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Thomas Hodge, 2002

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: Truck Company, Force Logistic Support Group (FLSG) B, Force Logistics Command, 3rd Marine Division
  • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; Okinawa, Japan; Da Nang, Vietnam; Quang Tri, Vietnam; Dong Ha, Vietnam; Khe Sanh, Vietnam; Rockpile, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/3736

View full service history

"This stuff goes through your mind every time you go out in a convoy. You always say, 'Is it going to be my day to come back?'" Video interview, 24:21

Thomas Hodge didn't expect to live long when he got to Vietnam. After he was assigned to a truck company, he heard that the life expectancy of a wartime truck driver was three days. At first, he took that remark for a joke; then he got to Vietnam and saw what a dangerous job he was in for: working 18 hour shifts, dodging enemy fire, and hoping that his truck, often loaded with explosives, didn't hit a land mine.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Thomas H. Hodge Collection

Names

  • Hodge, Thomas H.
  • Cathedral High School/Lyman Memorial High School
  • Robinson, Henry
  • Perreault, Leslie

Home State

  • Massachusetts

Headings

  • -  Hodge, Thomas H.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: Truck Company, Force Logistic Support Group (FLSG) B, Force Logistics Command, 3rd Marine Division
    • Location of Service: Parris Island, South Carolina; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; Okinawa, Japan; Da Nang, Vietnam; Quang Tri, Vietnam; Dong Ha, Vietnam; Khe Sanh, Vietnam; Rockpile, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1968-1971
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran notes that he served with the Marine Corps active reserve from 1971 to 1976.

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2002-11-20)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2011-12-19)
  • Audio: DAT [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-11-20; 2004)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-11-20)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/3736

Cite as

  • Thomas H. Hodge Collection (AFC/2001/001/3736), 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:

Hodge, Thomas H, Cathedral High School/Lyman Memorial High School, Henry Robinson, and Leslie Perreault. Thomas H. Hodge Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03736/.

APA citation style:

Hodge, T. H., Cathedral High School/Lyman Memorial High School, Robinson, H. & Perreault, L. (1968) Thomas H. Hodge Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03736/.

MLA citation style:

Hodge, Thomas H, et al. Thomas H. Hodge Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03736/>.