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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Detail from a postcard, "Yanks going into action, France" [ca. 1918]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: G Company, 23rd Engineers
  • Location of Service: Glen Burnie, Maryland; Camp Meade, Maryland; France
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/84785

View full service history

"Everything seems very peaceable where I am. I haven't heard any guns yet." (Letter to Mother, 5/10/1918)

Assigned to the 23rd Engineers in France in the summer of 1918, John McGill apologized to his mother for his lack of correspondence, explaining, "I haven't anything to write." More likely, the sights and experiences of World War I were not easy to describe, as the 226 photographs in his collection contradict the idea that he had nothing about which to write. Focused on subjects such as wire entanglements, interiors of trenches, machine gun nests, downed German planes, and damaged churches, these photographs depict both the instruments of the war as well as the devastation it wrought on the French landscape.

View 251 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mother [12/11/1917] ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mother [1/21/1918] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mother [5/10/1918] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mother [6/23/1918] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mother [7/11/1918] ]

About this Item

Title

  • John A. McGill Collection

Names

  • Redman, James A.
  • McGill, John A.

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  McGill, John A.
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- 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, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: G Company, 23rd Engineers
    • Location of Service: Glen Burnie, Maryland; Camp Meade, Maryland; France
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Correspondence [5 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917-1918)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [20 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [206 items] -- Photographs (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/84785

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

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:

Redman, James A, and John A McGill. John A. McGill Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84785/.

APA citation style:

Redman, J. A. & McGill, J. A. (1917) John A. McGill Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84785/.

MLA citation style:

Redman, James A, and John A McGill. John A. McGill Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84785/>.