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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company L, 384th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/7731

View full service history

"We didn't know actually what was going on; all we knew was that the Germans were attacking." (Audio Interview, 12:58)

As a sergeant and leader of a mortar squad, Joseph Shimko's first action in Europe was the Battle of the Bulge. He and his men had trouble during the Bulge finding level ground on which to fire their weapons. His main memories of the battle were of confusion; even his officers weren't always aware of where they were and where they were needed. In three weeks, his rifle company dropped from 210 to 68 men, due to casualties and disappearances. They wound up on famed Elsenborn Ridge, where the U.S. Army held off the Germans and helped to turn the tide.

Joseph Shimko Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

Joseph Shimko Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Joseph Shimko Collection

Names

  • Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
  • Shimko, Joseph
  • Annette Satterlee
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Swope, Thomas

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • OH

Headings

  • -  Shimko, Joseph
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company L, 384th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/19/2002)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 3/22/2006)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 10/30/2006)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 10/30/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/7731

Cite as

  • Joseph Shimko Collection (AFC/2001/001/7731), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio

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:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Joseph Shimko, Annette Satterlee, National Court Reporters Association, and Thomas Swope. Joseph Shimko Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07731/.

APA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Shimko, J., Annette Satterlee, National Court Reporters Association & Swope, T. (1942) Joseph Shimko Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07731/.

MLA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, et al. Joseph Shimko Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07731/>.