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James Jolly in uniform

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
  • Unit of Service: MT Edmond J. Moran (Tugboat)
  • Location of Service: Gallups Island, Massachusetts; Boston Harbor, Massachusetts; Alaska
  • Highest Rank: Ensign
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/26895

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"We looked back and on the engine room was this round indentation, which had been the head of a torpedo that had hit the engine room and it hadn’t exploded. Now, if it had, with all our gasoline it would have just ‘fwwip’ like that, there would have been nothing left." (Video Interview, 26:46)

James Jolly had completed one year at the junior college of the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, when he was selected for a United States Maritime Service program on Gallop’s Island in Boston Harbor, where he started training in September 1940. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, Mr. Jolly’s graduation was expedited by three months. His first assignment was as a Radio Officer aboard the tugboat Edmund J. Moran. Mr. Jolly was aboard the tug when it was sent to be part of the invasion of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands, where he earned the Merchant Marine Combat bar. While at sea, Mr. Jolly had numerous close encounters with submarines, including once being hit, while on a tugboat carrying drums of aviation fuel, by a torpedo that turned out to be a dud.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • James Alvin Jolly Collection

Names

  • Jolly, James Alvin
  • Green, Marjorie
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • Parker, Sandra
  • Katherine Schilling
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, Sacramento Chapter

State of Birth

  • CA

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Jolly, James Alvin
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Merchant Marine.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Merchant Marine
    • Unit of Service: MT Edmond J. Moran (Tugboat)
    • Location of Service: Gallups Island, Massachusetts; Boston Harbor, Massachusetts; Alaska
    • Highest Rank: Ensign
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 01/14/2005)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1941 - 1943)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1994)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 02/17/2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 02/17/2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/26895

Cite as

  • James Alvin Jolly Collection (AFC/2001/001/26895), 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:

Jolly, James Alvin, Marjorie Green, National Court Reporters Association, Sandra Parker, Katherine Schilling, and Sacramento Chapter Daughters Of The American Revolution. James Alvin Jolly Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26895/.

APA citation style:

Jolly, J. A., Green, M., National Court Reporters Association, Parker, S., Katherine Schilling & Daughters Of The American Revolution, S. C. (1940) James Alvin Jolly Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26895/.

MLA citation style:

Jolly, James Alvin, et al. James Alvin Jolly Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.26895/>.