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Jim Beigh [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Memphis (CL 13); USS Wright (AV 1); USS Breckinridge (DD 148); USS Estes (AGC 12); ZP-12 (Airship Patrol Squadron)
  • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Maine; San Francisco; Philippines; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Chief Aerial Photographer
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/32480

View full service history

"We saw a mess…" (Video interview, 10:28)

On December 7th, Jim Beigh was aboard the USS Wright, steaming back to Pearl Harbor after delivering cargo and Marines to Wake Island. In the days that followed, he would confront not only the carnage of the attack, but a huge new set of responsibilities: after his entire division was transferred to Ford Island, he was left aboard ship to train a crew to man the anti-aircraft guns. Later on in the war, he was sent to photography school to learn how to shoot cameras instead of guns, eventually becoming a Chief Aerial Photographer.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Handwritten memoir, USA Photo School, Pensacola, FL ]
[ Handwritten memoir, My Duty Aboard the USS Estes AGC 12 ]

About this Item

Title

  • Jim Ralph Beigh Collection

Names

  • Beigh, Jim Ralph
  • Eytinge, Margo
  • Fund, Edna J.
  • Timberland Regional Library

Home State

  • Washington (State)

Headings

  • -  Beigh, Jim Ralph
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Memphis (CL 13); USS Wright (AV 1); USS Breckinridge (DD 148); USS Estes (AGC 12); ZP-12 (Airship Patrol Squadron)
    • Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Maine; San Francisco; Philippines; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Chief Aerial Photographer
    • Dates of Service: 1939-1945
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-22; 2005-04-08)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [3 items] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/32480

Cite as

  • Jim Ralph Beigh Collection (AFC/2001/001/32480), 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:

Beigh, Jim Ralph, Margo Eytinge, Edna J Fund, and Timberland Regional Library. Jim Ralph Beigh Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32480/.

APA citation style:

Beigh, J. R., Eytinge, M., Fund, E. J. & Timberland Regional Library. (1939) Jim Ralph Beigh Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32480/.

MLA citation style:

Beigh, Jim Ralph, et al. Jim Ralph Beigh Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32480/>.