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Teddy Draper [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/52556

View full service history

"Now my mind went back to the past - first they told me not to speak Navajo, but now they want me to speak Navajo in combat." (Video interview, 30:03)

Teddy Draper, Sr. was born in Canyon del Muerto near Chinle, Arizona in 1923. After being trained as a Code Talker, Draper was assigned to the newly-formed 28th Marine Regiment of the 5th Marine Division. Draper took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima in February-March 1945; wounded on the second day, he continued to fight for all 36 days of the battle. In addition to his duties as a Code Talker, Draper also earned a promotion to become the leader of his regiment’s wire section. After the war, Draper fought for years to gain recognition of his service-connected disability that came from wounds sustained on Iwo Jima. He also completed his high school diploma after the war, and worked for many years in education as an instructional aide, adult education teacher, and Navajo language instructor.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Teddy Draper, Sr. Collection

Names

  • Chalmers Ford, Don
  • Navajo Code Talker's Project
  • Warren C. Salomon
  • Fleming, Carol
  • Draper Sr., Teddy

State of Birth

  • AZ

Home State

  • AZ

Headings

  • -  Draper Sr., Teddy
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a Navajo Code Talker.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/10/2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/52556

Cite as

  • Teddy Draper, Sr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/52556), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Chalmers Ford, Don, Navajo Code Talker'S Project, Warren C. Salomon, Carol Fleming, and Teddy Draper Sr. Teddy Draper, Sr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.52556/.

APA citation style:

Chalmers Ford, D., Navajo Code Talker'S Project, Warren C. Salomon, Fleming, C. & Draper Sr, T. (1943) Teddy Draper, Sr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.52556/.

MLA citation style:

Chalmers Ford, Don, et al. Teddy Draper, Sr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.52556/>.