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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: 40th Bomb Group, 58th Air Wing, 20th Air Force
  • Location of Service: United States; India
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"It's amazing at what the human body can do to survive; there's a real education there, because you get a greater respect for a lot of things." (Video Interview 38:15)

Growing up in Depression-era Detroit, Robert Derrington developed a fascination for airplanes. After he graduated from high school, he took flying lessons and on December 7, 1941, he was on his way to the airport for a flight when he heard the news about Pearl Harbor. In March 1942, he enlisted in an aviation cadet program and eventually his prewar experience qualified him as a pilot with enough flight time to fly bombing missions over Burma. In December 1944, on his first flight, serving only as an observer, his dangerously loaded plane went down over Burma, and he became a prisoner of the Japanese for the duration of the war. Held in Rangoon, he learned survival techniques from longtime POWs. Abandoned by their guards on a forced march outside the city as the British approached, he and his fellow prisoners were mistaken for enemy soldiers and were strafed from the air by friendly fire.

More Resources

View 3 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ 14 December 1944 ]

About this Item

Title

  • Robert E. Derrington Collection

Names

  • VA Medical Center, Denver, Colorado
  • Langer, Ron
  • Derrington, Robert E.

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • CO

Headings

  • -  Derrington, Robert E.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

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 Air Forces/Corps
    • Unit of Service: 40th Bomb Group, 58th Air Wing, 20th Air Force
    • Location of Service: United States; India
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1947
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/25/2005 - 10/01/2005)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 12/14/1944)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [3 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943 - 1992)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/37444

Cite as

  • Robert E. Derrington Collection (AFC/2001/001/37444), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Prisoner of War

Gender

Race

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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:

Va Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, Ron Langer, and Robert E Derrington. Robert E. Derrington Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37444/.

APA citation style:

Va Medical Center, D., Langer, R. & Derrington, R. E. (1942) Robert E. Derrington Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37444/.

MLA citation style:

Va Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, Ron Langer, and Robert E Derrington. Robert E. Derrington Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37444/>.