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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
  • Unit of Service: Headquarters Company, White Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 5307th Provisional Unit
  • Location of Service: China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater; United States
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant

View full service history

"One of the things that won the war I think was the free-thinking aspect of the American soldier. And this group was probably the most free-thinking you could get." (Audio Interview, Part 1, 26:28)

As a high school 17-year-old, Robert Passanisi saw the movie Bataan and was so inflamed by the portrayal of the Japanese that he tried to enlist in the Marines. They turned him down because he hadn't graduated from high school, so he tried the Army. Already skilled in repairing radios, Passanisi was allowed to continue that work in uniform, but he craved more and decided to volunteer for an overseas mission. He was told there would be three months of training for a three-month mission; the training didn't last that long, and the mission—in the China-Burma-India Theater as part of Merrill's Marauders—lasted a bit longer. The free spirits who made up the Marauders adapted well to life as jungle warriors who used cunning and deception to defeat an enemy with superior manpower.

Robert E. Passanisi Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

Robert E. Passanisi Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Robert E. Passanisi Collection

Names

  • Passanisi, Robert E.
  • Schneider, Carrie
  • Piazza, Philip
  • Merrill's Marauders Association

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • NY

Headings

  • -  Passanisi, Robert E.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- 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

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Headquarters Company, White Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 5307th Provisional Unit
    • Location of Service: China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater; United States
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran is a member of Merrill's Marauders.

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 08/27/2005)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 10/31/2007)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/29947

Cite as

  • Robert E. Passanisi Collection (AFC/2001/001/29947), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Passanisi, Robert E, Carrie Schneider, Philip Piazza, and Merrill'S Marauders Association. Robert E. Passanisi Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29947/.

APA citation style:

Passanisi, R. E., Schneider, C., Piazza, P. & Merrill'S Marauders Association. (1942) Robert E. Passanisi Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29947/.

MLA citation style:

Passanisi, Robert E, et al. Robert E. Passanisi Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29947/>.