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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Location of Service: Luzon Island (Philippines); Bataan (Philippines)
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant

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"The Japanese commander said, 'You are not prisoners of war, you are captives, you surrendered, you did not fight. If you break our rules, we will kill you or we will do something worse.' They did something worse." Interview, 22:18

Stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded, Henry Wilayto saw his commanders forced to surrender in the face of sure starvation. Wilayto lost 50 pounds during the infamous Bataan Death March and gained it back working as a stevedore in Manila, where he helped sabotage Japanese cargo ships. At war's end, he was in Japan working in a mine, near death from the oppressive conditions. Wilayto founded American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor to secure more attention for his brave comrades.

Henry John Wilayto Collection
Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Henry John Wilayto Collection

Names

  • Concord Oral History Program
  • Wilayto, Henry John
  • Garrelick, Renee

State of Birth

  • NH

Home State

  • MA

Headings

  • -  Wilayto, Henry John
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  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
    • Location of Service: Luzon Island (Philippines); Bataan (Philippines)
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1948
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran survived the Bataan Death March.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 10/09/1991)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 10/09/1991)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [5 items] -- Photograph (collected [1940 - 2001])
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/7/2007)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2940

Cite as

  • Henry John Wilayto Collection (AFC/2001/001/2940), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Battles & Campaigns

Prisoner of War

Gender

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

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/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:

Concord Oral History Program, Henry John Wilayto, and Renee Garrelick. Henry John Wilayto Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02940/.

APA citation style:

Concord Oral History Program, Wilayto, H. J. & Garrelick, R. (1940) Henry John Wilayto Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02940/.

MLA citation style:

Concord Oral History Program, Henry John Wilayto, and Renee Garrelick. Henry John Wilayto Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02940/>.