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Detail from a group photo, Lewis Shaw in front of the USS Cohocton, China [undated]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Helena (CL 50), USS Oglala, USS Cohocton (AO 101)
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; China; Japan
  • Highest Rank: Pharmacist's Mate First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/32813

View full service history

"Sometimes it's a little hazy, and sometimes it comes back to you real live…" (Video interview, 9:43)

Enlisting in 1940, Pharmacist's Mate First Class Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. chose the Navy in hopes of securing a dry place to sleep every night while in the service. What he could not have anticipated was his front and center view of the beginning of World War II. Assigned to the USS Oglala, a minelayer, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Though he survived the attack, the Oglala did not; following a transfer to the USS Helena, a St. Louis Class-light cruiser, he went on to participate in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Following the end of the war, he spent time aboard the USS Cohocton, a fleet oiler, which took him to China and Japan. In his interview, he discusses his work as a Pharmacist's Mate First Class, and how, seventy years after the war, some memories of his service remain as vivid as the day the events happened.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Shaw Jr., Lewis Clayton
  • Cross, Linda
  • Tyler Junior College
  • Robert Lewis
  • Rucker, Bobbye

Home State

  • Texas

Headings

  • -  Shaw Jr., Lewis Clayton
  • -  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 Helena (CL 50), USS Oglala, USS Cohocton (AO 101)
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; China; Japan
    • Highest Rank: Pharmacist's Mate First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1940-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-04-27; 1999-12-31)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1943-02-28)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1946)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/32813

Cite as

  • Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/32813), 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:

Shaw Jr., Lewis Clayton, Linda Cross, Tyler Junior College, Robert Lewis, and Bobbye Rucker. Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32813/.

APA citation style:

Shaw Jr, L. C., Cross, L., Tyler Junior College, Robert Lewis & Rucker, B. (1940) Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32813/.

MLA citation style:

Shaw Jr., Lewis Clayton, et al. Lewis Clayton Shaw, Jr. Collection. 1940. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.32813/>.