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Milton Stern as a cadet. [detail]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 381st Bomb Group
  • Location of Service: Ridgewell Air Force Base, England
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/1348

View full service history

"Let courage be your password, make fortitude your guide / And then instead of grousing, remember those who died." (Memoir, page 51)

Shot down over Holland in March 1944, navigator Milton Stern was sheltered by Dutch partisans for 10 weeks before being captured and sent to a German prison camp. There he recorded lists of German rations by weight and composed poems to keep up his spirits. Later in the war, he helped "liberate" a shipment of Red Cross parcels that civilians working near the camp were hoarding, gorging himself on the contents in anticipation of his own liberation by the Allies.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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More Resources

View 6 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 57 images in sequence.
[ "Kriegie Memoirs of 1944-1945," POW journal ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Martin J. G. Hols to J. J. Pearce [September 9, 1980] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from Pax Sherwood to Milton Stern [11 February 1988] ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Martin J. G. Hols [February 15, 1988] ]
View 11 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Martin Hols [March 23, 1988] ]

Show more resources (6)

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to D. S. Drijver [August 9, 1997] ]
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mr. Stein [March 8, 1988] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Copy of file card at Stalag Luft I ]
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Statement in support of disability claim ]
View Enlarged Image
[ "For You the War Is Over," poem from the Kriegie Diary of Milton Stern ]
View 5 images in sequence.
[ "Combat" and "Thanks for the memories," poems from the Kriegie Diary of Milton Stern ]

About this Item

Title

  • Milton W. Stern Collection

Names

  • Healy, Alice
  • VA Healthcare System, New Jersey
  • Stern, Milton W.
  • Battle, Lillie

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Stern, Milton W.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
  • -  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 Air Forces/Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 381st Bomb Group
    • Location of Service: Ridgewell Air Force Base, England
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [ item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military Papers [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- (collected 1944-1945)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-03-12)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-09-17)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [7 items] -- Photographs (collected 1943-1945)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-09-17)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-11-08; 2006-11-08)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2007-04-20)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2002; 2007-04-21)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1348

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), 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:

Healy, Alice, New Jersey Va Healthcare System, Milton W Stern, and Lillie Battle. Milton W. Stern Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01348/.

APA citation style:

Healy, A., Va Healthcare System, N. J., Stern, M. W. & Battle, L. (1942) Milton W. Stern Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01348/.

MLA citation style:

Healy, Alice, et al. Milton W. Stern Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01348/>.