Veterans -- United States
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During the 1983 meeting of the Last Squad Club, a group of World War I veterans that began meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado in the 1930’s, member Al Look reads a eulogy for those veterans who have passed. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Compound
Al Look talks about geologic formations in De Beque Canyon and about the first aerial photographs taken of the Grand Mesa. Margaret (Langen) Look speaks about air travel to Boulder, Colorado in the 1920’s. Al Look speaks about the publication of his book, Hopi Snake Dance, and about the return of his son from World War II. He describes his work with different people on archaeological and paleontological digs, and touches on the vandalism of certain...
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Voice Recording
Mrs. Rose Perry relates her son’s experience on the U.S.S. Helena, a Brooklyn-class light cruiser used by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II. The Helena was one of the cruisers attacked in Pearl Harbor, and was directly torpedoed by the Japanese. The Helena survived the attack and was assigned to assist in the Guadalcanal campaign. It helped to destroy several Japanese aircraft and battleships and contributed to American victories...
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Voice Recording
Grace Traynor talks about her son Harold Baker Wood and his service as a Boatswain’s Mate aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She discusses her son’s death during the attack and subsequent medals he received. She speaks about the enlistment of her sons in the armed forces during the Great Depression, when jobs were scarce, and about their lives in Grand Junction as young adults. The interview was conducted...
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Helen Johnson talks about helping teach a WPA-funded dance class during the Great Depression. She speaks about other government programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, and how they helped the people of Mesa County, Colorado during the Great Depression. She describes working for Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles to manufacture airplanes during World War II, where she became the lead in her section. She talks about her brief career teaching...
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Voice Recording
The thirty-one surviving members of The Last Squad Club, a group of World War I veterans established in 1937, meets in 1981. Different members, including Al Look and Glenn Berry, are recorded speaking. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History...
Format:
Voice Recording
During 1980’s annual meeting of the Last Squad Club, an organization of World War I veterans, Al Look reads the memorial service and former U.S. Representative Wayne Aspinall gives the keynote address. The club remembers deceased members and friends of the club. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Compound
In this recording, Alta Nolan reads the memoirs of Cordelia Files. Files talks about the history of her parents and maternal grandparents who homesteaded in the Fruita, Colorado area in the 1890’s. She describes the fruit growing operation on the homestead. She recounts seeing the Ute people and Chipeta when they came in the fall to dry fruit from the orchard. She remembers early Fruita, with its dirt streets and plank sidewalks. She speaks about...
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Voice Recording
Mike Taylor talks in brief about his childhood in Grand Junction, leaving high school early, and joining the Marines at the age of seventeen. He recalls his service as a rifleman in Vietnam with the Delta Company, First Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment. He speaks about being wounded in combat, his long convalescence at Fitzsimons Hospital in Denver, and his marriage at the hospital. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project,...
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Compound
Jake Faverman talks about his childhood in Grand Junction, Colorado, and training to become a jockey in Chino, California. He speaks about joining the US Army in 1968 and his medical training. He remembers his service as a combat medic during the Vietnam War with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry, which was assigned to the 11th Brigade. He discusses his view of antiwar protests and conscientious objectors. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County...
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Voice Recording
Philip Griebel talks about his life as an educator and a coach at Fruita High School. He remembers the fire that burnt down the first Fruita Union High School in 1934. He describes teaching topics in science and math for 28 years. He speaks about his career as a basketball, football, and track coach, remembers school and community involvement in the games, and rivalries between Fruita and high schools in Delta, Grand Junction, Gunnison, Montrose,...
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Voice Recording
During a ceremony at Grand Junction, Colorado’s V.A. Medical Center on National POW/MIA Recognition Day in 1983, military veterans and public officials commemorate US prisoners of war in Vietnam, and US service members missing in action in Vietnam. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Compound
Josephine Biggs describes the experiences of her husband, Clyde Biggs, as an officer in the 353rd Infantry Regiment of the 89th Division during World War I. She speaks of their travels in France after World War I. She also talks about the Grand Junction train depot munitions fire that nearly burned down the nearby Biggs-Kurtz lumber warehouse. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries...
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Voice Recording
Jack Williams, an automotive dealer and realtor from Grand Junction, Colorado, talks about his experiences in World War II’s Pacific Theater. He describes sitting on the deck of a destroyer in Pearl Harbor when the bombing began on December 7, 1941. He describes the aerial attack by Japanese forces, the mobilization of US Naval forces, and receiving credit for the downing of a Japanese plane. He discusses engaging with Japanese submarines in the...
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Compound
Thomas Moore talks about his childhood and education in Columbus, Ohio, and being drafted into the United States Army in 1968. He describes his tour of duty and experiences in Chu Lai, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War, with the 23rd Infantry Americal Division from 1969 to 1970. He recounts drug and alcohol use among American troops during the war. He remembers his difficulty reintegrating into American society when he returned from the war and talks...
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Compound
Jim Colman talks about his childhood in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Grand Junction, and Salt Lake City. He describes taking officer’s training courses through correspondence school before receiving a commission as a reserve infantry lieutenant in 1937. He speaks about becoming a communications officer and headquarters company commander with the 57th Infantry in the Philippines in 1941. He describes the horses and mules used by officers in his unit,...
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Voice Recording
Julia Harris discusses hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when she was hosting a Republican Party event for a special congressional election at her home on the Grand Mesa. She describes finding out about the bombing from the radio and from a local telephone operator who called people in the region to inform them. She talks about younger relatives of hers who joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor, about the general absence...
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Voice Recording
Thatcher Shaw, a foot soldier and occupation lawyer during and after World War II, talks about the reaction of people in the United States to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He speaks about attitudes towards German and Japanese people at the start of the war. He discusses his experiences as a private and officer during World War II. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
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Compound
In a three-part interview conducted over three days, Luisa Landini describes her childhood in Montale, Italy and her life after immigrating to the United States. In part one, she talks about life in Italy, working on a farm and in the fields, and her immigration to the United States via ship at the age of twenty-two. She talks about coming to America to marry Pete Landini and her homesickness for Italy when she arrived. She speaks about the family’s...
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Voice Recording
Melvin Feller talks about being stationed in the Philippines, where his US Army Air Corps unit slept on dikes in the rice paddies because they anticipated a Japanese attack in the two weeks prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He speaks about the Japanese attack on US bases in the Philippines the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He describes evacuating from the Philippines on a ship and being most probably the only surviving member of his company....
