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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
  • Location of Service: Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters
  • Highest Rank: Ship's Master

View full service history

"The coastline voyages were unescorted by any Navy vessels or even airplanes, and they were easy prey for the submarines, and many ships were sunk along the coast." (Audio Interview, 19:13)

William Chambers was en route to Hawaii on a cargo ship on December 7, 1941, when his captain announced news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Chambers had been in effect training for war for two years. At 18, he entered the Pennsylvania State Nautical School in October 1939, shortly after WWII broke out in Europe, and the school had its students learn the ropes on different vessels of the U.S. Navy. During the war, Chambers made many dangerous voyages, none worse than a 1942 trip to the Soviet Union on which he lost three ships to torpedoes or mines. At war’s end, he was still at sea, carrying supplies for the invasion of Japan which were never needed.

William S. Chambers Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

View 5 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Photocopy of citations and awards ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Certificate of Discharge ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Memo: "Sailing instructions" [July 25, 1945] ]
View 32 images in sequence.
[ Service Record ]
View 7 images in sequence.
[ Training Certificates ]

Show more resources (8)

View Enlarged Image
[ Letter to Mrs. Margaret Chambers from the Isthmian Steamship Co. [June 9, 1942] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter to Mrs. Margaret Chambers from the Isthmian Steamship Co. [July 29, 1942] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from the Office of Maritime Labor and Training [August 7, 1990] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from the U.S. Department of Transportation [October 23, 1998] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from the U.S. Department of Transportation [November 17, 1998] ]
View 16 images in sequence.
[ Photocopy of diary pages [October 1939-August 1946] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ BS Degree for veteran from Massachusetts Institute of Technology [June 9, 1950] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Page from a yearbook ]

About this Item

Title

  • William S. Chambers Collection

Names

  • Chambers, William S.
  • Torpey, Kathryn

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Chambers, William S.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Merchant Marine.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
    • Location of Service: Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters
    • Highest Rank: Ship's Master
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Printed matter [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [12 items] -- (collected 10/21/1943-1/14/1997)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- (collected 1939-1946)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [5 items] -- Photograph (collected 1941, 1943, 1945, 2004)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [5 items] -- (collected 6/9/1942- 11/17/1998)
  • Manuscript: Civilian papers (certificates, forms, wills, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 6/9/1950)
  • Audio: Microcassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 05/08/2004)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 5/8/2004)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1939 - 1946)
  • Computer File: Flash Drive [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/18182

Cite as

  • William S. Chambers Collection (AFC/2001/001/18182), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

Chambers, William S, and Kathryn Torpey. William S. Chambers Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18182/.

APA citation style:

Chambers, W. S. & Torpey, K. (1941) William S. Chambers Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18182/.

MLA citation style:

Chambers, William S, and Kathryn Torpey. William S. Chambers Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18182/>.