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Thomas Kirk

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Service Unit/Ship: 54th Tactical Fighter Wing; 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 29th Flying Training Wing
  • Location of Service: Texas; Kansas; Georgia; Seoul, Korea; England Air Force Base, Alexandria, Louisiana; France; Maxwell AFB, Alabama; Edwards AFB, California; Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina; Misawa Air Base, Japan; Kunsan AB, Korea; Nellis AFB, Nevada; Takhli Royal Thai AFB, Thailand; Vietnam; Craig AFB, Alabama; Lowry AFB, Colorado; Stuttgart, Germany
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/84256

View full service history

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Thomas Henry Kirk, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Calabrese, Kevin
  • Hatch, Barbara
  • Veterans Heritage Project
  • Kirk Jr., Thomas Henry

Home State

  • Arizona

Headings

  • -  Kirk Jr., Thomas Henry
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Location of Service: Texas; Kansas; Georgia; Seoul, Korea
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1978
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a pilot and flew B-29, AT-6, F-84, and F-86 aircraft during the beginning of his career. He participated in 50 mission in Korea.

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Service Unit/Ship: 54th Tactical Fighter Wing; 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 29th Flying Training Wing
    • Location of Service: England Air Force Base, Alexandria, Louisiana; France; Maxwell AFB, Alabama; Edwards AFB, California; Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina; Misawa Air Base, Japan; Kunsan AB, Korea; Nellis AFB, Nevada; Takhli Royal Thai AFB, Thailand; Vietnam; Craig AFB, Alabama; Lowry AFB, Colorado; Stuttgart, Germany
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1978
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran flew 67 missions before being shot down. He was a Prisoner of War (POW) at Hanoi Hilton and was John McCain's cellmate. He flew F-100, F-104, and F-105 aircraft throughout the later part of his career, and retired as Deputy Commander of all Special Forces in Europe.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2011-05-24)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/84256

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:

Calabrese, Kevin, Barbara Hatch, Veterans Heritage Project, and Thomas Henry Kirk Jr. Thomas Henry Kirk, Jr. Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84256/.

APA citation style:

Calabrese, K., Hatch, B., Veterans Heritage Project & Kirk Jr, T. H. (1950) Thomas Henry Kirk, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84256/.

MLA citation style:

Calabrese, Kevin, et al. Thomas Henry Kirk, Jr. Collection. 1950. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84256/>.