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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran served as a chaplain aboard Army troop transport ships.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: SS Mormacsea; SS Sheepshead Bay Victory; SS General William M. Black; 3rd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Korea; Pacific Theater; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"Troops don't seem to be returning from a war, but rather getting over a terrific hang-over…quite a diff. from Pacific Vets. No Respect whatever for Officers...even Chaplains." (Journal, February 25, 1946, page 40)

Jacob Beck's assignments as a chaplain all took place in the year following the end of World War II. In his journal, he discusses six round-trip voyages involving troop exchanges: replacements headed off to serve in the Occupation and weary soldiers coming home from the long war. He was at sea a total of 168 days and kept detailed records of his activities and the numbers of men attending services and requesting counseling. It was grueling work, nothing as dramatic as wartime service, and on top of that, Beck was often hamstrung by petty politics among the ship's officers. He also observed on land in both Europe and the Pacific the terrible destruction wrought by years of war.

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Memoir by Martha E. Beck of her husband, Jacob Wendell Beck [September 2005] ]

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from Martha Beck to the Library of Congress [10/2005] ]
View 72 images in sequence.
[ Journal of Jacob Wendell Beck [9/21/1945 to 5/7/1946] ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Pamphlet "Service of Remembrance: Reverend Jacob Wendell Beck" ]

About this Item

Title

  • Jacob Wendell Beck Collection

Names

  • Beck, Martha
  • Beck, Jacob Wendell

State of Birth

  • NE

Home State

  • OR

Headings

  • -  Beck, Jacob Wendell
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a chaplain aboard Army troop transport ships.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: SS Mormacsea; SS Sheepshead Bay Victory; SS General William M. Black
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Dates of Service: 1951-1952
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biographical information [3 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 2004 - 2005)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1946)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/29210

Cite as

  • Jacob Wendell Beck Collection (AFC/2001/001/29210), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

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:

Beck, Martha, and Jacob Wendell Beck. Jacob Wendell Beck Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29210/.

APA citation style:

Beck, M. & Beck, J. W. (1945) Jacob Wendell Beck Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29210/.

MLA citation style:

Beck, Martha, and Jacob Wendell Beck. Jacob Wendell Beck Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29210/>.