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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Headquarters Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Korea
  • Highest Rank: Specialist Three

View full service history

"I called my mother up and told her, 'I signed up for the Airborne.' She says, 'Yeah, what do they do?'" (00:12:14.0)

When Gordon Talbot's draft notice arrived in the mail in 1954, his cousin, a veteran of World War II, told him sarcastically, "Have fun." At the time, Talbot was playing on a semi-pro baseball team in Glen Rock, New Jersey, so it probably did seem like the "fun" was over for him. Qualifying for Airborne, he trained to be among the elite of Army warriors. However, by then there was a truce between North and South Korea, and when Talbot arrived in country, he found himself recruited to play for the Sixth Tank Battalion baseball team. Talbot and his fellow players constructed their own ball field, only to have the materials stolen the first night after building it. Nevertheless, Talbot spent the summer of '55 playing ball instead of fighting. He enjoyed himself so thoroughly, he says, "I never took a leave from Korea."

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Gordon G. Talbot Collection

Names

  • Webb, Joshua
  • University of Central Florida, Special Collections & University Archives
  • Talbot, Gordon G.

State of Birth

  • NJ

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Talbot, Gordon G.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Headquarters Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Highest Rank: Specialist Three
    • Dates of Service: 1954-1956
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/03/2015)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/103272

Cite as

  • Gordon G. Talbot Collection (AFC/2001/001/103272), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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:

Webb, Joshua, Special Collections & University Archives University Of Central Florida, and Gordon G Talbot. Gordon G. Talbot Collection. 1954. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.103272/.

APA citation style:

Webb, J., University Of Central Florida, S. C. &. U. A. & Talbot, G. G. (1954) Gordon G. Talbot Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.103272/.

MLA citation style:

Webb, Joshua, Special Collections & University Archives University Of Central Florida, and Gordon G Talbot. Gordon G. Talbot Collection. 1954. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.103272/>.