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Arthur Baltazar [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 167th Signal Company, 1st Field Forces
  • Location of Service: Pleiku, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Specialist Four
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/97872

View full service history

"I found out when I would go to sleep, my body is here in our world in the United States. I'm in Chicago in my bed sleeping, but my brain is over in Vietnam." (video interview, 15:38)

When Arthur T. Baltazar arrived in Vietnam in 1968, he almost immediately found himself in the middle of a rocket attack that killed three servicemen. Though he had trained as a radio relay operator, he never operated a radio in Vietnam, instead serving as a perimeter guard. When he returned home, he found that he could not forget his experiences; but with the help of a VA counselor, he eventually learned to avoid bottling up his emotions. When asked if he would do it all again, he responds, "No, I already did it."

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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More Resources

[ Photocopy of a letter from Arthur Baltazar to President and Mrs. Obama [n.d.] ]
[ Account of action in Vietnam on 9/26 and 9/27/1968, signed by Leroy Seawell [3/23/2010] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Arthur T. Baltazar Collection

Names

  • Baltazar, Arthur T.
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Shorak, B.J.
  • Walker, Cherryl

Home State

  • Illinois

Headings

  • -  Baltazar, Arthur T.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Hispanic

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 167th Signal Company, 1st Field Forces
    • Location of Service: Pleiku, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Specialist Four
    • Dates of Service: 1967-1969
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2014-12-09; 2014-12-09)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [3 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 2012-2014)
  • Manuscript: Memoir [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2010-03-23)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2015-12-22)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [14 items] -- Photographs (collected 1968-2014)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/97872

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

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

Recording:

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

Photograph:

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

Computer file:

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

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), 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:

Baltazar, Arthur T, National Court Reporters Association, B.J Shorak, and Cherryl Walker. Arthur T. Baltazar Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.97872/.

APA citation style:

Baltazar, A. T., National Court Reporters Association, Shorak, B. J. & Walker, C. (1967) Arthur T. Baltazar Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.97872/.

MLA citation style:

Baltazar, Arthur T, et al. Arthur T. Baltazar Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.97872/>.