Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Lakehurst, New Jersey; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"And that's one thing about the Marine Corps... they just kept you going from island to island, until you got wounded or killed. They just kept you going." (Audio interview, 42:55)

Leonard Kiesel enlisted in the Marines in 1940, just months before the draft was reinstated. Stationed at the Naval Air Base in Jacksonville, Florida, at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kiesel was part of a group of Marines who captured three Italian ships trying to flee the harbor--an action which, he claims, should count as the first American offensive action of the war. Soon after, he joined the paratroops and served in the Pacific Theater. Badly injured trying to knock out a machine gun nest during the initial landings in the Battle of Guadalcanal, he was sent back home to the States, where he remained for the rest of the war.

Leonard Kiesel Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Leonard Kiesel Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from Leonard Kiesel to the an unidentified "History Department" [May 2001] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from the Italian Naval Attache, Washington, D.C. [1/1995] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from the Italian Naval Attache, Washington, D.C. [6/14/1996] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ News article written by veteran, "7 December 1941--a different story" ]

About this Item

Title

  • Leonard Kiesel Collection

Names

  • Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
  • Kiesel, Leonard
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Swope, Thomas
  • Beverly Foor

State of Birth

  • OH

Home State

  • OH

Headings

  • -  Kiesel, Leonard
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Lakehurst, New Jersey; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1940
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Clippings [5 items] -- (collected 12/2002)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 12/13/2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 3/6/2003)
  • Manuscript: Periodicals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 12/2002)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 3/1/2006)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 03/01/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/4955

Cite as

  • Leonard Kiesel Collection (AFC/2001/001/4955), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text
  • 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:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Leonard Kiesel, National Court Reporters Association, Thomas Swope, and Beverly Foor. Leonard Kiesel Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04955/.

APA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Kiesel, L., National Court Reporters Association, Swope, T. & Beverly Foor. (1940) Leonard Kiesel Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04955/.

MLA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, et al. Leonard Kiesel Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.04955/>.