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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: Army
  • Unit of Service: 4th Battalion, 77th Artillery (Aerial Rocket), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile)
  • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Eustis, Virginia; Fort Stewart and Fort McPherson, Georgia; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Lexington, Kentucky; Kaiserslautern and Mannheim, Germany; Seoul, South Korea
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

View full service history

"I don’t think there’s anybody who understands the real horror of war better than soldiers do." (Video interview, part 3, 30:25)

Although he studied education in college, with the intention of becoming a history teacher, Lieutenant Colonel George Shirilla wound up spending his career in Army aviation. As he explains in his oral history interview, his position as an officer in charge of maintaining three Cobra helicopters required him to teach, train, and mentor those beneath him. Shirilla’s life at Camp Evans, Vietnam, revolved around two things: making sure aircraft were ready to go at a moment’s notice, and strengthening the tight-knit bonds between members of his unit that enabled them to complete their task. Both are reflected in the photographs in his collection, which include “still life” photos of helicopters as well as candid portraits of his comrades.

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About this Item

Title

  • George Shirilla Collection

Names

  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Shirilla, George
  • Willie, Michael

State of Birth

  • OH

Home State

  • GA

Headings

  • -  Shirilla, George
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 4th Battalion, 77th Artillery (Aerial Rocket), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile)
    • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Eustis, Virginia; Fort Stewart and Fort McPherson, Georgia; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Lexington, Kentucky; Kaiserslautern and Mannheim, Germany; Seoul, South Korea
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1967-1987
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [105 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Video: Betacam SP [4 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/07/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/19883

Cite as

  • George Shirilla Collection (AFC/2001/001/19883), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

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:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Sarah Bowen, George Shirilla, and Michael Willie. George Shirilla Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19883/.

APA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S., Shirilla, G. & Willie, M. (1967) George Shirilla Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19883/.

MLA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, et al. George Shirilla Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19883/>.