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John Sharda, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 4th Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Division
  • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Newport, Rhode Island; University of Chicago, Illinois; New Hebrides; Invasion of Peleliu
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/5669

View full service history

“I felt as if I were finally doing what I should be doing for the war effort. I felt as if I were making a contribution to the cause.” (Video Interview, 18:23)

Trained as a flying Navy radio man, John Sharda had to wait until the island of Peleliu was secure until he could fulfill his ambition. Sharda went ashore as a sniper in the second wave of the Peleliu invasion and saw men on either side of him cut down when they reached the beach. With island’s airstrip in U.S. hands, Sharda was able to take off on 48 missions to bomb the next island target, Yap. He served as both radioman and gunner on a small, two-man plane and was credited with 2½ enemy planes shot down. Later, Sharda became a newscaster and disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio, spinning jazz and classical platters for homesick GIs.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • John H. Sharda Collection

Names

  • Americans Remembered, Inc.
  • Sharda, John H.
  • Babcock, Robert
  • Swanson, Gary

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • KS

Headings

  • -  Sharda, John H.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

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
    • Unit of Service: 4th Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Division
    • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Newport, Rhode Island; University of Chicago, Illinois; New Hebrides; Invasion of Peleliu
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/02/2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/5669

Cite as

  • John H. Sharda Collection (AFC/2001/001/5669), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Americans Remembered, Inc, John H Sharda, Robert Babcock, and Gary Swanson. John H. Sharda Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05669/.

APA citation style:

Americans Remembered, I., Sharda, J. H., Babcock, R. & Swanson, G. (1943) John H. Sharda Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05669/.

MLA citation style:

Americans Remembered, Inc, et al. John H. Sharda Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05669/>.