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Joseph Beimfohr in front of Saddam's palace, Tikrit, Iraq

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Iraq
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/54904

View full service history

"You can't just sit there and be paralyzed with fear, because you're going to get everybody killed." (Audio Interview, 22:10)

Joseph Beimfohr enlisted in the Army two days after his 17th birthday, with the approval of his grandmother, who had raised him. He did two tours of duty in Korea in a forward force that was on alert at all times. In August 2004, he arrived at Ft. Riley, Kansas, to train for duty in Iraq. Encouraged that he was working with experienced and dedicated men, he landed in country in January 2005. There he did more forward scouting, only this time under real rather than anticipated fire. What he learned from his experiences was that soldiers have to trust their training and instincts. In July he lost both legs to an explosion, and Beimfohr subsequently learned that the only limitations in his life were self-imposed.

Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection
Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection

Names

  • Bobbin, Michael
  • Porter, Kristin
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
  • Beimfohr, Joseph Arden

Home State

  • Virginia

Headings

  • -  Beimfohr, Joseph Arden
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Riley, Kansas; Iraq
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1995-2006
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: CD [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 2007-10-03; 2011-09-07)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2007-10-03)
  • Photograph: Digital print [15 items] -- Photograph (collected 2005-2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/54904

Cite as

  • Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection (AFC/2001/001/54904), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

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/[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:

Bobbin, Michael, Kristin Porter, Llp Pricewaterhousecoopers, and Joseph Arden Beimfohr. Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection. 1995. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54904/.

APA citation style:

Bobbin, M., Porter, K., Pricewaterhousecoopers, L. & Beimfohr, J. A. (1995) Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54904/.

MLA citation style:

Bobbin, Michael, et al. Joseph Arden Beimfohr Collection. 1995. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.54904/>.