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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: WPNS Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Kuwait; Iraq
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"There was not a minute when I was afraid. I revert back to training. And I know that everything is in God's hands." (Video Interview, 18:38)

His parents brought him from Lebanon to America to escape the horrors of war, but young Raffi Bahadarian grew to love his new country so much he was willing to serve in its armed forces and return to the Middle East to fight in another war. He signed up with the Marine Corps Reserves and was called up to fight in Operation Iraqi Freedom, joining the First Marine Division to be among the first U.S. soldiers into Baghdad.

Transcript: XML

More Resources

View 13 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 12 images in sequence.
[ Note book of Raffi Bahadarian ]

About this Item

Title

  • Raffi Armen Bahadarian Collection

Names

  • Schneider, Dorothy
  • Bahadarian, Raffi Armen
  • U.S. House of Representatives/David Dreier
  • Sindee Baum
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Dreier, David

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Bahadarian, Raffi Armen
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Notes

  • -  The veteran was born in Lebanon.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: WPNS Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Kuwait; Iraq
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1996-?
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Home movie footage (collected [2004])
  • Video: Hi-8/Digital 8 [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/22/2004)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 09/22/2004)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 09/22/2004)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 2003)
  • Photograph: Digital print [13 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 09/22/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/21418

Cite as

  • Raffi Armen Bahadarian Collection (AFC/2001/001/21418), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

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:

Schneider, Dorothy, Raffi Armen Bahadarian, U.S. House Of Representatives/David Dreier, Sindee Baum, National Court Reporters Association, and David Dreier. Raffi Armen Bahadarian Collection. 1996. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21418/.

APA citation style:

Schneider, D., Bahadarian, R. A., U.S. House Of Representatives/David Dreier, Sindee Baum, National Court Reporters Association & Dreier, D. (1996) Raffi Armen Bahadarian Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21418/.

MLA citation style:

Schneider, Dorothy, et al. Raffi Armen Bahadarian Collection. 1996. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21418/>.