Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: England; France; Luxembourg; Belgium; Holland; Germany; Czechoslovakia; Omaha Beach, France; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class

View full service history

"And I thought of my home, and my mom, and my dog, and my friends, and then I wondered how in the world this come me to be here in this situation, a young man, realizing that probably I didn't have much chance to live because I knew what was ahead of us there." (Audio Interview, 4:26)

A combat rifleman with the Second Infantry Division, Jesse Beazley was part of the invasion force that took Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944—D-Day. His transport boat was blown up far from shore and he was thrown into the water; he was forced to discard all his gear except his rifle and gas mask to keep from drowning as he swam in, German bullets hitting the water only inches away. Somehow he survived that day, and the next, and on through the next year—320 days of which were spent in direct contact with the enemy— through the five major European campaigns, all of the way to the end of the war in Europe, though combat infantrymen rarely lasted that long. His division was then selected to be part of the invasion of Japan, but before they could be sent, the atomic bombs were dropped and the war was ended. He was discharged December 28th, 1945.

Jesse A. Beazley Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

View 6 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate allowing Beazley to carry home a German automatic pistol [P.38] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ 2nd Infantry Division Statistics ]

About this Item

Title

  • Jesse A. Beazley Collection

Names

  • Beazley, Jesse
  • Beazley, Jesse A.
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • self-interview
  • Barbara Jackson

State of Birth

  • KY

Home State

  • KY

Headings

  • -  Beazley, Jesse A.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: England; France; Luxembourg; Belgium; Holland; Germany; Czechoslovakia; Omaha Beach, France; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 09/09/2005)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 09/09/2005)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1945)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [3 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 06/01/2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Self-interview (collected 01/13/2004)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Self-interview (collected 01/13/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/10474

Cite as

  • Jesse A. Beazley Collection (AFC/2001/001/10474), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • pdf

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/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:

Beazley, Jesse, Jesse A Beazley, National Court Reporters Association, Self-Interview, and Barbara Jackson. Jesse A. Beazley Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10474/.

APA citation style:

Beazley, J., Beazley, J. A., National Court Reporters Association, Self-Interview & Barbara Jackson. (1943) Jesse A. Beazley Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10474/.

MLA citation style:

Beazley, Jesse, et al. Jesse A. Beazley Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10474/>.