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First Sergeant Mary L. Aurtrey [n.d.]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Persian Gulf War, 1991
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Installation Support, Company A, 1st Battalion
  • Location of Service: Arlington, Virginia; Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort McClellan, Alabama; Fort Benjamin Harrison, Alabama; Germany; Korea; Belgium
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/17795

View full service history

"The Army gave me a career, something that I could not have achieved back home in Pinewood, South Carolina." (Audio interview, 18:08)

Born in Maryland, Sergeant Major Mary Aurtrey was an eighteen-year-old living in small-town South Carolina, craving travel and adventure, when she made the decision in 1969 to join the Army. In her roles as typist, stenographer, and administrator, her service during the Vietnam and Persian Gulf eras led her around the world--from locations stateside to Korea, Germany, and Belgium--and to support high-ranking officers such as General Alexander Haig. Beyond simply providing her with an education, she cites personal interactions as one of the highlights of her military career; as she explains, serving in the Army taught her to appreciate people, fundamentally changing her outlook on life.

Mary L. Aurtrey Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

View 4 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty ]

About this Item

Title

  • Mary L. Aurtrey Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • Aurtrey, Mary L.
  • Ralph, Lane A.
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Aurtrey, Mary L.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Installation Support, Company A, 1st Battalion
    • Location of Service: Arlington, Virginia; Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort McClellan, Alabama; Fort Benjamin Harrison, Alabama; Germany; Korea; Belgium
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant Major
    • Dates of Service: 1969-1991
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Dates of Service: 1969-1991
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [4 items] -- Photographs (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military Papers [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2007-11-07)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/17795

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

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/[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:

Lugar, Richard, Mary L Aurtrey, Lane A Ralph, and U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. Mary L. Aurtrey Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.17795/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., Aurtrey, M. L., Ralph, L. A. & U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. (1969) Mary L. Aurtrey Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.17795/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Mary L. Aurtrey Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.17795/>.