Top of page

Marcella Le Beau [2004]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
  • Unit of Service: 76th General Hospital
  • Location of Service: United States; England; Wales; France; Belgium
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/24202

View full service history

"I was young and I didn't know what war was… I guess in a way that was a saving grace." (Video Interview, 21:54)

In 1943 Marcella Le Beau had just finished her nurse's training in her native South Dakota and was working at a hospital in Pontiac, Michigan, when she heard about the Army's need for nurses. A year later, she was camped out in a cow pasture in Normandy, in the wake of the D-Day invasion, on her way to Paris. That December she was in Liege, Belgium, where she and her comrades were told to open their Christmas presents ten days early, as the Battle of the Bulge had just begun and they might have to evacuate. She never encountered discrimination because of her background; in fact, when colleagues learned that her great-grandfather was a chief, they assumed she must be an Indian princess.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • Marcella Ryan Le Beau Collection

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Le Beau, Marcella Ryan
  • Vigorito, Maarja

Home State

  • South Dakota

Headings

  • -  Le Beau, Marcella Ryan
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Nurse Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
    • Unit of Service: 76th General Hospital
    • Location of Service: United States; England; Wales; France; Belgium
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943-1946)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 1943-1946; 2021)
  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-06-09)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-06-09; 2008-02-28)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/24202

Cite as

  • Marcella Ryan Le Beau Collection (AFC/2001/001/24202), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • 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/[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:

Library Of Congress, Marcella Ryan Le Beau, and Maarja Vigorito. Marcella Ryan Le Beau Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24202/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Le Beau, M. R. & Vigorito, M. (1943) Marcella Ryan Le Beau Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24202/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Marcella Ryan Le Beau, and Maarja Vigorito. Marcella Ryan Le Beau Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24202/>.