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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran survived the sinking of the USS Vincennes during World War II.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 1st Marine Division; USS Vincennes (CA 44)
  • Location of Service: Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina; South Pacific
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class

View full service history

"So they left me on the ladder, and I crawled up three decks, pullin' myself up. When I got on the top deck, the ship was...burning from one end to the other." (Audio interview, 29:42)

After joining the Marine Corps to escape a troubled home life, William Lentsch was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, serving aboard the USS Vincennes. As a “hot-shell man,” Lentsch caught the casings that came out of 5-inch guns, and threw them overboard. But during the Battle of Savo Island, his duty station was hit by enemy torpedoes, and the Vincennes began to sink. Despite a badly broken leg, he managed to climb a ladder to the top deck and abandon ship. He was picked up by a life raft, and eventually made it to a hospital ship, before returning to the United States, where he spent months recuperating. After returning to civilian life, Lentsch went to work in a factory and shared his story to promote the sale of war bonds.

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Transcript of interview with William Lentsch, with photos from his life ]
View 22 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • William Edmund Lentsch Collection

Names

  • Veterans Museum at Balboa Park
  • Appleton, Rick
  • Lentsch, William Edmund

State of Birth

  • CT

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Lentsch, William Edmund
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: The veteran survived the sinking of the USS Vincennes during World War II.
    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 1st Marine Division; USS Vincennes (CA 44)
    • Location of Service: Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina; South Pacific
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1944
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 09/19/2013)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/19/2013)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 02/24/2014)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/94040

Cite as

  • William Edmund Lentsch Collection (AFC/2001/001/94040), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video
  • pdf

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:

Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, Rick Appleton, and William Edmund Lentsch. William Edmund Lentsch Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.94040/.

APA citation style:

Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, Appleton, R. & Lentsch, W. E. (1940) William Edmund Lentsch Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.94040/.

MLA citation style:

Veterans Museum At Balboa Park, Rick Appleton, and William Edmund Lentsch. William Edmund Lentsch Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.94040/>.