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James Dorris, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company A, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow)
  • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Fort McClellan, Alabama; Fargo, North Dakota; Marseilles, France; Ingelheim, France; Germany; Austria; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9711

View full service history

"This is what hell is like. In my mind I imagined the devil himself coming up out of the ground." (Video Interview, Part II, 27:26)

James Dorris came late to the European Theater in World War II, but he wasn't spared one of the most horrifying experiences that any American soldier had in that conflict. He and his unit landed in southern France late in 1944 and were in a captured chateau on the Rhine River by New Year's Eve. But in the spring of 1945, they were assigned to liberate the concentration camp at Dachau, an experience for which none of them was prepared.

Interview / Recording

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Interview / Recording

Interview / Recording

James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection

Names

  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Dorris Jr., James Frank
  • Willie, Michael

State of Birth

  • TN

Home State

  • TN

Headings

  • -  Dorris Jr., James Frank
  • -  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 A, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow)
    • Location of Service: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; Fort McClellan, Alabama; Fargo, North Dakota; Marseilles, France; Ingelheim, France; Germany; Austria; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/08/2003)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 01/08/2003)
  • Audio: DAT [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 01/08/2003)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/08/2003)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/08/2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9711

Cite as

  • James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/9711), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • 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, James Frank Dorris Jr, and Michael Willie. James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09711/.

APA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S., Dorris Jr, J. F. & Willie, M. (1943) James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09711/.

MLA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, et al. James Frank Dorris, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09711/>.