Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Pueblo (AGER 2)
  • Location of Service: Korea; Groton, Connecticut; Bremerton, Washington; Cambridge, Maryland; Japan
  • Highest Rank: Chief Petty Officer

View full service history

"We could hear the screams from down the passageway where they had taken people out. We knew people were getting beat real bad." Audio tape, 28:02

On January 23, 1968, Donald Peppard, a thirteen-year Navy veteran, was aboard a cargo ship transformed to a surveillance vessel when North Korean war ships detained the USS Pueblo and its crew for spying. During his eleven-month stint as a prisoner of the North Koreans, Peppard and his comrades endured spartan accommodations, beatings and threats, censored mail, and the sheer boredom of life in captivity. Throughout, Peppard kept his emotional balance, offering nothing of value to his captors.

Donald Richard Peppard Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

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About this Item

Title

  • Donald Richard Peppard Collection

Names

  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Peppard, Donald Richard
  • Peggy Schauf
  • Pendergast, Alan
  • VA Hospital, El Paso, Texas

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • TX

Headings

  • -  Peppard, Donald Richard
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Pueblo (AGER 2)
    • Location of Service: Korea; Groton, Connecticut; Bremerton, Washington; Cambridge, Maryland; Japan
    • Highest Rank: Chief Petty Officer
    • Dates of Service: 1955-1977
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 10/29/2002)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 04/01/2006)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 4/1/2006)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 3/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2936

Cite as

  • Donald Richard Peppard Collection (AFC/2001/001/2936), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

National Court Reporters Association, Donald Richard Peppard, Peggy Schauf, Alan Pendergast, and El Paso Va Hospital. Donald Richard Peppard Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02936/.

APA citation style:

National Court Reporters Association, Peppard, D. R., Peggy Schauf, Pendergast, A. & Va Hospital, E. P. (1955) Donald Richard Peppard Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02936/.

MLA citation style:

National Court Reporters Association, et al. Donald Richard Peppard Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02936/>.