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Detail from a photocopied photo of Connie Spinks [undated]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 426th Civil Affairs Battalion
  • Location of Service: North Carolina; Korea; Iraq
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/46666

View full service history

"I'm a beautiful girl, so other people, they really can't tell what happened to me when they just look at me." (Interview Transcript)

When Connie Spinks graduated from high school in 2000, she enlisted in the Army Reserve. As she told an interviewer, "It was an opportunity for me to see the world a little bit, and support my country, and also receive money for school." It took three months of pleading for her father to sign her enlistment papers. And at the end of 2003, she found her unit was shipping out to Iraq. She spent eight months in language training to be able to work in Civil Affairs. Riding in the middle of a convoy one day, she saw a vehicle pull up next to hers, and an explosion ejected her from her vehicle, severely injuring her and burning her face. She spent four months in a wheelchair before she could walk on her own. Spinks received her Purple Heart from a very special fan of the military: movie star Denzel Washington.

More Resources

[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • Connie Rose Spinks Collection

Names

  • Spinks, Connie Rose
  • Scott, Kathleen M.
  • Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. (WIMSA)
  • Reborchuk, Margaret

Home State

  • Texas

Headings

  • -  Spinks, Connie Rose
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 426th Civil Affairs Battalion
    • Location of Service: North Carolina; Korea; Iraq
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 2000
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran suffered severe burns to her face, arms and legs as well as broken bones from a suicide bomber attack in Mosel, Iraq.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2006-01-26)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/46666

Cite as

  • Connie Rose Spinks Collection (AFC/2001/001/46666), 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:

Spinks, Connie Rose, Kathleen M Scott, Inc Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, and Margaret Reborchuk. Connie Rose Spinks Collection. 2000. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46666/.

APA citation style:

Spinks, C. R., Scott, K. M., Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, I. & Reborchuk, M. (2000) Connie Rose Spinks Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46666/.

MLA citation style:

Spinks, Connie Rose, et al. Connie Rose Spinks Collection. 2000. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.46666/>.