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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran was Killed in Action (KIA).
  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company A and Company D, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Polk, Louisiana; Oakland, California; Fire Base (FB) Patton, FB Devens, FB Jackson, FB Kon Tum, Sugar Mill, Cu Chi and Dau Tieng, Vietnam; Cambodia
  • Highest Rank: Corporal

View full service history

"I guess it is a little too early to start counting the days but nevertheless I am certainly looking forward to being home in September." (Letter to parents, 1/3/1970)

For Corporal Dennis Martin, drafted into the Army in 1968 and serving in an infantry platoon near Cu Chi and Dau Tieng, Vietnam, the letters he exchanged with his family served as a critical way to bridge the distance between them. When he was killed in action on July 10, 1970, the letters received and kept by his family became even more treasured and poignant. His sister, Barbara Martin, donated the collection to the Veterans History Project as a way to ensure that her brother’s voice would endure. Says Martin, "Somehow Denny’s death [has] some meaning if his letters could be a part of history. I wanted others to know how he felt about being in Vietnam."

View 14 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Letter to grandparents [Feb. 18, 1969] ]
Transcript: XML
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[ Letter to grandparents [Dec. 17, 1969] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Dec. 22 1969] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Jan. 3, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Jan. 8, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Jan. 24, 1970] ]
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Show more resources (15)

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[ Letter to parents [Jan. 28, 1970] ]
Transcript: XML
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[ Letter to parents [Feb. 5, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Feb. 11, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Feb. 20, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Mar. 6, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Mar. 11, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Mar. 22, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Apr. 1, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Apr. 8, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [Apr. 20, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [May 4, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [May 17, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [May 23, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to parents [June 9, 1970] ]
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[ Letter to grandparents [June 19, 1970] ]
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About this Item

Title

  • Dennis Keith Martin Collection

Names

  • Martin, Barbara
  • Martin, Dennis Keith

State of Birth

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Martin, Dennis Keith
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Service History Note: The veteran was Killed in Action (KIA).
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company A and Company D, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Polk, Louisiana; Oakland, California; Fire Base (FB) Patton, FB Devens, FB Jackson, FB Kon Tum, Sugar Mill, Cu Chi and Dau Tieng, Vietnam; Cambodia
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1969-1970
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photographic print [14 items] -- Photograph (collected 1970)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [22 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1969-1970)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1970)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/73202

Cite as

  • Dennis Keith Martin Collection (AFC/2001/001/73202), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

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:

Martin, Barbara, and Dennis Keith Martin. Dennis Keith Martin Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.73202/.

APA citation style:

Martin, B. & Martin, D. K. (1969) Dennis Keith Martin Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.73202/.

MLA citation style:

Martin, Barbara, and Dennis Keith Martin. Dennis Keith Martin Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.73202/>.