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Frank Tomlinson, Hawaii [1954]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 326th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), 317th FIS; 16th Fighter Squadron; 56th Special Operations Wing (SOW)
  • Location of Service: Suwon, Korea; Grandview Air Force Base and Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; USAF Inspector General, Norton AFB, California; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Oslo, Norway; Andrews AFB, Maryland (Base Commander); Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/38164

View full service history

"Usually when you are doing a specific job some place, your war is limited to what you see and you don't really get into the big debates about what's going on at the United Nations." (Audio interview, 1:24:26)

For Colonel Frank Tomlinson, joining the Air Force was what he terms a "watershed moment." Leaving his small hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he discovered a passion and aptitude for flying planes, which he decided to make his career. Following service in the Korean War, and stints at stateside bases, he volunteered for a combat tour in Southeast Asia and was sent to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand in November 1968, where he spent most of his time performing search and rescue ("Sandy") missions, looking for downed American aviators. Interviewed here by his daughter, he also comments on what his career military service meant to his family.

Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection

Names

  • Tomlinson, Frank Jeannin
  • Mould, Kimberley Tomlinson

Home State

  • Virginia

Headings

  • -  Tomlinson, Frank Jeannin
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 16th Fighter Squadron
    • Location of Service: Suwon, Korea
    • Dates of Service: 1951-1981
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 56th Special Operations Wing (SOW)
    • Location of Service: Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
    • Military Status: veteran
  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 326th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), 317th FIS
    • Location of Service: Grandview Air Force Base and Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; USAF Inspector General, Norton AFB, California; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Oslo, Norway; Andrews AFB, Maryland (Base Commander)
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-10-13)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003-10-13)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [18 items] -- Photograph (collected 1954-1978)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/38164

Cite as

  • Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection (AFC/2001/001/38164), 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:

Tomlinson, Frank Jeannin, and Kimberley Tomlinson Mould. Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection. 1951. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.38164/.

APA citation style:

Tomlinson, F. J. & Mould, K. T. (1951) Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.38164/.

MLA citation style:

Tomlinson, Frank Jeannin, and Kimberley Tomlinson Mould. Frank Jeannin Tomlinson Collection. 1951. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.38164/>.