99 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0fbdade44209e7d49e51ddbf886d6541.mp4 bdaad1afe7ac7efbd794887dce4ca865 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ee6b3b93ffa5e8e4d911ba0204afa3dd.pdf 22f692aa01d7c4acafba20aad6ca331e PDF Text Text Brockway, Lyle Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee’s Name: Lyle Brockway Length of Interview: (1:28:47) Interviewed by: Wallace Erichsen Transcribed by: Maluhia Buhlman Interviewer: “Today is August the 7th, 2019 and we are at Clark home on Franklin, we’ll be interviewing Lyle Jean Brockway. Lyle was born April 15, 1924 at Vicksburg, Michigan, he served in World War II in the U.S Army Air Corps as a B-17 pilot. Lyle lives at the Clark home on Franklin, his address is 1551 Franklin Street Southeast, room 4060 or 4-06-0 Grand Rapids Michigan, 49506. (1:10) The recording is being made at the Clark home, this interview is part of the Veterans History Project at the library of Congress and is being also done in the auspices of the history department at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan and I as the interviewer my name is Wallace Erichsen and I’m a volunteer interviewer with the history department at Grand Valley State University. Well, can you give us your full name?” Lyle Jean Brockway, 4-15-24. Interviewer: “And your place of birth?” Near Vicksburg, Michigan. Interviewer: “Okay, and how do you spell your last name?” Capital B-r-o-c-k-w-a-y. Interviewer: “Very good, thank you. Let me ask you, where did you grow up or where did you go to high school, that sort of thing?” �Brockway, Lyle I grew up in rural Vicksburg, various farm settings and I went to Vicksburg High School, before that I went to a one room school Brady Number Five. Interviewer: “In Vicksburg also?” Near Vicksburg. Interviewer: “Did it have a town?” Yes, Vicksburg is a town. Interviewer: “But where the public school was where you went to school.” No, it was out in the country it’s– (3:03) Interviewer: “I see, okay.” And you walked. Interviewer: “No buses?” No buses, no– Dad didn’t have an extra car, you walked. Interviewer: “What did your father do?” He done various things, repair, carpentry, built a couple cabins, worked for a railroad manufacturing company, worked in a grain mill, and he worked for Lee Paper Company for a while. So he done various things, the greatest thing was about 1929 or 30 they rejoiced because he got a job 25 cents an hour driving truck for the Kalamazoo County Road Commission. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “And I assume he stayed with the job for a while.” Yeah, several years. Interviewer: “How many brothers and sisters did you have?” I had four sisters and one brother, three sisters deceased, one brother deceased. Interviewer: “Where were you in the birth order then?” I was number four, I had three older sisters then I came along then I had a younger brother three and a half years younger than my sister is ten years younger. Interviewer: “I see. When did you graduate from high school then?” It’d be May for ‘4– (4:59) Interviewer: “Again when did you graduate from high school in?” I graduated in May of 1942. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you do after high school?” Naturally we lived on a farm and I had a little scholarship to Michigan State, $50 a quarter. Interviewer: “So you went to East Lansing then.” East Lansing. Interviewer: “Right, do you remember what the name of Michigan State was at that time?” �Brockway, Lyle Not particularly, it was always Michigan State to me. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you study?” Agriculture. Interviewer: “Okay, and how long were you there at Michigan State?” How old? Interviewer: “How long, when did you attend?” Well I started in the fall and during the fall season President Hannah promised we would get the chance to take the written test if we want to get in the Air Force and I, farm kid, took the test, passed it, a couple months later he raised to have us go down to Mount Clemens for a physical, passed that. (6:29) I took the term exams for the fall, I had enlisted for the next term but I went in the service. Interviewer: “Was it mandatory that you go in, were you drafted into the service at that point?” No, in the process you start Michigan State’s ROTC then I enlisted reserves unassigned and then somehow I passed these tests for the Air Force and we went to went off. Interviewer: “So that ended your schooling then anyway at the end of the fall term was the end of your schooling at Michigan State.” Basically yes, right. Interviewer: “Okay.” �Brockway, Lyle After Christmas I had to report to 156 Van Buren Street, Chicago. Interviewer: “So that started your active duty then with the–” That’s where I started right there. Interviewer: “Okay, where did you go for basic training then?” Well it’s on one of those sheets but the train I got on in Chicago that night, troop train so we went over to the Mississippi and went alongside that and went down to Biloxi. Interviewer: “Okay, and that’s where you spent several months I’m assuming at basic training?” Few weeks. (8:12) Interviewer: “Just a few weeks?” Yes. Interviewer: “I see, what do you remember about your drill instructors?” Well you’re just– Interviewer: “Anything in particular?” Nothing in particular, I started and your drilling is ROTC so I had some elementary, rudimentary things picked up from ROTC. Interviewer: “So the training continued on basically from–” �Brockway, Lyle Yes. Interviewer: “Your initial ROTC instruction.” That’s one– The first time I remember fainting, you get into the service they got to give you your shots and they don’t care they might be giving you your shot in the left arm and right arm at the same time and it was right after lunch, we went out for drill and got lined up and all at once I fainted and went down in a pile and they said “You better go back and lay in your cot in the barracks and we’ll be back for supper, so that’s the first time, I fainted from all the shots. Interviewer: “It probably was fairly hot down there in Mississippi also right?” Well it wasn’t bad, see that was right in early January probably or late December. Interviewer: “Let me backup a little here Lyle, why did you join the ROTC at Michigan State?” (9:54) Because I was a boy and that’s required. Interviewer: “It was at that time?” Yes. Interviewer: “I see, so you really didn’t have much choice in that then right?” That’s right, no choice [unintelligible] Interviewer: “What did– Can you tell me about any of your experiences in– Your experiences in basic training, anything in particular that stands on your mind? Is something difficult or interesting?” �Brockway, Lyle Nothing, nothing in Biloxi there was just routine, get your shots, get your physical, get your– From your civvies into Army uniform and get ready to go and we went to classification Birmingham I think. The only thing outstanding there was they had what they called– Some trail, it was a physical education thing, a mile and six or seven tenths and you had to jog that or run it or trot it, whatever you want to call it pace. Interviewer: “Was that with your–” We were in the winter time so we got by good but later on two or three people were overcome with exhaustion and one of them died so they altered their training, outlawed that long hot trail. Interviewer: “It was a little bit more than a mile in length then is that right?” Yes. Interviewer: “So after Biloxi you went to Birmingham for classification, now does that mean you got your military special at that point or what do they do in Birmingham?” (12:12) It kind of weeded you out, whether you was gonna be a rifleman or a pilot, navigator, bombardier. Interviewer: “So you really didn’t have your military specialty until you got there.” Oh no. Interviewer: “I see, how did they determine that you would be in the Army Air Corps or as a pilot?” Well you, from this classification, you just progressed on and I think you progressed on until you failed, then you went back to something else. I mean you had your goal– �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “What were you doing though as far as you know proceeding to the next goal?” Nothing special just you’re active and you’re doing the physical training and there’s no speciality yet. Interviewer: “Was it like basic training at the same time physical and–” Yeah, basic training. Interviewer: “Okay, how long were you in Birmingham?” Two or three months. Interviewer: “Okay, so several weeks in Biloxi and then–” (13:33) About same length of time, you’d go there and you’d serve block things and then you’d move on. Interviewer: “Okay, so before you left Birmingham you knew that you would be a pilot, is that right?” No you kept going, in Birmingham you went to– Well I went to a waiting station, Elon College, North Carolina that was just a holding tank because the corps was filled ahead so that you just done your basic things, little homework and things like that. Interviewer: “Where was this in North Carolina?” Elon College. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, again that was kind of an extension of the classification training.” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay.” And then I think we went to Nashville. Interviewer: “Okay, again as part of classification [unintelligible]” Yeah. Interviewer: “Nashville, Tennessee. After Nashville where did you go then Lyle?” I don’t know, from Nashville I assume maybe we went right to Avon Park, Florida. (15:10) Interviewer: “Okay, was that for flight training there?” Started our flight training, PT-17 Stearman, same one that President– Flew– What the heck was his name? Bush! Was it Bush that got shot down over in the islands? Same type of plane, that’s what we– Interviewer: “The first President Bush?” Yeah. Interviewer: “George Bush? How long were you there doing–” Basic training I’d say three months. Interviewer: “Okay, basic flight school then right?” �Brockway, Lyle You learned the basic things, take offs, landings, turns, navigate little– Navigation, most basic maneuvers. Interviewer: “Did you have any prior flight training at all, some home training?” Negative, I’d never stepped in an airplane before. Interviewer: “I see, did you start with like the Piper Cub or–” The Stearman. Interviewer: “The Stearman, that was the first–” First one. (16:33) Interviewer: “First plane you learned in then, okay.” That picture shows the five guys that are assigned to Jefferies, he was a civilian pilot and he was to train us in it. Interviewer: “We’ll stop here to– So really again the first plane you flew was the Stearman.” The Stearman, right. Interviewer: “And so like you mentioned you did maneuvers and take offs and landings–” Yeah I just– Interviewer: “In that airplane. Did you progress to any other airplane?” �Brockway, Lyle Not there, no. Interviewer: “Not at Avon Park.” When you graduated from basic training you went to Macon, Georgia, we did. Interviewer: “Now were you commissioned at that point?” Pardon me? Interviewer: “Were you commissioned, did you receive your commission then at Avon Park? Commission is–” No, you just went there and if you graduated from there you get primary basic training and you was there you’d get variable speed propellers and flaps and wheels up and down, things like that. (17:54) Interviewer: “That was at Avon Park also?” No, no, no that’s Macon, Georgia. Interviewer: “Macon, Georgia okay. What rank were you at that point then?” Just a cadet. Interviewer: “Okay, okay what type of aircraft were you flying at Macon was it AT-6 or still the Stearman?” Yeah BT-13 I think, or did we use that number before, I forgot those numbers years past. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “How long were you in Macon Georgia then Lyle?” Oh I’d say three months, etc. Interviewer: “Okay, and again you’re still training in single engine planes at that point? The single engine airplane?” Single engine, right. Interviewer: “Okay, the BT-13 and also the Stearman too at all?” No, the Stearmans are strictly Avon Park. Interviewer: “You had graduated from that, okay. Did you have instructors flying with you on each of your missions– Or each of your training missions?” For just a period of time, he would fly with you until you was familiar with the aircraft and then– And the navigation and the rigamarole in the area and then he had you maybe go with another cadet. (19:26) Give you a little cross country from this little town to that little town to another town and back and land and– Interviewer: “So you’d have some solo time to just practice on your own or with another cadet.” You’d have flight training say in the morning and you’d have ground school in the afternoon and maybe next week you’d reverse it, you’d be in the morning and they’d be in the afternoon. Interviewer: “So that way they’d get– You would have enough aircraft to go around if they split you up to ground school and in flight training.” �Brockway, Lyle And maybe there’d be four people signed to that instructor and he’d take one up and fly with him for a while and come and land and you knew they was coming in you would get your parachute and get out there ready to train– Change so there was no lost motion. Interviewer: “Did you also fly the AT-10 at Macon, Georgia?” No, no, no. Interviewer: “That was later?” Yes, you got to go to advance to go to AT-10s. AT-10 is twin engine, twin engine advanced. Interviewer: “Okay, where did you go after Macon, Georgia then?” Columbus, Mississippi. (20:59) Interviewer: “Columbus, okay.” AT-10s. Interviewer: “That was a two person crew, a pilot and co-pilot with that aircraft?” Right, that’s what we did, yes. Interviewer: “And you also would have an instructor–” Yeah. Interviewer: “I’m assuming with you. Okay, how long were you in Columbus?” Oh nine weeks, three months, whatever it took there to get through there. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, and again you were still an aviation cadet at that point, is that right?” That’s where– When I graduated from AT-10s I got my commission there on the 15th of April, 19– Interviewer: “At age 20, on your 20th birthday is that right?” On my 20th birthday. Interviewer: “Okay so you’re commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant on your 20th birthday, April 15th, 1944. Correct. (22:07) Interviewer: “We gotta back up chronologically a little bit here Lyle, ask you about, I think what they call the civilian pilot training course where civilians were taught at local flight schools and flying a J-3 cub, you know a smaller single engine airplane, but you did have that sort of training at all?” Negative, nothing. Interviewer: “Nothing of that–” The Stearman, to the AT-10, to the– No it was the Stearman to the BT-13. Interviewer: “BT-13” To the AT-10. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “AT-10. Okay, do you remember any of your instructors, your flight instructors at any point along your flight training?” I just have the picture of the one, of Jeffries of the Stearman of basic. Interviewer: “Okay, well we’ll get to that later, maybe make a recording of that. Okay, after commissioning, where did you go?” I had three or four days to get to Pyote, Texas. Interviewer: “Okay, now were you going to like an Army air field there or Army Air Corps field Plano?” It’s a regular base, they were just short of being ready to go overseas and their copilot went in the hospital. Well they can’t hold up nine guys so here’s a good green cadet graduated, let’s get him. We went there– (23:54) Interviewer: “So you joined an existing crew then right?” Right. Interviewer: “Yeah, was there actually a name for the air base there at Plano?” Pyote? Interviewer: “Just Plano, Plano Air Base right?” Well they called it the capital– Rattlesnake capital of the Air Force now. Interviewer: “Is there an Air Force base there now in Plano?” �Brockway, Lyle Yes, yes that’s where I received my extensive training as a co-pilot. Interviewer: “Okay.” We– The second or third day I was there we were assigned to take a Major Gibson who had just completed his 25 missions, he wanted a ride back to Fort Worth. So we were the ones that was designated to take him back to Fort Worth. Interviewer: “Now was this in a B-17?” Yes, and just a few minutes after our take off and headed for Fort Worth and altitude and everything, he says to the regular pilot you better let him in there and all he’s gotta do is keep this thing on a heading and altitude and so I got my first experience of the wheel of a B-17. Interviewer: “So you were actually a pilot flying then with a major on board right?” (25:35) Right, and then as we approached Fort Worth he told me to get out of the seat and he took over the pilot seat and our ordinary pilot took over the co-pilot’s seat, we landed, and I don’t think we even stopped our engines. Major Gibson got out with his duffle bag, whatever he had, and we were cleared to go back to Pyote and we took off and went to Pyote. Now I’m a full fledged trained co-pilot, why that story is relevant is Wally’s movie and everything and the extensive training a co-pilot gets, makes me chuckle. Interviewer: “With just one flight, one landing right?” Well take off and part way to keep our own altitude and– Interviewer: “Sure.” �Brockway, Lyle Sure it’s heading, got out of there and when we took of from Fort Worth I was in the co-pilot seat, if anything had happened to the pilot I’d have been– Interviewer: “You were in charge, would’ve been in charge. So with that one flight from Plano to Fort Worth and back you were fully qualified.” That’s what they said. Interviewer: “Okay.” Fortunately I never had the occasion to put that expertise to use. Interviewer: “Well at Plano, Texas then Lyle did you do other calibration training?” That’s what we did in Pyote, flew around brand new aircraft, flew it around and checked the various instruments so if they were a problem the flight crew could get them changed. (27:40) Interviewer: “Make sure they also check fuel consumption.” Well we saved fuel consumption because we were going from Pyote to Kearney, Nebraska. Brand new B-17 and we checked out all the instruments there and they said, you know, check out your gas consumption flying from Kearney, Nebraska to Manchester, New Hampshire to see if one plane– One engine gobbles up more gas than the rest and see if it needs any adjustment or anything like that. Interviewer: “The flight to New Hampshire then was that just a flight within the U.S was that on the way to Europe?” Oh yeah you know from Kearney, Nebraska to New Hampshire and then we was there, I don’t know, three or four days, five days and we were on our way to England. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, so it wasn’t a return flight to Plano or anything like that?” No, no, no. Interviewer: “How long were you in Plano then?” What? Interviewer: “How long were you in Plano, Texas before departing from Europe?” We was just a short time in Pyote, Texas then we went to Kearney, Nebraska we was there probably– Maybe two or three weeks? I don’t know. Interviewer: “Did you fly elsewhere around the U.S?” (29:25) Just from Kearney, Nebraska around, getting used to the aircraft and flight instruments. Interviewer: “Okay, and then from New Hampshire you flew over the Atlantic.” Well we went to– I think we went to Iceland and then we made one other stop but I don’t know where. Interviewer: “Would that have been in Ireland at all?” I don’t know, I don’t have the least recollection but the next one was Kearney, Nebraska– I mean Kimbolton. Interviewer: “Kimbolton, that’s RAF Kimbolton in the U.K.” England. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Now was that near Bedford, England, Kimbolton?” 60 miles north of London, I don’t know where Bedford is. Interviewer: “Okay, how many other airplanes were there at Kimbolton or how many– Was it a squat part of the squadron?” Well it was the 379th Bomb Group, that’s where we were headquartered. Interviewer: “I’m sorry what was the name of the bomb– Number of the bomb group?” 379th bomb group. Interviewer: “Okay.” Then about four aircraft per squadron, then we had– One, two, three, four, about four we’d fly out of there with, about four squadrons. (31:05) Interviewer: “Okay, so the four squadrons made a group then, is that right?” Well that made one element of the group. Interviewer: “Oh, I see.” Just up the road a ways is another aircraft, Moultrie which was another fully equipped B-17 field. Interviewer: “Mhmm, similar– About similar in size then to Kimbolton where Moultrie was?” What? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Moultrie was about the same size–” Oh yeah. Interviewer: “As Kimbolton.” No contact with them except when you might have to take off and gain altitude in a cloud cover and you’d be circling the air base with your instruments and then all at once you feel a violent interruption– Disturbance in the air and you know someone just passed through there, fortunately no one tried to pass at the same time. Interviewer: “If they were there at the same time you were it’d be a little more than just a little bit of turbulence, you’d have little aluminum flying around. When did you arrive then at– Remember roughly when you arrived at Kimbolton?” No I don’t but we can look at the list of missions and I was probably there two, three days before we flew the first mission. (32:49) Yeah, Interviewer: “Okay Lyle you arrived in England and two or three days later you were scheduled for a mission.” 7-16-44 was the first one. Interviewer: “Where did you go on that mission?” Munich it says, Munich, Germany, nine hours and ten minutes. Interviewer: “And again you were a co-pilot on that mission, is that right?” Yes, I was a co-pilot, I never flew a mission as first pilot. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Oh, I see.” We never had any incidents, never needed. Interviewer: “So you’re a 2nd lieutenant then you eventually got promoted to 1st lieutenant.” Yeah, somewhere along the line, I don’t know where. Interviewer: “But you remained a co-pilot though even after that. Okay, how many missions would you fly in a week? You didn’t fly every day did you?” Sometimes we did, like July we flew six– July 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20, and 21. So that would be daily, that would be six, then we got four days off 21 to 25, then we got three days off to the 28th, and then eight– Three, four, five, six, seven, eight they were consecutive missions. (34:30) Interviewer: “Now each of these missions was over Germany, is that right?” Well depending– Let me see, all those were. Interviewer: “How many hours average were the missions then, I mean were they eight, nine hours or more or less?” I don’t know the average but the 35 missions would equal out to 254 hours. Interviewer: “And this was between July 16th and October 19th, 1944 right?” Yes, October 19th. Interviewer: “Lyle is referring to his listed missions that the operations officer at the time gave to you and the other crew members right?” �Brockway, Lyle Pardon me? Interviewer: “That’s the list of missions– Or tour of operations is the subject line dated October 19, 1944 listing 35 missions.” First one is so and so and the last 35th one is so and so. Interviewer: “On October 19, ‘44. The average is six, seven, eight hours, here’s one to Orleans, France five and a half hours.” Yeah that’s just across the channel. Interviewer: “One of the shorter ones. There’s Caen, France, Rouen, France which is basically over the channel. Now you mentioned the most of your missions were some what uneventful, your navigator got you over the target and–” (36:24) Yeah. Interviewer: “The bombardier–” We never was really assaulted by Messerschmitt wolfpack. Interviewer: “Did you encounter flak very often?” Flak? Practically every time [overlapping chatter] A few there in France when they was liberating that area, they didn’t have time to set their flak guns up, the 3rd Army was wiping them off. Interviewer: “Now you mentioned at one point the flak got pretty close to your airplane right?” �Brockway, Lyle What? Interviewer: “At one point flak got pretty close and actually damaged your aircraft wing.” Yeah, well one time one of the pieces of flak shot up and come right through the wing, fortunately it did not hit a gas tank or a structural member of the wing so all we done is fly with a damaged air foil, hole in the wing. Interviewer: “How big was the hole in the wing, about as big as a desk or a table?” Yeah, about one and half times a cushion of them chairs. Interviewer: “So maybe four feet square, something like that?” I wouldn’t say four feet, three foot. (37:47) Interviewer: “Three foot square?” Say two and a half to three feet. Interviewer: “Okay, and again as you mentioned it didn’t hit a structural member or a gas tank, it didn’t hurt the engine or anything at all.” No, just went through and ruined that airfoil wings, create a rough pattern around that torn wing. Interviewer: “So the wing kind of dropped a little bit probably?” No not the wing, no just the air going over it because that’s the wing of stable. Interviewer: “So you’d have some drag going on that side.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, you have to put it opposite rudder. So what– Okay you have a hole in the wing, what did you– What did you do then, where did you go?” Well the 3rd Army had just taken over the Brussels area and so the airfield was ready for use and rather than chance it in the English channel we headed for the airfield there. Interviewer: “At Brussels?” Yes. Interviewer: “So you landed there at [unintelligible] with a damaged wing.” Yeah, successful. (39:05) Interviewer: “Yeah.” Successful landing– Interviewer: “Let me ask you, did you have– Did you use radios like radio control, did you have a control tower that you called or anything like that?” Well evidently we had control contact with the Brussels towers. Interviewer: “But generally you operated under radio silence I assume.” Silence right, yeah you didn’t talk much. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “But I assumed you would’ve had maps or whatever would’ve shown where the airfield was and probably the frequency of the control tower.” Navigator, bombardier would have maps and have that all down. Interviewer: “I see, so you successfully landed, how long did you spend in Brussels at the airfield there?” Well we landed and then we went through interrogation and supper and was assigned a sleeping quarters and next day about noon they said C-54 will be in not long after a while and pick you up and take you back to England. Interviewer: “C-54 or C-37?” (40:13) C-47, just a passenger plane. Interviewer: “DC-3.” Yeah there you go DC-3. Interviewer: “Yeah, okay so you got a free ride, I say free ride, got passenger ride back to England.” Yes. Interviewer: “Back to– They take you right back to Kimbolton then?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, what happened then did your commanding officer get mad at you for ruining the wing?” �Brockway, Lyle No, we just got the night off and went flying the next day. Interviewer: “Got a new airplane.” Well a different airplane yeah. Interviewer: “Different airplane. Okay, so next day you had another mission there to fly.” Yeah. Interviewer: “Do you remember what mission that was where you got the hole in the wing?” I can’t– I’m looking at it and I can’t tell which one. (41:10) Interviewer: “Okay, when was the only time you didn’t get back to Kimbolton?” That was the only time, when that bomb went off in the wing– Or that aircraft went off in the wing it was the only time we didn’t return to Kimbolton from a mission. Interviewer: “What was interesting about the Peter Monday [Peenemunde] mission?” Well the length of it and then the route going over the North Sea and north of Kiel– Keeve, is it Kiel or Keeve? [it’s Kiel] We went north of there and crossed a little piece of land and back down to the Black [Baltic] Sea and the thing that makes you stick out and the thing that makes you stick out in our mind is the converter burning out, creating smoke in a cockpit. Interviewer: “Just smoke not flame though right?” No, never flame. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “No burning.” Electrical apparatus. Interviewer: “Where was your flight engineer at that time when you noticed the smoke?” Where was he? Interviewer: “Where was the flight engineer?” Who or where? Interviewer: “No, where was he in the airplane?” In the ball turret. (42:30) Interviewer: “Down below in the–” Yeah, yeah he was a shorter compact little guy and he frequently got in the ball turret and traded with the other guy to be upstairs gunner. Interviewer: “Was he able to get the diverter?” Well he just cut it loose like you would and he sat there. Interviewer: “So they literally snip the wires then is that what you mean?” Yeah I think that’s what he did. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, the mission to Peter Monday what shortage– What was the target on that mission, do you recall?” Well that’d be the buzz bomb, Peter Monday [Peenemunde] that’s why we went up there to get the buzz bomb shot. Interviewer: “The V2 plant, buzz bomb plant. Okay, any other missions you particularly recall were of interest?” Basically routine. Interviewer: “Did you ever lose an engine or have an engine shut down?” No, we never had to feather an engine and come in. Interviewer: “Yeah, well at least you had four of them.” (43:47) Four, they had excellent excellent ground crew so that aircraft was ready to go in the morning and when we landed they wanted a report and they got right on if there was any repair and that plane was generally ready for the next day. Interviewer: “Let me ask you, now your ground crew how many members would be on the ground crew, would that vary?” I would guess around five, maybe six. Interviewer: “Okay, and how many crew members did you have in the aircraft?” I think we had a full complement of ten. Interviewer: “Ten? Would be pilot, co-pilot–” �Brockway, Lyle Engineer, pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, engineer, radio operator, tail gunner and two side gunners. Interviewer: “Waist gunners, is that what they call them?” Yeah. Interviewer: “And then a ball turret and then did you have a top turret?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well the commissioned officers then would be the pilot, co-pilot–” Navigator, and bombardier. (44:58) Interviewer: “So we’d have just four commissioned officers on board?” Right. Interviewer: “And the rest were enlisted–” Noncommissioned. Interviewer: “Crew members. Okay, let me ask you what was the unit you were with, the squadron number and bomb group?” 379th bomb group, 526 squadron. Interviewer: “526?” �Brockway, Lyle 526. Interviewer: “Okay, how many– You had four airplanes in a squadron?” Yes I think that was it. Interviewer: “Okay, even your squadron then was– Well even in your bomb group but I would say squadrons roughly the size of like an infantry company I assume as far as the number of personnel.” Well I think we had a lead and a right and a left and a low. Interviewer: “Did you have any casualties among your squadron?” Not that I’m aware of. (46:18) Interviewer: “Okay, no aircraft were lost or people had to bail out?” No, we brought them back, nobody bailed out. Interviewer: “Okay, and you had mentioned earlier that you had never encountered any Messerschmitts or German fighters or anything like that.” No, we never had a direct attack by the German aircraft. Interviewer: “Okay, a couple of other kinds of perfunctory questions here Lyle, were you ever wounded in combat?” Negative. Interviewer: “Were you ever taken prisoner?” �Brockway, Lyle Negative. Interviewer: “Okay, did– Well let me ask you this, did your turret gunners or tail gunner or anything like that, did they ever have to fire at the enemy, do you recall?” Not that I’m aware of. Interviewer: “Okay, yeah if you didn’t have Messerschmitts coming at you–” No. Interviewer: “Probably not.” We were a replacement crew so the heavy fighting had been already completed out over Germany. (47:45) Interviewer: “I see. Were you awarded any individual medals or citations?” Well Air Force medal, things like that had practically all the crew that was on it, consistently received the Air Medal and Bronze Star and a good, whatever the other one was. Interviewer: “The award was the Distinguished Flying Cross right?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Now did that go to all members of the crew or was that specifically awarded to you?” I think if you flew all those missions you got the award. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay.” I think– Interviewer: “But to be awarded a– Like the Bronze Star that would be for an individual.” That– We didn’t get any bronze stars. Interviewer: “Okay, so basically just Distinguished Flying Cross to keep your airplane and crew safe and complete the missions and return.” At Avon Park they told us if anything went wrong to take our feet off the rudder and let loose of the aileron and sit back, the little plane will ride itself and we had one case for one cadet, did practicing spins solo and for some reason he got excited and bailed out and the plane righted itself and flew out to the Atlantic. (49:35) Then the basic training at Macon the biggest thing we was practicing night take off and landings and we were lined up to clear the runway and go and all at once over the top of us comes a big ‘ole C-47 with a plane that kind of lost his way and he was supposed to go to a neighboring field. Interviewer: “So the aircraft landed over the top of you right?” Well we were just about ready to give it our gas and go down a highway– Runway and he was right on top of us, if we had simultaneously give it the gas to go we’d have been right under him, squashed. I can’t remember anything happening exciting, it advanced AT-10s, that was just getting used to twin engines dual controls a few things like that. Interviewer: “I’m assuming an instructor would like pull the throttle back on one of the engines.” Yeah. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “You had to identify which engine was out and–” Yeah. Interviewer: “He’d correct you.” Yeah, he’d be going along and all at once something’s wrong and you started looking around and– You reach down quickly turn that back on. Interviewer: “Okay, let me ask you a little bit about life in the Army Air Corps, for instance how did you keep in touch with your family?” Well back then my folks didn’t even have a phone, you had to just postal, write a letter, write a card, Interviewer: “Okay, did you use what they called “v-mail” where they took a photograph of your mail?” (51:38) I don’t recall having v-mail. Interviewer: “Okay, so you sent letters and you got letters from your family?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, what was the food like in the Army Air Corps?” As I recall, for me it was very adequate. Interviewer: “Okay, did you have a regular mess hall then for each squadron did they have one for the group?” �Brockway, Lyle Oh yeah, you had a regular place to go eat and time. Interviewer: “What were your quarters like then, your living quarters there Lyle at Kimbolton?” Oh I think they were just a quonset hut. Interviewer: “Was it a quonset hut or a nissen hut?” Assigned different beds, different little areas, you had your own bed and you had a place to put your personal items and change of clothes and that was it. Interviewer: “Do they call it a nissen hut or a quonset hut?” Well we all just called it a quonset hut. (52:50) Interviewer: “Did you have adequate supplies as far as ammunition I guess, bombs?” Far as I know. Far as I know we had plenty of everything. Interviewer: “Okay, did you feel any pressure or stress like before or during the missions or even between missions?” No, I didn’t personally, just it was a great experience, things that was happening and you was just a part of it and you’d go to bed at night and they’d wake you up in the morning and your assignment for today is and you’d go and complete that and come back and have your meal and go to bed and they’d come and call you in the morning if you was going to go. Interviewer: “Let me ask you about these missions, a lot of them are– Many are eight, nine hours and that kind of thing, what time of day would you– What time in the morning would you get up for instance for a long mission like that.” �Brockway, Lyle Oh seemed like to me anywhere from two to six, two o’clock in the morning till six. Interviewer: “0200 to 0600 up then, and then would you have a meal right away– I mean your breakfast right away and then have meteorology briefing?” Well it was the breakfast is so and so, interrogation is so and so, and– Interviewer: “Now you mention the word interrogation, do you mean briefing are they debriefing you on the mission?” Yeah, briefing is– Interviewer: “Okay, the briefing would be–” [unintelligible] And your whole squadron would be there and everybody would know who was leading, who was flight, and where your position was in the flight formation and– (54:47) Interviewer: “Would that be the first time at the briefing, the first time they would tell you where the mission was or did you know that in advance?” No, that would be the closest to any information of where you was going and if it was a particularly known anti-aircraft stuff like that there’d be a moan going across that room when they said we were going to this area. Interviewer: “I assume at the same time you’d be briefed as to the weather, meteorology.” Oh yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well was there anything you did specifically for good luck, you know before your missions, after the missions, whatever?” �Brockway, Lyle I’m not aware of any, you just had confidence in your other crew member, fortunately our first pilot on the majority of our missions was very good. Straight guy, never come in drunk or didn’t smoke and all that sort of stuff so very dependable. Interviewer: “So you could count on him then.” Yeah, after the war he said– Talking about it and he said “Well I prayed for you all the time.” Interviewer: “Let’s see, did you have any of like entertainment there at your air base? Did you have like USO shows come through or anything like that?” I only recall one, one or two USO shows, one of them the next morning was a disaster because evidently someone imbibed it too heavy and one of the gals, a British gal, got thrown into a cesspool and they were trying to weed out who could find her. That’s blinking, is it supposed to blink? (57:05) Interviewer: “I think it’s getting toward the end of the tape.” Good? Interviewer: “You said the MPs were looking for suspects?” Suspects, yeah you should’ve been there you could’ve got a job. Interviewer: “Did you do anything to entertain yourselves– Among yourselves?” Pardon me? Interviewer: “I mean did you do anything to entertain yourselves as crewman, I mean did you play basketball or–” �Brockway, Lyle Well you always had the card games going, now and then some of them– A very small majority that I know of, had dice but I never got involved in any of those. Interviewer: “Did you get a chance to go on leave, like R&R like to London or any other cities?” We went down to London and we had a three day leave. Interviewer: “How often were you able to do that?” I recall only once. Interviewer: “Okay, and that was after the main part of the blitz then is that right? In London, was London being bombed at the time by Germany?” (58:23) Oh that was– That really calmed down by then. Interviewer: “Oh yeah, did you– Were you able to do any other travel while you were in England?” I didn’t, no and I’m not aware our crew did. Interviewer: “Your missions end here in– Well that last one was October 19th, 1944. What happened after that, did you fly back to the United States?” Well you went through the necessary paperwork, I was on a boat– Ship. Interviewer: “Came back by ship, I see. Remember the name of the ship you were on?” No I do not. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay, where did you come ashore then in the United States, where’d you come into port?” Well I figure on Staten Island, somewhere along there. Interviewer: “So New York and that was after 35 missions, was that the number of missions you needed before you could come back to the United States?” 35 was your tour duty. Interviewer: “I see, so they didn’t extend you I mean you didn’t get to 32 or 33 missions and–” I suppose you could volunteer for extra, that would be where that case was, the goal was 35 missions and you was done and this captain come around with the enticement if you sign on for, as I recall, ten more missions or more missions he said “I’ll see that you get promoted to captain.” (59:55) Well after going through that no big problem why should I stick my neck out for ten more missions? Interviewer: “And I assume if you’d made captain you would have been the aircraft commander then is that right?” Probably yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, so you declined that specific offer. Yeah, what did you do when you got back to the United States, what kind of assignment did you have then?” Well went to California for assignment and then went to the training command. Interviewer: “Where did you go in California, what city?” �Brockway, Lyle Just south of Burbank, Santa Ana. Interviewer: “So this is the beginning of tape two in the interview of Lyle Brockway for the Veteran History Project interview being recorded on August 7, 2019. Lyle let me ask you during your time particularly in England and you know, I suppose flying over Germany and France, did you take any photographs during your tour duty?” I never had a camera, I never took one, I didn’t keep a log like somebody did. Interviewer: “Okay, no photos and shouldn’t have kept– Did you keep a log book then of your flying time?” I didn’t, no. Interviewer: “I see.” (1:02:00) Our radio operator had a log of everything. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” He was just that type of guy. Interviewer: “What did you think of your fellow officers and soldiers or airmen that you flew with as far as their ability as crewmen?” Well our– That would be influenced by your interactions and I had a first rate pilot strong and he flew all those missions and he was still a 1st lieutenant and the navigator he was good at his profession but I don’t know otherwise and then towards the end they started putting an extra gunner in the front and taking the navigator out unless you were a lead aircraft. So the actual contact with the other personnel I thought was very satisfactory all the way. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “So you and the enlisted members that were the waist gunner and ball gunner and tail gunner that’s your thing. Yeah they’ve done their signed duty and that’s all you really can ask. Interviewer: “Did your aircraft have a nose gun installed?” Yeah, we had a nose gun. Interviewer: “Okay, was that normally manned by the navigator or engineer?” Well the guns in front were generally bombardier and navigator handled those. Interviewer: “I see.” (1:03:44) Until later on when things got less hectic, then they replaced the navigator or could replace the bombardier but if you’re gonna do a group bombing all you gotta do is have someone to coordinate, open the bomb doors, and drop them out. Interviewer: “Was the bombardier and the navigator, was that one position or two positions?” Two positions. Interviewer: “I see, okay. Okay you’re back in California you mentioned you know after arriving back in the U.S. Were you at a training command at that point, where you were doing training?” Well California was just reassignment there under a very short space of time. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Oh I see.” Go there, check in, stall around for a few days and get your papers to go back to Macon, Georgia, come in at Staten Island, go to Santa Ana, California and get reassigned to Macon, Georgia. Interviewer: “What did you do in Macon then on the second tour of Macon.” Well I started in the training command and was there a few days and then I got sent down to Waco, Texas for contact flying instructor. Interviewer: “Contact flying?” Contact, no instrument, no hoods, no anything like that just contact so you– Interviewer: Visualize.” (1:05:21) Visual yeah, you could take a cadet out and fly around with him. Interviewer: “Were you at McConnell Air Force Base in Waco? [unintelligible]” Name, I don’t– The name don’t sound familiar, all I knew was Waco. Interviewer: “So you’re at Waco, Texas, how long did you spend there in Waco?” About nine weeks. Interviewer: “I see, okay and you’re an instructor then for contact visual.” �Brockway, Lyle Then I– Yeah instructor I go into training command and give instructions and I just got back in good shape, two or three weeks and I signed to go to Bryan, Texas for instrument flying instructor. Interviewer: “Now was the multi engine instrument or were you–” Well they did pull the hood down over the guy’s face and he’d have to do various things relying on the instruments in the aircraft. Interviewer: “How long were you Bryan then?” About nine weeks I guess. Interviewer: “About nine weeks. Okay, where did you go after that then?” I don’t really know where I went but it was the Air Transport Command. Interviewer: “I’m sorry, Air Transport Command you said?” (1:06:47) Air Transport, yeah. Interviewer: “I see.” And like I went to Walnut Ridge, I went down to Savanna and got a P-47 and flew it to Walnut Ridge in Arkansas and then we took a PQ– No, ugly duckling aircraft C, I was assigned co-pilot on that flight we went from Miami to L.A with an old civilian seasoned pilot that knew all about that aircraft and– Interviewer: “So what kind of aircraft was that?” I can’t think of it. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Okay I’m sorry what kind of aircraft?” PBY. Interviewer: “The Catalina?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Made by Consolidated Aircraft?” Yeah. Interviewer: “Yeah, you flew that from Miami you said to Los Angeles?” Yeah, we stopped in New Orleans and somewhere else and we flew PQ-14s from various little fields up to Oklahoma City for storage and then I was called in to be relieved of duty. Interviewer: “That’s the end of your term of service for the Army Air Corps then?” (1:08:34) Yeah that’s it. Interviewer: “Okay, when was that then that you were discharged?” Oh about November of– ‘41, ‘42 I guess, it’s on one of them sheets. Interviewer: “Well then about November ‘45 after V-J day that you were discharged.” Yeah. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “About in there. Okay, and then I’m assuming you returned back to Kalamazoo or Vicksburg is that right?” Yeah, went home. Interviewer: “Okay, what did you do when you initially got home then Lyle?” Well not– Didn’t do anything right away till I got interested in a young lady, then I had money– Had to have money for dates and I got– Knocked on doors and got a job at Consumers Power. Interviewer: “Did you go back to college at all?” No, no I did not. Interviewer: “Okay, so several months later you came on with Consumers Power?” Consumers Power. Interviewer: “Okay, and that turned out to be your lifelong occupation right?” (1:09:55) There it was and I kept going up the ladder, there was no use going to college, I couldn’t have bettered myself by going to college. I was getting a daily, weekly, whatever you want to say salary and promotions and all the good stuff that long term employment. Interviewer: “What was your position initially then with Consumers Power?” Initially? Interviewer: “Yeah, initially.” Ground man. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Ground man or–” Ground man, you dug the holes, put the poles in, set the anchors down, helped load the truck, and do everything but climb the poles and drive. Then I got to be a truck driver and then you got to be a truck driver– What’d they call it, I forget what the next classification was anyway you could use the winch line. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” Before you couldn’t use the winch line because you was just a truck driver, and then went to B lineman which is you done all the below things and worked with low voltage, up to 480 volts. Interviewer: “What did the B stand for?” Just you were– You weren’t the top lineman so you was a B, at one place at one time they had what they call C linemen and you’d go out and build lines– Not energized, didn’t have to. B linemen could work on those things like come to the house and different things like that. (1:11:50) Interviewer: “How many years did you have with Consumers Power, which became Consumers Energy right?” Get out in ‘48 or ‘49? Oh roughly, I don’t know 40 years. Interviewer: “40 years? Okay, what year did you retire?” ‘83 I think. Interviewer: “I’m sorry, ‘83?” �Brockway, Lyle ‘83. Interviewer: “1983, okay about 40 years or so. What was your final position then with Consumers Power?” I was a district superintendent stationed in Cadillac, Michigan, got charged with the maintenance and construction of electrical equipment in Cadillac, Claire, Prudenville, and– Cadillac… I guess I need a state map I’m forgetting these things, Cadillac– Interviewer: “Well that’s alright, what were some of your other duty stations, you mentioned you’re in Traverse City and what other duty stations were you in with Consumers Power throughout the state?” Well, Kalamazoo, Flint, Manistee, Traverse City, and Cadillac. Interviewer: “Now you mentioned earlier just briefly that you came back, got out of the Army Air Corps and you said you met a young lady, when were you married then?” (1:14:08) July 5th about ‘40– I don’t know, ‘47? Interviewer: “1947, okay.” Something like that. Interviewer: “What was your wife’s name then?” My wife’s name is Roberta Mae. Interviewer: “M-A-E?” �Brockway, Lyle M-A-E. Interviewer: “Okay, Brockway then right. Yeah, and then she’s still living in your family home, is that right?” She and her first husband started building that house in 1953, moved in in 1954. Interviewer: “Here in Grand Rapids?” Right, he died later on with cancer and she was a single widowed lady for about five to six years, I came along in 22–23 years ago, that’d be 23 years ago. Interviewer: “Your first wife’s name?” Maria M-A-R-I-A-M. Interviewer: “M-A-R-I-A-M?” (1:15:45) M-A-R-I-A middle initial M. Interviewer: “Okay, Maria M. Brockway. Okay, and how many children did you have?” We had five. Interviewer: “Okay Lyle, how many children did you and Maria have?” We had four, Kenneth, Robert, Michael, and Ann. Interviewer: “Okay, and how many grandchildren do you have?” Kenneth has two, Robert has two, Michael has four, and Ann has two. Ten? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “We can do the math. Okay, life after the service to back up a little bit you told me you did not return to college because you really didn’t need it with Consumers Energy.” I got a job for 87 and a half cents an hour. Interviewer: “That’s big money at that time right?” Absolutely, when you’re worried about a pair of shoes for the kids and then you’d stand by, the phone would ring “Hey can you come into work? We got a transformer that burnt out.” Or car hit a pole or– So you’d go in, get a little overtime and then all at once on the paycheck day you had the money for the shoes. Interviewer: “Did you make any close friends when you were in the service, people you would’ve stayed in touch with after?” (1:17:52) The only one I would– Till Strom died, Robert Strom in St.Paul Minnesota, he was a pilot. Interviewer: “His last name is Strong?” Strom S-T-R-O-M, and the other one was Barney Willis– Willis, Barney radio operator Bath, New York. Interviewer: “Okay I’m sorry, Willis is his last name?” Barney B-A-R-N-E-Y, now he might have just died on me, I don’t know I haven’t heard from him. I should try to call him up but this rigamarole of getting exiled over here to his Clark home is– Interviewer: “So Robert Strom then was your–” �Brockway, Lyle Pilot, 1st pilot. Interviewer: “Pilot in command then during the time that you were over there. Okay and Willis is also in your crew is that right?” He was a radio operator. Interviewer: “Yeah, you kept in touch with him then throughout the years?” Yeah well there was a period of time then that we had to go to Colorado Springs, my boy and wife were gonna go or a 20th anniversary or something, Hawaiian Islands, and grandpa and grandma went out to babysit and then we, while we was there somehow we got in touch with a retiree and he got us the numbers and we got going to the 379th bomb group reunion group and I went down– Went to a few of their reunions. (1:19:44) Interviewer: How many– I mean several reunions you went to?” San Antonio, and Indianapolis, and a few more I can’t think of, few more. Interviewer: “Did you join any veterans organizations after the war?” Negative. Interviewer: “Let me just ask you Lyle, how did your experiences in the service affect your life after the war and you know you’re thinking of the military and military service in general?” How did my military service affect my civilian life? �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “Well civilian life and also your views of the military and military service in general?” Which one is having the effect, work or military? Interviewer: “Well either or.” Well I don’t know the effect of any of it, you was born and raised from your home background, you’re taught to work, honesty, beyond time and all those things and you use them right on through all your years of labor. You’re there in the morning with your lunch pail eight o’clock, and cooperate as much as you could and– Interviewer: “Did it affect your views of war at all, I mean just generally your views of war, you know the wars we went through later in Korea, Vietnam, or you know even the Persian Gulf?” I don’t think we’ve ever discussed anything like that, it was just an experience and this farm boy was just another farm boy and his number, if I hadn’t have been in the B-17 I’d have in the infantry or been here or there, just like other young unmarried 20 year olds. (1:22:08) Interviewer: “I think you’re saying basically where you were needed.” Where we were– Yeah. Interviewer: “Okay, well is there anything else you would like to cover or talk about before we conclude the interview?” I guess not, we’ve covered families and we’ve covered work and we covered the uneventful military thing, 25– 35 missions and things exploding in the wing for excitement where people had– Were– They– That’s the same as being shot at in the ground. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “That’s right.” Except they didn’t have them to hit our aircraft and– Interviewer: “You really did have a puncture wound.” You just got up in the morning and you didn’t have any choice, you got up in the morning and went again. Interviewer: “Okay, hey Lyle what is this document then? It says it’s an Army of the United States separation qualification record. I don’t want to move it, I just want to leave it.” Well I can’t see it, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Interviewer: “So this document then shows your– The type of qualifications you had as far as a multi engine pilot, B-17 pilot, and also well single engine aircraft pilot and aircraft maintenance officer then, and this is page two of your separation qualification record. (1:24:10) It shows your various duty assignments throughout your time in the Army Air Corps. Now this document is from the operations officer and it shows your list of missions, 35 missions over Germany and France between July 16, 1944 and October 19, 1944. Total of 35 missions, 254 hours 40 minutes. Lyle this appears to be a newspaper article when you were awarded the Distinguished Flying Crosses right?” Yes. Interviewer: “Was this from the local newspaper in Kalamazoo?” Yes, I believe it. �Brockway, Lyle Interviewer: “I see, and you mentioned earlier that this, this Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded to all the crew members is that right?” More or less, as far as I know. Interviewer: “Okay, and Lyle you mentioned this photograph was taken at Avon Park, Florida. What kind of aircraft is this in the background?” That’s a Stearman. Interviewer: “Stearman.” Biplane. Interviewer: “Okay, and this is you is that right?” That’s right, instructor is the little guy. Interviewer: “And these are other cadets then?” (1:25:50) The third one in from my side is the instructor, Jeffries. Interviewer: “I see.” So he had five kids, five young guys to teach. Interviewer: “And everybody else including yourself were cadets at that point.” Yeah, yep. Interviewer: “And this photograph you said is your crew.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah, B-17 crew. Interviewer: “And this is you, is that right Lyle?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, this is your pilot.” Pilot. Interviewer: “What was his name?” Robert Strom. Interviewer: “Strom.” St.Paul. Interviewer: “Any other members you recall specifically?” (1:26:37) Well I know on the left Louie Ness and then the next guy was Marty Neilson but outside of that picture he was in the hospital, he didn’t go with us. Interviewer: “I see.” The other guys did. Interviewer: “This is the reverse of the photograph of your crew in front of your B-17 with the names listed.” �Brockway, Lyle Yeah. I got a book home or I did have before– Interviewer: “Okay, here are some photographs of you in training, is this you in the cockpit?” Yes. Interviewer: “Okay, and a trainer single engine training aircraft, and this is after commissioning?” That’s returning from overseas. Interviewer: “Oh I see.” That’s when I was assigned to Santa Ana for that short space. Interviewer: “And that’s your B-17 and Brussels. (1:27:46) Yep. Interviewer: “With a hole in the wing.” Right. Interviewer: “And a little bit of, it looks like scrap metal above and below it after being shot with flak.” Right. Interviewer: “We’ve been interviewing Lyle Brockway as a Veterans History Project interview, Lyle served in the U.S Army Air Corps during World War II as a B-17 pilot �Brockway, Lyle over Europe during the latter part of the war. Lyle I want to thank you for your participation in the Veterans History Project which is being put together also by the history department at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan. I thank you for your participation and also thank you for your service during World War II. �Brockway, Lyle � 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 BrockwayL2335V Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brockway, Lyle Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019-08 Title A name given to the resource Brockway, Lyle (Interview transcript and video), 2019 Description An account of the resource Lyle Brockway was born near Vicksburg, Michigan in 1924 and graduated from high school in May of 1942. After graduating high school, Brockway attended Michigan State to study agriculture and was enlisted in ROTC. During his first fall semester, he enlisted in the Air Force. Lyle went to basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi that fall after which he went to Birmingham, Alabama for classification for several weeks, and then left to attend Elon College in North Carolina as an extension of his classification training. Following North Carolina, Brockway made a brief stop in Nashville, Tennessee and then continued to Avon Park, Florida for flight training on the PT-17 Stearman. He then went to Macon, Georgia to receive training on the BT-13, and then to Columbus, Mississippi to receive training on the AT-10s and receive his commission. Brockway was then sent to Pyote, Texas to receive extensive training as a co-pilot, from that base Brockway made several flights around the United States and then flew to Kimbolton in Europe as part of the 379th bomb group. From Kimbolton, Brockway flew 35 missions over Germany during which he made a brief landing in Brussels, Germany after a piece of flak pierced the wing of his aircraft. After returning to Kimbolton for most of his missions, Brockway returned to Staten Island in the U.S. by ship. Brockway was sent to Santa Ana, California for reassignment, briefly assigned again to Macon, Georgia, and then assigned to Waco, Texas to be a contact flying instructor. Following Waco, Brockway was sent to Air Transport Command where he was discharged in November of 1945. After service Brockway was employed by Consumers Power as a ground man and spent 40 years there receiving various promotions. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace J. (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States—History, Military Veterans Video recordings Afghan War, 2001-2021—Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401. Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7d67bc24aa2e4c65b2bb9e273879dee8.mp4 0f4472dcc106a3f6d70ff86065400ec8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/91a250f36734fa6ccf55eb40eb7ac0d7.pdf 5c4393a50db841a6244e7118ac1ff428 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Craig Brodie Cold War, Vietnam War 1 hour 25 minutes 10 seconds (00:00:35) Early Life -Born in Plattsburgh, New York in August of 1941 -Father was an insurance adjuster for GM -He enlisted in the Army to fight in WWII -Moved to mother’s hometown Newtown, Connecticut while father fought -Grew up in Newtown, Connecticut (00:01:19) College & ROTC -Attended the University of Vermont -Joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps -Two years were mandatory, stayed on for voluntary four years -Graduated from college on June 9, 1963 -Got commissioned by the Army on the same day -First two years of ROTC consisted of marching and classwork -Second two years of ROTC was more based on leadership -Got to lead a training platoon -Executive officer of his corps during his senior year -Had one summer camp at Fort Devens, Massachusetts -Very similar experience to boot camp (00:04:16) Armored Officer Training -Went to New Jersey to meet with his brother -Brother was a warrant officer -Got him (Craig) his first uniforms for training -From New Jersey went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for Armored Officer Basic School -Being around a tank for the first time was stunning -Training consisted of two primary focuses -How to properly fight with, and against, tanks -Physical conditioning -Ran three to four miles every morning -Last training course was a combination of physical and academic endurance -Adjusted quickly and easily to military living -Training lasted five months -Had very little downtime in those five months -Spent most of their time in the classroom or in the field -Had been trained by other officers -First day there had to teach a class on fire prevention (00:07:14) Deployment to Germany -Went to Brooklyn Naval Yard -Boarded the Rose (a troop transport) that was bound for Germany -While en route he placed was in charge of educating other soldiers about Germany �-Had to create a lesson plan that was approved by a colonel (00:08:51) Serving in Germany -Arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany -Greeted by a band -Got assigned to be the train commander -In charge of maintaining order and discipline en route to deployment -Went to Heidelberg, Germany -Got assigned to the 4th Medium Tank Battalion 68th Armored Regiment -First day there they went into the field for training maneuvers -Got put in charge of a tank platoon -Used M60 tanks -Listened to experienced soldiers on how to properly command -By now it was early 1964 -Large number of drills dealt with repelling a Russian invasion -Wanted to be prepared for any eventuality (00:13:26) German Civilians -Visited Mannheim, Germany fairly often -Treated very well by the Germans there -Later was able to move in with a German family -Knew very little German -Eventually learned some basic phrases -Most Germans that lived around bases picked up some English (00:14:53) Leaving Germany -Stayed in Germany until 1966 -Had been reassigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Cavalry -Patrolled the East/West German border -Focused on possible invasion routes -Worked in conjunction with the West German military -Good morale in Germany -Units were being drawn out for redeployment to Vietnam -Met the woman he would marry while in Germany -They got married in April of 1966 -In June 1966 he received orders to return to the United States (00:18:43) Aberdeen Proving Ground -Assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland -Became an original member of the Officer Candidate School Brigade -New duty was to train soldiers about maintenance and supplies -Still worked with vehicles -Also was placed in charge of record keeping -Worked there for two years as a teacher -While at Aberdeen he was promoted to captain -Did not plan on becoming a career soldier -Not many jobs in the civilian world though (00:22:13) Deployment to Vietnam -Wanted to go to Vietnam -Wanted to prove his merit as an officer �-Received orders to leave for Vietnam in the fall of 1968 -Found out that his wife was pregnant two days before he left -Flew to California and took a TWA chartered flight out of Travis Air Force Base -Stopped in Hawaii and Okinawa before reaching Vietnam (00:25:35) Arriving in Vietnam -Landed in Bien Hoa -Greeted by soldiers that were ecstatic about leaving Vietnam -Traveled by bus to the 93rd Replacement Battalion -Thought that Vietnam was hot and sticky -Received very little orientation upon arriving -Received orders to go to the 29th General Support Group -Located at Long Binh -Primary focus there was logistics -Told deputy commander there that he wanted to be a commander -Received the position (00:28:02) Bearcat-Leadership Position -The next day he was sent to Bearcat -Placed in command of the 590th Maintenance Company -Replacing the former company commander -Located fifteen kilometers south of Long Binh -Inland location -Previous base of the 9th Infantry Division -Well defended by U.S. and Thai soldiers -3000 troops as well as helicopter units -Got harassed by enemy fire -Low level artillery strikes and minor sapper raids -Received a formal introduction to the company he would be commanding -Planned on getting to know the soldiers better -Interviewed the NCOs and officers under his command -Learned that the supply system was broken -Started to repair the supply system at Bearcat -Moved soldiers into different positions to promote efficiency -Worked with the company for six months (00:35:54) Enemy Contact -Remembers an incident on February 23, 1969 -A movie had gotten over at 10 PM -Twenty minutes later a Vietnamese rocket barrage started -Rocket hit the movie theatre -Would have killed everyone in there -Didn’t take a single casualty that night -Remembers a rocket strike killing four troops in a jeep at once -Only got shot at once or twice -Later learned that one of his OCS trainers had been killed in action outside of Bearcat (00:39:19) Operating Outside of Bearcat -Went to multiple places outside of Bearcat -Long Binh, firebases, Saigon (rarely) �-Had to go off the base to coordinate supplies and inspect the conditions of supplies -Part of insuring that supplies were being maintained properly -Also went out with Thai troops to recover damaged, or destroyed, vehicles (00:41:50) Relationship with Thai Soldiers -Met with Thai soldiers once a week -Language gap made communicating difficult -Good workers and good soldiers -Biggest issue involved their lack of familiarity with electronics and howitzers -Thai soldiers were respected -Worked hard to keep the surrounding area free of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong -They patrolled between Bearcat and another base known as Blackhorse (00:45:19) Going to Saigon -Had to go into Saigon to call his wife -No international telephones outside of Saigon -Was only able to talk to her twice during his deployment -Also went to Saigon to gather specific parts for vehicles -Once was able to find thirteen extremely rare Dodge truck engines -You could find almost anything in Saigon -Suspects that there was a vibrant black market of stolen goods -Once scrounged up a portable officer hut, steaks, and miscellaneous vehicles (00:49:32) Relationship with Vietnamese Civilians -Remembers firing Vietnamese mess hall workers -Had been allowing for unsanitary conditions -Replaced them with American soldiers -Lots of Vietnamese civilians worked at Bearcat -Five to six civilians were used per unit -Cleaned living areas, mess halls, and latrines -Had a young orphaned boy work for him for about three months -Knew that Viet Cong infiltration was a possibility, but never witnessed it himself -Soldiers under his command got along with the Vietnamese -Good relationship as long as the civilians followed orders -Structure of their relationship didn’t allow for mistreatment -U.S. soldiers would routinely go off base to pick up Vietnamese prostitutes (00:54:38) Drugs & Race Relations -Biggest discipline problem involved psychologically unstable soldiers using drugs -Some soldiers attempted to kill their officers while they were high -He always felt that the stable, responsible soldiers could handle their drugs -Opium and weed were common -Had to deal with the results of drug use -One soldier under his command developed a drug habit -Drugs weren’t a major problem for him -There were black soldiers in leadership positions -Black and white soldiers got along well and would willingly integrate (00:58:05) Bearcat-Staff Position -After leading for six months he was moved to staff at Bearcat -Continued to be responsible for maintenance and supply �-Worked with the Armored Cavalry units at Bearcat and Blackhorse -Mostly office work -Tried to maintain a presence with his troops at Bearcat -Didn’t enjoy being behind a desk -Tried to avoid having conflicts with company commanders -Had an OK relationship with his commanding officer -Not a bad person, just a bad listener -Didn’t always see eye to eye with each other (01:01:20) Reflecting on Vietnam -Never thought about the war’s progress during his deployment -Was always under the impression that they were winning -Felt that they did better under Abe Abrams as opposed to Westmoreland -Heart wrenching to see Saigon fall to North Vietnam in 1975 -Thought they would return to a hero’s welcome -Shocked by the negativity upon returning home -Felt that they had handled the dead well at Blackhorse -Dignified and respectful -Also had been impressed by how well their triage system worked (01:03:41) Leaving Vietnam and Coming Home -Went through the 93rd Replacement Battalion before leaving Vietnam -Was able to take a shower and put on a clean uniform -Went to Bien Hoa to board a “Freedom Bird” (a chartered TWA airliner) -Flew to Alaska and was received well there -From Alaska flew back to Travis Air Force Base -Took a bus from Travis AFB to San Francisco -Advised by their superiors to change out of their uniforms -Decided to wear his uniform on the flight home -Never was harassed because of being a veteran -Returned to his wife in Michigan -Was finally able to see his five month old son (01:05:56) Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency -Next assignment was to the Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency -Located in Joliet, Illinois -Had to train at Fort Lee, Virginia to learn how to be a procurement officer -Got promoted to major -Did office work in Joliet, Illinois for two years -Worked in ammunition sales for eight months (01:07:04) Deployed to Hawaii -Got assigned to Hawaii as a materiel officer for the 725th Maintenance Battalion -Did office work for a year and a half -Eventually worked in materiel -Duty was to insure that supplies were moved to Guam to be moved to Vietnam -Stayed in Hawaii until the fall of Saigon in 1975 -Discouraged by how quickly Vietnam fell -Enjoyed the deployment to Hawaii �(01:10:10) Military Colleges -After Hawaii he was sent to the Command and General Staff College -Graduated fifth in his class -Performance as an officer had significantly improved -Had received a bronze star for supply leadership in Vietnam -Sent by the Army to study at Babson College outside of Boston -Spent eighteen months there (01:11:03) Tank Automotive Command -Sent to Detroit as part of the Tank Automotive Command to oversee supply -Wound up taking over the M48 tank upgrading project -Successfully finished that program -Worked in integrated logistics support for a couple years (01:12:55) Deployment to Korea -Sent to South Korea -Placed in command of General Support Maintenance for all of South Korea -Allowed him to overhaul the computerized supply system -Served in Korea from 1981 to 1982 -Helped streamline and improve the efficiency there -Mostly worked with Koreans -Thought that they were good workers -Life was different in Korea -Totally foreign experience and took some time adjusting to it -North/South Korean demilitarized zone was a very active border (01:17:23) Tank Automotive Command Pt. 2 -Got assigned to be the Inspector General for Tank Automotive Command in Detroit -Post-Korea -Assignment would last four years -Took part in major investigation concerning efficiency of tank production -Got assigned to be Director of Systems Engineering -Still in Detroit -In charge of field engineering -Duty was to reorganize Tank Automotive Command into two parts -Eventually got promoted to colonel -Heavily involved in the modernization effort of tanks during the 1980s (01:21:17) Career Post-Army -Retired from the Army as soon as he could get a job -Got employed through GTE in Massachusetts through a friend -Did satellite communications work for the military -Eventually became the project manager for the whole program -The regional support center at Fort Hood under his command participated in the Gulf War -Retired from that at the age of sixty (01:24:08) Life after Service -Prompted him to have a deep interest in American military history -Collects Civil War artifacts -Letters, orders, photos, and weapons -Has deeply, independently studied WWII due to family’s involvement �Vietnam Experiences by Craig E. Brodie (Colonel USA RET.) Feb 2014 Version Preface This paper addresses some of the details of my tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968-1969. Sources of my story are personal notes, official records and memory. There is no possible way to capture and record all that has become a part of what I now refer to as my Vietnam Experience. This is my best effort. I have tried to be a good historian. This paper has been a work in progress since 1970 when I started to document my story for future generations. Some of the story comes from notes and documents kept all these years. Some of course comes from memory. Where unsure of events, I have tried to identify the uncertainty. Getting Started Orders to report for duty in Vietnam arrived early in August of 1968 while I was a student at the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course at Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD. They were not unexpected. I entered the twenty-week course with an understanding that I would go to Vietnam upon graduation in the fall. My orders for assignment to Vietnam were published in Headquarters Department of the Army Special Orders No. 144 dated 24 July 1968. As was the common practice, the orders were general in nature and directed assignment to a major in-theater command. In my case the major command was the US Army Support Command Saigon (USASSUPCOM SGN) APO San Francisco 96491. My Availability Date was 4 November 1968. My Estimated Date for Change of Station Assigned (EDCSA) was 7 November 1968. My Overseas arrival date was identified as no later than (NLT) 8 November 1968. Everyone understood that a specific duty assignment would be determined after arrival in Vietnam. My assignment orders authorized up to 134lbs of personal effects. They specifically directed that I arrive in Vietnam wearing khaki (tan) trousers with a short sleeved khaki (tan) shirt and that I take with me one complete “work uniform “ which is the uniform aptly, affectionately and better known as fatigues. I was allowed up to 30 days of leave prior to departure. Prior to finishing the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course, I received all required shots had an eye exam and received two pair of regular glasses and one pair of sunglasses. I was also fitted with special prescription glasses that fit into a standard issue M17 protective mask. The M17, was designed to protect against chemical and biological attacks which was a standard issue item for the Army worldwide, including Vietnam. I never carried or put the mask on during my entire tour of duty.I graduated from the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course on 19 September 1968 but remained assigned to the student detachment providing temporary support to training courses until I was ready to go on leave. �Lil and I packed out of our second home which was a small second floor two bedroom apartment we rented in Havre de Grace, Maryland, upon our arrival at Aberdeen in June of 1966. My notes indicate Lil and I departed Aberdeen at 1000 hrs on 27 September 1968. We drove to Newtown, Connecticut to see Dee Dee (My Aunt Alice) and then drove to Northport, Michigan, to visit with Mom and Dad Johnson. While on leave I learned that on October 10, 1968 the US Army Ordnance Center and School had published Special Order #220 which amended Department of Army Special Order #144 directing that I report to Travis Air Force Base, Oakland, California by no later than (NLT) 1900 hours on 4 November 1968 for Flight TKPT 2B3 for transport to Vietnam. On October 12th we arrived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to settle Lil into our new townhouse at 3485 Kenbrook Court. I don’t recall renting the apartment, but we certainly went to Kalamazoo to do that somewhere along the way. Once Lil was settled in our new home we flew to visit my folks in Orlando, Florida. While in Florida we took a trip with my parents over to the Gulf coast at Ft. Meyer and then down to through the Everglades to Miami then back to Orlando. When back in Kalamazoo, Lil went to see a doctor and learned she was pregnant. I picked her up at the sidewalk and she gave me a card telling me I was going to be a father. It was just a few days before I had to leave. After lunch on 2 November 1968 Lil and I got ready to say good-by for a year. I put on my Green uniform and Lil put on a tan suit I just loved. I had to wear my Green uniform because the summer uniform I would wear into Vietnam was not authorized for wear in November in Michigan. We took some pictures in the back yard. I said goodbye to our dog Tanza and then we drove our gold 1967 Plymouth over to Barb and Dick Hughey’s. We spent some time at the Hughey’s talking and sharing some wine. I remember I did not want to sit down. Barb and Dick drove us to the Kalamazoo airport. There was no indoor ramp leading to the plane. We had to walk outside to get to the gate area. Passengers had to pass through a fence, walk some distance to the plane and then climb the stairs to the door. I held Lil for the last time at the fence. I remember I could not then look back until I was up the steps and at the door of the plane because if I had I would not have been able to keep going. Saying goodbye to Lil who I knew was pregnant and to all that I loved most in the world on that day was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. The empty feeling was worse than the death of any loved one I have ever lived through. I will never forget it. We flew out at about1630 hours on a North Central Airlines flight headed to O’Hare airport in Chicago. I remember I sat next to a young Private who was also heading to Vietnam. We smoked and talked about what might lie ahead. He had never been outside of the United States. We both felt alone. I changed planes at O’Hare and got on a direct flight to San Francisco, California. I don’t recall the airline. I was met at the airport in San Francisco by Lil’s sister Carol Johnson, who at that time was single and teaching school in San Jose, California. We spent the next day (3 November) visiting San Francisco and on the morning of the 4th drove out to the beach at Santa Cruze. On the afternoon of the 4th I put on my khaki uniform, left my Green uniform with Carol and she drove me up to Travis Air Force Base. We got �there at about 5 in the afternoon. I said good-by to Carol, checked in my duffle bag, and placed a call to Lil from a phone booth just before we were called to board the plane. On the Way The aircraft we flew into Vietnam was operated by TWA under contract with the government. It was full to capacity. The higher the rank the further front one got to sit. I sat on the aisle 8-10 rows back. We loaded quietly. It was dark. There was not much talking. Everyone’s mind was on what they were leaving. Almost as soon as we were airborne they started to feed us, and they kept on feeding us regularly throughout the flight to help us adjust to the time changes. All the stewardesses and crew had worked such flights many times. They all wore vests covered with medals given to them by soldiers on the way home from the war. We were soldiers on the way in – we would not be the same on the way out. I have often wondered how many on our flight never returned alive. Our first stop was Hawaii were we took on fuel. I don’t recall if we were allowed off of the plane or not. I do remember it was dark. The next stop was at Kadina Air Base in Okinawa where once again we took on fuel and were allowed off to stretch our legs. At that time the terminal where we deplaned was built of tin buildings. It was still dark in Kadina. From Kadina we flew directly into Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam. Between Kadina and Bien Hoa night became day. We arrived at Bien Hoa in bright morning sunlight. It was November 6, 1968 in Vietnam. As our plane descended to lower altitudes, everyone was trying to look out the windows. It was very green and the brown colored military camps, and bomb craters stood out in the jungle and were clearly visible. As we touched down, the first impression was one of a reddish-brown dust that seemed to be everywhere. Then, when they opened the plane door there was a blast of very hot air and sounds of clapping and cheering. I did not understand the clapping and cheering until I got to the door. To our right front as we walked down the stairs from the plane there was a tin roofed open - sided building. Gathered in under the roof was a large group of soldiers delighted to see us because our plane was about to become their “Freedom Bird.” As soon as we got off they would load-up and be on their way home. It would be a long time and many things would happen before I would be doing the cheering. My notes record the time as 1015 hours. We were directed to a seating area with backless benches covered by a tin roof next to where the leaving soldiers were located. It was very hot and it was very noisy. There was noise from those about to get on the plane, there was the noise of forklifts moving cargo around the area where we were sitting, and there was noise from military aircraft taking off and landing. In a short time our baggage was brought up and we loaded on busses. There were wire mess screens welded over all the bus windows. I would come to understand such screens were installed on all US �busses in Vietnam to keep someone from lobbing a hand grenade through an open window. We were on our way to the 90th Replacement Detachment. The First Few Days The drive to the Replacement Detachment was not long. It might have taken about 15 minutes. The Replacement Detachment was located at the edge of the Long Binh installation near the intersection of route15 and route 316. The facility was basically a city of canvas topped sleeping huts set up to process new arrivals to units of assignment and to process those bound for home out of country. Here I received my unit assignment. The replacement detachment was a busy place. I clearly recall the Headquarters, Supply, PX, Mess Hall and the Officers Club buildings. There were others, but I was never inside of them. All the buildings were constructed on concrete pads with wood walls that were slatted and screened partway up. Many had tin roofs. Others had canvas roofs. The inside board was the outside board. Nothing was finished. They were set up in rows with narrow walkways down each side and between each one. The walkways were framed by sandbags stacked along the sides of the huts almost to where the roof met the wall. Showers and latrines were located at the end of each row of tents in tin covered wood framed shelters with concrete floors. There were drainage ditches about 3 feet deep dug throughout the area to handle rain run-off. Most walkways were metal. I think this type of construction existed on nearly all Base Camps in country – at least at all those I visited. I was assigned a bunk, told to change into the fatigues I was required to bring with me --- and to await further instructions. I did not know anyone. There were at least four double-decked bunks in each hut but there could have been more. I drew some towels and bedding from a central issue point, showered, and changed out of my travel uniform. As there was nothing to do right away I went to the Officer’s Club which was located near the main gate. This building at least had air conditioning so it was a good place to be. There was a jute box which was constantly playing and one could buy drinks and snacks. This club was also used by Officers stationed at, or passing through, Long Binh so for the first time I got to see soldiers close up with steel pots, flack jackets and weapons. It was a strange new world. Later I was issued jungle fatigues and combat boots at the Supply Building. The next day, 7 November 1968, I was notified over the loudspeaker system to report to receive my assignment. My new orders, (USARV Transient Detachment Special Order 312 dated 7 November 1968) formally assigned me to the US Army Support Command Saigon, but I was told I would be going to the 29th General Support Group. The 29th General Support Group was a major subordinate command of the US Army Support Command Saigon. Its headquarters were located at Long Binh. �In the early afternoon, a Captain from the 29th General Support Group staff came by to pick me up in a jeep. We drove to the Group Headquarters on Long Binh post. I cannot recall the Captain’s name. I do remember being impressed by how much he seemed to know about what was going on. It was a short ride and as you might imagine I was soaking up information from the unit signs and the facilities we passed on the way. After being shown to a bunk and parking my gear I was given a brief orientation on the Group Headquarters area. The next major event of this day was that I met with the 29th General Support Group Deputy Commander, LTC Holady C. Neafus Jr. I told LTC Neafus I very much wanted to command a company. I explained that I was already a fairly senior Captain and that the time available to get a command was passing me by. (I n fact I had another motivation for wanting a command which I did not share. The Ordnance Branch had informed me during the Advanced Course that because my Officer Efficiency Ratings were not so hot when I was a young officer I was ranked in the lower third of my peers and it was extremely important for my career to demonstrate I could do well in a company command position in combat.) LTC Neafus and I talked for about 30 minutes most of which was a discussion about my past military assignments. At the end of the interview LTC Neafus informed me that after talking with some of his staff he would, by the next day, finalize his recommendation regarding my assignment for the 29th Support Group Commander. He never gave a hint about my chances for getting a command. At that time I did not know, but would later learn, that Major Donald Simpson who was then the Commander of the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (LSA) (Provisional) at Camp Bearcat was looking for an officer to take command of the 590th Light Maintenance Company (Direct Support) (Divisional). Major Simpson had already received approval from the Commander of the 29th General Support Group to relieve the current company commander (Captain Charles O’Conner) who had not been performing well. Major Simpson needed a replacement. I was provided a bunk and spent the night of 7and 8 November in Long Binh at the Group Headquarters. Here I met several officers from the 29th General Support Group Materiel Office staff and for the first time I felt like I was somewhere I belonged. I spoke their language and understood their mission, but as you might imagine, I spent most of my time listening. In mid-morning of 8 November while I was in the 29th General Support Group Material Office area soaking up as much information as possible about Group operations, I was called to the Group Commander’s office. Here I met the 29th Support Group Commander, a Colonel McDonald and Major Donald Simpson. They informed me that I was going to get a command and was being assigned to the 590th Light Maintenance Company at Camp Bearcat. Major Simpson would be my commanding officer. They did not tell me the current 590th commander was being relieved. As soon as the meeting was over, I got my gear, was given a steel pot and a flack jacket they had brought along for my use, and we loaded in Major Simpson’s jeep for my first drive down Route 15 to “Bearcat”. Major Simpson drove the jeep himself and his Sergeant Major George McCoy rode in the front right seat with an M16 in his lap. This arrangement left room for me along with my gear in the back seat. The jeep had armor and sandbags on �the floor for protection against a possible mine explosion. I had no weapon and this is the only time in my entire tour I drove Route 15 unarmed. The drive down to “Bearcat” was eye opening. Route 15 was basically a two lane road that ran South out of Long Binh to the village of Long Than which was near “Bearcat” and then continued down to the coast at Vung Tau. The road was dusty and nearly all the vehicles on it were military. There were a few civilian villages but mostly rice fields. I would learn that his road was ours during the day but it pretty much belonged to the VC at night. When we arrived at the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (LSA) Headquarters I, I, was again provided with a temporary bunk and was introduced to some of the LSA staff officers and officers from the 1011th S&S Company. The 1011th troop living area was co-located with the LSA Headquarters living area. I met no one from the 590th Maintenance Company. Late in the day I was asked over to Major Simpson’s living quarters (“hooch”) to talk privately with him and his Sgt Major George McCoy about my new command. It was here I first learned the present commander of the 590th was being relieved. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that Captain O’Connor got as little notice of his change in command as I did --maybe even less. On the morning of 9 November 1968 I rode down to the 590th with Major Simpson. As soon as I arrived, I was introduced to the First Sergeant (Lewis Ellis) and signed Unit Order 54 assuming command. The Company was formed up in the area between the street and the company headquarters building. It was a beautiful clear hot day. Captain O’Conner spoke to the troops and Major Simpson then spoke thanking Captain O’Conner for his service and introducing and welcoming me. The order was read, the Company Guidon was passed and I was Commander of the 590th Maintenance Company (Direct Support) (Divisional) at APO San Francisco 96530. I said a few words about being honored to lead such a fine unit. I had never met a single person in the 590th prior to this Change of Command. I don’t think the entire Change of Command ceremony took 20 minutes. Captain O’Connor got in Major Simpson’s jeep and they drove off. I never saw Captain O’Connor again. That afternoon I moved into my hooch which was my first private quarters since arriving in-country. I drew company issue gear to include an M-16 rifle and a 45 pistol, a steel pot, a flack jacket, and then took my first tour of the Company area and started to get to know some folks. 590th History The 590 Maintenance Company traces its history back to World War Two. It was originally activated on 16 August 1944 in England as the 3055th Ordnance Service Composite Company. It served in France, Belgium and Germany. It was inactivated at Camp Shanks New York, in November 1945 and reactivated on13 December 1946 as the 3055th Ordnance Service Company in Japan. On 30 June 1947 the unit it was redesignated the 590th Ordnance Service Company. On 15 March 1950 it was again deactivated. On March 1, 1967 reactivation occurred under Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) 29-138F at Fort Lewis, Washington. On 1 September 1967 the unit deployed to Vietnam on USNS General John Pope. The unit arrived at Bearcat (Camp Martin Cox) on 21 September 1967 and was attached to the 185th Maintenance Battalion, which was located in Long Binh. The executive officer of the 185th was my �immediate boss when I was an instructor in the Ordnance Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Aberdeen, Proving Ground prior to my attending the Advanced Course at Aberdeen. His name was Major Ralph Wight. He was killed on Route 15 between Bearcat and Long Binh several months before I finished the Advanced Course. I will say more of this later. On 25 July 1968 the 590th was released from the 185th Maintenance Battalion and was attached to the 266th Supply and Services Battalion (DS). On 11 September 1968 the 590th was released from the 266th and attached to the Bearcat Logistical Support Activity (Provisional) under the 29th General Support Group. The mission of the 590th under TOE 29-138F was to provide back-up Direct Support level maintenance and limited evacuation services to a Division and non-divisional units where no other Corps support is available. Primary items of equipment supported for repair and repair parts are armored and wheeled vehicles, small arms and artillery and communications equipment.( Medical, cryptographic, ADP/EAM, aircraft, and air delivery equipment are not supported.) 590th Mission in Vietnam At the time I assumed command the primary mission of the company was to provide support to US and any other Free World forces operating within the Thai Infantry Division’s tactical area of operations and to other forces as directed.(The Thai Division, known as the “Panthers”, was commonly referred to as the ”RTVF” or Royal Thai Volunteer Force. Their Division headquarters and many of their logistics support units were stationed at Bearcat. The Thai Division had replaced the US 9th Infantry Division as the major ground combat unit operating out of Bearcat not long before my arrival. Bearcat was a base camp carved out of the jungle near the town of Long Than which is on Route 15 about 10 miles Southeast of Long Binh. There were about 5,000 US forces plus the Thai Division stationed in the area. The camp was about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. The entire edge of the camp was circled by a plowed up earth berm topped by bunkers and sandbags. The jungle was cleared back from the berm for several hundred meters, and in places the area between the berm and the jungle was mined with Claymore anti-personnel mines, which were protected with strands of barbed wire. The bunkers were positioned so that there were interlocking fields of fire to protect the perimeter. There were two gates to the west or Route 15 side. The Gate to the south opened to a short dirt road leading to an airbase called K5 and then proceeded to Long Than village. The next gate to the North opened to a longer dirt road that joined Route 15 North of Long Than village. The gate to the far North was a back road to Long Binh that was usually closed. The talk on base was that the area the road passed through was not safe for non-combat troops because of the VC or VC supporters. I don’t know the truth of the talk. I never used that gate or traveled on the road. Generally, the jungle was cleared back from these roads. (Insert: The intersection where the Northern road from Bearcat met Route 15 was locally referred to as “Whore’s Corner”. It was a spot more dangerous than friendly. If out too late one might occasionally receive small arms fire from the trees. �One of the first things a new commander is sign for the Unit Fund. In my case this turned out to be a very emotional experience. One of the signatures in the records was that of Major Ralph Wright , who was my immediate boss for well over a year when I was teaching OCS at Aberdeen. He went to Vietnam before I did and was assigned to a Maintenance Bn. in Long Binh to which the 590th was then assigned. Major Wright had reviewed and approved the Unit Fund records on the day he was ambushed on the road on his way back to Long Binh. A charge was detonated by the VC as his Jeep passed. It killed him. He left the 590th too late in the day. He was a good mentor and friend. It was not until 16 November 1968 that the Saigon Support Command finally got around to issuing Special Order 321 officially directing me to report to the 590th by NLT 18 November 1968. Things did not always follow the normal path. It soon became apparent to me I had a tiger by the tail and as a result Major Simpson and I spent considerable time talking about things in the early going. One evening soon after assuming command I was at his hooch and after a discussion and a few drinks was walking back to my jeep in the dark and managed to step off into one of those 3 foot drainage ditches for rain run-off which were so common in base camps throughout Vietnam. When I stepped out into space and hit solid ground on the bottom or other side of the ditch, it felt like I led with my chin. The blow nearly knocked me out and opened a large cut in my chin that bled profusely. Sgt Major McCoy heard me cry out and led me to his hooch where he helped to stop the bleeding and clean the cut. I still have a scar on my chin from this injury. I may have had one too many drinks of Scotch, but the bigger problem was that I was a Vietnam rookie not yet used to finding ditches on flat surfaces. What a welcome!!! . Thankfully, this was my only injury during my entire tour. The 590th was a challenge from the start. Almost nothing worked, as it should. It was not that the men or NCOs were poorly trained – most were average or above average. They simply were not focused on the tasks before them and on making things happen. The Property Book maintained in the Unit Supply section of the Company which accounts for all the government property in the unit has like tools, trucks, trailers, test equipment, desks and personal equipment had not been updated for months. No inventories had been held. No hand receipts updated. No adjustments made. It was a disaster. It took us six months to clean it up. The mess hall didn’t work. During the first week there I went back in the kitchen area of the mess hall to check the sanitation. I was horrified. They had hired some Vietnamese women to scrub the dirty pots and trays and they were doing it in greasy water with dirty hands and little soap because the soap made rinsing too hard and used too much water. I told the Mess Sgt (Sgt Foshe) I was going to fire the Vietnamese and put Soldiers on a KP roster to clean up the dishes. He told me we were required to use the Vietnamese by some outfit in Long Binh and that he thought we would have a riot on our hands if we put soldiers on KP. I talked to the 1st Sgt (Sgt Lewis Ellis) about it and he agreed that something should change but cited the same concerns the Mess Sgt had shared. They had talked. I thought about it for a few days and then told the Mess Sgt to tell the women at the end of the day that they would no longer be required. After we let them go, the soldiers initially griped about it but there was no riot. �When they got to see how things were being done and the word got out, complaints about having to do KP settled right down. I did receive a call from a Colonel in Long Binh whose name I no longer recall who told me I had no authority to fire the women and directed me to hire them back. I told him how bad it was and that once I got something official in writing I would get the doctor and everyone in the chain of command involved if necessary to make my decision stick. He told me I would be hearing from him. I never did. One part of the mess hall team who was great was our baker. He was a drunk but oh how he could bake. Every evening about 1800 he would get started on his bottle and on the dough that would become wonderful muffins and pies and cakes. We protected him from himself and he helped the unit’s morale. I certainly could have disciplined him and should have helped him with his drinking problem but there was not enough time and the need for his good skills kept me from doing either. He was not a problem. I have forgotten his name. He provided a great service for his nation. Sgt Foshe ran the Mess Hall. He was from the south and at Christmas time his wife sent him bags of black-eyed-peas, which he prepared for us all on New Years Day. He and I had a hard time. I was very tough on him about sanitation because it seemed to me he was lax in this area. I had designated myself as the Unit Mess Officer so he had no other officer to deal with in regards to his duties. I remember I got on him one day about something fairly minor and he just broke down and cried telling me he was doing all he could for the men and I was too hard on him. He was right. I was hard him. The men deserved it. He was a great cook and a good man with a caring heart, but he had a hard time getting others to do their part. I awarded him the Bronze Star when he left to go home. He was astounded. This was the only Bronze Star I gave to an NCO while I was commander. Maintenance operations in the company were the strong suit. The Armament Section was run by Chief Warrant Officer William Ray. He was a crusty old soldier who had fought in Korea from start to finish – retired and had come back for the Vietnam fight. There was not a howitzer or small arms weapon he could not fix. He ran a tight section and trained his men well. He used to scare me half to death because he always carried hand grenades when on the road and he used to just keep them in his room. My fear was he would blow himself up or that someone might lose control from too much to drink or drugs and then go to get them to do something stupid. It never happened. The Service and Evacuation Section was run by CWO Will Horn and the Maintenance section by Sgt Jackson. Both were seasoned leaders and technically sound. They knew their men and led them strongly. Sgt Jackson was a black NCO who had come up the hard way. I really liked him. He used to call me “The Beaver” because he said I really knew how “chew” someone out. The Signal Section was run by CWO Smith. He knew his hardware cold but he was young. He was not as strong a leader as the others, but his people were more senior and did not require much in way of control. �I had two other Warrant Officers who held CWO Horn and Smith’s positions but they left for CONUS soon after I arrived and I never really got to know them. I do not recall their names. The biggest problem area in the company was our Technical Supply Section. This is a key organization for a maintenance unit because it provides repair parts not only to customer units but also to the other company direct support repair sections. When I took command the officer in charge was 1LT Paul F Lundgren. He was weak in supply knowledge and not a strong leader. To make matters worse, he had a weak NCO working for him. I do not recall the NCO’s name. When I was assigned 2nd LT John Harb as a Maintenance Platoon Leader, I relieved both1LT Lundgren and his NCO, and 2LT Harb became Technical Supply Officer. He was a quick study. The words in the written Justification for the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement, that I received at the end of my command time, pretty well describes the condition of customer support when I assumed and when I left command of the 590th. The focus of the narrative is the major changes made in support operations between October and April. The text of the Justification approved by the Group Commander and written by the 29th General Support Group staff is quoted below in its entirety. It says I studied harder than I really did and makes me appear to be the “doer” when in truth the troops made it happen. The facts about what we accomplished together are right. Bronze Star for Achievement Justification - Start _______________________________________________________________ “1. CPT Craig E. Brodie, 097421, Ordnance Corps, United States Army, distinguished himself through an exceptionally meritorious achievement not involving participation in aerial flight in connection with military operations against the hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam during the period of 9 November 1968 to 10 April 1969 2. CPT Brodie assumed command of the 590th Maintenance Company (DS) (DIV) on 9 November 1968. The previous unit commander had been relieved of command, primarily due to the condition of the mechanized technical supply activity. Numerous deficiencies persisted for some time despite frequent Group staff visits and daily intensive management interests on the part of the Group commander. Specifically, the following deficiencies existed: (1) A growing backlog of about 37 multipack receipts, some of which were more than 40 days old; (2) Many of the NCR 500 programs required to update ledgers were not in use and others were being run out of sequence causing frustration to machine logic and multiplication of errors posted to the stock ledgers; (3) The physical storage locations were so inconsistent with the stock locator deck that an inventory accuracy check could not even be conducted (A 1st Log Command Project Count 1 �inventory accuracy check team arriving in late October at the 590th rescheduled that visit due to inability to locate sufficient stock to count for a statistical sample); (4) Specific procedures for conducting location surveys and inventories published by Group were being violated; (5) Customers of the 590th Maintenance Company were complaining directly to Group about their lack of support from the 590th; (6) No action had been taken to retrograde approximately 50 tons of serviceable excesses declared in July 1968; (7) No action had been taken to implement the nine digit location system as was directed in September; (8) During staff visits the number of personnel physically on hand working in the tech supply activity and the number of personnel assigned to company details could not be reconciled with the number assigned. 3. During the first 10 days after assuming command CPT Brodie corrected and completed the processing of the entire receipts backlog of 37 multipacks. After requesting a technical assistance visit from the Group staff , he developed a plan and established priorities for a technical supply activity improvement plan. At this time the 590th Maintenance Company received a 1st Log Command Instruct/Inspect team visit. This inspection came approximately two weeks after CPT Brodie assumed command. The team remained in the unit for seven days. The I/I team report was comprehensive and the general conclusion was that the effectiveness of the 590th technical supply activity was marginal. CPT Brodie used this report as a supplementary management tool making his improvement program more detailed. 4. CPT Brodie found it necessary to relieve the Tech Supply officer and NCO. He replaced the officer with a new 2nd LT who had no supply training or experience. No trained NCO could be obtained. CPT Brodie worked extensively with the new 2LT who became proficient under CPT Brodie’s experience and skill. All personnel in the tech supply activity became more proficient and motivated as a result of CPT Brodie’s leadership, interest and instruction. CPT Brodie provided detailed instructions to all personnel in the Tech Supply activity. He was able to do this because he spent many hours late at night studying the TMs and regulations governing the operation of the mechanized (NCR 500) DSU supply activity. By applying knowledge gained from this study and staff and I/I team visits combined with his experience and leadership ability, he was able to instruct and motivate each man in the activity. �5. By December 1968, with less than a month in Command, CPT Brodie had succeeded in retrograding the more than 50 tons of serviceable excess that had been on hand since July 1968l During this same time he directed a complete location survey implementing the nine digit location system in the process. 6. CPT Brodie placed the stock control section on strict computer program sequence making each update cycle complete and accurate. He reorganized the document flow through the receiving storage and stock control sections and established controls to preclude the loss of documents and accounting errors resulting from faulty sequence of document processing. As soon as all sections of the Technical Supply activity were using the current procedures, CPT Brodie directed another complete location survey and inventory to screen out errors occurring during the process of implementing correct procedures. 7. With his technical supply running activity smoothly, CPT Brodie turned his attention to managing his ASL stockage position. Concentrating on zero balances with dues out, he developed an aggressive program using RBX procedures on critical repair parts at zero balance with dues out. The results of this project combined with a tightly controlled and compressed program cycle was an increase in the rate of receipts from 180 in October 1968 to 2,200 in April 1969. The number of issues to customers improved during this period from 390 in October to 1,300 in April. The demand satisfaction rose from 16% in October to 49% in April 1969 while demand accommodation was increased from 61% to 80% during this same period. CPT Brodie increased the number of operational hours on the NCR 500 from 51 per week to 114 per week average. 8. The heavy lift yard was expanded and the warehouse bins were reconstructed under CPT Brodie’s direction to accommodate the increased amount of stock receipts and to provide more efficient utilization of storage space. 9. When CPT Brodie had his technical supply activity stockage position in shape, he initiated an aggressive customer assistance program. This has been manifested in visits to customer units and instruction provided by the 590th editing section. CPT Brodie brought the 590th Maintenance Company technical supply activity from a rated seventh and last in the Group in October 1968 to first and best of the 11 operating in April 1969. The I/I team from the 1st Log Command conducted a return visit to the 590th Maintenance Company in April. The I/I team declared the 590th technical supply activity the most improved in Vietnam, one of the best in country. CPT Brodie achieved this remarkable success in his Technical Supply activity while at the same time improving and maintaining all other sections of his company. This is evidenced in the maintenance portion of the April 1969 1ST Log Command I/I team report, the highly satisfactory grade received by the 590th on the annual 1st Log Command CMMI and the satisfactory mark on the AGI and the SSC maintenance survey team reports. 10. Through his professional knowledge outstanding managerial ability, untiring diligence, and his especially perceptive leadership, CPT Brodie has wrought achievements reflecting great credit upon himself, his unit, the 29th GS group and the U.S. Army.” �Bronze Star for Achievement Justification – End Other Events and Happenings Rocket Attacks – There were several rocket attacks but thankfully no one in the Company was injured. Everyone had an assigned bunker to go to when attacked. Sometimes we would get warning of a pending attack and sometimes it was a surprise. We would feed in small groups when warned of or under attack. One surprise attack I clearly recall. On nights when LSA Operations declared “all clear” many soldiers would gather to watch movies. February 23, 1969, was thought to “clear” so we had a movie in our company outdoor theater. When the movie ended, the men dispersed . About 10 minutes later a 107 MM rocket landed right in the center of the place they had been gathered. There was no prior warning of attack. No one was hurt. We were lucky and blessed. I have pictures of rocket warhead parts found following this attack. The next day a rocket landed in the 1011th S&S Company area killing two 1011th soldiers, wounding others and causing considerable damage. There were other rocket and mortar attacks but no soldier from the 590th was wounded or killed when I was the commander. Animals –One day I was walking through a troop bunk area when a monkey leaped on my shoulder and bit me. I grabbed his neck – he had a collar—got my driver and drove to the Vet. It turned out my skin was not broken and Monkey did not have rabies. Thankfully, it was only scary. Rabies were a very real problem on Bearcat.. About once every three months or so all loose animals inside the camp were hunted down and killed. A funny --- A soldier bought what he thought was a very special dog with leopard spots from a Vietnamese boy. He paid a high price. It turned out the dog was not so special. The spots were a paint job. On May 10th 1969 I ended my time as commander of the 590th in a change of command much like the one when I assumed command. As usual orders followed later. I was in command for 6 Months and 1 day. This was a normal company command tour in Vietnam. They tried to make changes every six months so that as many officers as possible would get a chance to command during a time of war. My first award of the Bronze Star was for Meritorious Achievement and it was announced on 9 June 1969 in US Army Support Command, Saigon Special Orders 653 for the period of duty extending from 9 November 1689 to 10 April 1968. The specific accomplishments were those identified in the Jjustification for the award included above. �Material Officer Bearcat LSA Once again my reassignment orders do not reflect what actually happened. US Army Support Command Special Orders 150 dated 30 May 1969 reassigned me from the 590th to Headquarters 29th General Support Group in Long Binh. There had been considerable discussion about my moving to the Materiel Office staff in Long Binh and I thought it was going to happen but in fact I never went there. I think Colonel Carter who was then commanding Bearcat LSA (Provisional) prevailed with the Group to keep me. In any case Special Orders 168 issued by the US Army Support Command Saigon dated 16 June 1969 officially assigned me as a Material Officer at Bearcat LSA with an effective date of 20 May 1969. Nature of the new job My time as Material Officer on the Bearcat LSA staff seemed anticlimactic after having commanded the 590th . Duties were more mundane. Responsibilities involved visiting units, data collection, report writing, working with the 29th Support Group on maintenance and supply issues, writing directives for the LSA commander and units and of course preparing briefings. Except for unit visits the responsibilities were fairly “dull stuff “ after command. My duties were further complicated by the fact that the LSA Commander, LTC Carter, did not want me messing around in actions involving the 590th. . This was a tough restriction because the 590th was performing about half of the LSA maintenance and related supply support mission. As a result I was only in the 590th company area a few times after leaving command. Social contact initiated by 590th folks did take place and softened the isolation. There was another Maintenance Company in the LSA with which I could ,and did, work with freely and often. That helped. This section of my story is much less detailed because the majority of my time was spent gathering, analyzing and presenting data and /or pushing paper. There were, however, some events I clearly remember. One that stands out is my first trip to Blackhorse Base Camp to visit the 551st LT Maintenance Company. We flew in Huey and because enemy fire was common between Bearcat and Blackhorse the pilot flew just above the treetops. This particular pilot had been up North where he had been shot at often. It was only my second or third ride in a chopper and none in the past were even close to being as scary. At the time I remember thinking it might be less risky to take a chance with the enemy than the top of some trees.--- but the choice was not mine.. In any case we made it safely but I was scared enough to look for another ride back to Bearcat and found one. It was not scary. In addition to maintenance and supply he 551st also supported a Graves Registration section assigned to the LSA which was regularly visited by LSA staff going to Black Horse. My first staff visit was my first experience with how the remains of those who fall in battle are handled. To this day I remain impressed with the respect shown and the careful and gentle processing of the bodies and personal effects I witnessed during visits. After initial processing , the bodies were flown out – I think to either Saigon or Bien Hoa for transport home. �Another experience I had involving operations at Blackhorse was the time we drove rather than take a chopper. I no longer recall the reason we had to drive but it was not normal to do that as there was VC activity all around Blackhorse. We went in a Jeep. I was the only officer. There were three NCOs whose names I do not recall. We left from Bearcat, went through Long Binh, to Xuan Loc, and then to Blackhorse. The trip up was uneventful as I have no memory other than stopping in Xuan Loc to see where an artillery unit had fired 105MM Howitzers at point blank range with “beehive” rounds and still were overrun. It was the return trip that was scary. It was getting late in the day and we were pushing the Jeep along when the engine cut out – and we were stopped dead in the road in the middle of a rubber plantation. No other vehicles were nearby and it was too late and too far to walk to where we knew there were troops. One NCO went to working on the engine and three of us set up a perimeter in case some VC showed up. It was so quiet . I will never forget it. Finally , after about 20 minutes , the Jeep engine started and we were out of there!!! A wire in the distributer turned out to be the problem. We were very, very lucky. I took an R&R to Hong Kong in September of 1969. I called Lil at home after staying in a warm shower for about an hour. It was during this phone call that I learned of her Dad’s battle with cancer and the expectation of his death. Hard stuff for both of us. Mostly I did some sightseeing and shopping and resting. I bought Lil some lovely cloth which she would make into a dress after I got home. My second award (First Oak Leaf Cluster) of the Bronze Star medal was announced on 26 September 1969 in US Army Support Command, Saigon General Orders 1252. This award for Meritorious Service covered the period November 1968 – October 1969. This was a standard award given to Officers who performed well in support of combat operations throughout their tour of duty in Vietnam. Coming Home On 9 September 1969 US Army Support Command, Saigon issued Special Orders 252 directing my reassignment from Vietnam to the US Army Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency in Joliet, Illinois. My date for leaving Vietnam was established as 3 November 1969 with a reporting date in Joliet of NLT 8 December 1969. These orders allowed me 66 lbs of air baggage and an additional 134 lbs of excess baggage. I was to report to the Replacement Detachment NLT 24 hours prior to aircraft departure with my ID Card, ID Tags, shot record and 8 malaria pills. US Army Support Command modified my original reassignment orders: Saigon Special Orders 281 dated 8 October 1969. These orders adjusted my Vietnam departure date to 27 October 1969 and my Joliet, Illinois reporting date to 1 December 1969. �I left Bearcat for the last time at 0900 hrs on October 26, 1969. We went by jeep to the USARV Replacement Detachment. We got there about 1000 hrs. I was back where I had started. I was wearing my combat uniform. My weapon and steel pot and flack jacket were taken back to the supply room at Bearcat. I processed out and spent the night. The next day, October 27, 1969, I took a shower in the afternoon. I threw out all my fatigue clothes - my hat, uniform, boots – everything -- and put on the uniform I wore on the way in to Vietnam. I had not worn it in a year except to try it on to be sure it still fit. We got on the bus and at about 1600 hrs we got to the airfield at Bien Hoa. Same building and the same distractions as when I arrived, only this time the focus was on the plane approaching the departure point. My freedom bird! We cheered the new arrivals and boarded. We lifted off about 1700 hrs. Our flight this time went to Kyota Japan and then to Anchorage Alaska, where we were greeted in the gate area by of group of women who also provided home-made cookies and coffee for all. What a kindness. Then we were off to Travis Air Force Base. We arrived in Travis just before midnight on 27 October 1969. I called Lil and Carol and a group of us took a Taxi to San Francisco International Airport. Carol and her new husband Greg met me and we went to their apartment in San Jose. I again called Lil and had a short rest. We arose early and I put on civilian clothes because at Travis we were told flying in uniform might result in harassment by members of the peace movement. By 0800 Greg, Carol and I were back in San Francisco at the airport to catch my flight bound for Chicago. I arrived at O’Hare at about 1400 in the afternoon, Called Li, and put on my uniform. I flew out of Chicago at about 1530 and arrived in Kalazamoo at about 1615 in the afternoon. Lil met me and drove me to our apartment at 3485 Kenbrook Court where I saw my son Keith for the first time. He was then 5 ?? months old. My first words to him were ”aren’t you something.” I had made the journey. It is a part of my life forever. � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Brodie, Craig (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brodie, Craig Description An account of the resource Craig Brodie was born in Plattsburgh, New York in 1941 and grew up Newtown, Connecticut. He attended the University of Vermont and Army ROTC there and received his commission in 1963 He served in Germany with the 4th Medium Tank Battalion of the 68th Armored Regiment as well as the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Cavalry participating in training maneuvers and border patrol of the East/West German border. He then served at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He commanded the 590th Maintenance Company at Bearcat, a base outside of Saigon. After Vietnam he served in different positions in the US and Korea, and retired at the rank of colonel. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--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 2014-03-06 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrodieC1577V 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/fd26a8eebad9c1a801f4c2ff663ac5c2.mp4 367337c47e54a228642ebe05d13520aa https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6745d91fac51381f83baa2cec55fd397.pdf 3effc2275a751c36a7bcf2a4e4631f13 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Daniel Broe Vietnam War Interview Length: (02:33:14:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:18:00)  Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949 and has spent most of his life living in the West Michigan area; in fact, Broe’s service time was the only extended period where he did not live in West Michigan (00:00:18:00) o Broe’s parents divorced when he was very young and his mother re-married in 1955, with her new husband owning a forty-acre farm (00:00:41:00) o However, with the addition of Broe’s mother plus Broe and his brother, the farm could not longer provide for the family, so their step-father took a job working at a factory in Holland, Michigan (00:01:02:00)  Broe’s step-father eventually left the factory and found work as a truck driver (00:01:15:00)  In the meantime, Broe’s mother stayed at home (00:01:20:00) o Broe completed high school, although very reluctantly; Broe was disillusioned with high school very early on, which made it difficult for Broe to keep up with his classmates or to do anything (00:01:27:00)  While Broe was attending high school, he also had a job working at a grocery store, a job he held for about nine or ten months after he graduated from high school (00:01:43:00)  However, Broe eventually wanted to earn more money, so he took up welding and went to work for a company in Holland that made ½-ton military trailers (00:02:06:00)  Broe eventually moved on from the company that made the military trailers to a company making luxury yachts and he was working at the yacht company when he finally received his draft notice (00:02:32:00) o Broe’s draft notice came around February/March of 1969 (00:02:53:00)  When he received his draft notice, Broe had been keeping up to date on the Vietnam war via the nightly six o’clock news casts (00:03:04:00) o While Broe was still in high school, two men from Allegan went over to Vietnam and were both killed in action; because Allegan was a small town at the time, having two men killed brought the attention of every in the town (00:03:20:00) o Although not everyone in the town openly talked about the war, they were all acutely aware that there was a draft and that the young men in the town were become eligible for it (00:03:52:00) o Broe himself did not have an extensive personal view of the war or what he would do when he received his own draft notice (00:04:19:00)  The thought of going to war was, at the same time, both scary and romanticized for Broe (00:04:22:00)  Broe knew it was coming and he had determined that at the very least, he was not going to run from it (00:04:42:00) �   As well, part of Broe viewed his being drafted as one less person being drafted from Allegan who might have leanings towards family; Broe himself had always been a loner, so leaving for the military was not a problem (00:04:54:00) o On the other hand, Broe did not know too much about why exactly the United States was in Vietnam to begin with; he would see the rumors in the newspaper and hear about them from the news casts that said the United Stated was stopping the spread of communism or protecting financial interests, etc. (00:05:19:00)  Deep down, Broe knew it was probably a combination of all those things but which rumor he heard depended on which speech was being given that particular day (00:05:45:00) o At the time, the young men were all looking for different ways to avoid the draft and when Broe looked at them for himself, they did not seem practical; things such as moving to Canada did not seem reasonable, especially with the stories that the government would eventually come after them (00:06:05:00) When Broe first turned eighteen, he had to go to a physical a couple of weeks after he registered for the draft; for the physical, Broe had to go to Detroit, Michigan for two or three days (00:06:51:00) o The night before the physical, all the young men went out on the town and the bars in Detroit were not shy about allowing them to drink, even though they were underage (00:07:28:00) o Several of the men tried to get their blood pressure to the correct level so that they would not have to serve (00:07:40:00) Once Broe received his draft notice, he returned to Detroit and joined a group of around forty or fifty other men who were being screened in on that particular day (00:08:03:00) o The men were told to line up and start counting off by five, which started the biggest scramble, with everybody trying to do a really quick count and cut into the line (00:08:33:00)  Broe thought the whole sequence was ridiculous, so he stood his ground and was the number five in the line (00:08:54:00) o After everyone had counted off, the men were told to sit down and then, the names of individual recruits were called out and those recruits went into rooms that surround the large room where the group was (00:09:01:00)  Then, a group of eight names was called out at the same time, with Broe’s name being the first (00:09:25:00) o The group of eight recruits were taking from the main room into a smaller conference room, where an Army PFC (Private, First Class) eventually came in and said the eight had been selected for the Marine Corps (00:09:30:00)  The PFC asked if any of the men had a serious objection to serving in the Marine Corps and Broe, being a smart-ass, raised his hand and said, because he did not want to (00:09:51:00)  The PFC gave the men a rundown of what was going to happen and what the men would be doing for the rest of the day (00:10:10:00)  All the Army recruits were waiting for their transportation and Broe remembers looking outside and seeing a couple of other men � from Allegan outside, policing the area surrounding the building for used cigarette butts (00:10:17:00)  Broe’s group kept together and moved from room to room, where they did things such as being officially sworn into the Marines (00:10:35:00)  The one selection that the men did have was choosing between going through training at Parris Island, South Carolina or at San Diego, California (00:10:49:00)  There was a black man in the group and he said he wanted to go to Parris Island because it was closer to home; however, Broe told the man that he figured the Marines did it differently than the Army and they would not be coming home as much (00:10:57:00)  The PFC backed up Broe but said he could not split the group up; when Broe said he wanted to nice weather in San Diego, the other men in the group agreed (00:11:13:00) After they finished the initial stages, the group of eight boarded a bus that took them to the Detroit Metro airport, where they first flew to Chicago then on to San Diego, where they arrived late in the evening (00:11:38:00) o When the group first arrived at the airport, either a first sergeant or a master sergeant was there to greet the men; the sergeant ordered the men into a line, told them that when they were given the order to move, they would step off with their right foot, and they would not speak unless spoken to (00:12:27:00)  There were other people in the airport who were watching the entire sequence in awe of what was happening (00:13:01:00)  Although the sergeant did not yell, he was very firm in his orders and the men knew he meant business (00:13:10:00) o The men were marched aboard a bus and were driven to their final destination; however, it was getting dark and the men had no way of knowing where they had been or where they were going (00:13:20:00) o Once the bus arrived, another Marine stood in the doorway of the bus and told the men that when he gave the order, they would all get off the bus and woe be to the last man off the bus (00:13:53:00)  As well, any man who touched the Marine would get in trouble; however, the Marine was as wide as the doors, so there was some creative twisting by the men but inevitably, some of the men touched him (00:14:20:00)  The entire sequence was a prelude of what was going to come; no matter what the orders were, the men could follow them perfectly but there would still be something wrong (00:14:39:00) o Once the men were off the bus, they lined up and went into a building were they took off all their civilian clothes and were assigned three sets of the basic trousers, sweatshirts, and underwear; as well, the men all received the traditional Marine Corps haircut (00:14:55:00)  The whole time, the men had been instructed that they were not supposed to talk unless something was wrong, and then, they were supposed to bring it to the attention of the instructors (00:15:28:00)  Every time the men completed something, they returned to the parking lot where they had been dropped off (00:16:10:00) � o The orientation process continued through the first night and until around midday of the following day, when the decision was made that the men could have something to eat (00:16:15:00)  The men were taken to a mess hall to eat with all their equipment, although one of the men had to stand guard over it (00:16:32:00)  The men had to go through the ritual of everyone doing things as a unit, so once they had gotten their food and set their trays on the table, the men all had to sit down at the same time (00:17:12:00)  However, all the men were tired from having gone through the orientation the previous night and they ended up having to go through the process of sitting down as a group about twenty times, trying to get it right (00:17:28:00)  Once seated, the men had to sit at attention, looking straight ahead and at nothing else; then, when the orders was given to eat, the men got about one fork-full of food before being told to get out (00:17:54:00) o After “eating”, the men went back to the formation and back to the barracks to continue going through orientation, which lasted through the remainder of the afternoon (00:18:26:00)  Eventually, the men were issued linens, which made Broe suspect they would getting near beds sooner rather than later (00:18:42:00)  The men were taken to an area filled with Quonset huts; the huts were well-used and the men could tell that thousands of people had gone in and out of them (00:18:55:00)  Once in the huts, the men divided into squads and were assigned to different squad bays (00:19:23:00)  After the squads had their individual squad bays, the men received instruction about how to properly make their beds (00:19:34:00)  After they made their beds, the men went through more things, going in and out of their Quonset huts (00:19:48:00)  The men ended up going to sleep in the huts around one o’clock in the morning, the following day; apart from the “meal” they had had at midday, the men did not eat anything until breakfast (00:20:01:00) o At the time, the men were questioning why they were doing so much but there was a purpose behind every bit of it; if the men can survive the ordeal and grasp those purposes, then they were successful (00:20:31:00) At that point, the recruits’ boot camp lasted for thirteen weeks, which included two weeks spent at nearby Camp Pendleton on the rifle range, where the men went through live-fire training to qualify with their weapons (00:21:17:00) o Everyone had to qualify with the weapons; every Marine was a rifleman and their other assignments were secondary (00:21:35:00) o The daily routine of the recruits was broken down into a morning run, followed by breakfast then either doing drills and exercises or going to classes on everything from maintaining their rifles to Marine Corps history (00:21:59:00)  In the classes, the recruits were taught everything they needed to know how to do; in some cases, the recruits would be taught something but would not know the reasoning behind the lesson until later (00:22:45:00) �   Every day, the men did some form of physical training, which were usually calisthenics before the morning run; the first couple of weeks, the runs were shorter but they eventually reached their normal length of three miles (00:23:10:00) Broe believes he adjusted to life in the military better than some of the other recruits did; however, he had no illusions about what military life would be like (00:23:41:00) o Going in, Broe knew it was going to be a different experience, more physical and more demanding (00:24:09:00)  Deep down, Broe also knew that his only real purpose for going through the training was to become the rifleman that every Marine recruit eventually became (00:24:18:00)  Broe had no illusions of what his experiences would be like and many of the things he expected would eventually happen ended up actually happening (00:24:28:00) During his time in boot camp, Broe actually ended up training with two different platoons and in one of the platoons, there was a particular recruit who felt the full wrath of the drill instructors; everything the recruit did was wrong and he would always be singled out for ridicule by the drill instructors (00:24:45:00) o The platoon commander was very extreme in the training and would constantly pick out the single recruit and it eventually reached the point that the commander caused the recruit to be physically hurt (00:25:46:00) o At one point, the recruits were using stamps to stamp their names into their uniforms; the way the ink pads were set up, it was possible to get ink along the sides of the stamp, which would leave lines on the uniform and cause trouble for any recruit who did that (00:26:22:00)  While they were doing the stamping, the recruits were sitting on their foot lockers on the road outside their Quonset hut, with a 3’ or 4’ platform off to the side where the instructor would sit (00:27:02:00)  The one recruit screwed up the stamp and got lines, so he was called up to the platform to have his uniform examined and the drill instructor ended up kicking the recruit in the chest (00:27:21:00)  At night, just before the recruits went to bed, they would stand on their foot lockers and a drill instructors would walk behind them and tap their lower backs; if a recruit felt he needed to go to sick bay the next morning, he would say “yes sir” when the instructor touched his back (00:27:58:00)  The one recruit was in another Quonset hut but on the night of the stamping incident, the other recruits knew he was hurting from the drill instructor’s kick (00:28:37:00)  The recruit went to the sick bay the next morning and although the other men did not know exactly what happened, the rumors were that the drill instructor’s kick had cracked the recruit’s breastplate and that a Navy doctor was investigating the incident (00:28:46:00) o About two weeks later, the drill instructor who had kicked the recruit disappeared as well (00:29:13:00)  Broe ran into the drill instructor later, while in his staging unit to go overseas, and the instructor was also on his way to Vietnam (00:29:28:00) �    Although the other drill instructors never let up on the recruits, they were not allowed to physically touch the recruits; however, there was no way anyone could really enforce that type of a rule (00:29:58:00) o The instructors would get right in the recruit’s face to yell at them; if they looked both ways before hand, then the recruit knew that the instructor was going to hit them and most of the time, it was only a punch in the stomach (00:30:16:00)  However, if a recruit tightened up when the instructor was about to hit him, then things got real bad of the recruit (00:30:35:00) There were a couple of recruits who thought they were harder than the drill instructors; however, there is nothing harder than a Marine Corps drill instructor (00:31:01:00) o The instructors would not tell the recruits to do anything that they themselves could not do ten times better and if the recruits butted heads with them, the recruits were going to lose (00:31:23:00) o For some of the recruits, it took a long time to get that lesson through their skull and most of the time, it took the intervention of the rest of the recruits to tell the individual to stop; whenever one recruit would need punishment, the rest of the platoon was punished as well (00:31:34:00) At one point during the training, each recruit would either spend a week doing guard duty around the San Diego depot or they would be on mess duty (00:32:08:00) o Broe’s squad pulled mess duty and one day, the recruits were eating spaghetti for their evening meal; the spaghetti sauce was cooked in massive containers and then carried up to the line and dumped into serving vessels, where it was handed out to the recruits going through line (00:32:20:00)  Broe was serving sauce to the recruits and did not know a new container of sauce had been brought up; he turned around, fell, his back arched over the container and he pulled something in his lower back (00:32:52:00)  Broe was sent to the sick bay, where doctors took x-rays and determined that Broe needed to take it easy for a couple of weeks (00:33:13:00) o Broe did not know how he was going to be able to do that because after the week of either mess duty or guard duty, the recruits were headed up to the rifle range at Camp Pendleton (00:33:26:00)  The rest of the platoon continued on to the rifle range but Broe had to stay in the medical rehab platoon in San Diego for two weeks (00:33:40:00) o While with the rehab platoon, Broe was assigned to stand guard in the motivational platoon barracks every night; although he was supposed to be rehabilitating, Broe had to stand in a doorway every night and watch the ten to twelve recruits in the platoon, the hard to crack cases (00:34:01:00)  Broe was given a night stick and told that if anyone escaped, despite having a back injury, he was supposed to chase after them (00:34:40:00)  However, standing guard showed Broe all the stuff the recruits in the motivational platoon went through; until then, Broe thought he had a good idea what the disciplinary aspect of the Marine Corps was but when he finished the guard duty, he was convinced the best thing to get back to the training, regardless of how his back felt (00:34:55:00) Once he had healed, Broe was assigned to another training platoon, who he stayed with until he finished his training (00:35:30:00) � o For the most part, the drill instructors kept the training similar for all the training platoons (00:35:52:00) o Broe believes that when he joined the new training platoon, he had a fresher attitude (00:36:11:00) In order to officially graduate from boot camp, all the recruits had to go through a standardized physical training test and Broe did a lot better during the test than he had done while training with his previous training platoon (00:36:24:00) o The various drill instructors were rated based on how well their training platoon did as a whole; however, not every recruit could do every part of the training to a high degree (00:36:44:00)  Broe held his own in most every part of the training but excelled in the 30’ rope climb and sit-ups, at least in repetitions per minute (00:37:01:00)  During the standardized test, clerks would keep track of the recruit’s progress and during his platoon’s test, there were apparently some recruits who were weak at the rope climb, because Broe ended up climbing three times, once for himself and once each for two other recruits (00:37:19:00) o The same thing, recruits qualifying for other recruits, happened on the rifle range, which amazed Broe and was the first time he noticed that there was a slight illusion regarding the training; the drill instructors were not actually doing what they said they were doing (00:39:01:00)  Yes, all of the recruits would be riflemen but in some cases, the recruits were not earning that distinction (00:39:20:00)  Fortunately, Broe did well and qualified as “expert” on both the prequalification tests and the actual qualification tests (00:39:30:00)  Out of a possible two-hundred-and-twenty-five points, Broe scored two-hundred-and-twenty-two; the only deductions came on the seated portion of the test, where Broe did not have himself positioned correctly, which caused him to rock back and he could not recover fast enough (00:40:03:00)  Once Broe got back to the 500 meter line was when he did the test for three other recruits (00:40:35:00)  Broe fired his own series and hit them all accurately; then, he was told to fire for another recruit, who barely had any points and needed Broe to fire “expert” from 500 meters just to qualify at the basic level (00:40:42:00)  Although Broe was not sure if he could continue firing at the “expert”-level, he did and managed to qualify all three recruits, who were extremely grateful and made Broe a valuable pick-up for the platoon (00:41:06:00) o In boot camp, if a platoon picked up an individual recruit. such as Broe, there was often suspicion about the new recruit and in Broe’s case, he never really connected with the other recruits until they finished qualifying at the rifle range (00:41:24:00) �   When Broe arrived at the new platoon, the other recruits came right out and said they did not want any troublemakers in the platoon (00:41:57:00)  Although Broe knew why the recruits said that, he would have suspected that they at least give him a little bit of time to prove himself (00:42:05:00)  When the recruits were qualifying on the rifle range, they used the M-14 rifle; Broe did not fire an M-16 rifle until just before he went into staging for deployment to Vietnam (00:42:27:00)  However, even that brief period with the M-16 was only meant to somewhat familiarize the recruits with the rifle (00:42:35:00) Once they finished their training at San Diego, Broe and the other recruits went to Camp Pendleton and were placed in an Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) (00:42:54:00) o The training with the ITR consisted of field exercises and training in basic infantry maneuvers (00:43:09:00) o Nothing really exceptional happened until the very end of the training, when Broe, having qualified expert, was given the choice of being able to go to either sniper school or recon training (00:43:23:00)  During the ITR training, Broe had seen the training at the recon school and it looked like all it consisted of was running and carrying heavy equipment; instead, he opted for the sniper training, although that training turned out to be nearly the same thing (00:43:42:00) o The one major difference was that the sniper training concentrated more on the specific weapon, a Remington 700 sniper rifle with a 3x9 Redfield scope mounted on it (00:44:08:00)  Broe qualified “expert” with the rifle from 600 meters in the prone position and earned his sniper rating (00:44:23:00) The sniper training lasted for an additional thirty days; the actual name of the training was scout/sniper school and the recruits learned how to be a forward observer to call in artillery and air strikes, how to do field first aid, land navigation and all the critical things the recruits needed to do to effective work by themselves (00:44:38:00) o During the training, Broe was fortunate because the instructors were receiving information from Vietnam about the situations scout/snipers were facing; as the recruits went through a specific aspect of training, the instructors would tell them what situations happened in Vietnam and how the training applied (00:45:28:00) o As well, most of the instructors themselves had already served in Vietnam; if the instructor held a higher rank, such as an E-8 or and E-9, then the recruits were not certain what exactly the instructor’s assignment had been in Vietnam but when the recruits would break down into small groups, those instructors were often E4s who had just returned from Vietnam (00:46:19:00) o By working with the veteran instructors, the recruits gained a lot of confidence; they became attune to the situations (00:47:18:00)  Although the recruits knew there was a chance someone might not come back, that was something they never dwelled on or even thought about to a large extent (00:47:39:00) �   When situations developed in the field, Broe could quickly analyze what was happening, decide what the possible outcomes might be and make a decision based off his analysis (00:47:55:00)  As well, training with the instructors made the recruits acutely aware of what would be expected of them and how they needed to perform when things happened (00:48:11:00) Once he finished the training at Camp Pendleton, Broe returned home on a thirty-day leave in October 1969; however, Broe was antsy and by the time the thirty days were over, he was ready to go back (00:48:28:00) o It really was a love-hate relationship with the Marines; the whole time he was in training, Broe kept thinking about how he wanted to go home on leave but once he was on leave, he was ready to go back (00:48:46:00) o For the most part, it was hard for Broe to re-connect with the people back home in Allegan (00:48:59:00)  As it just so happened, there was another man from Allegan who enlisted just after Broe was drafted and Broe met up with the man while he was with the ITR at Camp Pendleton (00:49:03:00)  Broe did not talk too much with the man after encountering him in the mess hall but when Broe returned home on leave, the other man came back around the same time (00:49:50:00) Before actually deploying over to Vietnam, when Broe returned to California, he was placed back in the group of scout/snipers he had trained with (00:50:28:00) o At the time, the Americans were trying to institute the process of Vietnaminization, where the South Vietnamese military would have greater responsibility for the fighting, so there was a question of whether or not Broe’s group would even deploy to Vietnam (00:50:52:00)  However, the men had been through the training and although they were headed for something hazardous, they still wanted to go (00:51:15:00) o There was a delay in the deployment of the men, which made it Christmas and Broe went to visit his brother, who he had not seen since Broe was a freshman in high school; Broe’s brother had been a sophomore but decided to quit school and enlist in the Navy (00:51:32:00)  However, the brother was stationed in Vallejo, California, which was well outside the five-hundred mile limit the men were allowed to travel in while on leave (00:51:56:00)  Nevertheless, Broe went to Vallejo for Christmas and still managed to make it back in time for formation (00:52:04:00) o When the men formed formation after Christmas, they had news that they would deploy to Vietnam, although it was still two weeks off (00:52:14:00)  They actually started the process of deploying Broe’s group around the second or third week of January (00:52:28:00)  During the twenty or so days that the men were waiting in January, there was very little for them to do; every day, the men would fall out for a headcount then immediately go to the bulletin board to see whether anything had been posted (00:53:33:00) �  If nothing had been posted, the men were allowed to go off the base and into town (00:53:50:00) When the day finally came where they did deploy, Broe and the other Marines were loaded on a chartered commercial airplane (00:54:10:00) o After leaving California, the flight first went to Hawaii for half-an-hour as the airplane re-fueled before flying to Okinawa; in Okinawa, the men packed all their equipment into duffle bags (00:54:40:00) Vietnam Deployment (00:55:33:00)  The Marines stayed in Okinawa for about four days before flying into Da Nang, where they were taken off the airplane and herded into an in-processing center (00:55:33:00) o When they arrived at the in-processing center, it was reminiscent of that first day in Detroit for Broe; someone was calling off names and other Marines in the group started going in different directions (00:56:10:00)  Broe’s group of scout/snipers was split up and assigned to several different units; everyone’s name but Broe and another sniper were called and at the end, those two were called up and told they were joined the 1st Recon, which Broe had tried to avoid (00:56:17:00) o Broe was official assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (1st Recon) as a scout/sniper (00:56:52:00)  When Broe arrived in Vietnam, 1st Recon was stationed on Camp Reasoner, which was located at the base of a mountainous ridgeline to the west of Da Nang (00:57:07:00) o Later, Broe found out the reason the camp was built where it was, tucked in close to the ridgeline, was because the Americans controlled the ridgeline and if the enemy tried to launch a mortar or rocket against the base, the mortars or rockets impacted along the ridgeline (00:57:26:00) o 1st Recon consisted of five combat infantry companies, each with four platoons, and a headquarters company; each company was self-sufficient and supplied its own support and medical services (00:57:45:00) o To get to Reasoner, Broe rode out from Da Nang in the back of an open deuceand-a-half truck (00:58:28:00)  The whole experience was somewhat surreal for Broe; he was going into a combat environment and he did not know what to expect (00:58:39:00)  When Broe and the other Marines first got off the plane in Da Nang, there was a long line leading around the airplane and the men were told to walk on the outside of the line (00:58:45:00) o The men figured that it was a war zone and that any moment, they would be given a rifle and dragged off the a battle (00:58:56:00)  When catching the ride out to Reasoner, the truck Broe rode in drove down the center of the road and the driver drove the truck like there was no tomorrow (00:59:11:00)  Getting from the airport in Da Nang out to Reasoner took about twenty minutes to half-an-hour (01:00:01:00) o Reasoner had a perimeter surrounding it consisting of concertina wire and guard bunkers, with Marines standing watch day and night (01:00:16:00) � However, most of the guards came out of the headquarters unit because the commanders wanted the men in the actual recon companies to be able to go on combat patrols and perform operations (01:00:29:00) o Surprisingly, when Broe arrived at Reasoner, everyone on the base was very open, albeit, a little guard; the others wanted to know where Broe was from and whether he had a critical MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) (01:00:43:00)  At that point, Broe spent most of his time watching the Marines who were already on the base; he watched how they put stuff together, how they organized their equipment, etc. (01:01:12:00)  When Broe first arrived at the camp, he did not have a weapon; he had to go to the armory and draw one (01:01:31:00)  It was late afternoon when Broe arrived at Reasoner and the first thing he was assigned was a sleeping area; he organized everything in his area, including being assigned bed linens, before going to the armory for his weapon (01:01:37:00) o Once Broe arrived at the camp, the commanders assigned him to 2nd Platoon, Delta Company (01:02:13:00)  Once he had his assignment, Broe went into the platoon’s assigned area and inside his hooch, there were ten or twelve cots arranged so that each Marine had some personal space (01:02:25:00)  For Broe, it was difficult to initially set up his personal space because most everything that had belonged the previous Marines had been taken out (01:02:54:00)  Broe never asked what happened to the previous Marine; everyone just acted as if the Marine had rotated home (01:03:06:00) o If there was more to the story, then that would come out at a later time (01:03:16:00)  The first day was spent walking around, getting to know the other personnel and the layout of the camp (01:03:27:00)  Both Broe and the Marine he arrived with went to the battalion aid station to register; that, in the event something happened to either man, the personnel at the aid station would have all the relevant information to treat them (01:03:48:00) o On the second day, Broe and all the other Marines who had just arrived at the company within the past day or two were taken to an area below the hill the camp was built and started a session of training in how to properly operate a radio in the field (01:04:09:00)  Broe assumes the session was to make sure all the new arrivals were on the same page when it came to operating the radios; having gone through radio training extensively at the scout/sniper school, Broe already knew everything he needed to do (01:04:37:00)  Some of the other Marines, those who had just gone through the regular training, had seen a radio operate but they did not know how exactly everything worked (01:04:57:00) � During the session, each Marine got on the radio to call in practice fire missions; as well, they were shown the correct sequence for properly encrypting their messages (01:05:07:00)  The encryption capabilities amazed Broe; every day, the same encryptions were used throughout the entire country and by every branch of the military (01:05:28:00)  When Broe first learned how to encrypt the message, the military was using one method but halfway through Broe’s tour, the military changed the method (01:06:04:00) o For the second method, military personnel used a small device with a letter wheel and a legend beneath that; the way the wheel would be set determined the encryption of the message (01:06:20:00)  Personnel would line up the letters for a specific day and setting those letters would set corresponding letters for all the letters and numbers that the personnel might need to use (01:06:40:00)  Using the wheel method was easy once the method was explained to the men (01:06:57:00)  The radio training session lasted for about four or five days (01:07:03:00)  One thing Broe observed once he had arrived at the base was the weeks were no longer something they kept track off (01:07:08:00)  There were no breaks granted for certain days; for example, although there were religious services offered on the weekend, more often than not, there was something else that the Marines needed to do or wanted to do (01:07:20:00) o It took about four weeks after Broe arrived at the camp be he went into the field for the first time (01:07:47:00)  When he finally did go into the field, being the new guy, Broe had to carry the back-up radio and extra batteries for the primary radio (01:07:56:00)  Broe had to set up carrying the radio and spare batteries first; then he could determine where he would carry his own supplies, such as food and ammunition (01:08:06:00)  However, there was someone there who helped Broe and showed him the best way to set everything up (01:08:18:00)  One problem the men encountered was that the pouches on their web gear were meant to carry M-14 magazines but by that point, the men were carrying M-16s (01:08:28:00) o Because the M-16 magazines were so small compared to the M-14 magazines, the men were able to care four M-16 magazines per pouch, as well as another one tucked under the pouch’s flap (01:08:35:00)  For the most part, any developments in equipment went to the Army first; however, from what Broe understands, the Army is mainly responsible for said developments (01:08:57:00) �  During the first month, before he went into the field, Broe pulled a couple of bunker watches; however, once he actively started going on patrol, pulling watch stopped (01:09:36:00)  Broe’s unit would go into the field anywhere from six to seven days and most of the time, the unit operated in teams of around five Marines (01:09:46:00) o This meant Marines were constantly subbing in and out of the teams, with the only constant usually being the squad leader and the primary radioman (01:10:03:00) For the moment he was told he was going into the field for the first time, Broe was on edge; he kept thinking about whether he had his equipment organized properly in case something went wrong (01:10:37:00) o Broe kept going through the equipment, re-arranging different parts, making sure there were not pinch points, etc. (01:10:55:00) o Before being sent out, the men on the patrol would go to the mess hall but the first time Broe was set to go on a patrol, he was not able to eat anything (01:11:14:00) o The patrol needed to move quickly, which meant the Marines traveled light and two hours into his first patrol, it was evident to Broe why 1st Recon trained the way they did (01:11:32:00)  The men were trained to stay out of sight and avoid contact with the enemy at all costs (01:11:54:00)  If the men did encounter something, they would normally move away from it, not to retreat but to get to a position where they could observe the situation and figure out what the enemy was doing (01:12:03:00)  Ideally, if the enemy grouped in a area, the patrol would call an artillery or air strike on the area (01:12:15:00) o For the most part, the patrols would be flown into an area by helicopter because the areas where they would operate, mostly looking for enemy re-supply routes, were some distance away from Reasoner (01:12:35:00)  Where the actual re-supply routes, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, were was anybody’s guess because the routes were all over the place; it was a very complex system and it was amazing to Broe how the enemy were able to do it (01:12:50:00)  For the most part, most of the things the enemy did looked like they were from the stone age yet the re-supply routes were very well coordinated; the enemy knew what their capabilities were and what they could and could not do (01:13:04:00) o During Broe’s first patrol, everything was pretty much quiet (01:13:13:00)  However, the commanders wanted the new men to become acclimated to the various situations, so Broe suspects that his first patrol was sent to an area where another patrol had been through recently and found nothing of significance (01:13:23:00)  Broe and the new Marines were expected to observe and pick up what they needed to do on a day-in/day-out basis (01:13:42:00) o However, it did not take long, probably Broe’s third patrol, before things went askew from the moment the patrol arrived in the designated area (01:13:58:00) �o A patrol’s method for moving around in the field usually depended on the route the point man picked out (01:14:17:00)  If the point man felt secure enough to work on a trail, then the patrol would use the trail for a little bit; however, most of the time, the men would stay off the trails and would move parallel to them (01:14:21:00)  However, considerations also had to be taken by the men when moving parallel to a trail; for example, that method tended to be a lot noisier than moving on the trail (01:14:43:00) o During the patrols, the men were forced to carry their own food; however, the food they carried often tended to be very simple (01:15:02:00)  The C-Rations usually consisted of a 4oz can containing an “entrée”, a 4oz can of fruit, an a small tin of pound cake (01:15:07:00)  For the most part, the men on the patrols would carry food that did not need to be heated up (01:15:25:00)  As Broe’s tour progressed, the military started experimenting more with the use of dehydrated rations for the personnel; carrying a single pack of dehydrated rations for each day was a lot lighter than carrying around a bunch of can goods (01:15:34:00)  However, by and large, the physical conditioning of the Marines who went on the patrols was so high that the Marines could go all day without eating, have a can of peaches at night, and be perfectly fine (01:15:56:00)  Once they were finished with whatever they ate for the meal, the men would bury the empty cans and garbage, mostly to make sure the enemy did not know where they were and because carrying around and empty came tended to make noise (01:16:06:00)  The men also had to learn how to eat out of the can without hitting the side of the can with their utensil, which would often make a dull, “clunking” sound (01:16:17:00) o Being stealthy was of the utmost importance for the Marines when they were out on patrol; however, there were some men who tended to go a little bit overboard in that regard (01:16:28:00)  Broe remembers that one of the Marines was so noise conscious that he would not turn his head because he thought it would make a noise; instead, the Marine just rolled his eyes from side to side (01:16:38:00) o On occasion, because he was a sniper, Broe would stay in a specific place for a short period of time to watch a specific target; however, this only happened a couple of times (01:17:21:00)  There were several other times when Broe was part of a patrol and was armed with a sniper rifle but never had to use said rifle in a traditional sniper role (01:17:43:00)  When Broe was armed with a sniper rifle on a patrol, he was told that the patrol was looking for a specific individual; intelligence would say a specific NVA officer would be in a certain area at a certain time and the patrol would happen to be in the same area (01:18:04:00)  The men were supposed to keep their eyes open for the NVA officer and if an opportunity presented itself and it was practical, � Broe had orders to engage; however, the decision of whether Broe might engage the target ultimately remained with the squad leader commanding the patrol (01:18:28:00)  Sometimes, the patrol was under specific orders to find someone and other times, it was a target of opportunity and if the men felt they could take it, then they could take it (01:18:55:00)  During the sniper patrols, Broe would only carry the sniper rifle and a lot of the rifle ammunition (01:19:06:00)  Before Broe would take the shot at the target, the other Marines on the patrol would be strategically positioned; the other Marines would know the shot was coming and their only assignment was watching their assigned sector (01:19:35:00) When Broe went out on his third patrol, he was carrying the secondary radio, plus an M16 (01:20:02:00) o During the patrol, the men ended up accidentally walking right into the middle of enemy base camp, not realizing they were in a base camp until they walked into the middle of it (01:20:09:00) o When the men realized they were in the base camp, they hit the ground and began crawling along the trail (01:20:23:00)  As the men crawled down the trail, Broe remembers looking up and seeing fresh dirt bordering the bunkers the enemy had dug along a ridgeline further up the trail (01:20:28:00) o Strangely, there was nobody in the base camp, so the men crept through very slowly and eventually reached the other side (01:20:40:00) o Once the men were far enough away from the camp, they plotted the entire camp and prepared to call in a fire mission (01:20:58:00) o However, as the men were waiting for the squad leader and radioman to call in the fire mission, they heard the sound of voices coming down the trail; the two enemy were talking quite loudly, which indicated that they had no idea the Marines were in the area (01:21:06:00) o When one of the Marines in the platoon started getting short-time, the platoon sergeant started messing with him, suggesting they do things that could potentially end badly (01:21:37:00)  As the two enemy soldiers walked past, the platoon sergeant suggested they grab one as a prisoner (01:21:53:00)  However, although the short-timer said it was a bad idea, both men moved like they were going to grab one of the enemy; meanwhile, Broe moved to a position further down to trail to block it off in case the other two did make a move to grab one of the soldiers (01:21:03:00)  All of a sudden, everybody was whispering for Broe to come back, which he did (01:22:07:00) o Broe does not know if the two enemy soldiers on the trail heard the platoon talking or saw movement but all of sudden, the base camp became very active; from where the men sat, it almost looked as if the enemy was trying to move forces to flank their position (01:22:16:00) � The men were not certain if the enemy knew the men were there but they were sure something was up (01:22:39:00) o The men waited until it was almost night before the platoon sergeant called in and requested and extraction, if at all possible; the terrain around the Marines’ position made landing a helicopter impossible but the area overhead was open, making a ladder extraction possible (01:22:44:00)  As the men climbed up the ladder, they took fire from all the surrounding enemy forces (01:23:23:00)  Climbing the ladder was a bit nerve-wracking for the men because it was a long climb to reach the helicopter (01:23:45:00)  To do a rope extraction, a rope ladder is rolled up in the back of a CH-46 helicopter and once the helicopter is hovering over the extraction area, the ladder is kicked out (01:23:57:00)  Once the ladder is on the ground, the helicopter slowly pulls up, so there is just enough ladder left on the ground for all the men to hook onto; as soon as all the men were hooked on, the helicopter lifted the ladder up (01:24:11:00)  Broe has a lot of admiration for the pilots, who hovered in the area, which made them a perfect target for anyone on the ground as the men hooked onto the ladder (01:24:40:00)  The harness the men used to hook to the ladder with was the first thing they put on over their uniform; once the ladder was there, it was only a matter of getting the D-ring out to hook on (01:25:08:00)  From the time the helicopter arrived until it finally pulled out, it was around four minutes, if not more (01:25:29:00)  Although that may not seem like a long time, it was an eternity for the pilots to be hover there (01:25:33:00)  There were machine gunners on the helicopter and they were peppering the area while the helicopter hovered over the extraction site; a .50-caliber had a way of keeping the enemy’s head down (01:25:45:00) o Broe’s first thought when the platoon sergeant suggested a ladder extraction was apprehension; not only was the helicopter exposed while hovering but then, the enemy knew where the men were (01:26:27:00) Battalion Re-structuring (01:27:10:00)  During Broe’s tour with 1st Recon, he started with Delta Company but around September 1970, there were more rumors of a down-sizing of the combat forces in Vietnam and the five combat companies were reconstructed to two re-enforced companies, while any Marine who was short-timer, along with the remaining parts of the battalion, rotated back to the United States (01:27:10:00) o Back in the United States, it was reported that a battalion had been withdrawn when in reality, the majority of the Marines in the unit remained in Vietnam (01:28:07:00)  During several times, the Marines became involved in firefights and skirmishes with enemy forces (01:28:51:00) �o Around mid-July, Broe was part of a mission into Laos and from the moment the men set down, the enemy knew the men were there (01:28:54:00)  The mission devolved into a constant run, with the men moving fast, trying to get away from the LZ, and avoiding open area because the enemy assumed that is where the men would go for extraction (01:29:07:00)  The men knew within a couple of hours that the patrol was not going to last for six or seven days, so they kept moving at a steady pace; however, they kept encounter different pockets of enemy soldiers (01:29:28:00)  The patrol was just before Broe’s 21st birthday and for a while during the patrol, he was not sure if he would live to see it (01:30:04:00)  The men ran for three days steady before they finally reached an area where they could be extracted (01:30:10:00)  This extraction was the men’s first interaction with a helicopter squadron nicknamed “the Purple Foxes” (01:30:23:00)  The pilots in the squadron were very good; during the extraction, the pilot came in so fast that when the helicopter landed, it bounced, but the tail was open, Broe and the other men were waiting, and they were able to hustle on (01:30:29:00)  The men did not know what the helicopters would encounter when the came in because they knew there was enemy in the surrounding area, so as one of the helicopters came in, another hovered around the extraction zone while a pair of Cobra gunships fired into the ground around the extraction zone (01:30:47:00)  When the men would look for a possible extraction zone, they would first look at their map for a possible location then head towards it; however, in most of the cases, the possible locations did not work because of the terrain (01:31:40:00)  Over the three days, the men scoped out six or eight different places that could have worked (01:32:03:00)  During the night, the men slept in shifts, with there always being at least to men awake at all times (01:32:14:00)  On the second night, the enemy launched a probing action against the men’s position; however, the men did not want to have to move in the dark, so they made believe they were not there (01:32:27:00) o The enemy was making so much noise that the men knew exactly where they were (01:33:01:00) o During the patrols where the men did have contact with the enemy, the men were not able to gather much in the way of usable information (01:33:26:00)  They did not want to risk the enemy getting too close just foe the sake of being able to identify uniform markings; as well, the enemy would often stop whatever they were doing to chase the men (01:33:26:00) o During one patrol, the men could hear an enemy convoy in the distance but by the time they got into the area, there was nothing around (01:33:57:00)  In those situations, it did make the men wondering in they were being the ones who were checked out (01:34:20:00) �  o Although his official records say Broe went on twenty-seven different patrols, over time, he lost count of how many he did while on his tour (01:34:48:00) o During Broe’s entire tour, his squad never took a single casualty; however, other sections of the unit did lose some men (01:35:02:00)  In November 1970, an entire fire team was lost during an extraction accident (01:35:12:00)  A helicopter came and in successfully extracted the team but accidentally flew into the side of a mountain (01:35:17:00)  For the next six to eight days, teams would go out and try to get into the area where the helicopter crashed (01:35:24:00) o The weather had initially caused the crash and it hampered efforts by the other teams to get into the area (01:35:35:00) o Eventually two teams were prepped to go into the area; although the odds of there being survivors was small, the men had no way of knowing for sure (01:35:52:00) o The men in the hooch next to Broe’s were the ones who actually found the fire team; Broe’s team had followed in another helicopter in case there needed to be a bigger perimeter while the other men worked (01:36:20:00) o The men carried black and white cameras with them on patrols to take pictures of any interesting intelligence; the commanders insisted the men take the pictures using a black and white camera and if someone took pictures with a color camera, the commanders did not want them (01:37:01:00) o Although he was near the same place multiple times, as far as Broe can remember, his team was never sent to the same place twice (01:37:28:00)  However, that does not mean someone else had been there before because on several occasions, it felt to Broe like someone else had already been through an area (01:37:44:00) o For the most part, the North Vietnamese soldiers that Broe and his team saw were from a distance; however, the team was close enough to identify markings on the soldiers’ uniforms (01:37:58:00) o It was impressive how much firepower could be put into a specific area but it was equally impressive when someone would stick their head out off the ground once the attack had stopped (01:38:29:00) Over the course of Broe’s tour, there was a fairly steady turnover amongst the other Marines in the unit (01:38:47:00) o Between the normal rotations and the restructuring of the unit, Broe ended up finishing his tour with a different group of Marines than who he had started his tour with (01:38:51:00) o The Marines who he had started his tour with had either already rotated home or ended up in one of the other fire teams after the unit’s restructuring (01:39:05:00) Apart from Reasoner, the Marines from the battalion were also stationed on a hill to the south of Da Nang to provide security for an NOD (Night Observation Device) team also stationed on the hill (01:39:37:00) �o The NOD team used a bulky device that mounted an early, primitive version of a night vision scope, called a “Starlight” scope; the team had the assignment of watching the territory surrounding the hilltop (01:39:50:00) o To the west of the hilltop were the Que Son mountains and on several occasions, while his team was stationed on the NOD hill to provide security, Broe would go into the mountains for a day or two to do traditional sniper mission (01:40:07:00)  Because people lived in those areas, there was constant movement and picking out movement that represented an actual military target was difficult to do (01:40:27:00)  As well, Broe had mixed emotions about doing the missions as a result of the first time his team was stationed on the hill (01:40:37:00)  Before that first mission, Broe had checked out a sniper rifle and before the team left, the lieutenant leading the mission decided he wanted to fire the sniper rifle (01:40:46:00) o The rifle had yet to be sighted in but Broe figured he could get the sight in the ballpark (01:41:11:00)  Below the hill, there were people in what the men had been told was a free fire zone and the lieutenant, with Broe beside him using a spotter scope, eventually picked a target somewhere at the bottom of the hill and fired (01:41:17:00)  Broe saw the round hit and he asked the lieutenant if the lieutenant knew what he had been aiming at; however, the lieutenant said he had not see the round hit (01:41:35:00)  Bore had a rough idea of where the lieutenant was aiming, a small clump of black dirt, so Broe began readjusting the rifle’s sights from where he saw the bullet land to clump of dirt (01:41:50:00)  There were three Vietnamese near the clump of dirt and they alternated between waving frantically and squatting down to do something (01:42:15:00) o Squads had gone off the hill before and run into enemy booby-traps, so the team did not know what exactly the Vietnamese individuals were doing (01:42:24:00)  Meanwhile, the lieutenant was trying to fire warning shots to try and push the Vietnamese away from the area (01:42:35:00)  With the last bullet he fired, the lieutenant ended up shooting one of the Vietnamese, a woman, and killing her (01:43:25:00) o When the round hit the woman, Broe had been watching through the spotter scope and he said, “got one”; however, the lieutenant said that he had not trying to hit anyone (01:43:41:00)  The exchange conflicted Broe; he had gone through all the training and was even good enough to get the rifle to work without even shooting but the lieutenant made it seem as though it was a bad thing (01:43:50:00)  As it turned out, some ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) soldiers were stationed on the hill at the same time, they reported the � incident, there was a trial during July and August, and the lieutenant was acquitted after he convinced the tribunal that he had not been intentionally aiming at the Vietnamese (01:44:15:00) o However, the lieutenant was the type of officer where he did not tell the tribunal that Broe had been adjusting the sights on the rifle after every shot (01:44:52:00) o Broe was eventually called to the witness stand and the lieutenant’s defense team tried to get Broe to tell what he had been doing while spotting the rounds (01:45:08:00)  Although he did not realize it at the time, the one defense lawyer was trying to get Broe to admit that he had been adjusting the sights (01:45:28:00) o Although the lieutenant ended up being acquitted, Broe later found out that the defense team had been trying to get Broe to take the blame, but the lieutenant did not want that to happen (01:45:48:00)  Whenever the defense of prosecution asked Broe a question, Broe would look at the lieutenant, who would slight nod if Broe could continue (01:46:01:00)  The entire situation was hard on Broe because he had been sent to Vietnam to do a specific job but was then told he would not be able to do said job (01:46:42:00)  There was a sergeant stationed on the hill at the time who called Broe bloodthirsty and tried to demonize Broe to the rest of the men; Broe does believe that some of the men had a distrust of him as a result of the whole incident (01:47:04:00)  When the men went on patrols, it was strictly business but Broe always wondered in the back of his mind, if all the chips were laid down, how many men would actually help him (01:47:34:00) Toward the end of Broe’s tour, after the battalion had been restructured, the men began doing more patrols near populated areas, especially in the western part of the Que Son mountains (01:48:19:00) o From what Broe observed, the enemy re-supply efforts that the men had seen on earlier patrols had been and was being used by the enemy to help fortify the mountains (01:48:50:00)  Actually catching the enemy re-supply was difficult because the re-supply trails came in from all directions and it was very sporadic timing for when the re-supplies would be brought in (01:49:04:00) o The men would be inserted into the mountains, patrol around for a time, then walk to one of the Marine units that had occupied nearby positions for a re-supply; once re-supplied, the men went back into the filed (01:49:24:00) o Although there were Vietnamese civilians working in the valleys and the men knew the Vietnamese civilians were coming into the mountains, they never encountered any civilians (01:49:50:00) �   Broe went on an R&R in September; while he was gone, that was when the battalion reorganized, so when Broe came back, his old hooch was empty and all his stuff had been moved to another hooch (01:50:23:00) o For the R&R, Broe ended up going to Taiwan for seven days; Broe went to Taiwan because it was one of the only places that was available when he came in for his R&R (01:50:38:00)  Prior to the R&R, the men had known that when the rides came in, if the men were in the field, then the Marines serving at the base had first pick and often chose the prime destinations, such as Australia (01:51:03:00)  Broe had no desire to take his R&R to Bangkok in Thailand because it did not sound interesting to him; Taiwan, on the other hand, did sound interesting to Broe (01:51:18:00)  Broe had a very good time in Taiwan and spent most of the time with a young lady he was hooked up with; the young lady turned out to be a very intelligent individual (01:51:34:00)  Prior to going on the R&R, Broe drew all the money he could from the books in terms of pay, around $750, and when he arrived in Taiwan, the young lady asked if Broe trusted her; Broe said he did and she told him to give her the money (01:51:49:00)  By the end of the seven days, all Broe’s money was gone, which he knew would happen, but the young lady had set up an entire itinerary for herself and Broe, places to go and things to see (01:52:07:00)  During the seven days on leave, although Broe was in a place where there was not the possibility that people would be shooting at him, he still worried about it (01:52:38:00)  He was still checking around himself all the time because even in Taiwan, he was in a land of short, oriental people who he did not know (01:52:41:00) On Reasoner, there were some South Vietnamese civilians who came and went each day from the camp (01:53:01:00) o However, Broe had very little interaction with the civilians because he was going on and off the camp so much and whenever he was actually on the camp, he was either sleeping, grabbing some food, or getting his equipment squared away for the next mission (01:53:13:00) o Broe himself never had too much in the way of interaction with the civilian population (01:53:41:00) There was not really any tension between the men who went out on the patrols and the men who stayed behind on the camp (01:54:22:00) o Everyone who stayed behind on the camp had a job to do and how well they did their job determined how well the patrols did (01:54:27:00)  At one point, Broe heard a statistic that for every one man in the field, it took ten to twelve men in the rear to support him; from what Broe observed, of all the men who deployed to Vietnam, only a relatively small portion of the men were actually in combat (01:54:37:00) �    o All the men in the battalion were very professional and very good at doing their jobs properly (01:55:05:00)  The other men were always willing to answer questions that the other men might have; Broe has seen the movies where the older men pushed away the younger men but he personally never saw that happen (01:55:12:00)  Everyone seemed more than willing to answer a question or help another person do something that would help the others (01:55:36:00) There were some black men and Hispanic men in Broe’s unit (01:55:56:00) o For the most part, Broe’s unit did not have the racial tensions that others talked about happening in other units (01:56:26:00) o The minorities in the unit knew their job, were eager and willing to help if possible, and wanted to be able to depend on the other men when needed and vice versa (01:56:33:00) When Broe first joined the unit, there was a young Marine already there who was into using speed, a clear liquid drug in a bottle, and was high all the time (01:57:10:00) o The Marine was never used in any type of a combat situation, nor did he ever have to pull guard duty (01:57:28:00) o To Broe, it looked as though everyone knew the Marine was a drug addict but instead of doing something about him, the other Marines just avoided interacting with him (01:57:45:00) o As far as drug use amongst the other soldiers, although Bore figures there was some, he did not deal with it and nobody in his hooch dealt with it; if somebody in the hooch did use drugs, then he went away from the hooch (01:57:53:00) The unit Broe belonged to was very good and the men were a very tight-knit group, even if they did not work together all the time (01:58:49:00) o Any time another fire team got shot up and needed to be brought back at night, the man in charge of the mess hall had his whole crew in the mess hall, ready with hot food for the fire team (01:59:06:00)  Nobody openly ordered the man to do this and it was not something required to be done; the man just did it and none of his men complained, even if they had gone to sleep only an hour before (01:59:24:00) During his tour, Broe wrote to his family on occasion but it was very hard to do so, given the nature of the missions he was doing; he could not say a lot about what was going on during the fighting (01:59:58:00) o At one point, Broe was able to call home using a system consisting of the field phone in the company headquarters plus a series of HAM radios (02:00:12:00)  The conversation was just like talking on a normal radio for Broe, although it was difficult for his parents because they did not understand the reason why they needed to say “over” every time they finished saying something (02:00:34:00)  When Broe called home, he found out his father had been let go from him job, so he tried to figure out if his parents wanted him to re-route his Army pay to them (02:00:50:00)  However, his parents did not want him to do that and by the time Broe rotated home, his father had already established himself in a new job (02:01:12:00) �  During the tour, Bore had a bout of jungle rot across his lower back where his equipment kept rubbing all the time; the equipment would rub against the jungle rot and open up the wounds (02:01:45:00) o Broe would go to the senior corpsman before a patrol and the corpsman would take Broe to an aid station, where the staff covered the wounds with bandages (02:01:54:00)  However, once Broe was in the field and began sweating, the bandages inevitably fell off (02:02:18:00) o When Broe first arrived, he and the other men were given malaria pills and salt pills but all of a sudden, the pills were stopped (02:02:35:00)  The salt pills were meant to be taken by the soldiers who were in the field and sweating a lot but for some reason, the philosophy regarding the use of the pills changed (02:02:52:00) The men in Broe’s unit heard about the shooting at Kent State from a man who joined the unit after the shooting (02:03:48:00) o However, Bore does not recall every hearing about the shooting on the Armed Forces radio; however, he very seldom listened to it regardless (02:04:07:00) o Broe did not know about the Apollo 13 disaster until 1974, when he just happened to hear the story; he ended up having to go and look for information about the disaster because he had heard nothing about it (02:04:16:00) o When he read about Apollo 13 and other stories, Bore sarcastically understands why people were not paying attention to what was happening with the men fighting in Vietnam (02:04:43:00) End of Tour / Post-Military Life / Reflections (02:04:56:00)  When it got to the end of his tour, Broe had a short-timer's calendar and he was counting down the days until he could go home; as Broe’s tour wound down to a close, the duties and assignment he had to do changed (02:04:56:00) o In January 1971, Broe mainly did radio relay work, although the re-assignment was largely due to a patrol Broe had been on around Christmastime (02:05:28:00)  During the patrol, the men came under enemy fire from across a nearby rice paddy; the men hit the ground and started looking in different directions to see if they could spot where exactly the enemy fire had come from (02:05:42:00)  As Broe was laying on the ground with the bullets flying over his head, he lamented the fact that he had come under fire so close to the end of his tour (02:05:54:00)  Broe is not sure whether it was the lieutenant leading the patrol or a sergeant who was also on the patrol, but one of them asked that Broe be pulled out of the field (02:06:21:00)  However, whoever made the suggestion also knew Broe would not like not being in the field at all, so he was placed on a hill in the middle of nowhere as part of a radio relay team (02:06:33:00)  While with the radio relay team, other men in the team stood watch while Broe operated the radios for eight hours (02:06:48:00) �  A couple of times, Broe’s old fire team in 1st Recon was out in the field and they would give a sit-rep (situation report) to Broe, who then relayed the information to the command post (02:07:05:00)  The radios that the fire teams used had a limited range but Broe’s radio was within range of both the fire teams’ radio and the radios at the command post (02:07:27:00)  Working with the radios was interesting because it gave Broe a refresher course in the complexity of supporting units who were in the field (02:07:38:00) o At times, it was frustrating for Broe because in his case, whenever something would happen to a fire team in the field, he knew what the men were going through and how they were constantly running while still trying to keep track of where they were (02:07:49:00) o However, Broe is now the person constantly asking for an update, although he knew full well that was the last thing the men wanted to hear (02:08:08:00)  As far as Broe knows, there was never any problem with the enemy intercepting the messages (02:08:28:00) o The men were told that there was always the possibility that the enemy were listening; however, the encryption codes for the messages changed every day (02:08:33:00)  From what Broe believes, the NVA and Viet Cong had their own set plan and they only attacked the Americans when the Americans happened to get in the way of those plans (02:08:51:00)  Broe believes it became less important for the NVA and Viet Cong to probe the large bases to find information (02:09:14:00)  Broe thinks that although the enemy continued building up their soldiers, they did it in the back, out of the way of the Americans, who were on their way out of the Vietnam (02:10:01:00) As it turned out, Broe’s tour ended up being a week short of the normal twelve months a tour lasted; during his last week, although Broe was still considered overseas, he was in transit back to the United States and was on Okinawa (02:10:27:00) o When the time came for him to actually leave Vietnam, Broe was given a threeday notice beforehand as to when exactly he would be leaving (02:10:49:00)  Broe knew his year was coming up and he knew that his commander knew, mostly because he kept reminding them (02:10:58:00) o Once the day finally came, Broe was driven from Reasoner back to Da Nang so he could catch a flight out (02:11:13:00)  During the out-processing, all the men were allowed to go through “amnesty”; each man was allowed to go into a private booth with a pair of �  barrels inside and throw any contraband they wanted into the barrels, no questions asked (02:11:18:00)  However, once a man got past the booth, if he was caught with any contraband on him, he was in trouble (02:11:38:00)  Contraband consisted of any weapons, drugs being trafficked out, certain types of souvenirs, ammunition, etc. (02:11:51:00)  It had already been made clear to the men what was contraband and the amnesty booths was their last chance to get rid of any contraband items (02:12:18:00)  When Broe left Reasoner, he left most of his stuff behind in his hooch to begin with (02:12:22:00)  He physically did go to turn in his M-16 at the armory; he had turned in the sniper rifle about a month before, when he had been placed on the radio relay team (02:12:30:00) o After leaving Vietnam, Broe went Okinawa and spent another three or four days getting all the equipment he had left there when he first went into Vietnam at the beginning of his tour (02:12:51:00)  However, a typhoon had come through and soaked the equipment that had been left behind, so it was packed into cardboard boxes; when the men opened up the boxes, everything was a mess (02:12:58:00)  All the men were issued new dress uniforms and the whole time, Broe is wondering why he has to receive the uniforms because he was getting out when he got back to the United States (02:13:19:00)  The military was offering an early-out to anyone who had less than one-hundred-and-twenty days remaining on his enlistment when he returned to the United States; Broe figured when he got back, he would have ninety-one days remaining on his tour (02:13:38:00)  Ultimately, Broe was able to return home with some souvenirs he thought were important, such as a couple of papers (02:14:13:00) All in all, Vietnam was a very weird country; it was hot, but the men were always cold, it rained constantly but it was always dry, the whole country had a smell that, thankfully, Broe has been unable to find duplicated in the United States (02:14:17:00) o The minute the door opened on the airplane in Da Nang when Broe first arrived, the air became thick and heavy and there was an odor in the air that was noticeable but the men could not figure out what was causing it (02:14:45:00)  Nevertheless, to a certain extent, all the men eventually became used to the odor; however, the further the men moved into the field, the more the odor was replaced by the smell of vegetation (02:15:05:00)  While in the field, as the men would approach a village, they could smell the burning wood from the fires (02:15:31:00) The flight home from Vietnam to Okinawa and then to the United States was aboard another commercial airplane (02:16:25:00) o When the men were first boarding the airplane in Vietnam, everyone was quiet and everyone was sweating; everyone tensed up when the door of the airplane closed and there was a “thump” sound (02:16:31:00) �   o Everyone sat quietly until the wheels of the airplane left the ground; after that, everyone let out a cheer and went nuts (02:16:55:00) Once back in the United States, Broe was taken to an area of Camp Pendleton, although he is not positive where on the camp it was (02:17:26:00) o Broe and the other men spent four days in the area as they went through the procedure of out-processing paperwork (02:17:45:00)  The whole process was very loose; when the men first went into their barracks, they tried to store their gear in an orderly manner, out of fear of an inspection, but none ever happened (02:18:13:00) o Re-enlisting was talked about to the degree that if someone was thinking about reenlisting, they were told who they needed to go see; for a couple of days, Broe himself seriously considered re-enlisting (02:18:46:00)  At one point, he asked a staff sergeant what the possibilities were that Broe would go back to 1st Recon and the staff sergeant said it was highly unlikely Broe would be assigned to the same unit (02:19:04:00)  When he heard he would probably not rejoin 1st Recon, Broe became more hesitant about re-enlisting (02:19:19:00)  At first, Broe asked the staff sergeant the likelihood he would be sent back to Vietnam regardless and the staff sergeant said it was very high; although the Americans were pulling out, because Broe was an E-4 with combat experience, he was a sought after commodity (02:19:25:00) o What the sergeant did not tell Broe and what Broe found out later was he gone back, he likely would have been given a relatively safe, non-combat position (02:19:43:00)  However, Broe would have not cared for a non-combat position, so he is glad he ultimately decided not to re-enlist (02:19:51:00) After he finished out-processing and left Camp Pendleton, Broe returned to Michigan by way of Chicago, which was experiencing a series of bad snow storms (02:20:05:00) Once he got home, Broe did nothing for about a week-and-a-half before he went to try and get his job back at the yacht-making company (02:21:04:00)  However, the manager in charge of personnel told him the company was going through severe cut backs and even if Broe had stayed, he would have been let go already (02:21:17:00)  However, the manager told Bore to wait because he knew another man at a furnace company; the manager called the other man, explained the situation, asked if the other man had an opening, and the other man told the manager to send Broe over (02:21:35:00) o Broe went to the furnace company and got a job working on a production line, assembling furnaces for house trailers; however, Broe hated the job and hated being inside on an assembly line (02:21:57:00) o One day, he was in Allegan when he ran into an old friend who worked for the local telephone company; the friend told Broe that the telephone company was looking to hire a new lineman and told Broe to put in an application (02:22:11:00) �    Broe got the job at the telephone company and worked there for a while, until one night, he got into a car accident (02:22:27:00) o The car accident screwed Broe up because he had been toying with the idea of reenlisting in the military (02:22:48:00)  The accident laid Broe up for over a year, spending six months in a body cast and the next six to eight months on crutches (02:23:56:00)  Once he started using the crutches, Broe decided to use the G.I. Bill to go to school (02:24:09:00) o Broe spent two terms at Western Michigan University studying aviation engineering, with the hopes of becoming an airplane mechanic (02:24:17:00)  However, the experience did not work out too well for Broe, who did not fit into the regimentation of school life; he was used to doing things because there was a reason, not because somebody thought it was a good idea (02:24:35:00) o Broe eventually got a job working in South Haven, Michigan building blueberry shakers (02:25:04:00) o However, the company started losing business, so Broe found a job working in the Lifesaver candy factory in 1974, where he stayed for twenty-five years (02:25:12:00) The time Broe spent in the military were definitely his formative years, akin to the years when a student is in college (02:25:36:00) o Broe’s time in the military gave him a different outlook on situations as compared to what other people’s outlooks were (02:25:47:00)  Broe has evidence of this, thanks to the brief time he spent at Western Michigan (02:26:01:00) o Broe believes his military service gave him a high degree of self-discipline and the drive to go after things he felt were worth going after (02:26:16:00) Broe held a variety of jobs working at the Lifesaver factory, eventually reaching the point where, during third shifts, he was the only person working in the factory (02:26:47:00) o However, the lack of human interaction began to cause trouble for Broe and he began fighting with some personal demons (02:27:05:00) o Eventually, the parent company planned to sell the factory and Broe, who was by then a production supervisor, grew tired of waiting for the sale to happen and quit the company (02:27:26:00) After he left Lifesavers, Broe went to work with his brother, who owned a local gravel business; Broe stayed at the business but his inner problems continued, up to the point that one some nights, he could not sleep (02:28:09:00) o At the time, Broe belonged to the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans association in Holland and at one point, he got to talking with one of the other members and other member told Broe to come with him (02:28:23:00)  The other member took Broe to the VA center in Grand Rapids and right into the mental health section (02:28:37:00)  The woman at the section said that Broe needed to talk with a psychiatrist; although she knew what his problem was, she was not able to make any diagnosis (02:28:54:00) �  Within in an hour, Broe was enrolled in the system and the psychiatrist explained PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) to Broe, something he had heard very little about (02:29:08:00) o Since his diagnosis, Broe has been learning more about the disorder and has been spending more time interacting with other veterans (02:29:37:00) o Following the diagnosis, Broe has gone through a re-adjustment period; there were things in his mind that were fighting to get out but Broe was fighting just as hard to keep them locked inside (02:30:20:00) o A lot of the reason why Broe kept things locked away was because of other people, who often irritated or annoyed him; however, looking back, often the dislike Broe had for the people stemmed from disagreements he had with them about what things were important and how things should be done (02:31:19:00) Broe’s time in the military was a very character building experience for him; although there were probably some things he should not have done, he does not regret serving in the military (02:31:58:00) o He encourages any veteran who feels he or she is battling uphill to contact with VA and to not be ashamed about their service (02:32:22:00) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Broe, Daniel (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Broe, Daniel Description An account of the resource Daniel Broe was born in Allegan, Michigan in 1949, and grew up there and in Holland, Michigan. He went to work after high school, and was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1969. He did well enough in rifle training at Camp Pendleton to be put into scout/sniper training, and went to Vietnam early in 1970. Assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, he spent most of his tour on patrols in the northern part of South Vietnam, with occasional forays into Laos. The patrols were intended to find the enemy without being seen, and for the most part they avoided firefights, and took no casualties while Broe was in the field, despite a number of scares. While trained as a sniper, he never had occasion to carry out a sniper assignment, and instead operated his squad's radio. Toward the end of his tour, his unit shifted its area of operations away from the Laotion border and closer to Da Nang, and he was eventually assigned to a radio relay station, where he communicated between the units in the field and the rear area headquarters. 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. Marine Corps 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 2012-01-25 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BroeD1340V 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/f47b4fb27fc204d1cfd802ea4435a138.mp4 7d86848d2bbe932dd222c126ce76128b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e3edb62fcf04b84826c12325a40654e5.pdf fc8361f82a887260a8a6e4630b89e4e2 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Douglas Broek (1:00:35) Background Information. (1:34)         Born in Muskegon, Michigan, November 2, 1947(1:40) He is of Dutch decent. (2:00) He was raised in Muskegon and attended at Muskegon schools until his senior year of high school (approx. 1965) when he transferred to Mona Shores High School. (2:15) He graduated from Mona Shores in 1966. (2:50) He has 2 brothers and 1 sister who all reside in Muskegon. (2:56) His mother was a stay at home mom and his father was a self employed contractor. (3:14) He was getting so close to being drafted that he decided to enlist. (3:49) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He did this because it was the most intriguing of the branches. (4:00) Basic Training (4:40)             He was in Detroit to fly to San Antonio, Texas, he was trapped on the tarmac due to fog. He remembered being given the uniforms and the hair cut. (4:52) He received his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. (5:30) His drill instructor was very fair and nice (for a drill instructor.) (5:47) His fellow recruits were very divers evolving different nationalities and social classes. (6:14) He failed to build relationships with other men stationed there due to the regimentation of basic training (6:49) Basic training lasted 6 weeks. (7:20) Basic training was his first time away from home and was difficult. (7:38) When picking up supplies that were issued to him he was told to say thank you ma’am, however he did not add ma’am at the end and received discipline for it. (8:02) Basic training entailed some classes and a lot of marching. It was also very regimented. (8:20) The dorm guard (a rotating duty) would do laundry at night because there was not time during the day. (9:10) He received rifle training on what he believed was an M16 (9:54) The men had to be able to run a mile in 4 [?]minutes to graduate. (10:19) �       All the men in his class graduated. (10:45) No one he knew showed up for his graduation. (10:57) After basic training he was given 2 weeks leave (11:05) In May of 1968 he reported to Loring Air Force Base In Maine. (11:39) Here he was associated with the security police squadron and handled many of the paper work and records in an office job. (12:16) He stayed here approx. 2 years (approx. 1967=1969) (12:55) They stayed in small army Barracks without a mess hall. Here he did manage to make friends due to his association with getting supplies and postal. (13:19) Arrival in Vietnam and service as an R&R Clerk. (13:55)              He was sent to Vietnam in June of 1969. (14:54) He was assigned to Bin Thuy Air Base (15:15) Assigned to the 637th Combat Support Group.(15:25) Served as an R&R clerk. (15:40) While there he tried to send most married men to Hawaii. Most single men went to Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand. (16:15) Leaves for R&R lasted approx. 1 week. Transportation was by commercial aircraft courtesy of the U.S. military. (17:00) During a 1 year tour of duty men where most often allowed only 1 R&R leave. (17:30) Men with more time in country where often given first priority. (17:45) Though man socialized with him to attempt to get more R&R his name was not very widely known. (18:40) During his time in country he received an R&R of his own in Sydney Australia. (19:05) He saw much of the city; however he was required to rent clothing because he was discouraged from wearing his uniform. (20:20) His hotel was on top of the King’s Cross (21:04) He took a tour of the city and he visited the beach as well as the zoo. (21:28) Service at Bin Thuy Air Base. (22:53)     Because he worked in a Vietnamese airport there where many Vietnamese working there (22:57) The U.S. had no fighter air craft stationed there. The base was primarily used for supplies shipment. (23:04) In addition for R&R he was in charge of a hobby shop as well as a library that where at the base that were for the use of base personnel only. (24:20) Cleaning and sanitation jobs were often held by Vietnamese. (25:10) �                        One Vietnamese woman worked behind the desk at the hobby shop but was eventually caught for stealing. (25:40) There were approx. 100 men stationed at the Air Base. (26:15) He was never wounded in Vietnam. (26:37) He only carried a weapon once during the Tet Offensive [not the famous one, which was in 1968]. (26:40) The base was stationed on the Mekong River and though his side did not see any action there was visible evidence of fighting across the river. (27:10) For living quarters there were some barracks but many men lived in a hotel that was near the base. (27:40) There were not any Army personnel at this base (28:35) He covered R&R activities for personnel from all services. (28:44) R&R applications were received from mail or by hand delivery. (29:27) Was never a P.O.W.(30:06) He served on the perimeter for 2 weeks during Tet Offensive [Tet 1970]. (30:24) He did not know of any casualties in his unit. (30:53) He worked a 12 hour day and worked in 2 modular buildings. (Shipped in and assembled on site.) They did have air conditioning. (31:30) For a period, he moved into the hobby shop because of its air conditioning. (32:40) On the base they had a van and a pickup truck for movement. They had no jeeps or military vehicles (32:58) For work he had an electric typewriter and a working phone. (33:20) When calling home he was required to go to a MARS station. (33:40) He called home 3 times, one of which was due to the death of his grandfather and grandmother. (34:46) He received no special awards or honors for his duty. (35:36) Approx. every month there was a USO show. (35:47) Most shows had 5-7 people in the shows. (36:16) The shows varied in content from music, to sports, to celebrity appearances. (36:38) He saw 9 shows at Binh Thuy Air Base. (30:03) He served in country for approx. 1 year. (1969-1970) (39:13) End of in country service. (39:23)       When his term was over he went to San Francisco and then to Muskegon, Michigan. These flights were paid for with his own funds. (39:23) He arrived home in Travis Air Force Base, San Francisco. (40:10) Once in the U.S. he was sent to Fort Eglin Air Force Base in Florida (40:23) He was assigned to the Red Horse Detachment. (stationed off base.) They were responsible for heavy equipment and construction equipment. (40:43) Here he served as a clerk. (41:05) He served here for 6 months until he was given an out to finish his schooling. (Late 1970) (41:16) �  He attended Muskegon Community College (41:27) He received his early out so that he could start school. This privilege required an application be submitted. (41:41 Life in Vietnam (42:47)         In Vietnam he received letters and care packages from his mother often. (42:34) There was a post office on Binh Thuy Air Base (43:06) He recalls the food was not bad and the base did have a chow hall. (43:27) There was a shared bathroom and showers. The showers worked by having water pumped onto the roof and then having gravity push it out. (44:20) He does not recall any problem receiving supplies. Many supplies came in by C130 at night. (45:14) He had little to no pressure and stress on his job. (45:50) He worked 7AM to 7PM daily for 6 days a week. He received Sundays off. (46:33) One day he at lunch at the home of one of the Vietnamese men who worked on the base. Afterwards he had dysentery. (47:25) Post Military Life. (48:11)               He worked for Meijer Inc. as a bag boy and stocking shelves. He later applied for management training and with his schooling he was placed on retail accounting. (48:20) He had his schooling at Muskegon paid for. (49:18) He received an Associate’s degree in accounting. (49:24) He made friends in the service but he never stayed in touch with them. His unit does not hold reunions. (49:37) In 2001 he was married. (50:10) He joined the VFW in 2001. (51:06) He was latter voted Junior vice Commander of the district. (51:30) 2 years latter in 2003 he was elected Commander of the district. (51:35) He developed a lot of Friendships through his time in the VFW. (51:45) The VFW is post 702. (51:51) He knows that his time in the Air Force greatly influenced his appreciation of team work. (52:41) He retired from Meijer about 3 years ago. (approx. 2008)(53:45) He has been a volunteer at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans for 4-5 years. (53:56) He has volunteered in the clothing room as well as the bait shop. (55:19) Document examination (56:11) �       When an individual of active military and ended there service they received this document. (56:15) It gives time overseas, medals earned, and other information. (56:48) This picture is in the lowering room at Air Force Base Maine. (57:11) This is a base news paper. This paper referred to his position and his job for R&R leave. (57:50) A Program from one of the USO shows, these were handed out explaining who was there. This one was for Base Ball players. (58:40) This is a USO pamphlet for Football players. (58:15) This was his dog tag. He was required to wear it even though he worked an office job and saw little to no action. (59:58) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Broek, Douglas (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Broek, Douglas Description An account of the resource Douglas Broek grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 to stay ahead of the draft. After completing basic training in San Antonio, he spent about two years working as a clerk for a security unit at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. In June, 1969, he was sent to Vietnam. He served his tour at Binh Thuy in the Mekong Delta, and worked as the R&R clerk for all of the military units based in the area. Things were pretty quiet in his area at the time, and he picked up other odd jobs on the base just to stay busy. After returning to the US in 1970, he completed his enlistment as a clerk with a heavy equipment unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Air Force 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 2011-12-05 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BroekD1338V 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/c89fce203e6f23714fea6c3810296796.jpg 67ef704ba1aec7b35cc9a4845818abd9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BroersmanSherwin_Photo1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Broersma, Sherwin Description An account of the resource Sherwin "Chic" Broersma, Campus Ministry Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Clergy Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d3292b260b6cc471fab0ffdd36f82d75.jpg 2622f1c7beee89ac4067514ef644027b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BroersmanSherwin_Photo2 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Broersma, Sherwin Description An account of the resource Sherwin "Chic" Broersma, Campus Ministry Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History Clergy Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fb23ba04d0eccaee49912f7c11740ab8.mp3 725373536daa790559adec67faf0cb12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series Faith's Foundation Scripture Text Hosea 11:8-9, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Colossians 1:19-20, Mark 14:24 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19880821 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-08-21 Title A name given to the resource Broken Covenant - New Covenant: Judgment and Grace Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 21, 1988 entitled "Broken Covenant - New Covenant: Judgment and Grace", as part of the series "Faith's Foundation", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 11:8-9, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Colossians 1:19-20, Mark 14:24. 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/bd4b6e6b7df47feb46dbbad9b5e57444.jpg d5662033b94c99974bb98d35beb7ee63 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_002 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image a young man and woman are seated together. Both wear blue sweaters, and the man has a cigar clenched between his teeth. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/14c2014748f252cd9dc0f9026b9a6375.jpg 178b40d433e49efed0584a092f8d88f4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image eight cast members are seated together on and behind a sofa. Each one strikes a pose full of personality. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3a0dac32be5f393acbc80f988b0e4ae5.jpg 57681fd5a793e66cf54d605c9696a785 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image eight cast members are seated together on and behind a sofa. They smile and laugh. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/295114a61dffec2279dba6a96affe4ab.jpg 438e7d283cd25dfb6577a91280c2cd80 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_015 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image a young man and older woman embrace and laugh as they look at one another lovingly. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/93afba2caa1fdb4188f9067b01b2b787.jpg 65de63c04c583431abafcd5f30039abc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_029 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image two young women, both in white sweatshirts and one wearing a bridal veil, sit with their backs to one another. One looks at the camera with a knowing smile, the other gives a side-eyed glance to her companion. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ad0781a034c5957dbb9ecacb665823d0.jpg b604f1866cb24ac788650f337a3e3637 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01_Broken-Egg_030 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Title A name given to the resource Broken Eggs (theater production) Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's production of "Broken Eggs," date unknown. In this image a middle aged couple lean in towards one another. The man's hands are clasped around the woman's. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/893b083176357ff030ecb8d9dd42c353.mp4 ab01bd25ff8e43f68375d7ee84047d35 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/01f6ac222d07e14d3bcb588152c718f2.pdf 5862a605e9a2cf467649b7ae1b4b2613 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Matthew Brong (40:55) (00:20) Background Information • • • • • • Matthew was born on September 22, 1983 in Petoskey, MI He enlisted in the Army and was in Iraq from August 2006-May 2007 Matthew graduated from high school in 2002 and went through ROTC at Michigan State University His grades were not very good, so he joined his brother in the Army in May 2004 Matthew had always wanted to join the Army and it has been a family tradition His brother was a captain, his father had been in the Air Force during Vietnam, and his grandfather was in the First Armored Division in World War II (3:10) Infantry Training • Matthew began training at Fort Benning, Georgia and was there for three months • He spent a lot of time doing push-ups, sit-ups, and running • All those in training had to have a diploma or GED and no criminal record • Matthew then went to airborne school for four weeks and then received his wings • They learned how to properly exit military air craft • He then went through the Ranger Indoctrination Program for the 75th Ranger Regiment • He broke his foot shortly after and was medically dropped from the program • Matthew was in hold over and healing for 3 months before he received another assignment (7:00) Fort Bragg February 2005 • Matthew joined the 82nd Airborne Division, which was a rival of the Ranger Regiment • Speaking of the Ranger Regiment, he noted that “they are the most heavily armed fraternity.” • They were deployed in September 2005 for hurricane relief in New Orleans • It was strange working to help victims of Hurricane Katrina because no one knew the correct procedure for stateside peace time operations (11:20) Deployed to Iraq August 2006 • Matthew was told he would be in Iraq for only 180 days, then 12 months, and it ended up being a tour of 15 months for most people in the service • It was hard for him leaving friends and family, especially his four month old son • They could communicate in Iraq through phones, internet, and mail �• • • Whenever someone was killed or injured, all modes of communication were “blacked out” until that person’s family had been contacted and notified All received 16 days of rest and recreation for their 15 month tour Matthew visited his family in March 2007 for his son’s first birthday (17:40) Injured May 26, 2007 • It had been near his three year anniversary in the Army • He had been traveling in the last of four trucks in caravan • The last truck was blown up and 3 of the 5 inside died • Matthew had multiple fractured vertebrae and had titanium rods surgically implanted into his back • He also suffered moderate to severe brain injury that resulted in memory loss • Some doctors called his problem post-traumatic amnesia and others called it retrograde amnesia • He lost about fourteen months of his memory at first, but most of it came back • After the explosion, he was flown to and aid center in a chopper • He had back surgery in a few hours and then was flown to Germany • The other survivor of the explosion had very similar injuries (23:30) Washington, DC • From Germany, Matthew was flown to Andrews Air Force Base in DC • He then was transferred to the Walter Reed Medical Center • He was there from June 1-June 27 and then sent to a rehab center in Virginia • Matthew has no memory of being in Walter Reed and had to re-learn how to walk • Matthew was in Richmond Virginia recovering for 1.5 months and then was discharged (29:25) After Being Discharged • Matthew moved to Fayetteville, NC with his wife and son • He continued to take classes to work on his speech and memory • He continued to have regular medical visits and would never be as physically strong • Matthew still suffers from short term memory loss • He can no longer be in the infantry because he can only carry half the weight • He is now back in the Army, but not doing as much physical work (32:25) Looking Back • Matthew would not do anything different even with his injury • Matthew had many positive experiences in the Army, especially while in New Orleans • He enjoyed seeing Cheney and Bush in New Orleans and received many thanks from the civilians � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Brong, Matthew (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brong, Matthew Description An account of the resource Matthew Brong was in1983, received some ROTC training at Michigan State University for a while, but dropped out because he was not getting good grades. He joined the Army in 2005 and was sent to Iraq in August of 2006 with the 82 Airborne Division. May 26, 2007 Matthew was injured when the truck he was traveling in ran over a road bomb. He experienced back injuries and memory loss. He was discharged and it took him quite a while to recover from his injuries. Matthew later re-enlisted in the Army, but can no longer endure intense physical activity. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brong, Genna (Interviewer) Riley Street Middle School (Hudsonville, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-02 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BrongM 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/80b2af4d1b8354f0416c71459ff9c0f0.mp4 aafae20d1120e91616f60ca34a4bbcb8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f8f697a5a067be1365593b841a061598.pdf afc6f4f3d112bc0a63f433bbe05e11be PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Audrey Bronkema (24:45) Background Information (00:14)    Her father owned an insulation company. After she graduated high school she spent a year working for her father. (00:15) She lived in Greenville, Michigan. (00:40) She enlisted in the Army. This was inspired in part due to her love of the program M.A.S.H. (00:53) Basic Training (1:40)   She flew from Lansing Michigan to South Carolina. She was then bused to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. (1:44) One of the first things that she was taught in basic was how to march properly. (2:20) Overview of Service (2:20)             She served in Germany during the time of the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). (2:55) She worked as a telecommunication center operator. (3:12) After basic training, Audrey moved on to her advanced MOS training at Fort Gordon in Georgia (4:03) She completed her service while serving at Fort Victors in Atlanta Georgia. (4:21) She liked serving in Germany because there was more camaraderie amongst the serving men. (4:50) She found that her time in Army was very exciting. (6:06) Audrey never recalled being fearful. She did understand, however, that she could be called into battle. (6:35) She almost always had access to a mess hall as well as off post facilities. (7:07) While in the field for training purposes, most people slept during their free time. Often times there were also pick up sports games while she served at the bases. (7:48) Audrey used letters to communicate with home. Once a week she would make a phone call as well. (9:00) Because she had shift work, she often spent holidays working. (9:20) Her service did improve her ability to work with others and increased her confidence. (9:55) Exiting Service (10:27)     The day she left the Army was very bitter sweet. She wanted a change but she enjoyed the service very much. (10:31) When the Persian Gulf War ended in February of 1991, Audrey was still in Germany. (11:08) Immediately after service she took several days relaxing. She then started looking for work (11:32) She had not taken any college courses when she got out of the military. (12:26) � She does not have much contact with most the people she served with. She is still close with a hand full of her closest friends. (12:55) Life after Service (13:40)    She worked in landscaping for 5 years in Georgia after getting out of the service. She later went to school for electronics. (13:51) Audrey then returned to Michigan and worked for a hospital. (14:11) Her service did help with the customer service part of her career. (14:30) Thoughts on Service (15:10)         It was an honor to her to be able to serve. (15:30) She thinks that it is good that the U.S. is able to provide aid to individuals who are being treated unfairly. (16:56) The only regret Audrey has about her service was that she didn’t serve longer. (18:20) She served in the Army for 4 years. (18:53) While in Germany, Audrey and her fellow soldiers were supposed to aid the war effort in the Middle East. She and her unit were put on alert to go into battle but ultimately did not. (19:50) Audrey received 2 Army achievement medals and 1 accommodation medal. (21:39) If she was younger she would rejoin the Army. She simply had so many good memories and so much pride in the uniform. (23:00) She thinks that it would be a good experience for everyone to serve simply to experience more of what the world has to offer. (24:27) � 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/. Title A name given to the resource Bronkema, Audrey (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bronkema, Audrey Description An account of the resource Audrey Bronkema served in the U.S. army from approximately 1989-1993. Audrey had her basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina and was then sent to MOS training at Fort Gordon in Georgia. Audrey spent several years of her service as a telecommunication center operator in Germany. She was stationed in Germany at the time of the 1991 Gulf War, and her unit was put on alert for deployment, but the alert was cancelled once the war ended. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Przybysz, Mason (Interviewer) Vanmiddelkoop, Dana (Interviewer) McCarty, Joey (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Persian Gulf War, 1991--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 2011-10-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BronkemaA1355V 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/a021cdfb6851df8fa26fe30250f579f0.jpg 8e47d49a73c239282dd6b1f2d2d41963 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D181-0019 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, New York Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a street view of Brooklyn, New York, with a dog in the foreground and the Brooklyn Bridge faintly in the background. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/21d1d97526d3cc71e6379f9dd3bf3669.jpg 17c850b37fa011b63abda1a329cc80e0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D183-0009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, New York Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge as seen from Henry Street in Brooklyn, New York. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/78f1f83304a8f2ecf9571efdc11d8ad6.jpg 4f021108ce8a134f384ad38bbe42d9de Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D187-0010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, New York Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge with a series of four-story brick buildings located in the foreground. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5337b7d1661eabf3a397162a95b6f534.jpg 8465538acb98df3d9ce335016db47063 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50_813 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn class US light cruiser Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Brooklyn class US light cruiser, October 1, 1947. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Military education Warships--Recognition Slides Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-10-01 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/56417c3868fac6c7db2c988eb4d15da1.jpg 696482d09e6370fb2bc28df2cf9bf3aa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D224-0010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-07-22 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Heights children Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of two young children running and playing on a sidewalk in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.) Children Play Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1ec7d45dc0d0d9a381f8b6957478b502.jpg 8425cd25e1aa6f8a9ca88d71153e00b7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D224-0017 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-07-22 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Heights children Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of three children playing while flying a kite on a street in Brooklyn Heights, New York. In the photograph, a sign for the Columbia Heights Parking Garage can be seen in the background. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.) Children Play Kites Parking garages Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/22ede23805d19278c803f7a831d16ab5.jpg 28091f7209f9a80275932e89f62075df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D224-0025 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-07-22 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Heights children Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of three children playing while flying a kite on a street in Brooklyn Heights, New York. In the photograph, a sign for the Columbia Heights Parking Garage can be seen in the background. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.) Children Play Kites Parking garages Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bb5f67b9a511bc9ddbcde4697ec3d562.jpg 3b9da4d8c28431f0b2e0fade88af201d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D195-0017 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-07-08 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Port Authority Pier 3 Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn Port Authority Pier 3 located in Brooklyn, New York, along the East River overlooking Manhattan. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) East River (N.Y.) Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bcf7ea5f96634989e4865b8531fe9655.jpg 4433ff18e2a7187df8082bd533ccb6fc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D195-0026 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-07-08 Title A name given to the resource Brooklyn Port Authority Pier 3 Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn Port Authority Pier 3 located in Brooklyn, New York, along the East River overlooking Manhattan. In the photograph, a young girl is posing with her hands raised and holding a doll in front of the Pier 3 building at sunset. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) East River (N.Y.) Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives