Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Location of Service: Indian; China; Burma; Tibet; Nepal
  • Military Status: Civilian

View full service history

"I never heard a Red Crosser complain. After all, we were not in battle; and we were deeply infused with sense of patriotic dedication." (Memoir, page 6)

Virginia Claudon worked as a hospital volunteer in the early days of the American involvement in World War II, but when her fiancé, flying a military mission in Africa, went down with his plane, she decided to volunteer for overseas duty with the Red Cross. An illness prevented her from shipping out to Europe, and the next available assignment was in India. She was stationed in Karachi and Agra (home to the Taj Mahal), where she made morale-boosting radio broadcasts to offset the Japanese doyen of propaganda, Tokyo Rose. Claudon was exposed to polio and was the target of rumors that she was having an affair with a married officer. To allay those stories, she pretended to be engaged to an old friend from the States who was serving on Okinawa. After the war, the two began seeing each other and were married.

Virginia C. Allen Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

Virginia C. Allen Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

Virginia C. Allen Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML
View 11 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 22 images in sequence.
[ A Red Cross Volunteer in the China Burma India Theater, World War II ]

About this Item

Title

  • Virginia C. Allen Collection

Names

  • Robin Trierweiler
  • Kuentz, Patricia
  • Recollections-A Portrait of a Life
  • Allen, Virginia C. Claudon
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • MN

Headings

  • -  Allen, Virginia C.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  Red Cross -- Personal Narratives

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • Civilian

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Location of Service: Indian; China; Burma; Tibet; Nepal
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1946
    • Military Status: Civilian

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2005)
  • Photograph: Digital print [12 items] -- Photograph (collected 1945 - 1946)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 08/04/2005)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 08/04/2005)
  • Audio: CD [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 08/04/2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 08/04/2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 08/04/2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/33674

Cite as

  • Virginia C. Allen Collection (AFC/2001/001/33674), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

Robin Trierweiler, Patricia Kuentz, Recollections-A Portrait Of A Life, Virginia C. Claudon Allen, and National Court Reporters Association. Virginia C. Allen Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.33674/.

APA citation style:

Robin Trierweiler, Kuentz, P., Recollections-A Portrait Of A Life, Allen, V. C. C. & National Court Reporters Association. (1945) Virginia C. Allen Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.33674/.

MLA citation style:

Robin Trierweiler, et al. Virginia C. Allen Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.33674/>.