Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Navy; Army
  • Unit of Service: Naval Support Hospital, Da Nang, Vietnam; Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan; Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco, California
  • Location of Service: San Francisco, California; Da Nang, Vietnam; Yokosuka, Japan; Memphis, Tennessee
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/85182

View full service history

"I’m operating on the enemy, and risking my whole team and myself…" (Audio interview, 41:01)

Life during wartime is often full of unexpected events, and not surprisingly, Colonel Martin Fackler’s career in military medicine during the Vietnam era took many twists and turns. Beginning in the Navy as an intern, he wrangled a coveted residency through an auspicious conversation with a high-ranking patient. Transferring to the Naval Support Hospital in Da Nang, Vietnam, in 1967, he cultivated skills in both trauma surgery as well as the German language. His exposure to Army medical systems during his time in Vietnam led to a transfer of branches, and service with the Army in Germany during the Cold War. Returning stateside, he developed a wound ballistic lab at the Army’s Medical Training Center, where he studied the impact of different types of bullets and ballistics on the human body.

Martin L. Fackler Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Martin L. Fackler Collection

Names

  • Fackler, Martin L.
  • University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
  • Ortiz, Paul
  • University of Florida

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Fackler, Martin L.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Form

  • CD

Extent

  • 1 item

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: Navy
    • Unit of Service: Naval Support Hospital, Da Nang, Vietnam; Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan
    • Location of Service: Da Nang, Vietnam; Yokosuka, Japan; Memphis, Tennessee
    • Dates of Service: 1960-1975
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco, California
    • Location of Service: San Francisco, California
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1975-1991
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/07/2012)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/85182

Cite as

  • Martin L. Fackler Collection (AFC/2001/001/85182), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio

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:

Fackler, Martin L, University Of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Paul Ortiz, and University Of Florida. Martin L. Fackler Collection. 1960. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.85182/.

APA citation style:

Fackler, M. L., University Of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Ortiz, P. & University Of Florida. (1960) Martin L. Fackler Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.85182/.

MLA citation style:

Fackler, Martin L, et al. Martin L. Fackler Collection. 1960. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.85182/>.