Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army. Air Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Francisco Vega was born in San Antonio, Texas. He tried to enlist in the military immediately after Pearl Harbor, but was initially rejected because of his Mexican ancestry. He eventually did enlist in the Army Air Corps, and began a long process...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Michigan. National Guard. Infantry, 126th; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Martin Bolt served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. This interview covers his training and army life in both the US and in Australia. He tells of his unit's campaigns through New Guinea, Morotai, and 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
Garret Van Solkema was born in Byron Center, Michigan in 1919. He was drafted in 1941 and went into the 2nd Armored Division commanded by General Patton. He landed in North Africa and fought in Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, the Netherlands and...
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;
Charles Hammond was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 24, 1919 and was drafted in 1940. He trained at Fort McClellan in Alabama. He was assigned to the 4th Armored Division and served in France, Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia as a military...
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;
Ray Gill is a World War II veteran who served with the U.S. Army from 1941 to May 1946. In this account, Gill discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He also discusses his active duty and how difficult the fighting was in...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Air Force; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American;
Donald Gary is a Korean War era veteran who served with the U.S. Air Force from December 1950 to December 1954. In this account, Gary discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and basic training. He worked in the accounting department and kept Air...
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;
Byron Gibbs was born in Clare, Michigan on December 7, 1916. He graduated from college in 1938 and was drafted into the Army in 1941. Byron trained in Louisiana with Company C of the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, and was...
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;
Rex Funnell was born in Whitehall, Michigan and was drafted into the Army during World War II. He was trained initially to work with mules for mountain pack hauling, but his unit’s function was changed so they didn’t end up working with mules...
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;
Louis Kramer served in the 42nd Infantry Division in the US Army during World War II. His unit was shipped to France late in 1944, and joined the 7th Army in Alsace. Kramer’s unit fought near Strasbourg during the Battle of the Bulge and...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Army; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives
Gregory Laws served in the US Army as a Combat Engineer. He served in the Army for 25 years, spending two tours of that time in Germany. As a Combat Engineer, Gregory learned how to build and demolish bridges, and was eventually promoted to 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
Armond Hillock is a World War II veteran who served with the Sigma Corps within the U.S. Army from January 1943 to an undisclosed date. Hillock discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S. He briefly discusses where his active...
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; United States. Army
Jerry McFarland was born on March 24, 1933 and enlisted in the Navy in 1950 after graduating from high school. Jerry trained at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and was then stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. He worked there for about...
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
Robert Lewis was drafted into the Army at age 26 and served in the Korean War. Upon being drafted, he joined the Army engineers and worked building bridges in Korea near the front lines. He also worked building foxholes and firing positions for 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
Robert Perrin was born on September 11, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and drafted into the Army in 1943. He went to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for basic training, which he thought was terrible. Robert then began training for the Military Police 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; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American;...
Darrell Thornley was raised in Duvant, OK and was drafted into the army soon after hearing about Pearl Harbor. His extensive military career in World War II and the Korean War and beyond took him to France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Japan,...
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; Women
Mary Sefton is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to April 1972. In her interview transcript she goes into a detailed account of the events surrounding her pre-enlistment, enlistment and training; her tours in Vietnam, 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;
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; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Newton Dilley joined the Army in 1943 and worked with the 12th Armored Division during his time in the Army Specialized Training Program. He was eventually assigned to the 56th Armored Infantry battalion of the 12th Armored Division. He saw...
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. National Guard
Born in White Cloud, Michigan in 1953, Gary Boucher just missed the draft for the Vietnam War. However, based on input from several of his friends and his own investigation, Boucher joined the Michigan National Guard in 1978. Following training at...
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; United States. Army. New York Artillery; Shipping; Diaries
This diary was kept by soldier Whitley Read detailing his last year of service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery, Company H. It also focuses on his postwar service on a Great Lakes Schooner. The last pages of the diary include brief memoranda...
