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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Location of Service: Vietnam; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"Any man who went over there and says he wasn't scared is a damn liar, and I'll tell him that to his face." (Audio Interview, 17:40)

Serving in two wars over twenty years apart gave Kenneth Rodgers a unique perspective on the many ways the American military changed between Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. He enlisted in the Army in 1968 before finishing high school, and he was hardly prepared for a tour of duty in Vietnam during some of the worst days of that war. After returning to civilian life, Rodgers decided in 1977 to give the Army another try, and his experience in the Gulf War as an officer in a reserve unit went much more smoothly.

Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection

Names

  • Victoria C. Christiansen
  • Rodgers, Kenneth Ray
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Lugar, Richard
  • Ordner, Larry
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

State of Birth

  • KY

Home State

  • KY

Headings

  • -  Rodgers, Kenneth Ray
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Vietnam; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1968-1996
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 9/5/2002)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 3/23/2006)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 10/1/2006)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 10/1/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9507

Cite as

  • Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection (AFC/2001/001/9507), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

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:

Victoria C. Christiansen, Kenneth Ray Rodgers, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Richard Lugar, Larry Ordner, and National Court Reporters Association. Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09507/.

APA citation style:

Victoria C. Christiansen, Rodgers, K. R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Lugar, R., Ordner, L. & National Court Reporters Association. (1968) Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09507/.

MLA citation style:

Victoria C. Christiansen, et al. Kenneth Ray Rodgers Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09507/>.