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William Sinclair [2004]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron; 35th Fighter Group
  • Location of Service: Korea; Japan
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/12821

View full service history

"Air power in that war was predominant." (Video Interview, 20:25)

After serving as a navigator in the Army Air Force in World War II, William Sinclair was contacted in 1947 about competing for a commission in the newly formed Air Force. He graduated in July 1949 from pilot training and 18 months later, he was off to serve in the Korean War, assigned to the 8th Fighter Bomber Squadron. The Korean War introduced new aircraft and technology, which also meant inexperienced pilots making errors, some of them fatal. Sinclair flew over 100 missions, dropping napalm on enemy troops and attacking supply trains. When his replacement arrived early, Sinclair left two days before his tour was complete; two days later, his old base was overrun and his replacement was killed. (Sinclair describes his experiences during World War II in a separate

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • William Donald Sinclair Collection

Names

  • Sinclair, William Donald
  • Brown, Mark
  • Life Messages, Inc.
  • Victor H. Fast

Home State

  • Colorado

Headings

  • -  Sinclair, William Donald
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Military Status: veteran
  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron; 35th Fighter Group
    • Location of Service: Korea; Japan
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1949-1951
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2015-01-15)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-04-02; 2004-04-26)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/12821

Cite as

  • William Donald Sinclair Collection (AFC/2001/001/12821), 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:

Sinclair, William Donald, Mark Brown, Inc Life Messages, and Victor H. Fast. William Donald Sinclair Collection. 1949. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12821/.

APA citation style:

Sinclair, W. D., Brown, M., Life Messages, I. & Victor H. Fast. (1949) William Donald Sinclair Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12821/.

MLA citation style:

Sinclair, William Donald, et al. William Donald Sinclair Collection. 1949. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12821/>.