Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Cavalier (APA 37); USS Sarda (SS 488); USS Sea Robin (SS 407); USS Entemedor (SS 340); Submarine Squadron 2
  • Location of Service: Long Beach and Monterey, California; Washington, DC; Groton, Connecticut; Naples, Italy; Norfolk, Virginia; Dunoon, Scotland
  • Highest Rank: Commander

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“We controlled the missile submarines operating in the Mediterranean. It was so secret, when we first got there, that we couldn’t wear our dolphins on our uniform.” (Audio recording, 36:16)

The son of an Army officer, Commander Douglas Barker chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a military career, but he opted to spend it at sea rather than on land. After attending the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he decided to apply for submarine school, and eventually earned his “dolphins” (the submariner’s equivalent of a pilot’s wings). In his oral history, he recounts his day-to-day life aboard a missile submarine during the Cold War: “You’re standing your watches, you’re doing your job, and you’re always wondering if there is somebody out there, following you.”

Harold Douglas Barker Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

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About this Item

Title

  • Harold Douglas Barker Collection

Names

  • Douglas County Libraries Archives and Local History
  • Barker, Harold Douglas
  • Gray, Annette
  • Belt, Barbara

State of Birth

  • ND

Home State

  • CO

Headings

  • -  Barker, Harold Douglas
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

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: USS Cavalier (APA 37); USS Sarda (SS 488); USS Sea Robin (SS 407); USS Entemedor (SS 340); Submarine Squadron 2
    • Location of Service: Long Beach and Monterey, California; Washington, DC; Groton, Connecticut; Naples, Italy; Norfolk, Virginia; Dunoon, Scotland
    • Highest Rank: Commander
    • Dates of Service: 1953-1980
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 5/18/1979)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 4/3/2003)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 4/3/2003)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 04/03/2003)
  • Photograph: Digital print [7 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/56329

Cite as

  • Harold Douglas Barker Collection (AFC/2001/001/56329), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

Douglas County Libraries Archives And Local History, Harold Douglas Barker, Annette Gray, and Barbara Belt. Harold Douglas Barker Collection. 1953. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.56329/.

APA citation style:

Douglas County Libraries Archives And Local History, Barker, H. D., Gray, A. & Belt, B. (1953) Harold Douglas Barker Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.56329/.

MLA citation style:

Douglas County Libraries Archives And Local History, et al. Harold Douglas Barker Collection. 1953. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.56329/>.