Top of page

Collection Veterans History Project Collection

« Back to Serving in Silence: LGBTQ+ Veterans page

JaeLee Waldschmidt, Washington, D.C. [3/10/2015]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: War on Terrorism, 2001-2009
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Service Unit/Ship: USS Hawaii (SSN 776)
  • Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Ballston Spa, New York; Groton, Connecticut; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
  • Highest Rank: Electrician's Mate
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/99186

View full service history

"If I could have served in the service as a trans woman, I probably would have done 20 years." (Video interview, 22:17)

As a kid growing up in the small, landlocked town of Mason City, Iowa, Electrician's Mate JaeLee Waldschmidt was dazzled by her uncles' stories about the Navy, and she enlisted in 2003. Stationed aboard the USS Hawaii (SSN-776), a Virginia-class submarine, afforded her a unique view of the world; she describes how it felt "surreal" to live aboard a "hunk of steel" deep beneath the waves. While she enjoyed her work in the Navy, she decided eventually that she could no longer continue to bury her gender identity, and she left the service of her own accord in 2012. In her interview, she discusses her work with local LGBT advocacy groups, and says to those who might be struggling with their gender identity: there's hope.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

View 12 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • JaeLee Waldschmidt Collection

Names

  • Waldschmidt, JaeLee
  • Rebecca Katz
  • ISCOPES: George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences
  • Wendy Fan
  • Javellana, Donna

Home State

  • Washington (D.C.)

Headings

  • -  Waldschmidt, JaeLee
  • -  War on Terrorism, 2001-2009 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • War on Terrorism, 2001-2009

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: USS Hawaii (SSN 776)
    • Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Ballston Spa, New York; Groton, Connecticut; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
    • Highest Rank: Electrician's Mate
    • Dates of Service: 2003-2012
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Flash Drive [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2015-02-01; 2015-02-12)
  • Photograph: Digital print [6 items] -- Photographs (collected 2005-2015)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/99186

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/[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:

Waldschmidt, Jaelee, Rebecca Katz, Iscopes: George Washington School Of Medicine & Health Sciences, Wendy Fan, and Donna Javellana. JaeLee Waldschmidt Collection. 2003. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.99186/.

APA citation style:

Waldschmidt, J., Rebecca Katz, Iscopes: George Washington School Of Medicine & Health Sciences, Wendy Fan & Javellana, D. (2003) JaeLee Waldschmidt Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.99186/.

MLA citation style:

Waldschmidt, Jaelee, et al. JaeLee Waldschmidt Collection. 2003. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.99186/>.