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Lt. Commander Holly Harrison [undated]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011
  • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
  • Service Unit/Ship: USCGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309); USCGC Kiska (WPB 1336); USCGC Storis (WMEC 38)
  • Location of Service: Manama, Bahrain; Khawr Abd Allah River; Al Faw Peninsula; Khawr Al Amaya; Mina Al Baker Oil Terminals; Kodiak, Alaska; Hilo, Hawaii; Washington, DC; Yorktown, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Commander
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/46660

View full service history

"Being white and Coast Guard cutters, we have a little bit of a different reputation. And if that reputation being a humanitarian search and rescue type service [is] a little less threatening militarily, if that happened to get us in there so we can do the same missions without getting shot at, wonderful." (Video interview, 42:16)

Lieutenant Commander Holly Harrison is the first woman in the United States Coast Guard to earn the Bronze Star. In charge of the 110 ft. cutter Aquidneck during Operation Iraqi Freedom, she and her small crew patrolled the Khawr Abd Allah waterway separating Iraq and Kuwait. In addition to providing protection and assistance to other US vessels, they searched and boarded everything on the river to ensure that embargoed oil, terrorists, or weapons were not getting through. This was all the while navigating waters that were poorly charted, often treacherously shallow, and frequently mined. Harrison became executive officer of the Maritime Law Enforcement Academy after her return from the Persian Gulf.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Holly R. Harrison Collection

Names

  • Harrison, Holly R.
  • Scott, Kathleen M.
  • Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. (WIMSA)
  • Reborchuk, Margaret

Home State

  • South Carolina

Headings

  • -  Harrison, Holly R.
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Coast Guard.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Coast Guard
    • Service Unit/Ship: USCGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309); USCGC Kiska (WPB 1336); USCGC Storis (WMEC 38)
    • Location of Service: Manama, Bahrain; Khawr Abd Allah River; Al Faw Peninsula; Khawr Al Amaya; Mina Al Baker Oil Terminals; Kodiak, Alaska; Hilo, Hawaii; Washington, DC; Yorktown, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1991
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran is the first female in the history of the US Coast Guard to earn the Bronze Star Medal for her service as Coast Guard cutter commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2005)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005-11-11; 2012-07-17)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-11-11)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2005)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [3 items] -- Photographs (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/46660

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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:

Harrison, Holly R, Kathleen M Scott, Inc Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, and Margaret Reborchuk. Holly R. Harrison Collection. 1991. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46660/.

APA citation style:

Harrison, H. R., Scott, K. M., Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, I. & Reborchuk, M. (1991) Holly R. Harrison Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46660/.

MLA citation style:

Harrison, Holly R, et al. Holly R. Harrison Collection. 1991. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46660/>.