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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: G Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, V Corps, 1st Army; G Company, 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, XII Corps, 3rd Army; 129th Military Police
  • Location of Service: Camp Fannin, Texas; Camp Howze, Texas; England; France; Germany
  • Highest Rank: Private

View full service history

"It was time to go over...grab the rope net...lift my leg over the side...hang on for dear life...sixty pounds on my back!" (Memoir, page 2)

A combat newbie, Private Benjamin Alvarado was part of the second wave of troops to arrive on D-Day, landing on the Easy Red section of Omaha Beach. In his memoir, he describes the adrenaline-filled first moments of the invasion. Continuing into the French countryside with the First Infantry Division, he witnessed tank battles, atrocities committed against French civilians by the Germans, and the sense of relief that permeated the American troops when Paris was liberated. Wounded on September 26th, 1944, he was evacuated from the field; looking in the mirror in the hospital, he at first didn't recognize himself.

More Resources

View 4 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 48 images in sequence.
[ Untitled Memoir of Benjamin Alvarado ]

About this Item

Title

  • Benjamin Alvarado Collection

Names

  • Behm, Ronald
  • National Archives - Central Plains Region
  • Alvarado, Benjamin
  • Bresette, Evie

State of Birth

  • KS

Home State

  • MO

Headings

  • -  Alvarado, Benjamin
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Hispanic

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: G Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, V Corps, 1st Army; G Company, 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, XII Corps, 3rd Army; 129th Military Police
    • Location of Service: Camp Fannin, Texas; Camp Howze, Texas; England; France; Germany
    • Highest Rank: Private
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran also served in the 123rd Army Air Force Base Unit.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected 2004)
  • Photograph: Digital print [5 items] -- Photograph (collected 2004)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 2004)
  • Video: Hi-8/Digital 8 [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/20/2004)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/15/2007)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/32448

Cite as

  • Benjamin Alvarado Collection (AFC/2001/001/32448), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • 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:

Behm, Ronald, National Archives - Central Plains Region, Benjamin Alvarado, and Evie Bresette. Benjamin Alvarado Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32448/.

APA citation style:

Behm, R., National Archives - Central Plains Region, Alvarado, B. & Bresette, E. (1943) Benjamin Alvarado Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32448/.

MLA citation style:

Behm, Ronald, et al. Benjamin Alvarado Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32448/>.