Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Milton Devries was drafted in 1941 and sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, to join the 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division. He served with this unit on New Guinea, where he was badly wounded at Buna. After an extended hospital stay, he saw...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Navy; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Len Berkenpas was born in 1925 to a farmer in Byron Center, MI. Was drafted into the Navy in 1943 and worked as a cook at Naval Air Base Livermore near San Francisco, CA. He did not spend any time on a ship at sea
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Air Force; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Milford Cherington Served in the Air Force during World War II. He joined the Air Corps after being classified 4F by the Army draft board. He wanted to train as a pilot, but wound up as a gunner on a B-17 bomber and flew numerous bombing missions...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American;
James Cooley joined the Army National Guard in 2003 at age 17, and served in the Iraq War. He worked in transportation while he was there, specifically he operated the .50 caliber machine gun on a truck that guarded convoys. He served a yearlong...
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;
Norman Curtis served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. During his time in Vietnam, he worked at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base in Saigon. His job was vehicle maintenance and recovery, which kept him for the most part on base but he did spend...
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;
Phil Davis served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force because of his low draft number, and he was sent to Vietnam and served in the I Corps sector as a pilot.
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;
Claude Dies was born in 1945 and served in the Vietnam War with the Marine Corps. He was trained in the area of Air Radio Electronics after basic training, and was sent to New River Air Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina where he spent most of...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Gerald Gless is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from approximately 1945 to December 1946. In this account, Gless discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. He mentions his brief postings at various POW...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Charles Hennesen was born in Fort Erie, Ontario and grew up in Buffalo, New York. He joined the Army Reserves while in college and was then called into Active Duty upon graduation. He served in 39th Regiment, 9th Division, in the European Theatre,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Leo Homrich served in the Army during World War II. He was born in 1925 to a family of farmers, and was drafted into the Army at 18. After training, he was shipped to the Pacific, where he served in New Guinea and the Philippines. He worked as a...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
William Johnson served in a regimental communications center in the 79th Division in Europe during World War II. He landed on Utah Beach with an advance party shortly after D-Day, and participated in the campaigns in Normandy, France and Germany.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
John Graham is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Anti-Aircraft Corps from September 1944 to an undisclosed date. In this account, Graham discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment, training, and active duty. While not going into much...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Merchant mariner; Merchant marine--United States
Robert Schowers was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. Robert joined the Merchant Marines when he was 16 and passed the test to become a radio operator. He trained at Hoffman Island and received his 2nd class telegraph license, 1st class...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Merchant mariner; Merchant marine--United States
Lloyd Snowdeal was born in Rockland, Maine in 1927. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the Navy. Lloyd went to radio school after training and became a Radio Officer. Lloyd went on trips across the Pacific in a large convoy on a...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; United States. Navy; Aircraft carriers; Veterans; Video recordings;
Wade Cratsenberg is a Vietnam veteran who served in the United States Navy from November 1964 to November 1970 in California. In this interview, Cratsenberg discusses the behind-the-scene work done by the Navy during Vietnam. As part of the VR7 and...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Harry Vanderstow was born in 1926 and served in World War II. Vanderstow was drafted into the Army in 1944. He served in France, Germany, and Austria as a regular in the Infantry. He also worked at a desk job at a camp in Arkansas after the war was...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army; Freemasons;
Bernard B. Maller is a WW II veteran who served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946 in England, Belgium, France, and Germany. Maller grew up in Detroit. In 1941 Maller enlisted in the Army, underwent officer training and was promptly sent...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Air Force; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American;
Charles Butkus served in the Air Force as a meteorologist during the Korean War. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, and his father was an electrician. He completed high school and some college before he joined the Air Force due to his low draft...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; United States. Air Force;...
Chester Novak is a WW II and Korean War veteran who served in the United States Air Force from February 1944 to 1952 in the Aleutian Islands and Korea respectively. In this interview, Novak talks about growing up on a farm and joining the Army at...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Coast Guard; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Curly Garner enlisted in the Coast Guard shortly after graduating from high school. He trained on Government Island in California and was sent to the Aleutian Islands during WWII. Their job was to try and rescue pilots that went down near the top...
