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. Marine Corps; Other veterans &...
Henry Diedering was a teenager in the Netherlands when the Germans took over in 1940. He describes life in his home town under occupation, and of his efforts to avoid being impressed as a forced laborer by the Germans when he turned 18. He made...
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
Roger Oppenhuizen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946. After completing college in 1968, he enlisted in the Army to stay ahead of the draft, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. He did his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Army; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American
John Kangas was born in Cedar Springs, Michigan in 1981. After graduating high school he was unemployed for awhile before enlisting in the army in 2001. He received his training at Ft. Sill. He worked the radar, assigned to 1st Battalion, 33rd...
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
Richard Drury was born in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He received his draft notice shortly after finishing high school in 1969. He did his Army basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then advanced training for airborne at Fort Gordon, Georgia,...
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
James VandenBosch, born in Ada, Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1966 and trained as a medical corpsman. After a cruise aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri La in the Mediterranean, he trained for combat duty with the Marines at Camp Lejeune...
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; United States. Air Force; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Kenneth Hicks served in the 8th Air Force as a B-17 pilot based in England in 1944-45. He provides extensive descriptions of the training process and his experience with bombing missions in the later stages of the war.
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
James VandenBosch, born in Ada, Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1966 and trained as a medical corpsman. After a cruise aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri La in the Mediterranean, he trained for combat duty with the Marines at Camp Lejeune...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives,...
Catherine Kooyers was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and comes from a family of veterans. After she got married, she was working at a local fair when she first encountered Vietnam veterans. From her experiences, Catherine quickly realized that work...
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
Leonard Moore was born in North Carolina in 1949. He volunteered for the draft in 1969 and went to basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for infantry training. He was then sent to Vietnam, landing at Cam...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; United States. Marine Corps; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Ron Howell, born in Flint, Michigan in 1948 He enlisted in the Marine Corps and served from 1967 to 1969. Trained at San Diego as a radio operator, he was sent to Vietnam in June, 1968 and assigned to a headquarters unit in Da Nang. He later...
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
Steven Faine, born in Detroit in 1947, enlisted in the Army in 1967 to avoid being drafted and choose his specialization. He took basic training at Fort Knox and then went to Fort Sam Houston to train as a medic. From there, he got into a new...
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; Veterans; United States. Navy; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Steve Byers had been in the Navy for 20 years when he retired in 2000. He discusses the benefits of military life and some of the differences between military and civilian experiences and attitudes.
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;
Quincy Leslie is a WW II veteran from Cheboygan, Michigan who served in the U.S. Army after being drafted in 1942. He served in a radar unit on the New Jersey shore, and then as a supply officer in Hawaii until his discharge in 1946. After 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
Steve Janicki served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. His history includes some colorful accounts of his joining the guard and going through basic training (he was 16 at the time, and not even shaving yet). ...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; Video...
Rita Glanz was one of the 10,000 Jewish children saved before WWII started as a result of the Kinder Transport. Her father, a successful businessman, was driven out of Austria and into Switzerland by the Nazis. Mrs. Glanz was taken in by a couple...
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;
Arthur Harnish served in the 347th Engineer Regiment between 1943 and 1945. He provides detailed descriptions of training and his service in Europe. He landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day and helped his unit rebuild bridges in France, Belgium...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Marine Corps; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Michael Burton was born in Detroit and enlisted in 1966 after finishing one year at Grand Valley State College. He spent 8 months in Hawaii as part of the 127th Marine Infantry Regiment, and for a short while was part of their bases tennis team. He...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives,...
Marthajane Kirby was born on November 4, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri. When her high school sweetheart joined the Marines, she wrote to him regularly until he was killed. His friend, Stanley Kirby, then took up the correspondence, and when he...
