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Charles Kavenagh in uniform [n.d.]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: 492nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
  • Location of Service: European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/86254

View full service history

A radio operator and aerial gunner with the 492nd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force, Staff Sergeant Charles Kavenagh spent the bulk of his WWII service flying missions out of England, but he also served on the other side of the globe, in the China-Burma-India Theater. His pencil sketches illustrate the images that composed his world: what he saw inside and outside of his plane; living conditions in England; his buddies playing cards and at the firing range. The photographs in Kavenagh's collection offer an additional visual record of his experiences, capturing some of the same subjects depicted in his illustrations.

[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

[ Army Air Forces Pilot and Crew Member Physical Record Card ]
[ Enlisted Man's Identification Card ]
[ Certificate of Completion of course on Flight Radio Operation, autographed by various people ]
[ Army Separation Qualification Record ]
[ Certificate of appointment to Sergeant [11/29/1942] ]
[ Award of the French Croix de Guerre with Palm ]

Show more resources (68)

[ Citation from the Republic of France accompanying the award of the Croix de Guerre [4/19/1991] ]
[ Gunnery school papers and flight records ]
[ Roster of graduates from AAF Flexible Gunnery School [11/30/1942] ]
[ Certificate of completion of Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School [11/29/1942] ]
[ Transmittal of and/or Entitlement to Awards ]
[ Squadron Orders [8/2/1943] ]
[ General Order Number 31 [11/17/1944] ]
[ Honorable Discharge for Charles Kavenagh [9/21/1945] ]
[ Army Separation Qualification Record [9/21/1945] ]
[ "586 Sq. operations building - A.13 - France"; pencil drawing on paper ]
[ "Sack Time"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Lee St. Armand, Scott Field, Easter-- 1943"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Seeing France"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Flying the Hump"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ Untitled pencil and pen and ink sketch of a gunnery school demonstration ]
[ "Larry Talcik, Uncle Thing: A.T.C. Navigator"; pencil sketch on green paper ]
[ "Pillbox, England Near Boreham"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Bombs away! Let's get the hell outa here"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Navigator's window"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Trossachs Hotel"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ "Willie"; pencil sketch on paper ]
[ Untitled fragments of pencil sketches ]
[ "Latrine orderly"; pen and ink on paper ]
[ "Arrival E.T.O."; pen and ink on paper ]
[ Three pencil sketches on perforated paper: "Git along little donkey"; "Big man with a big spear"; "Local cop". ]
[ "Vultee Vengeance, Scott Field, Ill., Mar. 1943"; pencil sketch on thin paper ]
[ "Home--just outside camp area--at replacement pool--England before going home"; pencil sketch ]
[ "Gassing up--Miami"; pencil sketch on perforated paper ]
[ "Andy--ETO--June--1944"; pencil sketch ]
[ Untitled pencil sketch of men playing cards ]
[ "A *rough* sketch at my ole sweet buddy Joe Joe at Cuyahoga Falls"; pencil sketch ]
[ Two pencil sketches: 3 1/4x3 1/4", untitled, depicting a flight radio operator at work; 3 1/4x3 1/4", titled "Light's Out!" ]
[ Untitled sketches depicting gun turrets; pen and ink on heavy art paper ]
[ Untitled sketch depicting a soldier standing in the bed of a truck with a shotgun, on a firing range; pen and ink on heavy art paper ]
[ "Pop, 586 radio section chief slightly potted -- France"; pencil sketch captioned in ink ]
[ "3 Chinese going home"; pencil sketch on perforated paper ]
[ "Cy -- China"; pencil sketch ]
[ "As viewed from the Radio optrs. Position"; pencil sketch with artifact scotch taped in place ]
[ Untitled sketch depicting a gunner in a turret and frame in the bed of a truck; ink on heavy art paper ]
[ Three colored pencil sketches of Ascension island on heavy art paper ]
[ Untitled sketch depicting men at a gunnery range; pen and ink on heavy art paper ]
[ Untitled sketch of two men shooting skeet; pen and ink on heavy art paper ]
[ Untitled sketch of man standing on a platform and firing heavy gun, pen and ink on heavy art paper ]
[ Sketches depicting life inside a barracks, one man identified as "Willie Morse"; pencil on paper ]
[ "A row of the backside of some houses in England, Flak Leave"; pencil and pen and ink on paper ]
[ Pencil sketch, writing on drawing: "Misery - LeFebure - Scott Field - Easter - 1943" ]
[ Pencil sketch, "English AA Holmsly S." ]
[ Untitled, aircraft in flight; pencil and ink on paper ]
[ "Looking under turret (Willie's feet) from rear"; pen and ink on paper ]
[ "Skidded off the runway - Misamari, India"; pencil and ink on paper ]
[ "A Tale of a B - Two Six"; pencil on paper ]
[ "Snoozing citizen and Parliament building, London - Apr. 1944"; ink on paper ]
[ Untitled, target practice from a military truck; ink on paper ]
[ Miscellaneous sketches, some untitled; "Squeegy" and "Eva's Little Angel"; pencil on paper ]
[ "Home Sweet Home - Holmsly South"; pencil on paper ]
[ "C Flight Hut Willie in the Sack"; pencil on paper ]
[ "Winnie in Close Formation"; pencil on paper ]
[ Three sketches: "Shower room with running hot water"; "Water Supply"; "My Corner and Sack of D-Flight Tent"; pencil on paper ]
[ "Joe Quista - Scott Field Apr. '43"; pencil on paper ]
[ "Joe Quista - Scott Field Mar. '43"; pencil on paper ]
[ Untitled sketch of a plane going down, parachutes in distance; pencil on paper ]
[ Planning chart for landing at Salala and Aden, Saudi Arabia ]
[ Planning chart for airports at various points on the Saudi Arabian and East African coast ]
[ Planning chart for the west coast of Africa, and on the reverse, radio range symbols and procedures ]
[ Mileage chart for the China-Burma-India theater of war ]
[ Mileage chart for the China-Burma-India theater of war ]
[ Mileage chart of an area in the CBI on the border between Tibet, Bhutan and India. ]
[ Handwritten notes related to Kavenagh's duties aboard a plane ]

About this Item

Title

  • Charles E. Kavenagh Collection

Names

  • Kavenagh, Charles E.
  • Hickey, Caroline

Home State

  • Washington (D.C.)

Headings

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

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Unit of Service: 492nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
    • Location of Service: European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Clippings [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944-1945)
  • Manuscript: Creative works [50 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1942-1945)
  • Manuscript: Maps [11 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1942-1945)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [16 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1942-1945)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- (collected 1942-1945)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [51 items] -- Photograph (collected 1942-1945)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [8 items] -- Photograph (collected 1942-1945)
  • Photograph: Duplicate [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1942-1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/86254

Cite as

  • Charles E. Kavenagh Collection (AFC/2001/001/86254), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • 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:

Kavenagh, Charles E, and Caroline Hickey. Charles E. Kavenagh Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.86254/.

APA citation style:

Kavenagh, C. E. & Hickey, C. (1942) Charles E. Kavenagh Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.86254/.

MLA citation style:

Kavenagh, Charles E, and Caroline Hickey. Charles E. Kavenagh Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.86254/>.