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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: Eck was rated 100 percent service-connected disabled from wounds he received during World War II.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company F, 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Division
  • Location of Service: United States; France; Germany
  • Highest Rank: Private

View full service history

"I always was afraid of returning from the war maimed and refused amputation." (Memoir, page 14)

Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Arthur Eck determined he would enlist, but he was only a junior in high school. As soon as he did graduate in 1943, he signed up for the Army Air Corps. His aspirations to be a pilot were dashed when he was transferred to the Army, who needed infantry troops for the invasion of France. Captured in close fighting (by a German lieutenant who had attended the University of Michigan), Eck survived primitive conditions at POW and work camps, knowing the end of the war was near. Suffering from frostbitten feet, he made it to Paris for VE Day, getting a wheelchair tour of the city. Eck talked doctors out of amputation and, with careful treatment and patience, managed to regain his footing, though suffering terrible pains for years.

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About this Item

Title

  • Arthur Eck Collection

Names

  • Eck, Arthur

State of Birth

  • OK

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Eck, Arthur
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Form

  • Memoirs

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: Eck was rated 100 percent service-connected disabled from wounds he received during World War II.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company F, 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Division
    • Location of Service: United States; France; Germany
    • Highest Rank: Private
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected 02/14/2000)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1779

Cite as

  • Arthur Eck Collection (AFC/2001/001/1779), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • 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:

Eck, Arthur. Arthur Eck Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01779/.

APA citation style:

Eck, A. (1943) Arthur Eck Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01779/.

MLA citation style:

Eck, Arthur. Arthur Eck Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01779/>.