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Richard L. Newman in Merchant Marine Uniform

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
  • Unit of Service: Navy Reseve, General Service, Deck, Merchant Marine
  • Location of Service: Pacific Ocean; Atlantic Ocean; North Sea; Red Sea; English Channel
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/4309

View full service history

"One ship by itself is safer if it's undiscovered. If it's discovered, then it's dead, because \\nit hasn't got any protection at all."(Audio Interview, 21:30)

As a member of the first class of the Merchant Marine Academy, Richard Newman received a commission in the Naval Reserves, but the Navy persuaded him to stay with the Merchant Marine. Applying his education in navigation and other skills, Newman rose through the ranks on three long and memorable voyages. On his cadet voyage he had to overcome a fear of tall ladders to stand watch in the crow's nest. On his second outing, he and a colleague had to cover for a drunken captain during complicated maneuvers, and finally, he helped deliver supplies in support of the D-Day Invasion. In his 2002 interview, at a time when the U.S. was contemplating military action against Iraq, Newman was eloquently defending the need for a professionally trained Merchant Marine to deliver the goods.

Richard Lee Newman Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Richard Lee Newman Collection

Names

  • Zendeh, Christine
  • Newman, Richard Lee

Home State

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Newman, Richard Lee
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Merchant Marine.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
    • Unit of Service: Navy Reseve, General Service, Deck, Merchant Marine
    • Location of Service: Pacific Ocean; Atlantic Ocean; North Sea; Red Sea; English Channel
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Microcassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-12-29)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2002-12-29)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2002-12-29; 2009-04-07)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2002-12-29; 2007-12-03)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/4309

Cite as

  • Richard Lee Newman Collection (AFC/2001/001/4309), 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/[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:

Zendeh, Christine, and Richard Lee Newman. Richard Lee Newman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04309/.

APA citation style:

Zendeh, C. & Newman, R. L. (1942) Richard Lee Newman Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04309/.

MLA citation style:

Zendeh, Christine, and Richard Lee Newman. Richard Lee Newman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04309/>.