Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: A Company, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Cu Chi, Vietnam; Fort Carson, Colorado
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"No, I haven’t given up. I’ll never give up. I have faith that I’ll make it through this mess." (Letter to Billy, 2/28/1967)

Writing to his brother, Billy, and his sister-in-law, Sergeant Vincent Simonelli began most letters with the following: “Hope everyone is ok, I am fine.” Reassuring his family became paramount while he served in country from 1965 to 1967. His correspondence paints a vivid picture of life in an Army infantry platoon: the constant unknowns, an increasing weariness with losing comrades, the demoralizing instances of friendly fire. Writing letters connected him not only to his family, but to his life prior to being drafted: a native of Brooklyn and an avid sports fan, his letters contain many questions about and references to the New York area baseball and hockey teams.

View 68 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Selective Service Notice of Acceptability ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Special Orders Number 5 ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Special Orders Number 64 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Unit Order Number 9 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Special Orders Number 154 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ General Orders Number 567 ]

Show more resources (53)

View Enlarged Image
[ General Orders Number 934 ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Special Orders Number 279 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter of Appreciation ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Port Call Instructions ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Special Orders Number 110 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Memo: Transmittal of Promotion Orders ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Movement Order Number 18 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Military Pay Voucher ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Physical and Mental Status on Release From Active Service ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from Personal Affairs Officer [3/15/1968] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Memo: Transfer from Ready Reserve to Standby Reserve [5/1/1970] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Department of the Army memo: "Once a Soldier" ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Department of the Army memo: Transfers Between Reserve Control Groups or Units ]
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [10/17/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [10/22/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [11/10/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [11/22/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [11/26/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 7 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [12/6/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [12/11/1965] ]
Transcript: XML
View 7 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [1/2/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [2/7/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 9 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [7/16/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [7/31/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [8/1/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 12 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [8/7/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [8/21/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Postcard to Mr. and Mrs. Simonelli [9/3/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 8 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [9/18/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 13 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [10/19/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 10 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy 11/22/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [12/6/1966] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [2/6/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 8 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [2/28/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [3/10/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [3/19/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [3/26/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [4/4/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [4/4/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [5/31/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy [4/4/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [5/31/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [6/22/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [7/3/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [7/13/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View Enlarged Image
[ Empty envelope postmarked 7/24/1967 ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Mom and Dad [9/1/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Letter from Simonelli to Billy, Cathy, and Lisa [9/9/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Simonelli from Carolyn and Robert [7/18/1967] ]
Transcript: XML
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter to Simonelli from John Siliato [10/1/1966] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Pamphlett from the burial service of P.F.C. Robert Wayne Ruhl [7/28/1966] ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ "Silent Night" Christmas menu and pamphlett ]
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Collection of Vietnamese Money ]

About this Item

Title

  • Vincent Simonelli Collection

Names

  • Simonelli, Vincent

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • NJ

Headings

  • -  Simonelli, Vincent
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: A Company, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Cu Chi, Vietnam; Fort Carson, Colorado
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1965-1967
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [19 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [4 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 07/28/1966)
  • Photograph: Photographic print [36 items] -- Photograph (collected 1963 - 1967)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [37 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 10/18/1965 - 9/9/1967)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [2 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [45 items] -- Photograph (collected 1963 - 1967)
  • Photograph: Duplicate [44 items] -- Photograph (collected 1963 - 1967)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/25749

Cite as

  • Vincent Simonelli Collection (AFC/2001/001/25749), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

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:

Simonelli, Vincent. Vincent Simonelli Collection. 1965. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25749/.

APA citation style:

Simonelli, V. (1965) Vincent Simonelli Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25749/.

MLA citation style:

Simonelli, Vincent. Vincent Simonelli Collection. 1965. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25749/>.