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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Repose (AH 16); Naval Hospital St. Albans
  • Location of Service: St. Albans, New York; Oakland, California; Guam (Mariana Islands); Yokosuka, Japan, Portsmouth, Virginia; Bainbridge, Bethesda, Maryland; Vietnam; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Naples, Italy; Corpus Christi, Texas
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

“It was the only answer I could give him because I knew he was dying.” (Audio Interview, 13:00)

A registered nurse in civilian life, Marion Birkhimer decided in 1957 to join the military and wrote to the three branches of service, thinking she would enlist in whichever first replied. It was the Navy, and that began a 27-year career that included duty aboard the hospital ship U.S.S. Repose during the Vietnam War. Birkhimer was in charge of the ship’s surgical ward, dealing with casualties from action on the mainland, including the Tet Offensive. She was sensitive to the morale of her colleagues as the needs of her patients, knowing the injured would get better care from medical personnel who were feeling appreciated.

Marion L. Birkhimer Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Marion L. Birkhimer Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Marion L. Birkhimer Collection

Names

  • U.S. House of Representatives/Cliff Stearns
  • Birkhimer, Marion L.
  • Smith, Lauren
  • Cindy L. South-Scheib
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Stearns, Cliff

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Birkhimer, Marion L.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Repose (AH 16); Naval Hospital St. Albans
    • Location of Service: St. Albans, New York; Oakland, California; Guam (Mariana Islands); Yokosuka, Japan, Portsmouth, Virginia; Bainbridge, Bethesda, Maryland; Vietnam; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Naples, Italy; Corpus Christi, Texas
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1958-1985
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Microcassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 5/30/2004)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/7/2007)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2009)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/23458

Cite as

  • Marion L. Birkhimer Collection (AFC/2001/001/23458), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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/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:

U.S. House Of Representatives/Cliff Stearns, Marion L Birkhimer, Lauren Smith, Cindy L. South-Scheib, National Court Reporters Association, and Cliff Stearns. Marion L. Birkhimer Collection. 1958. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23458/.

APA citation style:

U.S. House Of Representatives/Cliff Stearns, Birkhimer, M. L., Smith, L., Cindy L. South-Scheib, National Court Reporters Association & Stearns, C. (1958) Marion L. Birkhimer Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23458/.

MLA citation style:

U.S. House Of Representatives/Cliff Stearns, et al. Marion L. Birkhimer Collection. 1958. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23458/>.