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David Polehemus [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 82nd Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Bliss, Texas; Korea; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/48280

View full service history

"We talked until the lights went out in his eyes." (Video interview, 41:38).

The son of a Methodist minister who served as a military chaplain during World War II, Colonel David Polhemus always felt drawn to the role of counseling troops. Acting as the chaplain to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he explains, is when he learned the difference that a chaplain could make in the lives of the soldiers around him. He terms his approach a “ministry of presence”—that his simple presence could do more for ailing soldiers than any sermon from the pulpit. He continued to employ this method during his time in Vietnam, though he remains haunted by the things that he witnessed in country. Following his military service, he became a counselor to soldiers who, like himself, struggle with post traumatic stress disorder.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • David W. Polhemus Collection

Names

  • Polhemus, David W.
  • VA Medical Center, Prescott, Arizona
  • Willis, Guy
  • Fine, Sally

State of Birth

  • NH

Home State

  • AZ

Headings

  • -  Polhemus, David W.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 82nd Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Bliss, Texas; Korea
    • Dates of Service: 1957-1978
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was a chaplain.

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Location of Service: Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1957)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 04/18/2006)
  • Artifact: Artifact photocopy [1 item] -- (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 07/20/1942)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/48280

Cite as

  • David W. Polhemus Collection (AFC/2001/001/48280), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

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/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:

Polhemus, David W, Prescott Va Medical Center, Guy Willis, and Sally Fine. David W. Polhemus Collection. 1957. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48280/.

APA citation style:

Polhemus, D. W., Va Medical Center, P., Willis, G. & Fine, S. (1957) David W. Polhemus Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48280/.

MLA citation style:

Polhemus, David W, et al. David W. Polhemus Collection. 1957. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.48280/>.