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Captain Jim Mulligan, USS Enterprise, Off Vietnam, Yankee Station, 1965 [detail]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Enterprise (CVN 65); VA-36 (Attack Squadron)
  • Location of Service: Korea; Vietnam; Gulf of Tonkin; South China Sea
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/1656

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"The man who appreciates freedom the most is the free man who has become a slave." (Memoir)

James Mulligan, Jr.'s memoir offers an astounding amount of detail on the 2522 days he spent as a captive of North Vietnam, after his plane was shot down in March 1966. Mulligan called himself a memory bank for the other POWs, memorizing names and details about over 400 of them, which he mentally reviewed three times every day. "We were in terrible straits," he recalled, "but the mutual support we gave each other...tied us together in an iron-like chain of resistance." Mulligan made a point of giving his captors false information and shunned their attempts to "educate" him on the error of his ways, even if it meant foregoing better treatment.

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[ Memoir, "The Hanoi Commitment" ]

About this Item

Title

  • James A. Mulligan Collection

Names

  • Mulligan, James A.

Home State

  • Virginia

Headings

  • -  Mulligan, James A.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Form

  • Memoirs

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Enterprise (CVN 65); VA-36 (Attack Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Vietnam; Gulf of Tonkin; South China Sea
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1975
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was shot down in 1966. He spent 42 months in solitary confinement in a Vietnamese prisoner of war (POW) camp, being freed in 1973.

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1975
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1975
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1981)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1656

Cite as

  • James A. Mulligan Collection (AFC/2001/001/1656), 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/[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:

Mulligan, James A. James A. Mulligan Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01656/.

APA citation style:

Mulligan, J. A. (1944) James A. Mulligan Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01656/.

MLA citation style:

Mulligan, James A. James A. Mulligan Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01656/>.