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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: 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) (Merrill's Marauders)
  • Location of Service: United States; Trinidad; India; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater
  • Highest Rank: Captain

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"We were always called the forgotten theater and still are today." (Audio Interview, Part 1, 13:42)

Philip Piazza passed up a college basketball scholarship to enlist in the Army—a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor. His first duty stations were in the Caribbean and Central America, where serving in the jungle prepped him for his ultimate mission in World War II, with Merrill's Marauders in the China-Burma-India Theater. Piazza points out that, in addition to enduring abominable living conditions for months, the Marauders were up against Japanese Imperial Marines, an elite fighting unit. Piazza suffered a wound that required he be evacuated from the field, a risky maneuver in the dense jungle. His mother received three telegrams about his status; in the first, he was reported killed in action, in the second he was only missing, and the third got it right. Piazza became president of the Merrill's Marauders Association, which held annual meetings for over 50 years after the war.

Philip B. Piazza Collection
Interview / Recording

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Philip B. Piazza Collection
Interview / Recording

Philip B. Piazza Collection
Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Philip B. Piazza Collection

Names

  • Merrill's Marauders Association
  • Piazza, Philip B.
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Chason, Christy
  • Crystal Zagnoli
  • Piazza, Philip

State of Birth

  • CT

Home State

  • SC

Headings

  • -  Piazza, Philip B.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) (Merrill's Marauders)
    • Location of Service: United States; Trinidad; India; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1952
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 08/27/2005)
  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected unknown)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 08/27/2005)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 01/12/2008)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 01/12/2008)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/29955

Cite as

  • Philip B. Piazza Collection (AFC/2001/001/29955), 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:

Merrill'S Marauders Association, Philip B Piazza, National Court Reporters Association, Christy Chason, Crystal Zagnoli, and Philip Piazza. Philip B. Piazza Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29955/.

APA citation style:

Merrill'S Marauders Association, Piazza, P. B., National Court Reporters Association, Chason, C., Crystal Zagnoli & Piazza, P. (1941) Philip B. Piazza Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29955/.

MLA citation style:

Merrill'S Marauders Association, et al. Philip B. Piazza Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.29955/>.