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Robert Horr, Fort Madison, IA [1/1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: 74th Troop Carrier Squadron, 434th Troop Carrier Group
  • Location of Service: Stuttgart Army Air Field, Arkansas; Crookston, North Dakota; Okmulgee, Oklahoma; South Plains Army Air Field, Lubbock, Texas; Bowman Field, Louisville, Maxton Army Air Field, North Carolina; Kentucky; Bear Mountain, Oklahoma; England; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/30055

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"War is hell, I know because I went through the worst part of it." (Pilot's log book, page 15)

While the paratrooper units have garnered much of the popular attention in the historical memory of D-Day, glider units also played a role in the airborne invasion. These aircraft operated without engines, and thus moved silently, and enabled troops to land more precisely than paratroopers dropped from a plane. Serving with the 74th Troop Carrier Squadron, Army Air Corps flight officer Robert Harlan Horr spent June 6th soaring into Normandy on a glider. His pilot's log book entry for the day includes notations of solo cross-country trips, blitz bombings, and a final, heartbreaking entry on D-Day, in which he describes losing his close friend and comrade Buck Jackson. Tragically, while he survived the invasion, he was killed in a glider accident in England before the end of the war.

View 11 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Pilot's log book for Robert H. Horr ]
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[ Pilot's individual progress record ]
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[ Transcription of a section from Horr's pilot's log, detailing what happened to him on D-Day, June 6, 1944 ]
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[ Citation of Honor signed by General H. H. Arnold ]
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[ Certificate signed by President Roosevelt: "In Grateful Memory of Flight Officer Robert Horr" ]
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[ Letter from Robert Harlan Horr to his wife [7/5/1944] ]

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[ 110 Franc note autographed by several buddies ]

About this Item

Title

  • Robert Harlan Horr Collection

Names

  • Horr, Robert Harlan

Home State

  • Iowa

Headings

  • -  Horr, Robert Harlan
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Unit of Service: 74th Troop Carrier Squadron, 434th Troop Carrier Group
    • Location of Service: Stuttgart Army Air Field, Arkansas; Crookston, North Dakota; Okmulgee, Oklahoma; South Plains Army Air Field, Lubbock, Texas; Bowman Field, Louisville, Maxton Army Air Field, North Carolina; Kentucky; Bear Mountain, Oklahoma; England; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1944
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran died in a glider crash while in tow from the British Midlands to Aldermaston, England.

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [11 items] -- Photograph (collected 1930-1945)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Transcription of document (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1944-2002)
  • Manuscript: Maps [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [3 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [7 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944-2002)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- (collected 2002-03-15)
  • Artifact: Artifact [4 items] -- (collected 1942-1944)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/30055

Cite as

  • Robert Harlan Horr Collection (AFC/2001/001/30055), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

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/[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:

Horr, Robert Harlan. Robert Harlan Horr Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30055/.

APA citation style:

Horr, R. H. (1942) Robert Harlan Horr Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30055/.

MLA citation style:

Horr, Robert Harlan. Robert Harlan Horr Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.30055/>.