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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991; Cold War
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range; Fleet Composite Squadron 8 (VC 8)
  • Location of Service: Puerto Rico; Little Creek, Virginia
  • Highest Rank: Commander

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"We were out there picking people up off houses, and picking people up out at sea, hanging on tree trunks." (Video Interview, 18:20)

Craig Grabeel was a pilot in the Navy whose service did not take him into combat, but he was hardly immune from danger. He served in a squadron which did Search and Rescue missions, including two which involved hurricane victims. After 6 years on active duty and another 16 in the Reserves, Grabeel worked for the Navy in a civilian capacity, reformulating policy approaches in the draw-downs after the Cold War ended.

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About this Item

Title

  • Dennis Craig Grabeel Collection

Names

  • Ogu, Anne
  • Grabeel, Dennis Craig
  • VA, National Programs and Special Events
  • Olague, Richard

State of Birth

  • VA

Home State

  • VA

Headings

  • -  Grabeel, Dennis Craig
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range; Fleet Composite Squadron 8 (VC 8)
    • Location of Service: Puerto Rico; Little Creek, Virginia
    • Highest Rank: Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1971-1977
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was a helicopter pilot in the Navy and served in Naval Reserve Centers in Reserve Readiness Command Region 8. He also received the Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award in 1975. He continued to serve the Navy in a civil service position from 6/1992-1/1998, where he received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service award in 1997.

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Dates of Service: 1977-1992
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 05/08/2006)
  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/43436

Cite as

  • Dennis Craig Grabeel Collection (AFC/2001/001/43436), 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:

Ogu, Anne, Dennis Craig Grabeel, National Programs And Special Events Va, and Richard Olague. Dennis Craig Grabeel Collection. 1971. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43436/.

APA citation style:

Ogu, A., Grabeel, D. C., Va, N. P. A. S. E. & Olague, R. (1971) Dennis Craig Grabeel Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43436/.

MLA citation style:

Ogu, Anne, et al. Dennis Craig Grabeel Collection. 1971. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.43436/>.