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Ernest Mathews [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: USS Missouri (BB 63)
  • Location of Service: Hawaii; Guam (Mariana Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/34885

View full service history

As a high school senior in Montana, Ernest Mathews joined the Marines late in World War II. He shipped out to Guam in the spring of 1945, and when an officer asked for volunteers, he and some buddies from Montana raised their hands and wound up on the battleship Missouri. They were assigned shipboard duties and saw only the latter stages of the battle for Okinawa from the ship. Being on the Missouri did give him a golden opportunity: He was on board for the Japanese surrender ceremony in September, and his interview provides a detailed look at that historic moment. Afterwards, Mathews stayed with the Missouri, sailing around the world as the captain’s orderly.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection

Names

  • Montana Heritage Project
  • Mathews, Ernest Theodore
  • McDermott, Brenna
  • Mitchell, Katherine

State of Birth

  • ND

Home State

  • MT

Headings

  • -  Mathews, Ernest Theodore
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: USS Missouri (BB 63)
    • Location of Service: Hawaii; Guam (Mariana Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/16/2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/16/2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2005)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/34885

Cite as

  • Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection (AFC/2001/001/34885), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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:

Montana Heritage Project, Ernest Theodore Mathews, Brenna McDermott, and Katherine Mitchell. Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34885/.

APA citation style:

Montana Heritage Project, Mathews, E. T., McDermott, B. & Mitchell, K. (1945) Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34885/.

MLA citation style:

Montana Heritage Project, et al. Ernest Theodore Mathews Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.34885/>.