Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: Regimental Weapons Company, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Roi Island and Namur Island (Marshall Islands); Saipan and Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"When they fire those phosphorous shells there at night, you could hear the screamin.'" (Video Interview, Part 3, 8:37.1)

Iwo Jima was William Allen's fourth island invasion in the Pacific Theater and by far the most horrible. Though he had been told the operation would last only 72 hours, the battle to take the island lasted almost a month. He was supposed to be among the first off the boat on the opening day of the battle, but he was held back by his commanding officer— and his replacement lasted only ten steps onto the beach before he was killed. The Japanese resistance was fierce, the island's terrain offered many hiding places, and the enemy offered a new piece of artillery: phosphorous shells whose fragments burned through clothing and skin. (Allen's account of Iwo Jima begins in Part 3 of the interview at the 4:30 mark.)

More Resources

About this Item

Title

  • William Brooks Allen Collection

Names

  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Allen, William Brooks
  • Willie, Michael

State of Birth

  • TN

Home State

  • TN

Headings

  • -  Allen, William Brooks
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Form

  • Betacam SP

Extent

  • 4 items

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: Regimental Weapons Company, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Roi Island and Namur Island (Marshall Islands); Saipan and Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: Betacam SP [4 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/18/2002)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9542

Cite as

  • William Brooks Allen Collection (AFC/2001/001/9542), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • 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:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Sarah Bowen, William Brooks Allen, and Michael Willie. William Brooks Allen Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09542/.

APA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S., Allen, W. B. & Willie, M. (1942) William Brooks Allen Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09542/.

MLA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, et al. William Brooks Allen Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09542/>.