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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 173rd Assault Helicopter Company (Robin Hoods)
  • Location of Service: Lai Khe and Phu Loi, Vietnam; Fort Rucker, Alabama
  • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 2
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/21571

View full service history

"The interesting thing was, when they tried to kill us, they were more interested in \\ndisabling the helicopters than killing the pilots.They never understood that it took a lot \\nlonger to make a helicopter pilot than a helicopter." (Audio Interview, 22:40)

Galen DeGraff served in Vietnam as a pilot in the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company, nicknamed the Robin Hoods. He arrived in country just before the Tet Offensive began and quickly learned that tensing up when he was flying through enemy fire diminished his abilities to maneuver out of danger. DeGraff saw the bravado of the pilots and the camaraderie among the crews as key elements to completing successful missions. On the ground, he couldn't let down his guard, as infiltration by the Vietcong made it difficult to trust the locals, even those who worked for the U.S. Army.

Galen Frederick DeGraff Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Galen Frederick DeGraff Collection

Names

  • DeGraff, Galen Frederick
  • University of Mary Washington, Department of Historic Preservation
  • Smith, Emily C.
  • Stanton, Gary

Home State

  • Virginia

Headings

  • -  DeGraff, Galen Frederick
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 173rd Assault Helicopter Company (Robin Hoods)
    • Location of Service: Lai Khe and Phu Loi, Vietnam; Fort Rucker, Alabama
    • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 2
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1971
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran addds that he is a member of the Vietnam helicopter Pilots Association and that he was in flight class 67-19/21.

Materials

  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003-11-04; 2003-11-10)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-10-30)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/21571

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Degraff, Galen Frederick, Department Of Historic Preservation University Of Mary Washington, Emily C Smith, and Gary Stanton. Galen Frederick DeGraff Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21571/.

APA citation style:

Degraff, G. F., University Of Mary Washington, D. O. H. P., Smith, E. C. & Stanton, G. (1966) Galen Frederick DeGraff Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21571/.

MLA citation style:

Degraff, Galen Frederick, et al. Galen Frederick DeGraff Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21571/>.