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Detail from drawing of a soldier running

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 174th Engineer Combat Battalion
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Technician Five
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/15293

View full service history

"I never charged the cook for portraits, because you always want to get friendly with the cook." (Interview, 40:50)

As an 18-year-old Army recruit, Victor Selinsky carried a sketchpad wherever he went, from the training camps in his home state of California to outposts in the Pacific Theater. Selinsky was a lowly private in an engineering battalion doing scut work during the retaking of the Philippines and the invasion of Okinawa. Between hauling supplies and helping to build roads, Selinsky captured in bold strokes the beauty of the islands and the leisure pursuits of his fellow soldiers. He even made a little money on the side, drawing for a dollar apiece portraits of wives and girlfriends from photos.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Man playing cards with cigar or cigarette in mouth, bare bulb and window behind him ]
[ Man seated, helmet between feet, reading from small piece, apparently of paper, in left hand (Camp Cook written at bottom) ]
[ 4 men playing cards on bunk bed, one dealing (facing viewer) and one leaning on upper bunk watching ]
[ Man sleeping, knees drawn up, shoes on, in bed. Camp Cook, CA. (1943) ]
[ Man lying down, shoes on, head on pillow, eyes closed (Camp Cook written at bottom) (1944) ]

Show more resources (27)

[ Man sitting on lower bunk, reading book, right leg crossed over left, left hand at lapel (Camp Cook written at bottom) (1944) ]
[ Aircraft carrier in port (1945) ]
[ Pearl Harbor (battleship in foreground, guard or control tower behind at right, building with American flag background left (1944) ]
[ Freighters in port, shipyard cranes and equipment, smokestacks [no location or date given] ]
[ Pearl Harbor, freighters, apparently Liberty Ships, lined up dockside, hill in background (1944) ]
[ "en-route to Leyte," combat transports steaming, partly cloudy sky (1944) ]
[ LSD (Landing Ship Dock) underway [1944] ]
[ Armed freighter underway [1944] ]
[ "Watching a prize fight shipboard en route to Leyte," picture of 7 men perched on mast [1944] ]
[ Sailor gesturing on deck of armed freighter [1944] ]
[ "Staging area for Leyte invasion: Manus-Admiralty Islands," picture of beach with ship at anchor in background (1944) ]
[ "A day-Leyte-Aboard Ship," 3 soldiers in helmets, with rifles (10/20/1944) ]
[ "1'st fox-hole under this house, Leyte A-day + 2," [1944] ]
[ "Pup Tent, Leyte," bushes and palm tree in background [1944] ]
[ "Bathing-Leyte," nude man next to outdoor water device [1944] ]
[ "Church-Dulag/Leyte," a ruined church [1945] ]
[ "Chinese Cemetery, Leyte," buildings, walls, and gate to right (1945) ]
[ "Leyte," islanders on beach [1945] ]
[ Soldier running, rifle in right hand, looking over left shoulder (1945) ]
[ "Milking a Goat-Leyte," man bent over small goat's back milking goat, goat's neck restrained between man's knees (1945) ]
[ "House Ruins, Okinawa," tiled roof, insides gutted and debris in yard [1945] ]
[ Another view of ruined house and its yard [1945] ]
[ "Lloyd's 'Washing Machine,' Okinawa," small windmill machine with directional vane on stand near conical tent and nearby trees [1945] ]
[ "Interrogation of Japanese prisoner, Okinawa," (1945) ]
[ "Repatriation of Japanese citizens-Korea," (1945) ]
[ "Korea 46," houses with tiled roofs behind wooden fence (1946) ]
[ Outline of Interview ]

About this Item

Title

  • Victor Selinsky Collection

Names

  • Selinsky, Victor
  • Hester, Katherine E.
  • John Dutton
  • G. Hoberman / L. Rogaski
  • Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Sacramento, CA

Home State

  • California

Headings

  • -  Selinsky, Victor
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 174th Engineer Combat Battalion
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Technician Five
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2003-12-09; 2008-12-10)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003)
  • Manuscript: Creative works [31 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1943-1946)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected 2003)
  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-12-09; 2003)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/15293

Cite as

  • Victor Selinsky Collection (AFC/2001/001/15293), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

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:

Selinsky, Victor, Katherine E Hester, John Dutton, G. Hoberman / L. Rogaski, and Ca Retired And Senior Volunteer Program Of Sacramento. Victor Selinsky Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15293/.

APA citation style:

Selinsky, V., Hester, K. E., John Dutton, G. Hoberman / L. Rogaski & Retired And Senior Volunteer Program Of Sacramento, C. (1943) Victor Selinsky Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15293/.

MLA citation style:

Selinsky, Victor, et al. Victor Selinsky Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15293/>.