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Donald M. Griffith, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Japan; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/4925

View full service history

"If we don't tell our story, then nobody will know."

Donald Griffith's account of three years as a prisoner of North Korea reads like a laundry list of indignities, beginning with his captors' indifference to wounds he suffered immediately before his imprisonment. He was thrown into a pig pen for a month and saw a fellow G.I. lose his mind and die, he watched in horror as another soldier's diseased feet came right off with his boots, and he was temporarily blinded after being subjected to medical experiments. He cites his superior training by the Marines as an advantage in surviving his POW ordeals.

Donald M. Griffith Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Donald M. Griffith Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Donald M. Griffith Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Donald M. Griffith Collection

Names

  • Jones, Tamara
  • Griffith, Donald M.
  • Fisher, Andrew L.
  • University of Toledo

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Griffith, Donald M.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Japan; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1954
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2003-03-14; 2005-12-13)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-03-14)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected 2003-03-14)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2003-03-14)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003-03-14; 2006-04-20)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/4925

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Physical Form

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Battles & Campaigns

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

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/[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:

Jones, Tamara, Donald M Griffith, Andrew L Fisher, and University Of Toledo. Donald M. Griffith Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04925/.

APA citation style:

Jones, T., Griffith, D. M., Fisher, A. L. & University Of Toledo. (1945) Donald M. Griffith Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04925/.

MLA citation style:

Jones, Tamara, et al. Donald M. Griffith Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04925/>.