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Joseph Pitts circa 1964 [detail]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 346th Bomb Squadron; 99th Bomb Wing
  • Location of Service: United States; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2148

View full service history

"We don't go to war to occupy and take over and dominate; we've gone to war to liberate." (Video interview, 52:49)

The son of an army chaplain who served in World War II under General Douglas MacArthur and then became a missionary, Joseph Pitts understood early in life the value of having a mission. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1963 and became an Electronic Warfare officer, flying 116 combat missions in Vietnam. Joseph Pitts was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1996, representing Pennsylvania's Sixteenth District.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Joseph R. Pitts Collection

Names

  • Veterans History Project
  • Perry, Edwin M.
  • David Taylor
  • Library of Congress
  • Pitts, Joseph R.

Home State

  • Pennsylvania

Headings

  • -  Pitts, Joseph R.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 346th Bomb Squadron; 99th Bomb Wing
    • Location of Service: United States; Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1963-1969
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2002-10-08; 2002)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2002-10-08)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2002-09-29)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-10-08)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-10-08)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2148

Cite as

  • Joseph R. Pitts Collection (AFC/2001/001/2148), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

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:

Veterans History Project, Edwin M Perry, David Taylor, Library Of Congress, and Joseph R Pitts. Joseph R. Pitts Collection. 1963. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02148/.

APA citation style:

Veterans History Project, Perry, E. M., David Taylor, Library Of Congress & Pitts, J. R. (1963) Joseph R. Pitts Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02148/.

MLA citation style:

Veterans History Project, et al. Joseph R. Pitts Collection. 1963. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02148/>.