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Joachin Marchand at time of interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011; Afghan War, 2001-
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Alpha Company, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: Iraq; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Germany; Madrid, Spain; Ireland; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Turkmenistan; Afghanistan
  • Highest Rank: E-5
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/112731

View full service history

"At that moment, it didn't quite dawn on me what I had just done. I didn't think 'you just jumped into the battalion that's going to be the first wave from the 82nd Airborne going into Afghanistan.'" (Video interview, 29:02)

Joachin Marchand took his oath of enlistment on September 11, 2001, moments before the world learned about the terrorist attacks that occurred that morning. Having told his recruiter that he wanted to do "the toughest thing you've got" he wound up in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne a matter of months after enlisting. A few months after an eventful deployment to Afghanistan in which he experienced firefights, violent local politics, a leopard encounter, and a shot-down helicopter, his unit was deployed to Iraq. There he and his comrades found themselves embroiled in heavy firefights in Fallujah in late 2003 and early 2004 as that city contended with an increasingly violent insurgency. After guarding polling stations during his third deployment in three years, Marchand was relieved to leave the military and begin the emotional healing process from his experiences. Since leaving the Army, he has attained a master's degree in public administration, served as a city councilman, and become active in advocating for social causes.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Joachin Jefferson Marchand Collection

Names

  • Veterans History Project
  • Library of Congress
  • Marchand, Joachin Jefferson
  • Huber, Andrew

Home State

  • Washington (State)

Headings

  • -  Marchand, Joachin Jefferson
  • -  Afghan War, 2001- -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Afghan War, 2001-

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Alpha Company, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Germany; Madrid, Spain; Ireland; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Turkmenistan; Afghanistan
    • Highest Rank: E-5
    • Dates of Service: 2002-2006
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Iraq
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital File [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2018-08-17; 2018)
  • Video: Flash Drive [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2018-08-17; 2019-10-16)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/112731

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/[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:

Veterans History Project, Library Of Congress, Joachin Jefferson Marchand, and Andrew Huber. Joachin Jefferson Marchand Collection. 2002. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.112731/.

APA citation style:

Veterans History Project, Library Of Congress, Marchand, J. J. & Huber, A. (2002) Joachin Jefferson Marchand Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.112731/.

MLA citation style:

Veterans History Project, et al. Joachin Jefferson Marchand Collection. 2002. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.112731/>.