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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Pasadena (CL 65); USS Milwaukee (CL 5); USS Antaeus (AS 21)
  • Location of Service: Newport, Rhode Island; New York; Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; Pacific; European Theater; England
  • Highest Rank: Radioman Second Class

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"Today is D-Day, the Capetown is under sailing orders. Time is now 0440. Commander held quarters, wished us the best of luck, the day has finally come…" (Diary, page 11)

Beginning in March 1944, Radioman Second Class Herbert DeGenere chronicled his experiences in a small pocket diary. In it, he narrated the buildup to D-Day and what he observed while serving aboard the HMS Capetown, a British ship staffed by both British and American sailors. Anchored about two miles off the Normandy coast, the Capetown acted as “traffic control” for the temporary harbor. In the weeks after the invasion, life aboard the Capetown became increasingly bleak. The crew faced continuous air raids, rough seas, a lack of mail, and shortages of food and drinkable water. As his diary makes clear, the rough conditions elicited DeGenere’s anger toward the Germans, the Navy, and war itself.

View 12 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Card identifying Degenere as a person present at the surrender of the Empire of Japan ]
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[ Military i.d. ]
View 3 images in sequence.
[ Military records ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Honorable Discharge certificate ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Notice of Separation from the Naval Service ]
View 37 images in sequence.
[ Handwritten diary of Herbert Degenere ]

Show more resources (3)

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Order of the Golden Dragon card ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Poem, "Crossing the Line." ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Memos from "Davy Jones" ]

About this Item

Title

  • Herbert Raymond DeGenere Collection

Names

  • DeGenere, Herbert Raymond
  • Curley, Thomas

State of Birth

  • CT

Home State

  • MN

Headings

  • -  DeGenere, Herbert Raymond
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Pasadena (CL 65); USS Milwaukee (CL 5); USS Antaeus (AS 21)
    • Location of Service: Newport, Rhode Island; New York; Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; Pacific; European Theater; England
    • Highest Rank: Radioman Second Class
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1942 - 1945)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1944)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1942 - 1945)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [14 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1942 - 1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/98079

Cite as

  • Herbert Raymond DeGenere Collection (AFC/2001/001/98079), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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/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:

Degenere, Herbert Raymond, and Thomas Curley. Herbert Raymond DeGenere Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.98079/.

APA citation style:

Degenere, H. R. & Curley, T. (1942) Herbert Raymond DeGenere Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.98079/.

MLA citation style:

Degenere, Herbert Raymond, and Thomas Curley. Herbert Raymond DeGenere Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.98079/>.