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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy; Army
  • Unit of Service: Civil Engineer Corps; Bureau of Yards and Docks, US Navy Department; 13th Naval District; Reserves; 1st Engineers, 2nd Division (RA); 2nd Engineers, 2nd Division (RA)
  • Location of Service: Washington, DC; Seattle, Washington; France; Germany
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant; Captain

View full service history

"It is remarkable how the birds still sing in the war-swept forest." (Diary, 3/2/1918)

Boarding the USS Pocahontas on December 3, 1917, for the trip overseas, First Lieutenant Quincy Ayres made daily entries in his diary for the next eighteen months, narrating his arrival in France and his journeys and experiences throughout. He was sustained by letters from his wife, Mary, whom he addresses in his diary as "honey presc," an abbreviated term of endearment. Quoting a comrade, he writes that "letters from home are like the heavens breaking through depressing clouds."

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 160 images in sequence.
[ Diary of Lt. Q. C. Ayres, Engineers ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Article on Ayres from "Who's Who in America Vol. 31, 1960-1961" ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Brief Timeline of Veteran's Diary ]

About this Item

Title

  • Quincy Claude Ayres Collection

Names

  • Ayres, Quincy Claude
  • Shroyer, Sally

State of Birth

  • MS

Home State

  • IA

Headings

  • -  Ayres, Quincy Claude
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 1st Engineers, 2nd Division (RA); 2nd Engineers, 2nd Division (RA)
    • Location of Service: France; Germany
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: Civil Engineer Corps; Bureau of Yards and Docks, US Navy Department; 13th Naval District; Reserves
    • Location of Service: Washington, DC; Seattle, Washington
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [2 items] -- Portrait (collected 1918 - 1927)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- (collected 1917)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1961 - 2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/37554

Cite as

  • Quincy Claude Ayres Collection (AFC/2001/001/37554), 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/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:

Ayres, Quincy Claude, and Sally Shroyer. Quincy Claude Ayres Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37554/.

APA citation style:

Ayres, Q. C. & Shroyer, S. (1917) Quincy Claude Ayres Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37554/.

MLA citation style:

Ayres, Quincy Claude, and Sally Shroyer. Quincy Claude Ayres Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37554/>.