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Carolyn Hisako Tanaka, 2000.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 24th Evacuation Hospital
  • Location of Service: Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Ord, California; Long Binh, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/7154

View full service history

"I could not believe I was coming home to the same reception I received twenty-three years before, following World War II. This time I was not the enemy, but I was there saving lives, perhaps their loved ones." (Memoir, page 59)

Nicknamed Road Runner for her unflagging energy and enthusiasm, Carolyn Hisako Tanaka served in Vietnam in spite of a scarring childhood memory. At the age of six, she saw her family evicted from their California home in the wake of Pearl Harbor and relocated to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona. When the family returned to California after the war, they found their home burned to the ground. In 1966, as an emergency room nurse, she decided to enlist in the Army, telling skeptical friends, "I have a skill that is needed in Vietnam, and I'm going there to do my duty for my country." Ironically, she returned from that war to a "welcome" that brought back bitter memories.

View 148 images in sequence.
[ Memoir, Road Runner" by Caroline Hisako Tanaka ]

About this Item

Title

  • Carolyn Hisako Tanaka Collection

Names

  • Tanaka, Carolyn Hisako

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Tanaka, Carolyn Hisako
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Nurse Corps.

Form

  • Memoir

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • Asian

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 24th Evacuation Hospital
    • Location of Service: Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Ord, California; Long Binh, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1968
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: As a child during World War II, Tanaka was interned with her family at Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoir [1 item] -- (collected 2001-08)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/7154

Online Format

  • 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/[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:

Tanaka, Carolyn Hisako. Carolyn Hisako Tanaka Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07154/.

APA citation style:

Tanaka, C. H. (1966) Carolyn Hisako Tanaka Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07154/.

MLA citation style:

Tanaka, Carolyn Hisako. Carolyn Hisako Tanaka Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07154/>.