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John Kinsel [2003]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Bougainville Island (Solomon Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/54894

View full service history

"That was the best day of my life, when I saw my mom again." (Video interview, 1:05:44)

John Kinsel, Sr. was born in 1921 near Lukachukai, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation. He became accustomed to hardship from an early age-his father died while he was still an infant, and he later lost a younger brother. Kinsel was a member of the second cohort to be trained as Code Talkers, and he remembers working together with some of the "First Twenty-Nine" to develop additional code terms. Kinsel was assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and his first combat experience came during the Battle of Bougainville, where he recalls the intensity of jungle fighting but also the camaraderie of celebrating Thanksgiving with his fellow Marines. Kinsel also took part in the Battle of Guam in July-August 1944, then in February 1945 he was involved in the Battle of Iwo Jima, where he and his regiment landed as reinforcements on D+5. On his sixth day on the island, Kinsel was wounded by falling rock after the Japanese set off a large explosion inside a cave network.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • John Kinsel Collection

Names

  • Kinsel, John
  • Fleming, Carol Ellison
  • Navajo Code Talker's Project
  • Chalmers Ford, Don

Home State

  • Arizona

Headings

  • -  Kinsel, John
  • -  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

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Bougainville Island (Solomon Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was a Navajo Code Talker.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-11-06; 2004-05-11)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/54894

Cite as

  • John Kinsel Collection (AFC/2001/001/54894), 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:

Kinsel, John, Carol Ellison Fleming, Navajo Code Talker'S Project, and Don Chalmers Ford. John Kinsel Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54894/.

APA citation style:

Kinsel, J., Fleming, C. E., Navajo Code Talker'S Project & Chalmers Ford, D. (1942) John Kinsel Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54894/.

MLA citation style:

Kinsel, John, et al. John Kinsel Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54894/>.