Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American;...
Charles Olsen was born in Muskegon, Michigan in September of 1921. In 1940, he decided to join the National Guard, and shortly afterward, his unit was federalized and sent to Louisiana to train. He had wanted to fly, so while in Louisiana, he...
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
Craig Van Hout was born in 1949 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After graduating from high school, he went to college for three semesters before dropping out, and received his draft notice soon afterward in January 1969. After finishing his basic training...
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
Keith Edmondson was born in 1924 in Wheaton, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Glen Ellyn. After graduating from high school, Edmondson began attending Purdue University the following fall, which was where he heard about the Aviation Cadet Program,...
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; 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; Video recordings; United States. Army; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Uwe Meyer, Born in Germany in 1949, moved to Iowa as a child and was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969. After training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was sent to Vietnam. Upon arrival, he was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 506h Infantry...
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
Erling Smestad enlisted in the Michigan National Guard in 1938 and served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division until June of 1945. His unit trained in Louisiana and was shipped first to the East Coast and then back across the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Marine Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Harry Daleure joined the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from high school in 1943. Harry went to boot camp in California. After training Harry, was shipped first to a base in the Solomons, and then saw action on Okinawa. While in Okinawa...
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; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Ed Darling is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army from September 1944 to December 1946. In this account, Darling discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S., and his active duty in Japan during the military...
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;
Wellington “Bill” Homminga served in the 126th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd “Red Arrow” Division during World War II. After training in Australia for Jungle Warfare, his unit served in New Guinea in the Buna campaign, where his company...
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
Donald Jandernoa served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. He trained as a B-24 pilot and flew missions for the 15th Air Force, based in Italy, in the later stages of the war. He describes the training process and his combat experiences in...
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
Clyde Westra was born in Grand Haven, MI in 1948. He dropped out of high school to join the Marine Corps at the age of 17. Clyde was initially trained and worked in Vietnam as a Combat Engineer, but was shipped to Danang and trained to be a radio...
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;
Francis Scott was drafted in October of 1942. He was trained to be a radio operator and attended college at Washington State from June of 1943 to March of 1944. He was stationed in California for a short while before he was sent to Europe, where he...
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;
Felix Gullick spent most of his childhood on a farm in Kansas, and then moved to Muskegon, Michigan in 1939. He was drafted and served in the US Army between 1943 and 1946. He did his basic training in California, and spent about a year working on...
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
Willard Bosserman served in World War II as a mechanic in the Army. He was drafted in 1943 and worked in a maintenance company attached to the 87th Division, and then to the 66th Division. His company shipped to Europe in December, 1944, and took...
