Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Audio Recording Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Detachment Services
- Location of Service: Camp Grant, Illinois; Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; London, England; Paris, France
- Highest Rank: Captain
Robert Springsteen was an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) employee who didn't learn languages or assume disguises. What he did out of his office in liberated Paris was to distribute money to field operatives like Moe Berg, a onetime major league baseball player who went undercover to report on Germany's budding nuclear weapons program. Springsteen arrived in France shortly after D-Day carrying a small fortune in currency, and he kept acquiring money, as well as jewelry and diamonds for agents to hock when they ran low on Springsteen-disbursed cash.
Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Interview / Recording
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PlayVolunteering for new organization whose mission was secret; made the decision in the face of his wife being ill with Hodgkin's disease; reporting for duty at OSS offices in Washington, DC; off to England on a ship with Glenn Miller and his band. 00:15:23.3 - 00:19:48.7
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PlayShipping out to France, carrying over a small fortune in various currencies for use in operations; life in liberated Paris. 00:23:21.2 - 00:30:06.0
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PlayResponsibilities of his office in Paris, funding all the agent operations on the continent; details of transferring money. 00:30:38.5 - 00:35:00.0
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PlayPreparing agents to go behind the lines with jewelry and accessories that could be sold for cash as needed; complaining about a married agent's paltry life insurance compensation; going on a money-buying tour of five countries. 00:35:13.5 - 00:41:16.0
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PlayOSS funds not accountable to general government regulations; visit to the Louvre on an infrequent off-day; financing Moe Berg, former baseball player, who was spying for the U.S. on Germany's heavy water program. 00:41:36.6 - 00:45:45.8
Transcript:
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Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Interview / Recording
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PlayTough conditions in Paris: having access to hot water only 30 minutes a week; misunderstanding with a maid over women's clothes in their bathroom. 00:07:36.0 - 00:09:40.9
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PlayContrasting wartime conditions in London with life afterwards; flying through Newfoundland to America, seeing Frank Sinatra and Phil Silvers in the airport. 00:26:14.2 - 00:30:23.4
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PlayUncertainties of his first two years of service contrasted with the focus that OSS provided him, as well as a coveted duty station; the closest he came to seeing real action. 00:39:49.2 - 00:43:55.6
Transcript:
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About this Item
Title
- Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Names
- Chris Shin
- U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Lugar, Richard
- Springsteen, Robert B.
- National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
- Gadd, Vicky
State of Birth
- IL
Home State
- IN
Headings
- - Springsteen, Robert B.
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- Veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Detachment Services
- Location of Service: Camp Grant, Illinois; Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; London, England; Paris, France
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Dates of Service: 1942-1946
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: Veteran
Materials
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 03/06/2006)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2/27/2004)
- Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Digital print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Correspondence [40 items] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Creative works [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 10/22/2014)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/23487
Cite as
- Robert B. Springsteen Collection (AFC/2001/001/23487), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- image
- online text
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Camp Grant, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois
- Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
- Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri
- London, England
- Paris, France
- Washington, DC