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Richard Foss [1945]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
  • Location of Service: Camp Dodge, Iowa; Camp Roberts, California; Australia; New Guinea; Admiralty Islands (Bismarck Archipelago); Leyte Island, and Luzon Island (Philippines); Japan; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/7212

View full service history

"It was a very noisy night. The loudest sound was my heart pounding." (Memoir, p. 182)

As a machine gunner serving in the South Pacific, Richard Foss saw his share of combat in New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. But his most intense battle experiences came during the invasion of Leyte and Luzon in the Philippines. There he observed Japanese and American soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat, slept standing up in mosquito infested rivers, and witnessed the deaths of many of his buddies. Having survived the fighting on Luzon, Foss was transferred to a military hospital to be treated for what Army physicians called the worst case of amoebic dysentery they had ever seen.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Photo Album ]
[ "Camp Dodge, Iowa Induction Center. Right after we were issued our uniforms. Just before we were escorted to our first barracks experience." ]
[ Camp Roberts, CA. "This picture is broken into parts showing duties during basic training. Arrival, K.P., Guard, List of Instructions, Cleaning the Barracks, Rifle Range, etc." ]
[ Camp Roberts, CA. "Other duties" ]
[ Watercolor. "Return to Ford Ord, CA, following a 7-day furlough. Had a complete physical inspection after a trip across San Francisco Bay. Later we headed for Australia." ]

Show more resources (28)

[ Oil painting. "Aboard 'Sea-Snipe' troopship--17days. Very hot, crowded, close quarters. Two meals a day...I almost fell overboard sleeping on main deck during one of the hot, hot nights." ]
[ Brisbane, AU. "Arrived at Camp Ascot. Three days later the outfit I would fight with showed up. I was put into the 7th regiment of the 1st Cavalry division." ]
[ "Aboard the James D. Dooley troopship. This was not a class troop ship. It felt and sounded like it was going to fall apart any minute. We slept on a 4x8 piece of plywood..." ]
[ Cape Sudest, NG. "Built a camp from scratch. Mostly, we waited for our combat assignment." ]
[ Los Negros Island. "My first night of combat. I was a nervous wreck. It rained all night (hard to see). An enemy mortar shell lit five yards away. One guy... was shot after raising his head up." ]
[ Manus Island, in the Admiralities. "Our squad was assigned to escort Manus island natives who were to haul supplies to the front in the mountains to 7th regiment soldiers clearing out the enemy. ]
[ Watercolor. "We did not lose as many men in the campaign as we did in later campaigns but we did learn how difficult it was too lose good buddies in battle, both wounded and dead." ]
[ Los Negros Island (Admiralities). "Some how someone got out of machine guns quad together and took a picture of the whole group. I carried this picture with me in my billfold for years." ]
[ Aboard ship heading for Leyte Island. "This convoy was huge. We were in for a big invasion." ]
[ Leyte Island. "Over the top. Down rope ladders into barges waiting to take us into the beach." ]
[ Leyte Island bay. "This Island had been on General MacArthur's mind a long time. He had promised the Filipinos, 'Shall Return.' This was it." ]
[ Leyte Island, Philippines. MacArthur returns. ]
[ Leyte Island, Philippines. "This is a tribute painting to the bravest men in any of the services. The plain old 'Grunt.' These riflemen are always the first to hit the beach." ]
[ The mountains on Leyte Island. "On the back of each donkey was a dead American soldier." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. "New type of fighting. Buildings, paved streets, we moved in vehicles." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. ""We watched helplessly as Manila burned." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. "I finally got to go to the hospital. I was not wounded. I had dystentary, jungle rot, malaria, and battle fatigue." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. "Filipino Soldiers helped us." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. "President Roosevelt died." ]
[ One of six paintings depicting fighting on Luzon, the Philippines. "I returned to combat. My buddy was rescued in pitch dark on my first patrol." ]
[ Luzon. "On our drive to Manila we ran into G.I. Prisoners who had just been released from a Jap prison. They went through the death march in 1941. ]
[ Manila, Philippines. "This is two civilians that were rescued in Manila." ]
[ "The Japanese were getting desperate. Kamikaze pilots dove into our ships. I got to see these Kamikaze pilots at work on Leyte Island bay." ]
[ "Our ships stopped supplies from getting into the hands of Jap troops. They were starving. It was unbelieveable to me that they gave up, but that seems to be what happened." ]
[ Yokohama bay, Japan. "We later learned the peace treaty was being signed as we passed by." ]
[ Yokohama bay, Japan. "Signing of the peace peace treaty on board the U.S.S. Missouri." ]
[ American Embassy, Tokyo. "My troop was selected toe scort General MacArthur and his staff into the American Embassy grounds in Tokyo so he could deliver a world-wide speech." ]
[ Handwritten descriptions of contents of photographic prints ]

About this Item

Title

  • Richard J. Foss Collection

Names

  • Foss, Richard J.

Home State

  • Iowa

Headings

  • -  Foss, Richard J.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
    • Location of Service: Camp Dodge, Iowa; Camp Roberts, California; Australia; New Guinea; Admiralty Islands (Bismarck Archipelago); Leyte Island, and Luzon Island (Philippines); Japan; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2003; 2003)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Slides [33 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943-2003)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reading (collected 2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/7212

Cite as

  • Richard J. Foss Collection (AFC/2001/001/7212), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video
  • pdf

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:

Foss, Richard J. Richard J. Foss Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07212/.

APA citation style:

Foss, R. J. (1943) Richard J. Foss Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07212/.

MLA citation style:

Foss, Richard J. Richard J. Foss Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07212/>.