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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 3rd Defense Battalion
  • Battles & Campaigns: Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; Midway; Guadalcanal; Tulagi
  • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Midway; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Mare Island, California; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/91622

View full service history

"Being under these conditions I can really understand the true meaning of love, life, & liberty. I just pray to God that I may live to enjoy them after this world pulls itself out of the chaos." (Diary, page 22)

After enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1940, Private First Class Leon Frank Jenkins survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, and went on to fight in the battles at Midway, Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The diary he kept during the summer of 1942 includes graphic and detailed descriptions of combat experiences that would affect him for years to come. In 1943, Jenkins was discharged with a diagnosis of psychoneurosis, and according to his family, he battled Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for the rest of his life.

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[ Loose diary pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • Leon Frank Jenkins Collection

Names

  • Jenkins, Leon Frank
  • Ames, Kerry D.

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Nevada

Headings

  • -  Jenkins, Leon Frank
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Form

  • Diaries and journals

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 3rd Defense Battalion
    • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Midway; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Mare Island, California; Pacific Theater
    • Battles & Campaigns: Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; Midway; Guadalcanal; Tulagi
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1943
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1942)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/91622

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

Jenkins, Leon Frank, and Kerry D Ames. Leon Frank Jenkins Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91622/.

APA citation style:

Jenkins, L. F. & Ames, K. D. (1940) Leon Frank Jenkins Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91622/.

MLA citation style:

Jenkins, Leon Frank, and Kerry D Ames. Leon Frank Jenkins Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.91622/>.