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World War II Veteran: James Van Ginkel (Jim)
Duration: 10:57
Transcript (RTF)
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Collection: Iowa's WWII Stories
Jim Van Ginkel was a 1st Lieutenant with the Army Air Corps, 8th Air Force, stationed in England. He did a tour as co-pilot then pilot with a crew of 10 on a B-24 bomber from summer 1942 – December 1945. He tells us about his missions from Attlebridge, England to Germany. Jim tells us if you had a uniform on during WWII you were “king of the hill.”
Documents:
- Transcript (RTF)
Post Date: September 24, 2007
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Heavy Rains Slow Allied Advance
This is a portion of a newsreel shown to general audiences describing how the weather slowed the advance of 5th Army in ... 03:39
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U.S. Bombers Pave Way for Pacific Invasion
This is a portion of a newsreel shown to general audiences describing the campaign in New Britain near New Guinea and Makin ... 03:47
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U.S. Army Air Corps Policy
This is an excerpt from a film used to describe the United States Army Air Forces policy in Europe. The film begins with ... 04:43
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Stepping Stone To Japan
This is a film used to describe what the United States Army Air Forces were doing to win the war in early 1944 in the Marshall ... 04:55
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Review of the War in Europe
Produced sometime in 1946, this film is a retrospective of the war in Europe. It includes footage of Roosevelt, Churchill, ... 05:10
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Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
This segment shows film of the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Japanese perspective. This film was captured from the Japanese ... 02:47
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Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
In this series of short films, WAACs are seen on a parade ground at a training base and on parade through a downtown business ... 01:38
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Color film of Japanese General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief ...
In this short silent film, Japanese General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signs both copies of the Instrument ... 00:16
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Color film of the second flag raising on Mt. Suribachi ...
In this short silent film, the U.S. flag is raised for the second time on the island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. 00:55
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World War II Veteran: Bob Benson
Bob Benson was farming with his father on 200 acres near Story City. The army deferred him. When it was his time to go, ... 08:21
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World War II Veteran: Jack Smith
Jack Smith says his service really began in High School. He had 3 years of junior ROTC and knew he wanted to fly. He joined ... 12:56
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World War II Veteran: Vincent Martinez
Vincent Martinez served as a first class petty officer 1943-1945. When the war ended, he liked the Navy, and reenlisted. ... 02:02
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World War II Veteran: Maurice Vasquez
Maurice Vasquez served as a ship fitter second class on a net tender.They moved around the southern Solomon islands, Guadalcanal ... 02:54
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World War II Veteran: Anthony Navarro
Anthony Navarro was born in Durango, Mexico. He was a Sergeant 1880 aviation engineers. He worked on the Burma Road in ... 10:29
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World War II Veteran: Samuel A. Vasquez
Sam Vasquez was a sergeant with the 8th field artillery of the 25th infantry – the “Old Hawaiian Division”. He served at ... 08:14
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World War II Veteran: Elizes Chaves "Al"
Elizes Chaves was born and raised in Davenport. He volunteered for the service in September, 1942 because he was mad at ... 07:50
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World War II Veteran: James Peavey
James Peavey was a professional tap dancer in Davenport before the War. He went to intelligence school, and was with the ... 10:20
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World War II Veteran: Ivan W. Crees
Ivan Crees was a farm boy from Atalissa, Iowa. He served in Africa and Italy in the military police. 07:06
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World War II Veteran: Lonnie Conger
Lonnie Conger hitch-hiked 60 miles to Des Moines to enlist in the Navy. He trained as an aviation mechanic and served with ... 10:18
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World War II Veteran: Robert Sullivan “Bob or Sully”...
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World War II Veteran: Jerry Corrigan
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World War II Veteran: Don Cottrell
When Don Cottrell turned 17 he told his dad that he wanted to join the Navy, and to do it that very day. 05:44
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World War II Veteran: Francis Toale
Francis Toale joined the Navy on September 6, 1942 and served in the 4th division aboard the U.S.S. Idaho until November ... 06:06
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World War II Veteran: Vernon "Bud" Hall
Bud Hall was in the amphibious forces in the Navy from “44 to ’46. 09:44
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World War II Veteran: Willis Haddix
Willis Haddix served as ground support attached to the second Air Corps in 1944 and 1945. He was attached to the quartermaster ... 05:10
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World War II Veteran: Marvin Boyenga
Marvin served with the 475th Infantry and the Mars Task Force in the China-Burma-India theater, although he had trained ... 10:38
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World War II Veteran: Dick Blunt
Dick Blunt served aboard the U.S.S. Sumner. He was part of the shakedown cruise to Bermuda. 08:06
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World War II Veteran: Ben Colson
Ben Colson tells us that he grew up in the Marine Corps, enlisting at 17 and learning to obey. His first taste of combat ... 11:11
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World War II Veteran: George Temeyer
George Temeyer joined the Army and went overseas with the 28th division as a replacement in January, 1945. They didn’t ... 10:01
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World War II Veteran: Bill Watters
Bill Watters was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force. He was on O'ahu in Hawaii for a while. Then they transported him ... 07:25
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World War II Veteran: Darwin “Dar” F. Reber
The doctors told Dar Reber that he did not have enough sight to be accepted into the Air Force. That was not acceptable ... 09:01
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World War II Veteran: Ed Callanan
Ed Callanan joined the army on April Fool’s Day, 1942. He served with the 91st Cavalry Reconnaissance squadron. 08:16
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World War II Veteran: Art Gratias
June 6, 1944 has two memories for Art Gratias of Mason City. He had been married June 6, 1943. On his first wedding anniversary ...
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World War II Veteran: Willard Leon McCormick, Jr. ...
Mac was in the 58th construction battalion, called the Seabees. After the Admiralty Islands, they joined the 6th Marine ... 14:17
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World War II Veteran: James Van Ginkel (Jim)
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World War II Veteran: Michael Cervantes
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World War II Veteran: Burdette Parrott (Shorty)
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World War II Veteran: Wilbur Tiffany
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World War II Veteran: Clifford Perry
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Iowans in World War II - Part 2 (Full Program) (#116)
Full Program: In the spirit of Ken Burns' PBS documentary "The War," Assignment Iowa is looking back at some of our most compelling stories ... 27:45
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Iowans in World War II - Part 1 (Full Program) (#115)
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World War II Veteran: Maurice Hoxie
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World War II Veteran: Norm Kling
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World War II Veteran: Glenn Clark Underwood
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World War II Veteran: Mary Adams
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World War II Veteran: Ervin Bostwick
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World War II Veteran: Vince "Pete" Conners...
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World War II Veteran: Dr. Kenneth James Gee
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World War II Veteran: William "Bill" Tyner...
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World War II Veteran: Harold Lamont Schoolen
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World War II Veteran: Richard Henneman
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World War II Veteran: Richard O. Keep (Dick)
Dick Keep learned to speak German from his mother and grandmother growing up on the farm. He served as interpreter for his ... 10:18
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World War II Veteran: Robert A. Helgerson (Bob)
Bob Helgerson of Ottumwa, Iowa talks about his '90 day wonder' training in the Navy, and his experiences aboard the Intrepid.... 10:58
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World War II Veteran: Aurelio Barron
During the battle for Faid (fa-YEED) Pass, Sergeant Barron's mortar squad was nearby, perched on a hill, waiting to protect ...
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World War II Veteran: Henry Leonard
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World War II Veteran: Glenn McDole
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World War II Veteran: Galen Kittleson
In early 1945, 20-year old Galen Kittleson from St. Ansgar was stationed in the Philippines as part of an elite unit called ...
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World War II Veteran: Elvin Moritz
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World War II and the Home Front: Ed Tubbs
To help win the fight from the home front, the U.S. government asked its citizens to increase production of everything from ...
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World War II Veteran: Dean Lettington
As part of the 559th Field Artillery Battalion, Lettington had spent the last few months fighting across France.
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World War II and the Home Front: Working at Maytag ...
Maytag was one of the Iowa firms that stopped producing consumer goods and started making war supplies.
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World War II and the Home Front: Jeanne Ersland and ...
As more men were sent away to fight, women were hired to take over their positions on the assembly lines. Before World War ...
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World War II Veteran: John Phillips
In January of 1945, 22 year-old John Phillips of Waterloo was part of a group of replacement troops sent to the 106th Infantry ...
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World War II Veteran: Malcolm Amos
Army Corpsman Malcolm Amos of Afton was among those captured in the Philippines on April 9, 1942. He became one of the more ... 01:16
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World War II Veteran: Paul Aschbrenner
Aschbrenner was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Oklahoma was docked in Pearl Harbor, ...
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World War II Veteran: Ray Schleihs
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World War II and the Home Front: Rex Holmes
As the battle raged on in Tunisia, 15-year old Rex Holmes of Red Oak waited in the Western Union Telegraph office in the ...
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World War II Veteran: Russell Smith
By mid-summer 1944, members of company "I" were attacking German troops somewhere north of Rome, Italy. "Bill" Smith was ...
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World War II Veteran: Ruth Miller
After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Ruth Miller was assigned to the 110th Evacuation Hospital and sent to Europe ...
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World War II Veteran: Thelma Kardon
For some, joining the service was a chance to relocate. Thelma Kardon, formerly Sherman, was a 21 year-old native of Chelsea, ...
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World War II Veteran: Verle Buck
Technician Fourth Grade Verle Buck, a 21-year old from Jubilee, had been drafted in January of 1943 and was now a part of ...
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World War II and the Home Front: Vivian Schleihs Builds ...
During some of the breaks between flying missions there was time for relaxation and, of course, letter writing, the most ...
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World War II Veteran: Al Rolfes
After landing on Saipan in June of 1944, First Lieutenant Al Rolfes had dug in above Tannipeg harbor.
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