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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Arkansas
  • Highest Rank: E-4

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“Well, I've always thought that all the tribes, the Pawnee tribes and the Cherokees and the Choctaws, Tonkawas, I mean, all the tribes, they just seem to have a greater appreciation towards veterans.” (Audio interview, 47:12)

George England, a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation, grew up attending the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma, and utilized the discipline he learned there during his time in the Army. England elected to attend jump school, becoming a paratrooper and served with the 101st Airborne Division. A chance encounter with the bandmaster of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Band gave him the chance to play the clarinet in the band at the National Cherry Blossom Festival and other events around the country from 1955 to 1958. England also notably served with the 101st Airborne forces deployed to maintain order during the desegregation of Central High School in 1957. An active member of the Chilocco Alumni Association in addition to his tribal community post-military life, England continually felt support from his family and his tribal community as a veteran, particularly at a period when other U.S. veterans were overlooked.

Virgil George England Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

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About this Item

Title

  • Virgil George England Collection

Names

  • Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University
  • Thunder, Julie
  • Milligan, Sarah
  • England, Virgil George

State of Birth

  • OK

Home State

  • MO

Headings

  • -  England, Virgil George
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Notes

  • -  The veteran is affiliated with the Cherokee Nation. The veteran is an alumni of the Chilocco Indian School.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Arkansas
    • Highest Rank: E-4
    • Dates of Service: 1955-1958
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 04/08/2017)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 04/08/2017)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 04/08/2017)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/111840

Cite as

  • Virgil George England Collection (AFC/2001/001/111840), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University, Julie Thunder, Sarah Milligan, and Virgil George England. Virgil George England Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111840/.

APA citation style:

Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, E. L. L., Thunder, J., Milligan, S. & England, V. G. (1955) Virgil George England Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111840/.

MLA citation style:

Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University, et al. Virgil George England Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111840/>.