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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: 7th Fleet
  • Location of Service: Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Philippines
  • Highest Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer

View full service history

"It was like an inferno. I couldn't believe it. It was a nightmare." (Video interview, 20:23)

Serving in the Navy for thirty years starting in 1940, Jesse Dunnagan saw three wars-WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was on the USS California when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and had to abandon ship when it was sunk by the Japanese. Although he was unhurt, his family was informed that he was listed as missing and presumed dead, and though they soon learned otherwise, even now his name appears on a monument to the dead at Pearl Harbor. After Pearl Harbor, Dunnagan went on to serve on the USS McCalla at Guadalcanal and on through to the end of the war.

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Jesse W. Dunnagan Collection

Names

  • Cindy Benner
  • Americans Remembered, Inc.
  • Dunnagan, Jesse W.
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Swanson, Gary
  • Babcock, Robert

State of Birth

  • VA

Home State

  • KS

Headings

  • -  Dunnagan, Jesse W.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: 7th Fleet
    • Location of Service: Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Philippines
    • Highest Rank: Master Chief Petty Officer
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1970
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Dates of Service: 1941-1970
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Dates of Service: 1940-1970
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 6/9/2003)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 6/9/2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/5681

Cite as

  • Jesse W. Dunnagan Collection (AFC/2001/001/5681), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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/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:

Cindy Benner, Inc Americans Remembered, Jesse W Dunnagan, National Court Reporters Association, Gary Swanson, and Robert Babcock. Jesse W. Dunnagan Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05681/.

APA citation style:

Cindy Benner, Americans Remembered, I., Dunnagan, J. W., National Court Reporters Association, Swanson, G. & Babcock, R. (1940) Jesse W. Dunnagan Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05681/.

MLA citation style:

Cindy Benner, et al. Jesse W. Dunnagan Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05681/>.