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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.
  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy; Army
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment; 25th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Japan; Vietnam; Greece; Okinawa Island, Japan; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Walter Reed Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant; Commander

View full service history

"We were always making contacts with the enemy, and our fellows were being shot, bombs were being blown up, so I had to be cautious about how I held services. I wanted to meet the needs of most of the men there." (Audio Interview, 35:34)

As an Army medic serving in occupied Japan after World War II, Leo Stanis was inspired to become a minister. In 1967, he re-joined the military, this time the Navy, as a chaplain. His service took him to Vietnam, where he teamed with a Catholic priest to recover religious relics from control of the North Vietnamese. Stanis came under fire several times and earned a Purple Heart for his wounds. He developed a unique way of getting his men to attend chapel, challenging them to a series of one-on-one basketball games, with their attendance depending on his winning.

Leo Stanis Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

View 103 images in sequence.
[ Biography: "Chappy" The Story of Reverend Leo Stanis ]

About this Item

Title

  • Leo Stanis Collection

Names

  • Daughters of the American Revolution, Frederick, Maryland Chapter
  • Redmond, Patricia
  • Stanis, Leo

State of Birth

  • IN

Home State

  • VA

Headings

  • -  Stanis, Leo
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 25th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Japan
    • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1946-1949
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a chaplain.
    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment
    • Location of Service: Vietnam; Greece; Okinawa Island, Japan; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Walter Reed Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
    • Highest Rank: Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1985
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Book [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1998)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [18 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1978 - 1997)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 02/28/2008)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 02/28/2008)
  • Photograph: Photographic print [13 items] -- Photograph (collected 1966 - 2008)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/62549

Cite as

  • Leo Stanis Collection (AFC/2001/001/62549), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • 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:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, Frederick, Maryland Chapter, Patricia Redmond, and Leo Stanis. Leo Stanis Collection. 1946. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.62549/.

APA citation style:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, F., Redmond, P. & Stanis, L. (1946) Leo Stanis Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.62549/.

MLA citation style:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, Frederick, Maryland Chapter, Patricia Redmond, and Leo Stanis. Leo Stanis Collection. 1946. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.62549/>.