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
Randy Mann was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in July 1949. Although he received his draft notice following his high school graduation, Mann did not enter the service until eighteen months later. After completing basic training at Fort Knox,...
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
John Kandra, born in Beaverdale Pennsylvania in February of 1925, served as a radio operator in the 164th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1943 to 1945 in France and central Europe during the Second World War. He did most of his training at Camp Van...
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
Marion Graff, born in Ironwood Michigan in August of 1922, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 in the Pacific during World War II. During his service, Marion was a Medical Corpsman aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia and provided anything from...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Army; United States. Air Force; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Other...
Prior to beginning his fourth tour in Vietnam, Ron Kloet initially went through officers training with the Army intending to give him an assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Kloet, wanting something else, instead volunteered to serve in 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
Eugene Smith was drafted to the United States Army in the 1940’s. He was stationed in Calcutta, India for a total of 28 months. Although the American troops deployed to India at this time were intended to attack Axis supply lines coming from 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. Marine Corps
Gib Thomas, born in South Dakota in September of 1920, served in the U.S. Marines from July of 1943-1946 in the Pacific during World War II. While in college in the early 1940s at South Dakota University, Gib was a member of the ROTC. After...
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. Marine Corps
Allen Vande Vusse was born and raised in Holland, Michigan, and graduated from high school there in 1962. He married and got a job shortly afterward, and his marriage gave him a draft deferment, which he lost after getting divorced in 1968. Upon...
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
Ron Zahn, born in 1951 in Indiana, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. Ron was forced to enlist in the Army after receiving an MIP. He underwent basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and AIT at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was trained on...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Ralph Baldwin was an astronomy instructor at Northwestern University in 1941 who volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor. He was initially assigned to teach navigation, but lobbied for a more important assignment. He was sent in 1942 to a...
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;
Don Bennett was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1925. He attended Albion College for one semester, then enlisted in the Navy, and became a submariner. He served on five patrols, one in the Kurile Islands, three near the Yellow Sea, 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 Corps;
Walter Kloc served in the Air Force during World War II. He joined the Air Force prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and was called up for active duty on December 10, 1941. He worked as a bombardier on a B-24 aircraft in the Pacific Theatre....
