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[Detail from video] James Woolsey at 102 years old.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy; Army
  • Unit of Service: USS Alpine (APA 92)
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands); Luzon (Philippines); France; Germany; England; Hawaii; United States
  • Highest Rank: Boatswain's Mate; Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/24013

View full service history

At the tender age of seventeen, James Woolsey joined the Army to fight in the "Great War," World War I. As Woolsey recalled in an interview conducted when he was 102 years old, "When you joined the Army, you weren't handed a gun; you were thrown a gun. And if you couldn't catch it, you were out." In his narrative Woolsey relates the fascination with automatic weaponry and the gruesome results of the use of gas. After the war, he began playing the piano and became a musician at the urging of his family. In December 1941 he was on vacation in Hawaii, where he witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. At the age of forty-one he reenlisted in the US Navy and became a radar decoder. During his service in the Pacific Theater, Woolsey was wounded during the battle to take Okinawa. He also performed with the USO and helped to compose the song "USO Boogie" for Glenn Miller and his band.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

Transcript

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[ Photo Album ]
[ Biographical information ]

About this Item

Title

  • James Woolsey Collection

Names

  • Woolsey, James
  • Zigo, Paul
  • Brookdale Community College, Brookdale Center for World War II Studies

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Woolsey, James
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: France; Germany; England; Hawaii; United States
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Alpine (APA 92)
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands); Luzon (Philippines)
    • Highest Rank: Boatswain's Mate
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran composed "USO Boogie" for Glenn Miller and his band and witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2004-08-13)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-08-13)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/24013

Cite as

  • James Woolsey Collection (AFC/2001/001/24013), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • 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:

Woolsey, James, Paul Zigo, and Brookdale Center For World War Ii Studies Brookdale Community College. James Woolsey Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24013/.

APA citation style:

Woolsey, J., Zigo, P. & Brookdale Community College, B. C. F. W. W. I. S. James Woolsey Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24013/.

MLA citation style:

Woolsey, James, Paul Zigo, and Brookdale Center For World War Ii Studies Brookdale Community College. James Woolsey Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24013/>.