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Laura Dwyer and unidentified friend [1990]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Cape Cod (AD 43)
  • Location of Service: Persian Gulf; Bahrain
  • Highest Rank: E-4
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/228

View full service history

"I always wanted to be on a ship, but never imagined that I'd be going out to a war, in the Middle East of all places." (Memoir, page 9)

In November 1990, Laura E. Dwyer was stationed on a destroyer tender, the USS Cape Cod, in her home port of San Diego--and was anxiously waiting to hear whether or not her ship would deploy to the Persian Gulf. On November 30th, a "sunny warm San Diego afternoon," the ship's Captain announced that they would depart in early January 1991. In her memoir, she relates the ensuing chaos that followed this announcement and her feelings as the Cape Cod pulled out of port. Her memoir offers not only a wealth of details on day-to-day life aboard ship, but also her emotional response to her deployment, including her shift in perspective following three days spent providing humanitarian aid to Kuwait.

[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

[ A Sailor's Memoirs About the Gulf War ]

About this Item

Title

  • Laura E. Dwyer Collection

Names

  • Dwyer, Laura E.

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Dwyer, Laura E.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Cape Cod (AD 43)
    • Location of Service: Persian Gulf; Bahrain
    • Highest Rank: E-4
    • Dates of Service: 1986-1991
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1993)
  • Photograph: Other Photographic Material [6 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/228

Cite as

  • Laura E. Dwyer Collection (AFC/2001/001/228), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

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:

Dwyer, Laura E. Laura E. Dwyer Collection. 1986. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00228/.

APA citation style:

Dwyer, L. E. (1986) Laura E. Dwyer Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00228/.

MLA citation style:

Dwyer, Laura E. Laura E. Dwyer Collection. 1986. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00228/>.