Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Korea
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant First Class

View full service history

"I credit the military with whatever it is I've been able to achieve especially in terms of my education." (Audio Interview, 18:44)

In 1947, at the age of 16, Ira Neal dropped out of high school to join the Air Force. He soon learned that the segregated armed services had quotas for African American recruits; he was encouraged to enlist in the Army instead. By June 1950, he had just returned from a tour of duty in Japan when the Korean War began. He decided to re-enlist for a six-year hitch, and he arrived in Korea as a rifleman in an infantry unit. He admits that he was "blessed" when he was transferred to a weapons company as a forward observer. He directed mortar fire on the enemy, and his job was not without danger, but he believes it greatly increased his chances of survival. While he was in Japan, he obtained a GED, and he later used the G.I. Bill to get an advanced college degree, leading to a long career in public education.

Ira T. Neal Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Ira T. Neal Collection

Names

  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Lugar, Richard
  • Ordner, Larry
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Lisa M. Beauchamp
  • Neal, Ira T.

State of Birth

  • TN

Home State

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Neal, Ira T.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1947-1956
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 10/18/2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected [2002])
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected [2002])
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 06/18/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1189

Cite as

  • Ira T. Neal Collection (AFC/2001/001/1189), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Richard Lugar, Larry Ordner, National Court Reporters Association, Lisa M. Beauchamp, and Ira T Neal. Ira T. Neal Collection. 1947. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01189/.

APA citation style:

U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Lugar, R., Ordner, L., National Court Reporters Association, Lisa M. Beauchamp & Neal, I. T. (1947) Ira T. Neal Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01189/.

MLA citation style:

U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, et al. Ira T. Neal Collection. 1947. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01189/>.