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Robert Hemstead [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Key, USS HASE
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Petty Officer First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/16295

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Raised mostly by his grandfather, a former rear admiral in the Navy, Robert Hemstead developed a lifelong fascination with the sea and ships. The attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred when he was a young teen, was very personal to him, as he had visited some of the ships with his grandfather. In 1944, at the age of 17, he enlisted with the help of a friend, who forged a fake birth certificate. He wanted to be a gunner’s mate, but when officers discovered that he had learned celestial navigation at 14, he was assigned to duties in that area of the ship. Attached to the Fleet Marine Force, he also did duty as a Pharmacist’s Mate. The most dangerous part of his wartime service came during the historic Philippine Sea typhoon of December 1944, which sank and damaged more ships than any battle in the Pacific Theater.

Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Robert Lorrain Hempstead Collection

Names

  • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  • Teahan, Kathleen
  • An, Cherry
  • Hempstead, Robert Lorrain

State of Birth

  • RI

Home State

  • RI

Headings

  • -  Hempstead, Robert Lorrain
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Key, USS HASE
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Petty Officer First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1947
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 1943)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 03/04/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/16295

Cite as

  • Robert Lorrain Hempstead Collection (AFC/2001/001/16295), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Race

Home State

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:

Massachusetts College Of Pharmacy And Health Sciences, Kathleen Teahan, Cherry An, and Robert Lorrain Hempstead. Robert Lorrain Hempstead Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.16295/.

APA citation style:

Massachusetts College Of Pharmacy And Health Sciences, Teahan, K., An, C. & Hempstead, R. L. (1944) Robert Lorrain Hempstead Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.16295/.

MLA citation style:

Massachusetts College Of Pharmacy And Health Sciences, et al. Robert Lorrain Hempstead Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.16295/>.