Swisher, Reuben Voss
Item
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Title
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Swisher, Reuben Voss
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Performer
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Reuben Voss Swisher
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Interviewer
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William Vollano
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Description
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Reuben Swisher had nine years, two months and eighteen days on active duty, followed by five years in the Reserves. He was wounded twice in Korea and earned the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for valor while a combat infantryman. Swisher was seventeen years old when he served in Korea and was assigned to Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was wounded on Hill 578 on February 15, 1951 at Chipyong-ni, near Yangpyoeng as part of a force defending the Wonju Line during "Operation Killer." Besides being wounded twice, he suffered frostbitten feet. After his Army service in 1950-1952 and rise to Corporal, he joined the Air Force in 1957 and served until 1964, achieving the rank of Technical Sergeant. Besides the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, and the United Nations Service Medal. Swisher then served the Department of Veterans Affairs and earned several honors while employed there, followed by 400 hours of volunteer work at the VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor after his retirement in 1991. He also served as Commander of the Washtenaw County Chapter of Disabled American Veterans for seven consecutive terms.
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Date Span
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1950-1952; 1957-1964
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Dates of Service
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Subject
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Enlisted; United States Army; United States Air Force; 2nd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division; Korean War, 1950-1953; Cold War; Korea; Japan; United States; Technical Sergeant
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Publisher
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Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
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Collection Location
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4/21
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https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.38849
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Spatial Coverage
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Korea; Japan; United States
