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Art Buchwald [2005]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: VMF-113 (Marine Fighter Squadron), 4th MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing)
  • Location of Service: Cherry Point, North Carolina; El Toro, California; Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands); Parris Island, South Carolina; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/24003

View full service history

"I wrote a piece for Father's Day and I said, 'My father was the Marine Corps.' It was everything. I didn't have a father before that." (Audio Interview, 19:53)

As a youth, Art Buchwald grew up in foster homes. After Pearl Harbor the 17 year old tried unsuccessfully to enlist. While visiting an out-of-state friend, Buchwald decided to pay a vagrant to pretend to be his father and he got into the Marines. Assigned to an air wing, he served in the Pacific Theater in an ordnance unit. On the side, he picked up valuable experience by editing the company newspaper, appropriately titled The Human Comedy. As a world-famous columnist, Buchwald always emphasized what a positive experience serving in the Marines was for a troubled young man.

Arthur Buchwald Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Arthur Buchwald Collection

Names

  • Washington Storytellers Theatre
  • Buchwald, Arthur
  • Matusow, Barbara

Home State

  • New York (State)

Headings

  • -  Buchwald, Arthur
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: VMF-113 (Marine Fighter Squadron), 4th MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing)
    • Location of Service: Cherry Point, North Carolina; El Toro, California; Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands); Parris Island, South Carolina; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Portrait (collected 2005)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2010)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-04-06)
  • Audio: CD [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-04-06; 2007-11-30)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/24003

Cite as

  • Arthur Buchwald Collection (AFC/2001/001/24003), 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:

Washington Storytellers Theatre, Arthur Buchwald, and Barbara Matusow. Arthur Buchwald Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24003/.

APA citation style:

Washington Storytellers Theatre, Buchwald, A. & Matusow, B. (1942) Arthur Buchwald Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24003/.

MLA citation style:

Washington Storytellers Theatre, Arthur Buchwald, and Barbara Matusow. Arthur Buchwald Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.24003/>.