Natick Veterans Oral History Project: Recent Episodes
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U.S. Army 1954–1956 While lying in bed at night, Thomas Hunt would hear squadrons of bombers fly over his home in New Canaan, Conn., and knew the types of planes from the engine sounds they made. This is just one of the stories Tom recollects about his boyhood days before and during World … Continue reading Thomas A. Hunt
U.S. Navy 1946–1953 Graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, Hudner was assigned to a cruiser north of Shanghai as a ship’s signal officer. Receiving his wings in 1949 he trained to be a pilot and was assigned to the carrier, USS Leyte. Hudner talks of the unrest leading up to the Korean … Continue reading Thomas J. Hudner
U.S. Navy 1961–1963 Joyce Tartarini grew up in Natick and upon graduation from Natick High School, and inspired by JFK’s message to “ask what you can do for your country,” she and her twin brother enlisted in the Navy. Training as a corp-WAVE (medic) she was stationed in Charleston, S.C. After marrying she became … Continue reading Joyce T. Hubbard
U.S. Army 1956–1960 U.S. Marine Corps 1960–1980 Dan Hubbard was born and raised in West Virginia. He served four years in the Army from 1957-61, went back to civilian life and decided it wasn’t for him. So he joined the Marines. Dan talks about his 20-plus year military career in both branches, including his … Continue reading Dan Hubbard
U.S. Navy 1970–1974 David Holly enlisted in the Navy in 1970 and although his background was in art, he was trained to be a medical corpsman. He served at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Boston, then at the USMC base at Camp Pendleton, CA. There he trained with and provided medical assistance to Special Forces. … Continue reading David Holly
U.S. Army 1994–2002 Jennifer Holey entered the Army Nurse Corps after graduating from Texas Christian University, where she was a member of ROTC. Her eight-year career in the Army included six months in Haiti as an ER nurse at a United Nations facility in Port-au-Prince. She described her experiences there in her self-published memoir, … Continue reading Jennifer Holey
U.S. Marine Corps 1967–1968 Knowing he would probably be drafted for the Vietnam Conflict, James Hastings nevertheless decided to join the Marine Corps. Training at Parris Island, he wondered “What the heck did I do?” but realized that the USMC strips you down to build you up to be a Marine. Jim tells a … Continue reading James Hastings
U.S. Army 1982–1988 Michael Hamm joined the U.S. Army in 1982. He served as a radar operator with the 24th Infantry Division Mechanized, 32nd AddCom and the 1st Infantry Division in Georgia and Kansas, as well as in Spangdalem, West Germany. View in Catalog
U.S. Marine Corps 1968–1972 Fascinated by the Marines as a young boy, Warren Griffin fulfilled his commitment to help with the war by joining the Corps in August 1968 after the Tet Offensive. Describing his “little bit of hell” in basic training, his deployment to Vietnam was delayed as he was sent to jungle training … Continue reading Warren Griffin
U.S. Marine Corps 1969–1970 Michael Green grew up in Reading, Mass., and joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1969. He was sent to Vietnam, where he served with the First Battalion, 5th Marine Division, as part of a rifle company. He served in Vietnam for nearly a year, took part in several skirmishes against … Continue reading Michael Green