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James Kimsey at time of interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 82nd Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Dominican Republic; Duc Pho, Vietnam; Fort Lewis, Washington
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/84178

View full service history

"I was there a year… and I never had a day go by when somebody didn't shoot at me, for one reason or another." (Video interview, 23:45)

Despite a shaky academic start to his career--he was thrown out of a private high school for being "unruly and obstreperous "--Army Major James Kimsey eventually received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, which paved the way for a commission in the Army and an assignment as a company commander with the 82nd Airborne Division. His first taste of combat came when he was deployed to the Dominican Republic in 1965; he went on to serve two combat tours in Vietnam. First stationed near Duc Pho, he was an advisor to thousands of troops spread over a vast swath of countryside. Later, during his second tour, he was dispatched to different provinces around Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness of the Phoenix program. After the war, he decided to trade Army life for the challenges of being a businessman--eventually going on to found such notable companies as America Online.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • James Verlin Kimsey Collection

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Kimsey, James Verlin
  • Veterans History Project
  • Wiener, Thomas J.

Home State

  • Washington (D.C.)

Headings

  • -  Kimsey, James Verlin
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 82nd Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Dominican Republic; Duc Pho, Vietnam; Fort Lewis, Washington
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1962-1970
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran is in the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-06-13; 2012-07-26)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2012-06-13; 2012-06-13)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/84178

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:

Library Of Congress, James Verlin Kimsey, Veterans History Project, and Thomas J Wiener. James Verlin Kimsey Collection. 1962. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84178/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Kimsey, J. V., Veterans History Project & Wiener, T. J. (1962) James Verlin Kimsey Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84178/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, et al. James Verlin Kimsey Collection. 1962. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84178/>.