Top of page

Collection Veterans History Project Collection

« Back to Hispanics in Service page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Peacekeeping forces--Bosnia and Hercegovina; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Operation Joint Guardian, 1999-
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Marine Regiment; Expeditionary Strike Group Three (ESG 3); Task Force 58; Task Force 79; 3rd Marine Division; Headquarters, US European Command (EUCOM); 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; Headquarters, US European Command (EUCOM)
  • Location of Service: Germany; Kosovo; California; Hawaii; Virginia; North Carolina; Okinawa, Japan; Italy; Germany; Bosnia; Persian Gulf; Iraq
  • Highest Rank: Colonel; Brigadier General

View full service history

"If something goes bad in Iraq, the press focuses on it and everybody sees it. But sometimes they don't see all the good things that are getting better." (Video Interview, 21:25)

Following in the military tradition of his family dating to the 15th century in Spain and later in Mexico, Joseph Medina entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972. He worked his way through the ranks, starting out as a platoon commander in charge of forty Marines. By 1995, he was a battalion commander, deploying with his Marines to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for Operation Sea Signal, housing and caring for 15,000 refugees. During the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts, he acted as the chief planning officer for the U.S. European Command. In 2003, Medina was promoted to Brigadier General, one of the first Hispanics to hold the rank in the U.S. Marine Corps. More recently, he commanded the Expeditionary Strike Group Three during Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which he was responsible for developing the Iraqi Coastal Defense Force. This experience and others allowed him to see first hand not only the deterioration of the Iraqi infrastructure under Saddam's regime, but also the challenges faced due to our cultural differences. In contrast, he also saw the many positive changes being made around the country due to the Marines' efforts.

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Joseph Valentino Medina Collection

Names

  • Medina, Joseph Valentino
  • Medina, David
  • Waters, Heather
  • Coronado Middle School

State of Birth

  • CA

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Medina, Joseph Valentino
  • -  Peacekeeping forces -- Bosnia and Hercegovina -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Operation Joint Guardian, 1999- -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Hispanic

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Peacekeeping forces--Bosnia and Hercegovina

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; Headquarters, US European Command (EUCOM)
    • Location of Service: California; Hawaii; Virginia; North Carolina; Okinawa, Japan; Italy; Germany; Bosnia
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1976-?
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was stationed at Headquarters, US European Command starting in 02/1998.

  • Operation Joint Guardian, 1999-

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: Headquarters, US European Command (EUCOM)
    • Location of Service: Germany; Kosovo
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Marine Regiment; Expeditionary Strike Group Three (ESG 3); Task Force 58; Task Force 79; 3rd Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Persian Gulf; Iraq
    • Highest Rank: Brigadier General
    • Dates of Service: 2003-?
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was assigned as Commander, Task Force 58 (CTF 58) and Commander, Task Force 79 (CTF 79)

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/22/2005)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 01/22/2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 01/29/2005)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 01/22/2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/28619

Cite as

  • Joseph Valentino Medina Collection (AFC/2001/001/28619), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Medina, Joseph Valentino, David Medina, Heather Waters, and Coronado Middle School. Joseph Valentino Medina Collection. 1976. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.28619/.

APA citation style:

Medina, J. V., Medina, D., Waters, H. & Coronado Middle School. (1976) Joseph Valentino Medina Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.28619/.

MLA citation style:

Medina, Joseph Valentino, et al. Joseph Valentino Medina Collection. 1976. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.28619/>.