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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 7th Surgical Hospital; 7th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Medical Corps
  • Location of Service: Xuan Loc, Vietnam; Tay Ninh, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"You wish you were in the ground, but there's no hole to dig." (Video Interview, Part 1, 32:07)

Larry Schwab was drafted during his medical internship to serve as a medical officer in Vietnam, a war he personally did not approve of. But he felt it his duty to serve his country and apply his medical skills to wounded soldiers. In May 1968, Schwab's resolve was tested during an assault on his base that caused many casualties. His long and detailed description of that horrible night is testimony to the vivid memories that war inflicts on its survivors; he suffered nightmares from the experience for years. Schwab returned to Vietnam in the 1990s to provide medical treatment and advice, and he became active in the international movement to ban land mines.

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Transcript: XML
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[ Poem, "Vietnam 2000" ]
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[ Poem, "Vietnam" ]
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[ Collection of terms, phrases, and graffiti used by US military personnel during the Vietnam War ]

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[ Personal notes written by veteran on his 1995 meeting at Huyen District Hospital with Dr. Ding Cong Thoa, a Vietnamese ophthalmologist. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Larry Schwab Collection

Names

  • West Virginia University School of Journalism
  • Nethken, Melissa
  • Beeson, Joel
  • Schwab, Larry

State of Birth

  • WV

Home State

  • WV

Headings

  • -  Schwab, Larry
  • -  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
    • Unit of Service: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 7th Surgical Hospital; 7th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Medical Corps
    • Location of Service: Xuan Loc, Vietnam; Tay Ninh, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1967-1969
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [30 items] -- Photograph (collected 1968)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 01/01/1988)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 07/02/1968)
  • Manuscript: Creative works [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Video: DVCPRO [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/10/2003)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1995)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 11/1995)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1995)
  • Video: DVCPRO [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/10/2003)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 09/10/2003)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 09/10/2003)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- (collected 1967 - 1968)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 09/12/2016)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/23979

Cite as

  • Larry Schwab Collection (AFC/2001/001/23979), 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:

West Virginia University School Of Journalism, Melissa Nethken, Joel Beeson, and Larry Schwab. Larry Schwab Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23979/.

APA citation style:

West Virginia University School Of Journalism, Nethken, M., Beeson, J. & Schwab, L. (1967) Larry Schwab Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23979/.

MLA citation style:

West Virginia University School Of Journalism, et al. Larry Schwab Collection. 1967. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23979/>.