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;
Jacob Rozema was born in the Netherlands and moved with his family to Michigan in 1930. He enlisted in the medical corps and served in the 148th station hospital in New Guinea before transferring to an evacuation hospital in Manila. In the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army Air Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Eugene Bleil was born in 1920 and grew up mostly on farms outside of the city. He was accepted to Eastern Michigan University, but dropped out after a semester, traveled with his brother looking for work, and wound up enlisting in the Army Air...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army
Jerry Muir, born April 14th 1924 in Grand Rapids ,Michigan, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. Sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training, he was assigned to the Signal Corps and began learning Morse Code. He took an opportunity to...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army. Signal Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Everett Thompson served in the Army Signal Corps in World War II. He was drafted in March 1943. After doing basic training in Florida, he was sent to the University of Illinois where he took classes to prepare him to take care of large diesel...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army
August Katsma was born on November 11, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1937 he joined the National Guard as a medic in the 126th infantry. After the National Guard he got married and then was drafted into the Army. August trained as an MP and...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Navy
William Mulvey joined the Navy in 1937 and served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. William joined the Navy in 1937, and was trained in Rhode Island before he was placed on the USS Texas. He was then transferred to the USS Boise...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Navy
Don Sheridan enlisted into the Navy in 1943 after graduating from Coopersville High School. He eventually trained in becoming a signalman and served as part of the Naval Guard on a Merchant Marine cargo ship. His first voyage went to the Persian...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; United States. Navy
James Wykstra was born in 1947 in the town of Cutlerville, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Wykstra felt it was his duty to serve in the military. In August 1966, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Following completion of basic...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Navy
Colin Williams was born June 9, 1927 and decided to enlist into the Navy due to the expectation that men his age served their country and because his brothers had also served. He was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp where he learned a...
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...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army; Video recordings;
Calvin Owen is an Ohio native. Owen saw action various locations in the Pacific theatre of WW II while serving in the 533rd Engineers Boat and Shore Regiment, an army unit involved in amphibious landings. He describes the occupation of Japan and...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army Air Forces
William Doucette first began his military career in the Civilian Military Training Corps at the age of 15. Leaving after two year to find work in Chicago, Doucette eventually came back to join the Aviation Cadet Program. After making it to his...
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 marine--United States;
William Myers was born in Chicago in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines at the age of 16 and trained as a radio operator on Hoffman Island in New York Harbor. He sailed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean during the last months of the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army Air Corps
Ross Vincent was drafted into the Army during World War II. Initially assigned as an MP, Ross took the Air Corps exam, and was sent to Army Air Corps training, eventually becoming a navigator in the Pacific, specifically based off the island of...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army
Fred Weidner served in the 222nd Searchlight Battalion in the Pacific in World War II. His unit was deployed to New Guinea in 1944, and then to the Philippines in early 1945, where he witnessed enemy bombing raids and kamikaze attacks.
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;
Bob Anderson was born in August 1948 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While growing up, his father re-enlisted in the military, meaning Anderson and his family moved constantly, although Anderson’s father stayed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland long...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army. Women's Army Corps
Beth Sefton was an Army nurse during World War II. She volunteered for duty in 1942 and continued to serve until after VJ Day. She served in England, France, and the China Burma India Theatre working with surgeons and American, German, Russian...
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 Zimmerman of Grand Rapids, Michigan, waited to be drafted before joining the Army in 1943 during World War II. Leo received his training in wheeled vehicle maintenance and repair in Camp Worth, Texas. His first deployment was to Italy in 1944...
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;
Dwight Stevens spent time in the Navy in the Pacific during WW II working on decoding Japanese messages. He served in the Philippines and witnessed Kamikaze attacks on Allied ships.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Navy; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Albert Eitel, born in Nebraska in 1926, served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 in the Pacific theater during World War II. Albert enlisted at the age of 17. He did basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, and then trained on LSTs at...
