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Alexander Standish [ca. 1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: G-2 (Intelligence) Section, 12th Army Group
  • Location of Service: England; Northern France; Normandy; Germany
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/8404

View full service history

"[Eisenhower] said, 'My job is to stage this invasion, as you know. Your job is to keep me informed.'" (Audio Interview, 16:15)

Alexander Standish was old enough to be the father of many GIs he served with-he was 42 when the U.S. entered the war-but his experience and poise proved invaluable in intelligence work. He worked with Generals Eisenhower and Bradley in planning the D-Day invasion and subsequent strategy for taking back Europe from the Nazis. British intelligence was able to decode German messages, whose contents were often passed directly to Standish to relay to Bradley.

Alexander Standish Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Memo: "Assignment of Intelligence Officers to Preliminary Liason Missions" [1/2/1945] ]
[ Secret Memo from Col. G. A. McHenry [8/18/1943] ]
[ Travel Orders [1/26/1944] ]
[ Temporary Duty Assignment [2/4/1944] ]
[ Temporary Duty Assignment [2/28/1944] ]

Show more resources (40)

[ Temporary Duty Assignment [3/14/1944] ]
[ Temporary Duty Assignment [3/25/1944] ]
[ Temporary Duty Assignment [11/29/1944] ]
[ Copy of the speech Dwight Eisenhower made on D-Day [June6, 1944] ]
[ Secret memo regarding movement instructions [7/12/1944] ]
[ Shipping ticket listing Alexander Standish's military equipment[4/3/1944] ]
[ Secret memo detailing the surrender of German forces [May 1945] ]
[ Certificate presenting Alexander Standish with the Croix de Guerre ]
[ Award of Legion of Merit [3/17/1944] ]
[ Award of the French Legion of Honor [09/12/1945] ]
[ Memo concerning Standish's appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ]
[ Letter from the British Consullate General setting the time and place for Standish to be awarded the Order of the British Empire [6/19/1947] ]
[ Certificate making Standish an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ]
[ Memo awarding Standish three Bronze service stars for the Normandy, Northern France, and Germany campaigns [2/24/1945] ]
[ Award of the Bronze Star Medal ]
[ Appointment to rank of Colonel [6/5/1947] ]
[ Certificate of Service [9/9/1945] ]
[ Report of Separation ]
[ Separation Qualification Record ]
[ Confidential memo requesting advice on retirement [4/27/1945] ]
[ Example of after action intelligence on bombing of the headquarters of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. [1/2/1945] ]
[ Memorandum concerning personnel changes [12/10/1944] ]
[ Memorandum on immunization [2/10/1944] ]
[ Memorandum on conference with General Devers [1/3/1944] ]
[ Receipt for courier transfer [undated] ]
[ Statement for per diem allowance for Major Alexander Standish [8/18/1943] ]
[ Announcement of promotion of Standish from Captain to Major [6/16/1943] ]
[ Memorandum concerning issue of the Monthly Summary of intelligence [3/18/1943] ]
[ Memorandum concerning the binding of monthly intelligence reports for the record [8/17/1943] ]
[ Letter from E. F. Koenig congratulating Standish on excellent work in the Combat Intelligence Course at the Army Air Forces Intelligence School [8/8/1942] ]
[ Official statement of commissioned service [7/28/1942] ]
[ Selective Service registration ticket [2/15/1942] ]
[ Letter of Commission in the United States Army [5/15/1942] ]
[ Application for appointment and statement of preferences for reserve officers [3/31/1942] ]
[ Military and Civilian Experience of Alexander Standish ]
[ Honorable Discharge from service in World War I [12/26/1918] ]
[ Artifact: Dogtag of Alexander Standish ]
[ Map: "The Travels of Headquarters Twelfth Army Group." ]
[ Artifact: Dollar bill with signatures of Alex Standish's friends ]
[ Photograph of the medals of Alexander Standish ]

About this Item

Title

  • Alexander Standish Collection

Names

  • Standish, Alexander
  • Thurnberg, Jon C.
  • Thunberg, Jon C.

Headings

  • -  Standish, Alexander
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

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
    • Unit of Service: G-2 (Intelligence) Section, 12th Army Group
    • Location of Service: England; Northern France; Normandy; Germany
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was chief, Intelligence Branch under 12th Army Group Commander Omar Bradley. His responsibilities included interpreting the Ultra intercepts, which were secret Nazi military and diplomatic cables.

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 1981-12; 1994-12-31)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 1981-12; 1994-12-31)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [14 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1943-1945)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1979)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2006-04; 2002)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [48 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/8404

Cite as

  • Alexander Standish Collection (AFC/2001/001/8404), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • 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:

Standish, Alexander, Jon C Thurnberg, and Jon C Thunberg. Alexander Standish Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08404/.

APA citation style:

Standish, A., Thurnberg, J. C. & Thunberg, J. C. (1942) Alexander Standish Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08404/.

MLA citation style:

Standish, Alexander, Jon C Thurnberg, and Jon C Thunberg. Alexander Standish Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08404/>.