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Charles Blount

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: 90th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, 9th Air Force
  • Location of Service: European Theater; Normandy, France
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/6030

View full service history

"Anybody that wasn't scared or apprehensive at the time, they wasn't telling the truth. \\nBut I came to the point then, this wasn't no way to be acting. This might be the time I go \\nsee Jesus." (Video Interview, Part 2, 4:33)

Charles Blount was often the last person to see a paratrooper as he dove out of the plane over a drop zone. "I counted them as they went out," Blount says, detailing the events that took place aboard his plane in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. From Normandy to Holland to the Battle of the Bulge, Blount saw the beginning of three major campaigns for victory in Europe. Wounded over Germany in 1945, he would meet years later at a reunion the German Messerschmitt pilot who shot him.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

[ Memoir, "The Invasion of Holland: Operation Market Garden," by Austin Buchanen. ]
[ Letter from Hans der Brok to Charles Blount [November 28, 2002]. ]
[ Letter from Emmanuel Allain to Charles Blount [November 22, 2000] ]

Show more resources (5)

[ Letter to Hans der Brok from Charles Blount [December 26, 2002]. ]
[ Letter to unidentified recipient from Charles Blount [undated] ]
[ Typescript of Charles Lusher's D-Day diary; also covers period December 4, 5, 6th, 1944. ]
[ Brief History of the 90th Troop Carrier Squadron, by Charles Blount. ]
[ Map indicating routes of Allied flights over Normandy, D-Day, June 6, 1944. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Charles Luther Blount Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Blount, Charles Luther
  • Bowen, Sarah

Home State

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Blount, Charles Luther
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

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: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Unit of Service: 90th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, 9th Air Force
    • Location of Service: European Theater; Normandy, France
    • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1944-2002)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [9 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944-1945)
  • Video: Betacam SP [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-03-26)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/6030

Cite as

  • Charles Luther Blount Collection (AFC/2001/001/6030), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

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:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Charles Luther Blount, and Sarah Bowen. Charles Luther Blount Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06030/.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Blount, C. L. & Bowen, S. (1943) Charles Luther Blount Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06030/.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Charles Luther Blount Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06030/>.