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Richard Thomas Crump

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Company G, 3rd Infantry
  • Location of Service: France
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/37553

View full service history

We know very little about Richard Crump's life, aside from the meticulous scrapbook he assembled documenting his WWI service as an ambulance driver. The album progresses from his carefree days in training-shiny uniforms, vehicles, and equipment, and a gang of friends-to the ravaged French countryside in San Sulpice and Wailly. Crump was clearly amazed at the destruction of such cities as Dammartin and Remiencourt, given the numerous photos he took of buildings reduced to rubble by German shelling. He also recorded life in the trenches of Cottenchy and Vézaponin. Additionally, he gave us images we don't usually associate with WWI: German POWs, French villagers, and the aftermath of war. The French countryside was littered with abandoned war materiel, from light artillery to tanks, trains, and planes. We can also imagine, from the photos of the ambulances, how much the reality of war differed from his training. Crump's ambulance, easily recognized by its "Blue Devil" insignia (a symbol of the infamous French soldiers known as the "Chasseurs alpins"), is little more than a shell of a vehicle in his album, with its shredded tarpaulin and jury-rigged framework.

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 65 images in sequence.
[ WWI photographic scrapbook by Richard Thomas Crump ]
View Enlarged Image
[ A veteran medal issued by the Union Nationale des Combattants in France. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Richard Thomas Crump Collection

Names

  • Tredway, Elizabeth
  • Crump, Richard Thomas

Headings

  • -  Crump, Richard Thomas
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Company G, 3rd Infantry
    • Location of Service: France
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1918-1919
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as an ambulance driver.

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [2 items] -- Photographs (collected unknown)
  • Artifact: Artifact [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/37553

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Interviewee

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:

Tredway, Elizabeth, and Richard Thomas Crump. Richard Thomas Crump Collection. 1918. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37553/.

APA citation style:

Tredway, E. & Crump, R. T. (1918) Richard Thomas Crump Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37553/.

MLA citation style:

Tredway, Elizabeth, and Richard Thomas Crump. Richard Thomas Crump Collection. 1918. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37553/>.