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Robert Campbell [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment; USS Norton Sound (AVM 1); USS Wilhoite (DER 397)
  • Location of Service: San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Pacific Theater; Korea; Corpus Christi, Texas; San Nicolas Island, California; Marshall Islands
  • Highest Rank: Hospital Corpsman First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/26583

View full service history

"Radiation in those days was an unknown factor. It was all experimental. Everything we did was experimental." (Video interview, 12:08)

Growing up as the son of a U.S. Navy Pharmacist's Mate, the transition to military life came easily to Hospital Corpsman First Class Robert Campbell. Enlisting in 1948, his career in the Navy took him around the world and through a vast array of experiences, deployments, trainings, and conflicts. Beginning his service in the surgical ward at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, he went on to become involved with atomic testing in the Pacific; following that, he was sent to Korea in 1954. Later, he would take on such jobs as working in the dispensary and pharmacy in various locales, training as an x-ray technician, and serving aboard the USS Wilhoite, stationed in Subic Bay, Philippines, during the Vietnam War. Now retired, he advocates for veterans exposed to radiation during their time in their service.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Robert Martin Campbell, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Cox, Carl Raymond
  • Campbell Jr., Robert Martin
  • VA Medical Center, San Diego, California

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Campbell Jr., Robert Martin
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment; USS Norton Sound (AVM 1); USS Wilhoite (DER 397)
    • Location of Service: San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Pacific Theater; Korea; Corpus Christi, Texas; San Nicolas Island, California; Marshall Islands
    • Highest Rank: Hospital Corpsman First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1948-1967
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2005-01-28)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-01-28; 2005-03-15)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/26583

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Cox, Carl Raymond, Robert Martin Campbell Jr, and San Diego Va Medical Center. Robert Martin Campbell, Jr. Collection. 1948. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26583/.

APA citation style:

Cox, C. R., Campbell Jr, R. M. & Va Medical Center, S. D. (1948) Robert Martin Campbell, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26583/.

MLA citation style:

Cox, Carl Raymond, Robert Martin Campbell Jr, and San Diego Va Medical Center. Robert Martin Campbell, Jr. Collection. 1948. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26583/>.