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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 102nd Engineer Train
  • Location of Service: France; Belgium
  • Highest Rank: Specialist

View full service history

"August 4, 1918: Boy, these cooties are great; I don't think that they ever sleep, or if they do, they sure do leave a large detail awake to keep us busy." (Memoir, page 69)

An enlistee, John J. Brennan joined the Army anticipating a grand adventure. Instead, during his time in combat in France and Belgium, he endured endless mud and rain, shellings, and mustard gas attacks, as well as the inescapable body lice known as "cooties." His memoir reflects the stoicism and dry wit that he maintained throughout his time on the battlefield. As well, he discusses his work as a saddler; unlike most World War I soldiers, he experienced the war from atop a horse.

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[ Honorable discharge from the United States Army ]
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[ "My Own True Story of my Experience in the Army" ]

About this Item

Title

  • John Joseph Brennan Collection

Names

  • Brennan, John Joseph
  • Brennan, Jane

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • NY

Headings

  • -  Brennan, John Joseph
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 102nd Engineer Train
    • Location of Service: France; Belgium
    • Highest Rank: Specialist
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 04/03/1919)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1982)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/282

Cite as

  • John Joseph Brennan Collection (AFC/2001/001/282), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Gender

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Interviewee

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:

Brennan, John Joseph, and Jane Brennan. John Joseph Brennan Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00282/.

APA citation style:

Brennan, J. J. & Brennan, J. (1917) John Joseph Brennan Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00282/.

MLA citation style:

Brennan, John Joseph, and Jane Brennan. John Joseph Brennan Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00282/>.