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Joe Thompson Jr., England [circa 1943]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Air Force; 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Location of Service: England; Normandy, France; Belgium; Rhine Valley; Kassel, Germany; Central Germany
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9437

View full service history

Flier Joe Thompson got to WWII England ahead of any U.S. planes, so for a time he flew with the Royal Air Force. As a reconnaissance pilot flying a P-51 Mustang, he helped locate enemy positions, while in his spare time he used a camera to record other sights of wartime. His ground-level photographs of England, liberated France, and parked airplanes standing ready to serve may be the work of an amateur, but they have the elegance and power of a professional. The Nashville Public Library, a Veterans History Project partner organization, holds nearly 600 of Thompson's photographs and other materials related to his service.

View 17 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 19 images in sequence.
[ Description of photos in narrative form ]

About this Item

Title

  • Joe Thompson, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Thompson Jr., Joe
  • Nashville Room, Nashville Public Library
  • Barnickel, Linda

Home State

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Thompson Jr., Joe
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Air Force; 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
    • Location of Service: England; Normandy, France; Belgium; Rhine Valley; Kassel, Germany; Central Germany
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a reconnaissance pilot. Thompson joined the British Royal Air Force early in the war to gain experience and training.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003-05-28)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [18 items] -- Photographs (collected 1944-1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9437

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:

Thompson Jr., Joe, Nashville Public Library Nashville Room, and Linda Barnickel. Joe Thompson, Jr. Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09437/.

APA citation style:

Thompson Jr, J., Nashville Room, N. P. L. & Barnickel, L. (1941) Joe Thompson, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09437/.

MLA citation style:

Thompson Jr., Joe, Nashville Public Library Nashville Room, and Linda Barnickel. Joe Thompson, Jr. Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09437/>.