Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Air Force;
Thomas Swanson served in the U.S. Air Force between 1976 and 1980. He trained in Denver, Colorado, as an instrumentation mechanic, and worked on the testing grounds at Yuma, Arizona.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American;
Ken Maatman was an Officer in the Army Signal Corps during World War II. He supervised the installation and maintenance of communications lines in the China/Burma/India theater, particularly along the Burma Road in the last two years of the war. ...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Norman Spring served in the US Army during the Korean War. He enlisted in 1951, and spent much of his time as an MP, first in Japan and then in Korea, before persuading his superiors to assign him to a combat unit. In Japan, he served as a prison...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Corps of Engineers--Personal narratives, American
Cornell Beukema graduated from Michigan State University in 1943, went through a series of OCS camps, engineer school, and the Second Army Mine School. He specialized in bridge building, mines and demolition. Sent to Japan after the war ended, he...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings; Women
Jack and his wife Anne Valkenier are both ethnically Dutch. They describe the experiences they had during their younger years and the Nazi occupation. They describe their familial involvement in the Dutch resistance. Jack also depicts his later...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American;
Brian Baar served in the US Army Rangers and with several infantry units in the early 1980s. His active duty experience included training several different National Guard units, and units in the Egyptian Army.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Air Force; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Bob Blackwell served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber with the 8th Air Force in Europe. His account covers his training, experiences in England, and flying missions over northern...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Navy; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
James Butler served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. He evaded earlier tours of Vietnam, by serving on two missions to Antarctica as part of a construction crew. However, he eventually served time in DaNang, Vietnam, once again as...
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
Edson Carpenter is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 767th Tank Battalion 19th Inf. Division from 1941 to 1945. In this account, Carpenter discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training in the U.S and the Pacific,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Wayne Keith Davis is a Veteran who served in the United States Army during peacetime from the late 1970s to the late 1980s in Germany and in the United States. Born in 1957, Davis talks about his childhood growing up in Benton Harbor and his...
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
George DeBaar was born in Grand Rapids, MI, and was drafted in January of 1943. He served at Fort Brady at Sault St. Marie, as part of the 131st Infantry (later the 156th). His unit served as guards at the base, and near the Soo Locks and the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Tom Grosser served in the US Army between 1971 and 1973. He served in Vietnam and saw some combat, but is still suffering the effects of PTSD and is reluctant to talk about it.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Air Force; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Tad Such served in the US Air Force between 1980 and 1983. He was stationed at Holman Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he worked as a heavy equipment operator.
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;
Glenn TenBrink served in the 70th Infantry Division during World War II. He joined his unit as a replacement in a rifle company in January, 1945 and participated in battles in northeastern France and in Germany before being wounded in action. He...
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
John Barwacz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1921 and enlisted in the Navy on August 18, 1942. John went through basic training at Great Lakes Naval Academy in Chicago, Illinois and then had advanced engineer training at the University of...
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
John Janssen was born on April 30, 1922 in Wisconsin and moved to Michigan in 1928. He graduated from high school in 1940 and joined the Marine Corps on October 29, 1941. John went through basic training in South Carolina, where they spent a lot...
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
Ray Janssen was born in Wisconsin in 1923 and then grew up on a farm in Michigan. He graduated from high school in 1942 and was drafted shortly after in 1943. Ray trained in terribly hot weather in Alabama for eight months and then trained in...
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;
Bob Mueller was born in Chicago in 1921, and at the time of Pearl Harbor was attending college in California and taking aviation classes. He enlisted as a Navy cadet and went through pre-flight and advanced flight training before becoming a flight...
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;
Don Morell was born in Ludington, MI in 1926 and joined the Navy in 1944 when he was only 17 years old. He was sent to Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, IL for basic training for about six weeks. Dan only received basic training and was then...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Naval Reserve; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal...
Gerald Naughton was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 29, 1931. He moved to Michigan when he was five years old and graduated from high school in 1950. Gerald joined the Navy reserve in 1955 and was later in the Navy full time. He was in the...
