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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Somalia, 1992-1995; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 31st Marine Aviation Operation; HMX-1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron); HMH-362 (Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron); MAG-16 (Marine Aircraft Group)
  • Location of Service: Quantico, Virginia; Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Da Nang, Vietnam; Hawaii; Washington, DC; Okinawa, Japan; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Carlyle and Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania; Pentagon, Virginia; Mogadishu, Somalia; Quantico, Virginia
  • Highest Rank: Colonel

View full service history

"Serving in the White House was a tremendous experience, but in terms of what I went in the Marine Corps for, serving in Somalia was just the best." (Video Interview, 32:56)

John Kline's 25 years in the Marine Corps took him to Vietnam, where late in that war he swept mines from a helicopter; the White House, where he served in the Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 under Presidents Ford and Carter and as the Marine Corps Aide to Carter and Reagan; and to Somalia, where in the early days of the 1992 U.S. intervention, he served as aviation commander, in charge of 2000 men. Kline was elected to represent Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District in 2002; as of 2009, he was still serving.

More Resources

View 6 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Biographical information ]

About this Item

Title

  • John Kline Collection

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Kline, John
  • Williams, Brien

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • MN

Headings

  • -  Kline, John
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.
  • -  Somalia, 1992-1995 -- Personal Narratives

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: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 31st Marine Aviation Operation; HMX-1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron); HMH-362 (Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Quantico, Virginia; Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Da Nang, Vietnam; Hawaii; Washington, DC; Okinawa, Japan; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Carlyle and Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania; Pentagon, Virginia
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1969-1994
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as an aide to President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Reagan.

  • Somalia, 1992-1995

    • Unit of Service: MAG-16 (Marine Aircraft Group)
    • Location of Service: Mogadishu, Somalia; Quantico, Virginia
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 02/06/2007)
  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 01/2005)
  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 02/06/2007)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1977 - 1982)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/43067

Cite as

  • John Kline Collection (AFC/2001/001/43067), 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:

Library Of Congress, John Kline, and Brien Williams. John Kline Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43067/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Kline, J. & Williams, B. (1969) John Kline Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43067/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, John Kline, and Brien Williams. John Kline Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43067/>.