Ralph Baldwin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During World War II, Ralph Baldwin was a senior physicist in the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he helped develop the radio proximity fuze, a crucial secret weapon of the war. The...
This is an interview conducted to evaluate the successes, failures, and impact of the civil rights movement at home and abroad; as well as the prospect of how one man wishes to make an impact while serving his community as a future law enforcement...
Jose Jimenez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico and lived in Chicago. He discusses his experiences as the leader of the Young Lords and an activist for Latin Americans.
Ryan Cronk is a student at Grand Valley State University, double majoring in Accounting and Economics. Ryan is an active member of the LGBT community as well as the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Ryan passionately works to educate others on LGBT issues...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; United States. Air Force; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; Veterans; Video recordings;
Ronald Seigel served in the United States Air Force as an Air Force Security Specialist at the Kelley Air Force Base in Texas starting in 1979. Although technically serving during peacetime, his personal account of his time in the service is very...
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;
Rocco J. Farano (Rocky), of Troy, NY served in the 36th Infantry Division during the WW II from 1943-1946. He saw action in Sicily, Italy, and later served in France, Belgium and Germany. Most of the interview focuses on combat in Italy, 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; Video recordings
Robert Barker was born in 1926 and was drafted into the army early in 1944. He trained in Alabama and Texas with the 13th Armored Division and was shipped to Europe late in the year. He served as an armored infantryman, with his unit serving...
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;
Duane Neff served in the US Army Air Corps between 1943 and 1946. He served with an air warning unit that worked mostly with fighter squadrons in the Philippines. He discusses encounters with the Japanese and with Filipinos, and incidents that...
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.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; Video recordings; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American; United States. Marine Corps
Steve Dumond was born in 1986 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He joined the Marine Corps immediately after high school in 2005. After boot camp and infantry training, he completed two tours in Iraq, one in 2006 and the second from September 2007 through...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Iraq War, 2003--Personal narratives, American; United States. National Guard
After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Ron Oakes married, earned a degree in electronics and traveled around the Midwest working. Eventually, he and his family moved back to Michigan, where Oakes joined the National Guard. As part of the Guard,...
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
Jack Irwin was born in Grand Rapids in 1937. He enlisted into the National Guard in 1953 and subsequently went on active duty. He went through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, as well as jump school in North Carolina,where he learned how to...
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. Navy
Lloyd Heibel enlisted in the Navy in 1948 at the age of 17. He trained as a gunner and served on the USS Midway and USS Shenandoah, operating in the Atlantic and Mediterranean at the time of the Korean War.
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; United States. Air Force
Mike Fields served in the United States Air Force from 1957 to 1963. He trained as an aircraft radio technician, but wound up performing a wide assortment of duties on air bases in Oregon, Labrador and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Most of his...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army;
Marvin Abbott was born in June 1938 in Decatur, Michigan and after graduating from high school, attending Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, Abbott went through the ROTC program, which included a six-week basic training course at...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Air Force; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Douglas Broek grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 to stay ahead of the draft. After completing basic training in San Antonio, he spent about two years working as a clerk for a security unit at Loring Air Force Base...
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; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal...
Isabelino Vazquez was born and grew up in Puerto Rico and was drafted into the Army in 1951 at the age of nineteen years old. Once drafted, Vazquez went through training in Puerto Rico before deploying to Korea and fighting in the Korean War. He...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Army; United States. Air Force; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; Other...
In July 1969, Ron Kloet returned to Vietnam for a third tour of duty. During this tour, he served as part of the intelligence section for the 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Phuoc Long Province. While with the 1st Air Cav., Kloet took part in...
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
Alan Toms was born in Toronto, Canada in 1939. Because of his father’s occupation, Toms’ and his family moved several times while Toms was a child, eventually ending up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Toms attended...
