The Jim Harrison collection documents the life and work of Michigan-born writer Jim Harrison from 1938 to the present. Harrison has published books in several genres throughout his career, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s...
The GVSU Veterans History Project was established in 2006 to serve as a partner with the Library of Congress in its national effort to collect and preserve the stories of American veterans and other participants in, or witnesses to, the American...
Edward V. Gillis worked in the tool and manufacturing business in Grand Rapids Michigan. Gillis was a collector whose focus was Native Americans. This collection includes magazines, posters, maps, other published and some unpublished materials. The...
Guy Vander Jagt served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan from 1966 until 1992. Vander Jagt served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1975 until he left the House in 1992. The...
The Mathias J. Alten papers document the personal life and career of the West Michigan painter. The collection includes biographical information, business records, exhibit catalogs, and newspaper clippings collected by family members.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Air Force; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Robert Fry was born in 1970 and enlisted in the Army shortly after graduating high school in 1988. He spent his time training in Kentucky and enjoyed boot camp. Robert earned many medals and ribbons during his time serving in Germany and in the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army Reserve; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives,...
Todd Herrick was born on January 19, 1971 and joined the Army Reserve in 1989. He served in transportation and military police units, and went on active duty and served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War of 1991 and again during...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; United States. Navy; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Tim Kidd was born in Michigan on August 20, 1951 and graduated from high school in 1970. Shortly after graduating, Tim was drafted into the Army and went through basic training in Fort Knox, Tennessee. Tim then had supply training in California...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American; United States. National Guard
After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Ron Oakes married, earned a degree in electronics and traveled around the Midwest working. Eventually, he and his family moved back to Michigan, where Oakes joined the National Guard. As part of the Guard,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; United States. Air Force; United States. National...
Mike Davis joined the Air Force in 1973 after completing the 4-year ROTC program in college. He served in Active Duty as a Pilot Instructor and later went into the Air National Guard during the Cold War. He retired from the Guard in 2000 but...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; United States. National Guard
Ronald Sabin, Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Air National Guard in 1981. Ronald went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for 8 weeks and then went through advanced firefighter training for another 8...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American; United...
Raymond Hawkins, Jr. was born on July 7, 1956 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father was in the Navy and stationed in Puerto Rico at the time. Raymond went through ROTC while attending college at Michigan State University and was commissioned as...
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
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...
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. Marine Corps
Don King served in the Marine Corps during the Cold War and Gulf War years. He served overseas in the Philippines and Japan during his original tour in the early 1980s, as well as in the U.S. He joined the reserves and was mobilized for the Gulf...
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. Marine Corps; United States. Navy
Tony Pacino served in the U.S. Navy as a medical corpsman assigned to the Marine Corps from approximately 1992-1994. During his service, Tony served in Somalia in the early 1990s at the Port of Mogadishu. After his service, Tony was able to use his...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Army; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal...
Dennis Bassett was born in 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school in 1960, Bassett decided he wanted a different direction for his life, so he enlisted in the Army. After completing both his basic and advanced training at...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Army; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal...
This interview session recaps the first part of Bassett's tour in Vietnam, and then covers the second half, when he was a brigade-level staff officer in the 9th Division. Bassett supervised long range reconnaissance patrols, organized and ran a...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Marine Corps; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
James Vonk of Grand Rapids, Michigan, left college in the late 1980s to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was sent to Okinawa, and was based there at the time of Desert Storm. His company was scheduled to go to Iraq, but the ground war ended so...
