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Debra Roesler [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011; Afghan War, 2001-
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Support Operations Officer, 10th Mountain Division; Officer in Charge of Cadet Mess, US Military Academy; Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), Kuwait; Headquarters, 3rd Army
  • Location of Service: Hawaii; Berkeley, California; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Kuwait; Fort Drum, New York; West Point, New York
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/70382

View full service history

"How do you know the next day will be a totally different world?" (Video interview, 49:49)

Early on in her Army career, Lieutenant Colonel Debra Lee Roesler was told that she would always be considered secondary to her male counterparts. Throughout her time in the service, she treated this as a call to action, rather than a condemnation. Following deployments to the Middle East during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, she became the first female professor of military science at University of California, Berkeley. Despite the hardships she faced during her service abroad, her most challenging post was closer to home: she served as the Officer in charge of the Cadet Mess at West Point. Now retired, she works with the American Legion to aid recent veterans in their transition to civilian life.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Debra Lee Roesler Collection

Names

  • Roesler, Debra Lee
  • Library of Congress
  • Veterans History Project
  • Taylor, Lisa A.

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Roesler, Debra Lee
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Afghan War, 2001- -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Afghan War, 2001-

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Support Operations Officer, 10th Mountain Division; Officer in Charge of Cadet Mess, US Military Academy; Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), Kuwait; Headquarters, 3rd Army
    • Location of Service: Hawaii; Berkeley, California; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Kuwait; Fort Drum, New York; West Point, New York
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1986-2008
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and as Professor of Military Science at University of California Berkeley.

Materials

  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2010-03-03)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2010-03-03; 2010-03-03)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/70382

Online Format

  • image
  • 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:

Roesler, Debra Lee, Library Of Congress, Veterans History Project, and Lisa A Taylor. Debra Lee Roesler Collection. 1986. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70382/.

APA citation style:

Roesler, D. L., Library Of Congress, Veterans History Project & Taylor, L. A. (1986) Debra Lee Roesler Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70382/.

MLA citation style:

Roesler, Debra Lee, et al. Debra Lee Roesler Collection. 1986. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70382/>.