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Raymond Brittain, San Francisco, California, ca. 1943.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Tennessee, LST-17, LST-12
  • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Coral Sea; Midway; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Washington, DC; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Manila Bay (Philippines)
  • Highest Rank: Fire Controlman Second Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9596

View full service history

"No animosity toward us at all, not even a dirty look. They just got out of your way." (Audio Interview, Part 2, 13:28)

Raymond Brittain witnessed both ends of America's involvement in the war. His ship was on Battleship Row during the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor, and he was in Japan immediately after the surrender to witness the havoc that U.S. bombers had caused there. Brittain had the right to feel animosity toward the Japanese after he saw firsthand the human cost of their sneak attack, but four years later, he found them to be submissive and deferential in defeat.

Raymond Albert Brittain Collection
Interview / Recording

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Raymond Albert Brittain Collection
Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Raymond Albert Brittain Collection

Names

  • Brittain, Raymond Albert
  • Reed, Helen
  • Hammond, Janet
  • Park County Veterans History Project

State of Birth

  • CA

Home State

  • WY

Headings

  • -  Brittain, Raymond Albert
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Tennessee, LST-17, LST-12
    • Location of Service: San Diego, California; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Coral Sea; Midway; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Washington, DC; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Manila Bay (Philippines)
    • Highest Rank: Fire Controlman Second Class
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He served as a mess cook and as an anitaircraft director on a five-inch gun battery.

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [5 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 07/17/2002)
  • Audio: CD [0 item] -- Reference copy (collected 3/22/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9596

Cite as

  • Raymond Albert Brittain Collection (AFC/2001/001/9596), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • 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:

Brittain, Raymond Albert, Helen Reed, Janet Hammond, and Park County Veterans History Project. Raymond Albert Brittain Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09596/.

APA citation style:

Brittain, R. A., Reed, H., Hammond, J. & Park County Veterans History Project. Raymond Albert Brittain Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09596/.

MLA citation style:

Brittain, Raymond Albert, et al. Raymond Albert Brittain Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09596/>.