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Herbert Metoyer, Baton Rouge, LA. 1955.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Location of Service: Fort Eustis, Virginia; Camp Gary, and Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Lewis, Washington; Libya; Fort Knox, Kentucky; North Africa; Thailand; Korea
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/58363

View full service history

"Here were two Creole boys from a small town in Louisiana at a time when there were \\nless than 20 black pilots in the whole of the United States Army, and two of us were \\nbrothers." (Video Interview, 46:26)

Herbert Metoyer entered the service in 1956, when segregation was still enforced all over the South and integration of the military was relatively recent. His advanced flight instructor admitted that he was a racist, but Metoyer's persistence eventually won him over. Metoyer and his younger brother served at the same time in Vietnam, both as aviators, a fact he's proud of, knowing of the informal racial quotas in the military. In the mid-1960s, he embarked on a side career as a folksinger and songwriter until his commanding officer put a stop to that. At the age of 73, long retired from the Army, Metoyer admits he misses the life and would re-enlist were it not for his age.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Herbert R. Metoyer Collection

Names

  • Southfield Veterans Commission
  • Metoyer, Herbert R.
  • Brightwell, Daniel

Home State

  • Michigan

Headings

  • -  Metoyer, Herbert R.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Fort Eustis, Virginia; Camp Gary, and Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Lewis, Washington; Libya; Fort Knox, Kentucky; North Africa; Thailand; Korea
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1955-1985
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a fixed and rotary wing pilot.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-04-02; 2008-04-03)
  • Photograph: Digital print [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1955-1963)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/58363

Cite as

  • Herbert R. Metoyer Collection (AFC/2001/001/58363), 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:

Southfield Veterans Commission, Herbert R Metoyer, and Daniel Brightwell. Herbert R. Metoyer Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.58363/.

APA citation style:

Southfield Veterans Commission, Metoyer, H. R. & Brightwell, D. (1955) Herbert R. Metoyer Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.58363/.

MLA citation style:

Southfield Veterans Commission, Herbert R Metoyer, and Daniel Brightwell. Herbert R. Metoyer Collection. 1955. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.58363/>.