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John Vanden Berg [2003]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: Detachment 404, Southeast Asia Command
  • Location of Service: Ceylon; Burma; Kashmir, India; Malaysia; Indonesia; Australia; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/8100

View full service history

"The guy looks at me and says, 'Would you be willing to join this organization if you knew that there was a 50-50 chance that you were going to die?' I said, 'Yeah, I would.'" (Video Interview, Part 1, 40:10)

John Vanden Berg's Army career during World War II was divided into two chapters: two years of training that included nine months of intensive study at Yale in the culture of Southeast Asia and the Malay language, followed by a stint in the Special Operations branch of the Office of Strategic Services. Based in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), he helped train Malay natives to slip back into their occupied country and work as saboteurs against the Japanese. Just as he completed training to participate a full-scale invasion of Malaysia, the war came to an end.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

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Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • John Vanden Berg Collection

Names

  • Vanden Berg, John
  • Martzke, Jason
  • Holberg, Jennifer L.
  • Calvin College

Home State

  • Michigan

Headings

  • -  Vanden Berg, John
  • -  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: Detachment 404, Southeast Asia Command
    • Location of Service: Ceylon; Burma; Kashmir, India; Malaysia; Indonesia; Australia; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater
    • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran notes that he was attached to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2002)
  • Video: VHS [3 items] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2002-12)
  • Video: VHS [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/8100

Cite as

  • John Vanden Berg Collection (AFC/2001/001/8100), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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:

Vanden Berg, John, Jason Martzke, Jennifer L Holberg, and Calvin College. John Vanden Berg Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08100/.

APA citation style:

Vanden Berg, J., Martzke, J., Holberg, J. L. & Calvin College. (1942) John Vanden Berg Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08100/.

MLA citation style:

Vanden Berg, John, et al. John Vanden Berg Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08100/>.