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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011; Cold War
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS LaSalle (AGF 3); US Naval Academy; USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); US Naval Academy
  • Location of Service: Philippines; Bahrain; Norfolk, Virginia; Okinawa; London, England; San Diego, California; Millington, Tennessee; Bremerton, Washington; Annapolis, Maryland; Persian Gulf; Annapolis, Maryland
  • Highest Rank: Captain

View full service history

"As chaplains in…the American military, we work together, so that when I was young, I worked for bosses who were Southern Baptists, Lutheran, Presbyterian--people that I would never deal with." (Video Interview, 26:28)

Peter McGeory was a New York priest in 1985 when, at the strong suggestion of his new Cardinal, John O'Connor, himself a Navy veteran, he became a chaplain. McGeory was in the Persian Gulf aboard the USS LaSalle in March 1987 when its escort ship, the Stark, was struck by two missiles fired by an Iraqi jet during the Iran-Iraq War. He helped in the gruesome task of recovering 37 bodies from the Stark. Two years later, he was assigned, in the wake of another catastrophic incident, to the USS Iowa. During the Persian Gulf War, he served on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. For McGeory, who eventually became Command Chaplain at the U.S. Naval Academy, working with persons of different faiths is one of the true rewards of his job.

About this Item

Title

  • Peter William McGeory Collection

Names

  • McGeory, Peter William
  • Bressen, Ryan
  • Hudson, Christopher

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • MD

Headings

  • -  McGeory, Peter William
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- 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 LaSalle (AGF 3); US Naval Academy
    • Location of Service: Philippines; Bahrain; Norfolk, Virginia; Okinawa; London, England; San Diego, California; Millington, Tennessee; Bremerton, Washington; Annapolis, Maryland
    • Dates of Service: 1985-2010
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a chaplain and was helping after the 03/1987 attack on the USS Stark (FFG 31) in the Persian Gulf while serving on the USS LaSalle.

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); US Naval Academy
    • Location of Service: Persian Gulf; Annapolis, Maryland
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 10/17/2009)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 10/17/2009)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/70624

Cite as

  • Peter William McGeory Collection (AFC/2001/001/70624), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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/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:

Mcgeory, Peter William, Ryan Bressen, and Christopher Hudson. Peter William McGeory Collection. 1985. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70624/.

APA citation style:

McGeory, P. W., Bressen, R. & Hudson, C. (1985) Peter William McGeory Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70624/.

MLA citation style:

Mcgeory, Peter William, Ryan Bressen, and Christopher Hudson. Peter William McGeory Collection. 1985. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.70624/>.