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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran was the personal Secretary to General Douglas MacArthur, and Chief Administrative Officer of the Office of the Commander in Chief far East Command and the United Nations Command.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: United States Army Forces in the Far East; U.S. Army Europe
  • Location of Service: North Africa; Italy; German; Austria; Japan; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"The General said, 'Try Scotch. You will never suffer a hangover from Scotch unless you get deadly drunk.' I have been drinking Scotch ever since." Interview, 28:26

Robert Richstatter's official job title - Chief Administrative Officer of the Office of the Commander in Chief of Far East Command and United Nations Command-Korea - could be shortened to something more dramatic: Douglas MacArthur's personal secretary. From 1948 until 1951, when President Truman relieved the general of his command, Richstatter handled MacArthur's correspondence and filing, first in occupied Japan and then in Korea. Not everyone liked "the General," Richstatter admits, but he did, claiming that with MacArthur you always knew where you stood.

Robert L. Richstatter Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

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[ Photo Album ]
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[ Citation For The Bronze Star Medal ]

About this Item

Title

  • Robert L. Richstatter Collection

Names

  • Kent, Judith
  • Flagler County Public Library
  • Richstatter, Robert L.

State of Birth

  • KS

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Richstatter, Robert L.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: The veteran was the personal Secretary to General Douglas MacArthur, and Chief Administrative Officer of the Office of the Commander in Chief far East Command and the United Nations Command.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: United States Army Forces in the Far East; U.S. Army Europe
    • Location of Service: North Africa; Italy; German; Austria; Japan; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Dates of Service: 1945-1961
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 9/23/2002)
  • Photograph: Digital Print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected 1951)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2860

Cite as

  • Robert L. Richstatter Collection (AFC/2001/001/2860), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • 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/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:

Kent, Judith, Flagler County Public Library, and Robert L Richstatter. Robert L. Richstatter Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02860/.

APA citation style:

Kent, J., Flagler County Public Library & Richstatter, R. L. (1940) Robert L. Richstatter Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02860/.

MLA citation style:

Kent, Judith, Flagler County Public Library, and Robert L Richstatter. Robert L. Richstatter Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02860/>.