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Detail from photo of Robert Springsteen in uniform [undated]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Detachment\\nServices
  • Location of Service: Camp Grant, Illinois; Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; Durham, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; London, England; Paris, France
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/23487

View full service history

"Part of our duties in Paris were getting agents to go behind the lines in a way that they wouldn't be compromised." (Audio Interview, Part 1, 35:13)

Robert Springsteen was an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) employee who didn't learn languages or assume disguises. What he did out of his office in liberated Paris was to distribute money to field operatives like Moe Berg, a onetime major league baseball player who went undercover to report on Germany's budding nuclear weapons program. Springsteen arrived in France shortly after D-Day carrying a small fortune in currency, and he kept acquiring money, as well as jewelry and diamonds for agents to hock when they ran low on Springsteen-disbursed cash.

Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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More Resources

Robert B. Springsteen Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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[ Separation Qualification Record ]
[ Record of assignments ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [6/30/1943] ]
[ Letter to Joe [7/2/1943] ]

Show more resources (39)

[ Letter to Joe [7/5/1943] ]
[ Letter to Joe [7/6/1943] ]
[ Letter to Joe [7/7/1943] ]
[ Letter to Joe [7/9/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [7/10/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [7/13/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [7/16/1943] ]
[ Letter to Joe [7/18/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [7/19/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [7/20/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [7/24/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [8/1/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [8/5/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [8/7/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [8/11/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [8/15/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [8/18/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [8/22/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [8/24/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [8/29/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [9/2/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [9/6/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/11/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/12/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/14/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/19/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Joe" [9/23/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/26/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [9/28/1943] ]
[ Letter to "My Darling" [9/30/1943] ]
[ Letter to "My Darling" [10/3/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [10/5/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Darling" [10/7/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [10/8/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Dearest" [10/11/1943] ]
[ Letter to "Joe" [10/14/1943] ]
[ Letter to "My Darling" [10/16/1943] ]
[ Untitled drawing of woman on bed with a baby ]
[ Untitled drawing of woman sitting and holding a baby ]

About this Item

Title

  • Robert B. Springsteen Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Springsteen, Robert B.
  • Gadd, Vicky

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Springsteen, Robert B.
  • -  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: Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Detachment\\nServices
    • Location of Service: Camp Grant, Illinois; Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; Durham, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; London, England; Paris, France
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2014-10-22)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-02-27)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-03-06; 2006-03-06)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Digital print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [40 items] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Creative works [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/23487

Cite as

  • Robert B. Springsteen Collection (AFC/2001/001/23487), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

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:

Lugar, Richard, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Robert B Springsteen, and Vicky Gadd. Robert B. Springsteen Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23487/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Springsteen, R. B. & Gadd, V. (1942) Robert B. Springsteen Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23487/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Robert B. Springsteen Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.23487/>.