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Leland Burgess [2004]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Army Artillery, Army National Guard, Army Reserve
  • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/23304

View full service history

"All helicopter pilots-I don't know whether they'd admit it or not-we are all frustrated \\nfighter pilots. And we want to fly something that is strong and powerful and that you can \\ndo a lot of things with." (Video Interview, 36:30)

Leland Burgess talks eloquently of the skill and accompanying arrogance helicopter pilots possess. During his service in Vietnam he flew both reconnaissance and search and destroy missions. After months of escaping enemy fire, his number came up in February 1968, when he discovered a bunker and attempted to fire on it. The return fire badly injured his arm and his craft went down. Rescue was a while in coming, and Burgess and his crew agreed they didn't want to be taken alive by the enemy. Burgess was in Vietnam for the Tet Offensive, which he saw as a great victory for the U.S. and South Vietnam, and he was disappointed to see how the ferocity of the offensive actually weakened support for the war back home.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Leland Heywood Burgess Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Bowen, Sarah
  • Burgess, Leland Heywood

Home State

  • Alabama

Headings

  • -  Burgess, Leland Heywood
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Army Artillery, Army National Guard, Army Reserve
    • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Wolters, Texas; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1995
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1990-1995
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-05-20; 2013-04-09)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-05-20; 2013-04-09)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-05-20; 2013-04-09)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-05-20; 2013-04-09)
  • Video: Betacam SP [4 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-05-20)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1968)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/23304

Cite as

  • Leland Heywood Burgess Collection (AFC/2001/001/23304), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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, Sarah Bowen, and Leland Heywood Burgess. Leland Heywood Burgess Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23304/.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Bowen, S. & Burgess, L. H. (1966) Leland Heywood Burgess Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23304/.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Leland Heywood Burgess Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23304/>.