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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: F Company, 370th Regiment, 92nd Division
  • Location of Service: Camp Upton, New York; Fort Riley, Kansas; University of Nebraska; Camp Polk, Louisiana; Camp Huachuca, Arizona; Oran, Algeria; Naples, Italy
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/30014

View full service history

"One guy said, 'Sergeant I am so scared." And I said, 'If you weren't scared, I'd be scared.' You have to be. A guy that's not scared, I'm afraid of you. I want you to be afraid." (Audio Interview, Part 2, 36:39)

Orphaned at 11 when both his parents died, Elvyn Davidson moved from Long Island to Manhattan to live with his older, married brother. After having to drop out of college for lack of funds, Davidson landed a job in a War Department office on Wall Street, through his brother's friendship with Adam Clayton Powell. With the U.S. entry into the war, he decided to enlist and become a cavalry officer like his father, who had served in the Spanish-American War. But the cavalry was becoming obsolete, and Davidson wound up a noncommissioned officer in the infantry with the 92nd Division. In a long and detailed interview, Davidson describes the hardships of serving in Italy, his leniency with his men, the importance of camaraderie to morale, and conditions in postwar Japan, where he served in the Occupation.

Elvyn V. Davidson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Elvyn V. Davidson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Elvyn V. Davidson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Elvyn V. Davidson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Elvyn V. Davidson Collection

Names

  • Piehler, G. Kurt
  • Davidson, Elvyn V.
  • Center for the Study of War and Society, University of Tennessee

Home State

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Davidson, Elvyn V.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: F Company, 370th Regiment, 92nd Division
    • Location of Service: Camp Upton, New York; Fort Riley, Kansas; University of Nebraska; Camp Polk, Louisiana; Camp Huachuca, Arizona; Oran, Algeria; Naples, Italy
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [4 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2000-04-04)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/30014

Cite as

  • Elvyn V. Davidson Collection (AFC/2001/001/30014), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

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:

Piehler, G. Kurt, Elvyn V Davidson, and University Of Tennessee Center For The Study Of War And Society. Elvyn V. Davidson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30014/.

APA citation style:

Piehler, G. K., Davidson, E. V. & Center For The Study Of War And Society, U. O. T. (1942) Elvyn V. Davidson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30014/.

MLA citation style:

Piehler, G. Kurt, Elvyn V Davidson, and University Of Tennessee Center For The Study Of War And Society. Elvyn V. Davidson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30014/>.