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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; Papa 3 Combined Action Company
  • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Philippines; Cam Lo, Vietnam; Dong Ha, Vietnam; Hue, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Lance Corporal

View full service history

"I am going to try to tell you now what the war is like over here…" (Audio letter, April 15, 1967, 4:05)

Upon departing for training, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Mark Ryan Black told his family, “Don’t expect me to write much.” Contrary to expectations, he spent much time in country composing both written letters and tape-recorded audio letters, communicating the details of what he was seeing, feeling, and experiencing. Speaking into a tape recorder allowed him to “talk” to his family, friends, and community back home; in his letters, he provided frank descriptions of combat and going on patrol. Stationed in Quang Tri Province with a Combined Action Company (CAC) unit, he was killed by enemy fire during an attack on his compound on August 14, 1967. His letters, transcribed by his mother after his death and presented along with 341 photos that he took in-country, eloquently document one Marine’s service in Vietnam.

More Resources

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from December 10, 1966

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from December 23, 1966

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from December 25, 1966

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from January 5, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio Letter from January 15, 1967

Show more resources (25)

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from January 24, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from January 27, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from January 29, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from February 6, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from April 15, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from April 30, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from May 11, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from May 18, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from May 25, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from May 31, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from June 9, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from June 15, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from June 18, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from June 22, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from June 27, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from July 2, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from July 9, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from July 18, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from July 26, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from August 4, 1967

Mark Ryan Black Collection
Audio letter from August 10, 1967

View Enlarged Image
[ Too Young to Die: "Mementos" of Mark Ryan Black, LCPL USMC, April 10, 1945 - August 14, 1967 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letters of the Vietnam War Era 1966-1967 from L/CPL. Mark Ryan Black, U.S.M.C. ]
View 341 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter to Black’s parents from Colonel C.R. Burroughs describing the school built at site of Black’s death [July 6, 1969] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Mark Ryan Black Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • Black, Paul
  • Black, Mark Ryan
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar

State of Birth

  • IN

Home State

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Black, Mark Ryan
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; Papa 3 Combined Action Company
    • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Philippines; Cam Lo, Vietnam; Dong Ha, Vietnam; Hue, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Lance Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1967
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Home movie footage (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 1967)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1987)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)
  • Audio: None [1 item] -- Audio correspondence (collected 1966 - 1967)
  • Manuscript: None [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2008)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 1966 - 1967)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Slide Presentation (collected 01/01/2011)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 1967 - 1980)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/12749

Cite as

  • Mark Ryan Black Collection (AFC/2001/001/12749), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • audio
  • video
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lugar, Richard, Paul Black, Mark Ryan Black, and U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. Mark Ryan Black Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12749/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., Black, P., Black, M. R. & U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. (1966) Mark Ryan Black Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12749/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Mark Ryan Black Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12749/>.