Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
  • Unit of Service: SS Joseph Conrad; SS Roger B. Taney; SS John A. Dix; SS Frederick Remington
  • Location of Service: St. Petersburg, Florida; Sheepshead Bay, New York; Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Mediterranean Sea; Indian Ocean; Baltic Sea; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade

View full service history

"I guess everyone has different feelings when they’re in battle. All the time this was going on, I wasn’t scared. I was mad. We were mad as a hornet. We weren’t scared. When it was over with, I got so weak I couldn’t stand up. I was trembling all over." (Video Interview Part 2, 26:59)

As a Merchant Mariner during World War II, James Stancil sailed on numerous voyages carrying munitions and other supplies to Allied troops in Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. He began his career as a purser and later became a corpsman, when he performed hand surgery using only a manual for guidance. Stancil survived a torpedo attack off the coast of Brazil, only to be arrested for illegal entry into the country once he made it to shore. After serving for nearly five years in the Merchant Marine, Stancil was dismayed to discover upon his discharge that he was not eligible for the same benefits as other branches of the service.

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Transcript: XML
Transcript: XML
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter of discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve [09/05/1944] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Seaman's Certificate of Identification [1/6/1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate of discharge as staff officer ]

Show more resources (13)

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Honorable Discharge from Naval Service [9/5/1944] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Postcard from the Selective Service [3/26/1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate for Completion of Training [1/8/1943] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Designation of Grade [1/23/1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Release from active duty [6/8/1944] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate of Service [12/30/1942] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate of Proficiency as Lifeboat Man ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Certificates of Discharge [1943-1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Application for a passport [8/31/1944] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Letter of Promotion [1/23/1945] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Certificate of release or discharge from active duty ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Honorable Discharge ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Newsclipping with photos of veteran and his brothers ]

About this Item

Title

  • James Harding Stancil Collection

Names

  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Stancil, James Harding
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Nancy Bond Rowland
  • Willie, Michael

State of Birth

  • NC

Home State

  • TN

Headings

  • -  Stancil, James Harding
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Merchant Marine.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
    • Unit of Service: SS Joseph Conrad; SS Roger B. Taney; SS John A. Dix; SS Frederick Remington
    • Location of Service: St. Petersburg, Florida; Sheepshead Bay, New York; Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Mediterranean Sea; Indian Ocean; Baltic Sea; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [23 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1942 - 1944)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [8 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [5 items] -- Portrait (collected 1942 - 1944)
  • Video: Betacam SP [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/15/2004)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 09/15/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/26535

Cite as

  • James Harding Stancil Collection (AFC/2001/001/26535), 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:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Sarah Bowen, James Harding Stancil, National Court Reporters Association, Nancy Bond Rowland, and Michael Willie. James Harding Stancil Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26535/.

APA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S., Stancil, J. H., National Court Reporters Association, Nancy Bond Rowland & Willie, M. (1942) James Harding Stancil Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26535/.

MLA citation style:

Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, et al. James Harding Stancil Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26535/>.