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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
  • Location of Service: Hawaii; LZ Two Bits, Vietnam; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Peru; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida
  • Highest Rank: Colonel

View full service history

“In the North, I knew I would survive. In the South, we often wanted to die.” (Memoir, page 5)

Army Colonel Floyd Harold Kushner had been flying combat missions in Vietnam for three months when his helicopter crashed into enemy territory on November 30, 1967. He spent the next five and a half years in captivity. Much of this he endured in a series of rudimentary prisoner of war camps in South Vietnam. In addition to beatings and malnutrition, he also dealt with the frustration of not being able to practice medicine; although he had the medical know-how to treat his fellow prisoners, he was not allowed to help them. In 1971, he was forced to march 900 kilometers north to Hanoi, where he was imprisoned for the remainder of the war.

Floyd Harold Kushner Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Personal Story by Dr. Hal Kushner ]

About this Item

Title

  • Floyd Harold Kushner Collection

Names

  • Daughters of the American Revolution
  • Stratton, Alice
  • Kushner, Floyd Harold

State of Birth

  • HI

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Kushner, Floyd Harold
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
    • Location of Service: Hawaii; LZ Two Bits, Vietnam; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Peru; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1964-1977
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a flight surgeon. He was captured west of Tam Ky, South Vietnam by the Viet Cong on 12/02/1967 after a helicopter crash. He spent 1,933 days as a prisoner of war (POW), being released during Operation Homecoming on 3/16/1973. He served in the Army Reserves from 1977 to 1986.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 1993)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 03/08/2009)
  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2001)
  • Photograph: Photographic print [2 items] -- Portrait (collected 1986 - 1973)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2000)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/65249

Cite as

  • Floyd Harold Kushner Collection (AFC/2001/001/65249), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • pdf

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/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:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, Alice Stratton, and Floyd Harold Kushner. Floyd Harold Kushner Collection. 1964. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.65249/.

APA citation style:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, Stratton, A. & Kushner, F. H. (1964) Floyd Harold Kushner Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.65249/.

MLA citation style:

Daughters Of The American Revolution, Alice Stratton, and Floyd Harold Kushner. Floyd Harold Kushner Collection. 1964. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.65249/>.