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Gustav Hermann Kissel

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 43rd Squadron, Royal Air Force; US Air Service
  • Location of Service: France; England; Scotland
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/37555

View full service history

"Tonight a regiment marched by, each battalion playing its band and the men singing as they went up to the trenches. It was a most impressive thing to hear & filled one's mind with the wonders of war." (Last diary entry, April 10, 1918)

Gustav Kissel graduated from Harvard in 1917, just as America was entering the Great War. He was accepted into the Air Service and was sent for training that summer to England due to a shortage of planes, fields, and equipment in the U.S. His diary, begun in March 1917, details his eagerness and anticipation, tempered by the sobering loss of a Harvard classmate killed in January 1918 during a training exercise. Highly regarded by his colleagues for his flying skills, Kissel took off on his first mission on April 12. His squadron encountered a large number of enemy planes, and Kissel's plane was shot down. He is the only American buried in France's Pont du Hem Cemetery for veterans of World War I.

[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

[ A thank you card from the Veteran, with a lithograph of airplanes and envelope with the Royal Flying Corps emblem ]
[ Diary of Gustav Hermann Kissel ]
[ Gustav Hermann Kissel [biographical information] ]
[ Harvard University Report Card for Gustav Hermann Kissel [academic year 1916-1917] ]
[ A Royal Flying Corps patch ]

About this Item

Title

  • Gustav Hermann Kissel Collection

Names

  • Kissel, Gustav Hermann
  • Brooks, Eleonore Eaton

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Kissel, Gustav Hermann
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 43rd Squadron, Royal Air Force; US Air Service
    • Location of Service: France; England; Scotland
    • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1918
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served in the US Air Service and flew with the British Royal Air Force / Royal Flying Corps. He was shot down over Flanders and is buried in the Pont du Hem Cemetery near Armentieres, France.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1940)
  • Manuscript: Civilian papers (certificates, forms, wills, etc) [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1917)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917-1918)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917)
  • Artifact: Artifact [3 items] -- (collected 1917)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/37555

Cite as

  • Gustav Hermann Kissel Collection (AFC/2001/001/37555), 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:

Kissel, Gustav Hermann, and Eleonore Eaton Brooks. Gustav Hermann Kissel Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37555/.

APA citation style:

Kissel, G. H. & Brooks, E. E. (1917) Gustav Hermann Kissel Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37555/.

MLA citation style:

Kissel, Gustav Hermann, and Eleonore Eaton Brooks. Gustav Hermann Kissel Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.37555/>.