big amount of time. No matter where we‟re at in the world, there‟s good people. I mean there‟s very few people that want to go out and murder, kill, and massacre people and rule the world. I truly believe that there's good people and that's how we‟ll make a difference is by building those relationships, having those conversations and building a better world. (01:08:11) Interviewer: “Okay, so now we‟re going to go back. So you‟ve gone, you‟re at Fort Hood, you‟ve basically decided, okay I'm going to get out. I guess one other thing there was when �you come back from Iraq, do they do any kind of debriefing for you or do they talk to you at all about transitioning back to being in the states? Or do they kind of just bring your back and leave you to your own devices?” It's a little bit of both. They get back and that‟s one thing they talk about, especially to the guys that had been deployed and then had successful marriages that watching out for the guys that had deployed for the first time. That they've been through it and watching out because you don‟t have to deal with, there‟s a lot of stuff you don‟t have to deal with when you‟re deployed. You don‟t have to deal with the kids crying so like, making sure that those guys are doing well and that's not necessarily like big Army but that's just the guys in your unit taking care of each other. You do get kind of put on a month lock down where you‟re not supposed to go on leave or anything, keep everybody pretty close to home. There‟s a couple times I almost got in an accident, even after I'd been home for a while because when we were in Iraq, we owned the roads. We weren‟t ever going fast but, stop line didn‟t matter. We‟d put on our sirens and you‟d stop or you stopped. So there‟s a couple times that I come up to an intersection, quick, brief, make sure nobody's coming, all of a sudden I blow through a red light. There‟s a couple times that I had some close calls. They try to keep you close to home and give you that chance to kind of reintegrate but there‟s nothing like the one step programs just like you‟re here, you're staying close until this time period. (01:10:00) Interviewer: “So once you decide that you are going out and you're not reenlisting and so forth, is there an exit process?” Yeah, there‟s definitely lots of red tape. Just had some good friends that had kind of told me beforehand like, you‟re going to have times where you get your records and you got to bring your records from one place to the other. before you do that make a copy for yourself because it's if you talk to other men and women that have tried to get their military records or health records from the military after they‟re out, it's an absolute nightmare. So you get given this checklist, you go to this briefing and then you just start checking stuff off a list; turn in your old uniform, turn in your rucksack, check and somebody signs off. You just walk around with your little folder and go “Here you go”, sign, check, okay I‟m good. Like, oh I gotta do this, Just go through the whole rigmarole. There‟s that one day really, the one last stamp and put it down and they stamp it and like, “yay, I‟m free!” Interviewer: “Alright, so what do you do after you get out?” (01:11:06) For me, I got out of the military „09. I got in my Jeep and I drove straight back from Texas. I had a friend come down and ride with me but just straight trip back home to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Got back and my original plan was to kind of take a second. I was fortunate that I had not used all of my leave so I got a good chunk of change from that and had saved up a little bit of money. I was going to take some time off and go to school right away. That didn‟t happen because I got �home and at the time I was 23, all my friends by that time are either finishing up college or with their careers so it wasn‟t like before I left where it‟s like “Hey, its Tuesday at noon, you want to go do something?” You know, I‟m sittin‟ there living with my mom going “do do do do doo” (melodically) and started ended looking for a job and I end up working with DT energy, so the gas company here in Michigan. I worked for them in Muskegon doing meter reading and loved the job. I would've stayed there for the rest of my career there; good guys, good company, they took really good care of me, but then ended 2010. That‟s when I found out about that post 9/11 G.I. Bill. So that kind of got me to go back to school. It was still a tough decision, you know, like knowing that I would‟ve had a good life but the post 9/11 G.I. Bill with them paying tuition directly to the school, giving me a book stipend and giving me a housing loan, so I didn‟t have to worry about going to school full time and working full-time. Went back to school. That would‟ve been 2011 that I started. Started off at Grand Rapids Community College, figured things out there again and then started at Grand Valley in 2012, 13, whenever that was. Graduated from Grand Valley in 2015 and then that's when I was a student there is, they pushed me to do internships and ended up doing an internship at the March of Dimes and that‟s when I figured out that‟s where I needed to be was in the nonprofit sector. I loved...the part about the army that I really loved was service and that's what I found being back in nonprofit sector so that's what I do now. I work for nonprofits and I raise money so we can do great things. (01:13:31) Interviewer: “Alright, now you had mentioned that you had not been a particularly good student in high school and things like that. Did you become a better student somewhere along the way or how or when does that happen?” Yeah, I think definitely realizing that, you know, the plans I had in high school, that‟s not tough. I mean, that definitely helped a lot. Like I've been through things that will serve me for the rest of life that I can just be like, meh, it‟s not so bad. I‟ve got a roof over my head, my bills are paid, and I‟ve got food in my belly, so I‟m doing alright. I think the military was definitely a big part for me in those experiences I had. You know, I had a lot of good guys that pushed me to do good things, in the military and outside. So I think for me, going back to community college kind of helped me figure it out. You know, I thought, “I'm 24, I know what I'm going to do.” I didn‟t have a clue what I was going to do going back to college, so that gave me time to figure out. Didn‟t have the greatest GPA leaving community college, but then going to Grand Valley, they allowed me to start over with a fresh slate. That was kind of my moment of realizing where...you know, when I joined the military, there was always the option that I could come home, when I joined DT energy there was always the option that I could quick go back or do something else, well now after having my life experience in being at Grand Valley there wasn't like...if Grand Valley doesn't work out I can just go back and work at DTE. Like. I could try and get back in there but there was no like, what's next. Like, I've fully dedicate myself something. So having that realization then having my experience of like, “This isn‟t so bad! You show up, you write some papers and you just pay attention and do what you need to do.” It‟s not so bad. (01:15:21) �Interviewer: “So some of...so you are taking things out of that Army experience that you now get to apply in the rest your life or at least gives you that sort of perspective on things.” Oh yeah, there‟s days I hate to admit it, you know, there‟s kind of the...I don‟t know what the right word for it is but the stereotypical guy, “Oh when I served…” you hear those guys when you‟re in and you‟re like, “Yeah, sure”. Now I‟m to that point now I'm like realizing all these things I learned about working for a company, setting strategy, setting goals, staying focused and kind of how to organize, and sometimes just little things that I don't realize. One of things that when I was in was I was always required to carry a notebook and pencil with me. Well now that I‟m back in the corporate world and you talk with people when you‟re out and about, stuff comes to you at random moments, having a notebook and a pen, and sometimes its a cell phone now, it serves you well and you don't lose track of things. So there's things big and small that I‟ve taken from and sometimes I'm like that guy, “Well when I was in... “ or “I learned this from the Army” and it‟s like, it‟s a fine line. Interviewer: “But it really did make a difference in terms of helping you become the person you became.” Yes Interviewer: “Alright.” That‟s one thing that I've talked about to some of the younger men and women that come and ask me questions is, there's guys that I served with that came in saying, “The Army will change me” and that‟s not, the right mindset is “The Army gave me the opportunity to change myself. I was able to leave home, I was able to break out of that box that was already built around me” and say like “Who do I want to be?” and “There's all these people that don't know me so I can be this man” and that's the greatest expenses that I‟ve been able to take away is, I was able to become the man I wanted to be. Interviewer: “Alright, well thanks for good stories and thank you very much for coming in and sharing.” Thank you, Jim. � 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_YeomansK2172V Title A name given to the resource Yeomans, Kevin (Interview transcript and video), 2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-11-16 Description An account of the resource Kevin Yeomans was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1986. He enlisted immediately after high school in 2004, trained as an infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and served in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His unit was scheduled for deployment to Iraq in 2005, but first took a detour to New Orleans to help with relief work after Hurricane Katrina, where they spent several weeks patrolling flooded areas and then providing security in the city. Not long after returning from that assignment, the unit deployed to Iraq and were based at COB Speicher near Tikrit, where they conducted patrols and searched houses for al Qaeda supporter. They took some casualties from IEDs and snipers, but saw no major firefights. The unit returned home in 2007 after 15 months in the field. Yeomans was eventually reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and was discharged in 2009. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yeomans, Kevin 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 Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American: United States 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> 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/843d83917c190866fd2267cdaca1923d.m4v c8ad12bf18f33cd333e60ae14ed68e8f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f717ac0fb41be0e857b4a73fccefd499.pdf 7fb1b5d70378efc42152260cfa8938f7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project Vietnam War Michael Yocum Interview Length: (01:38:51:00) Early Life / Training / Pre-Vietnam Service (00:00:33:00)  Born in Seattle, Washington and raised in the Mount St. Helens area (00:00:33:00)  Joined the Air Force right out of high school; when testing to get into the military, his test score was a seventy-five, only ten points above the lower limit (00:00:43:00)  Only two services had jet aircraft, the Air Force or Navy (00:01:25:00) o Yocum had high ranking relatives in the Navy and he did not want to run into either of them and the Navy would not guarantee him what he asked for (00:01:35:00) o The Air Force gave him a signed contract that he would he asked for, so long as he passed their school, which he did (00:01:53:00)  Going into the Air Force was the only way that Yocum was going to get to work on jets because they had none of the technical schools at the time (00:02:08:00)  Signed a six month delayed enlistment but he forgot to read the final line at the bottom, which said, “Or to the needs of the service” (00:02:26:00)  Command called the recruiter and told him to pick up Yocum and get him down to Portland, Oregon to ship out (00:02:48:00) o Portland was a major military processing center, everybody except Coast Guard went through and was where recruits had their physicals and received their assignments (00:03:01:00)  Yocum’s assignment was Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas (00:03:23:00)  Boot camp was a lark because Yocum was an athlete and in good physical shape and although it was a lark, there still was discipline and the men learned to be military (00:03:48:00)  After boot camp, he want to Amarillo Air Force Base for training as a jet aircraft mechanic (00:04:18:00) o They also had heavy aircraft at the base and Strategic Air Command (SAC) tried to get him to switch but Yocum said “no, he wanted fighters, not bombers” (00:04:33:00) o When in school, he had a contract saying that he would not get certain things (00:04:49:00)  In training, he worked on trainer aircraft, aircraft that for some reason were not flyable, but were good for someone to learn how to repair them (00:05:11:00) o Some of the parts were wore out due to the number of times they had come on and off (00:05:29:00) o Would go through sections, beginning with a basic section – the aerodynamics of the aircraft, and moving up (00:05:34:00) �   o There was both classroom and practical training (00:05:54:00) Started training on the F-80, the first jet aircraft in the Air Force inventory and he also worked on the F-100 and the F-101 (00:06:28:00) Completed training in Amarillo and was then assigned to Glasgow Air Force Base in Montana, a SAC base (00:07:14:00) o Fighter mechanics did not have good SAC appetites (00:07:28:00) o Yocum was assigned the job of transient alert, taking care of the planes coming into the base, i.e. non-base aircraft (00:07:39:00)  Most were fighters coming in from the West Coast headed east or vice versa (00:07:46:00) o The base was out of the way but a perfect drop-off spot (00:07:54:00) o Was at Glasgow for approximately eighteen months (00:08:01:00) o Worked twelve hours on and then thirty-six hours off (00:08:13:00)  They had to have crew that was alert and ready to go on when needed; like a fireman, many hours of twittling their thumbs then instant action (00:08:24:00) o One of Yocum’s jobs was taking out the “follow me” truck and bringing in the B-52’s drag chutes, which weighed six hundred pounds (00:08:43:00) o Had an excellent group to work with and they got along well (00:09:07:00) Then went to RAF Bentwater in Great Britain (00:09:13:00) o Learned quickly that in Europe, when they mentioned a Sunday driver, he moved away from the driver because it referred to a driver that could afford to only drive one day a week (00:09:20:00) o One time, another guy went to the beach, became too tired and tried to return home the next day and he and Yocum went up opposite sides of a hill and they both ended up in Yocum’s lane (00:09:36:00)  They crashed and Yocum had fourteen major fractures of the face and lower jaw (00:09:53:00) o Yocum was in the hospital for two months (00:10:11:00)  The Air Force had to send him to a civilian hospital because they did not have the proper equipment on the base or the time to get him to the better hospital at Leighton because he was so injured (00:10:19:00) o Dr. Gay, the surgeon who worked on Yocum, specialized in facial reconstruction and when Yocum arrived, Dr. Gay came in to check on another patient and ended up picking to work on Yocum, saying that he was the doctor’s to work on (00:10:37:00) o He had to sit on the gurney because when they would lay him down, the bones would move, causing pain; two police officers tried to do it at the accident site and Yocum “threw them about twenty feet” (00:11:12:00) o Dr. Gay really put his face back together and Yocum only lost two teeth in the accident, although because of the accident, through the years, he has slowly lost his teeth (00:11:33:00) �     Could not have a facial injury and he does not get into situations that made an injury possible, including riding horses (00:11:55:00) o The Air Force made checks on him, including sending a specialist, but Dr. Gay would not sign off on until he believed Yocum would be safe to go back (00:12:35:00)  The Air Force could not have gotten him the same quality of care at Leighton because they did not have the same quality of surgeons (00:12:51:00)  Dr. Gay rebuilt his face to the point that someone could not tell Yocum had been in an accident and the only way to tell was to look at pictures from before and after the accident (00:13:05:00) o When he got out of the hospital, he was given light duty for six months and not allowed to even go into a hanger, for fear that he might fall, so he worked on tech orders i.e. filing the changes (00:13:19:00) From Great Britain, he went to Maxwell Air Base in Montgomery, Alabama, which was strictly an officer’s training base (00:13:59:00) o Still worked transient alert, although now he had twenty four hours on then seventy two hours off and one day off a month, meaning he had a seven day period when he did not have to report to duty (00:14:21:00) o Spent off time having a blast and when he was there, he volunteered for Vietnam, but they turned him down three times before they allowed him to go (00:14:44:00) o The air base had a federal penitentiary on one side, so the base was locked down several times whenever someone got out (00:15:04:00) o Had no issues with officers and staying at Maxwell caused him to look at officers as persons, rather than as entities (00:15:22:00)  Once a month, they had a code-seven fly into the base, a full colonel or above, for conferences and everyone else they parked in the “outback 40” and took care of them when they could (00:15:34:00) o That was the one time he saw a real F-80, who came in from Mexico with guns loaded and rockets armed and they had to call an Army missile base to send someone down to dearm the aircraft; the aircraft turned out to be an original 1950’s model aircraft (00:15:55:00) The Air Force turned down his Vietnam requests because they did not want to have to replace him; they had somebody good and they tried to hold on to him (00:16:51:00) o He knew he would have to go to Vietnam so instead of being grabbed and given non-volunteer status, he wanted volunteer status (00:17:01:00) From Maxwell, he spent three months at Clovis Air Force Base in New Mexico training on the F-100 aircraft and from Clovis, he went to Phan Rang Air Force Base in September, 1967 (00:17:14:00) Not everyone in a squadron went to Vietnam at the same time; they started with the ground crew, then the NCOs to train the ground crew and then the officers (00:17:41:00) �     On most aircraft, to change a tire, they would slide the main wheel over the brake but on the F-100, they put on the main wheel then slid in the main brake, attach the hydraulic system, and bleed the hydraulic system (00:18:08:00) o A main tire change on the F-100 took and hour and a quarter of work, but when working on the F-101, twenty-five minutes and Yocum was done changing the tire (00:18:28:00) Taking the aft section off the F-100 to fix the engine was difficult; most aircraft allowed the engine to drop out, but with the F-100, they had to take the tail section off (00:18:42:00) The F-100 was the first of the serious dedicated fighters, including afterburners (00:19:04:00) o Afterburners were a kick in the butt when the pilot wanted to move, but they used copious amounts of fuel, so if a pilot used afterburners, he used them with caution (00:19:29:00) The crew Yocum worked with got to the point when they did an aft section off, people thought is was a Chinese fire drill (00:19:49:00) o Yocum’s first job was to get onto the back of the aircraft and put the engine hanger until the others pinned the engine so it would not roll out of the aircraft (00:20:12:00) o Another one of Yocum’s jobs was breaking loose the four nuts that held the aft section on and once the repair was complete, Yocum’s job was to torque the nuts back into place (00:20:38:00)  Took three thousands foot pounds (one hundred and forty four inch pounds to a foot pound) to torque the nuts back into place, whereas an average car tire requires sixty to eighty inch pounds to be torqued (00:21:01:00) Was at Clovis to learn the F-100 and its inner sequences and to get him over to Vietnam, where he could be working and training at the same time (00:21:47:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:22:05:00)  Flew on a commercial aircraft leased to the military on an eighteen hour flight in a packed 707 aircraft (00:22:05:00)  Passengers were all military personnel because Cam Ranh was the dispersal point in Vietnam and when they deplaned in Cam Ranh, they divided up amongst the different services (00:22:25:00)  Getting into Cam Ranh was stepping into a sauna bath; high moisture and high heat, but he was used to it from growing up where he did on the upper West Coast (00:23:00:00)  At Phan Rang, he was assigned to the 352nd Attack Fighter Squadron, which was flying F-100s at the time (00:23:43:00) o Nothing on the base except F-100s and OV-10’s, an observation aircraft used to drop markers on Charlie for the F-100s to attack (00:23:51:00)  While a Phan Rang, five or six times, they loaded daisy cutters, a thousand pound bomb with a sixteen foot fuse in front (00:24:16:00) � o The bomb would explode two inches off the ground, leaving no hole but destroying everything above two inches for a five hundred to one thousand foot radius from the impact point (00:24:32:00) o Bombs would destroy anything but was used mainly to create landing zones in the jungle for helicopters (00:24:49:00) o One time while he was there, they had a high priority to get create some landing zones (00:25:02:00)  They knew a North Vietnamese Army Group was in the jungle somewhere and the Air Force ended up finding them serendipitously (00:25:10:00)  The spot the Air Force had chosen to drop the daisy cutters was directly in the middle of the Army Group, leaving nothing much but a sponge job (00:25:20:00) From Cam Ranh, he took a C-131 out to Phan Rang (00:25:56:00) Phan Rang (00:26:06:00)  Good sized base, although today would be considered a medium sized base, with an emergency runway built with planking at the starting of the base and a concrete runway and taxiway (00:26:06:00)  Had three layers of fencing, each one covered with razor darts and tm wire, which would cut through even a leather glove (00:26:33:00)  They also had Army troops at the base and they would wake up at night when the Army stopped firing the 105s because when it was silent was when they worried (00:26:56:00)  One of the first things the enlisted men in the squadron did was look at their bunker and decided it was not safe (00:27:08:00) o They sat, designed, and built a new bunker which could take a 105 round direct hit and not collapse (00:27:26:00) o They tore down the old bunker and proceeded to build a new bunker (00:27:43:00)  Took two 50 gallon barrels, welded them together and filled them with sand and on each side, they had two layers of sandbags and an openings they filled with sand (00:27:46:00)  Covered the roof with old planking and did the same thing with the sandbags (00:28:18:00)  Planking was a honeycombed landing strip designed to be dropped in a place so a plane could land (00:28:32:00)  Coming under fire was not common but it happened enough to make them realize that they needed some kind of protection (00:28:56:00)  They had a new base commander come in about four or five months following the Tet offensive and they received a mortar hit on the base (00:29:07:00) o At the time, Charlie did not have a base line, making it difficult to pinpoint attacks on the base and during the attack, the new commander got on the AM radio and gave Charlie a complete hit report (00:29:24:00) �        o The others drove an APC down to the command center, put the commander into it, drove the APC onto a C-131 and flew the commander out of county (00:30:21:00) o Charlie had no base line to attack the base, not allowing to move their artillery and although the commander was trying to calm people down, he just used the wrong entity to do it with, the unsecure AM radio (00:30:57:00) o The base was hit a more frequently following the incident (00:31:36:00) Incoming fire was mostly mortars (00:31:41:00) o The enemy tried rocket attacks but whenever they would launch the attacks, the Air Force would have something hitting the launch sites and shooting the rockets out of the air (00:31:48:00) They could go off base from seven am to six pm (00:32:02:00) o They had three men from New York who decided to get haircuts at 5:00 and miss curfew and all three ended up dead (00:32:13:00) o If they were off base and it was after six, they were dead (00:32:42:00) They had civilians working on base and if they worked on base after six pm, they stayed on base all night and were released in the morning (00:32:58:00) Vietnam was his best time ever in the service (00:33:18:00) From Vietnam, he went to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and ended up going to another tech school (00:33:28:00) o At one point, Yocum had a disagreement with an NCO and Yocum gave “him a physics lesson” (00:33:40:00)  They were on the second floor of a building and they did not have landings to go down to the first floor and the NCO told Yocum to do something non-military, which Yocum took affront to (00:33:53:00)  The NCO kept giving Yocum bad reports and one night, he ticked Yocum off too much and Yocum leaned him over the side of the staircase then slammed him against the wall (00:34:10:00) o A week later, Yocum was in another tech school (00:34:33:00) Every base came under attack during the Tet Offensive (00:34:51:00) o The enemy had tunnels between the second and third row of fencing out (00:34:55:00) o First row was the base perimeter then thirty feet out was the second fence and another thirty feet out was the third fence (00:35:02:00) o The army forces defending the base dropped a mortar round directly into the tunnel (00:35:25:00) Everyone was on high alert for all the entire Tet season, meaning sixteen hour days on the line, not including personal time (00:35:37:00) o Normal day was twelve hours a day, six days a week, although sometimes they went up to fourteen (00:35:58:00) o They would get exhausted but would be refreshed by the day off (00:36:10:00) The actual attack on the base did not last long because they had 105 artillery and the infantry and no enemy made it onto the base (00:36:28:00) �      The enemy tried to bombard the base, but this was before they had the base line (00:37:16:00) o They had an Army construction unit on the base, which fixed any problems to the point that the enemy could not tell what had been repaired and what had not (00:37:22:00) o They knew that Charlie sent people in on base as workers but there was not a way for them to tell where the rounds had impacted (00:37:53:00) In thirty days, they had a turnover of the entire squadron from bottom to top (00:38:30:00) o They had ten days to get the bottom troops used to the situation, then on to the NCOs and finally the officers (00:38:38:00) o The officers did not come in with a completely green unit; the others were not ripe, but they were not green either (00:38:57:00) After being in the military for eight to ten years, he could not go to a place without running into someone he knew (00:39:41:00) o The military is a very big small town and the longer Yocum was in, the more he knew, both jobs and people (00:39:53:00) Was at Phan Rang from 1967 to 1968; arrived at the end of his fifth year of service and left at the end of his sixth year (00:40:12:00) In the 352nd, they worked with munitions people; they did not specify only doing specific jobs (00:40:34:00) o When the munitions people were loading the .50 caliber guns, they would tell Yocum readings on instruments around them so that he could do service on them (00:40:48:00) o They worked as teams, splitting each group in half and working on two planes at once (00:41:28:00) o One time, some high ranking officers had to have combat time and at the appointed time, the planes from all three bases squadrons were not ready; within thirty minutes, the 352nd planes were locked, loaded, and moving out (00:41:47:00) The 352nd had a much higher performance level than the other two squadrons on the base (00:42:19:00) o They did not have turf, saying that only a certain man could do a job; if a job needed to be done, then they did it what they could (00:42:21:00) o The enlisted men decided serendipitously to work together, instead of against each other (00:43:12:00) o Munitions had arrived a month before the mechanics; they changed units by months so that there was always crews on hand (00:43:32:00) o There was nothing wrong with doing something you could do to help someone get the job done quicker, which was the whole idea behind working together; the work had to be done, either singly or together, so why do more work than necessary (00:43:54:00) o The major and the captain in the squadron allowed the men to continue working together; there was no animosity as long as the job was being done 100% correctly (00:44:27:00) �     o They worked as a unit, half mechanics / half munitions to get one plane done (00:44:46:00) The pilots were a separate group of people; they would come in whenever the plane was ready in an air-conditioned van (00:45:05:00) o The ground crew would assist in prepping the aircraft, starting it, marshalling the plane out, and sending it on its way (00:45:17:00) o The Air Force is easier about contact between an officer and an enlisted man but there is still a line dividing them; the two sides got along and got to know each other, but they did not fraternize with each other (00:45:45:00)  The officers did not go to the NCO club and vice versa (00:46:09:00) Normal week was twelve hours a day, six days a week, then up to fourteen hours a day, six days a week, then seven days a week and when it really got bad, it was sixteen hours a day, seven days a week (00:46:27:00) o There was always at least two time period groups overlapping each other; the new group would talk with the old group to figure out what was happening and once everything was going well, the old group would go back (00:46:42:00) The planes had been built in the late 1950’s and had done their time, but Yocum saw things that dispelled the myth that the aircraft could not do something; i.e. an F-100 with a two foot diameter hole in the wing that should not be able to fly, but the pilot managed to land the plane on ground successfully (00:47:12:00) o When they had unload the equipment from it, what was left of the airplane was hauled over to the fire pits for the firefighters to train on (00:47:55:00) o One time, he was running a Deuce and a Half truck to start up an aircraft when another Deuce and a Half caught fire and Yocum attempted to haul the plane to safety (00:48:15:00)  Another man, seeing what was happening, swung a cable and dislocated Yocum’s ankle (00:48:30:00)  Yocum believed he was dead because they had napalm and antipersonal bombs on the plane (00:48:53:00)  They had to send someone running after Yocum to catch him (00:49:56:00) Yocum did things in Vietnam that under normal conditions are physically impossible to do, including a standing high jump of twenty four feet (00:50:02:00) o A stray bomblet was coming towards a group and when it impacted, it did not explode; they could hear crickets because there was nobody around, they had all somehow gotten out of the way (00:50:19:00) o They had twenty-four foot tall steel walls, which Yocum cleared and then flattened his body down (00:50:43:00) They had a pilot that they hated because he was guaranteed one main tire change whenever he landed (00:51:08:00) �      o One time, an enemy plane fired an HE 20 mm shell that went up the intake and lodged in the instrument panel in front of the pilot (00:51:23:00) o The rounds were made to explode upon impact and if the pilot landed rough, then the round would explode; the pilot ended up landing smooth (00:51:59:00) o The munitions crew dearmed the aircraft, the ground crew took the canopy off and took the seat out (00:52:39:00) o Yocum told the men working on the instruments that they had a choice: they could go in an disconnect all the instruments or Yocum could go in and cut everything eighteen inches back (00:52:50:00)  The instrument panel was held in with thirty-six spring snap locks and Yocum had to make sure that the locks did not snap, or the round would explode (00:53:21:00) o Yocum ended up freeing the panel, hooking wires from a crane to the panel and getting off the plane before gingerly moving the panel out with a wire (00:53:58:00) o They built a thirty-six diameter sand bag pit and buried the panel plus a quarter pound of C4; the explosion nearly lifted the panel back up (00:54:20:00) o When they wanted the instruments, Yocum took what was left in a box plus a letter saying it was combat damage and gave it to supply (00:54:43:00) Went once to Bangkok (00:55:36:00) Was going to go to Japan but they had an alert and they canceled all leaves (00:55:39:00) o They had to fly planes up near the Vietnamese border and by the time they were done, he did not have enough time to take the R&R (00:55:53:00) Going to Bangkok was nice because he could relax; he did not have to worry about the bad guy being one or two chairs over (00:56:14:00) They were always nervous when they initially left the base (00:56:26:00) o Yocum had a pineapple hand grenade thrown into his lap; it did not go off and Yocum is still trying to figure out how he put his body through a steelrimmed hole smaller than his body (00:56:34:00) o With the right incentive, you could do almost anything (00:56:55:00) o Yocum had been off-base, downtown, getting on a “putt-putt” cab to return to base when a grenade came in, bounced once and when it hit again, it exploded (00:57:02:00) o The Vietnamese would take a bicycle and pack the frame with C4; three or four pounds of C4 would go off against the wall, so that the blast would come out into the street (00:57:40:00) They were always in non-combat situations, although they did receive some combat situations; their main job was to make sure that the grounds guys had airplanes ready for them to use (00:58:16:00) Information on the success of the mission the crew participated in was classified (00:58:57:00) �    o “Don’t ask, don’t tell”, even if they knew the officer; if they asked, then the officer had to report them (00:59:01:00) They knew quite a bit about the actual war because Phan Rang was the in-country R&R location of the 1st Infantry Division, the “Big Red One”, as well as a base for Australians using the B-57 (00:59:17:00) o They had sources of information; including the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, and some radio programs (00:59:44:00) o They did not know which operations they were supporting; that information was strictly “need to know” (01:00:18:00) Another memorable moment was when “Puff” came online (01:00:51:00) o “Puff” was an armed C-47; an old C-47 changed into an AC-47 by placing gatling guns transversed through the fuselage (01:00:58:00) o At night, they could watch as a red arch went from the plane to the ground; only every fifth round caused the red arch, indicating a tremendous rate of fire (01:01:17:00)  Take a football field, including end zones, and divide it up into one foot squares and within three minutes, every square would have a bullet in it (01:01:50:00) o The firing sounded like a buzzsaw (01:02:17:00) o They could see the plane in action because they knew where to look; at night, they would look in a specific area (01:02:27:00) o “Puff” would land at Phan Rang to get serviced before returning to their main base; one of the planes that came in was older than Yocum, the frame had been built in 1942 (01:02:49:00) o When they went up to the C-119 and AC’d them, they became a nasty aircraft; when these planes came online, they gave “Puff” to the Vietnamese to use (01:03:23:00)  The aircraft carried two 75 mm recoilless rifles in the tail, four 20 mm gatling guns, and another pair of recoilless rifles (01:03:43:00)  The planes could attack from the side or the tail and Charlie hated them because they could not hear the planes (01:03:59:00) o If the planes spotted Charlie, the whole area was saturated (01:04:08:00) o The C-119 was just coming in when Yocum was leaving but he knew about them (01:04:18:00) Anybody worth his salt had a hundred day calendar; as soon as he hit a hundred days, he had the calendar up and was marking it off (01:04:31:00) o Near the end, everybody was packing up and getting ready to go while waiting for their replacement body and as soon as someone’s replacement arrived, the first person left because they did not have enough bunks for two groups (01:04:49:00) They did the replacements in a steady enough flow so that there were no problems (01:05:07:00) o In the last ten to twenty days of their time, the Air Force would bring in a group of ten to twenty guys and twenty guys from the base would leave; some men left before Yocum and some left after (01:05:14:00) �     o The replacements had to be trained and shown what to do (01:05:45:00) o Yocum does not know what happened to the 352nd after he left, although he knows that it was deactivated (01:05:48:00) In a war zone, you were either the best or the worst; there was not mediocre because they did not have time to be (01:06:00:00) o The men he worked with were the best group of guys he had ever been with and although he cannot hardly remember any of the names of the men he served with, he does remember what they did there (01:06:12:00) While he was recovering from his dislocated ankle, he was placed temporarily in charge of non-powered equipment (01:06:24:00) o The position was supposed to be temporary but the man Yocum served under received an emergency, had to return to the United States and Yocum stayed in the position for the rest of his tour (01:06:36:00) o Yocum eventually got payback (01:07:00:00)  He had ordered thirty-six rolls of three inch wide reflective tape but instead he got three rolls of thirty-six inch wide tape (01:07:09:00)  The tape was non-returnable, so whenever someone needed to put a number on their vehicle, they would have to barter with Yocum (01:07:25:00)  Yocum eventually had the best spray guns, compressors, etc., because every piece needed a number on it (01:07:36:00)  He even ended up with a cargo container to lock his stuff up in, when before he had just a wood shack (01:08:01:00) o He wanted to get back to working on planes but he did not because there was no one able to take over the position (01:08:23:00) o They flew a man in when Yocum had forty-five days left so that Yocum could show him the ropes (01:08:31:00) Returned to the United States September, 1968 (01:08:55:00) o Any time someone transferred, they had the opportunity for leave, so long as they had the time and they could borrow time, but only up to fifteen days (01:09:01:00) o Yocum had been in country for twelve months without leave, so he earned thirty days worth of leave (01:09:12:00) o Came back and landed in Seattle and on his leave, he circumvented the United States; did not complete the last six hundred miles of the trip, although he completed it later when he had a new car (01:09:24:00) Following his leave, he reported to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho; he lived six hundred miles west of the base and on a three day leave, it took him ten and a half to eleven hours to get home (01:10:16:00) College kids had changed their attitudes towards soldiers, thanks largely to inept politicians (01:10:55:00) o The one guy that Yocum thought he could trust was Walter Cronkite, but he turned out to be one of the worst; people trusted his word and he lied, which really upset Yocum (01:11:05:00) �  o Yocum had to be careful when he was around college towns because the students would go after anything military and those who went to Vietnam paid the price and never received a welcome (01:11:35:00)  They went out and did what they had to do and the students had no right to criticizes them (01:12:02:00) o Walter Cronkite would cherry pick the news scenes to show what the soldiers were doing, both good and bad, although the soldiers did more good than bad in comparison to the news (01:12:08:00)  They helped with building schools and tried to interact with the local people, but the news portrayed them as gunning down everyone they saw and blowing everything up (01:12:24:00) o Yocum felt bad for the little girl in the famous napalm photo but Charlie was there and he always hid behind the civilians (01:12:46:00) o They had places that they could not attack and this was where Charlie was (01:12:59:00)  Charlie had an old temple which served as his munitions storage but the Air Force could not attack it (01:13:05:00) o When they stopped the B-52 raids, they had Charlie broken if they had not stopped the raids; once Charlie figured out the Air Force would only go so far, Charlie knew they had the Air Force (01:13:24:00) o Presently the politicians are not micromanaging as bad as they did during Vietnam but there is still political micromanagement (01:13:45:00)  Let the military do the job it was trained to do; if the military had its hands tied, then they could not do the job as well (01:13:51:00) Like World War II, the military had to go in and decimate Vietnam and then let the country rebuild (01:14:26:00) o They had to go in and win the war first, then go in and do the politics; do not go in and do the politics while fighting because it would cause the military to lose (01:15:12:00) o He sees World War II and the veterans are not angry, the Korean war and how the veterans were a little angry, and finally Vietnam, were the veterans are angry because they were punished for not doing the job and not being allowed to do the job (01:15:57:00) o The soldiers did not have the ability to make decisions (01:16:26:00) One thing he wishes they had back in Vietnam was the A-10 attack fighter; the ground crews love it and the pilots love it because they are well-protected (01:16:32:00) Post-Vietnam Service (01:17:08:00)  Was discharged from the Air Force in 1980 (01:17:08:00)  Starting at Mountain Home, he was an aircraft mechanic and this was where he had the disagreement with an NCO (01:17:18:00) o Air Force policy was to separate the men, so they sent Yocum to test school and the NCO was not allowed to reenlist because soldiers had to be given the invitation to reenlist or they would not be able to reenlist and they would have to request retirement (01:17:30:00) �     o Yocum knows a man who was discharged for twenty-six years without retirement because his son did something illegal overseas (01:17:57:00) If a soldier’s family does something wrong, then the soldier loses his enlistment, which was what happened to Yocum (01:18:15:00) o Yocum fought his discharge and managed to get to Jimmy Carter’s desk (01:18:44:00) o He was not scheduled to be reviewed until January 27th but on the day before Thanksgiving, he was told he only had six days to leave the base (01:18:48:00) From Mountain Home, he went to Germany, where he served for four years; originally was to be three years but the after their eighteen month party, their time was extended another twelve months (01:19:19:00) o Was at Bitburg Air Force Base, the Air Force Base that President Reagan flew into (01:19:56:00) o There was a controversy because the news media portrayed the President as he was going to lay flowers at an old SS cemetery, when in reality, he had to go past the cemetery to even get out of the base (01:20:29:00) o Excellent base to serve at; got to know his ex-wife, who he married and brought over to the United States (01:20:49:00) From Germany, he went to Griffiths Air Force Base in Rome, New York, where Woodstock II occurred (01:21:02:00) From Griffiths, he and his wife lost a child and so the Air Force reassigned him to an Air Base in Spokane, Washington (01:21:17:00) o He and his wife had another child and Yocum received orders in 1976 sending him back to RAF Bentwater (01:21:34:00) He should have known something was wrong with the troubles he was having, but he did not and when he found out, he exploded (01:21:47:00) o Personal information that destroyed his career (01:21:58:00) Post-Military Life (01:22:13:00)  When Yocum was discharged, he was angry and although he is still upset, he is not angry because the Air Force did what they had to do (01:22:13:00)  Upon discharge, Yocum did not look for work and instead tried to get medical because he messed his back up when he was stationed at Griffiths; he bent over and ripped every muscle in his spine (01:22:33:00) o Over time, the pain has gotten worse and although he does the exercises that he can, he is limited (01:23:01:00) o The injury makes him unhireable because he is not able to do simple tasks, such as stand for two hours or lift his back (01:23:09:00) o It took him seven years of non-government funded therapy to get over his anger (01:23:47:00)  Married his second wife just before his discharge in November of 1980 (01:23:52:00) o He did not plan to be reviewed until late January or early February of the next year when all of the sudden, he was discharged (01:24:02:00) �      His second wife had a job that she worked at and Yocum kept up doing odd jobs but he could never keep anything permanent (01:24:28:00) o Finally, in 1985, Yocum was able to go back to school (01:24:37:00) o Normally, with the trade he had chosen, Yocum would have gone to an electronics school (01:24:45:00) o When Yocum graduated, the major electronics companies, including IBM, released a lot of their experienced technicians, making it difficult for an untrained person, such a Yocum, to find a job (01:24:52:00) His second wife is from Michigan and her parents live around the Crystal Lake area (01:25:17:00) He and his wife have two sons: the oldest son has been in the Air Force for ten years and loves it and the youngest son recently married at the time of the interview (01:25:33:00) Yocum is still trying a few things to work out his problems and he has to dig through records to prove what he has claimed, including civilian X-Rays that show he does have problems in his back and hips (01:25:47:00) o Every so often, he hears a click and his legs become rubber because a nerve is being pinched in his back and no signals go to his legs (01:26:18:00) o Yocum does not count on much anymore, which contributes to his anger at the Air Force and although he receives a small pension for his face, he believes that the Air Force owes him a lot more (01:26:47:00) He learned quickly in the military that it was all or nothing and there is no inbetween (01:27:07:00) His time in the Air Force gave him a lot of knowledge, which he tried using but because he had no college degree, it was difficult (01:27:55:00) o One time, he went to an interview and told the interviewer to point out something that he needed to be more productive; Yocum went in and fixed one of the man’s slower production lines, making it more productive (01:28:09:00) o The man ended up hiring a college graduate and not hiring Yocum because he did not have a college degree; Yocum told the man off, which turned out to not be a smart decision (01:28:46:00) o He showed the man what he could do and that he was not a dummy, just because he did not have a piece of paper to hang on his wall; that had been his job in the service, to keep production running smoothly (01:29:14:00) o He loved doing the job, but management viewed the service as a burn-out field; he went in and either became a cinder or a piece of steel and most become cinders (01:29:48:00)  The men were under stress because the top was always looking down and the bottom did not like what they were doing and the men were the center of the target (01:30:06:00)  As long as Yocum did his job, nobody knew, but if he failed, everybody knew (01:30:23:00) o The men did not mind the problem although they did have some men who were afraid to make a move, lest they upset someone (01:30:33:00) �      o Twice in eleven years, Yocum had to go to his commander, both colonels and after doing non-verbal communication, he was told to leave (01:31:01:00) Presently, civilians and the media are treating the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan better, but they are still not treating the soldiers right (01:32:13:00) o Yocum is happy to see that when they come back, there are happy crowds and not agree crowds, although the crowds are mostly the soldier’s relatives; anyone that is bad is kept away; during Yocum’s time, the people would get right into his face (01:32:19:00) o When his son returns, people see him in his uniform and they know who he is (01:33:01:00)  He did four years of ROTC at Central Michigan, which was a shock because Yocum did not recommend it, although the son used him as a source for military protocol, which gave him a two rank increase upon his graduation (01:33:04:00)  Makes Yocum proud because until the son is ready, he will not take the test to move up in rank (01:33:38:00)  He has seen too many men burn out to the point that they cannot do their job (01:34:46:00) Try to get into a good field, but do not count on the field being the same when you get out of school (01:35:30:00) Do not reject the chance to go to school (01:35:58:00) o Yocum would love to go back to school (01:36:10:00) One time, when he was in a class, the teacher made Yocum assist the other students (01:36:66:00) o In the military, anyone over an E-5 takes classes to learn what they can do, what they cannot do, what they need to do, and what they should never do and they receive this training yearly (01:36:43:00) If Yocum ever does go back to school, he never has to take the general education classes (01:37:14:00) He had wanted to switch over to accounting because he liked numbers (01:37:30:00) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_YocumM Title A name given to the resource Yocum, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-08-19 Description An account of the resource Michael Yocum was born in Seattle and grew up in the Mount St. Helens area of Washington. He enlisted in the Air Force in the early 1960's and after serving at several bases around the world as an aircraft mechanic, he did a tour in Vietnam at Phan Rang Air Force Base from 1967 to 1968. He remained in the Air Force until 1980, serving on bases in the US and Europe. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yocum, Michael Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Air Force 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/2ebfcf2729923f5c74d2d13218ebf663.jpg 78ed21e07441e0584f175ddb07605bbd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS3539.R23 M25 1905 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0122 Title A name given to the resource McAllister and His Double Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yohn, F.C. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of McAllister and His Double, by Arthur Train, published by, C. Scribner's Sons, 1905. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 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/f8ab030f573c52fc0fdd68e3b783b27a.m4v 9812cf0df14b559519c751212146b81c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/46c449a7730033a55ebaeabd2d07f204.pdf 1123527ed915219fe36dc1c1ba1a893d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project David Yonts Vietnam War 1 hour 26 minutes 59 seconds (00:00:15) Early Life -Born in West Virginia in February 1950 -Came from a family of coal miners -When he was nine or ten months old his family moved to Kentucky -Grew up in Kentucky -Attended school in Kentucky -Met his wife when they were in high school -Got married when she was still a junior in high school -Got a job working with cars -Graduated from high school in 1968 -Had a job at a Studebaker dealership in high school -Went to work for his uncle at his uncle's Texaco station (00:01:54) Getting Drafted -Married for one year when he got drafted on August 31, 1969 -Wife came home from work and he told her that he had been drafted -Given ten days to report for duty (00:02:53) Knowledge of the Vietnam War -Didn't know a lot about the Vietnam War -Heard stories about soldiers coming back from Vietnam -Knew that he didn't want to go fight in Vietnam -Didn't know the politics of the war (00:03:39) Basic Training -Went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training -Went from Ashland, Kentucky to Fort Knox by bus -Arrived at Fort Knox at dusk -Greeted by a private first class screaming at the recruits to get off the bus -Assigned a place to sleep -Next day given a haircut, a quick breakfast, vaccinations, uniforms, boots, and clothing -Took an entire day to get processed -Most of the recruits were from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Michigan -In retrospect understands why basic training was done the way it was -Drill instructors were trying to break down individualism -Teaching them discipline and to follow orders -Learned not to be flip with superiors -Taught to work as a unit -Help each other and think as a group rather than as an individual -Received weapons training -Did well with rifle training -Wonders if that led to him getting assigned to the infantry �-Only had two or three recruits that had to start basic training over -Some men were physically and mentally unfit to be soldiers -Completed basic training anyway -Majority of men were capable of being soldiers (00:10:59) Infantry Training -Sent to Fort Ord, California for Infantry Training -Company commander was a Ranger in the 101st Airborne Division -Meant that he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division -Training lasted eight weeks -More physically demanding than basic training -Learned how to rappel out of helicopters -Received more weapons training -Learned how to read maps -Went through simulated Vietnamese villages -Knew then that he was going to get deployed to Vietnam -Went on a lot of marches -Not allowed to go off base until the seventh week of training -Only thing to do was to go into town and drink (00:14:55) Assignment to Fort Hood -During seventh week of Infantry Training he learned that his wife was pregnant -Wanted to go home, or at least stay in the U.S. until his wife gave birth -Talked to a chaplain who talked to David's superiors -Granted a deferment and assignment to Fort Hood, Texas until his wife gave birth -Worked in the motor pool at Fort Hood -Daughter was born on May 6, 1970 -Able to talk to his wife on the phone -Went to the PX and bought some celebratory cigars -Same day that his daughter was born he received orders for Vietnam (00:17:35) Deployment to Vietnam -Given three and a half weeks of leave home before being deployed -Got to see his wife and his baby daughter -Felt like a part of his heart was torn out knowing he might die in Vietnam -Took a lot of pictures with his wife and daughter -When he was in Vietnam he sent a lot of voice recordings back to her -Went to California and boarded a plane -Stopped in Alaska and picked up more military personnel -Flew to Japan -Flew on a chartered American Airlines jet (00:20:03) Arrival in Vietnam -Landed at Saigon -Went through an in-country orientation process -Explained the assignment process -Did it backwards alphabetically, so his name was the fifth one called (00:21:05) Assignment to the 101st Airborne Division -He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division operating near Phu Bai -Flew up to Phu Bai in a C-130 �-Gto to Phu Bai on July 1, 1970 -Received more in-country orientation -Cultural awareness training -Told by one sergeant to shoot first and ask questions later -In theory, U.S. troops only shot at someone after being shot at -In reality, if you waited to shoot you would probably get killed -Got assigned to Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne -He had already received air assault training in California, so he didn't need to go through SERTS -Note: SERTS: Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School -Joined Alpha Company on July 7, 1970 at Camp Evans (00:24:35) Siege of Firebase Ripcord Pt. 1 -Note: Since July 1, 1970 the North Vietnamese had been attacking Firebase Ripcord -On July 8, 1970 he went into the field to join Alpha Company -Boarded the third helicopter out of Camp Evans that day -Told that he would be dropped off at Firebase Ripcord and A Company would go there -Couldn't go directly to A Company because they were in a firefight -Remembers the countryside going from green and vibrant to brown and war torn -Thought the firebase didn't look too bad -Immediately assigned to a foxhole on the perimeter with three other soldiers -The three other men had been in the field and told him the situation -Heard a lot of small arms fire around the bottom of the hill Ripcord was on -From July 9 - July 23 (fall of Ripcord) they were under siege -He never got into the field -Assigned to a bunker on the perimeter at night -First night on the perimeter he didn't sleep -Set out land mines at night -The next day they were turned around so the explosion would go toward the bunker -North Vietnamese had gotten that close without being detected (00:30:13) Firebase Ripcord-Details -Ripcord was on the top of a hill -Tactical operations center (TOC) was at the top of the hill in the middle of the hill -Artillery batteries surrounded the TOC -Farther down the hill was the perimeter consisting of bunkers and foxholes -Each bunker was 20 to 30 feet apart -Perimeter was 30 feet away from the bottom of the hill -Bunker dugout was the size of a king size bed -Wood made a roof over the dug out -Sandbags went on top of the wood -Each bunker was manned by four men -A trench went out to a collection of foxholes in front of the bunker �-Called the bunker the "house" and the foxhole "his porch" (00:33:30) Siege of Firebase Ripcord Pt. 2 -Bombardment of Ripcord got more intense as July went on -Heard movement beyond the perimeter -Ordered not to fire because it might be American soldiers and not Vietnamese -Took a lot of mortar fire -His bunker never took a direct hit -A lot of shells landed around his bunker though -Later in July they took more small arms fire -Had a nearby bunker that served as their latrine -Couldn't go to the bathroom without worrying about getting hit -Only went if he absolutely had to go -Got resupplied by helicopters during the siege -Helicopters would fly in, quickly drop off supplies, then fly out as fast as they could -On July 18, 1970 a Chinook helicopter was shot down and crashed into an ammunition dump -If the hill was a clock, the helicopter crashed at 3 o'clock and he was at 7 o'clock -Initially thought a B-52 accidentally bombed the firebase -Ordered to stay in his bunker and stay down until all of the ordnance had cooked off -Learned to stay aware, understand that he could get killed, and to look out for himself -Heightened security and put two men on watch instead of just one man -Noticed more Cobra gunships operating around Ripcord -Escorting the "Loach" recon helicopters onto and off of the firebase -On the morning of July 21 things got even worse -Started to seriously consider that he might not survive the battle -Bombardment got even worse -Late on July 22 they saw more enemy movement (00:41:55) Fall of Firebase Ripcord -On the morning of July 23 he actually saw North Vietnamese soldiers beyond the perimeter -On July 23 he received word that Ripcord was going to be evacuated and destroyed -Upset that they were just letting the firebase fall rather than stand and fight -Saw Lieutenant Colonel Lucas get mortally wounded by a mortar shell -Throughout July 23 men were getting pulled off the hill -Told that the bunkers to the left and right of his would go first, then his bunker would go -Had to decide the order of men in his bunker to get evacuated -Pulled straws and he was the third man to go out -Still doesn't know if the fourth man made it out -Had to leave all of his gear and personal possessions behind except for his rifle -Boarded a helicopter with two other combat capable men and two wounded soldiers -Remembers the gunners laying down suppressing fire as they took off (00:48:22) Regrouping & Going into the Field -At Camp Evans learned that Alpha Company had been hit and lost a lot of men -Received more replacements �-He tried to help the new replacements adjust to Vietnam -He was supposed to be a squad leader, but got assigned to the M60 machine gun instead -Didn't want to be on the M60 for too long because it drew too much attention -Once A Company had enough men they returned to the field -Pattern was this: go to the field, make some contact, then retreat from the field -Didn't understand why they retreated from the field -Learned later that the U.S. was pulling out of Vietnam -Became the radio-telephone operator (RTO) for Captain Chuck Hawkins -Called in rations, medical evacuation, and supplies for the company -Hawkins explained that the Army didn't want a repeat of Ripcord -That's why they didn't stay in the field for too long if they made contact -Assigned to be the RTO for a new company commander -He told David that if he stayed in the field two extra weeks he would make him sergeant -Declined because he didn't want to risk getting killed -After Ripcord, A Company took 10 to 15 casualties -Some of them were accidents -Remembers one new man from the Industrial Midwest (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, etc.) -David tried to watch over him and protect him -Landed on an old landing zone -Never should have used an old LZ -Most likely being watched or booby trapped -David got off the helicopter and ran down to the tree line -New man followed him and tripped a land mine -Killed instantly -Only found a boot and his glasses -Army listed him as missing in action (MIA) -Angered him because the man was dead, not missing (00:59:32) Life after the War Pt. 1 -As of 2015, despite hardships, he and his wife are still married -Had four children -After the war had a quicker temper and his family went through a lot because of his PTSD (01:00:40) Interactions with the Vietnamese -While in the rear they could go into Phu Bai, so he saw some Vietnamese civilians -Had a Vietnamese interpreter known as a chu-hoi -Meant that he was a Viet Cong soldier that defected to South Vietnam -Didn't interact with many civilians -At the time he hated all of the Vietnamese, but now he regrets feeling that way (01:01:55) Reflections on Service Pt. 1 -Has no desire to return to Vietnam or see the remains of Firebase Ripcord -Doesn't want to relive the war -Also doesn't want to step on an unexploded land mine near Ripcord -It wasn't always bad in Vietnam, there were some good times -Feels that sometimes you just had to laugh to deal with the stress �(01:02:55) Downtime & R&R -Got to see Bob Hope in Phu Bai -Men from the field were allowed to sit in the rows closest to the stage -Thankful to Bob Hope for doing those shows for the troops -Saved his R&R for the end of his tour in Vietnam -Able to see his wife in Hawaii -It was a good R&R -Got to spend a week together -Difficult to leave his wife again -Took some comfort in the fact that the war was coming to an end -Drank a lot when he was in the rear -Refreshing to go on R&R, but strange to go back into the field so quickly (01:07:25) Leaving Vietnam & End of Service -Left Vietnam on June 15, 1971 -Told he'd be placed in the inactive reserves because he had less than six months of service to do -Flew from Vietnam to Japan to Alaska to Washington -Outprocessed and discharged in Washington -Given a ticket to fly home to Kentucky -Strange to think only a week ago he had been carrying a rifle in Vietnam -Told to travel in civilian clothes to avoid harassment (01:09:26) Treatment of Veterans Pt. 1 -Son served in the Army for 20 years -Deployed to Iraq three times -Made sure that every time his son came home he had a big welcome home party -Didn't want his son to go through what he did upon coming home -When he came home he was ostracized by the public for being a Vietnam veteran -One woman accused him of killing children -Blames some of the harassment on other Vietnam veterans -They came home and talked about raiding villages and executing civilians -As a result of that, people thought all soldiers did that -For most veterans it was difficult to get a job -Fortunately he still had a job with his uncle at the Texaco station -Only 21 years old when he came home from Vietnam -Barely old enough to vote and buy alcohol -Treated like a war criminal despite being so young and not being a war criminal -People asked his wife why she stayed married to a Vietnam veteran (01:12:52) Life after the War Pt. 2 -Continued to work with cars after he came home -Eventually got a job at an Oldsmobile dealership -Moved to Florida in 1982 and worked for a dealership there -Started his own car repair business in Florida -It was successful and he sold it -Went into used cars sales -Owned a used cars lot for 12 years -Helped with a friend's security business �-Had a contract with a hospital -Got him a job at the hospital as the security director -Led to him getting interested in medicine and becoming a nurse -Hospital paid for him to go to Nursing School -Got into a motorcycle accident in 2007 and retired from everything after that (01:15:14) Readjusting to Civilian Life -Worked 70-80 hours a week -Didn't understand why he worked so much until after the motorcycle accident -Realized that he worked so much to distract himself from the war memories -Got treatment for PTSD through the VA -Took a year of classes with other Vietnam veterans -Advised to file for PTSD compensation and Agent Orange compensation -70% physical disability and 30% psychological disability -Diabetes, neropathy, and hypertension from stress and chemical weapons (01:19:36) Reflections on Service Pt. 1 -Sees the Vietnam War getting repeated through the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan -Government's reluctance to compensate those veterans for their sacrifice -Politics getting in the way of giving treatment to veterans -Believes the psycholoigcal effects of Vietnam will continue for years, if not generations -The indirect effects will last for the spouses and children of veterans (01:23:05) Treatment of Veterans Pt. 2 -Has just started wearing a Vietnam veteran cap -Still gets negative reactions from people, but it has gotten better -Actually receives thanks from people (01:24:24) Reflections on Service Pt. 2 -Leadership abilities -Respect for people -Accountability for his actions -Would serve again if called and would go to Iraq with his son if he could -Willing to fight for the country and rights if necessary � 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_YontsD1886V Title A name given to the resource Yonts, David (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-10-08 Description An account of the resource David Yonts was born in February 1950 in West Virginia. He grew up in Kentucky and on August 31, 1969 he was drafted. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and infantry training at Fort Ord, California. Due to his wife being pregnant he was allowed to serve at Fort Hood, Texas until May 6, 1970 when he received his orders for Vietnam. He was deployed to Vietnam and got to Phu Bai on July 1, 1970. He was assigned to Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and served at Firebase Ripcord until the firebase fell on July 23, 1970. He served with Alpha Company until he left Vietnam in June 1971. Upon arrival in Washington in late June 1971 he was discharged. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yonts, David Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army 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> 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/2e8ddfe60ff446e37caf04dd638cab4f.mp4 89f805a717e12a3be00a1b5fb5a3f064 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/896a94fe90d035df154cd7af8d5fbf65.pdf 910c702ef10c2862e84e6f2c58e8d34e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Thomas York Length of interview (00:47:19) Background Information (00:00:12)  Born in Baltimore, Maryland in July of 1927  Moved to Oklahoma in 1929 (00:00:23) o Remained in Oklahoma until 1941  Father worked in the oil fields during the depression (00:00:31)  Mother was a school teacher o Had taught in Grand Rapids, Michigan  1941- The York family moves to Wayland, Michigan  York describes life in Oklahoma in the 1930’s (00:01:01) o Lived in the town of Britton o Father had been a pilot in WWI o Oklahoma was “a flying country” (00:01:30) o York remembers that his father was a “very natural mechanic” and worked for General Motors when the family first moved to Oklahoma  The family moved up to Michigan before the attack on Pearl Harbor (00:02:55)  York knew about the war in Europe, and remembers being worried about the possibility of being attacked by Japan o Learned about the war primarily in school , although it was in Civics class and none of the information was new (00:03:46) o Information was heavily censored (00:04:15)  York heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio (00:04:50) o Followed the war through the letters of GIs from Wayland o Was a very patriotic time, many young men signing up for the service  When York was 16, he went to enlist and was accepted. o When York graduated from high school at 17, he entered the service (00:06:44) o A parent’s signature to enlist was not needed, even though York was a minor  York was called to active duty July 1st of 1945 (00:07:20) Training (00:07:21)  Air Force basic training squadron was out of Biloxi, Mississippi o Basic training had a lot of emphasis on physical training (00:07:41)  Marching, cross-country running  York was in great shape, remembers training being easy for him o Reenlisted after his 6 months were over, rather than be drafted (00:09:01)  Was discharged from the Air Force and reenlisted in the Army Air Force  Didn’t want to be a mechanic  Sent to Greensboro, North Carolina (00:09:20) o Finished training and shipped out to New York in less than a month  Shipped out of New York in October or November �o Shipped out on an NYU Victory ship  V-hulled, bunks were 18 beds high, and rolling over was impossible  Small ship—900 troops packed into the ship  York slept on deck after the first night, he wasn’t supposed to but he hid in a life boat (00:10:27)  York remembers there being very little food.  Lunch was a cup of soup and two crackers  Spent 31 days on the ship o Went to Casablanca, then Naples in Italy  WWII is over, but many men were still being shipped to Europe (00:11:46)  Remembers the Straits of Gibraltar as still being dangerous, even after the war o Torpedoes, submarines, and mines (00:13:19) Italy (00:14:00)  The stop in Casablanca was a one day stop. York did not get to leave the ship.  First impression of Naples was of a city on a hill o Could see Mt. Vesuvius o Stayed in Naples for a week or two o The weather was warm, similar to Georgia or Alabama  Sent to Caserta, Italy (00:15:00) o About 18 miles inland o Allied Headquarters Command at that time  Both British and American troops were stationed there  German prison camp located within Caserta as well o Was a clerk in the medical area.  kept track of supplies o When the First Sergeant became a Lieutenant, York took his former position (00:17:26) o The officers did not seem to do anything, but were “your friend” (00:20:15) o The British were also on the base (00:22:10)  Describes the British o Talks about the German prisoners of war (00:23:02)  Describes one German prisoner who taught himself English o The prison camp was a separate compound from the base in Caserta (00:25:50) o York went to Naples every weekend o York spent over a year in Italy (00:27:20) o York got to ride in an aircraft carrier  Air Force food was the best o York describes the Italian civilian population (00:30:10)  One popular restaurant the GIs went to for eggs and fried potatoes  Many children visited the base  The only warning York received was not to park a vehicle on the street because it would get stolen o York does not recall many discipline problems within the base (00:33:11) o The USO came in four or five times for entertainment o York talks about a monastery that had been destroyed and was going to be �rebuilt o Rome was almost untouched by the war due to historical significance o The German prisoners were allowed to go home, but many who lived in the communist zone did not want to leave (00:38:33)  The prisoners did not have a choice to stay, but were sent home regardless  The majority of the prisoners were still in Caserta when York went home  The SS prisoners were not separated from the other prisoners Return to the United States (00:41:17)  The ship York returned to the United States on was a lousy vessel o The return trip was much worse, although men who had gotten married in Europe were bringing their wives home (ship was gender segregated) (00:41:48) o The first thing York saw was Coney Island, then the harbor, then finally the Statue of Liberty o Took about 20 days to cross the Atlantic o Took about a week to process him before he was released  After returning home, York worked at Pet Mill (00:44:10) o Went to Florida o Went on a blind date with the woman who became his wife o Went to Kendall for art school  Worked graphic design for Spartan stores for a while  After retiring, became a graphic design consultant for around 10 years Conclusions about the war (00:45:28)  The war made York grow up o Saw a lot of the world o Never really returned home, had gained independence o Gained leadership and teamwork skills during the service  York wanted out at the time, but now he wonders why he did not make it his career � 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_YorkT Title A name given to the resource York, Thomas (Interview outline and video), 2010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-01-13 Description An account of the resource Thomas York was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1927. His family moved first to Oklahoma, then to Michigan. York enlisted in the US Air Force at 16, and after graduating at 17, entered active duty on July 1st of 1945. York underwent basic training at the base in Biloxi, Mississippi. York re-enlisted after his 6 months of duty were finished in the US Army Air Force. York was sent to Caserta, Italy, where he served for a year as a medical clerk. While at Caserta, York met British military personnel and German prisoners of war. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource York, Thomas Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Forces Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Moving Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/957864380a98e73a118a4e426c376da8.pdf 00d1c4f20112730669556e195e1ecd3b PDF Text Text �•§m I ptit • National Headquarters 352 W i l l i s A v e . B r o n x , New Y o r k 10454 First Printing — p t - Feb. I972* criticisms /v / ^IHH* W i l l be u p d a t e d and r e v i s e d at f i r s t party conaress J u l y 1972 All HBimiffite and s u g g e s t i o n s " welcomé fT/ 3*-» �THE I D E O L O G Y O F THE YOUNG LORDS PARTY ( P u e r t o Rican R e v o l u t i o n a r y Party) Juan Gonzalez, Minister of Defense Juan " F i " Ortiz, Chief of Staff Gloria Gonzalez, Field Marshal David Perez, Field Marshal Denise Oliver, Former M i n i s t e r of Economic Development Pablo "Yoruba" Guzman, Minister of Information "I have lived in the belly of the monster, I have seen its entrails, and mine is the sling of David." TABLE OF CONTENTS — Jose Marti 1. INTRODUCTION 2 2. D E F I N I T I O N O F TERMS 3 3. ON HISTORY A N D DIALECTICS 5 by Yoruba 4. P R O T R A C T E D WAR IN PUERTO RICO by Gloria Gonzalez 13 5. ECONOMIC A N D M I L I T A R Y STRUGGLE by Juan Gonzalez 20 6. C O L O N I Z E D MENTALITY AND NON-CONSCIOUS IDEOLOGY .26 by Denise Oliver 7. THE PARTY A N D THE STATE 33 by David Perez 8. THE PARTY A N D THE I N D I V I D U A L ,,,37 by Juan " F i " Ortiz 9. A N A L Y S I S OF PUERTO RICAN SOCIETY 4I �INTRODUCTION This is the beginning of the ideology of the Young Lords Party. What is ideology? It is a system of ideas, of principles, that a person or group uses to explain to them how things operate in the world. Our ideology was developed out of the experiences of almost two years of struggling everyday with our people against their oppression. The systematic ideas and principles in this pamphlet are guiding us as to the best way to lead the liberation struggle of the Puerto Rican nation. These are not fixed, rigid ideas, but constantly developed as we constantly work to serve and protect the people. There are certain principles that are fixed and unchangeable to us, though. First, is collective leadership, not individuua I leadership. One individual can never see the whole of a problem. Only collectives of people, working together, can solve problems correctly. Second, we can understand nothing unless we understand history. One of the problems of the Puerto Rican and amerikkkan revolutionary movements is that they have not done systematic, scientific study of their history and so do not yet understand the countries that they wish to liberate. Third, a revolutionary must be one with the people, serving, protecting, and respecting the people at all times. "Wherever a Puerto Rican is, the duty of a Puerto Rican is to make the revolution." GLORIA GONZALEZ, FIELD MARSHAL 2 �DEFINITIONS When we begin to read and study things on revolution, on how other people's have liberated themselves and on how we can develop our revolution, we come across a lot of new words we have never heard or seen before. We should learn what the words mea n and then learn how to explain those ideas to our brothers and sisters in ways they can understand. Nation: A people who have had the same history, culture, language, and usually have lived in the same territory for a long pe riod of time. Colony: A culturally, nation militarily which by is controlled another country economically, and whose government is run by that other country. Capitalism: A way of running the economy of a nation, where a few of the people in the nation own the factories, trains, business, commerce, and the majority of the people work for those owners. The few capitalists make large amounts of money by selling what the rest of the people make--the products, like dresses, cars, copper, oil. This is called profit. Vendepatria: A sell-out. One who has sold out his or her people for money or powar. Contradiction: When two things are opposed to each other, for instance, right and wrong, up and down, good and bad. When you have a contradiction, you have a problem that has to be solved. If someone says that the way to get to a place is by turning right, and someone else says it's by turning left, you can't get to that place until the contradiction is solved-it's either right or left. Jibaro: The mixture of mostly spanish and Taino, but also some Blacks, who developed in the mountains and campos of Puerto Rico mostly as small farmers and as peasants. The language is spanish, the culture Spanish and Indian. 3 �Afro-boricua: The mixture of mostly Spanish and African who developed in the sugar cane plantations and coasts of Puerto Rico doing fishing, and whose ancestors were slaves. Most Black Puerto Ricans try to call themselves mulattos when the language is Spanish, but the culture and customs are still mostly African, and when the racist societies of Spain and Amerikkka still treat them as though they are inferior. Class: The group of persons that an individual belongs to all of whom make their living the same way. For instance, lumpen make their living by surviving -stealing, prostitution, dope, etc.. The workers make their living by working for someone. The petty-bourgeois make their living by working for themselves, the peasants make their living working on the land for themselves or someone else. The bourgeois make their money off the labor of everyone else. They don't work at all. Self-determination: It means very individual, every nationality has the right to determine their own lives, their* future, as long as they don't mess over other people. A nation shoud be free from control by another nation. Independence: When a nation has a government made up of people from that country, but it is still controlled economically, and culturally by another country. National liberation: When a country is completely free from control by another nation. When the people are in control of the government, economy and army. Lombriz: A parasitic worm that produces intestinal disease, found in tropical countries. We use this word for all the Puerto Rican traitors, for the parasites they are. "The price of imperialism is lives." JUAN QONZALIS 4 �ON HISTORY & DIALECTICS The Young Lords Party has always believed in the correct studying of our history, the history of the nation. Puerto Ricans are told we have no past, not as good as the oppressor's past. So finding out the truth is a good thing. See, the game that the amerikkkan enemy runs is to tell us that we ain't got no history, no roots, no tradition, no nothing. In this way, we are made to feel as though we have just popped up, and when we move against the enemy, we move blindly. If we had a knowledge of history, we could study the mistakes and successes of those who came before; instead of starting anew, we could begin where the last generation left off. It is time that all Puerto Ricans get down to studying our history. This serves three purposes: 1) We'll be able to check out what our ancestors did and did not do. Also, we'll get a sense of our people's development. In a national liberation struggle like ours, a movement must be built that comes from the people, from our experiences, sorrows, joys. There is a certain way to organize the Puerto Rican nation, as opposed to say, the Polish nation. 2) Studying history allows us to see the enemy's master plan develop, such as the one being used to control Puerto Ricans. 3) Finding out about our roots gives us a certain pride in the knowledge that we have withstood oppression for so long. We must transmit this righteous pride to all of our people. Let me run something down on history. In school, or in society in general, we are taught that events in history take place because of a few "great" individuals, like Napoleon or George Washington (specifically, "great" white males). We are taught that history goes in cycles, that it repeats itself. 5 �This is all jive. In the Young Lords Party, we are training ourselves in thinking scientifically, in looking at things from an orderly point of view to arrive at the right conclusions. All Puerto Ricans concerned with their people must begin to see things in a scientific way. Scientific?: Well, we learned in school that the way a scientist approaches a problem is by way of a thing called the scientific method. The scientist first say, "What do I want to get out of this thing after I understand it? Where do I want to go? Now what would be the best way of getting through this 6 �problem and to my goal?" And then the scientist lays out each step, one by one, until the goal is reached. This is the way we must lay out the revolution, using our passion, our feelings, to keep us going, step by step, until we are free. This means that we will become something called "dialectical materialists." What does this mean? First, take the word dialectics. Dialectics is the study of contradictions. What is a contradiction? We've heard about something being contradictory, right? Like say you're having a discussion with someone, and then they say one thing and you say the opposite. That's a contradiction, and it must be resolved one way or the other. The both of you could have an argument and walk away, or a unity of thing between you will arise. Contradictions are everywhere, even in nature. Say you have a herd of pigs, the last herd left. Then say there are some people who are starving , and they come across the pigs, a decision has to be made. Thft people or the pigs. That's a contradiction. A Puerto Rican in, say, high school who hears their history teacher say "history repeats itself," will say, " N o good, teacher. History flows, like a river, and the course that river takes depends on how contradictions are resolved. In other words, history is always moving ahead, teacher, going forward, once a contradiction is dealt with (resolved). Sometimes a contradiction is resolved in a way that it only looks as though history repeats itself." That sister or brother would say, "See, let's say you have a nation where most of the people are starving, and a few people in power are eating well. That's a contradiction. It could be resolved either by the people rising against those in power, tike in Cuba in 1959, or by those in power taking the country into a war against another country, like the united states in 1941 against Japan (sometimes the rulers of a country go to war so that the people forget their internal problems, like their stomachs)." This Puerto Rican would say, "That's history, that's life: you have contradictions, they get resolved, which changes history's course, and since there are always contradictions, 7 �there will always be new changes." Some contradictions are the ones between machismo and male-female liberation, or between capitalism and socialism. The second word is materialism. This means that all of these contradiction occur in the real world, the world we can see around us. Many times, for example, the economic facts of life cause other things to happen. Yet, we are taught in school that the united states went into World War I "to make the world safe for Democracy." This is a lie. The u.s.a. went into World War I for the same reason it went into the Mexican-American invasion, Spanish-Amerikkkan Korean and Indo-China Wars — invasion, economics. Wealth. As an imperialist country, amerikkka resolves the contradiction of constantly needing more wealth to keep its machinery running by going to war to rip off land (Puerto Rico from Spain) and to put people to work at home. (Defense contracts=f actor ies=employment=products=consumers). Scientific analysis show that it is materialism, real things, that exist in the world. Part of dialectics is that everything has its opposite, and the opposite of materialism is metaphysics, idealism. Idealism is ideas that have nothing to do with reality. It's like saying that the reason why flowers grow is because of magic, or why people are here is because man was made from dirt, and woman came from man's rib. The reason why flowers grow or why people are here is because of certain scientific laws of nature. That is real. That is materialism. With this kind of thinking in mind we can now briefly cover Puerto Rican and Black history. Why? Well, there are contradictions between people and the enemy; these are natural contradictions since it is the enemy that enslaves us. Contradictions with the enemy are antagonistic, non-friendly. These differences are resolved ultimately through war. Then there are contradictions among the people. We have been divided and conquered by the enemy in hundreds of ways housewives against against women, unionized prostitutes, Puerto workers Ricans against young against non-union 8 against old, men Afro-Americans, workers, workers �against drug addicts, families against other families, one ar rabale against another. These contradictions should be kept non-antagonistic and settled among ourselves, as friends so we can unite against the enemy. So, in studying Black and Puerto Rican history, we look at the history of the contradictions between Blacks and Puerto Ricans as differences among brothers and sisters oppressed by the yankee. "We wasn't thinking about the other guys being Puerto Ricans •••iff he was your enemy, you kill him." CEORCIE We studied the history of Puerto Ricans. First, we saw that the u.s.a. took control of Puerto Rico because they were preparing a "safety valve" country in case the "Black Problem" got too heavy. In case Afro-Americans increased their efforts to remove their chains, the u.s. intended to ship the Black people to Puerto Rico, the Phillipines, and Hawaii. The gringo came claiming to be liberators from Spain, and our people couldn't even understand the lies since they were made in english. We were ruled by interpreters. By changing the currency of Puerto Rico to u.s. dollars, one unit of the old currency was now worth 60 cents amerikkkan. Then a hurricane wiped out the coffee crop (the only crop), and this, combined with the currency devaluation drove people bankrupt overnight. A severe depression set in. The u.s. self-proclaimed liberators of the island, sent aid to Puerto Rico that amounted to about 8 cents a person. Dig that. Already the Yankees had a master plan — First, to take military control; then, to make Puerto Ricans citizens; then change the colony to a dominion status, like Canada; then make it a state. This plan was made in the early 1900s and the enemy is right on schedule. The governors amerikkka picked to rule over us weren't exactly gems, either. They were perverts and lames. Not one knew a thing about diplomacy, shown in how they 9 �constantly said openly racist stuff, or got caught either embezzling or having late-night sessions with ambassador's wives. We studied how Munoz Marin weasled his way into power, running an independence line here, a commonwealth line there. Most important we saw Iombriz Ferre's scheme for getting Puerto Rico to be a state: 1) Before the '72 elections, he was gonna ask Nixon to set up a commission to see if Puerto Rico could vote for u.s. president. (The commission has already been set up). A referendum would be called for the people. 2) They are then gonna ask that the resident commissioner who now sits and watches what happens in the amerikkkan House of Representatives, be doubled (another resident commissioner) and the both of them would be given the right to vote. 3) Ferre runs for governor again in 1972 on a maintain the commonwealth line. 4) After Ferre wins, after there are two resident commissioners in the house of representatives, and after the island is given the presedential vote (so that Puerto Rico can vote for Nixon in 1972) Ferre puts out the referendum to make Puerto Rico a state. Ironically, the u.s. congress may be most strongly opposed to this. A lot of those red-necks wouldn't want no "spanish-speaking fornicating, colored, poor, rum-drinking, illiterate, welfaring, nasty, smelly stupid, lazy, troublesome spies" to be a state. Next, it is important to study the history of Afro-American people. Many people think that Puerto Rican history is like one circle sitting by itself on one side, and Afro-American history is a circle sitting by itself on another side. Actually, the two circles are linked together. To study Black history is to complete the study of Puerto Rican history, and vice-versa. African people were brought, in chains, to the americas, and the resistance started from day one. The ships brought Africans to Hispanola, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Puerto Rico, etc. Moving through history, we see how many of the organizations and tendencies of the Black movement in Amerikkka are definite outgrowths of history as are all people's movements. 10 �The Young Lords Party recognizes Black people in the united states as the leaders of that country's revolution, since they have been the most oppressed people in that empire's history. INio other people in amerikkka were ripped off from 11 �their country and brought here as slaves. For 400 years, the only change in Black people's conditions was that the visible chains were removed and non-visible ones put on — segregated schools, ghettoes, police aggression, like or mind-bending chains like "No niggers allowed" signs. One of our most important allies in the fight for the national liberation of Puerto Rico, will be Afro-Americans, and we must eliminate the racism that divides us now, or else all of us be killed off separately. Let us look at the history of the revolutionary struggle in the united states. For example, most of us never were taught in school the true history of that empire, how it expanded from a rebellious little colony of England to destroy a whole people, the Native American, how it committed genocide against the Hawaiian people, how it conquered and exploited the Filipino people, how it forced large numbers of Chinese, Mexicans, and Japanese to leave their countries to come to the u.s. like Puerto Ricans did, looking for jobs, how it massacred large numbers of poor European immigrants who rebelled against the conditions they were forced to work in. Most of us were never taught in school about a righteous white workers' movement of the early 1900's called the International Workers' of the World (IWW) or the Wobblies. These were some revolutionary people. In the early 1900s amerikkka was uptight. It may seem shocking to us now with the hardhats walking around, but these white workers were revolutionary. And the IWW was the leadership of their struggle. One leader of that movement was Elizabeth Gurley Flynn who was a leader of a general strike of 25,000 workers in Patterson, New Jersey. What happened to this progressive movement was the sell-out political parties, like the socialist party, and the enemy's tricks like World War I, and their final tool - repression, the jailing and killing of many leaders. We must study white amerikkka's background to see how the monster developed, then we can begin to move in the manner which Jose Marti 19th century Cuban Revolutionary, described, "I have lived in the monster, and know its entrails (insides), and mine is the sling of David." * 12 �PROTRACTED WAR IN PUERTO RICO The concept of Protracted War best describes the history of the Puerto Rican people. For many centuries our people have been invaded by one nation or another. Two oppressors were successful, the spaniards in 1493, and the yankees in 1898. When a country is invaded by another, it becomes a colony, slave, of the occupier, and that control stops the normal development of the people. In Boriquen, the Taino nation had its own economic, social and political structure, and was developing in its own way. When these people came they used the riches of the island to aid Spain's development and destroy the Tainos. The Taino people rose up against the enemy. The war did not last long, because the Spaniards, with their plunder of the rest of Latin America, had more power and arms. Many Tainos died, some because of diseases the Spaniards had brought, others through the war, and the rest fled to the mountains to avoid slavery. Then the Spaniards had the problem of who would be their slaves. Beginning in the 1500s, they showed how barbaric and criminal they were. They began to ravage the African lands, kidnapping our Yoruba brothers and sisters to serve as slaves. By the 1600s there had been four slave revolts. We were once again defeated, but they did not destroy us, as is shown through the influence of African culture in Puerto Rico. Out of these temporary defeats, our people became stronger, and by the 1800s, the Puerto Rican nation, as we know it today, was formed, 13 of the mixture of Taino, �Yoruban, and Spanish, of the most exploited by those in power of men and women more determined than ever to be free. Among the many freedom fighters were Ramon Emeterio Betances, Maria Bacetti, and Segundo Ruis Belvis. These were the ones who toward 1868 raised the cry for liberation on September 23, in Lares. Eventhough we were defeated again, Betances knew what a protracted war was and he said, "Men and women pass, but principles continue on and eventually triumph." And so our struggle for liberation continued. In 1898, the Spaniards had war declared on them by the united states and were quickly defeated. As a result, Puerto Rico passed from one slavery into another. Now the invaders were Yankees, and on July 25, 1898, 18,000 amerikkkan troops landed at Guanica. This new invader would be the most criminal and vicious that has touched our land, and with the new invasion began the new war of liberation. The principles established by the Taino nation, by the African people, and then by the revolution of Lares were advanced by the Nationalist Party, which in the 1930s proved to the Yankees that our people have never been docile. During this time our people suffered from unbelieveable hunger and misery-that was the "democracy" the Yankees brought to us. The Nationalist Party, under the leadership of Don Pedro Albizu Campos, became the defenders of the people. In 1936, the amerikkkans arrested Don Pedro and the rest of the leadership of the party, because they were considered a threat to their plans. It was during this period that occurred what we have come to know as the Ponce Massacre. On March 21, 1937, the Nationalist Party organized a demonstration in Ponce. The day was the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the era of the Spaniards. The demonstration was to let the Yankees know that our people would not tolerate either political prisoners or continued occupation. Throughout this period the amerikkans had one of their own as governor. At the time the criminal was called Blanton 14 �Winship, and he, along with the lombrice, Corsado, gave the order to assassinate the nationalists; 200 persons were wounded and 22 killed- With this act the united states declared war on the Puerto Rican nation. The enemies of our people continued their brutal attacks, arresting 2,000 persons and sentencing many to 400 years of prison after the revolt of Jayuya in 1950. All of this had one sole aim- to end the operation of all the just struggle for liberty because we were receiving international support. In addition to all of this, the yankees began operation "co-option." That is, they looked for sellout traitors, and during this period they began to heavily support the electoral parties, especially the Popular Party led by traitor Munoz Marin. The combination of the repression of the Nationalist Party and the lies of the Popular Party created a lot of confusion among the people. Another important factor was "If our people fight one tribe at a time, all will be killed. They can cut off our fingers one by one, but if we join together we'll make a powerful fist." LITTLE TURTLE, MASTER GENERAL OF THE MIAMI INDIANS, 1791 that the Yankees tried to weaken us by dividing the people through "Operation Bootstrap," and they moved 1/3 of the Puerto Ricans to the united states, but our struggle continued. 15 �It's true that they weakened us when they took away our revolutionary leadership, but what they did not understand was that it is impossible to stop a liberation struggle. Once again, in the united states, we rose up in the belly of the monster. In 1965, we rebelled, together with Black people in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and in New Jersey; wherever there were boricuas, the cry of liberty was heard. Out of those rebellions, developed the Young Lords Organization in Chicago, in 1969. With the example of the Afro-american people, who throughout their prolonged war inside the united states, raised consciousness among Puerto Ricans, and with the principles and examples of Don Pedro, Lolita Lebron, Dona Blanca Canales, the Y L O began to organize the Puerto Ricans in Chicago . Meanwhile, in New York arose a group, the Society of Albizu Campos, young students and lumpen (lumpen are the class in our nation which for years and years have not been able to find jobs, and are forced to be drug addicts, prostitutes, etc.), all of whom had the same sole objective, the liberation of Puerto Rico on the island and inside the united states. The Young Lords of Chicago united with the Society of Albizu Campos to create the national organization. With a 13 Point Program the organization began to serve and protect the people, with free breakfast programs, free health and clothing programs , and with the taking of the People's Church, where the organization was recognized as a group with support from the community . Each day the organization won more support, but it found itself with many problems. Because of its oppression, the Chicago group did not understand the necessity for discipline and political education, which is needed to achieve our liberation, and was not able to further the struggle. In New York, was the Eastern region with a much more disciplined and developed leadership, which was anxious to advance the struggle. We split with Chicago and formed the Young Lords Party. With three bases in El Barrio, another in New Jersey, and another in the South Bronx, the Party began to analyze Puerto Rican society, and we soon realized that 16 �2/3 of our people, almost wholly unknown to us, lived on the island. The analysis of Puerto Rican society made it clear that our nation is composed of distinct classes and social groups and with this understanding we began to formalize ideas to bring the Party to all sectors of our people. Always remembering that we are a revolutionary party whose goal is complete national liberation, and about the job of uniting that nation. In August, 1970, two leaders of the Party, Juan Gonzalez and Juan Fi Ortiz, made the first official Party visit to the island. From that trip we analyzed a number of things. For example, we saw that the struggle in the united states was much more advanced since the conditions in the u.s.--the racism, the oppression was much clearer; hunger and oppression expose quickly the lies of the amerikkkan dream. Although it's true that there were other established independence groups, the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence, founded in 1959, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, founded in 1947, the origin of these groups was either from the petty or upper bourgeoisie (the middle and upper classes). Also, they were either social movements or electoral parties. As the years have passed. 17 �these organizations have raised the consciousness of the people, especially MPI, but for our revolution to succeed it's clear that we need more revolutionary leadership. With this in mind, we began the preparations for the move to the island, this being the best way to unite the 1/3 of our people on the island and the 2/3 in the u.s. The Yankees have divided and weakened us in many ways--the analysis of Puerto Rican society helps us to understand the divisions. First, we have to unite the two most oppressed classes, the lumpens and the workers, and also the two social groups in which our people are divided, the most oppressed Afro-Puerto Ricans and the jibaros. This is not to say that we won't also unite the petty-bourgeoisie and the students. As we have seen, with a little education, they will come in large numbers to follow the lead of the people and will take part in the revolution. Taking into account our origin in the u.s., we began to analyze the 2/3 in Puerto Rico. In the northeast of the island, are the towns of Loiza Aldea, Fajardo, Rio Grande, Canovanas: it was to these towns that the Spaniards brought the African slaves, and to this day these population, towns, with are Afro-Puerto one third of the island's Ricans, victims not only of exploitation, but of racism. Carolina is one of the most industrialized towns where the Yankees have built many factories, and the people are all workers. In this area are the big arrabales (slums), like El Cano, in Santurce, Barrio Obrero, Martin Pena, Catano, and the housing projects like Lloren Torres where 26,000 people live, and communities with large lumpen populations, like La Perla, in San Juan. With this, we have briefly described the north of the island, The second area of major importance is the center- Lares, Adjuntas, Jayuya, and the south, Ponce, Cabo Rojo, Salinas, and Guanica. The social group of the center is what by the 18th century received the name Jibaro. The jibaro of that period was humble and illiterate because of their exploitation, very superstitious, and always ready to 18 �defend their honor. It was rare when the jibaro or jibara visited the town. Their calendar was the many hurricanes that passed over the land. The Jibaro of today continues to be illiterate, not so superstitious, and now not only visists but lives in the big towns, now that the Yankees have forced them to leave their lands, turning them into tomato pickers in New Jersey or dishwashers in New Y ork. The jibara, who once had her herd of pigs, her house in the mountains, now is a worker in a factory making a miserable amount, while producing brassieres. It's obvious why this group, a large part of our population, will give strength to the revolutionary movement.Our job is immense. We have called it the Chains Off Offensive nation, (Ofensiva Rompecadenas). To reunite our we began with a demonstration on the 21st of March, the 34th anniversary of the Ponce Massacre. Together with our revolutionary example , the Nationalist Party, we raised once again the cry of liberty in Puerto Rico. T H M ^ r e many reasons why we chose Poi; the secoraMjest city on the island, n e ^ d t f P ^ T u a n . The place where u ^ Q ^ b j o was b o r n ^ ^ t i p M v n e r e the Yankees have establishec^^kMfPj^'plants, unemploymen^^gfPlM^^^^ave although the all sectors of our s o c i e t y l ^ j ^ ^ ^ P i h e lumpensara^taM&ers and also the d j | j | ^ ^ ^ r o c i a i groups, Afro -Puerto R ^ l p f c and jibaros. unified can we break the chains of slavery. For the Puerto Rican nation this is another stage in our protracted war for liberation. To achieve our liberation we need a revolutionary Party, representative of all the people with one sole objective, national liberation. In that way we will give our largest contribution to the other oppressed people's of the world, as the people of Vietnam have done for us. Liberate Puerto Rico n o w ! Venteremos! 19 �ECONOMIC AND MILITARY STRUGGLE On the television, in newspapers, wherever Puerto Ricans go, they tell us that money is the key to a good life, that if you work hard you'll make enough money. But who tells us that money is the key — the ones who have the money, who own the televisions, the factories, azucareras, the refineries, the hotels, the restaurants, the hospitals, and even own the government. We work and sweat for $50, $70, $100 a week. We work and the companies grow, and the bosses get richer, and we stay the same. And whatever we produce the owners sell for a lot more^poney, that's their profit, for doing nothing. We, the people, work and they, the capitalists, profit. We must begin to demand that all the money and factories made from our sweat and blood be returned to us. We know that this is the only system where a woman can work nine hours in a factory, produce dozens of dresses in one day and not go home with enough money to buy herseff a dress. That's why many of us hate our bosses, and we should — they are robbing us. That's why many of us would like to, and do, steal the bosses' products, because they belong to us. If we study history, if we talk to our parents, we will see that things were not always this way. Capitalism is just one phase of the human race. It has existed since the late 1700s, but the human race is probably 25,000 years old. The whole history of human beings is the story of our trying to develop our ability to survive, to have food, clothing, shelter, and mental satisfaction. We used our hands, feet, and brains to increase our power to survive, to 20 �produce out of nature, what we needed. First we traveled in tribes looking for food. Little by little we settled in one place, the men hunting and the women bearing children and planting food. As agriculture became more developed, not everyone was needed to look for food, so some people could do other things. Some farmed, others made clothing, or tools, or built homes, and little by little cities developed. Then, some began to become more wealthy than others and soon enslaved others to work for them — like the Pharoahs of Egypt, the Emperors of Japan, or the Aztecs of Mexico. Then came the period of feudalism, when there was no slavery but people were serfs, worked on the land of one rich prince or another. All these periods did not come at the same time all over the earth. Some areas, like the African nations of Mali, Songhay, or the Biblical kingdoms of Mesopotamia, developed faster, or at different times. Then came the period of capitalism and of nations with a state and a regular army, both working under the employ of the capitalists, who began to buy and sell politicians like they bought and sold goods. In the 1800s revolutions in France and all of Europe brought the rising young businessmen to power against the feudal Kings and Queens. Why was it that Europe, a backward and barbarian country in the year 1300, rose to conquer the world by the year 1900 is hard to say. Maybe it was because Europe was sitting on much of the iron needed to build factories and had many rivers needed for steam and electric power to run those factories With that iron they built the guns that conquered the rest of the world in a few hundred years. As capitalism developed, there was competition between them to control the wealth; the little ones were cheated, killed, outcompeted by the big ones, who then began to look to other countries in the world where they could make money. They looked to Latin America, Asia, and Africa, trying to find natural resources, cheap labor, and more consumers. We call this, when one nation oppresses another nation, Imperialism. In the 1930s came the world-wide depression. Millions of 21 �people were out of jobs — capitalism had collapsed because of its own faults. In Puerto Rico, the depression meant complete hunger and misery. The old type of competitive democratic capitalism had failed. A new type of capitalism was suggested by one of their own politicians, named Adolf Hitler. He put forth fascism, open dictatorship and genocide as a solution to the problem. Meanwhile, Roosevelt in north amerikkka put forth the "welfare state", the government controlling things peacefully for the welfare of the businessman. We call this monopoly capitalism. Rexford Tugwell was Roosevelt's lacky in Puerto Rico and he together with lombriz Munoz Marin developed Operation Bootstrap, the welfare state idea for Puerto Rico. Roosevelt was a left-wing capitalist and Hitler a right-winger. These divisions still exist. Nixon, Reagan (the governor of California) and Ferre are right-wing and Lindsay (the mayor of New York City), Kennedy, and Munoz Marin are left-wingers. Both are enemies of the peoples. World War 11 was a war between left-wing and right-wing capitalists. But the ones who fought the war are the ones who always fight the wars, the poor and oppressed people. The capitalist and generals always stay far away from their own wars. While the u.s. and its allies fought Germany, in Asia, and China, which had been long exploited, was fighting the Japanese fascists. Twenty million Chinese were killed by the Japanese but China liberated itself and in 1949 emerged as a socialist country with 1/4 of the world's population. Since then Korea, Vietnam, Cuba have also become socialist, and little by little capitalism is dying. Chile and Guinea-Bissau and other countries are not far behind. We must begin to study economics. We must begin to learn how the yankees invaded Puerto Rico destroyed our economy and rebuilt another to meet their needs. The main capitalist countries are the united states, england, france, germany, japan. They are surrounded by the 2/3 of the world which is starving, homeless, and angry. The europeans and yankees are like one big city and the Third World is the countryside. They must fight genocidal wars in 22 �the countryside as well as fight against their own internal enemies. The first front is Indo-China. The second front is Palestine. Where will the third front be? Puerto Rico? Black America? Brazil? India? Meanwhile, these wars are destroying northamerikkka internally. A recession in the u.s., Puerto Rico, and the world is leaving hundreds of thousands out of jobs. Layoffs in New Jersey factories, Fajardo sugar centrales, Mayaguez refineries, the New York garment center, general 23 �motors plants, and the California aviation industry. For the first time since the depression, workers are looking to revolutionaries for the solution to their problems. This is just a summary, but it shows that we have much to study in economics and world politics. If we are to liberate Puerto Rico and control our own destiny, we must study how we have been enslaved and how we will release the power of the people, through socialist revolution. The amerikkkans tell us we can't exist without them. But Albania, Israel, Switzerland, are all countries with similar populations and area and they exist well. They tell us we have no natural resources, but they try to steal $3,000,000,000 of copper from the island's center. Another deposit of $2,000,000,000 worth of nickel was found in Mayaguez, and they are looking for oil in the off-shore areas. They tell us we have no food but before they came we grew our own food and ate decently and we fished in our own waters. Now we eat only canned foods and New England codfish. Yes, we can and will be free from the Yankee. MILITARY People ask how can Puerto Ricans, 2,700,000 on the island and 1,500,000 in the united states, possibly hope to fight a war of liberation against the united states, 200,000,000 strong and the most advanced country in the world? Our island is 100 miles by 35 miles. The united states is 3,000 miles by 1,000 miles. The u.s. is thousands of times bigger. First, the Young Lords Party and the Puerto Rioan people do not want war. We would prefer peaceful liberation. We would prefer that the yankees left Puerto Rico and gave us self-determination in the u.s.a. peacefully. But they refuse. Instead, they cover 14% of our land with military bases and bombard our islands of Culebras and Vieques. So we have no choice but to fight for liberation. The other choice is the slow destruction of the Puerto Rican nation into the 51st state. 24 �If they want war, we will fight it on our terms. That means first that the liberation war for Puerto Rico will not just be fought on the island but also in the u.s.a. Since there are Puerto RI cans in every state of the u.s.a. forced to leave their homes by the yankee, we will fight wherever we are, because the enemy is the same, from Humacao to Aguadilla, from Florida to Seattle. If there are less than 5,000,000 of us, we will show the strength there is in unity. Since we have lived and developed close together for 500 years we are more unified as a people. If they forced us to work in their factories, we will fight in their factories. If they filled our land with military bases, we will fight on their bases. If they herded 1,000,000 of us into their most important city, New York, then we will fight in that city. If they use us to slave in migrant camps and factories throughout their east coast, then we will wage war on that coast. If they stuck us in barrios isolated and oppressed, we will take control of these communities. If they have bombers, missiles, modern weapons, and a regular army, then we will fight guerilla warfare, with few weapons, gotten from them, but using creativity and our own resources. If we are a few and they are many, then we will fight a protracted war, eating them away little by little, one by one, until they either withdraw or are crushed. We will always be on the initiative, always fighting to win. We have the moral superiority because our people fight for freedom, for their homes, and loved ones, while the enemy fights for money. We only attack when we know we'll win. The enemy attacks whenever he can, and many times loses. Our army will be made up of free, thinking, men, women, and children — a true People's Army. Their reactionary army is made up of mostly racist, robot-like men. If the u.s. appears strong, it is just a trick. Thirty million Black people, 20,000,000 Chicanos and Chicanas, 500,000 Hawaiians, 500,000 Chinese Americans, 250,000 Japanese Americans, and 700,000 Native Americans and millions of young and poor white people fight with us. The u.s. is really very weak. 25 �In the rest of the world, with Indo-China, Palestine, and Latin America rising up for freedom the amerikkkan army is weak and overextended. With socialist countries like China, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Korea, watching it, u.s. imperialism can't do whatever it wants. So we are sure to win if we maintain unity and strength, and if we remember that combined with our fighting is the constant education and mobilizing of lumpen, workers, and students. Guerrilla War, People's War, Protracted War, is the key to an underdeveloped people defeating a larger, more technologically advanced people. COLONIZED MENTALITY & We are all fighting against an enemy, the Yankee and the Puerto Rican lombrices. The one major thing that holds us back in our fight to liberate Puerto Ricans and all oppressed people is a lack of unity. If we are not united, like a fist, we are weaker in our battle. In unity there is strength, and a nation divided is a weak nation. We have been divided geographically, with one third of the nation on the mainland and two thirds on the island. To be stronger we must unite. But even this unification will not be enough if we still fight against each other. One of the problems that we face is the fact that we have been taught to fight against each other. Capitalism is a system that forces us to climb over our brothers and sisters' backs to get to the top. It is like a race, in which the prize is survival, with 500 people in it, and only one person is the winner — the one who gets to the finish line first, the losers all starve to death. The prize money which is equal to life: We fight against each other to live, and we are divided into groups that fight against each other. These groups are formed out of artificial divisions of race and 26 �NONCONSCIOUS IDEOLOGY sex, and social groupings. The struggle between men and women, the struggle between lumpens and workers are all contradictions among the people. Contradictions among the people must be erased in order to form a solid fist, a fighting force to destroy the enemy. Many of these divisions that exist are a result of colonization. Puerto Ricans are a colonized people. As a result of generations, the oppression first under suffered Spain for and generations then under and the amerikkkans we all develop a "colonized mentality". The colonizers divide us up, teach us to think we are inferior, and teach us to fight against each other, because as long as we fight against each other we won't deal with our real problems — slavery, hunger, and misery. We are brainwashed by the newspapers we read, the books they write for us, the television, the radio, the schools, and the church, that we don't know what our real thoughts are anymore. We are afraid to be leaders, because we are taught to be followers. We have been told that we are docile so long, that we have forgotten that we have always been fighters. We are afraid to speak in public because we have been taught not to speak out. We are told that we cannot exist without amerikkkans in Puerto Rico, and we believe it, even though we know that our nation existed for hundreds of years without them. All of this brainwashing, this "colonized mentality" holds us back from our liberation. If you take 10 rats and lock them up in a cage which is only big enough for 5 rats, some of them will kill each other and some of them will go insane, just as we kill each other in the streets for five dollars, or in a stupid argument, and just as we 27 go insane and turn to drugs to �cover up the ugly reality of our lives. We can only unchain our minds from this colonized mentality if we learn our true history, understand our culture, and work towards unity. This colonization is responsible for the racism that exists in our nation. We do not see it all the time, and most Puerto Ricans believe that we don't have any racism. Most people will tell you "we are all Puerto Ricans, we are all different colors, none of us are black or white, we are just Puerto Ricans." But that doesn't mean that racism doesn't exist. It is so deep that we just don't see it anymore. The darker members of every Puerto Rican family have felt it all their lives. We have been so brainwashed that it has become unconscious. The Young Lords Party calls this "non-conscious ideology." We believe that Black is bad and ugly and dirty, that kinky hair is "pelo malo," we call Black Puerto Ricans names like prieto, moulleto, and cocolo. We are not proud that our ancestors were slaves so many ot us say we are "spanish" or "castillians." Our birth certificate says white even if the reality when we look in the mirror is very dark. T h e Spanish treated the slaves as if they were animals, and none of us want to believe that our ancestors were animals, so we "non-consciously" reject the Blackness we are all a part of. All Puerto Ricans have a Black heritage, in our culture, in the way Spanish is spoken, in the blood which flows through our veins. Having slaves for ancestors is not something to be ashamed of; one should be proud to know that one's ancestors were strong enough to live through the horrors of slavery, strong because of the rich and beautiful history of Africa. We are taught that Africans were savages, and this makes us non-consciously ashamed of our past. We must study true African history, of the civilizations of Mali and Songhay, for this history is part of our history. The Young Lords Party is a Party of Afro-Americans and Puerto Ricans. Both have the same roots in the past, similar culture and the same types of "colonized mentality." Because of the Black Power and Black Pride movement inside of the united states, American Blacks are now able to hold their heads up high 28 �"The chains that have been taken off slaves' bodies are put back on their minds." DAVID PEREZ and be proud of their past. It is necessary that we understand and study Puerto Rican history, much of which is African history so that we can move on ridding ourselves of the barriers that exist between Afro-boricua and jibaro. We should not be afraid to criticize ourselves about racism. We are all racists, not because we want to be, but because we are taught to be that way, to keep us divided, because it benefits the capitalist system. And this applies to racism towards Asians, other Brown people, and towards white people. White people are not thè oppressor — capitalists are. We will never have socialism until we are free of these chains on our mind. The other way in which "non-conscious ideology" divides I our people is through machismo, or male chauvinism. We have said for a long time that sisters and brothers should be equal in the struggle, that men and women should work together and that Puerto Rican men should not oppress their wives, mothers, and daughters anymore. When we said that machismo is fascism, we were saying something that was true, but we couldn't understand the reasons why men became uptight when they were accused of machismo. Brothers could not understand why some of the ways that they treat sisters are wrong. Brothers did not know how to act differently than their fathers and grandfathers have always acted toward women. Is it all right to rap to a sister? Should I give a woman a complement? Is it machismo if I want to protect a woman? Because we did not understand why there is this division we could not explain well enough, all we could say was machismo was bad, male chauvinism is wrong, you are oppressing your sisters. 29 �On the other hand, we criticize sisters for being passive and docile. We want women to become leaders, to speak out in public, to stop being shy end timid, to learn to be strong. We tell sisters to change, the way our mothers have taught us to be, the way our mothers mothers' have always been. And again, we did not completely understand why our sisters had difficulty in understanding what passivity is, and how to change. Sisters still volunteered to cook and sew, to take care of children. Sisters still felt more comfortable letting the men Palestinian Women's Militia Jordan, July 1970 be the leaders. Sisters don't like other women to be leaders either. We did not understand why women constantly get into arguments with each other. When a woman is strong and a leader she is considered to ba a "bitch." When a man is 30 �strong he is a "good leader." But why? We have realized that the division of the sexes between male and female have existed for such a long time, that all societies have accepted the "fact" that there is a difference between men and women. We know that the only differences are biological — women have a womb and ovaries and they make eggs, and men manufacture sperm. All societies developed around the first oppression; man used woman as a worker, to reproduce, to make babies, while men were free to do other things. This ideology of a division of the sexes is called "sexism," just like the ideology of the division of the "non-conscious women produce is called ideologies." races From "racism." the Both simple are fact that babies and men didn't, developed all sorts of ideas that women were a certain type of human and men another type of human. What is a man? What is a woman? "Non-consciously" we believe a man is strong, aggressive, hairy, bad, decisive, hard, cold, weak, firm, intelligent. timid, smooth, "Non-consciously" soft-spoken, a woman scatter-brained, is soft, warm, dumb, and loving. Both of these sets of descriptions are a result of the way we have trained "non-consciously." From the time a baby is born it is taught by its parents and by society to be a "man" or a "woman." If it grew up alone, with no outside influences what would its personality be like? Just because it has a womb, would it be weak? If it had a penis, would it be aggressive and strong? No. These traits of personality are part of the way we are taught to be. A little boy wears blue. A little girl wears pink. A little boy is given trains, trucks, toy soldiers and baseball bats to play with. Little girls get dolls and suzie homemaker sets. Little boys wear dungarees and can play rough and get dirty. Little girls wear dresses and stay at home near their mothers to play and watch them cook. When a little boy talks about what he wants to be when he grows up he dreams of being a fireman, a doctor, a lawyer, a cabdriver, a revolutionary. A little girl can dream, but everyone knows what she will be a mother, a housewife.Anything else is strange — and temporary. Any other job she has must be something for her to do part-time until she can quit and stay home. If she has 31 �to work she then has two jobs — the main one is the home. Women cannot exist in this society without a "man to protect them." Women who have no men are forced to make it in a world that doesn't accept them. Welfare mothers are women with no men. Women compete against each other to "get a man." So we don't just have division between men and women, sexism divides women against each other. By the time a baby is six months old it has already been treated differently if it is a boy than if it is a girl, and acts and responds differently. Baby boys are more active. Baby girls cry more. Because Puerto Rican society is structured in a sexist way, it is very difficult to fight against things that we are not aware of. If we want to change this society and develop a new one that no longer oppresses anyone we must try to eliminate the sexism that we "non-consciously" retain in our minds. We must become instead of men and women — new humans, revolutionary people. Men should learn to cook, to care for children, to be open to cry and show emotions because these are all good things — needed to build a new society. Women must learn to be leaders, to speak out, to use tools and weapons, because our army must be made up of brothers and sisters. One of the ways that brothers can figure out if they are oppressing sisters is to ask themselves if they would treat another brother the same way. If you lived with another brother, would he always cook the meals and do the housework. If you lived with another brother and friends came over would you do all the talking? Sisters can judge their passivity the same way. How would you repair machines if there were no men around? Who would protect you if you were attacked? We must think about all the ways we have been brainwashed un consciously and fight against it. It is a hard struggle, because everything around us is sexist — the books we read, the t.v. shows we watch, the institutions of our society. We will never«be free until we have broken all the chains of our "non-consciously ideology" and our colonized mentalities. 32 �THE PARTY & THE STATE We are a colony of the yankee. We have been kicked and pushed around, and forced to work for the lowest wages while we do the hardest work. All major decisions that concern Puerto Rico and our people are made by racists in Washington, by crooked politicians who represent their bosses, the capitalists that own the factories and tourist trade of the island. One third of our people were conned into coming to the united states so that they could divide and control us better. We are programmed or mis-educated to do whatever the yankees desire. If they say Puerto Rico should be a state, we are Supposed to bow our heads down like good Puerto Ricans or spies and agree. We are allowed the privilege to vote for some of our own oppressors like badillo or hernandez-colon. Soon they think they will give Puerto Ricans the "privilege" to vote for the pig president of the united states. By keeping us from coming together they have been able to remain in control. Whenever we make attempts to liberate our people, they use whatever force they have available to prevent it from happening. When the Nationalist Party was becoming successful in educating the people, they were crushed, by having their leadership jailed and assassinated, and they succeeded in terrorizing the people. Now the Young Lords Party is becoming the force to organize the nation for a struggle for national liberation, a struggle where the whole people will be organized to fight against the colonizer. We are the Party which through our practice, has raised the consciousness of Puerto Ricans in the u.s. to the point that "Viva Puerto Rico Libre" has become a household word and "Power to the People" is replacing the unhappy good-byes. We have come to understand that without a revolutionary Party based on scientific analysis, 33 �we will not be able to gain our national liberation. A Party is necessary because there has to be a leading body to give direction. The revolution is not made by a bunch of individuals running around doing their thing. Our problem has been that we have too many individuals and little groups doing their thing and forgetting that the struggle for national liberation is our thing. What we need are leaders that come from the poor people and who place in their hearts the interests of the poor people and oppressed above anything else, and who are prepared to die for the liberation of the people, struggle is for "power", power to determine the direction in which we and our people move. That power means a struggle for control of the churches, hospitals, schools, police departments, political system. Any struggle that builds the consciousness of the people to control their institutions, helps the national liberation. A struggle that raises consciousness abo ut the reactionary and corrupt commonwealth or amerikkkan state and government is good. While we fight to control and destroy the old government organization, at the same time is being formed the new people's government which grows as we fight. This concept we refer to as the Party and the State. We recognize that a Party has to exist to give political direction (revolutionary theory), that it has to show people how to organize themselves, how to move against their landlord, a government agency, a factory boss whatever, and how to build organization), organizations and the Party that last also supplies (revolutionary revolutionary examples of what to do, for example, when we seized the People's Church, or Lincoln Hospital, or the National Students' Conference of September 23. This revolutionary Party is composed of the most active, most politically conscious, disciplined and committed revolutionaries in the nation. We understand that the Party will be a minority in number compared with the masses. But because we serve and protect and are one with the interests of the people, we represent the majority. The Party cadre (members) are all leaders of the battle of the people, and will coordinate the national liberation struggle. 34 �We see that there have to exist other organizations which we call People's Organizations. These organizations are massed based, try to get as many people as possible involved in struggle. They are not cadre organizations, like the Party. They have a specific are of work to control; for example, student organizing, workers organizing, community organizing. We think as many people's organizations as possible should be formed. These organizations work closely with the Party and have Party members in them, or working with them. We see this method as preparing the revolutionary state, the People's government, in th at the people are braining themselves how to run their own society. As the People's organizations grow, there will then be two powers in the Puerto Rican nation-the power of the reactionary present government, police, and businessmen, and the power of the poor people, people's organizations, and Party. These two cannot exist peacefully side by side. There will be conflict until one destroys the other. And as the people gain in strength, the revolutionary movement, together with the People's Army, will destroy the old state and set up a new revolutionary government. Many people ask, who will make this revolution? Everybody? The Young Lords Party feels most of our people would live better in a socialist society. But there are two classes of people that will fight harder for the new society, because they have been most oppressed in this present society. The lumpen-worker alliance is the name we use for the two classes who will lead the revolution. It means that according to our analysis of Puerto Rican society, the two most important parts of Puerto Rican society are the lumpens and the workers. The lumpens are the prostitutes, drug addicts, welfare mothers, hustlers, the street people, unemployable because the system has no jobs for them. They don't want jobs because they know already how much the sys tem makes off of them. They are the prisoners in the jails, all political prisoners, colonized and messed over by the system. They come out of school into no jobs, no future, nothing but drugs, wine, gambling. They try to find something worthwhile in their lives and only find racism and greed, or a pimp ready to make money off of them. 35 �The workers, the majority of the population, work five and six days a week for a lousy $100 more or less, they work in hosp itals, post offices, trains, and buses, in restaurants and hotels, in construction, in factories big and small. They are the housewives and working women oppressed at home or on the job, who have nothing to do but come home to bills, credit, T V , and beer, who will never get anyplace though they have lots of dreams. The lumpen understand the oppression best, that is why the y and the students (who come mostly from petty-bourgeois or middle class) are the first to get involved. The lumpen also form the hard core fighting force, once they are disciplined, because the individualism of the streets is still very strong with them. The workers are usually a little more conservative, because they have at least an apartment, even if there is no heat, and a car, even if it's mortgaged, and a job, even if it pays nothing, and they are afraid to lose their little bit. But they also have the most power. With their labor they built the society, and with a strike they can paralyze the whole island or a city. It is from the labor of the workers that the capitalist gets all the goods he sells. The workers know how to run the factories, the hospitals, the schools, the restaurants. They will run, along with the lumpen and students, and a small group of professionals, the new society, but first they must be educated to join with the lumpens and students to wage the War. Lumpens on drugs and having nothing, are divided from workers who fear getting robbed by them. Workers who have a few crumbs, are afraid the lumpen will steal it, so the two classes fight each other. The duty of the Party and the People's Organizations is to unite the two classes into a fighting force, the main force of the revolution. "Let me say at the risk off seeming ridiculous that a true revolutionary is guided by great feelings O f l O V e * " CHBOUIVARA 36 �THE PARTY AND THE INDIVIDUAL The ideology of the Party is the framework from which we move. Everything we do relates to the principles on this paper. Ideology doesn't only talk about what the Party believes but also where the Party sees itself going. On the basis of those principles and ideas we do our work among .the people. We call this practice. As the Party grows and develops, we are going to be developing a bigger more defined ideology and we will be faced with a continuous problem; how do we keep building that Party of our people that will put the ideas into practice. It is no good to have an ideology if all you can do is talk and not practice. fn order to be involved in good practice, two things must de dealt with; first on the level of organization, and then on the level of the individual. On the level of the Party, we ask ourselves, how do we develop the type of organization that can lead our people in a liberation movement? How do we structure it? How do we run the Party? We must remember that the structure is not for any one part of our people, it must suit the needs of all our people-lumpen, worker, student. Also, it must help develop people into good revolutionaries. The Party ministries. is divided The levels of into levels of leadership and leadership are the branch, the leadership of the branch, and the leaders and coordinators of the Party in general. The ministries. Defense, Staff, Field, Information, Economics, and Education are specific fields o* responsibility assigned to party members. The level of leadership is the army that does the organizing of the people, and the ministry is the function that aides the Party. 37 �We have learned the hard way, through trial and error some of the problems involved. It is very important for parts of the Party to communicate with the whole. If this is not done, there will be no unified Party. Communication is done in many ways, regular reports, telephone, mail, personal visits. One of communicating the is most important education. things Without -a besides structured educational system in the Party it is very hard for the Party to organize all sectors of the people. It is also hard for any individual to develop without political education. Two of the cores of the Party are the general membership meeting, where democratic discussion and decision-making are done, and criticism - self-criticism, the key to Party democracy. The structure is still changing, but we should never be afraid of changing to progress. On the level of the individual the question comes up, how do we train cadre? What is cadre: How do we develop individuals from different sectors of the society at the same time? In this field the Party went through many changes. We were organizing high school students, lumpens, college students, workers, and other sectors at the same time and we had to fight the bad traits that each group brings with it, like the impatience of high school students, the individualism of lumpen, the conservatism of workers, and the intellectualism of college students. What is a cadre? A cadre is a person in the Party who has gone through a change in himself or herself from just another Puerto Rican to leader of the people, a revolutionary. This change does not take place right away. First, a person becomes political, then they join the Party, then, after a period of time, they become a leader of the people. But it isn't as simple as that. There is a big change in the whole life of the individual. This change can be broken into two parts. First, losing the bad traits from the class they originated from, like individualism, machismo, sexism, racism intellectualism, superiorities and inferiorities. This is called "de-classizing". Once you become a cadre of the Young Lords Party, you are no longer a student, or a lumpen 38 �street-person, or a worker. You have that background, but what you are is able to organize best that class that you came from because you understand it best, have dealt with a lot of the negative parts of it, and have recognized the good parts. Second, is the big change that the individual has in getting rid of the scars that capitalism has left in the person's mind , like liberalism (not doing something you know is right), pessimism, and the biggest of all, colonized mentality. Colonized mentality is the effects of oppression. Because we are taught that a spie is a lower form of human, we end up believing it and acting as if it were true. We shy away from responsibility, we think negative, we don't think we can learn and then we takeut on ourselves, persecuting ourselves and fighting with others. We call this change, "de-colonizing". This doesn't mean that before you become a Lord, you have completely succeeded in getting rid of bad traits-that takes years--but that you have made an effort and are succeeding. The change in the individual of de-classizing and de-colonizing goes on at the same time and both complement each other. The developing of the Party should be seen as preparing internally for the prolonged war demands constant development and change. 39 �ANALYSIS OF PUERTO RICAN SOCIETY In May, 1970, the Young Lords Party studied the divisions in our people, divisions that make us weak. We call this the "analysis of Puerto Rican Society." This is how we are divided in classes. Every Puerto Rican fits into one of these classes. Your class is determined by how you make your living, how you survive everyday in this crazy amerikkkan-controlled world. Industrial Workers: The majority of the population are workers. We employment, work in factories and in government in sweat shops and petroleum refineries, in construction and restaurants. We make $40, $60, $100 a week and hardly stay alive while our bosses make hundreds of thousands off our hard work. We don't like to get into trouble, because we might lose our job, or our project or casserio apartment, or our children might suffer. We are the housewives and working wome, who are oppressed not just on the job but at home by our own husbands, who beat us or mistreat us because they don't know any better. We are afraid of the lumpen, because they rob us; but we know that this is the result of the system that forces them into drugs and prostitution. They are our brothers and sisters, compatriots, oppressed by the same enemy. We will join with them to free Puerto Rico, and after the yankees are kicked out, we will take over and run the factories for the good of all the people. Lumpen: Are men and women who are unemployable, on drugs, prostitutes, welfare mothers, people in jail. Most of us never had a chance for a decent life. We are young, poor, there were never any jobs waiting for us, there was no future, so we turned to drugs and crime. The society calls us 40 �¡ • ¡ t sili' % f¡¡ f*- it ' sfflB. ; ¡H p a w a " Vi h. jì 1 i Si T• •1- worthless, good for nothing. But all we are is oppressed h u m a n beings. W e r o b from our own people because w e ' r e prisoners, of drugs, of our conditions. We don't ©'ring the drugs into the community, the businessmen and government irrasssfeisii d o to keep u s pacified. We are waking up and uniting as a nonnia tn fioetrAi/ tKo raot class with titefl I J d J u l U H ! y - 'If 15?'-'- f "Of E3¥XSMM9B8£IM9MEflS^H H H s -^.••^r—--T |gi J ^ l l ^ i - H t « ! « « « « ™ « ^ enemy--the yan' ' • A g r i c u l t u r a l Workers: We are the last of the campesinos, who h a d our l a n d s bought up or stolen by the amerikkams, w h o were tricked i n t o slave-like migrant labor and shuttled back and f o r t h from the u.s. to Puerto Rico, to pick tomatoes or other crjps. t h e Petty-bourgeois are people who don't work for anyone else or who work with their minds not their hands, b u t who also don't employ anyone or any other people. In other words, they live off their own labor. There are three main types o f petty-bourgeois: Bodegeros: We own our own store or businesses. We have anywhere from 1 to 5 people who work for us. We make enough to live on if we work hard ourselves. But now the amerikkkan chain stores or the Cuban gusanos aré running us out of business. If we don't joint the other oppressed classes, we will soon be destroyed by the amerikkkans and Cuban gusanos (exiles). Capitalists and Traitors: These are the few Puerto Rican capitalists, like Ferre, and the big traitors, like Sanchez Vile Ita; Badiilo, Hernandez Colon, all the politicians and others whose lives are tied up with the amerikkkan occupation. There are also the thousands of Cuban pigs, who were kicked out of Cuba by Fidel. We will kick all of them out of Puerto Rico to establish a free, independent, and socialist nation : The lumpen and workers, allied together, will lead the revolution. The students, bodegeros, and professionals will join with them. Some professionals, vendepatrias and capitalists will bé against u$ , but in the long run, we wi and Puerto Rico will be frée. i n w i ^ f 41 IS ijjjPB �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Young Lords in Lincoln Park Collection Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Puerto Ricans--United States Civil Rights--United States--History Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Personal narratives Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Description An account of the resource Collection of oral history interviews and digitized materials documenting the history of the Young Lords Organization in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Interviews were conducted by Young Lords' founder, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, and documents were digitized from Mr. Jiménez' archives. The Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection grows out of the ongoing struggle for fair housing, self-determination, and human rights that was launched by Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords Movement. This project is dedicated to documenting the history of the displacement of Puerto Ricans, Mejicanos, other Latinos, and the poor from Lincoln Park, as well as the history of the Young Lords nationwide. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jiménez, José, 1948- Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng spa Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-65 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 2012-2017 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BTS00057-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young Lords (Organization) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1972 Title A name given to the resource Ideology of the Young Lords Party, 1972 Description An account of the resource Document detailing the ideology of the Young Lords Organization, including the history of Puerto Rican war, economic, and military struggles, colonization, and contemporary society. Subject The topic of the resource Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Civil Rights -- United States -- History Community activists Puerto Ricans -- United States Social justice Relation A related resource Young Lords in Lincoln Park interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives