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Ward Chamberlin, 2002

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/15402

View full service history

"And then they gave me orders to report back to headquarters for desk duty for a year, and I tore those up; and within three weeks I was in Italy, just below Naples after we'd landed." (Video Interview, 13:54)

In 1940, Ward Chamberlin was studying at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. By late 1941, real-world international affairs had completely overtaken his formal education. On the recommendation of a professor, he joined the American Field Service as an ambulance driver, eventually working his way up into positions of greater responsibility. Witnessing such events as the bombing of Cassino in the winter of 1943, where a good friend was killed right in front of him, Chamberlin's experiences would shape his future life in an unexpected way: he would serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the AFS for many years, eventually becoming its Chairman.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr. Collection

Names

  • AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc.
  • Golobic, Eleanora
  • Manger, Douglas
  • Chamberlin Jr., Ward B.

Home State

  • Rhode Island

Headings

  • -  Chamberlin Jr., Ward B.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  American Field Service (AFS) -- Personal Narratives

Form

  • VHS

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

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

Status

  • civilian

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Military Status: civilian
    • Service History Note: Civilian graduated from Princeton University and the Columbia Law School. He served in the American Field Service (AS), the Ambulance Corps, because of a visual impairment disqualified him for regular military service. He was attached to the British 8th Army in North Africa and the British 5th Army in Italy. He was a major in the British Army and entered government service, being assigned to the Marshall Plan in France and England. After years of practicing corporate law, he worked for two decades in public television as Vice President and Managing Director of WNET 13 in New York City and retired Vice Chairman, WETA television PBS channel 26 in Washington, DC. He also served as the President of Chess-In-The-Schools program.

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-09-21)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/15402

Cite as

  • Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/15402), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

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:

Afs Intercultural Programs, Inc, Eleanora Golobic, Douglas Manger, and Ward B Chamberlin Jr. Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr. Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15402/.

APA citation style:

Afs Intercultural Programs, I., Golobic, E., Manger, D. & Chamberlin Jr, W. B. Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15402/.

MLA citation style:

Afs Intercultural Programs, Inc, et al. Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr. Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.15402/>.