John Bennitt was a physician from Centreville, Michigan. He joined the 19th Michigan Infantry Regiment as an assistant surgeon, and remained in military service until the end of the war. The collection consists of over 200 letters from John Bennitt...
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; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives,...
Raymond James Swank was 37 years old when he is drafted into the Army on 27 September 1943. These files detail the experience of Swank and his transition from civilian to soldier. Files consist of copies of James’s Army basic training diary,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Marine Corps; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Robert Halle served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. Robert and Bruce both served in Korea. Robert enlisted in the Marine Reserves at the age of seventeen, and was called to active duty during his junior year of high school. He trained...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Navy; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Doug Hoekzema served in the US Navy between 1953 and 1955. He served on a destroyer in the Pacific, and his ship patrolled the Korean coastline shortly after the armistice there. The ship then toured the world, and Hoekzema got reassigned to...
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;
Kenneth Kelly was born on a farm in Coopersville, MI in 1925. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served in a construction battalion (Seabees) in the Pacific theater, primarily in the Admiralties and on Okinawa. He relates several of his...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American; United...
Jeff DeLange served in the Army for a total of five years as an infantryman and toured in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2006 and 2009 where he conducted patrols and later helped with the turnover of operations to the Iraqis.
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. Army
Justin Marshall was born in in New Jersey and later moved to Michigan with his family where he finished high school. Marshall decided to enlist in the United States Army in during his last semester of college at Kettering University. In 2004, he...
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. Marine Corps
Steve Dumond was born in 1986 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He joined the Marine Corps immediately after high school in 2005. After boot camp and infantry training, he completed two tours in Iraq, one in 2006 and the second from September 2007 through...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; United States. Air Force
LeRoy Van Vleet was born in Michigan in 1931. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1931, and received training as a specialist in fuels and lubricants. He was assigned to a refueling base in the Aleutian Islands for thirteen months, and then spent the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army
During his military service, Laverne Bivens served in the 4th Regimental Combat team, which the Army had stationed in Alaska as part of the defense against a possible Soviet attack. Although he served during the latter part of the Korean war,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives,...
Luc Nguyen’s father escaped from North Vietnam when he was a young man and following his service in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN), became a farmer. Nguyen himself grew up on the farms where his father worked before attending the University of...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Air Force; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
Elaine Kines was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1954. She graduated from high school in 1972, and continued on to become a college student and full time employee at the local Meijer warehouse. Unable to maintain her employment and schooling, she...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American;
John Erickson is a Korean War veteran who served with the U.S. Army from November 1949 to 1953. Erickson discusses his training and service in Washington and Alaska before he was sent to Korea. He joined the 2nd Division on its advance from Pusan...
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; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Walter “Red” Graham was born in January of 1917 in Lowell, Michigan, and lived there until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. He spent a year and a half training on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, Washington, and was then sent to Kodiak,...
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;
Kenneth Vander Molen is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army, first as an infantry replacement and then later in the regular army from August 1945 to December 1946. In this account, Vander Molen discusses his pre-enlistment,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Marine Corps; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American
Ben Cardenas was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. , he joined the Marines in 2001 after one semester at Grand Rapids Community College. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, he was sent to Djibouti in 2001. He remained there for 9...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Navy; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Earl Freeman was living in Phillips, Maine when he enlisted into the Navy. He was greatly influenced by the military experience of all five of his brothers. After waiting for his ship in San Diego, Earl was sent to Guam for more training. From...
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
Tony Trovato was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1912. He was son to Italian immigrants and could speak fluent Italian. He enlisted into the Navy in 1943 when he was 31 years old and trained at Great Lakes where he learned how to handle troops...
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
Interview with Peggy Dorstewitz about her husband Edward Dorstewitz. Edward grew up in Coloma, Michigan and after graduating from high school, attending Ferris State University, going year-round so he could finish his studies early. After...
