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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS LCI 579 (Landing Craft Infantry)
  • Location of Service: New Zealand; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); San Diego, California; Puget Sound, Washington; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Pharmacist's Mate Second Class

View full service history

“I went in the second day…the morning of the second day. That’s why I’m still here.” (Audio Interview, 42:29)

Trained to assist doctors in treating the wounded and dying on invasion beaches, John Armstrong was witness to the horrific results of war. One of the first wounded brought to his aid camp on Tarawa was a Marine mortally wounded by a sniper. Armstrong and the doctors he assisted had to stand by and watch him die, helpless to stabilize him. On the third day at Tarawa, Armstrong met a Marine who was killed later that night during a Japanese bombing raid. In one of the twists of war, he would be contacted by the man’s grandniece 60 years later.

John Herbert Armstrong Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

John Herbert Armstrong Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • John Herbert Armstrong Collection

Names

  • Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
  • Swope, Thomas
  • Armstrong, John Herbert

State of Birth

  • OH

Home State

  • OH

Headings

  • -  Armstrong, John Herbert
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

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: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS LCI 579 (Landing Craft Infantry)
    • Location of Service: New Zealand; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); San Diego, California; Puget Sound, Washington; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Pharmacist's Mate Second Class
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran also served in 2nd Marine Division.

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 02/28/2005)
  • Audio: CD [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 8/20/2009)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/27519

Cite as

  • John Herbert Armstrong Collection (AFC/2001/001/27519), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio

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/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:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Thomas Swope, and John Herbert Armstrong. John Herbert Armstrong Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.27519/.

APA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Swope, T. & Armstrong, J. H. (1942) John Herbert Armstrong Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.27519/.

MLA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Thomas Swope, and John Herbert Armstrong. John Herbert Armstrong Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.27519/>.