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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 600th Photo Squadron
  • Location of Service: Orlando, Florida; Vietnam; Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"The still photograph is powerful in that it’s a little slice of time that’s converted into… something tangible." (Audio interview, 59:47)

Arriving in Vietnam in 1965, Richard Ruddy worked to coordinate the visual documentation of the war as it escalated. As an officer with the 600th Photo Squadron, stationed at Tan Son Nhut Airbase, it was his job to determine into which planes to place cameras in order to get the best documentary footage, and to work with the media--such as Life photographer Larry Burrows--to provide access. In his interview, he notes his pride in helping to "record history in a way that it can’t be recorded any other way."

Richard A. Ruddy Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Richard A. Ruddy Collection

Names

  • Ruddy, Richard A.
  • Courtnage, Lee
  • OASIS of Albuquerque, New Mexico

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • NM

Headings

  • -  Ruddy, Richard A.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Form

  • Audio Cassette

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 600th Photo Squadron
    • Location of Service: Orlando, Florida; Vietnam; Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1963-1968
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 02/10/2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/34500

Cite as

  • Richard A. Ruddy Collection (AFC/2001/001/34500), 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:

Ruddy, Richard A, Lee Courtnage, and New Mexico Oasis Of Albuquerque. Richard A. Ruddy Collection. 1963. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34500/.

APA citation style:

Ruddy, R. A., Courtnage, L. & Oasis Of Albuquerque, N. M. (1963) Richard A. Ruddy Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34500/.

MLA citation style:

Ruddy, Richard A, Lee Courtnage, and New Mexico Oasis Of Albuquerque. Richard A. Ruddy Collection. 1963. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34500/>.