Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Marine Division; 5th Marine Division
  • Battles & Campaigns: Iwo Jima; Saipan
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Hawaii; Japan
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/14223

View full service history

"'Leave our code talkers alone or we're going to kill you.'" (Audio Interview, 4:40)

Merril Sandoval worked as a Navajo code talker in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and during his brief interview, he demonstrates the language he and his fellow Indians used to baffle the enemy. On Iwo Jima, Sandoval and a buddy were mistaken for Japanese soldiers and almost shot, but they were recognized by a couple of officers, who saved their lives.

Merril L. Sandoval Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Merril L. Sandoval Collection

Names

  • Sandoval, Merril L.
  • Steelman, Patricia
  • Veterans History Project
  • Library of Congress

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Arizona

Headings

  • -  Sandoval, Merril L.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Marine Division; 5th Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Hawaii; Japan
    • Battles & Campaigns: Iwo Jima; Saipan
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran is a Navajo Code Talker.

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [ item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-05-27)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-05-27; 2006-03-06)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/14223

Online Format

  • audio

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Battles & Campaigns

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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:

Sandoval, Merril L, Patricia Steelman, Veterans History Project, and Library Of Congress. Merril L. Sandoval Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.14223/.

APA citation style:

Sandoval, M. L., Steelman, P., Veterans History Project & Library Of Congress. (1943) Merril L. Sandoval Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.14223/.

MLA citation style:

Sandoval, Merril L, et al. Merril L. Sandoval Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.14223/>.