Michigan--History; Local histories; Memoirs; Oral histories (document genre); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Personal narratives; Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.); Grand Valley State University
Charles Kindel was born in Colorado in 1899. His father was in the furniture business. He married Katrina C. van Asmus in 1924 and eventually took her place as trustee of the Starr Commonwealth. He was President Ford’s boy scout leader in the...
Michigan--History; Local histories; Memoirs; Oral histories (document genre); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Personal narratives; Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.); Grand Valley State University; Women
Elizabeth Welter Wilson was born in Grand Rapids on 4 April 1921. Miss Wilson attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She was acquainted with well-known stage personalities, among them Helen Hayes and Shirley Booth. Miss Wilson...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Merchant marine--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives,...
James Shannon was born in Galveston, Texas in 1928. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines while in his first year of college. He had boot camp in Catalina, California and went to radio school on Hoffman Island in the New York Harbor. He completed...
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;
Ron Story was born in Lowell, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1950. Ron was drafted into the Army in 1952 and feels that he was very fortunate that he was sent to Europe rather than Korea. Ron was stationed in La Rochelle, France on...
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
Lester Alcumbrack was drafted into the army in 1942. Les became very sick during basic training, and became a truck driver. He trained as a fuel truck driver and received amphibious training. He began duty in Scotland and Wales prior to the...
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;
Emerson Barrone was a medic and ambulance driver in World War II. He was drafted in 1942 into the Army and spent time training in Missouri. He was then shipped of to England at the end of 1943. He landed on Utah Beach one day after D-Day. His job...
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;
Thadius Burzynski was born in Michigan on April 18, 1916. Ted was married in 1940 and expected to be drafted after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ted was deferred from service many times because of his work in a factory. Ted was drafted in 1943 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 Shapin served in the US Army during World War II. He trained both as an artillerist and an infantryman, and eventually shipped over to Europe with an artillery battalion attached to the 75th Division. He saw action in the Battle of the...
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;
Wilbur Bouwkamp served in the US Army between 1941 and 1945. After basic training, he was assigned to the 10 Armored Division, where he served on a recovery vehicle, a tank adapted to tow damaged tanks back to friendly lines where they could be...
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 Jager grew up in Michigan and was drafted in 1943 and trained in Florida to be a replacement infantryman. In April of 1944 he went to England on a converted troop ship. George received chemical warfare training and then landed on Omaha...
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; United States. Army. Air Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Prisoners of war; Prisoners of...
William Lalley was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1922. While in college in 1942 he signed up for an Army Air Corps program that was supposed to defer his service until he graduated, but he was pulled out of school early in 1943. He then...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army. Air Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Richard Gillard served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from June 1942 to September 1945 during World War II. In this account, Gillard discusses his pre-enlistment, enlistment and training and his combat experience abroad in North Africa and Italy....
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army. Signal Corps; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings;
Everett Thompson served in the Army Signal Corps in World War II. He was drafted in March 1943. After doing basic training in Florida, he was sent to the University of Illinois where he took classes to prepare him to take care of large diesel...
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; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; United States. Air Force
Glenn Dykstra was born in Oklahoma in 1932. However, because of the effects of the Dust Bowl, his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dykstra joined the Air Force when he was seventeen and finished his school while in the service. After...
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
Paul Dunning served during the Korean War after being drafted into the Army. He served as a Field Wireman north of the 38th Parallel for eight months until the Armistice was signed, which he then served as a truck driver transporting Korean work...
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,...
