980 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/555700da32023d9c7f967245a437a0ff.pdf fdd6bf25e243c1ed649b9510b04c04f7 PDF Text 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/. 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 BTS00058-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young Lords (Organization) Title A name given to the resource Young Lords logo poster Description An account of the resource Poster featuring the Young Lords logo of a raised fist holding a rifle. The phrase "Tengo Puerto Rico en mi Corazon" is arched above the image. 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 spa 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7cef672f6257ac6496bd3a44a62e9dc9.pdf 3603cbc1012f888a99cc00d537614325 PDF Text Text & EN Ml ^ � 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 BTS00058-02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young Lords (Organization) Title A name given to the resource Manuel Ramos Y Pancho Lind and Young Lords Logo banner Description An account of the resource Poster reading "Manuel Ramos Y Pancho Lind" in large lettering below the Young Lords logo. 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 spa 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aca1b2879f0f4dedffb077f5b1999dd8.pdf af31cce9dd88ef0d4223e38d92cddfd2 PDF Text Text A? pUERr0 jJP EN Ml QPUERtEN Ml CORAZOJI^ O 0 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 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 BTS00058-03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young Lords (Organization) Title A name given to the resource I Am a Revolutionary with Young Lords and Black Panther logos banner Description An account of the resource Young Lords and Black Panther Party banner reading "I am a revolutionary!" and "Chairman Fred Hampton" and featuring the Black Panther and Young Lords logos. 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0688adc7ffd6351d02a2640adddc5976.pdf 2c3d090edb637d26772e9fece2ee15f9 PDF Text Text �J INTROT/UCCION Puerto Rlcoy esta situado a 1,000 mlllas de distancia del cabo de Florida 'el mar del Caribe, es una colonic: de lea Estados Unidos (Yanqtic»)f qua ha estado Estados Unidos, cons l l l ^ b a j o su .dominacion desde 1898s Aztlan, es el suroeste de loa : ido, Nuevo Kexi'co, Arizona, y Tejas) que M&ilii'teistis de cineo estados (California, Colorad Wg.'iiiiM'ti fueron : rotados de Mexico por el tratado de Guadalupe-Hidalgo de 1848, Hay rauchas Sltli;, il^P" similardades'en .la lucha por liberation del puertorriqueno y chicane, primero bf.jo Pf^,''la dpminacio*n de : Espana,,y ahora bajo la .dominacion de: los Estados Unidos, lo cual •J ' aqui n 0 aotros tratare men. Los chicanos y puertorriquenos han sido sometides al impe'rialismo de los ^r?";''., Estados Unidos''por la pe'rdida de sus tierras; y despues por ser forzados a defender a los mismos capltalistas, quienes les robaron sus tierras en guerras por adelant 'f'' taraiento del imperialisrao. Coijio resultado del imporialismo, han sido v'ictimas del racismo que se ha; creado en este pais; han side forsados a trabajar como campssinos f^silfemigrantes de sueldos simamente abijo de la line a de pobreza, y al m.ismo tiempo son mantenidos'quietbs;,por la iglesia, drogas y otros metodos de control. A consecuen. cia .se mantienen pobres y. han sido forsados a vivir bajo las mas peores condicionesJ 1 "'' | mientras no solanente como chicanos 'vpuertorriquenos, puertorriouenos, sisso siao tambien tambien como eomc latinoameri can OS'han sido lentamante despojados de'su cultura. Por todas estas similaridadcs y mas? hoy dentro de los limites de loo Estados Unidos estan tratando de unirse m m para pelear por .su libertad y destxuir el inperialismoo If^Mf,. .... . .. ' ' Un grupo-que ha desempenando una parte significante on este movimiento, es la organ5.2 acion de Los Young Lords, quienes por sus luchas de derechos de la gente latina han ayudado a' traer esta unidad.' Por su eiemplo, la•'organizacion de Los Young-Lords ha:;dado iniciativa a la lucha de autodetermininacion de la poblacion ^ . ; latina. : •• *y- ' vi v^-.w-'i^,-. . ' - ' ••.. i..- Gha-Cna.Jimenez ha manifestado direccion desde el comienzo de la organizacion. El ha sido la fuerza que formo'la organizacion de una pandilla callejera a una „'; o^Sanizacipfj^bllticaj y ; hasta la fecha la ha mantenido funcicnando. Para empez&r a entender la historia de la organizacion de Los Young Lords, debemos de principiar . > x con la historia del Ministro de Defensa. w< V Aqui sigue una brave historia tanto del Kinistro de .Defensa Cha-Cha Jimenez m .como de la organizacion de Los. Young Lords. No hay ninguna idiologia envuelta. e a escrito, ; Esta aqui estrictamente para su propia justificacipn e interpreta" , ' cion. ; J i ms ] V',/ , - * 1 •'.' IH •. �PARTE Is KISTGRIA BP CHA-CHA '• . - .:'•• - . a .San Salvador es una secc'ioh campina de Caguas, Puerto iiieos Dona Eugenia-y Don-Antonio padres.de Cha-Cha son de es'ta area en Puerto |,;'Ricot- Dc'fta/ Eugenia era la ma's -joven do 'una familia de 15? ella fue trasladadaa Un convento, porque su padre era ciego y no habi'a nadie:.. -.'mas para.cuidarla. Alii, ella no aprendlo' nucho de leer y escribir, pero .le dieron.una buena edu'caci on religiosa, lo bastante para : poner' la a pensar v e h ;ser una isohja; vivid*: allx hasta que conocio a Don Anfjf; .'tonio'j cor,' quien se ca'so a la edad. de 16 anos« 'Dor. Antonio t&mbicn si, efldo-de la rci'sma seccion de C'aguas fue creado dent.ro una familia'pobre. vT :: '. . Don Antonio, en b u s e a d e trabafjo fue*a Boston, Massachusetts, trabajc? como campesino mifrrante. en un cbnservatorio de totoates, era un 7. :' recolectador de tomates. Penso','que viniendo a Los Estados Unidos pot'f. dfa propcrc.ionar las neces.ldad.es de• su'''familia de la'vida diaria» Se 'vi vino- a Los Estados Unidos,. y Dona Eugenia se' fue a vivir a El 'Millon, • 'r barrio'bajo en Caguas, .'El Mill-on, es cpnocido-por sus drogas, roboa, prostitutes y otrss-' caracterlsticas de un barrio bajo. Ella fue'a ' vivir en una c a s a de "otras-;familias conbcidasei Una de las raz'oncs de -/:. ; I M ? , ' • mudarse fue para'ostar cercaiV.del hospital,adonde iba a toner su ninojr l^iit''' antes tuvo' una nina que murio'de pultcenia tres. messes despuos del nacimiento de Cha-Cha* Ello fue a causa de falta -de dinero para propor; cionar adecuadas "atericiones' rridicas., Don Antonio.no podia mandar ninfe-'ii V' gun dinero a su. ie'sposa, y por cbsas no'esporadas Cha-Cha. no pudo ser nacido. on el hospital{ y tuvo que haber nacido en ; la casa en El Millon. 1 I®®!' ' . '-.T{. ;' j'VfoS-'5'VI • • V.•• !j.-'j''••••::\i: '. :'• '•••"••• i" • I • t i :• !;.. r p .A la edad'de un ano, Cha-Cha y su mama regresaron al catapo. Otra '.vez, por razones monatarias, Dona .Eugenia fue'a vivir con los padres de Don Antonio, En Boston : Don Antonio no estaba haciendo'nucho dinero.no podia e m d a r lo suficiente para mantener su familia. -.Un ano mas tarde,. Don Antonio regreso con un poco de dinero que ; se habia ganado. , Como DoiTa Eugenia- tenia - pocos vestidos, la llevo al fflWWt- •' para-, comprar unas ro'pas. Despues, llevo a ella y a Cha-Cha a Boston, 'Massachusetts adondo el trabajaba. Lo habfan puesto de eneargad o del coriservator.ro de tomates, dandole alojamientp de casa. Como vivian cerca del trabajo, Dona Eugenia le .ayudaba a trabajar, des' quitando el alojamiento que les proporcionaban. En este lu.car nacio una de las hernianas de Cha-Cha. • . A la edad de tres afios, Cha~Ch'a y su familia se mudaron a Chicago. Don Antonio tenia familiares ,'en Chicago, y asi so "mudo en busca de mejor traba jo, para poder soportar a la familia. A qui, ellos vivieron en ;|||®fe.ter Hotel, localizado en las callss' Superior y IaSalle un bloque (cua- ! ifll^dra); de la Clark. : De nuevo, por falta: de dinero para cuidados medicos, , S otrajhermana fue obligada a nacer en ol hotel, ca'e-a infestada do ..rato- . .' filches y c u c a r a c h a s . Despues, de haber se establecido en Chicago con fa- • i miliares y amigos, se tuvieron que mudar, porque el hotel iba a ser demo•lido(donde el Water Hotel estalxi situado, all era, be encuentra un hotel similar a :Hollday. ;Inn,.: pifsoina.,-: sal^.uo deccanso ]ote.).jijDo aqui la fa- • \ m m i �-JlSs 5. ! .*:, 4;V' .... p -;{:/. : 7 S>.' •i / " milia '<3© Cha-Cha se r.ud o tree o cuatro bloquss al norte, en la calles LaSalle y Oak? all5' la -ultima do sus hermanas fue nacida. Despb.es, do do* o tres mudatizas, la farailia do Cha-Gha aparecio on las calles Gothe y LaSalle, donde despues de habor sido situados en osa comunidad, se tu~ vieron cue mudar porque la oiudad iba a rer.ovarla.Cada ves que, la ciudad mud abar~ari<r~gcrnte -para-ise-j o-ras'-la-ooRdici. o»es- de...la_c.ojrAiiiid3<dj.: las vi~ viendft-s eran modernizadas solamente para gents de r.uoldos medianos y . altos» Asf fue el caso aqui.En el area dentro de los 1'/mites de estas calles esta'ahora situado el Carl Sandburg Village, adonde hay una ciudad dentro d.e una ciudad, conciste de "townhouses" y 10 a 15 edificios >)j , de altos apartamentos, con rontas de $3C'0 para arribaj y su polioia de seguridad privada. Para dar el aire de una " ciudad real", tambien tiene tiendas, laundries y hasta sus parques privados. Do las cal].es Gothe y LaSallo se mudaron a una area 'ahora conocida comb "Old Town". En este • tiempo Old Town era un barrio bajo, pero ahora es bien conocido como area de clubs nocturnos y atraccioh turi'stica para las gerites de los suburbios. Otra vez igual quo antes; al pasar una temporada su farailia fue empujada por renovacion urbana hacia la comunidad de Lincoln Park, alii Cha-Gha vivio' por el mas largo tiempo, Al mudarse a Lincoln Park Cha-Cha tenia 9 anos de edad. En un total de seis afios ellos habian ] !.• sido forzados a mudarse de la comunidad nueve veces. y todo era a causa. de renovaciohes urbanas. Lincoln Park era una comunidad de americanos MjJ 1', blancos, aun no habia sido tocadn por renovacion urbana. En ese tiempo ' esa comunidad consistia de irlandeses pobres, italianos, y hlancos pobres de los raontes de appalfichia« Era tod a via un barrio bajo, pero esta vez era. un barrio bajo de gente blanca Cha-Cha habia vivido en comunidanes latins.s pero por renovacion urbana, ahora, estaban dividiendo a los latinos. • , . j . ^ En Lincoln Park fue adorrte Cha-Cha Jimenez y otros companeros ayudaron a forraar la pandilla callejera de I.os Young Lords. Estos siete jovenos eran de las prineras familias latinas que vivieron en'esta area. •>' • ..• ' Todos ellos eran victimas do renovacio'n urbana, viotimas del racismo en la coiiiunidad al igual quo Cha-Cha. Los jover.es eran molestados constantomente llamandolos "spies" y nuchas veces los golpeaban, llegaban'de la escuela a sus cases sin poder resplrar despues de ser correteados por las pandillas americanas blancas. Esto roalmente, fue lo que unio'y creo'a Los Young Lords. I'iasj y mas puertorriquenos de la comunidad vieja de Cha-Cha eran sidos vaciados, y eran movidos hacia la comunidad de Lincoln Park. Mas grande, y ma's grand© crecia la pandilla callojera de Los Young Lords. Ya no habia que correr de la escuela a sus cases, ahora era al revels. • Dona Eugenia habia sido c rend a en un converito, v era muy religiose; coroo resultado, clla no podia er.terider las rasoiies de la actitud de Cha-Cha, solamente sabi'a que su hi jo se estaba metiendoso on "trouble" (problemas). Dona Eugenia einpezo'a dar clases de catacismo, preparando a nines latinos para su primera coriunion. Un sacerdoto de rnudia confiar.za, de una iglesia cercana(San Kiguol), le ayudaba a pre'parar esas ''"::' ; . v clases. Daspuds de ciert.a tcr.porada ol'iba ye;car.5'nnbo a los nifios' para' -^ - V : saber quo tan to habian aprcndidc. Porque Don Antonio cot a ha bebiendo mucho, y Cha-Cha siampre se estaba metiondo eh "trouble", Dona Eugenia ; hizo una pi'unnBa, vir.t1^»v1 or.o do n o p m jv.r nn a no. Ella lo suplioo al ' t- • - '•}'•; . I ...... • ..i-Jm. . ... �: : turn : : padre, quoJ le hablara a Ch'a-Chaif pdnsaba que el lo podia- manteriOr fuera • : . : d'o . " trouble"0 ' -El padro le :hn."blo' acerca- de sor un mchaguillOi -para las '•' ':' misas de espariol -de dos 5.gle siac,. .de ..San -Miguel .y Santa Teresa. v:^- la mama do Cha-Cha, sc volvio M e n in tip. a con una r.:on;ia que era maostra. do Cha-Cha. Esta monja empezo' hablarle a Cha-Cha acc-rca de entrar al sacerdocic, ar.i eft crapc-so a tenerle• un gran -respeto. Por . toda esa influencia, Cha-Cha se corivencio'de que sus amigos (que por . , . easualidacL succ.djen sor todes latinos)» e r & h l a causa tie que o l se motie. ra en prohlenas ("trouble"). Tambie'n estaba convencido, de que-el se a r r e - . . penticra, y aytidara a con vert ir a la gente a la igics'iav Todo esto paso' . * cuando el estaba en sexto, soptlmo. y octavo grado. Cha-Cha era-1 rat a do con desprebi'o por su difcrente estilo do vida, . y por ser el unico nine latino en toda. la escuela. Un ojemp3o de esto, paso', cuando e'l fue. el unico on no serinvitado a la fiesta de.graduacionde-octavo grado, organizada por uno de los otros estudiantes (despues,jinas latinos ontraron a la escuela do Santa Teresa). , ; . •; Por todo esto, otra 'vez Cha-Cha empezo a juntarse- con sus viejos amigos. Tod a via el queria entrar al sacerdocio, pero de . nuovo empezo' a meterse en problemas® Ccmo rosultado, su principal y ol sacerdote de la i'glesia mandaron cartas al seminar.io adondc-.o'l habia hplicadoy y asi fui*-.= •:. ccrco no lo fc.ee'ptaron> SI neninario-le replieo'quo tratara ol proximo aho. pallor era la union, escuela que or. aquol ticmpc Cha-Cha podia atonder, era / mas o monoG Ids cusrtoles de^Los Young Lords/ No tcniendo dinerb para ' .;: a tender a una secundaria catolica, fue*. f orsacici - a ir a esa. secundaria. En el verar.o antes 'de 'entrar a .Wallor, .Cha-Cha se hizo popular on . la policia juvenil local. Fue* llevado por robo de carro,inhalacion de pegadura, pelea de pandillas, y por romper ventanas. Durante todo el vera n o , estuvo seis rue so s en la correccional. El sacordote le ayudo'a que saliera dos voces, pero de spues perdio las espcranzas. Estuvo un ano bajo vigilancia. Ese veraho fue llevado para ser interro/redo de 25 o '30 voces (todo su record juvenil fue' dado'de baja por habar cstado en la estacion d e policfa eomo 52 voces. Tod.?,s esas voces no fuoron arrostamlentos aunque nuchas veces era llevado coir un grupi tevtodos ellos'quedaban en libertad). Cha-Cha duro' dos noses en Waller antes de ser arrestado por un caso de robo. Durante sucscancia en Waller, fue conocido muy bien por el oficial Truent. Paso" eineo meses en la. correccional (Audy Home),esperando por cl juicio dc la acusacion del robo, Su mama no perdio'animo. Consigui o un abogado, quion le robo todo el diriero • porque el juez ya habia tornado una decision. El juc-s le dio' a Cha^Cha una aliernativa, irse a prisio'n por un ano (por violar la proeacion), o irse a vivir a Puerto Rico por un ano. Su mama prefirio que se fuera a Puerto Rico. Una semana despue's, Cha-Cha fue' entregndo ante sus padres on el aeropuerto asegurandose de que abordara el avion con destino a Puerto Rico, : : . ' • '; ..;...-. i. Cha-Cha regreso* a Chicago echo meses desput^s para reunirse con sus amigos. Trato de volvor a la escuela, pero no fue* aceptado, Ni siquiera se preocuparon por decirle que aplieara en otra escuela. '•''•'J WrW •;'.-.-vvi v. •• -v-'-^vB. tkmM't • ,,-jir.:; If ••-:> 1 • 'bv v �:— — t. Otra vcz, en el r-eri'edo de tres semanas Cha-Cha fue arrestado por .el rcbo de un carrc. Fue' enviado a la correccional por un mes esperando para el proceso de.corte. Violc'varias voces la probacion, pero su of icial'lo nculto'P'-rquo vie'"que Cha-Cha tenia interos en ayudar a gente que tenia los mismos problenias que el. Trato'de hablarle a Cha-Cha acerca de quo 'fuera a la-eseu£la,_y lle^rra_a..se.r un.jraba4ador_soclal_..(''Ceia.1 worker) 0 Cuando Cha-Cha tenia 1? anos • anunalo cinco veces a un jcven por el . pecho y la 'espialda. Se penso'quo el jcven iba a morir, por la • se'riedad de . este caso las autoridados juveniles dijeron quo no auerian tener.nada que ver con Cha-Cha. • Otros tres Lords., estaban enredados en el mismo caso^ uno de ell os" era. Manuel Ramos. El los tenian abogadc menos Cha-Cha. Su mama fue a visitarlo, y le dijo que un abogadc queria. $1500 dorales para comenzar el caso, que clla tenia ahorrado un dlnero y que iba, a sacar un pre s tamo. (Cha-Cha les habf'a dicho a las autoridades que su mad re estaba muerta. El no quiso comunicarle a su mama del incident,o porque sabia que la iba a doprireir? pero el]a se dio" cuenta por medio de los noti- . cieros,) Ko obstante lo dijo quo se clvids.va y quo no se proocupara- por el abofrado. •Cuando Cha-Cha fue' llevado a corte, lo pregunto al juez que si podia hablar. • El juez le pregunto que si tenia un abogado. Como ofl no tenia abogado fuo'parmitido que hablara. Cha-Cha. decla.ro que. el habia sido til culpable, cl unieo quo apuna.lo al joven, y cue los otros arres- , tados solamente t.rataron de evitar la peloa. Fuesto que esta era un?. corte menor, el jues no Osporaba que cl se confensara culpable. El defensor publico todavia no le habia hablado a Cha-Cha, y asi se prosento con el juez en la cdm&ra. Cuando aparecieron do nuevo, e.1 juez lo pregunto al joven apunalado cue si podia identificar a Cha-Cha, El jovon ocultando, dijo quo el rcalmente no sabia. El defensor publico trsto de convencer a Cha-Cha. para oue retraetara su confosion. Pero como no pudo ser, el defensor publico le pregunto al juez que temara on considcracion la sinceridad del joven; Cha-Cha no tenia n i w u n record adulto(en c-se tiempo la corte no permitia contar records juveniles), y como la arma alegada no habia sido encontrada. De spue's do una explication del jues, Cha-Cha fue' sentenciado a seis ir.osos do prision en Vandalia, Illinois, granja. del estado penal. Todo c-1 juicio dure? como vc.-in.te manutos. Cha-Cha. cumplio'casi todos los seis mesee en el calabozo por pelcar y negarse a trabajar. f Cuando Cha-Cha salio', emposo' a' salir con una muchacha. Plaiinaba casarse, 'cstablcserso y queria olvidarse do las peleas callejeras, drogas etc. Su novia so habia mudado al barrio previanente antes do su libertad. Algunos vecinos habian hablado ma] en contra, de Los Lords, y como Cha-Cha , habia sido el lider principal del grupo, los padres de la novia sabian lo- suficiente para no accptarlo. Lo hieicron dificil para los dos peder llcvar; acabo i-:U'.s nnos»Cha-Cha no era permitido ir a su casa, y despue's de un tiempo sus padres se mudaron del barrio para separarlos. Su novia eneontro la manora do comunicarse y le dio' su n u e v direccidn. De nuevo Cha-Cha fue a pedir permiso para podorla ver. Esta vcs le dioron per-' miso, y todo iba bion por un tiempo hasta que empesaron a entremeterse de nuevo lo hi cioron dificil pars quo se vis rati, y entonc.es Cha-Cha cmpez'o a trnliajar activamenvo oon el grupo. Aunquc era dificil todavia continuaban '••Aj^t; • V:' .-•'is; �?,•"• | ^Puesto/que Cfe-Cha e m e l liderc del groupo, y era M e n conocido por \i;.les pollen a s , siempre que algo pasaba on el barr":o, o cualgUier cosa relacionada con algun miembro pandillei-o, Cha-Cha era llevado a interroga: torio. Kuri'ca daba a la policia ninguna informacic>n. Nuchas de las veces lo dejaban i r W o r o a voces lo detcnian por cargo's de mala conducta, por' ^-fAt.^.^n r r n r ^ , Ite vea en cuando lo culpaban por de-., . litos que el ios bier, sabian que no los habi'a cometido^ .Habia veces que . • Cha-Cha sabia quien habia cometido los delitcs, pero el cayadamente lo ..' X £ guard aba - y servxa las sentencias. Por esto y ma's, era respetado por los :••••' roiembror. r?r>1 gruno D ., . V-v .: <;:.' . " : ,. ;. . . En una ocasion un. carro de policxa se encontraba estacionado en la callo, y a uno. de -los Lords se le ocurrio' ir y coger una cachiporra. De's-. pues de tomarla regreso a la esquina adonde Cha-Cha y Los lord's se e n c o n - , • ' traban, les di.jo a t.odos de lo que habia hechO* El policia regreso' al car-, ro y se d i o c u e n t a de que la cachiporra no estaba| la primera parte adonde fue',fuoaJa esquina adonde Los Lords rondaban. Al'Jx vio'a Cha-Cha con un grupo do otros Lords, dliguio' a Cha-Cha y lo llevo a la estacien do poll- j •. c5a. Estando allx, el policxa le dijo a Cha-Cha que alguien lo habia visto tomando la cachiporra. Cha-Cha rcplico', "JYo no se de que tu hablas'" El policxa lo eiapeao' a golpear. sangrandolo do la na'ris. Aunque Cha-Cha ;•"• sabla quien lo habi'a hecho, el se quedo cayado. Minutes despues un poll- -.. ci'a entro con otro Lord, la cachiporra y la tostiga, quien ya habi'a identificado al culpable. Cuando el policxa Is pre gun to a la testiga que si A.-] habia. visto a Chn.~T!ha cercas del carro* ella dijo quo solamente habia yisto i a una persona, y que no era. el» Allx todavxa Cha-Cha se encontraba encerrado culpandolo de conducta desorcdenada. -A -•'m En otra ocasion, cuando trabajando en un reciente empleo. Una tarde del viernes, de spues de haber reoibido su sueldo Cha-Cha y Manuel Ramos, quien estaba trabajando en el misno sitie, decidieron comprar unas cuan- )>'• tas cerbezas y ir a la casa de la mama de Cha-Cha a tcmarselas. Manuel no queria ir y beber en su casa, porque jahabl'an tornado y la mama' de Cha-Cha podia tonar una mal impresion. Cha-Cha convenc:! o' a Manuel de que fuera a su casa y esperara miohtras se barlaba y se cambiaba do ropas de trabajo; y as£ llevar acabo cl plan de ir a un baile esa noche• Mientras Cha-Cha se , estaba bariando, Manuel le dljo a Dofia Eugenia que iba a su casa a cambiarse de ropas, y que el encontraba a Cha-Cha en el baile. Cuando Cha-Cha termlno de banarse, canino por la calle para ver si podia alcanzar a Manuel. Como no pudo verlo, entonces regresaba a su casa. Cerca de su casa escueho a_r<n hombro^de edad gritandole a una nina, como el habi'a Ibebidp penso" que la nina era su. hermana. El fue hacla e l hombre y le dio'una bofetada, despuo's un hijo del hombre snlio'de su casa a pslear con Cha-Cha •• (Cha-Cha estaba en la car eel -cuando. sus padres se mudaron a ese sitio. . , Como arenas acabato de haber llegado de la carcel, el no conocia a sus vecinosj sin embargo sabian- de el por medio de su.mama). Su mama'ya habia . salido de la casa. Solamente tres punetazos habian sido lansados, y la \ ' pelea .termino. Dona , Eugenia le pre punt o a Cha-Cha que, que habia pasado; .' -. y el le dijo que habia cncontrado a el hbmbre gritandole a su hermana. Su"" ' ' '.'. '•""''.;' mama le probo'el echo de' que sus• h'enrsanas estaban en la casa. El y su mama -. . : - ; ' so disculparon del hombre y.su hijoj ya todo se habia arreglado. �•^j.-*/;.^;-I-;: ,1 rvv-l'V'/ • -v- : , .., J':'?.:. •..••.. : • ' - f , ? * ! ^ ? ? * . ^ ? ? ^ m w * > • ' , •U'.'.r: ). no-l-n una patrulla t,oT -1 a r^i vio'a \i>> n •»unungrupo m-imfldo gente,a.Cha-Cha rr»>i + n gb-n^Gfta' V r.u i En esto, policiaca y su mama' que camiuabari a su caca. La patrulla paro", y uno de los policias le , ';! grito' a Cha-Cha para que fuera hacia. el. Su mama'le dijo al policia. en ingl eo ihal pronu'neiado,"everything O.K., no trouble 0 " El policia de nuevo le grito'a Cha-Cha para que fuera? entonces Cha-Cha le dijo a su mama que' e»pc7rarai~qne---3^--a-habla4rls_al_pftllc:ra. Cuando Cha-Cha camino hacia el, el policia lo agarro' per el cuello y le dijo,"JMo~Te"d'i"j5~'qne-tra-jeras — tu culo aqui?" "J Maid it o J" Cha-Cha entonc.es. probocado tambien lo tomo' del: cuello y le di jo, "J Ponds jot" "JQuita las m'anos de mi condenadoj"1 ya la calle esta.ba llena' de patiullas, y'ol.ro policia vino por atras de Cha-Cha y lo tiro" al suelo de un naeanaso. Cha-Cha estaba inccnsciente. El poll-'r:=';".' cia que primefo lo'-'agarro', ahora. lo tomo de sus brazes atrapandolo bajo , .•'• sus rodillas, ;'y asotandclo contra el suelo. La mama'de Cha-Cha y una de sus hermanas trataron de quitarle de ensiina el policia. Su hermar.a puso sus manos entire su eabesa para que no se golpeara, mientras otra jalo'la ; macana del policia y la tiro'al otro lado de la calle. Los vecinos, in- ,'rr v cluyendo el hombre y su hijo, estaban alrededor, gritandole a los policies que lo -dejaran en pa's, . •;, ,, Cha-Cha fue' llevado a custodia. Su mama" y hermanas querian ir con el para ascgurarse que nada le pasara. la mama'de Cha-Ch.a, aun no habla sido culpada de nada. • De spue's de muchas dudas, su mama'y hermanas fuer'ori permitidas que ac'ompanaran, pero sus hermanas. tuvieron que irse en otra patrulla. Cuando Cha-Cha recobro' conocimiento. vie'a su mama resando el .. rosario. Le .pregnnto' que. que' estaba haciendo alii. Ella contesto'aue solamente oueraa a.companarlo, le di jo que se recast?.ra y descansara. Entonces ella continue' resando el rosario. Cuando llegaron a la estacion de policia, Cha-Cha fue' encarcelado. En el otro lado de la estacion su mama!* espcraba infomacioh de los ca.rgos y la hulta.Los policias que lo arreataron entraron a 2 3 celda, Cha-Cha estaba • despierto y era fichado. El oficial culpable de'todo el incidente, se encont.raba furio-o v alegaba de que habia psrdido unos dientes. Dijo que debian arre star a su madre por "privar el derecho de justicia." En esto le estaban tomando las huellas, se voltio'y dijo, " J No oi' lo que tu dijistes!" "I Due fue'?" El oficial replico", "I Voy arre star a tu madre!" Cha-Cha enojado dljo,"iTu': va's arre star a mi madre? ICondenadoJ" Cha-Cha empujo'al oficial que lo estaba ficl.vj.ndo, y per el lado lo brinco'al'oficial que lc habj.a ar-ostado. Como 5 ma's pel iclas brincaron sobre Cha-Cha, lo tirarcn a?, suello. Lo goltcaron con sus sacanas ahorcandolo y pegandole por tod as partes. Cha-Cha ahora tenia una hemorragis interna, y tocia sangre. Finalmente ,"'le torcieron sus brazos, esposandolo por detrasj de nuevo inccnsciente se enccntraba recostado en su cama. Mientras Cha-Cha era golpeado, su mama era arrestada por "privar el derecho de justicia," Tres sacerdotes, un capita'n recintoj familiares y amigos'quienes vieron el incidente : fueron a ver lo que habia pasado y die- ' ron $25 dolares de multa para Dona Eugenia, Uno de los sacerdotes, acompanado por un oficial se condujo nacia la celda par?, ver a Clja^Cha. El ,V-V, estaba toca a bajo, el. sacerdote trato" de despertarlo'' pero no pudo. El po- ' licia. le dijo al' sacerdote que toda via estaba borracho. ( A su regreso le dijo a su mama' que Cha-Cha estaba bie'n, rerco poroue todavla estaba borracho que era mejor dejarlo esa noche y sacarlo al otro dia. ;.";. r ' �'. Al rba siguiente, Cha-Cha entro'a corte cojeando (de las patadas que .: /.r^ ; le babi*an - dad o' la noche anterior). Su cara estaba hjnchada, su cabeza estaba tajada, y de la hemorragia tenia una 'sena roja en su cuello.. Pagaron la multa de $100 do!ares, y salio* ' / ' ' '-'vi. ; r ; Jpi!"''^ h h <Vry n r haV^r? i ^ d n ' p»r utv. largo tiempo; estaba;d.e«-';j; ^ • prim id o por lo que le habia pasado a su osposa e hljb; el salici' esa noche y se emborraoho. Le dijo a sus amigos". que esperaba quo los policias era- t .pezaran algo con el. El es con'ocido por sus ainigos por ser cayado y por ser una persona que no le gusta envoiverse en peleas. Esa noche, en la taveina habia la ordir.aria pelea de siempre, y esta ves .el se envolvio, Cha-Cha, con. su cheque quo ann-lo..tenia, se encarcino'solo a la estacion de . / .policfa - adonde el habia estado el dia anterior 5 pago' la ..'nulla de su papa y , '.'7 salio'. Was tarde, Cha-Cha y su papa' bromiaron aeerca del incidence* en vez .. . del papa sacar al hi jo, el hijo saco al papa. - . i E l . caso de su papa'fue' dado'de ba-ja, pero el caso do su mama consistio en el pago de los dientes de oficial (aunque ella no lo habia hecho, los pago) antes de que fuera a corte. . * '•.>-• •:<• ;'• ^ f : • . \ & ' vr'r El caso de Cha-Cha fue mas complicado. El abcgado le dijo que su caso era impossible. El sacordote, el capitan del recinto democrabico, y su abogado, le segufan dic-iendo que era toda su culpa,, que deberia d e . ; avergonza.rse por haber metido a su ma.ma' en p r o b l e m s (ella nunca habia . : tenido problr.tnr.c-, con la 1 *>y)» Tcdo lo escucho cayad.ameht.3* De spues .pregunto'"que, que le pod 5a pacar a su mama' si se iba. SI abogado le dijo, que nada le pass be. a ella, pero que el se iba a meter en muchos problemas, si trataba de irse, y que los poiicias lo agarrari'an. .y '-jy Cha-Cha decidio irse. Le dijo de su decision a su mama y novia. Su novia le dijo que ella queria acompaiisrlo. Como por un ano se fueron. Los dos estaban trabajando, y para este tiempo ella estaba embrazada, querfan arreglar todo con sus padres. Despue's de hablar con sus padres, tcdo iba bien en el transcurso de un jsesj entonces ella fue' a pasar una eemana con sus padres* D u r n t e esa semana* sus padres la influyeron para q\ie se quedara mas tiempo. Cha-Cha todavfa podia verla, pero ahora siempre que iba lo hacian sentir ma's y mss desgraciado, Se aoeroaba el nacimiento del bebe, y se estaba convenciendo ella de que.se quedara a vivir con sus padres. Cha-Cha trabsjabn fueras de la ciudad en el turno da la noche. Una noche de spues de vi.sita.rlo todo el dia fue a trabajar sin do'frairr el cansancio lo a^oto'y se durmio' en el trabajo, como resultedo fue despedido, Se puso bien deprimido* y teniendo un dinero que hnbi'a ahorrado fue' y se entrego' (por el ineidente que pa so'con el poll cia). Cuerla aclarar todo para / que cuando el bebe' naciera no tuviera que .preocuparse. Se entrego , y las autoridades no encontraron .ninguna cita para ru arrestamiento. Cha-Cha les dijo que rovisaran bienj al no encontrar nada, las autoridades le agradecieron mucho p o r haberse entregado, Le dijieron que ya no tenfa . nada de que preocuparse. (Dos anos ma's tarde, de spue's de educarse pollticaraente, apaicecio' esa cita para su arrestamiento, que fue servido.) . - . . . . 4 & 9 9 L 0 . . . ••>•• i ^ �. i s s s f e - g s ^ Todavia Cha'-Cha tenia p r o b l e m s para ver a su novia. Cadi- vez- que iba, "sal fa discutiendo con los padres. Ho se sentia l ien acudir sin dinero.; P o r todo lo que habia pasado, tampoco se sentfa bien vivir eon sus.padres. Como no tenia ningun sitio adonde vivir, se quedaba en diferentes easas. Todo deprimido y sin nada, el unieo refugio que .encontro fueron las drogas. > .•ffF'nrHrtft ''fl~hrriMi'iiij oinpczo''a vender'drogas para, otros vendedores. Solafoeri•te vcndia lo suficiente para softener su habito,' que "'h.ab1a-convertido- i.-;' en necesidad. .Despues de un tiempo no pudo venderla ma's. Necesitaba tan- . to la droga que rcbaba a los vendedores. Ya lo conocian por eso, y ya no lo daban nada para revender. Como resultado de todo, Cha-Cha tuvo que r. » 1 robar casas y asaltar prente. '". .V -,Un dia,' no pudo conseguir ningun dinorc para comprar la. droga. Cha-Cha se eiicontraba onfermo y desesperado. 131 vendedor en la esquin'a estate, impasiente,-ya. estaba por irse a su casa; Cha-Cha lo convened o'para que esperara por'el una hora mas. Cha-Cha era so' la calle, tcmo' un desatornillador y lo puso cercas del cuello de un hombre para que le diera su dinero. El no se did' cuenta que eran dos hombres, el otro hombre ompujo^a Cha-Cha, y les dio suficiente tiempo para irse en el carro. Trataron de atropellarlo con el carro, y rapidamente manejaron a gran vslocidadj regreso' hacla el vendedor pidiendole que esperara de nuevo, le dijo que estaba scguro de conseguir dinerc. En el otro lado de la calle el vendedor observaba todas las manicbras de Cha-Cha. v como no quiso mas esperar, le dio'la droga a credito, Dos dias despues, Cha-Cha regreso^a la misraa esquina trata ndo de conseruir la droga.. El hombre que i nfconto' robar dos dias ants'riores estaba en la esqu?r.a con la policia, senaio a Cha-Cha para identificarlo. Ma's tarde fue a corte y sirvi o 60 dias de prision. Cha-Cha. fue' enviado a la correccional. Al principio, fue' puesto en el dormitorio que tenia 12 latinos. Esto era bastante rare; por lo regular ponen 5 o 6 latinos juntos, y lo hacen, dado a la tendencia que los latinos tienen de unirse rapido. Alguien en la seccion, habia hablado acerca de huirse? tan pronto como lo oyeron, culparon a los latinos. Cha-Cha solanente tenia. 40 dias mas de servir (comparado por otros tiempos, cuando tenia que servir de 6 meses a un ano), lo dijo al guardia que no tenia porque eeoaparse; pero no obstante, fue'' rnandado al calabozo con el resto de los latinos. Despues los mandaron a maxima seguridad. En maxima segu- • rida.de habia un reli&ioso, 'que a escondidas repartfa librcs, pa pel y lapiz e s . A Cha-Cha y a los otros, les facilito sus servicios. Algunos de- los libr.os que Cha-Cha pudo leer fueron de Martin Luther King, y un libro H a mad o "Seven Story Mountain" (hasta ese tiempo no habia,leido nada desde el octavo grade), r i e n t m s estaba en prisic'n, su novia fue a verlo con la be b e . Por la.s visitas y los librcs, Cha-Cha empezo a pensar en porque deberia dejar las drogas. m Cuando Cha-Cha salio y fue al barrio, sus ojos vieron mas. Los morenos en ese tiempo estaban rotinando; conocio nucha gente en la carcel cue habian estado envultc-s en los motines. Cha-Cha continue" estudiando, ahora estaba y estudiando mas de otros grupos en las comunidades morenas y chicanas. Se llevaba bien con los grupos chicanos, r-uesto que eran latinos, y tambien porque en el movimiento latino todavia no habia ningun grupo puertorriqueno.^ Como renovacioh urbana era la principal fuersa, bloques completes en la area de Lincoln Park eran demolidoc. Cha-Cha so mudo tantas veces, que cauhdo sus padres le dljicron, q^e. tenXan-'q^Te mudarse de nuevo, o.l dijo, �, ; - . ^ , , If <4%mm* M i ustedes se pueden mudar? pero yo me 'quedare a qui I" ";ya estoy cansado de v mudanzasS" P o r todas esas contradicciones que eran M e n c'laras, Cha-Cha via la ,, necesidad de former un grupo que peleara per-los desachos do la gento lati:;a« . 1 -Ens' la comunidad comenzo a ir a reuniones de renovacion urbana y oouocio a otras gentes que teriian eT~ mis mo .tirtT5res-que~el«— -Esas -reunicnesJLa: ayudavon a ver mas claramonte las contradicciones* Cono todavxa era presidente.de Los Young Lords, el penso que este era el grupo que intenta edificar trato de establecer politica en Los Young Lords, pero no dio re'fjultado proque todavia Los Lords euerian tales cosas cono ir a baile s y partoo sociales. Organ!so oiros dos grupos permaneclendo presidents de Los Young- Lords* El conocio a esta gente en tavernas y centros de la comunidad, AX princiipio nadie le escuchaba, pore Cha-Cha seguia incistiendo y no perdia el anino., Los Lords may ores no iban de acuerdo con la idea de Cha-Cha porquo estaban muy ocupados "arre'batandose." Pero Los Lords menores ya hablair ido con Cha-Cha a algunas rbiroioses de renovacion urbana* Lentamente, re/rresaron al grupo porquo Cha-Cha estaba hablando del racismo y brutal.idad policiaca. 1 Con Los Young Lords mayores (Manuel Ramos era uno de ellos) Cha-Cha fijo' una . junta para la reorganizacion del grupo. Cuando Manuel Ramos murio' esa.misma seman'a las contradicciones se veian bien claras y todos los ultimos Young Lords se reunieron de nuevo. Cha-Cha no sabla mucho acerca de como organisor, solamente sabla lo qua habia aprondido por medio do la practice diaria. . '' • ' •, 'J. •';• • • t ^ . . . ; , . , jjesde entonces, Lcs Young Lords han ho oho y 1 participado en los siguientes eventos: se apoderaron del "Theological Seminary " (on ei oual, las d e a a n d a s p o r $601,000 dolares para construir casas de salaries bajos, fuercn e'ehas y confirm a d o s , pero nunca cuplidas); se apoderaron de una area vacia y la llamaron "People*s Park;" tuvieron demostractones para Welfare Rights y marches ortar.do la independencia de Puerto Rico? tuvieron festiyaies en las calles, relacionardoce con la cultura latina; atendieron a conferencias chica-ras- para formar unid&d entre toons los "latinos 1 y hasta esto memento, tienen en funcicn una clinica gratuita. Cha-Cha ya no se relac.ionaba con peleas calle jeras 0 drogas. Los Young Lords ya no eran una pandilla. cino, una organisaci.cn politica. Cha-Cha fue arrestedo 1? veces en un ano v medio, Estas voces fue'arrestado, segun ellos por acciones de desoxd&n, por atender a juntas de renovacion urbana, y por otros actos politicos. P o r tcdo esto, y mas fue"for;',ad0 a salir de la comunidad. •> il^myl-^/Ji^ M M 'v . .. J . '' J..•' - •• if 'i * V-T-.--- H v|||f't||| �! : Parte II'» EH. LPS PRIMERCS AMOS ' • ' Historia de la Crpanizacion de Los Young Lords ^ v;lv . , - fcgft ; ' ; : En 1959, siete jovenes fornaron una pandilla para protegerse} en ese tiempo # era cuando muehos" puertorriquonos y latinos eran maltratados por pandillas blancas en la area de Lincoln Park (cerca del lado norte de- Chicago)• El principal proposito y actividad del grupo era p a r a p e l e a r con las pandillas blancas que los molestaban, por controlar los sitios- de ronda.,. calles, y territories pandilleros* Al. misao -.tiempo que el grupo crecaa, se ramificaba a otras areas cercanas, a escuelas secundarias a donde otros latinos esta ban teniendo los mismos tipos de problemas. 'M';. -'..!'' [; V En ese tiempo, cuando la mayoria de Los Yc-ur.g Lords.tenian problemas. de. pobreza, con la polieia, con oficiales de vigilancia, con renovacion urbana, con drogas y con otras pandillas; los jover.es constantemente eran plagados por trabaj ad ores sociales que tenian por solucion a esos problemas, ,el de jugar baloncesto en una iglesia local. En 1964, Cha-Cha Jimenez fue"nombrado presidents de Los Young Lords ifu^ra, de los siete originales, el fue' uno de los poccs que quodaban. En ese tiempo, el grupo empezo"*a tener actividades sociales en una YMCA local. Algunas hermanas por medio de los eventos sociales en la YMCA se estaban asociando con Los Young.Lords. 'Mas tarde ellas fueron organizadas por Cha-Cha en un grupo llamado Young Lordettes. Represion golpeo a los Lords, al mismo tiempo se transfornaban pasivos jugando baloncesto en la iglesia cercana, y ycndo a los eventofe sociales en la YMCA. Tcdos los prin'cipales lido res del grupo fueron encarcelados incluyendo a Cha-Cha', a qui en por ser el principal lider fue atacado con mas fuerza, Despues de pocos meses; el grupo de Los Young Lords se destruyo". Ya no iban a la YMCA o a la iglesia local; el proposito de los eventos sociales y programas que habian sido originalmente planeados para los Lords, ahora eran descontinuados. Como resultado de todo eso, la u'nica cosa que esta ban haciendo ahora, era "arrobatarse" en la esquina. Una cosa que continuaron haciendo fue'llamarse Young Lords. * — f Despues de casi'dos anos,y en 1968, Cha-Cha regreso a la comunidad de Lincoln Park. En ese tiempo la mayoria de Los Young Lords estaban casados, tenian en sus casas problemas financiered, en "welfare," y todavia rondaban en la esquina arrebatandose. Muchos de ellos tambien habian sido mudados por renovacion urbana. Al ver todo eso, Cha-Cha quien a la rnisna vez tenia problemas con su novia, se deprimio bastante, y recurri'o"a la heroins, y asX.otra vez aparecio'en la carcel, A su regreso, despues de haber leido libros acerca de pasividad social, , y de unidad dentro de la comunidad morena, 61 reorganiso Los Young Lords. Esta vez'fue corno la organisacio'n "de Los Young Lords-que iba a pelear en contra de las' injusti- '-.-•; cias de la "maquinaria Daley," injusticias. recivida.s pOr el pueblo latino. En . : algunas de las cosas ^oue la organizacion paptieipo', fue''en . la recaudacion de fondos (bailes, Has do Salsa;, dinero que fue" recoiectado, y utilizado para la compra do comida, rcrpas y .jugetes.,dis.tribuiaos a familias necesitadas.durante la na\ - —. uuun» . uuinJi we id, .Jist„, / j. r"r .-v-y^ + if-^vv o-x �fete^vi. ^ - ....... . : ' '' ; ' rf • 7 • ^mm^NAM'^h. M m m . Cosas que la gente pobre experimenta todos los dias pobreza sol Ida> hambre, y casi dcGer.ploo total atccarcn <r-acv.' esquina de la vida puertorriquena. Un grupo de "interesados" duenos de tierrasj quienes habi'an formado una organizacion proyanqui, ellos tnlegrafieron al presldente Roosevelt diedendo "existe un estado actual de anarqufa, pueblos sitiados; policias sin potencia y negocios paralieados;" ; Jorge Bird Arias, admjnistrador y viceprcsidente da la companta azuonrera Fa.ia.rdo,- : U y { coritrolada nor los americanos, mando"'un telegrama al secrotario de guerra Stern, . . y decla "condiciones existentes, econolnicas y polfticas demandan un hombre bueno ; i-„ fuerte y capaz." '•'.. ' ; . - v IGenei.Jj. Blanton Uinship! asf penso'ol departamento de guerra, que el era el u hombre "capaz". Con sus acciones claramente comprabo'qUe no disgusto al gobierno ameri carlo, El General Uinshipenposo 'ligerame-ntc. moviiizandq. el aparato federal ii'f; y ordeno el arresto de Don Pedro Albizu Campos, y de otros lideres puertorriquenos . independentistas. Pero el movimiento independentista se aguanto firrco y el pueblo siguio"luchando® " ' Poco mas' o renos por el l'l- de marzo do 193?; les lideres locales ihdependentistas notificaron a las autoridades de un desfile (en protesta por el encarcelamiento de los lideres independentistas) que seri'a celebrado el domingo 21 de. m a r z o . Aunque rsalmente el permiso no era requerido, la peticion fue enviada al alcalde? el respondio' dando el permiso rapidaracnte (la peticion era una cortesia de los independentistas que extend.iercn al gobierno municipal). . • ' Arribando a Fence el viernes 19 de marzo, el eoronel Crbeta jefe de policia ' llego^ a estudj.ar la situacion; despues de su regreso a San Juan el eoronel Orbeta hablo* con el general kinship quien en ese momento nlaneo* y ordeno"'el masacre de Ponce. El eoronel Orbeta fue* regresado a Ponce para conveneer al alcalde que diera fin al desfile. . En los dias. anteriores del 21 de marzo en Ponce una significante central!sacion de policia. fue ll.eva.da a cabo. Ctra fuerza adiclonal de 200 hombres fue llevada para ayudar a la rutins ria. guarnicio'n policlaea' de Ponce % '"so encon traban bien armados de rifles, carabinas, semiametralJadoras Thompson, gases lucrimogenos, granadas y ademas con las comunes naeanas. Despues de largas discuclones con el eoronel Orbeta, finalraente el alcalde se : convencio. El alcalde inmodiatanonte notifico'a los lideres independentistas, les informo que no habi'a notado que el di'a del desfile era el Domingo de Ramos, festividad religiosa, que los sacerdotes Paulinos lo suplicapon que' no permitiera dar a cabo el desfile. Ignorando el hecho de que el' estaba' nintiendc.,- lob independentistas ' le dijieron que la gente quo iba al.desfile ya estaba en Pence 9 que el desfile pro^ seguiria en orden y^ que ellos le dirlsn a los •sacerdotes-;'de las realizaciones. En 1 eso el alcalde paro la. con versa cio'n y les di.-jo que. el permiso habia sido cancelado. ' •' ' " " ' 'L .......... . , ,. . . . . . "I " '' • . . . . ; . ....... .. .. ...... �Alii siguio una discucicn agitada en contra de uno y otro, por un lado el coronel Orbeta, el capitan'Felipe Blanco (jefe de policia del distrito de Ponce) y por ol otro los lideres independentistas«, . •i ' •--.' * Hlentras las dlscuoiones proseguian, la policia se consentraba excesivamente en toda las calles alrededor del sitiotty /euuiou y larebien-en—6-squina:d.e_ .las ._ calles Aurora y Marina. Los independentistas ontraban al sitio de reunion junto' con sus esposas y nines. Bastantes evidencias Questran que aquellos que no erai» -.;:' independentistas fueron avisades por los policies que no fueran dentro de la area de las calles Marina, Aurora y Jobos. Los que eran permitides crusar las lineas It.eran independentistas-, facilmente rcconocidcs per sus uniformed y por insignias puastas en alguna' parte do sus ropasV."""• i - • -• -. - i . . . ••u. . El coronel Orbeta y el capitan .Blanco visitaron el area brevemeute arites de •; los disparos. Hasta la misma atmosfera se encontraba tonsa» Los poiJiH'nr. ofih.-VKm all i v los independentistas ya eran rod ©ados. Ma's tarde dijeron que no les habian dado ordenes ,a los policias. Segu'n Orbeta fueron en una patrulla a los orrillas y cercanias.de Ponce sola,mente para, ver el paisaje; que despnos de .los d:isparos ellos regresarepn. ' •• La calle Marina corre de norte a sur, la calle Luna es la primera calle que crusa. Mas arriba, la calle Aurora crusa la calle Marina, es en esta esqUina en donde los independentistas tenian su sitio de reunion. La policia se alineo'en los dos lados de la calle Marina, entre las calles Luna y Aurora. En donde la ca~ 11c Aurora crusa. la calle Marina, uri giupo namcroso se paro'esp&rardo ayuda de cualquiera de ley dos 2ados. Todos se encontracan armados con rifles, con gases lacrimogenos, con carabinas etc. No obstante otro grupo de policias armados con •semiametralladoras se paro'detras de la formaoion de los independentistas. Testigos quo vieron y fotografos ensehan como en todos los respectos, los independentistas estaban desarmados completamente atrajpatlos en la esquina. Tarnbien demuestran que gente en grupos grand.es, casi todos se reunieron on. la esquina de las calles Aurora y Marina, aproximadamente enfrente del sitio de reunion de los independentistas! Completamente rodeados sin posibilidades de escapar, es evident© que la for™ macion policiaca solaiaente tenia un propo'sito en mente. No solamente era para romper el desfile o desenvclver un motin.• Despersion classi ca y tactions antimotinantes dan oportunidad a'despersarse. Puertorriquenos independentistas en ese fiel Domingo de Ramos eran deliboradamente negades de esa oportunidad. £,Cual era el proposito? Era aterrorisar al pueblo puertorriq-.cno eon nria-et±ibiciou'de" brutal.idad vulgar-—un masncre e Por tolas ..partes los llovieron a la gente descargas de fuego. Por aproximada- . mente diez minutos fueron sonetidos a disparos crusados. Los ultimos disparos .terminaron su mision y 20 muertos eran tendides. En un hospital cercano, un nino lloraba a causa de he'ridas, mas de 150 personas fueron heridasf algunos fueron. mutiladas para el resto de su vida. m :1 ' <' La ultima media hora antes de los disparos y los mortiferos die?, minutos de •• v'^v masacre nan pa sad o a la hir.torla como un insuperable ejempl o de calrca y valor de la, -. gente bajo fuego« ' c-y. ^^'.•Jijr .r:^-.- •rm •ivn-^ui^-^^kAxitw �s s g ® ^ :;:, : i\ i . RENOVACION URBANA ^ • rnimmmmm . •. • • : •• :: -J i.V- • • : 1 : &••>//: •.'••••• $ -M••; - V , ':••'•.•'''• - 3 Aproxi.madamehte a fines de dleiombre de 1968, la organizacion de Los young Lords se die cuenta de que tres campanias de bienes y raices on la area de Lincoln Park,""estaban--tra:b3->.nd<^Gon-renQvaGloajirlaMj_plane^,n rindsr afuera a todos.los latinos. Fue en este tiempo cuando Cha-Cha decidio^qiiFla "6rganiSa6I"on do "Los- Young Lords tomaran una posicion sobre el problema de "Renovacion Urbana." Una demost^acion fue planeada'en rrotestacion de "Fat Larry" (un agente de bienes y raices) por sus abuses en .la comunidad hacia la gente latina y por sus notas racistas en contra' ' de ellos« v;-,; M-.: : ] • . . ••;: U n f--- - .... .. • ,• .y * ,. grupo de Los Young Lords, represantando los demostradores, entraron a hablar con "Fat Larry", el respondio'sacando una pistola automatica *38 y otra semejante a • una ametralladora que apunto'a Cha-Cha* Despues su a n d a n t e comenzo'a llamar a la policia. Cuando la policia llego', ellos inmediatamentc c-mpesaron a esculcar a Cha-Cha, mientras "Fat Larry" lo vigilaba. Tcdo esto pasaba adentro de la oficina de "Fat Larry"j mientras, la gente era ordenada a dispercaroe* Ellos no se fueron hasta que Cha-Cha salio' • • -, : V , A l dfa siguiente una3 hojas sueltas fueron distribuidas para informar a la ' comunidad de las conexiones entre "Fat. Larry" (incluyendo a los otros agentes) y la renovacion urbana* En enero de 1 9 6 9 , EX Concilio de Conservacion de la Comunidad (CCC) se reunie- : ron para aiscutir el futu.ro do la comunidad latina. (El CCC deciden en'asuntos de renovation urbana, tal cono, cualer, cases debon ser demolidas y cuales no deben ser demolirlas*) La organizaeion de Los Young Lords, y otras gentes de la comunidad asistieron a esa reunion. Despues de vcr a todas las gentes que asistieron, la junta directive decidio posponer la reunion porouo no tenian los principales miembros de la ;unta directiva. Al mes siguiente, el CCC vote unanimemente (despues de ser forzado por la co- }' munidac) para no reunirse de nuevo hasta que tuvieron en su junta directiva a repres e n t e e s latinos y morenos de la comunidad. Al dia siguiente de la primera reunion de CCC, Cha-Cha fue arrestado, Dijeron que solawente querian hablar con e l , pe*-o cuando se nego a ir con olios, eacaron dos citas viejas de arrestamiento de 1 9 6 7 , las cuaj.es ya estaban ac3.ara.dao (una tenia que ver con el caso de asalto grcvio en el cual un policfa .psrcio'unos dientes; pero Cha-Cha ya se habia entregado). Su multa fue fijada por $2,500 dolares, el nismo dfa salio'en libertad con dinero donado por la comunidad. BIENES TAR Pi'ELICO El 31 de enero, Cha-Cha acompanaba a la Oficina d e l BJenestar Publico, a una recipients, este es un procedimionto que generalmente oojc todo el die sin'dar aingun resu.tado al final^del.dfa. Y a era tiempo para cerrar la oficina, las recip- ' ientes que estaban alii, docidieron en no irse hasta oue las atendieran. Cor.o consequencia, una confrontacion resu.lto" cuando una cafetera accidentalse voltio: El Director Asistento de la oficina viendo esto, camino hacia ' > • ;•>,• X. �do« f.onoras y las empujo, una tie ellas estate embarazadai Cha^Cha viendo•.I'd slicedidoVk'^ fue y tuvo nu'as; cuantas palabras con el Director Asistente. En ningu'n tiempo; ChaCha toco' al Director, porque-el sabia que la policia lo queri's, tantc que lo arrestarian por cualquier cosa; y tambien porque las recipientes .tenian•la situacio'n : blen eoutrolada. ' : y - : - — ~ 1 \ ' \ • •f^r' "' La policia fue llamada, y cargas de agravlos fueron fxjades a Cha-Oha, por lo c u a l u n a inulta fue dad a de $ 5 w 0 dolares. Cuando 1.1 ego a la estacion de policia • ;. otra cita vieja de arre's tam3.cnfcofue' encontrada, la dual era por. "acolon de muche- .",'; dumbre," y otra ves $5000 do!ares de multa fueron fijados, Un total de $1000'dol-' V.& ares en dinero en efectivo tenia que ser r e u n x d o — y se reunion Cha 7 Cha fue' sacad o esa-misma noehe* •• » _„_..••_..•';.-j...- .\ J. • /••'''•{t'^''Ji '^y/-': f'^.'. V " V V ';•• V , . " : ' ' . ';.' * * '' : ' ^ • v' •'• - ?} C O ^ * ^ " Como resultado del incidents on la oficina del. Bienestar Publico y porque Iks recipientes no estaban recibiendo sus cheques, una marcha fue' planeada en la comunidad lati.. . Mas de 500 recipientes y otras gentes de la comunidad marcharondesde la esquina de las ca.Lles de California y Division (cerca de la parte* norte ."'•"•'. de C h i c a g o — a l oeste de Lincoln Park) hasta la oficina del Bienestar Publico, Ifielcer -' Park, localinada en las cal3.es de Daroen y Milwaukee« la organ.izac3.on do tc'.? .Young '[I ' Lords, otros latinos, morenos, y grupOs de blancos pobres marcharon. bajo uav bands ia. que decia: "In.iuR+.ir.in hacia uno, cs in just tela ha.cia t o d o W Cha-Cha no pudo asistir a esta marcha. Apenas saliendo de la oficina de Los Young'Lords con camino hacia la marcha, Cha-Cha en el proce'so de explicar a lbs miembros algunas cosas relaci.pnadas con la marcha{ fue' arrestado junto con otros Lords por conducta desordenada. Algunos de Los Young Lords fueron a la estacion de policia para depositar la multa de Cha-ChaJ mien bras ,ei resto fue' a la marcha. Cuando la marcha terai.no, Cha-Cha todavi'a estaba encarcelado® No porque Los Young Lords no depositaron la nsulta, pero porque la policia estaba deteniendolo. La gente en la marcha oyo'quo Cha-Cha habia sido arrestedo, y asx continuaron la marcha hacia la estacion de policia. Cha-Cha y lor. otros Lords salieron en libertad; pero no hasta que $100 d d a r e s (dinero en efectivo para oada uno) de rescato fueron pagados. Mientraa la gente estaba protestando la p(>bresa y la b!cu!.a.lidad policiacaj el establec5.miento estaba demostrando a la gence que ellos en realidad no tenian ningun interes ,por sbs d'emandas. Esto fue mostrado por medio de, los arrestamientos y las multas dadas a Cha-Cha y a len otros Young Lords, Mas tarde hubieron otras marchas de recipientes- en las que la organizaeion de Los Young Lords participnron. En cada una de estas marchas Cha-Cha fue' arrested o por aiguna cosa u otra, tol eon.o por ixieitar un mot in j conducta desordenada; y por aselto gravio. �5 ffifyftyi'!,'-'' 'v< J IvV. ' ^ " ••'•'•.,-. it' *• ,rn;j>nn „ „ • fe S ASESINATO^DE KAHUEL RAMOS MARCHA . i , . • ; ; 1X• ,1, V (.,.:,% ,":. - $ Wv - - f > ••"•'•,.> - \ O^Vh J:' ' il fe if V.3 . ,l • "•'/•••••••l- _ EI sabado tres do mayo da j.969, un grupo 'de casi 15 amigos, incluyendo Young y sua lamalias.estaban en la casa de unos-do "loo '.orris -odloTbrando el 21 'cum?.•• -V ' • Pl^anos de Manuel Ra.ir.os y tambien el del otro compahero. La casa esta' 1 ocaliikda^v.f on el lado sur de Chicago, en un barrio predominante de blancos que es conocido " por su racismo. Era una noche cal^rosa, la puerta.de entrada oe habia dejado . abierta para ventliar el apartamento. Cerca • de las once de la noche, Manuel y.. ''' ';';'• otro bensa.no .oyeron dicputando, y oian much03 otros ruidos que venian de afuera, entonces olios decidieron sali'r a haber que e m lo one estaba pasardo; Desde la u o r t a . P hasta^el apartamento habia un pasillo, alii fue donde Manuelr.fu.a disparado por el policia James Lamb. Lamb tenia su brazo ernpunado en el cuello de un Lord,:-rAi^ con un .38 en su otrs ma no one aguantaba sobre el hoxbro dorcnho del Lord, • aquien fn agarro usandolo para protegerse. El dispare a Manuel en cl ojo a kJj u I w I o y a olvo '-'r •'.' Lord lo raspo por el cuello. " 1 *!:>•• • ' .:'>"•,. •'' -v. • : i';V.;' E 1 policia James Lamb estaba descansando esa noche. pios, una camiseta y unos pantalones todos chorreados de presentss, : nmediaitamente atendieron al lado de Manuel, ensangrentado. Durante todo ese tiempo, todavia Lamb no Traia pueatos unos -'chainpintura. Los Young Lords quicr. estaba tendido tcdo se identificaba. . . 1 . .V ' . En unos cuantos minutos, las calles se llenaron con patrullas policial's. "Los Cuatro Lords" llevaron a Lamb ante los policies, y no fue'hasta ese entonces cuando por primera vez se identifico como un policia. En vez de que James Lamb : fuera arrestsdo, "LuL Cuatro Lords" fueron los arrostadosj les forjaron cargas in- ' ventados, tal como el de "agravios." Mientras Lamb conversaba con las nollelas, tirades en el suelo se encontraban Manuel y el otro hermano que tambien..habia sido disparado. Iamb afirmo'que el habia inicialmento salido porque oyo un di spare. Tambien sostuvo que vio'"un revolver que..era apuntado desde la puorta; asi pues el disparo, sol amen be Viendo el revolver y no a Manuel, quien segun Lamb, tuvo que haber toninido el revolver apuntandolo desde adentro "el apartamento. Conforms al la forme de la entrada del apartamento totalmento expuento on la entrada'do la puerta. ' • . 1 Para "Los Cuatro Lords", una multa fue'fijaria para cada. uno por cantidad de' $10,000 d d a r e s (despues fue reducida), "Los Cuatro Lords" fueron sacados al dia siguiente. Los Lords sabian quo en una fcrna tenian que protestar el asesinato, tambien sabian que por todo el pais gente pobre habia sido asosinada asi como y Manuel. En ?Jl- horas, una maroha, fue organi'ssda. Comenso en "El Pa roue de la Gente;" las 3000 personas que participaron maroharon por la calle Division en la comunidad latina. El estendarte que guxaba la marcha decia,"5 Manuel Ramos vive en todos . revolucionarios!" - L a marcha a la fur.eraria, viendo el cuerpo de Manuel• se convert!0 en mas infureciniento por el raciomo y explotacio'n. Una earavar-a de 75 carros fueron mane-: jados hasta la ,estacion.de poplicia cn las calles 35 y Loue (al lado suroeste), demandaron justicia. por el asesinato. Exlgian el aa-retjto de J.-,nes Lamb. Seguro que la demanda fue re oh <\.v, ad 3 . ^ X Z J?, ^ •'. �W i g El d£a del funeral, Los Young Lords sirvierch de guard!a a la'carrosa..En la" ,|f . ruta al sementerlo, ir.anos empuriadas eran eleyadas desde casi todos los cien carros. : K La organizacion de Los Young Lords sabia el vordadero significado de "unidad/' Y - . A* 1 • hasta la fecha saben la importancia de unir a tcdos lod gentes pobres, oprimiuas xtl^—-^—y-de—todos-C-Qlores. para que asi" yeleeii en contra- de los verdaderos opresores. . . 1 I;: ':; En mayo 1 9 , el abcgado defensor de "Los Cuatro Lords" presento en corte, ante el juez Oerda una queja fi.rn.ada por los familiares de Manuel Ramos, la queja era* ;. / en contra del policia James Lamb; solieitaba una cite de arrestamiento y encarcelamientb por el asesinato de Manuel Ramos.. El juez Corda solamente replied, " INoI" Kasta..ahora,. James . Lamb es.exisicnte cor.o un "oficial dc la paz"- (uti policia). LA TOMA DEL SEMINAR 10 Kc CORMICK ;.;.'• Durar'-r la misma sernana de la muerto de Manuel el McOormiek Theological Stone Administration Building fue' tornado por la organizacion de Los Young Lords, todavia 7, se encontraban enojados por el asesinato de Manuel y renombraron el seminario con el nombre de "Manuel Ramos Memorial Building." El seminario McCormick ha contribuido a crear problemas en los alrededor.es de la coaunidad, el mayor problema es' el de casa y vivienda* • ,' ." r, i i •. •". / Junto con otras instituciones en la comunidad, el seminar!o' soporto' y empeso un programa de renovacion urbana, que fue' i'ntentado para raudar a las gentes pobres de la comunidad y reemplazarlos por rasident.es de altos y medianos. ingresos. Eso lo hacen constantemente, priricipalmente por la exterminacion de mas de 1100 casas familiares y la remocio'n de tres a cuatro voces mayor In cantidad de familias? son areas do viviendas tornados por instituciones y tambie'n para viviendas de precios ma's altos p-ra los residentes en la -conuniuad. Como resultado Cha-Cha dijo, "Queremos que ellos,».empiezen a ecsprar algunas casas y propicdades' para la gente pobre \y algun as viviendas ae baja r e n t a g ( C h a - C h a Jimenez, Ministro de Dofensa, de la organizacion de Los Young Lords). La organizacion de Los Young Lords tuvieron una. junta con representantes de la administracion de McCormick; la junta fue' una sen-ana antes de la toma del seminario, presentaron una. lista de dies demandss con el punto principal de una requisicio'n de $601*000 dolares para viviendas do bajas rent as. CincO dias despues, tuvieron una junta en la que Kc Cormick presento'una serie de respuestas formales, la. mayoria. de las demandss fuoron rechazadas. y el rest-o fueron contestadas en '_"'[' voces enganozas. ; • , / r .Dos dias despues tuvieron otra junta, en la Que se hizo ver, que era evidente que las respuestas dad as por McCormick habfan sido totalmente insuf icientes y que, ahora los Young Lords ten!an. que reeurrir - "vna. accion educative en la comunidad". A media noche, el Stone Administration Building fue' tornado. Inmediata seguridad fue' fijada en el odificio la ontrada y la sal Ida de todas las personas fue controlada por aproximadamenta GO personas de la com>midad, quien oficientemente cerraron todas las entradar. del odificio, A la srhniri is Iranian so lo inforjad de la ' : : "V '' "•• / -'i ••' �tiff W • -'V.-• ;.<• p ' v Toina rlVl erHficio; mientras la gente esperaba las respuestn.s de las demandas. \\' Una de las rrimeras respuostas fue deliberada en forma de tribunal, ordenando a la gente que desocuparan el edificio. Finalmente, despues de cuatro dras el director del semlnario 11a mo' una c.onfcrcncla de prensa, prosponld* eljtribunal y dijo que iba a Ilevar a cabo las demandas. El edificio fue desocrupado >eea uiendo una junta popular. « • -v l i B M m ^ : 'M' . « -'i ; ••.- 1 • i i f e l f l Aunque los funcionarios del semlnario estaban de acuerdo con las demandas? aun hasta ahora, todavxa las demandas no re han llevado a cabo. El unico dinero que .fue,recibido fue' el dinero. para "La Oficina de Loyos para la Gente" (localizada en las calles Hals ted y Webster), los Lords ayudo'a establecerla para el sirvicio do la gente do esa area. Tambien otras cantid&des chicas fueron recibidaa rara cier--.v,: A',.tas actividad.es en la comunidad, pero son insignificantes comparadas con. las demandas originalss -que fueron pedidas y e.cordadas, El dinero para' viviendas ($601,000 dolares), es una do las diez mas import,ante dcmanda que nunca fue' cumplida. Hi tampoco se llevo a cabo la demanda de $25,000 dolares en la que la organisacion de Los Young Lords pedran para eropezar un centro cultural, quo era forsosamente necesita- ,., d o en J a c .munidad,. , . 'AA\'a A,'/.:• •••"•' Para exagerar la sign if i can sa de esta accio'n serla dificil. En recientes anos A en Los Estados Unidos esta.es probablemente la primera vez cuando gente de "la comun i d a d — g e n t e p b b r o — t o m o en posecion una instituci^n principal en la comunidad. cor.o la de McCormick que fud con la intenci^n de una ejscucion ccmpleta" de una lista de demandas polxticas y economicas. Ademas, los grupos que tomaron el edificio no fueron solamente latinos, pero tr.mbien morenos y blancos. Ellos son en general, politicamente radicales? ademas do sxmplemonto tratar do forzar unas cuantas conce«* siones, interrogan la legalidad del sistema y su poder, « LA COjhFEPENCIA DE D g W g H La organiaacion de Los Young Lords, consciente de la necesidad por unidad para obrar con tooos los p r o b l e m s que efectan a la gente latina, y pobre, asistieron a La Gonferencia. de la Juventud en Denver, Colorado. La raso'n principal de la conferencia, fue para que los chicsnoa y latinos de los cinco estados suroestes (Tejas, California, Colorado, Arizona, y Nuevo Mexico) se unieran todos bajo el nombre de "Aztlan." Estos cinco estados una vez pertenecieron a Me'xi.co, pero fueron robados por los Estados Unidos en 1893. - Aztlan - - - I.os Estados Unidos empezaron infiltrando a Tejas. Desde el comienzo'de la migracicn, hasta la abolicion de la esclavitud; la csclavit-ud era el principal, argu- .. mento en la historia de T c j a s , porquo la. oconomia del nlgcdon do los inmigrant.es do lcr. Estados Unidos depend5a totalmente en esto. Cuando el Fstado M«?x}cano descen- • die?' una constitucion abollendo la esclavitud, Stephan Austin, quie'n estaba. hablando -.jAAA por los enojados blancos poseedoros do eoolnvos, fue' a la ciudad de Mexico con una propuesta para separar Kd>r1 on. El amenav?o', que el gobiei'n.o de ••n-M v ^ p - a.y Tejas - ^ ^del S srosto' ? » deif?"T'ia �S f t ^ Tejas iba hncei- derrocadc por los GoJ-Onistas blaneos si cstos arraglcs no se T i e - ' : ' • varan a cabo, Como Mexico. se nego, los americanos (bajo 1:?- orden del Presidents ,. : Polk) se rebslaron y veocieron a. las fuerzas Msxicanas (ba.io la orden de Santa Ana/ la batalla de San Jacinto pero on abril de el 1836» Santaa .Ana fue' capturado y forzado a". aV .,—'•en f lxmar^la.iaiifreg2L._dalXeJaff,'• cuando rcgreso. Mexico, el renuncio' la concurYa que el tratado de pa's nunca fue'.discutido, ninguna frontera entre las dos lactones fue fijada, Tejas reclame'el territorid hasta el Bio Grande, p e r o Mexico.. .x insistio que la frontera se fijara on el Rio Nueces. Porque Mexico no reconocio' ,las..fronteras. f i j a d a s p e r . los _Estacios_ Unidos. clla continue' ocupando la f a c a d e \ > tierra entra ; el Rio Nueces y el Rio Grande, ' (Esta'faja de tierra fue conoCida come'; la zona sangrienta por las continuadas guerras-.de guerrillas.) En este tiempo habia un fuerte movimiento en La Republica-de Tejas (Kex.ics.nos Vendidos).; era gente. que estaba lUchando por el estadismo al principles de Tejas se .convert.to' es- . tadoi •. . £ • v• 7f Como Tejas ya era un estado, el gobierno da. los Estados Unidos estaba en la po.sicion ?•> enforzar la reclamacio'n fronteriza de La. Republica de Tejas. El .Presidents Polk qiseria• fornar a Mexico a pelear, asi el iriando H-000 tropas para ocupar tierras Mexicanas en el cur del Rio Nueces, un terrltorio que Tejas nunca habia controlado. Antes del final del ano do i 8^5, Polk habia ordenado sus tropas a el otro la do de la faja de tierra del Rio Ilueces testa el Rio Grande* Los Mexicanos t todavia no hablan ensenado niguna opcsicidn. En la mil-ad de 1 "nkf>. T-olk se canso' a de esperar, a s i el mando sus tropas para floouear la embccadura del Rio Grande. Este acto da o gresi on fue" respondido por el ejercito Mexicans, Ahora Polk tenia el "derecho" para declarer la guerra. El ejercito de los Estados Unidos planeo un ataque triangular en contra de Mexico, Una orden fue' da d a a el general Taylor para capturar Monterey y avangar ' hacia Mexico desde el nortej el general Winfield Scott iba a capturar Vera Cruz, y avanzar hacia la ciudad da Mexico por el surj y coronel Kearney fue' ordenado a ocupar el Nuevo territorio Kexica.no, Los Estados Unidos ton San un ejercito bueno y almas buenas, y asi puss conduciercn una ofer.siva total en contra de Mexico. ^ Pero el resultado de la guerra dependi'a, en los grupos dominantes. Ellos le • tenian mas miedo a los campesinos que a ningunos otros invasores, asi ellos se aseguraron quo los campesinos estuvieran desarmados, Como habian sido los campesinos qu.ienes fueron llamados a pelear; este acto por la clase dominant^ Mexicana", fue" prcbado ser desastroso para tcdo Mexico, Los Estados Unidos estaban avanzando mas adentro de Mexico, y los campesinos fueron dejados (desarmados) defendiendo su pa~ tria lo mejor posiblo que ellos podian. Los campesinos mexicanos y los indios estaban haciendo lo posible para rechazar.a les americanos, Ellos no estaban propiamente armndes y no habian tenido entrenamiento militar, sin embargo la rcsistencia aumento. Presidente Polk habia sido afrontndo con la posibilidad do desastre. No era solameirte que la resistencia mexicana estaba crosiendo y que el tenia la posibilidad de una larga ocupacion''' de Mexico, pero tambie'n texia que ol 'Congrcso negara. la vctacion para fondes de guerra. Polk quteria torminar esta guerra lo m s pronto posible. El mando a su oficial mayor del departamento estadista, Nicholes Trist, para negociar un tratado con el gobierno mexicano. �•'••• U n ano mas tarda, ya habia sido tomada la cuidad'do Mexico,' el Presidente fornia. Trist no pago'ninguna v — / - para..sus^^vjLag_.demandas en el Tratado del Guadalupe-Kidalgo. (151 . brado asi, porque Trist escogid para +'ir:SaT~<t~TOTTtra-to nl pueblo i/i'rgen"de Guadalupe, El .esperaba que los.mexicancs qvdeh.es son muy pensa.riari que la Virgeh habia perraitldo que esto pasara y que ella Vdirigiondo.") . ; • j Tratado fue' nomdedicadp a.la.^ .. religiosos, " / los estaba « Aunqua Polk queria mas tierras, el recomendo' que el Senado aceotara el Tratado, El.Senado acepto'todo pero mends .cl a r t l c i Q o , ol •'Cua'Lvparanti.zaraa 16s'. txtuLcs a las tierras de los mexicanos viviendo en Tejas. Los maxicancs no querian ver todas sus tierras despojadas dc su gente que vivia en Tejas, entonces^ellos no ciorabinieron con esos arreglos en el Tratado. Polk en bonces respondio que r, i no wdiaii ,-b guerra podia- continuar. Por su economia pobre y dispues de hacer vcncidos tanta veces en batallas con • los Estado? Unidos; sintieron que perder la mitad de sus tierras era mejor, qiie perderla t.oda.; Fueron forsados a firmar la entrega de su territorios que ahora 11amamos Nuevo Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Nevada? partes de Colorado Kansas, • •• ! Oklahoma y Wyoihir.g. , '•• ; LA T-: MA de LA IGLESIA » El 29 de septiembre de 196?, el reverendo Brace Johnson J r . y su esposa fueron enc ontradns apunalados a muerto en su casa localizada en cl 2028 norte do Sem: inary (en Lincoln Park). El reverendo Johnson era el passer de la Igle'sia"Metodista en la avenida Armitage, fue renombrada La Iglesia de la Gente (mayo de 1969) cuando la organizacion de Los Young Lords y la gente de la comunidad se apederaron de ella, despues de una solicitud negada por espa'cio para establecer una oficina y un Centro de Kinos. •> * Explicando a otros la exactitxid de las acciones de la organizacion de Los Young Lords; el reverendo, su esposa v la junta directive de la iglesia empesaron a ayudarlos en sus sixpence para abrir el Centro de Cuidados de Ki'nos Gratxjitt.o. Esas gentes defendieron a Cha-Cha y La Organizacion a pesar de presiones y amenazas; • cuando Cha-Cha y La Organizacion eran atacados por la policia, por el regodor del • distrito, por otros politicos, y ademas por los intentop de los inspectores de estructura de cerrar la iglesia. • • • - . • '• En los mesas previos a su muerte, el reverendo Johnson a lo nenos una ves por la semana iba a corte en conexi on a "violaciones" legales tales como violaciones de estructura codiga; violaciones sanitarias; y por el peligro de combustion en la, iglesia. �Lea participation do la comunidad tenia que extenderso a todas las gentes pobre en la comunidad, incluyendo a .madres de families. . La organisecion de Los Young Lords sanla esto. Una de las racones brincipa.Les por la cual no podicn envoiverse -a-ca_por su vlgorozo envolvlr,lento en el cuidado de sus nines. El "centro-'de cuidado de ninos" fue "ihtendad.o pare cuidar a los ninos de laS seis de- ia-manana-a la seis-—. de la. noche. Esto reducia el di'a de labor de las madres para darles oportunidad a participar en las actividades de la comunidad. & & & & & ' ' •' m ^ l d i ^ ' ^ y M i ^ • -A , Cuando la comunidad fue informeda del Centro, ayudaron a establecer las fac alidades, .en la Iglesia de la Gente. Hacioron tales cosas como pir.tar, poner parti-" clones, cor.siguieron mate'riales, litres y coeinaren etc. E l Centro de Cuidado de Kinos consist'ia en educar a los nir.os a su culture, pin tar, leer, escribir y a tender a varias actividades de campo, etc. .i , El Centro de Cuidado de Minos nunca se pudo Ilevar a cabo, porquo fue atacado con difcrentes violaciones falsas, segun ellos decien que el techo era muy alto y el suelo muy bajoj- y que las series do e m e r g e n c e en las sal Idas no tenian sus requis- .• itos. tiki, de 30 miembros de le organizacion fueron arrestedos por,causes como, por • re part, ir ojad sueltos cercas de las escuela s , por conducta desordenada' por 'distur: i*' ber 1a pas y otros cergos conectados con el Centro de Guide de Ninos. Cha-Cha tam'-i i bien fue arrestado supuestamente por hater robado $23 dolares en madera para, el Centre, Le fijaron una multa por cantidad de $5000 dolares.. (rocibio* una sentencia de un ario do prision solamente por este caso)* ' Por cade di'a que el Centro Permanccla habierto la corte fijo, $200 dolares de multa. El sisten.a no queria que los Lords continuaron educando a la gente en sus necosidades5 ni tampoco querian que recibieran el apoyo do la comunidad. Cuando los Lords'vieron que no podian operar el Centro (por causa de la Maquinaria Daley)» Cha-Cha y los Young Lords no se dieron por vencidos. Trataron otros me todas pare servir a la comunidad. Ademas del "Prograna de ropes C-ratuites" que hasta la feche continue y el'Trograraa de Desayuno Gratuito" que funciona durante la tempors.de- de escuela, ellos se reuniercn con estudiantes de -medicine de la universidad Northwestern y planearon una "clinica de salud gratuita" para la gente latina y la gente pobre de la comunidad de Lincoln Park. PROGRAKA. DE SALUD •> Las condiclones en la area de Lincoln Park son los misses come on tcdas partes. Los latinos no cst-an irformados de la seriedad del cuidado do salud. No saben de las vacunas anuales, de cosas venenosas (por re suit, ado de malas condiciones de vivienda) y otras preceuciones de salud. La gente pebre tione que ser educada a cerca de le salud de sus hijos, Las sehoras embarazadas tiene que tornar varias medidas de precaucion durante el estado de enbarazo para a segurar un alurnbramiento sa- ; ludablo. Una dieta baloceada, vacumis fr~cuonc.es, y viviendas adequedas son necosidades que les hace falta a la rente pobre; como resuliado sufren una male salud; . �I i m m i t e Por eso, Cha-Cha y la organizacion de Los Young Lords ompezarcn la ; clinica de oalud para educer a la gente en sus necesidades de salud y dereehos. Pero porquela clinica no tenia tolas las facilicad.es y equipo,, hicieron arreglas con Grant Hospital .(tree bloques de dista.nc.ia de la Iglesia do la. Gente) para llevar ar sus ... pacientes, para rayos X y otros exam :'.r,aci ones sofisticadars Un arreglo fue hecho tuvioran que pagar, pues la clinica es gratuita. • *>•>"-"»'• Viendo que la clinica de los Young Lords habia tenido una reaccion bueria en . la comunidad, la .administration y la con,junta del Grant Hospital empezaron-a da.rles .'. a los pacientes una actitud mala en la recepciones y ompezarcn a cobrarles. Varias.'' . reuniones se llev-iron a cabo entre la comunidad' y la administration de Grant Hospital. Los Young Lords desenmascararqn en cuanto a el arreglo de'-. admision y las realidades que • ellos piac+,5 caban; dos maneras de cuidado de saluds cuidado de salud ' para los rices,y cuidado de salud para los pobres, esto se revelo claramente a la ^ ''''' gente de la comunidad. Ellos habian dado a la gente el ultimo traio de atencion, ' Como resultado de las reuhiones; las rienandas de la organizacion fueron reconocidas y la clinica recivio mss equipo medico, • Unos '«. -uip'os de salud fueron f'ormados. Yendo a casa por casa, ellos informaban a la gente pobre de la clinica y sus servicios, v tomaban .examines s e n c U l o s ' " en l a c a s a r La Clinica de Salud Gratuita ofrece cxaminaciones fisicas y de ojos, ' • •" trabajos dentales, vacunas, cuidado de nine, cuidado prenatal y postnatalj y si algunos do los pacientes necesltan cuidado bajo supervision de hospital, son mandados• a Grant Hospitel, Poolores y enfeaaeran do habia copancla fueron ccpccialr.cnto pro-. cur?.oos, Ssi los pacientes puedea hablar libremente, sin dixicultades. La clinica • al principio era abierta una vez por la semana, pero fue' rrolongada dos veces por .la semana por la buena respuesta de la comunidad. " • '' Por el envoiviniento de la organiaacidn de Los Young Lords en la comunidad, el sistema hizo todo lo pcsible para cerrar la clinica- 'Los Young Lords han reci- varias citac jones para aparecer on corte a Dropueota, cue la "clinica ruederser un peligro de combustion y por no tenor liconcia. El sistema sa.b£a cue"la clinica tenia doc tores licenciad.es y adecuados. La razon que ellos ouieren fa clinica .Licenciada es para que la junta de Sanidad Pueda investigar en cualquier tiempo los archives unformaeion podri'a hacor tomada de estos archives y u s arid--para morootar a los pacientes), Abierto a todos, la Clinica do Salud Gratuiita no rechaza a nadie„ Lor empleados voluntaries quieren que todos sus pacientes sean sinceros acerca de su salud y condiciones famiiiares; cualouier informac-ion respecto al paciente son nantenidos confidencialmeute, y no seran enceriaacs a la-junta de sanidad o a cualouier otro que pueda usarlos para molester a l o s p a o i n t e c . _EL PARQUE DE LA GENTS ' ; - • -'> El Parque de la Gente es un terreno vaci'o en la esquina de las calles Halsted y Armitage (cerca de la parte norte de Chicago) adondo la gente rica estaban pen-. .,,, sando- con.stru.ir un club privado de .tenia, en el cual el pago de cada miembro era i Z'-L $.1000 dolares al.ap.o, Cohs-ciontes do la real i dad de que f ami lias pobre s habian v vivido en ese sitio: y habian sido fcrzadoc a mudarse; v ademas tambien conscientes V de xa ..necesiaad.de tener un campo do recreo para los n.inos, la organizaci6n. de Les . ' ' v . •s / ••• - - . - - . . . . . . . . �l l ; . p ^ Young Lords decidieron tomar ol terreno. Tomaron el terrene aproximadamente eon 250 families pobres sorportandolos para formar ol Parquc.de la Gente; esto era, mientm.s que la gente; empezara hacer planes para viviendas de bajas rentas para. contruirlas en ese lugar. • .: ;; : h; r - \ Renovacio'n Urfena forzo que^e~T^ittar3.rra- -5:5CO -gentea- pobres ,en_l9 ->5o JL©r osta razon el terrene vacio aun existe, Despues do cuatro aiics que se dejo baldio, la . ciudad decidio que la mejor cosa para ol t e r r e n o fuera una cancha.de ter.ls. Cuando vl/;; la gente lo supo, empozaron hablar para recobrar el terreno, '.. La organizacion de Los Young Lords soporto.a la gente en sulucha,' a.yddandolos : 'a- iomar' el .terreno' vactf.ai'' El'parqne se limpie>•• •• colurvpios y Ibarras fueron puestae. ; p Esto essolamente uncs de los muchos cases adonde la gente pobre osta lunhando por . sobrevivir en una ciudad que esta tratando de expulsarlos. ' ' Yj'iy> LA FIESTA BCRIKQUENA Otro ajemplo do la "lucha por sobrevivir" fue en la fiesta llamada "Recordando a Boriqueu que la organizacion de Los Young Lords patrocinaron. Iba hacer;una fiesta pacifica; la'organizacion de. Los Young Lords abastecio comida gratuita y , ; / entretenimi.en.to» Como 200 policias' aparecieroh. para parar la fiesta. Dijeron que Los Young Lords no tehian permiso, y a r r e s t a r o n cinco Young Lords por decirle a la ' gente que se que.da.ran ,y no se - 'fue ran. • ' • '•••. Sin embargo,'ellos no' pudieron parar la fiesta, porque las gentes llenaron las calles y sopori.aron le organizacion de Los Young Lords? e'so otra, vez demuestra, cuanto respeto el "establecimiento" do les Estados Unidos tiene por la gente latlna« Cha-Cha Jimanez oomento' sobre los inoidentes del dia, y dijo, "No hay necesi- . dad de dadicar esta fiesta a 'Boriquen,* la policia ya'la dedicaron ensenadonos, que todavia somos esclavos." Puerto Rico Puerho Rico se \nri : vo i l.,UkC'j anas b? io la, dominscio'n espanola* .Se convertib a territorial en noviembre 25 de j.t59y con una constitueich de gobierno autonomo, Un gobierno mtlitar fue' esta.blecido ocho meses despues, cuando e.l ejercito de E.U. bajo el general Miles ocupo La Isla y la declare colonia, yanqui. En 1900, La Ley Yanoul Foraker lie go a existencia. Esto establecio un gobierno civil, pero todo los cficiales eran mandados por los Estados Unidos. (Los E.U. con el tiempo, tenian eai mente hacer a Puerto Rico un estado, pero si se hiciera, • je de desarollo do La Isla ,) Un ejsmplo de la "ayuda" de dependia en el porcenta, E.U, a Puerto Rico fue en su donacioh que les did a las vietimas del hurracan d® San Ciriaco (tenpranos 1900's) dinero que aumaba a no mas de ochenta centavcs per persona. 1 El Acto Jones fue pasado on 1917-. Esto estampo la ciudadania do los E.U., al pueblo puertorrique rio0 Uno de los "privalegios" de la ciudadania es el dereeho de �' ser reclutado. En yorfad este fue el a n o , en que los" t i W entro a • la' primera" giier- ra mundia'J -3 f i Los 1930's fueron anos terribles para el pueblo puert'orriqueno. Dos hurracanes y La Depresion Grande trajo casi dest r a d o n total a Puerto P i c o , una isla colonial del pais r,as rico del raundo. Habia anargufa polftlca, desempleo en ;masas*-•-,.•.;. y hambre on dondc quiara. Fue en este tiempo' que 'las TucHas'' puertotriquenas-por- : independencia empezaron. Alii habi'an muchas. corifrontacionss entro los "Indeponfjentistas". y la policia puertorriquena (vendidos). un ejemplo fue'"El Masacre de Ponce." Un grupo de marchedores pesivos, iban andsndo, bajo la calle principal de , Ponce tocando el himno puertorriquefco el Domingo Die de Bancs. Una ordon vino, originaliriante do general Wjnship (Yanqui), y disparos fueron descargados entre el gen- ' tio,. raatando a 21 persona e biriendo a mas d e 150« En este tiempo, las condiciones eran igual que los de los ternpranos 1800, E l mejor ingreso de'un trabajador de fines era de $il8 dolares a l aMo* Puerto Rico, en 1 9 ^ 7 , fue' dado el privelegio de electar su propio gcbernador. Luis Munoc Marin se hizo el primer gcbernador de Puerto Rico P elcctado en 19^8. Como nadie mas corr i o , en.contra de e l , el ga.no la elecioh® - El Pre. id elite Truman firrco' el proyecto de la Ley, "Commonwealth"'de Puerto ' Rico (conocido como la loy Publica 600)«. La gente estaban protestando por toda L a ; t I s l a . Un policia y cuatro demandantes fueron matador, cuando un grupo de 'gento ata• caron La Fortaleza, la mansion del gcbernador en el viejo San J u a n . Mientras, al-' zamientos sucedian en P o n c e , Utuado, Arecibo, Narraniito y Jayuya. Dos puertorri- .-,.-' queries de Kueva Y o r k , en 1950. fueron a Washington B . C . y atentaron asesirmr al presidents Truman. Hoy Puerto R i c o , sigue siendo ussdo por los Imperialj.stas americanos, por medio del gobernador Ferre'i I-ks de de la tiorra de Puerto Rico es usada por • bases inilitares do los 2 . U . , para protejer la costa surena de lor. B . U . (Primeralfiente. la base Ramey de Fuerza Aerea en el costa oeste y la estacion Roosevelt via. Naval, on la costa este.) No puoden volar en cleccionos, por legisladores que declaran guerra.s en l.os E»U», pero tienon que eervir en lac fucrzas armadas de los Estados Unidos, En el Congroeo no tienen ni voto, ni v o z . Bajo el control Federal esta el corcesi nnario do la. caoa de correo, la radio, la television y el serv.ic.io de derechos de aduana* Mientras la mayori'a de su poblacidh se mantiene pobre, es llamndo "El apartvlor de America, en el mar del Caribe,"' • Negocios amc-rio.mas tienon cadenas.de tiendas alii (Gulf, M o b i l , y estacinnec faRilnnr-rar. Esso; S e a r s , J - C . Fenney's, y Woolworth's),, Ademas do todo esto, Puerto Rico comparado con otros pai'ses del roundo, tiene la rcS's grande poblacion en drogaa, do acuerdo a, su tamano. Los Estados Unidos, forza a los ninos puertorri quenos- a hablar ingle's en las escuelas y esta tratando de hacerloa civ5 d a r su. culture.. •••'•;.' Puertorriquenos hen sido expuestos al racismo de la. democracia en los E.U. E<3tau oprimidos, como toda la domes gente pobre que esta. bajo el imperialism©. .Ell- .i£(§j o s , son msntenidos pasivos, por drogos; subyugadc.3 a viviendas inadoonatlasj proven- , tides a recibir una buena educacion; y > mir.'ar ayuda mediea en el unnn-n fjnf t.i r-JK-n nr> <l.in<-•»•«.." �• I L I INDEPENDENCIA PUERTORRIQ.UENA MARCHA FOP. — — ; — .. . : . , , , ^ I , S M La organizacion.de Los Young Lords dirigio a la comunidad lat'lna en una marcha' ' para dera'osirar apoyo a la lucha por Indepehdencia .de los pnortorriquenos y tambien ""para"-protestar e l a.Q061na.to da Manuel-Ramos»..asesiri.?,do._en el Otono d e 1969« La marcha empezo'en el Parque de la Gente, una. cuadra de distan'cia del Cuari^l Naclonal de la orga n is acio'n de Los Young Lords. Como la policia estaba.,en contra de la marcha? * -ma's de 250 policies se presentaron y con la ayuda de un "vendido"' . j-.p' trataron de persuadir a la gente que no partioiparari.cn la marcha* Pero el; pueblo respondio diciendo ":Q,ue vivan Los Young .Lords/," y la marcha creclo'"mas y ma's g r a n d p., .• La policia empezo hacer su retirada, cuando la marcha se acercaba a la calle . Division, corazon de la comunidad puertorriquena en Chicago. La gents qui en habia. estado mirando a la policia desde sus vertanas, vajaron de sus casas y se juntaron a la marcha. Se termino en el parque Humboldt, adonde Cha-Cha To haKlo'a la. gente acerca de la necesidad de oue los latinos se unioran. Esta no fue' la unica demostracion en apoyo a tod as las gentes pobres incluyendoa latinos, >rovovida por la organizacion de Los Young Lords. Hubieron nuchas mas, tratandose de viviendas inadccuadas, brutalidad policiaca? y abuses por el Depart a•V mento del Bienestar Publico y los hospitales. ; , /. 7 . ;.•',.'•'••'. ' '. • •. '• • ;f".'.; .... ; .V-^.,,.. '•"•' '..rfi'fi.;,», El incidents mas rccicnte que c.c llcvo a eabo, relacicnadc con la organizacion • de Los Young Lords, del Cuartsl Kacional en Chicago, fue el aseainato racista de uno de sus miembros, asesinado por un grupo bianco. •"PAMCHO" « » • • . • '.' . En el domingo de abril 11 de 1971, a las clnco de la'manana, Jose Luis "Pancho" Lind fue pror.uncia.do muerto do una severa fractura dul cranio en el hospital S t , Mary de Nazareth* Acercandosc a la media noche del viernes, despues de habor visitado a farailiares en esa comunidad; Pancho, su herma.no y su curiada andaban cerca de las calles de la narte norte de Chicago. Un grupo como de 12 blaucos se acercaron, atacandoIcs ccn bates de bcisboJ f sin rringuna razort o cause.> exeepto'el hecho de que ellos eran puertorriquefios trigeno?, en una comunidsd rac5a.ln.ente tcneaV Pancho estaba tendido en la cera, inconsciente, cuando la policia llego". Ccr.o resultado de la pal is a- su herrrano tenia urr. murieca. rota y el cuerpo do su esposa estaDa magullado. El grupo de blancos huyeron, sin stento por la. policia para cap— turatios; ni siquiera uno fue'arrestado. En este tiempo, su esposa estaba en la Conferencia de Mujeres en Canada'con Los Young Lords aprendionde de las atrocidrdos y brutalidados que el gobierno Imperialista los estaba inflictnndo al pueblo Vietnamitaj- Hiorii.rar, su esposo era otra vict.ima de la Vmita] idad en las naVlea dr> Chicago* • ' ':'' : ; v ' �: •' EveHittklffienie seis personas fueron arrestadas y detenidas por $1.5*000 dolares: . ^ v . s: de .lianza* Pero despues del line-up" oinco fuerc.i solt.ados por imprcpia identij |,v."" V-: . ficacion, El sexto tuvo una jurado en j u l i o 1 de 1971, casi tres neses despues' de*. la ranerte de PanchO« •'-.•• ' •' • \ '" '-V' ^ ' ' € —---Ufr-efi-oia-1 ^an-el-^irado_di4_o..qi\e_.Pancho fue pfronanctad.o "Nuerto a lav llegada" (BOA), sin embargo Paneho estuvo incapaoitado -en el hospital por un dia~.y medio," t:~'.."~ jt ;• teniendo transfucior.es de sangre y otros examenes. . .„.,.,........ -»-•, • Pancho fue' miembro de la organizacion de los Young Lords desde los primeros ."• >.. d i a c , .tambien antes que la organizacion se convbrtiera political El activamente !,.. •soportaba.a L a Organizacion, y habia.participado or. las numorosas kctividades que la organizacion de los Young Lords habia fomentado* Mieniras e:ca' perseguiclq ante's;;""';:: do ir e. una dempstzacioh al departamento del Bieuestar Publico, el fue arrer.tado'. : Vl junto.con Jose'.-"Cha-Cha" Jimenez, y recibieron cargos do asaltds gravios en. contra de un policia. Tar.bictn, fue' arrestado junto con nuevo Young Lords, . incluf yendo a Cha-Cha, per cargar ura arma escov.dida, iLa arrsa? Un serxuebo mojoso* . ; one entrada atras de una "guagua" perbeneeiento a un amigo.-carp'lrtere0 Mas tarde v,, '•'•;•; ^ los cargos'fueron retirados® ..:•''. : • -k •:.' J' a POR QUE NO MPS PUEDEU PARAH? TSrnpeza.pd o en 1959; como una. raildilla c&liejeraynnng Lords fneron re organ--,•-.-.is ad os en <969, por Jo se "Cha-Oha" Jimenez (uno do los siete originates que • emrezar- / on la pandilla) como la organizacion de Los Young Lord*. Su proposito no era ya . el de pelear con pandillas pero m s bien polesr por la liberacibn de tcda la gente . pobre. La organizacion de Los Young Lords rapidamente se extendio' , foraando ramas no solamente en Chicago (Cuartel-National de la organizacion da Los Young Lords) pero tambien en comunidades latinas en otras "partes de los Estados Unidos; fue el primer grupo do latinos (y el mismo tiempo jovenes) que demandieron*cambios radical-, es en el gobierno de los Estados Unidas imperial :1st a. El 26 de julio do 1969, un grupo en Kueva York fue oficialmente i-econocido como la. prinera rama de la organizacion do Los Young Lords. En septiembre, bajo la dire cci err del Cuartel Kacional en Chicago y por su ejennlo, Nueva York abrio' su oficina en una. extie nda, er.pezo un program a -de desayunos, exa minacioncs do descubri— miento de veneno de p i c m c y obraron con los problemas de derechos de salud. En oetubre del mir.mo one, dos ramas mas do la orcp.Msacicn de Los Young Lords, bajo el liderato del Cuartel Kacional en Chicago, fueron reconocidas y abiertas en I.'uevo Jersey y California. Tarnbi.fn por coo tiempc, una rama local en Chicago Heights fue formnda, pero a c a u s a de la repression dada per la policia local, la -rama fue descontinuada. • - . La rama en Bronx, fue abierta en abril de 1970, otra vez bajo la conduceion de Chicago, SiRuiendc la apertura de .la rc-ra er: 'Bronx, dor, raoao mas en California, roconoclpndo a Chicago como on .Vlnv'nv'r.-t r.-vlor, fu^aw; ,-nrlertas: a la. t;onte» En enero 1971, 'las war, rsciente rama so abrio en el esta.do an 'Jir.oonsi:s» '•• �m V o ,Wt K -1• Cha'^Cha sabia' que estableciendo Los Young Lords on una organizacion para uni~ icar y .guiar a-tod as las gentes opremidas en su liberacion, era conirario a este sistema de capitalismo, y indudablemonte se proponon a dar represion. Sin embargo, 'aur.que esta represion las ha golpiado muchas veces'.'en dife rente's formas, ellos la •Vhan blenvenido, la organizacion do Los^Yrnng Lords, fcajo el mandato de Jose "Chaper el Car3.no hacla las masas de la genie quo es superior, a la represion sistema ha clavado score ellos» jHos pueden encarbelar; Kon pueden- brutali.sar,* Hos. pueden mata.r; Pero no. no.s pueden parar! (Jose "Cha-Cha" Jimenez, Kinistro de a Defensa, Organizacion de Los Young Lords) Comite Central Enero de 1972 m m m � 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 BTS00060-01 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 Young Lords history (Spanish), 1972 Description An account of the resource "Breve Historia de la Organizacion de los Young Lords." Spanish language history of the Young Lords Organization. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Depaul University Library. Special Collections and Archives 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 spa 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b66536d2e04f9e0b41c9eeb3b8fedf7.pdf 8194dda881aceb012efd0d0fa72521b6 PDF Text Text YOUNG LORD QUIZ Please circle the best answers 1. From what Chicago neighborhood did the Young Lords originate and become a National Political Movement? • • • • 2. A) Humboldt Park B) West Town C) Lincoln Park D) Wicker Park What was the modern day land question that sparked Lincoln Park into action and raised the political consciousness of the Young Lords? • • • • 3. A) Police brutality B) Aids C) Military occupation of Puerto Rico D) Forcing Puerto Ricans and the poor from prime real estate areas like downtown and the lakefront. The Mission of the Lincoln Park Movement and the Young Lords was: • A) To elect John Kerry President • B) To kick out Daley and elect a new Mayor • C) Puerto Rican and worldwide self-determination and neighborhood controlled development • D) Elect Latino politicians 4. The Young Lords believed in what Mao Tse Tung called a People's War. What does this mean? • • • • A) Leaders will wage battle for the People B) Individuals don't make qualitative change. Change is brought about by an organized People C) Since we have no leaders, we must wait for a Messiah D) The "Latino Revolution" must be conducted only in Spanish �The Young Lords believed that a People's Party is necessary for change. It is the representative of the most progressive elements of its class. What other goals must it achieve? A) B) C) D) E) Unity of will Become the vanguard of its class Discipline bordering on military Build unity with the many to defeat the few All of the above Democracy Under Centralized Guidance was the system of management used by the Young Lords. It includes: A) B) C) D) E) Majority rules Lower leading bodies submit to higher levels and to Central Committee Individual submits to organization One always follows a directive. It can be discussed later. All of the above The first Young Lord's study group consisted of readings and speeches by Malcom X, Albizu Campos, Che, Frantz Fanon and Eldrige Cleaver. It was held at: A) Peoples Church B) Cha-Cha's apartment C) People's Park D) McCormick Seminary E) All of the above A "Cabezon" is someone who is selfish, and an individualist who also: A) Is ashamed to do "dirty or low class" work B) Gossips about members C) Fails to educate the people D) Lets things slide to avoid blame or for the sake of peace E) All of the above �Many reasons were given for the "split" between National Headquarters and the New York chapter. The Truth was: A) Minimal communication and major police infiltration B) National in Chicago lacked ideology, leadership skills, and discipline C) A physical fight took place between Andre Gonzales and Yoruba Guzman D) Cha-Cha was a criminal and had used drugs After being jailed nine months and exonerated for alleged kidnapping charges in support of the F.A.L.N., Cha-Cha Jimenez and the Young Lords resurfaced to help elect Harold Washington, first black Mayor. In June 1983, Cha-Cha helped organize the first city sponsored, neighborhood festival and introduced Mayor Washington in Humboldt Park; demanded humane treatment for the F.A.L.N.; and demanded Puerto Rican self-determination, before an elated crowd. How many were at the event? A) B) C) D) 100 10,000 100,000 5,000 The first political action ever taken by the Young Lords was to "thrash" the entire Department of Urban Renewal office. True or False The Young Lords platform spelled out its principles and was used as an organizing tool. True or False The Young Lords believed that before any battle one must unite with others and therefore decide "Who are their friends and who are their enemies." True or False �14. Manuel Ramos, Julio Roldan, Jose "Pancho" Lind, Methodists Eugenia Johnson and Rev. Bruce Johnson were all affiliated with the Young Lords and were murdered. Now they are also victims of unsolved murders. True or False 15. The Young Lords helped set up a People's law office, "survival programs", a free breakfast for children program, a Puerto Rican cultural center, free health and dental clinic, voter registration campaigns, and a free day care center. These involved the community, exposed injustices, and helped destroy enemy "encirclement and suppression campaigns"against the Young Lords and the Lincoln Park Movement. True or False � 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 BTS00063_01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young Lords (Organization) Title A name given to the resource Young Lords quiz Description An account of the resource Young Lords history quiz 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 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ea13039e012b5805aa094e29b5a11eb0.pdf ce85fc27e5185d3f56612d7a6411263b PDF Text Text ·tl· ,/ . "The Authority (Regfonal Transit Authority) shall cooperate with the variou·s public agencies charged with responsibility for long range or comprehensive planning fer the metropolitan region. The Authority shall, prior to the adoption of any five-year program, ..• submit its proposals to such agencies for review and comment, The Authority may make use of existing studies, surveys, plans, data and other materials in the possession of any State agency or department, any planning agency, or any unit of local government." Section 2.12; Coordination with Planning Agencies, Senate Bill 27 Because of the above section and many of the other sections in Senate Bill 27, he tt.er· kr;own as the Rep} onal. Tr·.;n1sportation Authority Act, The Young L,n ·,-ls (..h·g .• n i7.a"tion has <leri de<l to take a position on RTA, We are an organization that has always 0 cted in ·the interest of Latinos and other poor and oppr·E>ssed peo!Jle, From our beginning in 1969 till the present, we have been dealing with the issue of llr•ban Renewal--a nice name fer the inner-city removal of Latinos and other poor and oppressed people. We set up a free day care center, a health clinic, a free food progr·am, a clething program, a breakfast for children program, and aided in setting up a people's law office--t• help the community survive while we organized to fight for low inceme but quality hous .i ug. We knew that Urean Renewal was planned in the interest of the rich rRther than the poor; that rather than change slums it transplanted them and helped to develop bigger slums. Since 1956 "La Clark" and "La Madison"--two large Latino areas--were transported to other areas of the city. Lincoln Park and "La Division" became the new homes for Latinos. Urban Renewal did not provide any jobs or any better educational system; health care did not improve; police were worse than ever; and most important of all, no low-inf'!ome housing was built. Instead, the University of Illinois (Circle Campus) and the Carl Sandburg Village were constructed. Afterwards in Lincoln Park, the Department of Urban Renewal wanted to make it a mo'del for other Urban Renewal areas. Latinos and poor people were moved out. They said, "We want to improve the area; it's near downtown, near the park and beach; it's easily accessible to downtown via Lake Shore Drive and bus route s; and it pr·ov ldes good housing for people who work in the loop." How many housing units were buj_Jt for the poor in Lincoln Park? About six. Now Latinos and other poor have been pushed into Lakeview and Uptown. One would think that this is enough pushing around of people who have been pushed out five or six times. However, the"Chicago 21 Plan", the "Lakefront Plan' , the "Downtown Plan", the ''Chinatown Plan", the Urban Renewal plans for the Pilsen area, and for the Wes town area , are all des.i gned to move po01· peop.1 e, especially Latinos, out of these areas. Mayor Daley wants the inner city for those with the money and not for the poor, Urban Renewal is desigued to make the lakefront and downtown areas acceptable to suh,n·l>:rni 1.<>s /llun RTA wj J l tr·c1nspu-t· L t-lie sub,u·Lan i.-tes into these areas. - . · �But what exactly is the RTA? RTA is basically a mass transportation system that will link the suburbs with the inner city. According to the RTA proponents, it will: 1. 2. 3. 4, 5. 6, 7. 8. 9, 10. Provide better access to jobs, schools, shopping and business centers. Reduce traffic congestion. Conserve energy and preserve the land. Maintain full employment. Coordinate services, stabilize fares, improve transfers. Stimulate business. Keep property values high, Provide mini-busses stopping close to people's homes, Provide more off-hour service, Provide for an appointed nine-man board that will be representative of the entire metropolitan region. We in the Young Lords Organization feel that these so-called benefits are not in the interest of Lr1't i nos and other poor and oppressed people, The fo 11 c,wj ug are I he .1.·~risou~ wliy: 1. 171 million dollars is the projected annual budget, of which 80 million is being provided by sales taxes in the six-county area, 16 million from a new 5% increase in motor fuel tax, 10 million from parking fees and 5 million is a contribution from the City of Chicago. And because 48% of the people in this six-county area live in Chicag~, these same people will be forced to take the overall burden of being heavily taxed for the financing of the RTA, a transportation system designed to benefit suburbanites. 2. Only the residents of the City of Chicago are being taxed from their State motor vehicle license fee, with no provision for taxing the rest of the six-county area. 3. The majority of Chicago residents at this time are Blacks and Latinos. No information is being provided in Spanish for Latinos, no public hearings and no provisions for Latinos and other poor people on the nine-man board. 4. Four of Daley. heading in this 5. We know that present problems in the CTA are not due to lack of funds, but rather to mismanagement by individuals who have been placed there because of their "fondness and dedication to the mayor," 6. We know also that it is the banks, railroads and bondholders who primarily benefit from the RTA. 7. Black, Latin and other poor and oppressed people have not been assured jobs in the suburbs; not even the RTA has assured them jobs. 8. Nothing has been spelJed riders. the nine directors on the board will be hand-picked by Just by the example of no Latinos on the City Council or any of the city departments or in any position of power city, we know how the nine-man board will look. 0irt i_n t"P:t'm!'l o.f belte1.• servjce for RTA �9. The RTA will have the power of Eminent Domain--the right to seize anyone's property, whether or not that person wants to sell it. 10. There's a "no-strike clause" for working people employed by the RTA. 11. The RTA does not improve inner city transportation; only suburban. 12. RTA will not end racism that already exists within the present CTA bureaucracy. (Remember the protests in the Pilsen area whe~e Latinos literally sat down in front of busses to secure a few jobs.) 13. Fares for using RTA have not been mentioned in Senate Bill 27. 14. RTA will set up its own Police Department, with no mention in the Act about investigations of complaints from citizens. They will also be independent of any of the county or local governments. 15. RTA will aid the Department of Urban Renewal to make Chicago's downtown area a shopping center not for Chicago residents, but rather for suburbanites, by providing express trains to downtown Chicago. 16, It also aids Urban Renewal to push industry into the suburbs rather than locate it in the inner city, with the excuse that now there is transportatjon. 17. It also aids the Chicago Housing Authority (made up of Daley appointees) to push for and construct low income housi~g in : ~e suburbs rather than in the inner city. RTA is a plan that has been part of Urban Renewal since it started think i ng in terms of metropolitan rather than city areas. In other words, RTA plus Urban Renewal equals inner city removal of Latino~ and other poor and oppressed people. The Young Lords Organization would never support a program that works abains t the people. We want mass transportation, but only when it benefits the people, and not banking interests, slick-talking racists politicians, and a few individual capitalists. We therefore ask that you vote NO and defeat RTA. QUE VIVA EL PUEBLO, YOUNG LORDS ORGANIZATION � 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 RHC-65_1974_YLO-RTA-position 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 1974 Title A name given to the resource RTA position statement Description An account of the resource Young Lords Organization position statement on the Regional Transit Authority Act, Illinois Senate Bill 27, 1974. Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4977b1b71334603defeba7b7f4781c31.pdf c6cccff60947cecc15fdb3bfbac8ddf8 PDF Text Text FRCM: JANUARY 29, 1974 THE YOUNG LORDS ORGANIZATION THE CAM PAIGN FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Slim Coleman 549•8626 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS URGE IMMEDIATE END OF POLICE HARASSMENT OF MRS. GLAOYS MERCADO .Jose Cha ~cha Jimenez, General Secretary of the Young lords Organization, released the f ollowi no statement to the press today documenting police harassment of a pr egnant Ia tin o woman, Mrs. Gladys Mercado, and calling for an immediate end to t hese acts for tbe protect i on of Mrs,· Mercado and her child. Gladys Mercado's h.ome ., 93~ w. Grace, has been raided three times within a six week peri od b v t he Chicago Police Department. F.ach time police have used force to et~ter her holl'.e a.nd each time they have barged in with no visible warrant nor authoriza tion from a ·h,dge. Though the door has been broken down illegally, noth ing i llaqal has bee n d i !'!covered in t he apartment and no arrests were made. 'l'he Campaign for Comn1uni ty Control and the Young Lords Organization are conce:ned wi t h Mr s . Mercado's health. She is eight months pregnant, has been t a ken to eme r qe r q• rooms of two different hospitals immediately following each r a id, ha s ha f! he:r. ba ck inju red when police pushed in her door, and has been told by her obste - t:r :i. c ian that anymore excitement would cause her to lose her child. She has placed a formal complai r.t wi th the Internal Affairs Di vision of the Police Department but later becau.se. of f ear of more harrasstr.ent she decided to withdraw the complaint. We a re a s king all concerned people to demand that the police harrassme nt o f Mrs . Mercado STOP i mmediately. Because of her medical condition, this is an e mergency. In the near f u t ure, f urther legal action wi l l be taken in respect to these obvious vtolatior:s of he r civil and human rights. The l i fe of Mrs . Marci!ldo and her child at the r-resent time, depend on whether or not there is continued harrassment by t:-ie Chicaqo 1:-olice Departme nt. - 30 - � 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 RHC-65_1974-01-29_YLO-press-release 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 1974-01-29 Title A name given to the resource Press Release: Police Harassment of Gladys Mercado Description An account of the resource "Community Organizations Urge Immediate End of Police Harassment of Mrs. Gladys Mercado," press release of the Young Lords Organization. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José Campaign for Community Control Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/26d966ab0e1405d724c3e34754d26422.pdf 55895b329dc97db460561b5edaf439f4 PDF Text Text FR0:1: VOU I~ LORDS ORG.1\.JIZATIO:I and THE cA·1PAI~.: FC)R Cl) 1 r'.u IITY C~'.ITP.OL c/o 1~56 LJ. Lawrence St, Chica~o. Illinois F'JR ~ORE I:ffOR"1ATIO.'I: FE3RUA~Y 14 1 1~74 :i49-3620 1 Slim Colenan FO~ I -1'1EDIATE RELEf..SE CO'!lU.HTY GrOUPS Cl.LL 0.1 B0ARD OF ELECTIC;ls TQ CHA.IGE 1/QTER RE~ISTRATIGa LIJC,\TI0"1S 'IHICH ARE IiJAPPRIJPP.IATE A,W IdTI'1IDATE VOTERS Jose (Cha Cha) Ji"1enez. General Secretar, i of t:1c Youn'.'.) Lords Organiza1 tion, releaserl a state~ent fron cofllTlunitv organizations today including the taxt o-F a letter to t:ie haad of the Chicaflo Board of Election Commissioners. John T~e letter calls on Hanl•y to take ~hatever ste'1S are necessarv to chan"'e Hanl1y. nine (J) locations in t·,e 4Ctr1 •:1ar.-~ -t:or the February 19t~ nrecinct voter reqistratfon. "'!e es-,eciallv O:J,iect to locations in transient '1otels ~nd anartrients ~f,~re there are large nunoers o-t: rien and ~,hie~ often sr.iell o-F urine and wine." the· letter states. The atmosnhere in these sites is very inti'"lidatina for ootent1a1 voters -- esr,eci ally for ·1omen in our comuni ty. 1 L-Je believe t'.nt these orecinct re!Jistration ~laces should be chanqed. First choice should be ou!>lic ':>uildinns -- schools, fire stations, etc. !lhen pu!:>11c bu1ldinqs are unavailable, sites s:10uld ba ones t:,at the co111T1un1t~, 1s fa!TI111 ar vii th and co:nforta3 le in -- such as church centers and kno'lm p1aces of business. T,e letter lists alternate sites for t'.1e nine objectionable locations .. It is t!le Chicago Board of Election Cor.1T1issioners' res!)onsibilfty to choose ne1gh!:>or!,ood ref)istrat1on sites, '•le have called on ·1r. Hanlty to do everv- th1nn "Osst!::>le to insure that t:,ese r~iistrat1on sites are chanqed to a nleasant atmos,:,hera. ·,e have visited ·:1it'.1 1 called, and nm·, 11ritten to .Ir. aanl1y. ~/e hooe that he res"'onds oositivel_,,. The Younn Lords IJrC'!anization and the Can'lafon for Co111nUnity Control ilave !:>een work1nq on a comun1tv voter reaistration drive and registered over 2,'.JOO r,eoi,le from the la.!est reC'listration areas in the 4Gth ·lard. T'.1e 46th '.lard 1n U1'tO\'m has one of the 10',.,est rates of voter reoistration in Chicago. Aporox1mately io.1,0 neoole 1n the ~ard are not reo1stered to vote. �- .... co·r~u~HTY GROUPS URGE --HA:iL1Y II} CHAilSE 0BJECT10HABLE 1U:'.~I~ I!3-ffl'!m 'SITES-(cont),;2. In fact, in over one third (1/3) ' of the ward less than 51% of the eli"ible voters are re('istered. rore than one '1alf of In areas ,.,;,;~, have t'1e lar ... est concentrations of Latinos, t:,,. eligible vot~rs are not reriistercri. In only 11 of the ··,ard's""r~cincts are :1ore t'.ian 75 ,..~rcent of t'ie elini~le voters actual1 1, re('listered. Thev are in "better of~" L~ke S'iore areas. It is 3lack Latin, Indian and r,oor •t'.11tes •,ho are oresantly ~,eluded fron votinn. '.!e've O)served '1an•, ln\'I in our . oostacles that kce" 1/0ter reflistration . CO'T1Munit1es, Ji"lenez continue 1. T•e t1Me and ex~ense to r,oor nco~le of l"IOing do 1n1 tm·m to renister; t:1e lack of neinhborl'lood rer.iistration sites Ol)en t'.1rou(!hout t:ie year; and the lack of S0anis'1 9.,eakino 111orkers at voter re,,i,;trat1on sites !!hen ·,,e do have N:"inh!:>orhood re~istration. the Board of Elections must insure t:1at the sites t~e~selves do not discoura"e r.,any frOl'l registerin~. '1eam,hile, he said, •.,e ur'Je all to rcriister to vote on Tuesday, February 19th at their neiohbor:,ooc r~tiistration lllace Ba.m.-JrJ.m. Beinri re'listered to vote 1s a key to oaininrr more corriunity "ower. FOLL'NI:Jr, IS THE FULL TEXT !)F THE LETTER TO H.a;1LEY IllCLUOLIS A LIST OF ,IINE 08JECTirl:IABL£ LOC/\TIOrJS A,'I;) ALTER lATES FOn THE'.' I.I THE 4Gt:, l/ARD. T~: '.1r. John Hanl,y, Chaiman 9oard of Election Comissioners, Rm.318 1 City Hall De!r !r. Hanl1y 1 '~e <liscussed with you fo Decemer and also earlier this mnt~ tl1e oro!.>ler, of locations for voter ret"'istration in the 46th '!ard ·:1hich ,.,e feel are very 1nanor,,~r1ate an~ intiMidatint"' to ryotential voters. :~e believe that reC'istrat1on sit"'c; s:iould !:>e in rrnhlic buildin11s -- sc~ools, fire stations, etc. if at all "ossible. I.t' not, locations ~,:1ic~ are i-1el1 kno~,n 1n the COl'!IT!Unity and have a :,ealthy atoosii:,ere should ~e used. We esnec1al1v o~.1ect to locations in transient hotels and al'JartMents where there are large nur,bers of men and ,.'hich oftan smell of urine and ~·:ine. This is objectionable for all -- but csr,ecially for woMen in ~ur co"T.lunity. 1 '·fe feel t~at the oroblen o~ reqistration sites s'.1ould ~c investiQated innediately and al')r,roDriate ne"' sites -Found. The folloi.-,ino nine (:)) locations in the tl6t:1 '-Jard are esnecially bad. ''e suorrest alternatives for e;ic:,. '1 0 R E �LETTER TO HfJLIY (cont.) CU~RE'.ff LOCJ\TIO"l 1. SUGfiESTED AL TE11:I/\TIVE 8th Precinct, nt)•., at J4'J 'J. Gordon Terrace, a '1alf •r!av :,ouse Pa 1aci o Theatre. 414') .l. Sh~ri Jan; , 1e 11 kno1::n in t:,e co'Tlunity, ~ood facilities * 2. 9th Precinct, 4223 I. KenMore 1 the Kenrore :anor A~ts •• transie•t. niostly r.iale 3. St. ··ary of t'.1e L~ke, 4230 :l. S'.iaridan. ·.,ell knO',tn in the C0!'?"1Un i t•1 ey 12th Precinct, 3834 .I. Sheffield, the Gree 1 Schoo1 • 3SJ5 iJ. Sheffield I a ~u~lic building across streot from current site. Carlos Hotel. transient 4. l:Jth Precinct. 3838 .J. Broa<1way. c,ateau Hotel. transient * Christian Fell0',1s'.1in Church Centar, 91a 1·1. Sheridan, uell knovm f1 Jetter atMOs"here 5. 26th Precinct. 1124 '!. ''ilson the 'lilson Club 'en's Mote 1. dark. s"!E! 11 s of urine anc! Hine * Fi re station, 1210 \1. 'lil son, nu~lic ~uildina, 1/2 block fror, current site 5. 37th Precinct, 927 ·r. Ja:dn, anarti,ient buildin~. dark * Christian Fellows'.11'> Church 91 'J '·I. Sh~ri dan. we 11 knO\m 7. 41st ~rec1nct 1 12,7 ·1. Leland Leland Hotel * Fire Station, 12'J'l ·1. 'lilson ~ubl1c building in nrecinct The Board of Elections had listed the fire station as a re~istratioh olace in January 1974, 'le can't understand v1hy it should be chan,,e~ !lack to the hotel, 8, 51th Precinct, 45'J1 ii, ·:alden 1 ar,artnent buildinn J. 53rd Precinct, 4M4 J, Sheridan The Seville A~t., transient Stoc~too 'S~bQ~ Sc~ool, 4423 H. 1agnolia, ~ublic building * St. '1ary of the Lake Sc:1001 42'Y> · i. !(enMore {*the Board has cOMbine1 other nrecincts like 21 ~ 51 in Lakeview Hiflh School) All of these alternate sites are in the nrecinct or uit'1in one block.. We have selected r,ublic ~uildinfls v,henever ~ossible as t/lis is convenient and saves t:,e taxr,a'!ers r.ioney for tental fees. './e urnentlv request that vou take v1:1ataver ste"s are necessar 1/ to cilan(Je sites '!lhich are intir,idat1nc, to the comunitv for the Feb. l'.Jt'.1 nrecinct rer.listration antl all future activities. · · S1ncerelv, cc: {srr.:JED Jose Ji:o1enez for t:1e Younq Lords Oroanization and Slim Cole~n for the Car.maion for Co!'"!Tlunity Control) to Chica"o nress - 3:l - � 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 RHC-65_1974-02-14_YLO-press-release 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 1974-02-14 Title A name given to the resource Press Release: Voter Intimidation Description An account of the resource "Community Groups Call on Board of Elections to Change Voter Registration Locations which are Inappropriate and Intimidate Voters," press release of the Young Lords Organization. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José Campaign for Community Control Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/028dc5b04218309e8459e8f859222e68.pdf b354166477b4603e9965769e1560e0db PDF Text Text Monday, April 1, 1974 TO: FROM: FR ALL PRESS CONTACTS JOSE JIMENEZ, GENERAL SECRETARY YOUNG LORDS ORGAiHZATIOU 935 W. GRACE PRESS CONTACT: . SLIM COLEt1A1' 275-4778 The Sunday, March 31st edition of the Chicago Tribune quotes me as saying, 11 The big dE~alers are making money but not members of the Youn_g Lords, \<iho are selling one or two grams to someone who comes in from the suburbs. 11 It states further that 1 - Cha Cha Jimenez• described heroin traffic as a sort of "local industry," and that "the police should ignore the pushers." This is more than just an isolated misquotation. The Chigao Tribune has a history of fabricating racist lies against Latinos, Blacks, Native Americans and other poor of this ci~y. The Young Lords Organization has been consistently addressing itself to the problem of drug abuse. In order to effectively deal with the drug problem we moved our headquarters near a 11 drug corner. 11 We• ve met with the Illinois Drug Abuse programs to establish a drug center in the area. We've also met with cormiunity organizations and individuals to insure community participation in solving our own problems. We've spent long hours working with many of the . ' youths themselves and have made substantial progress. We've met with Command- er Rae and Chief Riordan to clarify the problem and explain to them the cor:munity's approach to solving it. Together with a broad representation of the comnunity we have asked that a patrol car be stationed at the corner on a 24 hour bas 1s. Wilton and Grace is not only a drug corner, it is a target area for Latinos who have already been forced from their homes - a .number of times to be r,ushed out again by Urban Renewal. Because of insensitive Police �harassment. carpet-bagging real estate dealers and outside drug dealers, some families have already been pushed out. In dealing with the drug problem the stabilization of the community is the most important factor. Therefore we've also organized a tenants union and are working with concerned landlords to stabilize and upgrade the co11111unity. The Chicago Tribune honors us for all this with a continuation of their abusive 1ies against our people. We cannot forget that the Ttibune, working hand in hand with Hanrahan, set the climate of repression that resulted in many vicious assaults on the oppressed corr111unity and finally the brutal murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The Young Lords Organization with the aide of several law firms is filing a suit in court against the Chicago Tribune for its slanderous lies. We feel that no oppressed person, especially a Latino, should be caught dead buying the Tribune. :iOTE: THE YOUNG LORDS ORGANIZATION IS CALLI;~G FOR A COMMUNITY DEMQ;1STRATl0il AGAINST DRUG ABUSE, WILTON Arm GRACE. POLICE HARASSMENT NW URBAN RENEWAL, ON MAY 4 TH, AT � 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 RHC-65_1974-04-01_YLO-press-release 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 1974-04-01 Title A name given to the resource Press Release: Drugs Description An account of the resource Untitled press release of the Young Lords Organization, addressing the topic of drug trafficking in in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/19e90460385f9fda33caa8f1dcc3fd05.pdf 13d5f4fb605f433ebc09aad8def83f10 PDF Text Text Tuesday, TO I FR.OM: April 9, 1974 ALL PRBSS CONTACTS JOSE JIMENEZ, GENERAL SBCRE'l'ARY YOUNG LORDS ORGANIZATION 93S w. GRACE PRESS CONTACT: ANGELA LIND 549-9457 The Sunday, March 31st edition of the Chicago Tribune quoted me•• saying, "The big dealers are making money .b ut not •embers of the Young Lords, who are selling one or two grau to 11oaeone who coaes in frca the suburbs. It states further that I -- Cha Cha JiNnez as a sort of "local industry," described heroin traffic and that "the police should ignore the puahers." The Y.L.O. has been consistently addressing itself to the problem of drug abuae -- an inseparable problem that i• interwoven with the condition• in which Latinos, Blacks, Native Americans and other poor of this city are subjected to daily. We 1 ve established our office near a drug corner. We•ve met with the Illinois Drug Abuse Pregrams in order to establiah a drug abuse center in the area. We've met with cOllllllunity organizations and individuals to insure cC11111unity participation. youtha thellselves, We've spent long houre working with the and have made substantial pregrees. We've met with Cc.under Rae and Chief Riordan to clarify the problem and explain to them the c01m1unity'a approach to solving it. Together with a broad representation of the camnunity we have also asked that a patrol car be 11tationed at the corner on a 24 hour basis. It is clear that the addictfil and dope pushers are fraa outside of the cc:aaunity. 11tabilization of the cmaunity - We felt that only a a camnunity that has been puahed arourxl �the city five or eix times already -- would correct the problem. Therefore, we have also aaked for an end to police haraaa11ent of cCB111unity people. Today we are filing a 4 million dollar suit against Tribune. It aeMS that they too, hara•• the CClalUnity. with their misquoted Hee, They not only misquoted myself, IIUlber• of the cemaunity. tlM Chicago want to but alao ot:her Thie suit today le being filed, not jut on behalf of the Young Lords Organization, but of Chicago who are in need ot in depth, honest and correct information. NOTB1 also on behalf of the People THE YOUNG LORDS ORGANIZATION IS CALLING FOR A COMMUNITY DBMORSTRATICM AGAINST DRUG ABUSE, AT WIL'l'OH ARD GRACB. POLICE HARABSMBHT AND UltBAM RDBWAL, OIi MAY 4TH, � 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 RHC-65_1974-04-09_YLO-press-release 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 1974-04-09 Title A name given to the resource Press Release: Call for Demonstration Description An account of the resource Untitled press release of the Young Lords Organization, calling for a community demonstration against drug abuse, police harassment and urban renewal. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/275ff1656126f346decf2e4a08d6d740.pdf f07f51fb18db8f9b42fbfdac664d0777 PDF Text Text ioy 4, 1974 Angela Lind, Communications Secretary Young Lords Or~anization l. April 10, 1974 Cha-Cha Jimenez and Slim Coleman went with a letter to the Alderman to ask for a rermit for this event. 'They also as ked if we needed oetitions or letters, the Alderman sa ·id 11 :10. 11 The Alderman had Cha-Cha and Slim \•Jait and then chancied the subject to the ;ffA. He finally said that "The.v should 1\lri te up the puroose so he could go to the City Council to pass ; t and it could then be sent to the i3ureau of Streets and Sanitation." Cha-C:1a and Sl1m responded that the purnose i·.ras a block party and it t·Jas already stated as such in the letter. The Alderman said, "It v1asn't enough." So Cila-Cha and Slim explained in depth that it was a memorial for Manuel Ramos and Pancho Lind and also to observe the deaths of other poor peoole. ~!e :·:ould ::ie talking about the urban removal of Latinos and other poor people, the police harassmPnt anri drua situation on Wilton and Grace. Cha-Cha and Slim said t hey had already exoiained the purrose and they had understood that the Alderman and not the 3ureau of Sanitation was responsible for giving the permit. The Alderman then qave them back the letter and said he "didn't t,1ant it. 11 out as they \'Ia l ked out the door they gave the 1etter to his secretary . · 2. April 15, 1974 Cha-Cha and Slim went to the Alderman's office for a mee inq on another subject. They sooke to the ~Jard Committeeillan, /\xelrod. He said, "T · ~ Alderman reacted a little bit that ni91tt and not to ~1orry. The permit is going through and go ahead v1ith the event." That is when we started putting out extensive advertisement, contacted the bands, began making literally thousands of ohone calls to groups and individuals. ~e also be0an collecting netitions for the support of the event. He invited clerqy to give invocations for ,1anuel and Pancho, and arranged speakers representing various community grou~s. 3. April 17, 1974 Cha·-Cha and Slim wanted to ma ke sure that we would get the permit, so they went to the Upto1m States Attorney's office and snake to Francis Baumqart and asked him to please call the Alderman to hel p us ~et the permit. The Alderman told him "It's ur to the Alderman - not the States Attorney - to issue oermits and maybe he trmuld or maybe he \·1ouldn't. 11 4. ,l\pril 18, 1974 At a community meeting at St. 1•1 ary's of the Lake Church, they spoke to the Alderman again. He changed the subject by saying that vie had been disagreeing with him over the college site. tJhen we took the position that we didn't 1t1ant any more low- income housing :orndm·m and vie ,,mnted t he families that had been moved out to be relocated. He then said '\,e shouldn't do t hat" and walked away without giving us an answer. That same ni ght we also sooke to Sot. Bullerman, public relations for the 19th police district, informed him of the oroblems we \•Jere havinCl with the oermit, and said that ~,e wanted a meeting with Commander Hanley. �5. Aoril 19, 1974 Cha-Cha and Slim 1-.Jent to Sgt. Bullerman's office. He said "he felt the oolice vJere beinq used and he didn't li ke it." He said that we could go on with the event \•Ji thout the permit, but if he got II an anonymous phone call informinq hirn vie didn't have a permit he 1;1ould have to come and arrest everyone at the bloc!: party. 11 He told Cha-Cha and Slim to ~o back and mal~e an a9enda for a meeting tlith Commander Hanley. \le rilade an aqenda and brought it back. He said he vJOuld call us back for an armointrient, 1:1fiicl1 tie did. In the meantime, G. Abril 2( , 1974 an article came out in the Lerner Booster annouccing the block party. Also, in the ~eantime, 7. Aoril 24, 1974 Cha-Cha and Slir.i went back to see the Alderman, This time in front of a colleqe student, t<Jho uas doinq an intervie\-J 1:1ith him about how he conducts his office vJOrk, he told them, "he didn't see any reason ~,,hy \·Je couldn't get the permit for the block party. 11 ile said many oeople told him thev didn't want the block party, but he 1t1as sure that v1e knew manv neople t'llto 1·1a11tcd it, but we had to shm\l him something. !~e asked him again 1:1hat he \<Janted. Did he want retitions? He said "Yes, that would be a good idea." \'Je told him vie would bring him back netitions that niciht. That night when vie came back v1ith the netitions, his secret ary accidently brou<;ht out the fact that the Alderman had already sent out a letter askinq for the permit. (She said "It says 2 to 10 Pi1 on the netition but on the letter I sent out I ~vrote 2 to 9 Pf1. 11 ) The Alderman then nudged her \•J ith his elbm\l letting her kn01,1 to be s i 1ent. We came to the conclusion that he just wanted names to find out who would ootentially oppose him in the future. It would seem that the Alderman tJOuld use his nolitical office for his own personal gains. \;Je cannot understand why the Alderman v1ould go to such lengths to prevent a social event snonsored by Latinos and for Latinos and other poor of this vJard. :·Je did not inform you of this sooner because 'v-Je did not \Jant to fall into the tran the Alderman wanted us to. - To scare people away from this block party. An9ela Lind Communications Secretary Young Lords Organization �Angela Lind, Secretaria de Communicacfon Orqani zacfon de l os Ybtlng Lords El 10 de abril de 1974: Cha Cha Jimenez y Slim Coleman fuerorl con Lina carta al alderman pi Jiendole un permiso. Tambien le nrequntaron si necesitcban petition~~ al igual que una carta. El alderman le contesto qlJe, 11 :fo. 11 El hizo a Cha Gila ya Slin esperar mud10 tiernpo y mieritras asberaban ie tambio l a cohvcrsacfoh sobre RTA. Despues d~ sus pre0untas decidio que Cha Chay S1im escribiera n e1 pron.osito para el poder ir al consilio de la ciudad y luego hablar con el comite de sanidad y de las calles. Cha Chay Slim respondieron que el rroposito era para tener una fiesta en el bl oque y ya todo estaba espl icado en 1a carta que ellos le habfan entregado. El alderman contesto que no era suficiente. Ch a Cha y Slim procidieron con el orograma sabre la commernoracfon de :· Januel Ramos y Pancho Lind, tambien de otras gentes que murieron ayudando a su gente, sabre al removimiento de gente pobre del area central, sabre el abuso ~oliciaco y las drogas en las calles de t!ilton y Grace. Ellos trataron de esnlicarle al alderman que ya se haufa discutido el proposito anterior y que ellos sabian ~ue no el comite de sanidad nero riue $Olameote el alderman ten{a autoridad · sobre el oermiso. Al oir esto el alderman le entrego la carta y le contesto, 11 Yo no quiero esto, pero ellos al salir de la oficina le dejaron la Carta con la secretaria. 1. 11 2. El 15 ·de abril de 1974: Cha Chay Slim reoresaron a la oficina del alderman para seguir con la reunion sabre el permiso. Hablar6n con el hombre encargado del recinto·, Axelrod. El contesto, "El alderman no estaba muy contento esa noche, pero nose oreocupen. El permiso esta en nroceso y si9an con su evento. Entonces empezamos anunciandolo y hacienda publicidad. Tambien nos pusimos en contacto con las orquestas, y hicimos llamadas a miles de gentes y tambien grupos. Al mismo tiemro rcco9imos neticiones sabre el nermiso de la gente. Envitamos a raverendos para que hablaran sobre la muerte de nanuel y Pancho y tambien conseguimos qentes que hablaran sobre su comunidad. · ,, 11 3. El 17 de abril de 1974: Para estar seguiros que ivamos a tener el permiso, Cha Cha y Slim decidieron ir a la oficina de Uptown State's Attorney y hablar6n con Francis Baumgart. Ellos le pidieron a Francisque llamara al alderman y le ayudara conseguir el permiso. Al Francis llamar, el alderman le contest6, "El alderman es el que tiene autoridad sabre el perrniso y quizas lo doy. O quizas no lo doy. 11 El 18 de abril de 1074: Al redirle el nermiso al alderman de nuevo en una reuni6n de la comunidad (en la iglesia de St. ~1ary,) el contestc:i que nosotros estabamos acontra el porque estabamos cogiendo la posicfon de no tener removirniento y de no tumbar las edificios que eran de los pobresy al iqual que queriames la qente que se habi&n mudados regresar de nuevo. Al terminar dijo, "Ustedes no deben nacer eso. (Ysse fue sin una contestacfon.) Esa misma noche nos reunimos con el sargento Bullerman, relacionado con el districto 19, y le informamos nuestro interes de reunirnos con el Com. Hanley para descutir este problema sabre al oermiso. 4. 11 5. EL 19 de abril de 1974: Cuanao Cha Chay Slim visitaron al /~rgento i3ullerman y las enfrento con SUS sentimientos, Los cuales eran que, 11 el pensaba que la oolicia se estaba usando negativamente y esto a el no le qustaba. Tainbien le contesto "que si queriamos hacer nuestra conmemoracfon que la tuvieramos pero que si a lo llamaban a ~l, la gente protestando 11 que va a venir y arrestar a todos .que asistieran. Al terminar le dijo a Cha Chay Slim . 11 �que se fueron y hic1eran unJ a~enda nttra r 2unirse con el Co11. ;ianfoy. nos llnnaba para decirn0s cuando serfo l a cita. ,,1 resi~irla, 61 Con r,(s to cu,ir lio. 'J ientr.u s tu nto: t:1 24 de :firil tie 1974: LJ fiesta d<2l l1lo(!t!e ft!e Jnunciada en un art{culo <lel "Lerner ~,;ooster." V dentru:.; t ,rnto: El 24 de abril de 1974 c:ia Chay Sliri uecidi eron volv~r donJv: t; l ,\lder11tm. ts t a vez coi 10 '. rn:.ifo un estudiante de Col cc~o h~ciendole una entrevista l e contesto a ellos. ":io se ninauna raz6n nor la cual nuec.lan tencr su fiestr1. i:l :;aufo cm:: :1a::lian qentu nue no n.uerirln esto n8rO cnr10 Pl sahfa ~1.l':. nosotros ten1a11os l,lUChas resrw-,stas rosi li iv,1s, pues ·el neCF>Sitaba prueba ." :-\1 rr1-)'1 Untarl(:,, lo fjmJ el 1Uc)'.''1a, Si (JUeriu !i(~ticiones, el COnteStO <Jue sf. GuP- venori'a sfando una buena i dP.a. Al llevar las .:> ticionP.s fir1 ·adas la secretaria sin <]t1e rer nos inforno 11ue e l la ya :·rnL,fa hecho una cftrta ;1iclfondo el !"errTJiso. (El la di .jo, "lu carta ('JU(-'! yo rn nde dGC1cl <IP. 2 -- 9 P. i rero es ta dice dP. 2 -- 1~ P':.) El ahkm:an l e hizn un« S(c!Tfal riue ~P. iianteni era t~n sile11cio. no 1 Lle~anos a la conclusfon quc el al Jt=! rnJ n solanente querfa una listu tic· sentcs que f'n el futuro le ivci.n a contraducfr. El piensa (Jue su rosic(on rolitica le ruede rlyudar rarn sus 9a11oncias rersonal. rlo rodPmos en tender ~Or(JUfi el a lderrinn SP etrPvP. ir a ta 1 Qxtrf'PO para ne<Jarl e a 1os latinos tal evento, ~i solanent(~ lo h,1cei,1os rara la !)ente rohrP. ill i :3ual 'llle latina. 1m~remos r,e<li rle rerdon ror no traerl,~ ffsto Kntes, rero no 'lueri anr,s caer en la tranra 'lue el r\lcalde hahfa rlnnP.ado, ln cual P.ra asustrlrlos ~' nantenerlos fuera de esta ocac(on. Jmaela Lind Anr1ela Lind Secretaria de Cor1unicacfon 1r~anizacfon de los Youn~ Lords � 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 RHC-65_1974-05-04_YLO-report 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 1974-05-04 Title A name given to the resource Young Lords Organization Activity Report Description An account of the resource Activity report of the Young Lords Organization from April 10 to April 24, 1974. The report documents the efforts of the organization to coordinate a social event, and resulting conflict with the ward alderman. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Lind, Angela Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Young Lords (Organization) History Puerto Rican Civil rights Puerto Rican Social conditions Chicago (Ill.) Civil rights movements Community activists Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65) 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1970s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/77dbc87293a6f2fa75f4caa7dd9e657a.m4v f551e738e9b37977900c2426821b7485 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a3e5546e8add0b8ee4b875f405a5e192.pdf 1d9e42aa8709f77334d199fe1ed23adc PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW LOIS YOUNGEN Women in Baseball Born: October 23, 1933 Resides: Eugene, Oregon Interviewed by: Frank Boring, GVSU Veterans History Project, August 5, 20010, Detroit, Michigan at the All American Girls Professional Baseball League reunion. Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, December 9, 2010 Interviewer: “To begin with what is your full name and where and when were you born?” My full name is Lois Joy Youngen and I was born October 23, 1933 in a little town of one hundred people called Ragersville, Ohio. Interviewer: “What was your early childhood like?” Full of activity, I had a wonderful childhood and my mother was an elementary schoolteacher, my father was a principal and subsequent superintendent of schools and he also was coach and he also was a varsity baseball player. So, I think maybe that’s where I got some of my ability. 45:03 Interviewer: “What was your school like? You said it was a small town, was it a small school?” We had moved to a little larger town where I started first grade. The first few grades were rather uneventful and by the time I hit the fourth grade we had moved because my father got a better job and it was about then that I started playing with all the neighborhood boys because there weren’t any girls in the neighborhood and if you wanted to play outside, and there’s no television remember, and other than reading books and trying to learn how to play the piano, which I didn’t do very well and they finally gave up on me, I played outside with the boys. 1 �Interviewer: “Give us an idea what the lot was like. What was your neighborhood like for example? Was it a big back lot? Was it a full diamond where you play baseball? What was it like?” 45:57 A yard and a back yard and then a little later on when we moved again and my father got a better job, we were in—all the houses were on one side of the street and across the road it was farmland, it was pasture field, so we took our paper bags and our one ball, you only had one ball and you reused it, and our bat which had copious amounts of, I guess it’s electrical tape, it’s black and it also had a screw and a bolt through it, but that was it and I remember that the boys weren’t too excited about my wanting to play, originally when we moved to this new town with the pasture field across the street. 46:40 Interviewer: “How old were you roughly?” Let’s see—probably ten, ten years old. Interviewer: “You’re the daughter of educators, small town, you’re playing the piano, but you don’t want to play, you’re reading, which is wonderful, and how did you hear about this boys’ baseball going on? How did you happen to get involved with that?” Well, there were a lot of boys in the neighborhood and they always just played ball over there, so I wandered over naturally. I was interested and I asked about playing and they said, “You can play right field or catch”, and being rather intelligent I said, “well, if I play right field at this age, no one will ever hit the ball to right field because when we choose up teams, which you often do in elementary school, the last person to be chosen is the one who gets to play right field”, so I said, “I’m going to learn how to catch.” I knew 2 �my dad was a baseball pitcher and if he could throw to me some, I could really become proficient as catcher. 47:44 Interviewer: “Did you have a glove?” At the time I don’t know if I had a glove or not, but I know my father was supportive, which is important, so we went out and bought me a glove. I don’t think it was a catcher’s glove originally. Later on I got the real thing, but I’m not quite sure. Interviewer: “So in the early days in elementary school, why baseball as opposed to anything else?” Well, we’re talking about the nineteen forties and individual sports were only for those elite families that had money and could have private lessons. There was no physical education in the schools during the forties, there was some extra, what would you call it? Varsity sports, there were some varsity sports floating around, but baseball was one of those things that every small town had a baseball team. That had maybe changed some, but I think there were enough remnants so you could play with a limited amount of space, a limited amount of equipment and still have a very good time. 48:48 All the small schools that I went to, there was no football, no track and field when you look out and soccer was something you played in PE, I think for fifty years before it caught on as being a really important kind of sport around the world, but maybe never will catch on in this country, we’ll see how that goes. Anyway, it was a remnant of a sport that everybody could play you could join in. Everybody had a little softball game at a reunion or at a picnic. You played softball, but this was baseball with a hardball that we threw overhand. 49:24 3 �Interviewer: “Did you have access to sports either by newspaper or radio? Did you know what was going on in the world of baseball?” I had a grandfather that kept his ear to the radio to listen to the Cleveland Indians games, so we had no television, but we did have radio and I think our family was always so busy trying to earn a living—we had gardens in the summer and I had odd jobs that I did and every kid had chores to do around the house. Some of my friends at that age, in elementary school, got an allowance and other students had to work and they were doled out certain amounts of money if they asked for it and that kind of thing. I’ve lost your question. 50:13 Interviewer: “You actually already answered it in terms of did you know about baseball from the outside.” Oh yeah, the radio and newspaper, yes, yes. Interviewer: “Did baseball from the very beginning or when did baseball become more important to you than just kind of playing?” Well, that’s an interesting question. That’s a very interesting question. By osmosis I suppose, I don’t know if I ever realized when. I got to the point where we gathered more boys to play on our team and then we started to call ourselves the “Town Team” and then we walked to other small towns five miles away, no soccer moms to take us anywhere, we took our one ball and our one bat and we would walk and we would play and then we would walk home. They would walk over and we would kind of pre determine, it was usually in the afternoon because we didn’t have jobs or anything and we were free to play, and I know that one summer, I think I probably was in junior high school by then and we did this for three or four years, and finally they came down, the boys, the team, 4 �came down to my house and they told me they didn’t want me on the team anymore because the other towns teams and kids were laughing at us because we had a girl on the team. 51:40 All I know is I think I suppressed that to the point where I don’t remember it, but my mother said, yes, I was there and I heard them ask you to do that, you were devastated she said, but it took them about a week before they came trudging back down and asked me to join them again because they had lost two games and they wanted me back on the team. I said, “well, that proves that winning is more important than having a girl on the team”, so then I sort of graduated from their team. The boys got older and we did have a varsity baseball team in that town and there were a couple of women’s softball teams in the larger cities, Wooster, Ohio and Ashland, Ohio, so in the summer the manager stopped by, I don’t know how they found out about me, but they came to me and asked if I would like to play. I didn’t know if I was good enough, but then I played softball with the Wooster, Ohio softball team for a year and then I played with Ashland probably two years. 52.42 Interviewer: “A couple questions between all this, what was your father’s and mother’s reaction to your playing baseball with the boys?” Nothing, I mean it wasn’t negative, and you know the research shows, all the early research shows, that the father is supportive and supportive of their daughter playing. There’s no problem and my father was always supportive and my mother probably didn’t disagree at all because she was a horsewoman in her early years and rode a lot and grew up on a farm and farm women had to help and get out in the field, so she knew what physical work was like. She was a little bitty woman, but she use to drive when they made hay and would drive the horses, so I don’t think she thought there was anything 5 �wrong with it and like I said, dad was supportive. They didn’t get to very many games, but they had other things to do, but I think they were supportive. 53:37 Interviewer: “So a scout of the softball team somehow heard about you and came along and said, “I understand you’re a pretty good ball player?” You played for a year or two years?” I played with the Wooster team one year and Ashland was closer and I think that was one of the reasons, I can’t think of any other good reason, why I went from one to the other. I went to play with Ashland and I was in high school by now, I was in high school. Interviewer: “And you were still a catcher?” I am still a catcher. Interviewer: “Do you have a catcher’s mitt now?” I have a catcher’s mitt now. Interviewer: “This is a more difficult question I know because you’re delving back quite a few years, but did you have any indication what so ever of what you wanted to do with your life at that point? Did you want to be a teacher like your parents?” 54:31 I always knew I would go to college, that was never a doubt. That was instilled in me from the beginning, I mean as long as my folks and I communicated about anything, I knew I would go to college, so I knew I had to do well in school, which I did, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after I got there and what my major might be at the time. Interviewer: “Baseball isn’t even in the consideration because it’s something you’re doing because it’s fun?” 6 �Yes, doing it because it’s fun, yes, definitely. Fun, F U N, fun and winning too occasionally. Interviewer: “Did you feel like you were pretty good?” I don’t know, I don’t think I ever really—I don’t think I thought much about that. I was interested in the fact that we were a team and that every time we won the team won. As women, I don’t think we spent much time thinking about statistics and who hit the winning RBI that high. I think it was the team winning and we were interested in the game as a team game. 55:41 Interviewer: “Now, you’re in high school so your morning you go to school, you come back in the afternoon, when are you playing baseball?” Probably on a night, like a Friday night and we might be playing on a Sunday afternoon. Interviewer: “This is a neighborhood thing, so you got the bleachers full of locals and those people egging you on with rah, rah, rah?” It was the thing to do to, and here we’re talking about the nineteen forties and people didn’t have a lot of money and I think we were much before television was popular. You might have one or two people in town that had a television set. I remember going to visit somebody in 1948 and they had this snowy television set, but I think there wasn’t a lot to do. You could go to the movies, pay seventy-five cents and go to the movies, maybe it was a dollar by then, or you might go out and watch, I’m sure we weren’t the only softball team in Ashland, the men probably had one or two teams, and they still had businesses that sponsored men’s softball teams, so I still think in the nineteen forties softball was probably a pretty popular activity for a medium sized, we’re talking about twenty-five thousand people or twenty thousand people, something like that. 56:58 7 �Interviewer: “Can you remember, and how did you hear about Pearl Harbor?” I was sitting with my father in our den and we had one of those Zenith tall radios, you wouldn’t know about that, sorry, and it had a big round dial on it and so on. Interviewer: “I actually do know about that.” You do? I wasn’t going to—and we were in Ohio and it was in the morning, I’m sure it was in the morning, it was a Sunday morning, I don’t know if we had been to church and come home or we hadn’t gone yet, I can’t tell you the exact time, but my dad was listening, I don’t know when it got turned on or anything, but I heard my father call my mother in and they sat down and I think I kneeled, I don’t know if there was a chair there or an ottoman or sofa or something for me to sit on, but I get the impression I was kneeling down and cocking my head and listening and we heard Roosevelt come on the radio and talk about the date that would live in infamy. 58:10 From there on it sort of changed everything. Interviewer: “How did it change around your immediate world?” All the good teachers went off to work in the war plants, so there was a shortage of teachers and I don’t know if you know this, but maybe you do, but once a woman got married, in the nineteen thirties, she no longer could teach. Married women could not teach, so until World War II, married women were pretty much prohibited from teaching unless they had a special kind of certificate to do something, but in general married women, if the husband taught, the wife couldn’t teach. So, my dad came home and he was the principal of a fairly good size school, and he had been losing all his teachers— you could make five times as much—you know that’s still the way it is, you can make five times as much money doing something else as you can teaching. 59:13 Everybody 8 �was leaving to go to the was plants, so what happens is dad says, “Mom, you got to go back and teach third grade, or fourth grade, or fifth grade, but you got to get back in. They are dying for good teachers”, and my mother was a very good teacher, so she got geared up to go back and teach and those were the years when people only had one car or one truck, you didn’t have two. Our life changed immediately after we started in 1941 and we had war drives and war bond drives and we collected scrap metal and I know we had scrap medal. We had recesses where we got our physical activity and remember I’m a lot younger than I was from your previous question, but we didn’t have any organized teams during that time that I’m aware of. 00:07 I had a paper route and I needed some spending money, so after we lived there a couple of years I got a paper route in that small town. Interviewer: “When did you first hear about the league, The All American Girls Professional baseball League?” I’m not quite sure whether I read about it, and remember this is 1951, actually it’s 1950 when I first went to visit a cousin in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I don’t know when I heard about the league, but Fort Wayne had a team and I went to visit my first cousin that lived there, and she and her husband had two children at that time and they said to me, “would you like to go see the girls play baseball tonight?” Well, that’s a no brainer you know, YES, and I’m sitting there and I’m sixteen years old and we’re watching the game and Fort Wayne had quite good attendance in those years and I’m sitting there and we’re getting to the seventh or eighth inning and I have no idea who won the game or even played, all I did was I turned to my cousin and I said, “you know, I can do that”, just like that, right out of the blue. 1:24 That surprised even me because I don’t think the 9 �majority of women in that generation are terribly aggressive and I surprised myself by saying that, and by golly my cousin got on the phone that next morning about eleven o’clock I had a tryout with Max Carey, our manager, our hall of fame manager and least four other Daisies were there and he put me through the paces for about an hour and he said, when we were wrapping things up, “Lois, we will be in touch with you. We will contact you probably around the first of the year”, and this was probably in August or maybe July of the previous year, so I went back home and finished my junior year and started my senior year in high school. 2:25 Along about January third or fourth I got and invitation to come to spring training in Alexandria, Virginia, Fort Wayne Daisies. Interviewer: “What was your parents’ reaction?” I think they were both very positive about it. I remember my dad talking to my mom and saying, “well, she’s going to go off to college at the end of this year. She’ll have a chaperone and that’s more than she’ll have at college. We better send her off, it might be a good experience for her”, so they were kind of positive about it. 2:57 Interviewer: “I want to walk you through very carefully, with a lot of detail, what was the preparation to go, packing and the whole bit, what you’re thinking about while you’re going through this. I don’t want to just suddenly show up there, give us an idea of what it was like.” Well, first of all during those years, every senior class had been collecting money for fifteen years to go on a senior trip. We picked potatoes and we mowed lawns and we had car washes and you know, some of the same things they are doing today and we ended up with quite a bit of money, so our senior trip was planned to go to Washington D.C. Alexandria, Virginia is real close to Washington D.C., and I thought, “well, if I can plan 10 �this and work this out, I can go with the class trip on the train, I don’t know if I had been on a train before or not, I can’t remember, and we would go down—I think we left from Akron, Ohio, went through Youngtown, through Pittsburg, on down to Washington D.C., this was my thinking, and then I could go to Alexandria and the rest of the seniors were going to go to New York because they had all this extra money and they could go to New York and spend it freely in New York City for another four days or so before we had to go back to Ohio. 4:20 It was standard for every small high school in Ohio to take a senior trip, so I’m thinking, “maybe I can maneuver this so I can get to Washington, spend some time with my class, go see some of Washington D.C. and then get myself over to Alexandria, Virginia, which is just across the river”, so I’m thinking, “well, the first thing I have to do is I have to get out of school for about three weeks in addition to our senior class week”, so this is a big chunk and whether you believe this or not, you just didn’t get out of school. You had doctor’s appointments, dentist appointments, other kinds of appointments after school or on week-ends. You just weren’t allowed to walk off the school grounds. So I’m thinking, “how am I going to maneuver this?” I’m talking to my teachers and I got an ok from all of them except one and I talked to the superintendent and it was like getting special dispensation from the Pope to get away for four weeks. 5:23 I jumped through all the hoops that they could possibly put in front of me. I had one teacher that I had to send homework back to and I promised religiously that I would do that. Everybody else said, “go with our blessing, and make the team “, even the fellow I was going to the senior prom with said,” make sure you’re back here for the senior prom”. Anyway, so I arranged it with the Fort Wayne Daisies, Ernie Bird was their business manager and we wrote letters, we didn’t call back in those days, long 11 �distance phone calls cost a lot of money, so you wrote letter and I think they probably cost three cents for a stamp too, so we wrote back and forth and we made the arrangements that I would go spend some time with my senior class and then go over Alexandria for the tryout for the Fort Wayne Daisies. 6:12 So we got on the train, there are fifteen in my graduating class, nine boys and six girls, that’s a small town, and all I remember is all the mothers and fathers were there and you would think we were going to cyber space or someplace, and they gave us sandwiches, we had food, we had this long trip to go to Washington D.C., I think it took eighteen hours, it wasn’t that far away. Anyway, I remember eating sandwiches, we left like in late afternoon, and we went through Youngstown and Pittsburgh and all the Bessemer burners in the steel mills were going strong and it was an absolutely gorgeous site to see them lit up the way they were. That’s one of my vivid memories of taking that trip. The rest would be seeing the monuments in Washington D.C. and meeting with our local Senator or Representative and having our picture taken with them, which every small class does on their little sojourn to Washington D.C. Then they left and went over to New York City and I went over to Alexandria, Virginia. 7:20 This is where, and I don’t know if you want to include this, but you may know that Peanuts, Mamie ”Peanuts Johnson” had an article in the New York Times not too long ago, and she’s an African American woman, and we get asked this a lot if we speak to groups and so on, and since Jackie Robinson didn’t get into the majors until 1947 it was obvious that there was a problem with having African Americans in our particular league as well. Well, here we are in 1951 and according to Mamie, she came to Alexandria, Virginia during that time that I supposedly was there. I never saw her, but she indicated that she came, she came with another girl, another 12 �African American girl, and they wanted to try out and whoever the management was at the time that met them and talked to them, told them that there was no place for them in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. 8:20 Now, the girls like myself, none of us that I have talked to ever have any interaction with them or knew that she had even come and we feel bad about that, but there wasn’t really anything we could do about it when we didn’t know about it, so that’s something that we have been thinking about and talking about some. Anyway, we never did have, to the best of my knowledge, any African American player in our league. So, back to what we did there, I got the opportunity, I’m not quite sure why, but I got picked out of the group to do some public relations things and we were supposed to play in Baltimore. 9:06 Interviewer: “Let me back you up a little bit. You got there for tryouts?” Yes, so I’m trying out. Interviewer: “Ok” I’m hitting, I’m running, and I’m throwing. Interviewer: “In the movie you get this idea, and I know it was in the very beginning of the league that you saw from the movie, but you walk out onto the field and there’s all these women out there, girls playing, is that similar to what happened with you?” I don’t remember, to be honest, but I don’t think so because there were two teams and the object in the 1951 spring training was to have two teams, the Battle Creek Belles and the Fort Wayne Daisies, all have spring training together and then you would play exhibition games around, I think it was Katie Horstman talking about being in North and South Carolina and so on. Well we played—we had an exhibition game scheduled in whatever 13 �the Baltimore Stadium was at the time and we also were supposed to play in Griffith Stadium. So this was part of—we practiced in Alexandria and we didn’t practice very long before we started playing, supposedly, exhibition games. 10:04 Interviewer: “You’re the new kid.” I know Interviewer: “what was that like?” I don’t remember very much about the tryouts. What I remember about it was that I whisked off to be on the radio and whisked off to meet with Maury Povich, he was the sports supreme or one of the major sports writers in the country at that particular time. I had my first glass of wine, don’t tell on me, at one of the lunches we got feted at you know. We were taken to lunch and I had a glass of Rosé and I have no idea who ordered it, but I didn’t, but I drank it and I think I enjoyed it. Interviewer: “You are very articulate and I would imagine, because of your educational background with your parents and what not, some of the girls may or may not been able to speak as well as you. If they are going to get you on the radio, you have to be able to talk and that’s probably what happened.” Well, we were trying to get them to come out to the games. I the idea we’re playing this exhibition, come out to the game. I do want to tell you about—we got rained out of Griffith Stadium, but the one picture I have, other than with Jimmie Fox who came later, is I have a picture of Clark Griffith, the grand old man of baseball, and myself standing next to him and another rookie I have never been able to find out, and then Max Carey. 11:25 The four of us are there and Max Carey has the handle of the baseball bat and Clark Griffith has the other end of it you know and I am there in my dress, you know 14 �dresses, we must wear our dresses, and it’s an 8x10 and it’s been chopped and cut and pasted, but it is my picture with Clark Griffith and Max Carey and it’s the only one I have. The interesting thing is, I made the team and the girl next to me didn’t and I don’t have any idea who she is, but that is, that’s my picture. 12:01 The second thing I want you to know, in the world, as far as that goes, is that we went, we were in Griffith Stadium and I go and take batting practice and I stood up there and I said, “Joe DiMaggio stood here”, and I’m standing there and I turned around on the other side and I said, “Ted Williams stood here”, and we didn’t get to play, we got rained out, but at least I had the opportunity to stand there in Griffith Stadium at home plate. I never thought about getting behind the mound like a catcher would. I was thinking about hitting for whatever reason and now that I think about it in retrospect, I didn’t think about getting down there and getting into a catchers position like Jim Hagen who caught for the Cleveland Indians. 12:41 Interviewer: “Now, by 1951 was there the—did you have to go through the charm school and all that kind of stuff?” It is interesting that you mention this. If you talk to groups of people, especially younger people, one of the things they want to know is, “was that charm school really for real?” I have to say, “yes, it really was in the early years”, and most of the gals that went through it thought it was worthwhile. They didn’t pooh pooh at it and they didn’t think it was terrible. I’m sure there were some that did, but the few that I’ve talked to thought they learned some valuable lessons going through the charm school.. I think that was Mrs. Wrigley’s idea in the first place. Interviewer: “What about you? By the time you got in?” 15 �This is what I tell my audiences, “by the time they got to 1951 they had given up on us”, so that’s my response. They were more interested in the ability of the players. Some of those were still maintained through the whole twelve years, but charm school was not one of the— 13:44 Interviewer: “What were some of the rules, the ground rules, when you started if charm school was not in there, what are some of the things they told you? This is what you have to do as a player.” We always wore a dress or a skirt when you went to the ballpark, when you were out in public; you were invited to a luncheon, home from the ballpark. You lived in private homes and usually there were two of us to a private home. I think there might have been some occasions over the years where there would be four. I’m looking forward to seeing my Blue Sox roommate here at this reunion. Anyway, the pants thing, nope, no pants, no slacks and even by then women were starting to wear slacks more and blue jeans were more common as far as everyday dress. 14:33 Interviewer: “Kathryn Hepburn in particular really made it.” Took over as far as that was concerned, but that rule was sacrosanct, we did not wear pants period. Now, if we were going to the corner grocery store or something, if we happened to be lucky enough to have a day off, of course if it was pouring down rain, you could wear your jeans. You were very careful about how you presented yourself to the public that was still very important. You didn’t have to worry about make-up, you didn’t have to worry too much about the length of your hair, that was something that was included in this charm school business and make-up, yes or no depending, most of the time you put it on after the game not before. I remember the idea of dating—I don’t 16 �think—I’m going to get side tracked here, but the movie A League of Their Own, has this wonderful scene at the “Suds Bucket”, I don’t know if you remember, but where Madonna does her thing and I’m thinking, “oh, if we only had a “Suds Bucket” when I was playing ball, I would have been there at every opportunity. 15:40 I love to dance and I don’t remember my date ever asking a chaperone whether they could go out with me and I dated quite a bit. Interviewer: “Well, let’s start at the beginning, you’ve gone through the spring training with the Daisies and the key thing here, I think, is for us to understand, and remember we’re trying to get as much of your experience as possible and not the league, but your experience. You had left home to play in the league for how long?” Four years Interviewer: “Right, but for your first season, a season is what?” I think that first year Peoria was in the league and both of the Wisconsin [teams], so we had eight teams that first year and then it went to six and eventually it went to five, but we started out with eight teams. First of all I went back home, went to my senior prom and graduated from high school all in one week and then I became a Daisy. There I am in Fort Wayne, Indiana, my roommate is Pat Scott and she’s another rookie and she’s a pitcher and a very good pitcher. I’ve got my Daisy uniform on and somebody picks me up in a car to take me, I didn’t have an automobile or anything and I had no camera and by the way we didn’t have cameras, if we had cameras you’d have all kinds of things to use. The only cameras around were the little Brownie box cameras, no one had a camera to take any pictures of each other and that’s why we’re short on pictures. The girls keep asking about former players pictures and none of us had any cameras to take any pictures, 17 �let alone a movie camera. So here I am again, I’m back on track. 17:24 At the ballpark and Max Carey is our manager we’re playing seven days a week with double headers on Sunday and a seven inning first game. I think originally they had a nine inning second game, but the switched and changed that to—I think because it got a little too much with—we played a hundred and eighteen games that first season, so we had seven innings and seven innings and then you got on the bus and rode all night to Rockford, Illinois and then you played on Monday night and then you played seven more games and so on. Interviewer: “This is overhand at this point?” This is overhand, yes, this is 1951 and overhand started in 1948, so we went to—we were definitely overhand pitching. 18:12 Interviewer: “This wasn’t a problem for you because you started out overhand and as a catcher you were catching overhand anyway.” Yup, well I loved it because I have short fingers you know and the baseball is small. Nine inches is very different from a ten inch or twelve inch softball you know and my softball would every once in a while fly off into right field when I’m trying to throw to second base. So here we are, I’ve got this wonderful little nine-inch ball that I can get a hold of, so I really enjoyed playing with a regulation nine-inch ball. Interviewer: “What did you think of the uniform?” I didn’t give it too much thought, but the reaction, I think, on the part of a lot of the players in the beginning, and very much like it was in the film, was, “you mean I have to play ball in that dress?” I think once they started to play—I think the biggest problem was the strawberries, I don’t think it was—well, the other problem, and I’m going to digress here a little bit and go back. By the time I got in the league we’d already made 18 �them into mini skirts. 19:09 If you look at the original uniform it’s got like three yards of material in it. It’s got all kinds of extra skirt and it was to be worn exactly, according to the older women, it was to be worn exactly one hand length above the knee. Well, that’s pretty long and then you try to bend over and pick up a ground ball, you’ve got mostly skirt and no ball, so you know these gals—our players are smart cookies and the first thing they did was say, “we got to modify this”, so I talked to some of the older players and they said was one of the first things they did was they got safety pins and they would safety pin all this extra material of to the right and to the side, so it was more straight up and down. By the time I got to the league they had really wised up I’ll tell you, we had the first mini skirts. We took out all of the extra material, tightened it up and we lifted it up so it was right below the tight line, so you could completely spread your legs without any problem. Now, it’s still a one-piece dress and another thing, they wanted us to keep it cinched in so it looked like we had a waistline you know. 20:20 Have you ever tried to catch with your arms and your dress tries to go up in the air? It’s practically impossible, so I kept—we would loosen everything when no one was watching you know, we’d loosen this decorative belt that we had, which didn’t serve any real purpose except being decorative, so we’d loosen that up and we looked pretty great out there because according to everything you’ve read and so on, showing a lot of leg is ok, and we got to do it in the fifties when it didn’t happen all the time. They were covered up below the knee, and there were a lot of good-looking legs, so it served the purpose. Interviewer: “What can you recall, if not your first game, what’s the first memory you have of a game in the very beginning?” 19 �The first memory I have is being sent in to catch the last inning or the last two inning of the game and hopefully we were ahead. I would get to go in because I was the rookie on the team. We had two other very good catchers, and I’d get to catch batting practice often for experience, and that first year I just sat on the bench and watched everybody. 21:31 Like I said, I’d have to go out and warm up the pitcher or go out to the bull pen and warm up the reliever that was going in or maybe you got in to catch the eighth inning or the eighth and the ninth inning for experience, and I know that first year, in 1951, Max Carey said, “well, if we send her off to Kenosha for August, or part of August”, and Kenosha was a team that was folding at that time and there last year was in 1951, if I remember correctly. They were traveling by car and all of their home games were all now away games, they adjusted that somehow, so I got to play a few games for Kenosha. I don’t remember much about that; it was only for about a couple weeks. 22:18 Interviewer: “Your first season, this is going to be a touch question because it’s—I have to keep in mind that you’re a very young, seventeen your first year—Was there any sense at that point, maybe later it’s different, but was there any sense at that point, the first season, that this was going to go on anywhere beyond that year, or next year, playing?” I don’t think anybody thought too much about it, this was my first year, maybe some of the older players who had been in the league for four or five years, had a sense, when all of a sudden they’re thinking about, “we don’t have the turnout in some of these towns and we’re not going to have a team in Kenosha next year”. Dropping from eight to six-that would have been a clue to me if I had been thinking about that. 20 �Interviewer: “I guess what I’m trying to get at is, today a young boy, even to a certain degree a young girl, can dream about being a professional, not necessarily baseball, but you’re playing professional ball, but did you see yourself as a professional ball player?” 23:24 I knew I was going to college, so after the 1951, first year, I took what money I earned and paid my college tuition. I did that for four years, so in essence my four years as an all American paid for my Baccalaureate degree. So there and I think my parents were very supportive of that, but that’s the way I used the money. I never saw myself or as my one hat or one role in life as being a professional baseball player. Interviewer: “Another tough question, and this as you look back—I look at my own life and as a seventeen or eighteen year old, did I really know what I wanted to do kind of thing, but did you understand that this was something very unique and that this baseball team was something very unique at the time or was it just like at the ballpark when you played in the back lot with the kids, it was fun, but was there any sense—ok this is paying for my college, but was there any sense the this is really something great?” 24:32 At least you didn’t ask me the question; did we know we were being part of baseball history? Interviewer: “I’ll wait until later for that one.” I mean no, no, I don’t think there was ever a player that played in our league—my question to you, do you think you’re going to get the Pulitzer Prize sometime? No, everybody that I knew loved to play and the only time you didn’t love it was when you got a strawberry. Another time when you didn’t love it is when it rained in Fort Wayne 21 �and they poured gasoline on the field and burned the field in order to get rid of the water and you had to go out and play in that and slide in that and field ground balls in that. There were times when you didn’t—or you were very, very tired. Sometimes in August when it’s very hot and muggy like it is the last couple of days here in Michigan, it got pretty hot and when it got muggy we got pretty tired. 25:25 Remember, we didn’t have any weight lifting or any weight training, we might have had some batting practice in mornings at home, but very seldom on the road. We had no batting helmets, so if you got hit in the head, you got hit in the head you know. We wore men’s equipment and I was a catcher and I was forever—I don’t know what kind of tape it is, the shiny stuff. Interviewer: “Duct tape” Duct tape, there you go, I couldn’t think of it. I was forever cutting the chest protector down so I could lift my arms, and the shin guards came halfway up my thighs because that’s all we had, we had men’s equipment. Our bats were men’s bats and I couldn’t find a bat that was small enough around, Ted Williams would have loved me because he wanted that really small handle there, and I needed that because I had short fingers and the weight was thirty-five, thirty-six pounds [ounces], that’s Babe Ruth weight for a bat. 26:32 I think I probably would have been a pretty good hitter if I ever could have found a bat. We’d go into a sporting goods store to buy our bats right off the shelf and there weren’t that many. Excuse me, I’m getting carried away, but the playing of the game was made a little difficult because of the fact that there was nothing much out there, really, for women, but no, the question you asked, did anybody think they were going to be, or where were they going to be in history, how important was women’s baseball compared to others? I do know though because somebody asked me, Jean Faut asked me 22 �this, we were the first professional women’s team sport league—first professional women’s sport period. The golf people have challenged it, the PGA has that, but they didn’t come into being until 1948, 1948 I think Just a tidbit to throw in there, but I don’t think any of them ever, I never heard any talk about it, we has more fun singing on the bus and deciding what we were going to eat or what we were going to wear to something. 27:45 Interviewer: “How many seasons did you play?” Four, I terminated the league; I finished them out in 1954. Interviewer: “I want to start now in getting into the actual games, but I want to do it season to season as opposed to jumping—if you want to jump in there it’s fine, but I’m just thinking, because your experience actually grows as you get better season to season and I assume you did, so how was the first season?” I did get better, you’rer right. It was very enjoyable even though I didn’t play very much. I got to meet and get acquainted with my teammates and Max Carey was a wonderful—he was a terrific base runner, so you learned a lot about base running from him and he was a good teacher and I was very content to be where I was and continue to learn. I never thought about jumping up and down and saying, “I want to play”, which is something they would be doing now days, the men would be doing anyway or, “trade me”, one of the two. 28:49 Interviewer: “I did one of the interviews in Milwaukee and I asked this question about the managers. Did the manager treat you as a woman baseball player or did the manager treat you as a baseball player?” 23 �As a baseball player, let’s face it, look at society during those years; the men were in charge of everything, religion, economics, political, and were in charge of baseball. There were men managers, the men were the umpires, the men drove the bus, but they treated us as baseball players. That doesn’t mean they didn’t treat us with respect, they respected us as women and were concerned about things like we were up all night riding the bus. The manager was very concerned about that and the bus driver, helping us with out luggage and be careful that is a bad step or something. They were very aware that we were women, but as far as the game was concerned, we were treated like ball players. 29:51 No yelling, they were very professional about—the professional players like Jimmy Foxx and Max Carey and so on, they were very professional in their interacting. The no crying in baseball, I know that’s Hollywood proverbially, but still there are people who think that actually happened and if you made a mistake, in some ways, your manager would maybe call you off to the side or into the dugout and talk to you individually or after the game was over they might call you in. I only know of one incident in four years of a manager, in a relatively public area, having words and I don’t remember what it was about at the time, but they were very professional and I know as a catcher it was all right for me to kick a little dirt on the plate and to maybe kick a little dirt on the umpire’s shoes. 30:56 You had to be very careful what you said to him you know. I didn’t talk much to the umpire and I didn’t talk much to the other players. Interviewer: “An interesting thing came up in the interviews that I’d done in Milwaukee and was that a lot of you learned how to play baseball, as you said, just playing with the boys. You never had professional training per say, but the ones that I interviewed said that amateurs contributed a great deal because they told you 24 �little tricks or little things that professional baseball players learned in their training, but since you were kind of a new thing, did you get any kind of tricks or hints about catching that helped you become a better catcher or did you just learn it on your own?” Not too much because none of the—none of my managers were catchers. If they had been I probably would have, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t listen. I learned a lot about base running and learned some things about covering the base and certainly—we had infield practice and we’d have-- the ball would be hit in from right field and you have to hit the cutoff player you know and bounce it in on one bounce to the catcher. 32:05 We all knew the basics, I don’t know where we learned them, but we knew the basics. The manager might, some managers more than other managers, some had practice where others—it seemed to be individual, from the gals I talked to, it seemed to be individualized. Different managers worked on different things. I know one of the things, because I wasn’t playing regular, I didn’t get—I got about two swings in for batting practice because, you know, we had to get the regular players and hitters out there, and we didn’t have much bating practice before—the managers I played for, they just didn’t do that and I know darn well that I could have hit much, much better, every year I got better at everything, and I know if I’d had more hitting practice and had a bat that I could hang on to and didn’t fly out to the third baseman every time it flew out of my hands. 33:01 Interviewer: “When did it change for you, in the second season or the third season, where you were playing more? You said you were sitting on the bench most of the time.” 25 �I sat on the bench and the next year was 1952 and Jimmy Foxx, we had six, I think six teams, you can go back and check on this, but I think we dropped down to six teams that year and for the next two years I think we were at six teams, and Jimmy Foxx was the manager and don’t let anybody tell you that he wasn’t just a wonderful man, I adored him. He was renascent, well the exact opposite of Jimmy Dugan. Now, he was an alcoholic and I want the record—everybody knew that, but if you’re a health educator, you know that alcoholics can drink quite a bit and it doesn’t show, so he’d go home and do his drinking at night and he would show up at the ballpark sober the next day and he was a great big guy, so I suppose he could drink a lot. 34:01 I don’t know, but I think everybody that knew him, and Bobby Doerr lives in my part of the world out in Oregon, and I’ve talked to him about Jimmy Foxx and he said that the drinking is what caused his demise as a baseball player or helped add to that, and we just loved him. If we were lucky he would take batting practice four or five times during the season and he would hit the ball over our fence, over a pasture and out over a four lane highway, but we couldn’t get him—we just couldn’t get him to do it very often and we had to beg him, we had to grovel to get him to take batting practice, but we all adored him, so most of us feel kind of bad that sports writers and movie critics have written that the Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own is a thinly veiled Jimmy Foxx and every chance I get I like to say, “you think what you want, but that’s not the Jimmy Foxx that I played for”, so that kind of bothered me. 35:10 Interviewer: “In the second season did you start to play more? I played some, not a lot, we still had two good catchers and we had lost two good teams from the league. I was always the squirt, about 110 pounds, maybe 115 at my top weight. 26 �I wasn’t a home run hitter, and I was vying with six foot gals that were pretty good sized and I couldn’t get a bat that I could hold. Interviewer: “I think that was the reason. When did it change?” 1953 I started to play. I was traded to South Bend and I guess they needed a catcher, I don’t know, but I was traded to South Bend and started to play regularly. Interviewer: “Once again It’s unfair, but can you remember the feeling—because you’d been sitting on the bench for two seasons and now you’re, you got a good gig going on here, you got money coming in, you’re going to college and all, but there had to be a difference in your emotions when suddenly you’re now at south bend and now you’re playing more. Tell us about that, how did that feel?” 36:16 Absolutely, and I guess all of a sudden I realized that, “yeah, I belong here”. Maybe before I didn’t think that I quite belonged. I belonged in all these ways, but as far as being a ball player maybe I didn’t quite belong and all of a sudden I started to play and I started to be able to throw the ball down to second base alright and I got knocked on my whatever I suppose ten or twelve times and got knocked out a couple times, but I managed to make the put out at home plate and it’s not easy when you see a six footer coming at you. Anyway, I took a few of those knocks pretty well, hung onto the ball and I think my feeling was coming that I really belonged. 37:14 My hitting was coming along, I wasn’t a great hitter, and that didn’t seem to bother me. I thought it would come, but my throwing was better and I always knew in my head what was going on, more so than some of my teamates who couldn’t remember how many outs there were, but you know, I always was on top—the mental part of it wasn’t any problem. 27 �Interviewer: “I was a pitcher, a lousy hitter, but such a good pitcher, this is little league and I’m not anywhere in your league, and I’m talking as if we’re both professionals here, but I do know what you mean. There is a certain amount of compensation your players give you if you know that you’re a really good pitcher or a really good catcher. You don’t hit as well, but we got hitters and we’ll take care of it. What was the most challenging thing about being a professional catcher as opposed to this sandlot kind of catching? Or maybe there wasn’t a whole lot of difference, I don’t know.” 38:11 It’s hard to compare because you’re older and have had all these other experiences that kind of filtered in here. I think part of it might be the idea of playing everyday rather than just on occasion and you tend to build on that fact that maybe you learned something last night and you still remember it. Excuse me, but rather than, “I made that mistake two weeks ago”, because you didn’t play that often, plus the fact that we’re older and hopefully you learn some things, you read the paper, you maybe read some things about Ted Williams hitting you know. I mean, different players had a different, I think, approach. 39:06 Interviewer: “Did you have any sense of how good you were?” No, not the foggiest and you brought that up earlier and one of the things that I think is interesting is I have always felt rather uncomfortable knowing I was on a team for four years, but never contributed heaps and gobs. That I never was, although I played regularly, especially the last two years and played well and the last year I hit 284 which is in the top one third or yeah, in the top one third of all the players that played that year, and I was up there and I feel good about that, but I always felt that I wasn’t quite worthy 28 �and I don’t know quite how to explain this. I never really thought about how to articulate it, but I’ve always thought—yes, I guess that would be a way of expressing it, that I wasn’t as good as some of these other players and therefore, I’m not worthy of being included in the group and yet so many people, people that aren’t just my friends who might tell me something like this, “hey, you made the league, you made the team, you played, what else is there?” It’s just a “get a hold of yourself and quit thinking that way, that thinking is obsolete, it doesn’t make any sense”. 40:34 Interviewer: “A lot of people didn’t make the league and another thing that is really a good part of that movie, is that scene with Geena Davis and Tom Hanks where she says, “if it was easy everybody could do it”. That’s the scene I quote to everybody, throw out that” there’s no crying in baseball” and get to the heart of the game of baseball. “It just got too hard”, she said and he said, “it’s supposed to be hard, if it wasn’t hard everyone could do it, it’s the hard that makes it great”, and to me that is the summary, the overpowering scene in that whole movie that sums up what baseball is all about. 41:12 Interviewer: “I use it in my writing classes. I teach writing and I said, “If it’s not hard anybody could do it”. I use that same example.” It’s the hard that makes it great and to me that is the scene from the whole movie that the women in this league should take with them to share with friends, relatives, and admirers, fans, and forget that, “there’s no crying in baseball”, which is a clichéd kind of thing that got thrown in there so Tom Hanks could do a little acting. I guess he did it well because according to Pepper Paire, one of our catchers in the league who was one of the advisors on, or whatever kind of a role she had as far as the film was concerned, she said, “they 29 �had to have ten takes of that with Tom Hanks because the cameraman would break up every time he said, “there’s no crying in baseball”. Interviewer: “So you just got to take it realize, “well, that’s Hollywood”. 42:12 Absolutely, but I’m sorry, but that’s the real clincher in that film, that’s my scene. Interviewer: “I agree” So I got better every year, all right? 1953 I’m catching with Fort Wayne, I mean with the South Band Blue Sox and I catch a perfect game. Jean Faut, who pitched as probably one of the all time greats in our league, she could play any position, she could hit the ball out of the ballpark, she could pitch, she had all the pitches in the world, she pitched a perfect game on September 3rd, 1953 and we beat the Kalamazoo Lassies four to zip in Kalamazoo on their home turf. 42:56 I’m laughing because I have no idea if she called the game or if I called the game, but I’m sure she did call her own game, so I take very little credit for that other than the fact that I managed to hang on to the ball, all right? People keep asking me who called the game and I said, “well, when Jean Faut’s pitching she calls her own game and whether or not I called the pitches she liked and she didn’t you know. Interviewer: “Yeah, but something you might have noticed in baseball, you have to have a catcher with the pitcher. It’s essential to the whole thing and she may have been a great pitcher, but unless somebody was on the other end catching it, I’m afraid the game would just not be the same.” Anyway, that’s my big claim to fame. That and hitting one home run in Grand Rapids. 43:42 Interviewer: “I want to hear that one, please.” 30 �I hit one home run in 1953 with South Bend, I think it was—no, maybe it was 1954—all I remember is that I hit it over the fence, it was in Grand Rapids and it was my one home run and it might have been in 1954, I think it was in 1954. Anyway, 53 or 54 I got my one home run in there. 1953 I caught almost the whole season for South Bend and that’s where the perfect game came in. We were playing a shorter—I think maybe six teams, but we weren’t playing as many games and attendance was starting to fade and I think, if I’m not mistaken, when I reheard Ken Burns, they had it on PBS again, they talked in there about the fact that in the early 1950’s all the major league ballparks had problems with attendance. 44:42 So, I’m trying to put together—people want to know why we quit playing and I hadn’t realized that the attendance had really fallen off in major league baseball in the early fifties. So, it stands to reason that we wouldn’t have people coming out to the ballpark either. They didn’t give any reason for it, but they said there was a major drop off in all major league attendance during the early fifties, so obviously that happened with us as well, so 1953 the season was shortened, 1954 I got traded back to Fort Wayne. I didn’t ask why, I just picked up my stuff and went and Bill Allington was out manager then and you’ve probably heard his name because he’s the manager in the league over the years that everybody said, “if somebody cracked open his skull little baseball would roll out”. I mean, he was a taskmaster, I don’t know if he did spot quizzes, but he had the rulebook and he expected you to know the rules, he did a lot of teaching and he was the manager of the infamous Rockford Peaches for many years and then he came to us in 1954. 45:45 He said, “Lois, I’ve got a catcher, you’re too fast you’re going to be a left fielder”, and he made me into an outfielder. I didn’t –well, I roamed well and I was pretty quick, I had to make up for my other lack of strength and 31 �other things by being fairly quick, so I could read where the ball was going to go and made some pretty good catches out there and I could throw fairly accurately and in left field you didn’t need a cannon for an arm, only the right—that’s the interesting thing about playing right field, you know when you’re a kid it’s the worst place to be and when you’re in the majors it’s the best outfield position because you have to have the greatest arm and you got to hit and do other things. Left field was a good place for me because I could handle everything he needed and I hit. There’s something I want to share with you if we’ve got time. I’m playing left field and we’ve been playing with this ten inch ball and all of a sudden, around the fourth of July, I think it was a couple of days after the fourth of July, it was around the fourth of July in 1954 and all of a sudden we get a nine inch regulation baseball. 47:00 I’ve talked to the gals and I can’t get anybody for the life of me, able to explain whether or not they ever really practiced with a nine inch ball. It just sort of appeared. We got to the ballpark, the baselines had been extended, the pitchers mound had been moved back to sixty feet when we had been playing with it a little shorter than that. Same old bats and same old uniform, but they moved the outfield fences back and they kept playing with the distance so they could—I remember hearing bill Allington say, “If you can hit a home run, we got to move the fences back”, but the thing that I haven’t been really able to digest is how we could go from a major change from a ten inch ball to a nine inch ball and change the distances everywhere and not ever have practiced like two or three weeks before in the mornings or sometime with this nine inch ball, but it just appeared and bingo there we are with a whole new game. 48:02 I don’t know what the newspapers or the radio, we had those two venues, but no television, but what they had to say about it. I would like to go back sometime and do some 32 �research to find out how it happened. I know it happened because of the fan appeal and they wanted to see if they could bring some more people into the—I think most of the changes that were made over the years were made primarily to bring more people into the ballpark. Softball wasn’t a novelty, but boy, throwing it sidearm from a distance with a smaller ball that’s kind of different. The second part of my theory, since I’m allowed, is that these managers knew of the athletic ability of the gals they had playing the game. I don’t think they ever would have tried to change the game if they didn’t think the gals could handle it. 48:51 Interviewer: “How did it end for you? How did you find out that it was the end for you particularly?” Well, fortunately I was playing left field and I think it was around the sixteenth of August, around the middle of August after we’d made this giant switch to the nine inch ball, that somebody in South Bend, the catcher, got injured, so they asked me if I would go back and finish the season because they needed a catcher. They were—we kept losing the catchers, but anyway, I got shifted back and I said, “Well you know if they need a catcher, I don’t think I have much choice”. I had to go and that was the year that fort Wayne was just knocking the socks off the ball you know. They had Jo Weaver and Betty Weaver Foss and Jean Weaver and these four hundred hitters and home runs every time you turned around and locomotors on the base pad I’ll tell you that and so, I went back and finished the season in South Bend. Now, Fort Wayne won the pennant and I remember going back and I don’t know, I don’t think—they had a banquet or something, but they did give me—I got a scrapbook and it says Daisies “54” and you know I’m not sure—I got a couple of things that they gave to the players. 50:08 But I finished at 33 �South Bend and it kind of finished with a whimper and I’m not sure we did anything in South Bend to end thing s up, but I’ll ask Mary, my roommate, my married roommate with I don’t know how many grand kids she has now, but we’re rooming together and I’ll see if she has any feeling about how we ended. It sort of ended with a whimper, actually. Now the thing that probably didn’t bother me as much was because I was getting ready to go, I got my degree now and I’m out in the world, I got another goal in mind and I was fortunate enough that I was very successful in education and went on and they were four wonderful years, don’t misunderstand me, but they’re not my entire life, they don’t define me. 50:52 My four years don’t define me. Interviewer: “That’s an interesting transition for my next question. You say it ended with kind of a whimper, but you had a life ahead of you and you and you had a very productive life ahead of you. A lot of the WWII vets that I’ve interviewed and even some of the women ball players, say that they didn’t really think about their baseball experience as they’re going through their life. Is that true of you too? Did you tell people you were a baseball player when you were an educator?” I did on occasion and the response was, “oh, you’re a softball player”, and you’ll get that from everybody. No one knew who we were and where we were or what we did. I wasn’t until Penny Marshall came out with the film and people were coming out of the woodwork, former students and colleagues say, “Why didn’t you ever tell us you played baseball?” I said, “If you had been listening, I did tell you that early on and you responded with “you played softball”? And I never could explain it well enough to get you to understand that it really wasn’t softball, it was baseball”, and once the film came out—51:58 34 �Interviewer: “That’s my next question. What effect did the film have on you? I don’t mean a critical review of the film, do you know what I’m talking about?” I’m going to give you a critical review of it. I’m in Eugene, Oregon and I get a call from a local newspaper, the head of the sports section calls me and he said, “ I would like to take you to see the film and the first showing is Saturday morning at eleven o’clock”, and at a local theater, and I said, “well”, my mother lived with me for twenty-two years and she was still in good health then, so this is 1992, so I said, “yes”, and I obviously hadn’t seen it and hadn’t been invited to any of the premieres. I’m way out there where it takes a pony express to get to me and no one had ever bothered and I didn’t get to Cooperstown to the exhibit because my boss was an Englishman and he didn’t think—I suppose if I had said it was soccer he may have—or cricket, there you go, but he didn’t think I should go. 53:03 I had to work with the guy for another eight years or so and I didn’t think it was worth circumventing him to go to the Dean, which I could have done, but I opted not to do that. Interviewer: “It shows that you didn’t think it was that big of a deal I guess, huh?” Well, I had to work with this gentleman for eight years and he was in charge and he could have made life very uncomfortable for me for eight years. There we are back to the movie, so I meet him at the theater and we go in. The first thing is the music you know, overpowering music. I don’t know how many minutes we were into the film before I was crying and in another two minutes I was sobbing. I sobbed, and I don’t mean cried, I sobbed through the whole movie. Talk about embarrassed, losing my cool, I just cried and cried my heart out. I just brought back everything I hadn’t thought about for—since 1954 to 1992. 54:03 It all came rushing forward you know, excluding the hyperbole, the 35 �feel of it, and like I just said, I just sobbed for—I sobbed through the end and then I was embarrassed and he wanted to buy me a cup of coffee or something and my eyes were two big red blobs here and I told him I was sorry and I was embarrassed, but it just brought back this rush of memories and I’m sorry, this is just the way I reacted to it. 54:35 Interviewer: “How did that movie change you or change your perception of your participation after that. You’re past the crying and the emotional element and now you’re into day two, day three and the rest of your life. Did it have any effect on you in terms of other people reacting? You said your students were talking about it and stuff. How did it change you?” A number of people wanted to go see the movie with me. They wanted to know, all of a sudden there’s this big gigantic interest in this movie. It made lots of money because it’s still being shown every two months or three on cable TV, so anyway, I went, I must have gone eight times with different groups of people who wanted to go see the movie and we’d go have ice cream or something afterwards and they could ask me about the movie and then I got to—I was a chapter in a book and the university bought the book, that chapter to put in their quarterly. 55:36 Then more people had a chance to read it, but immediately after the film, I think I went seven or eight times with different groups of people and I was considerably calmer and could explain what happened and then people started asking me if I would come and speak to this group, the rotary, there are three rotary’s in Eugene and while the film was still being shown I got invited to speak to a lot of-Interviewer: “Were you at all surprised at all of this?” 36 �No, honestly no, because finally our story got told and it was the truth. Now, there are some things that are out of order and probably the most significant is the fact that in 1943 we would have been throwing underhand and not overhand, but there was a germ of truth, even Stillwell, you know I played for the Blue Sox and Jean Faut, the pitcher for the no hit game, was married to the manager, Karl Winsch, and they had a little boy and he traveled on the bus with us, but he was a little boy of the fifties and not the 1990’s, so you never heard of him, you never knew that he was there, so they took some of these ideas and did the Hollywood thing to him, which I could stand. 56:46 I’ve always said that it captured, that film captured the spirit of the league and the spirit of the women that played, the spirit of the game, those three things, the spirit of the league, the spirit of the game that we played and the spirit of the women that played because not being nit picking, I thought Penny Marshall did us just fine. 57:08 I was pleased with her film. Interviewer: “Looking back now and for the record, Where do you think this all fits into the whole scheme of things for—and lets get really big here, you’re an educator, I’m an educator and we know that in human history there are moments, some of them tragic, some of them great, some of them—you look at the time line of history and there’s all these things. We’re blips on these things, but where does the All American Girls Professional Baseball League fit into all of this?” Well, I think we need to stop taking credit for being a pioneer in women’s sports. Title IX is what did this for us. Title IX came along in 1972 and any parent that’s got a child, male or female, that can get a college scholarship now, we can’t—you know if you’re going to get $100,000.00 free scholarship to Stanford or Ohio State or Michigan or wherever it is, it’s not to be sneezed at and that came with Title IX. 58:12 Also, the 37 �proliferation of other women’s professional sports came with Title IX because until Penny Marshall got to us, nobody knew we even existed, so I see us a sort of a blip, a very fond, warm, fuzzy blip or whatever you would like to call it, an anomaly actually and I’m often asked if women belong playing with men’s teams and no, I don’t see that because of lestosterone and lack of and levers, you know, they’re bigger, they’re stronger etc., but I do think if the ever wanted to have an al American girls, Women’s professional baseball team again, and there were enough women who were interested in doing it, we have professional women’s fast pitch softball and most of those gals, that’s the way the original All Americans got started. 59:06 Most of them made the transition to the smaller ball and the longer distances, some couldn’t, but I don’t think we should e taking credit, in retrospect, for something that really title nine, through federal funding and balancing the men’s and the women’s varsity sports at the collegiate level, and the high school levels, helped balance out. Interviewer: “But you have to admit the number of women who credit you, regardless of whether the film was there or not. I talk to athletes, women athletes at our university. There’s a coach at our university who you were a major inspiration to and knew enough about the fact before the movie.” We may be an inspiration and I’m not saying that our story won’t inspire prospective women athletes, and I think we do everything we can to be the voice as well as the face of the AAGPBL speaking as often as we can, but yes, sure I would love to be an inspiration to a group of Babe Ruth baseball ten year olds, girls, and boys. Interviewer: “I’m trying to get my mind around that.” 38 �Interviewer: “Let me ask you the last question and I really appreciate you put up with this for so long. You mentioned earlier about how you played baseball as a child and you enjoyed it. You played the baseball as a professional with the idea that you were going to go to college, you had a larger picture involved, but now, looking back at that experience, and now you have pre-baseball professional baseball after you watch the things you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of, this is just one of them, I know that, but where does that fit in your life?” 1:02 Oh, it’s extremely important because I’ve been sports oriented you know, it’s right up there with some other awards, alright? It was only four years out of my like, but it’s a significant four years. I wouldn’t trade those four years for forty of some of my other years, and it’s even better now that we’re older because we can embellish all those stories that we’ve been telling over the years you know? You really did get to third base, but I tagged you, no you didn’t, it was second base, what do you mean, you never got to third base. It’s a significant part of my life. I simply meant—what I’m saying is it doesn’t define my total life, but it’s a significant portion of it and I’m extremely proud of it. I wear my ring with pride and thank god I had those four years and I probably would have played four more if they had them because it worked out well being a teacher and coming back and I was getting better. 2:10 That made me feel good. 39 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, during World War II to fill the void left by the departure of most of the best male baseball players for military service. Players were recruited from across the country, and the league was successful enough to be able to continue on after the war. The league had teams based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and operated between 1943 and 1954. The 1954 season ended with only the Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Rockford teams remaining. The League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball. Many of the players went on to successful careers, and the league itself provided an important precedent for later efforts to promote women's sports. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/484">All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-58)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Sports for women World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives Oral history Baseball players--Minnesota Baseball players--Indiana Baseball players--Wisconsin Baseball players--Michigan Baseball players--Illinois Baseball for women--United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-58 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-10-02 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-58_LYoungen Title A name given to the resource Youngen, Lois (Interview transcript and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Youngen, Lois Description An account of the resource Lois Youngen was born in a small town in Ohio in 1933. She grew up playing baseball with boys from her town, and played on a boys' team for several years before switching to a girls' softball team while in high school. She learned about the All American League while visiting a relative in Fort Wayne in 1950. She joined the league the next year and played for Fort Wayne, Kenosha and South Bend as a catcher and outfielder until the league folded in 1954. She used the money she earned as a player to go to college, and eventually earned a doctorate in Physical Education and taught at the University of Oregon. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives Baseball for women--United States Baseball Sports for women World War, 1939-1945 Baseball players--Indiana Baseball players--Wisconsin Women Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-08-04 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/484">All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, (RHC-55)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c07421cde92d0987cd4dd240e30be68f.mp4 8bf0bf11a896e804c3cff1d156ba24a5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ce8d84cc928abc936a143a8cff5ebae0.pdf 508b280ee2d456382ad29c3a13d3d41d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Cold War Era Gord Youngquist 2:03:35 Background information (00:07)            Born April 12th 1956 in Wheaton, Illinois (a small suburb of Chicago) (00:10) He lived there till he was 4 and then moved to Fennville, Michigan (approx 1960)(00:12) He attended School in Fennville (00:20) In Illinois his father worked as an editor for a magazine publisher. When he came to Michigan he worked as the chief engineer at John Thomas Batts He finished high school in 1975 (1:16) After graduation he attended school at Farris State University (Approx 1975-1977) (1:18) He decided March of 1977 to go into the Coast Guard (1:30) He Joined the Coast Guard in order to get the sea time needed to upgrade his captain’s license. (1:40) At this time he also wished to avoid the conflicts occurring in Vietnam [although these were over by then](3:05) He also did not want to hurt or kill people (3:25) Did not support the political reason for or action of Vietnam (4:01) Basic Training (5:30)          He attended boot camp in Cape May, New Jersey (Approx. 1977)(5:40) His first station had been at Group Saint Petersburg in Saint Petersburg Florida(5:45) Boot Camp lasted 18 weeks (5:57) The training was geared to educate as well as mentally, emotionally, and physically prepare the trainees for their service (6:15) Boot camp had only taken place on land (6:39) Military discipline had been somewhat in forced during his training, but not to the same degree that is seen in the marines or army. (7:00) When entering training he was deemed an E1 or a Seaman Recruit. (7:42) Much of the early training had been for first aid and emergency medical preparedness (8:00) Of the men he trained alongside, approx 80% had been of “no class,” had worked before, and had at least graduated high school. (8:55) �   Most men who entered boot camp had stayed with the program until its completion. (9:55) In between his first assignment and boot camp, he had been given 1 week's leave (10:43) He started out as a buoy tender. Here he scraped slime off of buoys used for navigation (11:03) Service in Saint Petersburg (11:00)            The buoys had first been secured on a ship he worked on before the maintenance of the buoys could begin (11:45) He was a buoy tender in Saint Petersburg Florida for approx. 2.5 years (approx 1978- 1979 or 1980) (13:02) An off base apartment was aloud for Coast Guard members as there had been no base housing (13:21) His pay as a jr. Coast Guard man had been approx 140 dollars a week (13:50) If men were willing, breakfast, lunch, and dinner could be provided on the ships. However at liberty time (3:00 PM) many of the men would leave the ship. (14:40) He served “1 and 3” duty. Every third day a man was required to stay on aboard the ship for a night shift to serve watch while the ship was docked. (15:20) These watch sessions were typically fairly calm while in Saint Petersburg (16:00) Women Coast Guard members had been stationed in St. Petersburg but not on the boats. They typically had more administrative office type jobs. (16:45) In spite of the negative opinion the public had over Vietnam in this era, the Coast Guard did not seem to have any difficulty recruiting (17:37) He desired to go transfer to a small boat station. These locations had been responsible for search and rescue as well as law enforcement. To do this he had to complete a request.(18:40) Small boat stations were also seen to have more of a family bond. (19:12) Service at Cortez Station (approx 1981) (20:00)      The first small boat station he served at was Cortez (19 miles west of Bradenton Florida) (20:04) 35 to 40 men had been stationed at this station at the time (20:55) 2, 41 foot ships, 2, 30 foot boats a small boat (approx 20 feet long with an Avon) had been stationed at Cortez (21:01) While at Cortez he responded to a shrimping boat call in which a man aboard had a heart attack. (22:15) His station did very little bad weather rescue as the ships Cortez were not capable of handling violent storms. (23:55) �   Most of the drug trafficking law enforcement things he had done had been the sizing of marijuana (25:00) Most of the sea crimes he encountered had fairly compliant suspects who did not fight back when apprehended (25:40) He served at Cortez for 8 months (Approx mid late 1980 to early 1981)(26:50) Service in Sarasota Florida (Flotilla 8-4 approx 1981) (26:55)               Next he served in Sarasota Florida on an 82 foot patrol boat (26:55) While serving here, one could either live on the boat or live In an apartment (27:30) Having one’s own space (such as an apartment) was highly valued. (28:00) This ship often patrolled past the 12 mile limit looking for vestals suspected of carrying illegal contraband (28:28) While on patrol he seized 30 tons of illegal contraband. (29:37) Many jobs on the ship could be done by any man on the ship regardless of ranks. (33:55) During the extensive periods his ship would spend out at sea (1-13 days at a time) encounters with suspicious ships had been rare. (33:59) Search and rescue had been the primary priority. (34:25) 1 out of 4 calls to the crew had been a search and rescue job. (34:56) Had been a Thatcher for approx 13-14 months. (approx 1981-1982)(38:30) At this point his time had been up in the Coast Guard. However, he had been transferred back to the group for administrative liaison for the Coast Guard auxiliary (38:40) The last 72 hours of his Coast Guard duty he applied to work a new session aboard a 283 foot ice breaker. Here he was given the position of the ships 3rd Quartermaster. (38:27) Before being placed on his new assignment on the ice breaker, he had been given 2 weeks leave. (40:01) He left 5 days early to accommodate his living arrangements in the areas in which the ice breaker would dock. (40:28) Service aboard the ice breaker (1982) (40:30)    The ice breaker left port and would be out at sea for a period ranging 4-6 months (40:45) The ships tasks included assisting scientist in conducting arctic surveys, as well as making routs for supply ships to reach areas such as Tully Greenland where an air base had been located. (41:47) His motive for working on an ice breaker had been to get more sea time and experience. (41:40) �                       Because of the sea time and experience he acquired during this period of his service, he was able to obtain an unlimited Masters License when he was out of the Coast Guard (42:08) Often the first thing that sailors would do aboard the ship was find their own little “nook” or personal living space (42:59) His experience on this ship exposed him to particular environmental sights (mountains, native peoples, glaciers) that he otherwise would not have seen. (43:18) He got seal skin and ivory as a souvenirs from some native arctic peoples. (45:30) On one expedition scientist aboard the ship had excavated ice and found plankton as well as leaf growth in the glacier. (46:15) It was not odd to have at least three scientist on board the ship during any particular voyage (47:40) He served 25-30 voyages aboard this vessel (47:58) He served in the Coastguard for 10 years (approx 1977-1987)(48:05) On his final voyage aboard this vessel, the ship hit a growler (portion of an ice berg located under water.) the following morning he spotted some brown matter in the water. Using a lead line and a rag to inspect the actual damaged area, he was able to deduce what was leaking was diesel fuel. As a result of this the ship was shut down, as running out of fuel in a remote location would be disastrous. (48:17) When having to go outside the ship on to the ice, some men would be armed with M16s in case of a polar bear attack. (52:00) After a quick patch was made on the ship, the vessel went to a shipyard in Scotland for repairs. (52:42) The improvised repair to the ship had been done so well, that the men in the ship yard in Scotland said they could not have done a better job. (53:06) The man doing the repair (Bill) got his name in the Guinness book of world records for the most north repair. (53:08) One trip so the South Pole was made while he served on this vessel. (54:28) This trek to the south pole took 6th months. (54:50) On a voyage this long, finding peace and quiet or time to one’s self was immensely valued. (55:28) The purpose of the South Pole voyage was simply to break ice to make a way for supply vessels. (25 feet thick sheets of ice needed to be broken.) (55:47) The most ice the vessel ever cracked while he served was 35 feet thick. (56:08) Five miles a day was considered fairly good progress. (56:40) His sleeping area had been by the portion of the ship used to for cracking ice and it had been very loud (57:10) The South Pole was incredibly dry and very little if any precipitation was seen. (58:48) A thermal pack was used by seamen in order to protect their skin from the harsh arctic conditions. (58:28) The ship compiled weather information using wet bulb thermometers, dry bulb thermometers, barometric pressure, wind measurements, sun angle, and existing �      condition. Most measurements could be taken from inside the ship but the thermometers had to be checked outside the ship (59:53) Even in the fridge temperatures of the South Pole the engine room had temperatures of 120 degrees. (1:00:52) For all men aboard the ship, many of the environmental challenges they simply adapted to or “got used to” (1:01:15) When making South Pole expeditions, the ship rarely stopped in ports save for the stop at the Panama Cannel during the voyage down from the northern Hemisphere. (1:01:40) One of the places the ice breaker did stop during its South Pole voyages had been the most southern tip of South America. (1:02:04) However when sailing around the areas by the horn (the most southern tip of South America) the ship had been primarily in open ocean (1:02:46) It was very important to stay focused while on duty, otherwise one seaman could end up injuring another. (1:03:53) Dramatic Accounts from service in Florida (Saint Petersburg) (1:05:34)           On September 10th 1979, while stationed in St. Petersburg Florida, he had been involved in a motorcycle accident. Resulting in 4 compound fractures in right leg his leg, a split sternum, 2 breaks in his hip, and a skull fracture. He woke up from a coma 2 weeks after the accident. (1:05:50) After the accident, doctors wanted to amputate his leg. (1:06:44) Unwilling to stay in his hospital bed, he was placed in epileptic cuffs which he snapped. This lead to a physiologist stating that his will to live was unbelievably strong. (1:06:50) In an effort to save his leg, the Coast Guard sent him to Tampa Florida where the 3rd best orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. at the time would operate on him. (1:07:37) At the time of the accident he had been stationed in Saint Petersburg, however was on liberty (1:08:23) Was in the hospital from September 10th 1979 to May 5th 1980 (the date he walked on his own with a healed leg for the first time) (1:09:28) The Coast Guard considered having him retire from service as a result of the injuries. He had been sent to New Orleans (approx February-March of 1980) for a medical survey to figure out if he was to be discharged (1:09:57) He had been informed about a new procedure called a bone growth stimulator. Showing this to his doctor, he decided to go through with the new procedure. A week later, Gord had become the 3rd person in the U.S. to have the bone growth simulator implanted. He also went through the procedure without anesthetic. (1:11:11) 6 weeks after the surgery, the bone had been filled and completely healed. (1:13:38) He accredits the opportunity to have this procedure down largely to being in the right place at the right time and luck. (1:15:05) �  After his leg had healed he was placed back in Saint Petersburg and was placed on full duty. (1:15:55) He then served temporary duty on a steadfast (210 foot parole boat.) (1:16:09) The Blackthorn Disaster (January 28th 1980) (1:16:55)                  The Coast Guard cutter Blackthorn had been originally in Tampa Florida at a ship yard and underwent a total switch out of all crew members. (1:17:18) The Blackthorn had been outbound from Tampa were as the Capricorn had been inbound to Tampa. During this time a large storm enabled either captain to see. During the storm the Capricorn side swiped the Blackthorn and tore a hole approx. 80 feet long approx 40 feet from the water line (1:17:44) 6 people of a full crew (approx 282) survived the Blackthorn ship wreck. (1:18:35) At the time he had been on body recovery. (1:18:55) In spite being in a cast and having crutches at the time of the wreck (January of 1980) he had been called aboard to assist with body recovery. The 3rd day after the Blackthorn ship wreck, divers had located the vessel. (1:20:39) The Harbor in Tampa Bay had been closed as a result of the ship wreck. (1:21:05) The bodies had been recovered after 3 days in salt water. The skin of the deceased had been pale while with bite makes from fish. While attempting to remove a body from the water, Gord grabbed a hold of the bodies arm. While trying to pull him in the boat, the limb detached from the body and it had been dismembered. (1:21:35) As a result of this he had been subjected to a large amount of emotional distress as a result of no knowing how to react. (1:22:30) To get the bodies aboard the ship he suggested they use the crane aboard the ship as well as a helicopter basket (a gurney) with the flotation devices removed (1:23:30) After being placed aboard ship, the bodies were placed into black unmarked body bags that were then stacked at the bow of the ship (1:24:42) The stack of bodies had been approx. 6 feet tall 20 feet across and 30 feet to the bow.(1:25:12) It had been very emotionally traumatizing for him to have this experience and yet not know any of the men or their names. (1:25:24) After the bodies had been removed from the wreck, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard gave all the men meritorious commendation medals to the men. But Gord pushed it off and let it fall to the floor. He did not want to be given a medal for picking up dead bodies. (1:26:00) The Blackthorn event was the most prolific nautical disaster that he had experienced or knew of during peace time. (1:27:59) The media coverage of the Blackthorn ship wreck had been fairly extensive with helicopters and boats covering the event. (1:28:33) The base, however, had been restricted from media coverage and the men evolved in the rescue we’re told not to say a word. (1:28:55) �Experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (1:30:00)              To this date he has not held a job over 30 days, due in part to the psychological effects his service has had on him. Some jobs we’re held for a week others for an hour. (1:30:13) He had checked into a mental hospital in his local area (Michigan) and then went to the Veterans Administration (V.A.) hospital in Grand Rapids Michigan. (1:30:34) When at the V.A. hospital in Battle Creek he had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (approx. 1990) (1:30:54) He noticed he had been emotionally instable. He often would have short burst of anger or would cry over something he saw on television. He would often even cry and not realize he was crying. (1:31:28) He very much cherishes the relationship of understanding that he shares with other veterans. (1:31:57) He believes that the returning veterans from the Iraq War will over whelm the V.A. system due to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) (1:32:55) He states that soldiers who wish to come home and live anything close to a normal life again need the V.A. for help. (1:34:00) He believes that the amount of help that is available for veterans who return from service is fantastic. (1:34:35) Because of his traumatizing experiences he had woken up one night to find that he had dragged his girlfriend out of bed in his sleep. (1:35:34) He states that the memory of his service is still very much still there. (1:36:25) He rid his home of all his “personal protection devices” (hand guns, knives) due to the fear that he might hurt someone accidentally or that he might be “triggered”(1:36:59) He had been called in to court for trespassing charges, which he has no memory of ever doing. (1:37:22) In World War II post traumatic stress disorder was called combat fatigue (1:40:25) The Sunshine Sky way Bridge Disaster (May 9th 1980) (1:41:00)     the Sunshine bridge disaster and the Blackthorn disaster happened very close to one another (1:41:20) during this incident, he served in the operations center handling the coming and going of ships (1:42:21) Approx. 6 vehicles had fallen into the water from the bridge. (1:42:58) He had been in high school at the time of the Fitzgerald ship wreck (1:47:25) �Addition information (1:48:00)            He had been discharged due to his inability to serve his duties. This had been largely as a result of the experiences on the Blackthorn disaster. (1:49:23) He reports that even his physical movements where altered and difficult. (1:50:10) A friend of his who had PTSD would often simply stare when having attacks and during these periods he was not to be bothered until he recovered himself from the episode. (1:51:45) His PTSD has lead to “rages” or periods of sudden violent outbreaks. (1:53:16) The triggers for his PTSD can be as wide ranging as the absence of his electric bill to a broken speak plug. (1:53:30) Some times Gord can feel the attacks coming on, other it is almost instantaneous. (1:55:00) He feels the need to have a certain amount of money readily available to deal with potential fines or court orders that may arise as a result of his PTSD condition. (1:56:11) Due to his condition he is unable to operate an automobile. This has lead to many inconveniences (1:58:15) On his dresser he has approx. 15 bottles of medication in order to help with cope with his situation. (1:59:20) Best therapy he has had was at the V.F.W. ((2:01:11) Isolation for individuals with this condition is dangerous (2:01:08) � 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_YoungquistG1287V Title A name given to the resource Youngquist, Gord (Interview outline and video), 2011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-11-02 Description An account of the resource Gord Youngquist served in the United States Coast Guard from 1977 to 1987. During this period Gord served in a wide variety of positions and locations from Cortez Florida, Sarasota Florida, Saint Petersburg Florida, as well as aboard an ice breaker that did voyages in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In this interview, Gord recounts his time in all of these location, particularly Saint Petersburg Florida, where he helped on both the Blackthorn as well as the Sunshine Bridge disasters. Gord also accounts the repercussions his service has had on him as well as his struggle living with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Youngquist, Gord 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 Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Coast Guard 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/e3c109ba2811415b13812513db471bfd.mp4 62054b9ab38b09bb34f500fa18f6a5a6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d717338a7e75fd438a16135ff69a6ca.pdf 077acdb16f658c1f8508742865e59e2f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FRANK BORING: I'd like to begin, if you give us some background… before you even became a pilot. What were you doing and what was your background? YU WEI: Actually I was born in a merchant family, my father doing cotton business. When I was nine years old my father went to northern part of China – from Shanghai, I was born in Shanghai. That's when I fear the Japanese oppressors. In [?] there were concession, the Japanese had their own territory, the British and the French, those were force. We were just like the second class citizens, from the Japanese, the Chinese were nobody's. So then I decided that we must do something about it. Of course, the paternalism really undermined all the young students. When I was 17 years old the Japanese war started July 7th. The same year I was engaged in the underground of the Japanese activities. We just [?] the young students somebody came over here, they say we must do something. So then we bomb the largest Japanese department stores, we bomb the Japanese schools, and we execute some of the traitors, the Chinese walk [?] for the Japanese. I was on the wanted list, then I had to escape, so all the way go to Chunking to General Kai-shek because we feel that he was a leader to lead us to fight the Japanese. That's a little bit of my background. But I remember that I left Hinching [?] a year �after the Japanese invasion, that was in 1938. I remember when I was sitting in my classroom, at least half a dozen times I saw a group of Japanese bombers training the Japs with bombs loaded under the belly. They flew out, in a couple of hours they were back, the bellies were empty, so the bombs were dropped somewhere, on our army or civilians, you see. So then I decided that the Air Force - I'd got to try everything to join the Air Force, to fight against the Japanese. It was as simple as that. FRANK BORING: Once you made the decision, what was your trip like to make it to Chunking? YU WEI: That was quite an experience. When I was [?] the Jap to bomb the department stores, [?] my girlfriend, her father was some sort of minister, and her mother just passed away so she is mourning. But that day I saw her all made up - girls shouldn't wear those colorful dresses, so I knew she was in war activity. Then a couple of days later, she was wounded by the Japanese and the policeman - we were working the British concession. The British police chief, the Chinese know the girl's family - warn her, you'd better get out or I'm going to have to keep you in custody to protect you, and he said your boyfriend is also wanted. So the two of us decided to leave for Chunking. We headed up from Tientsin to Shanghai, to Hong Kong, and we organize a group and we took a boat to Hanoi, at night, and took the train from Hanoi to Kunming. There I then joined the Chinese Air Force. There was no chance to [?] Air Force so I joined the Air Force Academy as a [?] officer. About a year later I was graded on the top list and I was assigned to a regiment. I didn't think they would send me out to the front to fight the Japanese, so a buddy of mine, the two of us were from the same city. Fortunately, the Air Force Academy was right beside our artillery regiment headquarters, so we're walking in and see a big sign that said, the Director of Education, Chinese Academy School or �something, so I just knocked on the door and there was a tough looking officer sitting there, so we went in and saluted him and said, "Sir we came from Gold Coast and we'd like to join the air force, that was our original intention, but we did not have a chance. We join the Army Academy and we graduate, however, we'd still like to join the air force, that's our intention." That officer looked at us, without a word, he picked up the telephone and he said, "Operator, send [?]." He slammed down the phone and looked at this document. The Flight Surgeon came in and he said, "These two young officers, you give them a physical examination." I passed this exam and I was in the Air Force, this is the same thing. That officer, I think he was a Lieutenant Colonel, not a full Colonel yet. He was a General type of man, the General of the Chinese Air Force. FRANK BORING: We're going to have to run through just the part about the what we need then is, if you could talk again about the arrival in Chunking, the fact that you couldn't get into the Air Force Academy, and then you graduated with top honors in the Military Academy and then you were stationed next to that in the [?]. YU WEI: Then I escaped from Tientsin to Shanghai with my girlfriend, my classmate. I was already eighteen years old, and we escaped from Tientsin to Shanghai, Hong Kong, to Hanoi, into Kunming and we ran out of money, so then during then, the Chinese Air Force School was not recruiting the young officers, so then I had a chance to enroll in the Military Academy as an Artillery Officer. After one year - I left Tientsin on the 1st October - I enrolled in the Academy on the 1st November, I graduated before Christmas of 1939, then I report to my regiment - Artillery regiment - I was assigned. I looked at the regiment set up - they only had 81 motors. I don't think this is the way to fight the Japanese - I don't see any sign that we would be sent to the front to fight against the �Japanese, so then I reported to the Regiment Commander, we work hard, and fortunately, the Air Force Academy was right beside our regiment headquarters. I walked in and I saw a big sign that says, Director of Training Department or something, so I knocked at the door. There was a young officer sitting there and looking very tough, and brainy looking officers, so we salute to him, a snappy salute and we said, "Sir we came from Shanghai, Tientsin, we would like to join the Air Force. We did not have a chance, now we have just graduated from the Academy as a 2nd Lieutenant, and we would like to dedicate ourselves to the Chinese Air Force." He looked at us without any answer. He picked up the telephone and told the operator to send the Flight Surgeon, Captain [?], I remember the name. So Captain Good [?] came in and took us out and gave us a physical examination. I was passed in the Air Force the same day. That officer happened to be General of the Chinese Air Force, General Tiger Wong. I think he was made a Lieutenant Colonel or something. FRANK BORING: You mentioned that the Artillery Regiment only had 80 some odd motors, and you didn't feel that they were going to be going to the front. Can you give us a better idea of why you thought that this unit was not to be transferred over? Was it just the motors or was it just the…? YU WEI: I was trained in [?], a big kind of Snyder [?], and I didn't see any Snyder's [?] or military [?] in that regiment. My original intention was to join the Air Force because, like I told you I see those Japanese bombers when they were loaded with bombs and come back with empty bellies you see. So I told myself and my buddy, we were to grab the first chance to get into the Air Force, no matter what the cost. FRANK BORING: Can you describe your introduction to the Chinese Air Force, so to speak. Here you are, you're eighteen, nineteen, twenty years old maybe? �YU WEI: Nineteen, almost twenty. FRANK BORING: First time out of your home, really. Can you give us your first impressions and your first early dealings with the Chinese Air Force? You've always wanted to do this and now, here you are! YU WEI: Of course, in about a few months we were sent to the east of Kunming, a place called Yunnanyi for basic training, we called this [?], not even a whale tail, a whale's [?] you know, a bi-plane. That was open canopy, we wear goggles and so forth. Then we had rigid training with American ?* pilots, and we had about 18 something hours, just about - we finish our training and I still remember clearly - you'd better listen to the story - Colonel [?], he was our chief instructor, he was still in Taiwan. Every damn time we are up to the flying, he would have us line up, and raise hell out of us. He talked to us for two hours. But that day, he had a real bad cold, "He said, go back to the barracks." and that time we saw a group of planes approaching the airport. We heard about American new aircraft, we thought that was new American aircraft. We were [?] they stopped to shoot, that was Japanese aircraft. Every single airplane lined up was shot and burned to pieces, and luckily, Colonel in Chief did not give us after flight instructions. We all landed in the ditch. Otherwise my class there would be few left… clearly so fortunate that he had a real bad cold, he couldn't even talk you see. He saved our lives. FRANK BORING: What was your reaction as a cadet who was flying these airplanes, feeling that sense of pride in mastering it, what was your reaction to see all those airplanes shot? YU WEI: We were furious. Someday we'll get even with them, that's the [?] I told myself. There was no warning [?], no �information, we didn't know what was going on. So they just started to shoot about what 30-40 planes, it's so frigid you know, you light a match it might burn you, but …… FRANK BORING: What was your - learning to fly and seeing the state of the airplanes that you were flying compared to the Japanese planes, what was your reaction to the fact that your airplanes were sort of old style, World War 1 and the Japanese were the new ones, what was your reaction? YU WEI: During that period, I was a cadet. I was not in the combat, and of course, there were no shutters over the head of the pilots, we know something about it. There was no match with those American Hot Three*, Hot Two biplanes, to fight against Japanese [?] or even Zero, so that was the first part of our combat, air combat in the late '30's, really give the Chinese Air Force some very, very hard time. However, I remember the 14th of August, 1937, we were still able to shoot down about 10, 15 Japanese raiders over Hong Shunks [?]. So we set up the 14th as Chinese Air Force Day. FRANK BORING: Before we get into the battle part, I'd like to get more details about the training and the period of time that you were training, because there's very little information about that. YU WEI: Then, of course, after our basic training aircraft was all [?] and destroyed, we were stuck with those old aircraft, no gasoline I guess. Then all of a sudden we heard the government has some sort of agreement with the United States Air Force to train the Chinese pilots in the United States, so then we start to freshen up our English, to prepare to be sent to the United States. Then, that was already in 1940, then in 1941, you know the Pearl Harbor? I remember clearly, we were flying a BT13, when the BT13 was the basic - pilot training - the basic training when it was three stages. Primary training was [?], basic training BT13, advanced �training more faster aircraft. We were flying those BT's and all of a sudden American [?]. We start war, we bombed Pearl Harbor. We didn't know where Pearl Harbor was we had to look in a map to find out. Then we knew American start war with the Japanese. We would have friends, internationally, especially the United States. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 1 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei describes his background before becoming a pilot and his introduction to the Chinese Air Force. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/742978cbed378bd543169b2aae5cfe86.mp4 e72b609beb41d805fd2dd92b6198f70d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e79bccf0106ff76bf9e2de38190edc7b.pdf b14be1716d269e4ba2002cac1bec72f8 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FRANK BORING: While you were in the United States training, how much information did you get about what was going on in China. YU WEI: Not much. We are awfully busy you see and most of us cannot read English newspaper. I did a little because I remember when I was in school my English teacher was a British woman so I had some advantage but still we know roughly want is going on. We lost a certain place. We had a victory in which part of China and so forth but we do know that in the future to come we are going to fly more advanced American aircraft to fight the Japanese. FRANK BORING: When did you first hear about Chennault and the AVG? YU WEI: That was before I was sent to the United States, because the [?] did not have his headquarters in the airport, Kunming? General Tiger Wong was the director of Chinese personnel or something. We know General Chennault. FRANK BORING: Did you ever get a chance to meet? YU WEI: After, yes. I know Mrs. Chennault very well. �FRANK BORING: While you were in the United States the AVG was getting very well know there - did you have any contact with them? Did you find out about the AVG? YU WEI: No, you see before we left for United States that was later part of '41 right after Pearl Harbor. One day we saw a group of old P-40 came into Kunming, that we read about among the airport personnel we knew them, AVG moved from Burma to China. FRANK BORING: At that time the AVG still was in existence. Did you have any contact with the Tigers during that period of time? YU WEI: No. FRANK BORING: Back track to the training period and everything. When you were being trained you said there were three different stage of training. The first stage was in China. YU WEI: Yeah. FRANK BORING: Second stage was in China? YU WEI: Yeah, part of the second stage. The third was in the United States. But we had to start all over again from primary to advance to [?] to full stage of training in the United States. FRANK BORING: What I'm trying to get you to who were the actual people. Stop a minute. Sure. YU WEI: You see in the small little village. West part of Kunming. West part of Burma even. Very let's see a couple of hundred houses. A small village. We were actually at the center of the whole area. Besides flight training, sports, jogging, basketball, football, soccer. We didn't have any activities. No social life, no movie to go, no dates. �FRANK BORING: What was your relationship with the other cadets? What we are really looking for is to get an idea of what it was like to be there. You were so excited about finally be able to get into the Air Force Academy. What were the other pilots thinking about and what was their morale like? What was their concerns? I mean. Where they going to finally get equipment? There must have been things you were talking about and concerns. YU WEI: Yes, you see. We are all from all parts of China. Some cadets they were from inland China, they didn't even see a locomotive. So we get along, but the wash out rate very high. I think we start with 290 something and least when we were in the United States only about 50 60 left. Wash out. Because you see you have to be soloed around 10 hours or less or more, but if you're not capable flying you just wash out. And the wash out rates are very high. So we see people left we feel so sorry, but however they all hold a military Army rank so still able to return to the Army. So it is well arranged. Usually air cadets must go thru training process thru the military academy so that they get the basic training as a soldier. Then this starting of flight training. FRANK BORING: When you saw the other cadets were washing out and you weren't. Was there a sense of competition or what was that like? YU WEI: Of course, I feel proud of myself, however I was worried about what was going to happen. But after I, but you see in my flight we had a flight cadets, I was the last one soloed. See my instructor was a very careful officer, he even sent me to American check pilot. American check pilot, I think, Mr. Preston?* or something like I forgot. Preston?*, he took me up he told me you can solo. So I soloed. Then they didn't �appear to come in the last stage of aerobatics. I was [?] then the better of other four. FRANK BORING: Can you remember or can you describe the feelings that you had the first time you soloed? YU WEI: I was I thought I was on the top of the world. Really feel proud of myself. People say that somebody get nervous or tension, but I did not have that kind of feeling. Only looked forward that someday I'm going to fight. Fly a fighter in the [?] with machine guns and so forth you see. Because I have so many bad experiences with the Japanese bombings. FRANK BORING: That was wonderful except we really don't have reference to what he was… oh, you have to say, “I was so proud of my solo flight I didn't feel nervous” - that always has to reference what you’re trying to document, because you won't hear my questions. YU WEI: You see Frank, I think my flight was 5 cadets I was the last one soloed. But before my Chinese instructor even sent me to the American check pilot to check me out because he was very careful. I don't know why, but after the flight I had with Mr. Preston [?] the American check pilot he told me that you can solo. So I went up and I saw I was on top of the world, I was so proud of myself. A lot of people say that you get nervous and tension, but I don't have such kind of feeling. I like flying so after I quit flying, I really miss flying. FRANK BORING: In terms of the views that you were getting at the cadet school did you have any idea how China was doing against the Japanese. YU WEI: Yes, roughly we do. FRANK BORING: Please explain about that. �YU WEI: Yes, you see the United States most of them do not largely read American newspaper, but I had some little advantage because my school training. I had a British woman as my English teacher. We don't something about it, of course the big events, but however, all the news dispatch usually government, United States government, Chinese government so we knew lost some place, we had some victory over the Japanese, but it makes us really anxious to get back. To fight the Japanese, everybody was very patriotic. Because we were having enough of the Japanese low mentality, killing people. FRANK BORING: What was your evaluation, candid evaluation of the military difference, not political, but military between the Japanese air force at that time and the resources you had as a Chinese air force. YU WEI: Of course, I was a cadet in the later part of the 30's and early 40's. There's no match. The Japanese they had their zeros or their 89's, 98, 97. Much faster, much more maneuverable you see. And we had bunch of American old biplanes, they even shoot the machine guns thru the propellers. Some Italian [?], some Russian E15, E16. There's no match. So those old fighter pilots they really had very, very hard time. Of course, after the AVG after we were back from United States brought with us a group of new P40's. We were start to wipe out the Japanese Air Force, especially in the early I think in the first part of 45 where we had a bunch P-51's from India I never had any combat with the Japanese fighters. Never saw them in the air until the war was ended. FRANK BORING: Hold up for a second. If we could look at more detail now at the style of training that you were given -- once again we are still talking about being in China not the American training -the style of training at that time, was it still in threes or now what was the actual process, if you will, the style of fighting? �YU WEI: In the basic there was no combat training. You don't have to stay in formation and so forth, but even in advance we fly those 86's you see. There was quite good aircraft. But in the old [?] breaking training unit in [?] we had all kind of, Strafing, dive bombing, aerial target shooting, formation flying, dog fight, training was really good much more than we really expected. Because a lot of training aircraft P-40's there was no shortage gasoline. Not like in China, you have to come back in the training. Most of the Burma Road was cut by the British. No supply. Everything had to be flown over the hump you see. So we were really, for instance, we can we could fly about 3, 4 hours a day during the week days from Monday to Friday. So training really have to brief you. We had really maybe what 4 flying hours before joined the combat maybe a little more. I was never trained by the [?] only by the Chinese and Americans. FRANK BORING: You can talk about the training you had with American and the Chinese so we can get a sense. Remember the training I had with Chinese the training I had with the Americans. YU WEI: I finish my primary training about 80 or something and very short period of basic training three stages. And of course in China we only had Chinese instructors and some of them have combat experience some of them I don't think they had combat experience. But in the United States we had enough aircraft, enough gasoline, enough equipment and the training went on really smoothly, intensively. Especially the weather in Arizona you can fly all year round. Not in Kunming, or [?] if it rain it start to rain to stayed on the ground for 10 days, week, so forth, so forth. Something we run out of gasoline. So I think the training you see you have to intensively train, otherwise you in between the training period you had a week or ten days left and you forgot the feelings. So I think the continuously the American air force, Chinese air force did the �right decisions to send them to Arizona because the flying weather was always good except thunderstorms for a couple of hours. It is all over. FRANK BORING: This is exactly what we are looking for. What we need to know. Say the training was the same, but the conditions, the difficulty of training in China YU WEI: You see when I just start the flight training I think that was early 1940 we had a group of fleets, that’s 120 horsepowers. About 20 or 30 of them, but we had about 20 to 90 cadets. You see that weather in [?] there are monsoon season. During the whole period everybody is stuck on the ground. Sometimes there is no gasoline because the British cut off the Burma Road. Supply line was cut you know we run out of gasoline. So the training was on and off and now intensive enough. I think then you have a 5 hour flight last week and you have to stop another 3, 5, 10 days. So it was very bad for new pilot this sort of training. FRANK BORING: We have to do that again because the siren. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 2 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei discusses when he first heard of General Chennault and the American Volunteer Group, in addition to his cadet training in China and the United States. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/39e06e45c9d0fc279420505128f3f7b1.mp4 ad1c0184388cd4536cbecb5b5373d8b0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ff4a5e646c6d21a9a8ee3726639de924.pdf 7339e0549e94e03ede6f4e6968a35617 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] FRANK BORING: In as much detail as possible, if you could explain the experience of training in China? YU WEI: You see I joined the Air Force Academy after I graduated from flight school. It was only one year. But the rest of group they were recruits by the Air Force flying school, but they send them to the Army for training. That took them 2 years you see. So then training start always lack of bad flying weather, we get raining there's mud on the runway and you are short of gasoline because the British cut off the Burma Road .There is only the Majestic line to the outside world. We become directly to the inland by the Japanese. So the flight training was the same, but we had wait and wait for the good weather, for the parts for the gasoline so that the training intensive. Now like later on we were in the United States with the world's best flying weather always plenty of aircraft, and gasoline. FRANK BORING: In turns of the periods of time when you were flying and then you stop and then flying and you had to stop this interfered with your ability to get better as a pilot. YU WEI: I think so. �FRANK BORING: Not just saying I think so, but if you could go thru that whole period. YU WEI: You see if you train a new pilot. You got almost [?] every day 2, 3 hours ground training and the flying combined and all of a sudden you have to stop for a few days, 3, 5 maybe a week or even 10 days during monsoon season. You forgot what you learned. You know the flying tactics is not like driving an automobile. FRANK BORING: Did you miss any of the bombings of the cities? YU WEI: We were in other city, [?], even in the morning for the basic training, but actually was ready, then I had some bad food and I was in the hospital. I remember clearly that was air raid alarm. And I was told to get out of the hospital. Which I didn't because hospital is outside of city you see the city wall of the Chinese. You build a wall. After the bombing I walk out. I was almost recovered I saw the corpses piled up to the city wall which was as high at least 20, 30 feet. That was a friendly city and the Japanese bombed? There was nothing, airports were far away and there were no aircraft were we were I saw several of those bombings. FRANK BORING: Could you describe what you saw? YU WEI: I saw all [?] pile up the corpse you know. Piled up as high as the city wall. About 30 feet high maybe more. Men, woman, all ages. And that city is a defenseless city there is no [?] in the city and they bombed the city. FRANK BORING: Why do you think the Japanese bomb the city rather than military targets? YU WEI: The Japanese, I think the Japanese want to bomb us to destroy morale, to [?] to fight against them. They bomb Chunking. �Why? There's no [?] they are all in the front. They bomb all cities, particular, Where I say I was in [?] and [?] - they were all bombed. They tried to demoralize the Chinese people so we can surrender. FRANK BORING: Why did the Chinese not surrender? Why didn't these tactics work? YU WEI: We will never surrender to Japanese. The Chinese people though in size, in military equipment, transporting, whatever in the high techs we are way behind, but we are a nation of serenity, we are proud race. We suffer from the Japanese for the last 100 years, but we weathered many storms, we suffered, my family lost everything. All the more give us more courage to fight against them. We never surrender to the Japanese. No foreign country. FRANK BORING: Did you ever have the opportunity to walk thru one of the bombed out cities. YU WEI: I witness the bombing in the city where I was hospitalized just about 2,3 kilometers from the hospital I walk there I saw all the dead bodies, right after the bombing. All ages, men and women. I don't know why the Japanese did that. If I were commander I wouldn't order my troop to defenseless city like [?] where we work. FRANK BORING: I realize this may be very painful. YU WEI: Very much so. FRANK BORING: But could you describe what it was like to walk thru that city. YU WEI: I feel so sad and furious. I really heart is breaking by looking at it. You know that people somebody see an automobile run through a dog they feel bad. And you look at those dead �bodies, thousands of them. Piles of them. And of course afterwards I just walk away and go back to the hospital. I don't know what happened, what they took the dead bodies. FRANK BORING: Just looking back from the perspective of your life now how do you react to the AVG coming to China and working with the Chinese people. What is your impressions and feeling of…? YU WEI: Big encouragement. FRANK BORING: When you say big encouragement remember we need to reference the AVG. YU WEI: Of course, you know we were encouraged by the coming of the AVG. American Volunteer Group you see. Because we were based on the same air base in Kunming. We saw AVG as P-40B, the old P-40 came in by group. I think the first flight I saw that AVG came was in early 41 or something they came by a whole group more than 10 of them. Oh, we were so happy to see them. We know that we were not alone. We are going to get some new aircraft here. Of course when I saw this aircraft I didn't know that they were AVG, but later on I asked my instructor, are they AVG? FRANK BORING: Did they have the shark's teeth? YU WEI: Yeah, already painted on. FRANK BORING: What was your impression to see this colorful group come in? YU WEI: Oh, why, I feel jump in mid-air. Because you see, Frank, the point is that every time when the air raid we saw Japanese aircraft. Because we are short in equipment, no gasoline, all of a sudden we see some [?] from outside that's AVG. �FRANK BORING: How do you rate in terms of Chinese history, in terms of your looking back in Chinese history, how do you think the AVG fit in Chinese history? YU WEI: It is very difficult question, however, I think they help us to build up more confidence in fighting against the Japanese because equipment wise and technical wise we were behind. I mean that's nothing to hide away from it. We were behind because the Japanese were preparing invading China for so many years and then AVG came in and they started up we will not be defeated by any foreign aggressors. We have outside help. I think we must see the point in the whole area. You see we don't talk about the present period, 40 something years ago. United States need a unified and peaceful China otherwise now can balance the world power. During then we have about 450 million people. Now there is about all that many. Huge population. FRANK BORING: You say it was a morale booster, but if we could get a more detailed reaction from you, as a cadet especially, I was thinking if I was 19 years old, 20 years old, if I would have seen these shark's teeth. It is different than regular airplanes and they dressed differently and I think the thing that would have impressed me most about Chinese is Chinese air force symbol on those airplanes. You know the Americans get mad, Chinese your air force. YU WEI: You know the logo. You see the sharks' teeth. This is why they call it the tiger you see. You see it really scared the hell out of the Japanese when we close strafe them you know. I think that somebody, I read about it I forgot completely. I think somebody in the AVG started, I forgot, you better check Frank that would be a good story. I thing General [?] could tell more about it. And you saw these P-40's they can dive about 10, 15 miles per hour and usually all aircraft over �150 maybe 20 miles per hour when you are diving it is so much faster. And the speed and the maneuverability deciding factor to win an air battle you see. The AVG brought us a whole thing in Indo China. And of course Chinese pilots they have a lot of experience dogfight with the Japanese, but we did not have the equipment after we have the equipment of course we can do lots. We can do lots. For instance, you see afterwards we went back to China to fight the war. In my squadron, for instance they start only few American schools, pilots. We had about 20 something pilots. I mean the proportion American side in numbers, very low the Chinese pilots of course we have about something. FRANK BORING: And with your fellow cadets who had witness how only the bombings and the anger that you felt and the frustration of not being able to fly and they were flying antiquated equipment and everything. What kind of a morale booster, could you describe what happened to your morale with the AVG arriving? YU WEI: It is very simple, Frank. You saw this aircraft and you knew some day you were going to fly them. That's all there is to it. We need the equipment. We may not need them hundred thousands of American pilots, we need hundreds of thousands of aircraft. So we can man them so we can fly them. When we think about some day in short period of time we going to fly this sort of fast, strong, aircraft. All morale was very good. Very high. Very high. FRANK BORING: More specific in terms of morale, once you started hearing that the Japanese were being defeated by the AVG what was your morale? What was your…? YU WEI: We only read the newspaper, we were not close to the AVG because we were only cadets. We read I still remember I forgot the date, 4 AVG shot down 9 Japanese aircraft over �Burma border, you know. We thought, gee, someday I'm going to be in the flight to do the same thing. That sort of thing you look forward to it. Any young air cadet they looking forward to the moment and especially we were oppressed by the Japanese for so many years. And we want to stand up and say Chinese people will not be oppressed again. This sort of thing I mean you think and really look forward to it. That sort of thing I call morale. FRANK BORING: I think that's perfect. That's just the sort of thing. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 3 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei discusses the painful memories of the bombings he witnessed and the encouragment he felt for the AVG coming to work with the Chinese people. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8964250a35e216df68f0c7535370032f.mp4 1de168de9c03b23f3bd8de3a25fabd34 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/01a2e05986df7ac34c39bf013b6b7d03.pdf 7690dff88ab2663d543eb9f325bc362f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] YU WEI: I think that was August 18, 1944 flight of 6 P-40's bombed the railroad across [?] Peikun [?] railroad. Captain Maloney was the leader and my flight was Lt. Chen. We decided to [?] locomotive, ammunition. So we went there to bomb and were told my Captain Maloney if the aircraft was so strong we just drop the bomb and leave. But Lt. Chen decided when we look at those locomotives, [?] we really what do you call it, blood thirsty or something. He made 8 passes, I was with him. And he was a very shot up. I told him, Lt. you flight near the mountain [?] there you went into the mountain. So you get away from Japanese, but he couldn't make it. He crash near a village. I had to protect him, he climb out he was captured and released as a P.O.W. came after the war. I was shot up I couldn't make it my temperature was high so I crashed in between the mountains and hit a big piece of stone and so I had a bad cut. I almost fainted and somebody came. You see when we went on combat mission we were given [?] the guys said we are guerrillas so I fainted. The next thing I knew they stopped by bleeding with a bunch of [?] you know. So then the Japs came across the rivers so we ran thru a mountain and in about 9 days I was in friendly hands. First the guerrillas I had nothing to eat except the piece of chocolate in the parachute. But we live on piece of parachute for many 2 or 3 days. Then I was stuck there. I had some complications and �they tiny landing strip there. About 3,000 feet or something. It was little rainy weather you know. All of a [?] a plane came over. I went to see a P-40 and he dove down and I know [?] a package would drop. You know what in the package? A canteen of bourbon whiskey, four pack of Lucky Strikes and some American dollars. I was so touched. All of a sudden I saw the aircraft landing lower the landing gear, trying to land. I try to stop them. That was Major Bill Turner. I said sir, why did you do that. Because it is too short, you wait exactly, he said exactly I cannot stand to see you stand there looking miserable. You know what he did he squeezed me to the radio compartment and flew me out. Because all along Japanese there is no transporting whatsoever. So this sort of comradeship - fraternity. This is how senior officer treat junior officer. This sort of spirit you don't see much. FRANK BORING: Looking back on that period of your life, when you were a young man, a cadet and all of this, how do you , what is your recollection, what is your feeling, what is your, in terms of where that fits into the rest of your life? YU WEI: Of course, you see, I want to, you see, I didn't even graduate from high school, because I was the last year, in '38, my last year of high school, but I had to run away because I was on the Japanese war list. I thought after war I come over and go back to the school. I think the government should give me some sort of support. But then starting war with the Communists. FRANK BORING: How do you look back on that period of time, though, in terms of years? Now you're a certain age, you have been established in your life and you... YU WEI: You see, let me add a little bit of politics. In Chew King Base [?], all the reports says multitudes of land reformed. They're just [?] they're not common soldiers, I mean, that's a lot of the �state department, now I can tell you who is a land reformer. Chung Gao [?] Multitu [?]. We're the most successful land reform program in the entire world. A lot of them in China. I went back to Mainland China last May, the first time in 41 years. I wasn't very happy. I mean I was, what it cost and the journey, but I was disappointed and disgusted. I went to the CD where I was born in Shanghai. There was twelve million people. It was a very hot Mayday. Seems to me that everybody was on the street. I went to the war house where you could see two [?], there are already three floors, about more than ten families live there. I was really disappointed. And the, I think all systems here will eventually prevail. FRANK BORING: Let's just, if you could look back at that period of time when you 17, 18, 19 years old, where does that fit in terms of your life? In terms of… YU WEI: Well you see, I was too… FRANK BORING: Where a major change happened, I guess what I'm looking at is that period of 17, 18, 19 you were changed, I mean you had a goal you had a, but something happened during that period. I guess what I'm looking for is your reflection on that period of your life and what it had done to make you the person you are today. YU WEI: Well you see, actually, I was a simple minded teenager, all I want is to join the war with the Japanese. I did not have any future point. Then after the war of course, I had some plan. But then we, the Communist came and then we were in Taiwan, then I had to go along with it. I was married then, I had kids, so I had to work harder than to just for the family, food, for the [?]. You see I joined the service when I was 18. And I retired completely about 2 years ago. After I had several, many assignments. But I left the Air Force much sooner than the rest of them. I was a Lt. Col. That year I was �supposed to promote to full Col., but I was in 1957. I was assigned to her office, on loan basis. FRANK BORING: Where does that young boy, that 17, 18, where does he fit in terms of your life? YU WEI: Well, of course, my war experience, my experience in the two academies really helped me to stand on my own two feet, you see. But to do whatever I think is right for the country and for myself. Of course, long planning, I mean which is what everybody is looking for, but I did not I was lacking long planning, but as time went on, I think I'm not satisfied. I was not cute, I was not a washout, I was , you see a lot of people, you know my friend, in my squad in 30 seconds, I can't. We lost about 16 pilot. Chinese pilots in my squad in the whole squad about 25. I lost my first American flight leader, Lt. Boyer?*. He was shot down the third mission. I was with him. So you know this sort of thing can give you a different way of facing life. First you survive, then you do whatever you could. To make a better living. You see then of course, I knew that my education background is not enough to show, so to ignore this, I read a lot of Asian, Chinese books. And then the other thing, I started to practice my brush [?]… FRANK BORING: What do you think the significance of the AVG in terms of the Chinese Americans working together? YU WEI: Both these relationships, I mean, both sides, American people, Chinese people, ought to be very powerfully, we fought together, we lived together and we pursue the same war together you see, and this is why unless of course, ? and myself, we're trying everything to send this old flying person out to join the Fortunes Air Force Association, AVG and the source of forces, the hump pilot, the P-40 pilot and then we sometime we'll invite them to Taiwan. For instance, General Sloshberstig [?], we invite him here about a few years back �and we hope in a reconcile. That only the third generation, the parties should bring it up, so I was disgusted with constant shot, we must do something about. So this time, I'm trying to take my son to Thunderbird, but he was very busy, he runs a computer shop in Washington. FRANK BORING: Very good. It was excellent. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 4 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei looks back on the period of time he spent as a cadet and how it informed the rest of his life, in addition to the significance of the AVG in Chinese and American relations. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b4a971084faf2ee7e6b962d95c465e11.mp4 07b9272c14d4a44f7b7863febcfc960c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5757102578b9b5ad361ebe5065e60b6.pdf 81fd8d834a447404033012b0eb056254 PDF Text Text Grand Valley state University Veterans History Project Vietnam War Ron Zahn (50:44) Background Information (00:20) • • • • • • • • • Born on December 29th 1951 in Indiana. (00:22) He lived his childhood in a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan. (00:40) Ron’s parents were retired farmers. (00:55) Before going into the service, Ron did much of his work on farms and also trapped animals. (1:17) He had little knowledge of what was occurring in Vietnam and paid little attention to its occurrences. (1:48) Ron got two MIPs while in high school and was given the choice of going to jail or going into the service. Ron chose the service in the spring of 1969. (2:15) Ron went into the Army and signed up for a 2 year stint. (2:54) Ron entered service in September of 1969. (3:45) He was sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a physical. He saw people intentionally breaking digits in order to avoid entering the service. (4:03) Basic Training (5:02) • • • • • • • • • • • Ron was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for basic training. He thought it was a little scary (5:15) Because Fort Campbell was full, Ron was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia. (5:55) Basic training was physically difficult; however Ron was in better shape than most. (6:25) Basic training lasted 6 weeks. (7:00) Some of the instructors were Vietnam veterans. (7:32) Next, Ron was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for AIT [Advanced Individual Training]. Ron was assigned to Field Artillery. (8:11) Ron was trained on 155mm howitzers. Ron was responsible for sighting the weapon. Ron set the elevation of the gun by using a sight and a crank. (9:10) The training on the gun lasted 6 weeks. (11:03) Ron graduated AIT in December of 1969. He received orders to go to Germany. (11:27) He was given 2 weeks leave and then reported back to Fort Sill. When he reported back the orders were changed to Vietnam. (12:12) The men were given another week of leave and then reported to Fort Lewis, Washington. From here the men flew to Alaska and then to Cam Ranh Bay. (13:47) Early Service in Vietnam (14:00) • • • Ron was scared when he arrived in Vietnam. He took note of the heat. (14:15) Ron was then sent to Camp Evans where the 101st Airborne was stationed. (15:20) The Battery was at Camp Evans. (15:36) �• • • • • • • • He believes that the Battery received Ron all right. He was not the only new man. (16:17) There were 6 guns on the battery. Ron was assigned to gun number one. Ron kept the breech clean and oiled the barrel. (16:45) Ron began his service at Camp Carroll where the men stayed for 2 weeks. In February of 1970 the men were moved to Firebase Rakkasan. (17:25) On the fire bases the men were subjected to mortar and sniper fire. (18:46) The men in the battery did have to set up parameter security. The men also had their own fox holes by the guns. (19:19) A month later in March of 1970, the men were moved to Gladiator. (20:11) While at Gladiator, enemy men got through the wire and demolished the ammo dump. (20:41) The men spent about one month at Gladiator before being moved to Fire base Kathryn for 1-2 weeks then to Rakkasan again. (21:17) Service on Ripcord (22:00) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The men arrived at Ripcord in mid June of 1970. The area was very frightening due to the proximity of the jungle to the base and that other groups had been chased off Ripcord before. (21:31) After the engineers dug foxholes, Ron went in and dug them deeper. (24:00) The guns often provided support for the troops around Ripcord. (25:25) Gradually, mortar and sniper fire began showing up along with rockets, tear gas, and machine gun fire. (25:50) Ammunition was brought in using Chinooks and Hueys. (26:52) The ammunition was dropped at the back of the base. The men were required to carry the ammunition from the back to the front of the fire base. (27:19) Ammunition often got to the base, it was the drop and going to get the ammunition that was dangerous as this was what triggered enemy fire. (28:51) Ron doesn’t remember sleeping in Vietnam. (29:50) Ron’s unit did not lose any guns. However, the 105mm battery unit lost all 6 guns in July after a helicopter crashed with ammunition on the base. (30:44) A man got pinned in the fire and pleaded for the others to shoot him. But due to the intensity of the fire, no man could get in close enough to do so or to help him. (32:05) There were no casualties in Ron’s battery because of the 105 accident. But because the 105s could no longer fire, Ron’s battery had to fire more to fill the missions. (33:02) At this time the unit was losing officers and sergeants through indirect fire and mortars. (36:37) There were some men that came to replace casualties, however on Ron’s gun, the men did not want any one else on their gun, even if a man as lost. (38:37) The men were told on the night of July 21st that on July 22nd the men would be leaving Ripcord. The men shot off as much ammunition as they had before leaving. Ron did not think they would be able to evacuate Ripcord. (39:10) Men were always prepared to destroy the guns if over run. (40:24) All 6 guns were removed successfully form Ripcord. When the men left, they were handed a number. The numbers were used to decide who left Ripcord first. (41:15) Ron took the second to last chopper off of Ripcord. (43:03) The men are moved to Camp Evans. Ron didn’t know where the other members of the battery or the guns were once he was moved. (44:41) �End of Service (45:09) • • • • • There was a two week long stand down after returning from Ripcord. The men then stayed at Rakkasan. Here Ron had his hand smashed in the breech of the gun. (45:16) Ron volunteered to assist build a new fire base in early August of 1970. (46:30) Ron did finish his high school education. This was before he was sent to Vietnam. (49:26) Ron was asked to reenlist but did not want to. (49:40) Ron spent his time after the service working as an auto mechanic and a truck driver. (50:15) � 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 ZahnR1444V Title A name given to the resource Zahn, Ronald (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zahn, Ronald Description An account of the resource Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on artillery. In early 1970, Ron was sent to Vietnam where he served in A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division. His battery was based at Camp Evans, and moved around the northern part of South Vietnam, spending time at Firebases Rakkasan, Gladiator, Kathryn and Ripcord and at Camp Carroll. His battery was on Ripcord while it was under siege and evacuated in July, 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (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 Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-10-06 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5013053e63cc3351a76c6b4470452975.mp4 e029740b8ec11ef00382ebb76d137942 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d9f105f4838b17bcc605fad331ba039.pdf 4b316bf4fddc05606361ff2a8b8ea7d1 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Ronald Zandbergen Cold War 23 minutes 0 seconds (00:00:10) -Born in November 26th, 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. -Raised on a farm. -About 250 acre farm raising animals for food. -Sold wholesale meats. -Joined the Navy in January of 1961. -Graduated high school in June of 1960. -A friend of his decided to join with him to see the world. -Took basic training at Great Lakes, Wisconsin. -Training was rough, and rugged. -Only half passed training. -He was assigned to be a radioman. -In Bainbridge, Maryland he was trained to do communications, Morse code. -After Bainbridge he was sent to Keflavik, Iceland where he remained for one year. -Their role was protecting the military line between Greenland and Iceland. -Protecting US ships from Russian aircraft etc. -Grounded two mig fighters at one point. Released after Cuban blockade ended. -After Iceland he was sent to Little Creek, Virginia to transfer to the Tactical Air Control Squadron 21. -The remaining four years of his military career were spent with the Squadron. -Spent six months in the Mediterranean. -Visited all of the ports. -Traveled on the USS Boxer for six months. -Went to Cuba. -Did training just off of Cuba. -Visited Guantanamo Bay. -Valuable lessons from the Navy. -Being at sea for so long teaches you to get along with people you don’t like. -Mediterranean different from the Ocean in that it is so clear you can see the bottom. -Loved going to France and Spain. -Attended the bull fights. -Being in the military teaches you a lot about yourself. -He loved the Navy and enjoyed the experience overall. -In Iceland it was so dark and icy that walking to the mess hall required holding a rope. (10:00) -He was injured while slipping on ice and sent to a hospital in New York. -Injured his back. -Navy didn’t tell them too much about the Russian position or Cold War in detail. -Iceland was backed by Russia, but the locals were very friendly. �-Locals worked on the base in kitchens, and theater etc. -Appreciated the fact that the Cold War was not active fighting. -What did you think about the Vietnam War? -He was discharged in January of 1965. -Can’t comment too much in detail, but felt bad about the situation. -What was it like being in Virginia? -Married while in Virginia. -Had his son there. -Son now serves in the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. (15:00) -At that time he was considering staying in the military, but decided against it. -Basic training required jumping from an 80 foot high platform into a pool. -Learned how to tie a pair of pants around him in such a way that air from the fall created a floatation device. -Does not recall any women in the Navy at that time. -Very proud to pass his basic training because it was so difficult. -Learned to fire a gun, however they were not issued a firearm. -Their vessel was a flagship, not a battleship. -During the travels along the Mediterranean they were aboard the USS Francis Marion. -Originally the ship was a passenger ship. -They sailed with the commander. -As a radioman he communicated with aircraft in the area, not menial cleaning duties. -Highest rank achieved was radioman 3rd class. -Up for 2nd class before leaving the service. � 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_ZandbergenR1834V Title A name given to the resource Zandbergen, Ronald Fay (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-30 Description An account of the resource Ronald Zandbergen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 26th, 1942. He joined the Navy in January of 1961. At Great Lakes, Wisconsin he endured basic training and became assigned to communications as a radioman. In Bainbridge, Maryland he was trained in Morse Code and radio specialization. Then he spent a year in Keflavik, Iceland where the US was wary of ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Next he was sent to Littlecreek, Virginia to the Tactical Air Control Squadron 21. During his time in the Navy Ronald travelled on the USS Boxer, and visited European ports in the Mediterranean area on the USS Francis Marion. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zandbergen, Ronald Fay Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Burrill, Zach (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Language A language of the resource eng Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/99f65f2b80ce6ff692e728f432c063e8.mp4 c8b9ec642c33c593697cedb3afaded2a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/47ddbf3a76cdf761da08ab75a4515384.pdf 67df91732c074f508feecebea0e5d5b0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Raymond Zandstra (00:54:14) Background • Interviewed at the Lowell Historical Museum. (:07) • Born 9/30/1941, in Grand Rapids. (0:16) • Raised as an only child, until his half-brother was born. (0:41) • His mother was a single parent during WWII. As a result he spent a lot of time with his extended family when she was at work. (:52) • His mother re-married 1947, when he was about six. (1:24) • His step-father was the only father he knew. He accepted and respected his step-father. (1:43) • He was nine when his brother was born. (1:56) • First job was delivering the Grand Rapids Herald, a morning paper. The Grand Rapids Press was an afternoon paper. (2:06) • Worked at a car wash during high school. (2:25) • Went to Godwin Heights high school, and graduated 1959. (2:38) • Met his future wife during high school. He was about fourteen. (2:49) Enlistment • Enlisted at age 17, in the Navy. (3:05) • Sworn in six weeks after graduating, July 14, 1959. (3:24) • Decided to enlist because he had no direction in life, and didn't want to go to college at the time. He had “had it” with books and studying. (3:45) • Also thought he wouldn't be injured during peacetime, and wanted to learn something. (4:13) • Learned discipline, respect, and became a man. (4:33) • His parents were opposed to his joining, but realized it was his choice and respected that. (4:50) • He chose the Navy partly because his biological father and his step-father had both been in the Navy. (5:13) • Another reason was that he liked the Navy clothes the best. The Army, Air Force, and Marines had to wear neckties and button shirts. The Army also had to wear hard hats and the Navy had softer hats. (5:42) • Basic training ideally lasted twelve to fourteen weeks, but in practice was usually around sixteen. The longer time was a result of bureaucratic lag in assignments and processing. (6:18) • Was shipped out, but not informed where he was headed. He didn't find out specifically until he had almost arrived. He did know he was being sent somewhere in Europe. (7:20) • Spent a year in Sicily. (7:30) • Came back to the U.S. Afterwards, and went to a school for helicopter training. (7:35) • Helicopter maintenance school in Memphis, TN. Lasted sixteen weeks (7:45) • West Coast, San Diego, CA. Helicopter Squadron 1. (8:02) • Helicopters were used for plane guard on aircraft carriers, and for rescue duty. (8:34) Survivor Training/Mock Prison • San Diego, one week survival training. (8:34) • Survivor course, had to learn how to survive off the land. (:02) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Escape and evasion techniques. (9:23) The week was completed with twenty four hours in a mock prison. (8:39) Were interrogated in the mock prisons. (8:39) Trained to only give name, rank, and serial number. (10:04) Training was required for air-sea rescue staff. (10:23) The course was also recommended for individuals looking to advance in rank. (10:44) The first day of the week was spent on the beach learning swimming techniques. (11:06) Had to forage for food. Had lobster and fish soup cooked on a fire pit. (11:34) They were taken out to sea in boats, and had to float alone in the sea for a short period. This was to learn about being stranded at sea. (11:57) Trained in helicopter pickup. (12:16) Learned more swimming techniques in a large swimming pool. (12:27) Endurance swimming and life-vest training. (12:40) Had to jump off of a tower, about sixteen feet high. Training for jumping off of sinking ships. (13:06) Went on hiking trips, five to seven people with a contour map. (13:23) Had to find their way to a specified point. (13:37) It was a day long activity. (13:52) The week was filled with other similar activities. (13:52) During the interrogations they were not given food or medical supplies. (14:28) Finally were given some food, but only after they sterilized their canteens with boiling water. (14:52) Remarks that hot water was “not fun to drink.” (15:18) They were not given much water to drink. (15:18) Asked for more water. (15:30) Given small amount of food, had to learn to share with his comrades. Usually made soup. (15:45) Stimulated air raids during mock prison experience. (16:00) Interrogations varied in length. (16:08) The interrogations were longer if they got any information. (16:33) During interrogations it is best to only give name, rank, and serial number. The interrogators often try to socialize with their victims. If they can get some information, even it is unimportant; it is easier to get more important information. (16:53) Common questions include: What task force are you with? What size ship? What ship? Where are you going? How many planes? And other similar questions. (17:27) Name, rank and serial number, only. (17:42) Some were interrogated multiple times. (17:51) One of the men was black (1 out of 125). He interrogated for longer periods, and more often. (18:05) Minorities were often picked on. (18:23) The black man was nicknamed “Elvis.” (18:46) The interrogators would often ask for Elvis, and the men would try to protect him, to no avail. (18:46) Elvis did very well. He was well conditioned, and intelligent. (19:17) Elvis was able to keep in mind the experience was a training exercise. It was very close to the real thing however. (19:30) The interrogations got physical frequently. They were hit, chairs were kicked out from under them, but the interrogators were not allowed to draw blood. (20:00) The interrogation was at the end of a survivor course. The men were exhausted, physically �• • • and mentally. (20:35) Several people, six to ten, got heat exhaustion. (21:01) The compound was in the desert, the exercise had to be stopped. The men with heat exhaustion were in critical condition. (21:22) A helicopter took them to the naval hospital. (21:43) Sicily • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • While in Sicily was a part of FASSRON, Fleet Air Support Squadron. (22:29) Originally was assigned to Malta. When he arrived, they were in the process of decommissioning the air base. (23:35) He was then sent to Sicily, to oversee the construction of the new base. The construction was delayed. (22:50) NATO required that the base be more than half built by Sicilians. The Sicilians were not very quick, resulting in the delay. (23:08) Some parts of the camp were finished, others were not. The barracks were not completed, and they had to sleep on desks in the administrative offices until they were finished. (23:32) The Sicilians didn't know much about the United States. American occupation during WWII had been brief. (23:55) The men were not permitted to wear uniforms while in Sicily. (24:28) Men went to Catania, Sicily for supplies and groceries. (24:36) Ate outdoors most of the time. (24:50) Sicilian culture did not approve of tattoos, uniforms, or living behind fences. They perceived people who did such as the “enemy.” (25:00) Italian perception was that higher class people lived North, and lower class people lived South. Sicily was south of Italy, and perceived as being low class. (25:31) Sicilians were mostly Italian culturally. (26:07) Americans did many of the things that Sicilians did not approve of, resulting in them being disliked. (26:19) The air base was part of an arrangement with NATO. (26:30) The air base was strategic to American interests, as it was in the center of the Mediterranean. (26:30) The base also provided jobs for Sicilians in construction, maintenance, and cooking. (26:58) While in Sicily, his duties were aircraft maintenance and repair and occasionally security. (27:21) The “ship's company,” men who were permanently assigned to Sicily, had three aircraft. (28:06) Had many types of planes coming and leaving. (28:17) Planes were usually at the base four to six weeks. (28:59) The planes served on many types of missions. Reconnaissance using photographs and sonar, and patrol squads. (29:03) Letters were the only form of communication. They took seven to days to arrive. (29:27) During Christmas he wanted to call home, so he went to a hotel. The operator had to place the call, which took two to four hours. The calls usually lasted two to three minutes. (30:08) The long distance calls were very expensive, which was why they were not allowed frequently or for very long. They had phones at the base, but they were internal only. (30:53) His aunt frequently sent him care packages. Gum, fudge, cookies, cakes, and other various baked goods were the most common contents. (31:17) Hopefully the baked goods would be sent by air. This only occurred if the aircraft had the �room, otherwise they were sent by ship. The ship route took thirty to forty days, by which time most of the baked goods were no longer any good. He was always thankful to receive things from home, even if they were stale baked goods. (32:03) • Has a picture of the base, explains various parts of the base. (32:32) • Some of the men brought their families with them. (33:14) • His barracks overlooked olive orchards. (33:38) • The base was near Mount Etna, the largest active volcano. (34:04) Helicopter School • After Sicily, he went to the Helicopter Maintenance School. • Helicopter Squadron #1 in San Diego, CA. (34:52) • The base was in Imperial Beach, CA on the Mexican border. (35:02) • Was a very small air base. (35:22) • It was five or six miles away from San Diego, which had a very large air base. (35:31) • Between the two was North Island naval base, which was used to train the Navy SEALS. (35:48) • The helped the SEALS with helicopter training. (36:10) • The SEALS had a graduation rate of around 8%. Half of a one hundred man group would drop out within a week. (36:33) • At Imperial Beach, he was the training petty officer for Helicopter Utility Squadron One. (37:15) • The air-sea rescue crew had rigid training. They had to lean special swimming techniques, aircraft, and were trained in taking off of an aircraft carrier. (37:41) • They had a permanent detachment in Hedsuey, Japan. The rescue crews would spend a year at that base. (38:22) • He scheduled training exercises, assignments, and classes. (38:46) • Deployments were called “cruises.” (39:04) • Cruises varied in length. North PAC or South PAC (North or South Pacific) lasted about three months. (39:16) • The cruises to the Poles were the only ones where crew was allowed to grow a beard. (39:41) • Other cruises were between four and ten months aboard carriers in the Pacific. (39:55) • Helicopters were put on plane guard. A helicopter had to present, and in the air at any landings or take-offs onto an aircraft carrier. (40:25) • When he was in Memphis, he sometimes went home for the weekends. It was a fourteen hour drive. (41:06) Discharge • His tour duty was a “minority enlistment” because he was sworn in at age seventeen. As a result he was to be released the day before his twenty-first birthday, but that was a Saturday so he was released an additional day early. (41:50) • Released 9/28/1962 (42:30) • He had everything packed and ready. He left base at about noon that day. Drove twenty hour days from San Diego to Grand Rapids and arrived at 9:00 pm Sunday. (43:02) • The following week he wanted to call one of his military friends at home. He found out his friend wasn't home. (43:13) • His friend had been at the “Bay of Pigs” invasion, and was not discharged until Christmas. No men were allowed to be discharged during this period, a fate he barely escaped. (44:14) • Credits Kennedy's fast-talking with preventing a war with Russia or Cuba. (44:38) • He was stationed during the Cold War Era, many things happened that he didn't know about. Later on, in the seventies, the government issues “Vietnam bonuses” to men who had served �in the “Vietnam Era.” He had served during the period, but had never heard of the situation in Vietnam. (44:45) Post-Enlistment • After being discharged, he came home. He was married by this time. (45:54) • His wife was expecting their first child. (46:08) • He still didn't want to go to college, and he had a family to support so he looked for a job. (46:20) • His parents had wanted him to go to college to avoid work in a factory. As a result, he did not want to work in a factory. (46:28) • He had taken drafting courses in high school, and got a job with the Fred F. Johnson map company. (46:54) • The company drew and sold city maps. (47:19) • He worked with that company for a year to a year and a half, and then had an opportunity to work with a civil engineering company in Grand Rapids. This job paid more, and had more of a future so he took advantage of the situation. He worked there for ten years. (47:32) • He left that company for another, similar company and worked there for fifteen years as the head of the surveying department. (48:11) • Later on, one of the engineers wanted to leave and found his own business, but was looking for a partner. The two of them started a company. (28:30) • For the first year and a half the office was in his home. They were in business for eighteen years. (49:21) • The company still exists, and has offices in Grand Rapids. He retired September 30. (49:36) • Has three daughters, his oldest is forty-five and named Rayna, after him. His second daughter, Wendy is four years younger. His youngest daughter Shelby is ten years younger than Rayna. (49:49) • He has five grand-children. (50:41) • His grandson is named Caleb Zandstra, and will continue the name. (50:59) • His family has always been in the Grand Rapids area, until recently. His eldest daughter is leaving due to a job transfer. (51:27) • His second daughter is still in the area, but she will be moving because her husband lives in Mobile, AL. She is waiting for some business transactions involving condos to be completed. (52:00) • His youngest daughter is moving as well, but he isn't sure where. (52:40) • Recommends retiring to everyone. (53:00) � 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 ZandstraR Title A name given to the resource Zandstra, Raymond L. (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zandstra, Raymond L. Description An account of the resource Raymond Zandstra was born in Grand Rapids. He served in the US Navy from July 14, 1959 to Sept. 28, 1962. He served in Sicily, and in the San Diego Helicopter Squadron One. Most of his duties revolved around helicopter maintenance and repair. He was trained in air-sea rescue in Imperial Beach. He also relates the story of a one-week survival training course he took, during which he was placed in a mock prison for twenty four hours. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Finnie, Rebecca (Interviewer) Lowell Area Historical Museum (Lowell, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans 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 2007-05-30 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/2b0f9159921575451d48ac80515a7888.mp4 77e43eb8397929f09a10507f05952cf2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/216fcf112d433ee80384999ae79868cc.pdf 23f65fa3290b7a8555c65f84e33c6606 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Vietnam Name of Interviewee: Thaddeus Zator (2nd interview) Length of Interview: 1:07:28 Background:  Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1919.  His family left New Jersey for Michigan so that his father could get a job at Ford.  He visited Newark later on because his grandmother still lived there.  He attended high school in Detroit and later moved to Alma. Eventually he moved to Grand Rapids.  He finished high school in 1938, a half a year ahead of time.  After graduation, he worked at a place that made axles.  He was trained as a machinist, because of the classes that were available in high school. Every Sunday his father would take the car apart and he would help put it back together.  His high understanding of machinery would earn him a high rank in the army. (1:58)  His father worked for Ford on and off during the 1930’s. He always went back because he was a specialist in making a special polisher for glass.  He used to watch his father work, especially the odd jobs around the house.  He definitely paid attention to what was going on in the world. He acquired most of his information by reading. His father was a great reader; they had a polish paper, an English paper and many magazines in the house.  His father talked about government often and he was a great listener. Before he graduated from high school he used to belong to a local discussion group at the library.  He followed the war all the way through. (4:00)  The day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was at another discussion group. This group he found were too liberal, as they were excited that Pearl Harbor was attacked because it meant that the USA would join the war.  Later on he realized that company like that was not really for him.  Once the United States entered the war, he knew he was going to get drafted, but he wanted to work as long as possible. He wasn’t ready to be in the services, especially when he heard some of the stories of people who got back from serving in the Pacific.  He received a 6 month deferment from the factory he was at for making war materials. (6:18)  He received his draft notice in the middle of 1942. He reported to Camp Crowder, Missouri, to undergo the various tests of skill. He ranked high in the mechanical tests and he was sent into the signal corps at Camp Crowder for basic training.  Camp Crowder was in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. Basic Training (7:22)  He remembers his time there during basic training. �         He was never pushed very hard doing the physical work, but it was difficult getting up at 5 AM. He remembers falling asleep standing up one time during training, he was so tired. The basic training he got, he felt was not much training at all. Most of what he did consisted of learning codes, and listening to telephone calls. He was there only a few months, a short time to him. He had a company pass and went out on the weekend once, but he did not have much time for that. People there were very disciplined, but they got along well. He recalls the various stories of how one man there was dating a Hollywood actress. Another man there was a genius at the radio, but since he was handicapped, he slobbered everywhere. (9:56) After Camp Crowder he, along with another man from Indiana, was rushed by train to the east coast, through Canada and were placed on a boat to England. Before that, he had gone through specialized training learning the teletype. The teletype is a machine that is like a typewriter, but the finished product prints out in another city. It also works by using a tape in a radio. He never saw another teletype after that. Active Duty (12:05)            He remembered the trip to England. The ship did not go with an escort because it zigzagged the whole trip. He was very seasick the whole trip too. They fed him toast and tomato juice and held him while he threw up. He spent most of the trip in his cot and they came to check on him once in a while. When they rushed him, they forgot to give him his overseas shots on the train. So one of the first things that happened on the boat was that he got 7 or 8 shots all at once. He remembers that they were poking him all over the place. Before he reached England, the boat stopped in the Azores. There he would see the flying fish and he was amazed at the sight. Fish really can fly. (14:15) After they left the Azores, they landed in England. Headquarters were in London. He lived on Green St., which was within walking distance from where he served. While he was there, he lived in the local houses. The people of London grew afraid of the war and left their homes. Many of them let the soldiers stay there since they were not living there. He was very thankful for that. Backing up, he explains what his work was during the war. After Camp Crowder, he did not go on a boat. Instead he went to Arlington, Virginia. There he was trained in the various languages that he was going to encounter during the war. He was also trained in both encoding and decoding. He learned how to operate the machine, and through that he learned how the mechanics of it as well. While he was there, he visited Washington D.C. One time when he went there he got the chance to speak with the first lady, Mrs. Roosevelt. After he came out of the depot, he was confronted by a man who wanted a picture with the first lady, but did not know how to approach her. So he did this man a favor by taking a picture of her. He never saw the �                   picture. Later, a similar situation would happen with Eisenhower and he never saw that picture either. He also visited his grandmother in New Jersey. Although he was trained in coding, he actually worked on the repairs for the machines. While he was in training, he passed all the tests fixing all the problems with the machines. (21:05) So when he was rushed to England, it was because they needed technicians to work on the machines. While he was in England, he stayed in London, but sometimes he was sent to other places when they needed his skills. He was sent anywhere from small villages outside of London to crossing in boats to Ireland. There was a mixture of people who lived in the houses in London. They all belonged to different camps and places and no one ever spoke about what was going on where they were at, and what they were doing. When he went to work, he worked in the residential building. It was like where he lived, but the windows remained closed because the people there did not want anyone else to know what they were doing. It was very elementary and was not much there. Mostly, they met and got their orders to work on specific machines and left. (23:53) Sometimes, when there was not anything for him to do, he was assigned to work with the others. One man he worked with, by the name of Barlow, was a genius with the machines. When they got to the machine it took Barlow 5 minutes to figure out the problem, when it would have taken him almost 2 hours. Only during the end of the raids did he have to go through some bombings. Each man was assigned to watch for shrapnel. He never got to see the big part of the war. He does not remember a lot of bombing while he was there. He was also sent to the core headquarters and air bases to work on the different machines there. While he was living in London, he and other took advantages of the hot fires and drinks at a place for the US soldiers. He sometimes took naps there as well. They also took the underground subway to Piccadilly Circus. There he saw musicals, had dates, and went to bars. They all laughed and had a great time. (28:20) The English people there treated him and the other soldiers very well all the time. They stopped him from smoking cigars. In England people who smoked cigars were considered to be of higher stature. So when he smoked his, people would look at him funny like he thought he was something special. So he gave up cigars and gave away most of his cigarettes to his buddies. He still smoked some, but he was no longer looked at funny. While he was there doing his job, he tried to follow the war. There was a local GI paper there, called the Stars and Stripes, but it was not very good. He also read the English papers. He enjoyed looking through them because they were so different. As D-Day approached things in London became somewhat tense, but nothing special happened. (30:15) �  As they prepared for the invasion, soldiers were moved to different places, spread throughout the coast of England. He ended up in staying with a nice old sailor and his wife. A couple weeks after D-Day, he landed in France. France (32:40)              When he got there, he saw German papers lying all over the place. He thought they would be worth something as a souvenir one day, so he picked some up Ultimately he would end up on Utah Beach, which was a code name for the westernmost landing zone in the Allied invasion of D-Day. While he was there, he did not work on machines, because all of the machines were being used by the forces ahead of him. Instead they were sent to different installations where he was needed. During one of these assignments, he decided to climb a French telephone pole to get a better look at the bombardment that was happening farther away. Unlike the ones in the United States, these were made of cement, not wood. He did not see anything; on his way down, he lost his footing and fell to the ground, injuring his tailbone in the process. Due to his injury, he walked with his legs spread apart and everyone was making fun of him. (35:30) Unlike his fellow soldiers, he had very little equipment. He carried around a toolbox that held a few basic tools and a diagram of some of the machines he was supposed to work on. Even when they were installed, he wasn’t operational. He remembers making one call someplace, but that was it. There was also a man by the name of Catello, who was also from Michigan, who drove him around to different places. A few months ago, he tried to have someone find Catello over the internet but he did not hear if they were successful in reaching him or not. (37:17) The closest thing he got was to finding some Catellos who worked as weather experts on a local TV station. The young man certainly looked like a Catello, but no more information was found. When he spoke of getting installed, he meant they were in the process of arrival. He and the others were following Patton as he chased after the enemies. They never stayed in one place too long, or else they would get too far away and then Patton’s forces could not be reached. (39:08) As he moved across northern France, a few things stick out in his memory. There was a bridge in one little town, he saw GI’s parked there, with supplies. Later on he was told that they were there waiting for the bridge to come down again. Apparently, that bridge had come down once and they had to put it up. He also remembers coming across a field, and he saw a kid, a GI to be precise, shooting at something. Turns out that it was a cow. They kid was complaining that he was shooting the cow, but it was not going down. He remembers it because it was stupid to think that one bullet to the belly would take down a cow. (41:08) �               He does not recall much about the native population. Usually they disappeared, and all they found were empty houses. Eventually they stayed in Verdun, France, for a bit, while the Allied assault was stalled near Luxemburg. He was fairly close to the front lines. While he was in Verdun, he sat and waited to be assigned to go to a place to work on maintenance. It did not take very long. (43:22) Sometimes he would take a small plane, sometimes he would be driven to where he needed to go. During the battle of Bastogne, he and the others waited for a couple of days, hoping that the clouds would clear. Once they did, it meant that the US planes could bombard the enemy. When he worked on maintenance, he would find the divisional headquarters, which moved day to day. His driver and he would spend some time having to find the new place where the headquarters were before he could do any work. During one of these expeditions, they found where they camp had previously been. A GI had been ordered to wait there and point them in the direction of the new camp. When they went to where the GI pointed, they drove until it was dark, and had not seen a person in quite some time. (45:00) Finally, they caught up with a GI, but he did not trust them. Because the enemy sometimes dressed in GI uniforms, the soldiers were entrusted with a daily passcode, to ensure they were friends. Unfortunately, he knew the code from the day before, but not that day, because they drove around so long. The soldier brought him to their commanding officer, who had to make a decision on what to do with them. He explained the situation and asked for food and shelter. He also offered to stay in the truck with his driver. At the time, the trucks they had were not the jeeps, but a different model used for the hauling around maintenance tools. They were offered food and coffee. He fell asleep quickly and slept soundly throughout the night. When he woke up in the morning, everyone was gone. He and his driver figured that they had been drugged, since they did not hear anything when they others left. (48:40) After that, they continued on and eventually found they place they were supposed to get to. Mission accomplished. Another time, they were trying to find another camp near the Bavarian Mountains. All the roads and bridges had been destroyed and they only way across a ditch was to use a small bridge that was for small carts or cows. They decided to take this bridge across, as they had nowhere else to go, and it collapsed behind them. They barely made it across. (50:11) During that same trip, they ran into German soldiers. They had ventured into an area that they did not know and out of the forest came two German soldiers with a white flag waving. They stopped the vehicle and looked for guns, but found none. He figured they were kitchen help that was left behind. He did not know what to do, he had a job to do, and did not have time for the German soldiers. So, he told them to keep walking with their white flag back from where he and his driver had come, until they found someone else. They did so immediately, with no questions. (52:03) �         When the Germans surrendered, he was stationed in Verdun. He went as far as Belgium for his calls, usually by a small plane known as a [Piper] Cub. He often got sick on those, just as he had on the boat. One time he was flying with a captain. When he took his helmet off, preparing to throw up, the captain order his helmet back on. He did so reluctantly, but the captain ended up landing the plane in a way that did not make him throw up. Instead of a wobbly, slow decent, the captain took the plane straight down. At the last minute, he swooped the plane up and landed. (54:55) During those times when he flew, he always stayed within the Allied lines. There was one time when he flew into a raid. At first he thought they were going to pass it, but it turned out to be the place where they needed to go. They got to the town and the only person they could see was a colonel directing traffic. He ordered them to go, as it was not a safe area. Had they arrived sooner, they may have gotten blasted. (56:35) During his time, he was pretty safe. He does not recall any close calls. Once the Germans surrendered, things changed. Everyone knew it was going to be over in a hurry. He stayed in Europe for the rest of the year. He was sent back to London to finish up his work. There he had worked in the American Embassy for a couple of days. (58:56) After his time was over, he was sent on a Dutch boat back home. They no longer had to worry about German submarines. He was seasick all the way home. The weather was good the whole way home. When he got home, they tried to get him to reenlist, telling him he could work for IBM if he wanted. He declined and was discharged. Post Duty (1:00:00)          After he went home, he attended college at DIT, Detroit Institute of Technology. When he was finished there, he attended law school at the Detroit College of Law. It was then that his family went through a crisis. His father could no longer work, due to terrible arthritis. His older brother was not working, but his younger brother was. This was not enough income. So he quit law school and went to a butcher school in Toledo, so he could become an efficient grocer. His family bought a store, and he and his mother ran it for a couple of years. Unfortunately at the time, smaller stores were beginning to disappear and larger commercial stores were beginning to take over. (1:02:25) After he stopped working at the grocery store, he went to work at one of his wholesalers. While working for them he contacted the many customers this wholesaler had and negotiated the business on goings, such as prices and quantities. It was an interesting job, and different every day. He did not regret not going into a technical field. If he did, he would have to change and move away. He was happy at home. Going back to his time in the service, he recalls teaching other people how to do his job. �     In England, before the invasion, his boss decided that some of the people that they serviced in England could learn to be trained themselves. They would come for weeks at a time and attend his class, teaching about the machine. He taught his class a little differently than what he got in basic training. Instead of teaching the names of parts, he taught them more about how the machine worked. (1:05:30) Looking back, he learned more about the machine. He appreciates the money that he got for schooling. He also thinks he changed a bit. He feels like he became more of a leader, which helped him in his supervisor position at a pharmaceutical company. His time in the service was fun; there was never a dull moment. � 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 ZatorT0958V Title A name given to the resource Zator, Thaddeus (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zator, Thaddeus Description An account of the resource Thaddeus Zator grew up in Michigan and was drafted in the Army during World War II. He trained as a communications specialist, first at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and then in Arlington, Virginia, before being sent to England in 1943. He was based in London, and traveled around to repair communications equipment. After D-Day, he was sent to France, where he moved from unit to unit to work on equipment as needed, often flying in small planes to his assignments from a base near Verdun, France. 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 Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-11-30 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/813fee669ddb513881ed87e557d6119c.mp4 2447333813a09b328950799b721c357d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/555a29a099cd322efe568f7267a8676c.pdf 1dd97c3eb427b4be89d9e1126761339d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Ray Zeeff (35:190 Background Information (00:05)         Born in 1916 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (00:07) He grew up in Grand Rapids. (00:22) His father was a local truck driver. (00:30) He attended school through the 10th grade. (00:57) At 21 he worked in the office of a coal company. (1:05) In 1937 he joined the National Guard. (1:25) He joined the guard for the first time in 1932 at the age of 16 due to his uncle pulling some strings and making his age 18. (1:45) His father was able to keep his job off and on during the 1930s. Often he and his father would find work on road sites. (2:21) First Service in the National Guard (3:00)       The National Guard had the men practice with the Colt 45. and the Springfield rifle. (3:07) The men were also instructed on how to operate a radio. (3:45) There was close order drill and long distance marching. (4:50) The men spent 2 weeks at Camp Farley where they practiced maneuvers. (5:08) Ray was in the Regimental Head Quarters Company, 126th Infantry Regiment. (5:51) He stayed in the National Guard until 1935. He left because his dad hired him to help with the truck driving where he worked for many years. (6:13) Second Enlistment in the National Guard (6:20)         In the late 30s work was improving but not by a lot. (7:40) In 1937 he reenlisted in the National Guard. (8:20) A private in the National Guard got paid 1 dollar (per month). (9:00) He was assigned to his same outfit when he returned and reenlisted. (9:34) He was paying attention to the conflicts occurring in Europe during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He received this news through newspaper and radio. (9:48) In October of 1940 his unit was federalized. (10:23) He was then sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. (10:57) He was sent down to Camp Beauregard by train. (11:06) Training at Camp Beauregard (11:23)   All of the men from the National Guard were sent down to training. There were some older men. (12:08) The weather was very hot and muggy and there were a lot of bugs and wildlife. (13:05) �              There were a lot of men at the camp who were drafted (in the spring of 1941 to fill out the ranks of the unit) and from the west side of Michigan (the area that the guard unit came from). (13:20) His duties during his training were mostly of radio work. (14:33) He was using a hand crank radio that had a large antenna. The radio transmitted code not conversation. (15:56) He left Camp Beauregard after 1 year in the fall of 1941. (17:22) He was then sent to Camp Livingston, Louisiana. This was seen s being a much nicer camp than Camp Beauregard. (17:44) There was opportunities to leave the base while at Camp Livingston. (18:15) He was married August 26th 1940. (18:43) His wife never came to visit him but he was given a 7 day leave which he used to go see her. (19:00) His unit did go on large maneuvers. Ray was responsible for carrying his radio. It was very heavy. (19:39) Other men carried and laid the wire as well as carried batteries. (20:28) He remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. (21:24) He stayed with his unit till the remainder of them shipped out to Fort Lewis in Washington. (The unit was actually shipped to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, early in 1942, and then to San Francisco prior to being sent to Australia.) He did not go and was discharged due to partial blindness in his left eye. (22:07) He wasn’t disappointed that he was discharged. (23:18) His division left for Australia in 1942. (24:00) Life after Service (24:20)          He continued his work as a truck driver. (24:24) He began cross country truck driving when he returned (approx. 1942/1943) (24:55) The truck drivers were given special stickers so that they could get fuel that was otherwise rationed. (25:20) The road type varied. Some were very beat up and needed patching. (26:00) He didn’t fallow the news much or his former unit after he was discharged. Many contacted him after the war to see if they could get work. (27:23) During target practice after his service, a ricochet shot struck Ray in the head. (28:32) The bullet was eventually pushed out and Ray was unharmed. (30:03) He stayed in trucking, but in his later years he was made a departure. (31:00) He remained a truck driver for 32 years. (31:38) Thoughts on Service (32:19)     He recalls many of his sergeants. (32:22) One of his segments would often send odd codes to the men during radio training to make sure they were understanding it correctly. (33:00) He remained friends with one of his sergeants even after his service. (33:39) He learned a lot about team work through the military. (34:12) � 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 ZeeffR0117V Title A name given to the resource Zeeff, Raymond (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zeeff, Raymond Description An account of the resource Ray Zeeff served in the National Guard from 1932-1935 and then reenlisted and served from 1937-1942 during World War II. During his service, Ray served as a radio operator for the Regimental Headquarters Company 126th Infantry. His unit was federalized in October, 1940, and sent to Louisiana to train. He was discharged in 1942 before going overseas due to partial blindness in one eye. 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 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 2011-06-10 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/6166b5a05c4f1a32cf511f191476a245.mp4 3abe91b9875954aa31f1ac379e1f76bf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/988ec695103d5757a861313916cbe541.pdf 7f7b896e7b6e7c09a1727bfa976aee53 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview James Zegollari Cold War Total Time: 42:28 Pre-Enlistment (00:10) • • Born in 1960 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Joined the Marines during his freshman year of college. Training (01:55) • • • • Went to Officer Candidates School (OCS) during the summers of his Freshman and Junior years of College. Attended OCS at Quantico, Virginia, and was trained by Vietnam Veterans. They dropped around half of the class. Also spent 6 months at basic school. He was then selected to be a Tank Officer, and was shipped to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to be taught the operation of the M-60 tank. Active Duty (04:04) • • • • • • • Was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for 3 years. Also did 2 rotations at Twenty-Nine Palms, California, a training facility where he served as both a 2nd Lieutenant and instructor. He worked for a summer at Little Creek, Virginia, where they show Navy Midshipmen what it would be like to be either a marine or a Navy SEAL. (05:20) He also served as an Anti-Tank Missile Officer. He was stationed in Narvik, Norway for a time for training operations. He joined up with the Marine Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when he moved there after being discharged originally from the Marines. He stayed connected with his family and friends via mail and phone calls. Post Service (20:25) • He has kept in touch with some of his men, especially the reserves. � 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 ZegollariJ Title A name given to the resource Zegollari, James (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zegollari, James Description An account of the resource James Zegollari was born in 1960 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and served in the Marines during the Cold War. He was trained to operate and command the M-60 tank. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Twenty-Nine Palms, California while he was on active duty. He was never sent into an active combat zone. He also serves in the Marine Reserves in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Austin, Caitlin (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 United States. Marine Corps Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-01 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/416874a8fe3783e4a4e58cfc8bb0e228.jpg f34ca00d9a62e9bc363870995c4c529b 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 1970s 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_000159 Title A name given to the resource Faculty Fred Bevis in Biology classroom Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zeiman, Henry F. Description An account of the resource Faculty Fred Bevis in Biology classroom. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges--Faculty Allendale (Mich.) Biology Classrooms Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo