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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 590th Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant

View full service history

"Dec. 24. No food or water. Locked in all day. Sang carols and prayed." (Diary)

Four days into the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944, Richard Hartman and his unit were forced to surrender to the Germans. He spent a miserable Christmas Eve confined to a crowded boxcar on his way to a stalag. He and his fellow prisoners would cheer when they saw familiar planes overhead or heard a report on the camp's concealed short-wave radio of an Allied advance. They also dealt out swift punishment to anyone who committed the great sin of stealing. Nearly five months after being taken prisoner, Hartman was liberated, wearing exactly the same clothes he was wearing on the day of his capture.

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Transcript: XML
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[ Photo Album ]
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[ POW record ]
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[ POW diary, "From States to Europe, 1944-1945." ]
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[ V-Mail to his mother [November 11, 1944] ]
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[ V-mail to his mother [December 4, 1944] ]

Show more resources (14)

View 6 images in sequence.
[ Letter to his mother [November 30, 1944] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to his mother [December 7, 1944] ]
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[ Letter to his mother [December 9, 1944] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to his mother [December 11, 1944] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to his mother [December 13, 1944] ]
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[ Letter from German POW camp ]
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[ Letter from Adjutant general to Mrs. Nellie ]
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[ Envelope addressed to him ]
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[ Letter to his mother from a German POW ]
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[ V-mail to his mother [November 23, 1944] ]
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[ Note accompanying correspondence. ]
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[ Western Union telegram from the adjutant ]
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[ Telegram to Mrs. Nellie Hartman from the adjutant general informing her that her son is a prisoner of war [April 23, 1945] ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Maps. "Overlays made of Ardennes & 590th FA BN positions in December 1944." ]

About this Item

Title

  • Richard A. Hartman Collection

Names

  • Hartman, Richard A.
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Valerie M. Dawson
  • Brown, Clinton
  • College of Notre Dame of Maryland

State of Birth

  • MD

Home State

  • MD

Headings

  • -  Hartman, Richard A.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

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: 590th Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2002)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Video: S-VHS-C [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/18/1998)
  • Manuscript: Maps [5 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [13 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 05/26/2004)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 03/20/2006)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [2 items] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/67

Cite as

  • Richard A. Hartman Collection (AFC/2001/001/67), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

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:

Hartman, Richard A, National Court Reporters Association, Valerie M. Dawson, Clinton Brown, and College Of Notre Dame Of Maryland. Richard A. Hartman Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00067/.

APA citation style:

Hartman, R. A., National Court Reporters Association, Valerie M. Dawson, Brown, C. & College Of Notre Dame Of Maryland. (1943) Richard A. Hartman Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00067/.

MLA citation style:

Hartman, Richard A, et al. Richard A. Hartman Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00067/>.